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impossibledial · 4 months

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i hate the idea that being with the doctor made clara “lose her humanity”. she may have become more or less desensitized to death but she was still the kindhearted woman the doctor met in series 7. she always put others before herself, the only difference is the stakes got higher in series 8/9. the doctor didn’t “corrupt” her, he just made her believe she was invincible.

she convinces the doctor to “save the day” in every one of her series since she stopped him from destroying gallifrey in day of the doctor.

in series 8, she makes the doctor realize that earth is his home and it’s his duty to help protect it when it’s in danger. in series 9, clara stops the doctor from destroying the universe just to bring her back.

clara was never a selfish character. even when she lies to danny, she says it’s for *his* own good and i think she truly believes that - she just doesn’t realize she’s lying to herself too. much of series 8 is clara denying herself what she truly wants due to expectations she puts upon herself.

part of this is because she knows what to expect from a routine life, routine job, and a normal boyfriend but she doesn’t know what to expect when she’s with the doctor. it’s enticing like an addiction as clara puts it.

unlike other companions, clara is wholly aware of the risks of being with the doctor. she won’t let herself drop everything on a moments notice to fly off with him because she knows there’s a chance she won’t make it home for dinner. she tells him that they will only travel together on wednesdays. she doesn’t stand for the doctor putting her in danger without her knowledge. she doesn’t stand for the doctor treating her as if she’s second fiddle to him.

unlike other companions, clara knows that being with doctor can’t last forever.

one of clara’s greatest lines is, “nobody’s ever safe…tomorrow’s promised to no one doctor but i insist upon my past. i am entitled to it. it’s mine.”

and much of series 7/8 is clara putting distance between her and the doctor to keep herself safe - not just physically but emotionally too. falling in love with the doctor has the ability to wreck her. considering her reaction to eleven’s regeneration, it’s no wonder she put even more of distance between them in series 8.

she’s trying to move on and she gets herself a boyfriend. of course, twelve makes this difficult even though he’s doing his best to do the same thing she is. if they don’t put a label on what they feel for each other, they can just as easily pretend it isn’t there. clara can pretend that she isn’t hurting danny when she lies to him about where she’s been. the doctor can act like seeing clara with a new boyfriend doesn’t hurt him deeply.

the central conflict between clara and the doctor in series 8 is miscommunication not corruption. clara wants to believe that the doctor makes her worse just as the doctor does because that’s easier than admitting that they make each other better. it’s easier to think they were better off when inevitably one of them gets left behind.

their dynamic is interesting because of the role reversal.

for once, the doctor is the one forced to deny his feelings. the doctor has to wait (until wednesday) to see clara. the doctor forgets that this thing between them can’t last. the doctor is the one risking the universe for the person they love.

#most of my tumblr posts are now criticizing people for misunderstanding clara’s character arc. wow.#clara oswald #twelfth doctor #eleventh doctor #twelveclara #elevenclara #doctorclara #whouffaldi #souffez #whouffle #doctor who #doctor who meta #clara oswald meta #if you’re the person who replied to my earlier post - this is not meant to disagree with you.#you’re free to have your own interpretation #i just needed to ramble #belle’s ramblings™️

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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

Chapter 1 - Everybody Hates Martha

Contrary to now popular Whovian belief, no, the fandom didn’t like Martha at first. In fact, most Martha praise wouldn't come until years after her exit. The issue came from the “Rose shadow” of RTD1. Rose’s traumatic exit hit Ten like a truck and this echoed throughout The Runaway Bride. The episode beautifully covers the stages of grief; his denial as he forgets he can’t have another Christmas on the Powell Estate; his anger at the Racnoss; his bargaining as he reminisces good times with Rose; his depression knowing her can’t get her back and eventual acceptance - ending the episode with a solemn “her name was Rose”. On paper, this was the perfect closure Ten needed for Rose and a lovely way to say goodbye to her even in her absence. But her shadow still covered the rest of S3 and S4. And not in a good way.

