#I’m crawling my way back !!!

[thirdeyeblue]

“Nine would have treated Martha better than Ten did”

I need to talk about this argument that never seems to stop circulating.

Note: Not a venomous/anti post. There’s more than enough of that across fandom spaces as is, and this is supposed to be a place for ✨sweet, blissful escapism✨

When making this argument, people seem to envision a scenario in which Nine never met Rose.

While I can appreciate a good hypothetical, recognizing Rose's significance to the Doctor (Nine and Ten) is essential to understanding why things with Martha played out the way they did in the first place.

In the third series, the Doctor is grieving. This grief is deliberately threaded into nearly every script, whether spoken aloud or not (and these are just a few examples):

He's burning in Rose’s wake the entire time Martha travels with him, which is why it’s so frequently called upon: It’s 100% deliberate in framing his grief. He grieved as Nine too, of course— having been fresh on the heels of the Time War — but then he met Rose, which changed everything.

Back then, he was still a rude, traumatized pain in the ass, but we watch Rose soften more of those jagged edges with every episode as they grow closer; as he lets his guard down and forms a deep connection with her.

He falls in love (against his better judgment) and it's game over.

And yes: provided S1E1 had been titled 'Martha', one can realistically assume things might have unfolded similarly to how they did with Rose. However, it wouldn’t have been that way just because the Doctor was Nine and “Nine was different” — it would be because he wasn’t already in love with someone else. The same can't be said for the start of S3.

Think of it like this: if Rose AND Martha had been in that cellar — if Nine had taken both of them along with him in S1 — we’d eventually be looking at the most melodramatic love triangle ever, what with him living in close quarters with two brilliant, gorgeous, compassionate young women... But Doctor Who is plenty “soap opera” as is with just one woman in the TARDIS.

(I certainly wouldn’t object to reading that fic, though)

Now, regarding the unrequited elephant in the room…

His inability to be romantic with Martha isn’t because he thinks her lesser, nor is it for lack of compatibility. It isn't because Rose is any better than her. It certainly isn’t just because he’s Ten.

It’s really only for one reason, which can't be denied — and now I’m a broken record:

He is still in love with Rose.

(cut from a tenrosedaily gif)

Nine is Ten, and Ten is only such a mess in S3 because he’s just lost the love of his life. Martha merely got caught in the crosshairs of a volatile Time Lord in mourning, and yes — it sucks. Absolutely.

But it also feels dismissive to chalk Ten and Martha’s relationship up to little more than some sort of mindless dance of pining, jealousy, and toxicity.

Ten trusted Martha with his life over and over again — and hers, with him. He constantly praised her brilliance, happily carting her around time and space with no intention of letting her go. In the BBC’s extended universe of novels/comics/cartoons/etc, there’s so much depth to their relationship: love and trust and trauma and sacrifice. They had their own special bond as mates, their own complexities — so it’s a bummer that it's forever overshadowed by the other things.

I’m not denying that there was a lot of stuff that sucked/was for sure toxic about Ten's S3 behavior, but so many of the things I've seen him catching flak for can be directly attributed to being A Clueless Fucking Alien Idiot (not a trait that’s unique to Ten) — as well as his flat-out obliviousness to Martha’s feelings.

So yes, I agree: if Rose never existed, he would have treated Martha differently as Nine. He also would have treated her differently as Ten. Certainly.

But Rose did exist, and when discussing canon, it matters.

“He tells me that he absolutely, 100% loves Rose... He tells me how my daughter; my wonderful, beautiful, clever little girl saved him from himself before… And he says that’s all because of me! I made her into the Rose Tyler that saved him.”

-Jackie Tyler, Flight Into Hull!

Martha got the short end of the stick in S3. She came round at the wrong place and time, but that doesn't mean it was all bad. It doesn't mean the Doctor didn’t adore her. It certainly doesn't mean the time they spent together was wasted or worthless. They were brilliant!

Sure, he could be a twat, but let it be known that he was a twat with Rose as well, both as Nine and Ten. I’m sure Tentoo can be plenty infuriating, too. So while I'll defend Ten (and Tentoo) into the ground forever and ever and ever, I'll concede that he's fucked up.

The Doctor is a certified Pain In The Ass. It’s one of the things I love so much about this character — dynamics.

