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<novoselic> at some point on 10/1

[comeasyouare]

There once was a boy who was a Halloween fanatic. He loved dressing up for Halloween, he loved pulling pranks and watching horror movies, and above everything else... he loved candy. One fateful year, while he went trick-or-treating, he visited a house. This house was creepy as hell! It was big, it was old, it smelled like a grandmother and it was owned by a happy, old rich couple. The boy came here thinking that he would be handed out big chocolate bars, because it was a rich person's house but when he knocked on their door... he was handed a bag of that shitty candy that nobody likes! Tootsie rolls, shitty flavoured dum-dums, those weird... peanut things... needless to say, the boy was heartbroken. He was so heartbroken that he died, right there on their porch and now, every Halloween he goes out and finds people to curse. He wants everyone to suffer the same way he did!

Everybody is already suffering from his curse!! Send this to ten people to break the curse, or to avoid getting cursed, or you'll be stuck looking freakier than usual for the rest of your life!!!!!!!!!!

10/1

[worksforit]

[No message, but on October 1st when Five went to get coffee at his usual place he'd be informed that his coffee for the day had already been paid for by an anonymous benefactor.]

[Action] Sometime After Felfri

[hadthehighground]

This had been awhile in coming, but Obi-Wan had never forgotten. Particularly after Five's kindness towards him in Felfri. He had spent some days after returning sleeping, getting used to his monster form again, and struggling with his feelings. So much had happened lately, and Obi-Wan was having trouble managing it all. The lack of the Force wasn't helping, and in fact was one of his issues.

Eventually though, he managed to drag himself away from the house he had just moved into. Making sure that Gosalyn was set for the evening, before taking some time away. He took the speeder and made his way into Bavan, and to the place where he knew he would find the man. The nymph aglow in the darkness outside and in the dim lighting as he approached the bar. It's there that he sat. Not wearing the purple robe that Jiang Cheng had given him. It didn't seem right to at the moment. Instead he had just wrapped himself up in his brown cloak to fight off the chill of the evening.

Obi-Wan looks positively glum as he sits, his eyes downcast and his shoulders slumped. He looked tired despite the fact that he had spent so much time sleeping. Both physically and mentally as well. This one has certainly seen better days.

<KrisKringle>

[getmeoutofthedraft]

Ho ho ho! Your secret Santa gift recipient for this year is suibian on the network.

No idea who that is. No idea what they'll want. It is a CHRISTMAS MYSTERY.

Please spend no more than 20 solars on a gift for... whoever that is, and ensure they receive it on or before Christmas Day (December 25). If not, Santa Claus will come to your house and glare disappointedly through the windows until you cough up.

Merry Winter-Holiday-Of-Your-Choice!

[[OOC: it's Wei Wuxian, by the way]]

[coffeepots]

[On Christmas Eve, someone seems to have left a present at your apartment door! There's a box of monster-shaped cookies, a bottle of pineapple juice (no wine for you, Five), and a woolen scarf in the color of your choice. The box holding everything has been wrapped in an attempt to distract from the fact that it's just a cardboard box and not a fancy gift basket.

...There also seems to be a voucher for a free eighteen-inch pizza at the bottom of the box, which can be redeemed at the pizza restaurant on the corner.

Attached is a handwritten note. It can be somewhat difficult to make out what it says due to how horrible the handwriting is, but if you squint and tilt your head, you can make out the following:]

happy holidays, from your superintendent
➼ hawkeye

[youngtimer]

[pineapple juice, really. really. Five takes it to the bar, pours out enough to make room, then adds enough blue curacao and white rum to make it palatable. he then ties a ribbon around it, and leaves it on Hawkeye's own doorstep with a note:]

I fixed it for you.

Merr Crimms

[blackdogstar]

[Sirius drops the present, knocks and runs. When Five comes to investigate, he will find a bottle of whiskey with a neat little card attached that says it's from Santa in pretty cursive.]

[youngtimer]

[Five has done a drop and dash of his own, recently, so to discover one on his own doorstep is not too much of a surprise. he figures whoever Hawkeye gave his name to has come and gone, and smiles a little as he picks up the bottle. bringing it back inside, he uncorks it and gives it a whiff]

Look, Dolores. Someone brought us some Christmas cheer. Care for a drop?

[he and his mannequin will proceed to have an extensive discussion of the merits of the whiskey, its flavor notes and body, and compare it at length to spirits they've had in the past, throughout time. there may be a bit of heated dispute about whether or not it compares to a certain bar in Istanbul, but that's after the third shot, so the alcohol is mostly the culprit. all in all, a thoroughly appreciated and apropos gift]

( backdated to dec 25th because i'm slowly climbing out from the holiday backlog )

[itsjiaheng]

[ a package arrives in the evening, probably because there is one (1) delivery bird working his tail feathers off today and this is just where five ended up in the carefully arranged queue. probably needed to figure out where to find him!

a small flat box is wrapped in glittery silver paper and a folded note is tucked under purple ribbon. this is not a very well wrapped gift as he has wrapped exactly four presents before this one, but he's done his best!

there's a little wooden box inside with a metal clasp and hinges. inside, neatly set in a luxurious looking velvety interior are four... bullets? upon closer inspection it appears they're not real, but very convincing looking solid chunks of metal.

the note, at least, clarifies a little: ]

hey!

i was told i was shoppin for a real manly dude
so i surveyed several other men of manliness and everyone agrees chilling your fancy booze with fuckin bullets instead of ice is like
peak
enjoy!
merry christmas!!!!!