From the jump Ten tells Martha she could never replace her but mind you, Martha never claimed she would, but the fandom acted like she did and was. Her presence is mentioned throughout S3: the “not that you’re replacing her” in Smith and Jones; the “Rose would know” in Shakespeare Code; Ten taking Martha to the New New York slums in Gridlock when Rose got “glitter and cocktails”; the ink drawing of Rose popping out of Ten’s subconscious through John Smith in Human Nature/Family of Blood to Jack and Ten’s convo about her in Utopia to even the Master in Last of the Time Lords, calling Martha useless for not absorbing the Time Vortex like a certain companion. Can you guess who she is? Martha to this day is the only companion to be treated as the rebound to a previous companion and this bled into the fandom. Despite Donna’s growth in Partners in Crime working so well because of her growth after The Runaway Bride, it was still a common sentiment to “wish we went straight from Rose to Donna”. The S4 writing didn’t help Martha’s case either. Ten tells Donna about the crush and other “complications” while conveniently leaving out the mixed signals he sent to her. Plus, he admits his mistakes to well… Donna, and not to Martha’s face despite sharing three whole episodes with her. Martha spent those episodes being a host to a Sontaran clone and being kidnapped by the Hath so the “I’m sorry for underestimating you and comparing you to my previous companion, Martha Jones” never came out of Ten’s mouth. The show’s insistence on Martha as the “failed Rose replacement” gave the fandom great excuses to attack her and welcome a mountain of bad faith criticism that haunts Martha Jones discussions to this day.

It doesn’t matter Martha saved the Doctor with CPR in her debut episode, used the Gamma Strike to defeat the pig men on the spot, saved John Smith, Joan and the rest of the village from the Family of Blood despite how racist they all were towards her, came up with the right word to banish the Carrionites on the spot, got the DNA sample needed from Lazarus and distracted him for Ten, got the 42 crew to dump the sun particles in the fuel, warned Ten about Yana’s watch and most importantly, stayed alive in one of humanity’s most hellish years to restore the Doctor and defeat the Master - she was incompetent.

It doesn’t matter Martha never attacked, belittled or actually insulted Rose but was rather tired of being put down for her instead, or the fact Rose within minutes of seeing Martha said “I was here first” and “Who is she?” with disgust - Martha was jealous and bitter.

It doesn’t matter Ten kissed her for a DNA sample despite her cheek, forehead and hand being available, knew about Martha’s crush and still acted oblivious post-Smith and Jones, hugged her then blamed her for said hug, lied to her about Gallifrey but told Rose the truth in her 2nd episode, called her a novice and literally screamed in her face in Utopia - Martha 100% to blame for the failed TenMartha friendship but not our unproblematic fave Ten.

It doesn’t matter Ten was willing to protect and travel with Donna in The Runaway Bride minutes after losing Rose and Eleven having no issue welcoming Clara after watching another version of her, Amy and Rory die in front of him - Martha had to be belittled by Ten because of grief.

It doesn’t matter Rose and Donna, then Amy and Clara in the Moffat era would need supernatural intervention to gain their titles, or that Rose and Donna needed Ten’s help a few times in their series - Martha had no agency.

It doesn’t matter Ten fell in love with Rose, Madame de Pompadour, Joan Redfern, Queen Elizabeth I, River Song, Astrid Peth AND Lady Christina, or RTD1’s insistence of (heterosexual) romance being the most human trait of humanity (which is a whole other conversation) - Martha’s romantic feelings were a flaw she needed to correct.

It doesn’t matter Rose, Amy and Clara would fall in love with the Doctor to the point of being willing to abandon their families for him, forcibly kissing him or trying to be him - Martha was the clingy one. It doesn’t matter Professor Yana’s drumbeat began before he met the gang because it was Martha’s fault the Master came back too apparently. Remember little Tim Latimer stealing the fob because it was reaching out to him? The fans didn’t because Martha was blamed for losing the fob too! Martha’s not a flawless person but it can’t be denied Martha was critiqued for moments that were out of her control. From various nuanced plot points where she was a victim of circumstance to lacking hindsight she literally couldn't have had because she wasn’t in S1/S2, to being disliked for doing the exact same things her white female counterparts did, it’s highly unlikely the Martha Hate Train was born from constructive criticism.

