#;here come the drums (simm!master)

[master-vainglorious]

So there is quite a few theories going around about who picked up 'The Gold Tooth Master'. Mainly surrounding the red nails that the person has, which is our only clue.

But what would be funny is that it isn't anyone that special at all. Not The Rani, not Kate, not Mrs Flood. But it's actually just Miss Trefusis again.

Remember her? The random lady who picked up The Master's ring in order to resurrect the Saxon Master? Who also had red nails?

After all the theories, it actually just turns out to be The Saxon Cult back at it again. Like, I know it is heavily implied that once The Master resurrected in that scene that the entire cult died BUT HOW FUNNY WOULD THAT BE?!

It would also be in RTD fashion lets be honest with ourselves, that man loves giving us red herrings. Which has been especially evident in 15's Era so far.

RTD also loves echoing or repeating plotlines, or simply dipping into nostalgia.

Another funny thing would be, if this was to happen, the cult expecting to see Saxon again but then they're met with a completely new Master (whether that be Dhawan's Master or a completely new one). The SHOCK would be hilarious.

[seaweedstarshine]

My art's improved in the *checks watch* THREE YEARS since I last posted any on here. So... here’s a lil thoschei I drew, like, over a year ago, just to get something out there again... I’ll start posting newer stuff soon hahahahaha 😍

[lonelywoodlouse]

I’ve been trying so hard in mocks but every time I try to focus it’s just “here come the drums here come the drums”

[chaosducks]

^^ so I made these. A home screen a lock screen and a keyboard background.

You can Repost but if you do please give credit. And Reblogs/comments will make my day.

[in900years]

tag drop!

[doctorwho247]

“HERE. COME. THE DRUMS!” 🥁

Wishing a big happy birthday today to the masterful John Simm!

[lanawinterscigarettes]

you're a cowboy like me (Simm! Master x reader)

Summary: when the drums get too difficult for him to handle, you're the only one that can help

Warnings: mentions of the drums meaning there's definitely some angst, hurt/comfort, swearing, soft Master (might be a bit ooc for him but eh)

A/N: this fic isn't actually based off cowboy like me by taylor swift, it just has some of the lyrics in it near the end (it'll make sense once you read it, I promise) so it's not nearly as devastating as it could've been had I chosen to go that route. also the reader is taking the role of the master's spouse when he was the prime minister, so lucy is out of the picture here (sorry)

The Master's hands twitched in annoyance as he sat at the desk in his office. Sifting through boring and completely unnecessary paperwork was bad enough by itself, but with the constant sound of the drums ringing through his ears it just made it worse.

He hated having to do it, but he had to keep up public appearances if his plan was going to work properly, meaning he had to fulfill whatever tasks the real Prime Minister was supposed to, even if that meant sitting through tedious meetings and filling out stacks and stacks of paperwork.

He let out an exasperated sigh, glaring at the several files and forms that laid on his desk that still needed to be signed. It almost felt like they were mocking him, in a way.

The Master tapped his pen against his desk in a weak effort to help calm him down, to no avail. He was just about to say 'fuck it' and flip over the entire desk in frustration when he heard the door to his office open.

"Not now, I'm busy," he called out as he closed his eyes, rubbing at his temple at an attempt to hopefully dull the throbbing headache being caused by those damn drums. His body tensed up when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, though he instantly relaxed when he realized it was you.

"Hey, honey," you greeted softly, rubbing his shoulders in a comforting manner. "Rough day?"

He let out a grunt in response. "You have no idea," The Master mumbled tiredly, feeling like he could pass out right in his chair under your soothing touch.

Pulling away from him, you walked around him until you stood in front of his chair. "Is it the drums?" You asked quietly, your hand reaching out to lightly caress his cheek. It was obvious what the answer was, but you felt the need to ask anyway.

He sighed heavily as he set down his pen. "Is it really that obvious?" He didn't acknowledge your hand on his face, even though it was providing him some much needed comfort.

"It is to me." You knelt down in front of him so that you were level with his line of sight, making it practically impossible for him to avoid your gaze. "Master, you need a break. I know that your plan is important to you, but you won't be able to carry it out properly if you're exhausted."

As much as he wanted to protest, he knew you were right. He nodded his head before moving to stand. "Alright, fine. If you insist."

