|
Post by Vapovile on Dec 26, 2015 2:08:38 GMT
Haruko frowned at Cosmina as she finished her insult. "Cosmina! We don't insult family like that! Now, apologize to your sister, or it will be just her and I opening presents today." While she didn't like taking a harsh tone, Haruko knew she needed to for instances like these. Kate only crossed her arms, satisfied that Cosmina got in trouble again. She walks over and takes a gift from Haruko out of the tree, and plops down on the couch with it in her lap.
---
"Just...no. You're not Tarzan! Ugh." Aiden went back to eating his food, his head now annoyed by Becky's illogical wants. Breaking the silence, Mr. Primrose looks over at Angela. "So, want to tell the kids about how we spent winter break that one year at Gateway? You know, the one with Beth? It's quite the story." He knew that Angela loved this story, and Alexis enjoys her humor greatly.
---
Haven shook his head at Martha, but handed her a small Itunes gift card. "Nope, but there is $100 on there. Go nuts." After being tackled by Jane, Haven couldn't help but chuckle slightly, even though Jane was kinda heavy. "Of course I'll teach you! I didn't buy it to just sit in your room gathering dust, ya know? We can start lessons after all this dies down, alright?" Still hugging Jane, Haven glances over at Yuu. "Of course I did! Making you two plan this would be rude, wouldn't it? In there are the plane tickets, hotel reservations, taxi fare...I even planned it around your schedule on the calendar! I figured you two'd like a break from all this. Do you not like it?"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 26, 2015 18:50:49 GMT
"Awwww... Kate, I'm sorry. You don't smell that bad." Cosmina pouted for a full second before lighting up with glee again and grabbing her gifts.
___
"I'm not Tarzan." Becky agreed. Angela grinned at the suggested story. "Oh, I'd love to. You haven't heard it yet, right kids?" Alexis frowned. "Beth? She hates you guys. You were spending the break with her?" Angela nodded. "Oh yeah, it was a winter camp. Trying to toughen up us soft city kids with a snowy forest hike." With that, Becky was hooked, staring at Angela with entranced eyes. ___
"Why... just us?" Yuu was still processing the very idea of a vacation. She had never had one. Marika was high maitnence, and it just got harder and harder as more dolls were added to the crew. She would worry more if Marika wasn't with her, so there was that at least. But the reason for having Marika taken along worried her. Haven was a sly kid. "We should do it!" Marika declared. Her face displayed nervousness and excitement. "Uh, till then... Jane! Your presents!" "And please get off the couch. It's already crowded." Martha complained.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Dec 26, 2015 20:33:01 GMT
Smiling, Haruko walked over and gave Cosmina a quick hug, whispering "Thanks. I love you." Backing away from Cosmina and the hug, Haruko makes her way over to Kate and does the same to her, after Kate accepted Cosmina's apology. With the conflict now resolved, she walks over to the tree, piles the gifts for her up in a stack, takes them over to her chair, and sits down in it. "Since Cosmina suggested you open some of my gifts first, you both can open one this round."
Taking out her phone, Haruko began to take a few pictures of them opening presents. Kate groaned slightly when she saw the camera, but ripped through the red and green striped packaging to find...a nice set of orange and black track shoes! The shoes were predominantly orange, with a few black detailings along the side the indicate the brand. "Yes! Thanks mom! I needed these to join track in the spring!" Meanwhile, in Cosmina's box, she'd find a New 3DS with Majora's Mask 3D and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate included in the gift box.
---
Ashlea looked over at Angela with interest in her eyes. She'd heard that Beth didn't get along with their mother much when they were at Gateway, so the idea of them at a winter camp was pretty interesting to her, especially if the rules were more lax than at Gateway. "Ok, tell us! What happened?" She asked, listening intently.
---
"It's just you two because I've never seen you two actually take a vacation. Don't worry, Martha and I can handle everyone here just fine." In truth, it was also because buying plane tickets for all 9 people would be very expensive, not the mention the hotel costs. But a larger reason was because Haven wanted some peace and quiet around the house, without Marika punishing anybody arbitrarily, or Yuu defending said actions. Releasing Jane, Haven pats Jane on top of the head. "Alright, mind getting us your presents? You can sit next to Cadence until we're done here, ok?"
