ofiuco's gifts

"Goddess!? Is that how some of you see me? I hardly think I'd qualify. In most cases I do not believe mechanical beings are worshipped as gods, and I hardly believe I've done anything worthy of worship. I must ponder this in the future..." She would have kept rambling but soon remembered that she was not there to ponder topics of divinity.

"If I recall correctly, you've always been a fan of leather?" She produced a box just big enough to contain a pair of new, leather gloves that had a fantasy aesthetic to them. "Despite their appearance, they have been modernized to allow you to use a touchscreen phone while wearing them! A little Ofiuco ingenuity!"

"Oh, thank you!" Within a matter of moment, Ofiuco had scarfed the cupcake. It seemed like maybe she'd eaten the candle too? It was probably fine! "Now, what could I give Miss Albedo from the Great Tomb of Nazarick..." She could think of an appropriate theme. After all, this character had one thing she liked above all.

"Tadaa!" She presented the woman with a pendant containing a picture of Lord Ainz. Don't ask her where she got that, it's a secret.

"Actually, you're not supposed to make requests of me! But! I suppose that want is vague enough for me to come up with something without breaking the rules. Hmm..." Ofiuco conjured a somewhat sizable box after a moment of contemplation. "I cannot necessary force everyone to "have a good time" regardless, you'll need to take steps to do that yourself."

"So, how about this karaoke machine!? You could have your friends over and "have a good time", I believe!"

Ofiuco stood there with a blank stare for a moment. She had played Deltarune, but hearing Spamton speak that way out loud was certainly a much different experience! "Oh! Yes, yes, everyone gets a gift, Mr. Spamton!" Could she learn to talk like that? It might confuse the Stars if she did. If not concern them...

"You appreciate a good deal, right? So..." Rather than a box, she handed him an envelope filled to the brim with coupons for local stores that accepted Dust as payment. There was nothing too crazy in there coupon wise, and they weren't unlimited, but he'd get some reasonable savings!

Doll!? Was that like a nickname!? "Oh? Would you like to be surprised, meat-on-a-skeleton-with-organs-of-varied-levels-of-importance?" Ofiuco was just trying to match his energy, she didn't mean anything by it! It didn't really have much of a ring to it though, so maybe she'd need a new nickname in the future? "But you have a feathery friend, right? So here!"

Ofiuco presented a sizable box that contained a new set of barding for Bibidi. It was white and clearly designed for winter's colder climate, made with warm materials and a big, fluffy hood! "I hope this helps keep him comfortable through the winter months!"

"Hello, Miss Uzi! I find it hard to complain when they let me consume as much media as I can. In fact, they encourage it! I must be aware of the origins of everyone who is brought into the city, after all." She wasn't going to give Uzi an opportunity to press that with a follow-up question! She found Uzi's source material to be very relatable! Hopefully she wasn't possessed by an Eldritch alien virus one day!

"Oh! I know what to give you!" The box was very small, and it contained a burned CD of all things. "It's a personalized selection of my favourite nightcore remixes. Enjoy!"

"Oh! Well, it isn't technically just Christmas. Every world has their own winter festivals and holidays, and so WinterFES and the related activities were all designed in that fashion! If you'd like to consider your own celebrations to be "Christmas", that is absolutely a-okay!" When you brought in people from so many worlds, it was important to be respectful of the fact that every world was unique!

With a thoughtful look, she conjured a small gift that contained a book. It was a photo journal. "As a being that could plausibly have her memories wiped at a whim, I understand how precious memories can be! If you'd like to use that, I've placed a special firewall around it that should present it from being destroyed or tampered with... So if there's ever anything you're worried about being forgotten, please write it in there. Or put a picture!"

"I understand. Unfortunately, while I would like to be friends with everyone, I must also do what is required of me. Not only because I might be decommissioned if I don't, but because it was what my late creator desired of me. I apologize if that makes you upset, Miss Frye..." Ofiuco clapped her hands together, reminding herself about why she was there in the first place.

She handed Frye a box that contained a Big Man plush. "If you squeeze his arm, he talks! Perhaps you could show Miss Shiver as well? Or Big Man himself the next time he comes to the city!"

"I apologize, your majesty, but unfortunately I can only give one gift per person and it wouldn't be fair for me to give you something that would be given to someone who has already received their own gift from me!" She did bow apologetically, like a knight bowing to a noble. Ofiuco was getting a little too into it and her hat almost slipped off!

