cuddlecity | → i don't want a lot for christmas, there is just one thing i need

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→ i don't want a lot for christmas, there is just one thing i need

CHARACTERS: Barbie House Residents & You.
LOCATIONS: That pink little number where superpowered girls live.
WARNINGS: None in post, please let me know if I need to change that.
SUMMARY: Ugly sweater party time.

( If you know Kimberly and Clary at all, then you'll know there's been a festive treat in the works for a while. People will have received their personally designed invitations during the week, but neither of them have been shy in mentioning the party while wandering the city laden with shopping bags. The house is suitably decorated - enough mistletoe to potentially be a biohazard - but with a little help from the world's best ( and most stylish ) warlock Magnus Bane, it's definitely looking the part. And if it's a little small, well outside is covered in lights too, an army of space heaters dotted in their garden to make things as cosy as possible.

There's multiple flavours of punch, though be wary of the one that smells overwhelmingly of gingerbread, someone was a little heavy handed with the liquer. If that doesn't float your boat then the living room table is laid out with different drinks and snacks, some more festive than others. Eat, drink, be merry. And if you hear Blue Christmas at any point in their festive playlist, please track down Baby and give him a hug ( or a drink ... or one of those sprigs of mistletoe. )

The only rule ( and it's definitely a rule ) wear a Christmas sweater or suffer the wrath of women scorned. Though maybe not something with tassles or baubles, Simba might be after them. )

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[ robbie's sweater is hilarious if for no reason other than it implies something that's definitely not true. between days at the garage, working out at sucker punch, and a very active relationship, robbie doesn't actually have time for multiple ladies.

at least it's funny.

robbie's been tasked with decorating duties pre-party. you didn't think the tinsel and mistletoe hung itself did you? the joys of being a tall, so don't be surprised if he spends a good deal of time sitting on the couch nursing a hot toddy and ginger molasses cookies while he regains his energy. he may or may not be alone, as simba often curls up on the ever-present blanket on the couch.

he's not a fan of simba, so if you spot him shooing the ginger ball of fur away, please don't hesitate to rescue him. who knew big bad flaming skull dudes were such wusses? definitely not anyone who lives in casa de barbie.

later, he'll join in on impromptu games (think: 'never have i ever' and 'cards against humanity' type things). isn't this a fun way to get to know cadelle's resident motorcycle jacket wearing badass (don't listen to kim when she calls him a marshmallow btw. it's all lies.)

and if you happen to bump into him under the mistletoe... well... ]

[ is 'your girlfriend told me you were possessed and now i'm concerned' a look? because if it's a look that's the one tomas is giving robbie. he can sense demonic presence back home, but he's not getting anything from robbie, maybe kimberly is teasing him, it wouldn't be the first time. ]

Hello.

[ being suddenly approached by a priest is probably always a little alarming, but tomas is out of practice when it comes to talking to people. ]

[it's definitely alarming being approached by a priest. and the look that tomas is sporting doesn't do much to lessen the unease that fills him. robbie knows that look. it screams 'mr. reyes, please come to the front of the class'. it takes him back to sunday school and nuns and makes him very much aware of the fact that he's possessed by the devil. a demon corrects a voice in his head that sounds curiously like daisy. a demon. whatever.

if tomas is out of practice, well, robbie's hardly any better.]

Father. You're kind of a long way away from the church aren't you?

[because he hasn't seen a church around. not that he's been looking, so for all he knows there may be plenty.]

[ at least tomas is friendly, he smiles kind of sheepish. 'so you're possessed' is not really a good ice-breaker, but churches might be. ]

I've been looking for one, actually. Are there any?

[ he hasn't exactly been looking either, it's been so long since he had some time off he's been indulging. he should be getting back to work already. ]

[robbie hasn't stepped foot into a church in who knows how long. he can't really recall, but god didn't answer his prayers that night so many years ago, so it would feel a little strange calling on him now.]

I wouldn't know, to be honest. It's been years since I've been a practicing anything.