You got up from where you'd been kneeling on the floor and took one of his hands in yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I do. Come on, I'll go with you."

He allowed you to lead him from his office down the long hallway to your shared bedroom, where you carefully pushed the door open before walking him over to the bed. "Would you like me to turn on some music for you? It might help drown out the sound of the drums," you suggested, watching as he got on the bed and laid down.

"Yeah, okay." At that point, he would've said yes to a lobotomy if there was even a slight chance it would quiet the constant pounding in his head.

You pulled out your phone and scrolled through your playlists before settling on one that you thought would help soothe him the most. Setting it on the nightstand, you pressed play before getting in bed next to him.

He closed his eyes and let the sound of the music wash over him as he allowed you to pull him close to your chest, holding him protectively. "I'm sorry I can't do more," you said quietly, one of your hands running along his back while you spoke.

The Master shook his head before responding. "Don't be. You've already done more than enough," he whispered back, sounding grateful.

You smiled at his words, pressing a loving kiss to his head. "Try to get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

He merely nodded, not having the energy left in him to formulate another sentence. He snuggled up close to you as he got comfortable, the lyrics of the song resonating through his head and finally putting the drums to rest, at least for now.

The last thing he heard before he drifted off to sleep was the melody of a bittersweet love song, almost like his own personal lullaby.

'You had some tricks up your sleeve

Takes one to know one

You're a cowboy like me

Perched in the dark

Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear

Like it could be love

I could be the way forward

Only if they pay for it...'

Likes < reblogs | comments are greatly appreciated <3

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🏷 taglist: @theonetruepotato87 @sessa23

[roxannepolice]

hi!!! hows it goin i’m here to dump my thoughts about simm!master/lucy vs ten and martha cause i have MANY. also a disclaimer before i begin that i’m white and that likely does color my experience as a viewer compared to a BIPOC viewer. anyways: i’ll start with ten and martha because by sound of drums we’ve spent all season watching them and its that already established dynamic which i think lucy/saxon are meant to parallel in a way. you have ten very much still grieving rose and his entire planet, which makes him try and push away any new companions for a bit. but he’s still looking for - and i think needs, in a way - this kind of connection where he can depend on someone, and ideally they could depend on him. however. ten sucks at this second bit. for the entire season. so he’s in need of this connection despite not wanting any whatsoever, emotional intelligence completely out the window right now since he’s grieving x2, and martha unfortunately walks in right in the middle of this. so you get this dynamic really starting from i’d say the shakespeare code wherein martha is carrying a lot of the weight in their relationship. ten will entrust her with the most deeply personal shit (like his memories of gallifrey, his feelings on losing rose, even in 42 where he’s like "i’m scared i’m so scared" where he depends on martha for emotional support) and then when martha’s like hey can i get some support here or something ten’s like “uh sorry all out too busy being sad” i mean that's a bit exaggerated/summarized but thats the vibe they have. in the beginning he doesn't even admit she’s traveling with him! he’s all “just one trip” “just one more” and refuses to make a concrete decision that martha really needs him to make already. and despite this emotional unavailability shtick ten still relies on martha quite a bit! off the top of my head you have 42(martha freezing/unfreezing ten as he screams in pain), blink (they get sent back to the 1960s… and only martha gets a job???), and. human nature. wherein martha endures racial abuse alongside lesser shitty working conditions in order to ensure the doctor doesn't get his body possessed or something. and in the middle of it this human version of the doctor falls in love with another woman(after basically uh leading her on for the whole fucking season) (sure maybe unintentionally but that's not the point here) who. also was racist to her she's not even a nice person. and her only friend in this godawful place gets possessed. and human doctors a dick to her. and i think. i reflect on it and i come to the conclusion that ten very much does expect martha to just… do his job for him sometimes. handle all the dirty work like making sure human him doesn't get distracted or hurt or die. and still immediately after is like haha we are in 1960 now. i will not get a job what is that. why do you want me to “communicate” or “pull my weight” you’re traveling across space and time lol.

