Christmas Open Thread

[rude_not_ginger]

•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

Comments

[galeforcehero.livejournal.com]

"Odd smells? You callin' my planet smelly?" She playfully poked him in the side with her elbow. "I can understand the feeling, though. Green grass, white snow, Christmas lights everywhere. Must have felt like magic."

There was a small chance she was being hyperbolic there, but it was equally as likely that she was dead serious. After all, she was the one, between the two of them (three, if you count the dog) who knew what magic actually felt like. Maybe it felt like Christmas.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Take---" he fumbled with the hot chocolate and crystals, and eventually handed over the controller. "This. Read me the light sensitivity radar on the upper corner. Should be a series of numbers in blue."

Meanwhile, he repositioned the crystals in his hand and took a sip of his hot chocolate. Very important, that!

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Oh, it's----"

He looked down at the device and tried to figure out how, exactly, to explain it. Or even if he should.

"Complicated. Finding a bit of Christmas cheer. Quite literally, actually!"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"It did," the Doctor said. "And I fell in love with Earth."

He grinned up to the sky, where the snow fell into his hair, cold and wet. It was wonderful.

"And I don't fall out of love easily."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

He immediately gave his nose a little rub. It was a bit red because of the cold, but it wasn't that red. Was it? In any case, it was his turn to lead and he gave her a grin.

"This way." He started down one side street, device ahead, Donna's hand in his.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor was surprised, but as far as the Master's actions, it was, no doubt, entirely a publicity stunt. Why else would he go out and help children? No reason the Doctor could think of.

"Haven't been to Rome since the fire," the Doctor said. "Should really go back, take in the sights." Also, not jealous.

[marco-innocent.livejournal.com]

"Searching for Christmas? Its all around you, Doctor." He smiled. Oh, he knew his name. He knew exactly who he was, where he was born and how he died. He did not know his life thought. Only his start and his end.

[forever-noble.livejournal.com]

She snickered to herself when she saw him do that. Leave it to him to misunderstand that of all things! But she figured he was just letting himself get distracted by this odd mission of his.

The side street was deserted, or nearly deserted as there was one person just rounding the corner ahead of them. Everybody else in town were sticking to the main streets. "So what sort of creature are we looking for, you think? One that encourages people to spend more on their credit cards than they're--ohhh!" she moaned after stepping into a dirty, slushy puddle she hadn't noticed. She could feel the cold creeping into her boots.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"You're thinking big. I was just hoping for snow and an alien invasion." Not that he'd mind dealing with Rudolph and Frosty, of course.

"We're not keeping it," the Doctor said, firmly.

Blimey, that really did sound like he was a Christmas special character.

"We've got to figure this out. And soon!"

[galeforcehero.livejournal.com]

Dorothy smiled at him-- she couldn't help it, the look in his eyes could pretty much melt even the most frozen of hearts-- and turned her face to the sky as well. The snow blowing through the path of a nearby streetlight's beam looked like a million tiny feathers in a cyclone.

"That's what you tell me."

The dog lets out a bark here, just one short sharp one, which draws a quietly forceful scolding from Dorothy. He promptly quiets and goes back to watching the snowfall.

"We really need to find a name for him, y'know."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor loves Hiro's enthusiasm. He beams. "I think so! Just about, anyway. Figure, I follow this, I'll find out exactly what Christmas is all about."

[marthajonesmd.livejournal.com]

"Who's a kitty?" Martha cooed, scratching under the kitten's chin. "Who's a kitty? I think it's youuuu!"

Maybe the cat was the first alien in an invasion that would render the population incapable of speaking in anything but lolcat. Martha was going to ask it if it wanted a cheeseburger any second now.

...or maybe not.

[jellyhohoho.livejournal.com]

With a hearty laugh, Christmas waves the Doctor onto the seat, taking his own place at the reins. A first crack of them gets his draft animals into a line.

"You should probably hold on for this bit," Christmas confides with a wink. "They're quite steady once they're up, but they do need a bit of a run at it. Yip yip!"

