#( character ) rory: the last centurion

[anotherpapercut]

I know several people who like LOVE seasons 5-7 (11th doctors run) and think the storylines and moffats writing are brilliant and I don't get it!!! what am I missing??? why does literally every single episode have the exact same stakes: Rory/Amy/the doctor is dead. forever. so dead. but wait!!! what if they aren't!!! why do so many of the explanations for why they're not actually dead feel so rushed like they were added at the last minute!! why does every single queer character act kind of weird and awkward about being queer!! why does the doctor casually say that women are inferior when no one's around!!! what the fuck!! hello!!!

[toomuchdickfort]

Love the doctor and Craig lol

[glygriffe]

Fanfics of the summer

I had a summer of long hours at work and short vacations with a lot of driving around. But I managed to get some fanfic reading in my busy schedule. Here are my favorite read of the season.

Supernatural

Why’s every song is about love (or drinking too much): a heart-aching ficlet by @quietwings-fics about unrequited love. (Sam & Castiel; Destiel)

Untitled ficlet: Claire and Dean have a talk at Rocky’s. A post-canon fic by @perlukafarinn

Murder's on the Table: a ficlet about a protective young Dean by @fictionallemons on A03. (Dean & Sam)

It’s the Stars that Lie: part 2 of the famed Down to Agincourt by @seperis on AO3. With well-written OC characters and beloved ones that discover themselves. To fully appreciate this fic, read the fever dream that is Map of the World first (Castiel x Dean)

He has no control of his body: an exploration of Sam's faith and lack of bodily autonomy from birth by @withthekeyisking-writer (fic form HozierNatural with wonderful art from @amberdreams1960 (No pairing - or with dubious consent with Lucifer, Meg, and Gadreel)

It's a living: What if Dean Winchester had some (most) of Dean Smith's characteristics and was in a Sugar Daddy relationship with an older single parent Castiel? A story on AO3 from a new player in the Spn fanfic sandbox, @farenmaddox (Dean x Castiel, Dean & Castiel & Jack)

Untitled print fic: what happens when Dean feels good! A ficlet on two part by @casdeans-pie (Dean x Castiel)

Mirage: What if Dean's dream life in What Is and What Should Never Be is the real life? A story by @dorkilysoulless on A03 (Sam & Mary)

Other fandoms and original works

The first in a series of removal: A touching Stranger Things ficlet by @loveinhawkins where Steve is not ready to talk about his mom. (Steve & Eddie)

And Love Tastes Like Ashes: The Last Centurion from Doctor Who meets Jack Harkness while waiting to reunite with the Girl who waited. A touching glimpse into Rory the Auton life by @farenmaddox on AO3 (Amy x Rory)

Midnight Rain: A conversation between the Doctor and Donna Nobles following the episode Midnight of Doctor Who by TheBlack Shadow1210 on A03 (No pairing)

Dragon prompt: a tale of a found (or maybe given) family by @hedgehogoftime from a prompt by @writing-prompt-s (no pairing)

Untitled (Numbers): an original story from @phantomrose96 about someone seeing in which order people that mingle in a room will die. (No pairing)

divider by mari (@strangergraphics)

[zonzolik]

I have just watched Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes To War and OH. MY. GOD. That was something.

I haven't watched the previous episode so I was a little confused at the beginning but AMY GAVE BIRTH

AND WAS ACTUALLY SLIME THE WHOLE TIME (not the whole time but for quite long) WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

I was admiring Rory this whole episode, he's so brave and strong and loving and true nurse at heart ave Last Centurion✊

I like the episodes where all the characters from previous come together and save everything (not that this was the case)

the Headless Monks having lightsabers🤩(they were bleh otherwise)

also the gay husband becoming a monk😭😭

there was too much dying for my taste, hope it gets better

AMY AND RORY ARE THE ULTIMATE LOVESTORY, TRULY

also HOW IS RIVER SONG AMY AND RORY'S DOUGHTER AND DOCTOR'S WIFE, HOOOW

[doctor-who-binge]

The Girl Who Waited

I love The Girl Who Waited is one of my favorite episodes ever. It is the proof that she loves Rory more than she could ever love The Doctor. The biggest showcase of Amy & Rory's character development.