and the master and lucy are a darker extension of this dynamic that i actually haven't really seen people talk about much!! the master is very clear about why he married lucy, and there is no love/admiration/respect whatsoever in there. it is purely a means to an end - her family gets him influence, and she helps him carry out his plans. he gives nothing to lucy, only takes. which is in itself a mirror to ten & martha - the audience knows ten isn’t intending to be malicious in how he treats martha throughout the series, but when paralleled to lucy & the master i think you really get a sense of the harm this can cause down the line. what resentment this kind of dynamic can lead to. and ALL THE WHILE martha is walking the entire planet for a year to save all of humanity while ten hangs out aged 100 with his little tent & dog bowl & seething sorta-ex-husband-boyfriend-whatever. i mean he doesn't have the best time either but he also doesn't have to do that much and also is perhaps a bit too happy about not being the last time lord to fully grasp that hey, uh, humanity's in pretty dire straits right now. martha watches as the master turns earth into a living nightmare, slaughters millions of people on a whim, turns ten into a 900-year-old tweety bird, and tortures her family for a year, only for ten to go “guys dw i can fix him lol we’ll just live in the tardis for eternity together” as if she hadn't had to fight for that too. and ten is still shocked-pikachu-face when she goes “yeah no i’m leaving. i gotta get out.” and that is very much similar to lucy's moment in a way! where she sees the doctor forgiving(without really considering everybody else's opinion on the Past Year), martha's mom talked down from killing him, even Jack is talked down from his confusion at the whole idea, and i think in that moment she goes. okay. you guys can forgive. you guys can let him walk away having just taken, taken, taken everything without any repercussions. i meanwhile have this gun and two years of pent-up rage coursing through my veins. and both of these moments - martha leaving, lucy firing the gun - come at a shock to the doctor and the master. i mean you can see the master's little "oh" face when he gets shot. even if he plays it up like he expected it after i don't think he considered it before. and i think on a certain level neither really expected to be called out like this - ten because he’s got the emotional intelligence of a baseball bat, the master because he doesn’t think humans are capable of wiping their own asses - so in both of these moments in LoTL theyre like "wait i didn't know you could do that"

anyways tl;dr thats why i think lucy and the master are a darker parallel to the doctor and martha in their own way. which feeds into the rest of the finale where the master is just showing the natural extremes to who the doctor is - this is that toxic dependency taken to its natural worst possible place, where you treat someone as a tool rather than as a person. the master's generally a great foil to the doctor but the series 3 finale is just a fantastic example of it i think.

OMG, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts like this! And I love your thought process here so much.

First, absolutely, Martha is the case of right person, wrong time... which is probably what makes hers my favourite companion arc - as I like to put it she travelled through hell and pulled her Virgil (because yes, the Doctor absolutely always has this guide role that brings Virgil to mind, at least in companions' first episodes) to the Earthly Paradise in the process. There's a lot of debates going on about whether Ten was leading Martha on, because on the one hand - well, he's very clear he's not into her romantically, on the other - ok, bitch, you made it clear the kiss doesn't mean anything, but also you hit off with flirtatious winks and end showing off time travel while also casually showing off your Adam's apple. Yeah, a girl can make deductions. And you're right that this superficial frankness is mirrorred in Master's relation to Lucy - though if anything he's crrepily keen on playing a caring husband, what with the 100% performative hug he gives her while the Toclafane are hacking a journalist up. Though I suppose in his head this is what the Doctor does as well when they comfort their companions. And let's give it to Ten - when he said he's not going to let Martha *checks notes* fry in a small capsule in far space because of a sentient sun, he does bend head over tits and does as promised. But historically it has happened that the Doctor's reassurances were hollow (future, but kind of most painful in Twelve assuring Bill he's going to de-cybermanize her only to later admit yeah not really an option... considering Saxon was there to witness this, I wonder if he marked this in his Notebook (of Rassilon) of Spiting the Doctor).

Ten's handling of the chameleon arch is kind of pathetic, thanks for pointing that out! Like, ok - if the Family gets a whole Time Lord lifetime it is a genuine threat to the universe, but his attitude of oh I'm just going to spend three months as a human in a random timespace, what could possibly go wrong, and anyway, Martha will be there to clean up any mess? is a mess. I do like John Smith's romance with nurse Radfem, though, not in the sense of shipping them, but more of an appreciation of the concept: a classic victorian/edwardian romance, but when you look at it from the persective of a BIPOC servant... it kind of becomes apparent both parties are dickheads. This does tie back to the Master in a way, because I think... want to think... that by the time the Doctor went oh no, we're better than a tyrant maniac that spent a whole year destroying the planet and torturing everyone in the room specifically, so we're not going to execute him, I'm going to put him in my nice spaceship and we'll have nice cuddle movie evenings instead, she was already hardened by the fact that he put her in an (unintentionally) tailor made emotional torture room for three months only to later reveal oh yeah, I could absolutely have handled them all along. Is just higher moral ground, innit?

