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leikeliscomet · 6 months

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“But We Love Martha Jones!” - The Doctor Who Fandom’s Selective Memory of Racism

Be aware that this article contains explicit examples of anti-black racism and misogynoir.

Chapter 2 - Utopia-ish

The constant nitpicking of Martha Jones for reasons white female companions could get away with was blatant anti-black racism. Let’s get that bit clear first and foremost. As a Black person in fandom, watching Black characters get torn apart while never being given the grace of their non-Black castmates is an experience that’s too common. Microaggressions are more subtle so the easiest way to shut down any mentions of racism is to accuse Black fans of making things up or telling us “Well it’s not like REAL racism”. Luckily Doctor Who Tumblr birthed the Martha Jones affirmative action and Aunt Jemima “memes” so I can cross both covert and overt racism off the list. As mentioned in extensive detail in the previous chapter, plus the various Martha Jones articles written before me, the treatment Martha experienced was racist. I don’t care if you personally didn’t like her. I don’t care that you missed Rose. I don’t care that Ten is your smol bean. Martha’s treatment was racist. Freema Agyeman’s treatment was racist. It might not have been everyone. It might not have been you personally. But it was there. The fandom can never be a safe space for POC, specifically Black people if this elephant in the room can’t be addressed over a decade after it arrived.

On paper, you’d assume Martha’s rep was good because “at least she wasn’t a Black stereotype”. Some fans praised her for having a present father, not speaking MLE and not being from the ends. This goes into respectability politics but the fandom’s weirdness about Black Brits and class is not the point of this article. The point is the revisionist history of how Martha was really treated and to do that it helps to know what Black tropes are. The Mammy trope is a Black woman whose main purpose is to serve her white counterparts and during slavery, she mainly cared for the slave owners' children. She is usually fat, dark skin and asexual, not as a representation of those things but as a statement of how if she isn’t used for sexual exploitation like the Jezebel (the promiscuous, reckless, sexualised Black woman), she has no sexual value at all. Her value is serving the needs of others only. Martha doesn’t fit this trope in theory but in practice, she fulfils the sub-categories of this trope both in show and fandom: the disposable Black (girl)friend trope. She is used as Ten’s emotional punching bag before he’s ready for Donna and then Rose again. She had to endure edgy moody S3 Ten so no one else had to. She’s the excuse people use to deflect any critical analysis of how race was handled in RTD1. She’s the fandom’s excuse to deflect from their own racial biases. Racism? No way! Everybody loves Martha Jones! What do you mean?

Some parts of the fandom have tried to mend things by suggesting Martha be paired with other doctors or romantically shipping her with other characters a bit better than Mickey Smith. But does this hold up? As much as I’m a big fan NineMartha as a concept and as someone who honestly saw one-off characters like Riley Vashtee from 42 or Tallulah from Daleks in Manhattan having way more romantic chemistry with Martha than Mickey ever did, simply re-shipping Martha isn’t enough. Doctor Who’s racism isn't exclusive to one doctor, one series or one era and new Martha pairings suggest the issue was “right person, wrong doctor” instead of what the issue actually was: racism. Moffat and Chibnall’s eras weren’t full of golden Black representation either so I doubt the Martha issue would’ve magically disappeared under those two. From Nine’s hostility to Mickey, to Twelve’s hostility to Danny Pink to Thirteen handing a South Asian Spymaster to the Nazis and Eleven only travelling with POC in comics most fans haven’t heard of and being besties with Churchill, simply putting Martha with another Doctor isn’t the serve fans think it is. Even RoseMartha seems like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. If it's not enough for Martha to be compared to Rose, put down in favour of Rose, told she isn’t Rose and told she's worse than Rose in fandom and in show over and over and over, she has to be shipped with Rose too. Martha’s a great character… as long as you can tie her to Rose… again. Even in my own article I have to talk about Rose because Rose is centred in what was supposed to be Martha’s story. A doctor-to-be Black girl from London with a hectic family meets a Time Lord and gets abducted by space rhino police at work in one day. Her main conflict isn’t balancing work and time traveller life, or fighting to get her family back together, or seeing what’s out there in the universe - it's that she isn’t “Rose” enough. The Mammy and her sons’ main thing in common is simple; how well they serve and centre the white characters. In attempts to mend Martha’s treatment she is still only valued in relation to white characters. She should’ve been with Eleven because he would’ve fucked a Black woman. Or maybe Dilfy Twelve. Or a sapphic romance with another female companion who she saw twice or doesn’t actually know. Or maybe Ten in an alternate universe where he supports #nubianqueens. None of this is done to explore sexuality or romance with Black women and is definitely not to centre Black lesbianism and bisexuality. It’s Mammy with a dash of Jezebel. It's adding romantic and sexual value on top of physical and emotional value like a crappy meal deal.

I’m tired of Black women being treated as extensions of white women both in media and in real life. I’m tired of our value being determined by how well we serve white people emotionally, physically, platonically and sexually. And I'm even more tired of white feminism especially in this fandom. It would be so easy to label this article as anti-Rose, anti-Ten or anti-Tenrose to invalidate my whole racial analysis because it's the easy way out. I’ll admit I like both characters individually but not the ship but this isn’t something I decided on since birth - it's my conclusion as a Black fan in a predominantly white fandom, watching a predominantly white show, watching the first companion of my race be told she isn’t good enough compared to the white characters, and that the hatred of her is justified for the greater good of its popular white ship. Black fans can never have this conversation without being told we’re “pitting women against each other” and that Martha and Rose hugged once in S4 so everything's hunky dory. Martha’s happy that Ten found Rose again so what’s the problem? It sends a clear message that Black women’s pain will never matter a much as white women’s feelings. “Rose is amazing! Martha’s amazing! Stop pitting women against women!” but who was pit against who in the first place? These faux girl power posts fail to acknowledge the overlap of race and gender which separates the treatment of Black and white women. It fails to acknowledge Martha’s hate was rooted in anti-black racism. It fails to acknowledge the anti-Rose pushback was in response to how the show and fandom convinced us Rose was the untouchable bar this Black woman failed to meet. It fails to acknowledge Freema Agyeman the actress was targeted not just her character. It fails because the female empowerment rhetoric that leaves the Black ones at the bottom of the pile only “empowers” women of a certain demographic.

The harassment Martha experienced was swept under the rug of “stan wars” but it was so much deeper than that. I’m not saying Martha stans are angels but there was no “Great Stan War” because the sides were never even. At the end of the day no amount of “Martha’s better than Rose” tweets will ever compare to the fact that Martha hate was rooted in misogynoir. Rose was and still is considered the greatest companion of nuwho, whilst Martha is constantly erased and undervalued. Rose’s video views and hashtags have always been bigger than Martha’s. Amy and Clara came after Martha but still surpassed her in popularity and got plenty of fan edits of “The Girl Who Waited” and “The Impossible Girl” whilst Martha was conveniently skipped in the companion lineup. The fandom’s bias still shines clearly in favour of Rose over Martha. Rose’s jealousy towards other women is justifiable and just the ups and downs of a 19-year-old whilst Martha’s is entitled bitterness. Rose’s flaws are compelling character moments and depth, Martha’s are “holding her back from being a good companion”. Hell, even Donna calling out Ten’s BS was entertaining accountability whilst Martha was just the angry Black woman. Fans will weaponise Rose’s working-class roots to imply a pro-Martha bias, failing to acknowledge the working-class to poor background of the average Black Brit, the anti-blackness middle-class Black people are not spared from, the many working-class Black characters of the show like Mickey, Bill, Rigsy and Ryan or how most fans don’t consider Martha middle class because she doesn’t fit the white British cultural stereotypes. You can't be the most loved and hated at the same time. The hard truth is Billie Piper wasn’t racially abused by Martha stans but Freema was absolutely racially abused by Rose’s and the effects of this are still around. Go into Martha Jones tags today and you’ll see snarky posts of how Ten could never love another companion like Rose. Even when Freema bravely shared her experiences of literal racism, fans were quick to yell “But I wanted Ten and Rose though” as a justification for years of misogynoir. Again, we need to address the elephant in the room instead of covering our eyes and ears to act like it’s not there. A Black character and actress was collateral damage in order for a popular white ship to rise and whilst I’m not an anti, I as a Black Doctor Who fan, I’ll never be a supporter. At the end of the day, only one of these actresses is still carrying the burden of misogynoir over 10 years since RTD1 ended. A lonely walk across the Earth yet again.

