Al couldn't even remember where he was or what he had given if anything last year. This past year was just a whirl of chaos and things going wrong. So wrong. But he refused to let that get him down. He refused to let it turn him into nothing but a nasty embittered Grinch.
Rep Rep got a very carefully and quite large gift left in front of his shared dorm, wrapped in the most amazing wrapping paper Al had ever seen and instead of a bow, he decorated the top with a gold dragon medallion with a polished stone tag with Rep's name engraved in it, the chain wrapped around the gift lengthwise. A small note was taped to it; "To Rep, Hope this brings some good memories - Al"
Harrison Harrison's gift was left directly next to Rep's and was wrapped in the most eye searing wrapping paper ever with a bow to match. The note taped to this one read; "To Harrison, I hope we find some common ground. - Al".
Jordan Jordan's gift was left by his bedroom door, it was wrapped in unusual paper for the season and topped with a bees-wax candle. The note taped to the box read; "Dear Jordan, As the candle says! - Al"
Inside was a book along with several premixed variations for easy sampling, there was also chocolate covered coffee beans, a tin of roses, a small sampling of home made cookies, and a gold phoenix pendant also with a polished stone tag with Jordan's name engraved.
Prolixity*
Melvin Al was not sure where Melvin was staying these days so he hunted him down and handed his gift to him directly, a plain white package with a perfectly centered silver bow. He wrote directly on the wrapping paper; "Melvin, try to live a little this coming year. - Al"
Horace Al was unsure if it was appropriate to get him anything at all, but when he found he had a few left over "cigarettes" it had been decided for him. He stuck them in a small satchel with Horrace's name written down the side. The pull-string was looped over the doorknob to his room.
There was no indication as to the party who gave it.
The Semblance of Unity*
Noah Al had a similar idea to Noah, only slightly less professional. Simply knocking throughout the day and hiding to see if anyone answered. When no one had, he broke in and slipped a pair of shirts in his shirt drawer and hoped he wouldn't even question the additions to his collection; one new and one used. He managed to resist any urges to snoop before leaving.
Prolixity*
Peyton Okay, maybe he was going to be a little bit of a Grinch. It was in his nature. He left a large, carefully wrapped box for Peyton in front of her door. Inside were several nesting boxes, all of which she had to unwrap to get to the true gift; a single piece of coal with googly eyes and a bow glued to it.
There was no indication anywhere as to where the gift came from.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 9:26 pm
Noemi was super late for christmas but she finally took a day off to retrieve the gifts for the ones she cared for. There was many but not too many and thus the little mist would do her best.
Shu:
Shu got a very special visit from Noemi who was dressed in a santa like costume, carrying a very large bag of stuffed animals. She smiled nervously as she knocked on the door and when opened, threw her arms around the other girl.
"Merry...um, Late Christmas Shu!" The girl proclaimed before smiling. And once settled, she took the bag and proceeded to dump alpaca's, stuff alpaca's all over Shu's bed.
Then she waited nervously for another second before grasping Shu's hands and looking deep into the other girl's eyes.
"You are....my very best friend Shu! The best I could ever ask for. And no matter what, I will love and cherish you." She hugged Shu, tightly, "And even if you hurt me or make me cry, or I do the same to you? We are good friends, and we are best friends and we will come back together okay?" She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the two chains with matching pairs. On the back of both together made "BEST FRIENDS".
"I got these for us? I hope you like them?" She reached over and put the soft cloud like one over Shu's neck. "Merry Christmas my best friend, I love you. Very much."
Stormy:
Stormy was an avid disney fan and none knew that better then a lot of people honestly. So Noemi had hit the disney store up and bought as many as the dvds to be runic'd as she could.
Added to that was a small necklace of tinkerbell because her cousin was a small and surprisingly tough little pixie!
Milo:
Milo's gift was very special for the small mist, and though they weren't technically dating, she was very much thinking hard on it. She didn't want to seem like...overwhelming, but she didn't want to get him something that made him think of her as a 'friend'...so she settled for a very delicate and tough sort of thing.
She settled on a turtle pendant, since it seemed to remind her of his home, and the pretty blue stone like the oceans that surrounded it. She thought of power ranger things but...this was more personal. And she delivered it to him in person and added a very short, very quick peck to the cheek before she ran to her door, slammed it and didn't come out for HOURS.
