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Post by Vapovile on Jan 31, 2016 4:17:44 GMT
Normally Kate would groan at being pulled into a hug with Cosmina, but her own gift softened up those feeling of resentment...if only for a little bit. Haruko happily hugged both of them, however, patting Cosmina's back as she hugged. "So, I take it you both liked your gifts?" Haruko asks, which Kate simply nodded her head at, wanting to see just what Cosmina was going to say next.
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"I wasn't giggling at that! I was just laughing at how dumb his training routine was. That's all!" With a huff, Ashlea watched as her mother opened her gift from Alexis, having already guessed it would be another one of those old nerdy monster movies that those two love so much. Aiden wasn't paying attention, simply messing with his phone while everyone else was opening gifts. Hearing that he was next, Mr. Primrose picked up the box addressed to him and opened it up. Inside, he saw a simple brown coat that he had placed on his Amazon wishlist, which was still much needed in this weather. "Hey, looks nice! Thank you, Alexis." He states, turning it over to see the full design.
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Ash was completely unfazed by Marika's glare, instead taking more satisfaction in being looked at in the first place. More eyes looking at Ash is always better! Truthfully, it didn't take much convincing to have Ash bring the present inside either, as Ash naturally thinks that everyone loves her and it was the season of giving gifts, so people should be handing her gifts anyway! On the package itself, the card, when opened, would read;
"Dear Marika,
I hope you're having a great holiday season. I had to leave this gift with the orange doll, if that is alright with you. This is the skin of a beast that can manipulate the thickness of it's skin based on pressure. Hope you like it!
-Miles"
Inside the package, Marika would find strange grey slime-like substance that had a layer of dried blood on the other side. Once Marika touched a part of it, the slime would harden to about the durability of a rock, until released. The skin was contained within a large bag full of ice, to preserve it until Marika opened it just now. Haven and Cadence look over at the present, curious as to what it is.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 31, 2016 5:50:57 GMT
"I love it! I love everything! I love you!" Cosmina said, face soggy. "And even you." She poked Kate's chest.
"And that's the joke! You found the series funny!" Alexis pointed in accusation at Ashlea. "Glad you love it, pops. Aiden, open yours!" Alexis tossed him what was clearly a 3ds game wrapped up in black paper sporting eyeball patterns. Upon opening it, he'd find Resident Evil Revalations.
Marika looked at the card with an increasingly furious expression. That creep! How did he figure out Ash was hers? She couldn't have told her. Her expression changed when she opened the box. She poked at the skin, fascinated by its qualities. This could have its uses. It would have to be died of course. "Get out of here, all of you. Play with your new stuff." Marika dismissively waved her hand. Jane bounded off at once, Martha limping behind. "Yuu, make breakfast. I'm taking this downstairs." Marika took the box to the stairs and ran down the flight like she was flying. She excitedly prepped the skin for some experimentation. She'd have to thank this Miles next time she found him. She'd give the creation she made with this his eyes.
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 1, 2016 12:17:23 GMT
"Eh...you're ok too." Kate says while rolling her eyes a little. Might as well savor this little moment, before Cosmina starts acting like a jerk again. Haruko gladly hugged both of them, patting Cosmina on the head slightly, then Kate. It was nice to see that the two could put aside their petty sibling rivalry for a few moments to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. It was moments like these that validate her decision to ignore her then-boyfriend and accept Cosmina into her home. "And I love you both too. Though for next year...could you two try and work on being nicer to each other? You're sisters, and should have each other's backs. I never had a sister growing up, and only found out I had siblings well into my adult life. Can you two try and do that, for me please?" Haruko asks, looking at the both of them.
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Catching the game, Aiden quickly unwraps it to find Resident Evil Revelations, a game for the 3DS that was currently charging in his room. "Huh, cool. Resident Evil on the 3DS...wonder how it's going to play. Thanks, sis." And with that, he places the gift at his side, and began messing with his phone again. Seeing as Alexis was done with her gifts, and that the only gifts left were from Ashlea and the Primrose parents, Ashlea clapped her hands to bring attention to herself.
"Alright, I shall be going next. I'll let Mimi hand out my gifts to you all." On cue, a little orange cat with a strangely long tail emerged from under the tree, and wandered over to a stack of neatly wrapped gift boxes with decorative Christmas tree patterns along the red wrapping paper, and a perfectly wrapped ribbon going around each box. Ashlea had clearly taken the time to make her gifts look professional, as opposed to Alexis and her lazy attempt at wrapping. Wrapping it's tail around the box on top, Mimi extended it toward Mr. Primrose's chair. "I choose...dad to go first!" Ashlea proudly declared. "Aw, that's very nice Ashlea." Oliver kindly says, knowing that Ashlea was probably closer to him than any of the other family members. Carefully cutting apart the gift box, Oliver opens it up to see a set of six perfectly wrapped blue antique glass cups, with a shiny scale-like pattern going around each glass. Oliver was a hobbyist antique collector, with a particular fondness for glassware of most kinds; and this particular glass set Oliver had briefly inspected on one of his trips to the antique store.
