Vault Fic
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | Doctor Who |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Vault fic is a fanfic trope the appeared in Doctor Who fanworks during series 10. In this season, it was revealed that the Doctor had spent almost seventy years on Earth protecting the Vault that kept Missy prisoner. The Vault itself was hidden under St Luke's University in Bristol, where the Doctor had been lecturing for several decades.
Vault fics vary in tone from fluffy domestic works, to dark angst and crack fics. They can be set at any point during the Doctor and Missy's seventy years spent in Bristol. Many are canon compliant. Some vault fics even use events from the stories of previous and future incarnations of the Doctor and Master as a backdrop.
Overview
Many vault fics feature a romantic or sexual relationship between the Doctor and Missy, known by its smooshname Twissy. PWP and smut fics are sometimes tagged Vault Porn. However, there were also some gen works focused on the friendship between these two, or their relationship with Nardole.
Some works are set entirely within the Vault, where Missy is kept prisoner. Others can involve Missy accompanying the Doctor on his adventures, with much bickering. They often encounter familiar faces from Doctor Who canon, including former companions and future or past versions of themselves.
The introduction of a new Master in series 12, led to a lot of debate about whether the Dhawan!Master is a pre-Missy regeneration of the Master, or a post-Missy regeneration. Both theories appear in Vault fanworks, where 12 and/or Missy encounter 13 and/or the Dhawan!Master.
In some parts of Doctor Who fandom, the term Vault fic appears to be becoming synonymous with the Doctor keeps the Master prisoner trope. At least one fan headcanon has been referred to as a Reverse Vault AU - in this case, this term describes an AU where the Master keeps the Doctor as their prisoner.[1] These are two very common Doctor Who tropes, that predate vault fics. They were hugely popular in TenSimm works and also appear in Classic fic.
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- Visiting the Vault by ellymelly, Visiting Missy in the Vault can be a risk.
- Two Can Play At That Game by HiNerdsItsCat, a Thirteen/Master fobwatch fic that is also a Twissy vault fic
Archives & Fannish Links
- The Vault (Doctor Who) works on Ao3
References
- ^ Emblian's first post about their reverse vault au, Tumblr, 01/03/20.