Happy Holidays

[polymods]

✖ 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!

Network · Logs · OOC · Memes · Plurk

Comments

[quire]

"What?" he throws an urgent look at Kyle and grabs him by the coat, "What do you mean the candy offer?"

[kyley_b]

Kyle's eyes widen. "I told you he said I could get something else if I wanted. Uhm, one of those was magic candies. Q, are you okay? You're acting weird."

[quire]

"Oh," the tension drops out of his grip and he straightens Kyle's jacket a little. "I thought... nevermind. I didn't get an option. Just the candy. I'm not acting weird, I just am weird. Let's go. Mall Christmas junk is tacky."

[kyley_b]

Kyle slows to a stop.

"Quentin," he says firmly. "What happened? You were fine, you saw Santa, and now your'e on edge. Don't lie to me, I know something is up."

[quire]

"What do you want me to say! I didn't make the cut ok? I just got some stupid candy and whatever middle-aged, high school drop out occupies that suit is just lucky I'm merciful enough to not turn his brain into playdough and use his faceholes like a fucking pasta press."

[kyley_b]

Kyle doesn't step away, but he frowns.

"...but you did make the cut," he points out. "You got magic candy. That's not nothing, Q. Maybe it's not exactly what you wanted, but it's not a fucking lump of coal."

[quire]

"Right. Right. Because that's what I fucking need. Another stranger's opinion of what's actually good for me. Another you can do better sticker. It's worse than nothing. It's a slap in the face."

[kyley_b]

Kyle falls quiet a moment, then slowly asks, "Quentin, did he ask you if you'd been naughty or nice? And if so, what did you say?"

[quire]

"I said according to who!? He asked me if I think I deserved it. I said I think he already knows I don't!"

[kyley_b]

Kyle stares at Quentin. "Unbelievable," he says. "You were asked point blank and you said NO? Quentin! Why did you say no?!"

[quire]

"He said be honest!" he snaps back. "I played by the fucking rules!" His fists clench. It looks at first as if his skin is going redder, but it's really just the expanding glow of that hot pink aura that surrounds him as he hollers his grievances. At some point his eyes alight behind his glasses.

"I even asked him to define his fucking terms! I did everything right and they fucked me over but they still tell me to be better the next time I say fuck them and do whatever I want instead!

[kyley_b]

Kyle folds his arms across his chest.

"You don't have to yell at me," he points out, trying to keep his own voice level.

"Did it occur to you that he clearly disagrees because he gave you a present anyway? And also, what the fuck, Q, you've been totally good. We were just talking about how good!"

[quire]

"Then don't give me that look like this is my fault!" Was that even a look or just something he imagined? Who's to say.

He seems to try to lower his voice though. Even if that just means he ends up doing more growling than yelling. Maybe that's why Logan grumbles all the time.

"You can't throw up maybe in a binary!" he insists, gesticulating back and forth as he spells out each point. "It was yes or no. Good or bad. Deserving or undeserving. There is no sort of! It doesn't matter Kyle. It doesn't matter how good. This place doesn't want to make us actually better. It's just a carrot for keeping us hungry for anything they can withold."

[kyley_b]

"I'm NOT! Jesus, Q, you're a telepath! You KNOW I'm not fucking blaming you, I'm just saying it sounds like maybe YOU'RE the one who doesn't think he deserves good shit!"

He crosses his arms a little tighter as his lips thin. "I disagree."

[quire]

"I shouldn't READ minds when I'm angry, OK!? And clearly the universe, or at least whoever's running this paternalistic shithole, agrees! Objectively!"

"The only reward for doing what you're told is more being told what to do."

[kyley_b]

"I think you're just mad because you admitted something you didn't want to, and now you're all.. surprised Pikachu that it didn't somehow work out in your favour," Kyle grumbles. "You're so determined to be wronged over this and I don't know why."

"Or maybe the reward is growing as a PERSON, Quentin, you ever think about that?"

[quire]

"Just mad?" That pink energy flickers off the tips of his ears like the wick of a candle. "I'm not just mad, Kyle. Being out of Redbull makes me just mad. I'm justifiably fucking furious that playing by the rules is what gets you fucking disqualified.

"The only thing that ever proves to anyone is that you might as well make your own rules and trust yourself to enforce them." He engulfs himself in that pink flame and sets his furious sights on that little Christmas hut behind the velvet rope.

"I don't give a shit about growing as a person if they can't promise I'll do it with you."

[kyley_b]

"But that isn't what fucking happened, don't you see that?"

Frustrated and concerned for the well being of Santa and Mr. Hankey and who knows what elves, Kyle grabs Quentin's arm and pulls. "Quentin, DON'T."

[quire]

"That is exactly what happened! That's what always happens! You get no where doing what you're told. You just teach them you're desperate for their bullshit approval!"

When Kyle grabs him that flame that surrounds Quentin swallows Kyle up too. it hits like a livewire. Striking with a palpable shock of frustration and disappointment. The unease of cognitive dissonance. But mostly a sense of betrayal. Alongside images of course. Mostly of a scrawny, young boy dressed like he's already familiar with ivy league academies in his argyle sweater vest and a tidy haircut. He poses dispassionately with a litany of medals. Diplomas. Certificates. Commendations. His parents bicker. He sits alone in Xavier's office looking at luggage he didn't pack. He does a classmates homework. He introduces himself to someone for fifth time. He explodes and every image in the collection incinerates like a bucket of Polaroids set aflame.

"Kyle!" he barks, but it's fearful not irritated. The energy that enveloped him snuffs out instantly as he reaches out for Kyle.

[kyley_b]

Kyle is human. Most of the people he hangs around with aren't - Carter, Roxy, David, Chloe, Quentin - but he doesn't think about it overly much unless something happens. Something like this, which his brain is not trained for.

Kyle's head rocks back as if he's been struck, and his eyes roll up as his mind is overwhelmed with images and feelings. He is vaguely aware of Quentin reaching for him, so he flails in his direction. His hands flop against Quentin's shoulders and he practically swoons against him.

"Quh," he says thickly.

[quire]

"It's ok! It's ok! It's ok!" he mumbles, following Kyle into his own head. In the physical space he drags Kyle against him and down into one of those coin operated massage chairs that he can't imagine who uses in the middle of a mall except teenagers having a laugh.

Inside though, he arrives amongst visions of clouds and pillows and Marshmallow Peeps and eases Kyle into all of it softly. "Can you hear me? Can you see me? It's ok. It's not forever. Just a hit. If you can feel your tongue stick it out or something."

[kyley_b]

Kyle's physical body sags heavily, thumping into the chair where Quentin deposits him.

In his mind he can feel all of the soft things, but the confusion and fear are still very present, like razors hidden inside all of that cotton candy fluff.

"Quentin?" He looks around, blinking hard. He sounds like he might burst into tears. "I don't. It's slow. To think."

[quire]

"It's ok! Slow is good! Just go slow. I'll slow down with you!" he promises and everything in this place is shot at 60 fps.

Even as Quentin tries to drown out the discomfort with all things comfortable he knows it's not enough. He has to go searching for those little thorns his prickly thoughts have left scattered about Kyle's head and plucking each one gently free of where it's nestled is a delicate, but hurried procedure.

[kyley_b]

Kyle makes a noise that sounds more like a puppy whining in pain than anything else. He gropes for Quentin, mentally and physically, craving his warmth and comfort.

"Am I okay?" he asks.

[quire]

"Yes, yes, of course. Of course you are. You're great. We're all great. You're just uh... call it an out of body experience. Totally fine. People have them all the time. I've got you," he babbles, inviting Kyle's hand against his chest for something to hold onto.