Doctor Who | Crash Landing
Jul. 18th, 2008 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eponymous_roseTitle: Crash Landing
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eponymous_rose
Word Count: 811
Rating: G
Characters: Fourth Doctor, Romana
Spoilers: None
"Well," said the Doctor. "I mean, if you really don't want to talk about it."
Romana peered up at him from where she was poking moodily at a Marzakian Prinkleworm; each touch of her finger set it flickering a new set of colours, with the occasional emission of a ridiculous noise for added emphasis. The final product was terribly distracting, which was, the Doctor supposed, probably the point.
"I certainly wouldn't mind talking about it," he added. "But as you seem to be avoiding the issue, as it were-"
"Fweebingle," said the Prinkleworm, and flashed violet.
The Doctor considered the implications of this interruption, which wasn't a particularly lengthy process, then spoke again. "Well, I mean to say, it's not something really worth talking about."
Romana made a mumbled noise that sounded very much like: "You're certainly going on about it."
It could have come from the Prinkleworm, of course, but the Doctor decided to give Romana the benefit of the doubt. "It really wasn't your fault," he said, and paused. "Well, most of it was. But there was perhaps the smallest, tiniest-"
Romana snorted. The Prinkleworm turned orange.
"-minutest portion of the blame that lies with-" He paused, for emphasis. "-with the TARDIS."
"Oh," said Romana, "don't let's be too hard on the TARDIS."
The Doctor beamed. "I'm glad you feel that way about the whole thing. Admitting you've made a mistake is the first step to-" He paused. "-well, I suppose making the mistake is the first step. Admitting you've made a mistake is the second-"
"The proposed upgrade," Romana said, in a voice that could have been lifted from the driest tele-lectures of Lothpolikar IV, "to the navigational system of your TARDIS would have worked perfectly-"
"Worlds have ended on would-have-beens," said the Doctor. The sagacity of his words was undermined, he felt, by the Prinkleworm, which erupted into a series of wild consonants and rollicking vowels that can perhaps best be transcribed as "Squibbledibulousdibbledee", and so on and so forth.
"Ah," said Romana, when it had finished. "Would have worked perfectly, this proposed upgrade, if you hadn't been such a-"
"Mwitt," supplied the Prinkleworm, taking on a worrying shade of puce.
"-such a Mwitt as to ignore the previous upgrade, and the one before-"
"I thought they were optional," said the Doctor.
"-and, I might add, the five upgrades that came before that. Honestly, Doctor, if you don't keep your navigational software up to date, how do you expect to land in one piece?"
"Optimistically?" he hazarded. She glowered. The Prinkleworm turned turquoise.
"Well," he said at last, "perhaps some of the blame may lie in my general vicinity. But!" And here he held up a finger, with a dramatic pause broken only by the gleeful twittering of the local fauna. "The fact remains that you crashed the TARDIS."
"I did nothing of the-"
"Quite literally, too," said the Doctor, and bent down to pat the overturned TARDIS on the door. It creaked ominously, and he backed away. "You did a rather thorough job of it."
Romana winced. "I wish you wouldn't use such an admiring tone of voice when you say things like that. I may never let you near the console again."
"K-9 wouldn't let you keep me away," he said, and nudged the door open with his toe. "Right, K-9?"
K-9, looking rather the worse for wear, hanging from a corner of a console like a Christmas ornament in particularly poor taste, wagged his tail. "K-9 unit would value continued functionality, Master."
"Good," said the Doctor, closing the door. "Let's ignore him, shall we? I think he's getting a touch sarcastic, hanging around like that all day. Can't have that; might be catching."
"Eekeeblibble," said the Prinkleworm.
"All right," said Romana. "We've crashed, and while you take most of the blame, I should have realised from the start that you would be enough of a- of a Mwitt to fly an outdated TARDIS with outdated software and outdated everything."
The Doctor grinned. "Are you proposing a truce?"
"I'm proposing," said Romana, "that we find out what those approaching explosions are all about while the TARDIS repairs itself."
"Yes," said the Doctor, "we should probably find out what those-" He paused. "Romana, do you hear explosions?"
"Perhaps."
"And do you think they might be approaching?"
"I suppose it's within the realm of possibility."
"What are we waiting for, then?" He grabbed up a length of scarf to toss dramatically over his shoulder. "Let's find out what's causing these explosions- these approaching explosions."
Romana, rolling her eyes, took his arm.
"Squittle," commented the Prinkleworm, and a new adventure began.
Author:
eponymous_roseWord Count: 811
Rating: G
Characters: Fourth Doctor, Romana
Spoilers: None
"Well," said the Doctor. "I mean, if you really don't want to talk about it."
