Dept. of End of the Weekend

[kaffy_r]

Very Quick Things

• Cold on the way out, back spasm threatening. I will threaten it back, and frighten it way the hell out away from my muscles.
• BB's thyroid biopsy came back negative for cancer. Since the tests indicate some thyroid problems, there may still be a connection to his ongoing fever, etc. We will find out when we talk to his doctor later this month. In the meantime, we are glad it isn't cancer. If that sounds less than ecstatic, it's only because we still don't have an answer to what is making his life miserable. Sometimes you can get so desperate to find out the reason for an illness that you begin to eye something definite with something uncomfortably close to approbation.
• Saw the first half of the Who finale, Dark Water. I am willing to wait to see what the second half brings; I enjoyed it more than BB did, and he didn't not enjoy it. Was not surprised by the reveal, since I (and practically everyone else) had spotted that one from, oh, the first episode of S08. I'm reasonably pleased by it although I have never had the great affection for the character in question that others have. (Fascination and appreciation, yes, and some thoughts on the character's evolution, but not affection.) Why am I being this obtuse when everyone on my list who wants to see it has seen it? Because some of them may not have, so I'm trying not to be spoilerific.
• And, out of nowhere, and thanks to posts elsewhere, all the scattered thoughts I've been having, the "I know there's a meta inside me waiting to get out" thoughts, the ones that have been swimming around aimlessly and without direction throughout this season (one I've regarded as extremely variable in quality, one I've been surprised to see viewed as a near masterwork by a lot of people I respect), have finally started coalescing. Mind you, that could be a mistake on my part. I thought they were coalescing around episode 3 and they didn't. So I shouldn't promise anything ....
• Tomorrow, I get to go down to the legendary and fearsome Tribune Tower, to meet my new owners. Yes, it's on a deadline day, but they did at least apologize for making the mass meeting a last minute thing. More, after that happens.

Comments

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

back spasm threatening. I will threaten it back, and frighten it way the hell out away from my muscles.
Kick its arse! If you can successfully locate a back spasm's arse. More seriously, I hope it gets better. ♥

Oh, it's such a relief to know it's not cancer. ♥ I get you though. I hope you get an answer soon. *hugs and sends you both my best vibes*

Fingers crossed on the meta thoughts happening, I would love to see that! :D Completely getting you about the variable quality. Personally, I thought the second half picked up quite a bit (and got a better feel for Clara).

I hope that meeting goes well, and everything after that…

[kaffy_r]

Completely getting you about the variable quality. Personally, I thought the second half picked up quite a bit (and got a better feel for Clara).

I'll definitely agree with you on finally being able to get a better feel for Clara. And the more I get a feel for her, the more I like her. She's one of the most fallible of recent companions, and that's being explored in what I think is a respectful and thoughtfully adult way. I don't see a lot of what she's done as either out of character or JUST HORRIBLE OMG! It's showing me how surprisingly human and three-dimensional she is; she was The Impossible Girl, and now she's finding it impossible just to be A Girl, without screwing up. Just like so many people who have come out on the other side of impossible situations.

Whups - going to have to come back to this response as I write the meta, because I think I just stumbled across another facet of of Clara that feels very much like some version of PTSD. Hmmmm....

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yes, I completely agree with that. She just feels layered and deeply relatable—again! ;) For instance, just now I was thinking back on her reaction to Danny's death, and I suddenly remembered the loss of her mother. It hasn't been handled very directly, but it sheds so much light on her reaction in the finale: she isn't only going through grief and at the denial stage, which is already something enormous to deal with, she is losing a person she dearly loves and who was central to her life again. It makes it all the more understandable that she would just completely refuse going through such a loss for the second time, and would ask for the impossible instead of accepting it. Your PTSD comment just reminded me of that consideration, though it was likely not what you were thinking about at all, since you were on the Impossible Girl. However, PTSD-like symptoms would also be interesting and very believable, we never did see direct consequences of the breaking-into-echoes and the timestream events but there had to be!

[kaffy_r]

though it was likely not what you were thinking about at all, since you were on the Impossible Girl.

Even though it wasn't what I was thinking about, you make an equally good point; the loss of Danny has just echoed the loss of her mother. When you consider that the PTSD I was thinking about has to do with a) being splintered across multiple timelines - being a good soldier to save the Doctor - and put back together (who knows how well), is akin to Danny's, or any soldier's, situation of being taken apart by war and imperfectly put back together. (I think all soldiers risk this, although many, thank god, do not suffer. Others, sadly, do.) And I think all Companions also suffer, or run the risk of suffering, some weird type of PTSD. Think about the things she has been through just traveling, even on the "successful" adventures!

In fact, I've been comparing her in my head to Tegan, at least in terms of the problematic relationship she has with the Doctor.

[(Anonymous)]

It seems to me that, even for people who’ve never met the Doctor, that sort of PTSD must be very common. Just on Earth alone, there are endless weird events, alien invasions, and more; not all of them will have been dealt with by him, his companions or various government agencies. I’ve read extended universe stories where the day is saved by random people who’ve just wandered into a situation and have to deal with it alone. The Whoniverse in general is a barking mad place which is wondrous and dangerous in equal measure; even if someone hasn’t got a single adventurous bone in their body, the chances of having an encounter with the fantastic are very high, as are the chances of that encounter being fatal.

Diona the Lurker

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Good point as well. :)

[kaffy_r]

Hi, Diona!

You've got a point about the Whoniverse - the sad thing is that, whether it's in our world or that world, there are far too many ways to become a victim of post-traumatic stress. Famine, war, domestic and sexual violence ... aliens, soul-sucking horrors, murderous invaders from two-dimensional universes - at least in the Whoniverse, we can hope for the Doctor.

Here, it's up to us to fix it.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

When you consider that the PTSD I was thinking about has to do with a) being splintered across multiple timelines - being a good soldier to save the Doctor - and put back together (who knows how well), is akin to Danny's, or any soldier's, situation of being taken apart by war and imperfectly put back together. (I think all soldiers risk this, although many, thank god, do not suffer. Others, sadly, do.) And I think all Companions also suffer, or run the risk of suffering, some weird type of PTSD. Think about the things she has been through just traveling, even on the "successful" adventures!
*nods* I agree with all of this…

In fact, I've been comparing her in my head to Tegan, at least in terms of the problematic relationship she has with the Doctor.
Ah well, that is one I won't be seeing before a while ;)

[kaffy_r]

I was just looking at the paragraph I wrote there, and realizing that it was completely ungrammatical. I'm glad you were able to decipher it, missing objects, subjects, clauses and all. Heh.

Tegan is a fascinating character, at least I think so. She can wear on one, but she's memorable.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Yes, that happens when you start sentences a certain way and then finish them with a completely different phrasing because you got sidetracked by the content in the meantime XD No worries, it was still very understandable!

I think I'd heard about her before. Can't wait to get there—but I'm starting the Third Doctor right now and I think that he, Liz Shaw and the Brig could keep me content forever ;)

[kaffy_r]

Oh, the Third Doctor is amazing, and I'm not at all surprised that you could be content with that fantastic trio!

As for the run-on, incomplete, and meandering sentences, I'll probably doing that again and



*g*

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

I really adore them! :D I loved One and Two, but this… *flaily hand moves* :D

Oops! ;)