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It's dark, and I have everything together (not good at putting things like this together by any means), but here's my gift. Gifts. Technically there's two, but...eh. Each individually felt small, and so I did both. Without further ado....here we go. Also, it figures that I would get you, doesn't it?

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Verse written for you
In text and more, a partner
Constantly helping

The castle entered
In Power Rangers, comments
Now I say "Thank You"

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There once was a great sea that stretched from horizon. Endless, some might call it. Ever it tried to create, and restless thoughts created waves upon its surface. Sometimes works sprang from its waters, and other times it could work itself into a tempest and give forth on a few words or images. One of these, however, had more meaning to a small group of people than a great many of its other works could have.

The man rose upon a shell, gray-haired and clad in gray, with a knife in each hand. He surveyed the surface of the waters, but nothing caught his gaze until a large shadow, like a great cloud, fell over him, moving swiftly. He looked up and saw, scudding across the sky, a great castle.

"What the hell?"

Nothing answered, and so he directed his shell to follow the castle and find what might lie within it.

***

It's been great writing with you, Endless, and building up Likovya and Curtiss's weird friendship. You've got a weird, wonderful sense of humor, and I look forward to writing more of the Sky Chasers with you.

Aw maaan Shane you're amazing, now I feel bad because all I did was sing for you! (It's in your google inbox by the way, it's one of the few seasonal songs I like so I sung it, even though I have serious s trouble with the notes of anything Scottish XD) That was completely awesome. I shall print it and save it.

I hope you don't mind that I post this thank you here, in what Is probably the wrong place, because my gifts for you were mostly non tangible in nature. You got a scribble you were already getting, and a song whereas I got a whole STORY (I wish I could do that with a pen, I would be RIGHT up the nearest tree...although I could do without spiritfchaos' sketch coming to life... really, that probably wouldn't be great o_o)

You are a good person. You have your own way of doing things which makes you stand out, and I'm not sure you realised that either, but it's true. I was honoured to save the world with you. Thanks for being my friend.

But next time, lets cut down on the Eldritch Abominations, yeah? <3

Scarab wrote:Aw maaan Shane you're amazing, now I feel bad because all I did was sing for you! (It's in your google inbox by the way, it's one of the few seasonal songs I like so I sung it, even though I have serious s trouble with the notes of anything Scottish XD) That was completely awesome. I shall print it and save it.

I hope you don't mind that I post this thank you here, in what Is probably the wrong place, because my gifts for you were mostly non tangible in nature. You got a scribble you were already getting, and a song whereas I got a whole STORY (I wish I could do that with a pen, I would be RIGHT up the nearest tree...although I could do without spiritfchaos' sketch coming to life... really, that probably wouldn't be great o_o)

You are a good person. You have your own way of doing things which makes you stand out, and I'm not sure you realised that either, but it's true. I was honoured to save the world with you. Thanks for being my friend.

But next time, lets cut down on the Eldritch Abominations, yeah? <3

First of all this is absolutely the right place for thee thanks to take place, where else but on the forum?
Second, its not about the size or level of the gifts but rather about the exchange
Thirdly thank you both for the song (which was lovely) and for the end of your post there *hugs*

*cough* Ahem, sorry for being late to this thing. I didn't want to be the first one to post because I didn't trust what I had in mind to be good. But the wait gave me another idea, and I hope you will enjoy this little tale.

But before, a pre scriptum: Shane, curse you for having the same idea as I did! *shakes fist sarcastically* Okay, okay, now being serious... I wasn't even gifted in your post but yet I liked it a lot. For the awe-inspiring text, or even this thread, I hope it stands clear that you are awesome. And you too, Krika, thank you for the haiku and the card! Really cool.

Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot: I apologize if I forgot to put you here. I'm horrible with names, and if I forgot you blame my horrible memory. Sorry in advance.

