“This has both our names on it”: Viewing Fleet and Clara’s relationship in Victoriocity through a queerplatonic lens
TL;DR: By Season 3 of Victoriocity, Fleet and Clara have developed a committed emotional partnership that certainly moves beyond the purely professional. Whilst very much operating as a duo, they can be interpreted as often rejecting or subverting romance-coded elements in their relationship, instead embracing a unique dynamic that can be read as resonating with the concept of a queerplatonic relationship (QPR).
Buckle up because this is over 2,500 words long! If you'd rather read it as a document, you can access it here: Fleet & Clara QPR Google Doc
Disclaimer: I'm not making any claims about creator intent, nor about how anyone else ought to interpret Fleet and Clara's dynamic. It's also worth acknowledging that queerplatonic relationships are inherently defined by the people in them and any attempt to apply such terminology to a story set in 1887 is obviously anachronistic (although whether that should matter when said story also contains a cyborg Queen Victoria is up for debate).
With that said, if we define a QPR as a committed personal partnership which is not entirely captured by the typical expectations of either friendship or romance but may contain some elements typically associated with either (other definitions of QPRs are available), I enjoy viewing Fleet and Clara's relationship through a QPR lens, and I want to talk about some of the reasons why I think this reading works.
***Spoilers for all three seasons of Victoriocity and the novel High Vaultage***
Detective duos
Even before we actually get into Fleet and Clara's particular bond, detective / crime-solving duos as a general concept have QPR energy to me (which probably predisposed me to this interpretation). It's the Holmes-and-Watson legacy. It's the use of the word 'partner' in a non-romantic context (‘associate’ or ‘companion’ can also serve a similar purpose). It's the intense trust and reliance on each other. It's the sense of being a recognisable pair, always appearing together, known as a duo, with skills and attributes that complement each other.
Romantic assumptions
Moving on to Fleet and Clara specifically, one aspect of their relationship that can be read through a QPR lens is how they are often in situations where other people believe or imply that there is a romantic relationship between them. Sometimes this is a deliberate strategy of theirs, and sometimes it’s imposed upon them by others. But I’d argue that there’s never a point where they both simultaneously seem entirely comfortable with that romantic narrative for their relationship. Usually one of them will actively deny the assumption or react negatively to the implication:
When Mrs Hampshire interprets Clara and Fleet as a couple experiencing “young love”, Clara might be happy to adopt this as an effective cover story, but Fleet seems unsettled and keen for them not to be perceived this way: “No. No. You’ve misunderstood, we are not, that is to say I am…” (S1E2)
When Warden Hughes assumes Fleet is the new Warden and Clara is the new Warden’s wife, Clara says “I am certainly not”, with emphasis on the ‘certainly’. (S2E2)
Fleet definitely doesn’t sound enthused when he realises Clara has gone for a married couple as their cover story at the Grand Salcombe: “I am sure I’ll regret asking, but by any chance am I [Mr. Theasby?]” (S2E2)
When Titus Byrne tells the pair “I take it you're happy sharing [a room]”, Clara responds with a horrified “What?” (S3E4) (Obviously sleeping in the same room isn’t inherently romantic, but it is often perceived that way.)
Of course, fake dating and external assumptions of romance are very common tropes in romantic will-they-won't-they dynamics, and these moments could definitely be interpreted that way for Fleet and Clara. But I prefer to read these instances as reflecting a different kind of closeness between these two characters. They have a sense of emotional partnership that allows a marriage cover story to seem plausible to others and that other people sometimes automatically assume to be romantic (obviously with some period-typical heteronormativity at play). But to me, it doesn't seem like either of them are fully comfortable with their relationship being perceived in a directly romantic way. Perhaps they are a couple in a different sense…
Proposal via door plate
The way that Fleet asks Clara to be his business partner has always seemed to me like a platonic version of when people find personal ways to surprise their romantic partner with a proposal:
CLARA: You bought me a door plate for your office? [...] This has both our names on it.
