OPEN ● ● ● Every Christmas is Last Christmas

[lateness]

CHARACTERS: the doctor (12), the doctor (11), clara oswald, river song, and all of you
LOCATION: the mess hall, the kitchens, the simulation room
DATE: december 24th, 25th
CONTENT: team tardis throws a big christmas party for the station
WARNINGS: none for now, will warn as needed (no fires!!!)

PART I
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ...

1.0 Inside the kitchen and mess hall, Orbers will find the entire place decked out to the nines (Or elevens! Hohoho). No one knows how this all came together, but you will find almost everything Christmas related decorated along the walls and tables.

Hanging all around the walls are blue Christmas stockings! Each stocking will have the name of Orber etched in gold knitting. Inside each stocking is an array of personalized treats (if your character is a smoker, for example, then they will find a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, etc.)

On the tables at each place setting there are various coloured paper crowns for Orbers to decorate on their head – courtesy of Clara Oswald and her assistant, the Doctor (the chinny one) – and Christmas crackers to share with friends. Go on, then! Pull that cracker, see the assortment of sweets and surprises you’ve received. As far as refreshments go, there is plenty to share amongst everyone! There is eggnog, "naughty" eggnog, cookies, cakes, candy canes and sugar gumdrops. It is a downright delightful spread of treats to indulge and tide you over for before you feast with your teammates.

2.0 Before the main feast is prepared, there are plenty of activities to keep you (or a friend or two) occupied. Do you see those Christmas trees on almost every corner of the station? Yeah, the Doctor(s) got awfully distracted (something about if a hot dog is a sandwich) and these bare trees could use some decorative love. Or perhaps you can express your creative talents in the kitchen, where you may want to test out a new recipe to share with the rest of the class. Whether it be a savoury or a sweet dish, there is sure to be at least one person who might like it.

There is also a magician’s kit lying around if you want to take a crack at learning a few new tricks to show off to others! Or if you wish to partake in any group activity, there is a stack of board games and a deck of cards to play a friendly game of Go Fish! Who knows? The game-world’s your oyster.

3.0 By evening, the mess hall will be set up with napkins and plates and cutlery of varying Christmas-y colours. It isn’t perfect, but nothing ever really is, is it? Especially after the Doctor (the cross Scots one) might have very nearly burned the kitchens down a little earlier – something about improving the heat for the roast. Still, it’s finally time for the Christmas feast! And oh, what a smell there is wafting through the large space. There’s plenty of delicious food to go around – especially using much of the ingredients that had come in through the last supply drop. There are varying plates of savoury and sweet dishes, some recognizable, some a little more ... eclectic (you use what space ingredients you’re given, after all), but all of what the hosts have prepared look ... surprisingly edible, some of it even delicious. Roast veg, gravy, stuffing, biscuits, gingerbread, hot cocoa, marshmallows, something mulled, and sweets!

Of course, the more food, the merrier! If you’ve taken part in the cooking and baking from earlier, arriving with your own special Signature Dish, the Doctors (yes, both of them!) will be so pleased to see it join the rest of the feast.

And for those who might have run across the Doctor’s enthusiastic ramblings on Jammie Dodgers at one point will finally get a chance to try them. They’ll be stacked up to resemble a tree on a plate, sprinkled with (edible) glitter in blue and silver.

PART II
SIMPLY HAVING A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME

4.0 Christmas Morning finds everyone with an open invitation to the simulation room to attend a very merry Christmas morning. Step inside and be taken away to a warm and cozy living room that is elaborately decorated for the holiday. You’ve been decorated for the occasion too, decked out in pajamas and a robe. With slippers to match, everyone that’s a part of Christmas morning will look like they’re ready to play their part in the festivities. There’s a fire crackling in the fireplace, the smell of cinnamon and clove in the air, and the distant sound of traditional Christmas songs playing on an antique radio over in the corner of the room. There’s also a tree, of course, one that almost seems too large to be in such a quaint place. It’s fully decorated, absolutely covered with a variety of kitschy ornaments like Santa Claus on a T-Rex or bears in tutus. There also happen to be ornaments of every single orber present on the station, presented in the form of ridiculous looking little elves.

Around the tree and scattered around the floor are opened gift boxes, wrapping paper strewn about. Toys from the boxes are discarded on the floor and around the room, plastic dinosaurs and robots that come to life when you wind them up. There are ridiculous looking squeaky alien toys, marshmallow launchers, and even a giant stuffed giraffe. Who could all of these toys belong to?

There also happen to be gifts beneath the tree for everyone. There aren’t any labels on the gifts so feel free to choose whichever one you like (but only one, there won’t be any greedy Scrooges here on Christmas!). No matter what size package that is chosen, big or small, there’s a sweater inside: an ugly Christmas sweater for everyone. One that can be put on over your pajamas to take part in an ugly sweater contest once everyone has unwrapped their gifts.

