#master meta

[thirddoctor]

The thing with the Master is that they are constantly performing in some way, playing a part, putting on a facade. I think a lot of misinterpretations of the character come from simply taking them at face value. Not everything they do is actually representative of who they are, but the reason they're doing it can tell you a lot about them.

#I got to thinking about this when I did that Delgado smoking gifset #like. I'd always kinda assumed Delgado enjoyed cigars. that seems pretty obvious right? #but if that's the case how come he only ever smokes when he's on Earth playing some sort of part? #now of course he does do it in scenes where he's alone so it's clearly not JUST part of his disguise #but is it the smoking he enjoys or is it the persona and the aesthetic he's constructed for himself of which smoking is just one part? #I think he just likes playing at being different people - and he likes controlling how he's perceived #so he's constantly performing and using the characters he plays to indulge himself in ways he wouldn't necessarily otherwise #he's just having a laugh basically #Ranger yells about the Master #Ranger shut up about Doctor Who #Master meta #Big Finish isn't ready for my thoughts on how this ties in to the Master's wardrobe #because uhhh constantly sticking him into a suit even when he's nowhere near Earth doesn't work actually #and Missy writers aren't ready for how this applies to the way they write her entire character

[whoisthemaster]

Why does no one ask, Master Who?: (#1 - Koschei)

Why does no one ask, Master Who?: A Character Study Series

This was one subject I was excited to cover, especially after just recently getting into Russian folklore. And of course since this is technically the first master (as according to the fandom, EU content, and The Sound of Drums ), this had to be the one to cover first (especially because of the symbolism present here that I feel is so important to beginning our journey exploring who the Master is.)

Though the young first Master’s name is never revealed to us in the show, how did we get the name Koschei? Let me direct you to the way of the Extended Universe.

May I introduce you to a series of wonderful books? 

Let’s start with the one that introduced the name Koschei for the Master:

1. The Dark Path by David A. McIntee (published March 1997)

A wonderful novel that features one of the earliest encounters with the Master and the Doctor, greatly expanding on their personal histories on Gallifrey. This story in particular is iconic because it’s one of the many origin stories explaining how/why he became the Master. I honestly don’t wanna spoil it for those who have yet to read it, but I did leave a spoiler review on my main blog awhile back. 

This book is important, however, because this is where the Koschei name began. As the book states, this is the name he was going by before he decided to take the title; The Master, by the end of the book. 

2. Divided Loyalties by Gary Russell (published October 1999)

2 years later, this book was released. It’s another fantastic novel which is iconic for showing the begins of the Deca and giving us a glimpse into the childhood’s of the Doctor, the Master, the Rani, and so on. I also don’t want to spoil this for those who haven’t read it. Honestly, it’s an experience, and I’ve posted about it a lot on my main. 

However, it also features the Master using the name ‘Koschei’, but in the Academy! And when alluding to the characters fates at the end, it even mentions what happens in McIntee’s ‘The Dark Path’. 

Bonus: It is also the book that gives us the Master’s house as being Oakdown, hence most of the fandom calling the young Master; Koschei Oakdown. 

So, still....Why the name, Koschei? 

What is the significance of it? Where did it even come from?

The answers lie in a character from Russian Folklore...

Koschei the Deathless (aka the Immortal)

As the wiki describes: “He is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore. The most common feature of tales involving Koschei is a spell which prevents him from being killed. He hides his soul inside nested objects to protect it. For example, the soul (or in the tales, it is usually called "death") may be hidden in a needle that is hidden inside an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, the hare is in a chest, the chest is buried or chained up on a far island. Usually he takes the role of a malevolent rival father figure, who competes for (or entraps) a male hero's love interest.”

Sounds kind of familiar, right?

It’s very symbolic to who the Master becomes:

Someone always managing to cheat death, and never being really killed off.

Being the constant rival of the Doctor, sometimes abducting his companions.

In some tales, Koschei can cast a sleep spell, almost like how the Master hypnotizes others.

Not to mention, having a fascination with the Russian culture as shown especially in Dhawan’s era. 

