[It doesn't take Charlie too long to figure out on how to use a smart phone. Of course the style and the way it's made is way different from hers back home, but after exploring it for a few minutes - she manages to get the hang of it. The video feed starts up with her look down at the camera but then alternating the angle so whoever is viewing can get a good look at her.]

[Awkwardly, she flashes a small smile and a wave.]

Uh. Hi! I'm Charlie.... -- Soooo uh...

[Charlie takes a small look around her surroundings as the recording now starting to lightly bounce in movement due to her walking.]

If I'm getting this right, we're stuck here? I mean, I guess there's worse places...

[Funny enough seeing that her home is technically supposed to be that worse place. The recording stops shaking for a moment as she comes to a halt. She bites the tip of her thumbnail as she ponders nervously. Almost forgetting that she is on video, she turns her attention back at the camera.]

Oof... - Uh. Sorry, sorry! I'm just, uh, trying to wrap my head in all of this. -- Er, anyone mind helping me get settled, I guess?

[A beat.]

Oh! And maybe help find my friends? There's Angel, Vaggie, Husk, Nifty, and... [She pauses for a moment. Should she really name the last person?] -- and Alastor.

My parents are Lucifer and Lilth. And if you see little goats in tuxedos, they belong with me. So, if anyone seen them or know where they are in this... place, just let me know! Or let them know I'm looking for them.

-- I'd really appreciate it and thanks!

Papyrus did it, or at least gave himself most of the credit. He just knows he's a skilled diplomat, on top of everything else! Finally the elves had opened their homes and their hearts to the rest of Fayren, no doubt thanks to its inspiring leadership. It was on a holiday, too, one with a special rule: no talking. It was a day of quiet meditation and solemn reflection about who one wanted to be.

The latter's easy. Papyrus, of course! It doesn't get much better, unless the person he wants to be is "exactly the same, but with more friends." Maybe there's room for improvement after all.

The former? Silence doesn't come easy to one with his UNIQUE WAY OF SPEAKING. And there was so much to say! He wanted to "OOH" at the lustrous ebony and wondrous arches, architecture as white and tall as himself, but he couldn't. He wished to "AHH" at the intertwined greenery and branch-born patios, much like Papyrus was built for the highest heights of glory, but he couldn't. All he could do was shine his smile and sparkle his eyes like the lamp-lit walkways he handsomely walks.

Only at midnight could he finally say something, and it had to be a very special something to a very special someone. Or anyone at all, really; he always has awesome things to say. But wait! Oh no! What if he sees several someones!? If he talks to just one, the rest will be jealous! What to do...

---

A. Before Midnight
If Papyrus meets eyesockets with yours, he'll greet you a big smile, then either send you a text message if he knows you, or run on over with a note card if he doesn't. Both read: "MEET ME UNDER THE MAIN BELL AT 12 O'CLOCK. IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT STAYING UP TOO LATE, I PROMISE IT'S WORTH IT!!

QUIETLY YOURS, PAPYRUS"

B. At Midnight
Papyrus rocks on his heels and practically quakes with goodwill. He's been working on what to say all day. Now he just needs another to bear his burgeoning gift.

[When Liora pops onto the feed, she has a happily curious look on her face.]

Hello, Genessia. So...this Christmas holiday is coming up again. Does anyone have any big plans? I think I'm just going to stay in the Viridian Labyrinth, because Christmas Day is also my hatchday.

[And she wants to be with her clan. After that, she'll send a private message.]

[Private to Daenerys]

Um...Daenerys? Are you there? I think I found something that Drogon can wear. I'll have to find something for you, too. And your other hatchlings. Have they grown up yet?

Oh, and maybe Rhaegar can come, too, if he's still around.

[Another day, another training session in the Holodeck'd. Only today, Karla found herself ending it sooner than normal. She felt her muscles aching and burning, her chest congested. At least this time she was better able to recognize what was happening.]

I'm getting sick again, aren't I...?

[So she made her way home, questioning whether she would even make it. Thankfully she did, and she got into bed, taking a brief glance at her device. Just for any friends or strangers who might be curious, she broadcasts a brief message.]

Looks like I won't be able to train for a while...

Who: Lea, Dove, and People
When: Various points in December
Where: Lea and Dove's apartment (locked threads) and a park in Genessia City (open thread)
What: Various holiday event things!
Warnings: Lea being sick in one thread, various kinds of feelings and warm fuzzies throughout

( Read more... )

[Ted, whose position on the naughty or nice list was always in flux, was blessed by a half-dozen snowgies giving him a copy of his father's revolver. He picked it up, examined it, and found no flaws. His face still bore disgust, for by now he figures Genessia to be entirely intentional, self-serving, and synthetic. They gave him, not a past memento, but an exact lookalike purely to...well, the only thing it could've gotten for them is an emotional rise. It came unloaded; an emptiness Ted set to fill.]

