Exit Void - John Watson

[consultantsdoctor]

player.
NAME/HANDLE: Xae
PERSONAL JOURNAL: xaetel
ARE YOU 16 OR OVER?: Yep
CONTACT: Email - trucidoindignus@gmail.com, AIM - FeathersGlow, Plurk - Tsukeru
OTHER CHARACTERS: The TARDIS sexyoldgirl


character.
CHARACTER NAME: Dr. John H. Watson
SERIES: Sherlock
CANON POINT: End of Episode 2.03: The Reichenbach Fall - as he's walking away from Sherlock's grave
AGE: 39
APPEARANCE: Martin Freeman is short

PREVIOUS GAME HISTORY: N/A

PERSONALITY:

John is a practical and grounded individual. He’s very much aware of what’s going on in the world as he tends to keep up with the news and stays connected. Not only that he’s aware of what his responsibilities are and that they need money to survive in order to pay bills and buy food. Generally these are things that he has to remember because his flatmate won’t. This trait also makes an appearance during their cases as Sherlock tends to get over-excited about something he shouldn’t. He’s a man who keeps his feet on the ground at all times and tries not to cling to some fantasy. It helps that he’s seen terrible things and knows that life isn’t exactly fair.

This also makes him a bit of a skeptic, preferring to believe in things he can see and understand. Good for not going along with a lot of strange theories out there. It also helps him not to take the word of someone else and prefer to figure people out for himself. If he believed all the things he’d been told then he never would have stayed with Sherlock or thought a monstrous hound real when told. However when Sherlock lays things out for him, John can understand and generally believe it. While it’s all a bit fantastic (and does someone like that truly exist?) there’s no hesitation in John to question when something doesn’t make sense to him. So it’s not as though he stumbles along behind Sherlock blindly because he knows that the man is far from perfect.

If there’s one thing about John it’s that he’s not a pushover. It helps that he’s not easily intimidated by people who decide they like making power plays against him. Both Holmes boys have this way of looking down at other people and using words to push the wrong buttons (sometimes on purpose and others on accident). While sometimes it gets a little old having Sherlock think he’s an idiot or Mycroft’s cars whisking him off the street, John stands his ground against both them. Not hesitating one bit to point out their own flaws or even call them names. This is because of his strong morals and convictions, he knows where he stands and he refuses to let people persuade him one way or another. It also goes hand in hand with other things such as killing a man in order to save someone. He waited until the last possible moment to pull the trigger, wanting to give both parties the chance to make their own choices.

There are times when John could be considered brave, staring down complete strangers who wanted him to spy on someone or staying straight-faced with a bomb strapped to his chest. Though he might not always see himself like that. He does what he has to – it’s that simple. Whether he’s throwing himself into danger or the fact that there’d been nothing in his life at one point he’s very realistic about it all. Bad things happen and then you die. If he can save someone in the process then so be it. Though at this point he realizes just how alone he was before meeting Sherlock, how much he owes him and that he never got to say it when he was alive. One of the few things he’s ever allowed himself to be hopeful for is the safety and lives of those close to him. In the end Sherlock’s death is something he knows he’ll have to be realistic with but for a moment – a brief moment he allowed himself to want something more.

John’s therapist wrote that he had trust issues and he does. Most of the time he doesn’t instantly trust people, he doesn’t even like opening up to them. There are times he just holds back on himself and everyone around him (though it’s very hard with people who can see every little detail about him). John doesn’t even open up with people he’s friends with or even his own therapist and he’s certainly not the sort to cry. He’s the sort who’d rather suffer in silence then burden other people with his problems – his business is his business and he doesn’t take kindly to those who pry into it. The end. Yet on the other end of that there are some few who get his loyalty. Once earned it becomes pretty hard to break his trust, no matter what might happen. Sometimes its more fierce than his trust issues as he will rush to protect them and side with them over others. While he’s still not exactly jumping to share his life story there’s little he won’t do for them, including sacrifice himself.