Is that gonna be a problem?

What would be a problem?

[ tomas is genuinely confused. he misses church but not having one isn't a problem by any stretch, and the question feels a little more confrontational.

... which is very understandable, if robbie is actually possessed. if he were possessed he'd be wary of a priest too. ]

That I haven't stepped foot in a church in years.

[which doesn't really answer tomas' no doubt lingering questions about the current state of robbie's soul.]

You're not the judgmental type are you?

[ oh, yes okay that makes much more sense. ]

No, not at all. I don't proselytize either... it's been a while since I worked as a traditional priest.

[ he's trying to bring the whole exorcism topic in smoothly. he's not sure he's succeeding but it's true. he hasn't been to mass or taken confession for six months. ]

[cue eyebrow raising. traditional priest? are there other kinds of priest? he at least knows that there's different levels of clergy but the finer points of the cloth escape him.]

Uh. There's non-traditional priests? What exactly do you do if you're not out there taking confession and holding mass?

[ oh look, a perfectly natural breach into the exorcist thing. great, excellently done. what a normal conversation to have. ]

I left my parish to become an exorcist. A traveling exorcist... I know it sounds like a bad movie.

[ he's doing his best to be smooth about this. ]

[the way tomas says exorcist like it's not a big deal makes his hair stand on end.]

Yeah. It sounds like an A&E miniseries. Have you... actually exorcised any demons?

Yes, a few. Demons target teenagers more often, but by now I've seen a little of everything.

[ tomas is very calm about this, like no one at any point mentioned robbie was possessed by satan. ]

Everything?

[because he honestly wonders if father tomas has seen a skull that lights on fire.

robbie didn't get this far showing his hand to everyone on the block though. so no revealing just yet. he's still trying to get a feel for the man.]

Are there lots of different types of demons? What makes someone vulnerable?

Ah, I mean victims. People of all ages. I expect the whole multiple universes thing will surprise me... demons in my world find something you want or offer to give you back something you lost. [ he meets robbie's eye, looking for something. ] Once they have a hold on the victim, they try to force them to submit. Relinquish their soul so they can take over the body completely.

[robbie quiet, expression carefully guarded. in his recent dealings he's only told a handful of people about his particular predicament. it'll take a bit more talking before he knows for sure that he can trust tomas.]

And removing a demon... does that cause any lasting harm to the victim? [he's recalling that brief stint in which the rider had left him, the pain it had caused, and how it had nearly ruined mack's life in search of something to satisfy its needs. robbie had made that deal twice. knowingly. it makes him wonder if it's actually possible to survive without.]

I don't know if exorcists take vows to do no harm but seems like something important to avoid.

[ tomas takes a moment to consider his answer. his job isn't easy to explain, it's even harder when faced with someone who may or may not be possessed by a kind of demon he's never seen before. and it's all made even more complicated by the fact that robbie is likely picturing people chained to beds and screaming.

the worst part is that robbie isn't wrong. ]

The demons I've encountered, when they take over a host, the host's body starts rotting from within. Without intervention, the host dies or is completely taken over... it's a battle, between the human soul and the demon, as long as the human wants to fight, we can help. [ tomas hasn't failed yet but he can hardly take credit for that, if he'd been on his own he'd have gotten a little girl killed just a couple of weeks ago.

he sighs, still having some trouble finding the right words to explain himself. ]

We do everything we can with the time and resources we have to ensure the safety of the victim and their loved ones while the exorcism is taking place. And most of the time, when the exorcism is successful, the victim is physically recovered within weeks. But that's not always the case, sometimes if the demon is strong enough, it will kill its host and flee. Or if the victim gives in, the demon takes over the body completely— we call that integration, and the belief is that once a demon is integrated, there is no longer a soul to save.

