polylogs | Happy Holidays

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Happy Holidays

✖ THE MALL

Ⅰ. THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
Boy, wasn’t November exciting? How about those Black Friday deals, huh? Hope you’ve had fun camping out in furniture stores! You can of course continue to bunk there, but the High Temple is also open to all Travelers again this month if you’d rather sleep there. Don’t forget to stock up on items that could fit inside your Traveler bag - this is the perfect time to get that fancy moisturizer you’ve been missing, some books, or maybe a copy of the hot new video game Bonestorm!

As December rolls in, you’ll notice that there’s even MORE holiday cheer to be found! Pressing in on all sides of you! Suffocating you! Or maybe you’re one of those people who just lives for carols and huge plastic evergreens decked out in tinsel and lights, in which case you’re going to be thrilled!

There are indeed plenty of those aforementioned trees throughout the mall, alongside wire and light reindeer, glowing stars, and oversized novelty gift boxes. If you have keen eyes you’ll notice that hidden throughout the mall are dozens of small, creepy elves with dead vacant eyes. They don’t do anything. They just… watch.

Who on earth could they be reporting to?

Ⅱ. HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING

At the center of the mall concourse there is now a miniature village set up, themed entirely in ice and snow and candy. At the center of this plastic paradise is a lavishly decorated chair, and in front of it a camera. At times marked clearly on a schedule at the village gate you can wait in line behind a red velvet rope for your turn to see him.

Who? Well. That depends.

In many worlds, there is a benevolent figure who appears in December, bearing gifts for all the good children. Santa is the most likely person you’ll find sitting on that big chair, ho-ho-hoing and looking as kind and jolly as any creature possibly could.

Maybe you’re from somewhere without a Santa Claus, but with some other equivalent. In that case, you might see what you’re familiar with instead!

Regardless of his exact form, the figure who beckons you to sit beside him has only one concern: have you been nice?

Niceness is subjective, but if you’ve managed it you will be rewarded. With a twinkle in his eye, the Non-Denominational Mall Figure will reach into his magic bag and pull out a gift, JUST for you! What could it be?!

Oh, and don’t forget to smile for the photo! You may pick it up in half an hour once it is developed.

But if you’ve been naughty, or if you sneak over to that chair during the OFF hours? In that case there will be a cracking noise and the sudden overwhelming scent of rank goat.

“Better luck next year,” the Non-Denominational Mall Figure says sadly, his eyes trained on something over your shoulder. Turn your head and you’ll see that your naughtiness has attracted another holiday staple: Krampus.

Yes, this hairy, horned devil carries chains and bitch rods, the latter of which he uses to whip the everloving shit out of you if he catches you. You’ll have to outrun him long enough that he gets bored, or find some other way to distract him or pay him off. Maybe there’s a German market set up in the mall somewhere where you could get Krampus to do a Smorgasvein with you?

Notes:
1. This month if your character has been nice, they may receive ONE special item! They may only receive this gift once - multiple attempts to see the Non-Denominational Mall Figure will result in Krampus appearing instead.

The special item you may pick for your character can be one of the following:

- one animal companion. This animal can travel with your character from island to island from now on. The only stipulation is that it must be able to fit comfortably on the ferryboat. If your animal is too large, your character can instead get a mini version!

- one carriable item from your character’s homeland. In the case of weapons, this must be something that is not game breaking in terms of power level. (ie: yes, you can get a gun, no you can’t get a gun that explodes the sun.)

- a collection of holiday candies, all of which have magical healing properties.

2. You determine if your character’s actions put them on the Naughty or Nice list

Ⅲ. WINTER WONDERLAND
As you wander through the mall you will notice that amongst all the holiday decorations a large area on the first floor that was closed last month is now lit up and has a welcome sign standing outside. Whatever could it be?

Perhaps a bigger and better Orange Julius?

No silly! It's an indoor ice skating rink. And as if that isn't cool enough - get it? Cool? - it would seem that for the whole month skate rentals are free. So go on, slap on a pair of skates and take a whirl around the ice rink! Show everyone your fancy moves or just try not to fall on your ass.

Don't feel like skating? That's okay, there are dorky performances happening at noon and 5pm where a group of people dressed up as holiday creatures will skate around in formation and do tricks.

If you’re more mature, at 8pm there's a live jazz band that will play music for the skaters.

There’s plenty of beverages and foods to be sampled from the holiday kiosks that have popped up close to the rink.

Notes:
1. This is a public ice rink so you will have to share space with people, so if you plan on throwing out a triple lutz or whatever then you might want to make sure you don't hit or slice into anyone with your skates.

Ⅳ. ALL I WANT IS YOU
Cheerful generic holiday music fills the hall as the Christmas celebration hits full swing with a slightly panicked glee. The same rotation of a dozen different carols cycles through, one after the other, hour after hour. There are only a few refuges from the mind numbing music through the mall - that one New Age import shop that hasn’t changed its world music CD in a decade, and Spicy Subject which only plays pop punk covers of carols. Even the bathrooms aren’t safe from that rise and fall of notes that let you know a certain diva is going to tell you that you’re all she wants for Christmas.

