UGLY SWETTER CONTESt

[westfallcorndog]

Harrowheart has fashioned himself some kind of lumpy snow chair, where he sits next to a sign of questionable literacy and gets busy smoking a cigarette. One of many, judging by the number of butts in the snow near his armrest. His phone sits on his lap playing various holiday songs from worlds across the multiverse. If the mixup is to be trusted, there are a lot of worlds listening to Mariah Carey.

In dripping red paint the sign behind him reads 'UGLY SWETTER CONTEST'.

Does that explain why he's dressed in a gaudy red-and-green sweater with a misshapen reindeer sewn to the front? Maybe, but you never know with him and fashion. When he moves, the googly eyes on the poor deer's face jiggle and its pom-pom nose flops sadly. Along one arm someone has embroidered 'HAVE A HAPPY,' and on the opposite, 'WINTERVEIL.'

He watches people pass and now again decides to explain, "Where I come from, when it's Winterveil – which it is right now – folks got this tradition of wearin' ugly sweaters and singin' songs. I probably ain't goin' home this Winterveil, but I kinda miss seein' that, y'know? So I got a proposition for ya: Show me your ugliest sweater, and I'll give you somethin' to make it worth your while. Deal?"

((This is a real contest with real art prizes! Be sure to check the OOC thread for details and to lodge your official entry. In this thread, remember to provide a link to an image of your ugly sweater! Images are necessary, text won't cut it. You may participate IC with as many characters as you want, but only one character of your choosing may be your official entry. RP in this thread is not time-sensitive, but entrance and voting is. Enter by December 28th!

In this thread all of you are encouraged to go around making fun of each other's sweaters and generally sharing some holiday reverie. Exchange gifts, drink, talk about your characters' worlds' holidays, do whatever you degenerates do when given free reign to roleplay.))

Comments

[rumormonger_nya]

No one mentions possibly giving away something without attracting the Nexus' resident hobo demon's attention. At first, all Nekomata can do is gape at the horrific majesty that is Harrowheart's awful sweater, her fur standing straight up.

"Nyokay, Deadders. You're on."

It may take some looking, some hassling, and possibly even some threatening to understand what it means to wear an ugly Christmas sweater but when Nekomata returns, it's with a gem of a men's sweater worn like a dress. The back hangs awkwardly where her tails stick out, but she marches right up to Harrowheart out and puffs out her chest.

"Take thyat!"

[westfallcorndog]

Nekomatas come and Nekomatas go, and Harrow isn't bothered much by either facts. He raises his cig-smoking hand in acknowledgment when Neko makes her challenge known and quickly returns to chillin' like a villain. Until, that is...

She returns.

Harrow sits stark straight up when he sees what she's got on. If he had a drink to sputter, he would.

"Th-that's–!" He runs a hand through his hair and stares. "Shoot, that's the best one I've seen all day!" And then he sits back in his chair and returns to trying too hard to look casual.

"First one I've seen, too. Guess you're just gonna have to wait around 'til someone else comes along and whups ya."

[withoutathorn]

Katherine, for her part, loves Christmas. She also loves winning things, because hey, she used to be a queen, and queens always win. So when she sees the sign and hears Harrow's proposition, she grins and rushes off to find the best ugly sweater she can.

When she returns, she's somehow managed to get this monstrosity on over her dress and is looking very, very proud of herself.

"Look! I'm a gift!" She giggles, clearly pleased with her choice.

I love the regal icon with THAT post

[westfallcorndog]

A lady he's never seen before who's nonetheless enthused about his proposition? Yeah, Harrow can support that! He sees her smile and turn and waves as she leaves, certain he'll see her again soon.

And he does! And in that! He laughs when he sees it and nods his head. "That's real clever! I never woulda thought of that! Shoot, that'd go over real well at a party, I bet."

He lifts up his phone and starts tapping away at the keys and in short order asks, "What's your name, Miss? I gotta make sure I write this down."

