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XOXO ❅ VALENTINE'S EVENT
One major problem with being the group that's responsible for solving all kinds of problems in the myth world is other myths can kind of be dicks about it. That's why, on Valentine's Day, Cupid shows up, quickly offloads his kid (the toddler Baby Cupid), and runs off to take care of spreading love on his holiday, with barely a how'd you do. He doesn't even say thank you.
To be fair, you can't fault him too much for only trusting the Guardians to babysit his kid in these dangerous and uncertain times, especially when children at risk against the fearlings.
Still, that means there's a giggling toddler, about 2-years-old in appearance, but maybe with the mental age of a 4 or 5 (he is definitely old enough to understand he's being naughty and deserving of a time out) flitting around the Pole causing all kinds of Valentine's related problems. Fortunately, the toddler has learned that he's not quite old enough to know the right times to help people fall in love (Adult Cupid just helps things along when they're already falling, or when they need help falling back in love, of course).
Instead, Baby C is doing what his father taught him to do and causing all kinds of tricks to try to get people to admit feelings that already exist or manufacturing ways for them to become closer to each other.
HONESTY ARROWS ♥ Baby Cupid isn't shooting magic arrows that cause anyone to develop feelings for each other but he sure is trying to make sure people talk about whatever feelings they have. Anyone hit will be compelled to blurt out various truths about themselves, their personal history, and their feelings to whoever is around them and will have difficulty stopping or drawing themselves away. In fact, if someone walks away they'll feel compelled to find someone else to confess to. The effect wears off anywhere between 5 minutes to a half hour.
TATTLETALE ROSES ♥ Vines of roses are now growing all over the Workshop. For those who are in love, they take the form of the face of the person they're in love with. The more they try to hide it or deny it from someone they're talking to, the more of them bloom with the person's face.
THORNY VINES OF CLOSENESS ♥ The rose vines have their own annoying purpose: bonding! For people that clearly need to become friends, fall in love, or fall deeper in love, thorny vines will wrap around both people, forcing them into a little cage together. The thorns fortunately won't poke them - they seem to be maneuvered in a way to just make sure there are no gaps to escape through. The vines are magically reinforced and can't be opened with any physical or magical means. After that, one of two things will happen:
1) A card will fall from the ceiling of the cage saying: Tell each other how you really feel about each other!!! This will happen if the cage thinks they need to affirm the status of their relationship, whether they need to admit they're in love, admit they've been bitten by the friend bug if they're reluctant to, or really need to talk about how much they mean to each other as friends. Only then will they be let out of the feelings shame corner.
2) If the two don't know each other, or both people could afford to get to know each other better multiple cards will drop from the ceiling with icebreaker questions, as if they're a bunch of new hires at an orientation.
How many will they have to answer before they're released? Who knows! But they have to answer them honestly or the cage won't open.
CANDY LONELY HEARTS ♥ People who are on the lonelier side and in need of support might find a candy heart on a random surface. The messages on them are on the platonic side (Like "You rock!" or "Shine on!") They'll feel compelled to eat them (even if they're on the floor). When they do, a glowing red thread will appear and tie itself around their finger. Briefly, in the air, the glowing string will form into letters that tell the person what they need to do to be release, whether it's telling someone they're lonely, asking for some kind of support, or admitting a vulnerability.
Then it'll whip out and grab someone else nearby, wrapping around their finger as well. Sometimes, two people might eat a candy at the same time and each have a string appear and they'll tie in the middle.
The strings are unbreakable, and they won't be set free until whoever ate a candy talks about their loneliness or vulnerable feelings - regardless of whether or not the other person is an eager listener.
❅ Starters: You can make up your own wildcard effects, feel free! If you do, please consider posting it to the Wildcard comment below so others might be able to pick up the same effect as well if they like them.
❅ Multiple effects: Feel free to have characters slammed by as many of Baby C's traps in the same thread as you want. No reason someone can't have the worst luck and trip three Cupid traps at once or several of them in a row.
II
"Okay, I'm here to listen, no judgment. Go ahead."
It's a bit exhausting, to be a bit of a sounding board for feelings, but she does it willingly. Despite everything, she does care about other people's wellbeing, so although it's tiring she gives it a try.
no subject
Dan sits up on the couch, which is a bit of a struggle given the way his hands and feet are tied together. He has no idea that I THINK THE PERIODIC TABLE IS A PIECE OF FURNITURE is floating above his head; rather, he can tell there are words, but there's no point in fretting about them because he can't read them.
"Don't reckon we've met. I'd offer to shake, but..." He's tied up. He hasn't asked for her audience, so he wonders if the words above his head indicate that he's wheedling for some sort of free therapy (no thank you). "I'm Dan. How are you?"
no subject
Doesn't even ask if Dan wants it or if he's fine like this. Taylor is squarely at that teen age of thinking she knows how things should be and tries to make things shape up according to them, no matter what others think. Thankfully, she generally is right. Most times.
What she reads isn't at all what she prepared herself to handle, and she's immensely relieved because although she's ready to help, trying to help with deep things can be exhausting and especially invasive if it's with a stranger. Feels like a weight off her shoulders. Grinning a bit, she asks, just to be sure that's accurate:
"You know what's the periodic table?"
Either Dan is immensely ashamed of this, or he has so few skeletons in his closet a confession of ignorance is one of the few problems he has, she thinks to herself. Almost everyone would be jealous of him -- who wouldn't prefer this to confessing something deeper? Taylor knows she'd have preferred to unveil she's not aware about a scientific concept than talking about her feelings!
no subject
He raises an eyebrow. "The periodic table? Uh...well, I ain't never seen it, but I assume it's old and valuable."
He's clueless. He wonders how something so random could end up in that red writing above him.
no subject
"This is going to be the easiest one yet."
Without even asking if he wants to find out what such a concept is, she immediately comes up with a way to explain it.
"The periodic table is just a way chemists came up to put the names of everything that forms the things in the planet into groups instead of in one long list."
That's the most simplistic explanation she could think of, and it doesn't even go into detail about groups and things, but she tried! It's not like she's wrong! Her eyes flick up, to see if that somehow fulfilled the strings' demands, like she was answering some sort of riddle where the grand prize is freeing Dan from the clutches of his own ignorance.