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 27, 2015 0:34:16 GMT
Cosmina gasped in joy. "My own 3DS! You're the best, Mom!" Her mother's approval when she played nice almost prevented her next move, but she just couldn't resist. She clicked a few times and leaned to whisper in Kate's ear. "I know what all your presents are. What can you give me not to tell you early?"
___
Angela grinned and leaned forward. "Well, thing is, we were room mates at the time, and she had been seeing some guy for months. He was a friend of your father's, so I of course thought he was very attractive. I wasn't very nice way back when, so I flirted with him a little and next thing I know, Beth was walking in on us while he was handcuffed to the bed." She chuckled to herself at the memory. Becky looked confused so far. She thought this was going to be about camp.
___
Jane nodded. "Yeah! You'll like them!" Jane hopped down and grabbed a series of small bags that rattled when shook. It seemed some sort of small figure was in each.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Dec 27, 2015 13:30:07 GMT
"I can give you one shove and me telling mom on you again. You jerk." Oh, how she hated having her as a sister. Haruko smiles at the approval of her kids, looking at the tree, then back at them. "Glad you both like them! How about we open the gifts from each other next? Which of you wants to go first?" She asks, Kate still glaring at Cosmina.
---
Oliver couldn't help but smile at the memory as well. "You should have seen how mad she was! The fight between them woke up the entire camp! Why did you want to be her roommate, anyway?" He asks, knowing the answer but allowing everyone else to hear for themselves. Ashlea nearly did a spit-take when Angela mentioned handcuffing someone to a bed, while Aiden was just drowning all this out. Did mom catch him doing a crime or something?
---
Accepting each of their gifts, they open them to find a superhero figurine inside, painted in the primary colors of the person accepting the gift. Haven received a Dazzler figurine with long purple hair, and a shiny black suit. Ash got a Power Girl painted with orange hair, and a black suit as well. Cadence got a Swamp Thing figurine, with a green and white body that matched her own choice of colors. The figurines were obviously painted by Jane, so some of the paint job was spotty, but it still looked great in Haven's opinion. "Aw...I love it Jane! Did you paint these yourself?"
Turning the figurine around in her hands, Cadence was confused by what it was, exactly.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 27, 2015 17:58:47 GMT
Cosmina stuck her tongue out at Kate, quickly withdrawing it when Haruko turned to look. "Mine! Open mine, Mom!" She hopped off the couch to show her a package wider than it was tall.
___
Angela laughed. "You're amused now, but I remember how mad you were back then. Especially since everybody ran in because she was yelling so loud." "Ew, Mom. We don't need to hear this." Alexis wrinkled her nose. "Oh come on, don't you want to know why I wanted to be her room mate in the first place? Ollie knows." Angela nudged her husband.
___
Cassandra sniffed a black and orange Daredevil. Marika drew a Spider Gwen from the bag and glared at the stupid nerd shit she was holding, even if it was cool looking in purple. Yuu wasn't sure why she got Captain America in Greek colors, but she appreciated the effort that clearly went into it. Martha was the most confused by the white and blue colors of her X-23 Wolverine, but it was pretty badass looking. "Thanks sis. This must have taken forever." Jane beamed at her sisters' approval. "You all like it!?"
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Dec 28, 2015 4:50:14 GMT
Glaring at Cosmina for a few seconds, Kate turns over the package she got from her sister and began to tear at it. Haruko was also curious to see what Cosmina got her, as it was a wide box, but not as tall. "Ok, we'll do your gifts first, Cosmina." And with that, Haruko began to rip open the box, trying to see what was inside.
---
"Yeah, this is gross!" Ashlea agreed with Alexis after she complained about the subject. Folding her arms over her chest, Ashlea looks at her father, having more faith that he'd make the subject less gross than her mother would. Oliver smiled and nudged his wife back playfully. "If you insist. You see, your mother liked to mess with people more back then, so she made sure to get the same rom as Beth to always have her around. You should have seen the fights those two had, not counting the aforementioned camp fight. What were some of the stuff you did to her, anyway?" He asks, looking at Angela again.