Rory is more reliable than The Doctor and she knows it. This was a theme throughout series 6, she was talking about Rory while kidnapped by The Silence and Rory thought it was The Doctor. Her reaction when Rory tells her that he thought it might have been The Doctor was an amazingly acted "HIM?" with a what the fuck expression. Its also shown when Rory defiantly tells The Doctor "She can always hear me Doctor and she always knows I'm coming." Then again when she is talking to baby Melody and the speech makes it sound likes shes speaking about The Doctor only to have the twist at the end of the people of earth knowing him as the last centurion.

But The Girl Who Waited is just absolutely in your face about this fact. It is the entire damn episode.

Its apparent though every goddamn aspect:

Amy says "Rory I love you. ... now save me" Its not a request to The Doctor at first, I never noticed that before. (Thats the line that prompted me to gush about this episode) She trusts that's Rory is the one that will have to do it.

She doesn't say "I hate you" to Rory even though she seems angry with him, but she says with a lot of conviction she hates The Doctor more than shes ever hated anyone in her life.

Rory says he doesn't care that she got old he cares that they didn't grow old together and when she angrily talks about being in solitary confinement she speaks to The Doctor not Rory.

She asks Rory "stay or go" when she heads into the Garden, again showing she isn't going to write off Rory. Then he make her laugh so easily the first time in 36 years, showing so much chemistry from only 3 lines of script

She named a robot Rory because she "needed a bit of company" and when the Doctor tries to make her feel guilty about taking the hands off she mockingly calls him the voice of god. Which is later repeated by her daughter river who says "when one is in love with an ageless god who insists on the face of a 12 year old".

THEN, THEN when older Amy says "they didn't save you, they get in their TARDIS and fly away" and younger Amy immediately says "No Rory wouldn't, not ever, something must have stopped him" younger Amy didn't even fucking mention The Doctor when protesting older Amy's idea. Because The Doctor certainly WOULD do something like that because he has before. Twice in the 11th hour and she even says in the Christmas special "please Doctor don't be late this time"

THEN IT GETS EVEN FUCKING BETTER when older Amy says "and thats why you'll refuse [to save yourself] when its your turn and nothing you can say will change that." Younger Amy knows immediately that there is something she can say and its so simple "3 words, what about Rory?" When older Amy smiles about the fact that she named her robot Rory younger Amy without hesitation says "so you didn't name it The Doctor or biggles our favorite cat" and they both laugh over memories of him.

Younger Amy begins talking about meeting people, and it ends with both younger Amy and older Amy saying at the exact same time "Rory's the most beautiful person I've ever met"

Then this line of dialogue:

Younger Amy: please, do it for him

Older Amy: You're asking me to defy destiny, causality, the nexus of time itself, for a boy

Younger Amy: You're Amy, hes Rory, and oh yes I am.

Older Amy to Rory: I'm going to rip time apart for you *kisses and hugs him*

She never actually seems angry at Rory. Shes heartbroken over Rory but legitimately hates The Doctor.

"Its not about what I'm doing its about who I am doing it for, I'm trusting you to watch my back" To which Rory replies with zero hesitation. "Always, you and me, always"

Both Amys are able to think of the most important thing without consulting each other and its about Rory. Their first kiss specifically.

This next line alone encapsulates all her character development since The 11th hour. Older Amy says "Amy pond in the TARDIS with Rory Williams." Remember she ran away from Rory with The Doctor in season 5 up until Vampires of Venice when The Doctor decides he has to come because Amy wanted to have basically a one night stand with The Doctor. Amy even seems hesitant to bring him at first.

"The look on your face when you carried her away... her... you use to look at me like that, I'd forgotten how much you loved me. I forgot how much I loved being her" She forgot just how much she loved being his wife, the Amy Pond that was with Rory. Not the Amy in solitary confinement for 36 years without him.

Rory legitimately has problems trying to pick "which Amy" to save. The Doctor forces Rory to make that decision. Rory clearly sees both of them as his Amy, his wife, and there is incomprehensible anguish for Rory to let older Amy die.

