11th DOCTOR!

They certainly aren’t as knowledgeable about flying the TARDIS, that’s for sure. If only he could beam himself back, even if just for a moment, and tell the Ponds that he’s okay. He’s alive and well, doing alright. Well, as alright as one could be in this circumstance, he supposes. Being held in a city that’s decidedly not on Earth. It would be so much easier if both Amelia Pond and Rory-Williams Pond were here too. But, of course, he cannot trust himself to tempt Providence. It always goes badly for him. He doesn’t want his companions to be involved in... WHATEVER THIS is.

So instead, he breathes out. Breathes in. Repetition. 

It wasn’t the first time someone had questioned the painted spade over his eye here.

Honestly, he didn’t mind it. He had practice dealing with people from worlds who were unfamiliar with the Queen of Hearts and her card soldiers and Twisted Wonderland as a whole. Thanks to Yuu, but he didn’t think they had ever questioned the Heartslabyul uniform.

Well. Anyways, he was prepared for this city and the people in it. Especially since he had been here for over a year now.

 “Yes! That’s right. It’s meant to represent the spade suit used in a deck of cards.”

“I’m glad you like it, but it’s really just part of my uniform for school. I’m not…wearing my school uniform or anything of course, but I just got used to painting it on every day that I decided to keep up with it here.”

No need to go into a tangent about what it represented beyond the obvious, if this person didn’t want to hear it. He seemed curious but…Deuce would rather wait and get further questions, than start talking. He’d hate to leave a bad impression, after all. 

A... school uniform? The spade was for a uniform? What kind of school did he go to? Something out of Alice in Wonderland? That’s.... actually really cool!  ❝So, all of that... is for a school? Well, gosh, clearly schools on Earth need to step up their fashion game!❞ 

….this kid wasn’t from Earth, was he? The Doctor didn’t know.  And heck, maybe he shouldn’t ask. Didn’t want to get TOO invasive, now.   ❝I’ve seen quite a lot of interesting fashion statements in my time, but nothing like painting a spade on your face! Talk about unique.❞

He’s taking this surprisingly well, the doctor realized. This lad, he means. He wondered how HE would respond if people randomly walked up to him and asked him why he was wearing so-and-so accessory or in this case, face paint.  Personally, if anyone dissed his bowtie he would-

exhaustion.

‘Send 💭 + a topic and my muse will tell you what they think about it. [ACCEPTING.]

“Y’know that’s usually what parents, or pet parents say to their kids,” is the first thing Badou says. If the Doctor can have an opener like that, the redhead can too. His lips quirk at the corners bemusedly.

This also isn’t the first time, or the last, someone would ask about his cigs. Though it’s a little surprising from a guy that looks so….normal? Aside from the tweed…not everyone has taste.

“They don’t have tobacco where you’re from? You take that, and rat poison and roll it into these little things…put a filter on it, and sweet nicotine is yours.” To answer his question:

“No, it isn’t healthy.”

❝Um, I don’t think so, no.❞ If this substance is apart of Gallifreyan society, he hasn’t known anyone who has used it. Time Lords were a, ah, “more advanced” species than humans. He should know, he sometimes had boasted about his superior biology. Regardless, the point still stands that as far as he was concerned: he isn’t aware. 

❝That’s a shame, lad...❞ The Doctor didn’t understand. How could he? Why would the human actively endanger himself with it? Humans in general could be so stubborn sometimes! When the stubbornness is for good intent, the Doctor finds the determination of humanity rather charming. But other times... well, he’s seen a lot in his time. He’ll leave it at that.  He supposed he wasn’t any better himself, but still.  ❝I don’t understand the appeal, but I guess I cannot stop one from using... that unique combination of substances. Erm, take it easy, alright? ❞

𝚃𝚈𝙿𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙿𝙴𝙾𝙿𝙻𝙴:   𝚆𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁.

rain.     melancholy at best.   introspective.   severely misunderstood.   pleasure in the subdued.   helping in your own way.  dreams in poetry.   the slowness of falling asleep.   refreshing meditation.

sun.    sunbleached clothes.   futures that are too bright.   everything at arm’s length.   balancing intensity.   blind encouragement.   comfort of sleep.   distracting sunspots in your vision.   necessity of growth.

storm.     chaos with a purpose.  emotions running high.   natural comfortable anarchy.  high volume.  leaving your mark.   brief flashes of violence.   rambling quickly.  the intensity of desire.

wind.   running towards instead of away.  instinctive motivation.  making an impact.   knows everyone who knows anyone.  playful pranks.  mood swings in a split second.   collecting old trinkets.   uncontrollable focus.

❝You wanna know a fun fact about me? I can speak every language on Earth! Hell, I probably can speak most every language in the universe! Let me prove it. C’mon, ask me to say something. Anything! I’ll do it.❞ He’s bragging, like a kid would.

Well, this chap certainly looks trustworthy, that’s for sure. That could be sarcasm, but the human would never know. With a quirk of an eyebrow, the Doctor regards this well-dressed man. (The Doctor could appreciate a good sense of style, it came with all of his regenerations after all. Except maybe the 6th one...)

