<Hollyhock God> August, Gentlemen and Lady!
<Hollyhock God> It is already August. Fall is basically already here.
<Hollyhock God> There's quite a lot to do.
<Hollyhock God> But first, you have a meeting of the Autumn Council to attend.
<Hollyhock God> It's really more of a get-together, honestly, but fancy names are all part of the business.
<Hollyhock God> And you do have it in an enormous temple, so there's that.
<Hollyhock God> So, you're in the Chancel. Where is this Chancel, again?
<Hollyhock God> ==>
<Ergo> It's in the collective unconscious. We thought we explained this.
<Hollyhock God> Sure, but how do you get in and out?
<Hollyhock God> And where would you appear if you did?
<Ergo> It's ubiquitous.
<Hollyhock God> That should make it pretty easy to get to Prague.
<Hollyhock God> Which is where the Temple of the Days was built several centuries ago.
<Hollyhock God> Many people have wondered exactly what its religious significance is since that time.
<Jane> ((We probably should have settled the Chancel and its various entrances and exits before we started I guess lol))
<Hollyhock God> They would probably be even more confused if somebody told them the truth!
<Hollyhock God> Which is that it's a both a shrine to and a convenient device to aid the gods of the holidays
<Hollyhock God> The mechanisms of the temple make it pretty easy to dredge up the spirit of a particular span of time.
<Hollyhock God> If for some reason you really needed to speak to the spirit of the feast of Saint Lucia.
<Hollyhock God> You also hold meetings here. There's a room on the second floor that you maintain as a group with all the trimmings.
<Hollyhock God> You guys don't seem all that formal. Am I right in assuming that it's probably a fairly casual party at this time of year?
<Jane> Oh yes.
<Nico> Catered by Nico.
<Hollyhock God> It's a bit fancier in the Spring.
<Hollyhock God> And Winter… hoo boy.
<Nico> Easter's a showoff.
<Jane> And we've never seen Kwanza show up yet.
<Hollyhock God> Maybe it's a work in progress.
<Nico> In all fairness, we probably wouldn't recognize him.
<Hollyhock God> Whether a new concept spawns an Imperator or not is a mysterious process!
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, you're familiar with these guys.
<Hollyhock God> Wendy Marda, the Power of Thanksgiving. She's short and a bit wide and happy to be here.
<Hollyhock God> Things you have seen Wendy happy to be doing:
<Hollyhock God> 1) trudging through a snowstorm missing both her arms
<Hollyhock God> 2) picking through a landfill the size of Manhattan for a silver needle
<Hollyhock God> 3) trying to gnaw Genseric Dace to pieces starting with his hair.
<Hollyhock God> So, yeah. She's a bit chipper.
<Jane> Thankful, even.
<Hollyhock God> Indeed.
<Nico> I hear she has family issues.
<Hollyhock God> Next to Jane is Henrik Varda, Power of Labor Day.
<Hollyhock God> He's your man if you ever want to hear about the inevitable rise of the proletariat.
<Hollyhock God> Or if you have any questions about how to cook fish.
<Jane> Which probably explains why Jane's trying to find another part of the room to circulate to.
<Hollyhock God> Are you the bourgeoisie?
<Jane> Just the terminally unattached.
<Ergo> We constitute a broad array of opinions, stretching primarily from lower to upper middle class.
<Hollyhock God> Also Painter Hammond, the Power of Autumn itself.
<Hollyhock God> Not technically a holiday but you named the council after him so he invited himself.
<Jane> Well, that's fine. He's Jane's favorite time of year, anyway.
<Hollyhock God> He's likeable enough and he supplies the wine, so it's all good.
<Ergo> (Where's the Power of the French Revolutionary Calendar?)
<Jane> You don't want him to show up.
<Hollyhock God> Also there are some spirits of minor holidays that don't have Powers and who I will detail when I think of one that becomes appropriate.
<Nico> Mmmm. Wines.
<Jane> He'll do so sans culottes.
<Sid> Doughnut Day!
<Ergo> But he makes excellent lobster thermidore.
<Nico> First Day of School Day.
<Jane> There is that.
<Hollyhock God> Henrik calls for the attention of the meeting.
<Jane> Of course he does.
<Ergo> International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
<Hollyhock God> "Comrades! The time has come for business!"
- Jane presents the internationally recognized "I'm listening" face.
<Hollyhock God> "I believe we would all do well to address the elephant standing on top of us."
<Sid> Sid sits down with a solo cup of wine in one hand, and discreetly slips a smartphone onto his lap with the other.
<Hollyhock God> "You know the pachyderm who I speak of."
- Jane glances up by reflex; she's learned that such statements are sometimes meant literally in these circles.
<Nico> "…What?"
<Hollyhock God> "The encroachment of Christmas upon the rest of the calendar is beginning to reach even farther than it had previously."
- Jane shoots a sympathetic glance to Wendy Marda.
<Hollyhock God> "It has already begun to appear now, today, and with Christmas in July firmly established, we are best on both sides."
- Nico takes a sudden interest in his wine, trying to seem appropriately concerned.
<Hollyhock God> "However, it is not this that is my main concern."
<Hollyhock God> Wendy smiles wanly. She's almost used to it at this point!
<Hollyhock God> "My main concern is that the Fat Man has stopped answering communications altogether."
<Nico> "Even Twitter?"
- Jane frowns. "I'd wondered why he wasn't here. Too big to rub shoulders with the lesser holidays?"
