Jingle Mingle...2

[alittlefuninstead]

Some of you may be used to this by now. For some of you, this may be your very first time being swept away in a flurry of snowflakes. (Though some of you may have been particularly naughty and were shoved into a burlap sack before disappearing into the storm.) As usual, it seems as though the time for bloodshed has passed and when you open your eyes you're greeted with...

...a ski lodge.

Worry not! This isn't the lodge Krampus had taken residence in but it's a rather large and cozy getaway. You may even find that your clothes have changed into something holiday-appropriate for the occasion. It seems as though someone has gone around decking the halls with boughs of holly, lights strewn along the walls, Christmas trees in large corners, and plenty of food and drink to go around. (Yes, this includes alcohol. Please do try to be responsible though, hm?)

Similarly, some of you may recognize the frosty patterns that lightly dust the walls and surfaces and the usual staff and their assistants are back in action. Should you require anything, you may ask one of them and they'll be at your service!

The lodge has plenty of rooms filled with furniture, fireplaces, games and more. And for those of you feeling a little more adventurous, you may venture outdoors. To the left there's a sprawling garden with gazebos, firepits, flowers and lit topiary displays. To the right, you may follow the path down to a hot spring. And straight ahead? There's the path leading you right to a rental shack holding skis, snowboards and snow mobiles.

This almost seems...quaint, doesn't it? And perhaps it's a little too easy, but you should know by now everything comes with a price.

Sprigs of mistletoe are pinned up in every doorway once again, bright red bows and dustings of frost lingering around them. Don't try to escape to the outdoors to avoid it! Ice sculptures appear in every direction each decorated with the mystical plant. You could try to avoid it, really, but avoiding it too long will earn a chilly breath of air directly in your ear as you're pushed straight into the nearest person. Wouldn't you rather choose on your own?

Well! The choice is yours, and you might want to make it fast. There's no way out without paying the kiss tax, after all.

[ooc: it's mgcu time! this mingle is open to characters from the following: reapsody, grimmoired, plasmatio, subdivided, thotordie, bluesclues, tropicalgetaway, notagain, redactable, snowend, 7rings, seasonality, and chasma!

Comments

[toyska]

[Okay, he laughs at that, taking a drink of his wine.]

I'd hardly call that an argument! If anything, we did the good deed of exposing a charlatan, no?

[shiftingwinds]

Ahaha, that's true! [she sips at her wine and sinks a little further into the hot springs. warm.] You really can't call something that weak alcohol.

[toyska]

I suppose some people might enjoy it, [lightweights? does he even know any lightweights] but he should've known better than to engage in false advertising.

[Or at least, like, do a good job at it and target the right people? Amateur.]

[shiftingwinds]

He certainly shouldn't have tried to pull the wool over our eyes!

[he just got really unlucky that these two idiots were the ones trying his drinks, tbh]

[toyska]

I can't help but notice he isn't here today... maybe he's decided to pray to the gods and atone for his sins?

[WHY IS IT SO DRAMATIC NOW]

[shiftingwinds]

Ahahaha... I wonder which god he's praying to, in that case?

[toyska]

If it's not to you, then he's probably not going to get any help, right?

[Isn't Shi Qingxuan a wine god? And a wind god? Or something? He can't keep track of y'all's shenanigans]

[shiftingwinds]

[she laughs]

That wasn't something I oversaw! I just liked to drink, that's all.

[toyska]

Ahaha, I suppose if it was that easy, we'd have a thousand wine gods running around.

[There are so many alcoholics here. Horrible.]

[shiftingwinds]

[she laughs again, but this time it sounds a little forced]

I suppose we would, wouldn't we?

[toyska]

[sqx you are the least subtle person on the planet

He cuts a glance at her, but fortunately he isn't really the type to cause upset for no reason, so he lets it go and changes the subject.]

Say, have you recognized anyone from your world here?

[shiftingwinds]

[she has all the subtlety of a sack of bricks!

except ugh, now she's relieved and feels like she owes childe one for changing the subject. gross. oh well.]

