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

I have never heard of such a thing!

[And she's heard of tons of things! ... Maybe it was a tradition of the outside world? But she'd recently told they weren't all lust-addled beasts??]

Are you attempting to take advantage?

[He waves his hands in denial.]

No! I don't want to take any advantages. I just want us both to be free! But... We might have to give the mistletoe what it wants to break this spell!

[ASKANCE.]

I will not bow to the whims of a plant- particularly if it is a perverse one!

R-right! That's a bad idea, right?

[He points a scolding finger up at the mistletoe.]

You hear that, Mistletoe? We're not bowing to your whims!

Who is it that's bowing to your whims, you ask? The answer is... um... not these guys!

[He gestures towards both of them.]

Exactly.

[Not these guys.

Instead, Sieglinde struggles with trying to move once more for a brief moment before giving up again, rummaging through her pockets and pulling out a variety of items- a jar of antler velvet... a half-eaten fruit bar... her workshop key...]

- do you have anything on your person that could reach the mistil?

Iiii...

[He digs out his own pockets, but there's just empty candy wrappers and an apartment key.]

....I got nothing. [Steven shrugs sheepishly.]

Unless I try throwing one of these things at it? Ooh, or I could try to make a bubble!

[Gosh darnit why didn't either of think to bring extendable shears...]

- how do you propose to make a bubble out of those items?

[Actually, wait- she pinches the bridge of her nose, waving off the question.]

A bubble wouldn't even help-

[That might have succeeded, if through shear coincidence.]

No no, like this!

[He focuses for a moment, a glow coming from where his belly button should be under his shirt, and he forms a pink bubble around them.]

[...

Woah. Sieglinde blinks slowly, then rapidly, gaze flicking between his belly button and the bubble before she reaches out to touch it.]

You can cast a barrier spell?

[He chuckles.]

It's... kind of like that. I make it with my gem's power! It's a really sturdy bubble, so it might be just what we ordered!

Your gem?

[She raps her knuckles on the bubble, but her gaze is on his belly.

- the glow, after all, was a bit of a giveaway.]

Oh right! I never told you about that, did I? Check it out, Siegelinde!

[He raises his shirt a little to reveal the gem in place of his belly button. It was only glowing while the bubble was being activated, but it still looks very... gem-my.]

[That is... definitely a gemstone. A very pure and faceted one! Used to dealing with more raw crystals in her spells, she's never seen one cut this cleanly...

As far as her stuck feet allowed, Sieglinde leaned forward, arms held out for balance, trying to investigate further.]

Is this quartz?

[Was it... embedded in his skin?]

[He giggles as he keeps his shirt held up to give her a good look at it.]

Probably! My mom was Rose Quartz, so that sounds about right!

[The position of his skin in relation to the gemstone certainly made it seem as if it was embedded more than... stuck onto him...

But. How would that be?]

Your mother's name has little to do with this... ?

[What a weird name choice, to begin with...]

[He shakes his head defiantly.]

My mother's name has everything to do with this! This was her gem, after all. [He pats at it.]

Or... I guess you could really say that this gem used to be her!

[Okay, this. Just got. Weirder. Somewhat shocked, Sieglinde pointed at the gem, very tempted to... poke it.]

Your mother's... essence is in that?

[Steven smiles sheepishly as he tries to find the words to explain this. She can feel free to poke if she wants; it will just feel like a normal gemstone.]

Yyyeah, kinda? It's hard to explain! See, my mom wasn't human. She was a gem! And gems are like these really powerful people from another world. All their life is contained within their gemstone! They have a body too, but that's just a... what do they call it? ...A physical projection? ...Yeah, that kinda dealy!

[Then his smile shifts a bit, to some mix of fondness and sadness.]

But then my mom - she wanted to have a kid with a human. My dad. And the only way to do that between the species was... well... she gave up her physical form so that I could be born.

[Tempting, but. She has enough of a sense of caution not to pike something that may contain a bound soul or something like that-

It's something that likely sounds ridiculous, but even though the exact vocabulary he uses is unfamiliar, the concept...]

So she used her flesh as the catalyst to form your own?

[A life to create a life?]

That's one way of putting it? [He frowns.] It... sounds kind of creepy...

But that's okay! It's hard to really describe it clearly.

[Sorry, Steven, she was raised on creepy.]

Is she... conscious... ?

[In... the gem?]

[He'll live with it. ...But then he looks down sadly, one hand hovering over his belly.]

...We don't know. It's possible, but... but I never heard her before...

[What a peculiar... situation...

Sieglinde looked between Steven and the mistletoe above them, her expression turning even more queer, lips pursing as she tried to think of what to say...

Considering that now it seemed like... kissing when his mother was watching...]

[Steven feels pretty awkward about the situation in general, although he is concerned about Sieglinde's expression. He glances up at the mistletoe again and than back at her. Steven frowns as he scratches at his hair.]

Are... are you okay?

Do you not feel... watched... at all... ?

[Steven, this is pertinent, damn it...]

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