It's the season of GIFTS GIFTS GIFTS

[indigo_league]

With Christmas scooting ever closer, it's time to start thinking about the real reason for the season and that is gifts. Yes, yes, joy to all, peace on earth etc etc, but deep down what we all want to do is tear some wrapping paper off boxes and be dazzled by the contents.

In order to keep things a bit organised, we'll be putting this up as a central gift-giving post, and it will feature three things.

★★ Arceus' gift As many of you long term players might already know, Arceus tends to drop a few gifts on the people he has brought here on Christmas day. And this year is no different! These gifts will be revealed on December the 25th, so please check back then to see what your character will be receiving. And yes, these gifts will go out to all. Arceus doesn't judge. Maybe he should, but he doesn't. ★★ Secret Santa Though these gifts won't officially be delivered until the 25th, this post will also feature a thread where you can post up the gifts your character has gotten their Secret Santa recipient. Feel free to start posting these up as soon as this post goes up (we are not going to make you wait) ★★ Your gifts And finally, your gifts! If your character is the kind to get their friends a bunch of things, feel free to use this post to distribute the offerings. Much easier than hitting up a bunch of inboxes! If you would rather distribute your characters' gifts individually in various inboxes, feel free to do so! This post is merely an option for people who'd like to keep things in one central location.

Now with that all out of the way, let us take a moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas (or, at the very least, a nicely adequate Thursday if you don't celebrate). 2020 has been Quite the year, and I don't think any of us could've predicted it turning out this way. (Turns out none of us had 20-20 vision). But we've made it through and while the times are still somewhat uncertain and unforeseen, we nevertheless hope it will all be looking up from here on out for all of us.

We want to thank you all for being such lovely players and for having contributed to the game as you did! Thank you for ruining baseball, for coming to Sinnoh with us, for Prom being Prom yet again, for submitting so many badge requests and for slipping in every app that you did.

And onwards to 2021, another year for pokemon shenanigans and nonsense!

Comments

[fearinahandfulof]

Akane: Akane is getting padded yellow half-finger gloves of the sort used for martial arts training, plus a couple of Everstones and some cute PokeToys (not all of which will be for her Pokemon). Cassandra would have liked to have made something for her, since she knows Akane considers that important, but there's not a lot of time until Christmas and also she can't knit.

Sylvain: That said, she can sew quite well - just don't ask where she learned to make such perfect stitches, because you probably don't want to know - and so Sylvain is getting a hand-sewn scarf made of warm sky-blue fleece. It's not fancy, but it will do its job. Also Scald and Dragon Pulse TMs for his Feebas, because she remembers him having one (even if it's a Milotic by now). Also, there are a couple of volumes of poetry, because she also remembered he likes literature, but she doesn't really know very much about it so she had to go with recommendations from the bookstore. There will be a note to that effect, in clear but somewhat hesitant handwriting, in one of the books.

Shiro: It occurs to her that most of what she knows about Shiro involves terrible jokes, and Cassandra doesn't know a lot of jokes (terrible or otherwise), so getting a gift for Shiro is something of a challenge for her. She ultimately ends up getting him a few TMs (Taunt, Swords Dance, and Flash) that he will hopefully find useful, along with a warm travel blanket.

Lust: Two pairs of satin opera gloves, in red and black, and a set of gauzy scarves in a variety of colors, for her shows (because Cassandra isn't always clear on how a gift can be interpreted, and thanks to the conversations she's had with Lust she associates dancing with martial arts, as both involve a great deal of physical discipline, ergo she's not really thinking "sexy" so much as "things that could be of use to Lust in her work").

cw: gory fantasy story by an alien child

[hurricane_clown]

Armed with a lot of friends, an art kit, and nothing but time, Karako did what any resourceful young clown would do: he made Soldier Purrbeast OCs for everyone, complete with reference art! Also, due to cultural biases, he has.... a unique idea of how everyone's names are spelled.


Dmitri - Dmitri's Soldier Purrbeasts OC is Commander Cloudthroat: a short-legged, four-eared, lantern-jawed, saber-toothed, heavily-built purrbeast with broad paws and battlescars blinding him. He's Blue-coded and is depicted pinning some kind of alien bat under one of those big paws. (Guess that Gligar made an impression on Karako.)

Klaudd - Klaudd's Soldier Purrbeasts OC is Thornshriek: a long-bodied, long-limbed, four-tailed, short-furred purrbeast, with solid-coloured eyes, tall ears, and the ability to spit venom! He's Gold-coded, and Karako made sure to include the little braid in Klaudd's hair, making it into a few braids around the purrbeast's tall ears.