<- Chapter 1 Chapter 3 ->

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leonardcohenofficial · 8 months

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hello i would love to hear your general thoughts re: tenmartha if you feel like sharing them

okay so many thoughts about dr. martha jones and the doctor but one of the main ones is that despite popular (misogynoir-driven) belief, martha's character as written is much stronger than people give the series credit for. i think so much of her very strong character development and arc (based in her growing into her self-sufficiency, which was always there from the start and demonstrated in her constant analysis and questioning in the search for the most info to make the right decisions) is overshadowed by fandom racism, too much focus given to the unrequited crush storyline (which is also key to her arc, but is also something that she very distinctly and importantly gets over!), and general "she's not rose" sentiment. i think it's really interesting that unlike rose or donna whose narrative arcs need them to become super-human, martha essentially becomes the doctor's equal by the end of her run, if not surpassing him given the fact that as a human, she doesn't have those same otherworldly powers as him.

while i think the narrative of season three ultimately lets her come out on top, i think there is a big cost to that, for both martha the character and for the viewers. even separate from fandom racism there are so many moments of racism in the series that i don't think actually do anything to further the storytelling (literally fuck the whole human nature/the family of blood storyline) and that puts a damper on much of that whole year for me despite loving the characters. i also understand why the doctor (via the writers) is constantly comparing martha to rose, but the moments where martha calls him out on it—while they are certainly there—aren't always enough. i think that fact that martha also begins as fairly dependent on the doctor's validation (which like. makes total sense, she has no idea how all this works and is getting thrown into insane scenarios with no info from the jump) gets reduced to calling the character "needy" which just simply isn't true. this is also something that i think people focus on a bit too much rather than seeing how that particular character trait shifts throughout her season.

all this to say, when tenmartha is good, it's fantastic. freema agyeman and david tennant's chemistry is so on point, and that saves a lot of otherwise mediocre-to-bad writing. from the jump martha is shown to be so SO fucking smart, self-reliant, willing to take risk, and uninterested in the doctor's bullshit; when the doctor isn't just whining in the post-rose hangover or treating her like crap, he recognizes how powerful she is AND how much potential she has to continue to hone her skills, which is why he trusts her so inherently and ends up leaning on her so much during that season. the fact that he manipulates her emotionally to me is equal parts hard to watch and based writing-wise in a lot of the aforementioned -isms AND interesting character development from him because we haven't really seen that type of messy fucked up (human) behavior from the doctor. and then martha leaves on her own terms, which no other companion has gotten to do (clara's storyline feels different in that regard to me). she realizes she doesn't need him, arguably becomes his equal (or surpasses him) in terms of skill, and makes it out alive. imho that's a pretty big accomplishment.

#sorry ben this turned into more of an essay than i meant but. i love martha so much!!!!!!!!!#also on the personal note it meant a lot as a kid to see a black companion and i just always liked her #doctor who #martha jones #ten #tenmartha #majorbaby

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littlest-nightingale · 5 months

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10th Doctor agere thoughts bc I am not immune to the Doctor, apparently:

The regressor equivalent of a huge dog who doesn't realize he isn't a little lapdog anymore

Seriously he's gonna give his cgs a concussion if he isn't careful

Every one of his companions end up as his caregiver sooner or later

Very quickly switches between perfectly fine and having a panic attack. He's very,,,, fragile, when he's regressed.

He's also incredibly clingy. Please don't leave, please don't leave him, he doesn't want to be alone again =[

He sometimes goes through phases where he convinces himself that he's better off without a cg, because he knows he'll end up alone eventually and figures it's better not to get attached to someone he knows isn't going to be with him forever. Those phases never last more than a week.

He's so much lighter than he should be, or at least he's lighter than he looks like he should be, so it's easy for him to be carried around. Unfortunately he's very. Limbs. He's so lanky that his regressed brain isn't quite sure what to do with his limbs.

Do not let him anywhere near the control panel of the TARDIS. The last thing everyone needs is a toddler aged timelord running around medieval Germany or something. [Because yes, he will try to use the TARDIS while small, if he's bored enough, and yes, he has done it before and it ended very poorly.]

He's fascinated by makeup I think. He's fascinated by a lot of things humans do, but I think he would like makeup. Rose and Martha have both done his makeup on several occasions =D

Hyper! He's got sooooo much energy most of the time and gets very bored in the TARDIS. Goes to the park quite a lot. Martha is working on getting him to not dig holes in the ground. Yes, worms are fun and all, but please don't tear up the grass looking for them, we're on public property.

Has toys but not because he wants to play with them, but because he wants to take them apart.

Doesn't care about the stigma around regression at all. He's an alien with a time travelling police box, why would he? Honestly, his regression is the most normal part about him. So yeah, he's going to go play on that playground even though he's physically a grown man, and he isn't going to give a fuck about the people watching.

He likes to bring stuff to his cg/companion, like how cats bring you dead animals, so his companions end up with a lot of cool sticks and shiny coins and acorns and feathers and whatever else he just happens to find on the street.

I think a dog would be good for him. He needs a friend to help him burn off energy, and also that mental image is adorable, so I'd imagine that he ends up frequenting local shelters a lot, just to keep the dogs company

Forgets to eat until he's actually starving, at which point he becomes really whiny until he gets something in his system

#sfw age regression #agere #fandom agere #doctor who agere #tenth doctor agere

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pascallatte · 1 year

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Little Duck

Pairing/s:Pedro Pascal x actress!reader, Sarah Paulson x platonic!reader

Summary: The pair, Sarah Paulson and Pedro Pascal were asked about their close relationship with the rising star Y/N L/N

Date: October 2012

Warnings: y/n isn't here but is mentioned (not a warning but it needed to be stated), other than that no warnings.

A/n: hi this is the first point for this series, they are still friends here completely platonic, just had to build up the series before you know. Also, feel free to ask questions about the series and hopefully, you guys like this.

“ Hello everyone, we are here at the special red carpet event where dozens of artists from all over the country are coming together to enjoy such a great cause,” the female interviewer greeted the audience.

“ And it is with great honour, that I present to you our first pair on the red carpet, the one and only Sarah Paulson and Pedro Pascal.”

The camera zooms in on the pair before it follows them to the area where they were about to be interviewed.

Smiling to the camera the pair positioned themselves on the right of the interviewer and shook her hand.

“ Thank you both for talking with us, a while ago I said I’m gonna go and talk with the first pair that walks down that carpet before escaping and chugging down whatever’s in the drinks section,” The interviewer said that resulting in small laughs from the pair.

“ So uhm, what does it feel like to be the first ones to walk on this very special event tonight?” She then proceeded to ask them as the pair looked at each other.

“It’s pretty cool yeah like it’s an honour for us to start off this event as it has been highly anticipated in the past year,” Sarah softly said as she nudges Pedro to speak.

“Yeah it just makes us feel better than everybody else,” he casually states as the interviewer bursts out laughing.

“ Why did you both sign up for this, was it the attraction of last year’s special event or did you just get invited?” She asks

“For me, it was a little bit of both, but I mean-actually I wasn’t even supposed to be here Y/N was, but she got sick last minute so she called me and asked me to take her place,” Sarah nods towards the camera as she explained their situation.

“ Oh! That’s unfortunate,” the interviewer said as Pedro perked up and nodded.

“Yes, really unfortunate but we were kind of expecting that she would get sick after all those activities she’s done the past week, so she hasn’t really got time to rest.” Pedro then told the interviewer who looked like she was about to ask the reason for her sickness.

“And while we are on the topic of the Y/N L/N, I’m gonna take the chance to ask you what is your guys’ relationship with her, since you've been seen with her throughout the year, like when did it start? What made you guys add her to your little friend group?” She prodded as she looked at the pair.

The two burst out laughing as the past events filled their mind.

“ Yes, uhm we- rather I kind of adopted y/n back when we got cast together in the movie “Martha Marcy May Marlene", and at some point, we began to grow close and our bond really shook both our worlds.” Sarah shared their history with a large smile before pointing to Pedro who was standing there with a smile of his own.

“But this guy, only met her last January at my new year’s eve party but was seen with her too many times than I have been seen with her since last year,” she stated as a matter of fact as Pedro giggled at the memory.

Shocked the interviewer looked back and forth before composing themselves.

“Are you serious Pedro? I cannot believe that what you’re telling me is true. So, you just met y/n a few months back yet you two looked as if you’ve known each other for years. What can you tell me about this? Any story you can tell us?” The interviewer directed to Pedro who was seen shrugging with a fond look on his face.

“ Yes, uhm I- I mean y/n isn’t a hard person to know 'cause she’s like an open book and a very conversational person so you know as soon as we were introduced we just clicked and that lead to whatever you guys are seeing floating around now.”

“ Yeah, they clicked so much that they even hang out without me. IMAGINE THAT I, who introduced them to each other, was being left out. I sense a betrayal going on.” Sarah teased Pedro who started laughing as he rested his hands on her shoulders before kneeling down and begging for her forgiveness.

The interviewer laughed with them before asking a couple more questions about their future and current projects.

“So that is all for tonight, once again thank you Sarah and Pedro for your time and we’re hoping to see you guys soon and hopefully with y/n.” The interviewer closed up the interview.

“Ah yes thank you too, and we agree on the part that y/n needs to be here on our next red carpet.” Sarah pointed to the camera.