FLEET: What do you think?
CLARA: I like it. (S2E7)
Fleet could have just asked Clara outright, without going to the trouble of buying a sign that would have been useless if she’d said no. If it was purely a professional business proposition with no emotional meaning behind it, I think he would have just asked verbally. But instead, he gifts her a sign with their two names paired together: Fleet-Entwhistle Investigations. There's something so intimate about that to me: about Fleet asking Clara whether she would like to be a duo with him in a more formally-defined but still non-romantic way; about him choosing to present this offer in the form of a gift; about the way he presents her with their two names joined together etched into metal and asks what she thinks; about the significance that this gesture attaches to their partnership; about him having enough trust that she'll say yes that the effort and vulnerability of presenting her with that sign seem worth it for him. And the gesture means an awful lot to Clara:
She thought about the door plaque he’d had engraved with both their names on it as his way of inviting her to be his business partner – typical Fleet, refusing to tell her so much as his favourite breakfast food and then to go and do something like that. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her. (High Vaultage, p187).
Anniversaries
In the special episode ‘Murder in the Pharaoh's Tomb', Clara says “And you know what else is a big occasion Fleet? It's our one-month anniversary.” She wants to celebrate the anniversary of Fleet-Entwhistle Investigations. Their partnership holds a significance for her that means key dates associated with it are worth remembering and remarking upon.
When Clara first mentions their anniversary, Fleet nearly chokes on his drink, which seems like an instinctive reaction to the usually romantic connotations of an anniversary (see my point above about Fleet not being comfortable with their dynamic being perceived as romantic). But when Clara clarifies what she means, Fleet seems much more cheerful about the notion of their anniversary: “Ah, so it has.”
“Miss Clara Entwhistle, my partner”
I get extremely strong QPR vibes from this moment, when Fleet introduces Clara to the sailors at Grave End:
FLEET: This is Miss Clara Entwhistle, my partner - in business, my business partner.
CLARA: I'm also his friend, but he doesn't like to say it. (S3 E3)
Fleet and Clara are partners, but not in the way the average person might assume from that word, which Fleet realises mid-sentence here. This is another instance of Fleet reacting negatively to the idea that their relationship might be interpreted romantically (see above). And yet, 'partner' (rather than, say, ‘colleague’) is the word that comes naturally to him in this moment to describe who Clara is to him. He then frantically emphasises the professional element of their relationship so as to avoid the romantic implication, but Clara is keen to proudly assert that there is a personal, emotional aspect to their dynamic too. They are first-and-foremost partners, and they are friends, and they do not want to be seen in a romantic light - this post basically writes itself...
“Her ridiculous detective.”
When Clara fears for her life at the display of the Lanterns, the narration tells us:
“she thought of her brother, her sister, her parents... Her ridiculous detective.” (High Vaultage, p172)
The fact that Clara thinks of Fleet in this moment of fear clearly indicates his importance to her, but I think the phrasing of this quote is particularly interesting. The narration lists Clara's immediate family: two of whom are dead (her sister and father), one of whom is publically mourning Clara's life choices (her mother), and only one of whom we have any real evidence of her having a positive relationship with (her brother). And then, separated from these complicated familial relationships by an ellipsis, the narration tells Clara also thinks of Fleet, “her ridiculous detective”.
Parents and siblings are familial relationships that tend to come with established expectations, in which the use of a possessive pronoun (i.e. her brother) to indicate the relationship is a norm. ‘Detective’ does not fall into this category; unlike ‘brother’, ‘sister’, ‘parent’, ‘friend’, ‘partner’ etc., ‘detective’ is not a word that inherently implies a relationship or that we'd usually expect to see preceded by a possessive pronoun. The idea of ‘her detective’ therefore stands out, giving the sense that there is a unique relationship being indicated here. The way in which Fleet is ‘hers’ is something that Clara has chosen for herself, something that they have shaped together. Who they are to each other can't necessarily be fully expressed using standard phrases that traditionally describe relationships between people. But Fleet is Clara's detective, of which she only has one, and who she'll think of in the midst of “the screaming of the heavens at the end of the world”.