I guess as all best foils do, the clue lies in the diffrences, though, right? Both Martha and Lucy end up deeply disillusioned with their respective semi-immortal twinks from space, but in one case there is still a disillusioned friendship (Ten's surprised Pikachu face, excellent comparion) and in the other there's only hate - and for good reasons! And where the Doctor grows to really respect Martha (and I wouldn't say he started off dismissive, I mean he is impressed when she tells him oh no mister, a doctor isn't something you just are, you have to earn the title) and is not just saddened but... humbled?... by her leaving, the Master shows up in EoT and is like Hey, my widow, did you miss me, hope you haven't remarried, that would be awkward to explain in the registry office :D!

*sigh* I suppose this is why tensimm is so special to me. It's 20 seasons of foil dynamic condensed into 5 hours. It really shows how thin the difference between the Doctor and the Master is. And how in the right circumstances, including the loss of the handy mirror villain to show how things can go wrong, a madman with a box can turn into an eldritch horror deciding the future of the universe. So, again, thank you so much for poining out yet another excellent parallel!

[bisexualamy]

ooh im intrigued 👀 go on, what would you change to fix utopia/ sod/ lottl?

I'm so glad you asked!! These changes are in order of importance. I have a few stylistic things that just make the episodes more my taste, but that's not fixing so I'm gonna stick to things structural.

#1: Martha needs the big win

People joke about "tinkerbell Jesus Doctor" but I truly think the resolution of LOTTL is the biggest thing keeping it from being truly great. The special effect really isn't the issue (this is Doctor Who after all). The issue for me is that the final scene on the Valiant, the scene that's concluding the whole plot arc of the serial, falls emotionally flat. Why does the Doctor get Martha's big win? Why was Martha's whole task to tell everyone how great the Doctor is? Every other RTD era companion gets a chance to be the hero by the end of their season. They get to save the Doctor. Rose becomes the Bad Wolf, and later becomes a badass in Pete's World. Donna saves the Doctor in Turn Left and again in Journey's End. Martha saves the Doctor by... talking up how great he is. She keeps morale up by telling stories about him.

This is so so fixable and it wouldn't change basically anything about the plot. The original plan can even stay the same! She uses the countdown to concentrate all that psychic power routing through the existing Archangel satellites. She can even still keep the people of Earth hopeful by telling them fantastic stories about the Doctor. But here's the thing. To them, the Doctor is a mythical figure. Martha is real. Martha walked the Earth, she got out of Japan alive, she has managed to walk through warzones without Toclafane detection. She is a legend of flesh and blood who sits at their dinner tables and around their campfires and tells them how to trick Toclafane and stretch their resources and she's a doctor who can treat their people and keep them alive longer.

The people's faith should be in Martha. That psychic energy should be Martha's. Instead of chanting for the Doctor they're chanting for Martha. It concludes her character arc and the episode's plot arc so well! Martha has spent the whole season feeling like she's second best. The Master kidnapped and tortured Martha's family. Who is the Doctor to forgive the Master? Martha deserves to have the win. Maybe from her time with the Doctor she chooses to spare him, only for Lucy to shoot him later, and everything stays the same. But imagine how Martha's already amazing speech would sound after a scene like this. Martha became the Doctor, only to decide that she'd rather be herself.

#2: Tweaking/nerfing the Master's drums

I used to be in camp "get rid of these completely" but I've come around on them since I saw TWEAT/TDF. The drums need to exist in some capacity to make End of Time work, and now that it's canon (as of s10) that Simm!Master no longer has his drums after they served their purpose, fine. The thing that has always bothered me about the drums is how heavily it's implied (if not explicitly stated) that much of the Master's "madness" comes from the drums. I think that's a big disservice to his character and from all the amazing groundwork previous actors did to build up the Master.

