#the unrequited love story they had with martha was already more than enough for series 3 imo

[sallysellsseashellssundays]

Rewatching the Human Nature/Family of Blood episodes made me think:

To a confused John Smith with impossible dreams he likely felt that Joan Redfern should be the woman of his dreams but I feel like he was desperately trying to substitute for the woman in his dreams...

Ten yearning for a blonde (a specific one, he didn’t just wake up with a craving) could have translated to John setting his sights on the Matron

She seemed to be the only woman around his age and social standing that he could chat with at that school so maybe in his mind his time with her was the closest he could get to the flirty and witty banter plus camaraderie the Doctor and Rose had with each other-- it probably never felt right, he doesn’t flirt with her back when she makes certain comments, and it comes across like he only asks her to the dance to distract from the conversation about saving the baby

John drew Rose in his journal, later drawing Joan and kissing her, perhaps he was trying to see if he could recreate the feeling he'd had when sketching Rose, just imagine the incredibly intense emotions he must have associated with her when he wrote in his journal “she’s my s----”

Joan had some unsavory/racist/horrible moments as a character but she was also a nurse and John probably saw her patching up injured students reminding him of Rose’s acts of kindness....she was always reaching out to help people (Gwyneth, the Ood, Elton, Flora etc)

It doesn’t really come as a surprise that he visualizes himself with a family since  Ten was a very human Doctor and it’s obvious from the Tentoo situation that he immediately jumped at the chance to have that life with Rose

I'm wondering if John didn't fall in love with Joan but if instead he sort of imprinted on her b/c she was the closest he could get to replicating the Doctor's love for Rose?

[talesmaniac89]

Choices - Dean - Follow Him In

New to Choices? Start Here

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Summary: Choices is an interactive Supernatural choose your own adventure story where your choices determine the outcome and whether it’s a Dean x Reader or Sam x Reader. Go to the intro to start your story now!

Triggers: Injury, blood, pain, series levels violence, demon death

Choice:  [You chose to follow Dean in]

Y/N = Your Name | Y/E/C = Your Eye Colour | Y/H/C = Your Hair Colour

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Shifting your grip on the angel blade you let your eyes burn into Dean’s back. The stubborn soldier was always so ready to sacrifice himself for others. Both Winchester brothers were. It was infuriating. They always lived like they were bulletproof. Always risking everything in an effort to save a life or die trying. 

Especially Dean.

Well, you weren’t going to stand back and let him be your shield. You were his partner; you had his back during hunts. And that didn’t include standing outside with your hands in your pockets when there was the possibility of a demonic ambush waiting behind the rotting wooden door. 

Choosing to pretend you hadn’t noticed his little hand signal, you stepped up on the rickety porch just as Dean quietly opened the door. Bracing yourself for the angry flash of green you knew would follow your blatant disregard for orders, you squared your shoulders. Waiting just a beat before slipping into the dark farmhouse right behind him.

Even in the low light, it was impossible to miss the sharp light in Dean’s eyes as he silently glared at you for disobeying his orders. But you gave as good as you got. Silently waving your angel blade in a mimed shout back at the stubborn man you loved more than life itself. 

Using your blade, you underscored your silent scathing point with a slash of lethal silver through dusty air and a frustrated roll of your eyes. The self-sacrificing hunter had given you the angel blade and Sam both the colt and demon blade, since the younger hunter would be solo. 

Yet, Dean himself went in with nothing but iron and holy water. Both of which could incapacitate, but not kill, any of the five demons in the house. If they all jumped him, he wouldn’t be able to get the exorcism out fast enough to avoid getting hurt.

And if you’d waited outside, you wouldn’t be close enough to save him.

He might be willing to get injured and possibly even killed just to keep someone else safe. Always placing the lives of others a mile above his own. But your greedy little heart was way too selfish to let him go anytime soon. No, even if your love was unrequited, you’d never let the man in front of you get hurt. Not if you could be there to watch his back. The world was a better place with Dean Winchester in it, even if he sometimes seemed to believe the opposite.