At the end older Amy has to die and Rory simply can't handle it, he can't make the decision between which Amy to save. So to help him older Amy make the decision for him. "If you love me don't open that door" and Rory just can't handle it. Its so obvious how much he loves older Amy just as much, no different than "the real Amy" and older Amy says "tell her I'm giving her the days.... the days with you" then the fantastically poetic line she says to her husband "take them please I'm giving you my days"

Also I never really thought about the "This Amy will have never existed" bit in the episode and how it seems that even the Doctor is trying to convince himself that its true... when its not

Rory screams at the Doctor "you can't leave her she'll die." the Doctor tries to reason that she will mever have existed to which Rory yells "But she happened, shes there!!!" Remember his 1000 years technically didn't happen, but he can remember it. Season 5 was constantly talking about how time can be unwritten but things are never forgotten "not really", "if it can be remembered it can come back." The Doctor yells that older Amy isn't real but Rory knows she is, he knows that his 1000 years was real even if it "never existed"

The Doctor knew from the beginning he was saving younger Amy but had to lie to Rory, because he knows not only would older Amy object to The Doctor not saving her, Rory would also object. We see that The Doctor really is the bad guy. Rory states that "this isn't fair, you're turning me into you" He won't even answer Rory candidly when asked if he always knew that he couldn't save both he simply states "I said I'd save her and there she is"

The following episode The Doctor has to force Amy to lose her faith in him. Which she does. And it doesn't break her. The Doctor gives her and Rory a house and a car and they go and live their life. She doesn't need him anymore

Goddamnit I fucking love this episode. Its like a sequel to Amy's Choice. The episode that forces Amy to pick in the love triangle and how she genuinely doesn't know until Rory dies, in this episode both Amys know that its Rory with zero hesitation.

Tangentially related:

Rory: THIS IS YOUR FAULT. MAYBE LOOK IN A HISTORY BOOK AND SEEN IF THERE IS AN OUTBREAK OF PLAGUE

Doctor: That is NOT how I travel

Rory: THEN I DO NOT WANT TO TRAVEL WITH YOU

Is chefs fucking kiss I love the Doctor being told off. Same vibes when Clara yelling at him (12) about how he walks their Earth.

On a lighter note:

..... why isn't anyone else in her red waterfall for 36 years? Even the sick patients wouldn't want to live in solitary for a life time only able to have company when in the magnifying glass room.

[khruschevshoe]

You know, there was a comment in an author's note of one of @aletterinthenameofsanity 's fucs that pointed out something that I can't stop thinking about: Rory's outfits. Taking aside the last centurion outfit for sight gags and his clubs from episode one, Rory in seasons 5 and 6 has one of the most consistent character style designs of any companion on the show (outside of Jack, but Jack kind of feels more Doctor-adjacent to me in terms of costuming in that he wears almost the exact same thing for Torchwood/later appearances, and he only has like three different outfits in late Season 1).

Rory is constantly identified with puffer vests, jeans, and flannel button-ups, with him occasionally having a striped polo (Impossible Astronaut) or a cardigan/jacket (Let's Kill Hitler). When he is wearing an outfit he picked out and not a uniform (so not Eleventh Hour, Pandorica Opens/Big Bang), he is wearing very similar variations on the same general outfit/style.

So why on God's green earth did the costume designers decide to change things so much in Season 7? I understand that there's some argument to be made that Rory "grew up" based on the 10 years comment, but hell, he lived 2000 years and that didn't change his sense of style at all from season 5 to 6 save for the introduction of the Last Centurion outfit into the mix for a gag/"badass" moment a couple of times a season (though never in Season 7). Why does he suddenly go from flannel button-ups and leather jackets to looser plain shirts and hoodies in Season 7?

(There's also something to be said for the change in makeup for Amy- much more emphasized eyeliner, for example- between Seasons 6 & 7 and the addition of a "sleeker" leather jacket. It's almost like season 7 styling of the Ponds is going for a more sleek, stylish, "cool" version of the Ponds, but I'd love guesses as to why outside of making them look more mature- unless you think that might be the sole reason.

Also, yes, I'm aware that Arthur Darvill apparently got to style his own hair in Season 7 so that at least solves the question of Rory's changed hairdo.)

