day 504; video;

[attackeyebrows]

[There’s a close-up of an eye first, topped by a bushy eyebrow, and then the image pulls back to reveal the stern-looking face of an older man. When he speaks, it’s brisk, with a Scottish accent.]

Interesting communication device you’ve got there, definitely not like any technology I recognise. It obviously broadcasts a signal - or else I’m talking to myself, which is one of the signs of a severely disturbed mind - but how? And, more importantly, to whom?

What I’m really interested in here, though, is how you’ve managed to muck around with my biology. I’ve been human once or twice, but the change involved is a bit complicated and messy. Here I am, though, human again, no scars, all my memories intact, and I’d quite like to know how you’ve done it.

[A pause, and then he narrows his gaze.]

And then I’d like you to change me back.

Comments

Video

[everysecond]

Imagine if we all were just little voices in your head though. And you just didn't know it.

[Riley. This is what you focus on.]

[attackeyebrows]

Interesting, but unlikely.


...Besides, if I heard voices, they'd at least have the decency to be Scottish.

[Perma-video]

[faceofbeau]

[Jack doesn't actually use the network a lot, but he does sometimes keep an eye on it. So when a familiar face pops up on it, along with a familiar voice (in the wrong accent, mind, but still) there's a very arched eyebrow. When that familiar face and voice go on to talk about being human before, as if to indicate that he's usually not... Well, that eyebrow stays in place as he flicks on his bracelet to answer.]

I'd say that, so far as I know, and unless you've been an alien hiding under our noses as a civil servant all this time, you're normally human, John.

[attackeyebrows]

[The Doctor just has an "oh, it's you" sort of look on his face, because, hey, he's been kidnapped and stuck somewhere with people from every sort of world, and who else would he run into but Jack Harkness?]

It's all the rage these days, taking a holiday to Earth and pretending to be part of the bureaucracy, but not really my style, personally. Why, have you seen my face before?

[Video]

[comeonthensexy]

[ He spent the last minute before responding just. Staring. Staring at the face. And at the name. And listening to the voice and recognising it and.

No.

Why this. ]

Oh no.

[ Hi, Twelve, welcome to Asgard. ]

[attackeyebrows]

Not very welcoming, are you?

[FINE ELEVEN BE THAT WAY]

[bonnypiperlad]

Aye, well, that first one's easy. You're talking to all of us.

[And how Jamie is managing to use this thing could very well be a bit of a mystery, given how he was never very good with this sort of thing in the first place. Then again, the fact that Jamie is here at all could also be a bit of mystery, really. Hello, Twelve, welcome to Asgard.]

The second one's a wee bit more complicated, though.

[attackeyebrows]

Jamie! Oh, Jamie, it's brilliant to see you again - did you notice, I'm Scottish this time round?

[torchwoodteaboy]

[Ianto knows this face. He got to know it rather well, in the days leading up to his death, and he knew it even before that. He knows the man behind the face as well, or the man that he knows who owns that face. They've spoken a few times on the phone - he was Torchwood Three's official liaison to the government, after all, and Ianto did more of Jack's work than Jack could ever possibly understand. The man that Ianto knows though? This is definitely not that man - he gets that. Still, same face. It bears saying:]

Never mind being human, Frobisher, what I'd like to know is when and how you turned Scottish...

[attackeyebrows]

Frobisher?

[He looks around for a few moments, as if he has to establish that Ianto's speaking to him, rather than someone else with the name, then-]

-No, sorry, you've got the wrong penguin. Well. I'm not a penguin, obviously, and neither is he, he just likes the shape. Point is, he's a shapeshifter, he can be whatever he likes. Including me. Except I'm me, and-

Wait! You're the Welsh one, aren't you?

[Yes, obviously, Doctor, kudos to you for noticing.]

video

[littlesurvivor]

Change you back? Wait, you mean.....regeneration?