Throwing you one more burning look as he gestured at the empty hallway, Dean shook his head at you. Clearly conceding the mimed screaming match with a silent sigh, at least for now, as he gripped his gun tighter and nodded towards the door to the right of the small entryway. Finally letting you fall in step next to him. 

Silently following the hunter across the dusty floor, you kept your eyes peeled, straining against the dim light. (Y/E/C) eyes sweeping across the other still closed doors and keeping watch as he reached for door number one. Giving him a quick glance, you pushed your back up against the wall next to the door, shoulders tense and breathing careful and calculated. Your eyes travelling over the painful clench of his jaw and the green flames of a soldier ready for battle. Keeping his gun aimed at the seam of the door frame, ready to fire in case a demon was hiding right behind the faded grey wood. 

Dean’s shoulders were tense as he opened the door just a sliver, enough to look in and keep his gun aimed at any approaching demons. Yet, just as quickly as the painfully tense hold started, his shoulders relaxed. Followed by a small shake of his head. Which you didn’t even really need as you were already on the move again.

You’d been watching Dean Winchester since you started hunting with him. His small movements, the darkening shade of green eyes, or the way his jaw would tense up, you knew them all. Including the many silent words and hidden meanings behind each gesture. Which was why you could easily step back and cover the next door before he even got to nod towards it. 

Your love for the hunter helped, sure, but you’d always worked well together. Perfectly in sync since that first fight, where the Winchester brothers had popped out of nowhere and helped you finish off a nest of fledgling fangs. 

Maybe it was slightly grotesque, but to you it was like an intimate dance. You could watch him, tilt slightly right, and just know that he needed you to take a step to the left and duck for him to finish off another monster in desperate need of a dentist.

Shifting your grip on your angel blade, your eyes met his as you placed your back against the wall next to the door again. Lifting your weapon slightly to be ready to strike while simultaneously covering the rest of the dark hallway. And, just like you, Dean needed no other indication to know you were set. His hand reaching out and opening the second door, gun aimed and hand on the doorknob slow and steady.

Though, unlike the last one, this one didn’t just open a small sliver. No, as soon as his hand pulled at the doorknob, the door shot open in an explosion of dust, mould and wooden splinters. Knocking Dean back into the wall across the hall with a breathy curse and a loud thud. 

Demon.

The word barely registered in your mind before you’d spun on your heel, angel blade raised and clutched in whitening knuckles as you leapt into the room and straight at the black-eyed man that had been moving towards Dean. So, focused on the winded hunter that he hadn’t even noticed you until you were basically on top of him. Every. Single. Time. One of those damned monsters would spot a Winchester in pain and get all hot and bothered. Making it way too easy for you to get the drop on ‘em.

You didn’t even have time to think. Relying fully on the advantage of surprise, the deadly weapon in your hand and your hunter instincts. Your blade made short work of him with one swift downward stab, right between the black-eyed bastard’s ribs. The satisfying full stop to the end of the demon’s story marked by glowing eyes as the holy blade tore him from his vessel.

Pulling your blade out, you wiped it against your jeans as you turned back to Dean. Not giving the demonic bastard anything more than a hurried once over to ensure he wasn’t moving. More out of habit than actually believing the demon had any chance against the angelic weapon clutched in your hand. Before hurrying towards where Dean had carefully started trying to get up from where he’d been flung like a ragdoll across the room. The small wince you caught before he managed to settle his features hinting at a few new bruises already forming across his back. 

“Next door?” You asked, grinning as you reached a hand out to help him up. One Dean gratefully grabbed as he smiled back at you. The adrenaline of the hunt setting in now that the jig was up. There’d be no more sneaking around. The demons knew you were there now, and they were sure to come gunning for you any second. 

Time to get this show on the road.

Dean was just back on his feet when an angry scream reached you from the other end of the hallway. The blonde young woman who met your eyes once you followed them to the source of the noise looked like she’d stepped out of some Good Housekeeping ad from the 50s. All big skirt, tulle and heavily hair sprayed bouffant styled hair. Yet, as her eyes flashed black and she came running for you, it was clear to see that this was a little less Martha Stewart and a hell of a lot more twisted Stepford Wife. 