<- Intro Chapter 2 ->

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khruschevshoe · 5 months

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Just rewatched The Girl In the Fireplace for the first time in about nine years and Steven Moffat really read the Time Traveller's Wife one time and decided that every single woman companion he was going to write on the show (with the exception of Bill, and since she's a lesbian, she literally couldn't fall for the Doctor) was going to meet the Doctor as a child and then fall in love with him later on, didn't he? Reinette snogged him when she met him as an adult. Amy snogged him the day before she was getting married. River had, well, every single thing about her arc, birth to death. Even Clara, after being introduced as just friends, is revealed to have met the Doctor as a teenager and then is revealed to fancy him in the regeneration episode. Like, it's an absolutely bizarre and a little bit uncomfortable recurring plot point that these women met a man briefly as a child, imprinted on him, and fell in love/had a sexual interest in him/were obsessed with him as an adult, making large portions of their lives from childhood revolve around this man. Like...a bit of a yikes.

#doctor who #anti moffat #at least moffat critical #because yikes #river song #clara oswin oswald #clara oswald #amy pond #eleventh doctor #tenth doctor #the girl in the fireplace #criticism #meta

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grandadtwelve · 2 years

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how I think different pairings of nuwho companions would get on:

(not including characters who have already met in tv show canon)

engaged to be married:

jack + river: i mean come on. they’re obsessed w each other, they go shopping together, they commit crimes together, and they torment the doctor together

jack + clara: specifically jack and immortal!clara from post-s10. they’re not in like a committed romantic relationship, they just have an intensely romantic friendship, a lot of sex, got drunk married in space vegas, and then just never got a divorce

best friends, literally inseparable:

rose + donna: I KNOW donna would have rose in tears w laughter 24/7. they’d have so much fun and talk so much shit together and the doctor would never know peace again and okay: HEAR ME OUT. If rose fell in love w metacrisis!ten…. I think she also would’ve fallen in love w metacrisis!donna. That’s all

rose + bill: rose at 19 and bill at 19 would be besties, but bill would have a MASSIVE crush on s4 rose <3 they have a lot in common and rose finds bills awkwardness and sense of humor enormously endearing

jack + amy: oh god…. rip rory you will never recover from this

martha + rory: doctor friends!!! logic oriented people who are more aware of the damage the doctor is capable of than some of his other companions!! they get along great in literally every situation you could put them in

martha + clara: i don’t know why but I think they’d be kind of perfect? really good teamwork but also they’d just genuinely enjoy each other’s company. martha knows how to tell clara to chill out w out getting her mad and clara tells martha she can do better any times she mentions ten or mickey

martha + bill: pure vibes. they have a very similar response of bafflement to the doctors bullshit and I just think they would have a great time

river + clara: okay. personally i think mel and clara had a toxic homoerotic whirlwind friendship that ended in disaster and heartbreak and probably some jail time. post-s10 clara and river don’t exactly pick up where they left off but they definitely still adore each other and have a wonderful “human who has been made immortal/given an augmented lifespan by means of gallifreyan technology” trio with jack

river + bill: river is bills adoptive mother/grandmother. end of story. river adores her, is so proud of her, spoils her at every oportunity, and bill thinks she’s the coolest person she’s ever met and can’t believe she’s married to the doctor

casual friendship:

rose + martha: they’re friends! but they come from very different backgrounds and i don’t think they’d actually have much in common

rose + amy: again, they’d be friends but just wouldn’t end up hanging out much! they ALWAYS back each other up in arguments though

rose + rory: I think they’d both find each other really sweet! don’t really have any other thoughts abt them

jack + rory: jack flirts w him, rory pretends to be annoyed but it actually genuinely flattered

jack + bill: bill is entertained by him and they have some wlw/mlm solidarity moments but eh, they never get super close

donna + amy: would rly rly rly enjoy making fun of the doctor together. that’s it

donna + clara: clara would just sit back and watch donna tear into every villain/threat/etc they came across and find it extremely entertaining

donna + bill: they have not stopped laughing since they met

rory + clara: they’re both calmed by each other’s presence in the face of danger! rory knows clara has a plan, clara knows there’s someone around who’s better at making sure no one’s hurt or left behind

respect/functional but not close:

martha + river: they’d work well together if they needed to but they literally could not have less in common

donna + rory: eh! again, not much in common. very different energies

amy + clara: idk why but these two just don’t work well for me in my head? they don’t dislike each other but it’s just kinda like. Yeah ok

indifference:

