#as tho that’s /really/ who River is in the Doctor’s absence—the front she was putting on to keep from breaking down in that episode

[fortes-fortuna-iogurtum]

honestly I think I prefer River Song written as a brilliant and slightly mysterious archeologist who speaks as though she’s known the Doctor for centuries and still believes so firmly in his goodness even when he would doubt it himself and occasionally reveals glimmers of a hidden sadness deep inside her heart but who is ultimately kind even when she’s unknown and unproven than “””edgy””” River who flashes her gun around all the time and is written as little more than a sexy flirty walking string of innuendos and “hAH aren’t I smart 😏😘” one-liners

#i randomly decided to rewatch Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone tonight while finishing up my current crochet project #and I had forgotten just how much I love /this/ version of River #the way she acts kind of motherly towards Amy and teases the Doctor a little but mostly just acts like she’s known him #it’s less about the flirting and the spoilers here and more about the way they automatically fall into step side by side #and I actually love that the most? #I mean I love the flirting and the hints and him slowly accepting it and returning it we get in later episodes too #don’t get me wrong #but I’ve always been a sucker for understated ships #and the thing that got me about them at the beginning wasn’t the blatant flirting #it was the subtle rhythm between them. the way they seem to know each other completely #and fill in the other half of the dance automatically #even when he doesn’t know who she is yet #and for all that I love Big Finish and what they’ve done for River’s story #it irks me to death when they reduce her to just a bunch of innuendos and general ‘’sexy smart lady’’ tropes #it’s like she suddenly becomes a female version of Captain Jack Harkness at his most tropey and vaguely-developed moments #I feel like those writers are trying to write her the way she’s portrayed in The Husbands of River Song before she realizes who Twelve is #as tho that’s /really/ who River is in the Doctor’s absence—the front she was putting on to keep from breaking down in that episode #but I’ve always felt like the episode makes it rather clear that the persona River was using there wasn’t meant to be accepted as /her/! #it was her attempt to forget and lose herself and play a part for a while until she could pull the pieces back together after Manhattan!! #the same way Twelve acts especially manic and hyper in The Return of Doctor Mysterio because he’s trying to distract himself from her loss! #you’re supposed to see THROUGH her guise in THoRS you’re supposed to see it as her way of grieving and trying not to fall apart #not as This Is What River’s Really Like When The Doctor Isn’t Around This Is Her True Self #anyway I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about River and the way she’s written throughout different eras of the show and audios 😅 #maybe one day I’ll write out a coherent post on it instead of just yelling in the tags of my own midnight watch posts #gurt says stuff #mobile #doctor who #river song