He will literally offer up his life for those he trusts, especially if it will get a bad man off the streets. This is one area that he’s very selfless in. During his time in the army and on the battlefield John has faced death countless times – in the soldiers and in himself. John’s the type to lay down his life if need be, but that doesn’t mean he wants to die. No, far from it actually. Every time he survives a close encounter with death there’s always relief that follows. Despite everything he’s seen death is still not something he can just accept, not for himself and certainly not for those he cares about.

However his trust issues do not make John a cold bastard. Actually, he’s quite sympathetic with people who’ve suffered loss. This helps him with both his work as a doctor and while assisting Sherlock on cases. He knows to soften bad news or to tell Sherlock when something he’s said is not good. At the same time he also knows how to pull back from emotions in order to do his job properly. It’s a bit hard to work if he can’t focus on anything but sympathy for his patient. John’s pretty well-adjusted for a doctor, steady when he needs to be but soft at other times.

Speaking of work, John is hard worker. Whatever he does he does it with everything he’s got, whether it’s as a doctor or on a case. Sometimes it can get a bit hectic juggling both but he manages most of the time. It’s just a good thing that he can handle stress pretty well because doing both certainly can wear on a man (especially when one involves Sherlock). Generally he just sort of takes most things in stride and go along with whatever’s happened while still trying to keep a grounded approach on the situation. Of course there are just things he can’t stand at all and tends to get him in trouble.

When working/living/dealing with Sherlock in general, it’s a good idea to have a lot of patience. Thankfully John has some of this. Enough to not actually punch him in the face every time he might consider it. As the months rolled by he’s just learned to accept some of Sherlock’s stranger quirks that drive others completely barmy. Sure he might do things with a bit of irritation but he still considers Sherlock to be his best friend and stands by him no matter what the world says about him. Of course like all normal people his patience is not endless and there are times when he just snaps. A lot of the time his anger is just like a flash of lightning: bright, sharp and brief. It doesn’t last long once he’s made his point. However when he’s truly angry and hurt it’s sort of a quiet, festering cut. Those are the moments when he brushes people off coldly, as if he’s shut them out of his life, which might as well be true.

So it’s a good thing that John is pretty outspoken with people he’s comfortable with. Often expressing his opinions or displeasure or not afraid to point things out. It often helps with his patience levels when dealing with irritating things to vent about the smaller issues once in a while. At times he can also be reserved, choosing to hold his tongue and just watch the situation. Though he seems to have no issue waving about the cases they work on over the internet. While the fame was a bit amusing at first it grew out of hand when suddenly they were all over the papers as the media usually tends to turn on ‘celebrities’ and he didn’t want that to happen to Sherlock. He was right to be concerned.

John is also kind and caring in his own ways. While he can show strangers sympathy and a softer side those closer get to see something more. There are times he’s almost tender in his care or given gentle prodding to look after themselves better. And there are times when he completely fusses over them like a mother hen. He can basically be considered Sherlock’s keeper, searching the flat for drugs or hiding cigarettes. John even attempts to suggest things to keep the detective from staying bored (even if they aren’t enough). So it’s not enough that he often has to poke Sherlock out in public about his people-to-people skills and apologize on his behalf but he also has to look after him in their own home. Sometimes the man can’t even be bothered to get his mobile out of his own damn pocket. In the end, John’s usually the one taking care of things.

Still despite their differences and strange friendship they are exactly that. Friends. Sherlock impresses him quite often with his deduction skills and they both have a strange sense of humor. The detective’s dangerous lifestyle often leaves them laughing at the end as does his odd quirks. And John is well, his doctor, soldier and assistant all rolled into one. There to keep him from doing serious damage to himself, provided backup during dangerous situations and occasionally offer just that small hint (sometimes without realizing it) to help pull some of the pieces together. Some would say that their relationship borders on being a bit homoerotic with the way they seem so close or they’re so protective of each other though John will deny it.

