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Post by kryss on Mar 12, 2015 4:18:49 GMT -6
Skylar: She almost growled at Rick for ruining everything. Instead she straightened herself up and rolled her neck, getting one pop out of it. To be fair, she did feel a lot better, actually. She turned to see Conrad blushing more than she had ever seen before. Like, really, really hardcore. She bit her lip, trying to keep from grinning too much. She gave him a one-armed hug, saying,
"Thanks, really! That was....... awesome. And i'll punch Rick for you if he keeps being a jerk. Come on, I think they've got the games set up!" she made her way into the t.v. room and stole a spot on the loveseat, grabbing one of the controllers without even bothering to see if they had a game in the system or not. "So, what do you want to get thrashed at?" she called to Rick, flashing him a cocky grin.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 12, 2015 13:49:49 GMT -6
Conrad rubbed his neck, trying to will his blush away when he entered the TV room behind Skylar. The loveseat he was walking toward appeared to be occupied before long though, as a tiny Alicia climbed up to sit next to who was probably her new best friend, still playing with her cat. Mr. Whiskers hopped up between them, purring like a game controller during a cutscene and Conrad decided to sit elsewhere.
"Ohhhh, them's fightin' words, kitty cat. I see a game here I'd beat yeh so bad playin' that Connie would cry," Rick sad, holding up MLB 15: The Show, Remastered for PS5. Conrad very pointedly ignored him, knowing that if he could be beaten at video games by his brothers he couldn't beat either of them, most likely. Lorna smirked a bit, thinking about how she used to slaughter her brother at that game because of how easy the game mechanics were to pick up. That was for another day though, she was recording important events from the day currently.
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Post by kryss on Mar 12, 2015 15:13:24 GMT -6
Skylar: "Pff, a sports game. Of course you would pick that, shortstop." she sad, rolling her eyes. "I'll crush you anyhow!" She was trying very hard not to be distracted by the overwhelming amounts of cute directly next to her, failing a little as she scritched Mr. Whiskers' head. She took her controller in an aggressive stance as the game booted up.
To be honest, she wasn't that fantastic at it. She was much more used to action, adventure, RPG, and even shooter games than anything sports related. She did pick it up fairly quickly though, doing her best. At the end she threw her controller down (carefully) and leaned back, sticking her tongue out.
"Maybe I should rephrase. I could thrash you at any real game."
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 12, 2015 20:41:39 GMT -6
Rick was actually kind of disappointed when the only trash talk she had was based on the game and the mechanics involved. He'd expected her to have something better to trash him with.
"I'll have yeh know, kitty cat, tha' some sports games are real games an' this is one o' 'em." He set down the controller and folded his arms in pride. "Thank yeh not ta be as unoriginal as frown brow o'er there with yer name-callin', by the way."
Lorna rolled her eye at him and went back to writing. He would always be Little League and short stop to her, she was pretty sure- unoriginal or not.
Alicia climbed down from the couch and moved to the window to peer out between the planks of wood at the snow outside. She hummed a slightly butchered version of silent night while she did- if the humming was butchered, who knew how wrong the words were. It was possible she just didn't know them.
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Post by kryss on Mar 12, 2015 22:27:36 GMT -6
Skylar: She grinned wryly,
"But it's so accurate for you!" she scrambled over to where the handful of games were scattered about. She flipped through them quickly, before finding the perfect game. "Hah!" she yelled triumphantly, holding up Marvel vs Capcom VII. "Now here's a game!" When the choosing screen came up, she instantly flicked over to Deadpool, selecting it with practiced ease.
"Prepare to get owned," she said gleefully.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 12, 2015 22:52:58 GMT -6
Rick flipped through his options, settling on Rocket Raccoon for the time being, mostly because he thought it would be funny to own Deadpool with a small raccoon-like creature. Conrad watched, laughing at their choices, and Lorna, while she recognized the characters, didn't think it was quite as funny as he did.
Alicia bounced up and down at the window. "Ah snowman inna snow!" she said, pointing through the slats and looking back at Ace. "Ah snowman in snow!"