Okay, I promise this is the last pre scriptum: I tried to find a fitting kitty for every one, but for some I couldn't find the one I thought of, so please don't feel bad if you get a generic kitten Sorry.

~~~~

A Christmas Story

It was a dark and snowy night, and Not-So-Little Russet walked home. Each step rested soft on a layer of white snow, and the path to her house was illuminated bright by the moon, stars, and Christmas lights. As she walked home, the smell of freshly cooked turkey filled the air - she could even taste it on her mouth. But of all senses one stood out: the air danced around her, listening to a song by carolers cats.

"Wait, what!?" Not-So-Little Russet thought, as she turned around. Where did all these meows and purrs come from? Looking around she saw a black alley, not illuminated by the moon, stars, and Christmas lights. Not-So-Little Russet wandered inside, and found a small bag to her surprise. But even more surprising were the animals inside the wondrous holding bag - There were cats, birds and even two she wasn't sure what they were! "Oh my!" Thought Not-So-Little Russet. There was a note attached to the bag "For all the Metaguards, for being cool, awesome, and all of that."

What are the Metaguards, you may ask. The Metaguards are a group of people who saved the world! ... Oh, how did they save the world? Well, it's a long story, full of paranoia, fun, writing, friendship, eldritch abominations, wall breaking-and-building, more paranoia, and... Well, as I said, a long story. But nevertheless, Not-So-Little Russet knew their story, for her sister was a Metaguard, but what she didn't know was what to do with all these kittens! She was going back home after finishing her last-minute shopping, but she couldn't conceive how to feed and take care of all the cute critters. She could try to deliver them to their respective Metaguards, but Not-So-Little Russet wasn't sure if she could mail animals all around the world.

It was then that, as if a Deus Ex Machina had noticed her right there, a bright scarlet comet darted by the sky. From house to house, inside a chimney here out a keyhole there, flew past a red bolt clopping at a speed beyond that of sound. "Now what!?" Said loudly Not-So-Little Russet, rolling her eyes in disbelief. Despite this, she sighed and shrugged to herself, figuring out it wouldn't hurt to try. "Santa! Santa Claus!" Yelled Not-So-Little Russet to the man in the red suit. With a move of his hands, all of his reindeer stopped running, breaking so smoothly albeit suddenly that it seemed impossible under the laws of physics. Laughing at this fact with his classical "Ho ho ho", the big man himself opened his mouth and asked: "Hello, little girl, what may I do for you?"

Not-So-Little Russet fliched for a second, as the Little Russet inside her head squeed in glee. "I found this bag of kittens in the alley, and I can't neither leave them there or take care of all of them. Would you mind to take them to people who are nice and good?"

The old man nodded, and laughed in delight. Adjusting his glasses, he winked and voilà! The bag went from Not-So-Little Russet's hands to the man's own. Now was time for Not-So-Little Russet time to blink her eyes, at the realisation the bag was gone for real. "Is that all?" Asked the red-dressed man.

"I think so, yes." She replied to him. Smiling, he set flight and resumed his task, becoming once again the scarlet shooting star that flew past by. Not-So-Little Russet blinked, and stood there, staring at the night sky. She asked herself, not once nor twice but many, many times, if this had actually just happened, but she decided to just go home, sporting and big, bright smile.

Meanwhile, now far away, there was Santa, with his quest. His first stop was now close, Not-So-Little Tohrinha, Not-So-Little Russet's sister. Out of irony the first kitten wasn't a kitten, rather it was a bird - A humming bird!

Continuing his travel, he found his way to the next house. He went inside and left the gift - A very unique cat he would say - But he knew for sure, Guyshane, was the right person to take care of it.

And then, faster than you could blink, Santa was away, already ready to deliver another gift. This time the gift had a note attached to it "Thanks Scarab for the suggestion". He smiled in delight and gave the kitty to the sleeping mod Adell, hoping he'd like it as much as his friends like him.

Now, already on the next house, he delivered the next gift hoping to not achieve recursion - as the kitty was in a little box and the Jack... Well, you already know what.

For a little stop, after visiting two mods in a roll, he continued the box theme and delivered a gift for Endless Sea. Hoping it wouldn't be too little, he left the little kitty and darted away!

Onto the next house, the gift was indeed small - It was a card after all! For Krika, the one and only.

But one and only aren't the kittens of the next person, whose house Santa had already arrived at. Despite her two, here went one more: for narrativedilletante, here goes a kitten which will not move, floating mid-air at a fixed point. It'd all be okay as long as she didn't try to take a picture of him.

