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#also as someone who enjoyed the donna tragedy SORRY
mummer · 5 months
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still sorting out how to feel about it but fuck ncuti was just insantly beyond all expectations. King
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rheannaaaz · 1 year
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Unexpected Visitor (Finale)
Jason Todd X Fem!Reader
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Summary: When Jason gets kicked off the Titans because of his actions with Johnathan Crane, he goes to his old “friend” who was once in the same situation.
WC: 3k!! (Wow.)
TW: Innuendo, Fluff, Angst (lowkey a lot), Kinda boring in my opinion..
A/N: So it’s been a minute…more like a year! I was rewatching Titans after watching S4 and I decided that I should probably finish this, but I just wanted to say this is very long and it’s not my best writing since I stopped writing after my writer's block. Also wanted to say H/N is Hero name, L/N is last name and Y/N/N is your nickname and for the suit you guys can find any inspiration for your reader! I’m sorry if this is bad or seems not focused, the first parts are more about Y/N & Jason like building up stories to the finale and following the last episode so I hope you enjoy it!——————————————————————————
-3RD PERSON POV-
It’s bright outside, deceased bodies of civilians of Gotham lay on the floor, in subway halls, sidewalks, and the streets. Such a tragedy one may think but to any of the civilians of Gotham that could’ve still been alive. It’s just another normal day in the City of Gotham.
———————————————————————
-DICKS POV-
Dicks phone starts ringing and he answers the call assuming and already knowing it’s Barbara. :
D: “What do you know?”
B: “It’s hard to tell. Based on satellite readings anywhere between 500 to 2,000 dead.”
D: “What about the toxin?”
V: “Winds moving east, thank god, so most of it dispersed over the harbor.”
B: “My guess is we’re not going to get lucky twice.”
Dick sighs and looks around with the phone in his hand.
D: “I’ll call you right back.”
All the “Titans” but 2 were in the same room with each other, going over poems and trying to plan. Jason and Y/N were in another room waiting for the signal that Dick said he would give them to let them come into the main room. They were still helping also just not where everyone could see them. Dick went over to talk to Gar and elaborate a little more before he dropped the bomb on everybody.
“Gar, what do you know?” Gar looked at the papers and clipboard and replies “I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street. There’s like 20 dive bars near 52nd Street..!” He says annoyed and slightly unamused, Dick tells him to narrow them all down and just find one before he turns around and talks to Rachel & Tim. A few minutes later he checks with Connor, Komand’r, Donna & Koriand’r.
After Donna & Kori brought up the pit it reminded him of someone. “Can I stop everything real fast? I know it’s not a good time but we do need more help. So, I called in a few people. I know we aren’t on the best terms with them, but they are smart as well as valuable in getting these poems down. I just ask that you all are respectful not only that but professional.”
Dick looked around and nodded his head as he saw all heads turn up and look at him. He turned around to look at the door and said, “You guys can come in now.”
-Y/N’S POV- (Minutes before Dick told them they can come in)
“You know we’re gonna have to go in there at some point this small room isn’t gonna cut it.” Jason breaks the silence. Y/N scoffs and looks at him but quickly goes back to looking at the paper with the top of the pen near her lip, “Well we’re not exactly wanted so it’s better we stay in here and let Dick take the credit for the work we’re doing in here. Like he said.” She says as she puts her pen & paper down to look at him.
Jason rolls his eyes and makes a snarky remark “since when have you listened to Dick when it comes to staying somewhere?” Y/N turned her head quickly and seemed quite annoyed at the question “since I stepped into a place where everybody despises me. I’d rather not deal with the drama.”
As she turned around to look back at her papers Jason sighed and grabbed Y/N’S waist to turn her to fully face him and he took her hands in his, “Not everybody despises you. You know that right?” Emphasizing the “every” at the beginning, also implying the comment to himself. Y/N softly smiled while she looked up at him and replied, “is that your way of telling me you don’t exactly hate me, Jason?” Jason who was taken aback by the fact that she thought he also hated her after the incident felt the need to just confess right there.
“Maybe, but the fact is Y/N, I never hated you. During the incident and the claims of you working with Deathstroke, I guess I just didn’t know what to say, by the time I got to the living room they were talking about kicking you out. I had just got in the room but that makes no excuse for me not saying anything and again for that Y/N/N I’m sorry, and I’ll say it again and again as much as I mean it, and as much as you need to hear it. I know that we had never dropped the big L on each other but I think I’m just gonna say it now. Y/N, I’m in love with you, and I always have been. Ever since that first time you sparred with Donna and ended up being one of the only team members who could take her down which I have to say was very funny seeing her reaction!”
Jason & Y/N both laughed but Jason continued, “I could never hate you, no matter what. I made a promise that I now am going to stick with you forever and I am going to keep myself to that promise.” Y/N shed a tear and finally spoke while wiping her eye, “Wow Todd you really know how to make a girl mess up her mascara,” she said jokingly.
“Only when it’s you.” Jason winked and they both turned around to get back to work, but Jason broke the silence and said “so when we DO have to go in there, who’s going first 'cause it certainly won’t be me!” Y/N laughed and said “I guess it’ll be me then! You’ll just have to repay me for it later.” Jason smirked and replied, “Oh I can think of ways to repay you later that you might enjoy.”
Y/N raises an eyebrow and looks at Jason “Oh stop it, you’re so annoying.” and slightly laughs at his risky remark. Jason shrugs and puts his hand up in the air, “you love me though!” Y/N smiles, “Your right I do.”
They hear from the other room, “You guys can come out now.”
Jason looks at the door, “I guess that’s our queue,” he looks at Y/N and sees her already slightly freaking out so he slips their hands together and kisses hers to reassure her. “I guess so.”
-DICKS POV-
As I gave the signal that Y/N & Jason could come out of the back room, Y/N came out first. There was slight movement from the over Titans at their tables but it doubled when Jason came out as well.
Connor scoffed and pointed at Jason, “What’s he doing here? Not only is he a murderer but he’s a traitor.” Komand’r put her hand on his chest and said “Well I don’t know about him but the girl is pretty and I like her style... So maybe we should give her a chance.” Koriand’r had to add her own opinion in there “I think not. After what that girl did, I don’t think she deserves any chances.” Donna looked at Kori and replied “What do you mean chances, Kori? Do you mean the chances you didn’t give her? The chances *WE* didn’t give her?”
Y/N looked at all the arguments slowly coming up and felt the need to speak. “Look, I know I’m not exactly wanted, cared about, and even despised but for the sake of this city let’s put it all behind for now, professionally, and just work together? We all live here, we all want Gotham to stand here and stand tall so let’s just get to work please.” Jason put his hand on her lower back and rubbed it as he could tell she was feeling uncomfortable.
Connor rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “Your one to talk about working together. How did it feel after Deathstroke disappeared and you had no more support? You worked and it seems now you’re WITH a murderer, you don’t belong here.”
Y/N looked at Connor with a hint of loss of respect and disgust, “Well Connor, if you know so much about if I quote you 'murderers' you would know more about your parents and why mine aren’t here anymore cause of that parent. If I may, look at the woman you’re with, no offense Komand’r but she’s not exactly the brightest of the bunch and on the Deathstroke note, I wouldn’t even know how it felt without his support since I never worked with him or spoke with him.”
Connor stopped talking, looked back at the papers, and put his hand over his jaw like he just had been slapped, which I would too if she said that to me. Komand’r added in a quick “no offense taken,” and smiled at Y/N.
There was a heavy silence till Tim broke it, “Uh guys, we should probably get back to work...We don’t have much time and Ms. Y/L/N, thank you for helping us, you as well Jason.” With that they decided to get to work, Y/N worked with Donna & Kori despite Kori’s remark earlier and Jason worked with Tim & Rachel.
-3RD POV-
Dick looked around in confusion and then spoke loudly to everybody, “Okay everybody stop.” He walked out of the room and called Barbara while the others looked around in confusion.
| Meanwhile, in the room. |
-Y/N’S POV-
There was a heavy awkward silence in the room till Donna sat down in a chair and patted the one next to her for me to sit, “So, Y/N, how have you been.” I looked up from the floor and straightened myself up, “Well, I went back to my hometown with my mom. Surprisingly Selina let me in. I guess the news spread quickly that I got kicked out so she already had my room ready, she let me train with her and stuff. Felt like when she first adopted me all over again, she let me stay for a bit till I found my own place. When I did find my own place, a year later Jason over there showed up at my door and now I’m here.”
Koriand’r rolled her eyes as if I did something to annoy her, “Don’t act innocent, you can’t just come in here and expect forgiveness with a pity story and a new look.” I just stood up and looked at her.
“You know Koriand’r I tried proving myself to you over, and over again. I did that because I looked up to you, I saw you as a mother figure but it just seems that I was absolutely nothing to you. Since you were one of the first to let me go. I just hope one day, you all can forgive me for the mistake that I didn’t even make.”
“I’m not saying you have to forgive me, or even talk to me but at least don’t listen to what that Rose girl put together to get me kicked out of this 'family' that we had.” I stood up and walked to the back room where I didn’t have to deal with the rest of them. It was gonna be a long day.
I heard that Kori & Donna figured out what to do, so I ended up fixing my suit and getting ready but it still didn’t feel right putting it on. Jason came in to comfort me since I guess they gave him hell too, I just didn’t understand. I told them I didn’t do anything and Rachel knows telepathically I didn’t do it, so why is nobody believing me? It’s a question I’ll never know at this point, nor do I care about it. We have a city to save and that’s the only reason I’m here.
-A FEW MINUTES LATER-
We all sat in the main room and Connor explained this “plan” he had and we all tilted our heads. Donna finally broke the silence, “Yeah, we get it. But the storm was our idea.” Pointing at me, Koriand’r, Rachel, Komand’r, and herself. Connor confidently replied “but I drew it on the board! See?” We all just replied “Yup.” and Rachel made a good point, “The question is can we do it without getting ourselves killed?” Koriand’r replied, “there’s only one way to find out.”
*FINALE PART 2 STARTS HERE*
-3RD POV-
As Dick, Tim & Gar settled the plan and got prepared. Gar went into the house and Jason got “caught” trying to get into the house the girls were all down at the Lazarus pit.
-Y/N’S POV-
We walked down the stairs to Lazarus Pit, it’s not as cool as it seems so I was quite disappointed. The only thing I was nervous about was the fact I haven’t used my magic since I left mostly because I started acting like a normal vigilante so I just don’t want to mess this up since we only have one chance.
Blackfire looked at the Pit, “There’s something very wrong about this place.” Rachel walked around it and replied, “it absorbs the worst fears and nightmares of anyone who’s ever been in it.”
I replied, “Extremely dark magic.” Koriand’r looked at Rachel and said, “Too dark for you?” Rachel shook her hand and looked up, “No.” Komand’r looked at Rachel again and said “And if it goes wrong?” “It’s the last thing we’ll ever do, but I feel it won’t go wrong because if you didn’t know Y/N has magic too.”
They looked at me and I just stared at the Pit because I hadn’t told anyone else about the magic other than Rachel & Jason because I didn’t like using it because whenever I did I felt very weak.
Koriand’r proceeded to tell Kom that she didn’t have to do this and Kom told her she wasn’t that scared. I, on the other hand, could easily pass out if this doesn’t go right.
We all got in stance as Rachel and I started it off.
