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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
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Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Two: What do we get for a mega-genius?
Jim paced his bedroom floor, deep in desperate thoughts. He didn't know what to get Krel, not in the slightest. He hadn't even known Krel and Aja weren't even humans until recently, and he definitely didn't know as much about the introverted prince--sorry, king-in-waiting--as well as his outgoing sister.
"Music, technology, normal human things," Jim mumbled, counting on his fingers all the things he knew Krel enjoyed or showed interest in. "Maybe something us humans enjoy. He's not as athletic as Aja, though, so nothing like that."
He lied down on his bed in frustration. "Why couldn't I have just gotten someone I know well? Why did it have to be Krel? He's a great guy, I guess, but I hardly know him!" He rolled over so his face was muffled in the pillow, and grumbled into the cotton.
"Jim, honey- Are you good?"
He pulled his face out of the pillow and stared despondently at his headboard. "I'm fine, Mom."
Barbara Lake sighed. "If you say so. I have to go to the hospital. Some kid broke his leg and asked for me personally. Bit of an odd request, but this is Arcadia. I should be home in an hour. Walt's grocery shopping, so if you need anything, text him."
Jim sat up. "I will, Mom. Be safe."
Barbara nodded. "I will, Jim. I should repeat that to this poor kid I've got to see." She sighed as she exited the room.
Jim sat on his bed for a few more minutes, still debating what Krel might even enjoy. He walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see what he might have in there. He felt a snack would help him to get his brain to work a little better. He grabbed a loaf of bread and a jam, deciding toast with jam would be a good snack.
His phone rang and he answered it without checking the caller I.D. He shut the fridge door with his foot while balancing the heavy jar and the bread. "Hello, you've reached Jim."
"Jim!" Claire's voice came through the speaker. "I've already figured out what I'm giving my giftee!"
"That's great, Claire. Try not to tell me any more, though. Your name is supposed to stay a secret."
Claire's sigh tickled his ear drum. "I know, I know, I just wanted to share my excitement with you. Did you already get your gift ready to go?"
"No. I'm stumped, to be honest. And you can't help, because I'm afraid that will give away my person."
"Okay, but don't stress yourself, Jim. No point in getting all worked up over a gift. Whoever your person is, I'm sure they'll appreciate the thought and effort you put in. I have to go now, I'm home."
"Thank you, Claire. And bye." Jim hung up, and looked at his phone in contemplation.
"Effort. Krel likes to put lots of effort into his work. And he likes to make things. Maybe...."
Jim decided against his snack, and put everything away. An idea was brewing in his mind, but he needed to go shopping first. He ran upstairs and grabbed some cash from his personal stash, and dashed to the garage where his bike was.
Jim was soon riding down the road to the closest all-purpose store in Arcadia. He passed his step-dad about halfway there, and gave him a wave, before continuing on his quest.
He passed Steve slowly, but not sneakily, entering one of the bookstores, and Eli leaving the record store with a bag. He banished the two of them from his mind by the time he pulled up at the store.
"Ah, hello, Jim." Krel himself greeted from the check-out line. "Are you here to shop for your name?"
Jim eased away. "Yes."
"Ah, excellent. I was unsure as to what I wanted to give-"
"Krel! Rule three!" Aja whisper-shouted.
"What? How is playing on my phone relevant right now, sister?"
"No, little brother, not Mother's rule three! The secret santa rule three! You can't tell me or the Jim! Good thing we are only picking up school supplies, though. Luug keeps eating them." Aja frowned. "I thought that 'the dog ate my homework' was just a thing to say to avoid more homework. No, our dog actually eats our homework!"
Jim more or less sprinted away while the royals starting discussing the demerits of having their dog eat their homework on purpose.
He reached the toys section and breathed a sigh of relief. If Krel and Aja were at the checkout, that meant they would be leaving soon. So all he had to do was loiter a few minutes, and then he could make his selection and leave.
When he heard the sliding doors, he double checked to make sure they had both left. After ensuring they had, he turned to the shelf in front of him.
Lego sets upon lego sets filled the shelves, but Jim was looking for something specific. A Technical set. For Krel it would be absurdly simple, but it also might capture his interest long enough to bring some joy, and Krel could most likely turn it into something that actually worked.
Jim perused the shelves, looking for something fairly inexpensive, but that might have some meaning to Krel. He settled on a mock-up Mars rover, and purchased a quick booklet on Mars exploration as a way of explanation.
Jim quickly made his purchases, and with his items settled safely inside the shopping bag, he got on his bike and pedaled home.
He absently wondered if Krel was also having a hard time with his own gift. He couldn't have gotten someone that difficult, right?
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part One: Set the Rules, Draw the Names
Jim stood on Blinky's table and shook the chandelier in an attempt to get everyone else's attention. Krel and Aja were poking around all the books, marveling at the dusty, distinctively non-technical tomes. Douxie was talking with Blinky and Aaarghhh about what was apparently a highly volatile piece of magical equipment. Steve was fawning over Aja in a ridiculously sweet way, while Claire and Toby were giving Eli a very, very, very indepth talk about the stuff that went on in Arcadia.
"HEY!" Jim yelled. As the room fell silent, he crossed his arms and frowned. "Are we doing this thing or not?"
"Oh, oh oh!" Aja bounced on her toes. "A pop quiz! Yes?"
"Don't worry, Jim, we're all listening now." Claire looked up at him, brows furrowed. "But, uh, you haven't told us what exactly we're doing."
Jim facepalmed. "I thought I missed something on the text. Damn it. Never mind." He breathed in through his nose to calm down. "Okay, so what we're doing is a Secret Santa. Before anyone asks, a Secret Santa is a gift exchange, but you don't know who gave it to you. Or, well, you're not supposed to know. Sometimes, people give really obvious gifts. Anyway, you give a gift to the person you're assigned to, but you don't sign it. Wrap it, if you can, in non-descript wrapping paper. Or go bananas. Actually," He looked at the Akiridion twins. "Everyone go bananas."
Toby grinned. "And how are we picking names?"
"We already have names, why do we need to pick new ones?" Krel grumbled in moderate confusion.
"No, you're not choosing new names," Claire told him. "You'll be given the name of someone else in the room, and that's who you're getting a gift for."
"Oh, I see! Like a covert mission, but with presents!" Aja giggled in glee.
"Yes. Before we draw names, I'm going to put down three ground rules."
"Three rules, always a good base. Well done, Master Jim." Blinky grinned.
"Blinky, I'm just organizing a gift exchange, it's not that hard. Anyway. Rule number one: Nothing over a hundred bucks. Some of us might be royalty, or related to people in power, but most of us are, shall we say... Broke. So there's a price cap."
Everyone nodded in understanding, Claire looking up at him with a displeased pout. He mouthed a "sorry" at her, then continued. "Rule two: Handmade gifts are more than acceptable. But food does not count. No food gifts."
"What about socks?" Aaarghhh asked.
Jim debated. "Try to refrain from socks, unless your name is not a troll."