And of course no Christmas morning is complete without some sort of breakfast. Set up in the corner of the room is a small table with pastries and cocoa, with a big bowl of mini marshmallows. There’s coffee present too, for those that prefer their breakfast with a little less sugar. There’s plenty of seating around the living room to grab a leather chair or a spot on the fluffy couch. Or maybe sit in one of the red velvet chairs over by the windows to watch the slow and steady snowfall over a picturesque view of the British countryside.

5.0 As the events of the morning slowly come to an end, the simulation shifts to a quiet little town. There’s snow on rooftops and colorful lights lining buildings that manage to glisten and glow even in the daylight. The entire street is completely over the top with decoration; fresh garlands that smell of pleasant pine, miniature christmas trees decorated from top to bottom, and vibrant red bows are just about everywhere. There’s no hustle and bustle here, just a relaxed afternoon in the most Christmasy town ever.

The smell of cider and gingerbread baking are in the air, brought on by a bakery that’s open for a visit. Want to make a gingerbread house? There are materials set out to do that. There are things for gingerbread people too, if that’s more your bag.

There’s a bookstore filled with all kinds of books. If you’re not from Earth and are curious about Christmas, there’s plenty of children’s books on the matter waiting for you to enjoy. They’re set up on an elaborate display up front, though anyone is free to browse around and look through what else they have to offer.

A toy store, magician’s shop, and a boisterous pub round off the shops found on the street. There’s street vendors selling chestnuts that have been roasted over an open fire, wassail, and marshmallows for roasting. There’s also a band playing live music, Christmas carols of course. Join in and sing along or don’t. No one’s going to judge you either way. Take your time to enjoy everything or rush through because it’s too much Christmas, all in your face at once. Either way, the marketplace is present for hours in the afternoon and leading into the evening hours.

6.0 As night falls everyone is guided out of town and down a candle lit path that leads to a frozen over pond. It’s been set up for ice skating, with skates set aside for anyone that wants a pair. There’s baubles of lights set out all around the area, and the moon hangs high overhead. No seriously, the moon looks incredibly huge tonight. It’s blue glow reflects on the ice along with the warm yellow glow of all the lights. It’s a welcoming atmosphere, inviting anyone that’s brave enough to put on skates and take part.

The band from the Christmas market earlier are back to play throughout the night, playing quieter songs mixed in with lively pieces that are meant to get people speed skating around the ice.

Set a short distance away from the ice is a long table, with plenty of mismatched seats. Fairy lights twinkle overhead, and are also glowing from inside glass canisters that make up the centerpieces on the table. There’s dark blue galaxy dinnerware at every place, and a small feast spread out so no matter where someone sits there’s plenty within reach. It always manages to stay warm, and nothing ever seems to run out. It’s a perfect place to take a break and grab a quick meal, or just sit and chat with someone while you both enjoy a drink.

The area around the pond can be explored, so go crazy playing in the snow or whatever it is you want to do there. Just don’t wander too far off from the group. There may or may not be razor-toothed snowmen keeping you from going too far. They may hiss or blow snow in your face, but they probably won’t try to bite anyone.

🎄 After all of that is said and done, Orbers may find themselves drawn towards a small bonfire billowing from the center of this quaint little town. But it isn’t just the scent of warm Maplewood dancing underneath your nose. There sitting on top of a milk-crate is The Doctor (12) playing a jaunty little tune from his electric guitar. Orbers are more than welcome to sit around the bonfire and reflect on these past few months and where they might find themselves in the future.

If you find yourselves by your lonesome fear not! The Doctor (11) will be there offer you a hug (or smooch if you’re feeling saucy).

No matter what strife you have been through this year, just remember ...

Each and every one of your lives is a story. So best make it a good one.

Comments

Zari Tarazi | Legends of Tomorrow

[catchatting]

2.0
Zari might not celebrate Christmas, but it's hard to resist such a warm invitation. The party feels downright wholesome and the board games in particular leave something warm in Zari's chest, filling in some of the hole she's felt there since the last time she saw John.

With a rueful shake of her head, she finds herself an orange crown and a black marker so that she can make it leopard printed before she puts it on her head.

The magic kit hits a little too close to home, but Parcheesi? She can handle a little Parcheesi so she opens the box and starts to set it up, waiting to see if anyone will come sit or maybe if someone glances her way she'll even wave them over.

"I haven't played board games since I was a kid, except for the one time my ex got us all sucked into one."