All the memories, flashes of my childhood, watching my parents be murdered, getting kicked out, and a few times when I wasn’t in control of my powers or my body all flashed before my eyes and I had never been more terrified. I managed to keep quiet and focused but it didn’t last as a few tears rolled down my face.
— KORIAND’RS POV —
I was truly scared for Rachel and Y/N, it looked like they were seizing almost taking in all of the Pit. I never knew Y/N had dark magic, she never talked about it or when somebody brought it up she never wanted to say where it came from.
After the whole argument earlier, I started feeling bad because Rachel told me and everybody that Y/N was telling the truth. It wasn’t pity, I was truly ashamed of myself. I looked up at the girls to check if they were okay and I got a response, didn’t sound like Y/N or Rachel, more like a demon. Never again. Komand’r and I then jumped in to take the weight off the girls.
Y/N and Rachel snapped out of it after we put the pit in a shield, they caught their breath and we continued our mission.
- LATER THAT NIGHT – 3RD POV
“Okay, we have one chance at this,” Kori said still using her powers but after that, she released the storm. It was Connor's turn for the plan, they waited for it to start. Donna showed up and helped with the lightning using her lasso of truth, smirked and all she had to say was “You know what they say.”
Jason had left Wayne Manor and went back to the apartment to wait for Y/N.
There was so much more life in the atmosphere than before and it was all thanks to the Titans. Though there was a certain somebody who didn’t feel like one.
-Y/N’S POV-
As we all looked around at all the people walking and coming back to life, this dude showed up and talked to Connor and started fanboying over Donna & Rachel, I didn’t care till he said “Oh my god, your H/N!! I have all your merch can I get a picture after this? I'm getting off topic, sorry, anyway-“ He proceeded to tell us about Komand’r’s ship but after that, I felt the feeling that I didn’t belong there.
After we talked, I turned to Donna, Rachel, Kori, and Connor. “Well, I think it’s time I go. It was nice seeing you all again.” It was bittersweet, as I started walking to my motorcycle Kori grabbed my shoulder and hugged me. I looked at her in confusion as to why she hugged me.
All she said was “I’m sorry. For everything, I- We should have listened to you. I said some very hurtful things to you, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one-day Y/N.” I smiled, “Kori, that’s all I ever wanted. So I do forgive you,” I looked as all the others that were there came over to me and Kori as well “But I can’t stay. I am not a Titan anymore, this is something you all did. This?” As I motioned to all the people and the sky being blue again, “Is a titan thing, I’m not the same person anymore. For all I know, I was never here. We can still be friends but, I have another path to go down.”
I looked at Connor and smiled, I forgive him for what he said and did but nobody knew the truth so, it’s okay. “I have to get home, I can’t leave Jason waiting so bye guys.” I waved hugged everybody and waved goodbye as I got on my bike and speeded off.
——————————————————————————
A/N: Well how about that? This wasn’t that good in my opinion, I feel like it’s all over the place. I will be taking prompts and ideas since I’m gonna make a mini series of Y/N & Jasons relationship! There will also be an epilogue coming in a few hours but other than that I hope this was okay! I thank you all for the patience and all the support Unexpected Visitor has gotten in the past year. ♥️🫂
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divorcingjimmatthews · 11 months
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s2e7 belly of the beast spoilers! rambly rambly thoughts. loved this episode, love this show. sorry, it's very long.
jim, jade and tabitha
CONGRATULATIONS JADE for officially not losing your mind and coming on top of the whole thing. CONDOLENCES to JIM for catching the crazy ball and going full conspiracy theorist now it's him that i'm most worried for. basically what tabitha said. they don't know but they gotta cope with not knowing. i'm glad to see jade and tabitha on the same wavelength about that because from my personal experience i think it's the healthiest mindset you can have in a situation like that. jumping to conclusions like i was saying in my other post is extremely dangerous.
also glad to see jade's first actual contribution to everyday life in the town. hilarious that's gonna be "better alcohol" but awesome that he found something to work on to keep him sane. "i needed a project that wasn't fucking terrifying" i love you jade. your soul is beautiful. also i don't care if i'm grasping at straws but i think victor interrupting him when he was in the middle of his crazy guy skit really helped him stay grounded so he kind of wanted to help tabitha too and that's why he roped her along on his project. like "okay, i'll give you the crazy town lore BUT you gotta do a normal person thing too to balance it out and not lose yourself in this". or maybe he was just lonely and wanted someone to work with him on his project. i've been lowkey shipping them since before they even interacted so i guess this episode was like my personal christmas.
ship or no ship i think it's really important for tabitha to open up with someone outside of her family. it's probably gonna make her family life better to have, you know, friends. jade has a talent for knowing what to say around really heavy topics. telling her "fuck, that sucks, i don't think you're being punished though, i think maybe bad things are just happening and that's it" was really what she needed to hear. in the early episodes tabitha complains to jim that him acting like he knows everything and saying it's all going to be fine like it's obvious makes her feel like she's "doing something wrong". jim's kind of doubling down on acting like he's got it all figured out so i'm glad tabby has a friend that's more on her wavelength now.
i'm fully biased because of my own personal experiences i'll admit it, but i don't think trying to fix a relationship that went south a long time ago is always the best course of action. parting ways doesn't have to be a tragedy, sometimes it's a really good thing. in s1 it looked like they were kinda fixing it but now it feels like they're further apart than at the beginning of the show. i feel really bad for jim but he's gotta pull himself out of that hole he's digging for himself. he's not just jumping to conclusions about things he can't know, he's rejecting reality ("that's what they want you to think!!!" about tabitha defending victor because he's proved time and time again that he's a good man) and leaning on someone that's encouraging him to keep thinking that way and who he barely knows. i'm thinking what other character could help him but i'm kind of drawing a blank. maybe also jade. just pushing my ot3 agenda sorry guys.
donna and fatima, victor and ethan
even though pregnancy in fiction is kind of an ick of mine (SPECIALLY when something goes supernaturally wrong with the pregnancy like, the lord is testing me i guess...?) so i can't really get on board the excitement some of the characters show, i'm really enjoying the "can any of the supernatural wild stuff happening here actually be GOOD" theme with the pregnancy and the changing of the leaves. fatima gave me some strong john locke (the bald guy, not the philosopher) vibes with the pregnancy when she's not supposed to be able to have kids. but i'm not gonna be able to breathe well again until they confirm that's not gonna be some night creature baby thing. if i could i'd honestly abort in that situation like absolutely not risking that possibility like can you imagine? can you freaking imagine. nononono. not taking that chance. nopp.
ANYWAY victor and ethan were so sweet and sad and i'm sobbing. victor saying he wants to protect ethan because bad things always happen to his friends here :')))) give me 10 thousand tissues please. but he let him help in the end and ethan was so happy. i'm actually sobbing. i love them i love them i love them. their friendship has my whole heart. also, love victor's vest.
jim and randall
love himmmmmmmmmmmm love him love him he was just flying his drone, he was going to his nephew's bday and that was such a badass present to give. love this guy what can i say. he has such a cute smile too. he's just got there and he knows nothing and i'm scared for him. the bit he added to jim's theory is SO dangerous though like starting to distrust each other is the last thing they should be doing. hell randall himself could be the person that's "in on it" for all we know, that's one hell of a question to raise if you want to cause disruption on purpose. i don't think he is though but like jim should consider it before he goes around distrusting people that have proven to be kind hearted like victor.
kenny's warning to jade in s1 ("the people who can't adapt here, when they can't bend, they break") rings specially true for jim rn. he's genuinely not past his first impression of victor, who he mistook for a child molester when they first arrived (rightfully let's be honest, he was being creepy to an outside observer and he did point his gun at him). unlike jade who's changed his approach (from "i don't do impossible" to "maybe crazy awful shit happens here and that's it"), jim's been completely unable to get past his first impressions of everything and is cracking under the pressure, and pulling apart from his loved ones bc of it... really worrying.
OK THIS IS LONG ENOUGH ILL SAVE THE KENNY THOUGHTS FOR A DIFFERENT POST
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brinconvenient · 3 years
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Green Egg and Fam
You know what? I'm just gonna go ahead and do this...
So a few years back, I was talking to another trans woman who is very familiar with the DC Universe and we were trying to figure out who is Actually An Egg, and after a few suggestions back and forth, I galaxy-brained the answer. She heartily agreed and we talked about it a bit: 1. Artsy 2. Serial Monogamist who is a Relationship Disaster (Big "Do I want to Be With Her, or Be Her?" energy) 3. Becomes best friends with every ex-girlfriend 4. Noted Respecter of Women in Very Terrible and Awkward Ways 5. Chronically allergic to self-reflection and introspection, but also addicted to it in much the same way lactose intolerant people talk about how they can't give up cheese. 6. Just a complete and Utter Messy Agent of Chaos. 7. All too willing to adopt Other People's Expectations and internalize them as a Sacred Duty. 8. Just constantly Marked By Tragedy - both external and self-created.
It's Kyle Rayner, kids.
Torchbearer,
Honor Lantern,
Erstwhile Ion/avatar of the power of will
Kyle "I will be the Last of the Green Lanterns and yet keep trying to ressurect this entire Corps of Space Cops that I didn't even know existed until some Blue Dude showed up to give me jewelry and I guess marry me into the Corps? Because I guess that's just my job now and that will become my whole personality" Rayner.
After the conversation, this - the only fanfic I have literally ever written popped out of my head fully formed. It's intended to really be Chapter 1 of Several which are basically conversations between Kyle and one Ex-Girlfriend per chapter as Kyle finally accepts herself and transitions.
Eventually she reveals that the name "Ion" comes from her real name "ImOgeN" because she read Nevada and Was Impacted and she's just that extra.
But, honestly, despite getting started on the Alex chapter ages ago, I never have drawn the energy to go back and finish and/or write more, so I'm just gonna share the first chapter of what I am calling:
"Green Egg and Fam"
Putting the actual content behind the Read More because I've already rambled too long.
“It’s just exhausting, you know? Every few years it seems like I have to pick up the pieces of my life, my memory, my self and figure out who the hell I am! Every time I get a handle on things, someone or something comes along and shakes up the snow globe,y’know? I’ve tried to talk to Diana about it and, like, she’s compassionate and cares and offers sympathy, but most of the time, my whole relationship with her is just one more flake in the globe and I never know who we’re going to be to each other. Somehow, though, you’re always my favorite ex-boyfriend. It’s weird, right?”
Kyle patted Donna’s arm reassuringly. He glanced from Donna’s face to the view over Lake Michigan. There was no more beautiful view of the lakeshore than the roof of the John Hancock Building. He could just about make out the lights of the small shore towns across the lake in Michigan, and he could see the industrial Indiana towns along the round tip of the lake.
“I’m not positive I like that descriptor of our relationship, but I am happy to be some kind of constant for you,” he said with a rueful smile. “Donna, you are one of my dearest friends and I always want to be here for you. I know you didn’t need my help with Dr. Psycho here, but I’m glad I was Earthside to help you out anyway.”
They’d taken the diminutive psychic menace to the Chicago Special Crimes Unit, who had training and facilities for telepaths and telekinetics. They found this perch when Donna said she just needed a little bit to settle down before heading back to the Titans Tower in New York.
