I'm The Doctor

There was something in the way that the other said his name that if there was a vampire of sorts around them, one could hear his hearts escalating in their beats. Mostly realization was hitting him like an oncoming train. And the way the other’s mask and expression was slowly changing in front of his eyes increased the bit within his stomach.

A part of him…not fully believing this to be true. How could he be so blind and thick at times? If he was one of the most brilliant creatures around then why…

He took a step away from the other, his stance almost becoming defensive. Maybe to run. Maybe to fight. Maybe to give in. 

He had to be cautious. Despite the fact they were seemingly alone, there was always a risk of what could happen once this conversation ends. 

“I am certain that you do.”

Whilst he was no bloodsucker, at least in the conventional sense of the word, he would be an inattentive fool to not notice the way his words gripped the other, seized him with rapt attention, just like bait on a hook. Humoured, a daring chuckle forced its way out of his throat, hitting the air like dead weight.

The Doctor’s apparent denseness never ceased to amaze him.

Shuffling his feet, the masquerading renegade tutted at the other’s hasty retreat, just as prey might finally recognise the predator in their midst. An eye roll would shortly follow, as he pins his ancient rival with a needling stare.

“Scared, Doctor? Mmm… don’t be.” He paused for a moment to roll one shoulder, then the other, limbering himself up after spending a long stretch pretending to be someone else. “I’ve got nothing planned for you or yours, yet… or do I?”

He started off. Of course how could he be so stupid and oblivious at the same time? Why couldn’t he have realized sooner? Why did the other always seem to surprise him every single time during their ‘reunions’ was beyond his comprehension at times?

He exhaled as he straightened himself a bit upright, masking himself in a sense. He couldn’t be as cautious as he should be. He had to play smart when it came to the Master. The Doctor knew this very well. 

“Master,” The name felt foreign on his lips. While their history was always present in his mind, it seemed like millennia since he last spoke it. But it wasn’t that long ago, right? 

“You sure?”

The Doctor suspicions were going haywire. Why? 

A glance around them. They seemed to be the only ones in the vicinity from what he could see and also sense. At least if things were to go from bad to worse, no one else would be involved. But then again…if he was to leave or be on his own, he would bet his lives that something disastrous would happened. So what does he have to lose anyways?

“Y’know…sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name from earlier. I would blame the old age again but also the fact I don’t believe we have met properly yet.”

The Doctor had to see if he was right. If the nagging voice in his head since he first laid eyes on the other was very familiar and very dangerous if things were to get out of hand. Or if the two of them were going to continue on this game for gods know how long of this journey. 

Or maybe the Time Lord was paranoid and maybe this was just all a normal encounter for once. Pick your poison. 

Truth be told, he wasn’t certain, but it was far too late to concern himself with that now. The Master was steadily losing his grip on his tableau of lies and faked impersonations. It wouldn’t be much longer before he slipped up – it was only a matter of when. 

Tensing, very quickly, he debated in his mind on whether to out himself prematurely, or let the Doctor alone to figure it out. Unable to shake the feeling that he existed on borrowed time, he clenched his fists, his beguiling smile losing some of its friendly charm. The mask was beginning to slip…

“That’s because I never shared it.” Spoken a bit more sharply than intended, he wills his hands to loosen, then uses them to adjust the slant of his bowtie in a conscious bid to ensure he at least looked presentable. For once the reveal of his true identity got started, there was no going back, just as the rock travelling downhill gathers moss, debris and speed.

There was something in the way that the other said his name that if there was a vampire of sorts around them, one could hear his hearts escalating in their beats. Mostly realization was hitting him like an oncoming train. And the way the other’s mask and expression was slowly changing in front of his eyes increased the bit within his stomach.

A part of him...not fully believing this to be true. How could he be so blind and thick at times? If he was one of the most brilliant creatures around then why...

He took a step away from the other, his stance almost becoming defensive. Maybe to run. Maybe to fight. Maybe to give in. 

He had to be cautious. Despite the fact they were seemingly alone, there was always a risk of what could happen once this conversation ends. 

“I suppose that is a compliment then,” Says the insert thousand year old time lord but who is actually counting nowadays? And as someone who has changed his face probably more times than most of his race when they did existed, it varied as to how old or young he looked. 

The Doctor clicked his tongue and rocked on the back of his heels. His body language seemed to be less guarded one would say. But from what he realized this go around, less guarded is the way to go when you want to figure out what is right and what is wrong. At least…that is what’s been working so far for him. But he had a feeling the other was way too smart. Best keep this going for as long as he should. 

