Getting ready to do some noveling

... Not actually writing the specific words, of course -- that will begin in a little less than 12 hours -- but just figuring out what my opening scenerio will be.

My general idea for the story comes from a book on ancient "Santa Claus" traditions; the particular tradition that caught my eye was that Nicholas (with the help of his servant slave Black Pete) stuffs the really bad kids into his sack and takes them away until the following Christmas. This post, from a couple of years ago, confirmed the existance of the tradition, and that it's not really all that ancient, but is still within living memory.

In my story, I'll be melding Nicholas and Black Pete into one character (which I think they were, before Europe was Christianized). And this is where "Santa" gets his elves -- the really bad kids are forced to make the toys for the really good kids before they're allowed to go back home (sort of like a juvenile detention labor camp). The story will be told from the point of view of one of those really bad kids, and will be set in modern times.

But -- there's one thing that I can't decide on, hence the following poll:

[Poll #857375]