#master who series #the master #master meta #koschei #koschei oakdown #doctor who #dweu #doctor who eu #koschei the deathless #doctor who meta #the deca

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

excuse me i have to say something obscene (which is the point) the master definitely masturbated in the matrix chamber. the heart of gallifrey (”but hes the president. kill him and gallifrey could be yours”), the room he found out about the timeless child in, panopticon right over there, watched but unwatched, witnessed by the dead, the bodies he desecrated, torture room in the cellar, turning his own body, which has been used as a tool so many times by the timelords, back into a base physical thing whichs only purpose is his own pleasure, an agressive retraction of his plea to rassilon in end of time to take him with them in their journey to become beings of consciousness, while turning those same powerful timelords he once begged for acceptance into a perversion of that same ideal, and doing it by doing something that Time Lords Do Not Do; sex. something timelords do not do because of their robbing the timeless child of her regeneration.

a kind of self-love that is 100% spiteful and ironic and painfully self-aware on his part but at the same time a genuine expression of his anger (in a way that 13 is unable to access) and in that somehow looping back to a kind of, if not self-love really, a renewed self-loyalty (contrasted with 13‘s continual self-abandonment), a negation of missys self-betrayal in the doctor falls, the pyrrhic victory that created (not to say birthed) him.

#every time i look at it for longer than 5 seconds the masters anger always reveals itself to be love and #the doctors anger always reveals itself to be fear #if the doctor and him were on speaking terms through all this theyd have sex in the matrix chamber #which......... #actually #if i think about it for a little bit im pretty sure i can make that video #wouldnt be much harder than the thasmissy video i made i think #anyway #master meta #making this post was opening pandoras box rip dfhkghgkj #all the things im now thinking he wouldve done in the matrix chamber while making those cybertimelords #ANYWAYY #unrelated but how do you say like the possessive of which #it always trips me up #i know it's not just which and it's definitely not whichs #but that does sound intuitive to me and im signposting my mistake there but #idk i dont know how to phrase that in english i feel like im missing something but im not sure what it is #frankenstein #i think it deserves the tag it's adjacent #it's in the subtext #rowan come back i want your take on this

[thefiresofpompeii]

missy doesn’t understand that she’s in the wrong genre. she believes she’s in a darkly alluring gothic romance instead of an optimistic sci-fi show. in her genre, gifting your estranged ex/enemy/lover/best friend/twin flame an indestructible undead army to prove to him that your will to power is identical is the most romantic gesture imaginable. it’s victory via surrender, it’s control through abdication. all her scheming to “corrupt” him, to demonstrate that they’re the same deep down, that his sanctimonious morality is nothing but a method of keeping his own conscience clean, that’s the hannibal gene, the lestat gene (*obviously the dynamics aren’t 1-to-1 similar, but… close enough) and missy’s tragedy in death in heaven is in that, within the narrative format she’s trapped in, she can never succeed

#dw #jamie catches up #death in heaven #missy #twissy #the narrative #thoschei #twelfth doctor #twelve #doctor who meta #dark water #doctor who series 8 #the master

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Alright, I'll say it: Jack Harkness and the Doctor's relationship is possibly the most fleshed out/complicated dynamic in Doctor Who and that is INCLUDING the master/doctor relationship. Seriously, think about it:

the fact that when they meet jack is presented as sleazy con man and the doctor makes him brave- makes him good

but that they are both willing to die for rose as long as she is safe

and then she comes back and dooms them both to live (even though jack has already died for her and the doctor WILL die for her)

(ninerosejack is canon and you cannot convince me otherwise)

but then the doctor sees jack as immortal as someone he COULD spend the rest of his life with

and instead of embracing it like you'd think he would because he is so wrecked by people leaving him/being left by him the doctor RUNS bc the Doctor is so scared of jack of what he means of what he is

jack ends up abandoned in dalek dust goes back in time to find the doctor suffers a hundred years alone/being tortured but STILL WAITS

(screw amy being the girl who waited or rory being the boy who waited- Jack Harkness is the boy who waited and he did it FIRST)

