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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.
two sided candy embarrassment
There's a scenario where this might possibly be leading to a tightening rubber band effect with his string if he refuses to talk - but he doesn't know that yet. He takes the collision with the Ensign like a champ, barely budging from his spot as his pinky and Boimler's pinky meet at their dangerously vertical middle point. At least his body makes for a decent scrabble hold.
The eyemarkings narrow dangerously. ]
Don't. Ask.
[ Miguel will not be elaborating on what compelled him to eat food off the ground. ]
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[But then all of a sudden, the yanking goes very vertical. And keeps going. The Pole is very large with its many stories, with an open design in the center core and a very high ceiling. There is a whole lot of "up" happening very fast and he has no idea when or where it's going to end, or under what circumstances the "down" is going to happen after.]
[Boimler is not really scared of heights but it's very different to look down the vertical drop of a long vertical Jeffries tube or turbolift shaft when you've got lots of ladders and other surfaces for gripping and can voice command an emergency shut off of the gravity plating.]
[The screaming therefore gets louder and even more shrill the higher he gets pulled. He's screaming all the way until the thread throws him up in the air and slams him right into...somebody?? This high up? He doesn't even catch a proper glimpse before he's dangling again but he notices they're decidedly stationary and somehow not falling and he practically scrambles up them.]
[It is definitely some...body that he slammed into. An unusually firm body. Letting out a little "waaah!" of panic, he manages to swing up to an arm first and then scrabble his way up to a panicky hold around their neck, wrapping both legs around their waist so he doesn't lose grip with his weenie arms. Not exactly easy with his stiff back but terror is a great motivator.]
[He does not trust in the stupid magic thread to hold him up because an immortal toddler is behind it and toddlers aren't great about consequences even when they aren't surrounded by people not beholden to the whims of normal mortality.]
[It is only then that he leans his neck back enough to see a familiar mask and he realizes he absolutely is bodily clinging to nearly seven feet of familiar spandexed beefcake.]
Uhhh...
[Awkward.]
[The "Don't. Ask." confirms somebody must have also enjoyed a floor-based snack, too.]
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Boiml-
[ ... and is promptly smacked on the cheek by the back of his own tied hand! All the pent-up rubber band energy had yanked it at full force, as if retaliating for his obstinance. This jostles Miguel off his corner, dusting them with the splinters of broken wood and dust.
Luckily, they only fall for a split-second or two before he webs himself to the wall - tensing some of the muscles in the process, as one does while climbing. ]
Boimler - I have a feeling that I can't just cut this thing, but you should hold on anyway.
[ The arm blades materialize off his non-tied wrist. Anything to wriggle out of the greatest terror of all: emotional vulnerability. ]
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Can't you just swing us down?
Why can't we work on this on the floor?! Any floor!
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Right. Not everyone found comfort doing things at high elevation.]
There’s clearly some kind of magic at work here with the floor candy, for one. And for two-
[ he pauses, digging in deep for this admission. ]
Your end of the string… spelled out something embarrassing for a moment, right? Before the tugging.
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There are lots of floors, Miguel! They can't all have floor candy!
[Besides they already ate the candy so they can look for a candy-less place while probably temporarily invulnerable from eating more candy.]
And I know about the spelling. Something something about being vulnerable or talking about feelings or something similar, right?
Things we can continue to ignore and not do with our feet on a floor somewhere.
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[ Blades retracted, Boimler gets to treated to another round of Spider-Man acrobatics as he jumps off the wall and swings them to the top of the Globe of Belief. The web softens his landing so that the entire structure remains disturbed. Helping!
Undaunted by the curvature and height, he walks with the slow spin of the giant sphere like a treadmill. ]
Are we making bets on which floor isn’t booby-trapped and sits out of earshot?
[ he gestures to a pair of elves wrestling with each other for a piece of candy nearby. ]
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[But then they land on the fl -]
[It's not the floor.]
Still not the floor!
[But Boimler at least can let go and put his legs down. He stays close, practically clinging to Miguel's elbow like a kid trying not to lose their parent in the crowd at a zoo.]
[Of course Miguel then has to pace around.]
Let's just try one of the dens. Or maybe the infirmary, nobody's sick or hurt right now and that's a weird place to put booby traps.
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[ Has Boimler ever talked to Price? The vibes aren’t really the ‘let him listen to all your emotional vulnerabilities’ kind. ]
The Den would have more privacy.
[ with an eerily smooth sense of balance, he turns to face Boimler and pace backwards over the sphere. ]
…You look annoyed.
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["You look annoyed" like it wouldn't be a predictable response. Miguel, how are your social skills worse than his?]
Let's just go to one of the dens please.
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I can carry you or you can hitch a ride again.
[ He points a thumb at his back ]
Your choice.
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[He goes for the piggy back ride, because at least he's doing that under his own power.]
[He wraps his arms around his thick, muscular neck again.]
Floor. Now.
[It's only the tiniest hint of Starfleet decorum that has him follow up with:] Please.
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Coming right up, your highness.
[ The 'please' does not spare him from sarcasm.
While they're all snuggled up together, it is easier to notice the smaller movements of Miguel double checking the distant floors for discarded candy with his accelerated vision. Maybe it was a bit much, but he does not want any more forced honesty surprises.
After a few subtle, hawkish turns of the head to survey where to go, his body tenses and leaps towards the direction of the Dens down below.
