trans_9 | Good-will Toward Men

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Good-will Toward Men

There is a whole world out there to spread holiday joy to. A world of flying cars, and massive towering skyscrapers, of quiet, cold deserts, of snow-covered cities. Everyone in it is either holed up in their homes, hooked into the Links, the network run by Macrohard, abstaining from human contact, or they're poor and destitute, in the streets, and in parts of the world that are ailing right now.

Some of them are due to stop in on specific parts of the world during their journeys. Others are just going to be show generosity to anyone they meet. Every angle has to be covered, every holiday that celebrates generosity and unity, to help stoke the fires and revive the Holiday Spirit.

Pick a place, Meatcrew. Grab some crewmates to help. Make some noise and entice people to leave their VR sets and come outside with their fellow man.

With the magical sacks, containing last of the Spirit's power, they can give anything that's wanted OR needed to the people of this world, and with the enchanted flying cars, they can get anywhere in the world to do it, in no time.

[ooc: Special holiday groups, tag your assigned subthreads (and keeping them in one thread would likely be best, since those groups are small). Whoever feels creative can pick an exact location and set up details--we wanted to give you some freedom to have your characters find where to go. Anyone else, doing Christmas or general gift-giving, tag and make new subthreads for each situation of gift-giving. These can stand alone as vignettes, but we encourage everyone to thread-hop and tag in to random threads. Don't worry about the organization of groups, they'll probably be switching groups all over the place throughout the night.]

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This whole holiday idea was still rather foreign to Samus. The Chozo had celebrations, but gift exchanges were not part of their traditions. She watched the exchange between Meluly and the man, his initial disbelief turned to gratitude. That was a sentiment she could grab onto.

Several children peaked through the crowd. Samus' face softened at their sight. She offered the tiniest of smiles as she reached into the bag, pulling out a small doll. She knelt down to offer it to a wide-eyed little girl. The girl stared at it curiously before hesitantly reaching out and taking it. A wide grin came across her face, and the hunter (who, believe it or not does not have a heart of steel) smiled back.

Who knew Samus was such a softie.

(http://img32.imageshack.us/i/chuckle.png/)

At the sight of Samus' handing the girl the doll, Kelly couldn't help a small smile of her own. Completely forgetting her attire for the moment. Setting her bags down, she easily grabbed two nearby crates, dragging them next to the car, and began unpacking ever single item from the bags. Or at least, as many as could fit on the surfaces at least.

Soon, the makeshift table was littered with various toys, dolls, articles of clothing, even small gadgets. That task done, Kelly left the gifts for people to claim for themselves. Picking up a pretty little jacket, she walked over to a small woman in a thin dress. It wasn't that cold, but the woman was wearing less than herself.

Managing a smile and ignoring the woman's cringe as she stepped closer, she bent down and draped the jacket over her shoulders. "Merry Christmas, ma'am." She'd never said that before. But it just sounded right.

The little digital camera Meluly's pulled out of one of the bags is silent aside from the soft whirr of the lens readjusting—and with the hushed but persistent noises of the crowd, it might be entirely possible for Samus and Kelly to miss Meluly taking pictures of them being softies. At first, at least—until, after handing out a few more presents, she tries to get them over next to the car and the array of gifts, pulling out a tripod too so she set the camera up pointing backwards and set a timer to take a picture of all three of them at once.

"What are you-" The perpetual lineface is back as Samus is pulled over for a picture. She didn't want her picture taken, dammit!

(http://img32.imageshack.us/i/eyesj.png/)

Kelly glared at the camera, she wasn't used to being recorded outside her armor. She didn't care when she was in it. most non-Spartans couldn't tell which she was anyway. But in this outfit. Her lineface turned into a slightly more unamused look, aimed at Meluly.

Finishing handing a man what looked like a small, handheld television thing, she turned to face the alien. "Are you serious?" ~_~

"C'mooon," Luly chides, trying (and failing, but it's mostly so she can make the effort) to tug Kelly and Samus over in line for the picture. "I am very serious," she says solemnly. If she can, she tries to arrange them with Samus on one side, Kelly on the other and a gap in the middle—so she can set the timer on the camera and then duck back between them.

Samus only put up with Meluly's shenanigans because she didn't want to smack her around in front of some innocent children she just got done giving gifts to. She grumped, crossing her arms, any scars on which were fully displayed. She would stand still, death glaring at Meluly, but standing still nonetheless.

(http://img32.imageshack.us/i/chuckle.png/)

Kelly didn't mind her scars, at least, not usually. But with all these people around...it felt strange. It didn't help that some of them were obviously staring at the tall, scarred women in their midst. When Meluly set up the camera though, she grudgingly too her space next to Samus, her posture matching the hunter's. Arms crossed and standing stock still. Her glare however, was fading to a more amused level.

For a moment Luly considers striking a pose—but, instead, she hooks her arms around Samus and Kelly's waists just before the flash goes, grinning ear to ear.

And then, as soon as the picture's taken, she ducks away just in case she's going to have to run away because of that.

The death glare disappears for just a moment enough for the picture. Samus wasn't quite as amused as Kelly, but she didn't look like she was going to kill Meluly either.

She dragged out a few crates from the car, handed out more presents, but the crowd coming to collect gifts was thinning out. Adults were gathering to put together a feast, children were playing with their new toys, everyone just looked... happy. It wasn't a sight the hunter was used to seeing. She didn't normally deal this directly with civilians, but at the same time she was glad she got this chance.

It seemed at least a little of the cheer is got to the Spartan as she didn't chase after Meluly to pound her into the ground. She did however, allow herself a slight grump. "Are we done?" ~_~ Though she didn't seem quite as put off by it as she had been.

Following Samus, she easily hefted the crates for the woman, setting them down next to her own makeshift table. Kelly's rare smiles widened as the stragglers appeared to receive presents and left with smiles matching her own on their faces. She'd never done anything like this before. And there hadn't been much to smile about during the Human-Covenant war.

"Done for now," Luly says and gives Kelly a thumbs-up, then returns to dragging more things out of the bags to hand out. The crowd's only intensified if anything, as more and more people get drawn by the ones wh are already there, but it's all actually quite orderly and calm, with makeshift lines spontaneously forming.

More and more came up to the trio, each receiving his gift with gratitude. Samus is with Kelly on this, a small smile gracing her face for the first time in, well, too long. Samus' priorities had always been on protecting people, but when was the last time she connected with them?

She glanced to the side to witness an odd scene. A lonely little girl, a jump rope she'd just received in hand. Samus stepped away from her post, giving the girl a curious look, "What's wrong?"

The girl sniffled and explained that she had asked her brothers to play with her, but they callously refused. She looked up at the softened hunter and asked if the three women would play with her.

Samus tossed a look back at the other two with a face that said 'I think we should.'

Kelly smiled widely, handing out present after present. This was an entirely new experience for the soldier, but it was one she could get used to. Connecting with people, making them happy, as opposed to protecting them from the shadows. It felt good.

When Samus stepped away, she easily filled the Hunter's place, giving out her share of the presents too. That was until the little girl began to explain and she caught Samus' eye. Her first instinct however, was to find this girl's brothers and...give them a piece of her mind. Or something.

She did however, move from the crate and walk over to join the pair, kneeling to be nearer the girl's height.

Luly lifts the camera again and gets a few pictures of Kelly and Samus before she slides it back into a hidden pocket of her skirt and heads along with them. She still has that wide, silly grin on her face. "I didn't think you were the kind of person to do that sort've thing," Luly says to Samus, then looks over at Kelly.

Samus just shrugged. Children were a soft spot for her. She opened up to them. At the age of three, she was pretty much ripped from anything that could actually resemble a normal childhood. There were no other children, no other recruits for her to bond with. Just her and the Chozo and the knowledge of her eventual fate to become a guardian for the galaxy.

She had to protect people. Their well being. No, she normally didn't go out and do charity work across the galaxy, and no, she's not normally a shining beacon of hope on the ship, but at this moment, right here and now, helping a young girl maintain a bit of happiness was protecting her as far as Samus was concerned. She was just doing her job, albeit in a slightly different way than she usually does.

(http://img199.imageshack.us/i/laught.png/)

Kelly grinned up as Luly, wordlessly. Was there anything else that needed to be said? She'd spent her entire life fighting, stopping threats before they took human life. Saving as many lives as she possibly could. But she'd never been in a position to touch those lives before. It was a completely new experience, but one that she was fully enjoying, being able to see these people so happy. Well, simply put, the big Spartan was still a woman, and a big softie. Though she she'll still break you in half if you tell anyone. ~_~

She was a soldier, she had been bred and conditioned and augmented to fight and kill. This was probably the most peaceful moment she'd had in her entire life. "I've never done it before. No harm in trying new things now and then. They don't seem dangerous." That, and she kicked ass at jumping rope.

Meluly lets out a happy little laugh and joins in, mostly unselfconscious about the situation. She's never liked children very much, but the situation makes it a bit easier than normal—especially with Kelly and Samus along.

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Good-will Toward Men

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