Season of Giving (December 2008)

[narakunohana]

Quest Name:

Season of Giving

Format:

Singular (You make only one, non-interactive post that takes your character throughout the entire event.)

Collaborative (You and a partner can work one interactive post each that takes your character throughout the entire event. Rewards are higher, as you'll be required to coordinate with another person OOC to complete this.)

Reward:

Singular : +3 Experience Points and $500
Collaborative: +3 Experience points and $1000 each

Scenario:

It's Christmas and Miss Clavering is back! Unfortunately, being assigned to one of her classes, she picks YOU to help out on a nearby orphanage during Christmas Vacation.

She tells you to take one child home for a week. You're going to be the mother/father/sister/brother of these young children -- so take care of them well! It's an opportunity to have a reality check on parenthood, so take it!

After all, you'll get a hefty grade when school comes back!

Requirements:

• A minimum of 750 words (not counting the bbcoding) each participant (including collaboratives).
  
• The personality of the child you're taking home is at your discretion. You'll be taking the child on the 18th and bring him/her back by the 25th. If you're collaborating, you'll be 'forced' to live on ONE house together for that week to take care of that one child. Oh, and collaboratives must be between a female PC and a male PC, or as long as there is at least a Mama and Papa figure. Or something close to that. >_>
  
• This collaborative monthly event will serve as an experiment regarding collaborative monthly events. If this is a success, then chances are more might follow :)
  
• I strongly forbid hurting the orphans, or anything close to Physical, Verbal, Emotional and Sexual abuse.
  
• Monthly Event ends on January 2nd. May extend, but please don't make me come to this xD;
  

This is what happens when you let Marianne do this while being completely under Mika Kamamura's spell. <3

[Mitsuki Park]

The Ultimate Christmas Gift
First Day.

Mitsuki Park never dreamed of having a child to take care of - ever. Especially in a time where danger lurked nearly everywhere she turned, having a youngin' by her side would be especially threatening to that child's life. It was a big responsibility. Is a big responsibility, to nurture the young sap, to feed him and provide him with the care and attention he needed. That all took careful effort and a lot of time - both of which Mitsuki did not think she provide for him. So why is it that her brother slapped her a little boy of thirteen years to her side? Why is it that she pitied the boy so much for being with her of all people? She was supposed to entertain him for the week, but she didn't see why. Was Reita expecting her to learn a life lesson through this? Or was this completely for his and Andrew's amusement?

"Listen, lady. I don't want to be here any more than you do."

Great. A boy going through his hormonal stage where hostility comes into play. She awkwardly pat him on the head before giving him a lollipop, hoping that it would amuse him for the time being, but instead, he openly scowled and brushed her hand away. Right. Andrew told her that there was a clear difference between children and animals, but apparently, Mitsuki could see no differences; only similarities.

Just kidding.

"I'm not your dog," he hissed, an obvious look of fury and discomfort on his face. Mitsuki only gave him a blank stare. She knew he wasn't her dog, why, Skye was sitting patiently right next to her. She arched a brow and lightly shook her head. By now, he thought that she was mentally ill and could not understand what he said. So throughout the rest of that day? He started speaking a WHOLE lot slower and louder, as if Mitsuki couldn't understand. It was amusing to Mitsuki, but she could tell that he was getting frustrated. Why of all people was he stuck with a girl who was mute and simply followed him around everywhere he went? Why couldn't he get a cool guy that would show him some neat things only guys would do?

And that was how the first day passed. No names were even exchanged; all Mitsuki did was follow him around and observe him, and she learned quite a bit. She found out what he liked in his food, what he disliked, what colors he was fond of and the type of clothing he preferred. The one thing she found so very likable about this boy was that he did not question anything, so when he was brought back to the hotel, he got his own room and seemed to get along with Andrew and Reita fairly well. From that, she gained information of his name, and he hers.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift
Day Two.

