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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHEERYCHERRY. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 019.46.820.17 * CHEERYCHERRY has joined 019.46.820.17 <CHEERYCHERRY> It's Riley! <CHEERYCHERRY> Please leave a message! <CHEERYCHERRY>** Please be someone with their priorities sorted out properly!

main: CheeryCherry
anonymous: panthera, aed
retired: gflynn (anon)

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Ho ho ho! Your secret Santa gift recipient for this year is Handler on the network.

Her real name does actually seem to be "the Handler". At least, that's what she goes by. Weird, right?

Please spend no more than 20 solars on a gift for the Handler, and ensure she receives it on or before Christmas Day (December 25). If not, Santa Claus will come to your house and glare disappointedly through the windows until you cough up.

Merry Winter-Holiday-Of-Your-Choice!

[ Riley receives this and does a double-take. ]

Wait a second, I never said I wanted to participate in this. I barely even have anything to purchase gifts! And I don't know this person, at all!

Show up on the sign-ups, show up on the list. I can't believe how many people struggle with this very basic concept.

[He can. He absolutely can. That's why he does it.]

Do some sleuthing. Dig up some dirt, and use it to buy a great gift. And if you go to the clinic and ask Hawkeye, he'll lend you 20 solars for it.

So we can't even ask questions without committing to something now? This sounds ill thought-out.

If you're just going to hand out money to everyone, why don't you buy them gifts yourself?

[ ...because she did read the post he made, after the fact, and he did admit to being KrisKringle in it. ]

I'm not going to hand out money to everyone. Just people who can't afford it.

And that's not really the point of a Secret Santa, is it? Where's your Christmas spirit, Emmelina Scrooge?

First of all, Christmas isn't a universal holiday and acting like it is can be incredibly offensive. What if I don't celebrate it? What if you're roping in people who have other traditions? That is irresponsible.

Second of all, even if I was really into Christmas, it's a little hard to have any holiday spirit to begin with here.

Oh, I'm definitely roping in people who have other traditions. Do you know how many Japanese people alone there are on this peninsula?

But allow me to make a counter-argument: to whit and hereby theretofore, we're all having a miserable time and a little silliness and kindness never hurt anyone.

Seriously, I've been here long enough to know that if you want any holiday spirit around here, you've got to D.I.Y. by any means necessary. Just once a year, we can have one game where there's no life-or-death stakes, nobody goes crazy, and people act like human beings to each other. Believe me: even if it isn't what you'd do at home, doing something like this brings us together. It reminds us that we're in this together, and that no matter what happens to us, we're still people underneath. People who do silly, pointless, fun things and are nice to each other just to be nice, and who have something to exist for outside of just dragging ourselves from crisis to crisis.

Besides, if you don't give the Handler a gift, then you've ruined her Christmas too. Is that what you want?

[ ...Oh, god damn it. After a bit of a delay... ]

Look, I don't know how to get gifts for other people, okay? This isn't a stupid no holiday spirit thing, I just haven't done this since I was a kid. I've gotten and given gift cards for years and I don't think that's an option here.

Please don't make me do this. Whatever I throw together, this person's going to have a lackluster Christmas anyway.

Yeah. A gift and a card. That's how presents work. Not seeing the issue.

Listen, would it help if I gave you a couple pointers?

[ It figures she actually admits what her issue is and it doesn't get across! It figures!! ]

No, gift cards, like a set amount of money to a specific place. They're a thing where I'm from.

Whatever. Fine.

What, like a coupon? You give each other coupons for Christmas?

I've gotta say, that's pretty tragic.

Anyway, she's from about my time, so I'm guessing she wouldn't know what one was even if you gave it to her. She's very elegant, so maybe jewellery or a nice hat? Or a bottle of wine never goes amiss. Or something stronger. And if all else fails, there's chocolate.

[ Yeah she is just not acknowledging that first part!!! ]

I thought monsters could only eat people. What good's wine or chocolate like that?

Correction: monsters can only sate their hunger by eating people. You can still eat for fun all you like.

Unless you wind up being a lich, in which case, anything that tastes less strong than coffee or tequila is really a waste of effort.

Oh. Being a lich sounds even worse than I thought, then.

Can you tell me where she lives? Or do I have to do some digging for that too?

Yeah, it's not the best.

I'd love to tell you where she lives, but I genuinely don't know. We've mostly met in passing.

Great.

Well I'll try but if I can't find her don't shove a lump of coal at me okay?

Pinky promise.

Did you survive the woods?

⟪ honestly, she's at her best when it's a little unclear if she's asking for her own entertainment or out of sincere concern. ⟫

[Should Riley look around Hestia's Place, she will see a box with her name on it. When she looks inside, she'll find a pink sweater covered in glitter!

There will be a note that reads "Thanks for being my friend! Also, I flew to someone's house the other day. I can't say I didn't warn you about not doing stunts."]

[ Oh!! Oh, it's...it's the one who asked about flashlights...and peasants..... You know, Riley really hadn't thought about that a lot, but the queen part of her handle makes her wonder... ]

Yes, I did. I am safe and sound back in Bavan.

[ Well, Riley got so distracted about lecturing about proper stunt practice that she forgot to ask why Mabel needed to know where she lived.
And now she knows!! Well!!!

There's a soft, long moment where she thinks about it, a kid thanking her for being her friend. It's... Riley doesn't quite know what to make of it.

So she just, you know, shoots off a message- ]

Did you handmake that sweater for me? Thanks so much, but you really didn't have to! If you need compensation for the materials, I can do my best to provide them. Or if there's something else you'd prefer?

But I want to, you're my friend and I figured it would be a good way to spread the holiday cheer!

And you don't have to! I already got more than enough compensation on my end! So I'm good!

[Early in the evening, a courier will bring Riley a gift. Or, well, two. Two gift bags — his instincts tell him Riley likes to reuse — labeled 1 and 2, and a note, which reads: I had already figured out 1 when I got my Secret Santa assignment, and I thought using it would be cheating, so I just added on. I hope these are to your liking. Merry Christmas]

[1 contains a pack of 24 hair ribbons. 12 different jewel tones, 12 different pastels. They are unnecessarily good quality for hair ribbons.]

[2 contains a knife, good quality, thematic. Also, a smaller (but not small) bag of whatever christmas snacks he managed to come across in ryslig, including but not limited to: satellite wafers, hot tamales, and some actually very nice chocolate because the candy was upsetting him. Additionally, a wind-up toy (think those chattering teeth) that isn't exactly parasite-shaped but is pretty close.]

Are you sure? I know at that age a little money can seem like a lot, but handmaking clothes is an incredibly valuable and lucrative talent! You should never undersell what you're worth, because the moment you do other people believe they can walk all over you.

Yeah, I'm sure! Honestly, I'm just glad you were willing to help me out!

That's really all I can ask for.

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<KrisKringle>

<CheeryCherry>

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<QueenRegnant>

Forward Dated to around the 14th

<CheeryCherry>

<CheeryCherry>

<sweaterqueen>

december 24.

<CheeryCherry>

<sweaterqueen>