Simm!Master in TWEAT/TDF is still self-destructive, chaotic, and violent. He didn't need any drums to make him that way. I'd revise it in the Utopia arc so that the Master still has his drums, but they're treated more like a migraine disorder or tinnitus. They're painful. They bother the hell out of him. But instead of "he saw the time vortex and they made him lose his mind" it's much more akin to that feeling of losing control when your own body is working against you and there's nothing you can do to stop it. That would certainly make him meaner, more chaotic, more resentful and angry, but now it's just an amplification of what he already is.

(I also think this makes his decision for the subliminal Archangel signal to be his drums a much more telling decision. This sound is weaponized against him, and in turn he's weaponizing it against humanity.)

#3 Tweaking the Master's relationship to Gallifrey/incorporate the Time War in a smoother way

The Master has suffered a major trauma and I think the episodes try, but do not commit, to that. Instead it's more "will the drumming stop." I have always disliked that the Master's ultimate plan was to put "a new Gallifrey in the sky." Historically, the Master has not given a shit about Gallifrey unless he rules it. His rhetoric about the glory of the time lords makes no sense to me... unless it's a response to the Time War.

From the Master's perspective, he has just fled the Battle of the Cruciform to the end of the universe. He was so terrified he fobwatched himself so they'd never find him. The next memory he has as The Master is the end of Utopia, which goes straight into Sound of Drums. He has seen the Cruciform fall days ago. It makes sense he's not acting quite like himself. (I believe this is TV canon, but he was also literally taken out of the matrix to fight in the Time War, so he was quite literally dead -> Time War -> Utopia). I wish his plan, drums, and his relationship with Gallifrey was more pointed in this direction.

These are the big ones. I think this is maybe 15-20% different from what's written and I think it makes the whole arc much stronger. BBC hire me as script editor.

[kidshows-are-life]

Ive been making paper flowers during class (the other one was better but is was MASSACRED)

I might add more tbh

Also yes those are words this is a doctor who quote flower

I might add more

(Writing under the cut)

Dark blue for nine (Fantastic!!)

Orange for ten (What?!)

Blue for eleven (Geronimo!!)

And pink for simm!master (Here come the drums!)

I got rly rly rly bored ok

[doctormastertardis]

"Timelords turn into Gods" (the Doctor was originally a God from BEYOND the edge of the universe; he was part of the Pantheon, adopted by the Shobogans who then created the Gallifreyan society)

THEORY DOMINO:

THE MASTER IS/WAS THE TOY MAKER.

THE DOCTOR IS/WAS, WHO? (the central theme of the show)

BOTH OF THEM WERE MEMBERS OF PANTHEON OF DISCORD!

Ok, ready? Hear me out. This is LONG, so buckle up.

My instincts told me to go re-watch Martha Jones' season, and now I'm down a rabbit hole...

The Tenth Doctor mentions in Utopia what happened to Rose Tyler. He said something about how "very human" she is (as in, she is an empathetic person), and that was why she insticntively brought Jack back from the dead when she absorbed the Time Vortex. TEN ALSO MENTIONS that had it been a Time Lord who absorbed the time vortex, the Time Lord would become a God. But because Rose Tyler is human, she couldn't, and so yada yada....

In the last 2 episodes of Martha Jones' run, we learn that the Master (being the hypnotist that he is historically in Classic Who) creates a massive "hypnotic" device called the Archangel Network -- HINT HINT Toymaker in The Giggle, anyone? The similarities are there. Both the Toymaker and The Master created and dispersed a subliminal sound that plays all throughout human history as a way to hypnotize humans. Again, the similarities are there in plain sight.

CLASSIC WHO:

We all know that the Master first officially appeared in the television series during Third Doctor's run. He was initially a friend of the Doctor's, who became his arch nemesis, but we don't really know much else about the Master apart from that he went to the same academy as the Doctor to train to be a Time Lord.

Now, the Toymaker appeared during First Doctor's run waaaaay before The Master was ever conceived... he was "defeated" by the First Doctor... But even then, it seemed like the Toymaker was already familiar with the Doctor (I have to watch that episode, actually, some other Whovian may be able to assist me here).... NOW, the premise of the show has always been Doctor, who? Who is he? Where did he come from? But I believe the series is now delving in The Master's history first before we learn more about the Doctor's origin... because it's necessary. Because they're interconnected.