Blinky and Aaarghhh grumbled, while Aja nodded exuberantly. "No socks for the Blinky and the Aaarghhh! Understood!"
Jim nodded. "Finally, rule three. Do not tell anyone who you got. Not between friends, siblings, partners, anyone."
The Tarrons pouted, as did Blinky, but everyone else nodded. Douxie stepped up. "And now for the name drawing!"
Douxie enchanted the slips of paper that went in so that someone wouldn't get their own name, and then shuffled them up. Jim held out a bowl, and the papers slid inside.
One by one, the participants came up and drew names. Jim fell in last, and he was okay with that. It made it easier to just grab his piece of paper.
He admitted that he was hoping to get Claire or Toby, maybe even Blinky or Aaarghhh. So the feeling he felt when he stared on the hastily scribbled name on the paper before him was nothing short of confusing and overwhelming.
He didn't know Krel that well at all. What do you get for a mega genius from outer space?
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Four: I hardly even know the troll!
Steve was struggling. All he knew about Blinky was that he had a lot of books! And it's not like he could ask someone close to him what else he might like, because all the people close to Blinky were also participating in the exchange.
So Steve was stuck with no knowledge of what Blinky might like to read.
That led to a second problem. Steve wasn't a bookworm. He'd heard about some of these books, sure, but he didn't know what was inside of them.
Steve worried his shirt collar between his fingers as he thought. He stopped as a thought hit him. "Ms. Janeth knows about trolls and books! Well, I don't necessarily have to tell her about the trolls, but if it slips out, she won't freak out. But she's a Shakespeare nut, she's gotta know more about books and stuff than I do." He paused. "And she teaches English."
Steve left his room and started heading towards the school. He stopped when he remembered it was still under reconstruction. He turned around, and saw Douxie... being put into an ambulance with a broken leg?
"Hey, magic man! What happened to you?" Steve yelled as he ran up.
Douxie groaned and covered his face. "A terrible plan. But it's working. Even though Arch said it wouldn't. Ohhh, but it hurts so bloody bad," the wizard gritted out through his teeth.
"Why are you being cryptic?!" Steve yelled as the paramedics shut the ambulance doors. "And why not just-- Shwinggg!-- fix it up?" Steve muttered as the ambulance left for the hospital.
"Because he's being stubborn, that's why. He needs to speak with someone specific, and for some reason, he decided this was the best course of action." Archie tutted from beside Steve's feet.
"I need to speak with someone specific, too. But I don't know where she is. I'll just ask Coach Dad later." Steve tapped his chin for a moment. "I'm going to the bookstores then, see ya later, Archie."
"Goodbye, Steve."
Steve went to the first bookstore, but then remembered that it was the store Douxie was in charge of, so it would be closed.
Also it stilled smelled like smoke from the shadow mephit incident. So Steve turned away, and his girlfriend flew at him.
"Steve! What are you doing here?"
"Uh," Steve faltered, his voice going higher. "Thinking!" He internally smacked himself.
"Oh, is my oaf finally using his head for more than breaking down doors?" Aja teased. Steve felt his face warm, and he relaxed.
"Sister... The school supplies?" Krel said in an impatient tone, and Aja jumped back.
"Ack! You're right, Krel, we do have to continue! Goodbye, Steve! We can call later!" She waved goodbye as she followed her brother down the street.
Steve waved back, then went down to the next bookstore. A bike whirred behind him as he crept inside. The bell on the door startled him, and he let out an undignified shriek.
"Ah, a shriek like that can only be Mr. Palchuk," A woman's voice said from behind the counter. Ms. Janeth stepped into view. "What brings you here?"
She wasn't being mean, or sarcastic, or anything like that. She sounded truly happy that he had stopped by, even if he'd been nothing but trouble for the majority of his time with her in school. Steve shuffled his feet.
"I- I'm shopping for someone. Do you know Blinky?" Steve blurted.
Ms. Janeth raised a thin eyebrow. "Jim's troll mentor?"
"You do know him!" Steve yelled in excitement.
She shushed him. "We've met once, but Jim's told me a lot about him recently. What about him?"
"I'm supposed to get him a gift for a gift exchange, but I don't know what he'd like other than books! So, I'm book shopping." Steve sighed. "Do you know what kinds of books he might like?"
Ms. Janeth hummed. "Why don't we try the Grimm's fairytales? Of course, he might think that they actually happened, but he might enjoy some of the morals and twists in them as well."
Steve nodded. "That sounds like a good place to start."
Ms. Janeth placed a heavy, gilded book in Steve's hands. Steve purchased it, and exited the store. He didn't feel like that was enough, though, so he stopped by the all-purpose mart.
He passed by Jim's bike as he entered the store, and went straight towards the electronics department. He picked up a polaroid camera and a few rolls of film. He'd poked around the day they'd drawn names, and noted that Blinky had many hand drawn pictures of the group, but no photos. So Steve thought Blinky would like a chance to get realistic images of all the kids.
Steve went back home, satisfied with his gift. Blinky was gonna be so happy.
--
Blinky would be much happier if he could just remember who he was supposed to be giving a gift to.
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part five: Skin of stone, where'd that paper go?
Blinky cursed as he quickly flipped through yet another book. He couldn't remember who he had for Master Jim's little surprise gift exchange, and he's lost the paper in his pile of books. So was shuffling through the pile, his four arms and six eyes working overtime trying to find it.
He couldn't ask Aaarrrghhh for help, since he couldn't know who Blinky had for the exchange, but Blinky's patience was wearing thin. He needed an assist, and soon.
Gibberish floated up from below the table, and Blinky peered underneath to see Chompsky chattering to his strange doll obsession.
"Ah, Chompsky. Excellent timing. I need your help, since you are not participating in the 'Secret Santa'. I am missing a small piece of paper with a name on it. It's about yey big," Blinky demonstrated with his fingers.
Chompsky looked up at the troll for a minute, chattered briefly, and then scampered off. The gnome ran across the floor to the bookshelf, then ran up the bookshelf, stopping only at the highest shelf. Chompsky pulled out a book, and pulled a scrap of paper from between the pages.
"Heehoo!" Chompsky cooed at Blinky, waving the paper back and forth.
"Thank you, Chompsky! Please bring it here, I must read the name off of it."
Chompsky blew a raspberry, but jumped down and gave the paper to Blinky.
"Thank you, truly you are the most noble of gnomes." Blinky flipped the paper over and peered at it. "Ah! I am to be serving... Master Tobias?"
Blinky pondered this development. "What would Tobias enjoy as a gift?"
Blinky began to pace, shoving the paper into his pocket as he did so. "What does Tobias like? He enjoys trollhunting. He likes his hammer. He very much likes to eat." Blinky paused. "Perhaps I could get him something that he can make food with!"
Blinky grabbed the phone that Master Jim had given to him for quick contact, and navigated around. He had heard marvelous tales about something called "online shopping" on "Amazon". Blinky was fairly sure that the Amazon was a rainforest, but there was a website by that name.