Santa then, sourrounded by scarlet light, darted through the sky as a shooting star. And to the next house, not one but two gifts: for one brother, a little cute thief, and for the other a big... Animal thing. These were, of course, for Mimsy and Sicon!

It was then that the traps kicked in, but for Santa they were but a pinch on his cheek. Making his way, unscratched and untouched, he looked back at the fortress with a playful smile. And talking about... Animal things, here was the next gift for a certain eli, the Penmage: a little puppy, he figured out.

And with all these gifts given, it was time to move on. Up into the north, to a certain someone's home. Making his way, through a lot of ice and snow, he left two little cuties for Qara, and set off!

Over the waters, across the oceans, a cute kitty for a cute drawer. He Ho ho ho'd alone for his pun, as left Scarab's home for the next one.

Still on Europe, onto the next person: for Rotavator, a kitty and a music box.

Santa then took a look, at the very long list, and flew right to the next person. He picked the gift, but then, a surprise, a bunch of kitties and puppies jumped all over him, all at once. He took the cutie and gave it to agora, but now the next ones were all over him.

With all his agility he took hold of his sleight, and turned around the world once or twice to put all the kitties and puppies in their place! For Pyro, and Xana, and JR, and Blur, for the mod Dryunya and his brother too! For the new people who had just arrived and, of course, for Spiritf too!

And now, with the list almost over, Santa passed by a house across the seas. Leaving a gift for a little girl of name Alice. "Oh wait, my bad." Said Santa, as an apology. The gift was from Alice, to Pixelmage. "Oh, what a cute little girl, of that small age." Attached there was a note: "Take good care of her."

Finally, Santa left. Flying away, far away, in a land unknown to most. Empty, a void, white as snow with a single hideout. There were hidden all of the Gamemasters, each one who had moved on to their own things, but always remembering the Tale-No, the Epic, of the Metaguards, as very true to their hearts. Dana and her haikus, Tom adn hs wprdz, Rick and his baby, Fast Eddie and his tropes. And of course, Eric, Connor, Sophira and everyone else, all there in the untold place. They all watched very closely as Santa took of the last kitty - But one that was worthy hundreds of hundreds of kitties. If one were to look under the greyscale fur, you would see a grayscale blush: "I-IT'S NOT AS IF WE LIKE YOU OR ANYTHING, IT'S JUST... JUST CHRISTMAS. BESIDES, THE OLD MAN HERE WOULDN'T TAKE NO AS A RESPONSE."

Mr. Kitty Prime rolled his eyes and scratched his forehead with his paw - not that you could tell as you can't see above his nose. But Santa Claus, joyously laughed "Ho ho ho" and set off again, this time for his own home.

Meanwhile, at the exact same moment, Not-So-Little Russet arrived at her home, and to her surprise, Santa had left her a gift too!

"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas for all!"

Wargh. The thread is filled with stories and pictures and everything, and here I am, stuck with a recording. :| What do I dooooooo~

So yeah, I ended up recording a little something for narra yesterday! You can probably ask her, me, or Scarab for the file if you're interested, but for now, here's a teaser. :P

Oh, and one more thing. *glomps Russet* thankyouthankyouthankyou :D :D :D

Okay, I promised Pixel a present. But I wanted to show it to you guys too.

Pixel woke up, eyes sliding open to meet the curtained window. But instead of a window, his eyes met a door. Weird the young man thought, sliding out of bed to face the new addition to his bedroom. I don't remember that being there

He examined the door, looking for any clue as to its origins or purpose. It was plain, white and adorned with only a small brass doorknob. The entire door was set into the wall as if it had always been there, and not having suddenly appeared after a single night of restless sleep.

The man glanced between the real door and the fake one, hesitating for a single, endless moment before opening the door.

He found himself in a house, warm and friendly. It was covered in pictures of people he did not recognize, and lit by lamps that seemed to draw energy out of nowhere. Warm smells and quiet conversation filtered in from a nearby room, and he eyed the door curiously. This is very very odd

He peeked into the doorway, and found, to his surprise, a party. There was a man, silent and still, restraining a smile as he helped set the table. A rather large man in a red cloak was at the tail end of a joke, causing a woman with a blue scepter to burst into laughter. Two boys sat at a table, laughing at a private joke before knives suddenly fell out of a cupboard, followed by a confused duck, quacking its displeasure at being cooped up in a knife cabinet.

A girl sat by a windowsill, alternating between a laptop that played different clips of media seemingly at random, and a notebook that filled rapidly with new, interesting stories and ideas.