<Hollyhock God> "Mine as well," Wendy agrees. "I've tried to find out if something is happening up north, but it seems like they're on lockdown."
<Hollyhock God> "Preparations for military action against us!" thunders Henrik.
<Hollyhock God> "Surely not," says Painter, twirling his wineglass in a finger.
<Jane> Still new to the world of Nobles, Jane tries to tune out how crazy this entire conversation is.
<Sid> "How's Santa going to take military action? He's got, elves and toys and stuff? Is he going to roll into town in a toy tank?"
<Nico> Nico raises his hands, palms out. "Let's be reasonable here. No jumping to conclusions."
<Hollyhock God> Henrik is slightly above par for crazy; Wendy and Painter are closer to the baseline.
<Hollyhock God> "Elves? Elves!" cries Henrik. "The wild hobs of the northern wastes! Have you forgotten the legends of his conquest of them in the time before?"
<Jane> Then again, someone wearing bits of mismatched thrift store clothing, with black and orange hair, discussing possible Christmas conspiracies, maybe doesn't have much room to cast aspersions of craziness on others.
<Jane> But then Henrik speaks again and casts that last thought into doubt. You know what, aspersions away.
<Hollyhock God> That part is actually true.
<Jane> Nevertheless.
<Hollyhock God> You know, given that we're all talking about the Fat Man, maybe I should just give you his dossier?
<Sid> Dossier away.
<Jane> Dossier ahoy
<Hollyhock God> Niall Lord-of-Days, better known to the ordinary world as Father Christmas, is unique among the tutelary spirits of the holidays.
<Hollyhock God> Because he is not, in fact, the Power of Christmas.
<Hollyhock God> There does not appear to be an Imperator of Christmas, or at least not to your knowledge, which is mildly odd but not impossible.
<Jane> Or… suspicious!
<Hollyhock God> He's actually the Power of Good Order, who became associated with the winter holiday after he invented the concept of holidays.
<Hollyhock God> This is, incidentally, why it's somewhat difficult to discuss his history.
<Hollyhock God> Because one of his most famous accomplishments was completely changing how history works.
<Hollyhock God> When Creation was younger things just sort of happened.
<Jane> ((Something like "inventing the concept of Holidays" would be a decent example of an Imperial Miracle?))
<Hollyhock God> (It might! Or a Project, or something else.)
<Jane> ((kk))
<Hollyhock God> One day snow, next day blazing heat, next day harvest, next day sowing seeds.
<Hollyhock God> It was Niall who, at the behest of the Angel of Good Order, wrenched the flow of events into a repeatable rhythm.
<Hollyhock God> So that seasons and dates now proceed logically and consistently Creation-wide.
<Hollyhock God> Eventually this progression threw up new Imperators of its own as certain days were declared to be special.
<Hollyhock God> Niall, having taken the title Lord-of-Days and proceeded to conquer the feral elves of the North, claimed sovereignty over the winter equinox and all holy days associated therewith.
<Hollyhock God> Over centuries this developed into the modern Christmas and its associated trappings.
<Nico> One assumes he had a hand in this development.
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, the Lord-of-Days is on mildly bad terms with all the other holidays.
<Nico> And that he washed it afterward.
<Jane> Man, I can't imagine he's popular with Hannukah. Might also explain the lack of Kwanza. Sounds like a dangerous guy to horn in on his territory.
<Hollyhock God> He's not exactly hostile but he generally acts as though he thinks you ought to be about 20% cooler.
<Sid> Do we know about his familia?
<Hollyhock God> Please feel free to picture him as Mr. North.
<Jane> That is an excellent question.
<Hollyhock God> He has one Sibling: the Duchess of the Hearth.
<Jane> …Mr. North?
<Hollyhock God> She doesn't get out much.
<Hollyhock God> (from Fables)
- Hollyhock God attempts to find a good picture of Mister North, fails.
<Hollyhock God> http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/15776/1229539-mrnorth_large.jpg must do for now.
<Jane> ((googles) holy crap)
<Jane> (Shit I should have been the Power of Google. Oh well.)
<Nico> (Father Christmas is jacked.)
<Hollyhock God> An intimidating figure, it is true.
<Hollyhock God> I mean, he's not as scary as Lord Entropy or Meon, but he's up there.
<Nico> A good day to be Sweets.
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, back to our meeting.
<Hollyhock God> Henrik remains convinced that off-the-chain elves will be storming all your domains any minute now.
<Jane> Jane stirs from the wall she's been leaning against. "Elves and toys don't worry me— I'd put monsters against elves and toy soldiers in the field any time. Quiet worries me. When has Christmas ever been quiet?"
<Hollyhock God> "Boxing Day. But Boxing Day this is not," Henrik agrees.
<Nico> Nico nods, finding himself in agreement with Jane. "Has anyone tried unconventional methods of communication? Or…you know…stopping by?"
<Hollyhock God> Henrik and Wendy give you a Look.
<Hollyhock God> The kind of Look that says "Why, thank you for volunteering!"
<Hollyhock God> "Why, thank you for volunteering!" says Wendy.
<Hollyhock God> "I don't really like to, you know, make a nuisance of myself."
- Jane pinches the bridge of her nose. "Well, you'll get to see what candy-cane production HQ looks like, at least."
<Nico> "No," Nico says, his face plastered with shock, "no, no, no. It's not all candycanes and cocoa up there."
<Hollyhock God> They're both a bit puny compared to the awesome might of Halloween.
<Sid> "Well, let's not jump to extremes now!"
