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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The Festival of Lights is still celebrated in many places in the world. The Jews have held onto their faith now as they have for thousands of years, even if it's grown more and more difficult with the changing times.

It is the eight and last day of Hanukkah, and there are many places where menorahs adorn a bar-covered window, the last candles being lit a half hour after night fall.

It is the second day of Eid ul-fitr. The Middle East is not the only place in the world it's celebrated, of course. There are Muslim populations in Britain, The United States, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Like most of the world, though, there's slim pickins for the feasts and gifts. It is not a good time for this planet, for everyone, and people go hungry. Many take solace in the fact that they can at least share with one another the spirit of their faith.

The Sisters of Mercy charitable mission was based in a small adobe building on the outskirts of Baghdad. Dust clung to everything, sand blew in through the open windows. It was oppressively hot during the day. At night though the cold cut to your bones.

The sisters were two girls who had blown in from out of the city, in through the desert, dressed in old clothes. Humble but beautiful, both had meekly refused several offers of marriage from visiting uptowners doing their charitable work for the holiday. They seemed dedicated to nothing but serving.

Sheeana had seemed utterly tireless, serving all day, then going to "visit" with local governors at night, returning home at night flushed and exhausted but their place in the city secure.

Merchants agreed readily to donate food and water...well, it just seemed to appear out of thin air.

The war had cooled on this earth. Every year there were a few bombings from either side. Both had settled in to a long grind and the citizens of the Republic of Qurac had built their lives back up as best they could. Life had returned to a semblance of normalcy.

And on the night of Eid Ul Fitr, a sumptuous feast was laid out in the street for the city's poor. Grizzled war veterans with missing limbs sat next to beggars and refugees. Tabbouleh and fried eggplant opened the stomach for sfiha, lentil and pomegranate soups, dolmaches and falafels.

There were plates of baklava for afterwards, that flaky sweet dessert beloved of all in the middle east.

Nothing could interrupt this good of an occasion...or could it?

Katara was the other sister who wsa helping tirelessly with putting out food, water and what they could scrounge from the Poles for these people. Her hair was bound and she wore a scraf tightly around her head most of time since it seemed to be the fashion in this place and it made her less conspicuous. As instructed by Sheeana, Katara had made herself scarce and was quiet in what she did, a bit ofa change from her Painted Lady alter-ego. If she was irritated by the heat, she said nothing about it, and if any aspect of these new people were startling, Katara did not show it to Sheeana.

Instead, she had diligently worked on repairing clothing, healing the sick and infirmed when she could, and making sure these people were as comfortable as possible for the ceremony. Whatever Sheeana had instructed Katara did so, and what she did not Katara took certain allowances on. If a certain beggar here or there with sores happened to notice they had far few pains after seeing the rather young girl at the Sisters of Mercy building, who would be the wiser? Katara wasn't about to blow their cover.

Still, she wondered if any of their team would be here soon.

Loren had no idea Eid ul-fitr existed until she saw the team list Stacy brought up. In the end, she figured it was a lot like Christmas, which was really about spending time with friends and family and eating (and the presents too).

She didn't speak anything other than English so she spent her time in the United States, cooking, greeting people, and making sure everyone got along well. She wasn't much of a cook, but she did enjoy getting to know new people and helping to spread the holiday spirit. Everyone here really needed it.

It had taken some time for Billy and their team to land the car in an inconspicuous location. Pulling a traditional dark garment over his gift-giving uniform for this leg of the mission, he swung a black bag over his shoulder and led a few stragglers toward the Sisters' location. It wasn't difficult to find them, for the flow of traffic within Baghdad ended at the location of the generous offering of food.

Finally, after greeting the people he met with his best attempt at pronouncing the traditional 'Blessed Eid' greeting, Billy reaches the Sisters.

"Peace be upon you," he greets solemnly, testing the waters for interaction in this culture. "I apologize for the delay. We were preparing some gifts for the people that will help them through the year. Your work so far has been excellent," he offers, appreciative of the feast that the gathered people are enjoying.

"Can I assist you in any way before I begin my own work? I'd like to conduct some simple repairs at a nearby school."

Jono wasn't all that enamored of his outfit (http://www.buycostumes.com/Elf-Adult-Costume/61839/ProductDetail.aspx), but he had seen worse ones at the North Pole. And even if it wasn't black, at least it was dark.

He looked over the city as they drove in, shaking his head. This ain't roight, he said, voice disbelieving. Bloody 'ell, I know it's Christmas, but I ain't ever seen it this quiet. Nobody's bloody well outside! And that was just unheard of. There were always people on the streets. It was LONDON!

Dani couldn't cook at all, but she was fast at delivering things.

Some people would lose track where she was completely. But hey, flying was faster and she can turn intangible and invisible, so what was the harm? Even if it did mean excessive changing between human and ghost morph. She was actually appearing in her human morph for us, since the glowing eyes could be unsettling.

And when she had breaks from delivering food to people, she'd entertain the kids. She was good at making stories, some of them actually the truth, and worked to cheer them up.

But right now, it was making sure everyone had food.

"You know, I looked up this holiday stuff in the Media Library. We should try and get decorations or something," Dani commented, returning trays and got to work to cleaning them up.

"That's a good idea. After that's done I'm going to see if there's anyone at the cemetery visiting the dead. It's a nice practice but I want to make sure no one ends up getting too sad."

Never in his wildest dreams did Daimon expect to find himself here. Riding a sleigh, powered by his own his own powers, focused through his trident.

No, there were no reindeer to pull this sled. But there was a bag of presents and there was a Santa Claus.