“No, I had him just about handled - a Lasso of Persuasion is pretty useful, after all - but I’m glad you swung through, all the same,” Donna said. “I’m glad to have a friend here. Psycho was really messing with my head this time. He kept dredging through my memory, pulling out bits and pieces of lives lived and people lost. He made me relive the loss of Terry and Robert and Jenny, over and over, replayed the tortures of Dark Angel, dragged me through that whole mess with the Titans of Myth, and I’m actually not sure which of any of those actually happened in this reality anymore.”
Donna’s breath was getting ragged and tears were falling down her face, twinkling in the moonlight.
“You told me about Terry and the kids when we were dating, so since I still remember them, they must still have existed and they still loved you and you still got to love them. I’m a little fuzzy on the Titans of Myth, so I can’t be sure about that stuff. But you’re here now and that’s what’s important right now. Just take a sec to enjoy this moment, this view, this night and see how you feel, ok?” he said.
They sat in the quiet, next to each other, watching the waves reflect and distort the moonbeams. Donna’s breathing calmed down and she straightened her back, half a head taller than Kyle even while sitting.
“Thank you, Kyle. I’ll be ok now, I think. I appreciate you listening. You have a good heart. If you’d only learn to actually fight without that ring, you’d make a pretty decent Amazon. Well … if you weren’t a man, of course.”
Kyle coughed and thanked the stars that Donna couldn’t see him blush. Suddenly Kyle felt like there was lava beneath his skin and he couldn’t sit comfortably.
He didn’t want Donna to catch on, so he stifled his squirming and whipped up a quick construct of a miniature green Kyle in an Amazonian uniform, breastplate, Spartan skirt and calf boots. For added effect he made sure to widen his shoulders and used Hal Jordan as a reference for a jaw far more square than Kyle’s real life chin.
“I’m not sure I can pull off the uniform. Guess I’ll stick with green and black for now. Ha!” he said. He hoped it didn't sound as forced as it felt.
“Oh I don’t know. You’ve got great legs, Kyle! Maybe you should start wearing shorts when in uniform. Besides, you had those over-the-knee boots for the longest time. I think you’d be just fine!” Donna said, laughing.
“Give me a hug, Dick just texted me to meet him in Blüdhaven. Take care and fly safe back to Oa!” she said.
After a quick, warm embrace, she turned eastward and flew off over the lake. Kyle watched her fly out of sight. He looked down and saw little Amazon Kyle, slowly spinning in the air. He drew the construct up to eye level and returned the shoulders and jaw back to his more slender and softer reality. It didn’t look that bad actually.
He’d been trying to make Donna smile, and deflect from … something before, so he exaggerated those features to highlight the incongruence, but he didn’t hate this more realistic image.
He continue to finesse the construct’s features. Like most artists, he never really considered a piece finished, he just stopped working on it. He smoothed the musculature, narrowed the shoulders a little further, pulled the hips out just a bit more, and left the waist alone. The ersatz Kyle’s face got softer still, the brow less pronounced, the nose narrower, the chin just a bit more rounded. He watched the chest muscles soften and breasts form to fill out the breastplate better.
Finally, he lengthened the construct’s hair to shoulder length, adding some wave and curls like Donna’s somehow-always-perfect hair.
And there she was. The woman who’d been haunting Kyle’s dreams as long as he could remember. Slowly spinning in the air was a woman who could easily have been Kyle’s sister, wearing Amazonian garb (or at least what he remembered from seeing Donna’s while they were dating so many years ago).
He didn’t know how much time had passed since he started fiddling with the image, and he didn’t know how long he’d spent staring at the final form. Sister. Yeah, right.
With an angry wave he flashed his hand through the construct, dissolving and dispersing the light particles that he’d given form. He hastily looked around the roof to make sure no one had seen him or, specifically, seen the construct. The burning sensation of shame returned instantly and he immediately flew into the sky until the buildings looked like so many light-speckled building blocks.
He took himself through a calming exercise he learned from Kilowog to help him center himself and sling his ring “like he wasn’t a complete Poozer and deserved to wear it.” Kilowog had no appreciation for just how hard it was for other people to feel calm when he was around. Still, Kyle found it helped when the pink giant wasn’t breathing down his neck.
“My will is strong enough to carry the torch for the entire Green Lantern Corps, I can stop these feelings. I can make all of these thoughts go away. I can stop this. I’ve got too much responsibility to keep indulging this … this nonsense” he thought, trying to ignore the sting of the tears fighting their way free to fall down his face, ignore the pain in his heart.
“I don’t want to lose my friends - what would Donna say? Would she think I was a pervert, or making fun of her somehow? I definitely don’t want to lose Hal’s and the guys’ respect. I don’t want to lose my whole life just because I’m some kind of freak. Get it together, Rayner. No one else is feeling sorry for themselves because they don’t fit in.”
He pulled a hand down his face and pointed his right fist with it’s gaudy, shining green ring on the middle finger toward the Milky Way and flew into space. He hoped the cold solitude of the transluminal conduits would help him regain his composure before he faced Guy, Hal, John and Kilowog for the Honor Lantern meeting. For the millionth time, he wished he could just be more like them, have just a sliver of their easy and effortless masculinity. They made it look so simple.
“Bet they don’t spend half their life trying to figure out what is wrong with them,” he thought. He tried so hard not to envy them, but it was really hard sometimes.
Especially nights like tonight where his resolve had failed him yet again and he gave in to his most hidden thoughts. He entered the transluminal conduit between Saturn and Jupiter and closed his eyes.
He traveled faster than light, but it still took time to reach Oa, so he tried to sleep and hoped that his dreams wouldn’t betray him again.
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laora-inn · 3 years
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Supernatural - 15x19. Why it’s a good ep considering Destiel
As all of my SPN metas, it’s Destiel positive and happy end positive, don’t like - don’t read.
I wasn’t disappointed of this ep’s outgoing, in fact, I’ve been waiting for something like that.  Here in September I wrote my specs for the last 7 eps, and for 15x19 there was one: “they will not talk about Cas’s saving. And he will be dead in this episode for sure”. I was especially sure about this spec after 15x18. ‘Cause THE INTRIGUE guys. 
There is no intrigue at all - only Cas’s returning/saving in 15x20 could SAVE THE SHOW. Other way - it’s never too late to rebel :) Though I don’t think it will be necessary, not in this case.  So I liked the 15x19 outcome and my hopes for the DeanCas happy end are strong as ever. 15x19 made them stronger. 
I liked a lot of things in the ep - so, so many of them. Jack and Dean’s grieving. Blood mark on Dean’s jacket. Sam and Dean’s readiness to surrender. Dean’s demand for Chuck, to return Cas - though ONLY CAS AND DEAN THEMSELVES COULD DO IT. Luci’s comeback as a fact - I speculated about it a bit here, though I thought more of Nick calling to Luci. But Nick was also Chuck’s puppet, why not?  Luci’s playing Cas - “let me in”. We saw Dean’s weakness, so clear that it hurts and could be even uncomfortable to watch. We ALL understood that was a coy the moment Luci called I suppose - but not Dean. And THIS FACT alone is nice - not the details though.  Michael’s tragedy, though hidden and not well-played - but it was there.  Chuck’s inability to love. The whole metaness of his character - “I’m cancelling your show” again. His death wish. Sam and Dean’s revenge neglect. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who we are”. Chuck as a human, without his strength. It’s strange, but I think he could be happy now! If he’ll change something in himself, of course.  Chuck’s empty Book of Death. His book is empty now, there will be no new Death... and he can start from the beginning. He can write his own story now and be redeemed - despite all the things he had done. It’s a new page for him as well. Chuck finally could be free himself.  The way Jack became the new Almighty AFTER exploding in the Empty. THE EMPTY IS THE ONE THAT GAVE HIM THE STRENGTH, it’s not the enemy. I wrote about it here.   Amara’s mentioning - and it was Sam who asked about her, she was important for both Sam and Dean all the way.  Beautiful acting - they certainly did their best with the script given. 
The way how the children should be free of their parents - Michael and Luci from Chuck, Sam and Dean from Chuck - and their dad, his name even wasn’t curved on the table by the end of the ep and despite the kind words to John in 14x13 we saw in 15x16 and 15x17 how destructive was John’s impact on Dean - not at Sam, ‘cause Dean was protecting Sam all along. Jack from Sam and Dean - this freedom is blurred though ‘cause of Cas’s absence in the episode structure. But his freedom is a good thing itself - for Jack it’s impossible to be a human, Kelly believed that. Cas believed that. Cas saw paradise on earth - so Jack’s chosen fate was in being a Child who is everywhere, in all of us, who doesn’t play with us, but lets us act ourselves. He isn’t the God as we understand him in strict norms, he isn’t cruel and abusive.  And he should be free of any expectations from Sam and Dean - Cas said it in 15x18 to him. Jack is a grown-up in his own manner. He is independent now, and that’s a good thing. 
Also, there is a promise in these shots:
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We see these shots 3 times - before Jack returns all the humans, in the process of returning (see the girl whose bike was abandoned at the road at the end of 15x18 and at 15x19 beginning?) and when he talks about him being everywhere.  One More. The One.  Is Jack the One now? Is he the one more One?  Is it ONE MORE EPISODE? One more story? One more thing? One more... You can continue the thought if you want. All I want to say - these shots are visually important and I find them hopeful :)
I liked Sam and Dean in the end. I’m a Destiel shipper but I’ve never hated Sam and Sam and Dean’s relationship. I just think it’s not good for this relationship to be romantic - it’s not good for both of Sam and Dean. But I respect them and their bond and don’t see anything bad for DeanCas ship in it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite - Sam was helping both Cas and Dean all the time. I’m afraid of thinking what will happen without him. Nothing good I suppose. I liked the way this scene was filmed. It’s also hopeful for me - though the double reading here is possible.  But I think “just us” is not the end.  I liked the names curved on the table as the fact. Now it’s confirmed - they ARE a family. All of them.
I liked the choice of the song - Running on Empty. Wow. Symbolically - ‘cause the Empty in the story is the separate character AND the place, you know. I liked a clip-show at the end. It’s nostalgic and sweet, and it has Cas in it - he IS the part of that, not only as Dean’s love interest, hey. He has his own party.  Here the story of blood ends.  What’s next?
We’ll wait and see. 
And now - some things in 15x19 which left me disappointed. 
I must confess that I’ve always loved SPN myth-arcs and wasn’t noticing Destiel as a thing for a while because my interests weren’t in the field of shipping. This show wasn’t about shipping for me - and the weirdest, it isn’t about shipping for me now. It’s a DAMN GOOD STORY WITH THE SENSE. And the sense is love. Yep. 
So this episode didn’t do well with the myth-arc.  
You see, I kinda enjoyed some of Buckleming eps. For instance, 15x13 - I love it, and there are some more. I’ve even appreciated their lack of subtext, parallels, allusions sometimes. They could be very specific. One more example - when Dean in 11x03 cupped Cas’s face, it was very easy to understand the ROMANTIC nature of their relationship and stuff.
But this ep?! 
Pandemic situation added some stress I suppose. Nevertheless, all the story with Lucifer and Michael is just catastrophic. The only strong part was Lucifer telling Michael how Chuck can’t love - and the fact that his words were confirmed by the plot, and Chuck’s inability to love finally ended him. We’ve known that. We’ve predicted that. I’ve written about it here. 
“You’ve killed your own son” (c) Dean, who didn’t do that.   
But the rest part of this story---ugh. Killing Luci so easily? Michael is so plain as a character? Are you f*cking kidding me?!! Even AU!Michael was more interesting, I swear. I had a feeling that I myself could write this part of story better. And it’s not about lack of Cas as Dean’s love interest or hope for his returning, or for DeanCas whatever, I’m pretty sure we will get all of that. It’s about the myth-arc only! One of the main ones from season 4! 
All this epic story of Luci and Mike could be done much more better. Like WAY MORE BETTER. With the same convo, you know,with the same outcome, which is absolutely correct - we are not supposed to serve our parents. But different details, WTF! And that’s my main point here. 
There are some other things that I’m disappointed about, though less:   1) Betty the Reaper was a total WTF either despite of her eager lines. 2) I need more explanations about how exactly Jack gained his new power, how is he reunited with Amara, how he returned all the people BUT NOT Donna, Bobbie, Charlie, Jody, Eileen, Cas - not the people HE cares about. Or they are not important for him now? This thing could be resolved in 15x20 though. 3) I didn’t like physical violence from Chuck. A) I have some doubts if he can properly do it, he like to watch. What’s changed? I’m not convinced. B) I felt physical pain from that scene. It was awful. It all could be showed for us in a different way, but they didn’t want that. 4) I didn’t like how Chuck’s mind changes every second. I don’t kill you, I don’t care about you, you’ll live and suffer, no, I’ll kill you. It could be written more properly, but hey. This part is much more harder to fix that Luci and Mike’s. 5) I didn’t like the dog move. Like AT ALL. I loved Jensen’s kind voice and his acting, but: A) all these doggy parallels are not for me, I didn’t like how Cas was called a dog before - in Buckleming eps specifically (and that terrible parallel in 8x15!), but not only there. I didn’t like when Atropos called Sam and Dean Cas’s pets either. Not my kink, sorry - and it’s JUST TOO THICK; B) it’s classic move. So classic that it’s dumb! The Bad Guy always hurts some cute pets. Kitties, doggies, birds whatever. That’s how we are supposed to understand that he is Bad. Hey, we all know that Chuck is bad. Why to add something? To mess with Destihellers? Not helping here. 6) The moment with Luci instead of Cas (for Dean, for Jack) could be less “haha gays” and more proper either I guess. It feels more like a mocking to me the way it is, whether the idea was good. Luci played Cas for Dean before (11x11, 11x14), as he played Jess for Sam and Sarah for Nick, and he played a father for Jack. He was in his place there - a mock from Chuck. But you can’t blame Chuck on the poor writing ALL THE TIME. 7)  Also the music. It just didn’t feel right.
8) The end for Jack is right... but also somehow confusing, like something is omitted. Or SOMEONE. You know whom.
Someone whose absence also made Michael so plain, I suppose. 
Jack’s story started with Cas, I think it couldn’t end without him. Jack was so devastated to hear about his death - and all is OK in the finale? ‘Cause he is the Almighty now? And Michael - he was also connected to Cas, we saw it in 14x10, in 15x08 - all the way actually. There should be some mentioning of Cas from Michael I think. Not from the DeanCas point of view - it’s Adam who noticed something in 15x08, not Michael, Michael was angry with Cas. But somehow their connection made Michael stronger as a character. Okay, he is not strong enough to rebel. But that’s Cas who said that! He said that he felt sorry for Michael, that it’s Lucifer who was always the smart one. 
Without this context Michael isn’t easy to understand - though we heard that Adam is erased and I liked that. That’s a hint - Michael had a strong will when he had Adam, without Adam he is lost, just like AU!Michael was. 
I think he is lost because he killed his Lucifer - in both cases. He gave Chuck his ending - and Chuck can’t respect that, he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like to win.  So Michael couldn’t rebel though he’d known about Chuck’s motives from Cas, and not because of love, but because him being a cuck.  And all this will be much more easier to understand with Cas’s mentioning. But NO. We had a dog instead. Like WTF again??? 
The Jack’s part could be fixed in 15x20 I suppose. But not Michael’s part.  Well, sorry for him.  Now I must add the myth-arc was also connected with Cas all along. He is not just the main hero’s love interest - well, HE IS, but he has also his role in the plot. HE IS A REAL TRICKSTER of the show, the rebellious one, the rule-breaker - at all levels. So without even MENTIONING him in the main myth-arc all this arc looks like a card house, and not as proper as Luci’s card house from this ep was. 
This arc deserved much more better. It deserved Cas as a trickster. Don’t like him even mentioned ‘cause he’s also Dean’s love interest? Well, say good-bye to a proper myth story. And that’s a shame, in my opinion. 
‘Cause 15x20 could be 15x19 and vice versa and both eps could win ‘cause of that. 
Well, that’s the reality we live in. And we’ve got so much goodness already. We should be thankful for that. 
9) Who the hell is curved Jack and Cas’s names on the table? Sam and Dean? Jack? With Mary, it had sense, with all these flashbacks. I understood she curved her name herself. What’s for Cas and Jack? What’s the point? Dead for good? I know that’s NOT the point. So what is it? I can’t understand it here. 
We need continuation, guys! :)
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littlehollyleaf · 5 years
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Name ten favourite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) 
Then tag ten people
Tagged (ages ago, whoops!) by @castiel-saved-me-from-myself 
(I’m sorry, I got distracted!)
1.Supernatural. Castiel.
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Obviously. I may be out of the fandom now, but I’ve never loved a character as much as Cas, and probably never will.
2. Good Omens. Aziraphale.
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Thought I’d put both my darling angels at the top :) I suspect that without Zira there to pave the way Castiel may not even have existed, so I love him double - for himself and for Cas as well :p 
While really quite different when it comes to their personalities (just think how Zira would SHUDDER at Cas’ trenchcoat), they share a lot of character traits and tropes (mini-series!Zira anyway, maybe less so in the book, or less obviously anyway), so, no surprise that I should adore them both. I’ve also said before, and I stand by it, that Aziraphale is sort of a combination of my favourite aspects of both Cas and Dean in one, with Cas’ struggle with Heaven/god and trying to be a good angel and finding he loves humanity/earth more, plus Dean’s whole ‘performing Dean’ thing and repression of queer feelings he is scared to admit to (out loud) because he believes they are somehow ‘wrong.’ 
...just to give a little insight into my feelings about these two that was neither needed nor asked for...
4. Hellblazer. NBC Constantine. Legends of Tomorrow. John Constantine. 
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Aaaand the other guy I love twice because Cas, and indeed spn in general, kinda owe their existence to him. Though in turn his fabulous live action portrayal by Matt Ryan probably owes its existence to spn and Castiel’s popularity. So... there’s a weird ouroboros situation happening with my favs here that makes my head spin whenever I think about it, but I love it - stories within stories built on stories feeding off stories, which connects to wider themes of story and storytelling being vital and intrinsic to life and stuff.
Anyway, despite his wardrobe, Johnny is NOTHING LIKE CAS. He is, in fact, a lot like Dean. But I like him more. Maybe because he’s British :p He has the whole ‘repressing his feelings’ things, a bit like Zira, but it’s not because he thinks they are wrong, it’s more of a coping mechanism to deal with the constant tragedy/trauma his life/lifestyle/fate causes him to suffer. But whatever the reason, I like my characters facing that struggle :) (actually the British element is probably way more significant to my enjoyment of him than I’ve been fully aware of... that’s probably why I loved Zira so fast as well... obviously they are both a completely different class of British, literally, but the fact they ARE British is INTRINSIC to both their characters, and I guess a little, vaguely patriotic part of me is excited by that... :p)
4. Gotham. Edward Nygma.
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Since I’ve started giving explanations - I love Eddie because he’s also got the whole ‘emotionally repressed’ / out of touch with (his) emotions thing going on (as seen in Zira and Cas), but with the addition of various geeky / ‘tech guy’ character traits that I also love.
5. Doctor Who (Classic). Vislor Turlough.
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I waxed poetic once about how I liked Gotham’s Edward Nygma because he reminded me a bit of Turlough. That was early on in my Gotham days though and given how Eddie developed I don’t see as many similarities now. Turlough shares some of Eddie’s ‘dark’ traits however - self-centered, often lacking in empathy for others and nonplussed (sometimes even happy) to see them get into trouble or hurt. But ultimately his attempts to be self-serving and cowardly end up thwarted by him developing feelings for specific individuals despite his best efforts, which is what I enjoy about him (and actually that’s a lot like Eddie still, huh... their endgame’s are opposing though ofc - while Eddie goes on to embrace being a villain, Turlough gives up on villainy and even becomes a bit of a hero, now and then). Plus, Turlough is the ONLY Companion (IIRC?) to have joined the Doctor specifically in order to MURDER him and... idk, I just think that’s cool :P
6. Doctor Who (New). Donna Noble.
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(I’m trying not to double up on fandoms/shows so I can cover more, but New and Classic Who count as different things, kinda, right...?)
Donna doesn’t really fit any of the character traits I’ve talked about above, though I guess her low self-esteem is something that all my other favs share in various ways (though it’s not such an EXPLICIT aspect of their characters and story arcs as it was for Donna I’d say). What I first loved about her was that after YEARS of New companions (and other randoms) being literally in love with the Doctor, she had a strictly platonic relationship with him. Yeah, I think maybe the show was a bit heavy-handed about it, but even so it came as a huge breath of fresh air and frankly a RELIEF to me. Not that I’m opposed to the Doctor having romantic/sexual  relationships, it was just that... coming from a childhood love of the Classic series where that just... didn’t happen (save a fleeting kiss in the TV Movie - which I actually enjoyed fyi!), it just... idk, was starting to stretch my credulity that EVERYONE seemed to be falling for him maybe? Or at least for me it was growing tiresome. So the fact she didn’t have that element to her character/story was a plus. Then I just adore how loud and brash she is when calling anyone, including the Doctor, out on their shit (I envy her that maybe). Plus I like the way she isn’t... traditional TV pretty, you know? (ie. young and slim, like a lot of other companions).
...or maybe I just like redheads *shrug emoji* 
7. Spartacus. Naevia.
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(she has two actresses okay? and they both deserve kudos!)
Truth is I love FUCKING EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW. Spartacus is like... my PERFECT SHOW. There isn’t a single moment, a single plotline, a single character that I don’t enjoy. I have never even CONSIDERED looking up or writing fic because the finished product is completely satisfying exactly as it is. God. But I wanted it represented in this list so I had to pick someone!
Considering the time period there couldn’t really BE a ‘geeky, emotionally repressed with low self-esteem’ character :p BUT nearly ALL of the characters have the whole ‘struggle to understand/discover who they are’ thing and the ‘who I am and want to be is counter to who I’ve been told I am / should be’ arc, on account of the main cast being rebelling slaves (though the other characters are equally complex and compelling and I love them too - Lucy Lawless in particular is incredible!). Anyone who’s seen me blog about the show before might have thought I’d pick either Agron or Nasir as my favs, since I do like to squee over their romance. But whenever I think about the show it’s usually Naevia who I remember first, because her character arc/development just BLEW ME AWAY. She went from someone I’d kinda dismissed at first as a typical het love interest to a WARRIOR GODDESS and you SEE all the key moments of that growth, you FEEL it, it makes ALL THE SENSE. And her romance with Crixus, which again I was initially a bit dismissive of as a typical, sudden, weak het romance, grows into, imo, one of the deepest, most developed, most believable love stories in the show. So yeah. Naevia. Amazing.
