epidemiology | 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

[Hellboy had been sitting nearby the fire already -- though slightly away from the center, not needing the warmth himself. He would have taken up too much premium space, large as he is, and so he contents himself with watching the bonfire from a comfortable distance.

Looking at the fire, his thoughts drift to Liz. Though she's his best friend, he still hasn't seen her in years and hasn't the slightest idea what she's up to -- which may strike some people as strange, he's sure, but he's used to it; Liz was always vanishing off to somewhere. Why shouldn't Hellboy be able to do the same? (Admittedly, he's pretty sure none of Liz's vacations ever involved timeline police, but still.)

Because he's thinking about the pyrokinetic Liz, seeing Riza apparently will a stick into flame doesn't immediately strike him as strange. But then he realizes who he's actually looking at, and he frowns.] Is that new?

[His voice is familiar, his presence comforting, and some of her earlier unease fades at the sight of him, enough for her to quirk a small smile at him. One hand reaches up, to tug at a brightly colored ornament dangling off her sweater.]

It is. I've been told it brings out my eyes.

[That's a blatant lie, but the mood's pensive enough that a little bit of good humor seems in order. In any case, she's fully aware he isn't referring to her absolutely hideous sweater but instead to her might-as-well-be-magic trick of earlier.]

But yes, it is. A new skill courtesy of our mysterious benefactors. [She pauses for a moment before admitting, gaze flickering down to her hands:] It's harder than I thought it would be,

[Hellboy tilts his head a little sardonically at her joke, since he hadn't actually noticed the... sweater... before she mentioned it. That certainly is something.

Point two on the list of things he didn't know: that ALASTAIR granted that sort of thing. It makes him a little suspicious, a little nervous.]

Is that something you asked for?

[Does she look like the sort of irresponsible adult that would run around asking for magic powers left and right? She already has one easy and efficient means of killing people, two's just overkill. (Though being able to start a campfire wherever she goes so long as there's flammable material around does seem like a plus.)

What paltry good cheer she has flees, lips flatlining at the question. Not out of offense, but rather her own internal suspicion.]

I haven't asked for anything from them so far, actually. Even if I had asked for something, it wouldn't have been this. [With a gesture towards the brightly burning fire to relay her meaning.] I wouldn't have thought such a thing possible.

[And yet here they are.]

[Hellboy's expression mirrors Riza's, his already-deadpan expression going a little more severe.]

So they like to just gift us with surprise special powers. Great... [It is not great.

At Riza's comment, though, Hellboy shakes his head.] My best friend could do things like that. Pyrokinesis. But it wasn't magic; it was something she had to fight to control. So at least they didn't give you something like that.

[It is not great is definitely a sentiment she can get behind.

The thought of being given something similar has her paling, knuckles whitening as her fingers curl even tighter around her mug of cider. It's a horrifying enough scenario that she can't even bring herself to smile, though thankfully there's nothing about this whole situation that really warrants good humor.]

How long did it take her to learn how to control it?

[Riza doesn't look at Hellboy as she asks, staring instead into the mug in her hands.]

[Hellboy watches Riza, unsure how deeply he should get into it. He could just brush it off, give her some vague reassurance, and leave her feeling better about the whole situation: the weirdness of sudden powers that may be impossible to control.

But that isn't his speed. Not with Riza, anyway, who's always been blunt and straightforward with him, as far as he knows. She deserves the same from him.]

She never learned. [Riza isn't looking at him, but Hellboy cups his hands toward each other, miming a sphere between his fingers.] It's something inside her, like... an energy, I guess. She tried to get rid of it once -- dumped it all into a walking, talking battery -- but without that energy, she couldn't live. It's as much a part of her as she is of it.

[Symbiotic energy of massive destruction, in other words.]

So it could be worse.

[Look at him she doesn't, but his words bore into her soul all the same. She's about as magical as cracked dinner plate, and powered by a single heart and a slightly aged pair of lungs. To have such a skill be an innate part of oneself...

She shivers then, and not because of the cold.]

If you're trying to cheer me up with that, you're not doing a very good job.

[The words are meant to be teasing, an attempt at injecting some brevity back into this conversation that's veered sharply into too-serious territory, but she doesn't quite succeed.]

[It's alright. Hellboy is the poster boy for failed attempts at levity. He snorts a little, understanding what she's getting at, and leans back on his hands.]

I guess I forgot my clown shoes today. I'll keep that in mind for next time.

EVENT ★ WINTER WONDERLAND

c

bleh, i'm sorry for taking a million years with this

wow no apologies necessary

apologizes for a million years!!

whoa maybe i should apologize!! for being even later!!!!

never too late....

are you sure about that

500% sure, i say yet another week later

tags you in a timely fashion for once