It's canon, I can't fight it

[smartass_captain]

Jim isn't normally seen much this time of the year, and certainly not in a good mood. But Jim does care about his friends, and when he sees the request Harrowheart has made Jim reluctantly heads off to do some shopping.

When he finally approaches, it's with a six pack of beer under one arm and a striped Christmas sweater with a lot of little patterns on it.

"For the record, I think this is stupid." Jim says by way of greeting to Harrow before handing him one of the beers.

Shhh, you don't have to fight it. Embrace it.

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow springs to his feet when he sees Jim has beer. "Hell, you win by default, my man!" He takes that drink gladly and uses his other hand to motion toward his empty snow throne. "Take a seat, Jim, take a seat. I can stand. Shoot, I can sit on the ground, don't bother me none."

Assume the captain's throne and freeze your spaceballs off.

Harrow pops his beer on the blade of one of his runeblades that he'd laid down in the snow, takes a swig, and points the lip of the bottle Jim's way. "You're supposed to think it's stupid, Jim. That's the whole point. We look stupid and laugh at each other this one special time of the year. Now if only I could work on bein' laughed at just this time of year..."

[conjuredskies]

Hey, Jim! Is this who you wanted showing up to see this outfit? Whoops, too bad. Commotion draws inquisitive conjurers, and at this time of year this particular conjurer is always on the lookout for Jim. Not out of concern, obviously, just seasonal goodwill- although it's safe to say he's a little concerned once he sees that outfit.

"Dare I ask?" He stops close enough to survey Jim with unconcealed amusement - Harrow gets a polite nod, of course. This is progress. See how courteous he's being?

[adadlyfellow]

Oh! Harrow! There's a familiar sort of fellow waving at him with a long limb. Naturally he comes clumphing over through the snow, hampered somewhat by his fuzzy sock-like footwear.

Mostly he just wants to wish his friend a Merry Christmas, of course, but he takes a minute to give a bubbly laugh at Harrow's sweater. He burbles in explanatory fashion as he gestures at his own outfit. His wife won't let him wear anything too ugly, but apparently adorable and corny is enough to pass muster!

Whoops, nearly yanked his own sweater off, there. He smoothes it down self-consciously, laughing a little more nervously.

[westfallcorndog]

"Now there's a face I haven't seen in ages!" Harrow sits up a little straighter when he recognizes this normal man. When he catches sight of the man's sweater, though, he has to stop and think it through.

"Words written backwards?" He laughs and shakes his head. "Shoot, I can barely read forward! I like it though! ...Whatever it is. A Faceless one? Or just a regular-ol' squid?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

You wouldn't necessarily expect a man from long ago and a far, far away to be prepared for something that seems like it's very much another Earth holiday - Han happens to have friends in the nexus that are good at getting him familiarized with the significant cultural events happening in the multiverse, though. More importantly, they happen to be very good at getting him involved in these gatherings.

Here he comes, jingling his way into this gathering in a holiday sweater he picked out himself. Somehow, he even manages to do it with a straight face.

"We have Life Day where I'm from, but it's not something that I've ever felt very compelled to participate in. It's sort of religious."

Han shifts the balance of his weight from the right foot to his left foot. Something that ordinarily wouldn't be the kind of thing people would notice except for the fact there's an fourteen-inch cone hanging near the hem of his top. It wobbles in a way that's somewhat distracting.

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow sees Han coming and he's already whooping and clapping. By the time Han gets up close he's leaning forward eagerly to get a good look at a truly fantastic sweater. But, okay, okay, all of a sudden Han is making casual conversation, and Harrow has to force his enthusiasm down. Be normal, Harrow. Be normal with a foot-long carrot in your face.

"Not a religious man, Han?" he asks the man sporting a phallic symbol near his face. "Me neither. Never saw the point in any of that. Winterveil's a friends-and-feasts kinda holiday. Out with the old year, in with the new year, on with the sweaters."

