#full on resistance which was more affective than what campion was trying to do??

[edgeofthedales]

darrowbyeightfive in response to comments on this wonderful fic which can be read here.

Glad you enjoyed it! Actually several ideas that I had had floating around in my head for a while about a cricket story with Tagger Hird and Duggleby involved just came together. When I saw in my notes on the cricket match that Tristan had ‘a bruise the size of an orange’, then I thought that was perfect :-)

Yes, I love that description by James of Tristan getting maximum pleasure from even the simplest things, and I think that comes over in the TV series too. The Doctor is very responsible and likes to feel that he is in control of himself so he’s a little horrified to find himself becoming so self-indulgent, but nonetheless is unable to resist a bit more of Mrs. Hall’s cake. (Mrs. Hall did win prizes for her preserves, so it’s not surprising that she’s talented at baking too!)

I’m not sure where in this particular story you picked up the thing about Tristan being worried that Siegfried might like the Doctor better than him, because I didn’t mention that explicitly, but yes, absolutely. Tristan (at least TV Tristan) to me has quite a strong undercurrent of insecurity going on - he’s always trying so hard to please James and the girls he dates and so on, so now this “better version” of him has come along, he’s torn between liking for him - because he’s obviously a decent person and hard not to like - and worry that he will be supplanted in people’s affections. The whole thing about “Tristan Farnon seems suddenly  to have developed a sweet and pleasant nature” was actually just Siegfried snarkiness, because of course Tristan does actually have a sweet nature and Siegfried was just bantering with him, but nonetheless Tristan may start to feel a little rattled by it…

I’m not a cricket expert, just a very casual fan who is happy when England wins, but I did do some research and hope there’s nothing obviously wrong in my cricket match description. I didn’t feel up to doing a full scale cric-fic epic!

It just occurred to me that I could have made Tristan’s disguise include a pair of Campion-esque glasses! And that horribly unflattering fake moustache that Peter D wore for “Anna of the Five Towns”.

And yes, Five gets more cake at the end :-) I wonder what kind of cake it is that he likes so much? I couldn’t really think of a good idea for what would be his favourite - maybe lemon drizzle but I’m not sure whether they had that in the 1930s. Presumably he has worked off all the excess calories with his cricketing, but the question is what he will do now he no longer has a cricket match to play in. Can he manage to resist the cake or will he end up needing to ask Mrs Hall to let out his trousers a little in the waist? :-D

It was. It’s such a pity that some of the cricketing chapters were taken out of the US editions of the books because I love watching an episode that was based on some of those stories. 

I agree too that TV-Verse Tristan also demonstrated that quality: of getting so much enjoyment out of such simple things. I think a prominent one on the show was food as he seemed to seriously enjoy Mrs. Hall’s cooking (so the Doctor is certainly not alone there). Thus, it was always significant if Tristan refused or turned away from food.

I actually got that vibe about Tristan worrying about the Doctor “replacing him” from that comment Siegfried made that implied that Tristan wasn’t a sweet, pleasant person compared to the Doctor. It was a perfect bit of Siegfried Snark, yes, but it also made me think of that bit from Bulldog Breed (Episode 1.11) where Siegfried is praising Carmody so much and Tristan starts to wonder if Siegfried would rather have Carmody in the practice instead of him. 

Plus, I agree 100% with you that TV-verse Tristan does have a streak of insecurity that shows up the most with his need to please James, his girlfriends and even Siegfried even though it’s not always direct with Siegfried. I think it’s telling that Tristan seems to be far more affected by someone like James or Siegfried expressing disappointment in him rather than just getting irritated at him. Because he’s used to snark and yelling, but disappointment could indicate something more serious. Like maybe he’s starting to lose their affection.....

Well, as someone from the US, I’m even less of a cricket expert. XD Research can indeed be a very useful thing.

That would have been hilarious if he had dressed as Campion. XD Ah well, it was still lovely as is.

That’s something I hadn’t thought of either. What sorts of cakes were common in Yorkshire at that time. I do know that Siegfried mentioned in the 1983 Christmas special that Tristan’s favorite dessert was treacle tarts, so that could always come up at some point. 

Again, that was a lovely fic. As always, I will be looking forward to more from you. :)