EVENT ★ WINTER WONDERLAND, THE RECKONING

[futurologists]

HAPPY (NONDENOMINATIONAL) HOLIDAYS When recruits arrive back at Oska, they'll find the place already full of other ALASTAIR teams visiting Oska, and the castle and grounds entirely decked out in festive cheer. The castle is draped in purple and white finery, with a light dusting of unmelting snow everywhere -- even inside, somehow. Don't worry, the indoor snow has been enchanted to be strangely warm. Dagny has taken it upon herself to add a little plant life in and around the castle: mistletoe, of course. It can be spotted growing in little sprigs out of chinks in castle walls, around from wooden doorframes, or even sprouting out of other, unrelated trees. You're never really safe from mistletoe. And what would the use of mistletoe be without the enchantment? Dagny has made sure that there are enough variant species of the mistletoe to offer something for everyone. Recruits may find themselves stuck under any manner of mistletoe, trapped until they fulfill the mistletoe geas. The Classic: This is the standard magical mistletoe, that traps people in a lightly shimmering sphere until they exchange a kiss. Any kind of kiss will do, just pucker up! The Papilion: This is similar to the classic, but its berries come in brilliant shades of orange and pink. It will only release its catch after a butterfly kiss. Clinging Merriment: This mistletoe is all wrapped up in itself, and climbs whatever surface it's on in twisting spirals. All it wants from its catch is a hug, but make it a good one! The Lively Stepper: This mistletoe seems to shiver in some unfelt breeze, and if you listen closely enough, there's a gentle chime of bells that fades when you lean away from it again. People stuck under this plant will have to dance together, to whatever music they can find or make. Whispering Mary: This mistletoe comes with deep purple leaves and seems to hide within itself. Only after a secret has been shared from each person trapped under it will it flower open and release them. Evening Gown: This mistletoe is a gaudy display, with brilliant green leaves and splendid white blossoms instead of berries. It will only release its catch after they compliment each other -- and the Evening Gown always knows when it hears a genuine compliment, and accepts no substitutions! Catflowers: Dagny didn't put this kind out, and has named them after the suspected perpetrators. She's been trying to take them down when she finds them, but there might be a few she's missed. This thorny sprig of mistletoe will only release its catch after they've punched each other. Sorry about that. THE WINTER BALL Exciting news, passed from recruit to recruit and team to team: the castle will host a ball soon! It's set to be on the second night of team Audentes's arrival in Oska, and it's going to be a truly extravagant affair. Nothing to wear? No fear! The wardrobes in each recruit's room will open upon an enormous display of fancy clothing in a multitude of styles. Once you've settled on one (and somehow, the wardrobe knows the difference between trying on and settling on), the rest of the outfits vanish the next time it's closed. The festivities start as soon as the sun begins to sink. Music filters through the air, growing louder to guide partygoers through the castle and into the dance hall, which was definitely not a room in existence until today. The music flows from no discernable source, sometimes swirling orchestral pieces, sometimes something with a heavier beat, for a different kind of dancing. The selection is as varied as the ALASTAIR teams tend to be. Listen long enough, and you might even hear something from your own home universe. A large glass flower shimmers in the center of the room, under which various recruits have taken to leaving presents for one another. Be sure to stop by and check the brightly wrapped parcels for your name! Team Audentes in particular gets a special gift. The north side of the room is decorated in an unmistakable Christmas theme, complete with an enormous, glittering tree. The care put into these decorations definitely has a personal touch, it might even outshine the rest of the hall's decor. Each member of the team has a lovingly wrapped box complete with a bow under this tree, and upon opening it will find a small, intricately detailed, never-melting ice sculpture of themselves -- very possibly in a ridiculous pose. Those who were acquainted with former teammate Nicholas St. North will find that their sculpture features two figures: themselves, and North himself. And of course, what party would be complete without the food? The kitchen has really outdone itself with its spread of delicious foods, suited to all appetites and palates. From gently steaming roasted bird to strangely colored foreign piles of tiny quivering spheres, there's something for everyone. Including the alcoholics among us: the punch is delicately spiked with that incredibly strong drink of Nalawi, which leaves a pleasantly fruity aftertaste and an immediate alcoholic burn. (Any children partaking will find that their cups have somehow filtered out any alcohol and are strangely juice-only.) ICE MAZE Outside the castle, the courtyard has been transformed. Giant shimmering ice walls have sprung up seemingly overnight, forming endless, winding pathways: an ice maze. Stepping into this beautiful, gleaming maze immediately cuts off all sound from the castle life around, so loud just a moment ago. Inside the maze is only the crunch of light snow underfoot, the sound of one's own breathing, and the echoes that bounce faintly here and there. Throughout the maze one might find bits of warm, inviting clothing. A pair of bright red mittens, a puffy coat that fits perfectly to the wearer, a scarf woven in brightly colored, warm wool. If a maze-goer chooses to ignore and walk past this clothing, they might find that something begins to follow them. It starts as just an unsettling feeling, but put off accepting the clothing for long enough and it may turn into lurking shadows in the corner of an eye, a black shape that's there in one second and vanished in the next. A faint yowl may float down a corridor, vaguely feline if only it weren't so deep. Whatever that came from must have been large. Accepting and wearing just one of the offered clothing chases away this unwanted visitor immediately, and in just five minutes more the ice maze will finally bring you out the other side. Don't take any of its gifts, though, and the maze may just lead you to meet the Yuletide Cat instead. (Which just so happens to be Cherenkov and Crowley sharing a giant cat costume. Don't laugh, they worked hard on it.) THE VILLAGE Far outside the castle, the village has been brought back to warm, glowing life. Or at least, that seems to be the case. Team Hearthstone was recently on a mission to recover an item called the Time Catch, and has used it to temporarily, visually turn time back to a time when the village of Oska was populated and lively. Humanoid villagers, all in various shades of purple and blue, hurry to and fro, talking and laughing in a language that goes untranslated by the magitek jewelry. They don't react to any of the recruits, though, and trying to touch any of them will have your hands passing straight through them. Even the restored village around them is just an illusion. One can walk straight into one of the villager's houses and find the warmth of the fire and aroma of the roasted fowl to be completely believable -- but trying to take a seat at the set table will send you crashing straight to the ground to sit in the illusion-covered rubble. THE SQUIDGE PARK After the festivities wind down, you may want to visit the newest addition to the Oska grounds -- the brand new squidge park. After Audentes's success in its mission on Zeta-12, ALASTAIR has been gifted with a clutch of squidge eggs to look after. Audentes need not worry about the squidges in their absence; there will always be someone in Oska to make sure the jelly-like aliens are being nurtured properly. The squidge park is located off the greenhouses in the courtyard; it's an enclosure containing many artificial habitats so the squidges may interact with different environments to help them grow. Right now, they are just eggs, but with enough love and care, they may "hatch" (read: their amorphous blob selves will grow limbs and enter the larval stage) before Audentes even ships out again. OOC NOTES Blind date assignments for those working to complete the Lonely Hearts Club bounty can be found here. ICly, the match-ups are publicly posted in the ballroom for all to see. The other ALASTAIR teams present consist of everything from humanoids to strange creatures; feel free to handwave them in your threads! The only stipulation is that transferred characters (ex. those who have dropped) are not present. The party lasts for one night, and the following day the rest of the teams will pack up and leave Oska to Audentes. The ghostly village-that-isn't will revert back to ruins at this point, as well. However, all other winter amenities will remain for the holidays! Following the party, characters can expect to be in Oska for several more weeks, with the next mission starting in late January. A more detailed calendar for next month will be up soon! Questions about this log, Oska, or the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Comments