Just as the hundredth iteration of the song is about to drive you mad, there’s a tremendous crash. A twenty foot tall Christmas tree that had once been suspended in the middle of the food court has crushed the Pizza Corner and taken out the power source for half the Mall’s sound system in one go. A caped figure escapes along the rafters that once supported the tree in a cloud of heavy fragrance. He pauses only once to bow as banner unfurls. Crude letters have been painted over a previous black Friday announcement: You have been warned: The Phantom!

The crowd begins to murmur and huddle in groups, and if you get nosy there are plenty of rumors. A teen from one of the ear piercing boutiques mentions a ghost story about a Luxuriate employee who got in a terrible accident while mixing bath bombs on site that rendered him permanently aromatic and with a permanent splitting headache that would have killed a lesser person. An older man from the Hotdog Hut pipes up that he disappeared into the labyrinth of hidden hallways that allow employees to navigate the mall for restocking and avoiding the overly aggressive salespeople. Every year the Phantom emerges in an attempt to banish the sky high notes of that ever popular Christmas carol, and every year the people who run the mall put it back in rotation.

Even after the incident with the choir.

A mother with two small children who are more puffy coat than person hushes the hotdog seller. It’s all nonsense of course. Some kind of interactive theater to drive up sales before the holidays. The looks that pass between the other employees, and the signs that the poor twenty-something postgrad working at Pizza Corner might have been crushed say otherwise.

So does the pungent waft of multifloral scent that starts to stalk you through the mall. Apparently, someone’s formed a crush, or are you giving him a terrible headache? What is it about you that you do better than anyone that might be appreciated by this deeply eccentric murder? Or what makes you the most annoying? Either way, it might be good to keep your hand at the level of your eyes because you’re about to be whisked away to the depths of the Mall into the Phantom’s lair.

Notes:
1. The Phantom is now more archetype than human. Killing him will probably not solve the issue, but it will make you smell like you’ve been eating bath bombs and drinking essential oils until New Year. Which could be fun.

2. Alternatively, if you agree with him about the music, you can always agree to team up to take out the rest of the sound system.

3. The Phantom has an excellent tenor voice. Just, you know, in case you were wondering.

Come on Jessica, come on Tori! Let's go to the mall, you won't be sorry!

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[It may just be a crude representation, the way the effigy of President Shinra was, but that was still satisfying in its own right. The feeling of the match sparking to life near his fingertips and that flame catching the kindling in the effigy and growing to consume it. He'd like to see that happen to Hojo--

And then the spell is coming together, something inside of him focusing until flames spark up in his hand. He casts from there on instinct, throwing the fire at the mannequin. Compared to spells he's conjured in the past, it's decidedly unimpressive, but it's... different. Not like Anders' magic, no, nor is it the kind of magic Sephiroth is used to-- and yet, it doesn't feel unnatural to him.

He's still startled, after the fact. For all that he wanted this, he's never quite settled on what it would mean if he were actually able to. Disappointing if he couldn't, but that also had the safety of normalcy; humans don't do magic like this where he comes from.]

[ The smell of burning plastic and polyester is far from a pleasant one, but Anders hardly notices, jumping down from the table with a sharp, startled laugh. ]

You did it!

[ He sounds at least as incredulous as Sephiroth seems to be, in his shock. At least until realization strikes, as that fire is catching. ]

You actually— Oh, uh, not good. [ A few carefully aimed bursts of ice smother the flames (boy that robe is flammable), and Anders shakes his hands out briskly as he turns back to Sephiroth with a grin. ]

It worked! Can you believe it? I may be better at this than I thought.

I...

[Sephiroth's mouth twitches in a frown as Anders so swiftly and easily extinguishes his accomplishment, but it's probably for the best as this place likely has smoke detectors.

He looks from the charred robe to his hand, walking himself back through the sensation. Having done it once, he feels like he could do it again, like he can start to bring the spell back together- but he doesn't, for now. How long has that been there? Something new, because of where they are? It feels deeper than that, like it belongs to him.

Wait. Anders may be better at this than he thought?]

Excuse me?

What? I was right, wasn't I?

[ And now he'll never let it go, of course, being correct and having had a good idea (1) entire time in his life. ]

Clearly I'm a better instructor than I thought. Or my terrible instruction was such a great motivator that it worked, anyway. [ So, six of one, really. ]

Not to take away from your accomplishments, of course. That was a better fireball than most apprentices manage, their first time.

[He seems mollified by that. It's just... an uncomfortable thing to hear so immediately after his success. Hojo would always do that, taking Sephiroth's every accomplishment as evidence of his own genius.

But Hojo rarely ever contributed anything.]

...I do appreciate your assistance. Clearly your instruction was... adequate.

[It's stiff, but sincere. He's feeling a lot of things he can't articulate right now, but he can acknowledge that he wouldn't have gotten here if he'd gone with his original plan of reading magic books in secret.]

Well, you did all the heavy lifting.