[companion-showdown]

It's Nominations Day! This New Tournament is Best Fashion Sense

Give me the names of some of the best dressed characters in the Whoniverse

there are no EU autoqualifiers this time, but if Charley, Benny, Evelyn, Fitz, Frobisher, Lucie, Iris, or Liv get nominated, they are guaranteed a place in round 1, any other nominations will need to get through the round 0 group stage

Please note, if they only ever where a uniform I won't be including the nomination. Some exceptions might be made on a case by case basis if the uniform really is a choice (like when Rory dresses as a centurion post the Big Bang)

Current Nominations:

Ruby Sunday (there is a further poll for her here)

Missy

Gillian and John Who

Bernice Summerfield (automatically qualifies)

Fitz Kreiner (automatically qualifies)

Frobisher (automatically qualifies)

Madame de Pompadour

Evelyn Smythe (automatically qualifies)

Sara Kingdom

Rodan

Lon (Snakedance)

Deanna Troi

Petronella Osgood

Vastra

Jenny Flint

Mels

Iris Wildthyme (automatically qualifies)

Josie Day

Alice Obiefune

We also have a nomination list for outfits to include in the graphics for the tournament

if you want to see what those look like at the moment (there might be minor tweeks), Classic Who is here, New Who is here, EU is here (currently only has Benny and Fitz)

Again, please only suggest uniforms if it is an active choice the companion is making

Nominations will last for 24 hours, closing just after 16:00 BST, 07/08

[heatwa-ves]

he waited two thousand years all alone for amy..

rory pond I love you

[impala-dreamer]

Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order, then send this to 10 people (anon or not, your choice) 🎥🎬📺 (you don't have to do this, feel free to ignore it 😘)

oh boy... strap in, folks - much like @kittenofdoomage did, I'm going to try and not stick to SPN here (I think we all know where I stand with those boys anyway- so- ahem-)

In no particular order....

1- The Brat Prince, Himself- The one and only Vampire Lestat, and yes, I'm using Tom Cruise bc I haven't seen the new show yet, but of literary media- Lestat deLioncourt shall always and forever be my number one. He has been with me since I was 12 years old and shall never leave ever for any reason. the end.

2 - Jack Shepard from LOST. Now, I know what you're thinking- he kinda sucks, and yes, yes he does. but honestly, beside Hugo- they ALL kinda suck. And since the pilot, I have always felt very connected to Jack and his struggles with life and death and good and bad. He's just my main guy, OK? Get off my back about it and help me move this giant wheel thingy...

3- Rory Williams, The Last Centurion, and Greatest Companion- Doctor Who. He just... He is me in any and all magical/epic/adventure situations and I can't get around that. And he's adorable and so loving and just the utter best.

4- Roger Sterling - Mad Men. One of the greatest sonsofbitches ever. He drinks like I do (martinis), he's cool and sexy like I am. He's sophisticated and tired. Just like me. lol

5- Ryan O'Reilly - OZ. Just watching this for the first time but I am 1000000% in and He is just so incredible. I can't even explain it but I'm hanging onto the hope that he makes it out alive. lol

6- Shawn - The Good Place. Really, it's everyone from TGP and I can't really choose, but I just adore Marc Evan Jackson, so I went with him. lol

7- Quentin Coldwater - The Magicians. He just... We are the same person, and if you watch the show, you'll understand me and what I mean. He is my heart.

8- Link Neal - GMM - Look, I just think he's sexy and kind of an asshole and I dig that accent.

9- Jerry - The Walking Dead. WHAT? Beka! You're Team Rick! You love Negan! What about Daryl? OK- Listen up folks, of anyone on that show- I would only ever trust Jerry. Also anytime he was in peril, I would literally scream at the tv "you better not hurt my baby!!!" so... there ya go.

10- Paul Hollywood - GBBS. Idk if he counts, but he does. And I don't think I really need to explain myself.

damn, that was hard. I really wanted to smush a jensen in there a few times, but I behaved. lol

[eutravels]

The Lone Centurion : Volume One

So my last listen was this, and I have to be honest, I really love Rory but however didn't expect much of this since I didn't think he would be able to carry a whole boxset of his own, but I was totally wrong! He definitely rocks it all and it never feels out of character, so I felt really surprised but at the same time not really, it's just very well written and really funny.

