i am literally always thinking about tenrose and how much they loved each other. he burnt up a sun just to say goodbye to her. she loved him so much it changed him as a being. he was literally never the same after her. she looked at him and said i am going to love you so much you will love you too. and he looked at her and said i love you so much and if someone as good as you can love someone like me maybe i am worth saving.
A COMPREHENSIVE DEFENCE OF EVERYTHING TENTOO (PART 1)
Because unfortunately there’s a lot of stuff out there to refute.
so i guess a lot of people are watching doctor who right now because of good omens. and that, for some reason, means the tags are being constantly subjected to Certain tentoo takes so...it's meta time.
in this meta, i'll be rehashing how, exactly, tentoo is the doctor, and answering some other commonly posed objections to the pairing that is tentoo x rose.
But he's not the Doctor! Rose ended up with a copy!
First things first. The entire show revolves around the philosophical concept of Cartesian Dualism--the idea that the soul/spirit/mind has an entirely separate existence from the physical body. This is the basic principle of regeneration; when the Doctor regenerates, every organ, every cell in his body changes, and yet he remains the same man. What makes the Ninth Doctor the same man as the Tenth Doctor? There's something underlying here---the memories, the mind, the spirit. The body, has absolutely no significance.
In S6E6, The Almost People, we are introduced to the Ganger!Doctor. This is a man made out of like, slime, but he has the Eleventh Doctor's memories. Thus, he IS the Doctor. The Doctor himself says this.
In S9E11, Heaven Sent, the Twelfth Doctor is reduced to ashes millions and millions of times, and yet each time his body is 'recreated' or 'cloned', he remains the same person. Why? Because the memories persist. The soul lives on.
Here, have it straight from the horse's mouth.
"A man is the sum of his memories. A Time Lord even more so." - The Fifth Doctor, The Five Doctors, 1983
More evidence? What's the first thing the Tenth Doctor tries to do in Born Again to convince Rose that he really is the Doctor she knows?
DOCTOR: Very first word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar...Surrounded by shop window dummies. Oh...such a long time ago. I took your hand...I said one word. Just one word...Run.
Right. He shows her that he has the same memories.
Now cast your minds back to S4E13. What does the Metacrisis Doctor say when he's trying to convince Rose he's the same man?
Therefore, according to the lore established by the show itself, his missing heart has no significance to who he is. He is the Doctor.
2. But he's a CLONE.
Okay, first of all, he's not. He's a biological metacrisis, the only one of his kind. He has only one heart, i.e, he is not biologically identical to the Time Lord Doctor.
Second, even if he was, he would STILL be the Doctor. As established above.
Third, we see a Martha clone in S4E4, The Sontaran Stratagem, and she is a far cry from what we see of Tentoo.
3. Alright so he's not a copy. He's still only A Doctor! He isn't Ten, he's Half-Donna!
So. We've established that what makes a man is his memories.
If the Doctor had Donna's memories, he wouldn't be the Doctor anymore--which makes him ending up with Rose redundant. Here's the silver lining though.
Tentoo has only ten's memories. His own memories.
'How do we know this?' you may ask. Let's examine the script of S4E13, Journey's End.
(The Daleks spin around on the spot.)
DALEK: Help me. Help me!
DONNA: And the other way.
NEW DOCTOR: What did you do?
DONNA: Trip switch circuit-breaker in the psychokinetic threshold manipulator.
NEW DOCTOR: But that's brilliant!
DOCTOR: Why did we never think of that?
DONNA: Because you two were just Time Lords, you dumbos, lacking that little bit of human. That gut instinct that comes hand in hand with planet Earth. I can think of ideas you two couldn't dream of in a million years.
Not very likely if Tentoo had her memories, right? This happens again, in the TARDIS Coral deleted scene:
DONNA: If you shatterfry the plasmic shell....you accelerate the growth power by fifty-nine.
DOCTOR & NEW DOCTOR: We never thought of that.
There we go. Canon evidence that Tentoo does not have Donna's mind/memory/thought process. Instead, we see his mind being constantly referred to as that of his Time Lord counterpart.
