☃ While the merry bells keep ringing

[reassigned]

Who: Everyone who wants to show up
Where: Building One- The Lobby
When: December 24th, early evening
Summary: When Cupid says she's throwing a party, she throws a party- and pretty much everyone's invited, if they want to be.
Warnings: Excessive Holiday Cheer and overall Cuteness Overload.

'Tis the Season

[Cupid has never been the type to do anything halfway- and that includes celebrating.

With the help of everyone who had offered, the main lobby of Building One had been rearranged, decorated, and generally spruced up in order to prepare for the party. There are small, bright lights strung between garlands and in long streams against the walls, snowflake cutouts hanging from wherever they could be attached, and the food tables are flanked by small, light-laden shrubs. A spot has been cleared near a wall for a gilded mirror roughly the size of a tablet, somehow hooked up to a pair of speakers and playing Christmas music just loud enough to be audible over people as they mingle. There's even a tree of sorts against one of the walls, complete with a bright star.

The hostess herself and her tiny assistant greet everyone at the door as best they can, and Cupid makes sure to take the Secret Santa gifts from those participating to put away until it's time to hand them out, and always, always chirps out a-]



Happy Holidays! Enjoy the party!

[-before moving on to greet the next entering guest.

Of course, Cupid being Cupid, there are a few hidden bits of mistletoe around- but decidedly nowhere that they'll be seen unless someone is looking for them.

So by all means, everyone eat, drink, and be merry! It's all in the spirit of the holiday, after all! Careful about starting any trouble though- Cupid won't stand for anyone ruining the party.]



Mingle Threads



Open Threads (those marked with a star have not been tagged)





((OOC: I'll be doing my best to keep up with linking everyone's open threads, and I'll be available via both PM and AIM to troubleshoot any issues. Feel free to shoot me a line on either! Otherwise, have fun, and happy holidays Rekindle!

Edit A: Feel free to start your own threads if you like, the mingle threads are just to give ideas!
Edit B: Secret Santa gifts can be PMed to me and I will relay them to the recipients!))

Comments

Secret Santa

[reassigned]

[Sometime around 9 pm, Cupid procures a bag from goodness knows where and- with Diarmuid’s help- starts going around handing those participating in Secret Santa their gifts. People are free to try and guess who their Secret Santa is, but Cupid isn’t going to tell. The Santas themselves, however, may be too proud of themselves to keep quiet about their gifts.]

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Lancer)

[smallspot]

[Diarmuid is having so much fun helping with the party and passing out presents, that he has completely forgotten that he even signed up for the exchange. For him, this whole thing as been about giving, not getting, after all.

Still, there should be a gift somewhere with his name on it. If he can be caught long enough to be given it that is...

Late in the night, when the party is finally winding down and all the presents have been passed out a tired little butter-elf will make his way back to where the presents were kept one last time to make sure none were missed when he was handing them out. When he gets there, he will find one package. A package that has his name on it.]

Oh! It's for me!

[He really had forgotten about it after finding it in with the rest, but now that all the packages are passed out and there really is no more he can do, he is suddenly curious what is in it. Diarmuid finds a nearby chair and sits down, noticing that the writing on the package looks rather familiar.

The boy is too tired at the moment to place from where, though, so he just moves onto opening the gift instead. Inside, is a scarf with emerald and forest green stripes on it. He giggles as he pulls it out, remembering the 'scarf monster' that had attacked him when he and Kotaro had gone shopping for winter clothes for his brother.

Also inside is a book. Diarmuid pulls it out, eyes going wide as he looks at the colorful cover.]

Where...the...

[He frowns slightly, unsure of the next word.]

...Things Are! I read most of it!

[He hugs the book happily and then sticks it back into the box with his scarf. Just wait until he gets to show it to people! His brother will like to see it. Kotaro too! And maybe Lord September will help him read the words he doesn't know...]

M'gann M'orzz

[littlewhitelies]

[At some point, M'gann has found time to shift her outfit into something a little more festive; she's deepened the pink on her outfit into something closer to red, and even added a little white trim to the hem of her skirt and jacket. Thanks to this party, she's also walking on air...Quite literally, as she floats from one area to the next, smiling and soaking in all the ambiance of a real, actual Christmas party!

...So flagging her down and giving her a present might take a little work. Or at least a good tap on the shoulder.]

