December Shenanigans :: Open

[laviny]

CHARACTERS: Yelena Belova & you!
LOCATION: All around the station (particularly the lab, the common room and the sunlight room)
DATE: Throughout December
CONTENT: December catch-all
WARNINGS: None at the moment, but will update as needed



Upgrades and Caroling

[For the first week or so of the month Yelena spends a lot time hanging out in and around the lab while she makes sure Redwing gets repaired and upgraded after its run in with the orb on the last mission. Since Sam is asleep and she was there when Redwing took damage, taking care of the drone seems like a good use of her time.

Plus there are some ideas for upgrades to discuss. Excellent, festive ideas that no one could possibly object to.

She definitely ropes Tony Stark into helping, but if other tech-savvy types take an interest, she'll talk to them, though she'll be particular about who gets to actually work on Redwing. She's basically just babysitting and trying to do what Sam would want for his drone.

Once the work is done, eventually, there will come a day when Yelena can be found sitting in the common room testing out the aforementioned upgrades. Sam has given her limited access to Redwing’s features and she has his goggles and wrist controls which she is currently using to fly Redwing around the common room.

Once she gets the hang of it…well, that’s when the drone starts chirping Christmas carols.

Soon Redwing can be found havoring in various parts of the station chirping such classics as: "Carol of the Bells," "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," "O Christmas Tree," "Filiz Navidad," "Jingle Bells," and "Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer," among others.

And in the sunlight room specifically Yelena will make sure to always have Redwing sing snow related songs. Anyone building snowmen or making snow angels can enjoy a drone serenading them with "Winter Wonderland," "White Christmas" and "Let it Snow."

The only place spared Redwing’s holiday cheer is the training room. Yelena will let people train in peace.]

Hard Mode Mistletoe

[In general Yelena is enthusiastic about holiday traditions. Her opportunities to really celebrate the holidays have been pretty limited for most of her life, so she’s ready to embrace a lot of different kinds of festivities.

Except the mistletoe. That one is a little weird. She has nothing against it being used as a decoration, but she has little interest in entertaining the tradition surrounding it. Kissing random people because of a plant seems silly and awkward.

So if anyone happens to catch her under some mistletoe she will look at them and then at the mistletoe and sigh, exasperated.]

You know, it can be translated to "poop on a stick."

[That’s not very festive or sexy, is it?]

Snow Days

[The population of Ximilia doesn’t have to worry too much. Yelena doesn’t spend all her time terrorizing the station with Redwing’s Christmas caroling. She actually spend a good portion of her spare time in the Sunlight Room, enjoying the snow and the chill. Although if you were to ask her she would say it could be a little colder. The room’s climate control might work a little too well for her taste.

Anyway, her favorite activity is probably ice skating. It’s a fun way to exercise on days that she takes a break from training. But she can also be found attempting to make snow angels and snowmen. She might be better at snow angels than snowmen, honestly. The snowmen end up a little lopsided.

She’s also open to snowball fights, but, be warned, she’s willing to use all her skills as a Russian assassin to win, so challenge her at your own risk.]

Wildcard, notes, etc

[All these prompts are open to anyone and everyone, but if you want something specific, feel free to hit me up at etceteras or PM me to plot and I can give you closed prompt in the comments. Or you can just toss a wildcard at me, that's cool too.

For the mistletoe prompt, kissing is not guaranteed, as she is more likely to sass than kiss, but I am open to people trying to convince her. I think it's a fun springboard for meetings and conversation, though, so if you want to, feel free to hit it up whether you (or your character) are interested in smooches or not!

I am also willing to match style if you prefer prose.]

Comments

(Terrible) Ice skating

[spacedisaster]

[ Peter Quill, Guardian of the galaxy, ex space pirate, and self-proclaimed outlaw extraordinaire...is clinging to the ice skating rink wall for dear life, trying to keep himself upright on wobbly legs. ]

This thing is cursed, Yelena.

[ 'This thing' being the ice, probably, who's to tell. Peter is sure glaring at it as if his annoyance alone could melt it. There were not a lot of ice rinks, or snow, to be found in spaceships, and Peter hasn't done this since he was 7 years old. He remembers that it was easier when he was a kid, and less painful too. ]

Ice skating looks way more fun in movies.

[laviny]

[Yelena glances at him before sliding closer and coming to a halt with annoying ease.]

There's no curse. You are just very bad at this.

[She seems amused.]

mistletoe

[coordination]

[ Yzak is also Not Here For This.

So not here that when Yelena speaks, he does a double take because he barely registers what she's talking about. ]

Wh-

What?

[laviny]

[She points at the sprig of mistletoe by the door, more amused than exasperated now.]

Poop on a stick.

[coordination]

[ He looks up.

He grimaces, because ugh.

And then his gaze returns to her. ]

Wait - what? Are you being serious? Is that really what it means?

[laviny]

[She shrugs a little.]

It’s one way to translate the roots of the word.

[coordination]

Hearing that would probably be a mood killer for those who enjoy these things.

[ Which isn't! Him! ]

Did someone really take the time to put these all over the station?

[laviny]

That was the idea.

[To kill the mood, that is.]

Someone did, yes. It’s okay if it’s just for decoration, though. It’s the tradition that’s silly.

[coordination]

[ Yzak lets out a small, amused huff in response to that first thing. ]

It is a silly tradition.

I mean, [ He shrugs. ] anyone else can do whatever they want with it, I don't care.