Sylvyn - Sylvyn's Soldier Purrbeasts OC is Brightseeker: a web-toed, densely-coated, soft-furred purrbeast with a partially amputated tail, vestigial webbing on his arms, and huge, all-seeing eyes. He's Maroon-coded, and despite his lowly status, he's made a name for himself by his fearlessness and loyal service. He lost most of his tail in a heroic defence of a highblood!

Grannt - Grannt made his own OC, so Karako just drew that.

Chippe - Chippe's new OC is not a purrbeast, but a BARKbeast named Bravemaws. With an oversized head, two pairs of jaws (set side by side instead of stacked vertically), and a bristly mane. Because this conflicts with usual lore, and because Chippe is Karako's only friend that's his age, he drew Chip a six page comic illustrating how a bunch of Soldier Purrbeasts vanquished an army of Invader Barkbeasts... but then, in the gutted remains of one of the Barkbeasts, [Grannt's OC] finds a single, still-living squirmy Barkbeast grub(?!) Instead of leaving them to die, or mercifully killing them, [Grannt's OC] lifts the sprog out of the remains of their slaughtered littermates to raise them himself, and they become a powerful ally, mascot, and protector in service of their platoon. The comic includes a montage of 'meaningful moments' in being raised by Grannt's OC, like first kill and first... uh, witness to a culling... and first massacre, and.... okay it's all REALLY gory, wow!

Spdwgn - Spdwgn's Soldier Purrbeasts OC is General Littlefang: a buff, eight-legged, long-clawed, long-furred purrbeast with cunning eyes that glitter like mucous in the twilight. His name is ironic because he has many small, sharp teeth in his mouth instead of the usual feline set, and also you'd THINK the focus would be on his super long anime claws. Karako has even designed custom scarification for General Littlefang. Based on the picture of General Littlefang and his apprentice Gigglesnarl, this appears to be the Soldier Purrbeast equivalent of facepaint.

Fylixx - Karako didn't know Fylixx existed until he came back to the Femblem party, and he was appropriately horrified to discover he'd left someone out. After disappearing with his art kit for about an hour, he returned to bestow upon Fylixx a Soldier Purrbeast of his very own: Bladeyowl! Obviously teal-coded, Bladeyowl is a dark-eyed, two-jawed, bristle-tailed, immaculately-groomed purrbeast. He is the only survivor of his platoon, which was culled for their failures. Only Bladeyowl was spared, reassigned to Commander Cloudthroat's unit to replace their recent losses in battle. The reason for the culling is still a mystery... mostly because Karako thought Fylixx's OC needed a 'realistic' backstory, but didn't want to insult him.

[pretendingto]

Kayo doesn't have much money, but she can afford some balls of yarn and a crochet hook. She wraps the gifts in cheap brown paper and hands them off the day after Santa's gifts get delivered.

Armin Is getting a crocheted hat, beanie-style in dark burgundy and with a little fox-face pattern worked into the brim.

Sylvain Is getting a new pair of crochet mittens, in the same teal color as the gloves he wears with his armor.

Winter is getting a little crocheted egg, that opens up into a pouch. Or maybe it's an egg-cozy? It's made of multicolored yarn.

GIFTS FROM CARLY!

[insidescoop]

Carly has a hell of a lot of gift giving to do, and not a lot of time to pull it off thanks to the Rocket Heist! Fortunately, she does have a lot of cash.

Ultimately, every single Rocket Member, provided they arrived before Christmas, receives a small tin of cookies, and a little bag with about 1500P inside. Treat yourselves to something nice you guys! Like, a hot sandwich, or something.

That said, a few among the Rockets (and others) are getting a bit more than just that.

Jolyne, being Jolyne, gets not only a wonderful Christmas Date, but is surprised with news that they're taking a Hot Springs trip. Heck yeah! She also gets heated slippers. Oooooo.

The Joestars all get something similar to the other; specifically, they get a set of chocolates and nuts, along with a mug and some hot cocoa pouches. The senior Joestars admittedly get a bit extra in the form of a set of matching scarves.

Foo Fighters, being part of the household as is, is naturally getting her own vacation chance as well. More importantly, she gets a M A S S I V E travel mug, which keeps cold stuff cold and hot stuff hot! Enjoy your drinks, Foo! It's even got a hip clip.

Dirk is getting earmuffs that somehow, impossibly, accommodate his sunglasses. How? It is a mystery. He's also getting what Look like his usual gloves, if they were furred on the inside. Toasty...
She has also bit the bullet and crafted for him what can best be dubbed 'CHRISTMAS SMUPPET'. How long has she been sitting on this? Working on this?? It is a mystery and she'll resolutely refuse to answer.

