Commentary
Warning: This commentary is being posted at the same time as the last chapter. If you've missed the end of the story in chapter 30, you should probably go back and read that first.
TLoP:
Here we are again, at the end of this story, and with that, this W-trilogy. Once again we will give you a look of what happens behind the scenes of our stories - well, a small part of that, of course ;). And most of all we just love writing commentaries. In fact, as Jlocked just put it, we just write stories in order to get to the commentary part. :P
Jlocked:
Of course. Why else should we be writing? To entertain our readers? Certainly not.
TLoP:
Or to create new stories and species, have the fun of working in references, seeing how relationships between characters evolve… Nothing of all that. It's just the commentaries.
Jlocked:
Finally you're catching on. Took you long enough.
But seriously, I think this story came to be because of two reasons.
Number one: we just had so much material left over from our work on When Their Paths Crossed, that we hadn't been able to fit into that story.
Number two: we really did not want to let 'our' John and Sherlock go just yet. They were, after all, what brought us together ;)
TLoP:
Aww :P But of course Jlocked is right - however sentimental it may sound.
In When their paths crossed, the idea had been to bring in the Doctor and River Song. Because that story evolved in another direction, we didn't get to do this, so actually we just had another go with When their paths crossed again, hoping that this time there wouldn't be any other aliens coming to steal the spotlights. We knew that we wanted more Johnlock and Janto too, so now we needed a case. Or, as some people might call it, a plot.
Jlocked:
Plots are for amateurs.
We did have another element too, though. We kind of wanted to bring the boys together in London this time. Give Johnlock the home court advantage, so to speak. And then it was time to think. We needed a case that would call for the assistance of Torchwood and would ultimately lead to the boys meeting River and the Doctor. How stones came into the picture, I have no idea.
TloP:
Going through the old emails, tells me it went like this: "Archaeology stuff makes me think of some stone monster thingy that captured her. And Eleven could be damaging buildings or something to get to her, which isn't really appreciated by Mycroft & co." So there you go. It also told us that our new aliens needed to have something to do with stones. We had already had a humanoid and a small alien in WTPC, so now Jlocked thought it was time for a tall one. But it took a while before we had settled on what they should look like and what they would be called.
Jlocked:
Yes, we did put off defining the aliens for as long as we possibly could. I think we almost had the gang down in the tunnel before we agreed on how they should look. But some things were settled earlier. The fact that there should be two, one male and one female, and that they should be scientists and not a couple. At least I think those were the earliest ideas. Apart from the bit about the stones, of course. We needed somewhere to put River.
TLoP:
Indeed, "not a couple", completely the John Watson way. I think we also knew about the stone that contained their history at an early stage, since that would be what River was looking for when she got caught. There too, we started brainstorming from the beginning, but we didn't immediately get to the biological disaster as a reason to get the alien species extinct except for our two individuals.
But let's talk about River's "new" prison first. I think that was almost completely Jlocked's idea.
Jlocked:
I don't know if I would actually call it an idea. More like an act of desperation. TLoP had suggested the vandalisms and I had to come up with an explanation for them. Why would he be knocking holes in buildings? Was he looking for River in those buildings? That seemed too random. So he needed something from the buildings. Stones, obviously. We really wanted to do some more damage to Westminster Abbey, so I did a bit of online research and found out that part of it was constructed from a kind of stone called 'Portland stone'.
That sounded good, so I decided that this was what the Doctor was after. But why? Because the stones, now used in various buildings in London, were somehow parts of a something-dimensional prison in which River was held, and he needed to piece together that prison before he could get her out of it. (Very lucky that all the buildings were in London. But then again, everything concerning the Doctor somehow ends up in modern day London, right?)
How many stones? Eleven, of course. How many dimensions? Eleven, of course. Why? Because I can be terribly cliché and unimaginative at times. (Stops for breath.)
TLoP:
I really wouldn't call it that. Isn't it brilliant (there I go again, Arthur Shappey II) that everything nicely comes together like that? It just made sense, and it inspired us to make River's image stronger with every stone the Doctor found, so it would get easier to communicate with her. So we didn't have to wait until River was set free before we could finally get to write those two.
