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Tweak says, "Ya wanna check it out?"

The Doctor (just_thedoctor) wrote in seasidecafe,
@ 2008-12-28 00:49:00

Entry tags:

presents

The Doctor: Presents
The Doctor remains in his seat, grinning. "Nicely done!" he cheers for Quirrell, applauding.

He gets to his feet and tucks his hands into his pockets, then leans against the edge of the table and waits for the crowd to quiet down. When he can speak without having to raise his voice much, he begins, smiling as he does.

"See the thing about time travel, is that it makes it possible to go back into the past and make sure people you... care about get just the thing they were hoping for, just what they wanted, for the holidays. It's a little bit like playing Father Christmas." He grins. "Maybe even better than playing Father Christmas, because it's a complete surprise to the people getting the gift... Can't really stick around to reveal yourself -- just think of the paradoxes it would cause if they met you before they really meet you!"

"And..." He removes one hand from his pocket and points to the crowd, tone a somewhat stern. "For those of you more familiar with the rules about timelines and interfering with them, if done properly -- that is, making sure you aren't seen – the whole secret-gift-giving-thing is sort-of permissible under the Cheap Tricks clause. Which is a very important clause. Not unlike Santa."

He shrugs, then hurries on to better explain himself, speaking rapidly. "And it's not every year that I do it, just, you know, every once in a while, when I see something special. A microscope for Liz, an out-of-print book on plants Peri. Rare recording for Grace. And plenty of others." He grins, eyes twinkling. "Don't want to ruin any surprises."

His smile fades, expression becoming more serious. He speaks again after a moment. "But I think the best present I ever gave was a red bicycle. To Rose Tyler. When she was twelve." He smiles fondly. "I thought she’d like it. And the red – not sure if it was a favourite colour, but like a rose... " He shrugs and smiles somewhat sheepishly. "I thought it was an appropriate choice at any rate. And it made me think of her."

After another pause, he continues quietly. "I told her about it, one time, after we'd started traveling together. I was smiling, had a good day, saved the world, met Jack, everyone lived, and she said to me, she said 'Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas.' And I replied, 'Who says I'm not, red-bicycle-when-you-were-twelve.'" He grins, eyes looking a bit too bright and continues with a short chuckle, "I don't think she believed me!" His smile fades, expression turning wistful, before he shrugs and adds "But that's fine." He stands quietly for a moment, looking downward, scuffing the floor with his trainer..

He takes a deep breath, shakes his head, trying to shake off his mood, before continuing. "Anyway! What I would want as a present..." He hesitates a moment, then speaks quietly. "Well, it's really not worth destroying the universe for. Well, she is. But... Never mind." He shakes his head forcefully. "Impossible! Not important!"

"And besides!" he bursts with forced enthusiasm, smile taking a moment to become truly genuine. "It's the season of giving!"

"So, tell you what, I have too many things. Really. The TARDIS is bursting, which..." he breaks off, nodding emphatically before continuing on in a rush "...is saying something, seeing as it's dimensionally transcendental. So, you're all invited to stop over after our meeting this evening and pick something out. Anything you want out the wardrobe, the library, storage, even the art gallery. Though, you will have to arrange how to transport whatever you select, since, you know, my ship is still not quite working."

"Ah!" he adds quickly. "And, I'll make sure my... er, roommate is out... or locked up... or something... so he can't bother you at all." He lowers his voice. "He's... a bit Grinch."

He grins suddenly and takes his seat. "Hope to see you later! And Happy Holidays!"

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(Post a new comment)

	double_q 2008-12-28 05:46 pm UTC (link)
	Q flushes at the Doctor's applause and grins shyly. His ears prick up at the mention of a library and he decides to go check out the TARDIS. (Reply to this)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-12-30 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	"The Cheap Tricks clause? I've never heard of that." (Reply to this) (Thread)

	just_thedoctor 2008-12-31 10:39 pm UTC (link)
	nods Ahh... Well, it's sort-of a... loophole. continues on swiftly I'm sure you're familiar with the time travel rule about not crossing into established events in history... Anyway, the one exception is for cheap tricks. grins Apparently there was a Time Lord with a sense of humor at some point... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2008-12-31 11:43 pm UTC (link)
	"What kind of cheap tricks?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	just_thedoctor 2009-01-01 12:11 am UTC (link)
	Well... You know... Sorta little surprises and such... Like if I wanted to prove that I could travel in time to someone, I could meet them, go back in time, do something silly, then travel forward in time so they could connect the dots... brow furrows, getting a bit lost in his own explanation So to speak... brow furrows further Does that make sense? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-01 12:19 am UTC (link)
	"Why wouldn't you just take them back in time? Or forward? A little first-hand experience." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	just_thedoctor 2009-01-01 12:37 am UTC (link)
	Well, I could. But, this way is sort of a... confidence-builder. shrugs Sometimes people are nervous about walking into the TARDIS and time traveling right off... muses I can't imagine why... I think she seems trustworthy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-01 12:54 am UTC (link)
	"What sort of things do you do, tell them?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	just_thedoctor 2009-01-01 01:10 am UTC (link)
	Sorry... shakes his head, a bit confused Do I tell them about time travel, do you mean? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-01 01:14 am UTC (link)
	"No, for the cheap tricks thing. What do you do?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	just_thedoctor 2009-01-02 12:04 am UTC (link)
	thinks a moment Card games. Start one in the evening, go back in time, show whomever you're playing against the winning hand, come back and finish the game. nods, serious Things like that. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-02 12:33 am UTC (link)
	"Seems like there's a lot of potential for abuse there. Like, you could find out what horse would win a race, and then go back in time and place your bets." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	just_thedoctor 2009-01-02 12:52 am UTC (link)
	Oh, but see that falls outside of the clause. Using events for personal gain... shakes his head ...sort of a no-no. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-02 01:05 am UTC (link)
	"Umm....why? Are there some sort of time police or something? That itself doesn't sound paradoxical, not like meeting yourself." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

just_thedoctor
2009-01-04 10:21 am UTC (link)

*shrugs, turning quiet*
There used to be. Not police, exactly, but... go against the code of time travel and you'd wind up in court with Time Lords staring at you.
*sighs*
And while it's not as bad as meeting yourself... The most important rule of time travel as a Time Lord was not to get involved, not to interfere, just observe. Taking advantage of knowledge like that... would be frowned on.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-04 01:16 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh. The Time Lords." He doesn't bother to keep the disapproval out of his voice. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

just_thedoctor
2009-01-05 10:51 pm UTC (link)

*frowns, noticing the disapproval*
Look, I know you don't agree with some of their rules... *breaks off* I didn't agree with some of their rules. Well, many of their rules. Lots... of their rules.
*pauses a moment*
But some of them were good people. *quietly* Some of them... were my friends. And most of them were just trying to do what they thought was right. Just like any of us.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2009-01-06 02:51 pm UTC (link)
	"Yes, but what they thought was right included inflicting their laws on other people. It's not like they were elected officials, Doctor. No one chose them as Time Lords. They just called themselves that and thought that gave them the right to...police time travel and make laws regarding it that they expect other people to follow." (Reply to this) (Parent)