8. Due South. Ray Vecchio. 
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(he’s the guy not the dog - gifs were limited! ...also the dog is actually a wolf, it’s a whole thing... that doesn’t need exploring at this juncture)
Ray was my first TV crush :P He had a bit of a sidekick vibe to him I guess, which I like (lead characters tend not to interest me as much). He wasn’t ‘geeky’ exactly, but he def had the ‘trying to look/act cooler than I am’ thing going on... also an obsessive attachment to his vintage car... meanwhile his partner Benny was the stoic, ‘British, stiff upper lip, keep emotions in check’ one who was always trying to live up to the ideal persona dictated by his people/employers, in this case the Royal Canadian Mounted Police... HUH, so... it’s actually SUPER WEIRD that I ended up loving Cas and Zira over Dean and Crowley when it seems pretty clear suddenly that my first big fictional fav was CLEARLY the Dean-Crowley to Benny’s Cas-Zira......?? Ray was FUNNY in a way Dean and Crowley aren’t though, I think? He def filled a ‘comic relief’ slot on the regular and I liked that a lot (it also made his serious, angsty moments EXTRA serious and angsty, and extra angst is something I always love!)
9. The Librarians. Eve Baird.
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Remember this little show? It was... is... sorta ridiculous. Not amazing. Based on some... very cheap, very OBVIOUS Indiana Jones rip-off films, that were also ridiculous and... not... great (the third one is the best, with an awesome performance by Stana Katic aka Kate Beckett as a vampire, but I digress). But... idek, I am EXTREMELY FOND of the series for some reason :p
There are a WHOLE BUNCH of characters that fit my ‘type’ more than Eve tbh... in fact... probably every.single.other.main.cast.member (save perhaps Jenkins?) shares the traits above that typically make a character my fav. But... EVE! I just... think she’s neat! ...maybe it’s BECAUSE all the others are main/lead characters that makes me gravitate towards her? In a cast where ‘geeky, socially awkward, struggles with emotions’ is the norm, Eve being the no-nonsense, socially competent, badass soldier type therefore becomes different and thus more interesting to me? Also, much like with Donna, I appreciate that she’s an older woman who gets to have a full character and plot of her own. There’s also something about her romance with Flynn that... makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Jonathan Levinson.
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(tumblr gif search failed me so I had to grab from elsewhere...)
Listen. Look. Okay. Buffy is pretty old school these days so, for anyone not in the know, as a character, originally, Jonathan... he wasn’t even a side character, he wasn’t even REOCCURRING, he was barely a background character. For several episodes he didn’t have a name and it wasn’t until several seasons after he became ‘Jonathan’ that he actually got a surname. Danny Strong was just an actor who happened to be occasionally on-hand when the script called for a random to have a line, until eventually that happened often enough for Joss to think ‘hey, you know what, let’s make this guy an actual part of the show...’ 
He got a couple of episodes focused on him in S03 and S04 respectively, but didn’t become a regular until S06 (and wasn’t in S05 AT ALL). Other than that he had a HANDFUL of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moments here and there, not even full scenes for the most part, usually lasting no longer than the above gif.
I tell you all this so that when I say childhood me (well... somewhere between 12 and 14 years anyway) was OBSESSED with this character in the show, and I mean O B S E S S E D (to the point of spending hours painstakingly making VHS recordings purely of the episodes he was in), you understand how UTTERLY BIZARRE that was. Because this obsession pre-dated S06. Was, in fact, in full swing during the airing of his S04 episode - which was, like, a fucking DREAM COME TRUE for freakily obsessed me fyi, because the whole episode was constructed with him as the LEAD CHARACTER, because he’d performed a spell to make him super awesome. They even changed the title sequence to read ‘Jonathan’ instead of Buffy! And while other fans were no doubt just lol-ing at the random I was bouncing about on my sofa all ‘MY TIME HAS COME!’ and fucking SWOONING over seeing MY CHARACTER suddenly in the spotlight and getting to do crazy fun OOC shit like this -
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Then when S06 rolled around and HE WAS A LEGIT REGULAR, omg, I was in HEAVEN! First TV boxset I ever bought that - Buffy S06 :P
So... yeah. A bit of a fav. Geeky. Outcast. Slowly grows more morally grey, what with that spell I mentioned and also the fact he was teamed with the ANTAGONISTS in S06. I guess you could say he was the beginning of a lot of my fav fictional character traits/tropes (though looking back - I think his ‘villainous’ teammates in S06, Andrew and Warren, are more my ‘type’ these days, and I did end up loving Andrew especially a whole damn lot, but at the time I’d been a Jonathan fangirl for so.fucking.long. there was just no chance anyone else in the show was ever gonna come close to my heart!)
THE END.
Sorry not sorry for the tmi. I got a bit too into this one.
Actually sorry I have so few women on the list :( Internalised misogyny/sexism is a real thing and I spent a lot of my life being... somewhat unfairly dismissive of female characters or at least prioritising male ones over them. I’m working on it.
Ten people is SO.MANY. to tag. But I might as well do this right this time, since I’ve come so far. But if you’d rather not play, no worries! <3
@enchantersnight @momecat @bold-sartorial-statement @vampirebillionaire @edwardnashtons @miss-olivia-cellophane @knightinpinkunderwear @supes9 @leaper182 @hamburgergod
Honourable mentions (because I CAN):
Gotham. Lucius Fox.
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Gotham. Fish Mooney.
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Gotham. Tabitha Galavan.
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Doctor Who. The Doctor.
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Doctor Who. The Master/Missy.
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Supernatural. Hannah.
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Supernatural. Naomi.
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Andrew Wells.
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judedeluca · 6 years
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Titans: Cakes and Confessions (RoyXDonna)
I’ve been trying to type something for #royharperbdayweek for the last few days, but I’ve been artblocked. I finally busted my ass and spent most of last night working on something I felt comfortable enough to finally post on here.
This takes place in a post-Rise of Arsenal, post-New 52, and post-Rebirth world where the DCU has started gaining a semblance of their real lives back after getting free of Dr. Manhattan’s brainwashing. It involves Roy, Lian, and Donna dealing with some emotions left over following Lian’s death and what Donna went through in Blackest Night.
There’s mention of Donna’s kids and Lian’s baby brother, and some chubby!Roy stuff.
Really hoping to hear some thoughts and inputs on this since I don’t normally write fan fics as long as this in one sitting.
It was a nice looking jack-o'-lantern. Not an angry or scary looking one, but not a silly, dopey-looking one either. Lian wanted to feel proud, but she had to get a second opinion. "Does it look okay, Donna?" Lian Harper asked her surrogate aunt, Donna Troy, as Donna finished cleaning the bowls and cups they'd just used. Donna wiped her hands on a dish towel before joining Lian's side. On the kitchen table there was a triple layer cake, covered in rich chocolate icing. Lian had just finished decorating the top of the cake with orange, green, and yellow butter cream frosting to make a pumpkin face. It smiled up at the young and younger women. "It looks wonderful, Lian." Donna said, patting Lian's back. "But it does look like a pumpkin, right?" Lian was unsure as she looked into her aunt's eyes. "You're not just saying that?" "You won't be getting false praise from me, honey." Donna commented, then kissed Lian on the top of her head. That made Lian believe Donna was speaking true. "I bet Daddy will love it." Lian mentioned. "I hope he does too." Donna added, as they had spent most of the afternoon baking the cake for Lian's father Roy, while also keeping an eye on Lian's baby brother Tommy. This weekend, Donna's ex-husband (Terry or Jerry or whatever his name is) had custody of their son Robbie and her stepdaughter Jennifer. So Donna convinced Roy to let her watch Lian and Tommy for the afternoon feeling he'd been doing a lot lately and could use some time to himself. It was entirely transparent she wanted time with Lian to do something for Roy while he was out of the house, but no one said anything. Tommy had just been fed and put down for a nap while Lian iced and decorated the cake. She insisted on doing it by herself to prove she could. "Well we both love all the other cakes and stuff you've been bringing over." Lian reminded Donna. "But thanks for letting me help with this." "It was my pleasure having you as a baking partner." Donna hugged the young girl. "I'm gonna go check on Tommy." But before Donna could leave the kitchen, Lian had a question she wanted to ask. A question that had been on her mind for a while. "Donna?" "Yes, Lian?" Donna stopped and turned to face Lian again. "Is everything okay?" Lian asked, a look of concern on her face. "Huh?" The question sort of caught Donna by surprise before Lian began talking. "You've been coming over a lot lately," Lian explained, "And I know you and Daddy aren't together-I mean, 'Together' together anymore. Are you alright?" "Don't worry about me, honey. I'm fine." Donna smiled. But Lian wasn't fully convinced. "Is it cuz of all that stuff that happened when I… you know." "No, Lian." Donna replied. "Well, how come you're over so much?" Lian continued. "Do you want me to stop coming over?" Donna asked. "No! I love having you over. And so does Daddy and I'm sure Tommy does as well if he could talk." Lian emphasized. Donna laughed a little before she spoke. "I just liking spending time with you guys, and I like cooking for you guys." Donna explained. "I'll say." Lian smirked, thinking about all the homemade sweets and stuff Donna had been leaving for Roy at their house, and at Titans Tower, and at Donna's place. Her dad especially seemed to really like them. And it was starting to show. "I'm gonna go check on your brother before your dad gets home. Okay?" Donna smiled at Lian. "Okay." Lian smiled back. But as Donna left the room, Lian's smile faded and the look of concern returned. She wasn't convinced at all. … "I'm home!" Roy called out from the front door. "Any wild and crazy parties or dead bodies better be taken care of by the time I step over the threshold!" He held two big bags of groceries in his arms, and one plastic bag containing takeout hanging around his wrist, as he entered the house when Lian came running out of the living room. "Daddy!" She threw her arms around her dad's waist and squeezed. "Etai Yazi!" Roy called back, which was Navajo for "Little Girl." "Gimme a sec," he said as he tried to place the reusable bags down on the side table in the hallway. He then kneeled down to Lian's level and gave her a big hug and kiss on her cheek. "Missed you." "Missed you more." Lian replied, kissing Roy's scruffy cheek. "And you didn't burn the house down while I was gone." Roy whistled. "I'm impressed." "Well I can be trusted not to burn the house down. Unlike some people." Lian folded her arms and gave her dad a pretend angry glare, referring to a certain incident Roy had while Lian was… away. "True, true. You're certainly more trustworthy than I am." Roy conceded as he stood up. "We all know you're the responsible one, though I don't know where you get it from." "Oh and, guess what?" Lian asked. "What?" "Boop." Lian poked at his belly button, sticking out after his shirt came untucked. "Hey!" Roy shooed her off as he tucked his shirt back in. "Well it's your own fault for getting fat." Lian smugly informed him. "I know, I know," Roy smirked. "I'm gross." "Nah, you're not." Lian hugged her dad again. "Whatdja do while we were here?" Lian asked. "I took care of some stuff at Titans Tower, then I did some shopping. No big deal." "Come look what me and Donna did while you were out!" Lian began to pull her dad into the kitchen, bumping into Donna who was coming out of the first floor bathroom. "Hi Mr. Speedy." Donna said as she hugged Roy. "Hi Ms. Wonder Girl." Roy replied. "You guys have fun?" "Always." "Surprise!" Lian practically shoved the cake in Roy's face. "You guys made this together?" Roy asked as Donna took the cake from Lian. "Does it look good?" Lian asked. "It looks great!" Roy messed up Lian's hair before turning his attention to Donna again. "But what's the occasion?" Donna shrugged, acting like it was no big deal. "No occasion, just wanted to do something nice while you had the day to yourself." Was the convenient explanation she gave. "I did the icing myself, and I put the pumpkin on it since it's almost Halloween." Lian revealed. "It's chocolate and spice." "I really don't know what I did to deserve you two." Roy kissed Lian on the cheek and then Donna. "You're spoiling me." "I can put these away if you wanna check in on Tommy." Donna offered as she set the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. "It's cool, I can do it." Roy reached over, but Donna playfully slapped his hand away. "No no, go see Tommy." Donna insisted. "He wasn't any trouble today, was he?" Roy asked. "Not at all." "I'll go with you, Daddy." Lian joined her father. The