Jlocked:
And that allowed for the wonderfully Rivery line of: 'Dissolve and extract', which still makes me giggle a bit. I love how the Doctor is around River. He can't seem to get anything right. Well, he's often like that, but when River is there, he cannot bluff his way out of it.
TLoP:
That's one of the things that makes it so much fun to write River. She knows she has that "power" and is not afraid to use it ;) Although the famous "Dissolve and extract" line actually came from the Doctor - I mean, from Jlocked's brain.
Jlocked:
Same thing.
So… Let's recap. We had the boys. Holes in buildings. Some messing about with Jack (it was kind of his turn after the stuff he'd put the others through in WTPC) and it was time to bring the Doctor on the scene. Canon-Jack has never seen the 11th, so we got to have some fun with that, but even then, we still thought it could be fun to have the Doctor run into some of the others before anybody (except us and probably most of our readers) had any clue who he was. So the alley scene was partly an introduction of the Doctor (and a chance for me to test 'my Doctor') but also a fond look back at John and Sherlock's discovery of how a vertical surface can be utilised in an emergency.
TLoP:
Haa, the oak scene in What have we become. It will always remain a favourite.
Of course it was also another chance to tease Sherlock and John. Because it had become our purpose to do that throughout this story. The temptation would certainly be there, but they would always be interrupted in some way when they tried to jump each other. This was also one of the earlier ideas, when we got inspired by a picture of the boys kissing against the Tardis. ( post/45814700353/good-night-i-cant-believe-this-se ries-3-god) Thank you to the artist - we owe you so much.
Jlocked:
Yes, it had become our mission in life (or at least in this story) to recreate that scene, complete with a perplexed 11th looking on. And then to have River come and save the boys from further embarrasment by leading the Doctor away. But, alas, she was not in the alley, so the boys were indeed interrupted. And I got to write the Doctor. Yay!
TLoP:
Yay indeed! Of course, the Tardis wasn't in the alley either, so it couldn't have happened anyway.
And then we finally got the real River, rather than just an image. That was where the story could really start.
Jlocked:
Yes. That was one part I had particularly been looking forward to. The idea of TLoP writing River to 'my' Doctor actually dated back quite a bit. New Year, as I seem to recall…
TLoP:
Indeed. But then you actually were Ten, if I recall it right… That would have been angstier :P
Jlocked:
True. We did have an 11th back then, but he had his hands quite full with Amy, I believe. And Jack was just all over the place… Anyway… Back to the story. River saved, Doctor happy, case solved and time for the boys to go home. Or not.
TLoP:
Where would be the fun in that? We had new aliens to introduce!
Jlocked:
And more frustration to heap on our poor boys. And a young girl to not-really-introduce. Wasn't that why we chose that specific time and location?
TLoP:
Indeed. One of your most brilliant ideas, that little WHWB reference. I really loved writing that little bit with her, even if it was quite difficult to make it vague and yet clear enough.
Jlocked:
I do love references. Even if they're to our own stories. And I really liked how Sherlock was never told. Had he known she was there, he would have insisted on going to question her to find out what was in the cursed journal.
TLoP:
I love them even more when they're to our own stories. And yes, that whole thing was quite brilliant, although it almost got lost in all the angst Jack had caused, despite his good intentions…
Jlocked:
Yes, if it hadn't been for Jack, this story might have gone completely angst-less. And where would the fun be in that?
TLoP:
And think of all the fluff after the angst!
Jlocked:
Yes, that is the boon I have to pay to get my angst. The only way I can sell it really is to promise post-angst fluff.
TLoP:
I honestly think that our readers are grateful for that…
Jlocked:
Silly fluffy readers…
TLoP:
Oh, deep down you love it. You just won't admit it so you won't damage your evil mastermind image.
Jlocked:
Shush.
Back on track. Jack. Angst. Snogging Sherlock… How were we going to accomplish that?
Somewhere down the line, probably at a time when I was sleepy and silly, we somehow came up with the idea of the Tardis dumping too much information into Sherlock's brain. Which of course led to me having to go online for random DW trivia that I could have him blurt out. Homework for writing fanfics… I can tell you, at that time I was a rabbit of negative euphoria.