Blinky clicked on it, and it asked for him to make an account. Blinky frowned, and called the only person he trusted to help him navigate.
"Hello, Blinkous, how may I help you?" Stricklander greeted as he entered the cave, ducking slightly to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe.
"How does one use this 'Amazon' website? I wish to get a gift from Tobias from here, as all the stores in the human world tend to close after dark, and I don't yet have an umbrella for shade." Blinky showed Stricklander the screen. "It keeps asking me to make an 'account'."
Stricklander sighed and produced his own phone. "What are you intending to get for young Tobias? I can bring the package down to Trollmarket when it arrives."
"Let me see," Blinky said, snatching the phone from Stricklander's hands. "Something that he can make food with, since he enjoys eating so much."
Something caught Blinky's eye. "Easy-Bake? That sounds simple enough for Tobias to handle." Blinky followed the steps to purchase the item (With Stricklander's credit card), then handed the phone back to the changeling. "Thank you, Walter. I'm sure Tobias will enjoy this 'Easy-Bake'."
A faint smile drifted across Walt's features. "Oh, of course. I can't wait to see his reaction to your lovely, well-thought out gift."
Stricklander left, and Blinky frowned. Something about that whole exchange seemed odd, but Stricklander was a changeling, so it made sense for him to be off-putting sometimes.
Blinky returned to his books, humming an old tune. Tobias would enjoy the gift, he was sure. Absently, he wondered who Tobias was giving a gift to.
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Three: What do you get your sister's boyfriend?
Krel was fuming the whole way home. Not only had Aja talked him into participating in this whole Gaylen-forsaken human game, but out of all the names he could have possibly drawn, it had to have been the blond oaf's. Not that he could tell Aja, either, or swap names, or any reasonable course of action.
No. He was stuck with Steve.
"Kleb." He muttered as he entered his bedroom, tossing the crumpled up piece of paper at his human desk. "What am I supposed to get for the oaf?! He is just... agh!"
Krel flopped on his bed right as Ricky Blank opened the door and reminded him that it was time for bed. Krel frowned but complied, still frustrated.
He awoke to Aja and Varvatos scolding Luug. Krel rolled out of bed and opened his bedroom door. Luug immediately jumped onto the prince, knocking him to the floor. His transduction failed as he hit the ground.
"Eugh, Luug! What did you do this time?" He grumbled, pushing the dog off of himself, and reactivating his transduction.
Aja came forward and help him up, offering him her two right hands. "Luug here ate all our writing tools. And a few of those notebooks we left on the counter, too. And perhaps my human grade math phone."
"Calculator," Krel corrected her as he stood up straight. "But, yes, it is rudimentary at best, if not outright primitive."
Aja sighed, looking at the gloopy mess on the floor. "I suppose we will need to replace these items." She gasped. "I know! Let us go shopping! We can look for gifts for the Secret Santa while we're there! It'll be so fun!"
"Ai-ai-ai. Fine. We shall go shopping for the writing sticks and tree skins. Let's go, right now, and get it over with." Krel started towards the door.
"Wait, little brother! I have to get my transductor-serrator! I'll be right back!" She dashed into her room, and came back out in her human form. "All right, I am ready! Let us go forth and purchase the school supplies!"
Krel followed behind his sister reluctantly. "Ugh, how do you always have so much energy?"
"I do not know. Maybe I just like the adventures we can have in every new day!"
"Adventures mess with my projects, though."
"I am sorry, little brother- Oh, Steve!" Aja interrupted herself, dashing across the street to throw herself at her boyfriend. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh," Steve faltered, his voice going higher. "Thinking!"
"Oh, is my oaf finally using his head for more than breaking down doors?" Aja teased.
"Sister... The school supplies?" Krel prodded, not wanting to be around Steve for too long, lest he let something slip with a sarcastic retort or something.
"Ack! You're right, Krel, we do have to continue! Goodbye, Steve! We can call later!"
Krel rolled his eyes as he continued down the street. They passed the cafe that the wizard, Douxie, worked at, then crossed the street.
They arrived at the mart soon after, and Aja ran inside, her exuberance even infecting Krel a little bit. He chased after her, curious to see what the human emporium held in store for them.
Aja stopped in a lane full of brightly colored packages. "What are 'toys'?" She asked, examining what appeared to be a tiny human trapped in a box with a disturbing smile on her face.
"Creepy. Or that one is." Krel looked around at the rest of the lane. "What are these? Primitive, plastic building bricks?" Krel took a closer look. "Fascinating. You can build them into miniature versions of things."
Aja put the fake human back on the shelf. "Enough with these, we have notebooks to replace!"
Krel followed, leaving the intriguing 'toys' behind. They entered into the "School Supplies" section. Krel selected a couple of packs of mechanical pencils, as Luug didn't seem to enjoy eating plastic, while Aja grabbed several notebooks. She paused for a moment.
"This looks like a serrator. But it's not, it's called a 'protractor'. The Eli has one of these, I've seen him using it in math class. It makes me think...." His sister trailed off and shook her head clear. Krel did not miss how she added the protractor to their hand cart.
The royal twins went and checked out, where they met Jim. They conversed briefly, but then Aja started rambling, and Jim disappeared. Krel shrugged, and left the store with his sister.
They passed a bookstore, and Krel spotted Steve inside, looking nervous and regretful. It was a far cry from all the times Steve had looked fierce, even if he was oafish and clumsy. The gears in Krel's mind began to spin on high speed, and he started sprinting.
"Little brother!" Aja cried. "Wait! Why are you running?"
Krel spun around. "I have an idea. And no, you can't know about it. But somebody needs an upgrade, and that's what I'm best at."
He continued running home, a grin slowly spreading on his face. Steve was going to get the best upgrade for his primitive weapon, and Krel was going to make sure he knew it was the best.
Otherwise, Steve was just going to have to stop dating his sister. Simple.
--
Steve was not having a simple time at all. As a matter of fact, he was rather lost.
It's hard being an oaf, even if he was Aja's oaf.
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they’re giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Eleven: Douxie's very eventful, painful, busy day.
Douxie woke up early that day, his mind abuzz with many many ideas, but none of them clicking in the right way. He hummed a rock song he'd been listening to the night before, not overly interested in Christmas music at the time. He made himself a cup of coffee and sat on one of his barstools in the kitchen, still thinking.
"Good morning, Douxie," Archie purred as he jumped up on the counter beside the wizard. "You have that look on your face, what are you thinking about?"
Douxie sighed as he pet the familiar. "I need to get Jim a gift for his Secret Santa exchange this weekend. I don't have much of any ideas, and I'm not supposed to ask around, or someone else in the exchange might figure out who I've gotten." Douxie tapped his chin, and said thoughtfully, "Ideally, I'd be able to ask his mother what he'd like, but she's usually around him, unless she's working."
Archie purred. "It's not like you can exactly go up to her at work, either."
Douxie put his cup in the sink and slipped into his shoes. "No, and I've got to go to work myself."
