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beccaelizabethSo now I've got a brain full of Thoughts. Including a whole set of domestic violence related Issues tangled up with characters that I'd really not expect. I mean I have previously pondered how dysfunctional it could get to have to depend on the Doctor for your daily survival. But the Doctor's proposed solution to the Master... he says the TARDIS is the only safe place for him, and it's time for the Doctor to stop running away, or something like that. Basically he's volunteering to look after him. And... that could go badly.
If he's saying he'll be his Doctor... if there's anyone in the universe too personally involved, too tangled up close to him, it's the Doctor. He knows him best of anyone, but not in a medical way, not in an appropriate psychiatric relationship in the slightest.
If he's saying something slashier... The Master makes his wife flinch, and I think I saw bruises. Which, incidentally, pretty necessary to the story, because otherwise doing evil leads to being glamourous and queen of the world, and that can't be right. Knowing that the bad man will also be bad even to people that love him, that's a necessary message that quite a lot of people seem to miss. The "he'd never hit me" thing.
We know the Master would hurt the Doctor. It's kind of his raison d'etre. The Doctor just put up with a year of it. Now he's volunteering for more? And figuring that will help?
Full marks for compassion, but the wisdom is a little lacking.
So either way I want to sit him down and have a chat.
The one about how trying to pull someone back up a cliff is very noble, but there's a damn good chance they'll pull you down.
The one about lifeguard logic, and how you can't let yourself drown if you expect to help anyone.
And the one about community.
Therapy veteran passes on tips.
Once asked how the pshrink could stand it, sitting there hearing all everyone's problems all day long. Logically a pshrink has a distance from it - the difference between living a story and hearing it makes it a hell of a lot easier to deal with. But the thing she told me that I remember is "We talk to each other."
Nobody does care work alone. There's always a team. Usually interlocking sets of teams. Enough so everyone can go home, recharge, and have something to bring back to it.
The Doctor knows he needs someone to hold onto, in other contexts. But when the Master is involved? I just have this vision of the two of them locked in the TARDIS together, the Doctor determined he'll never hurt anyone else again, and it kind of looks like hell. The very personal kind where there's not even neighbours to phone the police.
The thing is in the logic of that universe the Doctor could save him, because the Doctor can fix everything. Always does, right? Except that one thing, couldn't save his own people. And the Master is the last chance for him to do that. So he totally has to try.
Except it's a totally different challenge than the others. Generally speaking he dashes in, fixes stuff up, dashes out again. Quite often it involves blowing things up.
What he said he'd do for the Master? Requires ways of being and working that we just haven't seen from him.
So in the back of my mind somewhere I want to go find him, sit him down, and explain how this thing works. Then give him a card for people to contact for help; which he'll pocket from politeness and then wander off blithely confident that he can just love the man better.
I think I want to stop thinking about that.
It's that same thing where I gave up on a vampire book series because they were pushing the alcoholic metaphor too far. And gave the vampire a partner who wouldn't leave even after they'd been beat up because then they'd go back to drinking blood again. That's just a bit too close, and also doing it wrong.
I want to see the Master in a hospital, preferably one that deals with post traumatic stress in soldiers and so has a clue about the extreme stuff. Because now they've said the 'insane' word that's where he belongs. And instead he got dead because he chose that to get away and it's just... There is no escape in my escapism.
Until the ring thing, and then there's just no help.
I don't like.
If he's saying he'll be his Doctor... if there's anyone in the universe too personally involved, too tangled up close to him, it's the Doctor. He knows him best of anyone, but not in a medical way, not in an appropriate psychiatric relationship in the slightest.
If he's saying something slashier... The Master makes his wife flinch, and I think I saw bruises. Which, incidentally, pretty necessary to the story, because otherwise doing evil leads to being glamourous and queen of the world, and that can't be right. Knowing that the bad man will also be bad even to people that love him, that's a necessary message that quite a lot of people seem to miss. The "he'd never hit me" thing.
We know the Master would hurt the Doctor. It's kind of his raison d'etre. The Doctor just put up with a year of it. Now he's volunteering for more? And figuring that will help?
Full marks for compassion, but the wisdom is a little lacking.
So either way I want to sit him down and have a chat.
The one about how trying to pull someone back up a cliff is very noble, but there's a damn good chance they'll pull you down.
The one about lifeguard logic, and how you can't let yourself drown if you expect to help anyone.
And the one about community.
Therapy veteran passes on tips.
Once asked how the pshrink could stand it, sitting there hearing all everyone's problems all day long. Logically a pshrink has a distance from it - the difference between living a story and hearing it makes it a hell of a lot easier to deal with. But the thing she told me that I remember is "We talk to each other."
Nobody does care work alone. There's always a team. Usually interlocking sets of teams. Enough so everyone can go home, recharge, and have something to bring back to it.
The Doctor knows he needs someone to hold onto, in other contexts. But when the Master is involved? I just have this vision of the two of them locked in the TARDIS together, the Doctor determined he'll never hurt anyone else again, and it kind of looks like hell. The very personal kind where there's not even neighbours to phone the police.
The thing is in the logic of that universe the Doctor could save him, because the Doctor can fix everything. Always does, right? Except that one thing, couldn't save his own people. And the Master is the last chance for him to do that. So he totally has to try.
Except it's a totally different challenge than the others. Generally speaking he dashes in, fixes stuff up, dashes out again. Quite often it involves blowing things up.
What he said he'd do for the Master? Requires ways of being and working that we just haven't seen from him.
So in the back of my mind somewhere I want to go find him, sit him down, and explain how this thing works. Then give him a card for people to contact for help; which he'll pocket from politeness and then wander off blithely confident that he can just love the man better.
I think I want to stop thinking about that.
It's that same thing where I gave up on a vampire book series because they were pushing the alcoholic metaphor too far. And gave the vampire a partner who wouldn't leave even after they'd been beat up because then they'd go back to drinking blood again. That's just a bit too close, and also doing it wrong.
I want to see the Master in a hospital, preferably one that deals with post traumatic stress in soldiers and so has a clue about the extreme stuff. Because now they've said the 'insane' word that's where he belongs. And instead he got dead because he chose that to get away and it's just... There is no escape in my escapism.
Until the ring thing, and then there's just no help.
I don't like.