4.0
The warmth in Zari's chest only continues to spread the next day as she dons flannel pajamas and a silk robe and helps herself to some much-deserved hot cocoa. She's not as concerned with getting gifts as she is enjoying the atmosphere around here. People are happy and affectionate and Zari misses the loud but loving environment on the Waverider so much right now. She misses her parents, too, but the Legends have become such a part of herself. It's hard to imagine that she doesn't know when she'll actually see any of them again.

So she sits in a plush velvet chair by the window to watch the snow fall, but wouldn't you know it, she may have snuck in a little piece of mistletoe with her and hung it right over her head. Subtlety's just not her thing and who doesn't want a friendly kiss on a cold winter morning?

6.0
It's hard to pass up ice skating, especially when the last couple of years have involved a lot of running and fighting and only finding leisure in the spaces between. Of course, it's not as if she's been worked to the bone, but finding time for specific activities like this isn't always easy, so she's going to lace up her skates and get on the ice, skating in large circles until her knees start to give out.

She's no figure skater, but she is light on her feet and if she has to cheat a little with the totem to make sure she doesn't fall, well who can really blame her for that? She may skate up next to a familiar face if she gets the urge and link her arm in theirs.

If not, then after a while she will trot off of the ice, practically falling onto a bench so that she can get her skates off. She's panting and out of breath, but she can't stop smiling and her cheeks are flushed.

"Forgot how much harder it is than it looks...."

Wildcard
(come at me)

4

[homeostatic]

Would you look at that, ( Leonard notes of her mistletoe sprig, ) How on earth did that get there?

( Having milled around the other orbers for a bit, he's wended his way back Zari, a gift box under his arm and a merry twinkle in his eye. )

[catchatting]

[ Zari looks up with cartoonishly-feigned surprised. ]

Oh my gosh where did that come from?

[ And then she smiles at him and pats the seat next to hers in invitation. ]

Well, I'm pretty comfortable here, so I guess I'll just have to suffer the danger of being kissed by all the incredibly attractive people at this party. However will I handle that ordeal?

[homeostatic]

( He slides into that seat beside her with a low hum, like he's deeply considering her very worrying plight with all the seriousness it merits. She does look very pretty, framed by the silvery scene behind her. )

I don't know about 'incredibly' attractive, I think you're outshining the rest of us there. You'll make it, somehow, ( Leonard offers in assurance, tipping his face toward hers. )

[catchatting]

[ She beams at the compliment. Looking good has always been a part of her job, but she's not going to refute a compliment, especially not from a handsome doctor.

One who is she is very happy to lean into for that kiss, though she's not aiming for anything too steamy. It's not that kind of party. ]

At least if I have a medical emergency, I can put myself in your capable hands.

6.0

[cheapbastard]

Billy knows where he belongs and it's not on the fuckin' ice. So, after a few falls and some scraped elbows, he gets off and leans against the wall separating the rink from the outside area. That's how he comes to see Zari skating around and he watches without saying anything until about her fifth pass.

"Where'd you learn to skate, huh?"

Not that he cares that much but it's something to ask since he's been keeping an eye on her (and many others) while he tries to let his body recover.

"You gonna do a big time jump next?"

[catchatting]

With a warm laugh bubbling out of her, she skates closer and comes to rest against the edge of the rink right next to where he is on the other side. She's used to courting attention, so she doesn't feel self-conscious about being watched. On the contrary, she soaks it up, but it also gets her mask back up--the one she'd been starting to drop more and more because of John--and she's not sure if that's really progress.

"Oh, no no no. No jumps for me. I like have two functioning ankles, thank you." She inclines her head towards him. "Don't tell me you're done already."

[cheapbastard]

"Oh, I'm fuckin' done. This is not for me."

He motions towards the rink and then shakes his head. He is not an ice skater and he is never going to be an ice skater.

"I think I've got bruised on both my arse cheeks and I would like to continue to be able to sit down without making old man faces. I ain't that old yet."

[catchatting]

"Yeah, if you can't sit down, might as well have it be for fun reasons, right?"

She leans in a little closer, voice low.

"What if I hold your hand? Bet you can skate a little better with some help."

It's not really something she's done before, because she's spent a lot of her life really focused on herself, but she's seen people do it and making friends--real friends who don't sleep with your fiance--means she gets to do that kind of stuff, too, right?

( 2.0 )

[scarcastically]

[ erik shrugs, squinting at it. ]

I don't actually remember. If I ever did.

[catchatting]

Well, it's pretty simple, so I think you'll be fine as long as no one's lurking around with more magic than common sense.

[ Zari smiles at him. ]

Nice to see you in the waking world.

[scarcastically]

That's playing hardball in this place.

And nice to see you too, when I'm not bleeding out.

[catchatting]

Yeah. I like you better in one piece.