<Jane> She still isn't quite sure how to rib an aztec candy-blood-god-guy.
<Sid> "Maybe we could have small children write him letters?"
<Ergo> Those tend to get intercepted by the most unsavory sorts.
<Sid> "…we're stuck going to visit evil Santa, aren't we?"
<Nico> "Couldn't we try something easier to get his attention? Like halting the orderly flow of linear time?"
- Jane taps a finger against her chin. "You know, I don't remember ever getting anything for Christmas. I'd like to have a word about that, as long as we're there."
<Nico> "Not that he'd see that as anything other than a chance to nettle him," Nico mumbles.
<Nico> "…This is a lost cause, isn't it?"
<Hollyhock God> "I'm sure we've all got faith in you," says Painter, patting you on the back in a conciliatory fashion.
- Sid sighs, not so much upset about being roped into this plan as he is about having been outwitted by *Labor Day.*
<Hollyhock God> "Still, could be worse. If anyone does attack, I've almost finished my prototype Beast."
<Sid> "So, we just go on up to Arctic, look for a red-and-white stripey pole?"
<Hollyhock God> It's more like a caryatid column, but yeah.
- Jane has a thought, and tries to catch Ergo's eye.
- Ergo rarely makes eye contact, but when They do, it's like an entire room turning to face you, and staring.
<Ergo> All. The time.
- Jane attempts not to be unsettled by that. "Say, Christmas is a missing part of the bigger set here, right? Can't you do a, I don't know, a divination or something to see what's keeping it apart, or… or something…" The attempt fails.
<Ergo> "The Lord-of-days is not missing. He merely chooses not to be here."
- Jane scuffs a heel on the floor. It seems the next stop is the North Pole.
<Hollyhock God> How then shall this happen?
<Nico> Is our Chancel still ubiquitous?
<Hollyhock God> I'm not sold that your Chancel will get you places where no sentient beings live.
<Sid> Can Halloween summon up some hippogriffs?
<Ergo> Ever since Polar Bears went extinct, the North Pole has been completely devoid of life.
<Nico> Or…we rehabilitate monsters, right? Do we have a Krumpus?
<Jane> I can get us a lift.
<Hollyhock God> I feel like there's an interesting story behind the Krampus.
<Nico> He can be our guide.
<Jane> But we'll need to head out to the street to pick it up.
<Hollyhock God> Is that what you're going to do, then?
<Sid> yup
<Sid> time to do some Aspect 2 walking out of here
<Ergo> At that level, you may strut.
<Hollyhock God> Strutting authorized.
<Hollyhock God> So, what lift are we instantiating here, O Halloween Queen?
<Jane> (sorry someone called. Had to ditch em. Back.)
<Jane> I am also deploying Aspect 2 strutting so we look totally cool making our exit from the temple and heading down its front steps. (It has front steps, right?)
<Hollyhock God> Enormous ones.
<Hollyhock God> It's like somebody deployed the Temple of Time in the middle of Europe.
<Hollyhock God> When the Excrucians invade I'm going to fill Prague with ReDeads.
<Jane> Then we bomb on out of there looking like it should be in slow motion with theme music.
- Ergo Aspect 3 walks out disdainfully.
<Jane> I guess poor Nico has to just walk.
<Nico> /Nico schlumps down the steps, impressing narry a passing strumpet or simpleton.
<Hollyhock God> BOY
<Hollyhock God> YOU THERE
<Hollyhock God> BOY
<Hollyhock God> HOLD YOUR SHOULDERS UP YOU FOOL
<Jane> Having declared intent to provide a lift, Jane pauses a moment, considering the best method given the circumstances. After a moment, she raises a hand, snaps her fingers, and waits.
<Jane> Presently, Dracula's horse-drawn carriage begins clattering down the street. [Domain 4: Summoning]
<Nico> Nico whistles. "Stylish."
<Jane> Hopefully sans Count.
<Hollyhock God> Did I hear a bat?
<Sid> "Shotgun."
- Jane glances up at the incredibly creepy, hooded driver up on the bench up top, then over at Sid. "Suit yourself." She opens the door and climbs in once it stops.
<Hollyhock God> All in!
<Hollyhock God> …how does this thing get to the North Pole, anyway?
- Ergo slips in between the time it takes Jane to open the door and enter.
<Ergo> Bat wings.
<Jane> Domain 6, Lesser Movement, once we're all inside.
<Ergo> Flying wolves. A fleet of bats.
<Hollyhock God> What if somebody sees?
<Hollyhock God> Incidentally, this is something that Treasure would be good for, just as an illustration.
<Ergo> They'll just think it's Santa
<Sid> Don't Movements have an Avoidance Kata thing?
<Jane> I'm thinking we should maybe head over to a bad part of town with no street lights and vanish into the darkness
<Jane> then reappear from the night up at the North Pole.
<Nico> How could Treasure work here?
<Hollyhock God> "We all pile on my motorcycle, one on top of the other, and set off for the North Pole. Later, we arrive!" is a valid Treasure 6 miracle.
<Sid> magic car
<Nico> Ah. True.
<Ergo> You have a magic car. You engage the hyper thrusts and you achieve low orbital flight
<Jane> That'd take a Word of Command from me, unfortunately, given Treasure 0 :(
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, the North Pole.
<Jane> or I could just let the horses run on the very substance of night but that'd take forever since they move at regular horse speed
<Hollyhock God> You emerge into the light of dawn at the northernmost part of the world.
