Ho Ho Ho! Happy HP Holidays!

[mudblood_andproud]

There is something different about the Nexus this Christmas season. There is a light snow falling over the entire Nexus plaza. The snow is gentle, with no real coldness to the falling snow flakes. As one approaches the main gathering area, they will notice that there are many Christmas decorations, including garland hanging from the air, and there are twelve towering decorated Christmas trees, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. There are also thousands of floating tiny candles in the Nexus plaza, that gently move at their own discretion.

In one corner, there is an orchestra, directed by a Dwarf. All of the musicians are playing music on instruments made from ice. In the center of the Nexus plaza, is a huge banquet table, loaded with holiday foods and treats that showcases a variety of food from different cultures, and some of the different worlds that gather into the Nexus itself. The main delight of the banquet table is that magic can make the food replenish itself, meaning Christmas dinner never has to end. Most will be able to find something they would enjoy. With the added perk that the food is LOL-free.

There are some added little Christmas adventures, for those who get caught up in the holidays. Here are some of the extra options for the Holiday season.

Secret Santa!
There is an added bonus to the Secret Santa gifts this year. The presents will deliver themselves! There are tons of wrapped gifts floating through the air, destined to only drop when they reach the person to which they are intended. Please note that not all gifts will be given in the spirit of the season. There are a few prank gifts floating around too. Be sure to watch out for them!

Christmas Crackers!
There are Christmas crackers scattered among the tables, and in amongst the branches of the trees. They are decorated with festive paper that is twisted at either end like a sweet wrapper. Inside of the tube are prizes, and some contain Muggle prizes such as a paper hat, a plastic toy, and a slip of paper with a joke printed on it. But the rare person will receive a unique, peculiar magical prize, and will envelop everyone nearby in a cloud of blue smoke.

Weasley Sweaters!
Time to try your luck at the Christmas Sweater bin. There is a large rotating clothing rack that seems to have an endless supply of them. Each one more Festive than the last! Pick one and show your Christmas spirit for the rest of the day.

Enchanted Mistletoe!
Be warned Nexus traveler, the Nargles** have hung enchanted Mistletoe all around the plaza. If an unlucky person steps underneath the Mistletoe, they will find that they are magically stuck to the spot, until they can find someone to kiss them. Of course, the kiss can be platonic, familial, or even romantic. For a few unfortunate people, the kiss may be the last thing they would want to do... but it is that or be stuck in the same spot for the rest of the season.

**Nargle Wiki
[Click Here for information on the HP Holiday Event!]
[Your character is free to give other Christmas gifts to people they care about -- HOWEVER, please do not deliver your Secret Santa gift. That will be handled by the Secret Santa moderator. Please post details on your Secret Santa gift in this post please.]

Comments

[sweetcandygirl]

"Yah! Some lady freed me earlier tonight." Harley steps into the mistletoe zone.

"One good turn deserves another!" And turns his head back, so she can capture his lips with hers.

Enter .... the 'toe Zone

[gorogorogoro_chan]

Luckily, he has enough fair warning to return the kiss in full. She earns a toothy grin. "Damn, you sure know how to sweep a man off his feet."

He gives one foot, then the other an experimental shake. All good! "You're a lifesaver, Harley-chan!"

[sweetcandygirl]

"So I have been told!"

Harley bows, glad to have helped him. "Would not want you stuck there!"

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"Pfft. I wouldn't've been here long, yanno." He runs a hand through his hair nonchalantly. If he could wink, he would wink. "You showed up just before the crowd of adorin' ladies had time to queue up."

This peacocking is all but undermined by the gaudy jacket, beads and baubles jostling with every move.

"This place always go so hog wild on the Christmas decor?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"oh? Maybe I should push you back underneath it... would not want to deprive the crowd of adorin' ladies." Harley teases him.

"I don't know... this is my first Christmas here."

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"You celebrate Christmas at all? Trees and Jesus stuff or whatever--" he catches himself. "Oh, shit -- forgot you're all locked up back home! Or do they at least give you a candy cane to whittle into a shank?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"Christmas was always my favorite time of year..." Harley sighs happily.

"And no... they don't do anything special for us."

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"Eh, Christmas ain't bad. All cozy and shit. But in Japan it's got that romantic vibe. Kinda like White Day or Valentine's. Lotsa couples all over bein' lovey-dovey."

He produces a cigarette and lights it on a passing candle. "More of a New Year's fan myself."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Because of the booze?"