Another man sat at the edge of the room, eyeing everyone with disdain. He only spoke to the group to ask a question, or make a cutting remark at some bit of conversation that filtered over to him.

Pixel's eyes widened, and he backed away from the kitchen, entering the next room that he saw. A pair of girls sat on the floor, each buried into their laptops. One of the girls, tall and lean with purple hair, glanced up at him with warm eyes, "Hi, Pixiewitch! We missed you!"

Pixel panicked, and fled that room as well, sprinting through the house until he had found his door. He stood in front of it, panting and afraid. He glanced at the hallway longingly, before wrenching his attention back to the door, strange and unwilling to part with its secrets.

He trembled, and reached out a hand to grasp the doorknob, eyes determined to return him home, return him to someplace that made sense. He narrowed his eyes, setting his jaw as he turned the handle, before he was wrapped in something warm and soft. He looked down, brown eyes meeting blue as he was enveloped in a hug.

<_< >_>



Personally, I don't celebrate Christmas. But with all the gifting and things going around, I figured I'd make something to send to eli. I had no idea what to do so I started doodling and that came up. I'm a bit sad that I didn't vector it, but I got to make it into a picture, at least. Since eli showed what she sent me, I might as well show what I sent her.

Sorry for being late. Here is my gift:

This is a story about Genndy. And me at the moment. And Victin has a cameo. And so does Sicon. And it contains minor rude words. Which I am very sorry about. No seriously. I am sorry about it. If anyone finds anything offensive, send a strongly worded post to me.

DISCLAIMER: This is from my crazy insane gamer deviantArt mind. And some things may be non-canon. If Genndy's OOC, I sincerly apologize. No wait, if he's OOC, I'm sorry. I really am.

It was called the Blank White Void for a reason.

It was like a room that was completely white, but never ending. You could stare into the distance, run into the distance, fire a bullet-and chances were, you or the bullet would never get into the end.

The Void housed the Wall that separated fiction from reality. The Instaniations often walked around the Void, chatting, doing their things, awaiting orders from Administrator Prime. The Wall looked like a brick wall, but all you had to do was touch a brick and could see through it. You could ask to see how your favourite fictional universe was doing.

The Metaguards had recently been given the power to enter fictional universes and see how their favourite characters were doing. They could talk to all the characters, but they could not participate in any major fictional event.

One such Metaguard was making his way back from the fictional world known as Rapture.

"Goddamn...Splicers..."

The Metaguard winced, and touched the fish hook embedded in his shoulder.

He looked about 14 years old, but under that teenage look was an insane psycho pyromaniac.

The Wild West Pyro wore a short red cloak, a green jacket with a few patches, an orange shirt, hiking boots, Hand/Wristwraps of Awesome, knee pads, dark red trousers and a special gas mask, based off the one the TF2 Pyro wore, except it did not cover the back of his head. He had all his weapons with him-the flaming lasso that was now on his belt, the silenced airsoft Glock 21 he occasionally carried to knock out crazy Mooks, which was now in his holster and his fully upgraded Huntsman Carbine, which he had gotten hold of when he visited Columbia. His angel wings, once white, were now currently grey and burnt, and filled with bullet holes and fishhooks. And he wore a shoulder bag filled with hyperspace power, which contained everything he needed. All he had to do was think about what he needed and it would zoom up from the depths of the bag into his hand.

He limped across the Void, trailing blood and making a right mess off the ground, to a huge structure in the middle of the ground.

It was a simple white cube with a door and a 1930s neon sign saying "The Coffee Room"-nothing else. It looked nice enough, but it contained enough Craziness and Nightmare Fuel to send Cthulhu running away and the Sonic Screwdriver would explode if it was put inside.

Pyro knew he had to get to one place, through the nightmare that was the Coffee Room, to a medium-sized shop where he could rest and get a drink.

The one Metaguard that he liked the most ran the shop.

Genndy ODA C.O.G.

From the day they had met, they had both hit it off at once. Genndy always responded to Pyro's insane rants and hallucinations (thanks a lot, Mann. Co!) and Pyro had liked the fact that Genndy was always polite and kind and understanding, even in the most demented situations, when the Coffee Room was in full swing. While the other Metaguards found him rather creepy due to his oversensitivity, tendency to burn things, insanity, necromancy and hallucinations, Genndy somehow always understood.

Genndy had a good sense of humor too, and a love for all things Disney. He had an awesome Omega mallet that could transform into anything, and he was a gentleman, although he looked more like a Toon with his bright, Disney-inspired hoodie and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit badge.