Steeling yourself, you took a step to the left, letting Dean stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Twirling your angel blade, you took a small careful breath, steeling yourself for the inevitable loud bang that came as Dean pulled the trigger. Aiming to slow the demon down with a little dose of iron. 

However, with the skirt’s width, the shot seemed to have missed its intended target as she didn’t slow down at all. Instead the black-eyed bitch simply veered slightly in the direction of Dean and sped up as she threw herself towards him. Hands outstretched and clearly looking to cause as much damage as possible, instead of using any of her actual powers. Again. All hot and bothered at the thought of the fame that came with taking down a Winchester. It was laughable. There were much better things to be hot and bothered about around the green eyed hunter than that.

Saving your annoyed groan and eyeroll for later, you laser focused in on the demon. Acting quickly as you crouched, sliding in front of Dean before he could protest, and easily pushed your blade up and into the stomach of the Martha Stewart lookalike. Following through on your own sliding crouch to quickly roll out of the way until you were on the balls of your feet again. Missing the heavy mix of underskirts and flesh as it landed with a hefty thud where you’d been crouched just a split second before.

“Damn, that was freaking awesome,” You gasped as you looked up at Dean with a victorious grin. The worry in his green eyes easily fading as he joined you in the early celebration by pulling you up and letting a large hand make a mess of your (Y/H/C) hair. 

“Yeah, that was awesome,” He laughed, stepping around the now dead demon and not so secretly checking your bare arms for any signs of cuts or bruises. Just as worried as always about any harm coming to anyone he cared about. Eyes betraying how, if you got as much as a damned scraped knee, it’d hurt him. Though you doubted the mix of tulle and hairspray that was the now deceased demon could have caused you even that much pain.

From somewhere further into the farmhouse, you heard a gunshot, followed quickly by one more. Sam was kicking some serious ass of his own down around the back of the house. Which meant you had to hurry if you wanted to get in on any of the action. 

“Let’s go (Y/N),” Dean’s eyes were back to those of a soldier, just a hint of warm worry gliding over your body once more before he led the way deeper into the house. Hurrying to his brother’s side with quick, worried steps. 

—

You’d found Sam on your way around the back in what had probably once upon a time been a cosy little kitchen.

Two dead demons lying by his feet as the younger Winchester struggled to catch his breath after getting badly winded by one of the two. The Colt hanging limply at his side as his other hand clutched both the blade and his side. As soon as Dean saw the slight tinge of pain in his brother’s eyes he’d demanded he stay outside. 

To be the backup for the last demon as Dean went further into the farmhouse to play hide and seek with little Ms. or Mr. black eyes. 

As Sam flinched around another painful breath, he quickly relented, grabbing his weapons and giving the two of you a nod before heading outside. Where he could hopefully catch his breath easier than in the dusty confines of the abandoned farmhouse. 

Leaving him to watch the perimeter, you’d stayed by Dean’s side. Not as willing to listen to the older Winchester as his younger brother. Even when the hunter insisted he had it, you refused. 

Too many memories of earlier hunts, previous sutured wounds and broken bones, lingered in the back of your mind. You couldn’t risk him getting hurt when you were this close to a perfect game. Well… Nearly perfect if you didn’t count Sam’s momentarily winded state or Dean’s earlier violent demonic tackle against the wall.

“Think the bastard’s up there?” Dean murmured to you without taking his eyes off the stairs. Casting a quick glance towards the other possible dark hallway the demon could be hiding down before refocusing towards the stairs. His gun aimed into the darkness above as he squinted to try and get a better look. 

You only entertained the thought of splitting up for a short second. Knowing that the hunter wouldn’t let you walk down the hallway or up the rickety stairs on your own. Nor did you want to leave his side either. No, you’d go together. Even if the hunt could last a little longer that way.

“Only one way to find out,” You groaned, casting weary glances at the withered steps, wondering if they’d even hold your weight. Yet, just as you placed your foot on the first creaky step, electing to go first, a shadow fell past you. Your mind barely even registering the scrawny looking balding man jumping down from the upstairs section as you spun on the creaking step. Catching you unaware and with your angel blade limply by your side. 

“Shit!” 

The surprised yell barely left you before you had to sway dangerously backwards to avoid the demon that swiped for you. Clearly seeing you as the easier of two prey when faced with a Winchester. At least this demon didn’t just go blind to everything else when face to face with notoriety. Though, this time you kind of wished he would have at least let his gaze linger for a second longer on the green eyes hunter to give you the time to find your footing.

Feeling yourself teeter on the edge, you placed your foot back down blindly behind you. Unable to find a good steady footing for a frontal attack as the demon’s arms reached for you again, hands shaped like vicious talons where they aimed for your throat. To choke you out, break your neck or… Hell, use you as a hostage. 

Yet, before the black-eyed son of a bitch could reach you, Dean was on him. Jumping on his back and getting in a direct shot to his side that disoriented the demon for just long enough to give you time to throw Dean the angel blade he was silently gesturing for. 

Gripping your blade in his hands Dean turned around again, looking to take down the bastard in one fell swoop. Only to be tackled by the demon, who was recovering a lot quicker than you’d hoped for. 

A scream stuck in your throat as you watched Dean grapple with the scrawny man hosting the demon. Your body frozen between one moment and the next as you watched black eyes light up, and the monster go limp on top of the hunter who held your heart. 

Catching the relieved sob that threatened to explode into the suddenly deadly silent room, you watched as Dean pushed the body off of himself and got up on unsteady legs. His back turned to you as he looked down on his handiwork. 

Dean was fine.

“Thank God… You saved my neck there, I thought he got me,” You said with a shaky laugh as you finally found your voice again. Your eyes locked on Dean’s back with a small victorious smile. You got them all. Finally. 

Still even as your hesitant smile grew, Dean didn’t turn to face you. He kept standing still, head down and focused on the demon… Or maybe, something was wrong? No…

“Dean?” You could hear the early warning signs of fear and panic in your own voice as you spoke into the quiet, dark air of the abandoned farmhouse. Wishing with all your heart that the hunter was just momentarily lost in the close call. Maybe he was angry at you? You could deal with angry… Hell, you could deal with anything as long as he was alright. 

Yet, as he finally turned to face you. There wasn’t anger in his wide green eyes. Just shock and the beginnings of pain. His body swayed dangerously as he leaned against the closest wall, one hand holding onto the faded and peeling paisley wallpaper as the other went to his side. 

In the darkness of the room you couldn’t fully see the palm he barely glanced down at before looking up at you. Your shaky legs already carrying you across the room towards him, though you didn’t remember even moving.

“So, slight problem…” 

The words were barely out of the hunter’s mouth before his legs gave in under him and he collapsed against the wall. Sliding down it only to be caught by your arms just a second before he hit the ground. Wrapping your shaking arms around him you felt more than saw that this was more than just a slight problem. Warm wet blood was soaking into your jeans and coating your bare arms as you choked on a broken sob. 

Oh God… No. 

“I’m… Fine,” Dean’s voice was raspy and strained as he forced the words out. Only to be followed by a string of breathy curses and groans as he squeezed his eyes shut over another shot of searing pain. 

“No Dean… But you’ll be fine,” You tried to smile through your traitorous tears as you gently laid his head down to examine the extent of his injuries. Careful, frantic hands easily finding the large gash in his side as you suppressed another anguished cry. The demon had cut into him, deep. This wasn’t good. Oh god, this wasn’t good at all. 

“Just… Focus on me ok?” Your voice was shaky as you put pressure on the wound. Your mind racing a mile a minute as imagined nightmares and possible solutions fought for dominance in your head. You could save him. You had to save him. 

“Focus on my voice… We got them Dean. We got them. You’re fine, you’re safe. Just… Focus on me. Stay with me,” 

You needed to think. Cas wasn’t an option. The angel was low on juice lately, and with the state of his wings he was in no condition to come to your side fast enough. Maybe if you were closer to the bunker, but… God, you were terrified, you were in pain, you were fucking heartbroken. But still… 

You. Had. To. Think. 

