rude_not_ginger | Christmas Open Thread

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Christmas Open Thread

•deck•the•halls•

• THE DOCTOR LEARNS THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS •

~•~

Christmas Eve. 2009.

The Doctor loved Christmas! Back when he was a wee Time Lord, the first place he ever landed was London on Christmas Eve. He promised himself he'd never miss another Christmas ever, but that promise went into the same pile as "Lose weight" and "Regenerate a better hairline" and "Stop leaving companions in other universes". But the Doctor had never quite gotten the hang of New Years'. (He once spent several hours commiserating on the similarity between the confusing nature of New Years and Thursdays with one Arthur Dent, who will sadly not be appearing in this piece of narrative. -editor)

But! Through all his travels in space and time, he still hadn't quite figured out what Christmas was for exactly. Except as a yearly excuse for turkey, too much wine, and plum pudding (all of which the Doctor approved of). This year, though, as he strode the streets on this wonderful Christmas Eve, the Doctor decided he would figure out exactly what Christmas was all about.

This may or may not have included use of a intergalactic manipulative detector and a full pack of radio stellar isotopian crystals. Oh, and a cup of hot chocolate. In a festively-coloured cup.

There was a lovely light snow, and the Doctor grinned madly at the stars. Christmas. This year, he was going to figure out what it was all about.

~•~

OOC: Open thread, feel free to tag in as if your character is a passerby or as if your character is a long-standing companion! I'll be working on this thread up until the New Year, most likely! Everyone from any verse (or no verse!) is welcome, just let me know if you'd prefer it from a community or specific universe! And, for this thread, threadhopping is totally welcome!

Happy Holidays, everyone! &hearts

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"Christmas spirit in a pub," the Doctor repeated, still sounding a little flabbergasted by the idea. "You know, I was thinking more of trees and presents, but I'll have a mulled wine, I think. Something festive."

He fiddled about with the psychic crystals, but they were very faded and fuzzy and terribly confused by the different vibrations in the pub. Well, only to be expected, considering how swiftly emotions could change during intoxication.

"Think it's the alcohol or the season that'll be bringing those two together later?" he asked Jack as he slipped into a chair.

The Doctor spun around at the voice. Perfect! A person wearing a Santa cap, being particularly festive with a bell. She was proabably just the right sort of person to ask about Christmas!

He slipped up next to her and fished out a two-pound coin. He wasn't entirely sure what year it was from, but he doubted the donations would care.

He dropped it in. "Hello," he said. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Course we are," the Doctor said, distracted by the buzzing and whirring of the device in his hands. "I've got you a present and everything."

Not that his bigger-on-the-inside pockets would give that away.

"But! The important thing about this Christmas is finding out the real meaning of Christmas and----" He made a face. "That's awful. Terrible! I can't believe it!"

"And plenty of spirit behind the bar too!" Jack added with a grin, before waving a hand around the room. "Well you've got all that here!" he said, "Tree, presents... everything." he motioned to a table of women in another corner. The table covered in torn off wrapping paper.

He took a step to the bar and nodded at the barmaid, quickly obtaining two glasses of mulled wine and somehow managing not to hand over any money for them.

Stepping back over to the Doctor he handed one over to him, and sat down in a chair opposite.

"Oh bit of both," he said with a grin. "A little too much beer and a little too much cheer"

Well, hearing he'd already gotten her a gift made her feel like a right old cad. When did he find the time for that?! Though she knew a tailor who did rush jobs. The Doctor could do with another kind of suit, she thought...

"The real meaning? Who are you, Charlie Brown?" But her frown grew more concerned a second after that outburst. "What's the matter?" she asked, peeking at the noisy device.

The Doctor turned from the device, looking at Donna very, very seriously.

"You have more marshmallows in your hot chocolate than I do. It's terrible. Awful!"

"The donations go the local homeless shelter," Alice answered, having already memorized the informational pamphlet. "It provides three meals a day to anyone who asks, and a hundred and eighty beds, for whoever gets there by ten o'clock. We don't administer any sorts of medication, nor do we use your donation to buy clean needles. If you have any further questions about where you donation goes to, I can give you a number to call."