Cee got a large relaxation set, with various creams and salts and soaps. As well as chocolate. Because Cee deserved to really treat herself even in this smelly place! the note went along the lines of: Miss Cee! I love you very much! Thank you for everything you have done for me! - Noemi
Chelsea:
Because Chelsea's gift had been so crudely wrapped, Noemi decided to wrap chelsea's in a nice jewelry box....and inside the box was a smaller plastic box, and inside the small plastic box was a wrapped tiny square thing, and when she unwrapped it, Chelsea would find a single condom.
Chris:
Chris got a very small gift in the shape of a pendant and a small note: For the Captain!
Evan:
Evan got homemade coupons for free meals made by the small mist huntress, should he ever not want to cook for himself!
Wrapping gifts was both time-consuming and wasteful, and Evan always wound up using twice as much as he really needed anyway. Gift bags were far more practical, and so, a few days after Christmas, some people would find Christmas-themed bags dangling by their handles from their doorknobs.
Tuck
In Tuck's bag was a t-shirt wrapped carefully around a full, sealed bottle of Maker's Mark. There were no glasses in the bag, but there was a shiny, brand new potato peeler.
pinchmonster
Stormy
Stormy's bag contained a Disney-themed hat, a runic Swiss Army knife, a set of lockpicks, and a brand new copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
medigel
Nora
Nora would find on her side of the bed a large, cellophane-wrapped bag of candied peaches and a jar of peach preserves. There was also a bracelet with a tag attached to it that read, "2 bee luv frum gr ur sekret admirur gr."
medigel
Sasha
Sasha received a dozen chocolate roses, a box containing assorted chocolate-dipped candied fruits, and a chocolate frog.
pinchmonster
Noemi
Evan gave Noemi a do-it-yourself windowsill herb garden containing everything she would need to grow her own rosemary, sage, and dill.
Nyxtsuki Moon
Heidi
Heidi received a jar of double chocolate brownie mix and an apron.
Eight
Ami
Ami got a pen and bookmark set, and a 6-pack of plain pocket notebooks.
chiickadee
Molly
Molly got a singing, dancing flower because Evan was pretty sure this toy was made specifically for her.
Lucyal
Chel
There was no label on Chel's bag, but she got three jars of Manic Panic in her signature lurid pink.
chiickadee
Inle-roo
Offline
lizbot Vice Captain
No Faun
Offline
Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 3:10 am
Still feeling burned by Thanksgiving, America was uncharacteristically restrained in her Christmas plans. She decorated and shopped and baked. She sung carols obnoxiously.
But there were no plans.
And maybe it was letting the terrorists win this year, but she'd had enough pieces of happiness dangled beyond reach and given countdowns and simply taken away the past year. So Christmas wasn't a party or big dinner. Instead it was her in her traditional outfit, going from house to dorm hall to office and bar, dropping off cheerfully wrapped gifts, each with a little cellophane package containing a gingerbread man, inexpertly decorated to match the one it was given to.
And even if it wasn't what she wanted a couple months ago, it was strangely, more than enough to remind her of all the good things and people that filled her days.
cherno astra
Konstantin
Where he had gotten her plates to break, she in turn had gotten him the remainder of the nearly indestructible set they'd been slowly accumulating for his bunker. Along with his Cookistya was an Americookie, and bundled with them was a set of vouchers. Dancing, cooking, open water survivalist seminar, pottery, and a number of activities all around the world. Each voucher was for two people.
Leslie
A little ipod, with a runic mod. The note that came with it reassured him: Don't get weird, I got a good deal.
rejam
Taym
He came back from his holiday shift to find a peach, perfect and vibrant, sitting on his desk. It was wrapped in red satin ribbon with gold netted trim, and a note stating: To the sweetest one I know.
There was no large gift for Obadiah Thompson. Instead there are small ones, hidden by someone who loves secrets and stories and him and them.
Attached to his mirror was a packet containing a cookie, identifiable only by the giant ears frosted on, a bite taken out of one of them.
Hidden among his books was a little matchbox car, nearly the right make and near the exact color of one bought for a single trip and taste of remembered freedoms.
On the inside of his closet door is a calendar featuring the cutest of the island's minipets, all dressed in season outfits. January begins with both Tubadiah and the twins, all wearing party hats.
