1x14 Terror in the Deep (2/3)

[wotcher_wombat]

Title: Terror in the Deep
Author: wotcher_wombat
Pairing: Ten II/Rose
Summary: Beneath the frozen waves of Woman Wept, Rose and the Doctor discover a community on the brink of destruction.
Rating: PG
A/N: Thanks to Debbie for the beta and Lisa for the science-y advice. Also thanks to shinyopals for the britpickery and her endless patience.

Episode 14 of the the_altverse following

Comments

[wickedgillie]

Ok, that was haunting. And sad. I love how you gave them a language of light. Brilliant!

[wotcher_wombat]

Thanks! It's times like this chapter when I wish we could get the altverse filmed, because the visuals of all the aliens "speaking" would be so neat.

[juliet316]

Oh this is so sad. Poor everybody.

[wotcher_wombat]

I know. Sorry! Hope you're still liking the fic. :)

[wotcher_wombat]

Hee! I'm rather fond of these alien names. I struggled and struggled, but nothing felt right for their names. Then I thought back to the Houm episode where the aliens had names like "Stone" which I interpreted as the TARDIS's translation of the alien's names back into English--like the names River, Dawn, or Hazel are actually tangible things. I thought it was a neat way to go about it. And if the aliens in my story didn't have actual names, per say, if they just called each other by species and the order of their birth, well, then the TARDIS would probably translate that to something like Grimpoteuthis Ignotus, 1,028th born (or Dumbo Octopus Obscure, 1,028th born).

Woah, sorry for the tl;dr. Anyway, I'm glad you like the little octopus boy with the long-winded name!

<3

[jamie15]

Oh, I just love this - this is absolutely heartbreaking, but at the same time so meaningful! What do you do when no hope seems to be left? Should you fight or just give up? I'm very interested in how this is going to end =) (and am keeping my fingers crossed for a happy ending, no matter the name of the place ... ^^).

Oh, and by the way - I think that the way the octopi (?) communicate is just brilliant!

Re: <3

[wotcher_wombat]

I'm so happy that you've enjoyed the story. It seemed like such a Doctor Who sort of thing to give hope to the young. The boy believes, he fights, he swims as high as he can and releases a last-ditch message to unknown the world above. He knows so little of his world, but he believes that it has to continue. That's guts, right there. It's easy to like him for that.

But I think the elder is just as compelling. She's in a very different position, and while she might be wrong about some things (yes, there are worlds outside of her own), she's not taken to acceptance lightly. She's watched her peers starve to death around her, but there is literally nothing to be done to stop the vents from closing. What can she do, but try to be brave in the face of death, to try to be strong for her community when there are no options left? It's a grim responsibility, but one that she willingly shoulders. Even at the opposite end of the spectrum, the elder is just as much a hero as the boy. I thought it would be a fascinating situation,

[belette]

I love the society you based off of deep sea vents; it's a fantastic idea, and the details like bioluminescent speech and a scavenger caste are really well thought out. I also really enjoy the interactions between the Doctor and Rose. This is a really excellent 'episode'!

[superfrogqueen8]

Hey, fancy seeing you here. :D

[wotcher_wombat]

Thank you very much! I've always been fascinated by deep sea life, and I've always hoped that one day they'd do an episode there in the real Doctor Who. After all, these creatures are practically screaming "