melodiesoflife | Christmas Party & Cheer

Christmas Party & Cheer

WHO: OPEN
WHEN: FORWARD DATED: December 22nd
WHERE: Christmas Town
WHAT: Celebrating the snow, the holidays, good cheery, warm fires and friends.
WARNING: Mistletoe?

With Rukia's help they were able to find a large enough hall in Christmas Town to throw the party. Zelda had set it for this day since a group of brave heroes were going to set out on the 24th. She had made sure that everything was perfect and of course everyone was invited. There were at least six decorated trees with polished silver and gold ornaments hanging from their branches. Scarlet red ribbons decorated the trees and tables with large bows tying the streaming trails together.

There was one very large tree at the halls center and there were a few presents around the bottom for those who needed a place to put gifts. At it's top was a large pointed star.

Champagne and small finger snacks were set on the tables and a part of the room was cleared for those who wanted to dance. Zelda was even able to hire a few people to play Christmas songs throughout the night. There was a table dedicated to sweets with cookies, cakes, small pies and other wonderful treats spread out for people to try.

Among the decorations was mistletoe. This little plant hung above the doorways waiting for any pair who happens to be caught in their hold. Most of the mistletoe was thanks to Minako but Zelda might have put up one sprig at the entrance to the party; it's all in good fun and kisses on the hand or cheek are perfectly acceptable.

[ooc: feel free to make open posts and tag around! It's a party!]

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[Graham doesn't drink, he doesn't have gifts, and he doesn't even much like Christmas. Actually, he just can't wait for it to be all over since he's the one who gets to take down all the decorations at the Village. So why is he here? Graham is still a social creature, so if he wants to see everyone, he has no choice but to show up.

He can be found sitting in a corner by himself at the moment though, repeatedly taking apart and putting back together a tin soldier he found that was decoration at the party. Over and over and over again, in fluid motion, like he doesn't have to think about it at all.]

Slow... Still too slow! Definitely faster than from when I first arrived here, but I still feel like only a fraction of my old self. What if I'm never back to normal?!

[ What a strange hobby. Frankly, Ace can't think of any practical application of a similar skill if it ultimately doesn't seem to lead anywhere, but in hopes that it might at least give him some idea, the cadet observes Graham idly for a longer while before responding. ]

Maybe you should consider switching on to something more complex. Getting better is all about taking on challenges.

[ Perhaps he would have known better than to instigate further dismantling shenanigans if his knowledge of the man was anything more than vague. For now, he only means to be helpful. ]

[Mostly Graham was trying to keep from being bored, but it wasn't much working. The only reason he's even here is because the party was held by Zelda.

Unfortunately for Ace, he's implying that Graham doesn't know what he was doing. Graham still had all the knowledge of how to dismantle things, but thanks to Job class overrides, his body wouldn't cooperate. He'd gotten faster since he's arrived, but he was still nowhere near his normal terrifying speed.

He slams the soldier down in frustration, sending pieces flying.]

This isn't a challenge! Nothing is a challenge! Complexity isn't the issue here, it's speed! I've been hamstrung arriving here, made useless by these stupid Jobs. Why bring someone here only to make them worse at what it is they do? A dismantler who can't dismantle! A fighter who can't fight! Why declaw the beast that's on your side? Nothing here ever makes sense! I keep trying and trying and trying and trying! Only to progress so far!

[He quickly scoops up the pieces of the soldier and puts it back together with what, to most normal people, would still be pretty speedy. But Graham looks devastated and flops over onto the floor.]

Stagnant! Static! Crawling along a a snail's pace! I should just lay here until I turn to dust and blow away.

[ Quick reflexes allow him to avoid the collision with one of the pieces that ends up flying over his shoulder as Ace settles for a step to the side. He makes little of it, looking only mildly confused at the exaggerated reaction, though the final meltdown earns Graham a proper eye roll. ]

You might as well do that, if you only have the energy to complain.

[ He tilts his head. ]

... What kind of job is dismantling?

[He may be lying on his back, but there are a lot of impassioned hand gestures to go along with Graham's ranting.]

My job. My life. My very essence! If people are born to do something, to leave their mark upon the world... If this universe isn't just a series of random events that fell into line to bring us to this very moment, then dismantling is the closest I get to having a reason to exist! Brought to a new planet with everythin' about me changed renders me unable to even recognize myself. Being told I'm a Hero on top of it all is the last straw. [There's bitterness behind that word.

He looks at Ace, his expression upset and frustrated.]

It's a sad, infuriating story! Did you ever feel this way since you arrived here?