<Ergo> Nah, they're vampire horses.
<Ergo> Oh, Nightmares!
<Jane> Ooh. That light of dawn's probably not good for them though.
<Hollyhock God> You can tell that this is the northernmost part of the world because there's a great column of white marble and scarlet lacquer.
<Hollyhock God> Yeah, the horses explode, I guess.
<Hollyhock God> Sorry, it's dawn here for the next month.
<Sid> "See? Just like in the Tim Allen movie."
- Hollyhock God thinks that's how North Poles work.
<Hollyhock God> The coachman pulls his hood down farther.
- Jane pokes her head out of the carriage window just in time to see the horses go up like flash paper, and probably also the driver, as the carriage coasts to a halt in the snow. "I maybe could have thought that one out a bit more," she confesses.
<Jane> oh yeah (marks off 2 DMP)
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, a giant column of red-on-white, presumably marking an entryway somewhere.
<Hollyhock God> Wherever the pathway is, it's not standing open.
<Jane> do Nobles have to worry about freezing their asses off at the North Pole?
<Nico> Did we remember to bring the Kraumpus?
<Hollyhock God> It is rather cold.
<Hollyhock God> What *is* the Krampus.
<Hollyhock God> I mean, I know what it is.
<Sid> On the off chance that the North Pole can be construed as a "city" or a part thereof, Sid tries to strike up a conversation with it.
<Hollyhock God> But is it a Halloween monster or a legitimate part of Christmas?
<Sid> (Conversation with Cities, off a gift)
<Nico> Legitimate part of Christmas
<Hollyhock God> Did you make it for him, or what? If so, how?
<Hollyhock God> *This* part of the North Pole is not a city, at any rate.
<Jane> Legit part of Christmas I think
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, something about the pole seems to moderate the chill, but not enough to make anyone who isn't Immutable or immortal comfortable.
<Nico> Does Durant take a bit of the edge off?
<Jane> Can anyone read their Estate in such a way as to get us some winter clothing? All I've got is Elusive, brr
<Sid> Hmm
<Ergo> I'm sitting quite toasty.
<Ergo> A little cold is meaningless to Us.
<Hollyhock God> Durant is for injuries. Environmental stuff falls under Immutable.
<Nico> Hmmm. I could whip us up some hot cocoa that fills you with some of Sweet's power of temporary respite.
<Hollyhock God> I rule that the hot cocoa is delicious.
<Sid> Sid sucks in a bit and uses a Lesser Sacrifice to subtract any residual traces of "not somewhere you should go" from the surroundings, in hopes that this covers the inhospitable cold.
<Hollyhock God> That also works!
<Jane> :D
<Hollyhock God> This also mends a few faded spots on the column's lacquering.
<Nico> :)
<Hollyhock God> It doesn't get you inside, though.
<Jane> And suddenly Jane goes from wishing she'd done more layering than just pants + skirt to feeling perfectly fine at the freezing roof of the world— and also fully entitled to be there.
<Ergo> Inside the… pillar?
<Hollyhock God> Inside the North Pole.
<Hollyhock God> I mean, it's a Chancel.
<Hollyhock God> There's a way in somewhere.
<Hollyhock God> Or I guess you could knock?
<Ergo> Yes.
<Jane> "Hm." Jane walks up to the surface of the pillar and lays a hand against it.
<Hollyhock God> Honestly, if this was your Chancel somebody would have noticed by now and come out to see what the people on the front porch wanted.
<Hollyhock God> The pillar is made of pillar.
<Hollyhock God> Your hand fails to pass through it, or any other useful magical portal thing.
- Ergo knocks on the pillar, quite insistently.
<Hollyhock God> Either nobody is listening, or that is not the correct way to open the gate.
<Ergo> Now, if We were the entrance to the North pole, where would We be?
<Jane> I have an idea but it's likely to get us in an unfathomable amount of trouble if Santa's still alive in there.
<Nico> Oh dear.
<Nico> What does it entail?
<Nico> And how many racoons must we immolate?
<Jane> Turning this thing into the Pole of Halloween so I can exercise proper domain divinations on it to figure out how to open the bastard up.
<Jane> That seems like the kind of thing a Power might take personally, though.
<Ergo> I'll do a lesser divination of Parts.
<Ergo> 2 DMP.
<Hollyhock God> You perceive the partness of the portal!
<Hollyhock God> As any student of holidays knows, at bottom, it's all about one thing.
<Sid> Creating an elemental pole of halloween does seem like it would upset the Fat Man. But it might get us a response.
<Hollyhock God> What is that thing, class?
<Jane> Crass commercialism?
<Nico> Candy?
<Ergo> Uh-huh. How does it exist in relation to the chancel?
<Ergo> And costumes.
<Nico> Presents.
<Jane> Presents.
<Sid> Family?
<Sid> Ham?
<Ergo> Decorations. Trappings.
<Jane> Dude, it's Christmas. Presents.
<Ergo> Accoutrements.
<Nico> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-dmRJp0Ljs
<Hollyhock God> "But it was much earlier even than that when most people forgot that the very oldest stories are, sooner or later, about blood. Later on they took the blood out to make the stories more acceptable to children, or at least to the people who had to read them to children rather than the children themselves (who, on the whole, are quite keen on blood provided it's being shed by the deserving, and then wondered where the stories went."
<Sid> (you are a bad person)
<Jane> Oh.
<Jane> Well that's easy.
<Nico> So one of us has to bleed?