❝Are you offering that cup to me? What’s in it?❞ Playing ignorant, the Doctor knows he could simply take a quick sniff and his enhanced senses would tell him everything but there was no need for the other to know that!  Tugging on his bowtie and adjusting it (though there was no need to), the timey-wimey alien broke out into a grin.  ❝If you’re offering me this, that’s very kind. Ah, however, I don’t suppose you have tea?❞  Cheeky, cheeky Time Lord!

❝ smart boy. ❞ It is always the ears that people notice first, and she’s starting to get the feeling that most people around here aren’t terribly familiar with the Vastaya. It’d be a little rude back home to ask about them, but she’s not sure of anything here. 

   She flicks both ears back for a moment, and then lets them sit in a neutral position.

      ❝ touching is a good way to lose some fingers, ❞ Xayah replies, sounding casual as she plucks a bright violet feather from the back of her arm, runs her fingers along the vane to sharpen it into a blade. Okay, maybe it’s not terribly nice to threaten people—but her social graces are off with her boyfriend, wherever he may be. ❝ —but you’ve never met vastaya before, i’m guessing. ❞

❝...Not as such, no.❞

This was how the Doctor usually got himself into trouble. End up somewhere, talk to somebody, and immediately get threatened. That’s what happens when you travel across all of spacetime, he supposed. Though he’d like ONE positive interaction. Just one.  Despite the fact that he preened at the compliment, it was outshined by the act of sharpening of a feather of all things.  What was she intending to do with that...? The doctor would have asked, but the intent was pretty clear when the feather had been sharpened. 

Ah. Great. Yes, THIS was how this conversation was going to go. Why was it always like this? His two hearts picked up their rhythm slightly. He hoped the unease wasn’t that obvious.

Breathe...

❝What’s that in your mouth?❞

The Doctor isn’t human, and it shows in his curiosity of human behaviors. Humans are such a fascinating species. The doctor is quite fond of them, even if he doesn’t understand their every behavior, word or thought. The alien hopes he’s not being overbearing or coming across as weird with his child-like curiosity towards the humans. Something told him that there were a LOT of humans situated here. It wasn’t like he was STUDYING them, like an experiment, merely learning how to fit among them better. There was so much of human culture he already didn’t get, and he could come across as innocently insensitive.  ❝Um, is that.... healthy? What you’ve got there?❞

“Oh you could tell? Well – I do meet some people who have that laugh, but like pretty sure everyone has a different sort of laugh. Not all pirates have that one laugh… it’d be weird if everyone on the sea were to laugh that way, y’know?”

A raised eyebrow, although perhaps he was a bit amused that’s one thing for sure. Most people would hardly walk up to him asking if he was a pirate. The people who do are usually curious kids – whose parents would run up and drag them back or foolhardy bounty hunters looking to catch their catch. Or Marines who persistently chase him through places when he wasn’t even doing anything besides standing around. 

“Victorian era? What’s that? Well, sorry man, you’re asking the wrong person about these things – like usually I’d usually know my way around the sea, but this is an unknown territory for me. All I know is it’s a big island and I can’t find a way off it. They even took my boat and log poses.”

Ace is very much unaware how much this will set the poor man into a panic.

❝Aye, aye! I mean no offense, but yeah, you give the pirate-y vibe! You may look at me and think, “hey how does that guy know what a pirate-y vibe is?” Well, my friend, I happened to board a pirate ship once! A lot of, um... rambunctiousness. Oh, and storms. AND sirens.❞

Totally dorking it up, huh, Doctor? The perfect combo for any pirate story, for sure. If he wasn’t busy already being a universe-saving, time-travelling alien, he would probably be a good story teller. Remind him to get back with Amy and Rory on that idea. They would like it. Probably. 

When the lad asks what the Victorian Era is... the doctor takes pause. He... had just assumed that people here KNEW, that it was common knowledge. Was it true that not everybody here was from Earth? That would explain the confusion.

❝Oh, um. Oh, crikey. How on EARTH am I gonna explain it? Big... uh... big empires. Queens. Kings. Um... what else? Industrial revolutions, first telephone and telegram. Great writings! I also THINK that piracy was around as well.❞ It had been a while since he’d checked!  

The Doctor realized... this place, this... city, it was a paradox-y nightmare. It’s a blessing that he hasn’t got a massive headache yet. The people who ran this whole shindig, they could just take ANYONE from all over space-time and all over the universe, could they. He didn’t phrase that as a question. Good god. The power that these people held. It was unethical in the doctor’s opinion. To play so easily with people. Ignoring that he has done the same, albeit for a good cause... 

Pirates, cowboys. What’s next? Pirate cowboys? …Actually, don’t answer that. 

Alright, I’m dealing with someone right out of the wild west. Those western movies, but a LOT more real... the doctor mused, offhandedly wishing he still had his stetson with him!  ❝Hello. Err, I mean, “howdy”. You’re uh, you’re not going to do to me whatever it is that wild west outlaws do? Y’know, like in all of those old western movi-❞

CAT ears? On a person? Like, this wasn’t a headband or anything? Now, there’s not something you see on an average Thursday! And this is coming from a Time-travelling ALIEN.  ❝Hey, I like your ears!❞ The Doctor compliments, like complimenting ears specifically is considered socially acceptable. ...is it? Maybe? He doesn’t know.

 ❝Do you get many people asking if you can touch them? Errr... the ears, I mean.❞