Jack finds out that he was abandoned. that the man that he loves HATES the sight of him. that the doctor would rather have a genocidal murderer than have him

and so Jack gets the hell out of dodge to go to a man who DOES love him

and don't get me wrong Jack loves Ianto and Jack DOES remember Ianto until he dies as the Face of Boe don't forget that (protecting Novice Hame from the virus as he couldn't Ianto

BUT AFTER EVERYTHING THE DOCTOR HAS DONE TO JACK JACK STILL LOVES THEM

Jack still considers five billion years cursed to never die to be BETTER than the alternative: dying a young time-agent-turned-con-man

Jack has more reason than any other companion save maybe Amy to hate the Doctor & yet spends 20 years in jail to rescue Thirteen still LOVES HER

AND AFTER FIVE BILLION YEARS HE ORGANIZES THAT FIRST MEETING ON SATELLITE FIVE HE ORGANIZES 9/ROSE'S FIRST DATE

jack harkness is a living ghost a reminder of the doctor's failures a physical fixed point and yet he still loves the girl who cursed him and the time lord that turned him into the kind of person that would give his dying breaths to protect the last of humanity in a dying city and tell the doctor that he is not alone

because fuck it, YANA was a warning but also a reminder a final gift

jack had been there all along, a ghost an echo a PROMISE

there is no more human character than jack harkness

#jack harkness #captain jack harkness #meta #tenjack #ninejack #ninejackrose #ninerosejack #nine x jack x rose #ten x jack #the face of boe #tenth doctor #ninth doctor #thirteenth doctor #thirteenjack #thirteen x jack #i still have a lot of feelings about this man #janto #ianto jones #his story SHOULD BE TRAGIC and in a lot of ways it is but it also beautiful and optimistic about the strength of love and the human spirit #jack devoted himself to the doctor and was spat out but he welcomed it #simm!master

[bolithesenate]

What happens when a Jedi Initiate dies?

It cannot always be prevented, the galaxy is a dangerous place, especially for children, and the Jedi are still only mortal.

Accidents happen. Illnesses exist.

Tragedies do too.

The Crèchemasters are highly trained to prevent that, of course, but they too are only mortal. They too can fail.

The death of an Initiate is a heavy burden, for the entire Temple. It doesn't happen often, but when it does it is a heavy burden. It is from that burden that one of the Order's most sacred traditions stems from.

They may die an Initiate, but they will not join the Force without guidance.

When an Initiate dies, they automatically gain the rank of Padawan – no matter their age. They will posthumously be taken in by a Master and be gifted a braid and a lineage. If they already found their crystal and built their saber, these too will be taken care of by their new Master.

Some Masters of such Ghost-Padawans, especially those who had a bond before their passing, will live the following years as if they had a living student. They will not take on another until the Force or they themselves deems them ready, at which point the High Council will hold a honorary Knighting.

Because while the Order might lose an Initiate, no Initiate will ever be left alone.

#a bit of #star wars meta #for your consideration :) #inspired by the concept of ghost marriages #and my staunch belief that the jedi are found family galore #for a people that has one of its core tenants be 'there is no death only the force' such a tradition would simply make sense #star wars headcanons #star wars #me writing #random boli thoughts #the jedi #jedi order #jedi padawan #also you know the inherent tragedy of other padawans of the same master having a lineage sibling that never was alive to meet them #and the beauty of them still counting as full members of a lineage #jedi as found family #to put it in ao3 terms :)

[kuroshika]

hey. *reaches for your face without warning and adjusts your glasses* where do you fall on the spectrum?

#jack was the master of rizz in the first episode fr #it’s kallies annual rewatch time #and she just finished the first episode #so get ready for some incoherent kallie brainworms #we’re back in business baby #hannibal nbc #hannibal #nbc hannibal #hannigram #hannibal lecter #will graham #mads mikkelsen #hugh dancy #hannibal parallels #jack crawford #hannibal meta #hannibal shitpost #kalypso shut the fuck up #kuroshika.txt

[sad-endings-suck]

some of you are too angry at fictional children

#and it shows #like bffr #go touch grass #atla fandom critical #avatar: the last airbender #atla #atla meta #aang #katara #zuko #avatar the last airbender #zutara #avatar aang #atla aang #atla katara #atla zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #master katara #atla meme #atla fandom problems #atla fandom salt #kataang critical #zutarian critical