"I noticed you looking at those, so I got them for you!" Ashlea produly stated, causing Oliver to smile back. "Hey, I was looking for something like these for the hallway cabinet. Thank you!" Satisfied with the praise, Ashlea turns to her sister next. "Ok; your turn, sis!" As Ashlea told her next person to receive a gift, Mimi's outstretched tail presented a box for Alexis to take as well.
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Haven and Cadence didn't really want to know what the skin was badly enough to chase Marika down, so they obeyed the command and began heading back to their room with presents in hand. Haven was still impressed with Cadence's floral artwork, while Ash was still admiring her imagine in the potted plant. Walking next to Martha, Haven looked at her injured leg. "That doesn't look too great. Want me to fix it up real quick?" Haven actually had a very minor skill in needlework, having used it to sew together some props for his concerts, as well as mend a few tears in his costume before a show. A small would like this should be no problem.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 1, 2016 17:51:16 GMT
"Wellllllll... if I have to." Cosmina mumbled.
As Alexis took the present, Becky smiled and reached out to pet Mimi. Alexis ignored to her to shake and sniff the present, searching for any tricks to it. Only when she was convinced of its safety did she shred the paper into tiny scraps.
"It's fine." Martha insisted, continuing her limp away. "You couldn't fix the muscle damage anyway."
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 3, 2016 11:23:03 GMT
Once Alexis finished tearing open the nicely wrapped box, she would find a similarly sized box with a clear plastic front side, displaying a man in a dark blue armored suit with a mask covering his entire head. On the top of the box read in bold letters; 'Kamen Rider: Hibiki', a tokusatsu show that was one of the shows Alexis loved to watch. "I had no idea what any of that Rider stuff was, so that's why I asked you who's your favorite that one time. And then Googled my way to that." Ashlea explained, proud of her gifting prowess.
Over next to Alexis, Mimi casually trotted closer to Becky, allowing herself to be pet by the girl...but still keeping a look of pride with its expression.
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Rolling his eyes, Haven begins to walk to the other side of the house, away from Martha's room. "I guess. Take it easy I suppose, Martha." And with that, Haven begins heading to her room. It's time to see where exactly to put all these gifts he got.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 4, 2016 4:42:27 GMT
"Oh, awesome! Oh, shall I keep him here or in my dorm?" Alexis fiddled with the little figure as she thought about its place. Becky continued to pet Mimi. "Did you get Becky something? It's okay if you didn't, she won't care." Alexis asked.
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 4, 2016 16:41:59 GMT
Ashlea thought about Alexis's question for a second, then shook her head in denial. "No offense Becky, but I don't really know you that well. So I only got gifts for my family members. Which leads me to...mom!" Snapping her fingers, Mimi extends her tail out at the command and wraps it around Angela's box, then lifting it over to her lap without taking a step away from being petted. Mimi then let go of the box, and continued to look dignified. Once Angela opened the box, she would find a similar clear plastic case that Alexis got...but this one appearing much more reptilian than the figure that her sister got. Emblazoned across the top was the title; 'Kamen Rider: Amazon'.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 4, 2016 23:15:33 GMT
"Don't care." Becky just contentedly pet the cat before her. "Awwww. Thanks honey. Alexis, we should put them on a shelf together." Angela lifted her gift and waved it at Alexis. "Ohhhh. I think they'd be friends." Alexis responded, picking her new Hibiki figure up to set him next to Amazon. "Of course they'd be friends. How about Aiden next?" Angela looked at her younest child.
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 8, 2016 12:12:43 GMT
Ashlea lowered her right eyebrow slightly at Alexis and her mother's little exchange. Were they shipping these weird guys again? She didn't care for the show at all, so the thought of shipping them wasn't appealing enough for her to care about. "Right, here you go Aiden." Extending its tail once more, Mimi drops a small box onto Aiden's lap. He looks away from his phone finally to tear at the box, revealing the gift inside; a large black phone cover with a thick plastic casing around the back to protect against sudden impacts.
“O hey...nice phone cover. Thanks.” Aiden remarks, making Ashlea beam. “You’re always carrying that thing around with no cover, and I’ve seen you drop it before! So yeah, there.” Once Ashlea was done talking, Mimi struts her way away from Becky’s petting, and begins to knead on Alexis’s legs. Across the room, Oliver claps his hands together. “Well, that should be everyone besides your mother and I. Come and get your ones from us.” Without stopping kneading, Mimi extends her tail out and wraps it around Ashlea’s gift, plopping it into her lap.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 9, 2016 1:21:21 GMT
Alexis frowned at the cat and pushed her away. "Knock it off." She only wasn't bleeding because of her thick pajama pants. Becky tried to reach out and pet the cat again, ignoring the order to grab her final present. Cats were much more important. Alexis, expecting this, sat down with two presents, setting one by Becky's side. "Here ya go, ya dingbat." "I'm a bat." Becky gave Alexis her usual blank stare of confusion, but Alexis could tell she liked the idea. "Click. Eek."
