❄ I just wanna keep on waiting underneath the mistletoe ... [sisi voice] A Jingle Mingle

[alittlefuninstead]

Wherever you are, whoever you are, you'll likely find yourself blinking one moment and teleporting in a flurry of snowflakes the next. Luckily for you, there's no murder this time! (Probably.)

Rather, you'll hear Christmas carols aplenty as you approach a winter castle, snow lightly falling and various paths leading to gardens filled with still-blooming flowers (how.) and lit topiary displays.

Upon entering the castle, you'll find it's brightly lit and decorated...welcome to the party! Frost lightly dusts the walls and some nearby surfaces and guests will find there are halls and floors aplenty to explore. There are rooms filled with plush chairs and fireplaces for those looking for something cozier, rooms filled with all kinds of games and toys, and naturally there's a large ballroom prime for dancing. Spread through you'll find tables of snacks, full-course meals, drinks, desserts, and even champagne towers. Are you looking for something specific? Simply ask a member of the staff. Watch your step though! Their assistants really are doing their best to help, and the jingling bell may be too faint to hear if you aren't paying attention.

It seems as though you've all been invited to a wonderful holiday party for no reason at all...but there is one thing amiss...or, should I say...amistletoe?

Pinned up on every doorway is a sprig of fresh mistletoe, decorated with bright red bows and dustings of frost. And sure, perhaps it's easy just to avoid the doorways if you want to be a spoilsport. But should you avoid it for too long, it will seem as though the mistletoe is following you, almost as if some asshole is hiding out and purposefully trailing behind to keep it dangling over your head.

Oh. And did I mention you can't leave the castle grounds until you play along? Pucker up.

[ooc: this can be any past murdergame characters y'all, go nuts.

for clarity sake, this includes characters from: reapsody, grimmoired, plasmatio, subdivided, thotordie, bluesclues, tropicalgetaway, notagain, and redactable!

edit: and by popular demand any of you from the above games can also bring your yuggoths and your tikirobos. The Robowests were in CRAU and therefore don't count goodbye.]

Comments

[applechemist]

[ she smiles and nods enthusiastically! how can you not have a good time with pretty lights and sweets and friends? (more than half these people are strangers.) ]

Thank you.

[ she starts handing him plates

so that she can pick up more plates ]

[crashout]

[he juggles the plates, but there's a slight noise of alarm as he realizes what's happening.]

Hey. Escha. Not exactly what I meant?

[applechemist]

[ escha, mid-bite from one of her new plates: ]

Hm?

[crashout]

Maybe not so many plates? [he only has two arms currently, please.]

[applechemist]

It's okay. We can share, if you like.

[ because surely that was his concern. ]

[crashout]

I mean I appreciate that but aren't you worried we'll run out of room?

[applechemist]

Oh.

[ i see. she understands this concern... after a moment of thought, she starts looking around. ]

Where's Dick? [ he would surely help her hold even more plates. ]

[crashout]

[ESCHA. except like. yeah he immediately gets distracted and kind of starts looking around too.]

Uh...you know how he is. I am the shadows, blah blah blah. He's probably doing patrol somewhere and he'll loop back around later. So his arms are out.

[applechemist]

Oh, that's too bad... They're good arms.

[ she has stopped picking up new plates, but she is just forcing junpei to keep holding her old ones. ]

[crashout]

I know right? [he easily admits this, but he's also adjusting escha's extra plates so they're starting to rest on his forearms.]

Are the desserts any good at least? [it's possible he went straight for the alcohol and didn't look back.]

[applechemist]

[ regrettably, escha is absolutely drunk in a different thread. but for now, her tail is wagging... ]

They're all really good! I haven't been able to eat this many sweets in a couple d--in a long time!

[crashout]

[i'm weeping. it's fine, escha's precious regardless and junpei just keeps doing this.

even if he raises his eyebrows.]

A really long time, huh? [doubt. but he lets it slide...] What's your favorite? Surprise me.

[applechemist]

I don't think I could surprise you if I tried.

[ it's apple pie. her favorite is apple pie. ]

[crashout]

[it's always apple pie.]

Hey, you never know. It could be something completely unpredictable but I do like that you're the most consistent of the three of us.

[applechemist]

Oh, I don't think that's true. I often think of you and Dick as both very predictable.

[ they're both always nice to her! ]

[crashout]

[he does not say that escha is possibly the only person to think so but he smiles again.]

I think you might just know our patterns better than most people, but thanks. I'm sure he'll like to hear that, too.

[it'll drive dick crazy but he won't say anything because it's escha, which means junpei thinks it's hilarious.]

[applechemist]

Really...?

[ she tilts her head at that, because she really assumes they just treat her like anyone else... so wouldn't everyone else pick up on the same things? ]

[crashout]

What, don't tell me that's really a surprise. [they're extra nice to escha because she deserves the world.]

[applechemist]

... Well, I suppose we are very close friends!

[ even escha can tell that much. which is, depressingly, very impressive for her. ]

[crashout]

[...]

We are, yeah. [he does not correct her.] Even more reason it's good to see you again. Everything been okay? [he's also trying to juggle some of the plates so he can snack, too.]

[applechemist]

[ she looks really amused at him having to maneuver around what she's done. ]

It's been so busy! I'm going to have to travel for work soon and there are more and more droughts all around. [ but she loves working, so this is only half a sincere complaint. ]

But - how have you been?

[crashout]

Oh yeah? Taking Logy with you? [it's more conversational than anything because he knows they're work partners. very. much. work partners.] Just be sure to take a break every now and then. Don't work too much.

[the joke here is that he knows she loves working and all three of them got along because they're workaholics. still, he shrugs a little.]

Things are...y'know. Things. Dick's got Bludhaven to look after and I'm still trying to figure things out with our fanatic that wants to cause the apocalypse, but the others at Crash Keys are doing a ton of the heavy lifting. I can't say the sudden party isn't welcome.

[applechemist]

[ they're! coworkers! her expression drops a little, but probably not as much as you would expect? ] No... I'll be headed to Stellard and he's going to Central again.

[ but! she brightens! ] But it'll be okay. We're still pretty effective, even apart.

[ ... ]

It sounds like I really have it easy compared to you two.

[crashout]

At least it won't be for too long. [probably. he still has like the vaguest grasp of what eschalogy does but it's probably fine.] just means you have something to look forward to when it's done.

[he has managed to balance the plates enough he can break off a piece of dessert with his fingers to eat it. mistletoe looms ominously in the distance.]

I wouldn't compare anything to what Dick and I are doing. It's a whole mess and even I don't understand all of it to be honest.

[applechemist]

[ she smiles and nods like she's grateful for that sentiment, but brushes past it.

she's munching her own desserts, slowly lessening how many plates she's holding and aggressively not perceiving the mistletoe. never heard of mistletoe. never seen it. what is mistletoe. ]

Don't you... Have to be the ones to understand it, though...?