[Voiced // Private // 70% Unhackable]

...Arthur, huh? And Tear. [A pause and then he grunts before-] This is stupid. This is so stupid. Tch. Damn aliens.

[A pause and then he brushes something. There's a chirp from Sekai before he hisses] This is starin' to piss me off. Leave my Brigade alone, dammit!

[And then he... punches a wall. And then the audio cuts off]

[Voiced // Public]

[...Before the audio cuts back in for this] Oi! SOS-Brigade! I've been lax with you guys coming for meetings, but no more! The Brigade exists for the sole purpose of providing [-me-] Luceti with a valid insight in the mysteries of this world! And along with that, an interesting life! But you all have been lax! Ignoring meetings, skipping out early! I've had it with this blatant insubordination!

As such, members of the SOS-Brigade, it is time for you to accept your divine punishment! A penalty! [He slams a fist down and then makes his point all the more with-] Capture the flag! SOS Capture the Flag! We will be playing SOS-Flag in two days time! Forty-eight hours! You must assemble whatever extra members of your team before that time! Assemble extra-Brigade members to assist you in ensuring victory!

Also, Kaito, you're in this too! You better perform the best you can for your master!

The base-teams are as follows; be sure to listen carefully!

[Written]

Team Soryu
*Rena
*Tai
*Yoohoo
*Yuzuriha
*Kyon

Team Ayanami
*Usagi
*Al
*Uriko
*Rika
*Hanyuu

Team Inazuna
*Leon
*Shinpachi
*Atsuro
*Miu
*Kaito

[Voice again]

Base teams, base teams! You better collect more members if you want to win SOS-Flag, particularly with I, Haruki Suzumiya, as the infallible and superior referee! You have two days; details will come at that time!

[A pause and then he shuts his book. He thinks this cuts off but it actually records a little more:] ...February, huh? Valentines is coming up then...

[Voice]

All that snow and not even a single yeti! Not even a yuki-onna?! I mean come on, this is the perfect chance for an interesting experiment and it's not even used?!

Oi! Oi! Did anyone see either of those? Maybe Jack Frost? I mean there was a Jack O'Lantern a while back, so there should be something like this for payback for all this stupid snow...

Rena! Where the hell're you? [A pause, and then someone might hear Shiki whine-yelling something in the background. And then Haruki groans audibly before he tags on, as an afterthought-] Neku, you too. How's things there?

SOS-Brigade, report! Statuses, now!

[and then there's a chirp from Sekai in the background and he closes his journal]

[Ignoring that his original plan was much more complex. Ignoring that someone else is planning something similar. Ignoring that he's still wearing his SOS-S3 Sentai-Santa suit... Haruki has a back-up plan for the holidays that he personally prefers. Thus, he's been preparing all day for something "special" for everyone.

And now he's done. He's also got his gifts here, but he's not going to specify who he wants to show up here other than the SOS-Brigade. Because for now he's created somethign special. He oopens his journal and yells into it at about 7PM:]

OI LUCETI!

The time has come, in celebration of Santa himself giving gifts today and the spirit of this holiday to join in a time of togetherness! SOS-Brigade! Friends of them! Dates of them! Chikane and Shiki and Rosalie and anyone else who wants good food Join us at the SOS-HQ for Luceti's largest hot-pot ever!

[by "Santa" he is of course referencing this, which kinda-sorta renewed his faith in the guy being a pan-dimensional being so he pauses before-]

People other than the SOS-Brigade are required to bring one dish. As it's a hot-pot, it needn't be heated up, just bring something! The SOS-Brigade is required to attend! Come and join us, Luceti!

It's all tonight, for Christmas, obviously!

[And after that he's going to settle in and wait. The Brigade room is as big as ever, of course. The occupancy of this building is surprisingly high when you push his desk into the closet and the tables other than the central one outside. On the central table he's rigged up something weird: There's a huge bowl of his stock for this hot pot in the center and dishes he's pre-brought all over the table. Then there's chairing lining the walls for people to sit at.

