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doctor who (dk) the ninth doctor

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[The Doctor appears on the Plane, a mixture of utterly confused, and mildly annoyed] Oi! Bit more of an explanation would be nice! What sort of machine... [and he trails off when he notices the stars and galaxies, his expression turning to one of manic delight]

Fantastic! [walks around a bit, relieved to find that he is not falling through space, before noticing something] ...Hang on, this is all a bit wrong. Like some idiot cut up the universe and pasted it back together, but they’ve got no idea where anything goes. [digs through his pockets and eventually pulls out a red sharpie and a pad of paper, drawing out some proper star charts, and sticking them onto the “floor” of the Plane with duct tape. Because it holds the universe together.]

See? Not terribly complicated, is it? I’m sure you lot could fix it up this “machine” of yours with a bit of jiggery-pokery in no time. [crosses his arms] I’d fix it myself, but I’ve sort of got things to do, places to see, etc. So if someone wouldn’t mind showing me the way out, I’d appreciate it, thanks. [ waits for some kind of response] ...Ah. Maybe a bit of bribery? I’ve got...erm...[digs around in his pockets again, and pulls out a banana] ...a banana? Good source of potassium, bananas. [another pause] That’s never going to work, is it?

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Nobody's really sure what this place is! Some people call it "the Machine", so I guess it's something mechanical. A few of the others are working on figurin' it out, including at least one of the other Doctors, but I don't know how far they're gonna get. I think it's a little beyond science, personally. Not that anybody asked me...

[and then she smiles, leaning in a little, conspiratorially]

Oh, well, that I can only approve of. There's plenty of trouble to get into 'round here, believe you me!

[Oh he likes you, Dorothy! Have a grin.] Fantastic! What sort of trouble? [pauses] And why d'you think it's beyond science? Seems like the perfect thing for figuring out a machine.

Well, as much as there's interesting people, there's some dangerous folks 'round here too. Some people you gotta watch yourself with, because when you get close to somebody here, I heard that people's worlds start to sort of... blend into each other. Like suddenly there might be blimps over 1700s France, or something. There's a couple of people around here that I wouldn't want in my world, I'll tell you that much for free.

[she shuffles her silver shoes around, jamming her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. She's about to give what amounts to a fairly unpopular opinion around the plane, but he asked, so here it goes...]

Well, the way things seem to work around here, I got a hunch there's some magic involved. And no offense or anything, but that's a little outta your league, if you're anything like all the other Doctors.

[his grin just got a little bit bigger, Dorothy] Definitely sounds like my type of trouble.

[he blinks at the mention of magic, though] Wouldn't say it's out of my league, but you've got me curious now. Most "magic" is just a different sort of science or technology, anyway. Met some ghosts once, for example - turned out to be aliens in a gaseous state.

[she grins back, because hey-- it's contagious!] Well, don't get yourself hurt any. Bad things can happen here.

[that was refreshingly vague, well done Dorothy. MOVING ON! She sighs and looks rather annoyed, because that was exactly the reaction she expected, considering she gets it from basically every other person she tells it to.]

If one more person quotes Clarke's Law at me, I'm gonna go absolutely nuts. I understand that it's a close relationship but there is a difference, and it's something I understand just a little bit better than a bunch of self-important time traveling scientists that think that just because they got a nifty light-up doohickey means they understand everything about the universe because they just don't.

[humph. Apparently this is a somewhat touchy subject for a fairy tale!]

[Of course he'll get himself hurt, he's the Doctor! So he's going to ignore that bit. He laughs at her rant, though, but it's mostly because he likes her attitude] Alright then, Dorothy Gale, teach me about magic. [and there is genuine curiosity there - he's not going to completely dismiss whatever she has to say]

[Dorothy's all set to have yet another "disagreement" with yet another man of science on the Plane, and then--]

What, really?

[Because nobody believes her, you see. She is understandably a little confused!]

[smiles] Really. Bit skeptical, but I like to think I've got an open mind. [also, he likes her company, and he can kill two birds with one stone this way >>]

[she just blinks at him for a minute, and then her face slowly spreads into an absolutely delighted smile]

Well, in that case, I'd love to! Oh, it's so nice to see you're not all hopeless.