I liked Gladiator and The Unwilling Assassin the most because they were really funny and got a bit bored by I, Rorius, however I really liked Rory's confrontation with Marinus on how each of them view the way society works and should work. Marinus' view of a society balanced through violence opposed to Rory's modern and occidental approach to violence is really interesting and improved the whole story to me.

[effrvsnt107]

THEY DID A FUCKING ELEVENAMY BAIT AGAIN WHAT. THE FUCK. “The last of his people and last of his kind” mate. Mate be so fr with me right now Rory isn’t the last of his kind baby, he may be the Lone Centurion BUT THAT ISNT THE CHARACTER YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR “LAST OF HIS KIND”

[earhartsease]

actor/character rabbitholes can be so bizarre - looking up the actor who plays the daughter in Lie To Me and see that she was also in Grey's Anatomy as a girl called Rory Williams? what is the last centurion doing there

[biathediamond]

ONE PERSON IS INTERESTED THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME!

k disclaimer real fast this is going to be INCREDIBLY Moffat-critical so if you really like his stuff... this analysis is not for you and I salute you on your way

SECOND disclaimer is that I have only watched 5 seasons of 2005 so far so if i say something that gets retconned... do not worry I will most definitely be back

OKAY so the thing I was worried about going into season 5 (just based on the episode summaries) was that this was... strangely plot-heavy compared to the last 4 seasons. And I was right. it was. Which is not necessarily a bad thing and was not what's made me realize that I'm not going to enjoy the Moffat run as much

The next thing I was worried about within the very first episode is that they changed so damn much. There is the obvious new cast and crew, but then you have new cameras, new/better CGI and practical effects, a new opening, and a completely new story that feels miles away from where we left off in season 4. Which again, is not inherently bad and was not my realizing that I was not going to like this as much.

It was actually the episode the Vampires of Venice and how it was very similar plot-wise to season 2's Tooth and Claw and yet so, so far. Both follow the same basic premise: Doctor and co. travel back to a IRL eath historical time and place and encounter a mythological creature (that's of course alien). HOWEVER!!! Davies approach was to really just leave it at that. Of course the werewolf is an alien, but it is ALSO 100% a werewolf and they let it just be a werewolf. Moffat has a whole-ass tragic backstory for these not-vampires and halfway through they totally drop the whole "vampire" thing. Then there's also the fact that like. that was a total missed opportunity to pull a "Queen Victoria fights the werewolves" or "Dickens fights the ghosts" or "Shakespeare fights the witches." like idk how about they actually have Cassanova and he fights the vampires??? It just felt so very very different from the past four seasons of dw and not in a good way

And from there I just started noticing more and more. First off, the character development for both Amy and Rory is utterly abysmal. And Matt Smith a great Doctor but even he couldn't save the fact that the Doctor was also flat as a piece of paper compared to the last four seasons. Like I know he's the "doctor that forgets" BUT that feels very literal and also: not in a good way

And what sealed the deal for me is that at the end of season 5 we get what is perhaps some of the best imagery to come out of DW and that is the Lone Centurion, AND IT FALLS SO FLAT OVERALL BECAUSE WE GET THIS IMAGERY FOR ALL OF LIKE. 5 MINUTES AND 2 OF THAT IS EXPOSITION. Like there was SO much potential to make the "lone centurian" thing a MUCH bigger part of rory's character and actually give him some fucking depth!!

AMY ALSO. I am so annoyed that they all of the sudden in the SECOND TO LAST EPISODE reveal that she's apparently passionate about Roman/Britain history??? WHY WAS THIS NOT A BIGGER THING BEFORE. MISSED. POTENTIAL. All three of the Doctor's companions in the Nuwho era up to this point have been more excited to see other worlds and the future, why can't Amy be the companion who wants to see the past???

