epidemiology | EVENT ★ WINTER WONDERLAND

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EVENT ★ WINTER WONDERLAND

HOLIDAY PREPWORK

The sun might still be AWOL, but that doesn't mean it's time for a vacation! The goblin community seems even more motivated to get their holiday preparations together, working tirelessly to brighten up the grim atmosphere.

To that end, they've enlisted the help of the ALASTAIR recruits that've been bumming around. Characters that signed up will be invited or roped into the goblins' various holiday traditions and events. Though they may refuse or fail these tasks, for every one that isn't accomplished, characters will suffer one effect from the curses list for upsetting the holiday balance.

Note that those that didn't sign up can still help with tasks out of the goodness of their hearts, they just won't be assigned anything themselves or suffer any curses. Additionally, though PCs are magically bound to work with some partners, they may team up with others as well.

GREETINGS FROM LLOYD

ALASTAIR sends their holiday tidings! Some characters will find special deliveries addressed to them by name from the mysterious Lloyd of HR. The packaging might be messy and overtaped, and some of the gifts are less nice than others, but it's the thought that counts.

MISTLESNOW

The first snowfall of the year arrives, and though this may not bode well when there's no sun to melt it away, for now it's pristine and beautiful. Flurries and gentle snowstorms continue for days, blanketing all of Chantes and the outskirts.

With it comes a uniquely magical weed epidemic. Mistletoe grows off every surface it can, stems and shrubs of it creeping off of anything it can cling to, including trees, archways, lanterns and buildings. This parasitic plant is a notorious holiday tradition, but in Chantes it packs an extra punch: when two characters step under it together, they'll find themselves magically rooted in place. Mistletoe's spell can only be broken by a kiss, and while chaste exchanges usually work (kisses to the hand, butterfly or eskimo kisses, etc.), more stubborn weeds do exist.

This effect lasts until characters smooch or the weed dies from lack of sustenance, which could be anywhere between several hours to a full day. Mistletoe can be destroyed by a third party in a pinch, but be careful not to get stuck under the plant as well!

As an OOC note, feel free to be creative on the range and strength of the mistletoe, but please respect other players' boundaries! If you would like to break the mistletoe with a hearty handshake or have your character be immune, be our guest.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

All the hustle and bustle aside, the festivities themselves are peaceful and joyous -- and thanks to the ALASTAIR recruits, not punctuated with death or ominous Chimera motifs this time. A large bonfire continues all night with food and mulled wine aplenty. It's time to kick back, make some snow angels, and relax.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[why the mistletoe seems to sprout around him is at least partially explained by the curse afflicting his master. she's noticed it, herself, but she can't be concerned with all the unfortunate souls snagged by the mistletoe that pops up in the wake of her every step or she'd never move anywhere. also, she's curiously finding that it's not so bad.

the holiday spirit isn't so bad. when archer catches sight of rin outside, she's visibly lighthearted and full of more smiles than he'd expect of her. she even aims one in his direction as their eyes meet, purposefully joining him underneath a small sprig of mistletoe that freezes them both in place.

she's damn sneaky.]

Archer... [surely she's mocking him.] You know what mistletoe is for, right?

[give some sugar to your master, and not the baking kind.]

[ This is definitely some sort of Hell he's walked into.

Of course, he sees Rin before she approaches (they're connected, he couldn't miss her presence if he tried), and he does note there's something different. She has more of a spring in her step than he's used to, and even if that isn't necessarily a bad thing, there's something in the smile she flashes his way that makes him think it might be better to Not Be Here, right now.

He doesn't walk away -- can't, really, since she's already noticed him -- though he does regret not moving when he notices a spring of mistletoe hanging over their heads...

She is definitely mocking him. ]

Rin...?

[ For the briefest of moments, even her usually serious Servant looks like a deer caught in the headlights. ]

[she enjoys that look on him. (later, she'll connect the dots and realize why. some aspects of this... person never change.)

waiting for his new dilemma to sink in with a judicious amount of time, rin's beaming as she rests her hand softly against his chest and delivers one command:]

Lean down.

[ He honestly wishes she hadn't put him in this position.

She keeps smiling at him (she was always scary with that sort of look on her face), and part of him wishes he could return it. If this were anyone else, he might be able to. He might even be able to tease and scoff and brush it off, but with her it's different.

He feels for her, he cares, but he's always afraid to show too much because even this pact of theirs, the fact that they're together here at all, could fall apart so easily, it's better not to show anything, to be cold and distant to everyone and everything around him--

That's what he thinks, what he believes is right, but she's standing there looking at him like that, and he can't move away.

Her fingers light against his chest, he stares at her for a long moment before he finally obeys. This is going to happen whether he thinks it should or not, and his nose bumps gently against hers as he continues to look at her with uncertain grey eyes (eyes that used to be so much brighter than they are now).

