Boomtown Application

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Player's Name: Kristi
Are you over 16? Yes
Characters Played Here: Sarah Harding, Sadira, Severus Snape

Character: River Song
Series/Canon: Doctor Who
From When? Post-Day of the Moon

History:

Please enjoy one long wiki.

Personality:

River Song is described by her own husband as hell on heels. True story. She's an explosion of a woman: she wears hallucinogenic lipstick for the really special occasions, has a sense of fashion that works on any planet, and, like every good woman, is always armed. Always smiling in the face of opposition, she presents herself as a gregarious femme fatale. She has the capability to take charge of any situation, flirt with anyone who crosses her path, and shoot a fez with only a second's notice.

Considering who her parents are and the environment in which she was raised, it's no wonder she's not just clever, but something of a savant. Just to list a few of her capabilities, she can read Gallifreyan, operate a TARDIS with only minimal instruction, and has a background in Archaeology.

With that sort of intelligence, of course she's stubborn. She thinks she knows better than anyone else - and, granted, given the fact that her past is the Doctor's future, she's usually right, which only reinforces this belief. If she sees something she wants, she will quite literally tear apart the fabric of time and space to have it. There is no yielding on her end; only if she gets what she asks for will she relent - and even then, it's a crapshoot. She has proven herself merciless to such a degree that Daleks, one of the most destructive forces in the universe, fear her. This isn't necessarily a good thing: it's this same sort of infamy which earned the Doctor a lecture from her (making her something of a hypocrite, as well.)

She has her weaknesses, of course. She may be strong enough to stand against opposition, but she has very little control over herself. Her needs and wants come first before anything. The sultry, come-hither behaviour is an act, and possibly intended to protect herself, or hide her true emotions from others. When hurt or frightened, she tends to display this behaviour more often than not. The Doctor himself is also a weakness: she'll do almost anything for him, within the limits of the laws of the universe. And even then, she has made some trouble for them both. It hurts her to be unable to act on his behalf, likely due to the life she lived before he came along.

River has a good deal of trouble reconciling her years of systematic brainwashing with her feelings for the Doctor and her own personhood. Some of her attachment is due to so much time spent studying him, so that he became an obsession. Once she met him, it was impossible for her to kill him because he was all her life had ever been. Her cultivated obsession made it impossible for her not to love him. As she grew older and away from that point at Lake Silencio, however, she slowly began to develop her own interests beyond the Doctor. By the time she meets him in Manhattan, it's clear she has begun to escape the thrall of her programming and see herself as someone who exists independently of him. She has managed to achieve some personhood which includes, but doesn't revolve around, him.

She became over time an adventurer, an explorer, someone who was strong and brave who believed she could snap her fingers and the Doctor would come. For the most part, she was right.

It's interesting to note that, despite her devotion to (or obsession with) the Doctor, River has had several relationships which appear to have been nothing more than flings. This and her personality suggest she is in control of her own sexual agency, and doesn't adhere to traditional views of either monogamy or female celibacy. Similarly, given her anecdotes about past relationships with alien species with non-typical bodies, it's likely she's pansexual. (Unfortunately, we only see her interact routinely with Amy Pond, her mother, and so there's no definitive evidence of this.)

Why do you think your character would work in this setting? Why did your character accept Eli's offer? How will they respond to the setting? What will they do here to earn a living?

River will accept Eli's offer for two reasons: first, because the Master was in New Dodge and, in the absence of the Doctor, she'll be willing to help keep an eye on him should he return. Second, because six months reprieve from Stormcage sounds like a nice little adventure.

She's an archaeologist, which might not be entirely useful for the town's purposes, but she can take over supervising the Research Center.

Inventory:

A suitcase full of very stylish jodhpurs and matching jackets, evening gowns, pumps, and riding boots. Various other articles of clothing
Perfume and other mundane hygienic items
Various cosmetics including hallucinogenic lipstick, which she will not claim on her customs form.
A vortex manipulator
Handcuffs
Mnemosine Recall-Wipe Vapour
Four guns of varying sizes and detail
Ammunition
Alpha-Meson blaster
A TARDIS-blue notebook


Samples:

Third-Person Sample:

There was an undeniable pleasure in reading an old book. They had a sense of being to them, of having lived a very long time. The smell of worn paper that arose from them and the welcoming warmth of their leather was like coming home. New books with their hard, shiny covers and their too-clean pages seemed garish in their newness. They had no character. No life imbued in them from the hands of a reader; though the pages were filled with a story, until it was read, it was meaningless.

River's little blue notebook had begun that way, too hard, obscene in its newness and mimicry of the Doctor's pretty blue box. Over time, though - and wasn't that a funny way to say it, 'over time'? All over time and space, how accurate. Over time, the book developed a sense of being. It became something real and important. The cover cracked down the spine, creased and became softer with each new adventure. The pages yellowed and filled to bursting with adventures others could only dream of (and that was the point of a book, wasn't it?)

Perhaps she loved old books so well because they reminded her of him. So much younger in each new incarnation, and yet so very old, so real and so important. Cracked down the spine and softer as the years went by (for him). What a shame to see the aging process of such a good book in reverse.

By the time she set down in the Great Library, there were no pages left to fill. Her little blue journal was very worn, and the Doctor was like one of those garish new books, waiting for the printing press, completely empty of the short story that River had written for him.

First-Person Sample:

Nothing like a nice, long holiday, don't you think?

[River's greeting isn't missing any of her usual showmanship; she's sitting in front of her TC, slowly laying out her kit. Four guns, ammunition, handcuffs, and an alpha-meson blaster. As she continues, she begins to load each one with its respective ammunition, starting with the little pea-shooter.]

That Achamarian representative reminds me of a very dear friend of mine. It's the time travel; it makes them a bit eccentric, doesn't it? Well, it takes a special sort. So much time and space; it must be hard to keep the details straight in their heads.

[A beat.]

I'd say it makes them a little gangly, too, but Lord knows that's not true for all of them, is it?

[The way she talks, it's as though she knows everyone not only personally, but intimately. Everything she says could be a double-entendre, with that purr in her tone. She has a self-assured flirtatiousness which is emphasized (rather than minimized) by how she hasn't once looked at the camera. She doesn't need to do so. She expects you to listen.]

Rumour has it you're in need of a Doctor. Personally, I think you've been up to your ears in Time Lords as it is. Why on earth would you want more than one unless it's your birthday? They're so much, aren't they? That takes a special sort, as well.

[She smiles broadly, but rather privately, as though that joke's all hers.]

Unfortunately, whether you want one or two or ten thousand, there's only one Doctor, and he couldn't make it. He's off busy being himself at the moment.

[It's up in the air whether she's joking about that, or sad, or simply bitter. Possibly, it's a little of each. Her smile remains firmly in place, regardless.]

But he sends his regards.

[This might be a lie. The Doctor probably knows nothing at all about the situation.]

Not to worry. You get something even better.

[By now, she has moved on to the revolver; with the final bullet loaded, she clicks the barrel into place and gives it a spin.]

Me.

[Interesting, how well the timing worked out there. It's all about presentation.]

I hear I'm a little more than fashionably late to the party, though. That's me all over, isn't it?

So tell me. Are we playing cowboys? I love playing cowboys.