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"Hell yeah. That's part of it! Does America have a, uh... we call it a bōnenkai?" He furrows his brow. "A forgetting party? We'd gather up the family, get shitfaced and forget all the garbage that happened in the past year."

Majima takes a drag from his cigarette and laughs. "Usually all we'd end up forgetting is the bōnenkai itself."

[sweetcandygirl]

"People get shitfaced all the time in the States, without needing a reason. But damn... that sounds like a great way to party!"

"I sure could use a forgetting party this year!"

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"Glad I'm not the only one who's ready to forget this year. Ain't been great on my end, either. Not bad. Just slow and boring, yanno? Feelin' all trapped. Least 'til I came here."

He rolls his eye. "Pfft. Like I got any business talkin' about feelin' trapped to a lady who's been legit locked up. Sorry, Harley-chan."

[sweetcandygirl]

"Don't fret about it!"

"Come on... I believe they have some kickass Christmas cocktails today..." She holds out her hand to him.

[gorogorogoro_chan]

Majima takes said hand. "Lead the way! So long as it ain't the sweet stuff. Picked up a cup 'a something earlier that tasted like liquid candy mixed with cough syrup. Bleh."

[sweetcandygirl]

"You talking about the Candy Cane martinis? Those are my favorite!" Harley laughs.

"But I think they have some good hot chocolate, with Baileys, over here."

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"Someone ruined some perfectly good gin on those things! Criminal!"

"Could go for somethin' warm, though, and I haven't had hot cocoa in ages." And if it's nasty, there's always more trees to dump his drink into. He surveys the offered drinks and settles on a variation in the hot cocoa theme (that still broadcasts a manly aura) -- Mexican hot cocoa spiked with tequila. After the first sip, he hums and nods his head approvingly. "Oh shit, that's got a real kick! Give that a try if you're into spicy shit."

[sweetcandygirl]

"I loved the Candy Cane martinis." Harley laughed.

"I am into all sorts of stuff, darling." And she selects a hot cocoa that has a candy cane twist to it.

[gorogorogoro_chan]

He burns down his cigarette in a few last puffs and tosses it on the ground, grinding it out under the toe of one well-shined shoe. He looks startled when an enchanted broom and dustpan swoops in to clean his litter in a way that comes off as almost ... curt and passive-aggressive?

Majima shakes his head and takes another sip of cocoa before spooling up another question: "Mind if I ask why you wanna forget about the past year?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"Well.... let's see..."

"I spent the majority of the last year in a cage at Arkham."

"My Suicide Squad team saved the world, lost a friend, and no body knows or cares. And they still have bombs implanted in their heads..."

"And my ex tried to kill me. Again."

Harley found a candy cane to stir her cocoa with, making it even sweeter. "And then my first party here, in the Nexus, had the whole Nightmare thing happen."

"It just has been a lot."

[gorogorogoro_chan]

There are several beats of silence as Majima tries to process all of the items on Harley's list.

"Talk about fuckin' rough years, Harley-chan. Don't blame ya for wantin' to forget."

He buys more time by taking a couple of long sips from his cocoa. "... Suicide Squad? Do I even wanna know what that's about?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"That was what we called ourselves. Our official name was Team Force X. But we all knew... we were the goons they sent into tough shit, because they didn't care if we lived or died."

"And if we didn't listen to their orders... that is where the nano bombs came in handy to keep us in line." Harley explained.

[gorogorogoro_chan]

Majima cups his cocoa with both hands to better spread the warmth. He looks totally taken in by this story. "You for real? Who's the 'they' that sent you in? The military? The cops?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"It is debatable if I am 'for real' or not..." Harley grins.

"Waller is a force of her own. She is in league with the military, but is also all about doing things for herself."

"She is the one who recruited us."

[gorogorogoro_chan]

"Oh, so paramilitary kinda stuff? Figures. Formal government stiffs needa get work done, but can't dirty their own hands the way they'd like. I've seen the cops keep less-than-savory bedfellows back home, too. Don't go so far as puttin' bombs in folks, but yanno ... there are arrangements made."

He cocks his head. "Are the rest of your crew in the same boat? Prisoners?"

[sweetcandygirl]

"They are. Basically, if we did good... and didn't get ourselves blown up... we were rewarded with time off our prison sentence."

"But ya'know... when you are serving multiple sentence, a few months does not really matter in the long run."