Ignoring the pang of searing pain in your heart as the man you loved groaned out in agony from the added pressure, you tried to steady your breathing. You had to stay calm. You had to… For Dean. He was losing a lot of blood and you needed to act fast if you wanted to save him. Stem the bleeding, get him help, save his life…

Dean still had Sam and you. You’d save him. You just needed to make your fucking frazzled mind work and think.

---

Make your choice below to move the story along:

What do you choose to do?

[Call for help] or [Rush him to the car]

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Confused or New to Choices? Start Here Choices is an interactive Supernatural choose your own adventure story where you pick your Winchester brother and go on a hunt for one of 8 different endings in total. Four for Sam and four for Dean (2 happy and 2 bad endings per brother). Go to the intro to start your story!

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[swiftythewriter]

so, i’m supposed to be studying and def not be on social media rn but i am legit tearing up about Martha Jones and what she means to me as a character that i’m just going to try and to write this out so i can hopefully focus

to get one thing straight, Martha Jones is not my favorite character. i started watching DW when I was about twelve and tbh, for years after that i never really connected with her. it’s not too surprising since in terms of background, personality, and life experience (because, come on, i’m a lily white, only child shut in from the deep south) we had next to nothing in common. 

but.

out of all the characters that have been on the show, Martha Jones is solidly the one I want to live up to the most. 

maybe the reasons why are obvious, but they didn’t really crystallize to me till just now. the main one, for me, is that through out her arc her happiness did not depend on another person. even within her arc where she faced the consequences of her unrequited feelings, she still had this noticeable trait before she even said it out loud.

to go and break it down further, i believe there are several aspects to her personality that are important contributors in this: dedication, responsibility, and strong sense of self worth

dedication: this one seems pretty obvious, since when we are first introduced to Martha we are shown her position as a med student in her last year of residency. everyone with passing knowledge of what it takes to be a doctor knows this isn’t for the faint of heart. knowing just that we can already infer that she’s studious, hard working, and intelligent.

but it goes beyond that, as is continually shown throughout her arc. she becomes know as the “Woman Who Walked the Earth”, a title she got by literally walking around the earth for a year in an apocalyptic hellscape and never once wavering in completing in her mission. she didn’t just join but rose through the ranks of UNIT to the point where she was trusted with the Osterhagen key-quite literally the most important responsibility given to any single person at that point in human history.

and if we are talking about less dramatic examples, kindly take a look where Martha spent months undercover in an incredibly racist time period with absolutely no support despite there being actually no reason beyond Ten needing his little moral moment and yet not only managed to keep her spirits, but also is directly responsible for the Doctor’s plan not being any more of a clusterfuck than it already was. same story with “Blink”, where they both got trapped in the sixties and Martha once more had to stand up and handle things behind the scenes.

next, responsibility: this ties in really well with dedication and it can go double for all the things i listed above. the reason i think this is, is that as a result of her dedication and moral code, Martha tends to take on the problems set before her to the best of her abilities because she sees it as the right thing to do.  

but what i really want to look at is Martha’s sense of emotional responsibility, as in not the actions she takes but why she takes them. i feel like this is best seen in how she acts towards her family and is what really sets her apart from the other companions in the series. 

because you know what she does? she stays. her family needs her.

and here’s the ringer because name one character, one, since her that makes an active effort to maintain their relationships with their families when the Doctor comes to play. i can’t. really, i can’t

Donna? doesn’t count. she might love her family but when push comes to shove she was willing to die with the Doctor-or more accurately for who she became with the Doctor, than to live her life with them.

Rose? don’t make me laugh. she loves her mother to death, but not enough to choose her first.

Jack? no family to speak of at that point, but look how fast he leaves his friends at the very hint of the Doctor coming back into his life. yes, he has his immortality based reasons but there’s nothing about their scenes that doesn’t scream emotional.

Amy and Rory? i can count on one hand how many times the topic of relatives has come up for Amy and it still leaves me a finger left over for Rory. despite magically getting her parents back in her life she seems awfully unconcerned with their general existence. 

i’m also not entirely sure Rory has parents-or even connections, beyond his dad. he might have just sprung up in a field somewhere, and we’d never know. hey, maybe Amy wished him into existence a bit earlier than we all thought.