---
"I love it! These must have taken a really long time to paint. Come over here!" Walking off the couch, Haven hugs Jane once more. Once the hug was over, he sits back down on the couch, and looks at the three remaining people. "Ok! Martha, Cassie or Cadence?! Who's next?!" Ash yells excitedly, placing the figurine into her skirt pocket.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 28, 2015 20:11:57 GMT
Kate's package was obviously shaped like a game case when she felt it. The paper tore away to reveal a computer game. "Torchlight" the title read. "It's a dungeon crawler! You didn't have any games like that, so I wanted to give you one." Haruko's contained a box containing a little plush figure, clearly sewn by an amateur. It took a second to recognize, but after a moment's scrutiny it was clearly a Sylvion, tied with little pink ribbons.
___
Angela laughed. "Oh, tons of stuff. I put lots of bugs in her bed. When she had her boyfriend over without permission, I told on her just to get her in trouble. I can't believe how long it took them to have me moved somewhere else."
___
Marika rubbed her chin and looked around the room. "Cadence! You aren't going to volunteer, so it's your turn."
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Dec 30, 2015 10:08:37 GMT
Kate stared at the box for a few seconds, not sure what exactly a 'dungeon crawler' was. Haruko took a moment to figure out what the gift was. "Aw...I love it! I was wondering what you were doing with that pink fabric, earlier." Getting up from her chair, Haruko gives Cosmina a quick hug, then returns to her seat. "So Kate, let's do your gifts next. Who do you want to go first?" Haruko asks, looking at the box in front of her. "You, of course! Open it!" Kate calls out.
Ripping open the box, Haruko finds...two pillows? Upon closer inspection, they seemed almost cloud-like with how soft it was! "I upgraded some pillows for you! No store can say they have something better than those!" Kate proudly states. Before Haruko could react, Cosmina would see her own gift; a clear, measuring cup-looking coffee mug with a periodic table along the outside, and Heisenberg's face from Breaking Bad on the other side of the table.
---
"I'm pretty sure you both just liked to fight with each other. Speaking of fighting..." Looking back over at Alexis, Mr. Primrose finishes chewing a piece of bacon before he starts speaking again. "Alexis, you're head of the dueling club. Are there any rising stars in the ranks?"
---
Cadence blankly stared at Marika, then waved her hands at the tree, causing vines to wrap around the gifts from her and hand them to everyone they are addressed to, the boxes being cone-shaped with a wide box base and a rounded top. Each of them had a unique scent coming out of the box, almost having unnatural but pleasant smells. "...be careful opening those." She warns.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Dec 31, 2015 0:27:34 GMT
Cosmina beamed in response to the praise. "I'll make an even better one when I learn how to do plushes!" Her pride continued when she managed to cut off any reaction Haruko might have had to Kate's gift. "I love this! Mom, you're the best!" She proudly held up the mug.
___
"Maybe a few, but I can't get who I really want to fight me." Alexis grumbled. "Are we gonna open presents now or something?"
___
Jane sniffed deeply. Was it a flower? It seemed like something Cadence would get. She was delicate with the package to avoid harming it, unlike Martha, who tore it open as roughly as all the other gifts.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 2, 2016 18:52:55 GMT
"Hey! That is MY gift to you! Mom didn't buy that!" Now even more angry, Kate glares at Cosmina once more. Haruko sighs slightly but squishes the pillow slightly in her arms. "I love it, Kate! You both did a great job picking out presents. Now, you each have two more gifts. Pick which one you wish to open first!"
---
Seeing that everyone was finished with their food, Oliver stands up and takes his plate to the sink, looking back at Alexis afterward. "That we are! Everyone, to the living room and we can start opening gifts." Standing back up, Ashlea puts her plate away and makes her way to the living room, sitting down in a comfortable dark brown chair with large armrests, and putting up the footrest. She continued to pet Oscar, who sat in her lap and gently purred at the petting.
