Five Things (4 + 5)
Since the following prompts do so well together, I did them at once.
Fandom: Doctor Who
Suggested by rose_cat: Five things the Doctor loves about Jack.
1. He’s a hero.
The Doctor would like to say he knew it the moment the first met the human, but the sad truth is that the first time he met the human, Jack was just another untrustworthy, dubious and potentially dangerous guy Rose was flirting with, who was apparently in the process of destroying mankind. What was it with Rose and this special kind of men?
He’s first got a notion of Jack’s hidden core of courage and honour when Jack stopped the bomb. After that the Doctor has had plenty of proof that this was indeed a truthful representation of his new friend’s personality, and not a slip born of temporary madness and lack of alternative.
Then Jack disappeared from his life, and when he returned, he was even more heroic and selfless than before. Which might or might now have been caused by the fact that he can no longer die. Can he be a hero for risking his life if his life is never at risk? The Doctor will have to think about it, eventually.
Not that it would make much difference, for Jack has also selflessly risked his sanity for the sake of others, and that is something he could not simply regrow if it got cut away. The Doctor, though he would never admit it, is proud of his friend and the hero he has become.
And he has never been able to resist men who take bullets for him. Even less so if they’ve done it more than once.
2. His immortality.
Jack coming back to life as a fact in a changeable universe has been enough of a shock for the Doctor in his vulnerable pre-regeneration state to run away screaming, metaphorically speaking. Even when he knew what to expect seeing him again has been hard to bear. But after a while of being in Jack’s company, the Doctor has learned to appreciate someone who will not die. People always die on him, or are lost in other ways. After all the loss and tragedy in his life, the Doctor has come to see the benefits of someone who will always be there.
3. His caring nature.
On first impression, Jack Harkness doesn’t strike people as particularly caring. People’s first impression of Jack Harkness usually is that of an obnoxious, harsh, annoying, self-righteous guy arming a gun at their face (or at the face of all of mankind, while he is at it). But once they get to know him better (which few people get the chance to), they discover that he cares deeply for the people close to him - deep enough to defy the laws of time, death and nature for them, and damn the consequences. The Doctor can’t help but respect such dedication, even while he sees the danger of it.
Some people Jack cares for more than anyone else, and for those he would sacrifice himself and all the others. Being one of those people is humbling, the Doctor found, and terrifying. He pretends not to notice it, for he does not know how to handle being loved so much.
4. Being a good sidekick.
Other than most people of various species the Doctor has travelled with - mostly those of female nature (and Fitz) - Jack does not shine with the ability to get kidnapped and need rescuing at any given opportunity. He also, despite his naturally exhibitionistic and self-confident personality, hardly ever tries to become centre of events and never hesitates to follow the Doctor’s orders. Their enemies never notice Jack before they notice the Doctor, which makes it easier to protect him and also flatters the Doctor’s ego - after all, being noticed before someone as noticeable as Jack means that the Doctor is practically glowing in the dark.
The fact the Jack is basically a solider makes him the ideal companion when it comes to doing as the Doctor (= his commanding officer) says. It makes him slightly less ideal when it comes to refrain from killing things.
It helps, however, that he worships the ground the Doctor walks on and, unlike most of the Doctor’s friends, never questions anything he says.
Unless, naturally, he knows it’s bullshit.
5. He is only able to get out of bed for danger or coffee.
Ever since Jack became a constant part of the Doctor’s life again, the Time Lord discovered that unless there is an immediate danger for his wellbeing, or that of the Doctor, or some random stranger (of the intelligent kind - despite the Doctor’s best efforts Jack keeps insisting that rabbits don’t count), Jack is quite unable to get out of bed. When woken after less than ten hours of sleep, he simply turns to lie on his face and mumble into the pillow until he falls back asleep. The only thing to lure him out is the scent of really, really strong coffee.
The Doctor loves poking his sleeping friend with his finger until he rolls over and wails like a little boy.
Also suggested by rose_cat: Five things the Doctor hates about Jack.
1. He’s a hero.
There is nothing the Doctor hates more than injustice, cruelty and people endangering other people’s lives out of boredom. But this is a resentment usually directed at his enemies. When it comes to his friends, what he hates most is unnecessary heroism. No one likes to see their friends endangering their lives, least without good reason. And the Doctor is of the opinion that none of his friends has a good reason to endanger their lives as long he is there to do it in their place. Jack, however, has the annoying habit of throwing himself between the Doctor and any danger approaching before the Doctor even knows what was going on.