“Ah okay. Y’know, I would have thought as the years have gone by the training, though rigorous, would have gave you a bit of free time now and then. But if you can’t help me…might as well show me the way of someone who can?” 

He intended for the remark to be neither criticism nor compliment. It was simply verbalised filler used to occupy the dead air between perceived strangers– a method of wasting time, though not quite in ways that he initially intended. He was being studied, a direct mirroring of his own current intentions. One simple misstep could be his undoing– a cruel lesson that rarely if ever appears to stick with him.

Silence grew momentarily, as both the position of his feet and topic of discussion underwent a change. Focus on a specific subject was shifted, attention reflected back upon himself– to almost disastrous effect.

“…Oh. Yes, I can see how you might assume that to be the case.”

Smooth as silk, he attempts to keep a steady keel on his boat of lies and fabrications, trying to recover from the non sequitur committed. That said, there was no denying that it had become a chip in the armour that was his secret agent disguise – a vulnerability that could be worked upon and chipped away at, until the facade came away completely.

“You sure?”

The Doctor suspicions were going haywire. Why? 

A glance around them. They seemed to be the only ones in the vicinity from what he could see and also sense. At least if things were to go from bad to worse, no one else would be involved. But then again...if he was to leave or be on his own, he would bet his lives that something disastrous would happened. So what does he have to lose anyways?

“Y’know...sorry, I didn’t quite catch your name from earlier. I would blame the old age again but also the fact I don’t believe we have met properly yet.”

The Doctor had to see if he was right. If the nagging voice in his head since he first laid eyes on the other was very familiar and very dangerous if things were to get out of hand. Or if the two of them were going to continue on this game for gods know how long of this journey. 

The Doctor shook his head frantically at the question of him being okay. Alright so...maybe that was an understatement and gods only know if he was actually okay.

"You... You can smell that?"

No denial. Just surprise. Then a kind of awkward, almost apologetic chuckle.

Yeah, the Doctor was staring. Quizzical, emerald eyes at the man beside him. He would bet his life that something was familiar…which would have rattled his hearts to the core. But then again, he may have been reading into things too much. He tended to do so this time around. Seeing things for more than what they truly are. 

Honestly, it was has gotten him to this body in the first place. 

But for another time.

He shook his head when he realized he was being spoken too. “One could say it’s the old age that gets to you when you stare distantly into the void. Said void was in your line of sight and I didn’t mean to be fully staring at you.”  He shrugged. “Anyways, it has been a while since I met someone from MI6. Hoping that someone can show me around to what has changed around here.” 

Finding himself in agreement, the Master nods his head as he maintains a pleasant demeanour– even whilst nagging suspicions clawed at him like talons. “Old age you say? But, if you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t strike me as someone who is currently experiencing the autumn of his life.” His definition of ancient happened to span millennia, but despite his words, he was quick to put such commentary down to hyperbole.    They both stood here, sporting new faces and touting different personalities, after all. The passage of time was nothing to them.

“I suppose that is a compliment then,” Says the insert thousand year old time lord but who is actually counting nowadays? And as someone who has changed his face probably more times than most of his race when they did existed, it varied as to how old or young he looked. 

The Doctor clicked his tongue and rocked on the back of his heels. His body language seemed to be less guarded one would say. But from what he realized this go around, less guarded is the way to go when you want to figure out what is right and what is wrong. At least...that is what’s been working so far for him. But he had a feeling the other was way too smart. Best keep this going for as long as he should. 

“And it’s our time now if you want to to be Maul the war like a carnival bear set free And your love is anemic and I can’t believe That you couldn’t see it coming from me And I still feel that rush in my veins It twists my head just a bit too thin All those people in those old photographs I’ve seen are dead” - Fall Out Boy, “The Kids Aren’t Alright”

“You know,” he said, seating himself at the Doctor’s table with no introduction. “It occurs to me that the sanctity of protecting the laws of space-time exactly as they’re meant to be is a very small-minded concept. Who says they’re not meant to be broken? But that’s a philosophical conversation for another time. Right now, I think the topic at hand is probably whether or not you’re any closer to being willing to compromise on the relative subjectivity of morality.”

“Look, I am capable to let bygones be bygones. With the lifetime I last had and suddenly thrown into this one, gods only know what is left.

