Suit

[in_extremis]

WHO: Various people who made wishes, and anyone who spots them around town
WHERE: All over Temba, mostly the hotel
WHAT: Tony is doing his best to fulfill wishes
WHEN: Through the end of the month
WARNINGS: None yet.
NOTES: Sorry, this one is also structurally a little weird, get weird with me. The names are just a starting point, don't assume a thread is locked to that character, and feel free to discover these things without Tony involved at all. If you want to unwrap this thing you randomly found in the hall with your girlfriend, only god can judge you.


DELIVERIES

eddie
A surprisingly small, flat package, left right outside his door so it wasn't missed. It was just wound in ribbon left over from the Christmas tree.
Inside was something that looked superficially like the communication device that the Agrii had provided, but the message upon activating the screen read, Sorry about the selection. We'll digitize yours.
The headphones from the tape player Eddie already stole were compatible with what turned out to be a palm-sized collection of the tracks on the karaoke machine.

lark
This only got as far as the hotel lobby, and only had a paper bow on it, because it was about the same size as the check in desk. It kind of looked like a massive printer, with large feeding rolls and a spidery array of needles poised over them. There were hints as to what this actually was, like the large bobbins at either end that seemed to feed into each other, which might explain why this thing didn't seem to plug in to anything. Or the single big button on the side that someone had seen fit to simply lable LOOM.

donnie
Careful with this, it seems to be a bunch of loose parts wrapped in a big, delicate sheet of paper sitting on the forge. Hopefully, that doesn't get torn in the process, because on the inside there appears to be a blueprint? map? is that the volcano? If Donnie doesn't recognize the schematics for a particle accelerator on sight, he might know that equation for radiation decay, or at least understand the doodle of Iron Man lounging on a row of heavier elements in the margins.

HOUSECALLS

billy soldier
[A text arrives, at first with just an attached image. There's snow gathered at the bottom of the wall in it, so this must be the outside of a building. Where the flat surface has been cleared of dead vines and ice, thick, black lines that must be charcoal draw a four-square grid. The axes are labled: LOVE, HATE and NEVER, ALWAYS]

What do you think?

jan/peter b./may
Jan's tailoring was impeccable, as always. It wasn't the costume that had Tony hesitatingly anxiously at the door and in need of some encouragement as he patted down the front of it, then scratched at his beard. The only opinion that really mattered was a baby's, and she must have had a very distinct image of this figure already in mind that Tony only realized he could be completely ruining at this tender age once he was dressed. Still, the way he worried over it was a muttered, "Are you sure about this...?," with another pat at the liberties Jan had taken with the design.

By the time he was standing at Peter's door, Tony had practiced a smile enough times that it was already soldered into place and he looked every inch confident as he lounged against the doorframe with a pair of boxes balanced on his cocked hip. Maybe that was a few too many liberties of his own. "Is she still awake?" he greeted, with a very unconvincing show of a whisper that was just a rasp in his voice, lifting his chin to try to see over Peter's shoulder. His knock had already been louder than necessary, a jarring sound in the darkened hallway that had been muffled quiet in the snow. Even a kid who had tired herself out keeping her dad on the run all afternoon would be curious about this late night intrusion.

steve
The stars were already starting to fade, overtaken by the deep blue of the sun just over the horizon, and Tony was still in the red jacket. He might as well stay awake at this point, it was only rational, and if he stayed perched on the roof of the civic centre, he knew he could set a watch to Steve appearing for some excruciating morning workout. A run along the beach in the sun was much more satisfying; there were better ways to punish oneself than getting up before the light to battle the snow alone. This was the hour for reasonable people to sip at a chilled mug of coffee with their feet dangling over the side of the building, shivering slightly in a Santa costume but blank-eyed with his focus on the thirty projects safely warm in the basement of the library. Occasionally, Tony's nose scrunched and his breath was a heavy bloom of a sigh in the cold as D.A.T.A. refused to do as he was told, and had to be diverted to get control of the mess that he had just made instead before Tony had to go down there himself. He hardly noticed the time ticking by, the pool behind him slowly filling with falling snow, and mounding on the final gift that was left waiting in a box at the pool's edge.

