(Trans 9) OOC: Application
Character's name: Jamie McCrimmon (full name: James Robert McCrimmon)
Character's LJ: bonnypiperlad.livejournal.com
Character's canon: Doctor Who (TV episodes, not including 'The Two Doctors'. Also includes the following BFA audios: Prison in Space, The Glorious Revolution, The Emperor of Eternity, The Forbidden Time.)
Brief (around 300 words) personality outline of your character:
A disadvantage to being an 18th century Highlander thrust into a futuristic setting is that Jamie often times struggles to understand the many new things he comes across but being intelligent, he can and will work past this - even if it means coming up with his own names or analogies for things. If he can’t think of one that fits, he will simply seem to accept it, often times with a simple shrug and a voiced “Aye, that.”
In general, he is very solicitous and gentlemanly towards women - certainly a product of his time. He doesn’t seem to worry much about his experiences, unless a friend is in danger. Then, the worry is for them, as can be quite protective of those he considers friends. He views the Doctor as a friend and mentor, and has a strong belief that the Time Lord needs his help.
He is brave and definitely willing to fight, but prefers to do so only when necessary. He does carry a small knife that he can use if needs be, and has demonstrated proficiency with other weapons, such as swords and guns.
Jamie is a straightforward and practical man. Usually he does exhibit common sense, but sometimes he will give in to his impulses - such as the time he first saw an airplane. Wanting to experience this “flying beastie” for himself, he stole the ticket of another passenger. Unfortunately, this resulted in his getting motion sickness as he was not used to flying. Still - he loves to travel, is very enthusiastic about his adventures, and the joy he finds in learning about new things and places is definitely evident.
Brief (around 500 words) history and background of your character OR link to a really good wiki page with their history. In either case, explain where they cut off from the timeline:
In 1746, James Robert McCrimmon meets the Doctor just after the battle of Culloden when the Doctor, Ben and Polly are taken prisoner by a small band of Scottish rebels that includes Jamie. The Doctor convinces the group to let him tend to their wounded Laird, but while Polly and the Laird’s daughter, Kirsty, are out fetching water, the men are captured by the British and given into the hands of a crooked solicitor who means to sell them into slavery. Eventually, the Doctor manages to smuggle arms to the Highlanders who in turn defeat the solicitor and his men. At the end of the story, Polly, fearing for Jamie’s safety on the Highlands, asks the Doctor to let Jamie accompany them on their travels. The Doctor agrees, asking only that Jamie teach him how to play the bagpipes.
Jamie is soon experiencing things completely alien to him, from visiting the lost city of Atlantis to meeting the malevolent Cybermen and even flying on an airplane - something no 18th century Scot would ever dream was possible.
Ben and Polly choose to leave the Doctor upon finding that the TARDIS has brought them back to Earth, essentially on the same day they had left. Jamie chooses to stay, assuring Ben and Polly he will take good care of the Doctor. Shortly thereafter, he meets Victoria Waterfield. After defeating the Daleks, Victoria has lost her father, and Jamie is informed by the Doctor that she will be joining them in their travels. While Victoria is with them, Jamie not only helps the Doctor face such enemies as the Yeti and the Ice Warriors, he faces the Cybermen a second time. Jamie becomes exceptionally fond - more than fond - of Victoria, although he never actually tells her how he feels. He is quite unhappy when she chooses to stay behind on Earth, to the point of loosing interest in just about everything and becoming angry with the Doctor for allowing her to leave.
After Victoria departs, he and the Doctor meet Zoe Heriot. Jamie and Zoe get along quite well despite Zoe being from the 21st century and having a background very much unlike his own. During this time, Jamie temporarily is changed into a different looking young man in the Land of Fiction and helps the Doctor work with UNIT to defeat the Cybermen yet once more.