It's one thing for a gift to have sentimental value. It's quite another for it to, in mercenary manner, create sentiment purely for the value of another. That's perverse.

[He flicked the chamber in, then took aim at the snowgies.]

I will punish perversion's agents.

[Disgust became amusement as he started picking them off, bullet by bullet. He laughed as their snowy heads and charcoal eyes burst apart. The survivors fled.]

Oh, that won't save you! My father could strike a clay pigeon from fifty yards. Let's see if I've inherited his skill...

[Last one in the chamber, he aligned his sights as the final snowgie ran as fast as its snow-stump legs could carry. Just a little further, and...bang!

He missed.]

Hang it; practice hasn't yet made perfect.

[He has more guns than even an American really should, but one more won't hurt, fake or not. If only he could've heard the avalanche of snowgies gathering and preparing to get their revenge on this grinch. But he couldn't, he didn't...]

[A]nnouncement - Video

---

HAPPY DECEMBER, GENESSIANS! FORGIVE ME FOR NOT BEING ON YOUR SCREENS MORE. AS THE LAST REMAINING ORIGINAL GUARDIAN, I'VE BEEN VERY BUSY!! WHETHER IT'S DEALING WITH HORRIBLE GHOSTS OR WRANGLING CIRCUS ANIMALS, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS EVER VIGILANT IN KEEPING FAYREN SAFE AND ENTERTAINED! AND EVERGLADE TOO!! EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WORK THERE. AND YOU SHOULDN'T EITHER!!!

UNFORTUNATELY, WE MAY NOT GET TO HANG OUT IN PERSON VERY MUCH. THE HEALERS GUILD SAYS I CAUGHT A BUG, EVEN THOUGH THAT IS NOT AMONG MY HOBBIES. IT'S A BAD ONE THAT MAKES YOU FORCIBLY EXPEL AIR FROM YOUR LUNGS!! THEY INFORM ME THAT THIS, IN MEDICAL PARLANCE, IS A "COUGH". AND IF YOU GET NEAR ME, YOU'LL UNWITTINGLY CATCH A BUG TOO!! EVEN THOUGH BEING NEAR ME IS WORTH MANY BUGS, IT'S MY DUTY AS THE GREAT GUARDIAN PAPYRUS TO TELL YOU TO KEEP YOUR DISTANCE. I HOPE YOU CAN RESIST THE TEMPTATION!!!

WELL, *COUGH*, FRET NOT! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WON'T FALTER IN HIS DUTIES, NO MATTER HOW MUCH HIS BONES ACHE! WE'LL JUST HAVE TO MAINTAIN A LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP, NYEH HEH HEH!

OH, I ALMOST FORGOT! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO LEA AND TRUNKS, WHO WERE PROMOTED TO FULL GUARDIAN A WHILE AGO! ONCE MY BUG CLEARS UP, WE SHOULD HANG OUT AND DO GUARDIAN STUFF! OF COURSE, I HAVEN'T DISAPPEARED. I'M FAR TOO RELIABLE FOR THAT.

<Small>[This latest boast isn't as happy as his others. While he always thought he was the best, he never wanted to bear out by others vanishing. If only his constancy could have rubbed off on them.]</small>

COUGH, COUGH!! WELP, THE CIRCUS WON'T REATTRACT ITSELF! NOT EVEN IF I'M THERE, NYEH HEH HEH!

[B]rambles (Action)

---

[Despite the fever he's running, Papyrus braves the wilderness anyway in search of the last remaining escaped animals. The healers suggesting he retire from his duties and stay in bed was, to him, a fate worse than death. The Great Guardian Papyrus, going to sleep? Madness! He'll show them what a true Guardian can do, even if their health's wanting. His boots crunch through the snow and his monologue reverberates off the trees.]

LESSE, NEXT UP WE HAVE THE UNICORN, WHO ACCORDING TO MY NOTES, ONLY COME TO MAIDENS OF PURE HEART. WELL, I BET I'D MAKE A GREAT MAIDEN, AND MY HEART'S PURE AS ALL THIS DRIVEN SNOW!! THIS'LL BE EZ-PZ!!!

[Suddenly, a column of thorns sprout up and entangle him. Vines, his weakness! A crone with a crooked, oaken staff stepped from behind a tall oak, cackling.]

