Santa Claus is coming to town

[afallenstar]

Who: Secret Santa participants, but also EVERYONE!
Where: Town Hall
When: Evening of day 24
What: Present giving! The Secret Santa reveal, and anyone who wants to have a christmas party is welcome to join too!
Notess: Party style thread guys, so go nuts. No order, everything is chaos, tag to your hearts content, feel free to break off into separate threads, and no spiking the punch! Also I think she's sort of mentioned it to a bunch of people but want to do me some lovely favours and handwave the actual name drawing? I will backtag if people want but it seems a little pointless to thread that out.


There's another message on the network that morning from Anna, just audio again. It's about as garbled as her first one regarding the Secret Santa idea, but for anyone who is listening closely enough they'll make out a few details. Namely this evening, town hall, and bring your presents before she shuts it off.

She's spent the rest of the day trying to do what she can to make the place look nicer. She's hardly got Christmas decorations on tap, but she's done what she can with what she has all the same. There's paper snow flakes up around the place, some of the food from her house placed in bowls to make it more party-appropriate, and it's no fir but she has relocated a small tree from the edge of the woods and placed it in the hall. Barely decorated, not even the right kind of tree, it's the best she can do with the resources she's been given.

Now all there is to do is wait for people to come.

Comments

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra's been living in a world without parents for a while now. Hell, he's closer to a parents than most of the people he meets. Technically, he's kind of one of four daddies to a pretty fuckin' awesome little girl. So he's not entirely plugged into the whole concept of meeting the dad, especially because he doesn't do relationships or feelings, anyway. So he gets that Bruce is implying some shit, but fuck if he knows what it is.

He laughs a little nervously. "Yeah, second time I almost drowned here. I'm from the desert. I don't know how to fuckin' swim." Not that that would stop him from jumping in for Lyds again, because he would. He totally would a million times over.

Because they are friends.

[greenisnteasy]

Bruce nods, and his expression doesn't even flicker.

"Because you're dating, right?"

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra just freezes, looking at Bruce slowly. It's the reaction of a man who's just been caught doing something very, very bad and is trying to think of an excuse.

"I don't--no. We're just, you know, friends." They're just friends. Kobra doesn't really do it any other way. "We were living together and we're friends. I've got her fucking back, so don't worry about that, but I don't really... date or whatever."

[greenisnteasy]

Hmm. Lydia had also protested that they weren't dating, and maybe Bruce is deliberately baiting him to see his reaction. Whoops? He's a good guy, really, but Bruce also isn't above prodding someone until they give him what he wants, and it isn't always nice. At least he won't threaten Kobra with the other guy... probably won't.

"I see. And your intentions are what, exactly?" He's hoping that phrasing makes it clear what kind of a stance Bruce is taking here, and he hopes Lydia won't be upset because Bruce is taking a liberty here.

[goodluckkobra]

"Whoa. Whoa there!" Intentions?! He's not courting anyone here! "We are friends. I intend to be her friend, man. Whatever goes on between friends is just their business. We're just having fun."

Fuck, he's freaking out now. No wonder he hasn't slept with anyone else! Everyone thinks he and Lyds are, like, together or whatever.

[greenisnteasy]

So the impression he's getting is that Lydia also says they're just friends, but she's lying to herself. Kobra, he's not so sure of.

His eyes narrow.

"Just make sure no one gets hurt while you're having fun. Lydia's special, and I'd do anything to protect her too." He's still completely putting on the act, though he is less than thrilled about this now. Before he had a sort of benevolent eye on the situation. Now, he's watching you, Kobra.

And then, for good measure, because he has no real shame, this is delivered in the same stern tone:

"And wear condoms."

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra's back straightens like a rod and he presses just enough into Bruce's space to emphasize that he's taller, even if all he's got is a few inches. His fists are clenched at his sides and he takes a long, deep, steadying breath before he speaks.

"Don't. Lydia's my friend. I take care of my friends. I would never let anything hurt her." Not even a stupid green monster. He's not fuckin' scared of it. He'll take down anything that comes after his friends. Fucking nothing is going to touch her. He will kill if he has to. Hell, he's killed before.

[greenisnteasy]

He really just meant toying with her heart, which is a different kind of "letting anything hurt her," but he isn't going to press the issue now when he can recognize the signs of someone who's dealing with an influx of anger. It's the breath that does it, more than the intimidating step forward because that one's easy to fake.

He holds up a hand and takes a half step back, more apology than any kind of fear or intimidation in his movements. He's not afraid either, not really. Only if Kobra fatally wounded him, and he thinks -- hopes -- someone would step in before that.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't being very nice." He pulls his hand back, so he can hold them both in front of him. "I know you wouldn't. Like I said, she told me about jumping in to save her. It's okay."