He holds his breath. He isn't really sure what to do. ]

Edited 2015-12-21 05:40 (UTC)

[rin understands, then. it's impossible to miss it. this might have been on a girl's whim, nothing more than a momentary diversion to amuse herself and maybe earn a quick giggle out of the whole matter, but archer doesn't see it that way.

just as she assumed, he's different, here. more has happened with him—between them?—that she hasn't seen. and she's shocked by the weight of it, how serious he makes this moment as he simply stares at her, but she still doesn't back down. tohsaka rin never pursues a task she can't complete, right?

the truth is that he would never have to worry. they aren't outgoing people, by nature. neither of them will ever be completely open with their emotions, even to each other. it's what they are, though.

can't he show a little, from time to time, without showing too much?

she isn't thinking.

rin leans away as his nose nudges against hers, poking some fun at him with a bubble of laughter that rises up unrestrained. it's hilarious. here's this experienced, worldly heroic spirit and it's as if he's clumsy, pursuing his very first kiss. she watches him, and there's just as much power behind her eyes as his, perhaps at a level above his. he needs orders. fine, let this be an order.

just do it. it's nothing.]

Come on, now. Do I have to show you how to do it?

[she looks like she did in the window of the classroom during that sunset one afternoon.]

[ Archer is not a whimsical man. He's methodical, precise, and logical to the exclusion of all else. He's had to be that way to keep himself sane, and as much as he despises himself and everything he has become, even that is debatable, some days. He has nothing good to offer, nothing in the way of positivity to share with anyone else, and if not for that rigid control of his, so much of that nastiness would come spilling through the cracks.

She laughs at him lightly, and really, she should. It's laughable -- a grown man, a Heroic Spirit who's seen every sort of hell humanity could produce, and he's standing here, uncertain and undecided over a kiss.

Just do it. It's nothing.

He closes his eyes. Of course...it should be nothing. He knows that, and yet, in his mind, it never will be. Because of what he feels in this moment and the fact that he feels at all -- that some part of him is still human even though he never will or could be again.

He exhales softly. Some of the tension slides out of his shoulders, and his eyes slip open again, softer, maybe, than she's ever seen them. She doesn't need to show him how. He's done this before even if he can no longer remember the last time he did.

Fingers ghost briefly down her cheek, and with that, he does it. He kisses her, a gentle, unobtrusive thing that conveys a surprising amount of warmth.

He could never find a middle ground or a happy medium of any kind with his ideals, and this is no different. Even showing a little always ends up being too much. ]

Edited 2015-12-22 05:22 (UTC)

[yeah, she isn't thinking.

perfectly, at her beck and call, whatever was holding him back dissipates and he's the obedient servant she expects of him. he opens his eyes, though, and he's far from that. rin has trouble describing it, initially.

but the tenderness in his eyes right before he kisses her makes her heart ache. this isn't her archer. this can't be her archer.

for all her confidence and conviction, it's amazingly easy to draw her attention and consume it whole. his fingertips caress down her face with a touch that isn't archer's and the next thing she knows it goes dark.

their kiss probably isn't much. quick, chaste, and not nearly as overwhelming as it seems. with a servant like archer, just a taste of something gentle and warm may be too strong. the kiss takes its time, but once their lips naturally part, her face is hot.]

Wh-What... [was that?

it could be clear she's searching for an explanation. her eyes are wide, and it finally sinks in. she always messes up at the critical moment. she asked for something, and now doesn't know what to do when she's received it. she didn't want him to be a rock, but—]

[ He knows.

Pulling back with surprising grace, eyes still softer than they usually ever are, he considers the look on her face with something not unlike amusement. She hasn't changed at all, and while his memories of his own life are patchy at best, sometimes, when he's around her, brief images, snippets of a life long since past, return to him. That girl he admired and looked up to, who always tried to ground him -- he did not listen to her then, and while that too is a source of regret (he should have stayed with the people who cared about him and focused on them, not nebulous others he would never meet, or actually be able to protect or save), he doesn't feel that now.

She's been kind to him, and that kindness is a gift he won't throw away. Not when it makes him feel so light.

He smiles at her, even laughs a little, and in that moment, he isn't her Archer at all. He's someone else -- someone who, by all rights, lost his heart and died a long time ago. ]

Was it so bad...? Tohsaka.

[she stares up at him with big blue eyes, her lips are quivering, and she still can't quite believe it. the kiss must have been enough because the magic of the spell unwinds from around them, but it goes unnoticed. her legs remain a little numb, regardless. she had already suspected, even told him so earlier, when he revealed the name and identity of the young man he wished to kill.

this is too much.

the affection in his eyes is strange because it's his and his youthful amusement is like his, and his smile? it's his. the thoughts rush back to her, it's not fair, she misses him, he saved her life from the schemes of this man in front of her, this man who's copying him for her but he wanted (wants?) to kill him—

rin reacts in the only way her body will let her. her eyes turn watery before a single tear drips down her burning cheek, angry and ashamed, and it's the one sign betraying her emotions. she pushes archer roughly in the chest—with magical energy behind it, intending to jostle a servant—and she knocks him away if she can.]

You jerk!

[she runs, burying her face in the sleeve of her coat.]

Edited (some small changes) 2015-12-29 06:49 (UTC)

[ He should have expected it.

Archer stumbles back -- more from the shock of it than the force -- and his face twists briefly as he stares at her retreating back. Of course, she would react that way. Not knowing everything, he couldn't possibly expect her to accept him or understand what she just saw.

He's a paradox, a contradiction of the highest order, and he shouldn't have let her see anything.

Fists clenched, Archer vanishes. There are more holiday tasks to complete, but he doesn't trust himself around others at the moment. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ WINTER WONDERLAND

III. i'm the mistletoe fairy

oh boy

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