Ah... yes, actually. Two of them. [a beat.] No, three.

[dON'T ERASE YIN YU, SQX.]

Have you?

[toyska]

[(Harrow voice) the worst part is that it's not always terrible to talk to you

Anyway, wow, three of them... presumably not counting He Xuan, who he hasn't seen around yet. He hums, taking a drink of his wine.]

I have, actually. It was quite the shock. [He'd been alone at the station, after all. Well, except for a name on a list of the dead, but--clearly that didn't stick, or whatever.]

[shiftingwinds]

Really...

[huh.

her brow furrows slightly.]

Was it anyone I'm familiar with?

[was it zhongli. did zhongli get murdered. (me, wishing there was some way for her to know about zhongli getting attacked by a bear in snowend.)]

[toyska]

Anyone you--oh, right. [She'd seen that memory of his, hadn't she. God, that feels like so long ago.] No, no, neither of them.

[He's not going to have another mini-crisis about the thought of Zhongli in murderous sex game. He is not. He had one already, that's the quota for the evening.]

They're recognizable, but more for their prominence than any connection to me. [So they're not, like. His besties or his personal enemies or anything like that. Though he can't help but smile, then, looking a little amused.] Why, are you worried for me?

[Was she gonna go scold Zhongli on his behalf]

[shiftingwinds]

[


yes she was]

...you hardly need someone like me to worry over you.

[toyska]

[He laughs, but it's not an unkind sound.]

No, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless. [He's only had, like. Two people in recent memory fuss over him, and one of them is 7r!Iris, who's basically a sister to him at this point.] I haven't seen either of them around, though. Or any of my other colleagues, for that matter--and it's a good thing, too! I look like a good guy compared to them.

[shiftingwinds]

...

Just what sort of people are your colleagues...

[toyska]

Terrible ones. The worst! All they care about are their little schemes, always plotting from the shadows. [He clucks his tongue in distaste, finishing off the rest of his drink and putting the empty glass down.] I'd much rather have a straightforward fight and meet my opponents as equals on the battlefield.

[He truly hadn't been lying when he'd told her he didn't care for deception and machinations, even with all he'd done in their game.]

[shiftingwinds]

[hm.

well, that does ring true. she takes a sip of her drink, then sets it down at the spring's edge to look up at him again.]

If they're so terrible, why do you work with them?

[toyska]

I don't, really. Most of my assignments take me far away from the rest of them. [Is this because they don't like him, or because he wants to be away from them? Who's to say.] But we all have our reasons for serving Her Majesty. I've devoted my strength to her cause, and it's not for me to question her methods.

[He's very good at being a pawn, so long as it's a choice he made for himself.]

Anyway, I'm the youngest, so it's not like I can pull rank on them. Putting up with them is an unfortunate necessity for now.

[shiftingwinds]

[you sound like you're part of a cult, sir]

"For now"... Are you planning to work your way up and pull rank on them when you can?

[toyska]

[The very suggestion makes him laugh, waving a hand.]

No, no, I have no interest in anything like that! [Plan his life around his coworkers? Hah. He would never.] What I seek is combat. I want to test my strength against the strongest opponents I can find, and learn from them. When Her Majesty's goal is achieved, the world will look very different, and I'll likely leave her service for new battles--well, unless I die in the process, of course. [A shrug, as if it's a perfectly normal thing to say in such a nonchalant manner.] I suppose I'd leave sooner if it worked out that way... but at the moment, I'm content where I am.

[shiftingwinds]

...well! It certainly sounds like you know what you want!

[this is the face of a person who is just now realizing that childe was aligned with lust because of bloodlust and not for any other reason, tbh.]

[toyska]

[In his defense, he tried pretty hard not to seem as feral and battlehorny as he actually is.

Not in her defense, he didn't do a very good job.]

I do. [The worst part is that he obviously doesn't think anything about this is weird in any way... but he tilts his head slightly, looking at her then.] And you? What is it that you want?