{ video } | Yule be Home for Christmas - w/ #TeamTARDIS

[attackbrows]

[ The brain video feed turns on, revealing a very charming and handsome young man sitting in front of the camera wearing a pair of sunglasses. Where’d he get those glasses from? Ray-Ban could never!

It looks like he’s sitting in one of the residential rooms that appear to be somewhat polished, save for the packaged meat sitting behind one bed. ]

Well? Come on, then! And maybe don’t look so cross, you know, show them a little holiday spirit! Should we get you the hat? We should get you the hat —

Shut it! I know what I’m doing.

[ An exasperated sigh can be heard to the side that sounds eerily Clara-esque. ]

And what’s all that about?! Why am I the one delivering this? Just get flappy bird to do it! Why can’t we send them an e-mail? Or one of those carrier pigeons?

What pigeons, Doctor?

Hold on a tick — did we get pigeons in our item drop? That’d be brilliant, eh? We’d hardly need these communications devices, oh! Oh, I could show Alina —

No! Now, stop it! You’re distracting yourself.

[ In a few moments, the Doctor (the cute one) is looking off to the side with his eyes slightly squinted. ]

Read. The… Yes! Yes! I know!

[ The Doctor (the incredibly smooth and sexy one) starts sifting through a short stack of index cards in his hands. ]

Hello. This is the Doctor. You know? The incredibly tall and sauve one. Not the old, crinkly man who is currently reading this messa--

[ His eyes immediately shoot up to show his predecessor the meanest of mugs.

There’s an audible “Ow!” heard offscreen, followed by Clara reaching over to grab that first card. You can clearly see the internal struggle the Doctor (the one who is serving Einstein meets Beethoven realness) is going through. Like a child being tasked to wash the dishes or having to kiss their granny. ]

These past few months have been incredibly difficult and tiresome, but I assure you all are doing a brilliant job. This is the part where you give them a thumbs up and a smile.

[ ...Skipping that part. ]

Given that we’ve spent over 500-some odd hours together on this station, me, Clara and the old bat who looks like a grey dusty tumbleweed reading this messa—

[ Tossing that away! ]

—Would like to invite you all to celebrate Christmas with us. For all of my non-Earth friends, it is a special holiday most humans like to spend together. There will be plenty of food and fizzy drinks to go around. There will also be tree-mendous decorations. Stop for laughter. [ … ] I snow hope you will all able to join us.

I love you all from my head to my mistletoe.

[ After all that is read, the Doctor promptly reaches for a brick and clutches it against his chest and lets out a sigh of relief. From somewhere off-camera, there’s a series of claps, maybe applause? Maybe a fly somehow made it onto the station? (No it’s definitely applause, joined with a ‘See that wasn’t so hard now, was it?’) ]

Doctor!

Can I have my crisps now?

[ ooc note: threadhopping is a go!

color key: clara = orange, the doctor (11) = blue, the doctor (12) = purple ]

[ ooc update: You can find the Christmas Party log HERE!!! ]

Comments

[kovach]

Okay? Keep it.

[ is this supposed to be a threat? or a promise? ]

[peasant]

[ she's on the edge of an undeterred eye roll before she pauses, a little awkwardly. ]

Do you really not want it? I thought it might help, after ... all of that.

[ horrific side effects of a mission she isn't going to bring up, beyond the wobbly wave of her hand. ]

If parties make you that ill, I'll leave it at your door the night before.

[kovach]

[ he sighs, a heavy exhale of cigarette smoke leaving his mouth, because he knows what she's referring to and — well, she's not wrong. ]

You don't ... actually have to get me anything, you know.

[peasant]

[ her eyebrows lift, a faint twinkle of amusement that seems to say of course i know that. ]

I know. That's what makes it a gift. If I had to get you anything, we would call it blackmail.

[ and, really, he must know her well enough to realize alina starkov isn't in the habit of listening to instructions she doesn't want to hear. ]

It's my first real Christmas. I wanted to do it right.

[kovach]

Alright. Valid point.

[ he really hates when she's right. ]

Yeah, I don't really ... I don't do the holiday thing. Never really — [ well, he doesn't need to get into it. alina knows his past, knows it wouldn't come up for him as a kid, knows he grew up someplace where there was no need for celebration. ] Sounds like I'm gonna be wrangled into it whether I want to or not anyway.