The first few seconds of swan dive is the most terrifying part, but the ride smooths out with a careful application of light-web to smooth his descent and land them on the right floor. He even angles the arc well enough to land them fairly deep inside! ]
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[Like gravity.]
Yeah, I want to be an un-high-ness now, oka - aaaaaugh!
[The scream is because they're suddenly falling again.]
[They land and he still clings for a second too long but it's purely because his eyes are closed even after the swing evens out and they safely land. After peeking an eye open, he finally lets go, literally dropping a few inches because Miguel is just that tall]
[Now that he's safely on the floor, Boimler takes advantage of it to ruffle his hair into something less tousled and straightens out his uniform. He has to redo some of the Velcro at the top of the uniform flap on his chest.]
[He makes a mental note to ask the yetis to add some snaps because they made him a few duplicate uniforms and his one from home is clearly superior, not because their handiwork is bad but because a few hundred years and the invention of replicators does wonders for textile engineering. The fastener strip on his original just holds up a lot better under pressure while still being un-fastenable.]
[The yetis are clearly professionals, though. They'll figure something out.
[Boimler looks around and gestures at the candy-less floor in this area.]
How hard was that?
[And why did Miguel like to do things the hard way so much? Instead of going with the simple approach of "let's see if there's a place to work on this that's free of candies, where I don't have someone attached to me like a toilet paper stuck to a shoe." Nah, instead it's "let's dangle several hundred feet up, with someone inconveniently clinging to me."]
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[ Miguel does not sound thrilled at all about the upcoming task waiting for them.
For what it’s worth, he gives Boimler a once over, and he seemed healthy enough even if his hair was tousled a bit by the wind. No injuries, aside from a lightly bruised pride maybe. And they’ll both be having that in a moment.
So Miguel turns around and skulks on ahead into one of the rooms. ]
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What message did yours give you?
[So they know what magical bullshit requirements they have to each meet.]
We're not going to get around having to do what the strings say. I already got caught with some other people and tried to analyze it for a weakness.
Scientifically speaking, the string is made of [he breaks off into a vague hand gesture and a shrug.]
[It's made of shrug. That's what it's made of.]
Hitting it with a phaser didn't do anything to it and it can't be physically broken.
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Yes, I've noticed that.
[ The red thread gets plucked like a guitar string by a curved talon. It does not fray at all from the sharpness or the friction. They were well and truly Stuck Together. ]
You've been trapped more than once. Did your string say the same thing each time?
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"Share your insecurities and make a new friend."
[He rolls his eyes at the corniness of it because even he, a cornily idealistic Starfleet officer, still has his limits on things that are twee.]
Every time.
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[ a vague admission. He omits the part where the thread encouraged him to open up about his feelings. What a horrifying concept.
And to do it with Boimler? Well, he supposes it could be worse. ]
Doesn’t fighting the same ancient evil count as friendship? It feels fairly close.
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[And then there are friends, who you play Klingon tabletop games with and play pretend with on the holodeck.]
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[ he sighs, the big shoulders slumping a bit. His one friend he felt he could really count on was an AI he made himself. What does that say about him? ]
Maybe it just got complicated once there’s a hierarchy, even if it’s a loose one. You have to conduct yourself with a certain face.
[ excuses, excuses…]
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[He looks over at him curiously.]
I don't how know it works with superhero...ism...stuff. But don't you ever have downtime?
I can't believe I'm the one saying this but sometimes it's good to have some time you're not worrying about looking professional.
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[ Superhero stuff trampling all over your personal life is part of the deal for Spiderpeople, but especially for Miguel, who doesn't have much of a personal life to begin with.
He waves his hand around dismissively. ]
You don't have to worry about it. It's not like I get exhausted the same way an unmodified human would.
[ he's very good at hiding it. ]
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I don't mean a vacation. I mean a few off-duty hours each day. Back on board the Cerritos, it'd just be a half hour to have a drink. An hour or two in the holodeck.
[Emphasis.] With friends.
It's not like we leave the ship if we're not on leave, so we're always still right there if there's a red alert.
[Boimler looks thoughtful. He's not always the most caring or gentle person. He cares but he's not always good at empathizing or extending a kindness.]
[But there's something about this that's at least a little bit familiar.]
[And something a little sad about someone who clearly cares about helping and protecting the dimensional fabric not really seeming to have connections.]
You know, at one point all I cared about was work. In my case, I wasn't trying to save the...universes, I was just trying to get promoted, but still, other people weren't much of a priority. At least socially.
[Or even worse, he saw them as a hurdle, worth throwing under the bus to advance, like when he almost narced on Mariner just for a chance to impress Captain Freeman, over Mariner's genuinely benevolent extracurriculars that cut past Starfleet red tape to help people.]
But it wasn't until I started to make room for them that I started to feel like - like I'm actually getting closer to...whatever it is I'm trying to be.
[Something better.]
Sometimes you need to make room for some good influences. [A pause, as he considers Mariner's...everything.] Or bad ones helping you shake things up a little.
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[ the remark comes out stern and steady. His face is the picture perfect image of a hardass that might scold you for arranging the napkins wrong at the dinner table.]
What I need are people I can count on. We don’t need to be friends.
Excuses to goof off seem to come readily supplied, while reliability is not. Sometimes it seems like I’m the only one handling all of our work with the gravity it deserves.
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