Pyro walked towards Genndy's shop, Versailles, with it's huge flashing neon sigh and billboard of its mascot, which was basically Oswald holding a cup of steaming hot chocolate. It was decorated for the holidays, with massive gingerbread men and Christmas-themed snacks and drinks in the windows. A huge tree stood in the center of the shop, while fairy lights were strung across the ceiling. Pyro walked through the shelves and made his way to the back of the shop, where there was a small cafe.

Genndy was wearing an apron saying "Versailles" and a nametag saying "Manager." He was currently mixing some hot chocolate and serving it to another Metaguard, who accepted it with thanks.

The Metaguard Genndy was serving turned to leave, trailing pixels as he went. He managed to say a quick hello to Pyro before leaving.

Pyro sat down on a comfy chair in the little cafe inside Versailles. He took off his shoulder bag and put it near his chair, then slung his carbine on his back, and tried to ignore the thumping pain in his shoulder.

"Good afternoon, Pyro. What brings you here?"

Pyro shot a fireball across the room, incinerating yet another demon trying to murder him again then turned to Genndy.

"I just needed a good place to rest...and I Need A Freaking Drink."

"Very well...may I took your order, Pyro?"

"Certainly. Cold Ovaltine and some Gingerbread Men, please."

Within 30 seconds Genndy had finished baking and pouring.

"Here you go."

Pyro ate his Gingerbread men first. Genndy had somehow baked them just right, so they were nice and soft. The Ovaltine was a lovely dark color, and there were no ice cubes. As Pyro drunk, the pain went away completely.

Genndy had even put a small coaster that held a little snowman and a miniature Christmas tree.

"Excellent work, Genndy."

"Thank you, Pyro. Now, onto the next question...what happened to your arm."

Pyro grunted and slid the bloody fishhook across the counter.

"I went to visit, well, Jack and Elizabeth in Rapture-Elizabeth opened a tear into Rapture after she'd helped Sally and two weeks later, she's fallen in love with Jack. Eleanor tried to get them together for ages."

"Anyway, skipping the nice romantic shippy stuff, I tried to help them in a fight and I get attacked by a bunch of those brute Splicers. I managed to blast them all, but one of them got my shoulder."

"That was unfortunate. But did you have a good time?"

"Yes-I watched as they saved more Little Sisters and Elizabeth tried to contact Booker again. She's nearly there...just has to hold the tear open long enough."

"Good...also, Merry Christmas."

Genndy smiled and slid a red box, tied with a yellow ribbon, across the counter.

"It contains your biscuits and a lifetime supply of your favourite drinks. I hope you will enjoy it-all the other Metaguards that visited did too."

"Thank You, Genndy!"

Pyro reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out an even bigger present.

"Here ya go-Oswald memorabilia, tickets to the Cartoon Wasteland, hot chocolate ingredients and cookie dough and...all your stuff from Santa."

"Now, how did you get hold of those?"

"I visited the Rise of the Guardians universe?"

Pyro yawned underneath his mask.

"Ah. Merry Christmas to you, Pyro."

"Pyro?"

Pyro had fallen asleep on the counter again.

Genndy sighed and used his mallet to conjure a comfy bed out of thin air, put Pyro in via telekinesis and whisked him up into the safest place in the Coffee Room-the guest house upstairs, where the Metaguards could look down at the havoc but still be safe.

After that was done, Genndy cleared the counter of breadcrumbs and took the plate and mugs away to be washed.

As Genndy finished, there was a muffled thump.

A huge Doom Fortress had landed in the middle of the Coffee Room, squashing the Humongous Mecha doing the laundry.

"Hello, Sicon!"

"Hi, Genndy!"

"HOURAI PHOENIX-"

"NO MIMSY NOOOOOOOO-"

[End of passage. Please ignore the explosions.]

Pyro, I'll assume I'm the other Metaguard at Versailles. Asides from that I liked the story (it wasn't directed at me but he mentioned I make a cameo so shush ). And PS.: Genndy @_@ That's cool.

Pyro, I thank you. The story was fantastic. You did a great job, and while there were a few spelling errors it was magnificent. Splendiforous, even. Have a joyous New Year. That last sentence actually applies to everyone.

Oh, and thanks, Victin.

Genndy Oda C.O.G. wrote:Pyro, I thank you. The story was fantastic. You did a great job, and while there were a few spelling errors it was magnificent. Splendiforous, even. Have a joyous New Year. That last sentence actually applies to everyone.

Oh, and thanks, Victin.

Happy New Year to you, mate.

Also, which last sentence?

The Wild West Pyro wrote:

Genndy Oda C.O.G. wrote:Pyro, I thank you. The story was fantastic. You did a great job, and while there were a few spelling errors it was magnificent. Splendiforous, even. Have a joyous New Year. That last sentence actually applies to everyone.

Oh, and thanks, Victin.

Happy New Year to you, mate.

Also, which last sentence?

The "Joyous New Year" bit.