[ As the other continues to ramble, the cadet moves into a crouched position in order to hear him a little better among the party chaos. He doesn't expect having a question thrown back at him, though. ]

... Sure.

[ Didn't they all? ]

It was like years of training no longer mattered. Losing your purpose hurts-- [ a short pause. ] --but then it's up to you to find another. Besides, it seems you can still use some of your abilities.

I'm not interested in findin' another. I'm interested in finding how to get mine back. Back fully.

[It was true that he'd gotten faster again since he arrived here, but he was still a long way off from being the tornado of destruction he used to be.]

Did you know the people here only get to choose one Job? And we get to pick two at a time, and cycle through them at will. You'd think that'd satisfy me, but it doesn't. Until I'm back to normal, there will always be an empty space I can't fill, no matter how many other identities I try to fill it with!

Listen: maybe this is some elaborate ruse to get us to work harder, if we think we can get back to normal. Some sort of twisted motivation to keep us striving to be Heroes! Is that how I get tricked into playing along? Am I that desperate enough to play along?

[Graham grabs his head, looking horrified at the thought.]

Oh my God, I am.

[ He does listen as ordered, meanwhile getting less and less tolerant of the antics of a man so intent on crying over his fate.

For a moment, there's only silence. ]

If our negligence leads to Crystallis falling apart, your internal struggle will be all you're left with. We're given tools to fight for what we've lost, so perhaps it's time to concentrate that there still exists a place to return to once we're done instead of moping around.

... How long have you even been here, anyway?

[ Sure making it sound like it's been centuries. ]

I'd be able to do that job better as my usual self. So if this place crashes and burns, I can't be blamed for not helping!

[Feh. So there. He gets up now, grabbing his giant wrench as he does, and begins to toss it back and forth between his hands.]

I think it's been about... four months now? Four months suffering under an identity crisis. I suppose I'm just another part of the cycle here now. Start over from scratch, help save this place. Get better as I do it, help save the world, end up as my own self at the end? Do we get to go back to our homes, or do we have to stay here? What if saving the world can't be done no matter how powerful we get? We're only a handful of people picked from across the universe, against a force we barely understand. Inconsequential waves crashing against the rock face of the Calamity! From what I can tell, no one here has any idea of what we're doin', so I'm not so convinced we can win this fight. Not unless this group of so-called Heroes can do more together than just throw pointless holiday parties!

[He says this all with a very matter-of-fact attitude. This group is hopeless in his eyes, but Graham has the penchant for being pessimistic.]

[ Well, Graham would not even be that far off in his claim, since dead people from destroyed universes usually don't tend to place blame after the fact, they just... stay dead. Ace would have easier time understanding unwillingness to fight caused by cowardice or lack of experience, rather than such childish stubbornness in the face of all the life they know potentially collapsing.

But just as all hope begins to fade, the man's last sentence hints at something akin to reason. They haven't been particularly active as of late, so he can't deny the other has a point, and maybe because of that his tone is a bit less harsh. ]

... It's important to have dreams, and they might eventually come true. [ Sighing softly, he feels the need to underline that. ] But this has never been about us, about providing us with a suitable reward after the work has been done.

There's too much at stake. If we wish to succeed, it's time for all of us to put the lives of others ahead of our own. Only that way, we can make a difference.

[This again. Graham sure knew how to be a black hole that sucked in all the holiday cheer and emitted nothing but gloominess. Ales took a break from his dancing to stop by and watch him take apart that doll.]

Having fun on your own?

[Ales has get to give Graham his present, which may help his mood temporarily.]

[Graham lined up the pieces of the tin soldier in order of descending size this time. Not that they had a lot of parts. And he was feeling somewhat guilty about receiving gifts, with none to give. He never thought in a hundred years that people would give him gifts.]

As you're aware, I'm totally out of Christmas cheer. Maybe it's the nature of this place, but this winter seems to be draggin' on forever and ever and ever and ever. [Which means something coming from a guy born and raised in Chicago.

Really, with his frustration of not being able to dismantle things like he used to, conjoined with homesickness, loneliness and boredom, Graham has having a lot more downswings than up. His mood was either at zero or 100, but lately it was spending more time at zero than the other.]

Maybe I will be visited in my sleep by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, and perhaps then I'll recant my feelings about his holiday! But until then, I'll continue to be crushed underneath it.

[That word is accompanied by him crushing the poor tin soldier's head with his fist. Now he can't put the whole thing back together again. Whoops.]