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Post by kryss on Mar 12, 2015 23:15:37 GMT -6
Skylar: After trouncing Rick (there was a reason she picked this game,) playing through several rematches, playing Conrad a few times, and sitting by and watching the others play, her grumbling stomach announced to her that they'd missed lunch.
"Hey Rick!" she called, distracting him long enough for Conrad to get in several combo hits. "Are you the cook around here or what? I'm starving!"
As he went off grumbling to the kitchen, the rest decided to adjourn to the living room. Skylar snuggled back down into the couch, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders.
"Does anybody have any Christmas traditions?" she asked, "Any games or... anything?" Her family mostly just sang a few carols. They also opened one present on Christmas Eve, but that had come and gone.
Ace: He glanced out the cracks in the boards over the window, seeing the snow swirl by.
"Maybe we can make snowmen later, when the weather calms down," he said, giving Alicia's head a gentle pat. After that he settled in to watch the others. They coaxed him into playing a couple matches, but he wasn't very good, especially when compared to everyone else.
When they went into the living room and Skylar asked her question, he sad quietly by. He thought of the Christmas tree they had every year, at his father's insistence. He remembered making paper cranes and paper lanterns with his mother every year, to decorate. He remembered finding an apple on his pillow every Christmas Eve. Before he'd been adopted, he hadn't even known what Christmas was.
He blinked to calm his stinging eyes, keeping silent, holding Alicia on his lap.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 12, 2015 23:38:22 GMT -6
Alicia (who was growing tired) snuggled into Ace, still awake enough just to listen to everyone talk. She didn't understand most of the words, so she didn't talk much outside an occasional 'Snowmen inna snow,' and variations of it. Everyone assumed she was speaking gibberish, and she kind of was, in all honesty.
Conrad scratched his neck and sat this one out, but he remembered a different kind of holiday- one involving lighting the other candles with the middle one and the 'Hanukkah bush,' and giving each other gifts on each day. Those aspects were inspired by Christmas, he supposed, but they were traditions that had already been met. He remembered singing Hanukkah songs and even coming up with Hanukkah words to Christmas songs with his brothers. They'd spin dreidels sometimes and make penny bets on which side would land up, and once or twice even bet chocolate coins they'd gotten from their parents. He remembered winning once and ending up with over a dozen of them, all shining in their gold foil, and he remembered fried treats being littered all over the house- so many they could hardly eat them all. Some years he supposed, it was a lot more like Christmas than Hanukkah, but he knew well that that was from his parents deciding to compromise on their religious beliefs.
He had thought about it many times-- too many, in fact-- but he wasn't sure if he had any religious beliefs anymore. The sudden rush of all the memories just made him feel a type of sharp sadness that he didn't know how to describe, so he tucked his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them, eyes on the lights of the tree.
Lorna's family loved Christmas, and she was sure that Skylar was able to tell when she found the decorations. Some of the ornaments were even the old willowtree ornaments they used to get her mother for Christmas every year. She wondered if the nativity was around somewhere or if her mother's other willowtree figurines had been put away, because she hadn't seen them. Thinking back, she suddenly realized how many of the things they did were silly family traditions and she felt a lump in her throat as she wished she'd swallowed her pride long enough to celebrate Christmas with them the last few years before it had been too late.
After too long a silence, Lorna said finally, "Most of the traditions would be hard to pull off, unfortunately." She knew Skylar would probably still appreciate hearing something- anything from SOMEONE, though, so she continued. "We watched Mr. Krueger's Christmas every year, and my mom always went overboard with the gingerbread house. She'd start on the 23rd, despite the fact she claimed to make it on Christmas Eve. We'd also drive around and look at Christmas lights. There's a house pretty close by that used to be decorated to the nines every year." Noting that everyone other than her was still silent and she still had a few more she could think of, she continued.
"Ah, and we had this advent calendar- I'm not sure where it is right now- and my dad always bought each kid an ornament every year." She looked up at them, noticing that only she was missing the years for 2022-2025, as he'd shipped them to her and she'd put them in a storage unit somewhere. She had a few more she could tell, but she honestly didn't know if she could tell anymore without her voice breaking.