4. So what exactly happened during the 'metacrisis' then? Why was Donna unable to sustain the change whereas we're meant to assume Tentoo is doing fine?
What happened in JE was a two-way metacrisis.
Tentoo is a biological metacrisis, i.e his mind remained the same, but the regeneration energy in his hand picked up on Donna's human biology and grew a human body. (His body is PART human, as in the ageing part. He'll grow old, and never regenerate.)
Whereas, Donna's body remained the same; she got the Doctor's mind, becoming the DoctorDonna. She is essentially the Doctor AND Donna, at this point in time.
At one point in JE, there are three Doctors ("There's three of you?") because as proved earlier, anybody that has the Doctor's memories, is the Doctor. There is: the Time Lord Doctor (Ten), the Human Doctor (Tentoo) and the Doctor Donna.
Since Donna was a human, she could not sustain the Doctor's mind alongside her own, which is what led to it burning up. It was simply too much for a human brain to take.
Tentoo, as proven earlier, does not have Donna's mind.
5. But he talks funny.
We are shown the Doctor picking up her mannerisms. The Doctor regularly picks up things from people he travels with. He "imprints" on Rose as a newly regenerated being and is shown to pick up on his companions' accents very often.
On a more analytical level, the "Donna mannerisms" bit is obviously comedic relief in an extremely action packed episode (evidenced by the fact that he literally never sounds like Donna again throughout the episode) and isn't meant to be taken that seriously. In every other scene, he is played by David Tennant, exactly as ten.
Tentoo is the Tenth Doctor, but human. In every way that matters, he is exactly Ten.
6. But he's Season 2 Ten! He doesn't have any of the character development Time-Lord Ten does!
Erm. Yeah. You've got to watch the show again.
7. Alright. Okay. If Tentoo is the exact same man, he would get bored of a life on earth with Rose. They'd never last.
Now we've got to address a key aspect of the Doctor's arc. (Keep in mind, when I refer to the Doctor herein, I only mean the Ninth and Tenth, the ones written by Russell T. Davies.)
The Doctor always wanted to be human.
The Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor in particular, wants to be human. It’s peppered here and there throughout the first four seasons, but if you watch closely, there’s this underlying current of wistfulness in him (“I’ve never had a life like that”; “The one adventure I can never have”), not to mention the entirety of the Human Nature two parter.
I think to some extent Rose made him feel human, and it’s his alienness that’s the big barrier in their relationship. He doesn't allow himself to love her the way he wants to because of the difference in their life spans. Because he's a Time-Lord, and he has a responsibility to the Universe, and he can't be more selfish than he's being already, keeping her with him.
She makes him want to be human, to be loved and to be free to love her as he wants to. She even helps him forget, sometimes, that he isn't human. Remember his expression in The Stolen Earth when he sees her again? He is so glad to see her. In that moment, it doesn't matter that they can never be together, because Rose loves him so much she came back.
I'm reminded of a quote from Buffy The Vampire Slayer:
I know that I'm a monster. But you treat me like a man.
And then bam. The almost-regeneration. The crushing reminder that he is intrinsically different from her species, from what he aches to be. Constant and selfish and free. Human.
Giving Rose up to his other self was the most selfless, loving thing he could’ve done. His other self, who is uninhibited, unburdened from the responsibilities of a Time Lord—can and will give Rose everything she deserves.
8. Just make Rose immortal then! Happy endings all around.
Now you might say, the earlier problem could be solved simply by making Rose immortal—she’d stay with the Doctor forever and she’d never have to leave him!
Here's the thing. Being immortal is Not Good.
A constant theme throughout seasons 1-4 is that immortality is not desirable. There is a constant motif of “living too long”, whether it be from Jack, the Face of Boe (cough), or the Doctor himself.
Things are only precious and meaningful because they end—the human way of doing things? Fast, and bright, and temporary? It’s the right way.
One of the many reasons the Doctor loves Rose is because she’s human—it’s a big part of why he’s attracted to her in the first place.
Besides, an immortal Rose would mean having to outlive her family, her friends, everyone she’s ever known—who else has experienced that? Oh, yeah. The Doctor. I can’t imagine him wanting her to go through the same thing under any circumstances.