two Harpers headed upstairs to where Tommy Harper, nee Blake, the youngest member of the family slept. Roy quietly opened the door and stuck his head inside to see Lian's baby brother sleeping soundly in his crib. "I hate leaving him alone." Roy sighed as he closed the door. "It's cool dad, we had fun with Donna." Lian explained. "But, um…" Roy saw the look on Lian's face and knew what she was referring to. "She didn't tell you what was wrong, did she." Roy guessed. Lian sighed. "No." Lian shook her head. "But she's sad about something, Daddy. I saw it when I asked her what was wrong. It was like when you used to tell me you were okay, even though you weren't." "Damn it." Roy muttered to himself. "I'm sorry." Lian apologized. "It's okay, peanut. You didn't do anything wrong." Roy reassured her. For the last couple of months, Donna had been acting strange. But then it had been a strange couple of years for a variety of reasons and they were only just returning to a semblance of their old lives. Their REAL lives. Probably the strangest things had been how Roy was brainwashed into thinking Jason Todd was his best friend, and Donna had been replaced by a doppelganger who then gave her life to save Donna. With Roy and Donna back on the Titans with their friends Dick, Wally, and Garth, things felt real for the first time in a long time, even before the world had been gutted inside out. It was like someone had engineered a string of tragedies to make them as miserable as possible before killing them. Now they were all alive and healthy, and so were their kids and loved ones. Yet Donna had started becoming… not clingy, but, was motherly the right word? Overeager? It seemed that way to Roy and Lian, and to a lesser extent Tommy. Admittedly, he was a new addition to the Harper household after Roy learned of his existence and rescued him from Tommy and Lian's mom a few months ago. Donna seemed to worry a lot if Roy was eating enough, and had been showering father and daughter Harper in a variety of baked snacks and treats. Cakes, cookies, pies, even these delectable pomegranate pastries Donna learned of from her sister Diana. Roy was certainly enjoying them more than Lian was, since Donna saw more of the older Harper than the younger one. If he had to stay late at the Tower, she had food ready for a late night snack. If he was arriving early in the morning, there was breakfast in case he skipped the meal. It certainly explained how Roy had put on such a significant amount of weight and developed a noticeable belly on his large archer frame. Roy could sense SOMEthing was bothering Donna, as this type of behavior was new. Oh sure, Donna had long doted on Lian as if she was her daughter. But baking and preparing meals hadn't really been something she was interested in. Roy and Lian weren't ungrateful, but they wanted to know what the problem was. He kept trying to ask her if she wanted to talk, but she smiled and said she was fine. The way she said it, Roy could recognize a slight trace of sadness. Then she'd hurry off to do something else, a mission or monitor duty or something with her sister Diana and the Amazons. Lian recognized it too, but she was always a perceptive child and probably noticed before Roy did. They began to feel guilty that Donna was doing all this for them and asking for nothing. Maybe they were imagining things and she was trying to be friendly. But maybe not. That was why Roy had caved in so easily when Donna suggested he take a day for himself and let her watch the kids. He'd agreed with Lian that she would try to ask Donna what was on her mind without him in the vicinity. "What are we gonna do, daddy? I hate seeing her like this." Lian admitted. "I should've gotten Dick and the others to help," Roy said more to himself, "but I didn't want to put her on the spot in front of everyone." "But she hasn't been acting weird with them, right?" Lian asked. "It's just us, for some reason." "Yeah…" Roy furrowed his brow, trying to think. … Downstairs in the kitchen, Donna had finished putting away the rest of the food in the fridge when Roy tapped her on the shoulder. "What'd you pick up for dinner?" Donna turned and asked him. "I got some chicken and rice with plantains from this place near the supermarket." Roy explained. "But hey, before we eat…" "Yes?" Roy sighed. "Donna, I want you to please tell me what's wrong." Roy asked his teammate and best friend. "You sound just like Lian a little while ago." Donna laughed. "You guys worry too much. Can't I do something nice for one of my best friends and his daughter? Is that so strange?" "No, but I mean," Roy scratched the back of his head as he tried to come up with the right words. He should've been direct to begin with, but feared he was over thinking things. He trusted Lian's judgment, though. "I remember you don't like it when everyone expects you to act like their mom. So Lian and I, we were both wondering if you're really okay doing all this. The baking, cooking." "Roy-" Donna was about to begin before Roy cut her off. "Hey, I'm not complaining or anything. Aside that I'm gonna need some bigger clothes, of course." Roy smiled and patted his new belly. "I appreciate all the stuff you've done and how you're trying to look out for me and my kids. But I feel like I'm taking advantage of you, and that isn't even the main thing I'm worried about. Donna, Lian and I both think something's going on with you. Please, if something's wrong I wanna help. We both do." Donna wasn't sure what to say, Roy's green eyes locked on her blue ones. "Please? Tell me what's wrong?" Donna hesitated and looked away from Roy and Lian. She scratched her arm. "It's… it's silly, really." There was a little tremble in Donna's voice. "Well look, why don't we eat dinner first, and then you can tell the two of us what's on your mind over that cake you and Lian made. Promise?" … Donna wasn't sure whether or not to look forward to the talk after dinner, which was something of an event when Tommy absolutely refused to eat unless Donna was the one to feed him. Roy had barely eaten anything as he struggled to get his stepson to budge a little on the subject of mashed carrots. Lian was happy to get dinner AND a show, until Tommy swatted his food in Lian's direction. After Tommy finally settled down, had his bath, and was told a Navajo legend to get to sleep, Roy, Donna, and Lian sat in the living room with coffee and cake (and milk for Lian since she didn't need the caffeine AND sugar). Roy sat in the middle of the couch with Donna and Lian flanking him on both sides. "So, tell us what's bothering you, Donna." Roy got straight to the point. "Am I gonna have another baby brother, Daddy?" Lian wondered. "Is that why you're so unhappy Donna?" Donna practically choked on her cake. "Ahaha! No, Lian, nothing like that." Donna assured Lian. "I figured," Lian sighed, pinching her dad's side. "But I was hoping he was eating for two." "Hey now-!" Roy almost dropped his plate as he squirmed. "It's cool daddy, I like you better this way." Lian giggled. "You make the best pillow when we stay up late watching movies and you're a lot happier than you were before." "True. So thanks for that, Donna." The three of them set everything down on the coffee table before they began to really talk. Donna looked down at her hands, folded in her lap, as Roy and Lian aimed their attention solely on her. "I know my behavior has been bizarre lately-" Donna started. "I wouldn't call it 'bizarre'-" Roy added. "But with all the ridiculousness of the past few years and how badly things went for all of us," Donna began to list the horrible things everyone went through, "Prometheus, the Black Lanterns, the Villains for Hire, and then the time Barry Allen and Dr. Manhattan stole from us, I've been feeling… I-I guess I'd call it regret." "Regret?" Roy was confused, wondering what she was referring to, "For what?" Donna looked at Lian before she spoke again. "Lian," Donna felt uncomfortable just remembering what happened, "You know about what happened after you…" "Died?" Lian finished. Roy and Donna both winced. Her death. One of the most painful moments of Roy's life. A senseless accident that was a harbinger for what felt like an eternity of unhappiness for both the Harpers and their extended family. "Um. Yeah. I-I do." Lian reluctantly confirmed. "The last time your dad and I spoke before things got really bad, at your, um," God Donna hated everything right now, "Funeral. It wasn't great." "I know about that too." Lian revealed rather somberly. She knew about the awful things her father had screamed at Donna regarding the deaths of her own children. How he'd accused her of "Whoring in space" with Kyle Rayner while her son died in a car crash. Which absolutely wasn't true, by the way. "Looking back on it, I've felt, yes, what your dad said to me was really out of line, but I shouldn't have let that stop me from trying to help." Donna was now referring to how almost everyone in Roy's life had completely, utterly failed at trying to help him deal with Lian's death. Even with how aggressive he'd turned in the most recent days after Lian died, the lack of empathy most of Roy's friends had given was astonishing. It hurt worse because it turned out more had been going on than everyone assumed, which they would've noticed had they really paid attention to Roy's behavior. "Donna-" "No. Please let me get this off my chest." Donna stood and seated herself in a chair away from Roy and Lian, so she could get a better look at them as she spoke. "I've been wondering about if maybe, if I'd tried harder to reach out to you Roy, when you started slipping, then maybe things wouldn't have reached the point they did. I've seen how much you've worked towards making it up to Lian, and how hard you've been trying with Tommy. I feel like if I'd been more help back then, you wouldn't have needed to work so hard now." "I didn't 'slip,' Donna," Roy firmly told her, owning up to his actions, "I did drugs, called you a whore, tried to kill Dick and Mia, and joined Deathstroke's fake Titans because I was angry and using Lian as an excuse to justify all the crap I pulled." "I'm not trying to absolve you of the stuff you did Roy-" "He's been doing his best for me and Tommy!" Lian interjected, almost pleaded, to Donna, to immediately make her feel better and end this unbearable moment. "And I help with Tommy too! Plus I already forgave him for all that, a-and he apologized to Uncle Dick and Mia, anyway!" "It's alright, Etai Yazi." Roy tried to soothe her. "I'm sorry, is what I'm trying to say. I didn't do enough to help after Lian died. When Robbie and Jen passed away, I-I don't even want to get into some of the stuff that went through my head. You wanna believe part of me hated you, Roy? Because you still had Lian and I barely saw Robbie at that point after the divorce? I should've been more forgiving after that argument." "And so you've been worrying so much lately, doing all that cooking and baking…?" "I wanted to do something more tangible to show I care and that I wanted to make up for it." Donna finally admitted. "I've been trying to pay attention. It's easy to say stuff about doing everything I can to help, but I figured this was the best way to show it." Roy and Lian looked at each other and then looked at Donna. "Well, I've been trying." Donna sighed and sank back in the chair. No one said anything for a minute that seemed to last hours, before Roy stood up. "Donna, can you stand up please?" Roy extended his hand towards her. "Huh?" "Come on, up and at 'em." Roy said. As Donna took Roy's hand, he pulled her into a tight embrace as Lian stood behind Donna and placed her hands around her waist." "Listen Wonder Chick," Roy began, "you've got nothing to be sorry about and nothing to apologize for. I heard about what happened with the Black Lanterns, and you'd have been totally justified for taking my head off after what I said." Roy referred to the nightmarish ordeal where Donna encountered a zombified version of son, whom she tried to kill in order to stop. It didn't work, and what she did continued to haunt Donna even though Robbie was alive again. "Yeah, I would have and he's my dad." Lian agreed. "Even before I found out, I didn't blame you for anything. You didn't do anything wrong. It's not right for you to blame yourself when you needed help too after what you went through. And I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to make it up to us." Donna wasn't sure what to say. "Come on, I hate seeing so unhappy. What can I do to make you feel better?" "Yeah, what can WE do?" Lian corrected. Donna relaxed, and smiled. Roy and Lian let go and she sighed, a sigh of relief instead of unhappiness. There'd been too much sighing today. "For starters, next weekend you can make breakfast for me, Robbie, and Jen when she visits." Donna joked, then sniffed and wiped away a tear from her eye. "And then the six of us, Tommy included, can spend the afternoon baking at the Tower." Donna mused. "Snickerdoodles, peanut?" Roy conspired with Lian, taking Donna totally seriously. "Roy I'm ki-" "How about something with macadamia nuts?" Lian wondered. "No good, Jen's allergic to nuts." Roy surprised Donna by mentioning that since she wasn't aware he knew of her children's allergies. "Okay then snickerdoodles!" Lian declared. "Does that help?" Roy asked Donna, mock pouting with puppy dog eyes. "Snickerdoodles?" "You're both such dorks." Donna held his hand. "Well, DUH." Both Harpers said. "Besides, I'm the Titan who's supposed to be constantly ashamed of themselves." Roy joked. "It's kind of my whole shtick, in case you hadn't noticed." "Yeah, stop stealing my dad's shtick!" Lian ordered. "It's all he has going for him. It's bad enough you made him fat!" "Yeah, it's bad enough you made me fat!" Roy parroted his daughter. That was too much for Donna and she started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh.
