#like this man hasn't fundamentally changed or atoned at all

[fromtheseventhhell]

can I join in on the Jamie slander? because the way fandom lives up jamie’s ass has always annoyed me so much. people literally have more empathy for him than they have for dany and Arya it’s ridiculous and transparently misogynistic. the way fandom always sees Jamie as the victim of evil cersei who just needs the love of a good woman (usually Brienne but I’ve even seen him shipped with sansa) like last time I checked cersei didn’t force him to push a CHILD out of a window he did that of his own free will. jamie is a horrible person and if grrm lets him live to the end of the series I will be genuinely pissed. the number of people who think Jamie is on a “redemption arc” is ridiculous. also they think he has a redemption arc but also believe he’s the valonqar so how does that work? Jamie is going to redeem himself, kill cersei through into partner violence, and then marry Brienne and live happily ever after??? 🤮🤢🤮

Jamie slander is always welcome over here 🙏🏾

I think this summarizes my issues with Jaime's character; it's not so much how he's written, I do think his character is interesting, but the way he's treated by fandom is insufferable. Male characters are always given more sympathy and grace than female characters and it's frustrating to see the difference in how he (and other male characters) is treated vs. Dany, Arya, Cat, Cersei, Brienne, Asha, Sansa, etc. Every bad thing he's ever done is twisted to become a result of Cersei "manipulating" him and she gets demonized, when she really deserves the sympathy that he gets. His "redemption arc" is a joke and I'm convinced the only reason people think he has one is because they've personally forgiven his actions 🥴

[matrixbearer2024]

The more I think about it the more I realize how different my three takes on Ford are, three being how I see and write him as close to canon as possible- my time lord twins AU and my modernity AU. Just a cumulation of how many things can significantly change how a character is and I didn't notice by how much until I was talking about it with a friend and things made a surprising amount of sense. Case and point, this phrase!

"You're a good man."

There's three replies to that with how I understand Ford's character and please forgive me for rambling about this shit because I REALLY love picking up this man and dissecting him into atoms maybe I should make a youtube video-

Anyway, first off- canon!

"I try my best."

I genuinely think that after all of the things Ford's done, forgiveness is a barrier but not something impossible. In canon, ultimately he tries to make mends and he is atoning. For somebody who can hold a grudge for that long, I would think having your own faults must be hell on earth to live through as well. You can't exactly forgive yourself and you can only give as much as you have.

That's kind of the whole point to the series' ending in my mind. He just becomes more painfully aware of himself and the people around him not in the paranoid sense but just- how he is percieved or the consequences of his actions. He believes he can be good and is trying. Hence that response. Stanford's not refusing the idea, but he's not outright accepting it either because he's still working towards it.

Who said an old dog can't learn new tricks? Next!

"You don't know what you're talking about."

In my time lord twins AU, Stanford's hero complex and obsession with being special is cranked up stupidly high! On the run from Bill all across the multiverse he stumbles upon Gallifrey and realizes the state they're in is pretty damn precarious thanks to the Daleks and the Time Lords at WAR. In his mind at the time, all he could think of was saving as many people as he could.

Honestly, nobody would want to be in a war and frankly if it wasn't for the Time War and his Time Lord mentor things would likely be the same as canon. Ford believed too much that he was meant for great things and bit off more than he could chew!

Now carrying the title of the doctor, he doesn't believe he is a good man. He outright refuses it. A good man wouldn't have blood on his hands, a good man wouldn't have entire planets and civilizations kneeling at the mention of his name. A good man is respected, but that respect isn't born out of fear.

Stanford as the Doctor refuses this. He is not a good man. He damn well tries to be, but he knows not even forever could mend his mistakes and sins. He walks among the destruction of his own making, and he just lives with it.

Pretty depressing! Okay, let's look at something happier!

"I'm glad you think so. Thank you."

In the modernity AU, Ford hasn't done many if not most of the regrets that his counterparts often have. Yes he bickers with Stan a lot but it's never something that tears them apart, they could be having a word war over lunch but at the end of the day they're best friends again.

Ford still has his sense of justice and strong morals but in this case, it's not something he regrets and he doesn't exactly develop a hero complex because he doesn't believe he is special. He doesn't have that disparity with Stan and fundamentally that changes a lot of how he thinks.

It also helps that growing up, he's been humbled repeatedly by his brother or his peers. In this AU, he's always kept on his toes because the edge he has is only competitive enough against the many who are more than willing to work themselves to the bone for the same level of achivement.

If somebody tells him he's good, Stanford is just glad that's the perception of him and reacts accordingly. He's not often good at recieving compliments or god forbid flirting his poor brain can't keep up- but this much he is just thankful for the acknowledgement.

Tell me your thoughts or what you think about all this HAHAHAHA