<Hollyhock God> It is a red-on-white pole. :)
<Jane> Or I could summon a bunch of blood to splash around
<Ergo> Should've asked Dracula to come along.
<Sid> I feel bad for the guy you summon that blood out of.
<Nico> Would it actually come out blood, though?
<Jane> Or uh, create. Yes I meant create.
<Nico> Or just red-dyed corn starch?
<Ergo> I think so. Blood is pretty halloweeny
<Jane> Yeah that's my worry, I might only be able to create fake haunted house blood.
<Jane> Then again, it's a goddamn barber pole, how smart can it be?
<Ergo> I mean, if you can make vampires you can probably make blood.
<Hollyhock God> If you punch the pole hard enough, that might work.
<Ergo> Oh, why didn't you say so?
<Jane> Either way, I'm pretty irritated by our crap reception to this point, so— [Domain 4,] lesser creation, let's just cascade the thing with blood. Which may or may not be fake.
- Ergo knocks. Hard.
<Jane> Watch out, Ergo!
<Ergo> Treasure 4 miracle.
<Ergo> We're knocking. Together.
<Hollyhock God> Blood cascades up the pole and is drawn into the spiralling white stripe.
<Hollyhock God> It's carried up to the top until the entire pole is scarlet, except for the brass globe at the top, which lights up like the sun.
<Nico> "I have gotten way to used to seeing weird blood stuff happen."
<Hollyhock God> The substance of the column fades away, leaving a long tall hole in space.
<Sid> "So…still basically the same as the Tim Allen movie."
<Ergo> "Weird is a matter of context."
<Hollyhock God> Through this gateway you can see sparkling snow cities and… stuff.
<Hollyhock God> Also, a goblin with a spear falls out of the gateway and into a puddle of blood.
<Ergo> With that, I step through.
<Nico> "Well…let's go find the Fat Man."
<Hollyhock God> I think he might have been leaning on the other side of the gate.
<Ergo> I step over the goblin on my way in.
<Jane> Is the spear through the goblin, or…?
<Hollyhock God> He is holding it.
<Jane> Is it the goblin's blood or some of the stuff I just conjured.
<Nico> Nico tosses him a handful of candy as he passes by: "Sorry little dude."
<Hollyhock God> The other four hobs on the other side also have spears.
<Sid> "Hello!"
<Jane> Okay so it's not actually a dead goblin.
<Hollyhock God> Nico finds one of them poking into his throat and two in his sides.
<Hollyhock God> No, it's just unhappy and embarassed.
<Jane> I'm gonna whip out Persona 1, Blessing. Turn up the spook aura around myself.
<Hollyhock God> "What the fuck!" curses the goblin. "Who are you people? Who dares intrude here?"
<Hollyhock God> He levers himself vertical again with the spear and tries to stand up straight so he can menace properly.
<Ergo> "We need to speak with The Dominus of Order."
<Jane> "You will take us to jolly old St. Nick," Jane declares, intimiations of bats and frights dancing around her. "This is a matter between holidays."
<Hollyhock God> "We're closed! No visitors."
<Nico> Good cop, bad cop: Nico turns up his Sweet aura with Persona 1.
- Ergo calls this over his shoulder as he strides forward.
<Hollyhock God> Spears impede this striding action.
<Nico> Are hobgoblins typical North Pole fare?
<Ergo> I nonchalantly destroy spears blocking my ingress.
<Hollyhock God> The hobs are disinclined to yield either to Spooky Spice or Sweet Spice.
<Hollyhock God> How?
<Hollyhock God> Yes, they are.
<Hollyhock God> The wild hobs of the North, no?
<Ergo> All of them. At the same time, as they enter my personal space.
<Sid> "No need to be so spear-happy, little guys. How about you tone it down a notch, and let us see the Big Man?"
<Sid> Aspect 4 miracle to crank up my Getting Along With People/Things skill
<Hollyhock God> The Lord-of-Days may have conquered them and taught them wood-carving, but they're still vicious little bastards when they're off the leash."
<Ergo> Treasure 5, miraculous combat/helping Us
<Hollyhock God> How are you doing this?
<Sid> Ergo or me?
<Ergo> Specifically clockwork efficiency/group synergy in both avoiding, intercepting, and destroying those pointy sticks.
<Hollyhock God> Ergo.
<Hollyhock God> Okay, that's a better explanation.
<Sid> (what exactly does Ergo look like?)
<Hollyhock God> "The Lord of All Winters is not seeing guests today! He's very busy!" exclaims the lead hob as he tries to kill Ergo. He's not doing very well at it.
<Ergo> It varies.
<Jane> Now that they're disarmed, I think I am going to use a Lesser Preservation on myself, to crank that "spooky" up to "absolutely terrifying"
<Hollyhock God> The hobs radio for help.
<Jane> And back up Ergo's advance with a shouted "STAND ASIDE."
<Hollyhock God> The hobs radio for help while fleeing.
<Hollyhock God> There is a whistling sound.
<Hollyhock God> Think fast! Cruise missile!
<Ergo> "We have been trying to contact Him for some time. We shall not depart until our business is concluded."
<Jane> cruise—
<Nico> "Oh for the love of blue agave," Nico says, "this is going to end badly."
<Jane> Lesser Creation, big goddamn shroud of darkness around the group, fortified into a protective barrier by Lesser Preservation.
<Sid> Sid smiles real wide, his teeth tarnished with dental graffiti and urban decay. He breathes out a big cloud of smoke.
<Sid> Lesser Enchantment, make the cruise missile run down and shitty.
