spellbinders | Hijinks Mingle

Hijinks Mingle

Who: Everyone!
Where: Anywhere around the hub!
When: Days 103-105
Open/Closed: Open mingle!
Notes: See this post for details on the moon prompt and this one for the telepathy/dream/spirit prompts!

[A | Flower Gleam and Glow]
[The nearby moon is still passing close to the hub island, meaning the effects are still in play. Perhaps now is the time to stop and smell the large lit up sparkling moonflowers that have bloomed? Or be annoyed by the mosquito-like insects that came with them.

Alternatively, the deer seem to draw some sort of energy from the moon's light. Given their size, at least their sudden aggression and proximity to the base camp isn't the worst thing in the world but a kick would still break a rib or other bone so be careful! Possibly help each other deal with these cute but troublesome fauna.]

[B | Eavesdropping]
[For some reason, the telepathy will suddenly get rather wonky. Characters won't know why it's happening, though of course no doubt there will be ponderings, but it means characters won't be in control of their ability to broadcast — or more specifically, not broadcast — their thoughts. Time to find out secrets of an embarrassing nature. Or maybe something sadder is going on in your character's head.

If this wasn't bad enough, the area around the signet might experience burning or tingling. Just try to keep a lid on your brain for the day and distract yourself from any annoying pain.]

[C | Talking In Your Sleep]
[Or maybe your character just doesn't have the most interesting thoughts. Maybe they're busy thinking about pie instead of their upsetting childhood. That's fair. Pie is great.

But surely sometimes it haunts their dreams. With the telepathy running amuck, it's no wonder dreams and nightmares are leaking through, too. Of course, it doesn't have to be an accident. Feel free to grab a friend and share a fanciful dreamscape together on purpose! But for those nuts that are tougher to crack, accidents can and will happen.]

[D | Who You Gonna Call]
[Last but not least, as Friday rolls around, there seems to be something odd going on with the island. If your character is inclined towards the spiritual or supernatural, they'll no doubt notice the strange heavy thickness hanging around. There are whispers in the air and all of new energy just feels solemn. Might be good to give people a heads up and keep an eye on it.]

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[ the rifle's heavy enough that using its butt would cause some serious pain. if jay applies the right amount of force in a jab with it, he could cause some serious damage. it's an excellent strategy that might even catch someone off guard!

the wardrobe seems... fine? it swings open easily and quietly. jay can see there's something left at the bottom of it. it appears to be... framed? maybe. it's hard to make it out.

before anything else can happen, lightning strikes, illuminating the portrait. it seems to be neon cyan, like the lights of a take out place or something similar. rather than the beautiful visage of a woman's portrait taken for a hair salon, though, this blue lady appears a little more... unsettling. not quite ghastly, no, but more gaunt, with a smile too wide, with too many teeth exposed. her lips are blood red, and somehow it's easy to comprehend this, despite the portrait being entirely neon cyan. her eyes seem to shift, looking directly at him.

the feeling of being watched continues.

> Take the portrait outside and cover it with fertilizer.
> Continue inspecting the child's bedroom.
> Do something stupid.
> Other. ]

[Wow. It would be illogical to cover a portrait, so he doesn't, even though part of him kind of wants to. Instead, he quickly checks behind it to see if there's anything there, then shuts the wardrobe.

> Continue inspecting the child's bedroom. Does it look like an ordinary child's bedroom (aside from the rifles), or is anything out of place? Are there any signs of a disturbance?]

[ the portrait's clean - the worst he'll see behind the picture is that jade leaves her clothes on the bottom of the wardrobe. she should really pick that up some day.

the child's room is mostly as average as you might expect it to be. although... that poster's eyes seem to have moved, how strange. maybe it was always staring straight ahead, though? the door left ajar has a squid plush left in front of it, hinting the occupant might have hurriedly left the room.

on the other hand, there's a blanket that looks like it might have been dragged under the bed, the corner peeking out. both are curious, but there's not really in here to hint that any kind of disturbance happened; the room is only missing a child.

...maybe don't look at the fursona poster too long, though, it looks like it knows too much. ]

[Yeah, he doesn't like to admit to getting creeped out but he's getting distinctly creeped out here. Okay, he'll tug the blanket out to see if there's anything underneath.]