“ So little duck eat up and drink up, you are missing on a lot of fun, get well soon!!” Pedro screamed to the mic as the video slowly faded to black.

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfic #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal fluff #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal x female reader #pedro pascal x actress!reader #sarah paulson #sarah paulson x platonic!reader

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casasupernovas · 8 months

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i hate when people say "it's not the doctor's fault he and martha weren't on the same page 🥺"

but it literally is though. why kiss someone you're not interested in. why flirt with someone you're not interested in. why lean on someone, literally put your life in the hands of something you're kind of 'not on the same page with?

"it got complicated...and that was all my fault."

im not saying he *should* have loved her as a reward, that's a gross take. but i am asking when oh when will the doctor who fandom stop pretending that things didn't get so complicated with martha because HE was the one making it complicated?

the show lays it out pretty explicitly:

flirts with her and shows off to her to get her into the tardis then claim he isn't interested. complicated.

shares a bed with her and rolls over, looks her deep in her eyes and says he's missing something, something that is fairly obvious and staring him in the face, then proceed to compare her to rose and say he's taking her home. complicated.

despite proclaiming one tip, he extends it. complicated.

instead of saying he doesn't want to go home because of personal reasons he lies, and uses her to reminisce on someone else which gets her kidnapped. complicated.

extends that 'one trip'. again. complicated.

almost sacrifices himself twice and when she says she's glad to see him still alive swoops her up in a hug while the bad guys get away but blame her for wasting time on a hug. complicated.

takes her back home, leaves, returns 30 seconds later then at the end of yet another adventure asks her to have one more trip AGAIN. complicated.

be frightened out of your mind and ignore her concerns - complicated - but give her a tardis key. sweet but even more complicated.

hide away in 1913 while she looks after you but you fall in love, because the narrative is pointing out that the most basic human emotion djdn't even occur to you. complicated. your companion confesses her love and recinds it afterwards and you oblige even though you know she's lying. complicated.

you scream in her face in your fear, dismiss her concerns about the fear which brings the fear to her doorstep and you play in her face about someone not knowing you exist even though you have a crush. complicated.

put your life and the whole planet in her hands. complicated. weep over the death of her oppressor. complicated.

there was a really simple solution to all of this. leave. her. alone. martha, i feel like everyone forgets this, literally said NO at the end of 'the lazarus experiment.' she rejected him. but he didn't want to let her go.

now that's complicated.

#alexa play avril lavigne #doctor who #martha jones #tenth doctor #10th doctor #tenmartha #the shakespeare code #smith and jones #gridlock #the lazarus experiment

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puppetmaster13u · 6 months

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@f4nd0m-fun here (I hope they allow us to ask with secondary blogs soon)

Just how wild do you like your Batfam cryptids? I've got ideas for days.

One is a wing fic where all the bats essentially end up half demon. Thomas and Martha make a deal with Alfred to help fix the city and clean up the curses and everything, and. Alfred asks for 'the souls of your descendants' at the point, not caring much for humanity but hoping to get ahead of those pesky demons in his soul collection (so and so said he has Constantine's soul but that's only a piece! What about a bunch of souls that have been tainted by the spirit of a city that has never had reason to hope? Now those are some rare and dark souls).

The Waynes were hoping he'd take their souls instead but he refuses (maybe they're too full of hope or something) but, over time, he grows attached and ends up giving Bruce a shard of his power, allowing him to transform into a demonic winged form based on an animal for his protection after his parents die. When he's young the form is a snowy owl, but once he come back and became Batman his wings have changed. Each of the babies is the same way. As Robin, they gain their baby wings, but, once they move to a new name, their wings evolve.

'The Demon's Head' isn't just a fancy title, the Al'ghul's are demon descended, so Damien is at least a quarter demon even at the beginning, but Alfred's power can't be passed genetically like they thought, so he was born grounded. In this, he shows up sooner, Talkia asking Jason to take Damien with him to his father since she knows her father will kill him for being wingless.

Tim, poor baby. He couldn't fly as Robin because his wings were a shattered mimicry of Jason's Robin wings. He felt like he was in the shadow of the previous Robin, making the 'replacement' nickname sting even more, but, eventually, he grows into the wings of a cardinal and learns to fly.

I'm not sure if Alfred marks Barbara as his person, but if not, maybe he regrets not doing so, thinking that she might not have ended up paralyzed if he'd given her power. But also she's not really considered a 'Wayne descendant' life the kids Bruce adopted, so he'd have to directly make the deal with her. Maybe he does this with Stephanie when she comes along, still thinking about how Barbara might've been better off with a deal. Also, he keeps trying to hold off on gathering their souls because he's grown attached. I figure he'd probably end up wanting to turn them into proper demons too tho when they eventually die but, for now, until the city has been restored (if it ever will be), the Batfam is essentially immortal, and Alfred might be pulling some strings so no one realizes the Waynes are as well. As a side note, I debated Alfred x Lady Gotham for this story.

Then I had a dpxdc version of this where the wings were still demonic in origin but basically Scarecrow and Bruce are many many family lines removed cousins from an ancestor who was siblings with Jack Nightingale. On top of that, Danny had wings but they got charred when he was electrocuted. This one also has Clock x Pariah and they have wings due to something to do with ghosts, Danny gets a cloak made out of their feathers while his ghost side slowly grows its own wings (but he'll never have wings as a living again).

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Sorry for the long send, I got a bit carried away, but if you want I can dig up my AU again and share what I have for the wings at least, not sure what else I've got written down.

#colony of bats AU

Honestly I love both of these ideas, but what if they were say, combined.

Alfred gifts Bruce a shard of his power- everyone knows the Waynes have wings, even if in most cases too small to fly. But the wings are feathered, usually bright and flashy for the men who inherit the trait.

Which means they're very identifiable. But like you said, Alfred gets (ugh) attached to this little mortal. He's practically raised him and honestly thinks it's adorable watching him manipulate the other richfolk at galas into thinking he's such a "polite young man." Bruce is practically his baby!

So he gifts him a bit of his blood (which we know via Constantine can extend ones lifespan including giving them a bit of healing) and an itty bitty piece of his own power. Just enough for Bruce to be able to willingly call upon it. Just enough for him to disappear into shadows. Just enough for his eyes to gain a hint of an unholy glow. Just enough for a hint of claws. Just enough for feathered wings to shift into jagged mimicries of his own.

You know what could be an interesting thing? The wings are Realms in origin. We know the FentonNightingales separated into the Fentons and Nightingales some time after Jack, so whose to say that the Nightingales didn't get into magic. Perhaps they were given a gift to thank them after a bit of protection or assistance. And the infinite realms are well, infinite. It attaches to all worlds, including say the more demonic ones. But whose to say none of the Fentons made a deal or three in the generations following. They were witch hunters after all, perhaps they need something to keep up with the "traitors" of their bloodline.

Perhaps a deal which resulted in those matching wings.

Now, how could they find out their relation with the Fentons? While there could be the adoption route, what if instead it was right after Danny's accident.

He died screaming, visibly got electrocuted, his wings are torched, there's no way they're not taking him to the hospital. Which means things like blood tests, maybe even a donated organ or two because someone doesn't get blasted with that much electricity without consequences.

Which, it's the batfamily, they definitely have alarms set up for any sort of family pings for both themselves and their rogues. Just in case.

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Also had no idea where to put it but if this includes demons and ghosts feeding on fear, or emotions in general, then Scarecrow could be instinctively attempting to feed and grow his wings. Also he deserves raven or rook wings. Maybe a jay's if you wanna go for color.

Oh my gosh, even if Alfred and Gotham don't get together, they definitely have tea together and spar. They're definitely co-parenting either platonically or romantically, it doesn't matter this is their specialist lil boy. Who then brings even more of the specialist lil ones ever!

God I love the implications of Clockwork and Pariah creating a cloak of wings for a ghostling for them to use as their feathers slowly grow back. Love what that implies for the culture of the ghost zone. Love the idea of it maybe having an influence on Danny's wings in ghost form since a ghost's appearance is influenced by their image about themself.

#ask answered #batman au #batman #dc #dcu #dcxdp #dpxdc #cryptid batman #cryptid batfam #normally I don't really like demon aus #but this is honestly really interesting in implications #I am honestly here for this and am very interested #Would the batfam also get wings (that is feathered ones)#What is Constantine's reaction to Batman #Does it ping similar to a half-demon or something else #Does he just think it's a Gotham thing since like 3+ portals to hell have been opened there #I honestly don't think Alfred would let Jason die #Like demon blood is actually kinda OP in the DC world #We've seen Constantine stabbed through the center (like practically split in half hotdog style) and heal pretty freakin easy #Okay but wings #like wing ideas #Jack has condor wings (very big & also death implications)#Danny deserves lil dove wings as bby before they're scorched #They deserve to be similar to galaxy when grown back #White flecks from Clockwork & the darker bits from Pariah with hints of his own colors swirling together #Jazz has either a finch's wings or cockatoos #OH #Bruce has nicobar pigeon wings #Closest living relative of the dodo #And it is Gorgeous

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bruciemilf · 1 year

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wait I have got to hear your thoughts on bruce being lottie!!

