Clara/River, y u no exist?

[flowsoffire]

So, I've been vaguely thinking for a little while that Clara/River flirting (okay… Clara wanting to jump River is what I have in mind…) would be really cool, both in the finale and in fics. I would love it if that was part of Moff's "love triangle, but not what you're thinking!" plan, instead of… a love triangle… which I'd hate.

I've seen it done, and well done, but as a side thing in Eleven/River fics. However, I was convinced there were probably plenty of fun little fics shipping that around the fandom, and I was very entertained by the idea… But when I checked yesterday, I could find nothing of the sort either on FF.net or on AO3 and Teaspoon. I was pretty surprised—not that it isn't a big thing, they haven't even met on screen, but fandom does explore a lot! So I was wondering why nobody much has been writing it. Each of them is flirty, sassy, in each case there's a line to imply that they like girls too… Besides, come on. Eleven's face.

Personally, I'm not going to make it an OTP because Eleven/River is the core of all things and you just don't touch them, but I have more of a thing for Clara/River than Clara/Eleven (I love them, but not that way. Platonic!smitten)… Does anyone have thoughts about this? They should be a thing!

Finishing this by a pimp for dqbunny's lovely fics The lone and level sands stretch far away and The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown, both of which are AMAZING River/Eleven, angsty and insightful and hopeful and intense, with a delightful Clara in the middle, River/Clara flirting, smitten!Eleven, and, my GOD, Eleven/River/Clara/Jack as the brand new Team TARDIS. Yes. This is the stuff of my dreams. (Also, look at those titles… Enough said, no?)

Comments

[radiolaires]

More generally, though, anybody else just not able to ship things they've never seen on screen? I just can't see my way to doing that, even things I might want to ship. But I am basically cannon's bitch.

You're not alone! I'm exactly like that. I don't ship unless the writers put it on screen, clearly. Maybe it is a way to respect the writer's work or to reject the gnawing need for romantic relationship apparently required in every fangirl...

[promethia_tenk]

Yeah, it's interesting to think about because I've certainly shipped things based on very, very little writerly confirmation that we're meant to see something there, but I do need that positive confirmation.

It's definitely not confined to shipping for me. I don't have a lot of interest in rewriting canon in general or in pushing the boundaries of canon too far out of line. I just . . . feel like boundaries keep things meaningful? For me it's pretty much always a choice between "I'm happy enough within canon" and "I'm not watching the show anymore."

[radiolaires]

Same here. Though I really do not need to 'ship'. I can adore a show without a romantic plot.

Not only do boundaries keep things meaningful but they keep them a creation. When giving it to the audience to watch or to read, the author agrees they are going to make the story and the characters theirs. Yet if you push too far, you just rewrite and it is not his work -it is an hommage, a spin-off, a fanfic, not the original show or book. It is your creation.