[ the blanket shrieks!

well, not the blanket, but the person attached to it. jay will recognize jade harley, even if she's the size of a half carton of milk, now. she slides out from under the bed easily, arms and legs wrapped around the blanket like it's her only form of security. ]

Waaaah!

[ judging by how she immediately tries to burrito roll herself up, she seems to sincerely believe that. ]

[Oh. Oh.

Why is Jade here, and tiny? He wonders, and then his mind sort of smooths itself out, in the way of dreams. All right, Jade is here, and much younger than she usually is. He's not the greatest in the world with kids, but he pitches his voice down to gently say,]

I'm not going to hurt you.

[ jade very curiously pokes her head out from the layers of blanket she's rolled herself up into. she looks a bit like she might be peeking out from the inside of a playground slide, but as she looks up at jay to hold his gaze, it's clear she's sizing him up. maybe it's a touch precocious, with the way she twists her lip up and squints at him behind glasses far too large for her face, but it's certainly silly looking.

...eventually she pushes her head back in. ]

Not you! You should hide too!

[ she sounds fairly convinced of this. ]

[ . . . oh no, it's cute.]

What exactly am I hiding from?

[ huffing, jade pops her head out again. this time, her expression is mostly indignant. ]

The blue ladies.

[ ...despite her expression, jade whispers her responses with a certain kind of gusto; venomous, as if she hates the blue ladies. but there's a crack to her voice as she speaks - it's almost a facade, this anger, to mask her fear. her weakness. ]

The blue--

[His head whirls around instinctively towards the wardrobe.]

. . . why are you hiding from them, exactly?

[ jade seems like she doesn't quite know how to answer this for a moment, looking away from jay to the floor. she works her mouth, as if trying to remember how to use it. when she finally speaks, she does so firmly - maybe she's still trying to convince herself this is the case, though. ]

They're the ones who hurt Grandpa!

[Ah. Some sort of childhood imagining, then. Gruesome blue lady portraits wouldn't be the weirdest thing to be afraid of, not by a long shot, especially in dream logic.

After a moment, he crouches down on the floor next to her.]

Can you tell me what happened, exactly?

Ummm...

[ jade has to think for a moment before responding, shrinking back into her blanket burrito a bit as she goes. ]

That is depending on what you want to know, I think. About Grandpa or the Blue Ladies?

[As gently as he can manage:]

About your grandfather. What happened to him?

[ UM. WELL. jade puts a finger to her chin. ]

He is... downstairs, by the fireplace right now.

[ which is not much of an answer - jade's never given straight answers about her grandfather, however. ]

... If you are quiet I can take you to meet him, but he can be a little... intense!

[Okay, well . . . that's not the response he expected. Now he's really curious.]

. . . I think I can handle it. I'll try to be quiet.

Mmm, okay.

[ jade shimmies out of her blanket, leaving it on the floor. it possibly suddenly makes sense why there are toys all over her room, and as she stands up, jade holds her hand out for jay to take. ]

It's big, don't get lost.

[ apparently her solution is to hold his hand and lead him around? yes. ]

[Well . . . all right. He'll take her hand silently and let her lead him where she will.]

[ jade will lead him out of her room, moving the door open with her free hand and peeking around the corner. she dubs it safe with a nod of her head and then darts out - their destination is the metal platform. ]

This is a transportalizer. [ jade tugs on his hand, trying to get him on the platform with her. ] It is very cool.

[This is . . . a tad odd, but it's a little like the duct system. He steps onto the platform with her.]

We have something similar on my world. It transports you?

Yeah! But you won't get all like Jeff Goldblum, promise. 'Kay?

[ of course, that's a reference to the fly. jade has no idea what it means, but for some reason... she thinks it might be applicable? where has she heard that name before? maybe it was grandpa.

after a quick transportalization, the two find themselves in the atrium.

jade points to the pumpkins, off to a corner. there's a few missing off the vine, it looks like. (what pumpkin?) ] They never stay in one place! Is that different? [ apparently she's still trying to decide if this is weird or not, the disappearing act the pumpkins wrapped themselves up in. ]

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Hijinks Mingle

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