He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a cigarette and lighter, both of which he offers up to Han should he choose to have a smoke. "Tell me about Life Day and why it's dumb. And – Hey, you want my seat? I'll stand, it ain't a big deal to me." It might be better, in fact. Get that thing away from eye level...

[bornstrong]

For the record, Iphigenia has no idea what's going on. She knows about Christmas in a vague sort of way--she gets that it's a religious holiday for some, and for others, it's more just a nice time of year to gather with friends and family.

But this idea? It's completely foreign to her. But hey, she's nothing if not curious, and so she'll attempt to participate.

"A contest?" she asks, more wondering aloud than expecting an answer. "Well...I could try, perhaps."

She comes back wearing a sweater that she personally thinks is pretty silly--and she secretly hopes it'll win, too.

"How's this? Does this work?" She's only asking for approval because she isn't even really sure how "Christmas" is defined, let alone what an ugly Christmas sweater might look like.

I SO almost drew him wearing that sweater!

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow laughs and claps and nods his head. "That's perfect! It's ugly for one, and it's got the double meanin' too! Fruit cake. Shoot, that's rich. What made you pick that thing out?"

[hisideal]

Ugly Christmas/Holiday season sweater contest? Heck yes! (Except Hope doesn't really want to win anything because she is already so #blessed.)

Anyway, it is great because she is just returning from the last festive party she was at which involved decorating sweaters for Christmas and since Hope has little to no creative talent she outsourced the project. Looking down at the green and bright, bright sweater, she holds out the edges to show off the decoration.

"My favorite part is the reindeer at the bottom, his name is Gary. My friend Joy made him and according to the story I heard he really likes candy, which is why he's holding candy." There is a pause of thought, brow furrowing.

"I don't know if I would call this an ugly sweater, so much as containing a chaotic aesthetic that represents some of the main themes that we find this time of year. I feel kind of bad calling it ugly." Gdit. Hope fails at the weirdest things.

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow smiles brightly at the story of Gary, but when Hope moves on his brow, like hers, furrows in thought. He's got to focus to follow what she's saying, but it all makes sense in the end. A little smile creeps across his features as he looks between her not-ugly sweater and her face.

"That's a real sweet sentiment all around, Miss. I like the way you think. It's real... Druidic. Findin' beauty in all things, even if they are... What was that word you used? Chaotic ascetic?"

He nods at her and at her sweater and stands then, because it would be rude to sit while a lady stands. He motions toward his snow chair as an offering to her; she's more than welcome to take a seat if she'd like, of course.

"You look familiar, kinda? Were you, uh..." Harrow takes a drag from his cigarette and narrows his eyes as he stares at her face. Suddenly his eyebrows rise and he says, "You had a mustache at the Halloween party, didn't'cha? I think I introduced Steve to ya and accidentally wandered off..." He only seems the tiniest bit guilty over that.

~Showing up as Spider-Man~

[ikicklotsafaces]

There's a young and lean teenage man dropping into the Christmas Sweater party. Literally dropping. How he had been hanging on the ceiling until now is anybody's guess ... but he wasn't hurting anything so, it's all good, right? This young man seems to be covered from head to toe in a superhero costume, but has pulled a very appropriate sweater over top of said heroic outerwear.

"The reindeer is Gary, huh?" The costumed individual bobs his head in understanding. "It sounds like you made your sweater then? Or someone was working with you."

[i_paladin]

The seasonal celebration of Paladin's world does not usually include sweaters, ugly or otherwise, not unless you consider what is worn to keep off the bitter chill of winter when everyone gets together to light the candles and ward off the cold iron fist of Iamme.

And Paladin really wouldn't consider those sweaters ugly. Actually they are ugly but the kind of ugly that comes with living off the land and having only coppers to spend on clothing: not exactly a huge budget for frills and color. That's not the ugly that is put on display here though. This is a garish, bright, absurd kind of ugly and that means Paladin has just the most perfect sweater as a representation of her world's holiday season. It is comically large on the slender Tiefling but matches with the black slacks and riding boots.