martha + amy: I think martha would be a little irritated w amy’s lack of planning amidst crisis but otherwise they’d be like. Okay

outright dislike:

rose + clara: idk where to put these two cause: clara would drive s1 rose out of her mind w her control issues, rose with her possessiveness over the doctor, clara would get patronizing and rose would get immature. however s10 clara and s4 rose would be an INCREDIBLE team and it wouldn’t matter how they felt abt each other, they’d solve any and every problem you threw at them

donna + missy: the only reason no one’s dying is because missy finds her entertaining. the verbal sparring would be legendary but donna is way too moral and way too protective over the doctor to not absolutely hate missy

amy + missy: amy is used to rivers chaos so she’s not as stressed out by missy as other companions might be but um. Still definitely not a fan.

rory + missy: he wants absolutely nothing to do with her which includes getting close enough to kill or be killed

*mid fight* are we abt to kiss rn?:

rose + river: good god can you imagine? i think rose would immediately go for how she acted w sarah jane and river would be flirty in a ?condescending way? but there’d be an underlying tension that everyone else would be terrified to point out

river + missy: enough said.

someone is getting murdered:

rose + missy: absolutely not

martha + missy: after what simm!master did? it’s on sight sorry

jack + missy: i want them to get along so bad but. same issue as the above unfortunately

#i am open to criticism!#and I was very tempted to put rose and clara in the ‘are we abt to kiss rn’ section #also sorry missy you’re just horrible to everyone all the time. if I was putting canon interactions you’d be in bestie zone with bill ok #dw hc #rose tyler #jack harkness #martha jones #donna noble #amelia pond #rory williams #river song #clara oswald #bill potts #missy #doctor who #mios #long post

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purpleboytournament · 1 year

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#mollymauk tealeaf #critical role #oswald cobblepot #gotham #purpoll #round one

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riddle-man · 1 year

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look gotham might not be the perfect show but can we just appreciate the way it has a canon gay plotline, in the TEXT of the show and played by lgbt+ actors.

i love shows like hannibal and good omens as much as the next queer, they're works of art, but i can't deny that im tired of the most celebrated queer shows being subtext, up to interpretation, implied.

#this isn't a criticism of those other shows at all #i just think we appreciate how valuable *blatant* lgbt characters are #while being the main cast and with many stories separate from their queerness #but still shown as an important part of their identity #same for barbara and tabs #gotham #nygmobblepot #edward nygma #oswald cobblepot #lgbt

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layaboutace · 5 months

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Danny pink was such a cool concept and i really liked his ending but like, did he and clara even get along? they argued more than they didn't, i feel like he could have been fleshed out a lot more. danny is at his best in what i think is a pretty bad episode, in the forest of the night, but here we see him as a teacher, responsible for his students and not even knowing about the doctor for some point in the beginning of this story, talking things through with clara and being a generally fun character to watch. on the other hand i think hes at his worst in a great episode, listen, where all he does is argue with then proceed to forgive clara for being insensitive, not to mention that he himself is rather annoying in this episode, the dialogue he and clara share over dinner feels off and not realistic, for how great this episode is that date scene really just holds it back in terms of characterization for both clara and danny, after that I'm not sure why they're even together

#doctor who #dw #anti steven moffat #maybe?#more steven moffat criticism #Danny pink #clara oswald

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hirosboard · 9 months

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Idk she’s very Imogen Temult to me for some reason. Maybe it’s the nose.

#critical role #imogen temult #cr3 #bells hells #laura bailey #clara oswald #jenna coleman #doctor who #please tell me you see my vision

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whats-those · 6 months

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Memes that are mostly nonsensical and unfunny to everyone but me and one other person:

#this is not bashing gotham btw it’s my favorite show rn but we gotta think critically about our favorite media #antarctica on the other hand is completely unproblematic. because it is an inanimate landmass #antarctica #gotham #the penguin #oswald cobblepot #whats those post

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incorrectquotesconaisseur · 1 year

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under the lake is to twelveclara what tooth and claw is to tenrose

#no i will not take criticism #twelveclara #tenrose #dr who #doctor who #david tennant #peter capaldi #billie piper #jenna coleman #the tenth doctor #twelveth doctor #clara oswald #rose tyler #twelve x clara #ten x rose

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shyjusticewarrior · 2 years

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Gotham Jim ignoring Oswald's claim of abuse from Hugo Strange in Arkham

vs.