Rewatching Princess and The Frog has got me in a chokehold! But basically, the AU as of now;

It's a well established, well know, well respected fact from the White House to the Bayou; If you ain't Wayne rich, you ain't rich at all.

But you won't catch Thomas Wayne bragging and boosting and yapping about hot cars, or big mansions, or pearly white yachts.

Thomas' pride and joy is one tiny, fawn eyed, overly energetic boy that made Gotham collectively swoon.

"And I want a princess when I grows up!" Bruce is just prancing around in his pink prince costume, adjusting a paper crown that Alfred made, " Or a prince! Can you get me a prince, papa?"

"You know the deal, Bruce; You wish it, daddy grands it; Ain't that right, Martha?"

Martha Kent chuckles in that warm, knowing way of hers. Her friend is infamous for the way he spoils his boy. But the Waynes are good people. And not just because they keep her farm afloat.

"Yeah, you're good on that front. But you know, sweetheart; It doesn't matter if you marry a prince or princess. As long as they make you smile, that's all that matters."

Lois, just a bit older than Bruce, makes a disgusted noise, " I don't want no prince or princess. I just want Princess money."

Bruce squeals, " But a PRINCE. I'd love to marry a Prince. We'd have a big big wedding and the sweetest cake in the world, and everyone would have fun, -- Clark! You gonna be at my wedding, right?"

Clark, dressed up in his blue overalls and paper sword, to fit the knight Bruce always calls him, nods, with a smile that doesn't match his words, " Course I will, Bruce. If you'll have me."

Now. Bruce is so very good at forging fantasies. But when a princess from a far away island rumoured to be populated entirely by women comes into town, it doesn't look like make believe at all.

"Women only? Lucky."

Lois doesn't have the time for dreams; She's a bonafide, concise, straight to the point realist. Taking truth by the throat and brings it to light.

And often enough, truth isn't pretty. And ugly truth, as Parry said, right before booting her right out of her job, doesn't sell.

Luckily, Clark's folks were nice enough to give her a delivery job cause Clark can't drive worth a damn. Still. If she's gonna watch him contain another dreamy sigh for Bruce, she'll blow chunks.

"Did you see her in them papers?! That's the prettiest woman I ever did see!"

Mr. Wayne growls behind his newspaper (that Lois could've written better than fucking JIMMY) and Bruce doubles down, " Um. After mama."

Mr Thomas smiles. "Hm. Guess you're finally getting that princess, huh, Brucie?"

Even in adulthood, Bruce squeals like a strangled kitten, " Where's Clark? Can't have the perfect wedding without the perfect best man!" Lois bites her lip and stacks up the peaches in Mrs. Wayne's Cafe.

After all these years, she just refuses to let that old place go. Lois has to respect that. Martha gives her a sympathetic look, warms her up with a mother's love. " How's work, Lo?"

"It's work, Mrs. Wayne. Thank you for that big order for the masquerade ball. At this point, you're the only ones keeping that farm alive..."

"Give those apples some credit," she winks, but squeezes Lois' hand, " If you ever need anything..."

"Thank you. But I don't take handouts."

"Pride won't buy you food, honey. But I guess I gotta wait for you to open your own newspaper. Then I'll make you rich. You'll see."

Bruce is just hugging and squeezing on Clark's arm, ranting a mile a minute about his wedding colors, his cake flavor, the honeymoon, all while nuzzling Clark's toned arm.

And Clark does what he does best; Hide behind a smile.

Alfred sighs, " If he wasn't mine, I'd whack that boy's head with a pan."

"You'll do no such thing, or so help me!"

"Save it for the after party, Tommy dear," Martha chuckles, " But I gotta understand, -- this Diana lady's making waves. I never even seen a woman talk to the mayor before. Let alone yell at 'Im."

"That's cause Tommy Elliot only wants women under his desk," A roll of the eye, a coil of disgust fanning resentment In her gut, Lois takes the box. "Sides, little miss princess probably ain't better than he is. "

The problem with always looking back is you're never ready for the forward.

When Lois bumps up in something tall, solid, and warm, she thinks its Clark. Except neither she or Clark smell like vanilla ice cream and clean air and blue oceans.

Clark certainly doesn't have long, majestic hair gracefully dancing in the winds. He doesn't have blood red lips, or strong blue eyes.

Clark's eyes were summer sky blue. Not a blue Medusa herself couldn't stone.

And he certainly doesn't make her heart stop with a smirk.

"Well," Diana Fucking Prince says, voice satin and velvet, "I don't know about being a better. But I could change your mind about that."

#dc #bruce wayne #clark kent #lois lane #dc comics #superbat #diana prince #diana of themyscira #lois x diana #basically diana goes undercover as a civilian to see how the mayor treats his citizens or maybe shes running from something and lois #has to help take your pic!!!#text #text post #also bruce has little babies!! jay and dickie ^^ lois employes their help to stop wonderbat from happening bc clearly CLARK should marry #the princess and save the farm #jay isnt down!! she wants the cool lady as his mom! and dick wants uncle clark as his dad!

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homuraakemis · 21 days

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One thing that amazes me about Dark is how it managed to portray Jonas and Martha as the darkest of villains (both committing mass murder by causing the Apocalypse, ordering several murders, kidnappings, lying and manipulating people) while at the same time portraying them as such selfless heroes.

Because when you think about it, Jonas and Martha are actually incredibly selfless and heroic. When they are told that they need to go to the origin world to save it and end the knot, and that by doing so, not only would they cease to exist but their entire worlds and the people they loved would also cease to exist, they both agree to sacrifice themselves immediately (Jonas agrees on the spot, and Martha only needs five seconds to compose herself and agree). And this moment is a very selfless moment for both of them.

I've seen so many people argue that Martha/Eva is selfish, that she only does the things she does so that her son and the people she loves would exist, and yet this moment at the end pretty much disproves this. She is faced with the choice of either continuing the loop of suffering to let her loved ones exist, or saving the original world, and she chooses to save the original world and end the time loop, knowing full well she and everyone she loved would cease to exist. This just goes to show that Eva's goal was never truly just about her family and loved ones, but about preserving life, and when she learns that there's a way to end the knot and preserve life in the origin world, she readily sacrifices herself.

This moment is also an incredibly selfless moment for Jonas as well. One could try to argue that Jonas ending his own existence was something he always wanted, so his sacrifice in the end isn't really all that selfless. But I don't think that's true for the Jonas at this point in time. This Jonas isn't suicidal yet. This is the Jonas that a year ago cried before Elisabeth hung him, because he didn't want to die. This is the Jonas who gave Martha a goodbye kiss when he thought he would cease to exist and was devastated as he walked away from her. Sure, Jonas at this point in time was already seeking a way to erase his own existence, but it wasn't because he wanted to die: it was because he believed that by erasing his own existence, he would save the people he loved (Michael, Martha and everyone else). And sacrificing himself to save the origin world doesn't give him anything he wanted: not only he didn't want to die, but he definitely didn't want to erase the existence of Martha, Mikkel and everyone else. But he still chooses to make this sacrifice, because he believes that it's the right thing to do. At the end, he is not relieved to fade out of existence: he and Martha are both clearly terribly sad and devastated about the sacrifice they've made.

Which is why I believe that both Adam and Eva were never truly selfish: Eva truly believed that she needed to keep the loop to preserve everyone's lives, and Adam truly believed that the only salvation for humanity would be to not exist. We can question their beliefs, of course, but I truly do think they were both selfless and idealistic about what they were doing. And they both moved mountains to do what they believed was right.

I also think it's incredibly fascinating to think about how such selfless heroes could go down such villainous paths all due to the time loop. They are both good people at their core, so really, if it weren't for the time loop, none of them would have ever been capable of committing the atrocities they committed. Jonas only starts to become Adam after trying to change things and realizing that things would always happen no matter what he tries, and after believing that he needed to ensure his own past in order to finally end things. Martha only agrees to follow Eva and gives up on fixing things (like she promised Jonas she would do) because she learns what will happen to the version of her who does try to change things (she will get murdered by Adam) and because she believes she needs to keep the loop to ensure everyone's lives. Jonas and Martha would never do all the things they do (murders, kidnappings, causing the apocalypse, lies and manipulations, traumatizing their younger selves) if it weren't for the time loop that pretty much forces them to do these things.

Which is why their stories are such amazing tragedies and why they're such complex characters. It's a story that shows how two selfless heroes who would willingly sacrifice themselves to save the world can still be forced by circumstances outside of their control to do such terrible things.

#dark netflix #jonas kahnwald #martha nielsen #jonas x martha #my meta #my post.#what great heroes and villains they are

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nathaniel-underwood-is-an-intj · 7 days

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Looong rant about chapter 16 Ptolemy's Gate and how being passive can add to the cycle of ab*se.

oof so I just read when Nat goes to see Ms Lutyens and I can't help but be absolutely furious at her??