9. Rose would never accept him. She wanted the adventure too, not just the Doctor.
This is the Rose who instantly felt connected to a parallel version of her parents. Remember, this Pete and Jackie had NO memory of her, and yet, she loved them. Tentoo IS Ten.
She also constantly refers to Tentoo as The Doctor, so I have faith in her figuring it out just fine.
As for the adventure, being human doesn't mean they're suddenly going to become accountants or work in childcare or something. (Looking at you, Jenny Colgan.)
Canon (Big Finish) tells us that they both work with UNIT/Torchwood, so we know that they're out there, defending Pete's World together.
'What about the TARDIS?' you may ask. Well, the writer considers it canon that the previously linked TARDIS coral scene did take place, so we can imagine that they're out there, exploring a new Universe.
But even if they didn’t have a TARDIS, we only need to look to S1E13, The Parting of the Ways, to understand that Rose cares about the Doctor above all else.
ROSE: But what do I do every day, mum? What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed? Is that it?
MICKEY: It's what the rest of us do.
ROSE: But I can't!
MICKEY: Why, because you're better than us?
ROSE: No, I didn't mean that. But it was. It was a better life. And I don't mean all the travelling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That don't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life. You know he showed you too. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away.
Of course Rose loves the TARDIS. She just loves the Doctor more.
More evidence? S2E8, The Impossible Planet:
DOCTOR: ....They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone, we're kind of stuck.
ROSE: Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift.
DOCTOR: And then what?
ROSE: I don't know. Find a planet, get a job, live a life, same as the rest of the universe.
Clearly, she doesn't mind settling down---not if it means staying with the Doctor.
DOCTOR: I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home.
ROSE: Everyone leaves home in the end.
DOCTOR: Not to end up stuck here.
ROSE: Yeah, but stuck with you, that's not so bad.
DOCTOR: Yeah?
ROSE: Yes.
Here's another conversation she has with Jackie in S2E12, Army of Ghosts:
JACKIE: No, but really. When I'm dead and buried, you won't have any reason to come back home. What happens then?
ROSE: I don't know.
JACKIE: Do you think you'll ever settle down?
ROSE: The Doctor never will, so I can't. I'll just keep on travelling.
"I can't." Not I don't want to, or I'm not interested---I can't. Rose is in love with the Doctor, and she knows at some level that the feeling is mutual. She also knows, he will never fully act on it.
But that's alright, because she loves him so much she's made her peace with it and with his limitations.
And instead of the typical female protagonist sacrificing things for her love interest trope, we get RTD flipping it on its head and letting Ten deliver the ultimate sacrifice, perform the ultimate act of love---letting Rose go.
By doing this, he's giving her everything he never could. It's beautiful. It's heartbreaking. It's the best love story ever put to television.
Let me conclude with this quote:
“Firstly, Rose is neither shallow nor stupid. She doesn’t settle for second best. She gets the person she fell in love with. And, as a bonus, he’s now able to spend the rest of his life with her, as she with him. Secondly, the very same person who experienced the heartbreak of losing Rose for the first time now experiences joy at the prospect of a lifetime in her company. In this full sense, the Doctor who lost, finally wins.” - Paul Dawson, Doctor Who and Philosophy.
10. But the Doctor and Rose ending up together is disgusting! They were platonic!
…..
Part 2 coming soon. I have loads more to say, but feel free to send in any other tentoo questions you want answered here. There's no such thing as too much meta!
god nine was so fucking in love with rose. "i'm so glad i met you." "i could save the world but lose you." dancing with her and not realizing they'd been teleported because he was so besotted. "i only take the best. i've got rose." hating literally every other man she so much as glanced at. i am fully convinced that nine had so little self control when it came to his love for her, and if he had not regenerated he would have acted on it a thousand percent. i main tenrose but ninerose hits so different. i absolutely love them
An anon asked me (BACK IN AUGUST, I’M SORRY ANON) for my favorite Bellarke fics and I kinda went overboard? Not sorry. The ones bolded & italicized are some of my top favorites/most memorable ones I’ve read!
Authors, if you’d like me to remove your tags, please let me know! All links lead to AO3 profiles.