[Because if that's what he is getting at. Welp. There clearly aren't enough Doctors around already for her to babysit. Why not more. Though this does obviously mean if that is the case that something happens to Eleven. Which Clementine doesn't want to think about. She's not quite entirely capable of masking that upset and fear as a result. But of course this new Doctor would have no clue on who she is, how close she has gotten to Eight and Eleven especially.]

[attackeyebrows]

Naah, back to being a Time Lord. Regeneration's a one-way street, can't go back once it's happened. Wouldn't want to go back, I'm a new man now.

[sheloves]

[Ril takes a long, long look at him, her silver ringed eyes wide and then addresses his primary concern without delay.]

The gods changed you so your head wouldn't explode. [She remembers Thiazi's Asgard, Six, and-- Maybe that wasn't the right place to go. No? No. Ril shakes her head and moves to catch the whistling kettle.] Please don't do that again.

[Ril offers him a lopsided smile.]

Welcome to Asgard, Doctor. Would you like some tea?

[attackeyebrows]

Head exploding? Oh, well, I try to avoid that, personally. It really tends to ruin my day, especially if I have to clean up the bits left over afterward.

Still, tea. First thing anyone here's said that makes any sense. Where do I need to go?

[Video]

[beforethewar]

[Well, this was unexpected! And he thought he'd met all his future selves. Which must mean this one is even further in the future.

Excellent.]

The war must really be going badly, if the gods keep dragging more of us in whenever they lose hold of one.

And you really don't want to be changed back here, Doctor. The attributes of this world make being a Time Lord a bit...hazardous to our health.

[attackeyebrows]

...How many of us are there?

[Pause. He has another important question to ask.]

D'you know where we put the round things? From the console room. I was redecorating, and I couldn't find them anywhere. Maybe Grumpy hid them. Or Leather.

video;

[bossily]

[Clara doesn't like using the network. It's not really her thing. She looks it over every now and then, and just so happens to catch this. All she knows of his face is watching her Doctor quickly change into him, and having him stare at her with wide eyes as they crash landed toward who knows what. ]

Figured you'd show up here eventually.

[Her tone's a little clipped, unsure. Both eyebrows arch as she tries to look more sassy than afraid of his being here at all (because timelines are always a bitch), but she can't exactly hide the apprehension in her eyes. What if things go horribly wrong after he regenerated and he's at a point in his own timeline where he can't stand her? What if they did crash someplace awful and she dies? There's too many what ifs, and she hates not being in control of the situation because she just doesn't know what time he's from and where she fits into the big picture. So she pauses, her sass facade cracking as she brings her hand up toward her mouth so she can bite at her thumbnail.

Luckily, she's had plenty of time in Asgard to talk with his previous face about regeneration and her feelings toward it, so she's mostly worked them all out by now. Nothing to do but leap in with an attempt at a normal conversation.]

I do know how to fly her, though. The TARDIS. As long as you're helping me.

[It's the only thing he's said to her, really. Of course she remembers it well enough to finally answer his question.]

[attackeyebrows]

Oh.

[His heart, having leapt up into his throat at the sight of Clara, sinks a little. She doesn't know him yet - not that he knows himself terribly well yet, but the point is, they haven't been through anything together. No clockwork droids, no Dalek spelunking, not even being eaten by a dinosaur. Just the sudden change, without explanation.]

...you're behind.

[Pause.]

I remembered. Eventually.

[Ish.]

[damselled]

[And guess who's completely lost.]

... I beg your pardon?

[attackeyebrows]

What?

[Look, he's new, she isn't. She must know what's going on.]

[video]

[quantumtangled]

It is for the best, however it is done.

[What a strange flat voice, a curious expression devoid of feeling.]

What species were you?

[attackeyebrows]

Well, no, I'm not really inclined to think that, personally.

[Yeah, he's a little weird, but the Doctor comes across all sorts in his travels.]

I'm a Time Lord.

