#i know it might be a play on him wearing a tophat but what horrible crimes has he committed to end up there

[luneinary]

hrrrmmmmmm..... favourite background character and why (σ´∀`)σ

weirdly obsessed with that mayor guy from stealing the diamond ... Why is he in the Toppat Clan all of a sudden . How did he even get there

[sclfmastery]

Okay so if this blog is moving forward still as a two-Master blog (which I think it still is, I just need to keep digesting stuff...) then I need to make a list of differences between Simm and  Dhawan, since they already have so many similarities.  Some of these are facts observed in canon, others headcanons. ALIGNMENT Both Simm and Dhawan are Neutral Evil masquerading as Chaotic. “A little chaos can be a wonderful thing,” Dhawan tells Barton, and “a little” is key there.  When gloating over a victory, when essentially preening for the Doctor, both engage in erratic acts of sadistic play (Simm gassing the whole British Cabinet as Saxon, while wearing a gas mask and giving his victims a thumbs-up; Simm clapping joyously after the Toclafane kill the fictitious American President; Simm shouting “DINNER TIME!” as he eats people’s life forces in End of Time; Simm taunting Cyberman Bill Potts; Dhawan exclaiming he’s had fun on Barton’s jet; Dhawan in a tophat shrink-killing people at a science fair in Victorian London; and so on). But for all those cases of giddy play, both primarily engage in long-cons that use ALL TOOLS at their disposal (be it Toclafane, transphobic and sexist slurs they don’t really ascribe to,  mysterious alien gateways, a ship colony living under a black hole, or N*zis) with an impartial and cold indifference, entirely Machiavellian, uncaring about the fate of any collateral in the way, to reach their own personal goal. Neutral Evil.  

EMOTIONAL RANGE

Simm is more steadily manic, threatening, accusatory and snide.  He is always loud, outrageous, obnoxious, sanguine and optimistic, flirtatious and lusty and passionate, dynamic and charismatic.  His humors are terrifying, and his furies burn “like a whole screaming world on fire” (Missy’s apt words), but they are also fairly constant, even when he plays at/pretends “insanity.”  Dhawan is another story entirely, and this to me is their biggest difference aside apparent motive (below):  Dhawan acts like someone with an exceptionally developed intellect, but an exceptionally under-developed emotional range. He seems capable of only three very pure emotions, which almost exist like primary colors: yellow giddiness/mania, red fury, and blue reticence/melancholy.  They switch on a dime, for little apparent reason.  This is what makes him more frightening than Simm, in many ways.  Mid-sentence he will break from breezy small talk into screaming, roaring, snarling tirade.  He is also far more physically violent than Simm: not that Simm isn’t capable of this, but more than once in a rage, Dhawan grabs, shoves, and tries to strangle the Doctor, and in those moments he seems helpless to that rage, controlled BY it (a bitter irony given his moniker).  He seems to be of two minds: an almost rueful, gentle intellect, and a beast. 

APPARENT MOTIVE Simm’s entire apparent motive is to be autonomous of all other beings, and free to do his own bidding.  This, even at the expense of friendship, even with the Doctor, if the Doctor poses the ultimatum “change to be the type of good person I prescribe, or else.” This is the reason why he found Missy’s time in the Vault so disturbing: not that she was physically mistreated or truly trapped, but rather, that she was willing to conform to the Doctor’s highly absolutist notions of ethics, and suppress her own personality for his sake.  To him, this was a profound act of self-deprivation and self-betrayal.  He still struggles to find the balance between loving the Doctor and abiding by his own honor code. The fandom easily misinterprets this philosophy as “unevolved” and “selfish,” and indeed, sometimes Simm does deplorable, disgusting, unnecessarily vicious things to ensure his independence.  But it is actually, on another level, a profound act of self-respect. 

Dhawan on the other hand seems to have entirely disposed of the idea of autonomy.  He admits and even revels in the idea that he’s doing all the horrible things he does to catch the Doctor’s attention, to preen before his lifelong  best friend and crush, to obtain an equal footing with her in infamy/notoriety, because “notoriety isn’t as good as fame, but it’s heaps better than obscurity” (Neil Gaiman) and after all their canonical history of explosive romance, rapport and strife, there’s no point in feigning pride. he might as well flirt with her in the open, ask her to say his name sexually in the open, he might as well KNEEL WITH HER ON HER LEVEL  in the open.  There’s no need to fake not needing her anymore.  Even though he strives to kill her, his life is empty without her.  He remembers being Simm, and he remembers “get out of the way.” He doesn’t regret “get out of the way” or rushing into that Timelock.  

In a way, Dhawan’s motive is the externalization of Simm’s unconscious motive.  Every Master does what they do for the Doctor’s attention, to prove themselves worthy of the Doctor’s regard. Every Master, and Missy, is a farce on their own claim to “controlling everything,” because they can’t control their own hearts. Because their locus of control is truly external, and pivots around the Doctor’s good opinion. And that’s why they are always furious.  Because they don’t understand how to get the Doctor to approve of them, without  betraying themselves. Dhawan is the natural next step of Simm and Missy in that he embodies the conflict Simm and Missy had with each other in the Doctor Falls, but within ONE body.  

It’s desperately sad, tbh.  TREATMENT OF THE DOCTOR’S COMPANIONS Simm, more shrewdly, seems to believe that hurting the Doctor’s friends is the most efficient way to hurt the Doctor.  He enjoys watching the fruits of his labors slowly unfold. Dhawan on the other hand is so impatient to get to his goal (after, in fairness, working on it many years at a time) that he would rather separate the Docto from their companions as quickly as possible. this ties in closely to the above issue of motives: Simm, though he secretly desperately misses his best friend, is more comfortable being alone, and Dhawan clings to the Doctor and wants his plans to succeed specifically to catch the Doctor’s attention. The quicker the pesky companions are eliminated, the better.  The upside of this is he’s not as likely to play with his food before eating it, as Simm is.  Look at the Joneses, and Bill Potts.  

VULNERABILITY FACTOR Dhawan’s emotional duality also makes his vulnerability more readily apparent, more obvious, than Simm’s, but that doesn’t mean he is actually more vulnerable.  Both of these Masters are particularly pariah-esque, both of them feel misunderstood by homeland and former friends.  Both are exceptionally emotionally volatile. Simm, however, is far better at guising his hurt as snideness and as anger.  He may be hemorrhaging inside, but he knows how to deflect that with apparent cruelty.  Dhawan gives up far more quickly. He cries openly, more than once an episode; indeed he’s an “angry crier.”  He sulks and broods and romantically dons the air of a jilted lover.  He doesn’t care if the Doctor sees him looking pathetic. He even uses it to his advantage.  Simm, contrariwise, and frequently to his own detriment, would rather die than be seen desperate ( “I’d rather die than beg you” is an actual line he speaks to the Doctor).  He is far prouder. 

SOCIAL SKILLS Simm’s neurodivergency is more obvious when he socializes (unless he has actively donned a disguise, like Harold Saxon or Razor, and is skillfully playing a role).  Even when he is being charismatic and charming, he has difficulty turning off his eruptive energy.  Dhawan is capable of completely masking his personality for impressive periods of time, and seeming entirely innocuous, even placated and serene.  

WEAPONRY AND TARDIS  Simm still uses his laser screwdriver.  Dhawan uses his old tissue-compression weaponry.  Both Masters have a Type 45 TARDIS with intense red interior lights.  Simm’s TARDIS is immaculately kept, with a greenhouse full of orchids he’s grown, and a bathroom that’s also a pristine lagoon with a waterfall for showers. It also contains countless workshops and a massive Victorian-Era library.  Dhawan’s TARDIS maintains its wooden house in the Victoria Desert appearance; it’s a pig sty of surprisingly mundane table lamps, messy paper stacks, desks and tables, a modest kitchen, and a transparent holo-computer inverted pyramid Console.  For sentimental reasons, he hasn’t been able to change it from the appearance it held when the Doctor visited it.  

SEXUAL ORIENTATION/POSITIONS

Simm is a panromantic demisexual who prefers the Power Bottom role in the bedroom.  Dhawan is a panromantic bisexual who prefers to Top.  Both are nonbinary, but Simm is more comfortable embracing genderfluidity (so far) than Dhawan.  

APPEARANCE

Although one chooses to appear like a mid-thirties-forties blond white man, and the other like an early-thirties dark-haired brown man, both Simm and Dhawan utilize the trope of apparent innocence, boyishness, to their strategic advantage.  Simm looks like a chubby-cheeked puckish little boy, and Dhawan looks like a big brown eyed puppy.  Both can cover remarkable ground, and literally get away with murder, because of looking so innocuous.