All I want for Christmas

[ourearth]

Date: 11.12.2018
Characters: Open!
Note: Please feel free to have your own threads and fun on this mingle, but anyone who wants to meet Father Christmas needs to tag into the NPC thread below!

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Christmas is fast approaching, and the shops and stores around Mossgate have no intention of letting anyone forget it. Every shop is decked out in a garish display of Christmas merriment, not least the Riverside shopping centre. This year they have gone for a white and blue polar theme (although thankfully one less risqué than another shopping centre's attempt), with giant white and blue balls hanging from the ceiling, white tinsel wrapped around every pillar and railing, and an animatronic polar scene near the food court.

On the other side of the food court, the traditional Santa's grotto has been built, the little sheds' roofs covered in white 'snow'. White pines and a few escapees from the polar display block Father Christmas' shed from sight, along with his guard of jolly elves in traditional red and green, who prevent any child whose parents haven't paid the £5 entrance fee from sneaking in.

Which is all business as normal. What isn't business as normal is the rumours slowly spreading around town. Father Christmas is giving out real gifts this year, not the usual pound store car/doll: he's giving children swords and dresses and even, the rumour goes, ponies. And then people start to whisper that it's not just children that he's providing for. Adults are also being granted their wishes, if they dare to take a turn on Father Christmas' lap. Of course, no one has any proof, but is it worth a try before Riverside catches on and replaces their generous Santa with someone a little less giving?

Comments

Open to anyone who wishes to meet Father Christmas!

[saveournpcs]

After paying your way past the jolly elves (who look a little tired and worn around the edges on closer inspection), you are led into the waiting area. Here some more animatronic penguins are skating around a plastic lake with an undersized model train circling it, along with the queue. The queue moves slowly, but eventually you are allowed to pass the gate that leads up to Father Christmas' house. The area before hand is carpeted in glittering fake snow, sheltered by the firs that hid it from the outside, and up ahead lies the final shed, the door open and a welcoming glow emitting from it.

Inside, on a huge chair, sits Father Christmas, in traditional red and white. His face is shaded by his huge white beard, and the flickering light from the fake fire doesn't help, but he smiles broadly when you enter and pat his knee. “Come and sit with me and tell me about your year.”

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie turns from her spot in the line and shoots a venomous glare at her twin who is currently standing to the side, arms crossed and a smug bloody smirk on his face as she shuffles up the line. He was going to pay for this. She'll get him back in the most embarrassing way possible when he least expects it...

Shuffling into the shed, Sadie just about manages to hold back a grimace as the man playing Father Christmas pats his knee, instead, she moves forward somewhat woodenly and awkwardly sits down.

"Erm...Well, it's been an interesting year I guess. Moved here less than a year ago."She offers by way of explanation. "You?" She offers back awkwardly.

[saveournpcs]

Father Christmas' smile doesn't fade, and he doesn't seem put off by her awkwardness. "I am only visiting." He replies, with a touch of amusement. Whether that's due to misreading the question on purpose, or due to the supposed question isn't clear.

"Would you say that you have behaved yourself this year?" He asks, one eyebrow raised.

[dragoonrouge]

"Right..." Her brother was an absolute tit and she was definitly getting back at him for this, she has never felt more awkward in her life, and that includes her recent inability to control her purring around a certain individual. And the junkyard incident.

"I think so...I can't think of anything bad that I've done, and I've managed to keep up with my volunteering at the RSPCA." She slowly tells the Father Christmas.

[saveournpcs]

Father Christmas falls silent for a moment, considering this, as though tallying it up with a mental list of naughty and nice, before nodding. "Very good. I'm sure that the RSPCA appreciate your help. Will you continue next year as well?"

[fairfeste]

Feste had come here with their younger siblings, because at least one of them still believes in Father Christmas and therefore should definitely going through the whole thing. They were not expected said sibling to turn it around on them and insist that they also take a turn, just because they're old doesn't mean they can't talk to Father Christmas!!!

Which is how Feste winds up ratherly awkwardly in the man's lap, not entirely sure why they agreed to this. "Uh... hi..."