Shopping. After having a rather lovely breakfast together at the hotel restaurants, she took him to the giant mall and, from there, went from shop to shop, looking at items he wanted and the items he needed. All of this was done with discretion, of course. She could not afford to be seen by the wrong people, so she disguised herself rather well. Hair was done into two french braids to conceal the length and style of it, large sunglasses gracing her eyes...and a rather feminine appeal to her choice of clothing. She didn't look like a boy, no, but rather, looked like a college student that was taking her younger sibling shopping. And the great thing was, this boy did have similar features to her. Perhaps he was a distant cousin?

He didn't ask for anything. From what she had learned the day before, she bought him nifty gadgets she thought he would like. An iPOD Touch, since it had WiFi and thought he might like it. Wasn't too much money; then bought him clothes she thought he might wear, which mostly consisted of hoodies and jeans. He didn't seem to estatic of what he was getting, and she thought that maybe she did something wrong.

She was walking ahead of him and suddenly stopped, turning around to meet his gaze. He had been surprised by her sudden turn and the sharp look he had received. He was probably a couple inches shorter than Mitsuki herself, so this kind of a 'thing' did not require her to bend down to his height.

"...is there anything in particular that you want?" Mitsuki spoke, and Mark, the young boy, widened his eyes in surprise. It was the first time Mitsuki had ever spoken to him, and he gave a shy, timid smile, shaking his head. He wasn't so much of a brat after all.

"There is something I want to do, though," he said, and Mitsuki merely stared at him, waiting for him to continue, "I've...wanted to go snowboarding, but never really got the chance to..."

Brilliant. Mitsuki absolutely adored boarding.

"Then I see we are in need of some sporting equipment..." she mused, and his face only brightened. It would not cost her any more than $400 to get him some decent equipment for beginner boarding. Especially with someone his age, well. Everything is just three times cheaper. She isn't rich, but think about it. Mitsuki's the type of person to save all her money and not spend it on anything, because everything she has was given to her as a gift or simply because.

"Do you board?"
"I do."
"...how good are you?"
"Good enough to know that you would be goofy footed despite you being right-handed."
"...I haven't even getting on a board yet-"
"Exactly."

He grinned from ear to ear as he kept chatting, and Mitsuki gave a response here and there, which seemed to satisfy him to a certain extent.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift
Day Three.

"Don't lean your whole body forward, and bend your knees," Mitsuki instructed. They had been at the slopes for nearly three hours, and he was getting restless, she knew. Yet he was stubborn and kept at it, determined to get passed the bunny hills. She had to admit, he was no slow learner, and could potentially hit one of the easier slopes by the end of the day if he kept up with his head-strong mind. She taught him how to turn from left to right, but he had an odd tendency to shift his whole body, which would then only cause him to fall. Repeatedly she would remind him how to properly board.

"Mitsuki..."
"Hm?"
"How long did it take you to learn how to board?"
"I don't remember."

They succeeded in going down the bunny hills multiple times in a row without falling. Before going in, she taught him how to stop, which he learned with ease, and so she suggested that they go in for a hot cocoa break. She was not at all sore, but could tell that Mark's legs would literally break off his limbs if he didn't sit down. He loved his new board, his gear, and she hoped that the other children in the orphanage would get nice gifts too. She didn't want the others to turn him into an outcast because they were envious of his presents.

They spoke, mostly about his childhood and her own. He was a curious fellow, but mostly kept to himself, though he had a nasty temper.

"Are you up for the ski lift?"
"Really!? You think I can make it down?"
"No, which is why you're going to prove me wrong."

After an hour break, they set off again, settling themselves on the ski lift and up they went. Once on top of the mountain, he began to fear, which was a good thing. She hoped that he wouldn't get cocky and simply go down the slope and injure himself. Lucky for her he did the opposite.

"Just follow my instructions. We'll go down nice and easy, left to right, left to right. This is the easiest slope after the bunny hills; people will stay clear of your way."
"But what if I fall?"
"You get back up and try again, and learn from your mistakes. Don't let falling pin you down, understood?"

He gave a sharp nod and started down the mountain, and Mitsuki stayed behind not too far. Well, being in Utah, most of the snow here is powder and feels like you're floating if you have the right board. Yet. Utah. Remember, Mitsuki's on the run?