Archie tagged along as they walked down the streets of Arcadia, not talking, but just hanging out in each other's presence. Just before they got to the bookstore, Douxie stopped.
Archie turned around and sat on the sidewalk. "What is it, Doux?"
Douxie's face split into a mischievous grin, and Archie frowned. "I have a brilliant idea!"
"Not with that grin, you don't," Archie muttered.
"Oh come on, Arch, when was the last time one of my ideas went wrong?" Douxie protested.
Archie raised an eyebrow as best as a cat could. "You used the real genesis seals instead of making copies to lure the Arcane Order into your trap. That alone almost caused the end of the world."
"That was just the one time!"
"You've pulled hundreds of similar stunts."
"Would you just listen to me? If I can't see Mrs. Lake unless I'm a patient, I'll just become a patient!"
Douxie's bracer glowed, and Archie was a second too late in yelling out, "NO!"
Blue light flashed through the street, and when it fade, Douxie was curled up on the ground in agony. "Oooooohh this hurtsss."
Archie hissed. "I was going to tell you off, but as usual, you dove straight ahead without thinking or listening. What's the next step of this hairbrained scheme of yours, hmmm?"
Douxie pulled out his phone, dialing the hospital. "Hello? I broke my leg, and need an assist. May I make a request?"
As he continued talking through the pain, Douxie noticed Archie had turned away, and was sitting with his back towards Douxie, tail thumping the concrete. Douxie finished the call, and inched himself a tad closer to the fire hydrant, just so he had something to blame.
He knew Archie was mad, but he also knew that Archie would get over it. Plus, this was the only plan he could think of at the moment that wasn't outright illegal.
The ambulance showed up, and dumb as it was, Douxie felt special that they sent the only ambulance to him. As he was getting loaded in, Steve appeared.
"Hey, magic man! What happened to you?" Steve yelled.
Douxie covered his face and groaned. "A terrible plan. But it's working. Even though Arch said it wouldn't. Ohhh, but it hurts so bloody bad," he added, his teeth grinding together as the paramedics accidentally jostled him.
Steve yelled something as the doors were shut, and Douxie didn't catch it. It didn't matter. He was on his way to the hospital.
--
"Douxie?!" Barbara exclaimed as she entered the room where Douxie was sitting. "What are you doing here?"
"I broke my leg," he informed her, not looking up from what he was doing just yet. The blue magic faded from around his shin and hand, and then he looked up. "I needed to speak with you away from Jim, and this was the first plan I thought of."
Barbara frowned. "Well, it was a terrible plan, and never make a similar plan."
Douxie hung his head in mild shame. "Yes, ma'am."
Barbara softened. "What do you need to ask me, Douxie?"
Douxie lit up, similar to the Christmas tree in the lobby. "What would Jim like for Christmas?"
Barbara frowned slightly as she thought. "I don't know, actually. He hasn't made a Christmas list in years, you know. The last thing I knew he wanted was a Vespa."
Douxie joined Barbara in Frown Town. "We have a hundred buck price cap," he said.
"Oh." Barbara fell silent as she thought, her chin resting in her hand, the elbow of which was supported on the forearm wrapped around her midriff. "Maybe a nice set of," she paused and looked him up and down, "Not-cursed knives."
"I would never give someone cursed knives," Douxie gasped.
"You broke your leg and fixed it yourself just to come talk to me," Barbara reminded him.
"But that didn't harm anyone else!"
"You need therapy."
Douxie pouted, then focused again. "So, kitchen knives, because a Vespa is way more than a hundred bucks. I think I can handle that. Thank you, Doctor, I have been cured of my ailment."
Barbara raised an eyebrow. "You fixed it yourself."
"You don't have to tell that to the paperwork."
"That's some sort of fraud, Casperan."
"Oh, I haven't been mom-voiced in a long time," Douxie sighed. He gave her his insurance card. "That should be the current one," he muttered, gaining him another eyebrow raise.
Barbara let him go after he filled out some paperwork, and he strolled back to the bookstore, happy that he got the information he needed. He hadn't quite reached the store, however, when a hiss in an alley caught his attention.
He entered the alley and found himself face to face with Archie, who was displeased with his shenanigans.
"What were you thinking, you absolute blunderbuss?!" Archie hissed.
"I needed information, and I made a plan!"
"That was the stupidest decision you've made in several decades, Hisirdoux!"
"Well it worked, Arch! I now have the knowledge I need-"
"That doesn't make it any less stupid!"
"I'm sorry, Arch, I won't do it again. Barbara already scolded me, and I have learned my lesson about contriving on-the-spot-plans that may or may not involve hurting my own person." Douxie sighed. "Also, she told me I need therapy."
"You do."
"Rude. Come on, I've got to open the store now."
"I should be making you stay home and sweep the kitchen!"
Douxie walked across the street, and met Claire. He waved at her as he unlocked the bookstore, his nose wrinkling as the smell of smoke hit him.
Archie's voice echoed across the street behind him. "And if you break another leg, I'm grounding you! That was reckless and- Hello, Claire."
The conversation faded into the background as Douxie cleared out the smell and finished the set-up. Archie finally joined him in the bookstore as he placed an order on Amazon for a good set of kitchen knives under sixty dollars.
He was ready for the weekend.
----
The weekend soon dawned, and as the sun started to set on Saturday evening, Jim's street became the busiest in Arcadia.
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Seven: Aja's very very very very big dilemma. No, wait. He's small.
Aja left her brother in the kitchen, taking her notebooks and pencils and dumping them on her bed. She opened one and flipped through the empty pages, giggling. She picked the pink sparkly notebook up and slapped it on her desk in excitement.
The motion and air displacement caused a thin piece of paper to fly up towards Aja. She snatched it out of the air, and deciphered the human writing on it.
"Oh, no. My Secret Santa! I forgot!" She yelled. She covered her mouth, glancing at the door. She lowered her voice. "I have to get the Eli a gift!"
The paper looked back at her un-consolingly. She knew Eli very well, thanks to all the time they spent together on Akiridion-5, and she could think of a billion things he'd enjoy.
"I might be in trouble."
--
Aja was hastily ruffling through everything in her room, trying to see if she could find the perfect gift without leaving Varvatos Vex's intense care. She'd already left once, she wasn't sure if old geezer Varvatos would let her out again.
"He'd love this hoverboard! I've seen him look at it, and all the other ones back on Akiridion-5. He gets so excited! Maybe I should get him one!" She paused. "Oh, but there are so many things he would enjoy! He was so enamored with everything on Akiridion-5! This is too hard!"
She flopped onto her bed in frustration. "The best place to go searching would be Akiridion-5 itself, but I'm supposed to be here for the month!"
Aja lied on her bed for a few minutes with her eyes closed, debating a plan. Her eyes flew open and she rolled off her bed, dashing through the house, deeper into the mothership. As she ran, she called her little brother's name.
"Krel! Krel! Krel, I need your help!" She announced as she found herself in the control room. "I need you to open a portal to a market on Akiridion-5. I will be wearing my hood, going as an Incognito."
"Why do you need to go back to Akiridion-5? You're supposed to be here for the month." Krel tweaked a screw. "But sure, whatever. Here's the remote."
He tossed it, and Aja caught it as she ran past. "Thanks, little brother! I have to go shopping!"
She opened the wormhole, threw on her cloak, made sure she had enough money, and jumped through. She landed on the ground in an alley close to a market she knew well. She grinned and chuckled.
"This will be perfect."
--
"AGH! THIS IS NOT PERFECT!" Aja yelled, kicking a canister. "There are too many things that the Eli would enjoy!"
She kicked the canister again, then sat down, defeated. "What would he appreciate? What he would use?"
She thought about it. "A hoverboard would only trip the Eli up. He needs something useful, especially since after the month is over, we're coming back here to deal with the remainders of Morando's forces. He needs..."
A grin split her face. "A serrator!"
Aja quickly sprinted through the market, and made her purchase of a very high quality serrator. Not quite royals quality, but only a step down.
"Thank you!" Aja cheered, running back to her alley. She activated the portal, and jumped through. She tucked the serrator into her cloak as she fell into the control room.
"I have returned! I am victorious! I shall see you at dinner, Krel!" Aja yelled as she ran through the ship.
She giggled in sheer glee as she made it to her room and slammed the serrator onto her desk. She grabbed the nearest box, dumping the contents on the floor. She enthusiastically put the serrator on the box and wrapped it in as many pretty papers as she could find. Then she slapped some stickers on it, a giant bow, and confetti she'd found in Toby's room a few months ago.
"Perfect! The Eli will never know it's from me!" Aja giggled.
----
Eli was spinning on his desk chair, to mimic the feeling he had in his head.
After all, what would he get such a popular person?
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they’re giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part 10: Sorry I tried to kill you nine hundred years ago. I was possessed.
Aaarrrgghh was slowly wearing a circle in the heartstone room. He was unsure as to what he could even get for Douxie. Douxie was a very vibrant person, but somehow very private. Probably came from centuries of not spilling any disastrous secrets.
Not only that, but he wanted it to be a very good gift. To make up for things he'd done in the past.
Aaarrrgghh decided to go look around Trollmarket, wondering if he could find something that the wizard would enjoy. He watched as Stricklander left Blinky's home and returned to the surface. Aaarrrgghh passed by Bagdwella's home, then paused.
He knocked on her door. When she opened it, she glared out suspiciously until she recognized him. "Ah, Aaarrrgghh! How can I help you?"
Aaarrrgghh shrugged. "Need a gift."
"Ahh, for that human holiday?" Bagdwella shoved him in. "Is it for Blinkous?"
Aaarrrgghh shook his head. "Wizard."
"Oh, that boy wizard who's been around lately. I see. Wizards are tricky to shop for, you know. You came to the right place."
Aaarrrgghh wasn't so sure about that, but nodded anyways. "What's best?"
"Well, usually, they appreciate spell ingredients, but since he's the former apprentice of Merlin, he probably has more than enough for now. Perhaps he'd appreciate something more personal to him this year?"
Aaarrrgghh rumbled, thinking about what might be personal for Douxie. Douxie was fond of Nari, who was... a plant?? Plant person. But Douxie also loved music, and had played some old Trollish tunes for him and Blinky a while ago. He'd done it very well, and had shown a lot of respect and care for the tune.
"Music," Aaarrrgghh grunted out.
Bagdwella clapped her hands together. "What kind of music is he most skilled in, or does he like the most?"
Aaarrrgghh stopped to think again. He could remember Douxie playing around with many different instruments as well as singing, but the one he seemed closest to was one with strings.
So he told Bagdwella, "Strings."
Bagdwella hummed. "Come with me."
They walked through Trollmarket, Bagdwella taking the lead. She stopped in front of a shuttered stall.
"ECKLES!" She yelled, banging on the wall. "I need you to come out!"
"Again? But, Bagdwella, everyone knows I'm gay-" The troll stopped as he opened his door. "Oh. A customer."
"Yes, a customer. He needs to find an instrument with strings for someone flesh sized."
Eckles nodded. "I have some of those. Come inside, friend of Bagdwella."
Bagdwella followed them both. "You know, Eckles, if you just advertised, you would get a lot more customers."
"I'm shy, okay?"
Bagdwella shrugged. "Too bad, I'm going to tell everyone I can about your shop now. Everyone knows you're gay, no one knows you own this shop. No one even knows it exists except for me. You can't live on cave moss forever!"
"Yes, I can," Eckles replied.
"No, you can't."
Aaarrrgghh tuned out their friendly bickering as he browsed the tiny instruments. He dismissed the ones that looked similar to instruments that Douxie had already used around him. He settled on a roundish one, carefully picking it up between his fingers, and carried it over to Eckles, who was still arguing with Bagdwella.
"This one."
Eckles immediately stopped with Bagdwella, and stumped over to the counter. He looked it over. "A banjo. Haven't been many looking for these lately, but perhaps your squishy friend will enjoy it. Forty-five socks, any make."
Aaarrrgghh searched his beard, and pulled out thirty-seven socks, but couldn't find any more. Bagdwella came to his aid.
"This is why everyone should carry bags," she tsked, laying down the remaining eight socks needed for the purchase.
Aaarrrgghh and Bagdwella left the shop, which was bigger than it had looked at first, and returned back to the main street of Trollmarket. Bagdwella sighed.
"Honestly, I understand he's shy and cautious. But he does good work. He makes all the instruments he sells. Everyone called him crazy for making them human-sized, but it's trolls like you who help push his vision further." Bagdwella grinned. "I'm glad you could help."
Aaarrrgghh nodded. "Me too."
The two trolls parted ways, and Aaarrrgghh hid the banjo in a safe place. He'd put it in a box the day of the gift exchange. He wondered if Douxie was having an easy time of it.
--
Douxie was not having an easy time of it. In fact, he was having a very wild time.
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Nine: Christmas gifts for Aaarrrghhh!
Claire hummed as she finished her chores. She was happy, and excited. She'd gotten Aaarrrghhh, and already had figured out what she was going to get him. She'd gotten so excited, she'd called Jim before starting her chores.
She put the broom away with a happy hum. "Now that I've finished with that, I can go and get my gift!" She slung her purse over her shoulder, and turned to Not-Enrique. "Make sure my little brother stays asleep. And if you wake him up, so help me."
Not-Enrique nodded and bounded up the stairs. "You got it, Sis!"
Claire rolled her eyes, but not without fondness. Over the months and years, Not-Enrique had become part of her family, even if it was strange compared to others.
She left her house, and strolled down the street. The sun was shining, the weather was nice, and a bunch of the other kids were out and about, too. Claire saw the Tarron twins going down their street, and Steve came out of the all-purpose mart. Claire moved on past him, past Benoit's, and to the craft store.
Claire stood just inside the craft mart's door, just breathing in the scent of wool, glue, and old ladies.
There was one particular old lady who she wasn't expecting to run into that day, however. She nearly ran her over. When she looked up at the other woman she gasped.