Ee hee hee! Look what I've snared in my thorns! The pathetic Papyrus, all alone, who if I'm not mistaken, is terribly ill! Perfect! I've watched you. I've seen you return the noble beasts back to their cages, all to titillate the cruel masses. No longer! Mother nature will not stand idly by while her children dance for your amusement! Today you die Guardian, and all your false justice with you!

[He grit his teeth as the brambles wound closer. She was right about one thing; he is sick. He doubts even his mighty magic would be enough to get him out of his caper. Then he'll do was he does best: appeal to others' better nature. Even an evil druid's.]

YOU'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG! THE RINGLEADER TREATS THEM VERY NICE AND THE AUDIENCE LOVES THEM!! BESIDES, OUT HERE THEY'RE NOT WORKING AT ALL!! TOTALLY UNEMPLOYED!!! WOULD NATURE TOLERATE SUCH SLOTH!?!?

[His diplomacy roll was met with ever-tightening bonds. He coughed and struggled in vain.]

Hush, fool. Nature will have you as well. Your very bones shall nourish the land you'd soon despoil...

Homesi[c]k (Action)

---

[Still working through his illness, Papyrus is greeted by a miracle: a levitating bed in the shape of a car. And it's heading right towards him!]

OH NO!!! THE HEALER'S GUILD WAS MORE AGGRESSIVE THAN I THOUGHT IN TELLING ME TO REST!!!! HOW CAN I CONVINCE THEM OF MY OWN INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE!?!?

[With a wintry "hup", the bed is tossed at his feet, revealing a merry band of snowgies. Upon closer inspection, he gasps.]

GASP! THIS ISN'T JUST ANY UNNECESSARY BED; THIS IS THE BED FROM MY HOUSE!!! HOW DID YOU GET IT FROM SNOWDIN???

[The gears of his incredible intellect turn.]

...WAIT!!! THAT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING...YOU ALL KNOW THE WAY TO THE UNDERGROUND!!! THAT MEANS SANS AND UNDYNE AND EVERYBODY AREN'T FAR!!! PLEASE, TAKE ME TO THEM! I'VE GOT TO SHOW THEM AROUND THE SURFACE AND HOW GREAT IT IS!!!

[The snowgies' were too simple to do anything unrelated to their primary, gift-giving task. They smiled blankly, then dispersed.]

NO, COME BACK!

[Dashing through the snow, Papyrus gave chase. The snowgies scattered, leaving him in cool pursuit of a diminishing number until he was panting after but one. His step isn't as spry as usual; the "bug" had gotten the better of him, and soon his stamina gives out just as a branch trips him up. Desperately he cries out to his fleeing quarry, skull sputtering snow.]

WAIT, PLEASE!!! YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE ME BACK TO WHERE YOU GOT THIS!!! MY FRIENDS!! MY FAMILY!!! PLEASE...

[But it's no use. His bones ache with sickness, and his heart with homesickness. Alone in the wilderness, he stretched his out in vain towards a diminishing hope.]

PLEASE...

[Genessia City/Nova City - Coffee Shop]

A little frazzled, she had left the apartment to run a few errands and allow Lea to settle in without the stress of having her there, fretting over how she could help. She’d have to remember to grab dinner for them while she was out, as she had promised, but for now, she simply rested at a table outside her favorite cafe, ignoring the chill of the air and trying her best to enjoy the peppermint tea she had procured from the shop.

It had been weeks since she had ventured out for anything aside from training herself into exhaustion, jobs, or absolute necessity. The cooler weather and shorter days had only helped feed that dark anxious hole in her chest, and she had limited her contact with the outside world to sparse messages and rare calls, and even those had only been to let her remaining friends know she was ‘okay’.

…even if she hadn’t really been. But things were changing, just like the season itself. At least now there was a touch of hope on the horizon.

Maybe she’d bump into a familiar face now that she had found daylight once more.

[Fayren]

Some days were harder than others, and on those days, she somehow always found herself tearing through the forests of Fayren, using the branches as an obstacle course of sorts as she threw herself through the air in desperate hope of tiring herself out again. Training. That’s what she called it, even if her recklessness would have been immediately checked by her previous trainer. He wasn’t there to stop her, and her self-destructive behavior was carefully contained to herself, even if the fire at the tips of her wings looks rather terrifying for a setting with so many dry and crackling leaves.

Regardless, it worked more often than not, and she’d stop only when her wings were aching and sand squished under her boots in place of leaves. Always the beach. While she still hadn’t been able to bring herself to the inlet where she had once trained with Styxx… where she had last seen Namur… she always ended up on the damn beach, scowling at the way the sun cast its dying light across the surface of the ocean. It had once been beautiful, soothing even… now it just hurt.

Really, she’s not mad at you; it’s just the way her pretty face looks at the moment.

[Genessia City- Feather Light Studio]
On the days she found peace, she could be found in her dance studio, letting the music sweep her away entirely. From classical to R&B to rock, she moves as it commands, sometimes with her wings proud and present and others with them hidden away. Its the safest escape she has, and even when she’s at the front, checking her bookings and scheduled events and classes, she’s longing to be back on the floor, even if she has to share it with someone else.

Perhaps a partner might even help.

[Anywhere Else]

The cold seems to help clear her mind, and though the dark comes much faster in the day, Dove doesn't seem to mind it too much. It certainly hasn't stopped her late night wanderings, hands stuffed in her sweater pockets and Houndoom trailing beside her. Her mind is anywhere but the present, but the pokemon's sharp gaze is on watch, should anyone approach in the night.

Who: Lea and Dove
Where: Dove's- and now Lea's- place
When: A little while after Namor's returned home
What: Lea is moving in with Dove for both practical and personal reasons. There's a sitcom in the making here somewhere...
Warnings: Possible feelings and angst. And lots of boxes.

( To the East Side )

Who: Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker (again)
What: It's two AM and Gwen's slightly more psychic Spider Sense has told her to wake up and go.
Where: The Docks.
When: 2 AM Tuesday Morning.


Being woken up because some weird sixth sense tells you to wake up is pretty jarring and Gwen hated it. Would not recommend. She'd been curled up in her too-quiet apartment, tucked under layers of blankets and pretty content with life, even if she was missing her old roommate.

But, there it was. That small voice or impulse in her that simply states 'go.' A sudden sense that she has to move, to get up and get outside and start walking.

So she does. And since it's past midnight, she pulls on her spider-suit and webswings through Nova City. Just in case. Or maybe it was part of that impulse. Either way, there was a teenager in a white, black and pink Spider-suit, swinging through the various parts of Genessia, following her senses until they lead her to the docks.

Weird.

Very, very weird. She almost heads home but, again, that sense tells her to wait. She has to wait. Right where she is. Don't go anywhere.

It's the urgency of it that has her swinging to a perch on the wall to wait, crouched and watching the pods carefully.

When one of them starts to open, Gwen swings down and stays a short distance away, just to watch.

It's that familiar jolt up her spine once she spots why that fills her with a realization, an understanding as to why she's there. She didn't even see the person in the pod. She just knows they're like her. Who is it? Is it Peni? Spider-Ham? Spider-Noir?

Really, the multiverse was weird. For all she knew, it was an Aunt May with spider-powers and that? That's a pretty scary thought, if she's gonna be honest.

Hopping up onto an outcropping of rock, she waits and watches. And yawns. It is, after all, past midnight.

She should have stopped for coffee

[After the disaster involving false ghosts and true prisoners, Ted had much anxiety and little direction. An aimless, nagging inclination to do something pulled at his heart. Despite the loss of one dearly beloved, he found his head clearer. Or at least, more focused, more willful about his role in the world and how to fulfill it. Despite the Genessia's slack, he felt now, more than ever, he must redouble his efforts and unravel every mystery, and save every soul. And he had an idea of who might help.

Coincidentally, it was this day on the dot that he'd spoke to her last. Goodness, were they really so antisocial that talk was a yearly occurrence? Well, better late than never. What a mercenary talk it would be, too. What a scoundrel he is to strike up meeting largely because he wanted something. Well, he's young. If she's old, she'll understand the disparity. He rang her up.]

Good afternoon, Satori. Long time no see, eh? I've a question, and if I get my preferred answer, an action, to pose to you, if you're willing.

[Ghosts? Again!? But Papyrus did that! He did his time on that stupid ghost train! He shouldn't have to put up with that nonsense in Fayren! It's supposed to be ghost-free!

But there's no helping it. As he donned his handsome jumpsuit and secured his traps around his waist, the bulletin board was very clear: a green knight astride a sinfully black horse was causing trouble in the woods, and who but the Guardian would stop it?

So stop he would! Stop he must. He and his two companions: Kimberly the cheerleader (he thinks?) and Kieran the...guy. They would unseat this wicked knight, or his name wasn't The Great Guardian Papyrus!