People got particular about their pocket change. Even on Christmas Eve.

She smacked his arm lightly. "That's what's so awful?! The number of marshmallows in my hot chocolate? You prawn..." she sighed, rolling her eyes. After a moment's thought, she added in a softer voice, "Here, switch with me. I'm not a big fan of marshmallows any longer."

Dorothy had a dog. A dog wearing a red bandanna around his neck on a leash. The dog was doing that curious dog thing, where they appear to human beings to be smiling, with their mouths open and their little doggy eyebrows lifted in apparent joy. His jaunty walk added to this appearance-- apparently, the dog likes snow just fine without any added protection on top of his own fluffy coat.

Dorothy was not quite so comfortable, but that's why the good lord made sheep: so people could make warm clothes out of them. She was suitably bundled in an emerald green colored peacoat, a grey knit hat perched on top of her head, and a matching scarf wrapped around her throat. Her smile was not nearly as wide as her dog's, but it was there nonetheless, especially as she stopped to bump shoulders with the Doctor.

"Cold as heck out here! Don't tell me you don't feel it." The dog sits obediently between the two, wagging his fluffy tail through the snow.

"Right, because the only reason I got so high up in politics was by smiling and waving and killing off all the competition systematically," the Master said with a roll of his eyes; even if it were partially true.

At least about the killing.

"There's some people that aren't home with their families. Carolers and people looking for donations. A few churches hold services if you want to go wave that thing around at the choir while they sing of the virgin birth," he told him, sarcasm lacing his tone at the last part.

"It is the energy of good will, I think. The power of positive energy is an amazing thing."

Hiro looks at the device. "Perhpas it the sheer collectiveness of the good will? It is one of the few holidays where everyone tries to think of others over themselves?"

The little angel of death in human form looked up at the Doctor curiously, the cup of hot chocolate in his own hands looking big compared to his hands. He was as small as a child, but it was obvious by his eyes that he was much much MUCH older then that.

Maybe even older the the Doctor himself? No one knew that other then Marco himself.

"You are very sparingly clothed for such a cold night, sir" He said kindly, his cup filled with not only hot chocolate, but also big amounts of marshmallows and cream.

Snow was gathering in his heavy blonde curls, and his brown one brown and one blue eye looked up at the Doctor. "You should at least get a hat and gloves".

He looked the man in the eyes, and being who he was, he saw the numerous times he had died, and the ways he was going to die. But not being a human, meant that collecting his soul, was not Marco's job.

It was strange being back in London, never mind at Christmas. And it was snowing, which really didn't help convince the people that needed to be convinced that global warming was real. Personally, after spending her time living in a hot country, Jo would much rather it was at least ten degrees warmer, so was bundled up in so many layers she wasn't sure where she was any more.

Since she was keeping her head down out of the snow and hurrying along to keep warm and get out of the cold, she didn't see the man going in the opposite direction until she bumped into him.

"Oh, I am sorry."

[Have a companion!Gabriel]

It had been almost a year now, since he had met the Doctor. He'd come across the TARDIS and the Doctor one snowy evening in New York, and now they were back, in front of Rockefeller, Gabriel with his head tilted upwards to stare at the large tree.

Christmas was the only time from his childhood that he actually had truly good, good memories. It was the time that his mother would make about him, which is what made it good. She'd spoil him, essentially. Not only on Christmas morning, but throughout the entire holiday season. They would bake together, decorate the tree, go skating and so on. But what made it so special was that it was the time where she wouldn't nag him about having to do better with whatever he was doing. There wasn't school work to pressure him about as there was the rest of the year, even in summer as she pushed him to take extra classes from a young age. No, Christmas was about him, as he was, which was part of why he loved it.

"I suppose we could go for a sleigh ride, but that might be a bit awkward. The drivers tend to think all those who take one are a couple."

It's a curious suit. Sometimes it appears to be red plush with white fur trimming. Sometimes, it's brown furs, or tanned hides. Rarely, it's a long dark cloak and broad brimmed hat, tilted low to shadow one eye while the other glints, dark as the night, cold as the snow. He has had many forms and many names, and they shift and flow around him like eddies in an ocean.