[saveournpcs]

Father Christmas seems used to the awkwardness - he doesn't acknowledge it at least, and his smile doesn't falter. "You've been very good to help take care of your siblings. Mostly, at least." He adds, with a twinkle in his eye, as though he knows of the trials of siblings. "Are you going to try and be even better next year?"

[fairfeste]

This is so awkward, and Feste is trying very, very hard not to think about some of the less than appropriate jokes their friends would make if they saw this. But of course, their little siblings are watching with wide and eager eyes, so they have to play along... this would be a lot easier if they were more of a jerk. Oh well. "I, uh. Yeah. 'Course I will."

[vernal_miss]

Over the last few years, Ornella had been subjected to the spoilers of the holidays insisting that Father Christmas is not real. Every class has one such child, but last year had others picking up the refrain in chorus. Doubt had been sown in her mind, and she had watched her family more closely near the holiday to see for herself that they had more to do with the magic than a visitor she could never catch. Instead, the spirit of Father Christmas is carried in the tradition. She had been okay with that and kept the secret for her only younger sibling.

Then, Nel found her own magic.

Magic isn’t supposed to be real according to her teachers and her classmates, yet she can will plants into existence. That irrefutable proof has made her question her previous conclusions about the holidays. So having known the grotto would be in place when her family went together to the shopping center, she tucked a little something in her coat on her way out the door for Father Christmas.

Roping an older member of her family into standing with her in the slow line for the grotto, she waits patiently for her turn while quietly considering alternatives to the decorations around the setting meant to keep the smaller ones entertained. By the look of the elves, it’s not quite sufficient. When her turn comes, the child scurries over without hesitation when given the invitation and climbs right up into the massive chair to ease herself into his lap. Nel looks directly up at him for a brief pause to study him as best she can with his beard hiding some features, then she answers, brown eyes curious and focused, “Most of it’s been pretty good. I didn’t miss any days of school this year, I met new people, and I finished another sketchbook. Things are changing a lot lately is all.”

[saveournpcs]

There's not much to see in the dim light from the fake fire. Father Christmas' eyes sparkle in the flickering light, but the wig is huge, and his hat sits low on his forehead. But his smile is big and real, and he's comfortable and relaxed. He lets her settle in his lap, one hand resting on the arm of the chair, and the other on his other knee. "Very good!" He praises. "Don't let the change bother you: I'm sure there'll be a lot of changes coming soon. How have you been finding school?"

[vernal_miss]

As someone with an excess of hair herself, forcibly tamed into a braid for the visit to the shopping center, Nel can at least relate to how difficult it must be for him to see her in turn under that wig. Still, this man is far more relaxed about conversing with her rather than getting straight to the point then to the next child. It makes the wait more worthwhile.

"Do you think so?" she asks regarding the mention of lots of changes to come with a spike of raw curiosity. Fingers fiddling with a button on her coat, she looks down as she is asked about school, "I like school, I do... I really like learning and seeing my friends, but I wonder if sometimes they get things wrong."

[fairfeste]

Feste is definitely out and about in the mall, part because they have younger siblings who absolutely need to see Santa, and part because... they're not really on top of this whole getting presents things. Going to the mall is a good way to fix that.

They can be found in a variety of stores when they manage to shake off the majority of their siblings (they'll rotate through which ones are with them, so they can shop for presents for all of them), a few times staring very blankly at a particularly overwhelming aisle. "...How does anyone shop for anything?" they ask no one, unaware that such a statement is phenomenally uninformative.

[iamnotgod]

"If it's not an outright impulse buy, usually they have an image in mind," comes Walter's answer from behind Feste.

"Or an idea, barring even that."

Since not everyone thought in images!

"You all right?"

[fairfeste]

Feste jumps a little, looking around to see Walter. Oh. Whoops. "Uh... hi Walter. Yeah. I'm ok. I'm just... behind on shopping for my siblings." They have so many of them... "How are you?"

[iamnotgod]

Walter winces sympathetically.

"Ah, the catch-up rush."

Even when his family hadn't been doing shopping, in the years immediately after the Escape From Madness, there'd still been the seasonal crowds. Given it had been London, they'd been worse than here, but then that just meant he had a frame of reference for how bad they could get.