---
Underneath each of the packages was a small potted plant with a colorful assortment of tiny flowers arranged into the shape of an animal. Jane's was in the shape of a blue whale, with tiny black flowers where it's eyes were positioned and a deep blue flower growing out of the blowhole to represent water coming out. The whale smelled of salty open ocean air, where it's the animal usually lives. Martha's pot contained an arrangement in the shape of a brown kangaroo with a tiny baby in it's pouch, and smelling of the exotic Australian outback. Marika got an intricate black Japanese dragon arrangement with dark red flowers for the eyes, and smelled of a slightly burning fire, but not smokey. Yuu received a little jumping spider positioned on it's legs, and smelled like...the kitchen? Cassie's pot contained a little brown cat that was extremely soft to the touch, and smelled of a cat that had just been given a bath. Cadence knew that Cassie would want to touch the cat, so she made the flowers extra durable and able to spring back. Haven had gotten a colorful toucan with it's wings at it's side, and the smell of a rainforest just after a light rainstorm. Finally, Ash opened her's to see...a mini version of herself as an arrangement of flowers! It was surprisingly detailed for the material it was made from, and had her positioned in a triumphant pose.
Since Cadence expected people to rip the boxes open, she used her plant magic to keep the flower's positions in place until they were done tossing them around.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 2, 2016 20:15:12 GMT
Cosmina looked at the package and found it was indeed from Kate. "Thanks Kate. You're okay." She gave her sister a hug at arm's length. Desprately resisting the urge to click at her presents and find out which was what, she just picked the larger one, since it was hard to pick up small objects with her eyes.
Alexis and Becky sat together on the floor of the living room, followed closely by Brick. The two both pet the dog and waited quietly. "Alright kids. I say we open our presents from oldest to youngest." Angela suggested with a smirk.
Even Marika was impressed with Cadence's work. "Wow... this is amazing. How do I take care of it?" She asked Cadence as she studied the beautiful plant. "Kitty!" Cassie squeezed hers to her chest and Yuu turned to make sure she didn't harm it. "Good work, sis." Martha regretted being rough, but she was glad it ended up fine. Jane just looked at her whale in reverence for its beauty. Cadence was even better at art than her...
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 3, 2016 18:22:34 GMT
Kate begrudgingly accepted the hug, taking one of her own boxes afterwards and ripping it open. Inside was a large box with a motorcycle on the front, containing parts to make a model motorcycle with realistic-looking parts! Kate remembers how she wanted one of these in the toy store earlier, and now she had it! "O wow, thanks mom! It's so shiny!" Kate beams. Nearby, Cosmina's box would contain a set of green and black headphones, designed to be worn behind the head as to not interfere with Cosmina's horns. The sound quality was also much higher than the normal earphones she would have been using until now.
---
"Oh come on! That's just lame!" Aiden protests, while Oliver smirks at his son. "Why don't we all just start with someone's gifts, and work our way across the tree? Who would like their gifts opened first?" Ashlea was silent after he said that, not wanting to be the first one to go here. Aiden also didn't want to go first, so he looked over at Alexis. "I think she wants to go first!"
---
Cadence nodded her head at everyone's praise, looking over at Marika after she asked her question. "...just put it near a window with sunlight...and water it once a week. They are easy to raise..." Cadence figured that none of them shared the same dedication to plants, so she made the flowers easy to manage and not require much water to stay alive. She was mildly amused that Cassie was hugging the inanimate cat, but it was a cute scene none the less. Glancing over at Jane, Cadence pokes her in the side to get her attention. "...do you like it?"
Meanwhile, Ash was turning her own plant around, admiring the level of detail Cadence went to with this plant.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 4, 2016 0:45:53 GMT
Cosmina poked at Kate's motorcycle a little and grinned. "Upgrade it bigger." She whispered to Kate. Her own gift amazed her. As a sonaphilic, she had been looking forever for headphones that were nice and fit her head properly. "Yay! I love you, Mom!"
___
Alexis shook her head and Angela grinned. "Alexis it is. Everybody grab a gift from Alexis and get ready." She pointed out the gifts wrapped in plain brown paper and Alexis groaned.