[ Honestly. Anders is less interested in stealing all the credit than he is simply - excitable. He hasn't been allowed many accomplishments of his own, either, and even if this is only a small, partial one on his part, it still feels like something to celebrate. ]

Now it's all about practice. The more you do it, the easier it should get.

Yes. Of course.

[Sephiroth is (obviously) not very good at celebrating. He's... going to try it again, just to be absolutely certain it wasn't a fluke.

The fireball comes together more smoothly this time, and hits the mannequin square in the chest. Hopefully Anders is ready again with the ice spells because Sephiroth is really not concerned about the fire spreading.]

This certainly... opens some possibilities, doesn't it?

[ This time, of course, he's much more prepared to quickly douse it. But he's also expecting it, after that first success. ]

I'll say. You'll be casting spells like a proper Enchanter this time next month, at this rate.

And what was your rank again?

[He could probably try that himself... He's cast ice spells before, with materia, and he's just seen Anders do it. If he just concentrates... Or, maybe not just yet, it's not coming as easily as burning things.]

Kind of you to assume I was ever allowed the illusion of authority over my peers. Alas, I was a bad influence.

[ But he sounds just as proud of that fact, if not more so than before. ]

But you consider that a higher mark of distinction.

[He's not saying he disagrees, but he's certainly gone about things differently himself.

Ah, he almost had it there, maybe. The mannequin wobbles slightly in the wake of the spell that didn't quite come together.]

I'm nobody's pet mage.

[ And playing along with authority has never been his strong suit. ]

A longer leash just leaves them more rope to choke you with, when they tire of you.

On the other hand, if they believe you loyal...

[Here we go. Ice crystalizes around the mannequin's head, just enough to encase it, and then shatters. It's enough to knock it off balance, toppling it over backwards.]

...they're less likely to see it coming.

[ Something pinches in Anders' expression, pulled tight beneath his airy facade, as he waves a hand, shoving the toppled mannequin aside with a brush of invisible force. The others are decidedly less charred, and it seems the set dressing is less necessary, now. ]

You and Karl would've gotten along. He always thought we'd have a better chance of turning things around from the inside. ...Not to mention, he always had his head in a book.

Turning things around?

[That thought has never really crossed his mind. Vengeance and departure are his primary notions. Solitary actions, intended to change things only for himself.

He shakes his head.]

A friend of yours, I take it?

Take our lives back, tear the whole Circle down from the inside. You know, modest aspirations. I would've been happy just to escape one last time and make it stick.

[ But he'd given that up for a time, hadn't he? All for - friendship. Right. ]

Probably my only real one. [ The truth, but he brushes it off with a scoff. ] I wasn't winning any popularity contests among the other mages, either.

Hm. I suppose this hardly counts as an escape.

[Even if, in some ways... No. Just a different kind of prison.]

...too much of a troublemaker for them? [It's the only thing that makes sense to him. If Sephiroth can tolerate Anders, surely making friends is easy for him in normal circumstances.]

You could say that.

[ The reality's a lot more complicated, and this is all already veering too near on frank honesty for Anders' taste, anyway. He glance back at the mannequins still left standing, holding up a hand and letting a snapping arc of electricity bounce from his fingertips to his palm. ]

So, fire, ice - what about lightning? You clearly have a knack for Primal spells.

[Sephiroth doesn't care to pry, so he easily lets it drop.

He watches Anders' little demonstration, then nods, shifting his focus.]

Elemental spells are among the easier ones, where I come from.

That's true enough in Thedas, too. Most mages start with something simple, like lighting a fire or freezing a bowl of water.

[ It doesn't hurt that emotions tie in so neatly to the process, when it comes to most elemental conjurings. Being young and impressionable - and terrified, or furious, or full of grief (or all of the above) - tends to make such spells come naturally. ]

It's when you're able to work your way up to summoning a blizzard, or a tempest, or wreathing your allies' weapons in flame that things get exciting.

Hmm.

[He concentrates a moment longer, and then a ribbon of lightning lances through the next mannequin, toppling that one as well.]

I've cast with more power than this, but materia leaves little room for creative application.

Well, forget all that. You're using real magic, now, and you can do as you please.

[ Probably, anyway. They've far from explored every angle of this newfound ability, after all. But Anders is definitely up for it. ]

What sort of spells would you want to learn?

I'll have to give that some thought.

[If the limits are removed, or at the very least changed, then he's going to have to start thinking about magic differently.]

Perhaps a wall of flame. Or... I suppose one might use air to achieve a kind of telekinesis?

Ah, you mean force magic! I'm not too bad at that.

[ Though he doesn't have much patience for finessing it. All the fun telekinesis spells involve crushing things or throwing things. Like convenient, charred mannequin heads. The poor thing won't be any better off without the Crushing Prison Anders constructs around its head, slowly smashing it inward. ]

I could do better with a staff, of course. But we'll just have to make do.

[Sephiroth watches intently. This is a much less familiar kind of magic, and he isn't entirely sure how to accomplish it, but that's no reason not to try.]

How would a staff help?

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