Romana peered up at him from where she was poking moodily at a Marzakian Prinkleworm; each touch of her finger set it flickering a new set of colours, with the occasional emission of a ridiculous noise for added emphasis. The final product was terribly distracting, which was, the Doctor supposed, probably the point.
"I certainly wouldn't mind talking about it," he added. "But as you seem to be avoiding the issue, as it were-"
"Fweebingle," said the Prinkleworm, and flashed violet.
The Doctor considered the implications of this interruption, which wasn't a particularly lengthy process, then spoke again. "Well, I mean to say, it's not something really worth talking about."
Romana made a mumbled noise that sounded very much like: "You're certainly going on about it."
It could have come from the Prinkleworm, of course, but the Doctor decided to give Romana the benefit of the doubt. "It really wasn't your fault," he said, and paused. "Well, most of it was. But there was perhaps the smallest, tiniest-"
Romana snorted. The Prinkleworm turned orange.
"-minutest portion of the blame that lies with-" He paused, for emphasis. "-with the TARDIS."
"Oh," said Romana, "don't let's be too hard on the TARDIS."
The Doctor beamed. "I'm glad you feel that way about the whole thing. Admitting you've made a mistake is the first step to-" He paused. "-well, I suppose making the mistake is the first step. Admitting you've made a mistake is the second-"
"The proposed upgrade," Romana said, in a voice that could have been lifted from the driest tele-lectures of Lothpolikar IV, "to the navigational system of your TARDIS would have worked perfectly-"
"Worlds have ended on would-have-beens," said the Doctor. The sagacity of his words was undermined, he felt, by the Prinkleworm, which erupted into a series of wild consonants and rollicking vowels that can perhaps best be transcribed as "Squibbledibulousdibbledee", and so on and so forth.
"Ah," said Romana, when it had finished. "Would have worked perfectly, this proposed upgrade, if you hadn't been such a-"
"Mwitt," supplied the Prinkleworm, taking on a worrying shade of puce.
"-such a Mwitt as to ignore the previous upgrade, and the one before-"
"I thought they were optional," said the Doctor.
"-and, I might add, the five upgrades that came before that. Honestly, Doctor, if you don't keep your navigational software up to date, how do you expect to land in one piece?"
"Optimistically?" he hazarded. She glowered. The Prinkleworm turned turquoise.
"Well," he said at last, "perhaps some of the blame may lie in my general vicinity. But!" And here he held up a finger, with a dramatic pause broken only by the gleeful twittering of the local fauna. "The fact remains that you crashed the TARDIS."
"I did nothing of the-"
"Quite literally, too," said the Doctor, and bent down to pat the overturned TARDIS on the door. It creaked ominously, and he backed away. "You did a rather thorough job of it."
Romana winced. "I wish you wouldn't use such an admiring tone of voice when you say things like that. I may never let you near the console again."
"K-9 wouldn't let you keep me away," he said, and nudged the door open with his toe. "Right, K-9?"
K-9, looking rather the worse for wear, hanging from a corner of a console like a Christmas ornament in particularly poor taste, wagged his tail. "K-9 unit would value continued functionality, Master."
"Good," said the Doctor, closing the door. "Let's ignore him, shall we? I think he's getting a touch sarcastic, hanging around like that all day. Can't have that; might be catching."
"Eekeeblibble," said the Prinkleworm.
"All right," said Romana. "We've crashed, and while you take most of the blame, I should have realised from the start that you would be enough of a- of a Mwitt to fly an outdated TARDIS with outdated software and outdated everything."
The Doctor grinned. "Are you proposing a truce?"
"I'm proposing," said Romana, "that we find out what those approaching explosions are all about while the TARDIS repairs itself."
"Yes," said the Doctor, "we should probably find out what those-" He paused. "Romana, do you hear explosions?"
"Perhaps."
"And do you think they might be approaching?"
"I suppose it's within the realm of possibility."
"What are we waiting for, then?" He grabbed up a length of scarf to toss dramatically over his shoulder. "Let's find out what's causing these explosions- these approaching explosions."
Romana, rolling her eyes, took his arm.
"Squittle," commented the Prinkleworm, and a new adventure began.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 05:54 am (UTC)*uses her new Romana II icon to celebrate*
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:06 am (UTC)This is brilliant. God, your Four could just not be any more perfectly Fourish. And Romana, and K-9...I am in love with this fic. I think I will steal it away and attempt to romance it on a tropical island.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 08:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 09:25 am (UTC)Spot on voices for all of them, and the Prinkleworm adds a touch of joyous lunacy - along with K9 hanging upside down like a tasteless Christmas tree ornament, which amuses me inordinately.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 12:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-20 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-22 01:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-08 03:43 am (UTC)