I know that's maybe a little bit unfair given she's frightened of him as a magician and is obviously angry when she finds out the department he's responsible for, but honestly it kinda brings up the problem with inadvertent bystanders to child ab*se in my mind.

And I'm definitely not blaming her solely for who Nat becomes but it makes me think of all those people in huge child ab*se cases who give interviews to press about all the things they noticed that were wrong but they just...never do anything?

She stood up for him against Lovelace, and when Nat thanked her- "I wanted to say that I know you were trying to save me, and-"

''Yes, and I'm sorry I didn't" Like girl be for real did you really think that alone would undo the years of indoctrination and abuse he's already suffered and prevent years worth of the same in the years to come? And she won't take responsibility - "My job is with children, not the adults they become" and again while it seems harsh to blame her for who Nat becomes, it's so much easier to pass the blame to people who are more directly responsible rather than acknowledging you also play a part.

I think it hurts so much more because it's her specifically- Nat goes to her in sheer desperation, it almost seems like a goodbye- he wants to thank her, tries to set her up in a job that will pay well and struggles to communicate he's trying to help. At this point he thinks Bartimaeus has been summoned by another magician and his birth name will be revealed. He's sure he's about to die and if not he'll be stood on trial and lose everything.

He goes to her because she represents the peaceful moments from his childhood when he got away from his master. He's scared and feeling lost and really it's call for help; but he doesn't ask for anything he just wants to make her feel proud of him- he's looking for that validation that he's been chasing since childhood.

And that shows he still does have that little bit of childhood innocence in him; he thinks she will be proud, thinks she'll see him as the same little boy in the garden gazing up at his teacher in adoration. He can't quite grasp why she's separated the man stood before her from that little boy. Because in that moment the child inside Nathaniel is seeking comfort AND THAT'S WHY it makes me so angry. She's completely given up on him when he's at his lowest ebb, because she doesn't want to be associated with the magician he's become. As if it isn't a massive step in the right direction that he saught her out in the first place- what other magican would bother? I wonder if that's why she reacted so strongly to seeing him again? Before that moment she could go about her life wondering if /pretending her attempt to protect him was enough, and now she realises it wasn't, of course it wasn't, and the image she had of Nathaniel's childhood innocence is completely ruined in her mind.

Or was her contempt for him even grater than Nat realised? She was naturally disgusted by the rhetoric he'd started to repeat from a young age, and gently tried to correct him although she was clearly angry- was she just resigned to the fact that there is little else she could do to change his future? I always thought- couldn't she have looked for him? The Underwood house fire was in the papers and they mentioned the apprentice was being searched for. Did she ever worry about him? Surely something must have been in the papers since- an announcement of new ministers, ANYTHING! Look at how much research Kitty did to find out about Bartimaeus and Ptolemy. I just don't think Rosanna Lutyens cared enough, realistically Nathaniel wasn't hard to find- but he was no longer her responsibility so she could turn a blind eye.

And sadly it's not just her- I know everyone loves Martha Underwood including Nat; but I think her submissiveness to her husband has a negative effect on Nathaniel as well. In AOS when Nat is locked in his room for ages after setting the mites loose, and is forbidden to have any contact with anyone and she won't talk with him. I know she's been told by Mr. Underwood she can't, but it still boils my blood. She's an adult and going along with ignoring Nathaniel because her husband told her to...I can't even begin to imagine the psychological damage that would do to a 10 year old child. (It could be argued she's frightened of the consequences if her husband finds out she's disobeyed him which is fair, he could always be watching through magic- but this is Arthur Underwood we're talking about. He's lazy, oblivious and weak I doubt he'd expend all that energy each day to check up on her.)

And It's even more painful that Nathaniel is often described as fiercely loyal to her and I think to Ms Lutyens as well- he doesn't expect to be treated well by Arthur Underwood but he loved Mrs Underwood and Ms Lutyens so much he started to view them through a rose-coloured lense. He never feels betrayed by either of them, even though they absolutely let him down, because the pedestal he's put them on is too high AND THAT ABSOLUTELY DESTROYS ME.

Would things with Nathaniel have been any different if Mrs Underwood hadn't died? I don't really think so. Do you think she'd see Nathaniel's temper at 14 years old and be reminded of Arthur Underwood? He was awful, absolutely awful to Nat and to her; but he was under so much stress in an underfunded departement, where pressure was being put on him by superiors to accomplish far more than they knew him to be capable of, and he took it out on the easiest target. Nathaniel ends up in exactly the same place and he starts to take it out on the only person around him- Bartimaeus. Would he snap at Mrs Underwood all the time if she were still there? Because he's learnt that behaviour from his father figure, and subconsciously learnt from his mother figure that she'll put up with it. He learnt from the woman he loved so deeply, that if you don't resist, people will walk all over you. So you have to maintain control even if it ends up hurting people you care about because no one will step in to stop the suffering no matter how much you love them, no matter how much you want them too.

It's easy to blame Arthur Underwood and Simon Lovelace and the magicians that actively hurt Nathaniel but I just feel like it's a bit disingenuous not to acknowledge the role of those doing passive harm. It's really mean to say it but even Bartimaeus plays a role- he knows Nat is clinging on to him because he can't 'bring himself to break this last connection' (to his childhood) but instead of bringing it up properly he 'taunts' Nathaniel- a boy who has been taunted for his weakness by his master for years. And even in AOS when Nathaniel tells Bartimaeus he was beaten for the mites incident Bart just kinda shrugs it off. Like I get it, why should Bartimaeus do anything, he's suffered way worse due to the system so he doesn't owe Nat anything right? But from Nat's point of view this is the first and only time he's mentioned to anyone what has happened to him and nothing changes. It's like another lesson learnt: telling someone about it doesn't help. Another nail in the coffin.

And I like all these characters, I feel bad for them. They're all victims of the system, I think the chapter with Ms Lutyens is just the straw that broke the camel's back for me. All of those little opportunities that are insignificant to the narrative over all; the commoners have it worse, Nathaniel is in a privileged position in society, exerting control over others. He's very morally grey, crossing over into objectively bad person territory but I love him with my whole heart and all of those insignificant moments would have been massive to him whether he was conscious of it or not.

And it goes all the way back to the beginning with Nat's parents giving him up to the magicians at 5 years old. I can't get the image of that little boy sat crying all alone in the government building. And he's not going somewhere safer, or somewhere he'll be happier and more loved. Giving your child over to a total stranger, oh he'll be totally fine won't he? He'll grow up to be a magician and far richer than you'll ever be, he'll be happy and comfortable and be grateful he got to grow up in luxury. There's no way a stranger you've never met, who the majority of society is terrified of would ever hurt a vulnerable little kid right? And if they do? Well you aren't responsible anymore, how could you know? What could you possibly do against the magician taking care of him?

Every little thing is another grain of sand tipping the scale. Did anyone else have to analyse An Inspector Calls in school? It feels like that to me- those BIG moments and all the little moments in between that add onto the pile.

And it goes on to cause problems in wider society too- ab*se is so normalised to the magicians, they casually ask Underwood if he hits Nathaniel like it's nothing. Because to them it is nothing, they've all grown up in the same circumstances and are repeating what they've learnt as children. I can't help but feel a little sorry for them all, especially when they aren't looked at through the black and white lense of 'argh these people are the evil arseholes look at how they treat everyone around them, screw these guys.' When we see those little glimpses of humanity like Simon's anxiety with the amulet; looking to his master and father figure Schyler for reassurance, and what's sad is that Nat is "reminded...of his own master's cold impatience" It's clear Simon looks up to his master, wants to make him proud and loves him. But it seems like Schyler has just trained Simon up so he can get power through him later on. I love the little hints of similarities between Simon and Nathaniel; the anxious mannerisms like fiddling with his hair that Nathaniel starts to develop, the way their master's talk to them. Even though they're actively working against each other in AOS and Simon is placed firmly in the baddies category and Nat in the goodies category at this point in the series; these things always hinted to me they had similar childhoods, how was Simon treated? When he had the imp beat Nat into unconsciousness, was it because he'd had the same punishment used against him? Did he know the magicians in the room would do nothing to stop him because no one stopped it from happening to him? Did he ever have a teacher stand up for him only for it to change nothing in the end because all the negative influences were so much stronger? Is the reason he loves Schyler like a dad because he's almost developed Stockholm syndrome? It looks like love because he's never known anything else.

And Arthur Underwood- who doesn't think his upbringing, and being taken away from his family ever did him any harm- doesn't realise the harm done is that he doesn't even know another way of raising Nathaniel, because he was never shown another way. His childhood may also have been filled with people who hurt him and the people that didn't do enough to intervene.

There are so many psychology studies that show children copy everything they see the adults in their life doing. Nathaniel copies the magicians behaviour towards spirits and on a subconscious level I think he copies all the submissive people in his life. How many times does he end up upset and frustrated with the fact he seems to be going nowhere and how many times does he just hope things will be different rather than taking postive action.

