World of Warcraft®

AAMS couriers dutifully begin posting flyers in all the usual places…

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The AAMS is pleased to announce the return of the

ALL ANONYMOUS MERCHANDISE SWAP!

The All Anonymous Merchandise Swap is a cross-faction anonymous gift exchange. Everyone who signs up will send and receive a Winter’s Veil gift to and from another person on the list, all in the spirit of holiday cheer!

Sign up now and:
In few weeks, you’ll be given the name of someone to buy a gift for. Find something special and turn it into an AAMS office! Who knows, you may even be buying a gift for that “other” group...

Sometime during Winter’s Veil, you will receive a special gift bought by someone else, just for you. Good luck figuring out who sent it!

Please stop by your local AAMS office for more information or to participate!

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OOC Stuff:

Yep, it’s that time again. (At least I waited until after Hallow’s End!)

So here’s all that finicky OOC information and FAQ!

Timeline:
Now until December 7th : Accepting Sign Ups
December 8th: Sending out Assignments
December 8th-25th: Picking up Gifts from Senders
December 16th-January 1st: Delivering Gifts to Recipients
January 2nd: Mail any undelivered Gifts to Recipients

FAQ

Is this in character?
Yes, this is a roleplaying initiative and will be considered in character. If your character would have a problem with sending a gift to the opposite faction, do keep in mind that it will be anonymous...

How do I sign up?
Three options:
-Sign up here by replying to this thread.
-Talk to an AAMSer in game.
-Send an in-game letter to Derscha or Kezrin

When you are signing up, I encourage you to also submit a short description of your character to help the other person pick out a gift. :)

Who can sign up?
Both Horde and Alliance are eligible. You must be a character on Cenarion Circle or Sisters of Elune. Multiple characters are allowed, but please be reasonable.

*Shifty eyes* Hey, can you make sure I’m paired up with so-and-so?
Nope! Pairings will be random. I cannot guarantee you’ll get a specific person or faction. In the past we’ve had people get their own alts.

But I really want to send this person a gift! I have gold!
May I recommend using our customary AAMS services with an Anonymous Sender option?

What kind of gift should I buy?
You can get anything that can be delivered or RP’d in game. We’ve had gifts ranging from in game pets to poems, and plenty of grey items. There’s no need to break your bank; the idea of this program is to have fun!

What you cannot give, however, is:
-Codes for store items or services
-Anything that requires someone to do something outside of the game (ex: visit a website, send an email)
-Anything that will obviously injure or kill the courier or the recipient.

Do I need to wrap my gift?
Complimentary gift wrap will be provided. Please do NOT wrap your present; we’ll just be unwrapping it anyway to verify its contents for our records and to store it in the bank until it’s delivered.

I’ve got a gift! Whom do I give it to?
Contact your local AAMS rep to pick up your gift or mail it to Derscha or Kezrin.

Does it have to be anonymous?
If you wish to include your name with the gift, feel free. However, the AAMS will not be revealing who sent any particular gift without explicit instructions to do so from the sender.

I really loved the gift I received! Will you give my thanks to the sender?
I think Kezrin said it best in last year’s post:

"Okay, listen... glad ya liked your gift. So did everyone else. Liked their own gift, I mean. Not yours. Though it's a nice one, really. I betcha the person who got that gift you sent liked it as well an' wants ta thank ya. So can everyone just assume that everyone likes their gifts an' says thanks? Ya know, instead of doublin' our workload with a buncha return messages?

We good? Yeah, good. We're good."

Feel free to make a forum post, however, expressing how much you loved your gift!

Mingo wakes up from a mid-afternoon nap in Thunder Bluff to find a message stuck on his left horn. Again.

What the? I was in a designated napping zone, the guards can't ticket me for loitering! What kind of a world is this where a bull can't take a nap without--

As his mental faculties finish rebooting, he realizes with a relieved sigh that it's actually not a parking violation, but an AAMS annoucement.

A Winter Veil gift exchange hm? I could get behind this, might be fun! Maybe I get paired with a Gnome and I could send them a pair of festively wrapped loincloths to be used as a makeshift parachute. I wonder if Abominus could weave some sort of Worgen-fur cloak as a gift, hmmm.

With eyes bright and ideas churning away in his fuzzy head, he makes his way to the local AAMS branch to register his interest.

Love this idea....willl be signing up on one of my toons on CC. Probably Rigorous or Yndorath. Where can I find the AAMS office on Horde side?

11/17/2015 10:33 AMPosted by Glimmerdwelf

Love this idea....willl be signing up on one of my toons on CC. Probably Rigorous or Yndorath. Where can I find the AAMS office on Horde side?

IC speaking, the AAMS has an HQ in Booty Bay. The Horde specific branch office is in Orgrimmar; we've lately been using the building to the left of the Valley of Honor Auction House.

OOC, if you really want to find an AAMSer in game, ask in the /HordeOOC channel in the evening hours. There's sadly only a few of us. :(

If you make a decision, you can just post in this thread and I will add you to our list!

((Sign me up!))

((ditto... plus Genevra))

((Sign me up, too :) ))

11/16/2015 02:39 PMPosted by Derscha

AAMS couriers dutifully begin posting flyers in all the usual places…

The old gnome sorted his daily mail while making his way through the Conclave Northshire Archives. His mechanical companion, Sims, scurried along at his side.

"Sims. Did you go through my mail as I asked?"