Special Delivery for M'gann M'orzz! :-D

[smallspot]

[Fortunately for M'gann, Diarmuid is nothing if not hard working! He's calmed down a little now and is very focused on handing out the Secret Santa gifts to their proper recipients.

Now...how to get her attention? Oh! This might work...

A small blue and green butterfly launches itself off Diarmuid's shoulder and starts circling M'gann's head playfully. Once its got her attention, it will fly back down toward the little butterelf who is waiting patiently with her gift held in outstretched arms.]

[littlewhitelies]

[Sure enough, that gets her attention fast. Her finger tips even flicker blue for a second as her eyes follow that butterfly, before seeing it settle on that costumed boy from before. It does take her a few blinks to realize that he's holding out a present for her...]

"I-is that for me?"

[And a few more for her thoughts to get up to speed. She gives her forehead a quick bop before giving a soft,]

"Hello, Megan! Right, this is a tradition with these parties." [And she did bring a gift of her own, too. Come on, M'gann. Get it together.] "Um, thank you?"

[smallspot]

[Diarmuid giggles softly and nods, holding the present out to her again.]

Yes! This is your Secret Santa present! I'm helping Cupid pass them out so she doesn't have to do all of it herself. She's already done so much.

I hope it is something nice and that it will make you very happy!

[ribbonbon]

[Despite not know who M'gann is, Pilouette is eager to see if she liked the waffle pan she got her. It wasn't terribly large, but who doesn't like waffles, right? She casually (or as casually as she can) mills about taking note of who has what box and when she sees M'gann with the box she had carefully wrapped, she does her best to not be awkward and meanders on over.]

Liiiiike, fun party, right?

[littlewhitelies]

"Really fun party!"

[She's enthusiastic enough as she wrangles the wrapping paper; it's just such a pretty gift wrap that tearing it up feels disrespectful AND wasteful. (And besides, maybe she can save the wrapping paper for later!) M'gann even goes as far as to pick out where the tape might be and tries telekinetically unpicking things from there.]

"I love how pretty everything is, how happy people are, and-"

[And now she finally gets the present open and sees what's inside it, judging by how her eyes go wide...And how she does a little skip into the air for a second.]

"...And I love my present, too!"

[ribbonbon]

[She looks on, a little surprised when M'gann starts telekinetically unwrap the gift, but Pilouette's plastered on smile brightens a little bit upon hearing that the gift went over well. Success! Of course, a Secret Santa isn't supposed to tell the recipient who bought their gift, so she decides to play dumb for now. She moves as if to peek in to the box herself, trying hard not to smile too much.]

Oh, yeah? It must be something like, totally cool, right?

September

[someonetowatchoveryou]

He's easy to find. No, really. Nobody else is wearing a black suit and tie. That and he's usually hanging out by the food or in the sitting area, watching people like he always does.

Drive by, Drop off, for Lord September!

[smallspot]

[Diarmuid is trying to hold back his giggles at he approaches September. After all, he had been the one to make sure the man was signed up for the event. He just hopes that September won't be angry with him, but he didn't think the man would sign himself up and someone so nice deserves a nice surprise like this.

He approaches his friend and holds out the gift.]

This is for you, Lord September! I hope your Secret Santa got you something you will really like!

[someonetowatchoveryou]

Blinkblink. Headtilt. For him? Goodness, nobody's ever given him a gift, before. He should have suspected it would happen, given the nature of the Secret Santa tradition, but it's still a little bit confounding when it actually happens.

Almost hesitantly, he gently plucks the package from the boy's hands. "Thank you," he says, his soft voice somehow carrying over the ambient noise of the room.

He peers at the tag--does he recognise the handwriting?

[smallspot]

Despite being so observant, in this case those skills seem to fail September because the handwriting is almost certainly not handwriting he will recognize, and just being the delivery boy, Diarmuid isn't going to be able to help much. Especially, when there are almost as many people at the party that he doesn't know as he does know.

Hopefully, at some point September's Secret Santa will find him, though, so the mystery is solved.

"You're welcome, Lord September! I really hope it will make you happy! And here is a present from me!" The boy steps forward to give September a big hug, "I know it's not a real gift, but I hope you like it anyway."

England

[unionjackoff]

There was always something about the holidays that brought out the best in England. While he was usually a moody man all year round, at least, near Christmastime, he became somewhat pleasant, more forgiving, and slightly more peaceful than usual. He was planning on attending the party, even before he knew Prussia was going to be helping out, though he did not expect to be signed up for a gift exchange. Who added his name to the list? Was there a list?