THEN THERE'S ALSO HER SPECIFIC MOTIF FOR THE FIRST FEW EPISODES OF USING THE DOCTOR TO "RUN AWAY"??? like think about it: Rose ran to the Doctor, Martha never intended to leave in the first place, and Donna spent months looking for the Doctor to explore with him, AMY COULD HAVE BEEN THE COMPANION THAT WAS RUNNING AWAY. How's that for a defining motif?? THEY SHOULD HAVE PUSHED IT. HER CHARACTER ARC IS ALREADY ABOUT RETURNING TO THE "IMPORTANT" THINGS. PUSH THAT. If I was "fixing" this than Amy would have been more obviously a bit of a coward. The potential is there with her whole thing in the Beast Below about trying to pull the Doctor out before hard decisions had to be made, and her whole thing about running away from her wedding, JUST PUT IT IN MORE. AND I think she deserved a defining moment where she stops running. I personally think that since Amy was the anomaly she should have sacrificed herself in the Pandorica (it still turns out alright for a reason I will get to). She's the companion who had to learn that inaction is still an action!!

And Rory- fucking Rory and his Lone Centurion imagery had the potential to be the DoctorDonna of the Moffat run. They needed to push his quality of loyalty further. Like PLEASE why couldn't we have had Amy the girl who ran away and Rory the boy who always ran after her??? ALSO WITH ALL THE TIMEY-WIMEY WHY DIDN'T WE GET THE LONE CENTURIAN BEFORE?? i know there's a half-assed answer why but also: Davies didn't establish the "wibbly-wobbly" JUST FOR MOFFAT TO IMMEDIATELY GET ALL CLEVER AND HAVE NO FUN. like Rory is literally what Davies run of DW was about: someone who is - in every way - ordinary, average, and plain, and yet he still has the capacity for greatness and boy does he deliver. and it would have meant something IF IT LASTED FOR MORE THAN A FEW MINUTES IN THE LAST EPISODE.

And while - like I said - I love Matt Smith and when you're just watching clips of Eleven out of context it is quintessential Doctor, BOY DID THEY USE NONE OF HIS PARTICULAR FLAVOR OF DOCTOR TO IT'S FULL POTENTIAL. Each Doctor has their own personality and their own faults and their own way of dealing with their trauma: Nine hid, Ten got angry, and Eleven forgot. BUT!!!! It's also about when that excited, adventurous facade breaks. Nine and Ten both had their Moments (at least one a season), while Eleven... kinda had one or two? but they were more just what you'd expect in high-stress situations and less like the carefully crafted denial he's in is breaking down. Like I definitely wanted most situations to be handled under the "forgot" facade, BUT COULD WE HAVE HAD AT LEAST ONE "everything comes crashing down" MOMENT????? LIKE NINE AT THE DALEK IN SEASON ONE'S "DALEK". like there's a specific flavor of angst that comes from trying so fucking hard to deny everything you went through and everything that happened just for that to... not work eventually.

and then there's ALSO Amy and Eleven's relationship which - for lasting as many seasons as it did - is awfully stilted. WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN FIXED!!! What about little Amelia Pond who feeds the homeless man who crashed in her backyard and then immediately shoves a history book in his face??? who waits all night because she wanted to see the Romans and get away from her aunt?????? what about Amy Pond who - unlike the companions before - has to be convinced that "fairy tale" still has a place in the world??????????? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: Amy Pond, who stopped running and sacrificed herself and came out okay at the end? The Doctor who latches on to her because of this??? because maybe, just maybe, if there is fate, that it could turn out okay this time??? AND ALSO WITH THE RUNNING MOTIF WHAT ABOUT WHEN AMY LETS THE WEEPING ANGEL TAKE HER???? SOME LINE ABOUT HOW SHE'S "RUNNING AWAY AGAIN?" RIGHT BEFORE SHE GETS TOUCHED?????

there was SO MUCH FUCKING POTENTIAL this season and NONE of it became what it COULD have been. And when you review this and Moffat's other work, I think it's because he's entirely too plot-focused. He clearly wants to do smart, clever narratives that befuddle their audiences and appeal to the overcomplicated "nerd" side of fans and the problem is that the precedent Davies set is just. so different. If DW was ALWAYS like the fifth season then I don't think i'd be bothered much at all, but coming off the back of Davies' more character-focused, episodic style that fits the DW theme better it stands out like a sore thumb.

so yeah that's what I wanted from the crumbs we got. Rory being the most ordinary, unspecial person in the world who'd sit guard for thousands of years just because he loved someone. Amy being the girl who couldn't see the magic in real life until she stopped looking for it everywhere else. and Eleven, the doctor who tried to start over, and move on, and forget, and it never really worked. and like. not just have these things objectively there, BUT IT BEING SHOWN AS WELL THAT'S KINDA IMPORTANT.

and we could have HAD IT and i will FOREVER BE ANNOYED about that.

and now i will go watch season 6

k now that I have finished the first season of Moffat's run I have. many thoughts.

if any one wants to hear.