[ She plays with one of the plastic pieces, twirling it with a gentle gust of wind just above her palm. ]

I'm supposed to be the melodramatic one.

4.0

[oiorpata]

Andy doesn't really do Christmas either, but she does do food and drink. After the Doctor gets her to the simulation room, she gets herself her own cup of hot cocoa, and looks for her own cozy little spot and maybe any familiar faces. She recognizes Zari from the dreams, the time traveler, and absently makes her way over. It helps that she's sitting by the window, and Andy can definitely appreciate a good snowfall.

She sinks into the seat beside Zari's, her own robe tied more lazily and half off her shoulder. She's been seeing fistfuls of mistletoe all over the station, so it doesn't occur to her immediately that Zari might have done so on purpose.

"You ever time travel to pre-Christmas days?"

[catchatting]

Zari smiles at her new companion. Much as she'd sat herself under the mistletoe for a kiss, she's just as happy for a nice conversation. It reminds her more and more of the Waverider and even if the people here aren't her close friends yet, she feels more and more comfort at the ease with which she's found herself fitting here.

"Pre-Christmas? Not me, but I know my team has gone that early before I joined. I've heard at least one story about a dinosaur trying to eat someone."

And if Zari's honest, she is not jealous about that. Time travel is dangerous enough without the dinosaurs, thanks.

"Have you?"

[oiorpata]

Don't worry, she'll get there!

"I'll pass on the dinosaurs." At least those were dead before she was born.

It really shouldn't be so amusing that Zari thinks she's a time traveler. One day that correction will come out, but it's not like Andy has ever said she was one. She just... let the assumption play out. "There was plenty of time that existed before that Jesus guy was born. Lots to see."

[catchatting]

"Does it get weird? Going to a time before your religion existed? Islam's even newer than Christianity. Hard to wrap my brain around the idea that maybe someone really did just make it all up one day and then my family lived all our lives by it for generations."

Zari's never sure how to reconcile the tangible and intangible, so she tries not to think about it too much. Time travel exists, her totem is some kind of spiritual ancestral power that she's pretty sure predates her religion, too, but it's hard to reconcile that with the idea that observing the way she does also matters on some level.

"I guess I shouldn't assume that you're Christian. It's just that most people are where I'm from, even if they're not like religious."

2

[bossily]

Clara's always up for a good game of Parcheesi. She spots someone setting up the board and moves to sit across the table. She's not particularly expecting to hear that second part of what's said, and the shock on her face shows for a few moments.

"Sorry, what?" No, she definitely just heard something about being sucked into a game. "So you're saying you basically lived Jumanji?" There's a pause, and she chooses to accept that at face value. She's heard and lived through stranger things. She just shrugs and nods a little, putting her pieces into place on the board.

[catchatting]

"No, it was more like we were stuck in the Clue mansion." Which she is suddenly thankful for with the reminder of how much worse a game's theme could be than fake-1920s-murder-mystery.

"If there had been vicious animals involved, I would have skinned John alive."

Said calmly as she arranges the red pieces in their starting spot for herself, of course.

"I'm Zari."

[bossily]

"Clara," she offers her name with a smile as she ensures each and every blue piece is perfectly centered in its proper position.

"How is it you were able to go into a game at all?" She's utterly fascinated by the concept, and wonders if it's something like magic or a superpower she hasn't even heard of yet. There's a few games she'd like to pop into once or twice, just to have the fun of winning.

As their pieces are arranged on the board nice and neat, Clara picks up the dice and hands them over to Zari so she can start.

[catchatting]

"Uh, I'd say perks of dating a master of the mystical arts, but I'm not sure that it was a perk. It was kind of terrifying and stressful and I had to watch all of our friends get murdered."

There had been moments when she'd been worried it might stick, but even without that, seeing them dead hadn't been good. Zari's had enough death in her life that's been real.

"I don't totally get how a lot of magic works, to be honest. It was always John's thing."

2.0

[romancekiller]

You got sucked into a board game? [clarke could relate to not having played since she was younger but she can't help but find herself curious about the rest. she bites back the question on how that is even possible especially given where they are but she definitely looks confused hearing the other woman's statement] That sounds like it must have been really weird.

[catchatting]

Mmmm yeah. I've done weirder, though.

[ Which might not actually be a good thing? She's not sure anymore. ]

[romancekiller]

Really? [clarke gives her another curious look hearing that because she's unsure what that means] Like how weird are we talking?

tw drugs

[catchatting]

My brother once ate a mushroom because he was convinced my dead boyfriend was inside it and wanted him to eat a piece so they could speak. I thought he was just high--and he was--but John was also inside the little mushroom. Also he died trying to kill a bigger mushroom that was Earth's only defense against alien invasion, so...

[ She makes a vague gesture with her hands. ]