<Ergo> Hmm. Can my distributed consciousness deflect the missile in conjunction with my Aspect?
<Hollyhock God> The shitty cruise missile bounces off Jane's darkness aura.
<Hollyhock God> Then, explodes!
<Hollyhock God> Still, that was commendably quick front-door security.
<Sid> "Santa has cruise missiles."
<Hollyhock God> You should get one of those.
<Hollyhock God> Workshop, Sid. Duh.
<Hollyhock God> I mean, what if a Warmain knocked at the front door?
<Hollyhock God> You'd want at least a couple of nukes.
<Sid> "I guess third world dictators need christmas too?"
<Jane> "It seems apparent we're going to have to do this the hard way," Jane comments as she lets the darkness unravel.
<Hollyhock God> It's only responsible.
<Nico> "…So, I mean, I've got this terrible spectre inside me, if you guys are good with blood and fire."
<Hollyhock God> BOY
<Ergo> Ergo is like those people who look different depending on the angle. Except in the same angle.
<Hollyhock God> YOU THERE. BOY.
<Hollyhock God> THESE LESSER BEINGS HAVE DARED TO STRIKE YOU.
<Hollyhock God> YOU MUST BATHE IN THEIR WORTHLESS BLOOD.
<Jane> lol
<Hollyhock God> TEAR THEIR HIDE INTO STRIPS AND USE THEM TO LACE YOUR BOOTS.
<Nico> "…but you have no idea how hard it is to get these kind of stains out of designer jeans."
<Sid> "spooky ghost poooooowers," Sid chants, by way of encouragement.
- Ergo takes a radio from a goblin.
- Jane ponders.
<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, a platoon of wooden tanks advances on you from one direction.
<Hollyhock God> From the other, screaming elk-mounted hobs with warpaint and bows.
<Jane> "Blood and fire might be taken as a slightly over-the-top response… on the other hand."
<Nico> "Fine. But I'm not going whole-hog with this," Nico says, clapping his hands together. "Toltecatl, appear before me and…uhm…do something about all these goblins and their fantasticly armed brand of menace?"
<Hollyhock God> NO.
- Jane sighs, and summons up a platoon of skeletons and ghouls from the snow. You know, to provide security.
<Nico> Treasure 6 to Weave Destiny
<Hollyhock God> DAMN YOU.
<Hollyhock God> An expenditure of MP is sufficient to force your will upon the angry ghost, at least for the moment.
<Nico> "Damn me all you want," Nico says, "just damn them all first."
<Hollyhock God> THAT MUCH I CAN DO.
<Hollyhock God> Dark brown stains appear in spreading lines in the snow which might be chocolate, or, then again, might not.
<Jane> Lesser Preservation to make them incredibly mighty ghouls and skeletons, then a sustained Lesser Animation to get them to run perimeter security and to run the elk-mounted guys off. The tanks, let's leave them to Nico.
<Nico> "Thanks, schnookums," Nico adds, winking. Maybe that wasn't the best idea, but it felt so mean and so right.
- Ergo turns on the radio
<Hollyhock God> As Jane's skeletons and ghouls rise from the earth, the dark lines spread up their legs and through their decaying bodies, before finally emerging from their eyes as a blazing red light.
<Ergo> Can I use aspect for…cipying a voice?
<Hollyhock God> TIME FOR FUN. :)
<Jane> So where are we, anyway? What's the Chancel interior like? Some kind of alpine village? Some kind of… town? :o
<Ergo> Christmas Town, obviously.
<Jane> "That's not normal," Jane remarks, frowning.
<Hollyhock God> The warriors of Halloween, now dominated by Toltecatl's will, charge.
<Hollyhock God> Yeah, I should specify that only Nico can hear the all-caps ghost voice.
<Nico> It haunts my slumber.
<Hollyhock God> You're atop a hill of snow with a copy of the North Pole column on it.
<Nico> And my waking.
<Nico> And my bathroom time.
<Hollyhock God> On all sides, you see the lights of little workshops.
<Hollyhock God> It's like an entire pocket dimension full of cute little German towns and twinkling lights.
<Jane> So it's kind of a town, then. One which might have a bad side somewhere in it.
<Hollyhock God> Only full of elves who would gobble you up whole if they were allowed.
<Hollyhock God> Also, there's a giant fortress topped with glittering towers of ice and a noticeable landing platform at the top.
<Hollyhock God> Currently the worst side is possibly right here.
<Nico> We are the baddest side of this town.
<Sid> It turns out that being invaded by moderately pissed-off gods is a major marker of urban decay.
<Ergo> Aspect. Mimic voice. Okay?
<Hollyhock God> What with the undead tearing hobs apart with their bare fingerbones, and ripping pinewood tanks apart to get at the delicious pilots inside them.
<Hollyhock God> Mimicking works.
<Hollyhock God> What with the death and all, Jane is finding this outcome to her miracle a bit inappropriate.
- Jane is about to cup her hands and yell "Santa, quit being such an asshole" at the fort, but then stops to see what Ergo's doing.
<Jane> This is true; that doesn't normally happen.
<Ergo> I turn on the radio, copy the voice of the head goblin who we may or may not have killed, and say, "Call a retreat! They've got a secret weapon of some kind, they're killing everyone! It's a bloodbath!"
<Ergo> All true, technically.
- Jane would be impressed by Ergo's clever ruse, except that judging by the carnage going on just ahead, it doesn't actually appear to be a ruse.