[construing]

[ gwen has run into redwing more than a few times. how do we know? because even in the training room, a safe haven from holiday-themed drones, jingles have taken root—largely in the form of one (1) gwen stacy, sitting on the floor, and tapping "carol of the bells" out on a hanging punching bag. every so often, she lapses into humming or even singing under her breath.

despite never actually punching the leather, the heavy bag swings freely. ]

mistletoe;

[kovach]

[ perhaps, to their benefit, kovacs isn't interesting in enacting whatever the hell everyone's expecting out of this mistletoe obsession. he has no sense of tradition when it comes the little plants, and it isn't as if there's a superstitious curse that'll be laid upon him for ignoring it; he knows because he's ignored every damn one he's come across the whole station.

when yelena catches him under it, he stares at her for a moment, eyes squinted like she's just spoken complete nonsense to him (which she has) before he raises up his gaze to the plant over here. ]

Sounds ... appropriate.

[ cigarette spun in his fingers, he brings it back to his mouth as he looks down at her. ]

Really drills in the fact that the whole plant thing is full of shit.

mistletoe

[peasant]

[ for a poisonous little plant, alina still finds herself fondly eyeing it — that small piece of greenery, real and living. the snow-soaked meadow in the sunlight room might be an illusion, but the bristly sprigs beneath her fingers aren't when she reaches up to tap it above yelena's head.

odd as the tradition is — embarrassing at best and tragically uncomfortable at worst when she considers being trapped beneath it with a stranger — it doesn't sound terrible. not with the right company, and not with the right intentions. it's only another experience to have, another adventure, when she had grown up experiencing such limited excitement. (something almost sweet, too, when it's shared with someone special.)

yelena's commentary makes her own opinion obvious, at least. alina chuffs out a fond laugh, fixing her with a dry look. wryly: ]

You must be a romantic at heart. I can barely control my urge to swoon.

[ no, the real romantic here is alina, but she pointedly fails to mention that as she nudges yelena with her elbow, once she's crossed the room toward the other woman. ]

Do you hate it that much?

[laviny]

[Yelena is taking the day off from spreading holiday cheer with Redwing. Today is for training. She's dressed in her typical work out gear and is getting ready for some practice when she hears someone humming "Carol of the Bells." Redwing's caroling missions must have been successful with at least some people.

She looks around for the source of the humming...and pauses, frowning slightly. Not at the humming. That's fine. No, she's wondering at the way the girl is working the punching bag. Is she training or using it as a drum? She can't tell.]

What are you doing?

[laviny]

Ha! Exactly.

[He gets it. She approves. Even if it took him a moment.]

Although...I guess it depends on the plant. I don't mind the Christmas trees.

[construing]

Hmm?

[ gwen tips her head to the side to better see who's talking: an unfamiliar woman regarding her with a very familiar baffled look. ]

Sorry, was I humming again?

[ when the bag swings toward her, she stops it with a finger. ]

[laviny]

I don't hate it. I am just stating a fact.

[It's true enough. She doesn't have a grudge against the tradition or anything. It's just not one that she's generally comfortable with, and it's easier to disarm the situation immediately than wait for someone to get all expectant about kisses.]

[laviny]

No, not that.

[She points to the punching bag that Gwen just stopped with her finger.]

That.

[laviny]

As long as it doesn't involve kissing you, I assume.

[Because he seems about as enthusiastic about that as she is. Maybe even less so. Which is honestly impressive.]

[construing]

[ gwen looks at the bag, and back to yelena.

painfully honestly, ] Nothing.

[ she rises smoothly like a dancer, and steps away from the bag. ]

Just bored and killing time. You can use it if you want.

[peasant]

Yes, [ she drawls, dry, all in good humor. ] Thank you for the helpful fact.

[ not that alina faults her, truly. just the thought of finding herself trapped with someone insistent, pressing into her space without permission, is enough to set her skin crawling. still — alina brings attention to the disdain that had scrunched up yelena's face, prodding her unapologetically in the cheek.

fortunately, alina knows better than to take any offense to it — to assume it's a reflection of yelena's opinion of her, as though she's some horrendous creature to suffer through kissing. instead, her lips seem to twitch, faintly amused. ]

Your face says you hate it.

[laviny]

Oh. Well it looked like something to me.

[She'll take her place at the punching bag, though, since Gwen surrendered it.]

You're new, right? And already bored?

[spacedisaster]

[ God, she makes it look so effortless and easy. Ninja spy ladies and their shift moves, Peter is a little jealous.

(Okay, a whole lot) ]

Am not! [ It's a more automatic answer than an honest one, pride stung. In an attempt to prove her wrong, Peter lets go of the wall and steps forward. He manages to stay upright for about 3 whole seconds before his left foot slips forward a few inches too much. The guardian loses his balance and ends flat on his back on the ice, hands reaching up to cup his head. ]

Ow ow ow fuck ow...

[kovach]

[ the whole concept of forcing anyone to kiss because of a damn plant hovering over their heads is ridiculous. and he's not going to do it. he'll kiss who he wants, when he wants. ]

The trees are ... fine.

[ maybe he's a little less impressed because he's seen his share of trees that sparkle on their own. ]

Been seeing people get all crazy about decorating those. You in that crowd?

[laviny]

It's fun, but no.

[She taps the controls on her wrist and in the distance Kovacs will hear a chirping. Festive chirping. Sounds distinctly like "Deck the Halls," actually.

And pretty soon Redwing is hovering toward them.]

I am in this crowd.

[Has Sam Wilson given her too much power? Probably.]

[construing]

Not my first time universe hopping. Or my second. I think I lost count, actually. [ eh. it's not like the universes' existence depends on gwen remembering. ] I've been recruited, volunteered, shoved into a portal against my will…

[ gwen gives a little shrug as she looks for a new place to sit. she picks the weight bench, hopping on top with a swish of her gray skirt. she stretches out her tights-encased legs, bending forward until she's resting with her forehead on her legs. ]

After about universe number 6, it all starts getting very repetitive.