Daimon tugged at his collar. The costume was uncomfortably snug.

And you didn't want to get him started on what he thought of the fake beard.

"Ho, ho, ho." He said dryly. "Merry Christmas."

Christmas had been infinitely more enjoyable when he was a young boy.

Leaf didn't like the whole flying thing one bit. Nor was she thatfond of the whole 'handing out presents to humans' thing, or especially-

"A scab? Being inside this Weaver thing is not enough?" She snarled to herself as she eyeballed the city below. Her temper didn't improve as she watched Scout. "And how are we to land when this has no feet?"

Scab? Weaver? Wha-? And oh right, landing. Scout kinda forgot about that. Scout doesn't really want to land, though he guessed it was kind of nice to be back in his hometown.

"Hold on, I got this," he almost sounded unsure of himself. He slowed down the car, hovering over a building, then finally downshifting into park (in mid-air, no less). The car thumped onto the top of an apartment building. Scout folded his arms, looking pretty pleased with himself.

That earned him a slightly less annoyed huff. "We are in one piece, at least." Leaf peered over the rooftop, her ears pricking forward. "But how are we supposed to get down?"

He exited the car (taking the key, of course) and pointed towards the door to the stairs with his thumb, "I'm thinkin' that'll work."

Leaf twitched at ear in agreement, then set to eyeballing the passenger side door. She pawed at the handle for a moment before shifting up to crinos and opening it, then grabbed the bag in her jaws. Dropping to all fours, she shifted to hispo and headed towards the stairs, still dragging the bag.

"Aye," Jamie agrees, absently reaching up to adjust his hat as it slips over one eye. At some point he opted to put his version of the elf costume on - although, true to form, the kilt is on underneath. At least it's red, and blends well enough with the rest of the outfit.

"They must all be inside with those virtual reality things." He frowns thoughtfully. "Ye would think, though, not everyone can afford them." There's got to be some people around who can't. It's just a matter of finding them.

"Isn't that always sad?" Dani asked, looking confused. Visiting the dead seemed a sad thing to do.

Chanukah tends not to have the lavishness that Christmas does, but there are still little ways for Sheik - and others - to leave joy for those celebrating it.

Many of the houses where the chanukkiyot have been lit now have little gifts stacked nearby, scattered with handfuls of gelt (and with the occasional real coin amongst the chocolate - bite carefully!), the occasional dreidel - and a few plates of latkes here and there.

Mmm, latkes.

((OOC: ...Dammit. Now I'm craving latkes!))

"Of course," Katara said, keeping the whole humble sister thing going. "It would mean a lot if you could distribute these blankets to some of our less fortunate. You'll find them in the mess hall. Sister Sheeana and I are busy readying the Eid Ul-fitr celebration. I think you might want to be around for that."

Here she passed him a balanket, but not before giving him a very small hug.

"Thank you for being here," Katara said softly. "It means a lot to these people."

And here, Sister Katara approached the two of them. She was still maintaining the humility and caring nature of a diligent religious worker, but one could tell that underneath all of that was a skilled waterbender.

"Our guests don;t care much for decorations," she said gently, "Although once the celebration starts, I'm sure they'll be pleased."

She looked over at Loren, who she didn't know as well, and bowed her head.

"If I could, I'd like to go with you to the cemetery. There are some people I want to pay my respects to."

Ron ran about, rapping at doors. "Wake up people. It's the last day of Hannukah. If you're Jewish, heck, even if you're not Jewish, take of the VR helmet and go embrace your fellow man. Cuz I am NOT gonna stop bugging you until you do."

Slobo's approach was slightly different. He was pounding on the doors, often leaving dents.

"Alright, people, get out now or I'm comin' in ta eat yer brains!"

Ron, for once, was the one doing the facepalming.

"...Slobo, would you stop telling people you're the Hanukkah Zombie?"

"I'm glad to help." He returned Katara's hug lightly, then secured the blankets in his arms, smiling brightly at her. "Don't worry, I'll be back in time for the celebration. I wouldn't miss it."

With his plan formed, he slipped outside to find people sitting apart in the mess hall. Some had finally started talking and sharing in the joy of the feast, but others looked like they needed some encouragement. He started with a lonely-looking family seated near the entrance. I'll have to start a chain reaction, thought Billy.

"Peace be upon you," he offered to the child, offering her a smaller blanket. "I wish you a blessed Eid, and that you may be well every year." He hoped the translator had interpreted that correctly. The child looked confused for a moment---oh no, he didn't botch it, did he----but then she smiled, greeting him and turning to her parents. He repeated the procedure with them, and soon enough the three were wrapped in warm blankets. One family down, several more to go...

But it became easier after the first. The families were grateful, and they even began talking to each other about their strange benefactor. That, at least, was a start. Billy smiled to himself, eagerly anticipating the Sisters' show---though he also wondered where the rest of his team had gone. Hopefully they'd arrive in time to see Sheeana and Katara.

Slobo looked at Ron and shrugged.

"Good will is great an' all, but fear is what I do."

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Good-will Toward Men

Hanukkah

Eid ul-fitr

Re: Eid ul-fitr

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Re: Eid ul-fitr in the US

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General Gift Giving Group - London

Re: Eid ul-fitr in the US

Re: Eid ul-fitr in the US

Ho ho ho

General Gift Giving - Boston

Re: General Gift Giving - Boston

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Re: General Gift Giving - Boston

Re: General Gift Giving - Boston

Re: General Gift Giving Group - London

Re: Eid ul-fitr in the US

Re: Hanukkah

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Re: Eid ul-fitr in the US

Re: Hanukkah

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Re: Hanukkah