#the drums

Ok but can we talk about how The Valeyard and The Lumiat are like representations of what should’ve been. That the tides of fate were only turned by the choice of an innocent but selfish child, a deal with Death that only came to pass from a series of unfortunate circumstances. 

That The Doctor is The Doctor and The Master is The Master because a child murdered another child and was given an impossible choice by Death; you, or him. 

And that child chose him. As any child would have done. Out of fear, that child gave their closest friend to Death and irrevocably altered the flow of time. The truth was no more. The Doctor and The Master took its place, and the rest is bitter, bloodsoaked history. 

Ngl this bit of lore that I recently learned (through my own lore-related mistakes) COMPLETELY changes my outlook on the entire franchise. I cannot look at The Doctor now without subconsciously going ‘I know what you did’, even if they don’t remember, even if they were just a kid. And now I can’t look at The Master either without subconsciously going ‘I know what you could have done’. 

This also completely changes their emotional conversation in End of Time. When The Doctor says ‘I don’t know what I’d be without you’. When The Doctor says ‘you could be beautiful’. 

And then? The Master screaming ‘you did this to me!’ at Rassilon. Not knowing that another perpetrator of his eternal suffering stood to the side, watching him do this, equally ignorant to the truth of their respective positions. 

I am losing my SHIT. I’m so glad I rectified my misconceptions (please let me know if I’m still misconceiving… that sounds wrong) about this because oh my god the truth is better/worse. What an absolutely heartbreaking origin story for the both of them. Seriously, more fans need to know this shit because holy fuck. At least for me, it changes everything. 

Anyway this was a pretty heavy post so here’s a meme because I can’t angst and not soften the blow a bit 

Edit-

Ren, Bdubs,and mumbo play guitar!

The Doctor and the Master were both heavily bullied to the point the Master almost died and the Doctor had to kill the bully to save him because he was being drowned

The Master was locked in a room for who knows how long intentionally as a punishment

The Master was taken from his family as a child to look into something that basically gave him schizophrenia

The Master was told to his face he's "diseased" (End of Time) and he's "the worst thing to come out" (The Five Doctors)

He has constantly been the timelord's pawn, giving him the drums was an intentional decision

It's implied he was tortured for his crimes after being trapped on Gallifrey when he sacrificed himself for the 10th doctor in End of Time

I would have LOVED if the Master blew up Gallifrey simply because he thought they deserved it after how they treated him and the Doctor both. What could make him do this could just be the fact he's disgusted by Missy's actions in trying to be better and feels like he has to do the worst thing he can possibly think of and that's what comes to mind. He'd try to convince the Doctor he's right "Remember how they didn't help us? How they took us and made us see things no child should? How we never got our own lives? That'll never happen to anyone ever again now" unhinged speech