"Nomura?! What are you doing here?"
Nomura frowned, her green eyes reflecting the fluorescent lights. "Calm down, child. I came to get some knitting needles."
"Knitting needles?" Claire frowned, not in anger or defense, but in confusion. "Don't you use knives?"
"Not for knitting. What did you think I was doing?"
Claire realized her goof of getting overly suspicious. "Sorry, I may have thought you were going to try and kill me. My bad."
Nomura waved her hand dismissively. "Old habits die hard," she said as she walked towards the counter. She paused, her face pensive. "I should know."
Claire reached up and patted Nomura's shoulder. Nomura shrugged her off after a minute.
"Go on, get along. You're busy, I'm busy, and the cashier's not. The clock is ticking, and the world is spinning. And I have spinning to do." Nomura sighed.
"Okay, bye then, Ms. Nomura!" Claire said, walking away. She remembered to pack away her prejudices, and walked over to the looms when she finished.
She browsed the looms for a while, and chose the biggest round loom she could find. Jim had said that no one could buy anyone food products, but he didn't say that they couldn't buy the tools to make food. Or. Giant socks.
Claire also picked up the biggest hook she could find, and some heavy weight yarn made of argyle wool. She dumped her haul on the counter, and the cashier looked at her with fear in their gaze.
"Are you quite sure you want all of this?" The cashier, whose nametag read "Ash", asked nervously.
Claire smiled. "Don't worry, it's not for me."
Ash stared at Claire for a minute. "Who hurt you?" They whispered.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "No one? This is my gift for a friend. He's really big, but likes this kind of stuff."
Ash nodded. "Of course. Right. Well, here's your total."
Claire handed them her card, which they then swiped and handed back. "Thank you," Claire told them.
"No problem, Miss Nuñez," Ash said. They smiled and waved at her. "Have a good day!"
Claire returned their wave as she left the building. "You too!"
She turned towards her home, retracing her earlier steps. She had to get her gift wrapped as soon as possible. She passed Douxie heading into Benoit's. They waved, both focused more on their respective paths then on each other.
Archie's voice echoes across the street. "And if you break another leg, I'm grounding you! That was reckless and- Hello, Claire."
"Hey Archie. I'm just going home, I'll see you guys this weekend!"
Archie bowed his head. "Of course."
Claire bounced into her home not long after, and ran upstairs. She put her purchases under her bed, sliding some wrapping paper under there as well, and left a note for herself on her desk lamp. Then she went and checked on her brothers.
As she bounced Enrique and chatted with Not-Enrique, Claire's mind wandered to Aaarrrghhh. She hoped he had gotten someone easy to buy a gift for.
--
Aaarrrghhh actually wasn't sure if this was easy or really hard. He wasn't sure what to get for a wizard that he'd almost killed once.
There wasn't exactly a Hallmark card for that one.
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Eight: What would the most popular girl in Arcadia want?
Eli spun in his desk chair as he thought. Of course he, the weird nerd, would get the most popular person out of the whole group. Everyone loved Claire. She had everything. Good looks, smarts, charisma, the ability to adapt, magic!
"Anything I get her is gonna be so useless to her," Eli cried. "She's already got everything a girl could ever want!"
Eli kicked his desk in frustration, then left his room, throwing on his shoes. He needed some fresh air. He decided that walking through Arcadia's main street would at least let him get some window shopping done, so he could have an idea or two.
As Eli walked through the main street, he heard hushed, upset voices. He rounded the corner and saw the tall wizard from the name drawing, Douxie, arguing with... a cat.
"That was the stupidest decision you've made in several decades, Hisirdoux!"
"Well it worked, Arch! I now have the knowledge I need-"
Eli sprinted away before he could hear anymore of the strange conversation. He didn't need to accidentally catch wind of Douxie's giftee.
He found himself in front of the record shop. He looked in the windows, wondering if this was an accident, or more of Arcadia's weirdness. Right in front of him was a Papa Skull record, a brand new one that had only been released a few weeks ago.
"Never would have taken you for a heavy metal freak, little guy," a voice came from the door. Eli spun around and saw a pink-haired young woman leaning against the doorframe.
"Oh, I'm not. But a friend of mine is. She really likes this band, I think." Eli tapped his chin. "Is it expensive?"
"Slow down, kid. Let's take this inside. My name's Zoe. What's yours, kiddo?"
Eli gulped nervously. "Eli."
"Well, Eli, if your friend likes Papa Skull, we have a lot of merch. It's my best friend's favorite band, too. He played their opening act once, you know."
Eli nodded, not actually knowing at all. "That's cool. How much is it?"
Zoe shrugged. "Depends on the person."
"That's not a good way to run a business," Eli frowned.
"I know, but its how I choose to run it. I have plenty of money, this is more of a hobby then anything." She shrugged again. "How much merch are you getting, Eli?"
Eli fidgeted. "Can I look around? I'll need to see it before I can make a calculated decision."
Zoe gestured to the store. "Yeah, go ahead, take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere."
Eli nodded and started looking around. He found some stickers and a bracelet right off the bat, and he set those on the counter. He went a little farther into the store, and found a Papa Skull cropped sweater. He put that on the counter as well, and went to grab the record from the window.
He hesitated. This was going to be really expensive, possibly above Jim's price cap. He returned to the counter and pulled out his wallet.
"I think this is everything," he said, giving her his card.
Zoe looked at him with searching blue eyes. She then looked between him, the pile on the counter, and the window.
"All right. If you say so." She rang up his items, bagged them, and returned his card. "Have a good day, Eli."
Eli nodded and waved as he left the store.
"Wait."
Eli turned around. Zoe smiled at him. "Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come around more often."
Eli smiled back. "Whenever I'm not out of town, Miss."
Zoe laughed as Eli left the store. "You're a good kid, Eli."
Eli finally made it back home, and started unpacking the shopping bag. His fingers brushed against a thin cardboard, and he gasped. He pulled out the record he'd been eyeing the whole time he was at the store.
"How did she get that in there without me noticing?" Eli asked no one in particular. He didn't really want an answer, even if he didn't know.
This was Arcadia. Weird stuff happened all the time in this town.
--
Claire was super excited for her gift. After all, this had to be the easiest person to get a gift for!
12 notes · View notes
nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they're giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part six: A gift for her majesty!
Toby spun the pencil around his fingers, staring at the name he got. He'd laid his name down on his desk, and covered it by opening a book on top of it, in the event of someone entering the room.
He absently open a Nougat Nummy, still thinking. He'd like to say he knew Aja fairly well, almost as well as Steve did. After all, he was with them almost from day one! Well, more like day 48. But still!
"Ughh, okay. She likes to fight, and to be athletic. I only like one of those things." Toby spun in his chair, chewing on the end of his pen.
He opened the book on top of the paper, and decided to go for a walk around town, hoping it would clear his mind and give him a boost of mental energy.