[Whoops indeed. Ales looks at the broken tin soldier, then up at Graham. If he were a better Teensie, he would sit beside him and ask about his feelings and work out his thoughts. But Ales did not get to where he was by being sensitive.]

Look, I can't force you to be happy, but now isn't the time to drag everyone down with your bad mood. We're at a party. This is a time for the community to have fun, not...[gestures at the toy] that. You might need those ghosts, but until then, you should take some time to be alone until you stop acting like a kid.

[And just in case Graham complains of being bored:] I got something new for you to take apart. It's outside.

[That last bit definitely gets his attention, since up to then he was blocking out getting lectured. His head snaps to attention.]

You do? Something new? What is it?

[Ales mentally notes to give Graham mechanical gifts if he wants him to behave.

He smiles and raises an eyebrow.] You'll find out when you see it. Follow me.

[He waves his hand as he turns to the door, expecting Graham to obey. Pulling in a human-size bicycle is no easy task for a Teensie, so life would be easier if he left it for Graham to take.]

[It's definitely a good way of getting him to pay attention. He grins broadly at the site of the bike. It's been several years since he's gotten to ride one, let alone take one apart. He'd been busy with cars.]

A bicycle? Now that takes me back. Wait, is this supposed to be a Christmas gift?

Yes, why else would I bring it to a Christmas party? [There's no hint of malice in his tone; he steps to the side to watch Graham react to his gift. If he gets violent, Ales will be a safe distance away.]

It's all yours. Ride it or take it apart, whatever you prefer.

[A bit of a chuckle came from above Graham and Reno shook his head.]

Graham, I dunno if you ever were normal, yo.

[He's got a large paper bag with him -- nothing so fancy as a big red Santa sack, but it holds what he needs it to hold. He reached inside to offer Graham a thin... well, rectangle, wrapped in plain brown paper. Inside was a bound notebook full of hand-copied diagrams.]

Happy Starlight whatever.

Let me tell you a surprising story: even I have a normal state. And this isn't it. I've been crippled, handicapped, unable to be like I should! What's the point of bringing someone in to fight on your side, only to make them a shadow of their former selves? Just add it to the long list of why I will never be a Hero. The senselessness is enough to make me want to dig a grave and jump inside!

[He looks stunned to look up to see Reno holding out gifts to him, though. This is person number five who went out of their way to bring him, Graham Specter, of all people, a gift. He never expected one, let alone five.]

What?! For me?! Have I really underestimated my impact on this group so severely?!

[After a moment of consideration, he takes the gift and unwraps the paper swiftly without tearing it, dismantling it like he would anything else. Schematics were the last thing he thought he'd see.]

[Reno stared with an awkward smile.]

Please... don't... bury yerself alive?

[Because Graham might do it.]

[Reno shrugged off the gift. It wasn't like it cost him money, and he'd been doing it anyway for himself.]

I dunno about anyone else, but... well, we're gonna build that motorcycle some time, right? That makes us partners.

[Graham breaks out into an excited grin as he looks over the plans. He's doesn't often get this excited to build things.]

Yes! That's right, here's the first step in such a magnanimous project! The next step is to find all the parts, which I will personally wring out of the Empire myself if need be. No nation should have such a stranglehold on technology. Especially if that nation is one I currently don't reside in. We can show them up, and finally transform this nation into one on par with the twentieth century. These motorcycles could inspire this world into something more!

[Lofty dreams, indeed.]

[And back on the upswing. Success.]

Hell yeah! One step toward awesomeness!

[He gave Graham a grin and a thumbs-up.]

I'll keep an eye out for anythin' we can use. An' if you remember anythin' specific from when you took yers apart, we can head over t' Haley's Anvil and see if they'll help.

Of course I remember. How couldn't I remember such an awe-inspiring piece of technology? It's one of the few things that keeps me going in this place - the promise of new things to disassemble. And I suppose occasionally build, if I have to.

I work at the airship garage, so I know I can get parts from there. [Legally? Probably not. Does he care? Not really.] Slowly we can save up, collect, scavenge, so we can build up and up and up and up and UP and launch this place into a new age! An age where we don't have to be reliant on big, weird birds for transportation!

[Perfect! Reno knew he could count on Graham -- maybe not for a whole lot of things, but definitely for this. The man straddled the line between crazy and genius.]

Sounds great. [Reno grinned.]

Hey, enjoy the rest a' the party -- an' try to relax! It's s'posed ta' be fun. You should try those chimichanga things that oth -- [~~other weirdo~~] -- Deadpool brought. They're actually pretty good.

Keep me updated. If I find anythin' else good, I'll let you know.

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Christmas Party & Cheer

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