Fleet is also the only one in this list of Clara's loved ones who gets an adjective - her love for him has detail. And while “ridiculous” might often be perceived as negative (it's certainly not a classic romantic endearment), it seems to me like there's such fondness in it in this context: the recognition of and affection for eccentricities, the idea that his importance to her is not (purely) based on his professional strengths but on Fleet as a whole - perhaps at times ridiculous - person.
“Settled”
When Clara and Fleet talk about Clara's mother’s expectations for her, they have this exchange:
"She's still living in hope that one day I'll settle down."
"You're not settled?" asked Fleet.
"I am." (High Vaultage, p259)
By ‘settle down’, Clara's mother of course means ‘marry’, ideally into “at least a minor baronetcy”. But Clara already considers herself "settled", just not in a way her mother would understand or appreciate. She's not looking to "settle down" into a lifestyle other than her current one. She is settled in a situation where Fleet is certainly her closest personal connection in London (and perhaps anywhere), and where the two of them work closely together, operate as a duo, and then go back to their separate homes. And this partnership with Fleet is a comfortable set-up that feels right for Clara exactly as it is, rather than being a precursor to, or a distraction from, the marriage ambitions that her mother wants for her.
I think this exchange also contains an implicit sense of the commitment between the two of them. Fleet wants to check that Clara is ‘settled’ in her current situation, of which working closely - and platonically - with Fleet is obviously a major element; Clara confirms she is. There's a subtle indication of their shared intention to be in this for the long haul.
As a sidenote, Fleet and Clara’s implicit assumption that their partnership is a long-term one can manifest itself in joking contexts as well as serious ones. Look at this exchange from S3E5:
FLEET: We're not bandits, we're just going to flag it down.
CLARA: We'd be terrific bandits!
FLEET: Let's just see how our current line of work goes.
I think it’s notable that, in this joking speculation, both Fleet and Clara use ‘we’ and ‘our’. The joke could have been phrased just as effectively if they were imagining only Clara becoming a bandit. But the suggestion is that, if either of them was a bandit, they’d be bandits together. Even if they changed their lives entirely, they'd still approach life together.
Inseparable
Fleet and Clara have become a nearly inseparable duo in a way which is noticed by others. For example, after Clara and Fleet fall out in High Vaultage, Fleet meets with Keller, who says:
"You're here with me instead of barrelling across town with her, so I'm just assuming there is some thickheaded puffinry for which you need to apologise to Miss Entwhistle" (p335)
Keller, hardly the most emotionally perceptive man in Even Greater London, automatically infers from the fact that Fleet is on his own that he has had a falling out with Clara, rather than that they just happen to be in different places. When all is well, Keller expects to see the two of them together, whether or not they are in a position to be actively working a case.
Going back earlier in their partnership, Keller makes a similar assumption about Fleet and Clara being inseparable in S2E6. When Clara shouts her name amidst Keller's anti-Vidoc booby traps, Keller asks "Entwhistle? Which means… Fleet?" Again, there's this idea that if one of them is there, the other is likely to be there too - they come as a pair. (It's worth noting that this scene takes place less than two weeks after they first met.)
“Like a friend might?”
At the end of S3E7, Fleet suggests that he and Clara go to the theatre together. It would have been easy for this invitation to have been explicitly framed as a romantic proposition, or even for the nature of the offer to have been left more ambiguous. But Clara says "Archibald Fleet, are you inviting me to a social activity? Like a friend might?" The use of the word 'friend' directly labels this as a platonic interaction. And it's with that platonic lens on it that Clara is extremely excited to spend non-work-related social time with Fleet.
“Maybe it'll just be my good luck charm.”