There's nothing there when the man they call Christmas lifts his hand -- but when the gloved fist falls, it knocks against a wooden blue door, over the fading echoes of twisted time, and he laughs his deep belly laugh.

((It'll be hard enough writing a Christmas-induced Master as it is, sooo you get Rose XD))

Before Rose ever met the Doctor, Christmas was about listening to her mum's guests gossip and occasionally fuss over her. Or, it was about work, which generally suited her best. She'd be one of the few who'd offer themselves to the fray of the day, and when her mum complained about her hours, she would insist that there was nothing she could do to get out of them.

Then of course, there was the Doctor, and her most memorable Christmas was after the Satellite 5 incident and him going and changing on her. Talk about a stressful, crazy Christmas Eve - but it all turned out good in the end, save for cleaning ash out of her hair.

Rose was cradling her own Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate between her hands when she found him, tongue in her cheek, sidling up besides him for extra warmth. "Is it bad that I'm expecting an alien invasion at any moment? 'spose it could be worse, though."

"I know there isn't." Although it was a bit of a Catch-22, if he readily admitted that there was no end to his ego, wasn't it? There was a very good reason Martha hadn't been a literature student at uni. (Well, other than her lifelong ambition to become a doctor.)

"Oh, it is - though it's easier now that I don't have to try and keep the peace with Mum and Dad and Annalise." And Martha definitely didn't miss those days. "And I got to see Keisha again. I swear that girl grows an inch every time I turn around!" Did the Doctor even know she had a niece? She wasn't sure if the topic had ever come up - he certainly wasn't much of one for discussing family (particularly Martha's). Which was probably a good thing, really, because Martha could go on about the topic for ages if nobody stopped her.

"You know, of all the planetary seasons, I've always loved this season the best," the Doctor said, taking the wine and having a sip. "Definitely better than Sunseason on the Gamma Quadrant. The smell of pine and mulled wine far beats out sunscreen and charcoal."

Such a strange season. But, well, it was the Gamma Quandrant. He couldn't have expected much less.

"I figured it would be some sort of psychic wavelength running across the planet during this season."

"Well, a bit, but a good number of people are thinking about themselves during this season, but it doesn't disrupt the collection of good feeling." He raises an eyebrow at Hiro's curiosity, but then turns the screen to face him and show what he's looking at.

"You can tell when it's Christmas, even without the lights and trees."

"That's Leo's daughter?" the Doctor asked, keeping his eyes on the device in hand.

"Poor Mary," the Doctor said with a sympathetic sigh. "So misunderstood."

He shook his head, but pressed a few buttons on the device in his hand, then juggled it around to get his hot chocolate again. Delicious.

"Did you have a public Christmas?" he asked, sounding fairly unimpressed. "A big, present-laced publicity stunt?"

"That's...good to know," he said, a little stunned by the by-wrote response.

"I actually wanted to ask you a question about Christmas." He gave the woman a wide smile. She would know, wouldn't she?

He grinned, switching eagerly with Donna. He did like marshmallows, but he also liked arguing with her about them.

He held up the device for her. "Psychic resonance. Figure out the real meaning of Christmas!"

"Yeah, his and Shonara's. She can just about manage to call me Aunty Marf now." She'd never thought about what had happened to them during the Year - didn't want to. She'd seen enough young families just like them.

"What's that, then?" Martha gestured to the device in the Doctor's hand, suddenly acutely aware that she was monopolising the conversation (for a change).

((ooc: *threatens Martha with a stick till she's less boring* :|))

"I feel it," he said. "It's just not quite..." He made a face. "Heck-level for me. I spent a week on the Ood Sphere. Very little is heck-level after that."

The Doctor was not particularly fond of the dog, but he did like how it liked Dorothy, and therefore he couldn't think to tell her she couldn't have it. He just worried it would wee on the TARDIS at some point, and then they'd have some serious argument over it.

But, that worry would be later. "Christmas, though! I love Christmas!"

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Christmas Open Thread

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