"Naughty children get carried off by Iamme's spirits. Which turns out to be quite nonsense, as I was never carried off as a wee Tiefling." Though one would assume the creature's mother sure hoped they would.

KRAMPUS SWEATER! I'm so glad someone's in a Krampus sweater!!

[westfallcorndog]

Woah, woah, woah. A Draenei! A strange-looking one, but a Draenei nonetheless. Right? Harrow sits up eagerly at the sight of them and only notices the demonic sweater after the fact. He listens closely as they explain the story, smiling as he does... But his smile wears thin and disappears as they reveal details about their world.

"A Tiefling? That's what you are? Shoot, for a minute there I thought you were someone from my world. A Draenei. Shoulda known, judgin' by the tail." Speaking of, don't stare at it. Wandering eyes on tails is rude, that much he knows.

He pops his cigarette between his lips and crosses his arms over his chest and quickly finds it in himself to smile again. With a vague wave of his hand he says, "So who's Iamme? That monster on your shirt?"

[russianfairy]

Yuri can't believe he's brand new to The Nexus and the first thing he finds himself involved in is an ugly sweater contest. He looks down at his obviously fashionable sweater and wonders how anybody could consider such a work of art ugly, because kittens!

"Yeah, this can't win -- it's too cool."

[westfallcorndog]

Harrowheart claps and laughs at that ridiculous sweater. "Hell, kid, I know you're jokin', but I like that! I really like it. I'd buy it off ya but I don't think I'd fit in it."

He stamps out his cigarette on the armrest of his snow chair and stands. "Here, kid, take a seat," he says, motioning to the empty chair. "Long as you don't mind the cold."

[zombots]

Vaclav loves kookie things like this, and he even has an sweater of his own. And with the sleeves cut off to make it easier for him to wear due to his Augmented arms, Vaclav has gone all out with the addition of the strand of LED lights on his sweater and his dingy looking Santa hat. And in his metal hands, he has a big giant mug of hot chocolate with a mountain of marshmallows to top off the Christmasy vibe.

"I'm so going to win this!" Vaclav looks down at his sweater with a bright smile on his face. He feels like a kid who stumbled on that cherry red bicycle on Christmas morning, and he is looking around to see if he can find any of his new friends.

[westfallcorndog]

It glows! IT GLOWS! Another sweater that Harrow has to laugh and clap at when he sees it. He looks to Vaclav, his face also lit up in excitement. "That's so cool, man! But... How do you keep 'em lit? Where've you got 'em plugged in?"

His immediate guess is Vaclav's mechanical arms, which he glances quickly at but doesn't linger on.

[icebearforpresident]

Ice Bear has clearly misinterpreted the task at hand, since the misspelled sign actually looks like something completely different to him. The bear heads home, then returns to Harrowheart's ice chair a little later in the day.

He's not wearing a sweater for starters, but the bear is carrying a large tupperware container, which is opened in front of Harrowheart. Inside are some ugly-looking cookies, but they taste amazing. Ice Bear just stares at Harrowheart.

"Ugliest Sweets. Ice Bear feels confident about winning this competition."

[westfallcorndog]

"I-Ice Bear..." Oh, sweet, gentle soul. Harrow's eyes grow wide with guilt and charm, and his smile wobbles. This is probably the most innocent misunderstanding of a situation, and it would fit no one better than Ice Bear.

Harrow gently reaches out to take a cookie, but rather than eat it he admires its craft. Really, it's a well-made little piece of food! Even if its fate was to look like an ugly sweater.

"Ice Bear..." It's harder to break the news than he thought it would be. "Y-yeah! You're definitely gonna win, I'm for sure! 'Cause... No one else brought cookies to the, uh... Sweater contest."

[sumarusfinest]

It's a shame that this year Maya Amano did not pick out Officer Suou's Christmas sweater, because while this is puntastic and kitchy it's definitely not offensive to people with finctioning eyes like many of the outlandish outfits Maya was known for picking out for her friends and loved ones to wear.