[video]

[robosnack]

Hmm?

So what are you usually, if you're not human?

[bossily]

He's actually an alien. With tentacles hidden inside the human body he's stolen.

[Hi, Doctor. Clara's here to help you out.]

[video]

[oncomingblonde]

Pretty sure that's not going to happen, mate.

[holy shit this man has some eyebrows]

And I can tell you right now, askin' how's not going to get you much of an answer from anyone here. We've got lots of folks still wondering the same thing.

[attackeyebrows]

Asking first rarely works, but I thought I'd give it a try.

[wow excuse you at least his eyebrows match his hair colour]

I thought I might be able to contact our abductors on this, not a bunch of pudding-brains. Mind you, I'm sure they're out there listening, they ust haven't bothered to respond.

[allpurposescarf]

Oh, that's easy. You're talking to all of us.

[Which might also count as talking to himself, in this particular case.]

And no one really knows they've been able to do whatever it is to make people mostly human. Just that they do and it's terribly inconvenient. Especially when it hasn't been undone for as long as I've been here.

[attackeyebrows]

Yes, thank you for that deep insight, Scarf-for-brains.

And how long have you been here?

[madcuriosity]

Another Doctor! [Alice is actually quite excited, considering everything. She smiles brightly, always happy to meet them. Though... She doesn't know this Doctor! She doesn't recognize his mannerism or his face among the other Doctors that Eleven and the TARDIS have told her about.]

Hello, Doctor.

[bossily]

If he says anything grumpy or rude to you, Alice, feel free to hit him.

audio;

[discrepant]

[...oh no, not another one, was Soushi's first thought when he saw and heard this video and realized this individual wasn't human, but was once human and was curious to learn his name -- needless to say, that was definitely a mistake! Why did the deities believe they needed one more incarnation of the same man? Although he was relieved it wasn't his own, truth be told.

Well, as much as Soushi knew he would receive many responders, he still decided to answer some of the questions that he could. Have an extremely formal and helpful tone of voice, he'll be your customer service representative for the day.]

Good day, sir. It's wonderful to hear you've arrived healthy and well to the city. Welcome to Asgard.

[Okay. Step one was done. Time for step two.]

As for your inquiries, the only responses I can offer are: Loki-kami-sama is in charge of the communication system created throughout the entire city. Only Travelers, like you and me, can use it. None of the natives have a bracelet of their own. And the sole reason you're currently human is due to the world's magic being the cause of it. Your world's mechanics does not clash well with this world's. The deities change and remove certain aspects of an individual for the purposes of allowing the individual to adapt within this world's structure in a more natural rate. At the very least, that is the explanation and example the deities have spoken of. You can find a summary of everything I have said in Loki-kami-sama's digital guide which you can find within your bracelet.

[Okay. He supposes he did his job now, but he won't be leaving just yet though.]

I do hope the information I have offered will have been of good use to you. If you have any other inquiries, then I will do my utmost to answer them. [Well.] As long as I know the answers, of course.

[attackeyebrows]

[...wow that was long. so long that he might have tuned a bit most of it out, which is...sort of what he does with long bits of information that don't involve him. Look, it's boring, he's self-centred, these things happen. He gives Soushi's helpful speech a slightly dismissive wave.]

Right, right, digital guide, on the bracelet, got it, thanks for the proper welcome wagon greeting.

[...sorry, Soushi, you get the asshole Doctor.]

[Video]

[5thchild]

In order to exist in this world, it's necessary that many characteristics and non-human abilities are suppressed and changed,.

[attackeyebrows]

Well, that's just ridiculous.

[seesobserves]

[Sherlock happens to see the name attached to the broadcast. Has seen it in response to his own posts -- but now they're all coming out of the woodwork. One, two, three... four?

This is getting ridiculous.]

'The Doctor' again. What are you, some sort of club?

[attackeyebrows]

I doubt it. If we were, we'd never get anything done.