But never forget that Martha was goddamn tough as nails and overcame every bit of it. She moved on with her life, and the Doctor moved on with his. One can only pray that, when they inevitably drag her back onto the show (which feels inevitable if I'm honest), we see at once that she's been living her best life for all these years.

[simgerale]

me after attempting to get back into sims and realizing i had a lot more to do than play the game

[branches-of-time]

looks at images of Mondstadt and tears well up in my eyes

[eddiexmunsn]

………..thinking very dirty thoughts about wade rn

[arumidden]

It’s the final day of McFly July! Today is the two Pepsi Free writes. I did one angsty one and one happy one, to end on a high note.

I’m sad the month is over! I’ve had so much fun! Happy McFly July, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I’ve absolutely adored being immersed in this franchise for an entire month.

I’m gonna try and keep up my new habit of writing at least once every day and get back to work on my other BTTF fic, Time is Just a Place. Wish me luck!

[whoblewboobear]

Should I sleep or should I start the Jace lookbook 🫣

[emeraldmoth]

favorites tag game

thank you to the lovely @pascalpvnk for tagging me 💚

favorite time of day

favorite aesthetic

a color that describes you

favorite quote

current obsession (show, movie, book, anything)

favorite texture

favorite outfit or an outfit you wish you had in your closet

any world universe or place you see yourself living in

favorite flower

np tags: @sugarcoated-lame @demonjoel @javiscigarette @planet-marz1 @angelivinginthegardenofevil @pr0ximamidnight @pedrit0-pascalit0 @joelmillers-whore

[everrgrreeen]

LMAO my man-child ex texted me last night “apologizing” and asking me to grab a coffee with him the next time I’m around like dude I have absolutely nothing to say to you. Plus I blacklisted your city and if I DID somehow end up there, you’re the last person I’d want to see 💀

[vstheworld]

cleaned all the stickers and dust and roach leavings and rat piss off my mirror.

no longer a dirty kid in a dirty mirror. this feels like character growth.

[sluttish-armchair]

ADHD meds are working great right now so I started fixing the hallway.

Before:

After:

It looks much better this way. More 2001: A Space Odyssey-ish and less amateurish.

[maydayfireball]

Boy. It’s been a wild last few days

[binx0r]

*hissing through my teeth as my digital pen shakes more than usual* art only improves if you keep doing art. art only improves if you keep doing art. DO THE FUCNING ART ITS FINE

[greghatecrimes]

chapter three is gonna be at least 20 pages long when all’s said and done. 😵‍💫 for reference: chapter one was just over four. chapter two was seven and a half.

[leviiackrman]

Ya gurl will FINALLY have new art to share today

[corrodedcoughin]

Heard you are on struggle bus. Let us know when you get home safe!

Take care!

It’s a long bus ride but the driver just let us know that if we can make it through January it should be smooth after that

[anoddopal]

!Ranty Ramble:

NGL I feel kinda guilty about the idea of finishing the drawings of FemTr.opy I’ve been sitting on…

To clarify, I’ve always drawn her with hair (and though I don’t always state it I’ve also headcanoned it IS thinning and she WILL be bald in the future) but ever since it’s been revealed she was designed with the intention of being bald in the first place I feel icky about the idea of continuing to draw her as I originally have.

The FemTr.opy I depict is VERY MUCH a variant of the one in canon, yet another AU version, if you will. For instance, she still has her hands (though they are severely scarred and she often uses robotic aids to help with her dexterity. She also has bizarre traits such as aposematism and black sclera + other unusual characteristics; side effects from (willingly) being a test subject for her timeline Brio’s potions).

The point is that she’s quite different from the one in canon. And while I’ve come up with a lot of unusual headcanons for her, I feel as though continuing to give her hair would be in bad taste? I feel as though that would imply bald individuals, specifically women, are not beautiful. Which is NOT true and NOT a view I want to accidentally project.

I could always say it’s a wig she chooses to wear sometimes- not because she feels she needs it, but because sometimes she merely wants to wear one. But idk.

Basically I’m stuck between: “It’s an AU version, I’ll do what I want” and “I need to be respectful to canon”. And the last thing I want to do is disrespect my queen 🙏- or even worse, unintentionally hurt an irl individual’s feelings.

Thank you for coming to my confused, overthought. neurodivergent rant. I’ll probably be thinking about this for a while longer.