a; hey lil mary lemme whisper in ur ear

[pummelling]

[Someone has very casually strolled underneath the doorway that he is hustling past, leaving the two of them effectively trapped until he takes some sort of action.

That someone is smaller than Kung Jin-- and very beautiful. Jin catches the blonde hair, pinned up ornately; the fine, floral embroidery of the dress; the fact that the person is smaller, more lithe than he. He's a moment from attempting to awkwardly extricate himself from the situation when he realizes his mistake, and breathes a sigh of relief. This is not a pretty girl from another ALASTAIR team. It's a person he knows.

It's Giorno.

...........................wait wait wait it's Giorno???????

Utterly dumbfounded (and yet nothing like offended, not in the least), he blinks, giving his younger teammate a once-over. That's definitely a super gorgeous dress this teenage boy is in.]

...You look nice.

[digiorno]

Buon giorno, Jin.

[. . . he says, probably sparkling.]

[No, but he is quite cheerful, actually. He might be perpetually irritated with Jin, but he still likes him. In his obviously very practiced and measured opinion, physical affection solves a lot of problems, as long as he's in charge of it.]

[And okay, maybe he wanted to see Jin making this dumb face he's making.]

Thank you. So do you. [butnotasnice I MEAN WHAT]

[pummelling]

[why]

Buon giorno. ...Giorno. [where are your two dads, sparkling young man, do they know where you are]

[Jin's definitely still making a dumb face, as he wracks his brain for not horrible ways to voice the express trainwreck of 'oh, that makes sense' currently rattling through the railway station inside his head. give him a minute.]

I didn't particularly want to stay at the party that long, but I figured that my closet would stop spitting ties at me if I just put something on. You look like you went all out, though.

[an uncertain glimpse up at the mistletoe. let him leave. please.]

[digiorno]

[No. They don't. They're both dead. And let's be honest: the good dad would be appalled to see him in this getup re-fucking-gardless.]

I always go all out.

[He always. Always does. Always. Cocking his head at Jin curiously, he glances up at the mistletoe when Jin does.]

It's what I wanted to wear, though. So it's all fine in the end. [Without a break in the conversational flow:] Are you going to have a panic attack?

1/2

[pummelling]

I'm just trying to figure out if I can shoot it down from this angle.

2/2

[pummelling]

[but....... he's undeniably nosy about this entire situation (and already knows trying to fight a magic plant won't work), so he's going to push a little further.]

You. Do... strike me as the kind of person who'd. Have a colorful wardrobe.

[.......]

I've got a pretty vibrant wardrobe myself.

[.............]

I just don't wear it out all that often yet.