Still, Katsuya seems pleased with his choice. He gives the Death Knight a friendly wave as he approaches with a coffee in hand.

"You're pretty festive, aren't you?"

[off_the_air]

"Oh. Oh my. Oh no."

Radio, of all the times for you to be on break, why now? In this, surely Officer Suou's deepest moment of shame. She herself is dressed smartly in a pair of black pants, a red turtleneck, an black gloves. Seems the concept of an ugly sweater is lost on her.

"Katsuya, who put you in this? Do you need money for a sweater? You should have asked! I'd have given it to you if I'd known this was the alternative."

[space_gandalf]

The Doctor isn't going to miss this chance to join in on wearing an ugly sweater for the holiday season. "I don't know who would think these sweaters are ugly!" He has a different opinion on the whole ugly sweater thing, and he seems very proud of it. And he even has a festive bowtie to match his sweater.

With a cup of hot coco in a snowman mug, The Doctor looks at everyone in their sweaters. "We don't have anything like this on Gallifrey, but I adore Christmas. To think the humans would come up with such a fantastic and magical holiday."

"And to think of how many places I've visited that seem to celebrate something similar."

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow smiles at the sight of this man's sweater. It's a legitimately cute one! But he can't say that, of course. The point of the competition is to be ugly, and if he says it's cute, he's going to spoil the whole thing for this weird guy and his bow tie. Which, okay, the bow tie is ugly. That he won't deny. Its staring eyes... Truly unsettling...

"I've never met a guy from Gallifrey," Harrow says, eyes flitting between the Doctor's face and the bowtie's faces. "Most humans I meet around here're from Earth. I always get a little kick outta seein' humans from other planets. Sounds like you're a world-hopper, too. That right?"

[bestdadinamestris]

Of all the sights for Hughes to come across when he's walking through the Nexus, this was the wrong right one for a big kid at heart. He doesn't have an ugly sweater to offer up when he's coming in, though, so after flashing a quick "hang on a minute" gesture at Harrow, the intelligence officer turns around and disappears into the Nexus.

When he returns, he's covered with his heavy coat to combat the cold, but with the addition of a Christmas tree shaped hat atop his head. As he approaches Harrow, though, a wide grin spreads across his face. Someone's feeling really good about this.

"I wouldn't say it's ugly," because he actually thinks this is one of the best finds ever, "but I think this fits what you're looking for." Still grinning, he throws open his coat to reveal a truly heinous sweater. As he pulls off his coat to show off the arms of this ridiculous sweater, he cheerfully adds, "It covers all of your Christmas bases - I can't see why anyone would think this is anything but beautiful!"

...says the guy who wore all the extra plastic toys at Halloween. He may be a little skewed in his sense of what's cool, but at least he's owning it.

[westfallcorndog]

Harrow blinks hard and scrubs his hand down his face at that sweater. He boggles at it, totally at a loss for words. It isn't ugly in the humorous way most of today's sweaters have been. No. Light. This is truly ugly. Honestly, really hideous! He sits in total silence as Hughes explains himself, but honestly it's all in one ear and out the other.

"D-did you... Make that yourself?..." Then, hand on his cheek, eyes glazed over, he whispers the revelation, "Someone made that..." A criminal exists in this universe, truly.

[rekindledtitan]

Well, now. Not only is Blaze late to the party, she didn't even come dressed. The Guardian's stopped by to take a long bemused look at the colorful antics taking place, arms folded, Ghost lurking safely behind her.

And Harrow's sweater deserves particular admiration: "Didn't we scare off all the evil spirits back at Halloween?"

[shardofwinter]

Spirits? Did somebody call?

Ah, the fire-bot. Reynard owes her more than a bit of payback. Her little friend looks more than a little like a perfect target. With a glance around Reynard finds himself surrounded by the perfect inspiration.

Sneaking up on people as a spirit is reasonably easy, but he still stays low before he pounces. In one swift motion a perfectly fitting tea cosy is pulled over Ghost and the Winter spirit vanishes in a puff of snow to escape any repercussions.