CLARA: My grandmother's ring, I don't suppose you managed to hold on to it? [...]
FLEET: Oh, it's been crushed.. I'm sorry Clara [...]
CLARA: No, you keep it.
FLEET: What? No...
CLARA: Keep it. Maybe it'll remind you not to run towards trains.
FLEET: Maybe. Maybe it'll just be my good luck charm.
In S3E7, Clara gives Fleet a ring, which - as a gift from one person to another - is traditionally a symbol of a particular, legally recognised, kind of personal commitment. But when Clara tells Fleet to keep the damaged ring, down in the Underground tunnels after the destruction of the beast and Fleet's latest brush with death, it is quite a different situation to a wedding or a proposal. A married man would traditionally wear his wedding ring on his finger for all to see, but Fleet won't ever wear this ring like that. The ring itself has been bent into a different shape between the wheels of their misadventures, subverting the usual associations of a ring given from one person to another. (In a heteronormative world, those associations are particularly strong when the two people in question are a woman and a man.)
That ring is not an engagement ring, but it is Clara’s grandmother's ring, an inheritance from the blood family she never really felt she belonged in, now given to the man who might be a very different kind of family for her in London. That ring - with which Clara saved Fleet's life - is a symbol of their bond. And it therefore serves as a reminder for Fleet “not to run towards trains" and as a “good luck charm”. I like to think he'll carry that ring with him, perhaps in his jacket pocket - a little piece of his partner, kept close to his ticking heart…
Thank you for reading all of this!
If you’ve read all of this, I'm assuming you also enjoy the concept of Fleet and Clara as a QPR (unless you're really a glutton for punishment) and that makes me very happy! This was long because there's so much to say about them… And I wrote all of the above without even getting into: the potential to headcanon Fleet and/or Clara as aspec (which I don't think is necessary for QPR headcanons, but which is also fun); Clara's baggage around and discomfort with marriage in general; the speed with which Fleet and Clara become a ride-or-die duo; and the many other demonstrations of care, understanding, trust, respect, and affection between them that didn't feel as directly QPR-coded to me but are nonetheless wonderful. Please do feel free to share your own thoughts!
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here is my 10th doctor playlist! give it a listen if u want :]
the songs are ordered (vaguely) chronologically and by series, the sections are as follows:
rose: song for ten -> everything changes in time
martha: my angel put the devil in me -> against the kitchen floor
the master: this is gallifrey: our childhood, our home -> green jewels
donna: a noble girl about town -> the frost
post-journey's end: song for ten (reprise) -> cicada days
time lord victorious: your eyes, will i ever -> take me as i am
the end of time: time and i -> flight of the crows
60th specials: wave after wave -> inertia
some personal favorites on this playlist:
rose:
i'm born to run by american authors
space girl by frances forever
day & night by billie piper
walk backwards by maude latour
astronomy by conan gray
everything changes in time by madds buckley
martha:
have you met miss jones? by frank sinatra
marsha, thankk you for the dialectics, but i need you to leave by will wood
the fall by half-alive
twenty twelve by matt maeson
canary in a coal mine by the crane wives
against the kitchen floor by will wood
donna:
at my back by madds buckley
the mountain song by tophouse
move me by half-alive
h.s by tom cardy
pompeii by bastille
the frost by mitski
other:
scrawny by wallows
cicada days by will wood
time and i by jukebox the ghost
flight of the crows by jhariah
wave after wave by sleeping at last
inertia by ajr
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Wait do we not even like SuperSeizer’s editing? I thought the worst edits by far were CasualGuyy’s and those seemed to calm down a bit with the last ones, but i found them more busy than fast. Seizer just has the best jokes, she really seems to me like she shares their brand of humor but can contribute her own Gen Z jokes. I think I’m used to Kris by now sfsgd. Like i think the thing i enjoy most about him is how much dnp clearly trust him.