He fell a couple of times, but got right back up without Mitsuki's help, and before you know it, they're back on ground level.

"That was amazing!"
"I'm glad."

And then? They went back to the hotel, where she let him take a nice, hot bath for half an hour before calling him for dinner.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift
Day Five.

"...family day?"
"Yeah. You, me, Reita and Drew."
"What're we going to do?"
"Movies, then...go with the flow from there."

Often, she found herself thinking about Andrew when she was with Mark. How it would be ten years from now if they were still together, with children of their own. Was it her own wishful thinking? Or was the spirit of the holidays getting to her? She could not believe that he would accept her back into his life. No. He thought she was dead, and for him to think of her as alive, then...

"Oh! So we're going to meet them now? At the theatre?"
"Yes."

But of course, things can't always go smoothly. She caught on that some people were following her. They were dressed inconspicuously, but their watchful gaze was what gave it away. It was too obvious, or maybe she was simply being paranoid? She would play it the safe route, regardless.

"Why don't we pick up the pace? I don't know about you, but I'm cold."

And so they did. Breaking off into a light jog, they got to the theatre in no time and, awaiting them were Andrew and Reita. Now the kid was safe with them, but still. It made her uncomfortable by involving the boy into their own problems, even if he had no idea what was going on. But it was nice; having a companion other than Andrew and Reita. Skye was a lovely partner, but he was no human.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift
Day Six.

"Mitsuki... Will we still be friends after this is over?"
"...yes."
"So you'll come visit me?"
"Definitely."

It wasn't a lie. She would visit him - someday. She would give him her contact information, but she knew that it would change in a matter of days. Sure, she could tell him beforehand that she had gotten a new phone, but he would grow suspicious, and it would put him in some grave danger. Perhaps when all of this running was over, she'd visit him on a daily basis. But who was she kidding? Utah? Not the place for her.

"Do you think we could have a snow ball fight? Me and you against Drew and Reita?"
"Definitely."

Mitsuki and Mark built a snow fort before even going back up to the hotel to grab Drew and Reita, who seemed pretty happy with the idea of a snow ball fight. Eagerly, they went outside to the back of the hotel, and started launching snow at each other, whether it be down their shirts or in their face. Of course, the two older males showed some mercy to Mark, but they were ruthless when it came to Mitsuki. Laughter, smiles, memories.

"Let's take a group picture!"

And so they did.

The Ultimate Christmas Gift
Last Day.

"Bye Mitsuki! Bye Reita, bye Drew!"
["...hey, why am I last?!!?"]
{"See you, kiddo. Keep in touch."}

Mitsuki let out a small smile, and nodded her head.

"Bye Mark. Make sure to call."

And off he went, back into the orphanage.

Sweet kid. Really.

[olesya]

Okay...so. Once upon a time Mikey's and my collab. is gigantically epic...and could not possibly fit in this post, and it'd be a billion page thread maybe. So, I uploaded it to my fanfiction account and turned it into a story :3 (And also serves as advertisement for the board kekeke >>)


Characters: Olesya Van deBogart and Jonathan "Unfettered" Winters
Word Count: IT'S OVER 9000!
Progress: Unfinished XD
Link: Click

[seishounohana]

Em and David's Parenthood 101

Characters: David Blaze and Emily Delos Santos
Word Count: ... don't ask.
Progress: Unfinished, but heck. xD;

[narakunohana]

You know what? Everyone here did more than what I required. ;;

Guess you guys had too much fun with it. That's good. I'm not checking, and so: I'm adding +2 exp to those who participated this month's Monthly Event!

A very late Merry Christmas and a Happy new year to you all

Congratulations!
Mitsuki recieves +5 experience points and $500 while the rest of you all receive +5 experience points and $1000 each!


Well done!

Edit:

Corrected something. @__@ Mitsuki was supposed to recieve the +2 as well! Congrats.

[Tyr Odinson]

Rewards have been given.

Nice job everyone.