As for how it's being heated? Don't ask. It's shady

THIS IS A MASS INTERACTION POST. THREADJACK ALL OVER, EVERYONE IS FREE TO COME, YOU KNOW THE DRILL]

[Voiced]
[To be honest... Haruki still isn't 100% better. He's still not cool with Rena yet, not to mention anyone he happened to piss off when he was sulking. But there's stuff to be done; it's Christmas after all. And thus, he coughs before starting this awkwardly with-]

You know, plenty of you folks lack dates for Christmas, don't you? Huh... Well, whatever.

[A pause, and then he continues without abandon to the next part-] Christmas is a vasly inferior holiday to the likes of Tanabata or even Obon, but so long as there is something to celebrate, we might as well roll with it, right?! I mean, I never knew the Christian story behind it in detail, but that makes it so much more interesting. A mystery, even! How could those guys all see starts to lead them to a baby? A virgin that got knocked up? Makes me wish that someone from that time had showed up here at some point... [...A pause, annd then a sigh-] Well, whatever.

More importantly... getting ready for New Years after that. And anything the Organization or John does by way of a "celebration" for Christmas. You guys ever noticed they like American holidays?

[Voiced // Filtered to SOS-Brigade]

Alright SOS-Brigade! This Christmas we're going with something special and more awesome than anything ever seen for any Christmas since the birth of that Jesus guy! We're going to be forming a superior crack-team of super sentai Santas! We're going to be the SOS-S3! And with out might, we're going to spread holiday cheer and more importantly needed positive sentiment around the village.

Our mission will be to provide gifts to people, assist people who look like losers, and set people up on blind-dates. Your first objective will be met by the 20th of December. You will recruit as many people as you can to sign up for a mass blind date. A free gift! What's more, you will do this dressed as a SOS-S3-Santa suit which will be supplied for you in the next three days.

Whoever amasses the most names will be the victor of round one of this competition! Whoever wins the best two out of three rounds will be the Brigade Chief for the week following the first of January! Your roles will be as follows:

( assigned roles )
Are your orders understood, my SOS-S3?!

Now, Elf Support! You will be given the labor of amassing as many potential gifts as you can. You will be hording them in the back room of the SOS-Brigade HQ. Vice-Chief Rena will be given a temporary promotion to Elf Commander Rena, and she will be in charge of this gift hording! You will raid the bazaars, you will make new gifts, and you will even steal if you have to, but I expect that back room filled to brim by the time you get further orders!

Are we clear?!

[Voiced // Filtered to Shiki]

Shiki, I got an important job for you.

[Also, relationship post which I don't think I forgot anyone on but it's possible I did. Yerp. Comment if I did. ASIDE FROM THIS someone did offer to join the SOS-Brigade but the thread is still ongoing. If they end up getting recruited I'll be editing them into this post, and feel free to assume they had always been in this post. So... yeah...]

[Action]

[A little less than half of his Brigade opted to try to go home last week. About the same amount are missing due to kidnappings or whatever. Neku is missing from his house. Mikuru has arrived, reminding him was Kyon suggested a while ago, that they aren't his. And what's more... what's more, it's been a long time since he's really thought about her. And now just her, about all the others too. Zell... Rue... Ritsu-kitty... Osaka, Killua, and Misa. Mai and Excellen... Kotori...

Ahiru...

Would Ahiru have betrayed him the same way that Rena did> Probably. In those days, all anyone wanted was to go back. It felt like he was the only one in this whole damned world which appreciated this place for what it was.

Haruki Suzumiya is depressed, to put it in layman's terms.

And as such, he's currently moping around somewhere. Well, sulking more like it. But where to do it? All Passions is out, he doesn't want to deal with Shiki or Rosalie or anyone else that lurks around there like like Minato. The roof is out because it's too damned cold. His room is out because Rena is probably still lurking around the house. Good Spirits is out because damned if he wants to listen to Guy right now. Thus, where does he go?