I dislike the actions the magicians end up taking but I also find them fascinating to analyse. I tend to prefer villains in media because they're usually slightly more complex individuals and I love to think about how they ended up that way. They can all be seen as victims of their circumstances in a way, despite all the power and privilege they have had terrible and traumatic childhoods, and if the commoners had no valuable worldy possessions at least they had a sense of togetherness; of love and understanding and selflessness. I wonder if the magicians hated them at least partly because of that. Because out in the sea of faces of the commoners talking about nothing important, doing nothing great and noble- could be the parents that abandoned them. And when your life is on the line daily because of working with spirits, and your colleagues want to stab you in the back, sometimes not being responsible for anything important looks good. But you can't leave your life as a magician, it would be too difficult; you have nowhere to go, no real friends, no one who really loves you. So it's better to stay and be a submissive bystander in your own life because it's so much easier.

Doing nothing is doing something- being passive can be just as harmful.

#Oh boy if I was in Nat's life I'd've packed him into a box and shipped him off to therapy long ago #Listen I'm not a magician apologist per se....#But I do find playing devil's advocate for well -written baddies fun #And I am Nathaniells defence lawyer #I will not hear a word said against him #Just stressing that I do in fact like Mrs Underwood and Ms Lutyens I just wish they were a little stronger in sticking up for Nat #and I do hate mr Underwood #Simon lovelace tho.... I quite like him he can have a little space in the therapy box #I have a softspot for him because of the mannerisms that compare him to Nat okay???#Is it obvious I studied psychology at school 😅#Or that I am a huge Nat kinnie😅😅#Please don't hate me for this take #If anyone takes anything from this please let it be children copy everything they see you do including when you do nothing #This is quite tangential #bartseq #bartimaeus sequence #bartimaeus trilogy #bartimaeus #nathaniel underwood #liveblogging

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fandoms-in-law · 6 months

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Just realised, Donna and Shaun are a great happy ending.

long lastings relationships aren't typical of Doctor Who. Not stable ones in just normal human lives.

Rory and Amy constantly fight to get back to each other.

Jackie Tyler is single, though she does get other world Pete back, that's once more fighting for their lives/ the universe brought them back together

Micky was hung up on Rose, I think the last ending he got was with Martha?

Martha's parents are split up, and both kinda mad over her Dad's new relationship

Martha herself? yes she ends up with Micky if memory serves, also was engaged if not married to the doctor guy who helped when she walked the Earth,

the relationships aren't shown as stable and are shown as outcomes from adventures for almost all the characters.

Sylvia is alone and I don't know if we even hear what happened to Donna's dad.

Now we're brought back to Donna and she's with Shaun and they are entirely in love, and committed, to the point that while Donna does check Shaun isn't getting jealous, it wasn't really a concern, it was asking for confirmation they had the same thought, "yeah, but not him" she was right in that too.

And it's wonderful to see this. To see a happy ending after her failed wedding to Lance, after that relationship in the Library, to see Donna with a great relationship, great family

Getting her memories and time with her best friend back is fantastic, but I'm just thrilled she got her family, her happy ever after

and terrified that the trailer of the Doctor saying the confrontation should be with him means Shaun or Rose get captured

Donna deserves her happy ever after

#doctor who #donna noble #dw spoilers #doctor who spoilers

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nat-20s · 5 months

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please elaborate on how Donna fundamentally changed the structure and DNA of doctor who. take no prisoners. i have to know more. I think i know how you feel but i can't articulate it. Donna was the first companion to actually have significant plot relevance. Like, series 4 depended on Donna's decisions to function as a story and no other series until series 4 relied on its companion the way Doctor Who relied on Donna (Amy Clara and Bill excluded, but you could argue that's because of Donna setting the foundation). Or how the entire bit with Clara is such a cruelly ironic thing to put 12 through because it mirrors Donna's fate so well. but there's more. Donna was a massive catalyst for so much of post-series 4 doctor who but i can't articulate it. Your point about Catherine and David hitting it off as actors with unparalleled chemistry has so much to do with it too, i think.

i know there's more.

ok ok ok so this isn't going to be even slightly cohesive because like. I don't think she changed the series in a way that I can point to and be like "Nuwho used to be this and then Donna happened and then immediately Nuwho became That" but I think she did massively influence some of the directions the show went for overall.

I mean the most obvious way she changed the show is that she changed The Doctor, so like yeah if you change the central character of the show. In a lot of ways, Nuwho is very much a war story. And I think in the first three seasons The Doctor feels more like a General- a leader of the army, the one who knows what's happening and where to direct people and how to shift the tides. He is the Central Figure of the war.

And then Donna's season happens, and to me he starts feeling like more like a foot solider, or perhaps more accurately, a floor nurse. Donna very much grounds him in the people around him, he feels less, well, alien. The message that he is not there to always be the Grand Savior of the Universe or the Grand Warrior of Time, but to be on the ground and help the people that he can. And this very much carries through the rest of Doctor Who despite Moffat's best efforts, I mean yeah 12 literally says as much in the show. So there's a big ol change.

I think the second way she changed the show was due to a:Catherine Tate's comedic background and b: Catherine and David being those two friends that cannot stop being Sillay around each other is that I think she did allow the show to take on more comedic elements/ allow The Doctor and The Companion to have more FUN on screen. That's not to say that Rose and Martha never have fun with The Doctor because that's straight up not true but I think Ten and Donna have probably the highest fun per adventure ratio of any pairing and it doesn't ever feel like. Oh why are they having this fun on screen yknow?

The third big shift that I think Donna had on the series as a whole was the role of the Companion(s). Again not that Martha or Rose had ever been like. Inferior to The Doctor but to me Donna is the companion that feels the most narratively equivalent to him. The companion has always served as audience surrogate: the one to be like hey. what?? and get things explained to them for the benefit of the viewers at home. And this also happens with Donna but sometimes she's also the one doing the explaining to The Doctor! I mean, it's the soulmatism of it all, right? While The Doctor is always The Doctor as a character, Ten and Donna swap back and forth in who is taking on The Companion and The Doctor as functional roles in the story. And this was before she Literally Became The DoctorDonna like long before that happens the best way I can describe it is like. There's a podcast i've been listening to where they talk about the most "doctory" moment of the episode and tbqh a lot of times it's like "well really the most doctory moment was done by Donna" (i think her realizing that by the ood having their brains in their hands they HAVE to trust everyone is like the Peak example of this). We see this sort of thing carry on (Especially with Clara, but fascinatingly enough it's in like. a negative way bc she's sooo like the doctor but in a way that makes both of them worse) through the series in a way I don't think would've happened if Donna's season wasn't there.

And then lastly I mean she came, she served for three episodes, and she changed the structure of the show AGAIN by doing something that no companion has ever been able to do: she was able to pull The Doctor OUT of the narrative. The Doctor is like SUCH a doomed by the narrative (and by the way the show works in general) character and she said Nope! I am going to kick the narrative in the shins until I save my best friend actually <3. And then she did!!!! Holy fuck!! I know these specials JUST came out so we haven't seen all the ripple effects yet but there's no WAY that won't result in a fundamental shift of Doctor Who overall. Like 15's personality feels so unburdened in a way that has never been possible before this point. I'm so excited.

Anyway TLDR Donna changed the show by being a friend and an equal in a way that hadn't really been part of the Companion role before and she fucks so so severely <3

#replies #anon #doctor who #donna noble #god this is. so fucking long. sorry (or not?) anon

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gartenofbanny · 1 year

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Millie is not protective of Moxxie when it comes to Blitzo doing shit to Moxxie or getting involved with their relationship. Don't believe me? Time for me to make a list.

WARNING ⚠️⚠️: MENTIONS OF RAPE, SA, & THE R-WORD

It's established that Millie is Moxxie's knight in shining armor. Millie is Mario while Moxxie is Princess Peach. Millie is always there to protect Moxxie but only when it comes to the antagonists of the episode. Throughout the show, I've noticed that whenever Blitzo and (sometimes) Loona says or does something which aggravates Moxxie, Millie doesn't do anything to actually stop either of them. With Blitzo she mainly plays it off. Today I'm going to list the things that Blitzo and Loona have done and also I'm going to point out a few things that Millie should've done to at least help out Moxxie, but she didn't because humor.

The Pilot

Now, as always this problem can stem back all the way to the pilot. I can forgive some of the things she dismisses Blitzo of like being in their fridge, but there is a certain scene that Millie should've butted in because what Blitzo said was completely unnecessary. That being the infamous scene where Blitzo calls Moxxie the R-word. Millie doesn't say or do anything to Blitzo despite the fact that he pretty much insulted Moxxie with a very offensive word. Only after the scene, Millie decides to defend Moxxie by indirectly insulting him? Telling Loona that he wasn't easy to manage and calling Loona a "bitch" shortly afterward.