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Post by kryss on Mar 21, 2015 1:44:42 GMT -6
Skylar: She mimicked Conrad's pose, pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face half in them. She hadn't meant to make everyone sad, she had just meant to hopefully play a few fun games or something. But now she was spindling into Christmases past as well, thinking of bright lights and parades and special treats, and mom actually making homemade cookies. She could smell them now. She sniffed as Lorna spoke, wiping away some tears quickly.
"Too bad we can't find that advent calendar, I could use some more chocolate," she quipped. She looked around. "Is Rick gonna make us dinner soon? I'm so hungry I could eat my own arm, probably." she said, waving it to emphasize, and hopefully lighten the mood.
Ace: He kept his head down, quietly wiping away the single tear that made its way out. He carefully stroked Alicia's head as she dropped into a sleep.
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 21, 2015 2:05:08 GMT -6
As if on cue, Rick called for dinner from the kitchen and had outdone himself in preparing a half-way decent broccoli-cheddar soup. It was from a powdered mix, but Lor had so much of the stuff, and after his tweaking it was actually quite respectable, if he did say so himself.
"SOUP'S ON!" He wished he'd had a bell to ring, but he got over it when he set out the stack of bowls and spoons and dipped the ladle in the pot. He'd let them get their own dinner- he didn't know their stories, he didn't know their lives. Sometimes, people need more soup than others. It was like the apocalyptic version of macaroni and cheese or cereal. He was sure to get himself a bowl first, though. It was one of the few meals he could eat with the others and not slightly after.
Conrad hopped up, hoping to ditch the foul mood everyone was in, and grabbed Skylar's hand to help her up before practically dragging her into the kitchen. She wasn't allowed to be sad- not today.
Lorna followed suit and Alicia had been startled awake by Rick's call and was rubbing her eyes in Ace's lap. "What that mean, Ace?" She was referring to the 'Soup's On' Rick called- she'd heard it before and had never understood it!
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Post by kryss on Mar 21, 2015 2:19:32 GMT -6
Skylar: She laughed as Conrad dragged her to the kitchen. She knew that part of the reason she was so emotional was probably the whole "haven't slept in like 36 hours" thing. She eagerly scooped soup into her bowl, filling it almost to the brim. Rick obviously was ignoring the ration system today, and she was totally up for that! She also dug wayyy back in the pantry, digging out the crackers she knew full well were in there. She just set the box next to her bowl and carried both out to the living room. She then dashed down into the basement, prying open yet another of her secret stashes, taking out a bottle of white wine. She made her way back up, took a detour so she didn't come from that direction, and held it up.
"Who wants some Christmas spirits?" she asked, grinning and getting herself a glass.
Ace: He stood with Alicia carefully, making sure not to jar her.
"It means the food's ready," he said as he carried her into the kitchen. The smell of soup was enticing. He got roughly the same amount for himself and Alicia. Over the months he'd gotten much better at guessing how much she ate. He had to set her down in order to carry them back into the living room. He settled back in his chair and set hers on the coffee table.
"Now, be careful! This is easier to make a mess of than normal meals." he warned her. "And it's hot, so be sure to blow on it first."
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 21, 2015 2:49:24 GMT -6
Lorna shook her head. She both didn't believe and fully believed that Skylar just knew where everything was. It seemed like she spent way more time re-hiding things and discovering hiding spots than she did anything else.
"What the hell," she said before taking a quick look around, thankful that Alicia hadn't been in the room. "Hit me." She held out her mug.
Conrad found his way into the living room with his soup and water and eyed the wine carefully. "I'm, uh, not of age," he said, sitting down to eat. He hadn't really decided how he felt about alcohol anyway, he'd seen the responsible sides and the bad sides of it in his lifetime. Rick on the other hand jokingly took the bottle away and acted like he was taking it before just pouring some into his cup and giving it back to her. "Thank yeh, kitty cat," he said as he retreated back to his spot on the floor.