So far, we know that after the events at Traken, the Time Lord society brought the Master back from his death (post-Eight Doctor's movie)... he then became the War Master. An equivalent to the War Doctor. In TSOD (The Sound of Drums), Simms!Master mentioned that he ran away from the Time War and camouflaged himself in his chameleon circuit as a child who grew up to be Professor Yana, who then, became Prime Minister Saxon... blah blah. We all know what happens. He ends up on a Mondasian Cyberman ship and meets his future, Missy...

*AUDIO BOOK SERIES ONLY* The gap between Missy and Dhawan!Master is a bit more complicated, because it involves her transformation into "The Lumiat" (the good essence of the Master) who was eventually killed by Missy herself, who then regenerated into Dhawan!Master supposedly.

CHIBNALL ERA:

We finally learn that the Doctor was adopted by Tacteun, a Shobogan, who extracted the Doctor's DNA as a way to create "Time Lords"... we learn this through none other than Dhawan!Master, who clearly became a little bit more insane than all his prior incarnations.

Honestly, my mind is a little bit blurry in regards to Thirteen's run because her last series was SO RUSHED that I can barely remember the small details so please correct me if I am wrong. But from instinct, I know that we didn't really learn much about how Dhawan!Master came to find out about the Doctor's origins. We can, however, deduce that he was PISSED about it. Why though? Maybe he loves the Doctor? I mean, that's a given. But wouldn't it make more sense if Dhawan!Master was completely mad because he wasn't yet aware that he and the Doctor were both adopted from the Pantheon?

During The Flux series, we the audience would be under the impression that Dhawan!Master became bitter because the Doctor is "essentially better" than him due to the fact that his Time Lord DNA originated from the Doctor as a child (The Timeless Child Arc).

RTD'S RETURN:

BUT, considering how we are now DELVING into the depths of God/Goddess mythologies and "fairytales" (in connection to The Beast, Sutekh, and other DW stories involving mythological dieties), it is not farfetched at all to consider both the Doctor and the Master originally as part of the Pantheon of Discord.

Ever since the events of The Flux and The Giggle, we get to take a look at the edge of the universe where all sorts of (im)possibilities exist.

And I think that's where my brain stops... FEEL FREE TO ADD TO THIS IF YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT DOCTOR WHO LORE.

[rowanthestrange]

Actually, finding out the Doctor's friendship has been a lie manufactured by the Division would have been a stronger motivation to make the Master kill all of Gallifrey.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they'd need much more of a motivation - being them plus the drums would have been easily enough probably - and I think it is fascinating to study the angle that they kinda killed their own kind for the Doctor, because some of them abused the Doctor. But I think it would have made the decision even easier for them.

There is nothing more important to the Master than that friendship. They love nothing more, they loathe nothing more. To find out it was engineered as well - as was their entire life - that the only thing sacred to them isn't real, to realise that all that hurt all that attachement was manufactured from the outside, that potentially once the Doctor finds out they might want to finally turn the back on the Master, to realise that they should want to turn their back on the Doctor -

It would break them.

The Doctor at least has their strays, they have a life without the Master. The Master only has the Doctor. If that's not real - what is left for them?

Oh I assure you, if it wouldn’t straight up take out a huge chunk of extended universe (and several non-extended universe things like Simm!Master’s stories) out like canon’s own flux event, I would 100% be down with ‘the Academy was just a story to bind you, Clockwork Orange’d into your brains by the Division between force regenerating both of you and dumping your very much adult selves back on Gallifrey.’

Imagine the Master like, “Remember Borusa? No you don’t. You just think you do. We never ran through these hallways. We never tried to catch Vortisaurs on the roof. We never were friends.”

Like I would have eaten that up with a goddamn spoon. The idea of it makes me vibrate on previously unknown frequencies. Unfortunately I am pretty resolute that killing of sections of extended (or plain) canon that are solely removals, not simply additions to or variations upon, should be done extremely sparingly. Doctor Who thrives on being expansive and a constantly growing blob monster of a world. Outright loss rather than just shifting should be minimised. There’s a responsibility in the stewardship here that’s been taken seriously and I don’t want to get rid of that precedent. At least if it can’t be immediately replaced with an equivalent potential volume of TV canon with capacity to glue frayed edges together to recreate a similar product if you squint, then eh, I think it’s probably too far.