___
"Great. Yuu, remember that." Marika commanded and moved her plant to a flat spot on the floor. Jane gave Cadence her biggest, wateriest grin yet. "I love it! You're so cool!" She hugged her smaller big sister and nearly lifted her off the floor.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 5, 2016 3:35:58 GMT
"Not sure if I can do that...but it's still cool!" Kate whispers to Cosmina. Her power allowed her to upgrade different materials, but making all these parts increase in size would likely ruin the set. Kate eyed the headphones Cosmina received with curiosity. "Aren't your horns going to get in the way...?" She asks, then looking back at Haruko. "Yeah, I love you too Mom!" Haruko smiled at the praise from her kids, nodding her head. "I love you both as well! I'm glad you like your gifts. Now...you each have one box left." She says, pointing to the last two boxes the two had.
---
After grabbing their gifts from under the tree, Ashlea and Aiden sit back down in their spots, Oliver having already picked his and Angela's up. "Since it's your gifts, you get to decide who goes first Alexis." Oliver says, hiding his amusement at the wrapping job.
---
"...glad you like it." Cadence says, preventing herself from being lifted off the ground. Hugs were nice. Nearby, Ash had already gotten Martha's gift to her and was holding it in her hands. "Ok! Martha's next, right?!" Ash asks excitedly. This was so cool!
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 5, 2016 5:00:21 GMT
Cosmina rolled her eyes. "Oh Kate, are you blind?" She placed them on her ears, showing the way the band went behind her head. "Ta-da!" She skipped over to her present, gesturing at her headphones.
___
"Becky." Alexis poked her friend, making her smile and reach for her gift. "That work, dad?"
___
Martha was the only one left, shoved further and further back throughout the session. "I'm ready! Open them!" She rushed about the room and gathered up every remaining gift besides one. "Open open open!" It was about as excited as she'd ever looked to the group.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 9, 2016 18:41:50 GMT
Kate looked at the headphones with a look of slight confusion on her face. How were those things able to stay in place, did they just hug the back of her head tightly? "Well how was I supposed to know that?! Hmph." Grabbing her own final present from the tree, Kate sat back down on the couch and turned it around in her hands. It was smaller than the other gifts she got, and didn't seem to jingle like a game would. What was it? "Ok you two, I want you both to open those at the same time. Ready?" Haruko asks them both.
---
While internally, Mr. Primrose was disappointed Alexis picked her friend over her family members, he didn't show it on the outside. "It's fine. Go ahead, Becky." He thinks for a moment, then remembers a vital part of the process. Waving his right hand lightly, he summons a small trash bag from the kitchen to hold all the discarded wrapping paper that was about to materialize.
---
Wasting no time, Ash tore open her gift box, while Haven opened his more carefully to not damage anything inside. Cadence decided to open the box slowly, cutting through the tape with a tiny spike at the tip of her finger to try and make the least amount of obnoxious noise possible. Just what did Martha manage to get them all?
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 9, 2016 22:46:28 GMT
Cosmina somersaulted over to the tree and grabbed her present to roll back to the house with. "Ready!" Cosmina declared, digging her fingers into the wrapping paper.
Becky tore into her gift, gasping with glee when she found a small stack of nature documentaries. Becky dug in and started examining each cover. "Thank you." Alexis hugged her. "You're welcome. I say... sis goes next!"
There was no clear theme to the gifts. It was just what everybody had said they wanted or otherwise would likely want. Cassandra had a small plush cat. Jane found a massive smiling face under the tissue paper, revealing itself to be Watchmen when she opened it fully. A Deadmouse cd box sat in Haven's lap. Cadence got a big book on gardening. Ash got a hand mirror with a mirror that wouldn't fog up. Yuu had a romance novel. Marika dug under the tree and found one present. Not from Martha. "Martha, where's mine?" She glared up at the muscular girl. "Huh? Oh, I didn't get you anything." Martha kept her gaze right in Marika's eyes. "You little bitch! I'll kill you!"