This was long i would actually most of all love a concrete example of what you guys mean by “fast” editing, especially if you have an old video to compare it to. And only if you (or someone reading this) feels inspired!!
i personally don't like SuperSeizer's editing. can't speak for everyone, though. i agree that she puts funny jokes, but i hate the way she cuts moments. too many jumpcuts, a lot of them are unnecessary right in the middle of the sentences just to make the pace go faster. her editing took me out from the beginning. that spooky golf video? hate the editing so much, i couldn't even make myself gif the video because of the jumpcuts. stopped watching the sims videos partially because of that as well. wii sports was fine though, gonna give her that. others? too fast, too many jumpcuts. and from a gif-maker pov, very hard to gif. too many moments ruined by zooms in/out or just, like i said, cuts in the middle of the sentence.
overall, even though i also like Kris' editing the most (and here his ap videos are not as fast as dnpg videos). still can't make myself rewatch anything because it's just not the vibe i'm looking for. the editing of all 3 of them makes me anxious. and i'm not particularly a fan of the sims series but i'd rewatch pre-hiatus just fine, because they are kinda slow and i don't have to worry or pay attention to every second of the video.
dnp's editing on the other hand.... don't scream and poppy playtime 2 — bro, could watch it again and again. but i can see that even they are trying to go faster now. not to the extent of their editors, thankfully.
can't really give you examples right now, because it would mean rewatching stuff. and i can't :( if anyone wants to contribute, feel free <3
edit: speaking of Kris. the push the button video is edited awfully. idk what happened, but if you compare it to the pre-hiatus push the button, the difference is scary. i can't for the life of me understand what is going on in 2024 video.
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July 4 Random Word Almost-Drabble: Defend
Word Count: 404
——
“Fuckers,” Steve mumbles, kicking up a loose stone as the group of boys retreated. High school bullshit, he thinks. Can’t escape it. With a sigh, he turns back to Munson. The other boy sat on the curb, nursing his split lip with the hem of his Iron Maiden shirt.
“Here, let me-“ Steve belatedly realized that he hadn’t exactly run out here with healing in mind. Kind of the opposite, actually. “Hang on a sec.”
“You don’t have to-“ Eddie starts to say. But he can’t stop Steve from running back inside. He considers just getting back in his van and heading home, but Steve’s only gone for a moment. He comes back out with a handful of napkins.
“Sorry, couldn’t find the first aid kit. Have to talk to Robin about rearranging stuff back there. Will these-“
“They’ll do.” Eddie tries to smile, but winces at the pull on his injured mouth. He reaches for the napkins, but Steve ignores him.
“Let me.” And then, huh, King Steve Harrington starts gently dabbing at his bloodily lip. And it only stings a little. And for a long stretch of seconds, Eddie Munson doesn’t know what to say. How could he? With the prettiest boy in Hawkins playing nurse for him? In that silly outfit? He glances down at Steve’s Scoops uniform, at those ridiculously short shorts, and just as quickly looks away.
“You didn’t have to go through the trouble,” he says quietly, not meeting Steve’s eyes. “Not for me.”
The other’s hands never faltered. From his vantage point, Eddie could see the reddened knuckles on the right one. That must hurt, he thinks.
“Those guys give you trouble a lot?” Steve asks.
Eddie shrugs. “More or less.”
“Then yes, I did have to.” He swipes a bit too hard, making Eddie wince. “Sorry.”
“‘S okay.”
A few more light dabs, then Steve is stepping back, out of Eddie’s space. He crumples the bloodied tissues in his hand, presumably to toss into the trash can inside. Eddie hopes his disappointment at the loss of proximity isn’t too obvious.
“I think you’re good,” Steve says. His face looks suspiciously pink. Could be from the cold. Could be something else.
“Thanks for the help, sailor.” Eddie’s tone is light, half joking. A bit of a line, perhaps, to see if he gets a bite. And when Steve’s blush deepens, Eddie knows he’s caught a big one.
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