Nervously he trudged through the undergrowth, underneath branches and boughs so thick that, despite the daytime hour, the forest was rife with shade. He held his particle thrower close to his chest. Papyrus is afraid, and none too fond of specters. Naturally this was the time to hide that fear and bolster the spirits of his comrades.]

AGAIN, THE GREAT GUARDIAN PAPYRUS BIDS YOU THANKS FOR HELPING ME OUT IN PUTTING THIS NAUGHTY KNIGHT TO REST!!! DON'T FRET; I TANGOED WITH SOME SPOOKY SPECTERS BUT TWO MONTHS AGO, AND IT WAS EASY-PEASY!! I MANAGED TO SUCCESSFULLY LEAD HALF OUR TEAM TO VICTORY! SO STAY VERY CLOSE, AND LET MY STALWART HEART LEAD THE WAY!!

[What a great monologue. You'd never know it was meant more for his courage than theirs. He's happy he doesn't have to do this alone, at least. Before he can bask in the warmth of his fellows too long, an errant acorn strikes his skull.]

HEY!!! WHO THREW THAT!??

[Suddenly, frantic chittering rose from the surrounding green. Round, black eyes glinting with malevolence peeked out from their sinister hidey-holes. Squirrels!]

OH, NOT TO WORRY! THOSE ARE JUST ANNOYING, INNOCENT WOODLAND CREATURES, ENJOYING THEIR ROMP. WE'LL BE OUT OF THE FOREST SOON ENOUGH!!

[But Papyrus was wrong. So wrong. The squirrels unfurled their flaps of skin, then dive-bombed the party mercilessly. One attached itself to the Guardian's face, causing him to flail madly.]

AAAAHHH! HELP!! I CAN'T SEE!!! SOMEONE TURN ON THE LIGHTS!!!!

Who: Liora and Darc
Where: Everglade cemetery
What: Darc has asked Liora to help him take on the bounty in Everglade, and Liora reluctantly agreed...

[Liora had been tense all day after receiving the call from Darc. As much as she tried to distract herself, she couldn't find anything to take her mind off the mission that was asked of her. As the sun began to set, Liora made sure to eat her fill of insects before heading to Everglade.]

[It doesn't take her long to find the designated graveyard. She lands a few feet away from it, not wanting to get too close. It reminds her of the Burial Grounds in the Kalma Clan's lair. Liora stands on all fours staring at the graveyard, waiting for Darc to show up. Or for the bodies in the graves to burst out and start running wild. Given that she was in Everglade, the latter possibility seemed more likely than not...]

[Jenny clicks her phone on to make an announcement. The sound of her smiling obvious as she speaks, though to anyone who really knows her, there's a sad down behind the smile.]

Well, hello everyone. For those of you who don't know, I'm Jenny, the Doctor's daughter. Of course that's a long story, but moving on. I'm here to inform everyone that the Doctor's and Rose have all departed this place. Probably on another adventure by now, but seeing I'm still here, I've decided to step in and start running Torchwood in their stead as well as all business beneath it's name. So those of you who work for Torchwood, I suppose work for me now. I hope to work with all of you to keep it all running into the future.

Now, it's come to my attention that it's the month for Halloween and I have a Haunted House to run. Yes, I know it's open all year round, but I hope everyone will look forward to many Haunted events coming soon. We'll also be having some special seasonal menu items available for all of our patrons so stop by while you can because we'll only have them available for a limited time.

I look forward to all of you stopping by to enjoy the spirit of halloween. See you all around!

[With that, the transmission cuts off.]

[The sound of breaking glass can be heard followed by a very rage filled scream. Someone woke up to a very earth shattering discovery this evening. She always feared this would happen and now that it has... Rip's anger and sorrow can practically be felt reverberating through her device as there's a frantic sound of motion before her device clicks on to video.

For a brief moment, there's the sight of her tiny pumpkaboo who looks really worried before it darts behind the camera. When Rip comes into view she's reaching for her musket. Her long hair hides her face but, the rage is hard to miss in her every motion as she grabs her gun and heads for the door only to pause.

She moves towards her device and grabs it.]

He's gone.

[That's all she has to say before she clicks off her device.]



ACTION
[Rip's not taking Namur's leaving well. At all. More than a few random people might just be lying dead or dying in the wake of her passing as she heads towards Everglade. Once there, no one is safe from her rage.]

Please tell me costumes are going to be popular? [How can you not spend this month looking ghoulish?] I can help anyone who wants a more...magical...transformation. There are potions I can use and spells...

[No, no. Everyone should just say no to this man.]

I would love to see a few centaurs wandering about, wouldn't you?