[goodluckkobra]

He calms considerably at that. He takes protecting his friends fuckin' seriously. It's everything he has. It's him.

"I'd do it again, too. She's my friend. That's what friends fuckin' do." There's still an edge in his voice, like he's wind tight and might be ready to snap all the way.

[greenisnteasy]

"Some friends would, but not everyone would be that brave." He's maybe still trying to fish to see that Lydia is more than a friend, but now his attention is shifting to Kobra's outburst.

"Have you saved your friends before?"

[goodluckkobra]

"I've died for them. Anyone who wouldn't isn't a friend worth having." He really believes that, too. For him, it's all or nothing. You're friend or foe and a friend is someone who's at least ready to bleed for you.

He remembers after they got out of the icy water and they were huddled in that bed together, he'd felt so warm with Lydia in his arm. He'd felt untouchable.

[greenisnteasy]

"You've died?" Bruce tilts his head, still speaking softly and probing for information, gently. "Did this place bring you back to life?"

[goodluckkobra]

"Yeah, but that's not the only time I've died." He frowns. "You can't mention this stuff to my brother. It messes him up." More so than he already is and it kind of hurts Kobra if he thinks about how messed up his brother is too hard, not that he's dumb enough to think he's not fucked up, too.

"I don't know how, though. I don't really get any of it." He's read a lot, yeah. He's probably most people's definition of well-read, but science books are fuckin' boring and there's only so much he could learn from a book, anyway, so why bother?

[greenisnteasy]

Maybe it's time to tell him about Party's warning, and though Bruce does feel a tad guilty for not following through, Kobra did walk up first. That totally clears him, right?

"Your brother actually told me I should stay away from you," he says, as neutrally as possible, so he can instead read Kobra's reaction. "Something about how you have your own troubles with... being angry." His eyes are darker now, now way around that, and he's lowered his voice. He'd take a step closer if he was still respecting Kobra's space, after he did get angry.

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra could be angry, of course, but he isn't. Instead, he just laughs. "What a little shit-eating dumbass." Who is going to get a good punch for that. "Not my fault people do shit to piss me off. They get what they ask for with that. 'S not like I get pissed off that easily or anything."

He shakes his head. "Anyway, you shouldn't listen to my brother. Or do. Whatever you want."

[greenisnteasy]

"I'm not really looking to make waves." Hence why Bruce had a card and a token for everyone here tonight. "But I'll be honest, I don't like the idea of avoiding you just because," and here he stops, gesturing with his hand, "I don't really know. If he thinks I'm a bad influence, he should've seen me seven years ago."

Bruce has a much better handle on these things now, and it's because he stopped avoiding his problems or trying to push them away.

"Avoidance leads to build up leads to explosions." He shrugs. "But it's your brother. I don't want to upset him, either."

[goodluckkobra]

"I don't know if you noticed, but he's a little unbalanced. It's trickier to figure out what doesn't upset him." He laughs, but it's just a little hollow.

"Anyway, you can't possibly be a worse influence than he is, right? I can make my own choices." Like who he sleeps with, Party.

[greenisnteasy]

"That's what seemed funny to me when he asked. There's no one here who knows more about anger management techniques than I do." He smiles, though it's a little tight, and he crosses his arms over his chest.

"What is Party's story? When his twin showed up, I was just assuming he was an alternate personality of Party's. It seemed plausible."

[goodluckkobra]

He almost laughs at the mention of Galen. "You mean the clone? I totally punched him 'cause I though Party had hit his head again, the dumb fuck." And then he actually does laugh, but there's a bitterness to it.

"And I manage my anger just fine, long as no one fucks with my friends." And that includes Lydia, bro. Anyone touches her or looks at her funny, he's stabbing them in the face.

[greenisnteasy]

He catches the bitterness, and he's not sure what it's coming from -- Galen, Party conceivably being that messed up, or his anger management. Any and all of them seem like good candidates.

"Yeah? What happens if someone does?" he asks gently, so it's clear he's not threatening anyone. His eyes are searching Kobra instead. "What happens then? Do you get blackout rages?"

[goodluckkobra]

Kobra's eyebrows raise. He could lie, but he's not really sure that it matters. Bruce already knows more about him than a lot of the people here.

"I don't always black out. Remember that last anger bout pretty vividly." But he's not saying that he doesn't black out. He does sometimes. That, though... he can't forget watching Korse shoot his brother. He can't forget falling to the ground and then waking up here.