In three extremely discrete locations there are envelopes of photos. Each series of pictures begins with her usual cheerful cheesecake selfies, though they soon escalate in nature. The holiday lifting of a policy.
Half a dozen bags of confetti and tiny paper birds wait for him, ♥ in case of celebration ♥
A roughly texture rock is given extra meaning next to a puzzle piece, bearing a little heart.
A brass pie hanging from a keychain.
A poster of her in a too small Pikachu jumpsuit.
A kitschy old black cat clock.
A set of slim volumes, written by one Trucks Jones.
A Jenga block, it's rune faded.
A small cluster of wax balloons off a cake that never existed.
A set of worn but well-crafted document frames, perfect for a certain set of drawings.
A set of figurines: Bambi, Thumper, and Flower. Clearly meant for the room's other occupant.
beejoux
Peyton
A punching bag, perfectly sized for her room. The note reassuring her, Don't worry, it's got a rune to take your angry truck fists.
and be blue
Ever
A tin of cookies, a sexy librarian calendar along with a large, warm scarf; grey-blue, hand-knitted and sadly wider on one side than the other.
Nio Love
Maebe
An antique jewelry box of pink and ivory. Inside is a small hand mirror and a note that just says, Treasure.
Nothing Yet
Mimsy Family
A toy of sorts and a note that reads: Isn't it fun to share what you love with the people you love?
Edgar
A small ship in a bottle sailing on a sea of cheap tea packets. Attached is a childish drawing of a red haired pirate tossing a dark haired prince overboard.
toshihiko two
Baneful
Red Bull Family
A large slow cooker, a cookbook full of easy set it and forget it recipes, a dumpcake recipe book. A runic USB containing a terabyte of majot league baseball games spanning the course of three years.
Prolixity
Jordan
A set of particularly ugly nesting dolls. Inside the smallest and a note stating, Sometimes folks are just built with this way smile
Noah
A large tin of cookies, a few decorated like Peyton and others like plants.
iloveyoudie
Ghost Hunk
A large tin of ghost cookies wearing frosted santa hats.
Cee
A Phillies jersey, Playa 69 on the back.
Eight
Heidi
A large tin of rainbow cookies.
Nyxstuki Moon
Dakota
A large tin off lip shaped sugar cookies, frosted in various lipstick colors.
lucyal
Molly
A large tin of cookies, frosted into smiley faces.
saliru
Al
A package containing: white under shirts, socks, underwear, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, manly bodywash.
In short: a mom box.
bittiface
Otto
A giant box full of theatre boxes of candy. SO much sugar.
Dylon
A basket full of various lubricants, five paper stars, and a tin of cookies.
Kiki
A pair of pink yoga pants with wings on the a**.
chromaticore
Cami
A box full of post-it notes, in fun shapes, varying sizes and brilliant colors.
meegane
Shu
A pair of cats that reminded America of the other girl.
moonkitsune
Melvin
A large tin of cookies frosted with runes. A couple of them seem to glow briefly before crumbling.
Medigel
Nora
A tin of cookies and a handwritten invitation to use America's kitchen anytime.
pinchmonster
Paige
A large tin of cookies, frosted to look like burgers.
Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:20 am
He struggled over presents for so long it was almost sad. Jack Hawthorn disagreed with Christmas at almost every level, so in the beginning the procrastination had been purposeful and passive-aggressive, like Santa would somehow get offended by this one a*****e deciding not to participate. But shortly after January 1st, the weight of what presents had found their way over brought him down to a particularly annoying level of gift imbalance that he knew had to be rectified as soon as possible. That, and he had just a tiny bit of holiday cheer some new year bonuses were due, and he wanted to have an excuse to use his new gold filigree paper to make things official in the notes he sent out.
Seussi
Finn
Happy new year and late birthday and promotion and s**t man. Congrats on staying alive long enough to wear pink like a ********. - Jack
A new guitar skin, a shirt, and a book he was sure would get put to use. There was also a coupon for a free shot the next time they went out to do some karaoke.
Lydia
As eccentric as the woman was, he was always pleased to see someone as interested in Halloween culture. It certainly helped that she knew about Wonder Park as well.