Alicia looked at Ace with a head tilt, wondering how hard it could be to eat mac n' cheese water. "Ace, I got dis," she said finally before blowing so hard on the spoon that she splashed a small amount of soup on the coffee table. She had learned, though, and cleaned it up with her shirt sleeve before trying to blow on the spoon again more softly. She almost had it, but still made a bit of a mess on the table again. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, she managed to try some, only it was still slightly too hot and she dropped her spoon in the soup, staring at it. The next time she tried, she managed to get it to a warm level and not a slightly-too-hot level. Though she'd made a mess, she was able to get it eventually, and was eating with no problem by the time she realized that everyone was passing around a drink that she didn't get any of.
"Awissa get somma dat?" she asked Ace, pointing at the bottle.
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Post by kryss on Mar 21, 2015 2:58:17 GMT -6
Skylar: She yelled in indignation when Rick stole her bottle, only pacified when it was returned. She retreated to the living room with it, filling her glass all the way up. Hearing Conrad's comment, she shot back her own, "You've been of age as of a year and a half ago," she said, holding the bottle out.
When she tried her own soup, it was very hard for her not to gulp it straight out of the bowl. It did have the slightly gritty texture of powder, but it had been so long since she had a nice soup that she just didn't even care anymore. She sipped her wine with it, enjoying the warmth and peace that had once again returned. The lights twinkled softly and she felt her eyes droop. She shook her head, finished off her soup, and poured herself a second glass of wine.
"Does anybody want to sing carols?" she asked.
Ace: He sighed at the mess she made. He wasn't surprised, he just wished she would listen to him. It wasn't a big deal, though, and she learned quickly enough. He fetched a cloth and cleaned her splatters up. At her question, he looked over at the wine.
"No, and Ace isn't going to have any either," he said, hoping the fact that he wouldn't be participating would help her not feel bad. "It's a grown up drink, and even some grownups don't like it."
"No, wait," said Skylar, coming over. "Let her try some." Ace's brow furrowed and he was about to say something when she cut him off, "No, I'm serious," she said, holding out a hand for peace, "Trust me." He looked at her levelly, but she really did seem to have an actual plan in mind. He sat back, and she poured just a tiny bit of the wine into Alicia's empty cup.
"There you go," she said, "Drink up!"
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Post by ashestoApples on Mar 21, 2015 3:06:00 GMT -6
Alicia looked at Skylar wide-eyed. Was she going to let her have something even ACE couldn't have?? She picked up the cup excitedly and poured it all into her mouth before making a sour face and spitting it back out into her cup. She spat and made 'eugh' noises and shoved the cup back at Skylar.
"Out! Out!" she cried, wanting whatever was in the cup to get away from her and replace itself with something- anything else. "Gwown-up dwink is gwoss!" she insisted, looking over at Ace as if he was the only one who understood her anymore. She was betrayed.
Conrad, after seeing Ace wasn't drinking any, felt more resolved in his prior decision to to turn Skylar down on her drink. Maybe someday, but not until he was 21 at the very least.
Lorna and Rick laughed at the scene and drank theirs deeply- it was one of the seldom occasions they could agree wholeheartedly with one another. Wine? Good. Kids not liking wine? Hilarious. More wine for them when military people didn't want any? Beautiful.
Having almost forgotten about Skylar asking about Christmas carols, Lorna piped up. "After another glass of wine I think I could be game," she said truthfully. Rick held his glass up and said, "Hear, hear!"
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Post by kryss on Mar 21, 2015 3:12:37 GMT -6
Skylar: Glad that her test had gone the way she'd hoped, she went back to the couch and sank into it again, but not before giving into Lorna and Rick's demands. If wine would get her Christmas carols, then wine she would give out. She had three more bottles in her stash. She worked her way down her second glass and asked,
"So, what're everybody's favorites?" she asked, feeling warmth from the alcohol spreading out to her extremities. It was one of her favorite parts.
Ace: Finally catching onto Skylar's plan, he smiled at Alicia's reaction. He pulled her onto his lap, assuring her that she didn't have to have any more of the "gwown up dwink". He petted her head some as the idea of Christmas carols was thrown around. He knew a few Chinese versions, but didn't bother to bring them up. Jingle Bells might be his favorite, if only by merit of the most repetition in his childhood. It had been the only carol most of the children at his home knew. He had learned more after leaving, but that one always came into his head at this time of year.
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