[valictini]

I was watching a video analysing how the Yiga clan were handled in botw and how the person analysing it lamented the fact that Kohga was a joke character who totally destroyed the much more threatening image the yiga clan had all throughout the game. Although I do understand the sentiment (I felt that way for a long time) I’ve come to realise that we might not be viewing it in the right perspective. I ended up writing a comment under that video explaining how I saw things, and realised that maybe it could interest people here too? So here is the fleshed out version of it:

I think part of why they made Kohga extremely goofy compared to a way less goofy clan of literal assassins is to emphasise how even though the clan originally held some understandable beliefs, it has become a cult of personality over the years, and like most cults, the leader is way less charismatic than his followers make him out to be. Indeed, from the outside, it seems absurd how anyone could take Kohga seriously, let alone kill under his command, but from the inside, Kohga is the Beloved Leader That Guides Them Towards Victory, and anyone threatening him deserves to die.

In a way, yiga clan members feel like vulnerable, impressionable people who were enrolled into a cult and given a Big Family and a purpose (and a lethal weapon) by their lovable Master Kohga who wants the best for them… Except if you want to get out, then you’re a filthy traitor who also deserves to die. It’s especially visible when you beat him and they all get personally mad at you for killing him. They didn’t care about Ganon, they didn’t seem to actually understand the bigger picture, they only cared about Kohga.

It also shows how, like the rest of Hyrule, the Yigas are very much disconnected from their own history, seemingly holding on the grudge their ancestors held more as an excuse to continue to enact violence and perpetuate the cult of personality than fighting for a “noble” cause. Only Kohga seems to actually care about Calamity Ganon, and the rest of the yigas seem to be just tools to him. Wether or not he’s actually conscious of what he’s doing is unclear. Is he a fully aware con artist, or is he purely another product of Yiga indoctrination?

So yeah, to me it feels like a parody/critic/mockery of cult dynamics. It shows that this gang of assassins are indeed a real menace, but for seemingly no reason other than “that one lunatic they admire told them to” and “if they go away they get killed”. The reason why the clan was originally created becomes almost anecdotal. Under the current leader, no one is required to actually know what they’re doing, they just need to follow orders.

In the end, I think it is the intention the developers had because cults are a rampant problem in Japan. At the very least, even if it’s not a actually conscious critic, it’s a concept that is much more present in their cultural landscape than ours and that almost certainly influenced how they handled the Yiga clan. Basically, cults are not cool and can even be dangerous both for the public and their members. Cult leaders especially are not cool and often are con artists. Therefore, Kohga couldn’t be badass, he had to be a doofus getting beaten in the most unexceptional way possible.

#botw #breath of the wild #master kohga #yiga clan #kohga #loz #the legend of Zelda #tloz #meta analysis #i purposefully didn’t talk about kohga’s change of heart in AoC because to me this game is not canon #one could argue it proves that Kohga is actually not aware of how catastrophic enabling Ganon would be #but for the sake of keeping it focused on botw I didn’t mention it #cult mention #valictini talks

[knaccblog]

We all know that when Crowley says, "You can't leave this bookshop", what he's really saying is, "You can't leave this life we've made together", but he's too scared to include himself explicitly in it, right? It's like in the fight about Gabriel where Crowley says he wants Gabriel "nowhere near the precious, peaceful, fragile existence he's carved out for himself" but we all know he's just talking about Aziraphale because whenever he's actually talking to Jim or himself, he's only worried about what will happen to Aziraphale, not himself in the slightest. Worrying what will happen to himself is a facade he pulls up in front of Aziraphale to deflect from how deeply he loves him.

On the other hand, when Aziraphale says, "Oh Crowley, nothing lasts forever", he's really saying, "I love you so much that I am willing to give up all my most precious worldly possessions to assure that you are given the treatment and reinstatement you so deserve." His tone of voice and his face are both all love even.

Like it's just so amazingly sad that what Crowley is reading as rejection, as "you're not good enough as you are", is almost definitely Aziraphale saying he loves him more than everything else and thinks he's the most truly good soul he knows?

