Fic: Morituri (SPOILERS for "The End of Time")

[lindenharp]

Title: Morituri
Author: Lindenharp
Words: 100
Characters: Tenth Doctor
Rating: for everyone
Spoilers: Waters of Mars and The End of Time, pt. 2
Summary: Now he knows how she felt.
A/N: This is my teeny-tiny reaction fic to EoT 2. Thanks to wendymr  and yamx  for beta services.

The light in Rassilon's eyes is cold and bright, an ancient star glittering in an arctic sky.

Did Adelaide see that in me?

He shudders, remembering.  'Time Lord Victorious.'  'That's for me to decide.'

He had chosen to forget what horrors an unrestrained Time Lord could commit:  Gallifrey's Death Zone, where 'lesser species' battled to amuse their captors; the Rani's cruel experiments; the Master's warped schemes.

The Lord President is millennia older than him, steeped in cunning and power.  Did Adelaide feel like this -- small and insignificant?

He prays for a fraction of her courage, and grips the gun tighter.

Comments

[yamx]

Ouch. Very gripping. (No pun intended.)

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[kimuracarter.livejournal.com]

Very nice.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (Love the icon!)

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

Wow. Concise and lovely (well, in a chilling sort of way) as always.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

*curtsies*

lovely (well, in a chilling sort of way)

I take that as a particular compliment, since that's an effect you do so well in your own fic.

[wendymr.livejournal.com]

He prays for a fraction of her courage, and grips the gun tighter.

Oh, yes, wonderful final line. Unlike the rest of his race, the Doctor always did acknowledge that he can learn so much from humans.

Very nicely done!

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

he can learn so much from humans

And every other sentient race he comes across. Bannakaffalatta, Jabe, and the Ood come to mind, among others.

Thanks for commenting!

[honorh.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. Your drabbles have such power. Seeing himself in Rassilon's eyes, knowing what he had to do and still has to do is the right thing, no matter how it pains him--a prayer for courage is definitely in order.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Words have power, if they're the right ones. I try my best to use the right ones, and sometimes I succeed.

Prayers of various sorts are in order in this situation, especially since the Doctor is facing a being who is close in power to a god.

[syysvilja.livejournal.com]

Wow, beautiful work! :)

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[canaana.livejournal.com]

Nice reminder. Thank you for bringing Adelaide into it. I was disappointed that EoT didn't really follow up those seeds they sowed in WoM. This fills that gap nicely. :)

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I couldn't have left Adelaide out of it. The parallel of the two situations was stunning - except that the Doctor's attitude was benign condescension.

[torn-eledhwen.livejournal.com]

Powerful and very insightful.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[radioactivepiss.livejournal.com]

That is incredible. Wow. Packs such a punch, in so few words.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That's my intent, when I start a drabble. I'm glad this one worked for you.

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

I love your drabbles, they never disappoint! this was great

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

This? This completely redeems that scene for me.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I didn't think that particular scene needed redemption, but it did beg for exploration.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I think it did in the sense of "Who are these people and how are they remotely connected to the Time Lords we know" that I was getting out of The James Bond of Rassilon. This does connect it to the people we know; drabble as exposition.

At least, for me it does.

[thinkatory.livejournal.com]

This added a whole new layer to that scene for me, lovely, good work.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It was a very interesting scene to work with.

[darstellen.livejournal.com]

I'm deeply impressed by your ability to develop such a convincing arc of psychological logic in so few words. Brilliant, chilling, and a model for the drabble genre.

[lindenharp.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the very kind words. My other fics tend to be wordy, but there's something about the drabble format that is very appealing.

If you like drabbles, then you might want to look at my Valiant Tales which is a series of 34 drabbles about the Year That Never Was aboard the Valiant. Each tale is narrated by a different person. Most of them are not canon characters, but people who might have been on board. (Someone had to be maintaining the engines, doing the laundry, etc.) If you're interested, you can click on the Valiant Tales tag or read it as a chaptered fic on fanfiction.net. In either case, do read the tales in order.

Thanks again for reading and commenting!

[darstellen.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! The Year That Never Was happens to be one of the time periods that fascinates me most. Thank you for the links, I can't wait to read!