— secret santa

ACTION

[ohmyscream]

[ They had agreed to meet up for coffee. Annie is at the café already because fitting into a booth or by a table requires some work. She's wearing a dark navy sweater with a modified bottom to accommodate her pincers and a long dark green skirt that does a decent job of covering up just how much of her body looks like she has been fused with a scorpion. She is very much a girly-girl with the added high pony-tail and just her overall vibe.

Her tail however can't easily be tucked away like the rest of her. It curves up high and is just the exact sort of thing people have made note of. Annie has a few cats climbing over her as she waits and looks utterly content with her fate as a living cat tree. ]

[youngtimer]

[Five opens the parcel and as he reads the note, he laughs. longer and harder than he has in a very long time. mostly because whoever told this person he was a Manly Man was taking a dig at him - which means it was totally Hawkeye - and because whoever did this has NO IDEA what he looks like or that he used to be an assassin.

and yet somehow, the gift is perfect. he tips the bullets out into his hand and immediately pops them into his freezer for later use. he intends to toast the beautiful complexity of the mathematics of the multiverse when they're ready]

[youngtimer]

[Five has his usual attire on - navy dress pants with a dark red tuxedo stripe up the side, a waistcoat and dress shirt with vents to accomodate his wings, and snappy red sleeve garters. a pocketwatch chain dangles from one pocket of the waistcoat, attached smartly to one of the buttonholes, and he hangs up his coat on one of the places offered at the entrance before making his way over, grinning as he sees the cats climbing all over his new friend]

I can see you're right at home. Have you grabbed a coffee already? I can bring you one.

[ohmyscream]

I haven't had time.

[ There is a cat playfully batting at her ponytail. Her hair has gotten just long enough that Annie might want to consider getting a hair cut. She actually snickers and tries to carefully reach around to get the cat away from her ponytail. It is a bit hard because she has to be mindful of her claws. ]

Something decaffeinated? I... have weird issues with caffeine. Arachne thing, I guess.

[youngtimer]

Decaf, got it.

[he flashes her a brief smile and goes to the counter. when he comes back he's carrying a mug of coffee black enough that the Fog would consider promoting it to priesthood, and a cup of tea the color of bubblegum]

Here - the board said the tea of the day was almond hibiscus. It smells pretty good. If you don't like it I can grab you something else.

[he sets down the cups and slides into a seat across from her, taking care not to sit on his wings]

I hope you don't mind that I didn't bring Dolores along. She ... has some jealousy issues here, apparently, and I really didn't want to deal with that today.

[ohmyscream]

Let's see. I usually go for Egyptian Licorice, but they don't have that here.

[ Annie is not going to bring up the bringing questions she has about Dolores. It would be super rude and she is still getting to know Five. She wants a friend so badly that she is holding back so much.

Wait and see. Be patient. ]

I don't think she has anything to worry about. You're... someone I just want to be friends with.

[ She smiles a bit feeling a touch unguarded for a moment. ]

There was someone I started getting interested in. Unfortunately it's like trying to get know a Magic-8 Ball..... Then he went and did something sweet.

[youngtimer]

Friends, huh? I haven't even started telling you who I really am.

[he arches an eyebrow. wait until she finds out how old he really is, then she'll definitely be uninterested. never mind the fact that he doesn't really know How To Friend. he knows how to do Snarky Banter and Bitch About Things, which equates to Friend for some people in Ryslig, but not everyone likes their friendships extra salty and confined to the shallows.

even so, he knows enough to know what she just said is a little funky. he pauses, mug halfway to his mouth]

Wait, you're saying a guy did something nice and now you're not sure if you're interested?

[ohmyscream]

Trust me. It takes a lot to actually scare me off.

[ One of her favorite people here is around ten thousand years old. He looks like a jock to Annie. She just tries not top bring that up because why possibly hurt a friend's feelings? ]

I so needed to give you more context. We hadn't spoken since September and while I had been meaning to track him down and like, talk or something. He.... Remembered a detail about my life I usually don't talk about and left me a thoughtful gift.

Even though we haven't spoken in a while. It's a bit confusing and a bit sweet.

[ Also the concerning part: how does he know where she lives? Best to not think about that. ]

[youngtimer]

So you wonder if there's a motive there beyond just giving you something nice to make you happy. Got it. [he thinks about that for a moment]

Is it possible he was trying to apologize? I hear people who lead emotionally mature and balanced lives actually do things like that.

