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

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I suppose I am in a similar situation. After all, not being Christian, I suppose the whole 'true' meaning of Christmas is lost on me. New Year's, on the other hand, is very simple."

He blows a bit on the hot chocolate. He always has lots of little marshmallows in his.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Don't even have Christianity on my planet."

The Doctor absolutely approves of the excessive marshmallows. He has plenty in his, too. Unfortunately, juggling the crystals, detector, and chocolate has become a bit of a struggle.

"Well, New Years' is important to any time traveler like you and I," the Doctor said, gently nudging Hiro with his shoulder. "But little holidays for people like you and me, that's difficult."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I suppose the best one can do is to make their own meaning for it? My people just like the general fun and games of it - giving presents, having a family dinner. I suppose what I like is the general hopeful feeling of the season."

He holds his hand out to take whatever the Doctor needs to hand him to prevent him from dropping anything.

"Quite true. When you see so many spectacles and festivals, everything else seems to get lost."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"I'm not so much a fan of a family dinner," the Doctor admitted. "But yes, the feeling of the season, the way everything seems to buzz with a sort of energy."

He glanced back down at the machine in his That's what I want to figure out. What is it that makes this season different from every other season.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"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?"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"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."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro stares at the picture. "Sugoi! Is that what all the good feeling looks like? It is beautiful!"

[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."

[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]

"Brilliant. Let's head out this way, try to see if we can find the source of the power." If the Doctor had been any more excited, he might've been skipping. Instead, he was half-jogging down the snowy sidewalk, following the blinking light.

"Wait. Something's wrong."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro trots with him. That's one thing about being with the Doctor, you never just walk anywhere. "What's wrong/" He's looking around, expecting something to jump out at them. His hand is hovering over the Doctor's shoulder just in case they have to get out fast.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Psychic energy signals," he says, showing Hiro the screen. "They've spiked. It's not like anything I've seen before. Not for this area of the universe, at least."

He nods down an alleyway. "Shortcut."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Do you know what it means?" He follows the Doctor down the alley, keeping an eye on the device.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Not a clue," the Doctor admitted. "Not yet."

He raised a hand, watching it move through space and ripple through time.

"Can you feel that?" he asked. "Time's changed. Right here, it's moved. It's solidified."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

With Hiro's ability, he felt it quite clearly, but he's not sure what happened because he's never felt it before. "Yes, I felt it, What is it?" He's not sure about solidified time, but he's very curious.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor nodded, impressed. "Make a Time Lord out of you yet, Hiro," he said.

He held out a hand, gesturing for him to do the same. Right there, you can feel how time ripples around us. That means we've moved into a fixed area of time, bit like sticking your hand in gelatin.. Like an incident that can't be changed. Except! We're at Christmas in 2009. Nothing that significant happens."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I would be honored," he bows.

Hiro puts his hand up against the field, then begins to press through. "It is unusual." There's a tingling in his arm. "Does this mean something has changed from the original Christmas?"

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

The Doctor grinned. Hiro certainly had the ability, which was rare, very rare in a human. He wished the high council were around now and could see just how advanced his favorite species could become on their own.

"I think it does," the Doctor said. He fumbled in his pockets, eventually producing a small key on a string. He offered it to Hiro.

"Put this around your neck. It has a perception field, should help with the interference as we pass through it."

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro nods and puts the key around his neck. "We should press forward then?" As he pushes even more, the tingling becomes more pronounced. It's not painful, but he's very aware of it. It isn't as hard to get through as it was before he put the key on.

"What has come here? This cannot be of human design. At least not present-time design."

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Definitely not from this planet or time," the Doctor agreed with a nod. "The question is, when? Or what?"

The time interference was raw against the Doctor's mind, but he was far more adept at repressing such pains than Hiro. One day, the Doctor imagined his companion would probably become more powerful than the Doctor himself, his innate abilities and his human creativity working together.

But for now, the Doctor would protect him.

He pushed through the field, holding the device out to check the range on the signal. It fizzled and rippled with the changing timelines.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

Hiro suddenly stops in the middle of the field and reaches up to where something doesn't look right. He sees something that is totally strange to him. Where he is looking it's night and people are walking by, then he sees another area.

"Doctor, this field is folded time," he says quietly. His fingers slip through and open another fold - this one leading to a sunshiny day. Although all of them are obviously during the winter possibly the same day over several years or maybe a few hours. He doesn't let the folds move any farther apart than what his fingers fit through. After all, he might freak someone out by sticking his head out of seemingly nowhere.

He continues to push through behind the Doctor, trying to see what the device says, but he's a bit too short.

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's very bad," the Doctor says. He doesn't reach out and touch the altered time in the way Hiro did, he's not entirely sure he could take the twisting of time around him. This, right now, is difficult enough.

"Someone's taking the combined powers of the residual human psychic energy and using it to fuel this obstruction in time. Why?"

He lowers the device so Hiro can see it, too. It's blinking in red, the little swirly Gallifreyan language telling the Doctor that time is very, very fouled.

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"I have never seen this kind of thing before," he says in a quiet voice. "Is someone trying to bleed off this energy?"

Hiro looks at the device but he can't read the Gallifreyan. "What is that spike?" He points to a regular pulse that is showing up on the readout.

Hope your holidays were wonderful!

[rude-not-ginger.livejournal.com]

"Ooooh, that's not good," the Doctor said. He shook his head. "Time energy readings off the chart. We might be able to follow this."

He gives Hiro a grin and nods. "Ready?"

Re: Nice and quiet which I like. Yours?

[powered-otaku.livejournal.com]

"Yosh!" He's not completely sure what they're going to face, but he's more than willing to go. He feels his best when he's helping others. He has no idea what they're facing, but still he wants to find out what it is and what he can do to help.