And it only gets worse because once the kid insults Moxxie pretty much calling him a spineless jackass, Millie defends him right then and there. Millie for the most part was dick-riding Blitzo throughout this entire pilot. She doesn't stand up to him for Moxxie, but only does it when Eddie or Loona insults him. You'd think they'd actually fix this throughout the series, but nah.

Murder Family

In Murder Family, Millie does not do anything when Blitzo treats him like shit (or is borderline abusive towards him). Millie doesn't do shit when Blitzo grabs Moxxie by the face, insults him, and throws him into glass or trash just five minutes in the episode. Granted, Moxxie is somewhat to blame for the fire, but Millie wasn't even there to at least stick up for Moxxie towards Blitzo.

Another scene, probably more subtle than the previous one was when Blitzo was grabbing Moxxie's face and Moxxie was trying to get out of his grasp, but to no avail. Once again, Millie doesn't do shit and just talks to Blitzo while letting him grip on Moxxie's face.

Another scene in Murder Family is when Blitzo rants to Moxxie that there is probably no innocence and insults him right after. Oddly, Millie isn't even present the majority of the time when Blitzo tries to assassinate Martha. She only makes a small appearance when she escapes out of the bushes. Literally no line was given to her, what the fuck.

The last scene in Murder Family is when Blitzo pretty much threatens Moxxie to rape him and Millie. This entire scene is a wtf moment and despite the fact that Blitzo didn't get at least punched in the face by Millie or Moxxie was surprising. Millie had no problem killing Chaz once she found out that he dated Moxxie, but she doesn't even care when Blitzo threatens Moxxie that he will force himself on him and Millie. Wow.

The only time Millie actually does snap at Blitzo in Murder Family was when Blitzo just outright says that bullets would be more effective to them, but even then she doesn't say anything to Blitzo afterward. Even though the dude had almost gotten them both killed.

And that's only the first episode with other episodes (fortunately not all of them) still containing the issue. So I'm gonna skip to Spring Broken which fortunately has only two scenes I can actually point out.

Spring Broken

Blitzo, as always insults Moxxie right beside Millie and even manhandles him a little. Millie does nothing as always.

Near the end of Spring Broken, Blitzo drops a drunken Moxxie on the ground and Millie just picks him up, once again not saying anything or doing anything to Blitzo when he physically or mentally abuses her husband in front of her. So let's move onto C.H.E.R.U.B!

C.H.E.R.U.B

Moxxie gets body shamed right in front of Millie by Loona and he also gets slapped across the wall. Millie doesn't do jack shit and just moved out of the way for Moxxie to land on the wall.

Moxxie gets crushed underneath twice, and Millie doesn't do shit to help him out. She doesn't even move a little bit of rubble to at least give him some space to breathe. This is one of the moments where Millie doesn't really help Moxxie without Blitzo causing it. Now let's move on to Harvest Moon Festival!

Harvest Moon Festival

Moxxie gets pushed aside by Blitzo so the latter can introduce himself to Millie's parents right in front of Millie. Millie does nothing about it.

This is something a bit unrelated, but when Moxxie goes onto talk about how more wars were won by technical advancement instead of brute force. Millie while watching him making the rant, tries to signal him to stop, which alongside her parents and Blitzo's reactions is what made him stop. So she won't let Moxxie be himself in front of his parents or even pretend to be interested in his speaking. Neat.

Blitzo just straight up grabs Moxxie's crotch and Millie does not do anything about it. She was so fucking pissed at Chaz for dating Moxxie before they met, but when Blitzo touches Moxxie's no-no square it's suddenly fine. Hell, Blitzo does it a second time and Millie ignores this. Definitely not sharing images of this because you all know why.

Those are all I can find within Harvest Moon Festival, so now let's move onto Ozzie's.

Ozzie's

Millie doesn't tell Blitzo off when Blitzo says that he'll join Moxxie and herself on their one year anniversary. I can somewhat understand the fact that she doesn't mind it when Blitzo stalks them, but I don't understand that Millie doesn't care if Blitzo goes with them to their anniversary dinner that Moxxie has been preparing for a while. She could've at least rejected Blitzo in a respectful way, but she doesn't say anything which led to Blitzo following them anyway.

And for my last example for this post, Millie doesn't thwack Fizzarolli on his head when both he and Asmodeus decided to make fun of Moxxie. Instead, Millie does it AFTER Fizzarolli and Asmodeus finish roasting both her husband and Blitzo which was really fucking weird.

Conclusion

When it comes to Millie's main character trait of being protective of Moxxie, it's pretty much forgotten whenever Blitzo does his shenanigans around or towards Moxxie. This could be a somewhat hidden character trait of Millie, but I honestly highly doubt it, especially after the tweet Vivziepop released regarding Millie's character. So this was as a blog listing each and every part of Millie not taking action against Blitzo at all. With Season 2 released, there are still a few moments where Millie still does this, but I'm gonna leave that for a future post cause listing all of those has made me very tired. Thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a nice day!

#helluva boss #helluva boss critical #vivziepop critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop criticism #helluva critical #vivziepop #helluva boss critique

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klausbens · 1 year

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i know 42 isn't one of the most beloved doctor who episodes, but i personally loved it—mostly because i think it's incredibly important when it comes to the dynamic between the doctor and martha (along with the lazarus experiment, which i'll agree isn't a wonder of cinematography but it's the episode where—finally!—the doctor acknowledges how martha was never “just a passenger” to him).

and so, what's their dynamic, then? smith and jones, of course—the doctor and his doctor. not that it wasn't apparent already, from the very first moment martha is on screen she saves the doctor's life and plays a fundamental part in solving whatever situation they end up in, but in those episodes specifically—and more than ever in 42—the doctor relies on her and her alone, and he shows just how much he trusts her. because he does trust her, he does believe in her, he's seen such potential in her and i can see it, i see how he sees her and i wish the writing in season three wasn't so terribly inconsistent and that ten wasn't so terribly hot-and-cold, because when they're good they're really good.

i can't stop thinking about how scared the doctor was when he got infected with the virus, how vulnerable. the doctor is never vulnerable. scared yes, confused of course, sad for sure, even desperate, he often doesn't know what to do up until the very last second, but his job is to act as a crutch for others to lean on, to solve problems, to keep hope alive. all of this, during the second half of 42, was martha's job. because he was terrified. and this very primal sense of fear he was feeling came from the fact that the virus threatened to make him do the one thing he can't bear to do—killing without a reason to. he would've killed martha, he would've killed the rest of the crew, and everything would have been completely out of his control. so yes. he was terrified. so terrified, in fact, that at one point he had to physically reach out for her and call her name (“martha, where are you?”) when she let go of him for a few seconds because he couldn't open his eyes to look at her but he didn't feel her touch anymore and he didn't want to be alone—no, scratch that, he didn't want to be without her. for once, specifically, he didn't want to be without martha. and so she ran to him and she held him up and reassured him and he told her “i'm scared, i'm so scared” and tried to warn her about the regeneration process and all she asked of him was to believe in her. and it absolutely kills me how martha doesn't know the doctor has believed in her from the very first moment he's laid eyes on her. because he's being so stubborn, he's in his ‘can't-let-anyone-too-close’ era and he thinks that's what's best for everyone but he also can't stay away, can he? he can't let her go. and he ends up hurting her and himself a lot, but then some times he doesn't. some times he tears the walls down, some times he tells her about gallifrey, and he admits to her that he is scared, and tells her she was never just a passenger, and looks at her like he wishes the expression ‘right person wrong time’ wouldn't apply to a time lord.

and some times he trusts her completely, wholeheartedly, to save everyone for him. and of course she does, because she's his doctor, she's martha jones, she is ‘a star’. and he thanks her. sincerely. no humour, no banter, no nothing, he just thanks her—for saving them, for keeping herself safe while he couldn't, but also just because. just because she's there, and she was there when no one else was or could be, and she got him to share memories and sides of himself he'd previously never shared with anybody.

so yeah. to me, 42 will always be famous. just as martha jones will, and just as whatever the doctor and her shared will.

#doctor who #tenth doctor #martha jones #10th doctor #david tennant #freema agyeman #doctor who meta #tenmartha #meta

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violent138 · 2 months

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"#hey I have a serious headcanon that multiple of Gotham's elite were worried about or invested in Bruce's future#not even for court of owl reasons#but because he had the power and wealth to the alter the city the same way his parents did#falcone even tried killing him a bunch"

PLEASE talk more about this i'm begging. I want to hear all about this!!! Go into as much detail as you want but i'd absolutely read a 5k essay on this if you feel up to it

Though this isn't quite a 5K essay, you may come to regret asking lol. But I'm delighted to answer the question (thanks for asking):

Firstly, I guess to set up some Gotham lore, Gotham's a city of seemingly endless opportunity and is subject to constant power grabs. I think Black Mask once listed all the different factions that squabble over Gotham (street gangs, crime families et cetera). One of these groups is the Court of Owls (the society that secretly controls Gotham), made up of Gotham's oldest and wealthiest families.

