Chain 130: Santa

Chain 130: Santa
Location: The North Pole
Age: 19
Identity: Drop-In
Drawbacks: [+600] Jumper Conquers The Martians, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Scary Red Planet

[Free]      Holly Jolly Criminal
[Free]      A Single Night
[Free]      That's What Christmas Is All About
[200/1600]  Summon Cocoa
[500/1600]  Spreading The Cheer
[1100/1600] Public Relations
[Free]      Santa Suit, Magic Sack
[Free]      The List, Workshop, Elves
[Free]      Book of Carols
[Free]      Magic Sleigh
[1300/1600] Mall Santas
[1600/1600] Santa's Helpers: Demona, The Conspiracy

There's a right way and a wrong way to do things, sometimes. A narrative gravity that has to be kept.

The wrong way would be to be a towering demigod who's on fire, or at least, for me that's not the way. (Some others CAN pull off the Mall Santas being dressed as giant Amazonian demonesses, and more power to 'em.) In my case... the right way feels more like putting on the red suit, padding it a little for the sake of the image, growing a white mustache and beard, and playing it up to the hilt.

Even when Mars abducted me and tried to get me to give them a Christmas instead of Earth having it, and the denizens of Halloween town helped set it up so that they could save Christmas.

In the end, it wasn't really that much of a problem; Mars' leaders were suspicious that Christmas would ruin their culture, but ended up enriching it instead. Add to that the fact that Christmas on Mars happens once every 687 Earth days, and it was almost guaranteed that there wouldn't be an overlap where both days took place on the same day again before a great many years had passed.

(The Martian children felt like they were swindled out of having Christmas twice a year, but them's the breaks. Christmas isn't about greed, after all, kids.)

As far as Jack Skellington? Honestly, once I'd gotten free of Mars, I abused a bit of time travel to meet him shortly after he'd been shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, sat him down and talked (and sang) about the true meaning of Christmas. After all, it's okay to be scary when people want to be scared, but winter is more about being comfy, not to mention sharing gifts. Some people might still like the scary gifts - but most only like to be scared a little, not all the time. Important to remember what people like.

Also, as it turns out, there's a very simple solution to visiting every house in one night. A shortcut, even. Plan it out like the battles of a war, dress the Conspiracy up in Santa outfits, land in a central location in a small town (or a few central spots in a city), then bring the Conspiracy in to deliver presents with super speed in every city I visit. After all, they can be intangible for a bit, so it makes stealthy entry and exit very possible.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.