TLoP:
Alright, Douglas… If you keep going on like that, you'll have no choice but to write a Cabin Pressure fanfic with me.
I loved the part when Sherlock's brain was "ill". Especially when he started talking about John. That was one of my most brilliant ideas.
Jlocked:
Yes. Storywise it was a brilliant idea. It was not so easy to actually come up with what to say though. But it did turn out pretty funny. And was a kind of fond recap of that side of our stories so far. And I did manage to get the oak in there… (Okay, that sounded very very wrong…)
TLoP:
Indeed XD
But then, when Jack was "Sherlock-sitting", there was the problem of how to shut Sherlock up. He wouldn't hit a defenceless man, as Jlocked pointed out. There was only one option, really…
Jlocked:
Sure, Jack. Only possible option was snogging the gorgeous detective. Good thing Jack is such a selfless man, willing to sacrifice so much to help a friend in need. It must have been so traumatic for him.
TLoP:
Well, in the end it was.
Jlocked:
I think it was pretty hard on all of them. But maybe in a way also did some good. John and Sherlock certainly came out of it being even more certain about each other and their relationship. And Jack and Ianto did get a little closer. Which of course led to the angstiest bit of all.
Oh, by the way: Spoiler alert! But then again, if you haven't seen season 3 of Torchwood by now, you're probably not going to. And if you are, then it's your own bloody fault for not having gotten around to it yet.
TLoP:
Yep, it's totally people's own fault if they only get to watching Torchwood this year… *ahem*
But what Jlocked was actually getting at, is that this will have been the last time that Sherlock and John saw Ianto. Their goodbye at the end of the story was an actual goodbye to him.
Jlocked:
We did draw out that bit, knowing that they would never see him again. It was important to us that they were all happy when they parted and were feeling good about their lives, relationships and friendships. And then the 456 happens and Sherlock takes a leap.
TLoP:
*museum guide voice* And here you see another example of Jlocked using fluff to make the angst worse.
Jlocked:
*claps happily* It was perfect. Thank you, Russell and Moffat. You have taught me well.
TLoP:
I find it hard to believe that you weren't already evil before you watched Doctor Who and Sherlock. But alright.
With everyone (except for River and the Doctor) being angry with each other, it was just a question of turning off the golem and getting to the Lapicomedon planet, which Jlocked described beautifully.
Jlocked:
I've always wanted the opportunity to create a 'real' scifi alien planet. And what better chance to do that than a beautiful place of nothing but rocks and sand?
TLoP:
I really loved it. Especially the sand.
Jlocked:
Yes. The sand was very friendly.
TLoP:
That actually happened because Jlocked, after all that had already happened, still thought she hadn't had her share of angst. So with Jack and Ianto getting fluffy again, something had to happen to spoil their fun. Poor boys. On the other hand, the idea of the quicksand was just too funny to let it pass. And it meant I could still surprise Jlocked, because she didn't think I would go with it :P
Jlocked:
Poor boys. I'm evil. I know. But we did get them out of it with only a sligthly bruised sense of dignity. Not that Jack cared all that much.
TLoP:
No, fortunately, we quickly went back to the fluff. And with that, the end of the story. But of course, Mycroft would have to meddle first, wondering what the hell was happening, although not much time had passed for him. I really like the idea of Jack and Mycroft having met at some point. Either they wouldn't get along at all, or… quite well :P
Jlocked:
Yes, that does seem like a very interesting story. Maybe we can tell that another time. But, fluffy as it was, writing the ending for this story was kind of angsty. We knew that we could not 'squeeze' any more stories out of our original Johnlock, and that it was time to let them go.
TLoP:
*sniff*
Fortunately, Between Frontlines came along soon enough to fill the gap.
Jlocked:
Yes. I think it says a lot about how much we had come to care for 'our' boys that we had to go AU to write another Johnlock. Or… sort of Johnlock…
TLoP:
Eventual Johnlock :P
Jlocked:
Maybe. But let's not spoil that for those who haven't gotten around to reading it yet. And believe me, dear readers, you really should. I think we did a very good job with that one.
TLoP:
*nods convincingly* Though it's a rather different style from the Ws :P So you won't get bored of us, either ;)