gone_byebye | (no subject)

There's music pouring from well-concealed speakers in the Firehouse as Tyler arrives, and we do mean well-concealed. When a building's decorator corps includes a twenty-three-foot-tall transforming robot and a five-armed, five-eyed, five-brained alien from an arboreal species, the decorations get everywhere. The outside of the Firehouse is practically wrapped in strings of lights, and the inside- well. Someone introduced Jhalak to the concept of pine garland this year and she kind of went berserk with it. The tree in one corner is as sparkly as a north Jersey homeowner's attempt to get on the local news. Even the dinosaur skull hanging from the ceiling of the ground floor is decorated. Ecto's probably to blame for the dinosaur-sized Santa hat, though.

Which isn't to say that's the only holiday being marked here. Miss Eartha the golem has very firmly staked out part of the Firehouse's ground floor for Hanukkah, on the grounds that it was a Jewish ritual that got her into the golem body she now occupies and she feels a certain measure of gratitude for that. Janine's been helping her with that, and somewhat reluctantly Egon's been doing so as well. No sign of Kwanzaa on the premises, probably because Winston is as big of a Christmas man as you'll ever find, but someone tacked up several solar symbols and "Joyous Solstice!" messages. As a matter of fact, about the only sign that anyone here isn't celebrating something is the periodic snark of "Bah humbug!" from the fish tank on Janine's desk.

"Here we are, Tyler. How's that look to you?"

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From:

gone_byebye

After some rummaging, Miss Eartha comes up with a couple of DVDs. "Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story... take your pick," she says. "There's others, too, but I think he'll go for some of these."

From:

basic_powers

"Bringing up Baby and His Girl Friday, I think. I don't know what The Philadelphia story is about."

From:

gone_byebye

"Aw, it'd take too long to explain," says Miss Eartha. "You'll just have to watch it someday. C'mon, let's get to the counter. Folks're starting to point, and I don't want to draw a crowd."

From:

basic_powers

"Hokay. I'll save that for whenever Winston's birthday is." Tyler smiles, climbing down from Eartha long enough to pull out a $50 bill and this time get his change back. "Best Buy next I think, unless ThinkGeek has a store here."

From:

gone_byebye

"Nearest Best Buy's over on Fifth Avenue," says the golem. "Gonna be a couple of blocks to get there. You want to get something to eat along the way?"

From:

basic_powers

"Yes. i don't think i'll spoil dinner if I have just one raspberry cup right?" Tyler says, climbing back up onto Eartha's shoulders and digging into the Godiva bag for one of the mentioned sweets.

From:

gone_byebye

"Oh, no, honey, you should be fine," says Miss Eartha. "But I do want to ask you one question first. You want to go see the tree at Rockefeller Center? That's not too far from here, and we can go there on the way, more or less."

From:

basic_powers

"I think Ray said something about taking me there for ithe-thkating ffaater thif weekh."

Okay. He's just going to take his time with this cause oh wow, no wonder Miss Kyle goes on about Godiva chocolate.

From:

gone_byebye

"Okay," says Miss Eartha agreeably. "We'll skip that, then. You just hang on and let's get moving."

She lopes off down Forty-Seventh Street, which by and large doesn't look like much- some restaurants, some business buildings, a couple of parking garages- until they get to Forty-Seventh and Sixth. At which point the street lamps are all shaped like diamonds in overly fancy jewelry settings, and there are no Christmas decorations to be seen.

"The Diamond District," Miss Eartha says. "There's only one block in New York where more money changes hands every day than this one, and it's the one with the Stock Exchange on it. I'll tell you, kiddo, it's a good thing I'm not Catwoman any more."

From:

basic_powers

"...you know, Ray always talks about selling the opals he grows for light sabers here."

From:

gone_byebye

"Mm-hm," says Miss Eartha. "His contact's in there." She indicates one of the buildings, a broad, five-story affair with RUBIN DIAMOND EXCHANGE on the sign and two guys handing out brochures saying WE BUY GOLD AND SILVER out front. "There's a good couple hundred people working in there every day but the High Holy Days. Ari's the one who works with Ray the most."

From:

basic_powers

"Hunh." Tyler's going to make a good mental note of this location. "If I get paid in some weird currently like ambers or garnets or something on another world, I'll have to stop by there."

From:

gone_byebye

"Sure thing, kiddo."

They reach the end of the block and hoo, nelly, it's Christmas out here all over again, with strings of lights wrapping most of the lampposts and Santa Clauses of various types and affiliations at different points along the street. Miss Eartha just points out the impressively decorated Filipino consulate and starts down Fifth towards Best Buy.

From:

basic_powers

You know, it's impressive and sparkly and well designed and probably costs a couple of thousand at the very least...

But looking at it, he really likes the stuff at the Firehouse a lot more.

From:

gone_byebye

Miss Eartha's not gonna blame him one bit.

The Best Buy they come across is a thoroughly packed place. As Miss Eartha edges through the door she says, "Computer stuff's downstairs. So are the televisions and movies. Anything else, it's up here. Which way do we go?"

From:

basic_powers

That gives the little man some time to think, because there isn't a ThinkGeek store here..

"I don't like it much, but I think if I find a ThinkGeek gift card here for Peter that should cover my butt."

From:

gone_byebye

"Oh, that'll be easy," says Miss Eartha. "They've got a whole gift card section right over there on the way to the cash register- see? Next to the earphones and stuff."

From:

basic_powers

"Awesome," Once again, jungle-gym physical fitness aids the boy in getting down from Eartha's shoulders. "A fifty dollar one should cover it."

From:

gone_byebye

"Good choice, kiddo. 'Scuse me, mister."

The latter is directed at a broadly built fellow in a Yankees hat and a sour mood. He starts to say something, but the words die away as he looks up and steps aside. Eight feet of golem gets that reaction a lot.

"Thank you, sugar."

From:

basic_powers

"Thank you, sir!" Tyler smiles at up at the man, politely before trotting right behind after Eartha towards the register. Quickest purchase yet, he thinks, in and out with a minimum of trouble.

From:

gone_byebye

"We'd better keep on movin'," Miss Eartha advises. "There's gonna be a whole lot of people heading for the outdoor markets behind the Library. And the free ice skating. What's our target now?"

From:

basic_powers

That takes a little bit of thought now, Tyler following along next to Eartha, thinking and sniffing the air...

"...Real food?"

From:

gone_byebye

"How's Mexican sound?" says Miss Eartha. "Winston swears by this one guy who sells flautas in Bryant Park. Place's crowded, and you have to eat outdoors, but the food's good."

From:

basic_powers

"Hokay!" Tyler grins, trotting to keep up with Eartha's steps. "....what's a flauta?"

From:

gone_byebye

"Well," says Miss Eartha, "you take some beef or maybe some chicken, spice 'em up, wrap 'em up in a long thin flour tortilla, and you fry it all until it's crisp. And then you serve it with queso blanco, or maybe green chili sauce, or both."