The mechanical squirrel chirped, nodding its tiny metallic head.

"Good-good. Now that they're all scanned and held in your memory, let's go through them. I'll trust you to handle the rest of the details."

Sims proceeded to beep and chirp, almost melodically, as he scurried along. At odd intervals Cail broke the strange mechanical rhythm with a "Yes" or a "No" and occasionally a "Pft, shred it... dirty junk mailers". While running his fingers across the spines of old historical volumes he paused and interrupted Sims.

"Wait. What was that?" Sims repeated his beeps and chirps. "Ah. The AAMS is at it again. Is it really that time of year already? My-my, how the time flies..." Cail leaned heavily on his silver winged staff. "...and I just keep getting older."

The old gnome sighed, looking very much his considerable age.

"Well," He scratched the chin beneath his wild gray beard. "I suppose I'll join in the festivities this year. It'll be my first time. I'm afraid though that I'm a horrible gifter. I never really know what to get people." Cail chuckled to himself as a distant memory surfaced. "Tana always said so..."

Cail's drifting melancholy was broken by Sims mechanical chatter.

"Oh, yes. Of course. Send word to Derscha for me then. Make certain my name is put on their list."

Sims chirped and bobbed, then turned sharply and scurried off to complete his tasks; leaving the old gnome to his work.

Five more days for signs up :D

<innocently signs Noikona up>

Gift assignments have been sent!

Please send your packages to the AAMS by mailing them to Kezrin or Derscha, or by having an AAMS courier pick one up from you.

The following people were officially signed up:
Hawes, Lithliana, Maxla, Mingonashoba, Rhazin, Swizelle, Trenetir, Yúmao
Bodil, Caileanmor, Calent, Dantemoon, Genevra, Kaetrianna, Kordrion, Noikona, Rhaala

Can't wait to see what folks get :D

It wasn't all that suprising when Kezrin found herself spending another evening at the Booty Bay offices going over paperwork. Derscha was a very hands-on type of boss, which meant she was often away from the office and leaving all the tedious portion of the job in the goblin's hands.

She'd complain, except that she disliked dealing with people and was more than happy to let the bossgnome deal with that aspect of running the AAMS.

"Got another late arrival to add to the pile!" a cheery voice announced before Sprocketquill plunked a box beside Kezrin's desk.

"Can't ya just take that down ta storage rather than bring it here?"

"Oh, sure I could, but you're on the way! And this way I'm sure it gets marked off the list."

"Right, right, the list..." Kezrin pulled out the All Anonymous Merchandise Swap tracker, running her finger along the list of names who hadn't yet submitted their presents until she found the name matching the tag on the box. "Okay, that means we're only missing a couple. Ain't that bad."

"Nope, not at all!" Sprocketquill agreed. "Might not have to buy anything extra. Who are we missing?"

"Hmm." Her finger trailed down the page again. "Huh. Actually, just the one person hasn't turned in a gift. It's the one for... uh oh."

The reception gnome stood on her toes to peer over Kezrin's shoulder. "Uh oh? Who is 'uh oh'?"

Kezrin slammed the paper down on the desk, her forehead thumping on top of it a moment later. "Of course that's the one gift we're missin'. Can't say I blame the sender."

"Not that bad, is it? How hard can it be just to buy something nice?" Sprocketquill leaned closer to listen to Kezrin's muttering into the desk surface. "Nah, I don't think coal would be very good, unless it's an artist... is he an artist?"

"Certainly mopey enough fer one." Kezrin sighed. "Hope his gift gets here soon, 'cause I sure ain't pickin' something out for him!"

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All (but one) gifts have been sent to the AAMS, so if you're in need of a delivery and see one of us online, give us a poke!

Except you. You know who you are.

The manager's curse.

Kezrin knew what it was now.

Very few managers lasted long; some sort of disaster always seem to befall the AAMS higher ups, either injuring them or driving them batty. Derscha seemed to be an exception rather than the rule, but then she was a gnome, which quite possibly made her immune to the batty option. Kezrin was literally uncertain how many Horde side managers she'd weathered (though having her memory jumbled up by a demon wasn't particularly helping the cause.)

So she had been waiting, wondering, fretting over what catastrophe would drive her screaming from her job, and it had finally happened.

How in the fel was she suddenly responsible for buying Trenetir Moradinel a GIFT.

Her one solace was that it was supposed to be anonymous; there was no way he'd know it was from her... unless Adassos let it slip. Which he probably wouldn't. Hopefully. Still, she could just grab the first trinket she saw and safely blame it on Mr. Anonymous.

Except, the niggling voice in the back of her head warned her, he'd know. Or even if he didn't, he'd blame her. He always blamed her.

The solution was to buy something that obviously would not have come from her, aka something that showed a bit of thought and consideration.

After several days of maddening thought, she finally made a decision. A few inquires later secured the item in question. She spent a day picking up the present from a contact in Kalimdor and brought it back to Booty Bay. Kezrin headed straight to the warehouse to store it with the other Swap packages, only to find someone had already stashed away a small box marked "Moradinel."

"Hey, Sprocketquill!" Kezrin sought out the gnomish secretary. "When did the Moradinel gift get here?"

"Oh, that? Came in this morning just after you left. I went ahead and stored it without bothering you, since it seemed to annoy you so much last time. Now you don't have to get anything, isn't that nice? Miss Kanzelry? Something wrong?"

Oh, yes, the curse was doing a very nice job of driving her insane.