[peasant]

[ had a reason, she suspects, filling in the gaps for herself. ever the artist, painting in the empty spaces for herself, to help her create a portrait. ]

I understand. [ her lips quirk, a twitch of a softer, solemn smile. what would there be to celebrate, when so much of his past is soaked in blood and loss and grief? she knows well what holidays bring, herself — a reminder of warm families and acceptance she had never received. ] Holidays at the orphanage were just a reminder of what everyone else was lucky enough to have.

[ while they sat, forgotten, in a cold corner of ravka. for as miserable as that piece of her past had been, she seems to skim over it smoothly, as though burying that sadness down deep comes naturally. her next smile is more genuine, dimpling a little at the corners with her huffed laugh. ]

Try not to look too miserable when you come to the party. Or do — I'll be glad enough that you're there for the both of us.

[kovach]

[ for all that he tends to tease her, there really is a definite understanding that's present, like a silent mutual communication that allows the weightier words to be unsaid. it might be what he's come to like about alina; he doesn't need to explain himself because she just seems to know. ]

Well, from the looks of it, you're gonna have plenty of people here making sure everyone gets a piece. [ if the doctors and clara have anything to say about it. ] Promise I'll put on my best party scowl.

[peasant]

Maybe. Their invitation was enough of a gift for me, I think.

[ maybe. maybe the excitement that flutters in her chest is enough, to soothe the homesickness that always accompanies the absence of mal at her side. it's selfish, to wish him here for something so silly as festivities they had never had the luxury of celebrating — but it feels equally selfish to continue on without him.

besides, the gifts pale in comparison to the concept of togetherness. included in something, for once, rather than an outsider looking in. as she does with every somber thought, she locks it away, until it can no longer be ignored. ]

Quick question. [ the breeze of laughter can nearly be heard between her syllables. ] How is that any different from your regular scowl, Keshi?

cw: drug reference

[kovach]

Sounds like you're actually looking forward to this thing.

[ really, he supposes he can see why, why everyone would be excited for something like this, even if he's not necessarily the first one running up to join in on the party scene. but he knows the weight of several missions, one of which he hadn't been a part of, might provide a sort of heaviness plenty of the orbers might be eager to get away from, even if for a night.

even someone as rigid and dull as him could appreciate the concept.

and he knows alina herself has dipped into the missions with plenty of her devotion, having seen her right up there on the top floor with cheri before she dropped her through the ground, and knowing she'd had some connection with the princess over in the castle. knowing what he knows about her, what she bears on her chest, she could use something to ease her from all that she puts on her own shoulders.

the name she uses is a different one he hasn't heard, but it's enough to make him smirk up a little, a slight smile on his lips. ] Because this one's gonna be wet all night from a constant drink in my hand and a different kind of smoke blowing out from my mouth.

cw: puff the magic dragon

[peasant]

[ the halting beat that follows, the pause around the shape her mouth begins to make — it's a small blip of embarrassment, uncertain of whether her eagerness is something to be self-conscious over, now that it's been called to her attention. the sides of her smile strain, shy. ]

Maybe a little, [ she mumbles, suddenly reticent. ] I wasn't welcome many places back home. Knowing that there are people that actually want me around is new.

[ and the last party she had attended ... well. this is an improvement from being paraded like a prized pony, or the chaos that had followed. ]

I don't think you'll be needing more than one drink after you open your gift. [ nothing like magical wine to improve a mood, apparently. alina's smile tips upward, a little brighter, a little more amused; kovac's smile is so rare that even the smallest sign of it feels like a victory, stark in contrast. with a bemused wrinkle of her nose, as she huffs out a quiet, confused laugh: ] What kind of smoke would that? Are you going to transform into a dragon for your next trick?

cw: kovacs' regularly scheduled drug chatter

[kovach]

[ it's a familar idea, being unwelcomed, although in his case, most of them had warranted reasons for not welcoming him. it's not like kovacs has ever been exactly skilled at making friends, and most of the time, he's only willing to befriend trouble. getting invited anyway was an invitation to a trap or a fight, or usually both.

but he doesn't judge alina for her excitement, even if he's resistant himself on the concept of going. ]

You know, some people actually would call it that. But let's just say I might have a few things in my bag that ... really lighten a mood. Make you feel all kinds of good, like you're floating, like you're weightless.

cw: don't do drugs stay in school

[peasant]

Does it also make you sound like a merchant trying to peddle stolen wares, by any chance?

[ really, it's the behavior of a merchant peddling awful wares, suspicious and persuasive. still, alina chimes out a fond laugh. what's the point in behaving like her interest isn't piqued, when she's felt nothing but weighted by her burdens lately? ]

We'll have to see if it's as good as you say, won't we. [ notably, it isn't a question. ] Save something good for me.