And Batman comics make a point of repeatedly drawing attention to its key families, Kanes, Waynes, Elliots, Cobblepots (and the Arkhams too should you like to include them). There's an undue influence and importance they wield over the city.

But despite all the different forces that are competing to reshape Gotham in their image, it's the spectre of the Waynes that looms over it all.

This actually makes a lot of sense, since as some of the founders of the city, they were literally involved in creating the city's skyline and appearance. And then past that, there are so many instances and references to how Thomas and Martha (Kane or Arkham) were set on changing the city entirely (possibly a deviation from their more traditional ancestors).

This is the beginning of the loss of control for many others over the city (such as Gotham's wealthy and elite). Even smaller decisions, like Thomas' choice to save Carmine Falcone's life have major repercussions for the city.

The Waynes had a ton of power, buildings and institutions around Gotham hold their name. They were untouched by their potential criminal ties as they reconstructed the city, but it was clear that they were earning the hatred of a lot of powerful players. This includes the Court of Owls (historians still argue)/others, and if you're a fan of the TellTale game, it's clear that Bruce's family may have actually destroyed and usurped power from some of these other powerful families.

Regardless, Thomas and Martha's shocking deaths created a massive power vacuum that everyone would have jumped to take advantage of. And aside from gaining control over the city, all the old-money families would have wanted control over Bruce Wayne.

Because of the deaths of his parents, Bruce becomes a wildcard; he's the sole inheritor of Wayne Enterprises, all the money, power, and prestige his parents wielded. And in a way, it's almost like all the Waynes have some divine right/eldtrichy power over Gotham, by virtue of their fascinating blood line (or just their money).

So everyone would have been trying to control him/adopt him/use his access in the wake of trauma and exploit his age. When it didn't work, they likely all just settled into a stalemate of waiting for him to make moves so they could decide how much of a threat/ally he was.

In a comic I read (I'm sure there are other examples too, can't recall as I answer this), Carmine Falcone tries to kill Bruce Wayne via hired assassin, well after it's been established that nobody's even seen Bruce for a while. Carmine hears that Bruce could be at a party and sends an assassin with both a potent neurotoxin and a sword to ensure the job is done. So long after the deaths of his parents, these concerns of Gotham's warring factions continue.

And once Bruce starts acting on his vision for the city, one that aligns so well with Martha and Thomas' plans for Gotham, he likely cements himself as a threat yet again, and one that hasn't been schooled by his old-money parents in the games and underlying politics of Gotham.

So to continue on the line of thought that the tags came from: Regardless of what choices Bruce eventually makes -> I doubt that the Gotham elite wanted him making them without their influence

As a side note, because I'm kind of obsessed with the lineages that rule Gotham, if you look at Oswald Cobblepot, even as a crime lord descended from the Cobblepots, he's not just a street-level crook, but he also shapes the city.

#I hope this 500 word (or more) thing was what you wanted anon #sorry if this sucks I typed it up between classes as one stream of barely consciousness word vomit #I'm actually quite curious to hear what you make of this #or anyone else for that matter #sorry if I got stuff wrong lol #bruce wayne #batman #gotham #gotham city #dc comics #anon asks #asks answered #the waynes #thomas wayne #martha wayne #gotham's founding families

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icarusbetide · 1 month

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implausible historical scenario: southern alexander hamilton (pt 2: washington's version)

Part 1: Grows up with Lavien, tragic lams version

here's the second scenario that would make southern A. Ham a possibility:

The rumors are true and he actually is Washington's son - I know, I know, I can hear Hamilton rolling in his grave already. But there's a reason the rumors circulated, it's really fucking interesting!

We know for a fact that the real Washington was minding his business 1754-1757, far away from Nevis - but he did go to Barbados with his brother in 1751. Let's pretend that he went back in an impromptu trip or that Lawrence managed to eek out a few more years, so they actually went later than 1751 (Unrelated, but him catching smallpox there + being exposed to Lawrence's tuberculosis might be the reason he was potentially infertile. If so, then the timing works out and doesn't conflict with his inability to have kids with Martha.) Maybe their ship was blown off course or needed some supplies, and stopped at Nevis. For whatever reason (my entertainment), he makes a series of questionable choices. Some people speculate that Alexander might have been the son of Stevens. I personally don't find this likely, but I can switch Stevens with Washington. I can and I did.

There are two main pathways I can see.

The first one most closely matches historical rumors and reality: no southern Hamilton. Washington leaves the West Indies oblivious, Ham comes to NYC, everything plays out the same - but at some point they figure out that he's his dad. People have already written a lot about this, but musical based, and for good reason. There's a lot of angst you can get out of it. Does Washington watch silently as Hamilton courts Elizabeth and is welcomed into the Schuyler family? Does Washington know that his son only had one friend at his own wedding? Worse, does Alexander still view James Hamilton as his dad, and beg him to come while ignoring the general? Do they work together better or worse than they do in reality? The possibilities! Imagine a world where there isn't a Reynolds Pamphlet but there is a Washington Pamphlet where Alexander confesses that he is the illegitimate son of the president after the Democratic Republicans got hold of some information. All of this is extremely soap opera, and almost embarassing in its drama but idc, it's fun.

Second, more divergent one: Yes, Alexander is illegitimate, but they find each other way earlier. It certainly wasn't uncommon for men of Washington's status to have bastards, and some did acknowledge their illegitimate children. Here, he'd be acknowledged, and raised in Virginia with the Custis kids (assuming Martha still marries George in 1759). I find this scenario intriguing for both the personal and political repercussions.

Personal repurcussions: would Hamilton have less issues if he was Washington's kid? Certainly his environment would be more stable, and Washington (given his frustration with a lazy Jacky Custis) would've been proud of such an intelligent, promising boy. People would be less eager to criticize/demean Hamilton (at least to his face), and he wouldn't be insecure in his class or geographical origin. I can also see him learning more political finesse and control if he grew up in Virginian society and with a steady, dedicated father. Would he have worked better with Washington if they were actually an acknowledged father-son relationship? Would Washington have planned to give Mount Vernon to him, since the Custis children already have their inheritance?

Now, if we assume that Hamilton’s policies remain constant, then his opponents lose even more major weapons than the Lavien world: perceived preference for the north and background. But then it also complicates Washington's legacy as general and president. Some historians argue that Washington having no perceived biological heir had some role in the trust people placed in him. If people know that Hamilton is his son, illegitimate or not, who has followed him through the war and into government, that's going to cause uneasiness. Maybe even do more damage to Washington's reputation than any real-life accusations of monarchy ever did, because this one actually has some weight. Ironically, it could be that this forces Alexander to be out of the running for the Secretary of Treasury position - having to work in the shadows, because the country is suspicious of anything and everything that looks like a king. More resentment!

But what if his beliefs do change? We get to see a Hamilton with connections to the south, just like the Lavien universe, but on crack. Because now his guardian isn’t just any southerner, he’s George Washington. It’s likely that just like Washington, going through the war would end up with him being a nationalist. But economically? If he didn't get that experience as a clerk in the West Indies (the period he said was the most educational of his life), or as an assistant to his merchant half-brother, then would he have the knowledge/insight to create his financial plan? Washington was on the same page as Hamilton, but Hamilton was doing the actual system-building. Going further, maybe growing up at Mt. Vernon happily and having only faint, distasteful memories of his tragic childhood in the West Indies actually makes him rear away from reminders of that life - maybe he has a fondness for agrarian lifestyle and lounging by trees reading philosophy, and an inherent dislike of merchants, business opportunists like james hamilton, trading, commerce. Maybe, god forbid, he ends up thinking a lot like Jefferson.

Who knows? A young Virginian Hamilton who has very close ties and pride connected to his country, meets an idealistic Thomas Jefferson and goes: "You are my role model and now I will emulate everything about you." People forget that Jefferson was 12 - 14 years older than Hamilton, it’s possible! The two didn’t hate each other right away! I can see them in this world bonding over Virginia and their intellect - perhaps, even if Hamilton veers towards being a nationalist, the lack of dispute on financial matters is enough for them to maintain a good relationship. There's even a possibility that Hamilton, like Madison, is a nationalist and writes the Federalist Papers but switches to the Jeffersonian side once Jefferson comes back. Certainly Madison and Jefferson would spend a lot of time trying to convince their wayward, fellow Virginian friend. Imagine a world where Washington is the biggest federalist and opposing his own son, who is in cahoots with a different Virginian in undermining his own presidency.

*Pats improbable scenario: this baby pumps out so much melodrama.

#can you tell that i really really want someone to write about this #i'm like praying for someone to write about this #can you imagine a jeffersonian hamilton like wtf #imagine the letters they would send to each other #jefferson & adams style #god i love making shit up #alexander hamilton #george washington #historical hamilton #george washingdad #amrev

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