To Ms. Lydia Styles, Thank you for agreeing to that date. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to discussing more material with you in the future. xxxxxWishing you a happy new year, xxxxxxxxxJack Hawthorn
She received one simple poster of North American cryptids that, while severely lacking in comparison to the Deus databases, he thought was just adorable enough to pass as a friendly gag gift.
kuuropii
Chance
Happy birthday. Thought I'd return the favor. -- Jack
How did he know when Chance's birthday was? Through file creeping, naturally.
It was accompanied by twobooks, the former which included a code to get the audio book version, because nothing said happy birthday and happy new year like ripping into the darker side of psychology before drifting to sleep to the soothing sounds of Samuel L. Jackson.
sammpai
Shyian The presents come all at once, and while separated by name it was obvious he was considering them as one entity rather than two people.
Ian
(The original note becomes a letter, but he trashes it and starts anew. God forbid he gets emotional after all.)
To Ian ******** the compliments or your fiancée might start getting jealous. But thank you for the gifts and for being there to give them. Consider it a habit you shouldn't break. xxxxxxx-- Jack ******** Hawthorn
P.S. I've put your sticky notes to good use. Check #167's door sometime.
He received a colorful set of shot glasses that came in a rainbow of colors (probably a commentary that said gaygaygaygaaaaaaay), a shirt, and a suspiciously upbeat looking pamphlet that read SAFE SEX AND YOU. If Ian or Shiloh had the misfortune to open it, it contained grisly statistics and facts about the various STDs transmittable to hunters, snippets of true stories, steps to use condoms properly as well as what to do if you suspect you've contracted any disease or have become pregnant, and photographs he might have edited in for their benefit as knowledge was power after all and god help them don't open that pamphlet--
Shiloh
Shiloh got a sweater that was actually a size too large. Whoops. At least it had a $20 and a $10 pinned to the top?
Happy new year, Perish. Have a dinner with him on me. Or whatever you feel like using $30 for. Don't die while you do your stupid duck things and don't quack under the pressure either because your husband is a ******** baby in case you didn't know. -- Jack
The wedding would probably net him and Ian a better present. Probably.
Enoh Love
Ripley
To Mr. Ripley Crowell: Happy birthday, and may the new year be slightly less dangerous than before. If not well you know what to do. -- Jack
In anticipation of people getting him alcohol, Ripley received a handy two-in-one flask/shot glass holder. In anticipation of him somehow not getting alcohol, it also came with a bottle of the whiskey.
Drinking was always the answer.
cherno astra
Leslie
Leslie got a whole damn New York style pizza tossed his way on a random lunch break. With it was a box of cigs and a note that said same, as well as the opportunity to fist-bump before he strolled on by.
AyeAvast
Abbi
deku tree, moon princess was all the note said.
Her gifts were a plush to add to her collection and a 12 pack of chocolate liquors wrapped in colorful tinfoil and shaped like small bottles. Jack had decided since their visit to Prague that her alcohol intake needed to be monitored until she had a better grasp of her limit.
Lucyal
Claude
Through Ian's generosity and some purchases on his part, Jack had come into a whole new hoard of sticky notes. One day, Claude's door became the site of an epic story, read from top to bottom (with notes shaped like computer disks giving the skeleton of the story off to the side), of a king t-rex fighting for his lady love, the queen pterodactyl, against the hoards of elephants (yes, elephants) that had kidnapped her clutch of eggs. Along the way he was joined by fellow a vengeance-seeker (another t-rex), rode a rocket, fought brontosaurs on palm tree-infested territory, rode some more rockets, set fire to a human city, became captain of his own ship, lost his follower in a nasty battle against sentient music notes, and even stole the Statue of Liberty somewhere along the way. The final scene at the very bottommost right corner had the queen and king riding rockets into the invisible sunset. All in all, he was pretty sure even the ancient Egyptians would have stopped and stared at his display of skill and said damn son.
The large bag of golden chocolate coins left behind (To: Captain Morgan, From: Captain Jack) wasn't the real present as far as he was concerned.
chiickadee
Ami
One day on her desk, there was a book with a bookmark set inside, as well as two converted and rather shiny palm-sized redbuttons. While he highly doubted the book would give her any new information as to the demon species in general (though the book did its best to cover various cultures relating to it), he was sure nothing made a day better than calling someone out on their s**t.
There was a simple note just as she had left for him that said From: Jack.