Comments

[thepurpleone]

It wasn't difficult at all to spot the difference in the figurative picture. Given there weren't too many that Donnie knew to use the forge, that narrowed the list of suspects considerably. He approached the mysterious...package? with caution, not too unlike a cat who'd found something potentially intrusive in its territory. Maybe the dodge-roll closer to the table was a bit excessive, especially given all the stuff on the floor, but Donnie still managed to come up closer to the table and the suspicious object, head slowly rising level with it as he peered over the table's edge.

Eventually he got to his feet, hands at his hips as he studied the thing, finally moving to carefully unfold the paper like he was dismantling a bomb.

[in_extremis]

"Oh, hm," Tony greeted, looking puzzled before he shut the cold out behind him with a solid thud of the door, cutting off the whistle of wind to leave the forge suddenly silent but for the crackle of the fire. He had estimated that Donnie would have been and gone already, well before he had the chance to trudge back through the snow, though his patterns were getting harder to anticipate. Now Tony had to pretend to be innocently curious as he sauntered closer and pulled himself up onto the table, where he leaned over the opened package to inspect the contents; no uranium, but carefully modeled parts that could be fit together in a perfect scale replica of the dense schematic on the paper that wrapped them. "What're you gonna do with that?" he wondered.

[thepurpleone]

Donnie had been staring at the mess of parts as what of the blueprints he did glimpse had clicked into place with everything else. This was well beyond anything he'd ever expect so he wasn't quite sure how to feel about it, excitement seeming the most reasonable state, joy ranking right up there, but then the confusion was still floating around and throwing it all off.

Hearing a familiar voice behind him, he managed to tear his attention away from the highly advanced model kit to watch as Tony came over to join him. He was still processing some unknown equation that now included the man whether he wanted to be associated with the thing or not, but then the list of people who ever used the place was quite short so far as Donnie was aware of. The question tugged him out of his thoughts, and the turtle returned his attention to the parts sitting on top of the paper.

"...I don't know," Donnie admitted, sounding stunned, although not necessarily at the admission. Excitement was clawing its way to the top again, evinced by his growing grin. "But I sure am going to find out!"

[in_extremis]

It was harder to maintain his curious detachment as Donnie looked more excited, like he might actually enjoy this challenge and Tony hadn't made the worst decision by encouraging him to play with radiation. It was mostly theory, anyway. "I thought the Easy-Bake oven was out," he tried to dismiss with a flapping hand, "You're supposed to be into Furbys now. Or Stoicism. Listen, I don't have kids. I got Cassie one of those, Easy-Bake, when she was, I don't know, eight, that's my--niece, she blew it up by the end of the day, whole mansion smelled like chlorine, so I think she had a great time."

[pursuitofcappiness]

Steve, as predicted, emerges roofside in the morning so precisely that Tony wouldn't even need to check his watch. Cold or not, he comes out in running shorts, because that's really all they had available and once he works up a sweat it hardly matters.

But, today, he spots Tony and makes his way over, smiling brightly at him. "Hey, I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but I think you missed the chimney. Door's open though, if you want to come inside. You look cold."

[in_extremis]

Tony heard him and started a slow nod of self-satisfaction well before he turned to see Steve, and the wry smile he meant to wear to tease about the predictability was startled into a grin at the sight of him. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had smiled at him like that; maybe he could forgive Steve a little for making such an infuriatingly selfless, abstract wish. He let his head loll onto his shoulder, plucking up his icey coffee and clearly not about to do as he was told as he replied, "Me? I'm the one who's got clothes on. Someone's got to be on alert for when you get frostbite."

[pursuitofcappiness]

Well, Steve didn't think that Tony was actually going to come grant wishes, and if anything else, he hadn't wanted to take from their limited resources. Plus, Tony'd already made him a shield, and that'd been enough for him. More than most got.

"You could do me a favor and we could both go running while we have this conversation, but I think maybe you wouldn't be able to keep up." Just a little light ribbing. "Merry Christmas, Tony."