A place where he's sure people have better things to do than to talk to him and where the only employ he knows is slightly less than a real person. Haruki is sitting in the far corner of Seventh Heaven. He's not even at a table, really, just up against one of the walls. As he's thinking about his old Brigaders, he's looking at "pictures" he had taken of them using the journal back when they were here. And then he flips to...

Itsuki Koizumi.

He's reminded of the situation with Kyon and Mikuru somehow, so he sets the pile down, scoffing to himself. It's then that he flips open his journal and pens the written part up below. After that, he flips to the back of the journal and takes out an entirely different set of "photos" - a small handful of Kyonko. It's been too long-]

Dammit.

[Naturally, if you happen to be in Seventh Heaven and spot him, you can feel free to try to bug him]

[Written]

Any of you guys that are around, I need you to report in now. [...He knows that some of these might not answer, but even so, he is still going to say it. Not asking for them makes it seem like they really are gone. Gone the same way Shion is...] And you better be snappy about it. I've been lax about Brigade meetings, but I expect full attendance tomorrow. Just... reply here.

Rena Ryuuguu ✓
Usagi Tsukino ✓
Alphonse Elric ✓
Uriko Nonomura ✓
Taichi Yagami ✓
Shinpachi Nagakura ✓
Arthur Dent ✓
Hanyuu Furude
Rika Furude ✓
Yuzuriha Nekoi
Yoohoo ✓
Atsuro Kihara ✓
Mystearica Aura Fende
Miu Matsuoka ✓
Kyon ✓
Leon ✓

[Action]

[This is a special open-action post. Namely, this post takes place DURING today's SOS-Brigade meeting. I figure it's a good way to explore the Brigade's interactions with each other there. There's two important bits of info that Haruki is hitting up today. The first is him going into detail about the favor that the SOS-Brigade has to fulfill with Gokudera about throwing a party for Tsuna. He'll be writing some key notes on the white board (or rather forcing someone else, I'd think Yuzu, to do that) and then taking a few odd suggestions before he gets to the second order of business-

He'll add it as an afterthought, but it's the introduction of sos_chorus, which I'll write out because it's important and lulz:]

Oh, and this idiot here's called Kyon. He's boring and such, but he'll be out new member out of the generosity of my heart; he'd be rotting away like a moron if he wasn't here. As such, you all better be giving him stuff to do! Alright, dismissed!

[This is an open action post FOR THE SOS-BRIGADE right now. Feel free to threadhop all over the place in here. Also, any visitors to the SOS-Brigade at the meeting today? Feel free as well. Aside from this though, he's going to make one voice section on the journal-]

[Voiced]

Oi, is there some guy named Tsuna out there? I need input from you.

[Voiced]
God this is so boring. What's with this? Jeez.

[Filter // 50% unhackable // for the SOS-Brigade]

Oi! I expect each of you to suggest at least one idea for the next event we should do today. And they better be good, you hear me?! There's no way the SOS-Brigade is going to do half-assed things. After all, the final choice is and always will be with me, the divinely inspired chief of the SOS-Brigade. Any and all of your opinions are just suggestions.

And Rika you better be making headway on that assignment!

[Public again]

[GROAN] This place sucks so much sometimes.

Oi. Mitsuru. Let's go talk; we'll meet at the-

[...]

Attention Luceti! Someone re-open the Seventh Heaven or otherwise make a new diner! This place really, really needs one!

[Written]

Today's sciences assignment is really stupid. Come on, what's with this junk? I learned this years ago, but I still need to fill all this out. Jeez.

