Time v.3.0

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Fanfiction
Title: Time v.3.0
Author(s): Teyke
Date(s): 2012 posted to AO3, (according to the author the fic is older than that)
Length: 9902 words
Genre: Gen
Fandom: Doctor Who
External Links: AO3
FFN
"the Tardis looking like it is fragmenting, on a black background. Text reads 'Time v.3.0 written by Teyke, read by BrickGrass'"
Podfic cover art by brickgrass (2020)

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Time v.3.0 by Teyke is a story in Doctor Who fandom. The premise is the Tenth Doctor trying to explain to Martha Jones what the Time War was like, while thinking back to some of the atrocities he witnessed. The Time War is a period of Doctor Who lore that is very much referenced but had not been portrayed on the TV show at the point in which the story was written.

The fic begins with the Doctor visiting Martha on her birthday. Martha is uncertain of her age after the events of the Year That Never Was and the Doctor admits that's a normal response to paradoxes. The admission that the Doctor has experienced other paradoxes begins a conversation about the Time War. Teyke portrays the Doctor and all Time Lords as temporal beings able to perceive possible futures and manipulate time to make one of those possibilities a reality; an ability which was used to devastating effect during the war. This unique take on how the Timelords perceive time means the Doctor recalls the Time War in a non-linear perspective; remembering events that never happened and places that never existed.

Time v.3.0 is often called the "definitive" fic on the Time War, even though it was later contradicted by canon. It is often recced for its world-building, depicting a war on a truly galactic scale. Many also praise its horror elements, particularly The Nightmare Child, depicted here as an eldritch horror devouring whole galaxies. Time v.3.0 still manages to remain within the fluidity that is the Whoverse, weaving together canon from Classic Who, New Who and the Doctor Who Expanded Universe books and audio dramas.

Summary

It has been suggested that after his eighth regeneration, the Doctor begins lying about his age. The official story is that he has simply lost track. This is a third possible explanation for the discrepancy between his ages in the new and old series.

Author's note on AO3

Yes, I attempted to impose logic on the Time War. (!)

This was written several years ago. I’ve edited it since then (most lately Nov. 29, 2012), but it’s still out of date.

Reactions and Reviews

A brilliant look at the Time War. absolutely stunning.[1]

An absolute classic for a reason. Timey-wimey, angsty, and an elegant solution to a myriad of canonical weirdness.[2]

The penultimate Time War fic. After the Year that Never Happened, Martha struggles to deal with being older and not, with a year of un-happened memories. The Doctor mentions understanding the feeling. This looks at the ability of Time Lords to manipulate reality in order to pick a favorable outcome, and all the ways this was used and abused in the time war, plus how [..] the time war would feel to a time- and reality-aware being. This is probably the most brilliant Time War fiction I’ve ever read in terms of what a Time War would look like, hinting at the toll and why it was necessary to end it, and overall characterization—of course it would be Martha who has this conversation. I loved being in the Doctor’s head for the truth under what he was saying and the things he kept back.[3]

It is EPIC. It is GORGEOUS. It is HORRIFYING. It will STAB YOU IN THE HEART and you will THANK IT. I CANNOT STOP CAPSLOCKING OVER THIS FIC.

I could pretty much spend all day picking out, scene by scene, everything that is perfect about this fic. The way the fracturing of the Doctor’s timeline slowly builds and becomes more important. The contrasts of scale: entire galaxies being devoured by eldritch temporal horrors, quiet intimate scenes of the Doctor and Martha talking awkwardly about the War and being unintentionally cruel to each other because they’re too much alike, little events and big events in the Doctor’s life being rewritten or undone and it breaks your heart because it’s the TV canon you already love that’s being tampered with.

And then the final sequence leading up to the destruction of Gallifrey, which is the most beautiful and painful thing and it will pick your heart apart fiber by fiber. And the final lines. The final lines are PERFECT, and they are also like being PUNCHED IN THE GUT.

It’s mid-length–a hair under 10,000 words–and worth every second you’ll spend reading it. Go. Read. Flail. YOU GUYS, THIS FIIIIIC.[4]

Easily one of, if not the best renditions of how the Last Great Time War could have been fought. And compared to RTD's later released account of the last day of the war, it perfectly matches the tone.

Moffat definitely would have benefitted if he had taken some notes, a few 'tell but not show' lines like Teyke's prose that hint to the terrible scale of the war that is waging on beyond the frame of what we are given onscreen -- but nope, all we have is in TDoTD is Moffat's one feeble line of "The suffering. Every moment in time and space is burning. It must end" while the rest of the 50th slants for the children of Gallifrey.

I like Teyke's rendition of The Moment here -- it connects and fits well with the greater Whoniverse, and is a lot more fitting as the end to a time war compared to Moffat's TDoTD 'blow them up' Moment.

Choice of companion was fitting, due to the shared backgrounds and the comparison and contrast it provides.[5]

the nature of dr who is that the only fiction which comes anywhere near to capturing the full horror of a time war is lawrence miles’ the book of the war (and other relevant faction paradox content) and time v.3.0 by teyke[6]

I second Time v.3.0. It could’ve been written by RTD, it’s very evocative and does a wonderful job depicting how the Doctor (and Times Lords in general) perceive time, and just how horrifying the Time War really was.[7]

Time v.3.0 by Teyke is great. It's about the Time War, and it does a good job straddling the line between making it horrifying and making it incomprehensible. Very cosmic horror-y.[8]

A glimpse into the Whoniverse that makes the tv series feel small and insignificant in scope, with a huge emphasis on lore, both of the classical and renewal.

It was written before Day of the Doctor, so it is technically no longer (technically) compliant with canon without jumping through mental hoops, but I think it still stands up as one of the best fics I've had the pleasure of reading. It shows why a written medium can be so much better than a visual one.[9]

[Jus4532]
I assume that the Sixfold God was involved with the creation of the Moment like in that fanfiction, Time V.3.

It does make a bit of sense on why its so powerful that it can easily destroy and end the entire time war that took place throughout time, space, and even outside of Time itself.

[Vindication]
I've read that one. It's incredible.

Edit: The fic if anyone's interested in a short fan version of the Time War.[10]

[lindenharp]
I'm looking for a fic that I read a few months ago. I don't remember if it was on LJ or Teaspoon. It may have been an older fic that I stumbled across. It was 2 or 3 chapters long, set sometime after the Year That Never Was. The Tenth Doctor was explaining -- in a kindly way -- why humans and other less-evolved species could not have helped fight the Time War. Although they learned to travel in time, they can not sense and manipulate time the way that Time Lords can. [...] I love stories in which the Time Lords are very powerful and distinctly not human. This was a great example of its kind, and I'd be very happy to read it again.
[Anonymous]
It's "Time v.3.0" by Teyke: [...] I also enjoyed its view of the alienness of the Doctor.[11]
Doctor Who fic about the Time War mindbending and awesome as well as utterly heartbreaking.[12]

one of the best fanfics it has ever been my pleasure to read. Yes I say that a lot. There's a lot of fabulous writers out there. Bless you all. Written pre-Day of the Doctor: Ten tells the story of the Time War, with Eight/McGann going through the war.[13]

Time v.3.0 by Teyke is, in my opinion, the definitive time war fic for Doctor Who.[14]

“Time v.3.0″ by Teyke is a brilliant Time War fic, absolutely stunning, incredible in its depth and breadth in just 3 short chapters. Draws on Classic and EU lore to weave a tale (set in a conversation between Ten and Martha) of the Last Great Time War.[15]

#periodic reminder that this is the best doctor who fic I've ever read and everyone should go read it#it actually manages to collect everything RTD does with the Time War into something both cohesive AND emotionally impactful#without removing the sense of the war being too big to ever possibly understand [16]

Inspired Fanworks

Podfic

Fanfiction

Other

Translations

References

  1. ^ chen-qing (1 June 2017). "top 10 fave fanfics of all time". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  2. ^ flibbertygigget (21 August 2022). "A Definitive Doctor Who Rec List". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  3. ^ slippingbetweenthestars (24 May 2020). "Favorite Time War Fics Masterpost". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024.
  4. ^ tenlittlebullets (27 November 2012). "Fic rec: Time v.3.0 by Teyke". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  5. ^ u/Zolgrave (Jan 26, 2021). "Comment on Time v.3.0 posted to r/gallifrey". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29.
  6. ^ "Untitled Tumblr post". Tumblr. 15 April 15 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Comment on What are the best Doctor Who fanfics you've ever read? posted to r/gallifrey". Reddit. 30 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  8. ^ u/wheezycrackler (Jan 22, 2023). "Comment on What are the best Doctor Who fanfics? posted to r/whovianfanfiction". Reddit. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help)
  9. ^ Liquid Ink (13 October 2015). "Comment on The Best Damn Fics You've Ever Read". Sufficient Velocity. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29.
  10. ^ "Comment on The TARDIS vs The Moment". SpaceBattles. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  11. ^ "Ten explains the Time War to Martha [fic search]". Livejournal. 8 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  12. ^ outshinethestars (3 March 2019). "Untitled Tumblr post". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01.
  13. ^ u/CertifiedDiplodocus (Sept 11, 2021). "Comment on Doctor Who (10th Doctor) Fanfiction Recommendations posted to r/FanFiction". Reddit. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ vienna_salvatori (14 February 2022). "Comment on International Fanworks Day Feedback Fest 2022". {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help); Unknown parameter |webiste= ignored (help)
  15. ^ spyscrapper (18 January 2017). "Fic Writer Week". Tumblr. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29.
  16. ^ storm-and-starlight (27 January 2023). "Comments on a "Have You Read This Fanfic" poll". {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help) (alt link)
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