[...that was just teasing. probably.]

Oi, I wouldn't say any of us were hopeless. [pauses] Well, most of us. ....No, you're right, I'm the only one that isn't. [smug look is smug, yes. thank you for that unintentional ego stroking.]

Wonderful! Well, we'll have to start you off slow, with something easy. Hm...

[thinks for a second, then snaps her fingers and.... drops off the plane. She returns almost immediately with what looks like a small treasure chest, that she kneels down and digs around in. It appears to be bigger on the inside.]

I think I've got just the thing... aHA!

[she pulls out a little folded-paper packet with something inside-- exactly what is unclear]

Here. Hold out your hand, I'll show you.

[is startled to see that the chest is bigger on the inside, but holds out his hand for the packet] Where did you get that chest, Dorothy?

Glinda. She gave it to me to keep my magic stuff in. Pay attention, now, or don't you want your first lesson?

[after fiddling with the packet a moment, she opens it and pours a tiny pile of what appears to be a very fine sparkling green sand into his palm]

Emerald Dust. Now, you've never been to Oz, I know, but the capital city there is called the Emerald City. Everything there is green, even the people! Well, it didn't use to be that way, used to be everybody just had to wear glasses with green lenses when they went in, but now it's really green. Anyway, emeralds. They're everywhere. I'd say they practically grow on trees, if it wasn't literally true.

[she's sort of rambling a little, but forgive her for being excited-- this is stuff she doesn't get to talk about very much, on the plane OR off.]

Emeralds more'n anything tend to soak up a lotta ambient magic from 'round 'em when they're growing, so emerald dust is used in most potions and a good number of beginner spells. You follow?

[...stares, because she is obviously THE Dorothy Gale, and he doesn't quite know what to do with that information, so he is going to tactfully focus on the shiny green stuff, which he really wants to experiment with] Could the potions and...spells be done without the emerald dust?

Well, sure, depending on what you want them to do. But it's a good place to start, for folks who don't have any magic in 'em naturally.

[meaning you, hot shot. She pours herself a tiny amount of dust into the palm of her own hand and, without warning, blows it gently at him. The only obvious result: now he's mildly sparkly!]

There. That oughta do it.

[what precisely that ought to do is... relatively unclear.]

[is sparkly, yay! he looks rather delighted by the fact] Alright, what happens now?

[in response, she digs in her pocket and picks out a rather ordinary looking pencil, which she holds out, and then... drops on the ground.]

Pick it up. Only one rule: you're not allowed to touch it.

[he blinks, before digging around in his pockets, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, a pair of binoculars, some string, and various other odds and ends before pulling out a rather ordinary looking handkerchief, and plucking the pencil up with it, grinning. SEE? HE'S NOT TECHNICALLY TOUCHING IT.] Now what?

[FROWN. Dorothy is disappointed in you, sir! She snatches the pencil away and, giving him a look, drops it on the floor again.]

Nice try. This time, try using a wish.

[hmph. He thought it was clever, at least. He frowns a bit himself, though...in his experience, wishes rarely come true. But he supposes it can't hurt to try, so he concentrates, wishing for the pencil to lift up off the ground]

Edited 2009-07-25 19:19 (UTC)

The first thing you gotta remember about magic, Doctor, is that at its base, magic is life. What's a bigger miracle than life itself, after all? Once you understand that, the rest comes easy.

[the pencil isn't moving yet, so she moves next to him and places a hand on his back]

Keep it in your wish. Reach out with your mind, and put the pencil in your hand. It's that simple. Touch it. You know you can.

[he's startled by the touch, suddenly awkwardly quiet. He follows her instructions, though, reaching out with his mind, and focusing on that bit about /life/. Because he can understand that, even if he doesn't quite grasp the idea of magic yet]

[There's no change, until suddenly there's a bit of a pop, like a small amount of air being sucked away somewhere, and then the pencil is gone. Until of course, it appears in his hand. Dorothy grins and applauds.]

Oh, bravo! Well done! You're a quick learner.

[looks utterly pleased with himself, twirling the pencil in his fingers] 'Course I am! Thanks, Dorothy. [and look, he's even restraining himself from going on about transmat beams]

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