After griping about it for only ten minutes, England did finally break down and procure a gift for this person he did not know. Once he got to the party, he placed it with the other gifts. Now, he waited to see what would come to him. The more he thought about it, the more nervous he got. What if the other person didn't like his gift? What if he didn't put enough effort into it? What if he put too much effort into it and other people did something different?

So, here the country was, panicking as he was about to receive a gift. Good vibes.

Smile, Lord England! It's a gift!

[smallspot]

[There are a lot of people at the party whose names Diarmuid doesn't know. Thankfully, Cupid is kind enough to point him in the right direction when he asks. The boy approaches England and gives him a big smile as he holds out the gift.]

Happy holidays! Here is your Secret Santa present! I hope you got something really nice!

[If the gift is really good, he will stop being so nervous, right?]

yay a gift!

[unionjackoff]

As England was busy fretting, the young boy practically snuck up on him. He was jostled from his thoughts.

"O-oh! Thank you, young man," he said anxiously. England gently took the gift from the boy and began opening it. "And happy holidays to you, as well."

[smallspot]

Thank you, Lord England! Enjoy the rest of the party!

[Diarmuid waves and starts to turn away so he can get another present to deliever, before pausing to look back for a moment.]

Is something wrong? Why are you so worried? Can I do something to help?

Shinju Gouka

[hellfire_gouka]

[Though Shinju isn't particularly concerned with what he gets, he isn't about to refuse a gift. He knows how much he wants the recipient of his gift to enjoy it, so he'll try to show his appreciation as well.

He waits patiently for Cupid to pass by him near the others, hands in his pockets. He watches the others as they receive their gifts, hoping that everyone is having fun.]

Not his Secret Santa, but lets at least get the package to Shinju, shall we?

[smallspot]

[In the end, it's not Cupid who drops off Shinju's gift, but a little boy dressed up like a very cute, but also a little odd, cross between an elf and a butterfly. He approaches Shinju with a smile on his face, the magically enchanted butterfly wings on his costume twitching every so often.]

Happy holidays! This is for you!

thanks! :D

[hellfire_gouka]

[He recognizes the boy as he approaches, smiling as he sees that he's holding a present, apparently intended for him.]

Hey, thanks a lot. [He takes it from the other, wondering what it could be. He has a few ideas because of the weight, but... no time but the present. He decides he might as well open it now.]

No worries! Sorry for the wait!

[smallspot]

[When Shinju gets the package open, he will find a hand-knitted grey scarf with red stripes on it inside.]

Oh! That looks really warm. Just make sure it doesn't attack you!

[Oh Diarmuid, not every scarf is a 'scarf monster.' What has Kotaro taught you?]

Yu Narukami

[callmewhateveryuwant]

Normally Christmas back home was like a date night so it was interesting how this place celebrates. Besides the lack of a certain kind of chicken.

So when he signed up for this Secret Santa, he thought it would be fun. He wasn't even looking for a gift, liking to spend time with his friends that were here. Just being at the party made him feel a little better.

But of course he did get his person a gift and left it with the party hosts before the event started. But he won't tell.

I don't have a gift response for Yu yet, but hopefully soon! In the meantime...

[smallspot]

Even though Cupid had pointed Yu out to Diarmuid only a few seconds before, the boy loses sight of him in the shifting crowds. At his shoulder, a small blue and green butterfly comes to the boy's rescue, darting into the crowd to find the person whose gift Diarmuid holds in his hands.

When it finds Yu, the butterfly will circle his head until it is followed back to its owner.

Follow? Y/N

pft no worries

[callmewhateveryuwant]

A butterfly flying above his head...now that is not normal but then again the city was far from it. Of course Yu was curious about it.

Also known as...Y. Very Y. When the butterfly stopped, he couldn't help but look down to see a boy standing there. Did he own it? Maybe he wanted to talk to him.

[smallspot]

"There you are! You were hiding from me! Good job finding him, Little Dia," Diarmuid grins at the butterfly who circles happily once around his head before settling on his shoulder.

That should at least answer the question of who it belongs to. As for the other question...

"This is for you, Lord Nar... Na-ru... Lord Yu!"

Yeah, he's not getting that last name anytime soon. Sorry about that Yu.