[ohmyscream]

[ Annie doesn't believe Five at all. ]

No one is that simple. I mean. You have to stay ahead and plan it out or...

[ Annie shakes her head. No. Everyone has at least three things in mind when they do something. ]

But... maybe he was sorry? I could just be over analyzing things. It's been weird lately.

[youngtimer]

I'm pretty sure everything is weird lately, will be weird, and has been weird, world without end, ah-men, in this place. [he tips his mug to her in a salute]

But then again, I've seen my share of weird shit already, so my reactions to it all are probably not on par with what most people think they should be.

[he had promised her a lot of stories ... maybe this was his way of offering an easy segue if she wanted to start asking some of those burning questions.]

[ohmyscream]

Oh?

[ Annie perks right up. Her smile is all perfectly white teeth, fangs included, and entirely pleased. ]

Please don't tell me you're like, a secret 10,000-year-old space warlord. I think we already have one of those.

[ She isn't kidding. Lucius is actually very sweet to her. Like a weird murderous older brother. ]

prepare for a novel

[youngtimer]

[that earns a genuine laugh - something he's finding himself doing more and more of in recent months. maybe Hazel really had been on to something. maybe it was time to be a kid again in certain situations. but speaking of that ...]

You're ... surprisingly close and yet staggeringly off the mark. I'm a fifty-six year old time traveler trapped in my fourteen-year-old body.

[he sips his coffee and stretches, taking a deep breath before diving into the explanation she will most assuredly want]

Back home, I had the ability to travel through time and space. I knew about the space, first - we dubbed it 'blinking'. I'd close my eyes and concentrate, and just 'poof' myself over to somewhere else. The more I learned and tested what I could do, I realized that time travel was feasible. My father didn't want me to do it, but I was positive I could make it work. I'd done all the research, projected all the variables. When I was fourteen, we got into an argument about it over breakfast, and I ran out of the house. The first thing I did was run down the sidewalk and try blinking forward through time. A few hours, first. Then to summer. Then to winter. Then, again: and I overshot and found myself smack in the middle of the apocalypse.

[he takes another sip of coffee while that all sinks in for Annie, but not long enough for her to ask anything, yet. he has one more crucial detail to add]

Trouble was, the only variable I didn't consider was how much energy time travel took as opposed to just blinking. When I tried again, I wasn't able to even cross the street. I was stuck.

Re: prepare for a novel

[ohmyscream]

Well that describes one of my friends.

[ She smiles slightly but settles herself in to listen. She takes in the story imagining him fighting with a man. The argument seems simple enough.

If you have powers why wouldn't you want to test them? Why limit yourself? ]

That makes sense. I mean why wouldn't you test your limits.... but I can also see why your Dad might want to squash too much testing. You had no idea if it was time traveling on like, your personal time line or whatever.

[ The rest hits her quickly and Annie frowns. ]

You tapped all your energy it sounds like. Totally tapped yourself. That's totes the kind of thing you wouldn't have known to account for.

Re: prepare for a novel

[youngtimer]

["totes". the word throws him enough to make him squint at her for the briefest moment. right. slang. who knows what year she's even from.]

Yeah, that's exactly what happened. So I was the only human being left alive in the world.

[he tells this next bit slowly, but not in any sort of tone that begs for pity. he made his bed, he slept in it, and now it's just fact... especially since he isn't trying to convince anyone it actually happened and needs to be prevented, here]

I wandered back and forth across America for years. Decades, even. I lost track for a little while. When you survive on bugs and ground water, the days kinda blur together. I'd go into buildings of all kinds and raid whatever was still intact... My first big find was a Gimbels department store that still had a decent amount of its camping section left. I'd just loaded up a Red Flyer wagon with a tent and tarps and rope and stuff, and I was pulling it toward the back of the store to see what else was there ... and that's when I found Dolores, fending for herself in the women's clothing section. She was in rough shape, but she was still smiling, which ... I think might have been why I fell for her in an instant.

[ohmyscream]

[ She might even toy with him a bit to see if he can pick up what's actual slang or what isn't. Congrats, Five, you've been adopted by a little gremlin. ]

I would have gone crazy. I like being the center of attention or at least someone to like, bounce ideas and stuff with.

[ She wonders if maybe Five went a bit mad. It would be far too easy to snap under the stress of survival with no human contact. People need people.

It would have taken a week for her to break. Annie knows she's a bit weak when it comes to needing people. It's honestly because until she started going to school it was as if her parents were afraid to let her be around other kids. What was the worst thing that could have happened?


Oh right, her first boyfriend turned out to be a power obsessed serial killer. ]

We don't have a Gimbels? [ She frowns as she thinks about it. ]

Maybe. Semi-rural Maine after all. But I'm glad you found her. She breathed fresh life into the situation.

[ Annie isn't going to call him crazy. How can she? She has spent so many nights this past year trying to not scream into the void or the days when just getting up is a Herculean effort. Annie gets this. ]

It's why I have Gomez now. I think without him I'd have more low days.