I did meant what I said the last time we interacted. Despite the fact I was strapped down by your doing, that to travel the stars and the universe with you would be a honor to do so. And once upon a time, it was an original plan for the two of us.

Our ‘game’ as you put it has been a consistent factor in our histories and if we were to start fresh and try to commit what we have said, I don’t know if that would be enough. Frankly, I don’t know if you would really want to do that.

The Doctor shook his head frantically at the question of him being okay. Alright so...maybe that was an understatement and gods only know if he was actually okay.

He could tell that the other was a bit...uncomfortable. Most people are nowadays so he backed off and put his hands up innocently and to show he wasn’t going to hurt him.

Alright, so this guy really didn't want to go to the hospital, and Yugi had gotten a little too close to the end of the world to even want to think about it.

But he couldn't very well let him wander the streets at least.

So, Yugi steeled himself, and grabbed the Doctor's wrist.

“I’m fine, thank you. Plus you didn’t even give me your name. Why would I go home with a total stranger?”

That is the pot calling the kettle black because he was someone who picked up strays and total strangers at times to traverse the universe. But it’s been ages since his last companion. So maybe it was evident not to do it this time around.

He has to figure this one out on his own.

He gave a soft, small smile as he lowered his hands down to his sides. He kept his distance from the other but wanted to explain himself. In whatever way that he can.

“Sorry, I did not mean to sniff you before. See, I have this sixth or seventh sense you could say where I can tell if people are normal human beings.

Fond of smiling, a thin line works its way across the lower half of his face, suggesting that something pleasant has caught his eye… or rather someone. Though he was lacking in much needed details, he had a feeling that he should know the stranger standing innocuously beside him. A reunion arranged by fate, it would seem. A coincidence, even.    No, not yet. It was too soon.

“Can I help you?” He prattles, maintaining the disguise – dutifully playing the part of soft-spoken MI6 agent rather than loud renegade as he opens a dialogue with the other. “I have noticed that you’ve… ah… been staring at me for the last few minutes. Is something the matter?”

Yeah, the Doctor was staring. Quizzical, emerald eyes at the man beside him. He would bet his life that something was familiar...which would have rattled his hearts to the core. But then again, he may have been reading into things too much. He tended to do so this time around. Seeing things for more than what they truly are. 

Honestly, it was has gotten him to this body in the first place. 

But for another time.

The Doctor shook his head frantically at the question of him being okay. Alright so...maybe that was an understatement and gods only know if he was actually okay.

He could tell that the other was a bit...uncomfortable. Most people are nowadays so he backed off and put his hands up innocently and to show he wasn’t going to hurt him.

Alright, so this guy really didn't want to go to the hospital, and Yugi had gotten a little too close to the end of the world to even want to think about it.

But he couldn't very well let him wander the streets at least.

So, Yugi steeled himself, and grabbed the Doctor's wrist.

“I’m fine, thank you. Plus you didn’t even give me your name. Why would I go home with a total stranger?”

That is the pot calling the kettle black because he was someone who picked up strays and total strangers at times to traverse the universe. But it’s been ages since his last companion. So maybe it was evident not to do it this time around.

Be kind to veteran RPers. Especially if you are also one. You’ve both been doing this a long time. Long enough to develop your own ways of writing that work for you. You have spent your time differently and their differing writing style shows how unique each of your portrayals are. We all develop differently. No one is doing it “wrong”. 

Be kind to new RPers. Don’t chase new writers out of the community because they don’t immediately meet your standards. Don’t put them down because they’re learning. Don’t shun them because they haven’t learned to make their own icons, graphics or themes. If they make a mistake, help them to learn. Don’t isolate them for being the person we all were at one time. Your seniority is not an excuse to be rude or hurtful. No one has been at this “too long to be nice”. No one’s “too old to have patience”.

Be kind to RPers of all skill levels. Don’t mock those who use flowery language or purple prose in their threads. They are writing what makes them happy and if their partners are okay with it then what is the harm? Don’t mock RPers who need extra time to write long replies because they’re not used to writing. Don’t send hurtful anons to writers threading with popular blogs about how they “aren’t good enough” to write with their partners. That is for their partner to decide, not anyone else.

Be kind to RPers who have firm rules. They are that way for a reason. Maybe someone hurt them before and that’s why so many rules on their blogs are necessary. You don’t know. Don’t attack others for having a lot of rules. And be kind to RPers who are very lenient in their rules. Don’t take advantage of a person’s lack of hard boundaries.