#otp: hate you more

[simplifydefeat]

It's like one of my fav scenes. Just look at them, people. LOOK. AT. THEM.

Niles first letting her fall, and then feeling her up/making sure she is okay.

Again, peak enemy behavior for sure...

From Season 2, Episode 13, The Strike

[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.

[leslieseveride]

they really weren't kidding about the rom-com vibes in this season.

[thequeenofsastiel]

I find the idea that Armand and Louis were pretending to be in love for Daniel so interesting. Did they have a verbal agreement beforehand to be more loving than they generally were together? Did they just both want it to be true so much that they were in sync on that idea without discussing it? I feel like it's probably the latter. I believe there was still love and trust between Louis and Armand in Dubai when Daniel got there. I can't think of any other explanation as to why Armand's touch on Louis' shoulder instantly calmed him down(something that would NOT have happened in a dead relationship, and no, I don't buy that it was mind control; Armand could have controlled Louis' mind from afar, literally the only reason for Armand to touch Louis would be because he knew his touch would calm Louis down), and why Armand hovered protectively over Louis in 1x07. I think perhaps that lingering love was strong enough that they both took advantage of an opportunity to be loving with each other again, something I believe had faded in their relationship as they were both holding each other at arms' length. They were pretending, but in a way they also weren't. They wanted to love each other like they did in Paris. I think perhaps memories of how they felt about each other in Paris was the main thing holding up their relationship. Maybe they thought that in doing the interview they'd be able to capture that magic again. Just neither of them seemed to reflect on how recounting what happened to Claudia would take them right back to square one.

[seaweedraindraws]

Day 11: Freesia "Our bond is the strongest."

[backpackingspace]

Young odysseus convincing everyone Ithaca is nothing but a poor island with rocks and goats to avoid any raids/conquerors/so he doesn't get murdered for talking to Helen bc "it's not like he's a real choice"

Young odysseus falling in love with Penelope at the same event: wait. Wait shit I fucked up hold on just hear me out

[cforbes]

imagine an ending for the vampire diaries where damon and elena, stefan and caroline, and bonnie and enzo just got to live long happy lives together as vampires (and a witch) as a family. like they could have had it all.

[seeinganewlight]

nace as taylor swift albums

midnights (2022)

insp

[lilacerull0]

lila wants to alter the way her mind works and elena and enzo love her for that very thing. i never think about this.

[seleneprince]

Unpopular opinion #3 (since people seem to like these stuff)

I'm gonna get hate for this but

Hinny feels forced and out of nowhere to me.

They had the perfect set up for a cute romance. Best friend's younger sister whom he's used to take care of, but suddenly she grows, doesn't seek his attention anymore and he slowly gets to know her as her own person instead of his buddie's sister. He find himself drawn to her and feels guilty about it for the typical reasons, only to realize she feels the same way, always has, and boom, their feelings finally clash in a passionate kiss after months of sexual tension and years of mutual pining. Beautiful.

Or at least that's what could have been if we saw them interacting more after the Chamber of Secrets thing, but we don't. Ginny practically dissapears after that, we only know of her through others' pov, and when she finally becomes relevant in harry's radar is when she's dating other boys and shows her skills in the quidditch field. Then suddenly, he notices how beautiful and funny she is, even though they're from the same house and they've surely seen each other often, either at the Burrow or around the common room.

They don't have a proper built-up, or any relevant interactions that hints at harry's interest in her, at least not enough to showcase the epic endgame couple they're supposed to be. It feels to me like the recurring trope that when a girl is in love with the protagonist long enough, she's bound to end up with him. Or the when someone is in love with you for so long, you must give them a chance.

I think one of the reasons it pisses me off so much is ginny's wasted potential. Because we could have had an amazing and compelling story about personal growth with a girl that, sick of being in her brothers' shadow and overlooked, finds the courage to forge her own path and make people recognize her for who she is, not as another Weasley. A story where, instead of fooling around to "make time" until her crush to notices her, she moves on from him and starts to date boys because she actually likes them and enjoys dating.

But no. Instead, all that development from her part is reduced to "hermione told me you might like me if i acted more like myself" "she told me to date other boys" bla bla bla

In conclussion:

Hinny had great potential as a love story, but it was done poorly

(REMINDER: This is just my opinion, and by no means i intend to force it unto other people or offend anyone. if you like hinny as a couple, good for you. I won't attack you because of it)

[whipbogard]

By any chance do you ship Harvey and Jason?

I may be stupid obsessed with the two but I don’t, actually. 😳

BUT you do you and I’m not here to dictate what is your preferences when it comes to fictional characters! ❤️

[todomemolesta18]

Trying to find Amphibia fics that arent poly Anne-Sasha-Marcy (i like them but I dont ship it)

[averysmolkirbo]

guys what do you do when you have 2 otps for a character at the same time??? love angle (tent? corner? idk triangle without the bottom part)?? Split custody??? Polyamory??

this is a legitimate question btw HELP i dont know what to do.

previously i was able to have it so both relationships could happen at different points in a timeline, but thats not an option here i want them both the be together but do it alone

[thequeenofsastiel]

It's the way Louis completely ignored Armand in 2x02 when Armand tried to ask him to not be that cruel to Daniel that's getting me. Armand would NEVER ignore a command from Louis(setting aside in 2x05 when Armand was only able to do so because Louis deeply insulted him and violated his trust, which shattered something inside Armand and made him lose his goddamn mind, and then as soon as Louis reassured him of their companionship, reverted back to obedience; ETA also if it hit one of his hard boundaries, but we've only seen him have one of those so far). The fact that Louis was capable of completely dismissing Armand's words says SO much about their D/s dynamic.

[piperslovebot]

moodboard: jay x leia

[harrowscore]

................. not to rain down on anyone's parade but barely characterized 14 year old lucerys could never have the swag eleanor or henry had