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perfectlyrose · 6 years
Text
wrong number, right person
Summary: Complete accident brings Rose and John into each other’s lives by way of a misdialed phone number but as they form a friendship that could bloom into love, it almost seems more like fate.
Pairing: Ten x Rose || Rating: All ages || Word Count: 4264
Note: For Day Seven of 31 Days of Ficmas: prompt “ring.” This is... so much longer than I intended it to be when I started writing lol. - tagging @doctorroseprompts for the event :)
AO3
Rose answered her phone without looking to see who was calling, assuming it was Jack for the third time that evening. “I told you Jack, I can’t come out tonight, I’ve got homework and a bloody astronomy exam tomorrow I need to revise for.”
“Um, I think I have the wrong number but I could probably give you some tips on astronomy if you need them,” a male voice on the other end of the line that was decidedly not Jack said.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry. My friend has been calling me non-stop trying to get me to go clubbing with him tonight and I just assumed he was trying again,” Rose said, cheeks heating.
“No need to apologize! I’m the one who dialed wrong and interrupted your revising,” the man said, very cheerful for someone talking to a stranger.
“It wasn’t going well, so I really don’t mind.”
“I meant it when I said I could give you some astronomy tips. I umm… I might have a doctorate in the subject.” The last sentence came out in a rush, like he was nervous about admitting it.
“Really? You sure you’re not trying to impress some random girl on the phone?” Rose teased.
“Honestly, astronomy and astrophysics don’t usually do the trick.”
“Got degrees in both?”
“Yeah.”
“Bit brilliant, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Rose laughed. “Alright mystery doctor, want to give an impromptu intro to astronomy lecture over the phone to a stranger?”
“Love to, actually. What unit is your exam on?”
“Honestly, if you can make parallax equations make sense I will probably propose marriage at this point,” Rose admitted. “I’m really lost.”
He laughed. “Proposing to me and you don’t even know who I am. Bit hasty but I like it.”
“Hey, I just said I might propose, no promises. Besides, this is dependent on your teaching skills.”
“I’ll have to be impressive then.”
“You better be, I’d like to pass this exam,” she shot back. “I’m Rose, by the way.”
“John, but you can keep calling me Doctor, if you want.”
She raised her eyebrows even though he couldn’t see. “Alright, Doctor.”
Rose could practically hear his smile.
“Alright, ready to learn?”
“I guess. Last chance and all that.”
“Brilliant!”
With that he launched into a lecture that was far more engaging than any of the actual classes Rose had attended. Her impromptu professor had a tendency to go off on tangents but also a knack for actually describing things in a way that made sense to her and by the end of the conversation, she actually felt like she might pass the test.
“Thank you so much,” she said, things winding to a close. They’d been talking for an hour at least. “You have definitely earned a potential marriage proposal.”
He laughed, the sound warm and low. “Wait and see if you actually pass that exam.”
“Seriously though, thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome.”
“I don’t know who you were trying to call but I’m really glad you rang me instead.”
“Me too.”
“Alight, goodnight then, Doctor.”
“Night, Rose.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
When Rose got her exam grade back and saw that she’d actually passed by more than a smidge, she quickly snapped a picture and texted it to her mystery caller.
Text to Space Doctor [5:32 pm]: <Image attached>
Text to Space Doctor [5:32 pm]: i passed! ready to accept my proposal?
Text to Starry Rose [5:36 pm]: Congratulations! Knew you could do it!
Text to Space Doctor [5:42 pm]: my prof is probably going to think i cheated
Text to Starry Rose [5:43 pm]: Nonsense! You’re brilliant!
Text to Space Doctor [5:45 pm]: science isn’t really my thing but thx
Text to Starry Rose [5:50 pm]: Feel free to call me up if you need help again. I’m happy to be of assistance.
Text to Starry Rose [5:54 pm]: If you want. That was probably weird to offer. Sorry. I just like to help and I enjoyed talking to you.
Text to Space Doctor [6:01 pm]: thatd be brilliant!!!! im def going to take you up on that
Text to Space Doctor [6:02 pm]: sorry cant chat rn. at my mums for dinner
Text to Starry Rose [6:02 pm]: Have fun! Look forward to talking again soon :)
Rose stowed her phone back in her purse and headed into the kitchen to help her mum with a smile on her face.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
“You know, I never asked who you were trying to call when you ended up ringing me,” Rose said. “Last time, I mean. Obviously, since I called you this time.”
It was a couple weeks after that first call. They’d texted on and off about random things and Rose was really starting to consider him a friend despite never having laid eyes on him. With another exam looming, she’d called John up for another tutoring session.
“Oh, my sister, Donna. She wanted to try and talk me into coming to some dinner party so really you saved me,” he said, voice completely earnest.
“Happy to help.”
“Gracious of you. Ready to start?”
“Don’t need an offer of marriage beforehand?”
“I am a patient man, Rose,” he said loftily.
Rose snorted. “No you’re not. Even I could tell you that.”
“Rude.”
“Teach me of the stars oh wise, patient Doctor,” she intoned, laying the sarcasm on thick.
“Still rude but I’ll let it slide this time.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Text to Space Doctor [8:34 pm]: i looked up the going rate for tutors and i’m really glad you aren’t charging me anything
Text to Starry Rose [8:37 pm]: Who says I’m not logging hours to bill you later?
Text to Space Doctor [8:41 pm]: would have to find an address for me to bill me :)
Text to Starry Rose [8:43 pm]: That /is/ a dilemma.
Text to Space Doctor [8:47 pm]: besides… i already offered to marry you in exchange for your services as tutor. not my fault you didn’t take me up on that excellent deal
Text to Starry Rose [8:50 pm]: I still could.
Text to Space Doctor [8:51 pm]: nope too late now. missed ur chance ;)
Text to Starry Rose [8: 54 pm]: A true tragedy.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
“Oi! Spaceman, are you listening to me at all?”
John whipped his head up to give Donna a sheepish expression. “Yes?”
“You weren’t. You had that goofy smile on your face that means you were texting that Rose girl.”
“I did not!”
“You so did. When are you going to actually ask her out?”
He sighed. “I don’t even know if she’s in London, Donna. Can’t exactly take her to dinner if she’s not in the city.”
“But you do want to take her to dinner!” Donna crowed.
John rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone after shooting off a quick text to Rose. “Yes, fine. I’d like to actually meet her in person and maybe eat while doing so. Happy?”
“For now.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Text to Starry Rose [10:21 am]: I wish I was anywhere except this meeting right now.
Text to Space Doctor [10:22 am]: probs better than my astronomy lecture
Text to Space Doctor [10:23 am]: i swear this guy doesn’t realize half the class is asleep
Text to Starry Rose [10:25 am]: I would MUCH rather be in an astronomy lecture right now.
Text to Space Doctor [10:26 am]: nerd
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
“Ooh, are you texting your mystery man again, Rosie?” Jack asked, leaning closer to her. They were out at the pub and crammed into a booth with three other people.
Rose rolled her eyes. “He is not my mystery man. He’s just a friend who’s helping me pass astronomy.”
“You don’t even text me that much,” Jack said, eyebrows raised. “So, come on, spill the beans.”
Rose groaned and reached for her beer. “I might, might, have a crush on my mystery man.”
Jack cheered, drawing looks from everyone else at their table. “So make a move!”
“I don’t even know who he is, Jack! He probably doesn’t even live around here.”
“So?”
“So that makes making a move a bit difficult, yeah?”
“You two lovebirds already have a great connection. What’s a bit of distance and putting a face to a name?”
“A lot.”
“Fine, fine. Just think about it though.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Text to Space Doctor [1:47 am]: u stil up?
Text to Starry Rose [1:49 am]: Yes. Didn’t realize it was so late, actually.
Text to Space Doctor [1:52 am]: jack got me drynkj
Text to Space Doctor [1:53 am]: drunk. ha!
Text to Starry Rose [1:54 am]: All his fault?
Text to Space Doctor [1:56 am]: no
Text to Space Doctor [1:57 am]: ur falt too
Text to Starry Rose [2:00 am]: Really? How so?
Text to Starry Rose [2:05 am]: Rose?
Text to Starry Rose [2:11 am]: Are you alright? Do you need someone to come get you or anything? I’m in London but I can call a cab anywhere.
Text to Starry Rose [2:20 am]: I’m going to hope you just fell asleep or your phone died but let me know that you’re alright when you see these messages.
Text to Space Doctor [7:46 am]: remind me never to drink w/ jack again.
Text to Space Doctor [7:47 am]: my head is killing me
Text to Space Doctor [7:54 am]: sorry for worrying u last night. fell asleep
Text to Space Doctor [8:02 am]: also sorry for drunk texting you
Text to Starry Rose [9:13 am]: Glad you’re alright. You can text me whenever, you know that :)
Text to Space Doctor [9:14 am]: :) :) :)
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
“I still can’t believe you haven’t finished reading Harry Potter,” John complained. They’d been talking for almost three months now and, as far as she could tell, he had called tonight specifically to complain about her lack of Harry Potter knowledge.
“I’ve been a bit busy.”
“The last one has been out for ten years, Rose.”
“I’ll get there!”
“You’ve at least seen the movies, right?”
“The first couple. I’m waiting to read the books,” she said, grinning. This was too easy.
He groaned dramatically. “I’m not sure I can be friends with you.”
Rose laughed. “You know you are far too easy to wind up, right?”
“What?”
“Doctor, I’ve read the whole series like three times and seen all the movies,” she admitted, still grinning as she moved into her kitchen to pour a glass of wine.
“I cannot believe you.”
“Still want to be friends?”
He sniffed, dramatic to the end. “I suppose, but you’re on thin ice.”
“Even if I tell you my theories on the Sorting Hat?”
“...I’m listening.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Text to Space Doctor [3:34 pm]: i’m going to fail all my finals but especially astronomy
Text to Starry Rose [3:36 pm]: You’re going to do brilliantly. Want me to call tonight to help go over things?