#good omens #good omens meta #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #aziracrow #aziraphale #crowley #good omens crowley #GOS2 Spoilers #good omens season 2 spoilers #My GO Thoughts and Feels #these two have to stop talking in subtext I'm begging them its for their own good #like this is a master class in how to have two characters talk past each other #it's soooo messy emotionally but really great writing #today we're being brave and posting another one #we'll see if I keep this up lols

[metalatias5]

Plasmius' origin story, but it's the Grimace Shake

(Also the cup has an N instead of the McDonalds M because.. Nasty Burger)

#Danny Phantom #DP #Grimace Shake #Maddie Fenton #Jack Fenton #Vlad Masters #Vlad Plasmius #Proto Portal #Proto-Portal #Meta #MetaTheTrifox #MetaLatias #MetaLatias5

[thirddoctor]

got any good ainley! master gheadcanons (currently watching 5s era hes so fun?? underrated master honestly)

I'm a huge Ainley fan. Kinda weird that he can be considered underrated now, because he used to be one of the top three (alongside Delgado and Simm), but now that Gomez and Dhawan have come along he's sort of been relegated to the side which is sad.

I mean my whole conception of him as a character weaves in a lot of headcanon because while the version of him that we get onscreen is very fun, I feel like it's possible to read in a lot more depth than was probably intended.

I think there's a fascinating paradox to his character in that he both loves and hates the fact that he's alive. He spent years wanting nothing more than to survive and get a new body, but he specifically wanted a Time Lord body. He wanted more regenerations. He wanted to be restored to his former glory, and instead he's reduced to pilfering the body of an old man, some inferior life form, and making do with that. It's a step up from being Crispy, sure, and he does rejuvenate himself somewhat, but it's not the same. He can't control people the way he used to (note that Ainley never hypnotises anyone without some sort of aid, unlike Delgado who could do it simply through the force of his own will), he's lost his status as a Time Lord, and he's still only bought himself time, because this body won't last forever and then he'll be right back to square one.

Survival is when it really all comes to a head, and I think that story is a very fitting ending for his character because he comes full circle and this time he chooses death (as long as he can take the Doctor down with him) over prolonging his life at the expense of his self. It's all just really interesting to me and I hope one day some EU writer explores that potential more.

#Replies #Anon #Ranger yells about the Master #Ranger shut up about Doctor Who #Master meta

[whoisthemaster]

Why does no one ask, Master Who?: (#3 - Oh No, He’s Crispy!)

Why does no one ask, Master Who?: A Character Study Series Masterlist

Our next topic to cover in the subject of the Master is his Anakin Skywalker---er, I mean, sudden change in appearance and re-appearance when he surprises us all in the Fourth Doctor’s era. I think this is where his now signature long running gag for ‘coming back from the dead’ without any explanation truly began. 

So, because of the tragedy that happened to Roger Delgado, the Master as a character was kept out of stories for quite awhile until the 4th Doctor’s era in 1976′s episode, “The Deadly Assassin.” An episode not only remarkable for bringing back the Master in a MUCH darker state, nearing the end of his regeneration cycle, but the fact this episode began a lot of the mythos of the Time Lords and Gallifrey as we know it. Played by two different actors for two different episodes years apart, the fandom has dubbed the Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beevers Master’s as the Crispy Master or Decayed Master, due to his decaying form looking like he was fighting with a Jedi for control of the high ground and lost (Still too soon? Okay.) 

In ‘The Deadly Assassin,’ the Master’s disappearance is explained to us when he comes up with a clever plot, sending the Doctor back home to Gallifrey in order to uncover a mystery into the future premotionions of the Lord President’s death (and of course he’s behind it.) This Master is FAR more dark than his previous self, hell-bent on only his survival, even if it means taking the rest of Gallifrey with him to achieve it. Only his hate and need for revenge keeps him going. Although it may seem the Master has finally lost, this is only when we start to realize how great of a survivor he can be when it comes to death.

Making a return in ‘The Keeper of Traken,’ he’s still focused on attaining a body that can handle the presence of a Time Lord. Although he isn’t able to obtain the Doctor’s, using his cunning, the Master ends up stealing the body of Tremas of Traken, finding a way to extend his life a little longer.