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 9, 2016 11:21:09 GMT
Turning her nose up at Alexis, Mimi struts away from her and Becky, dodging out of the way of Becky's petting attempt and leaping onto Ashlea's chair, lightly whacking Brick in the side as she jumped. Mimi then forcefully pushes Oscar out of Ashlea's lap, causing the orange cat to jump down and stroll across the room, while Mimi gladly took her spot in Ashlea's arms. Aiden rolled his eyes at Alexis and Becky's bat conversation, looking over his phone once more. "How are we going to do this? There are two of you, and we decided the order on our turns."
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 9, 2016 23:46:57 GMT
Becky frowned as Mimi walked away and waved at Oscar, trying to draw his attention. "I'll go first. Becky's in low gear this morning." Alexis said, fingers hovering a millimeter from the wrapping paper.
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 13, 2016 19:35:23 GMT
Oscar noticed Becky's waving hand, and slowly trotted over to the orange-haired girl. Meanwhile, Mr. Primrose nodded his head, allowing Alexis to go first. Inside of Alexis's gift box was a brown box containing a powerful, black PC with a new processor that was near cutting edge, along with the rest of the parts. Becky had a similar computer in her box, but her's having a red casing around it. The Primrose parents made sure to remove the price tags, of course, as to hide their value.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 13, 2016 20:25:57 GMT
Alexis tore the box open with glee, eyes lighting up when she saw her gift. "Aw yeah! I needed a new laptop!" Becky briefly stopped petting Brick and Oscar to open her own, seeing she had the same, just in a different color. "Yay." She left it in the box to keep petting the animals around her. "You're awesome! Thank you!" Alexis beamed at her parents. "Becky loves it too, don't let her fool you." She clarified.
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Post by Vapovile on Feb 16, 2016 14:40:57 GMT
Oliver smiled at Alexis's excitement in opening he gift, being somewhat confused at Becky's simple reaction to the large gift. But he felt a little better once Alexis clarified Becky's actual feelings. "You're welcome, Alexis. Your mother insisted on getting those ones, and she has an eye for this kind of stuff...so I'm sure they are great. Ashlea, Aiden, you're up." On cue, Ashlea and Aiden tear into their own gifts, Ashlea being much more careful with her's as to not ruin her nails. Aiden was the first to open his gift, and smiles at the large blue PS4 box inside. "Yeah! I've been waiting for this thing. Thanks!"
A few seconds afterwards, Ashlea finally opens her present to find...a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, a smartphone with a much larger screen than normal ones, and comes complete with a stylus for hands-free use of the phone. "Yes! I needed a new phone, and this one is perfect! Thank you!" Ashlea happily beamed, already opening the phone's box to set it up. Mimi continued to sleep on Ashlea's chest, paying no mind to the present in front of it. Beginning to levitate all the wrapping paper off the floor, Oliver looks at everyone. "Alright, merry Christmas everyone. Hope you like your gifts."
Nodding his head, Aiden stacks the gift boxes up and begins taking them back upstairs. Ashlea decided to stick around in her chair, setting up her new phone with a gleeful smile on her face.
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Post by HungryHunter on Feb 17, 2016 16:52:17 GMT
Alexis stood up and hugged everybody in the room in turn. "I loved them all!" She pulled her friend to her feet and hugged her extra tight. "Come on, we're going to get stickers for our laptops!" "Yay?" She drug her confused friend out of the room, ignoring the way Becky reached out at the animals as she drew further away from them. Angela smiled and knelt to give them both a quick pat. She hoped her whole family was this happy, both those here and those away.
In two locations, one further away than the other, two people were alone on Christmas. One stumbled, exhausted and battered, into her small room and collapsed face first on her messy bed, scattering some dirty socks lying on it. The other had been laying on his bed for hours, with nothing better to do in this cell. He was huge in contrast to the other's tininess. Both heard a quick rapping at their doors, both drug themselves to their feet like their bodies were made of lead. Both were delivered packages, one wrapped tight in pink wrapping paper, the other brown and open after it was searched.
A smile managed to come to lips that so often seemed to be made of steel when they looked into their gifts. A coat that warmed itself was a godsend for one with blood as tepid as tap water. And even somebody whose durable body seemed to withstand the cold could appreciate a good coat. The second pairs of clothing brought equal joy. One's pink t-shirt depicted vibrant butterflies, all in a different color. The skirt paired with it was perfect for a casual trip out. The other's new clothes were just as pink. A Hawaiian shirt, mostly pink flowers, wasn't as interesting as the broad pants of a kickboxer that lay underneath, top band marked with an embroidered pink fist. "Thanks, Haruko." Two voices muttered to themselves. It felt like they were home for the holidays after all.
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