As he stepped outside, he saw Mr. Strickler get out of his car, look at his phone, sigh, and get right beck in the car. Toby shrugged it off and continued down the street. He saw the Tarrons coming his direction, and he took a shortcut to avoid them. He knew he was no good at keeping secrets, and Aja and Krel were both very inquisitive.
Toby just couldn't seem to avoid the rest his friends, either. He almost ran into Claire coming out of the craft store, saw Jimbo riding his bike back home, and nearly ran into Steve when he passed the all purpose mart. Steve told him this crazy story about Douxie breaking his leg for some reason.
"Okay, that's odd. Douxie doesn't usually get hurt. Can't he heal himself or something?" Toby asked in confusion.
"That's what I asked! Anyway, I gotta go, my gift won't wrap itself. Bye, Domzalski!"
"Bye, Steve!" Toby waved. He decided to enter the mart, just to see if he could find anything Aja might enjoy.
He wandered around, as he didn't really have a clear goal in mind. He debated a few things, like a puzzle, or a complex coloring book, but he concluded that those things would probably bore her more than make her happy. So he passed by that section of the store, and into the toys aisle.
"Have they ever had toys before?" Toby wondered out loud. "Probably not. I should get her one!"
He scanned the shelves. His eyes stopped on the girly toys, and he instantly dismissed the thought. Aja would rather kill him with a doll than play with it. No, she needed something more active, something she'd feel like she could kick ass in.
He looked at the plastic swords, but swords were something she already kinda had mastered, and she'd probably find them boring. Also, it's hard to wrap a sword and have it not look Very Clearly like a sword.
Toby continued browsing. He wanted his gift to be perfect. Something she'd enjoy immensely, and would probably use unironically in battle. Something she'd obsess over.
"Why am I putting so much thought into this?" Toby asked himself. "Oh, yeah, she's Steve's girlfriend and I like being alive."
He turned around and was faced with an enormous array of Nerf guns. A grin spread across his face.
"Oh, she'll love these."
He pulled the Elite 2.0 Shockwave RD-15 Blaster off the shelf and hefted, giggling slightly maniacally. He knew this was perfect. He quickly purchased the toy weapon, then found himself immediately faced with another dilemma.
The package was too big to be hidden by a simple shopping bag. So he quickly purchased a tube of wrapping paper and some tape, and wrapped it in the self checkout lane as soon as he'd purchased them.
Then he sprinted, but not for long. He gave up by the corner, leaning over and panting.
"You'd think I'd have more endurance by this point, geez." Toby wheezed.
As he continued, he wondered if Aja was having an easy time with her own gift.
--
Aja was in fact, actually having a blast finding a gift for her name. In fact, there were so many options and possibilities that she couldn't choose!
"Oh, boy. I may have gotten myself into a bit of a pickle."
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nyxicnymph · 3 years ago
Text
Guardians of Arcadia: Operation: Secret Santa
Christmas is quickly approaching in Arcadia. While the town may not get such luxuries like snow or ice-skating, the Guardians still want to participate in some form of Christmas tradition all together. Some might not know exactly what is happening, but they’re giving it their best shot! (TOA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WHEN?!)
Rating: ages 13 and up!
Warnings: Canon and character typical levels of teenage violence. Staja. Jlaire. No Zoe, sorry guys. Oh, and swearing.
Part Twelve: A very merry gift exchange!
Jim's house was fuller than it had been in a while. His mom had taken Walt out of the house so that everyone else had the space.
Truly, it was a sight to see. Gifts of varying sizes were piled up on the coffee table by the stairs, as close to the Christmas tree as everyone could get without jamming up the living room. Jim had set snacks up on the counter between the kitchen and dining room, having rolled up the window there, and moved the dining room table to the basement so there was room for people to hang out and dance.
Jim set the hot cocoa pot on the portable burner, and looked at the crowd. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh had come from Trollmarket via the basement tunnel, but everyone else had come through the front door.
Jim skirted the crowd really quick, and grabbed the gift bag he'd slid under his bed that morning. He checked that the tissue paper was hiding the box inside sufficiently, wrote Krel's name on the tag, and returned to the others, slipping the bag on the hall table with all the other gifts.
Krel plugged in his portable DJ table, and started remixing some of the Christmas classics. Douxie bounced in approval, then frowned at his lack of an instrument. Jim watched as Douxie disappeared towards the garage, then reappeared with two hardware store buckets and a hub cap on a tripod. Jim watched in amusement as Douxie hastily set up a basic drum kit, and started playing along with Krel, using two screwdrivers as drumsticks.
The livened up tunes brought more activity to the group, and Claire pulled Jim in for a dance. As they danced, Claire smiled.
"You did an amazing job putting this together, Jim," she told him. "Look how happy everyone is!"
"I know, it's nice. I like spending time with everyone without there being a constant world-ending threat hanging over our heads."
Claire giggled. "Yeah. It is very nice. And we get to spend more time together, too," she whispered before pressing a kiss to his cheek.
A sudden shout of "Whoo!" distracted them both, and Jim looked behind himself to see Aja and Steve facing each other with identical "Time to do something stupid" grins.
"Oh, no," Claire said as the other couple stared into each other's eyes.
It wasn't a romantic stare. On the count of three, they both threw their heads back and started chugging eggnog as fast as possible. Jim facepalmed, and went to interfere in the name of safety.
The party continued, until finally, Douxie looked at Jim. "I do believe now would be an excellent time for the gift exchange."
Jim nodded. "Can I borrow your hubcap?"
Douxie handed it over. "Technically, I'm the one borrowing it, but here you go." He also gave Jim one of the screw drivers.
Jim nodded his gratitude. He then turned to the crowd and banged the screwdriver across the hubcap, effectively getting everyone's attention. He cleared his throat and set the noisemaking tools down.
"If you all would go to the hall table, find your name, and take your gift to the living room, that would be spectacular."
Aja bounced on the balls of her feet, and was the first one to the table. She searched through the gifts and soon held up a package wrapped in orange tabby print paper. "This one is mine!"
Steve stepped up as Aja left to go sit on the couch, shaking her parcel the whole way. Steve pulled out a significantly smaller gift, but still grinned at it. He followed his girlfriend to the couch, but sat on the floor in front of her, looking at his gift from all angles.
Toby stepped up next, and only poked around for a minute before pulling out a medium-sized, box-shaped parcel. Toby grinned at the bare-bones wrapping, and took the box to the living room.
Blinky laughed as he stepped up next, and found his name on a rather large gift bag. "Ohoho, fascinating!" The troll muttered to himself, peering at the large amount of tissue paper in the top of the bag.
Eli came up behind Blinky, and as it turns out, the most heavily decorated package was for him. He looked at it somewhat fearfully before carrying it to the living room, where Aja giggled nonstop for about thirty seconds, but while not staring at him, somehow.
Krel glanced at his sister with mild concern as he stepped up to the table, and picked up the gift bag Jim had set there at the start of the party. He gazed at it, the gears in his mind visibly turning. Then he shrugged and joined his sister on the couch.