But it would also have kicked us all straight in the stomach. And I yearn for it. Gallifrey nuked as a metaphor, the Chibs specialty - now you feel what this character must have felt, the pain, the loss, looking over that wasteland that is gone and will never ever come back.

I’m still totally down to play with it though cus ooooh it’s so good.

[autisticstevenuniverse]

Rating Every Nu Who Episode: Season 3

The Runaway Bride: 8/10 gets a LOT of points for Donna being so amazing and Ten being so befuddled, because the actual spiders in the Earth plot is a little meh. The star-shaped ship is fun though, and Donna already reigning in Ten.

Smith and Jones: 9/10 omg Judoon!! The rhyming! It's so silly but I still care that people are dying! Martha is just doing her best but is so brave and still kinda excited about the adventure!

The Shakespeare Code: 6/10 perfect aesthetics and the ending with Queen Elizabeth is hilarious. The idea of using words as magic is fun. The alien designs are a little shaky, and the Doctor can be a dick to Martha just for not being Rose, which is my ongoing complaint this season. He cares about her but doesn't make that clear. And I don't love her crush on him the whole time either.

Gridlock: 9/10 New Earth is back!! I love the worldbuilding while keeping it simple here. And the ending made me cry!

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks: 8/10 now THIS is a proper dalek episode, no matter how ridiculous. Because that's the show!

The Lazarus Experiment: 3/10 but why though? I guess this one was kind of regular silly filler, but I didn't love it. Is a little funny in retrospect that Tish consistently gets jobs working for masquerading villains.

42: 1/10 nothing wrong with it per se but rickety spaceship/space station episodes just aren't my vibe.

Human Nature/The Family of Blood: 6/10 was one of my favorites when I first saw it because I'm obsessed with shows making their own AUs, but upon rewatch I'm actually really upset for Martha. She deals with so much racism and shit, and the Doctor brushing her off while not himself would be one thing if he didn't do that constantly anyway. Plus her one friend, who was very sweet, gets possessed.

Blink: 10/10 no notes one of my (and everyone else's) favorite episodes ever. So creepy in a fun way!

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: 5/10 I do actually like this plot, it's in character for the Master, and the (for now) death scene is sweet. BUT I can't get over how, after being brushed off and generally not appreciated the whole season, Martha gets even more trauma and her big brave way of "saving the world" is sharing stories of the Doctor who is out to save the world. I feel like if she had gotten more focus on coming into herself here I might have been ok with it. Plus Simm!Master is my least favorite, I just don't like how wildly he plays it. I guess I do appreciate Martha making the choice to do what's best for her and her family.

Bonus Character Ratings:

Ten: 7/10 he's still fun but STOP BEING MEAN TO MARTHA JUST BECAUSE YOU MISS ROSE. STOP IT!

Martha: 8/10 not for her acting, which is great, but for the character getting all the constant trauma and plotlines that make her feel like she's never fully settled in as the companion before understandably leaving.

[tea-earl-grey]

for the reverse ask game: any star trek or dw ep you personally don't like but the majority of other people love for some reason

from this.

hmm okay. i do tend to fall in with a lot of fandom majority opinions regarding liking/disliking certain episodes (if anything i tend to like episodes more that others don't) but for Doctor Who...

The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords:

ok so i can't ignore or justify the pretty horrendous racism towards Martha and her family which is a big reason why i Don't Like this two-parter but setting that conversation aside, i do very much get why this story is popular. Simm!Master (and the Master in general) might not be my favorite character but the energy he brings and his chemistry with the Doctor is very very good like his death scene alone is so well written and performed. and MARTHA. while so much of the story is tone deaf when it comes to seeing & understanding Martha and her family as Black characters, Martha really gets so much to do here by standing up for herself and realizing her own worth and straight up telling the Doctor that no matter how wonderful she thinks he is, she deserves more (and she's right!!!) and also like. i'm not gonna defend Tinkerbell Doctor but it makes me laugh more than cringe these days. Doctor Who is a silly show and it should stay that way <3 also hilarious that they killed the George Bush stand in and he stayed dead.