John is just one of those people you’d call reliable. There when you want him, there when you don’t want him to be but need him anyway, always willing to do something if it helped. Sometimes it’s a bit of an annoyance just how much he inserts himself into someone’s life but in the end it’s all out of the goodness in his heart and generally for their own well-being. Of course, it doesn’t mean he isn’t awkward about it. Which he is. Awkward, in general. There are times when he just feels out of place in a situation and will stand in the background. And then of course there are his relationships with women – like he hasn’t dated in a while and doesn’t know how to go about it. It doesn’t help that Sherlock always seems to come first in John’s life and has this tendency to say truthful but cruel things.

Another thing to point out is that John has a therapist. At first it was one of those things to help him deal with the war and his psychosomatic limp. She diagnosed him with having PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and instructed him to keep a blog on his life. At the time he claimed that nothing ever happened to him so therefore there wasn’t anything worth while to post on it. Later Mycroft noticed that all of John’s issues seemed to disappear when he was under stress and stated that he missed the war and saw the battlefield when he walked with Sherlock. And after that, Sherlock seemed to have cured him of his limp. John stopped seeing his therapist because of it, though he did start writing in his blog about things. Eighteen months. Eighteen months and everything was fine until Sherlock left his phone call note and fell off a building to his death. That was when John ended back in this therapist’s office, though he still couldn’t completely open up to her. The loss of Sherlock hit him that hard, he couldn’t even go into their flat to go through the stuff left there. He’s angry and sad and wants so much for Sherlock not to be dead.

Also, he has rows with chip-and-pin machines in the grocery store. :D

ABILITIES:

John has no magical or superhuman abilities. Though he is not without some skills. He's been trained to be a doctor and what's more an Army doctor so he's quite good at working under hectic and dangerous situations. What's more is that he's a trained surgeon, so capable of cutting people up, digging around in them and stitching them back up if need be. He's also been trained to handle firearms and is quite good with his handgun (better than Lestrade in Hound of Baskerville :P). While normally he doesn't like having to use it, John keeps damn good care of it and carts it around in case of Sherlock-sized emergencies. John's also good in a scrap, not the best surely but he knows how to disable someone in a fight and can throw decent punches if needed.

POSSESSIONS:
-His clothes with jacket
-One watch
-One cell phone
-One wallet: petty cash, credit cards, ID, military ID
-One One SIG P226 9mm handgun: one magazine (15 rounds)
-One small pocket-sized torch: two AAA batteries
-One pen: black ink
-One notebook: black
-Keys: one to 221B Baker Street and one to a second flat

samples.
JOURNAL ENTRY SAMPLE:

[See the blonde man. See the blonde man shift just ever so much. One of his hands fidgets in agitation before balling tightly into a fist. Despite all that he still holds himself a bit straight.]

Right, so. A rusty deathtrap floating on the sea. Everything about this place just screams tetanus and infections. That's not getting into the magic and monsters or other crazy things going on about the ship. If I didn't know better I'd say I was delusional or having a very terrible nightmare. Definitely not the vacation cruise I would have booked for myself.

I've seen the state of the clinic too. Not sure what to make of the "potions" or the medicine hanging about. Those expired ones should be thrown out but I suppose sometimes you take what you can get. Don't suppose it'd be possible to get new ones out here very easily. Is there a way to trade to get supplies? Not that I've currently got much worth trading with but just in case. [Well, nothing worth enough that he'd give up in this situation.

He clears his throat. Okay, what next? Introductions.]

I'm Dr. John Watson and I'll be joining your medical staff here on board the Charon. A former army doctor with training in surgery so just give me a ring if you need patched up. Day or night, doesn't matter, I'll come.

[Then he fiddles with the settings on his COMPASS.]

[Private to the medical staff || Easily hackable]

Speaking of, would anyone mind if I tucked aside the medicines that really shouldn't be used? Could come in handy for other things in the future but we certainly don't need people stumbling in there and making it worse for themselves.

THIRD-PERSON SAMPLE:

I play here! :D