[phoenixspirits]

we know rory got sent back in time before amy, how much time do you think passed before amy showed up? was it the same year? the same moment? do you think rory panicked, and thought he’s had to life live again like he did a centurion until he found her?

@faerietaled    //    they jump off a building; amy’s arms wrapped around him, his around her, falling, FALLING-----

    the ground is solid beneath their feet, damp grass and cloudy skies and rory still feels like they’re falling. 

    back where we belong, the doctor says, but they’re in a graveyard. this paradox didn’t start in a graveyard, they were in the city, in central park, why are they HERE? 

    we got lucky, the doctor says, and that must be true. rory laughs, incredulous, relieved, exhausted. they’re good at cheating death, they’ve done it so many times. it still never fails to send a chill up his spine. the thought that he should be dead. 

    rory tries to centre himself because he can’t shake the feeling of falling. listens to the sound of river and the doctor bickering, fond and HAPPY. they’re all high on surviving, of beating impossible odds -- the post-adventure feeling that they’re all addicted to. they saved the world, they saved each other. it’s over. 

    and yet.

    he barely even glances at the gravestone as they pass --- it takes a few seconds for his brain to process what he’d read. did that say-----

    rory pauses. turns back. 

    that’s his name. RORY ARTHUR WILLIAMS. he laughs. it seems like an irony, a cosmic joke ---- how many times has he died? a gravestone with a man with the same name, in this graveyard. 

    there’s no such thing as coincidences. not in the TARDIS, in their lives. not really. but the thought comes too late. rory blinks and the world around him falls away.

    falling, FALLING------- 

    it’s the same new york street he first arrived on. this time there are no men wit guns to greet him ---- but neither is river. he spins on the spot and there are no angels in sight, no statues, just a dark street. a man with a briefcase walks swiftly down the other side of the road. a dog barks a few streets away. it’s 1938 again and rory’s heart sinks. 

    i can’t ever take the TARDIS back there, the doctor tells him, two minutes ago and seventy years in the future. for a second he holds out desperate hope for river and her vortex manipulator. 

    but no. he saw it all, himself, already. the gravestone with his name on it. the old man dying alone. the paradox might have destroyed the angels but it still needed to be fulfilled. 

    “i don’t want to die alone.” the words pass his lips, hollow and too loud on this empty street. but it was more than that, wasn’t it? he didn’t want to live alone, without amy. not again. 

  ( he’s not a plastic auton, he’s not immortal. he will die before seeing her again because that      is what the angels DO. they steal your life. steal what could have been. 

                                          maybe he should be used to that. )

    despair, frustration, hopelessness ---- these emotions make him fall knees cracking onto cold concrete. he’s still falling, but he blinks and amy catches him, her arms tight around him, tears running down her cheeks. rory gasps for breath, clings to her. 

    there’s no way back, he knows that, she doesn’t need to tell him. later he will think of river, the doctor, his father, his friends. the people left behind. right now he holds a little bit tighter to amy. together. they’re together and right now that’s all that matters.

[saelterlude]

I really want Doctor Who to bring back companions’ title/aliases. Especially since Doctor Who is a long running show with a rolling cast. They just make the companions and their story arcs a lot more memorable and distinguishable. 

For example,

When someone says Rose Tyler, I think oh “Bad Wolf” the ordinary girl who loves the Doctor so much that she stared into the TARDIS and spread her warning across time. The name showed her stubbornness to be with the Doctor, even when he has send her away and she’s stuck in an alternate dimension.

Jack Harkness technically doesn’t have a title but something feels wrong when you just say his name because he’s “Captain Jack Harkness”. Which really exemplifies his charisma and self confidence. Emphasizing his name using ‘Captain’ also shows how he’s more knowledgeable on time travel and aliens than most companions the Doctor have.