Modern AU - Multiple Chapters
Picking Up What You’re Laying Down – rated E – by verbaepulchellae – @verbam
Yall… I owe this fic my firstborn.
Aurora Borealis – rated E – by enoughtotemptme – @enoughtotemptme - tattoo artist Bellamy and florist Clarke? Yes.
The Odds are Good – rated E – by tacosandflowers – @tacosandflowers - This is the whitewater kayaking fic you didn’t know you needed, BUT YOU DO.
Extra bonus: New Expectations – Rated T
Sleight of Hand - rated E - by prosciutto - enemies to friends to lover while on a heist and honestly, I wasn’t ready.
Don’t Wake Me, I’m Not Dreaming – rated M – by grumpybell - @grumpybell - If you haven’t read Erin’s works by now, what are you doing? Go. Read. Fall in love. Cry! (hi Erin!!!)
when there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire - rated M - by theoneinquisitor
“the angsty bellarke boxing fic literally no one asked for”
Vienna Waits For You - rated M - by panem_et_circenses
“ Clarke sort of launches herself - or maybe just her lips? - at Bellamy to avoid an awkward encounter with her ex.”
tooi mirai ni doko e yuku no - rated E - by Chash
I Make My Own Luck – rated M – by somethingofatrainwreck
After All - rated E - by lightyears
When The Sun Came Up, You Were Looking At Me) – rated M – by heartsinsync - @lydia-martin
Just Like the Kids in Art School Said They Would – Rated M – by LayALioness
100 Ark Street – rated T - by smallerontheoutside - @smallerontheoutside
My Mind Forgets to Remind Me (You’re a Bad Idea) – rated M – by prosciutto - @prosciuttoe
You Should Say Hi – rated M – by redwild_rush
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – rated T – by prosciutto
AUs – One Shots/Single Chapters/Drabbles
Canon AU:
sleeping like we’re lovers - rated M - by cassiesandsmarked
And then it’s just too much (I cannot get you close enough) - rated E - by verbaepulchellae
the spine of your body and its bones - rated T - by coffee_grounders
Coffeeshop AUs:
Name Tag – rated T – by HomebodyNobody - @smolmontygreen
Life Stories Are Second Date Material – rated G – by nymja - @gizkasparadise
Always Me That Ends up Getting Wet – rated T - by chash - @ponyregrets
Where Everybody Knows Your Name - rated G - by chash
Let Me Show You Them - rated G - by chash
A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You – rated T – marauders_groupie - @marauders-groupie - Bellarke being total nerds with matching shirts, obviously.
Lights, camera, action – rated E – by orphan_account - This account has over 4485 fandoms. If you can name it, it has it. There are 324 fics for The 100.
Not An Average Cup of Joe - rated G - by Kacka - @katchyalater
College/University AU:
Cancelled Benefits – rated E – by asroarke - @asroarke
Sounds Fake But Okay - rated T - by asroarke - @asroarke
Embrace it, princess because I love everything about you – rated E – by EmmaVentury
what goes around comes around (just like a flip turn) - rated M - by emullz
Game on – by winterwaters
Wrapped It Up and Sent It – rated T – by prosciutto
How You Get The Girl – rated E - by chash - @ponyregrets
The Cosmic Ballet Goes On - rated T- by chash
The Man Who’s Working Hard For You - rated T - by chash
No One Can Lift the Damn Thing - rated M - by chash
Last Round For A.M. Lovers - rated T - by LayALioness
How It Is For Us - rated M - by LayALioness
This is good a place to fall as any – rated E – by MissMarissa
We will stumble through heaven – rated E – by MissMarissa
Tastes sweet like sugar – rated E – by lightyears
Sexretary – rated E – by lightyears
Love is a Trip (But Fuckin’ is a Sport) – rated E – by caramelle
Gimme That Sugar With The Sweet Talk - rated E - by twilightstargazer
You Think This Happens Every Day? - rated E - by arysa13
Fantasy/Magic AU:
With A Mouthful of Thorns - rated T - by grumpybell
Only The Sound of Our Breath Soaks In - rated G - by LayALioness
Make My Messes Matter - rated T - by prosciutto
what do stars do best? - rated G - by MercuryM
It’s Such An Ancient Pitch - rated G -by LayALioness
Flower Shop AUs:
The Nature of My Game – rated T – by chash
Next To You (The Skies are Blue) – rated M – by thingcalledlove
Flower Therapy – rated G – by dimplesmcflirt - @thesongwithin
Bellamy steals flowers from Clarke’s garden to visit his mother’s grave.