The Doctor hates seeing him in danger, and he hates seeing him hurt, and he hates that he has absolutely no right to tell his friend to stop that.
2. His immortality.
The fact that Jack can’t die keeps him from properly taking care of his own life, and he has developed the habit to solve every problem that can be solved by him dying exactly that way - whether his death is actually necessary or not. He would throw himself in front of a moving train to convince the driver to stop, when it would have sufficed to simply throw the switch.
And no matter how often he can knit himself back together, it is never fun having to scratch a friend off the railway tracks.
3. His caring nature.
When Jack really cares for someone, he would defy all laws of time, death and nature for them. For the Doctor, who sees it as his responsibility as the last of the Time Lords to make sure the laws of time, death and nature, not to mention logic and common sense are not bend beyond breaking point, this single-minded dedication to his friends often makes Jack balance on the thin line that separates the ones the Doctor admires from those he has to stop.
The Doctor is the one Jack cares for most, and the one for whom he would go furthest, regardless of the consequences for himself, other people happening to be caught in the events, and the universe in general. Sometimes the Doctor shudders to think what kind of crimes one of his closest friends is committing in his name.
4. Being a good sidekick.
The Doctor has seen how Jack is leading Torchwood. He is the one in charge, he is the one giving orders and the one taking responsibility. After having been in the company of people he is responsible for, people who look at the Doctor to tell them what to do, people who constantly needed to be rescued - those mostly of female nature (and Fitz) - and generally expect the Doctor to come and save the day, it would have been nice to have someone to share the responsibility with. Someone who could give the orders and save the day when the Doctor needs a break. But the moment Jack joins his team, he steps back and leaves it to the Doctor to take the lead. The moment he can hand responsibility over to someone he deems more capable of taking care of things, Jack is perfectly happy with being a sidekick and having all the fun of running over distant worlds and saving things, while leaving dealing with the consequences to someone else.
In the end he expects the Doctor to save the day just like everyone else does.
5. He is only able to get out of bed for danger and coffee.
As much as the Doctor likes to paint Jack’s face while he is in his corpselike early morning state, sometimes it would be nice to get a response other than “uurhmmplb” when he tries to start a conversation.
March 12, 2009
Fandom: Doctor Who
Suggested by rose_cat: Five things the Doctor loves about Jack.
1. He’s a hero.
The Doctor would like to say he knew it the moment the first met the human, but the sad truth is that the first time he met the human, Jack was just another untrustworthy, dubious and potentially dangerous guy Rose was flirting with, who was apparently in the process of destroying mankind. What was it with Rose and this special kind of men?
He’s first got a notion of Jack’s hidden core of courage and honour when Jack stopped the bomb. After that the Doctor has had plenty of proof that this was indeed a truthful representation of his new friend’s personality, and not a slip born of temporary madness and lack of alternative.
Then Jack disappeared from his life, and when he returned, he was even more heroic and selfless than before. Which might or might now have been caused by the fact that he can no longer die. Can he be a hero for risking his life if his life is never at risk? The Doctor will have to think about it, eventually.
Not that it would make much difference, for Jack has also selflessly risked his sanity for the sake of others, and that is something he could not simply regrow if it got cut away. The Doctor, though he would never admit it, is proud of his friend and the hero he has become.
And he has never been able to resist men who take bullets for him. Even less so if they’ve done it more than once.
2. His immortality.
Jack coming back to life as a fact in a changeable universe has been enough of a shock for the Doctor in his vulnerable pre-regeneration state to run away screaming, metaphorically speaking. Even when he knew what to expect seeing him again has been hard to bear. But after a while of being in Jack’s company, the Doctor has learned to appreciate someone who will not die. People always die on him, or are lost in other ways. After all the loss and tragedy in his life, the Doctor has come to see the benefits of someone who will always be there.
3. His caring nature.
On first impression, Jack Harkness doesn’t strike people as particularly caring. People’s first impression of Jack Harkness usually is that of an obnoxious, harsh, annoying, self-righteous guy arming a gun at their face (or at the face of all of mankind, while he is at it). But once they get to know him better (which few people get the chance to), they discover that he cares deeply for the people close to him - deep enough to defy the laws of time, death and nature for them, and damn the consequences. The Doctor can’t help but respect such dedication, even while he sees the danger of it.