1/???????? god

[digiorno]

Really? I can't honestly imagine that. I've only ever seen you in earth t--

[........................................wait]

[digiorno]

[Wait.]

[Giorno . . . stares upwards for a little while. Past Jin, past the mistletoe, past the ceiling honestly; he isn't looking at much, he's just. Contemplating the universe, really.]

[Jin couldn't possibly have taken such a convoluted and circuitous route to tell him something like that, could he? That seems unlikely.]

[digiorno]

[Very quickly, Giorno considers one bajillion factors in quick succession. Most of them boil down to: what do you actually know about Kung Jin, really, other than that he doesn't want to talk about himself ever, which leads naturally to: maybe there's a reason for that, which in turn leads to: Giorno Giovanna, if you laugh at this stupid boy you are going to kick your own ass for it later.]

[digiorno]

[Very, very slowly]

[Giorno lowers his eyes]

[and looks]

[right]

[at Jin]

fin cries

[digiorno]

[. . . and lifts his hand to point up at the mistletoe above them.]

That's not the kissing one. Do you know how I know that? It's because that one--

[He points across the hall to another sprig.]

--is. Do you know how I know that? It's because I kissed a boy under it, a lot.

I hope that clears up any ambiguity here.

[pummelling]

I'm gay, Giorno.

[digiorno]

[...........]

[Very carefully, he covers his face with both hands and breathes. In, out. Because it's that or scream. Once he's taken a few seconds to compose himself, he lowers them, folds them in front of him, and smiles faintly.]

Thank you for telling me. I'm not. But I suppose I'm close enough.

[pummelling]

I know. It's the secret one. I saw two bear-people from one of the other teams get into a fight over a stolen sandwich or something.

[That was. exceptionally easy. Maybe being infuriating-- and the fact that Giorno's clearly ALSO similarly 'aligned'-- has streamlined this process somewhat. His own smile's less faint and far more satisfied.]

There's a lot of that on this team, I think. It's kind of nice.

[digiorno]

Why are you like this--!

[WHY IS THIS HAPPENING]

I could slap you. God. Why didn't you just--

[He. Makes a strangled noise. And slaps his own cheeks a couple of times.]

I hate you. But yes. It's nice. Were you worried I was going to say something awful, or were you actually just fucking with me? For fuck's sake.

1/2

[pummelling]

[rihannawinking.gif]

I knew you wouldn't have. It doesn't always go well at home, is all. I'm not ashamed of it-- gods, no-- but still getting used to being more forthcoming here. Turns out I'm from one of the unfortunate realms where people care more about who I care to pursue than when Earth falls into peril for the hundredth time in the same amount of years.

[pummelling]

[Jin's grin curls.]

I was kinda screwing with you, though.

[digiorno]

You give me a headache, Kung Jin.

[That's the genuine truth. Just as much as this is:]

If anyone gives you a hard time about it I'll slap them, too.

[pummelling]

I get that a lot. [He shouldn't sound so proud of it... but he does.]

And thanks. The same goes for you.

[digiorno]

I'm sorry. Do you think I couldn't kick someone's ass in this dress?

[He's? Offended??????]

You're lucky I'm not wearing stilettoes or you'd be down one instep.

[pummelling]

No, I think you could extra kick someone's ass in that dress. I'd pay good money to watch that happen, but instead, I'm offering my own ass-kicking services.

You know.

In wardrobe solidarity. [slap him omg]

[digiorno]

[For a long moment, Giorno appears to go elsewhere. It's probably a little eerie; he doesn't look at all like his normal, aggressively vibrant self. Rather more like an old Greek statue, in fact--one of the unspecifically beautiful ones that isn't quite detailed enough for one to be able to tell on sight if it's a god of something nice or--something less so.]

[Then, quick as a striking snake and with a surprising amount of force behind it, he slaps Jin across the face.]

You just ran facefirst into the limits of my patience. Watch it.

[pummelling]

[The slap connects loudly enough that a few other passing ALASTAIR recruits turn their heads to rubberneck, whispering in hushed tones about whatever the hell might've just transpired.

The fact of the matter is that Jin's used to toeing the line to see how far he can get-- he walks it like a tightrope, and most people aren't willing to call him out on it before he's jumped off without consequence, ready to be a little shit for another day. It was only a matter of time before he ran into somebody who wouldn't stand for it.

He's stunned into a brief silence. Jin turns his head back-- there is definitely a mark on his cheek now-- and raises a hand to where he'd been struck.]

Gotcha.

[digiorno]

[And just like that: Giorno relaxes. Smiles, too, and it's a regular old teen boy smile. Don Giovanna has left the building, at least for the moment.]

Thank you. I really do appreciate it.

[He tips his head a little, regarding Jin thoughtfully.]

And I really am glad you told me. I'm sure part of the reason you're, forgive me, so shit at this is because you don't have much practice. It's just confusing when I can't tell whether or not you want to be serious.

[pummelling]

[God this kid is fucking scary. Jin gingerly rubs at his cheek, brow furrowing as he peers down at the shorter boy.]

Hey, what's life without a little mystery. And social awkwardness, I guess.

Can we walk out from under this thing now?