Stubborn Asshole - rated E - by dimplesmcflirt
Bellamy apologizes with a yellow balloon.
Glasses!Bellamy:
Seldom Make Passes – rated T – by chash
Suddenly I see (this is what I wanna be) – rated T – by caramelle
Harry Potter AU:
The Giant Squid’s Got Nothing On You – rated T – by twilightstargazer - @hiddenpolkadots
Why Don’t We Break The Rules, Already? - rated M - by LayALioness
where dwell the brave at heart - rated T- by spiekiel
Pro Bono - rated T - by chash
Curriculum Vitae - rated T - by chash
Librarian!Bellamy:
Check Me Out – rated E – by chash
Don’t Trust People Who Read Fight Club - rated T - by maurauders_groupie
let your magic pull me in - rated T - by MercuryM
gonna check you out - rated T - by kay_emm_gee
Modern Setting AU:
third time’s the charm - not rated* - by cosmic_kate
see they want to buy my pride - rated T - by spiekiel
People Are Strange When You’re A Stranger - rated G - by LayALioness
stumbling upon cosmos - rated M - by flirtingwithtrackers
a character study (of sorts) - rated T - by orangecoconut
Bellarke from Murphy’s perspective.
Happy New Year, Losers – rated T – by by chash - The Office AU!
Better to Give than to Receive – rated E – by chash
Sequel: Tis The Season - rated T - by chash
If You Do It Right, It is Sublime – rated T – by chash
We Never Go Out of Style - rated T - by chash
The Weather Outside is Frightful - rated E - by chash
What We Do To Each Other - rated M - by maurauders_groupie
You Look As Good As The Day I Met You - rated T - by prosciutto
Bellarke with Pets:
To Those Who Know How to Listen – rated T – @enoughtotemptme
Love in the Time of Cats – rated G – by sheryl_sems
Puppy Love - rated G - by asroarke
Roomates AU:
A Little Bit of Something (God, It’s Better Than Nothing) – rated T – by grumpybell
Someday – rated T
No Space Lies In Between - rated M - by prosciutto
Social Media Bellarke:
after the beep (i’ll tell you i love you) - rated T - by emullz
Flowers Fade, But The Internet Lasts Forever – not rated – by caramelle
Why Do You Write Like You’re Running Out Of Time - rated T - by chash
That’s What You Think, Captain Cocky - rated M - by chash
You’re Cool On The Internet, At Least - rated T - by prosciutto
Instincts - rated T - by abldav
Soulmate AU:
In Words And Pictures - rated T - by lettertoelise
Focal Point - rated T - by grumpybell
Space AU:
These Arms of Mine - rated M - by talistheintrovert - @talistheintrovert (HI BABE ILY, THIS LIST TOOK ME MONTHS)
Sun Lights Up The Daytime - rated E - by Chash
ikite yuku tame ni - rated G - by Chash
Superhero AU:
I’ve Been Dreaming of You from the Other Side (I Know You So Well) – rated E – by chash
And That’s Terrible - rated T - by chash
situation normal, all fucked up - not rated - by questionablemorals
Teacher/Teaching AU:
veni, vidi, vici - rated T - by chash
afraid to call this place our own - rated E - by HawthorneWhisperer
teacher’s pet - rated E - by troubledpancakes
Collections/Series with varying prompts:
A Light That’s Keeping Us Forever – rated E – by enoughtotemptme
Kiss Her Twice, Keep The Night On – rated E – by prosciutto
Neeeeeeeeeerds – rated E – by Chash
Clarke joins the Junior Classical League, for Bellamy.