[...Okay so like guys, seriously, if your characters can/would get through these filters and comment on them, please feel free. Particularly this first one]

( [Filtered to Self // 80% Unhackable] )

( [Filtered to Rika and Hanyuu // 90% Unhackable] )

( [Filtered to Guy // 80% Unhackable] )

( [Filtered to John // 90% Unhackable] )

[Action]

[PLEASE ASSUME THIS IS BOTH AFTER SCHOOL AND AFTER THE SOS-BRIGADE MEETING FOR TODAY IS OVER. He claims he's doing his homework, but he's... really not. The fact of the matter is that well past when the meeting is ended and until he hears back from Guy (and maybe after that finishes, even, coming back) he's sitting in the SOS-Brigade HQ, his back to the front door so he's staring out the big window he had Walter install at the end of the table. His science homework that he was complaining about above is sitting on the table largely finished. His absent-mindedly did it during the Brigade meeting.

Because he's been in a sulk mood all day. Head on the desk in class, not talking to anyone at home before school, and cutting the meeting off early with some bullshit excuse once it got time for the Brigade.]

[Voice]

Oh, COME ON! What the hell. SOS-Brigade! Report in now! Whose bodies are you all in?

[Grunt, grumble, grumble...]

[Action]

["Minato" here is chilling in town. Not unusual. Unusual is that he's flopped on a bench looking visibly cheesed off. DO YOU APPROACH IT?]

[Voiced]

So, who wants to help me find something to eat?!

[Voice]

[...This is Haruki doing something like picking up groceries in town. He's got his bags and such. The thing is, there's a problem: He flips open his journal and grunts into it as he sits down on a bench]

Oi, Shiki, Neku. Do we have eggs at home?

[..A pause and then - then there's another movement. He turns around, dropping the bag and- there's some droids. He basically is like oh shit but more than that he's muttering-]

I can beat you. I can beat them. I know I can do this.

[And then he spares no time with trying to get in a punch. Somehow, amazingly, that one seems to fall back a bit there, and his eyes go wide for a bit before the second one knees him in the gut, hard. He's winded there, but he tries to land another punch, before there's a harsh blow to his head. He then weakly yells, as he's being pulled into the distance:]

Usagi's stand-in chief in my absence! [And then, weaker, after another sound of scuffle and another thump coupled with the crack:] I'll check on Rena!

[Voice // Written (the list) // Action potentially]

SOS-Brigade, full roll-call! If you don't answer now unless I saw you earlier today you're going to get a penalty! And I expect you all to be keeping up our promise to assist those that were injured or retreated! To do less than that would besmirch the name of the SOS-BRigade!

Haruki Suzumiya ✓
Rena Ryuuguu ✓
Usagi Tsukino ✓
Alphonse Elric ✓
Uriko Nonomura ✓
Taichi Yagami ✓
Shinpachi Nagakura
Arthur Dent ✓
Hanyuu Furude ✓
Rika Furude ✓
Yuzuriha Nekoi ✓
Yuzu Tanikawa ✓
Shion Sonozaki ✓
Atsuro Kihara ✓

[NOTE TO YUZURIHA: This is assuming we went with the idea of Haruki picking her up post-injury. Or Walter. One of them. In which case she'd be at House 38 or something. If this isn't cool I can edit this]

Also! Some surprisingly big props for Walter!

Aside from that, anyone who is hungry after the fighting and wants a cupcake - the best cupcakes ever take that Ellise - and rice as well as some meat like at that old BBQ, I've set up a fire-pit outside of House #10! Be sure to enjoy the cupcakes and be ready to cast a vote on them later! There will be a test on this!

[Voiced // Action]

[Haruki here sounds so, so, so, tired and beat up in general here, but he's going to all the same be staggering back into town after being lost alone in the woods and/or mountains for the last whatever, likely the last two days seeing as how he recalls things "finishing" on the 20th. In his hand he's got a journal-made photograph of Leon (the one from Star Ocean 2) and he's got himself covered in various cuts/bruises.

He's also got his spare arm holding his side, which still really smarts As the same, as he stops to pick up his journal (which he dropped hap-hazardly into a little hole in one of the trees two days ago, he's going to give a pained by triumphant whoop into it when he activates the voice]

Mission accomplished! Hah! ...SOS-Brigade, we're having a special meeting tomorrow. A celebration at Seventh Heaven and no one is allowed to not short. Ellise, we'll do the contest there. Bunny, if you could pick me up at the forest that would be great, I think I'm right by that barracks.