Important Character Traits for Crispy!Master:

High sense of Self-Preservation. He doesn’t care what it takes to stay alive. This is the first time we see it with the Master, even if he’s going completely against the Doctor to do so.

Known for being the most ruthless of the Master’s incarnations (and that’s saying something.)

His physical state of being rotten and decayed can be used as a metaphor for how evil he is as an individual. As Geoffrey Beevers remarked; this is what the Master is like without his smooth looks and charm: as he put it, "the essence of the creature.”

However, in Big Finish, thanks to Beevers himself, and the writers, Crispy gets more of a development. Despite being just ruthless because of his current situation, ‘being faced with his own mortality also gives him plenty of poetic and calm moments.’ 

The Many Explanations for his Crispy State:

Geoffrey Beevers remarked that this is what the Master is like without his smooth looks and charm: as he put it, "the essence of the creature". This seems to be a running theme with this Master. The first Crispy Master is the ugliest and cruellest of all, while the second Crispy seems to have "healed" a little and is a step back towards Delgado behaviour (how much of the "healed" appearance is intentional and how much of it is due to the limitations of Beevers' makeup compared to Pratt's mask is unknown).

There are also many more explanations of how the Master became decayed on the TARDIS Wiki. 

#the master #crsipy!master #beevers!Master #Pratt!master #Decayed!master #master who series #classic who #geoffrey beevers #peter pratt #doctor who #master meta #doctor who meta

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

im not sure if it makes sense but i like the idea that when the master says "i can see through to all our ends" he did actually like predict with help of the cyberium exactly what ended up happening. it's similar to how i like to imagine dhawan!master showing up in the vault and missy understanding what her future will look like and it not changing anything about her choices in s10

like, knowing this ends badly because it always ends badly for them. but it's about the journey not the destination. and at some point maybe the inevitable defeat has become a kind of comfort. old familiar. what else would they do but be defeated by the doctor. thats their place. thats where theyre supposed to be. like what would they even do if they won?? the cosmos without the doctor scarcely bears thinking about

it's not about winning, it's about playing

and if he knows how it ends it's like the exact opposite of what i imagine for missy. missy striving for hope even when she knows thats now where her story ends, just because it's worth it in the moment. and the master going through the motions of like this entire scheme, this whole game, gleefully, knowing it ends in like his failure and death. purposeful slowburn self-destruction vs purposeful defiant self-actualisation.

#'its not about winning' #ha isnt that a fun perversion of 12s doctor falls speech #master meta

[thefiresofpompeii]

the composition of this shot... finger pointed at the doctor in accusation, bill is speaking the words but both masters are talking through her, surrounding her as witnesses as she channels their bitterness, their rage, their abandonment. the master waited for him. jack waited for him. older amy in that hospital waited for him. bill waited for him. ashildr-me waited for him. but he always came back too late. the man whose ship's engine noise is a sound that heralds hope wherever it lands left the ones he cared about behind. when hope itself leaves you behind, what redemption could you ever dream of?

#doctor who meta #world enough and time #bill potts #simm master #missy #twissy #thoschei #jamie catches up #twelve #twelfth doctor #tenth doctor #doctor who series 10 #doctor who #dw #jamie.txt #doctor who analysis #tensimm

[westwing19]

I’m curious if you have a head canon for this! How do you think Kirby discovered his copy abilities and reacted to them for the first time?

Probably a very simple answer, but I figure he just... found out!

...since putting everything in sight directly into his mouth is sort of Kirby's specialty :3 It probably startled him a bit at first, but I think he'd take the surprises into stride.

In terms of other related hcs I do enjoy the idea that his copy ability ability undergoes some growth over time, which allows him to acquire more abilities and more moves for existing abilities as he matures.

(it doesn't hold up at all under the chronological appearances of most abilities, but it's fun to think about anyway 👍)

#ask #kirby #meta knight #every time an existing ability gets more moves I like to think he's mastered it a bit more :) #and to me kirbs is just really chill about everything #MK might've been less so if he was around jdkfjdk #anyway this was a fun question to think about thank you :))) #meart