fandomhigh | Teamwork Training and Combat Skills; Thursday, Second Period [12/05].

"Well," said Gladio, at the start of class, which was still held in the training room sim, but the place had been decked out in good holiday cheer like that rest of the island, the pillars wrapped in twinkling lights, the weapons all with big red bows, the light feeling of a dusting of snow drifting down from the ceiling, which was much more manageable than freaking marzipan, and your three instructors were standing in front of a very large Christmas tree surrounded by a variety of wrapped gifts, "if you haven't figured it out by now, it's December, which means the island's getting into the holiday spirit, and you know what? So are we. And this idea's almost all Prompto's, so, Prompto...." He gestured toward his fellow teacher. "Take it away."

"Thank you, Gladio," said Prompto, taking a moment to look all prim and proper and proud before bowing a little. "Today's activity is pretty simple, and will sort of test your bond as a team, really. Hopefully, there won't be any fighting involved today, but you never can tell with something like this! Now, keep in mind, none of us actually even knew what Christmas was before we came here; we're from a different world with completely different gods and holidays and everything, but in my time being here, I've learned about something that's known by a few different names, but the most popular one seems to be a White Elephant gift exchange."

"Inspired," offered Ignis helpfully, "by the idea that white elephant would, indeed, be quite the extravagant and impressive gift to give a person, but, in reality, it would be a great bane upon the receipient, who now possesses a very large and high-maintenance pet that they didn't ask for to take care of, draining resources, time, and energy, and so it would behoove them greatly to be rid of it as soon as possible without seeming ungrateful."

"Sooooo~oooo," Prompto drawled with a grin, "a White Elephant gift exchange is sort of when people generally bring a bunch of silly or useless or just fun, nothing really too serious and probably a lot of jokey things that people might not really want to a party. Everyone takes turns, and when it's your turn, you have the option to either take a gift that someone has previously opened or open a new one. If someone takes your gift, you then open a new one in its stead. Which seems pretty simple and you may be wondering, 'but Prompto! Professor Argentum! What does that have to do with teamwork?'"

"It's a test," Gladio answered, snorting faintly with his grin, "of how ruthless or generous you really are. Let's say your teammate actually opens a gift that's not really that bad. They really like it....but so do you. And you're up next. So do you let your friend keep the gift they like? Or do you take the gift for yourself and make them open up another one that they're definitely not going to like nearly as much?"

"There's also a certain element of strategy here," Ignis added. "Because, either way, if you decide to let your friend keep the gift or if you decide to claim it for yourself, there's no guarantee that someone else might take it from either of you. Or perhaps you may take another's gift, only to discover that the present you could have opened instead was better. It turns an exchange of presents into a....hopefully...good-hearted game of give-and-take...that may end up revealing more about yourself or your teammates than you may have originally bargained for."

"So that," Prompto concluded proudly, with a little bounce in his step, "is what we're doing today! Iggy made some nice holiday snacks and treats to enjoy, too, while we're all just opening presents and figuring out how ruthless or kind we want to be, so take a moment to help yourself and then we'll get started!"

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Ready to give! Or take!

Nell Ingram

There's some delicious spiced cider and hot chocolate (no marshmallows, though, sorry everyone except one specific person!), as well as a variety of entirely marzipan-free treats to enjoy while you hear about today's activity and get settled in for a little pre-holiday gift exchange of potentially ruthless proportions.

Due to the nature of availabilities and time and what not, we're keeping this very simple and potentially chaotic: just ping in with opening a gift of your choice, mod what the gift is at will, and then that'll start a chain of more being opened or potential presents being swiped!

There's probably time for several rounds, too, if you're feeling so inclined!

Nell went first, after looking at the three instructors a bit uncertainly. She'd barely had time to unwrap the gift, a squirrel in underpants ornament, when a squirrel leaped in, grabbed it, and took off in a flash.

"Leroy!' Nelle made a futile grab for him and then sat back and shook her head. "If he gives that to Summer I'll be in so much trouble."

After a quick glance at the instructors, she opened another one. "Um.... I guess I have fried chicken candy."

Edited 2024-12-05 16:35 (UTC)

Will they regret not participating themselves? We'll just have to wait and see!

Well, presumably, Prompto is the one who wrapped all the presents, so he definitely, absolutely knows what's in sort for everyone, really. Ahem, ahem.

Gladio's already plotting on how to convince Nell to make sure she swipes anything that pops up that might be even remotely Cup Noodle^TM related....

"That was not what I was expecting today," Nell said with a grin. "I've never done anything like that before."

She smiled up at him. "Not as nice as the fireplace with blankets, but better than marzipan!"

Gladio grinned over at Nell. "I think Prompto just wanted an excuse to take it easy and give people weird little gifts," he said with a snort. "But I'm glad it wound up ranking higher than at least the marzipan."

"It was fun," Nell agreed, "Though honestly, ranking higher than marzipan isn't hard to do."

"Not a fan, I take it?" asked Gladio, with a laugh, slinging an arm around Nell to bring her in for a hug and a kiss on the top of her head and just a bit of that warm sort of feeling that went along with still learning something new about her. "Or just not when it's falling from the sky?"

"Especially not when it's falling from the sky," Nell said, "But not in general either." She snuggled into him a little more.

"We should go home and curl up by our fireplace," she said. "I mean, it's not a wood burning one like the ones from the other day, but it's still great for snuggling. And other stuff."

"You know I'm always up for snuggling in front of the fire," Gladio said, bringing his other arm around Nell and just sort of folding himself in around her. She probably didn't need to see his face to know exactly the grin that was on his face as he added, "And other stuff."

"Yes, I had noticed that about you," Nell said fondly. "Luckily, so am I."

She wrapped her arms around his as he held her. "Maybe we could pick up some things that we can eat in front of the fire and just plan to, well, stay there for the afternoon. And evening. Without having to go anywhere else, or think about anything other than sunggling. And other things."

"You know what food is great in front of a fire?" asked Gladio.

She probably didn't need to see the grin on his face at that to know where he was going with that question, either.

Nell tapped her lips consideringly. "A souffle?"

Ignis can't see what you're all opening for shit, so he's just hoping to at least entertain himself by figuring out what some of them are by context clues, unless it's just outright stated.

Look, you found amusement your way, Ignis found it his own way.

Source

Teamwork Training and Combat Skills; Thursday, Second Period [12/05].

Sign In - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Sign In - TT&CS, 12/05.

Listen to the Lecture - TT&CS, 12/05.

Class Activity: Gift Exchange! - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Class Activity: Gift Exchange! - TT&CS, 12/05.

Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

Re: Talk to the Teachers - TT&CS, 12/05.

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OOC - TT&CS, 12/05.