[go-to-the-mirror]

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Major Character Death

Category: M/M

Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)

Relationship: Tenth Doctor/The Master (Simm)

Characters: Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), The Master (Simm)

Additional Tags: Whumptober, Whumptober 2023, Episode: s03e12-e13 The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords, Grief/Mourning, POV Tenth Doctor, POV Second Person, HOW ARE WE ODING HERE TONIGHT, Canonical Character Death

Words: 283

Summary:

The Master dies in the Doctor’s arms. The Master is dead in the Doctor’s arms. --- Written for Whumptober 2023 day 6, using alt prompt 10. Prompt is shaking.

Warnings:

Character death

Grief

Second person POV

You’ve never held anyone so tightly, never wished quite so hard for someone to come back — come on, you’re joking, you don’t hate me that much, just regenerate, just come back.

He’s the only person in the world, was the only person in the world, and his mind is gone, emotions, everything, just regenerate, just come back.

Your face crumples, tears running down like a rainstorm, rocking back and forth, clutching him to your chest, the way his legs move like he’s a ragdoll makes you cry harder. Just regenerate, just come back.

You scream through gritted teeth, please, please, anywhere, through the constellations, you said, you said you’d fight through the constellations, and it still applies, you’d do anything, commit any atrocity. Just regenerate.

It’s so quiet. When does the quiet stop, when is there any other sound but your own ragged breathing and devastated sobbing. Just come back, just regenerate.

His suit is soaked with tears and blood, and he’s not moving. You can’t feel anything, the only emotion is your own soul-crushing grief. Just come back, just come back so I can feel you being smug, do you really hate me that much?

Jack touches you on the shoulder and you jerk around, he says something you can’t really make out, starts to walk away. You pick up the Master’s— You pick up the Master, follow Jack to TARDIS, there’s blood on your shirt, his skin is turning cold. Come back, just come back, we can do whatever you want, just leave Earth alone.

Just regenerate, just come back, just regenerate, do you really hate me that much, just regenerate, just come back, do you really hate me that much?

[aenslem]

Ship Ask: The Doctor x The Master! c:

I think I have answered this one before, but specifically for Twissy, so I will do it for them in general now, but probably will be the same

when I started shipping it if I did: Not sure, but I think it started somewhere in the sound of drums, with 'all we've got is each other' but also the way master said that he likes when doctor uses his name akjshdakjdh

my thoughts: do I have to actually add anything here? honestly, just go through 'doctor x master' tag on my blog, I think it is obvious that I love them to death, a perfect couple for me :D

What makes me happy about them: absolutely everything, that the universe always makes them meet, that showrunners always bring the master back so I can have more fun watching those two, those are my favorite stories.

What makes me sad about them: that somehow they will never travel the stars together as they always wanted to, because if they make the master 'good' as the doctor, he will lose it, as usually villains lose it when they become heroes, they stop being interesting and be themselves as we loved them in the first place.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: Honestly, have not read much with them to see a pattern that annoys me.

things I look for in fanfic: AUs, with them it is human AUs, somehow I don't want to read about them in DW universe :D

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: well, I am not sure the master could be good with anyone from doctor who universe, at least from nu who which I have seen, I would prefer the master to finally find peace with himself first, and the doctor, well, I am not sure he would be able to be happy with anyone who will die soon and the doctor will keep living, but River I guess.

My happily ever after for them: Not sure these characters could have happily ever after in a traditional way, I think their happily ever after would be them still trying to outsmart each other somewhere among the stars, sometimes trying to kill each other, but always ending up helping each other instead, cos while they want to kill each other, they would never be able to exist without another, like what their life would be if the other one dies? I don't want to think about it, cos for me, the master always lives somewhere there and has the chance to come back, they are two sides of the same coin for me, and their happily ever after would be them constantly meeting somewhere in space and time having drama and fun, as usual.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: it is different with each master, simm would be all over the bed and ten would end up falling from the bed :D missy would be a big spoon, always trying to be in twelfth space, so twelve would just sigh and keep sleeping, and dhawan, well, you would need a time to bring him to bed first and make him sleep, I think the only time he would actually sleep is if you knock him off, he always seems like he drunk 10 redbulls and a coffee, so instead of bringing dhawan!master to bed when he is accidentally falling asleep somewhere, thirteen would just bring blanket and pillows to where the master is sleeping, he would be a lil spoon.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: like, they could have long debates on what's good and what's evil, but I think they would prefer to play experiments on some races, thinking that those are harmless but ending up with a mess instead :D