Some people Jack cares for more than anyone else, and for those he would sacrifice himself and all the others. Being one of those people is humbling, the Doctor found, and terrifying. He pretends not to notice it, for he does not know how to handle being loved so much.
4. Being a good sidekick.
Other than most people of various species the Doctor has travelled with - mostly those of female nature (and Fitz) - Jack does not shine with the ability to get kidnapped and need rescuing at any given opportunity. He also, despite his naturally exhibitionistic and self-confident personality, hardly ever tries to become centre of events and never hesitates to follow the Doctor’s orders. Their enemies never notice Jack before they notice the Doctor, which makes it easier to protect him and also flatters the Doctor’s ego - after all, being noticed before someone as noticeable as Jack means that the Doctor is practically glowing in the dark.
The fact the Jack is basically a solider makes him the ideal companion when it comes to doing as the Doctor (= his commanding officer) says. It makes him slightly less ideal when it comes to refrain from killing things.
It helps, however, that he worships the ground the Doctor walks on and, unlike most of the Doctor’s friends, never questions anything he says.
Unless, naturally, he knows it’s bullshit.
5. He is only able to get out of bed for danger or coffee.
Ever since Jack became a constant part of the Doctor’s life again, the Time Lord discovered that unless there is an immediate danger for his wellbeing, or that of the Doctor, or some random stranger (of the intelligent kind - despite the Doctor’s best efforts Jack keeps insisting that rabbits don’t count), Jack is quite unable to get out of bed. When woken after less than ten hours of sleep, he simply turns to lie on his face and mumble into the pillow until he falls back asleep. The only thing to lure him out is the scent of really, really strong coffee.
The Doctor loves poking his sleeping friend with his finger until he rolls over and wails like a little boy.
Also suggested by rose_cat: Five things the Doctor hates about Jack.
1. He’s a hero.
There is nothing the Doctor hates more than injustice, cruelty and people endangering other people’s lives out of boredom. But this is a resentment usually directed at his enemies. When it comes to his friends, what he hates most is unnecessary heroism. No one likes to see their friends endangering their lives, least without good reason. And the Doctor is of the opinion that none of his friends has a good reason to endanger their lives as long he is there to do it in their place. Jack, however, has the annoying habit of throwing himself between the Doctor and any danger approaching before the Doctor even knows what was going on.
The Doctor hates seeing him in danger, and he hates seeing him hurt, and he hates that he has absolutely no right to tell his friend to stop that.
2. His immortality.
The fact that Jack can’t die keeps him from properly taking care of his own life, and he has developed the habit to solve every problem that can be solved by him dying exactly that way - whether his death is actually necessary or not. He would throw himself in front of a moving train to convince the driver to stop, when it would have sufficed to simply throw the switch.
And no matter how often he can knit himself back together, it is never fun having to scratch a friend off the railway tracks.
3. His caring nature.
When Jack really cares for someone, he would defy all laws of time, death and nature for them. For the Doctor, who sees it as his responsibility as the last of the Time Lords to make sure the laws of time, death and nature, not to mention logic and common sense are not bend beyond breaking point, this single-minded dedication to his friends often makes Jack balance on the thin line that separates the ones the Doctor admires from those he has to stop.
The Doctor is the one Jack cares for most, and the one for whom he would go furthest, regardless of the consequences for himself, other people happening to be caught in the events, and the universe in general. Sometimes the Doctor shudders to think what kind of crimes one of his closest friends is committing in his name.
4. Being a good sidekick.
The Doctor has seen how Jack is leading Torchwood. He is the one in charge, he is the one giving orders and the one taking responsibility. After having been in the company of people he is responsible for, people who look at the Doctor to tell them what to do, people who constantly needed to be rescued - those mostly of female nature (and Fitz) - and generally expect the Doctor to come and save the day, it would have been nice to have someone to share the responsibility with. Someone who could give the orders and save the day when the Doctor needs a break. But the moment Jack joins his team, he steps back and leaves it to the Doctor to take the lead. The moment he can hand responsibility over to someone he deems more capable of taking care of things, Jack is perfectly happy with being a sidekick and having all the fun of running over distant worlds and saving things, while leaving dealing with the consequences to someone else.
In the end he expects the Doctor to save the day just like everyone else does.
5. He is only able to get out of bed for danger and coffee.
As much as the Doctor likes to paint Jack’s face while he is in his corpselike early morning state, sometimes it would be nice to get a response other than “uurhmmplb” when he tries to start a conversation.
March 12, 2009