Jamie would likely stay with the Doctor for the rest of his life, but unfortunately, the choice is taken out of his hands. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in the midst of a battlefield, and the Doctor finds a helmet that at first leads him to believe the TARDIS has landed in the middle of World War I. However, appearances can be deceiving. While the soldiers fighting the battle are from that era, the battleground is one of a series of zones controlled by an alien race as part of their plan to create a super army from the survivors and use that to take over the universe. With the help of Jamie, Zoe and rebel soldiers, the Doctor is able to stop the fighting. However, the Doctor runs into problems with getting everyone home, and is forced to contact the Time Lords for assistance. While the young Scot does his best to help the Doctor escape, they are captured and the Doctor is put on trial to face his crimes. The Time Lords inform the Doctor’s companions that they will have to be placed back in their own times, which neither want to do. Jamie, especially, is still utterly convinced that the Doctor needs him and tries to talk the Time Lords into letting him stay, to no avail.
Here is where the timeline switches:
Jamie and Zoe have been convinced they must go home, and have said their goodbyes to the Doctor. They step into a plain green TARDIS, and as the Doctor watches the door close, there is a discussion with his fellow Time Lord about his two companions forgetting him. The Doctor is reassured that they will remember their first encounter, but nothing more...
And despite the best laid plans of the Time Lords, things go a bit differently. While Zoe’s fate is unclear, Jamie has been chosen for a higher purpose. Before the Time Lords can complete their mental adjustments, Jamie is brought aboard Stacy and popped into stasis. This leaves his memories of his travels with the Doctor intact...or mostly so.
(Update: 6/10/11 = due to the effects of the Melting clock plot, Jamie has lost a small amount of time. Rather then been pulled from just after walking into the green TARDIS with Zoe, he is now pulled from right after saying goodbye to the Doctor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIGin6URvIA#t=2m40s (end of the scene). )
Sample post (just a general, everyday, puttering-around-the-ship post; please include a snippet of dialogue):
Jamie was hungry enough to eat a horse. He didn’t generally care for horse - usually he only ate that when there was nothing else to be had, and generally this meant the horse itself had been dead for at least a day. Not long enough to get him sick, but it always smelled and no matter how much he burnt it, it still left a nasty rank taste in the back of his mouth.
His stomach growled, rather audibly. “Quiet, you,” he admonished. “Any louder and they’re bound to think there’s some new fearsome beastie roaming about the place.” His stomach wasn’t having any of it, and he decided he’d better find somewhere to eat as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, somewhere to eat was quite close. He found the mess hall without too much trouble, and craned his head to see if he could figure out where the actual food was. The eye on the wall drew his attention, and he wandered over, peering at it curiously. A noise coming from the slot next to it made him jump a little, and Jamie quickly glanced around to see if anyone had actually noticed. He couldn’t tell, so he nonchalantly grabbed the tray that was there and moved to find a seat. Only then did he glance down to see that the tray was filled with...
“Brose!”
Things were definitely looking up. A good meal of brose could last him all day. He actually preferred it over porridge just for that reason. There was so much about what he had seen on this ship that was utterly bizarre, but if the ship was going to feed him brose, Jamie felt as though he could handle anything. He closed his eyes in anticipation, brought a large spoonful to his lips and took a big bite.
His eyes flew wide open as he reflexively swallowed. This didn’t taste like brose or porridge or even gruel. This just tasted...wrong. He eyed the tray with equal parts disgust and disappointment.
“I think,” he mentioned to no-one in particular, “I would have preferred the horse.”
If the character has magic, mutant, or otherwise metahuman abilities, please explain what they are and outline EXACTLY how they function, as their powers may not work due to the nature of the ship or may need to be limited somehow:
Jamie has an ability to sense danger. This starts off as a general unease and eventually becomes more intense the closer the danger gets. Normally, this ability just gives the “feeling” of danger. If reacted to, he may be able to do things such as dive out of the way of a trap or being able to pull a weapon against an attacker. He has not evidenced signs of a more specific sort of precognition and it is unclear if this ability will ever be more than a chance to avoid being surprised.
Non-superhuman special abilities of note (Is your character a master ventriloquist? A naturally-occurring super-genius? The best martial artist in the world? Say so here):
Jamie does have musical ability - which is perhaps fortunate given his position as piper to Clan McLaren. Trying to wring something out of bagpipes that is actually recognizable as music and not, say, dead cats screeching...well, it does take some talent.
He is also capable of mending instruments - once he found a set of broken bagpipes in a chest onboard the TARDIS and told the Doctor he could fix them easily.