Martha Jones, “The Woman Who Walked The Earth” literally describes what she did. She walked the Earth and spread word of the Doctor to save the world. When you hear that title you know that she’s brave and she’s strong, THIS is what she’s capable of doing.

Donna Noble can be “The Most Important Woman in The Whole of Creation” or “Best Temp in Chiswick” but she’s also, as the fandom seems to agree, “The Doctor’s Best Friend”. Personally I always remember the last one because the Doctor and Donna duo are so iconic and fun, but that’s more in relation to the Doctor instead of on her own. I’m not a big fan of the first one because it’s a bit too mouthy. The second one describes Donna best as an individual as it’s both put emphasis on how great she is with best ‘best’ followed by how she see’s herself as nothing special as a “temp in Chiswick”.

Special mention to Wilfred Mott who doesn’t actually have a title but we all know he’s “The Doctor’s Dad”. He’s caring and he took care of the Doctor when he’s vulnerable. I love Wilf. We all love Wilf.

Amy Pond is “The Girl Who Waited”. It tells us of her faith to the Doctor, that she would wait for him for 12 years, followed by another 2 years. It tells us the damage those 12 years of waiting did to her, unlike Donna and Martha she’s “The Girl” who has yet to grow up. It also tells us how the Doctor sees her as a girl, someone he’s responsible for, and her future character arc of eventually growing out of this adventure with the Doctor.

Rory Williams, “The Last/Lone Centurion” is someone who spend 2000 years guarding a box out of love and dedication. Literally the reason my brother told me he isn’t worried about whoever I date since watching Rory means I have high standards of men. Rory is also known as “The Boy Who Waited”, a title which I really like since it ties in nicely with Amy’s.

Amy and Rory is also known as “The Ponds”, which other than being “the girl/boy who waited” really establish that these two are a unit. That they are meant to be together and that their story arc is about that. Yes, Amy can’t resist the adventure and Rory will always follow Amy, but Amy will also always choose Rory time and time again until the very end, even if it means the end of the adventure.

River Song is both “The Woman Who Killed The Doctor” and “The Woman Who Marries The Doctor”, both of them together sums up her (linear) story arc. Being someone raised out of fear of the Doctor to loving him and sacrificing her life for the Doctor. The two titles defies one another but are both her, which kind of shows how unpredictable she is, to us viewers and the Doctor.

And last we have Clara Oswin Oswald’s “The Impossible Girl”. Clara’s first story arc is literally “she keeps showing up and dying and she’s the same person but she’s not immortal or a time traveler (yet) so how is she here?”. The title drives home the mystery of Clara Oswald before its resolved and, like Bad Wolf, reminds us of what she’s willing to do for the Doctor, setting up her next arc.

Believe it or not, I know of “Bad Wolf” before I watched series 1 and 2 and I also know “The Ponds” before I watched series 5. (Series 4 being the first one I watched, followed by 3, 1, 2, 5, and mostly linearly since). I already knew that Rose was going to do something extreme for the Doctor since the first episode and I knew Rory and Amy’s relationship is going to be important before I even knew their names. And those things stick with me. It leaves a lasting impression that makes me want to rewatch those series because they’re them. 

I simply cant say the same for Bill Potts, Nardole, and The Fam. Bill is a student, but I don’t remember how that plays in the overall story. Nardole is a funny alien servant, cool. The Fam is well friends of the Doctor I guess, but I don’t remember what makes them special or different from every other companion the Doctor ever have.

Hell even the “Paternoster Gang” is more memorable than “The Fam”. The lizard warrior lady, her human maid/wife, and a baked potato nurse solve crime, inspire Sherlock Holmes, and kick ass in Victorian London. And they didn’t show up much.

See this is why Doctor Who needs to bring back the companion titles. I know some hated how it make it seem like every companion have to be someone important to the world and/or the Doctor’s life but it adds so much to each character that they should do it anyway. Besides, Captain Jack Harkness, The Ponds, and The Paternoster Gang have titles that aren’t important to the world so clearly they can do it.

[bookishprincessc]

Endless List of Favorite Characters: Rory Williams (Doctor Who TV)

“Not all victories are about saving the universe”