"I'm balancing things, myself, though the gift-prep's going just fine."

[lovedramamoron]

It was Jimmy's first Christmas in England, and he didn't intend to miss anything.

When he arrives at the mall he makes a point of walking around the entire place to see all the decorations. That done, he makes a second circuit of the mall as he starts to look for small gifts for his host family and to mail home to his family in America.

[warped_replica]

If he had more time, Benjiro would have preferred to make gifts for everyone on his list. Not only is it a more personal gesture, but it means avoiding the crowds at the shopping center. Today was the best opportunity lest he wait for classes to dismiss while also holding to his work schedule for his stream channel and the warehouse, and managing to spend time with friends and Sadie. A reality he finds unpleasant at best.

A short list of items in mind, the teenager narrowly dodges contact with passersby regularly as he tries to navigate efficiently. One small bag in hand, he skirts around a group of people walking to reach a map of the shops and pauses there to examine the route to his other destinations. Murmuring quietly he scans the labels, “Where is it...?”

[lovedramamoron]

Looking at the decorations had been fun, but somewhere along the way Jimmy had gotten turned around. Spotting the sign for the map down the hall, he quickly walks over to examine it.

Standing beside Benjiro, he frowns as he tries to think if any of the shops on the map looked familiar. There had been a few he'd seen earlier that looked promising.

"Excuse me," he finally says, his American accent evident. "Do you know if any of the stores here carry souvenirs?"

[warped_replica]

Focused on the directory, Benjiro only turns from the map when the other teenager speaks up with an American accent. As he answers, his own accent is similar but carries some nuances of a Japanese accent mixed in, “Several of them do, but if I remember correctly the largest stock is...” he looks back to the map for reference, then points it out, “at this one. Most shops that have them keep them by checkout rather than out front.”

Mossgate isn’t a huge travel destination after all. “Although if you don’t find what you’re after here, the boardwalk has a decent selection.”

[iamnotgod]

Walter's preference was similar to Ben's, inasmuch as he celebrated the season at all; make as many gifts by hand (whether coded or physically crafted) as possible, then try for the things that needed buying.

So he's windowshopping at one of those shops best described as 'kitschy', plotting how he's going to troll his sister this year, when Jimmy passes by.

[lovedramamoron]

Since Jimmy wanted something to send his siblings at home, kitschy was just what he was looking for. He pauses by the window to inspect a particularly garish ornament, trying to figure out if it was sufficiently tacky for his purposes.

[iamnotgod]

"Neon, hmm?" Walter considers out loud.

"Or- no, maybe one of the emoticon faces would work better..."

He is thinking out loud, but given he'd noticed Jimmy's presence, it's mostly on purpose.

[spaghettimonster]

It's getting close to the gift-giving holidays, Close enough that Russell is regrettably aware how close he's cutting it. There's still gifts to buy, and he's working with a reduced budget from earlier years, what with the several weeks of underemployment after his gaffe during Pride Week. He has a bag hooked in his elbow of things already purchased, and his phone out, checking a list - checking it twice - of immediate friends and family he needs to get gifts for.

Should he... get gifts for people from the network, at least the ones he's talked repeatedly with? That's a little like getting gifts for all your neighbors, but neighbors might move away. The people hooked into all this stuff are linked indefinitely.

[brofistsforall]

To be fair, Russell isn't the only one. There's plenty of others in the same situation- budget or not- but at least one of them is also scrolling through his phone, trying vainly to figure out something for all of them-

To the point of not watching where he's going, and very nearly colliding in to Russell. Only luck has him halt with a, "Whu-sorry, there."

Which is a good thing, considering he's still not used to the new muscle bulk. (At least he's found clothes that fit by now?)

so far all their threads have been text, and I don't think Jacob's shown himself on the network?

[spaghettimonster]

"Huh?" Russell startles at the voice so near him, and steps back a pace before realizing they'd had a near-collision. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was... going..."

His eyes drift towards Jacob's phone, out and in use as much as his own... And a half-smile quirks up as he realizes that neither of them had been. Fair enough, they're both at fault, no point apologizing further. Instead he offers as a truce, "last minute shopping?"