Steven is getting a bottle of some good wine, and a housewarming gift in the form of a desktop mug-warmer. Get it? Housewarming?? Lastly, he gets a nice classy scarf.

Armin is getting a 'Gallileo Thermometer + Barometer' which has the various bubbles modeled after water pokemon. Amazing. Notably, the barometer itself seems to resemble a Lapras. He's also getting a tin of tea-bags, and instructions on how to make flavored ice teas with 'm. It's not nearly as simple as just putting a bag in cold water after all!

Jane is getting a tin of cookies and chocolates! See?? She can do that too!! More sweetly, she's also getting a matching hat and scarf set.

ETA: I forgot Greg and Rose somehow!!! They would have received a set of matching (heating!) scarfs however, alongside a Lonnnnng pillow, since in her words, it's easier to curl up together on a bed when the pillows aren't dividing!

EMPORIO'S GIFTS

[seacub]

Emporio's a simple lad, on a simple run-from-criminals, with simple desires and trades to make. He's also got way too many pokemon, but that's beside the point.

Ultimately, Diego, Johnny, Jolyne, and Foo are the ones close enough for him to properly gift something to.

Diego gets a scarf made of 100% wooloo wool! It appears to be based on shiny tyrantrum, given the pattern on it. ...Not to mention the card, which has an actual Tyrantrum.

Johnny gets a 'secret keeping pillow' (aka a pillow you can hide things in, without feeling it), after a fair bit of skirting around to try and (ironically) keep the gift secret. It's got star patterns on it.

Jolyne and Foo both get a watery charm with a cute pokemon inside, along with an infinity scarf. He hopes they're keeping warm.

GIFTS FROM JONATHAN

[standless]

Jonathan has been doing more pokemon breeding and taking in cash that way, but unfortunately, as he's being reminded, he is also doing Christmas Shopping on a pinched budget. Not that he seems to have paid that much mind.

Erina is being treated with a Special surprise; he's possibly gotten a spot where they can build a house! WHOO! He's also gotten them a room to stay at in Mahogany in the meantime. More simply, she'll be receiving a hand muff and hat.

Jolyne, whose complaints of the cold reached his ears quite a lot, is getting a whole box of hot chocolate! He's trying? Jolyne is also getting a rather nice hand muff, which unfortunately for Jonathan, might not necessarily see that much use.

Foo, being a close family acquaintance now, is getting a package of Christmas sweets. Delicious! She's also getting a cookbook featuring many of said sweets. Extra delicious.

Speedwagon will be offered to stay a bit with Erina and himself in Mahogany, but either way, he's getting a scarf that matches a certain hat he's taken to wearing. He's also getting a good bottle of alcohol.

Diego, perhaps tragically, cannot escape Jonathan's desire to gift him things for the holidays. He thus receives what seems to be a book of 'ancient pokemon', notably fossil ones, and a keychain featuring a horse pokemon he didn't recognize, that he spotted on Ebayleef. It's fine.

Johnny is getting similar; though his book is actually about the various sorts of races one can host with pokemon. Go figure, it's quite a lot- the Rat Race was quite the example! He also receives a keychain with a horse pokemon he didn't recognize- Don't worry about it.

Lastly, Armin is getting a handmade charcoal work of a Lapras Pod, carefully set in a frame. He's also getting a sort of watery keycharm he spotted that he thought Armin might like. Apparently it's a timer.

Gifts from Romelle

[questioneverything]

Team Voltron: Everyone gets a color-coded winter gear set in their Paladin color. Thace also gets a set in BoM purple. They also get a set of a dozen poffins in assorted flavors for their Pokémon.

Keith: A Mightyena pendant and a small note explaining that it reminded her of Kosmo, and that it could also double as a charm or something if he doesn't want to wear a necklace. (Romelle wasn't sure if Keith was the type to wear necklaces........)

Pidge: A Land Forme Shaymin plush because it reminded Romelle of Pidge's little caterpillar friends.

Lance: A plush Miltank blanket, because Kaltenecker.

Shiro: A travel mug for coffee or tea or the hot drink of his choice... space themed, of course. Useful for when he's on the road.

Allura: A basketball-sized Togedemaru plush, but shiny, that is so squishy, it doubles as a pillow. The little 'merry Christmas' note says that it reminded her of Platt.

Shinobu: A Toxel plush as a reminder of their day during the picture contest, with a note appreciating his friendship and for helping her out on her first day in this world.