The Year That Never Was
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | TYTNW |
| Related tropes/genres | Doctor Who |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Year That Never Was is a setting for many Doctor Who fanfics. The year in question never occurred, as the destruction of a paradox machine reversed time, returning everything back to how it had been one year previous.
During this year, The Doctor, Jack and Martha Jones' family were held captive by The Master aboard the Valiant. Meanwhile Martha Jones was traveling the world, trying to organize a revolution on the occupied planet. The third season's twelfth episode ends on the first day of this year, Day Zero. The very next episode takes place in the last week of this year. This led to a lot of theories and unanswered questions about what had taken place in the intervening months, that fanfic authors were happy to answer.
These works may also be called Valiant!fics, but not all works set during TYTNW take place aboard the Valiant.
Common Tropes and Storylines
- Darkfics featuring torture, murder, non-con and dub-con are common; due to the Master controlling the Earth and having the Doctor and several other characters as captives. Jack whump was very common.
- Doctor/Master and Doctor/Jack pairings are common in Valiant!fic, but these works are rarely fluffy. Doctor/Master works often inclue BDSM or dub con elements. Doctor/Jack works are often hurt comfort.
- De-aging the Doctor: In Sound of the Drums, the Doctor is unnaturally aged up to become a very old man. In fanfics, he'd usually deaged to his natural age. In some works he can also be de-aged to appear as a child.
- Some, or all of Torchwood 3 survive the Master's attack, and may encounter Martha Jones or end up aboard the Valiant during this year. When members of Torchwood 3 end up aboard the Valiant they are often executed or tortured in front of Jack.
- Martha's travels often involve her meeting past or future companions of the Doctor.
- Post-TYTNW fanfics can also be referred to as Post-The Last of the Timelords fics
- In some works, the Master lives and is kept captive by the Doctor on the TARDIS.
- Many works focus on character's recovery and ongoing PTSD from their time aboard the Valiant. Many fic authors were unhappy when events of TYTNW were not addressed in the following season of Torchwood. So many fics depict Jack dealing with his trauma and sharing his experiences with his team.
Subsequent Doctor Who storylines have resulted in other versions of the Doctor and Master been on Earth during the events of this year. The Twelfth Doctor and Missy are in Bristol, and the Dhawan!Master is trapped on Earth without a Tardis. This has led to headcanons and fanworks looking at these characters reactions to and involvement in TYTNW. This includes works where both Masters and Twelve hid in the Vault for the duration of that year.
Example Fanworks
- Praxis (LJ link) by Versaphile, The Year That Wasn't. All of it, from The Sound of Drums to The Last of the Time Lords and beyond. (2008)
- Five People Martha Never Met by wheatear (2011)
- Time v.3.0 by teyke is a post-TYTNW fic. Martha and the Doctor discuss paradoxes and the Doctor remembers the Time War (2012)
Archives & Fannish Links
- The Year That Never Was (Doctor Who) works on Ao3