[ robbie doesn't look integrated. he also doesn't look possessed, so tomas is starting to think there's a chance kimberly was, as the kids say, trolling him. ]

[robbie visibly swallows. his relationship with the rider sound considerably more complicated than anything tomas is describing. he's not being eaten alive, either physically or spiritually (he hopes) but the idea of there being people out there who are suffering like that, who deserve to be free. well, it makes his blood boil. if tomas is looking carefully enough, he may just see the flicker of flames in his eyes. of course, that could just be a reflection from the fireplace, but maybe not.]

That can't be an easy thing to see day in and day out. Guess gang violence, aliens, and superpowered people seems like a cakewalk in comparison. Of course, most of that I just saw on the news.

[ tomas sees something but he's trying not to jump to conclusions. besides, he doesn't have that oppressive feeling he usually gets when he's near demons, plus— did he say aliens? ]

It's a... [ 'aliens' definitely has him stumped. ] I'm. I'm sorry, aliens? Like, an extraterrestrial invasion?

[ if he were asked he wouldn't know how to explain why aliens are somehow more of a shock than superpowers. maybe it's because there's a warlock with a magical unicorn sweater so he had to get past that particular hurdle immediately. ]

[robbie nods in the affirmative.]

Yeah. Aliens. They invaded New York. Tore the city up pretty bad. But uh the Avengers stopped them.

[but what would tomas think if he mentioned that there are aliens right here in cadelle. he's probably bumped into one while getting his morning coffee. or tea. or whatever. what would he think then?]

I'm guessing that they haven't invaded a city near you?

I... uh. There was a comic book when I was in high school. A boy, Aldo, accidentally swallowed a meteorite and gained superpowers. [ going into personal anecdotes when confused is perhaps a bad habit, but Avengers really does sound like comic book heroes. ] That's about as close as I've been to an alien invasion.

There's comics about the Avengers too. Or well at least about Captain America. I don't really know about the rest...

[he's not the kind of fanboy that coulson is, but he's read a few comic books in his youth. robbie purses his lips and shrugs his shoulders.]

You're not missing out as far as the aliens are concerned. I'm kind of glad that I live on the other end of the country. It was crazy.

( Obviously she's talked to Robbie before. He's here enough that she'd have to be the rudest, most antisocial person to not have. But they've never really hung out. Usually it's a morning greeting or an awkward avoidance of eye contact if she's walked in on something she shouldn't. So when she finds him chilling on the couch without Kimberly, she decides it's as good a time as any to bridge that gap. She's not interrupting anything. He's not even cuddling Simba.

Clary scoops the cat up into her arms with a hum, plopping down beside Robbie and letting tiny paws knead at her leggings. )

I never got to say thanks for helping with all the decorations. You totally saved us from trying to construct a stepladder out of furniture.

( Shadowhunters do not have a levitating rune, sadly. )

[oh thank goodness she's picked up simba because he's been glaring at the cat for at least twenty minutes now and the cat hasn't gotten the hint.]

Oh hey. It's no big deal. I figured if I left it to you guys you'd be calling me to take you to the ER. Kind of surprised we didn't need to call any kind of emergency services.

No burnt cookies or flooded house. Disappointing on the excitement front.

But drinks are good.

[is it a joke? maybe a little bit, if the smile playing at his lips is any indication.]

( Why do you hate him, Robbie? He's the cutest of little beans. )

Hey, I only set the toaster on fire that one time! And it wasn't even my fault. It was clearly just an evil machine. ( That's her story and she's sticking to it, tyvm. )

But I think we did a good job. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Nobody's barfed. Nobody's bleeding. It's going a lot better than most of the parties I attend.

[because that cat, lord knows how, manages to make his way into kim's room uninvited. he's seen enough beady eyes staring at him while he's getting it on.]

Sure thing, Clary. Because evil toasters are a thing. [they could be but robbie's not giving her the satisfaction in agreeing.]

There's still time for all of those things, to be fair. [but more importantly...] Do you go to a lot of parties that end in bloodshed?

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→ i don't want a lot for christmas, there is just one thing i need

robbie reyes ▸ota

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