When she hopped back up, her eyes began to glow as a sign that she was searching through her database. "However, I believe I can give you this to help!" She conjured a wrapped present that contained a field guide on all of the plant life that could be found in the Mistwood. "Maybe you can find something that suits your needs using that? It might give you a reason to go looking with them, as well!"

"Oh, treats! One moment!" She accepted the cookies and turned around, hiding the sight of her scarfing all of them down almost immediately. She saved whatever dish or bag they had been in, though! "They were delicious, thank you Eiden! The Stars are always pushing their favourite treats at me in hopes of seeing my reaction. ...I do not like eggnog." Her sour expression revealed just how much she didn't like it!

"Now it's my turn!" A box was produced with a number of outfits that would have been familiar to Eiden. "I gathered about five of your costumes from your home world! You have quite a colourful sense of fashion, it seems." Because it was winter, she had made sure to choose the warmest ones!

"Do not worry, Ms. Harper! I am the type of android who puts out the same type of energy that I'm given!" Even though she was the public face of the Stars she was still a people pleaser! "Hmm... But you've lived a pretty troubled life. Seems like most of the people in your world has... What would be appropriate...?" Anything zombie-related was probably off the table!

"I hope this doesn't bring you too much distress, but what about this?" She produced a picture-frame shaped box that did include a picture frame. It contained a photo of Helena and Deborah that had been taken sometime after their parents' deaths. "Sentimentality can make humans happy or sad, but I can't quite grasp where the line is. So I apologize if this is upsetting. I hope it's not."

"Wowie! Are you threatening me, Mr. Vanth? Or are you playing a prank? It has to be the latter, right? Because you'd need to defeat me to steal the holidays, and we both know that there's not a snowball's chance in heck that you'd be able to!" She was a little sarcastic, but she was still speaking sweetly! "Since you want to steal the holiday cheer so badly, I suppose I'll need to downgrade your present!"

She produced a box big enough to hold some clothing, and inside there was a simple Santa costume. "I think it was in The Gronch with that green guy who wanted to ruin the holidays? I think he wore a Santa costume just like this, so... Good luck~!"

Ofiuco simply snapped her fingers and a little hologram appeared beside her head displaying a PNG that read "doubt.png". "Just because the city repairs itself doesn't mean doing do doesn't use resources, you know? So I don't have much sympathy for people who blow things up!" But he was a child, so she wouldn't be that cruel.

She presented him a neatly wrapped box with a timer attached to it. No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to open it yet. "If you can go one week without using a bomb both directly OR indirectly, you'll be able to unwrap it. Inside you'll find, begrudgingly, a pranking kit full of tools you'd find very useful if you were wanting to play harmless tricks on others!"

"If I were to speak on a technicality, I am not the one keeping you here! I do not have any control over the systems that bring people into the city nor remove them. It is actually one of the few systems that I have absolutely no control over!" The others needed permission, though.

Regardless of the falsely placed blame, she handed him a box that was about the size of a small desk with ease. Inside there was a scale model of a certain mountain. "This is your home, right? Flower Fruit Mountain? I believe I've recreated its likeness quite well! Happy Holidays!"

"Join a performance? I know I run the rave every SpiraleFES, buuuuut I'm not actually all that good at performing! Didn't you see my acting during Sugar Quest IV? It was so embarrassing... I wanted to die! Alas, I cannot." Not the most uplifting of tangents to go off on, but she was trying! "But maybe I will come by and watch in person sometime!"

"Unfortunately I do not know much about idols or what the need. I considered new shoes? But my understanding of fashion isn't adequate. However, I did manage to get this!" Ofiuco presented Hiyori with a wrapped photo album. It contained pictures of familiar faces from Cosmic Production, with Hiyori included in them too. "Maybe you could show them to your friends? I'm sure they'd love to see them!"

"Whoa, I'm supposed to be the one giving the gifts here, bucko! But thank you! the Stars give me gifts every December too, but isn't being alive a gift in of itself? But maybe I don't need to say that to someone who comes from a world where Hope and Determination can save the day!" Ofiuco slipped the gloves on over the gloves she was already wearing and spread and closed her fingers several times. Comfy!

"Which reminds meeeee!" A suspiciously pie-shaped present was presented. "It's a Butterscotch Pie! Just like your mom used to make! Or... still makes! I also got the recipe if you want to make it yourself! It's under the pie foil in the box! A taste of home is always comforting! ...I think? Spirale is my only home, so I've never been away to know if that's true."