[in_extremis]

Too quickly, Tony turned a look of horror on Steve at the suggestion that he would run in this weather, and had to redirect and school that raised lip before anyone got the impression that Steve could challenge his pride. With his chin still raised like he was above such teasing, he said, "Not yet," then flicked a finger toward the wrapped package that he had come here to deliver. "Let me know how you feel after you open that." Ultimately, there was no way to guarantee that everyone had a good year, even Tony had to concede some control over that outcome, but in his estimation, they'd already gotten a head start when Steve showed up. The best way to keep the future bright was to support what he did best. Inside the box were a matching pair of items that might have been to the left of familiar; a blue scalemail shirt with a white star on the chest, and a winged helmet.

text;

[sinistral]

[The answer comes two or three days after the initial text.]

What am I looking at?

[in_extremis]

You. We're making a system. Figuring out how the machine works.

We can start by figuring out how you keep losing your phone. That's embarrassing. I could make it magnetic for you.

[sinistral]

I didn't lose it.

[in_extremis]

Come on, it's Christmas, you could pretend you weren't ignoring me.

There's a strong first data point, I guess.

[The chart is updated! Now, there's a dot labled PHONE floating in the centre, definitely closer to HATE and NEVER.]

A New Device! | Open

[stitch_witch]

Of course she doesn't need the label on the button to understand what it is. How it works, perhaps not. It will take a lot of trial and error. But the woman, wrapped in a large, warm shawl and with a large dog sitting at her side, is smiling. Wide and delighted too.

"Oh the wonderful things we shall make together," she tells the machine as she runs her hands over it. "I suppose we shall have to officially get everyone's sizes now that I will have you. And I will need to make a spinning wheel."

[in_extremis]

"My god, you're high maintenance," Tony accused as he came bouncing down the stairs, still in his red suit though finally unburdened of his gifts, his voice dark and raw from his sleepless night and whispering at May. "Now it's a wheel. You could have just made a list, what comes after that? You'll need to dye it all, too, won't you. And the storage, I'm already seeing the problem, we should have led with the storage." He sidled up alongside her, where he could let the dog sniff at his empty hand, unfortunately fresh out of treats, his shoulders tight with the restraint to keep from showing the animal any more attention.

[stitch_witch]

If only she knew what he meant by that. Lark turns to look toward Tony and she smiles at him.

"I am quite capable of dyeing on my own with what I have here. And I have two rooms, so storage I have as well. This, though..."

She runs her fingers over the loom and it... Seems to react, just to her touch. No spools on it but the machine seems to start into motion anyway. Just a display of her magic, how it works through such things. When she pulls her fingers away a second later the machine goes silent.

Little Bear, used to such displays, was of course far happier to sniff Tony. First his hand, then anywhere he could to see the other scents on his body.

"I think the wonderful person who fulfilled this wish deserves a kiss. Alas, they didn't put their name on it."

[in_extremis]

Little Bear was making it very difficult to keep from patting him with a bitten smile, so hopefully Tony could make it look like he was just trying to redirect that curious nose, only to mostly forget his own charade and be left worrying the dog's ear restlessly as he watched the machine respond to Lark's touch with surprise.

The other performance he was meant to be maintaining was wilfully abandoned with a very unconvincing thoughtful roll of his eyes up to the ceiling as he ventured, "I might know a thing or two about that." He'd done much worse for a kiss. He gave a small shake of his head then though, waving his free hand to continue, "It looks like I could have tied a couple of sticks together and called it a loom and it would have worked just fine."

Eddie

[the_freak]

Seeing as they'd been kidnapped by aliens and there was a whole upside down version of Hawkins and everything else crazy about his life, this little device shouldn't have been so fascinating.

But it might as well have been something out of the bible or one of those fancy ass paintings where word comes down from god. It was a fucking miracle as far as he was concerned.

Stranger Things Cast
And miracles needed to be shared. Sung from the mountain tops or whatever else they did. Which was why Eddie barely explained a thing before excitedly pushing the headphones over ears, holding up the screen and excitedly elaborating even as the music drowned him out.

Tony
And the creator needed to be shown his respect. And there was that promise of digitizing. Which...yeah, Eddie didn't entirely understand, but he eagerly tracked Tony down lugging at least half of his collection along with him.

