He's Fire And Ice And Rage

All right, so I'm not exactly a connoisseur of Earth music, though I do like the occasional concert or so (if I can make it to one). But, to do this list, I went through some of my companions' old rooms and picked out a song I thought suited them best from their collections.

Excluding the loud, annoying tribal music from Leela's old room, the fact that we no longer have Romana's room, and that Steven had a ridiculous amount of liquor stored in the record bins his room, these are my findings:

1. Vicki: "Ticket to Ride" by the Beatles (1965). Hardly classical!
2. Ace: "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by REM (1988) Because she's cool in the face of danger. And the end of the world. Which we seemed to face...quite often, in fact.
3. Peri Brown: "Material Girl" by Madonna (1985) I think this is incredibly appropriate music for one of my favorite Americans. And she owned a ridiculous number of shoes, I've discovered. 45 pairs of shoes! That's 90 heels! Who needs that many blisters??
4. Jamie McCrimmon: "Mist Covered Mountains" on Pipin' Hot Compilation (circa 1746) Classic music from an era post-Battle of Culloden. I shouldn't be surprised he picked bagpipes.
5. Sarah Jane Smith: "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads (1978). We saw them in concert, didn't we? Six months before she left (a year afterwards in Earth-time)...I do wish, on occasion, that we lived time linearly in the TARDIS, just for reference's sake.
6. Captain Jack Harkness: "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller (1939), even though technically it is his and Rose's song or something.
7. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright: "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" by Louis Armstrong (1950). This was the first dance at their wedding, too, if I'm not entirely mistaken.
8. Donna Noble: "White Wedding" by Billy Idol (1986). It's appropriate! No, really!
9. Mike Yates: "Copacabana (At the Copa)" by Barry Manilow (1978)…I'm not entirely sure why Mike had Manilow's entire collection. This one has a good beat, at least, and isn't as depressing as "Mandy".
10. Martha Jones: "Have You Met Miss Jones?" (covered) by Robbie Williams (2001) I have, in fact. And I think she's quite brilliant.

Muse: The Doctor (Ten)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 386

1. The Doctor doesn't remember most of his own secrets. He chalks it up to old age and after 900-odd years traveling in space and time, age is easy to blame. The truth is, he doesn't remember because he can't bear to. There's so much that would drag him down if he let it.

2. He's not really 900 years old. He's closer to 1400, but with all the time-crossing, human-changing, exiled moments, he figures he can just estimate and round down. It's not as if 900 is any less impressive or intimidating to anyone he might tell.

3. Romana would know his age. That's the only reason he doesn't miss her, actually. She'd give him away in a heartbeat. She was always so good at that. Frustrating and endearing all at the same time, that was Romana. She was one of his forced companions---one he didn't really want to travel with, and yet when she left, it broke his hearts. He never talks about how much it hurts him, but the TARDIS knows.

4. He always takes the companions home to meet the TARDIS before he invites them on board. The TARDIS was always a better judge of people than he was, and she would always let him know when it didn't think someone was a good fit.

5. Of course, she thought Rose was going to be a terrible fit, and he ignored her. She was more than just a pretty face and blonde hair (which the TARDIS figured would only cause trouble). He thought that Rose would grow on them both and she would help them open up to new people. The TARDIS thought she'd be a menace and steal him away. He was right, and the TARDIS was wrong. It's probably the only time the TARDIS was wrong.

6. The TARDIS regrets being wrong. It should've given her the benefit of the doubt, it thinks. Should've spent more time simply enjoying her company rather than setting off alarm bells in the Doctor's mind. It shouldn’t have mattered if the Doctor fell in love with her, the TARDIS should've just let it happen, it believes. The Doctor, however, can't blame anyone but himself for what didn't happen with Rose.

7. The Doctor refuses to let himself fall into regret. Over anything, actually. It's too easy after everything he's been through. He focuses, instead, on fixing his TARDIS. Showing her that he's not going anywhere, that he still cares. She can feel his pain and he wants her to feel comfort. His human companions are often neglected during these dark moments.

8. He does, on occasion, let himself remember. His eyes grow wet and his hearts clench up, but he never goes so far as to actually cry or let his emotions take over. Too much at stake. When he goes so far as to remember in front of his companion, Martha's hand will slip into his. Every time, he thanks the TARDIS for suggesting he take her along.

9. But Martha leaves him, too. She kisses him on the cheek and tells him that her family needs her and she's gone gone gone. He stares at the door and watches her go. All he wants to do is beg for her to come back.

10. She won't, of course. Because, in the end, the Doctor has to be alone. It's his most painful secret, but it's one he can't make himself forget.

Muse: The Doctor (Ten)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 576

1. You're eight years old. You look into the Time Vortex. You learn how to start running.
2. You can see the Vortex in your dreams, There are worlds out there, beyond the Gallifreyan horizon, that are terrible and beautiful. You learn about desire. You desire the universe out there.
3. You get an subquarkian microscope for your birthday. You learn that things are more beautiful up close. You decide that the stars must be more beautiful up close, too.
4. You learn about diseases of the brain. You're your own physician, so you diagnose yourself. It is a disease, the desire to see them all, all those stars. You're not a doctor, not yet anyway, so you can't cure that ill yet. You learn to accept that you'll always de different.
5. You do well in school. You hear your teachers making snide comments about the overachieving half-breed in your class. Human mother, didn't deserve to become a Time Lord. You realize they're talking about you. You learn to resent prejudicial hate, you promise yourself to always give people the benefit of the doubt.
6. You do badly in school on purpose. You overhear your teachers making snide comments about the stupid half-breed in your class. You smile and learn how much fun it is to defy authority.
7. You fail three classes, and decide that school is a ridiculous institution. You resolve to never end up like your indolent ancestors. You learn that doing is so much better than merely reading about it.
8. Your mother dies. Too young, only 75. Your father shuts down, hides away, and immerses himself in research. You learn how to repress.
9. You walk by the shipyard and watch the foreman close the gates. Koschei mocks the man, gets tossed away. You make polite conversation. The foreman offers you a drink in exchange for company. You learn that the right words get you anywhere you want to be.
10. You listen to him complain about shipyard management. He's one of those Time Lords, like you, that doesn't believe in stuffy research, and would rather take the Type 40s that are sitting in that yard out for a spin rather than let them sit and rot. You learn that the Time Lords don't take care of those ships. You learn that it's very easy to break into the shipyards at night.


Muse: The Doctor (Ten)
Fandom: Doctor Who
Word Count: 398