Marika pulled scissors from her pajamas and stabbed Martha in the thigh. "Marika! Calm down! It's Christmas!" Yuu grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away. "I know! And she ruined it! Everybody gives everybody presents!" Marika wailed. Yuu cast about for an escape route and saw the remaining present under the tree. "Nonono! Honey, there it is! She was joking, right Martha?" Yuu gave Martha a pleading look that went completely ignored. "Fuck fuck FUUUUUUCK!" Martha growled in pain and held her leg, giving Yuu and Marika a death glare. Marika crawled back out from under the tree with the last gift. "What the hell is this? It wasn't under the tree yesterday."
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 28, 2016 2:18:20 GMT
Not wanting to potentially injure herself, Kate gets up and quickly grabs the box addressed to her, and sits back down in her chair. Both boxes were relatively small compared to the other gifts, being only about the size of a DVD case, but having more depth. Kate dug through the red wrapping paper with white bell patterns, and opened her box first. Inside, she saw a small framed photograph displaying Haruko and Kate standing in front of a large castle-like structure, with large crowds of people walking along the sides of the frame. Kate was holding a small bag of popcorn at her side, while Haruko held a large blue bag at her own side. Kate instantly recognized this from their summer trip to Disney World...only days before Cosmina joined the family. Turning the frame over, Kate was surprised to see that there was some writing on the back, reading; 'You can't be replaced, Kate. Hope you liked our trip!'
Inside of Cosmina's box was a similarly sized frame, but this one showing the three of the at a concert venue, multicolored lights filling the air as they stood happily for the picture. On the back of the photograph also had writing from Haruko, this one saying simply; 'Welcome to the family, Cosmina.' Kate smiled at her own gift, glancing over to see what Cosmina's was.
---
Nature documentaries? How could those be interesting at all? Either way, Ashlea turned to her own box and cut the wrapping paper open neatly with the knife she had prepared. She had just gotten her nails done, and didn't want to risk breaking one trying to tear a box open like a savage. Peering inside, Ashlea rolled her eyes as she lifted up a small box containing a figurine of a strange cybernetic man with light brown hair, dark yellow eyes, and shiny metallic arms and legs. The top of the box read; 'One Punch Man: Genos' across in big, bold letters.
"Come on sis, this nerdy stuff? I only watched this show with you because it was the only thing on. But thanks, I like it." Truthfully, Ashlea didn't want to admit that she loved the series, and her favorite character was Genos...mostly because of his constant struggle to be better and...well...he looks so cool! Putting the box on the floor next to her, Ashlea turns to Alexis. "So, who's next?"
---
Haven was about to stand up to help Yuu with Marika...but Yuu had managed to fix it faster than he expected. However, that gift under the tree did confuse her just as much as Marika...who's gift was that? Instantly, Ash pointed to the gift with her right hand triumphantly. "I brought it in last night! I was hanging out at the gym, and some weird guy told me it was a present for us, so I brought it back!" On the box itself, it was wrapped in a colorful green and red wrapping paper, with a card inside of an orange envelope reading; "To: Marika" on the front.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 28, 2016 2:51:39 GMT
Cosmina's eyes teared up at the photo and she hugged it to her chest. She would never be able to explain just how much this meant to her. Nothing under the tree was worth as much as it. She could only make a pathetic little burble when she pulled her mom and sister into a huge hug.
Alexis rolled her own eyes. "Yeah, you were so bored when Saitama explained his powers. Do you always giggle like that when you're bored?" She looked over the room. "Mom, you're next!" She pointed at the big bag leaning on his chair. Angela smiled and picked it up. She opened it to find a box set of all the Godzilla movies. "Aw, thank you honey." She smiled and held it up. "We can watch them all together without all these sticks in the mud." Alexis gestured to everybody else. "I'm a stick?" Becky didn't even look upset at the implication. Alexis rolled her eyes. "And now Dad!"
"Then it's not Martha's, is it?" Marika glared at Martha, keeping her eyes on her the whole time she was reaching for the present, noticing the way her look of worry grew. "What's you deal, traitor? Thinking about what's coming to you? Trust me, it's gonna be great!" While she checked for a name on the package, Martha cast Ash her own glare. What is wrong with you? The glare said. Who would fall for a trick that dumb? Did he compliment her eyes or something!?
|
|