That last to the animals, not the Doctor, over another crack of the reins that makes them all take first strain on their harnesses. There's a sudden pressure, something of a crackle, and a rush, of things properly aligned, of an engine cycled up to starting speed, just waiting for the clutch.

"Ho ho ho and away we go!"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Well, maybe not, but I'd rather have them stopped anyway. I've got too much to do to worry about psychic drainage." He gestured with the device to the city around him.

"Everything's different. People don't understand why, but they feel different. Less in the Christmas mood."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

Pin it down, maybe not, but the Doctor was undeterred. "Well, I can at least get a general idea, maybe work out the meaning from there. Look, when it comes to the scientific method, sometimes you have to get part of the answer before you find the rest of it."

And if there was one thing the Doctor was excellent at, it was the scientific method. Well, excellent at following and ignoring it, depending on his mood.

And, to his surprise, a beep came from his detector. He looked down at the small screen, where a violently red dot blinked from the center.

"That's odd."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"We should go! It would be great to see such a wonderful thing." He loves the Doctor's various devices. They always do something that's awesome.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Well, I suppose it is, but---"

He paused, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

"How do you know who I am?"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Don't even think about naming him Christmas," the Doctor said, firmly. "He needs something dignified, and yet doggie."

He thought for a moment, and then grinned. "Mickey?"

[morethananecho.livejournal.com]

The funny thing about Christmas (or any of the other gift-giving, there-isn't-much-light-in-the-world-so-let's-have-a-festival-of-lights holiday) was that when you wished for things, sometimes, just sometimes, your wish was granted.

The other funny thing about Christmas (etc. etc.) was that usually your wishes arrived in one of Santa's (or another appointed gift giver's) bag (or gift-giving carrier of choice).

So when the Doctor wished for Jenny to be there to come along, well. There she was! In a great, big red velvet bag trimmed with white fur (or artificial fur). Unfortunately, Jenny didn't much like being contained in a bag, no matter how big (bigger on the inside!) it was. She struggled for a moment, then popped her head out.

"Dad?" And another man. Dressed in red. And green. And white. Huh. "Who's this?"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Jenny!"

The Doctor beamed, then turned and gave his daughter a huge hug. What a fantastic dream! He needed to start randomly wishing for things to happen more often!

"Jenny, this is Father Christmas. An old Earth legend, come to life by the power of my subconscious. Brings presents to all the good little boys and girls of the planet. Well, depending on your mythology, of course. Sometimes brings whips to bad children, or cobbles together chopped-up children. Generally just protects Christmas."

And, to the legend himself, the Doctor introduced. "This is Jenny! My daughter. She's been very good this year." Pause. "Haven't you, Jenny?"

[marco-innocent.livejournal.com]

"Who don't." he said lightly. "You travel a lot you know, not easy to forget. A passer by might hear your name, and rumours fly."

[kirk-it.livejournal.com]

There was something that bothered her about this - well, everything about this did. But still. The tactician in Jim was analyzing the facts, and she wasn't coming up with much.

"What would be the point? As an assault, it doesn't really do much." She readjusted her somewhat precarious grip on her cup. "Can something be feeding off the energy?"

[galeforcehero.livejournal.com]

"Too mousey." While it's a sad thing that Dorothy's never met poor Mickey Smith, and she'd probably like him if she had, it was in his best interests that her latest dog does not end up named after him. The Doctor would never let him forget about it.

"What about Rex? Rex is a good dog name." She looked down at the mid-sized shepherd dog, who looked up at her, smiling and wagging his fluffy tail. "Maybe Elvis."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Might be," the Doctor said, stepping in the slushy puddle as well. It soaked through his trainers instantly, but he focused on the blinking light on his machine. "Or, it might be an alien hellbent on taking over the world. Not like we haven't dealt with that on Christmas before."

He gave her a wide, excited grin. "But! It happens to be in that department store over there. I think."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"That might be it," the Doctor agreed with a nod. "Powering up something faster. Or, maybe a very patient creature working to slowly drain away happiness from the whole planet."

He made a face. "I've seen stranger. But! I think the best thing to do would be to ask him. Or her."