[Grunt, and then a light thud as he leans against the tree he's been talking at here. This hurts a lot more than he thought and more importantly, he's really hungry, haven not eaten properly for the last few days. Still, he's smiling]

Oh, and did anyone lose a gun that won't shoot? I found one.

Shion! Al! You better not have skimped on the penalty just because I wasn't around! ...Rena, I hope you kept them in line!

[He's going to grunt here... and then slide onto his butt. Sleep is good, yes. Or at least rest]

( OOC Explanation )

ALRIGHT LUCETI! The contest results are in; all the judges votes are counted and the popular vote tallies are in! Thus, we have two winners in each bracket!

( Judge's results )

Oi, SOS-Brigade. What the hell're you doing losing like that? Al! You're going to have a harsh penalty! You too, Shion! Jeez. You were supposed to win this whole thing! I expected better from you people.

As such, the winners of the Judge's scores and therefore the titles of Miss and "Miss" Luceti go to Hayato Gokudera and Stella Coolidge! Congrats! You guys will be getting one free favor each from the SOS-Brigade as well as a box of cupcakes! The runners up (Aerith and Tifa in the Miss bracket; Emil and Faize in the "Miss" bracket) will get a consolation prize: one cupcake each.

Now, as to the popular vote our two winners are unsurprisingly Emil Castagnier and surprisingly Patchouli Knowledge! You guys win the fabulous prize of one date run by and sponsored by the SOS-Brigade!

...Dammit, Tai. That's- Oi. Anyone seen Shiki around?

[For the record Shiki has officially been Sho-napped as of last night. No one should be aware of this yet so you won't have seen her]

[Voiced]

...Oi, any of Bunny's friends. Rena, porcupine, Shiki you too if you guys didn't notice yet. Usagi Tsukino's staying over at my place for a few days. If she's staying here she probably doesn't want to be bugged but whatever.

You know maybe I should hit up those other ones again... Celes and the othe- oh! Rika! Let's go out and get some lunch later today! You don't got any notable lines anyway so you don't need to practice like the rest of the Brigade, so let's go out this afternoon! Oh and Mitsuru when is my stage gunna be done?

[...Pause, grunt] Oi! Rikku! Now's long enough! Let's make good on out bet! Meet me outside House #10. I'll be waiting this morning to make it snappy!

[Action]

[And true to his word, Haruki has kidnapped Shiki's usual spot of late. Namely, he's going to be on the porch of House #10 all morning reading a book or something. Anyone is free to run into him for whatever reason; housemates, Brigaders, random other people walking down the street... go for it.]

REMEMBER EVERYONE: The long-awaited Luceti Fall Festival starts tomorrow!

This festival is brought to you by the world-famous and amazing SOS-Brigade, will some assistance by associated other people. Please direct any and all praise you might have for the festivities to me, Haruki Suzumiya (Ultra-Planner of this festival). If you are intending to run a booth or an act or something, please also report to me (Haruki Suzumiya). If you have any complaints about the festivities, please direct it to my henchwoman/secretary, Kyonko.

I expect this to be a bananza, and I hope all of you folks feel you lives get that much more interesting!

---Which reminds me! The fighting thing is cool and all even if the host is a little dull and it needs some announcers, but surely some of you have some cool superpowers you can show off aside from stuff you use to beat each other up, right?! Therefor, I propose that we run a talent show to showcase some of these super-cool powers and maybe impress a few people. It would certainly make things a little more interesting before we're all stuck at that gray-haired lady's school in a week, right?!

[Filtered to the SOS-Brigade]
Oi, members that don't have any assigned tasks currently, report in for an assignment. Members that do have assigned tasks, report in on the status of your job. If you jobs' complete, be prepared to take another job.