Batman Unburied Bruce heartfeltfully apologizing when he found out Hugo Strange was abusing Arkham patients

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mafuteru · 5 days

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my irl pointed out an aspect he dislikes about me the most and i suppose one should take the criticism seriously but i could not help but think about how he said oswalds exact lines from pandora hearts..

#like the scene w oswald and jack properly interacting for the first time #water metaphors and everything included #dont worry i did react accordingly #it was so hard to not say 'woah this is just like in pandora hearts #so now i must say it to you at least #it was a prompt in a party game we were playing. he didnt just criticize me suddenly out of nowhere w #my reputation is not that bad. yet.#shion.txt

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quantumshade · 1 year

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here's my hot take.

[image id: a meme from the joker movie. the first panel is a man saying "let me get this straight. you think series 8 of doctor who is good?". the second panel is the joker saying, "i do. and i'm tired of pretending it's not." end image id.]

as long as you skip three specific episodes and alter a couple storylines in your head it's actually really good.

#its about clara struggling with what she Should do (return to normal life) versus what she Wants to do (become the doctor)#and not being able to give up the life of adventure even for the man she loves and slowly losing her grip on the Real World #until she loses her last real connection to normal life (danny) and she flies off the handle #like. clara thinks the show is called clara who and it SHOWS #she's insane and a terrible person and that's why she's a great character #also the doctor struggling with what it means to be a good person #before ultimately realizing it doesn't matter in the way he thought it did #and missy is so fucking great.#AND. the motw episodes in s8 are sooooo good #time heist mummy on the orient express flatline etc #clara's doctorification in s9 is fantastic but it Would Not Be Like That without the groundwork laid by s8 #there are definitely criticisms to be made about s8 BUT it's not as bad as people say it is.#doctor who #twelfth doctor #clara oswald #delia.txt

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orwells-nightmare · 2 years

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A Rant About Bystander Jim & Oswald's Torture At Arkham

Jim letting Oswald get tortured and not investigating his claim that it was happening was so glossed over in the show. I'd argue that was much morally worse of him than killing Galavan.

Especially since Jim clearly suspected something was wrong the moment he saw Oswald in Arkham. He also didn't trust Strange and actively investigated him, but after finding the monsters never thought "hey, maybe Oswald was telling me the truth."

Oswald being tortured wouldn't even protect Gotham like Galavan's death, he was locked up. And whether Arkham Asylum is a hospital or prison, medical abuse shouldn't be allowed to transpire there. It's not ethical and never gonna just hurt the people Jim Gordon doesn't like.

One of Jim's defining traits is supposed to be not being a bystander but they just threw that out the window. Then they just never addressed it.

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oddballcobblebot · 8 months

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oswald cobblepot uses he/she pronouns

#im right #i accept nothing else #no criticism allowed #gotham penguin #gotham #oswald cobblepot #headcanons #dc #dc comics #penguin rambles 🐧☂️

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cringecompanionapologist · 9 months

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I just realized that all the Moffat era female companions had very similar exits. They both sort of died and sort of didn't but they also enjoyed a long life with a partner of some sort.

We see Amy and Rory's graves, but it's because they die of old age in the past from where the Doctor is standing. Amy chooses to do so after Rory is taken back. Amy dies, but she also lives a long and happy life with her husband.

Clara dies, but is then sort of brought back, and she'll have to die at some point, but that can just be whenever, and she goes off to travel time and space in her own TARDIS with her own companion. Ashildr/Me isn't confirmed as a love interest, but she fits in well with the other two.

Bill is cyberconverted and dies, but then she's saved by Heather the Puddle Girl, and goes off on immortal lesbian adventures with her, apparently later choosing to become mortal again and die of old age, though that's an EU thing.

It's not exactly the same story three times, but it's a bit weird that they all sort of end up in similar places at the end.

#steven moffat #amy pond #clara oswald #bill potts #this isn't really a criticism tbh #it's an amusing coincidence #i don't hate moffat #i think i prefer rtd but moffat is alright #i don't think he's as sexist as people claim #amy clara and bill have different personalities #though it took a season for clara to get one #but you can tell he was running out of steam from the very similar exits

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