Clara? i’m almost certain she has parents. almost. like, she had an entire holiday dinner?? i’m pretty sure she mentioned her dad at some point?? but beyond the meet cute of how her parents got together, zilch. nada. she might as well have been an orphan.

Bill? okay she was actually an orphan but i don’t think she actually mentioned or contacted her foster mother after she moved out. not sure this counts tho. the Doctor was dading too hard to say she had no parents.

i admit the newest companions kind of break the mold but I still say it counts since the only familial connection Ryan and Graham try to maintain to between each other and while Yaz might be close to her family her life with the Doctor seems to be taking priority over both her career and how much she spends time connecting with her family.

honestly the only one that even comes close to subverting the pattern is Mickey and the only reason he doesn’t properly is because he didn’t have any living family before going to Pete’s world.

but even in the beginning Martha spends time actively maintaining her relationships with her family members. again, in her first episode we see her playing mediator for her family, and going on we see her doing her best to support her sister, be a good daughter to her mother, and keep her family connected through sheer will power at times. sure, the other companions have shown the appropriate concern when there’s threat to their loved ones lives, but Martha again subverts the mold when it becomes clear that she’s not willing to let them go. 

so, back to responsibility. 

you tie this with her morals and you get the result of a doctor that gives her last breaths to keep another person alive. 

you tie this with her dedication and you get the kind of person who will walk to the ends of the earth if she deems the cause good enough. 

and finally, if you tie this with her emotional connections, you have the kind of person that takes the hard, messy work of tying together a somewhat dysfunctional family with her bare hands.

so now we’ve reached a strong sense of self worth: this i think is present in all of her decisions in the show. like, her entire story arc as a companion was ended on the note that she discovered her self worth and that she shouldn’t made to be feeling like she’s second fiddle. but, again, i feel like this is shown clearly throughout her story line even if she didn’t consciously recognize it. 

the most obvious example i see on this kind of contrasts with the above one, and it is that Martha leaves. She chooses to go with the Doctor and see what’s out there. It’s not a decision her mother and perhaps the rest of her family would or does approve of and she still makes it.

she also, having taken the not so metaphorical leap of faith, chooses to pursue the Doctor romantically. that is something that i did not appreciate as a kid but respect the hell out of now. the sheer self confidence that it takes to not only approach your crush but pick yourself up after they don’t notice time and time again is absolutely incredible. we stan an absolute legend.

but back to my point, it would’ve been incredibly easy for Martha’s character to have been introduced as the stereotype of one of those people who go into medschool due to parental pressure. it could’ve even been supported by her background with her family and future character arc of discovering her worth.  but all those assertions evaporate the second she comes on screen. 

Why? Self worth. 

The concept that Martha could be pressured into her path in life is laughable. She perused medicine because she wanted to. It’s her passion. She didn’t have to say it out loud to be clear in her actions. 

Her family’s wants and opinions might have some weight because she respects them, but ultimately she doesn’t need their approval to make herself happy. Her teachers, peers and assumed friends at her school also had the same affect. 

Martha Jones went with the Doctor because she wanted to, and she stayed because she wanted to as well. Her choices are made to be the most fulfilling to herself. Yes, they are motivated by her responsibilities and dedication to see them through, but that is it-motivated. She does not need to live up to to the things people need from her to have fulfillment. 

See the choices she made after she left the Doctor if you want any indication. She enlisted in UNIT because she realized she could do more for the world than just be a doctor, and she decided she wanted to. She got into and out of an engagement because she was in touch with what made her happy and what didn’t. The choices she made during her time with UNIT were ones that she made not because the Doctor would approve-since she knew he wouldn’t, but were ones she reasoned were the best options forward. 

And finally, when Martha decided after the near end she didn’t want to be with UNIT anymore, she left and went to find something that she wanted to do more. 

i once read an excellent post that made the point that unlike other companions, Martha Jones never needed the Doctor, and it was absolutely right. In the end of the day, Martha Jones never needed anything but her own to hands to go and make the world a better place.

And you know what? At that, she is good.