Get Me Some of That - rated E - by panem_et_circenses
i think that for a species that come into the world naked and have such an easy time understanding sex, its ironic that the world at large cant accept that intimacy cant occur outside of sexual desire. there is intimacy in a shared bath between a mother and her child. between brothers sharing a bed. between friends changing in the same room.
and i said white people bc i feel like literally everyone else figured that shit out already? like in public bath houses and women walking around with their breasts exposed. europe got a hold of chriatianity and decided to put a worldwide ban nakedness and put these restrictions on the human body, bastardizing the nature with which we come into the world. its dirty, its deviant, its dangerous to be exposed in the appropriate spaces or ones own home.
the way young people have to cover up in their homes before guests come, the way shorts and other summer clothes are only perceived as sexual in nature and not the most effective way of combating a million degree heat, the way people freak out when they see a bra strap like it wasnt them who made bitches wear bras in the first place
i can’t believe the writers repeatedly emphasized this symbolism in a show that is intensely focused on spiritual and natural balance and still had the GALL to not make them endgame………
I’m always a slut for ‘Anakin decides not to murder children and it saves the galaxy’ AUs, but I’m also always a slut for ‘Anakin decides not to murder children and it doesn’t save the galaxy’ AUs, partially because I’m sure Palps had several contingencies in place for Anakin not falling, and partially because the concept of baby Luke and Leia being raised by their Mom, Dad, Uncle Obi and Aunt Soka while they run the Resistance kills me.
There are so many incredible directions it can go, but my personal favorites are:
Leia gets a lightsaber and becomes a terror of the galaxy, eventually killing Sidious through sheer bloody-minded stubbornness and no little amount of vigorous stabbing.
Luke and Anakin bond over piloting while Obi-Wan is sick in the back of the transport.
Obi-Wan and Padmé getting drunk and taking the piss out of Sidious. (“Have you— *hic* have you seen his hair?” “Atrocious.” “Fuck, and the robes.” “No sense of panache whatsoever. I was never so unstylish when I wore robes.” “Yes, you were very hot.” “What?” What.”)
Ahsoka, Leia, and Luke prank wars. Blue milk in the pillow is how it starts. Three imperial bases burning while R2 cackles in the background and Padmé and Obi-Wan yelling at them is how it ends.
R2 and Luke are Best Friends. R2 and Leia are Mortal Enemies. Anakin takes Luke’s side. Obi-Wan takes Leia’s. Ahsoka and 3PO form their own team. Padmé privately decides that she can’t be bothered and lets her family have their stupid feud while she establishes another rebel base.
Hondo Ohnaka frequently kidnaps Luke and Leia and tries to get them to join his crew. Leia scams him every single time in the hopes that it’ll get him to back off. It just makes him try harder.
Han Solo shows up when the twins are 16 and both of them get horrible crushes on him. Anakin hates him for it. He shows up again when the twins are 22 and gets a horrible crush on both of them. Luke thinks it’s kind of sweet. Leia is not impressed. Anakin still hates him.
Luke goes out on a routine supply trip and comes back two weeks later with a whole covert of Mandalorians, including one named Din to whom he is very attached. Anakin blames Obi-Wan for it (“It’s your genes. Your stupid, defective, mandalorian-attracting genes.” “Luke and I aren’t even related!!” “You did this.”)
Padmé ‘three outfits a day and no less’ Amidala, Leia ‘braids and floor-length bodycon dresses’ Skywalker, and Luke ‘Chanel boots’ Skywalker, are fashion icons. Anakin, who is almost always covered in grease stains, is consistently mistaken for their escort and/or servant.
say whatchu will about the official jedi doctrine of Only Beige Tones and, believe me, i will. but the jedi really did rock the fuck out of beige. mace windu? who else can so eloquently say Don’t Fuck With Me in Premiere Pantone 15-1214 TCX Warm Sand™? can anybody else but shaak ti strut out in Entirely terracotta color palette yet still radiate Pure Working Single Mom Kick Ass Energy for millions of her clone sons? and who can forget obi-wan, who manages to be perfectly slutty—yet his v-necks are chastity-height and general style is mid-2000s suburban house demo? panache. pure, perfectly beige swag
areudirty
jbbartram-illu
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
prguitarman
snowghoul