<Hollyhock God> Meanwhile, Nico is supressing the urge to rip off his ridiculous and unmanly sweater and join in the slaughter.
<Hollyhock God> Unless you don't suppress it?
<Hollyhock God> And yeah, I think they're *trying* to retreat.
<Nico> It'd a hoodie.
<Ergo> It's a sweatshirt.
<Ergo> Don't lie to us.
<Hollyhock God> THAT IS NOT A REAL WORD.
<Nico> Shush, pluralboy.
<Ergo> We find your use of gendered nouns insulting.
- Jane instead tries to figure out why she summoned murderous chocoghouls this time.
<Nico> Nico's smile goes wide, a certain slackness in his jaw, a certain smolder in his eyes. He's enjoying this slaughter too much.
- Hollyhock God imagines Jane shaking her finger-snapping hand and wondering why it doesn't work.
<Jane> So what's going on with the elves, are there more coming, are they in retreat?
<Hollyhock God> It's difficult to tell if the brown magic is chocolate or dried blood.
<Hollyhock God> Probably both of those things, Jane. It's a bit chaotic.
<Jane> either way, my monsters are now cuckoo for more than coacoa puffs and we should probably either do something about that, or proceed on to see St. Nick.
<Sid> I like the murder-skeletons. Let's go siege a fortress.
- Hollyhock God tries to figure out what the third line of defense is. Giant dire elves? Reindeernotaurs?
<Jane> Gonna let go of that Lesser Animation since it doesn't seem to be necessary or working too well anyway.
<Hollyhock God> The skeletons appear to be directing themselves just fine without it, I have to say.
<Nico> Ah, the joys of Aztec blood magic.
<Jane> "Can someone catch one of these hobs so we can interrogate it as to Big Red's whereabouts?"
<Hollyhock God> Has Nico explained to his relatives exactly what lies behind his knowledge of ancient chocomancy?
<Hollyhock God> A passing hob, caught in one of Ergo's many arms, points you toward the Castle of Allwinter. Hard to miss.
<Nico> Anyone who was in the family before him probably knows, since it's the guy who had this Estate before.
<Jane> I'm new!
<Hollyhock God> How is Jane at spotting ghosts?
<Hollyhock God> Especially R-rated, murderous ghosts not spawned from a holiday?
<Jane> Jane is a badass at spotting ghosts.
<Nico> What with Halloween and all.
<Jane> Not quite so good at those but still perfectly acceptable.
<Hollyhock God> Then you can probably diagnose that your miracle is screwed up owing to a textbook case of being possessed by an incredibly angry ghost wizard.
<Jane> Oh well, at least it freed up a miracle.
<Nico> "He has issues," Nico says, twitching slightly from the horrible thrill of Toltecatl's bloodrage.
<Ergo> We only have two arms. They just function as multiples. That describes pretty much the whole phsyicality re: Ergo, for that matter.
<Hollyhock God> Well, there you go.
<Jane> "Let's make use of that convenient landing pad," Jane says. She snaps her fingers again, summoning a truly enormous swarm of giant bats.
<Hollyhock God> The bats clutch each of you in their… paws?
<Hollyhock God> Claws? Whatever. You is clutched.
<Hollyhock God> And away!
<Ergo> Ergo would be a pain in the ass to draw but is less difficult to conceptualize.
<Jane> Aaaaaand Lesser Animation to make the bats carry us over there. Sustained until we arrive.
<Nico> Nico lets Toltecatl beam back into his head. Blood is blood and all.
<Hollyhock God> Yes, well.
<Hollyhock God> To make a long story short….
<Hollyhock God> REINDEER ATTACK
<Hollyhock God> But I'll just skip through that bit and let you arrive at the landing pad.
<Jane> Lesser Creation of Darkness to black out the sky; bats can navigate by echolocoh
<Jane> nvm :D
<Nico> "Those reindeers had mean left hooks," Nico says, rubbing his jaw.
<Hollyhock God> That's quite enough fight sequence given that it's already 8:15 and you haven't even met the Fat Man yet.
<Hollyhock God> You land next to the gleaming wrought-iron sleigh.
<Hollyhock God> It's a large black conveyance with gleaming silver fittings and a prominent crest of holly and allspice.
- Jane waves farewell to the departing swarm of giant bats, wondering what ecological niche they'll find here in Christmas Town.
<Ergo> They'll replace the reindeer we just demolished.
<Jane> yessssssss
<Nico> "You know, Jane, I like your carriage and all, but you really can't beat a classic."
<Hollyhock God> Then there is a thud, and the great doors leading into the castle of the Lord of Days are thrown open by the man himself.
<Sid> "Hey!"
<Ergo> Also, I think I may call it. Very tired, and I love to end on a cliffhanger.
<Jane> "You're a hard man to find, Kringle."
<Hollyhock God> You're assailed by a sense of the wrongness of your presence as he towers above you. Surely he's at least ten feet tall.
<Jane> awwwwwww
<Hollyhock God> You become aware that you have been Naughty.
<Nico> "…He's not supposed to be so…awful…is he?"
<Hollyhock God> It is you who is awful. Consider your many sins of the past year!
<Hollyhock God> They rise to the top of your mind.
<Sid> Hmm. Could Sid apply his construes-events-as-normal Bond to resist this aura of naughtiness?
<Hollyhock God> You could invoke it as part of a miracle, yeah.
<Jane> Hmmm lemme see here
<Jane> I have a miracle of my own in mind
<Ergo> Hmm. I would like to externalize my naughtiness.