Chel
This wasn't supposed to be hard. He sat for what felt like forever on the choice of what to get her, hyperaware of the presents she'd given in their respective spots. The gift imbalance was especially harsh in regards to Chel; there were the physical ones to consider as well as the literally saved your a** when she didn't have to part that weight heavily on him. In the end he resorted to something childish, telling himself he'd do better for her birthday. Or something. Damn it.
When she had a shift and he had a break, he stole her key and let himself into her room. Both small and medium glow in the dark stars were plastered onto her ceiling as he consulted a book for accuracy, using the former to fill the empty space while the latter helped denote various constellations: Orion was the main attraction and probably the easiest to identify, though he also added Scorpio, Perseus, Hercules, and Leo. Mythical Greek heroes and some equally legendary creatures associated with them, which he remembered her saying she and Chris liked.
Maybe it wasn't the best time now for those reminders, but it was too late to go back.
(He considers writing her a letter, but either nothing sticks or everything rushes out. Several attempts join the balled up on that would have gone to Ian before he decides to just shred them all to destroy the evidence.)
The only present he openly gave her was a pair of heavy duty sneakers and a mumbled happy new year.
Carhop Cavalier
Lex
Lex received the comfort of knowing he might be able to swipe those buttons from Ami if she didn't care for them. Well, and his own.
I'm sure this is necessary for your job. -- Jack
Grey Dragon
Oliver
As Oliver had already obtained his gift, he only got the card that came with it when he made his rounds. Along with reminders that the mug was heat-change and therefore was hand-wash only and the usual polite well wishing was this: Good job so far. I still want that report, though.
While other people need the reminder, in your case I'm certain they're interchangeable. - The Grinch
He was extremely pleased with himself to find something that was both practical and bitchy, thus clearly cementing him as the winner of their petty exchange.
Akina Tokuwa
Hanna
Two packs of her preferred coffee sat waiting with a card that just said to ms. hanna nowicki: happy holidays, though the Jack Skellington fridge magnet was telling enough on its own.
Meegane
Shu
To Dǒng Shū Lěi, I was not on my best behavior during that trip. Please accept my apologies and this gift. But also seriously stop being so short. xxxxxxx-- Jack
A thank you note was left in his locker by the labs, which also included the invitation to pass more along should the opportunity present itself. Apparently Jack's gift was the piece of advice attached at the end of it:
The faster you get away from Creedy the happier you'll be. Trust me, she's psycho b***h waiting to happen and you deserve better.
He wasn't exactly personally invested in their relationship regardless of his s**t talking, but it was always fun to help drive the wedge a little more if it meant trouble for Peyton. That, and Noah hadn't treated him like crap.
lizbot
Dr. H
The doctor received a batch of 70% dark chocolate and a note with the usual pleasantries and thank yous. Jack knew he wasn't going to get him anything better than the cloning secret this time, but it was always good form to remember superiors during the holidays.
medigel
Anxious Spirit
Offline
Nothing Yet Crew
Obsessive Stargazer
Offline
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:54 pm
Edgar
Kiki:
Eight packages of varying sizes, all pristine white and tied with pink ribbon, are delivered to Kiki's door.
The smallest contains a set of hairpins shaped like roses, wrapped simply in blanched parchment. The next contains a cameo locket, laid upon velvet. It is empty, for fear of being too presumptuous. The third contains three smaller boxes, each with three rings apiece: three crowns, three hearts, and three bows. The fourth contains a jewelry box to hold all of her new treasures. The only circular box contains pink champagne truffles, which taste luxurious. The subsequent box smells similarly sweet, and contains a dozen cupcakes decorated specifically for her. The next-to-last box contains two bears, placed inside the box in a pose of a fuzzy little cuddle. The largest box contains a satin bedding set fit for royalty.
They are presented with a single card of stiff parchment, signed in elaborate calligraphic script: 'From Thy Faithful Admirer'.
America:
The box is plain and tied with a red twine. Inside is a picture of America from her earlier trainee days, printed on canvas, within an ornate frame. The small brass plate on the bottom reads: AMERICA JONES PRESIDENT
Shu:
The present is hand-delivered along with a message of extraordinary gratitude, and an acknowledgement that these gifts alone cannot possibly repay what she has already done for him. Inside is a jewel-studded cat band and fancy petit fours decorated like tiny gifts.