Text to Space Doctor [3:39 pm]: please. i’ll be home around 7?
Text to Starry Rose [3:45 pm]: I’ll talk to you then!
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Rose walked out of her astronomy final feeling cautiously optimistic about how she’d done. She quickly fished out her mobile and turned it back on to text John. She quickly shot off a message that she’d survived and then headed straight to Tesco’s to get a celebratory bottle of wine.
Jack wasn’t finished with his tests until tomorrow so they were going out then. Tonight was all hers and she had a date with Netflix and at least one bottle of wine.
She was settling down on her sofa when her mobile buzzed in her pocket. Rose quickly checked it and smiled when she saw it was a text from the Doctor.
Text to Starry Rose [6:52 pm]: Congratulations on making it through your class! I’m sure you aced the final!
Text to Space Doctor [6:54 pm]: SO glad to be done with that class
Text to Space Doctor [6:55 pm]: celebrating with alcohol and crap telly. any watching suggestions before i pick something?
Text to Starry Rose [6:59 pm]: Star Trek?
Text to Space Doctor [7:02 pm]: omg you are so predictable
She grinned and queued up the next episode of the comedy she’d started a week ago and settled in for a cozy night.
About three quarters of the way through her bottle of wine, Rose had the sudden realization that without astronomy class, she wouldn’t have a built-in excuse to call John anymore. She knew they were friends, but what if everything was built on that tutor relationship and things started crumbling.
She’d known for a while that she had a massive crush on her mysterious friend, despite having no clue what he looked like or any identifying details about him. She took a healthy sip of her wine and picked up her phone, quickly opening her conversation with John.
Maybe meeting in person was the next step. She’d wanted to for ages but something had held her back. Fear. The fear that he would be disappointed by who she was outside of their phone conversations or that maybe she would be disappointed in him, but she thought that scenario unlikely. The fear that actually meeting would somehow ruin the magic of their instant friendship.
That feeling was suppressed by red wine, showing up only as a tickle in the pit of her stomach as she started typing.
Text to Space Doctor [8:50 pm]: you know… we should meet up sometime. get chips or something
Text to Space Doctor [8:53 pm]: i’m in london too. don’t know if i ever told you that
Text to Space Doctor [8:56 pm]: but i’d really like to properly meet you.
Text to Space Doctor [9:00 pm]: only if you want tho
Rose stared down at her phone, biting her bottom lips as the television played on unnoticed. He usually answered faster than this. Had she made him uncomfortable? Oh god, what if she’d completely screwed things up?
She set her phone aside and tried to concentrate on her show and reclaim the celebratory mood she’d felt earlier but it was gone.
Soon the wine was as well.
John never texted back.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
When Jack arrived at Rose’s flat the next afternoon, he expected to find his friend chipper and ready for a night out on the town now that they were done with the semester. Instead, she opened the door in sweats and an oversized t-shirt, expression drawn.
“Whoa there, Rosie. You feeling alright?” he asked, stepping into her flat and closing the door behind him.
“I’m fine,” she said, giving him a wan smile. “Just lost track of time. I’ll go get ready, you know where everything is.”
“Hey now,” he said, grabbing onto her arm so she didn’t get very far. “What’s wrong? Did you get a bad exam grade back or something? It’s not like you to be so down, especially when we’re free of classes for a bit!”
“I’m fine!”
“You’re not. Fight with your mystery boy?”
Rose looked away and Jack felt a protective anger rising in his chest.
“What did the jackass do?”
“Nothing, that’s the problem,” she said with a sigh, sagging back against the back of the sofa.
“Care to elaborate?”
“I’d texted him earlier last night to tell him I’d survived the astronomy final and everything seemed fine and then I had to go and open my stupid mouth after having a lot of wine.”
Jack raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
She sighed. “I asked him if he wanted to meet up sometime, like in person. Get chips or something.”
“And he didn’t answer you?”
“S’like he fell off the face of the planet. I haven’t heard from him all day.”
“Aw, Rose, I’m sorry. I know you really like him.” Jack gathered her into a hug and his heart cracked a bit when he heard her sniffle.
“I really really do. Why won’t he answer me? He could just say no and we could stay phone friends at least.”
“I don’t know, Rosie. Your man’s an idiot.”
She laughed, a small watery thing but a laugh nonetheless. “Yeah he is.”
“Wanna stay in and watch cheesy chick flicks and eat ice cream?”
“I don’t want to ruin your night, Jack. You go ahead and go out without me,” she insisted, pulling back from the hug.
“Nope. I’m spending the night with you. We can go out another time when you’ll actually have fun.”
“I might have already eaten all my ice cream.”
“I’ll go get us some more while you pick out movies. Deal?”
“Throw in some wine and you’ve got one.”
“Perfect.”
They shook on it like they always did and then Jack kissed her forehead and waltzed back out the door.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
John sped back to town, anxious to get to his flat where he would have both a charged mobile and service so he could use it. He’d gone on a stargazing trip and forgotten that he wouldn’t have any reception or power and he hadn’t told Rose that he was going off the grid.
Damn but he missed her. He was really hoping that she still wanted to be friends now that she didn’t need his astronomy knowledge any more. He thought that she would but there was still this niggling worry that maybe he thought they were better friends than they were. He could be blinded by the ginormous crush he had on her but he was almost positive that they were legitimately friends.
The moment he stepped into his flat he dropped his bag on the floor with a thud and made a beeline for the phone charger by his bed. Powering up his mobile, he winced at the number of texts he’d missed. A couple were from Donna but he went straight to his messages with Rose.
He couldn’t contain his grin when he read the first few, the ones that said she wanted to meet him. John couldn’t believe he’d missed these! Then his heart fell into his stomach as he kept reading.
Text to Space Doctor [10:34 am]: if you don’t want to meet up u can just say so
Text to Space Doctor [10:40 am]: i’m not going to hold it against you or anythin
Text to Space Doctor [5:45 pm]: i hope you’re alright. not like you not to text back.
Text to Space Doctor [6:02 pm]: sorry if i made things awkward
Text to Space Doctor [11:22 am]: you know what, fuck this. i really want to meet you because i really like you and you’re one of my best friends now. you don’t have to up and ghost me just out of the blue like this
Text to Space Doctor [1:30 pm]: please at least let me know that you’re okay
John swore profusely as he checked the time and realized that her last text was from four hours ago. She’d been texting him all weekend, thinking he was just ignoring her because he was an idiot and forgot to tell her he was going out of range.
Hands shaking, he hit the dial button and raised the phone to his ear, praying she’d actually pick up.
“Nice of you to finally answer me,” she said acidly when she picked up on what he thought was the last ring before it went to voicemail. “I do like to know that my friend isn’t dead in a ditch somewhere.”
“Rose, I’m so sorry,” he started.
“For worrying me or for being a prick or for something else?”
“Everything? I was on a stargazing trip and I forgot that I wouldn’t have service out there. And then my phone died and I’d forgotten to pack my charger and I just got back to my flat and saw your messages. I called right away. I’m so sorry.” The words spilled out of him, like if he got them out fast enough, Rose would believe him faster and they could move past this and get to the meeting up part that he really hoped she still wanted to do.
There was silence for a moment and then he heard Rose start laughing.
“Rose?”
“Oh my god, I was worried that I’d scared you off and then that something had happened and you were just being your normal idiot self,” she said through her laughs.
“Um, yeah pretty much. And for the record, you proposed to me during our first conversation, I don’t think you’re scaring me off now,” he said, rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand.
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
“So, chips? I’ll buy. I really want to meet you too.” He paused, heart racing as he worked on getting the words out. “I kinda really like you too,” he said.
“It’s a date,” Rose said. He could hear the smile in her voice and he grinned too.
“Brilliant!”
“Are you free right now? I could murder a basket of chips right about now.”
“I am! Just have to wait for my phone to finish charging.”
“Perfect. I’ll text you the address of my favorite chippy?”
“Sounds good.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later then!”
John made a little happy noise and Rose laughed.
“I like the sound of that too,” she admitted.
“I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Bye, Doctor.”
“Bye Rose.”
They rang off and the Doctor just grinned down at his phone. He had a date with Rose! A real proper date!
His mobile buzzed and he quickly opened the message from Rose.
Text to Space Doctor [5:47 pm]: meet in an hour? this is the address.
Text to Space Doctor [5:47 pm]: <image attached>
Text to Space Doctor [5:48 pm]: and that’s me so you know who you’re looking for ;)
Text to Space Doctor [5:49 pm]: see you soon! xx
Text to Starry Rose [5:49 pm]: You are gorgeous.
Text to Starry Rose [5:50 pm]: <image attached>
Text to Starry Rose [5:50 pm]: One hour. See you soon :) xx
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Within five minutes of meeting, neither of them could remember why they were so nervous about doing this. They talked as easily as they had over the phone and text for months but now, they could see the smiles they were drawing from the other person and brush fingers as they stole chips from each other.
Rose teased John endlessly about forgetting his wallet when he had promised to buy but said that they were definitely on him next time. His answering grin was so wide and bright that Rose thought she might pay for the chips all the time just to see it.
They reluctantly parted ways after a couple hours, heading in opposite directions outside of the shop. Rose had barely made it around the first corner when her phone vibrated in her hand.
Text to Starry Rose [9:15 pm]: Have plans for tomorrow?
Text to Space Doctor [9:16 pm]: miss me already? ;)
Text to Starry Rose [9:16 pm]: Yes.
Text to Space Doctor [9:16 pm]: big ol’ softie <3 i miss you too
Text to Space Doctor [9:17 pm]: and no i don’t have anything planned
Text to Starry Rose [9:18 pm]: Good. Want to hang out with me?
Text to Space Doctor [9:18 pm]: absolutely. give me the details when you know them?
Text to Starry Rose [9:20 pm]: Will do :)
Text to Space Doctor [11:15 pm]: so i figure i might as well put this out there before i see you tomorrow. i meant it when i said i really like you and you should know that it’s as more than just a friend. i’m hopin that you feel the same but if not than we can stay just friends
Text to Space Doctor [11:18 pm]: really what i’m trying to say is that if you’re not completely opposed to the idea i’m probably going to kiss you tomorrow
Text to Starry Rose [11:19 pm]: Honestly, I almost kissed you today when we hugged goodbye so I’m definitely not opposed and I feel the same way :)
Text to Space Doctor [11:20 pm]: !!!!
Text to Starry Rose [11:20 pm]: Haha, my feelings exactly!
Text to Space Doctor [11:22 pm]: so… do you want to just come over to mine tomorrow and watch netflix and maybe make out on the couch?
Text to Space Doctor [11:23 pm]: i might even let you convince me to watch star trek finally
Text to Starry Rose [11:23 pm]: Yes.
Text to Starry Rose [11:23 pm]: Also yes to the Star Trek. You’re going to love it!
Text to Space Doctor [11:24 pm]: your nerdery is catching, apparently
Text to Space Doctor [11:24 pm]: i only didn’t watch it before because i thought it would be more fun to watch it with you
Text to Starry Rose [11:25 pm]: Now who’s the big ol’ softie? :)) <3
Text to Space Doctor [11:25 pm]: the promise of make outs helps too
Text to Space Doctor [11:26 pm]: still you <3
Text to Starry Rose [11: 28 pm]: I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow! xx
Text to Space Doctor [11:29 pm]: goodnight doctor <3 see you tomorrow xx
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