"Can you really put these on there?" he asked almost as soon as he came face to face with him, and there was a belatedly awkward grin, "And thanks and everything, it's fucking amazing- seriously, I can't- I uh...I didn't get you anything. Yet."

it me

[in_extremis]

There wasn't supposed to be anyone all the way down here at the forge, and Tony had assumed the knocking on the door must have been Donnie in a rush to escape from the cold, leaving him quite unprepared for that excitable greeting and slightly stunned in the shock of freezing wind on his sweat. "The point was supposed to be not carrying them around," he pointed out when he got his breath back, lips pursed and looking irritated, but he hurried to wave Eddie inside so he could shut the snow back out before he started thinking about blackened fingers again.

It was quiet then, the crackle of the perpetual fire easily overtaking the howl of the wind outside. Tony passed a soot-streaked arm across his forehead before fussily trying to wipe his hands down his stained shirt, so they were reasonably clean as he gestured to take the little device. "Of course you didn't get me anything, you're not trying to get in my pants. How did the skates turn out? You know, there's a pool on top of the Civic Centre, easily make it a rink."

[the_freak]

Eddie grinned and shrugged a shoulder, tapping his shoes at the entrance to try and keep from tracking too much snow inside. "Well how else am I going to get some better music on this thing?" he dismissed easily.

Setting his things down he passed of the device, and arched a brow in amusement, "Is that why you got me something?" he teased, "...I didn't even think of that, that's a good idea. I'll check it out."

Santa Baby

[winsomelosesome]

"Of course I'm sure," Jan muttered back, smoothing over the lines Tony had created with his pat. "You look perfect," she assured, rocking up on her toes to press a kiss to Santa's lips with an affectionate pat of his cheek. "Suits you more than I would thought," she added with a cheeky once over. "You're gonna do fine."

[in_extremis]

The jacket was sitting just the way Tony wanted before Jan started fussing with it, or at leas that was what Tony's pout said, his restless hands needing something to tug at. He would have argued, too, or taken the chance to preen under Jan's admiration, something about red being his colour, except he was left frozen with his eyebrows raised in surprise for the stolen kiss. "Hey," he complained, and was quick to loop an arm around Jan's waist in case she thought she could slip away from that accusation. "That was supposed to be my move. You can't make a wish and then just--this is why you're impossible to buy for, you're spoiled."

(pretend I have better photoshop skills)

[winsomelosesome]

The suit wasn't an entirely classic take on santa, but it was recognizable enough with it's overall red theme and fluffy white trim. She did her best to not stray too far in her attempt to modernize the look, knowing there was at least one child here who was expecting to see a figure she was familiar with.

Tony's beard and hair had been whitened with powder, and Jan smirked, pulling the hat on to his head to complete the look. "Well, you knew that all ready," she replied easily, grinning, "Do I get another one? I've been a good girl."

[daddy_longlegs]

Peter didn't think he'd ever find himself so glad to find Old Saint Nick at his door. His expression turned from curious surprise to understanding all at once, in the sort of cooperative magic most adults can only muster when it comes to keeping the spirit of the holidays alive for children.

He grinned, and glanced back, pretending not to notice as May froze in her crawl along the ceiling, like her father had T-Rex vision out of Jurassic Park and could only catch her if she was spotted moving.

"...Gee, I dunno-" he started, "I think she might be asleep, but I can tell her you came by-" His hands came out to catch her before he finished speaking, and May laughed, reaching eagerly to Santa with bright eyes. "Oh- well look at that-"

[in_extremis]

"Look at that," Tony agreed in a purr that would have charmed Peter's wife if it was her hand he was catching to kiss like he was meeting royalty. With May just giggling at anything he did in his funny suit, it was Peter that Tony smiled expectantly at as he let May tug at his fingers eagerly.

"Well, since you're awake anyway, you might as well get your presents now," he continued, "Only because you've been so nice this year." He hefted the packages up, and offered, "Do you want to give one to your daddy? I hear he's been pretty nice, too."

[daddy_longlegs]

Peter managed to keep his hold on May while one handedly snapping a few pics, reluctantly finding himself thinking that maybe Santa wasn't all bad.

May nodded eagerly, and Peter snorted, half choking on a laugh that he tried to clear when May looked up at him. "Very nice," he agreed with a sarcastic grin.