Aaarrrgghh carefully plucked the large, purple gift bag up off the table, and Claire giggled behind her hand. Jim raised an eyebrow at her, but she looked away as innocently as possible. He shook his head as Douxie stepped forward.
Douxie picked up a long, oddly shaped package, and his face lit up. "Oh?" He asked no one in particular as he ran his hands over it. Then he cradled it in his arms as he entered the living room with everyone else.
Claire left Jim's side and picked up the flat, square package that was on the table. She hefted it curiously, then stepped aside so Jim could get to the table.
Jim looked at the rather intimidating package before him, and double-checked the name. Sure enough, it read "Jim" in sprawling handwriting. He went to pick it up and paused.
It was really freaking heavy! Jim used all his Trollhunting strength to pick it up and carry it to the living room, where he opted to set it on the floor instead of trying to hoist it onto a table or a couch.
As Claire sat down with him, Blinky asked, "So, who goes first?"
Jim faltered mentally. "Uh. Why don't we start with... uh...."
Douxie cast a spell and Blinky ended up glowing blue for a second. Douxie leaned back and explained, "Blinkous will go first, and pick the next person to open their gift."
Blinky grinned. "Thank you, Master Wizard."
"Please, for the last time, call me Douxie."
"As you wish," Blinky said. Then he opened his gift bag, and pulled out a polaroid camera, a thing of film, and a book of fairytales. "Oh, I am going to have to learn this particular piece of human technology! And thank you for the book! I'm sure I will learn many things from it!"
Blinky looked around and pointed at Aja. "You've been restraining yourself for a while now. Go on."
Aja squealed. "Thank you, Blinky!"
She quickly tore off the paper on her parcel, and revealed a huge Nerf gun underneath. Steve gasped. "I can't wait to show you how to use that!"
"No! I will learn on my own!" Aja pushed his face away with her foot, holding her gift far above her head so he couldn't get to it. "But you may open your present now, my oaf."
Steve immediately stopped and started picking at the paper around his small-ish gift. He found a cardboard box underneath, and Jim noticed Krel looked rather smug at Steve's annoyance. Steve finally got it open, and Jim's suspicions were confirmed when a small, glowing band fell out of the box.
"What is this?" Steve asked in confusion.
"It is for your axe, Toothache. You put that on the handle and press this button, and the whole weapon is augmented, and gains new features," Krel explained.
"Oh, cool! I can't wait to try it out!"
"Not in your backyard," Krel warned.
"Okay, I promise I won't do it in my backyard. Why don't you open yours?"
Krel shrugged, and started pulling out the tissue paper Jim had carefully placed inside the bag, and then reached in. Jim noticed he had been holding his breath, and let it out quietly as Krel reached into the bag and pulled out the Lego technical Mars Rover, as well as the pamphlet on Mars.
"Oh, fascinating. I saw these at the store. You build them from tiny pieces, and they resemble one of your other human creations." Krel looked around the room, and settled on Aaarrrgghh. "The big one can open his gift."
Aaarrrgghh slowly smiled, and unpacked the gift bag. He ate the tissue paper as he pulled it out of the bag, and then pulled out a large plastic circle, a thing plastic wrapped package, and a huge skein of yarn. The large troll rumbled happily. "Make socks."
Claire nodded from beside Jim, but Aaarrrgghh missed it, still looking happily at the tools. "Will learn." Then he looked around and spotted Eli. "Eli's turn."
"Me?! Oh, okay!" Eli started pulling off the bow on the paper, and unwrapped the paper itself to find another layer of paper. "Oh, boy."
Aja giggled, and almost fell off the arm of the couch as Eli continued to unwrap layer after layer of wrapping paper. When he finally reached the box, she shrieked in joy, and actually fell off the couch. Steve moved to check on her, but she popped up and propped her face up in her hands, resting her elbows on the arm of the couch.
"Go on, I am being normal!"
Eli--and everyone else--raised an eyebrow at that, but he continued to open his gift. He lifted the lid off the box and gasped. "Aja, you didn't!"
"What? Who says it was me?" Aja feigned.
Eli stared her dead in the eyes and raised a serrator to eye level. "Akiridion tech, and Krel already gave a gift."
Aja flopped forward onto the couch. "Fine. Yes, it was me. Do you like it? I can teach you how to use it!"
"That would be fantastic, yes. But not now. I think it's Douxie's turn!" Eli said.
Douxie startled. "Oh! All right!"
Douxie undid the twine around his gift, and unrolled the paper from around his gift. This went on for a while, but slowly, a shape was revealed.
"A banjo! I lost one of these in the twentieth century! It's so well crafted!"
"Eckles in Trollmarket," Aaarrrgghh said, before looking away shyly.
"Well, thank you! This means a lot to me!" Douxie glanced around the room, and his eyes settled on Toby, who was holding onto his gift with wide green eyes. "I think Toby is ready to open his gift."
Toby gasped, a smile growing on his face. "Thank you!" He opened up the square package, revealing an Amazon box. He split the tape, and then reached inside to reveal... a pink Easybake oven.
His face registered many emotions at the same time, principle among them being confusion. "Uhm, thanks. I think I'll enjoy making late night snacks with this."
"That was the intent!" Blinky announced, outing himself as the giver of Toby's gift.
Toby pointed at Claire and Jim. "They're the only two left, they can fight it out."
Claire turned to Jim with the biggest puppy eyes, and Jim laughed. "Okay, go ahead."
Claire squealed. "Thank you, Jim!"
She peeled off the spaceship themed paper carefully, setting it aside. She opened up the folded flaps on the top of the box, and reached inside. She pulled out a pack of stickers, and a set of bracelets. Then she pulled out a sweater, which she immediately pulled over her head. She glanced in the box and squealed. "The newest Papa Skull record! Thank you, whoever!"
Jim looked at her pile. "Someone really knows your tastes."
"Well, I don't do much to hide them," she laughed. "It's your turn, Jim."
Jim inhaled, and started unwrapping his gift. Slowly, he revealed a box of some very fancy cutlery. He inhaled sharply. "Oh, my. I've been hoping to replace the stuff in the kitchen ever since I got turned into a troll. So, thank you."
Douxie cleared his throat. "I broke a leg to get that."
The room exploded in laughter. Douxie grinned and added, "Your mother was rather disappointed that I fixed it myself, as well."
"Oh, were you the kid who specifically requested her at the ER earlier this week?" Jim jabbed.
Douxie threw some wrapping paper at him. "No more questions."
The room laughed again, and the party continued, slowly devolving into chaos as people started enjoying their new gifts. Jim placed the new knife block in the kitchen, and stepped back, happy that he finally had more tools to work with.
Claire coaxed him out of the kitchen, and they rejoined the party. It was truly a very merry Christmas.
----
Thank you all for reading this! I can't tell you all how much I appreciate all of you who have come through this merry journey or chaos with me, and these goofy Guardians! Every person who's interacted with this fic is beloved to me, and that's a lot of you!
I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this, and maybe I'll write another one of these fics next year!
Merry Christmas!
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