Christmas Log | The Gift Exchange

[folkscallmewander]

Who: Everyone who signed up for the Secret Santa!
What: Party where everyone can exchange gifts.
When: M11 D4
Where: A conference room at the hotel
Notes & Warnings: Feel free to tag around!

There's a sign at the lobby stating that the winter holiday party for the imports is in one of the back rooms.

Wander convinced the rest of the staff to let him take some leftover bagels and other snack foods from the guest breakfast, and there's a small table in the middle of the room with the food.

Comments

[what_ho_jeeves]

Fortunately for Elle, Bertie was very tall, and loud, and hard to miss for long.

He was, right now, trying to convince one of Jeffer's bots to harmonize "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" with him and singing the part in his efforts to encourage. The bot was giving its best (rather reluctantly), but Jeffers was not adept at rising his voice in joyful song.

[quixotically]

Oh, good! There he is. Elle immediately heads in his direction, but her pace starts to slow as she starts to realize what he's doing. Or, well. Maybe that's the wrong phrase to use, because she doesn't quite get it. She knows he's trying to get the robot to sing along with him, but... uh... Why?

"What are you doing?" Elle asks after she's come to a stop behind him. Even as she voices her question, ED-E bobs in the air excitedly behind her and lets out a few whistles that just so happen to be the next few notes in the song.

[what_ho_jeeves]

"What ho...Miss Days, isn't it? I was trying to add to the holiday spirit but this...errant...error...ersatz! that's the word I want, this ersatz valet isn't up to snuff."

He brightens as he looks at ED-D. "I say! Your flying round whatsits seems to know the tune. Perhaps it might accompany me in a rendition."

[quixotically]

Elle doesn't think she knows what ersatz even means. "Well, this robot probably wasn't programmed for this kind of thing..." she says slowly. But then she turns and blinks at ED-E, and then laughs. It must be some kind of Pre-War song that he learned from Dr. Whitley.

That thought softens her smile, though, and she steps a little to the side, to include ED-E properly in the conversation. "Well, ED-E? What do you think?"

He bobs cheerfully and beeps in a way that can't be anything but enthusiastic.

[what_ho_jeeves]

"Good-o!" Bertie replies with equal enthusiasm. He tries to look at ED-E's face to talk to him, but not knowing where that is, he ends up craning his neck this way and that to look at all of the front of ED-E simultaneously, guessing that a face was around there somewhere.

"Let's take it from the top." He waves his hand like a conductor as he first gives the time. "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismaaaaaay!" He belts out in a baritone that would be promisingly good if he used a little less sound and a little more control.

[quixotically]

ED-E can't really make words of his own, sadly, so he does what he can instead. That is to say, he sings with a series of beeps, boops, whistles, and computerized trills. He even bobs and sways along with the song, adding in a bit of a dance to the performance.

Elle doesn't know if she can handle this. ED-E is making a friend, and this is just way too adorable anyway, and and. Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, too cute.

/slides in?

[folkscallmewander]

The sound of Bertie's and ED-E's singing are enough to draw Wander's attention, even if he never heard the melody before. And obviously, since it looks like it's starting to become a group song, he knows he has to join.

He runs out of the room for a minute, as his room is just down the hall, and returns with his banjo, already tuned. Without interrupting the duo, he softly strums several chords until he's confident with the harmonization, then goes straight to providing accompaniment.

[what_ho_jeeves]

Bertie is still singing when Wander returns with his banjo.

"...And unto certain Shepherds brought tidings of the same: How that in Bethlehem was born the Son of God by Name. O-- a banjo!" He breaks the singing to exclaim excitedly. Then picks up again minus a few lyrics. "-- comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy."