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whatif_auTitle: 'Snowglobe'
Author:but_can_i_be_trusted
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Notes: Crossposted togenprompt_bingo and ficlet_zone
Summary: He looked...almost hurt, somehow.
"I'm surprised that you're not kicking up a fuss over the fact that I've brought you here as a Christmas present," mused a distinctly amused Doctor, "given that Christmas was a few days ago."
River gazed at him over the mug of her gingerbread-flavored drink, one touted as an original, traditional holiday coffee on dozens of worlds in the neighboring systems, looking the very picture of innocence. "Why would I ever dream of quibbling with a man who has his very own time machine? Particularly when the time machine herself taught me how to fly her," she added, not quite sotto voce.
The planet that he'd whisked her out of Stormcage for was an artificial world, deliberately designed to resemble a massive snowglobe. Snow flurries danced about on manmade winds, while glittering strings of fairy lights shone brightly, their twinkles reflecting off of ice sculptures in the forms of large nutcrackers, snowmen, and other Christmas-related imagery. All around them towered fir trees, festooned with lights and ornaments.
The Doctor's grin widened. "Well? Are you impressed," he asked.
She beamed, tucking an arm in one of his. "It's a true winter wonderland," she agreed. "I don't know how things could be more perfect, more beautiful."
"Oh, just wait," he murmured, watching as the sun set over the horizon. Checking his watch, he nodded. "Right. Nightfall. The show's about to begin."
Before River could ask what he was talking about, the sky above blazed an intense, cherry-red hue. Then, it shimmered into various shades of blue, yellow, green, and every other color in the spectrum, along with some colors she was certain she'd never seen before.
"Is it an aurora," she whispered, fascinated.
"Not quite," he told her softly, his eyes also glued to the spectacle. "It's a projection, a hologram, supplemented by beams from strategically-placed lights. If we were near enough to one of those lights, it'd look much like a reverse Jacob's Ladder. This world's magnetosphere is, of course, as artificial as the world itself. The chemical makeup of the atmosphere is different from on most genuine planets and moons, so the solar winds of its parent star don't interact with the magnetosphere as vibrantly. But, since aurorae are so commonly associated with snow and winter, despite being visible at any time of a world's yearly cycle, the creators of this world knew that tourists would be bitterly disappointed if there wasn't at least a decent representation of them in the sky. This same view is being cast all over the planet's night side, and lasts from sundown to sunup." He glanced in River's direction, suddenly a bit worried. "You're not disappointed, are you?"
She gazed at him, watching as the lights above played against his face. He looked...almost hurt, somehow. Worried that he might've made a mistake.
"Ohh, sweetie," she whispered, gently kissing his cheek, "I think it's the most beautiful thing I'll ever see."
Author:
but_can_i_be_trustedFandom: Doctor Who
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Notes: Crossposted to
genprompt_bingo and ficlet_zoneSummary: He looked...almost hurt, somehow.
"I'm surprised that you're not kicking up a fuss over the fact that I've brought you here as a Christmas present," mused a distinctly amused Doctor, "given that Christmas was a few days ago."
River gazed at him over the mug of her gingerbread-flavored drink, one touted as an original, traditional holiday coffee on dozens of worlds in the neighboring systems, looking the very picture of innocence. "Why would I ever dream of quibbling with a man who has his very own time machine? Particularly when the time machine herself taught me how to fly her," she added, not quite sotto voce.
The planet that he'd whisked her out of Stormcage for was an artificial world, deliberately designed to resemble a massive snowglobe. Snow flurries danced about on manmade winds, while glittering strings of fairy lights shone brightly, their twinkles reflecting off of ice sculptures in the forms of large nutcrackers, snowmen, and other Christmas-related imagery. All around them towered fir trees, festooned with lights and ornaments.
The Doctor's grin widened. "Well? Are you impressed," he asked.
She beamed, tucking an arm in one of his. "It's a true winter wonderland," she agreed. "I don't know how things could be more perfect, more beautiful."
"Oh, just wait," he murmured, watching as the sun set over the horizon. Checking his watch, he nodded. "Right. Nightfall. The show's about to begin."
Before River could ask what he was talking about, the sky above blazed an intense, cherry-red hue. Then, it shimmered into various shades of blue, yellow, green, and every other color in the spectrum, along with some colors she was certain she'd never seen before.
"Is it an aurora," she whispered, fascinated.
"Not quite," he told her softly, his eyes also glued to the spectacle. "It's a projection, a hologram, supplemented by beams from strategically-placed lights. If we were near enough to one of those lights, it'd look much like a reverse Jacob's Ladder. This world's magnetosphere is, of course, as artificial as the world itself. The chemical makeup of the atmosphere is different from on most genuine planets and moons, so the solar winds of its parent star don't interact with the magnetosphere as vibrantly. But, since aurorae are so commonly associated with snow and winter, despite being visible at any time of a world's yearly cycle, the creators of this world knew that tourists would be bitterly disappointed if there wasn't at least a decent representation of them in the sky. This same view is being cast all over the planet's night side, and lasts from sundown to sunup." He glanced in River's direction, suddenly a bit worried. "You're not disappointed, are you?"
She gazed at him, watching as the lights above played against his face. He looked...almost hurt, somehow. Worried that he might've made a mistake.
"Ohh, sweetie," she whispered, gently kissing his cheek, "I think it's the most beautiful thing I'll ever see."
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Date: 2025-12-29 04:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-29 05:24 am (UTC)