<Jane> Lemme sidebar to AIM to make sure what I have in mind is valid
<Ergo> Treasure…4?
<Nico> Can I sink my mind into Toltecatl's, since he's far too Naughty to care?
<Ergo> Also bond.
<Ergo> Treasure 4, Bond 5: We bring forth Our selves as needed, or desired.
<Hollyhock God> Both of those should work.
<Sid> Sid enchants his sins to be "dirty and broken, but not without beauty," allowing himself to see them as a natural and productive part of his overall experience rather than as damning sins. +4 Strike from the Bond.
<Nico> Treasure 6, Bond 5: Nico's slim features take on sharp edges, and a mist falls over him like a deathshroud, tattoos raising over his skin that trace the path of every artery and vein.
- Ergo reaches down Their throat and pulls its naughtiness out by its tendrils, then casts it forth as a homunculus
<Jane> Jane frowns as the awfulness rises about her, but then shakes her head defiantly. Sins? What sins? A rowdy group of merry japes, that's all; these so-called sins were all in good fun. She casts this truth at both her own understanding and St. Nick's reckoning of them. (4 PMP spent for Persona 4 Lesser Enchantment)
<Hollyhock God> I think you can just use Treasure 4 to cloak yourself in Toltecatl's naughtiness.
<Nico> (Even better)
<Hollyhock God> Treasure 6 is for specifying a complex outcome.
<Hollyhock God> Anyway, one way and another you all throw off the aura of Absolute Adulthood.
<Nico> (I thought it was also for Miraculous Anchors? Or is that only when they're doing Miraculous things, rather than Wondrous?)
<Hollyhock God> Niall looks down at you and tilts his head to the side. "Well, then?"
<Hollyhock God> Oh, right, he's miraculous.
<Hollyhock God> You need a 7, then.
<Jane> wait who does
<Hollyhock God> "Dead hobs, dead reindeer, and weeks of repair. For what?"
<Hollyhock God> Nico does, to call on Toltecatl for help.
<Hollyhock God> YOUR SINS ARE PUNY. TO BE PUNISHED FOR THEM IS EMBARASSING.
<Nico> (That'd be if Toltecatl was doing it out of his own volition)
<Ergo> "We've called. You haven't answered."
<Nico> (I could swear it's 6, not 7)
<Hollyhock God> Either way, a Treasure miracle is a flex of your own miraculous will, consciously or not.
<Hollyhock God> 6 activates his power, 7 calls on him for aid.
<Hollyhock God> In general I guess that means that level 6 makes his murderousness fruitful for you.
<Nico> I find that unsatisfying and the distinction irksome. But whatever.
<Hollyhock God> With 7 letting you call him up to carry you somewhere or build you a pyramid or something.
<Hollyhock God> "I've been busy."
<Nico> "Labor Day was worried. Well, more worried than normal."
<Jane> Is Niall using any Miracles to look like such a badass or is that just how he rolls?
<Hollyhock God> "He is a fool. What do you want?"
<Hollyhock God> It could be some kind of Emulation.
<Sid> "What've you been busy with, Saint Nick? It isn't even Christmas time."
<Hollyhock God> The aura fades a bit as it becomes clear that you aren't particularly cowed.
<Nico> "An EXPLANATION—er…explanation…might be nice."
<Ergo> "Yes, and that's the very matter at hand. We're concerned about the expansion of Christmas."
<Jane> Jane glances at Sid. "Or is it? Seems like there's less and less time these days that AREN'T Christmas time."
<Ergo> Apparently Holden murders connections with a glance.
<Hollyhock God> "The unprecedented expansion of my operations is an error which will soon be mended."
<Jane> Shouldn't that be Ergo's domain? :O
<Jane> Jane…… frowns. "That sounds… ominous."
<Ergo> If I were a Domain/Persona Maven.
<Hollyhock God> "I apologize for any inconvenience you may have inadvertently suffered."
<Ergo> "May We enquire as to the nature of this solution?"
<Nico> "C'mon, Nick. Give us a bit more love than all that jazz," Nico says.
<Hollyhock God> "Although I appreciate that you have been troubled, this is a personal matter relating to the security of my holdings. I reiterate that it will be resolved shortly."
<Nico> "It all sounds stressful," Nico says, "but couldn't you use some help?"
<Nico> Persona 4 to Enchant myself so I'm a source of comfort.
<Ergo> "Will you be in contact? The regrettable destruction was a result of your refusals to communicate."
- Jane coughs. "Come on, man. People are putting your likeness up in stores before they've even finished digesting the last of their Thanksgiving meals. We've got to have more than that to take back to the other holidays."
<Hollyhock God> Ergo's statement cracks Niall's shell a bit. That might have hurt his pride. "I have… been busy."
<Sid> "Busy's one thing, but when the best way to get in touch with you is to kick down your door and unleash Aztec murder-skeletons on your help, I think you've got a problem. A staying-in-touch-with-your-friends problem."
<Nico> "Aztech choco-murder-skeletons. Technically."
- Jane finds that the thought of Aztec choco-murder-skeletons is oddly comforting. Weird.
<Hollyhock God> Niall looks sadly at the crater just inside his front door.
<Hollyhock God> "Yes. I let my pride get the better of me. I apologize. Come inside."
<Hollyhock God> "I should explain the situation.'
<Hollyhock God> You are escorted inside and offered chairs by suddenly-friendly elves whose teeth no longer show.
<Jane> Jane blinks. This is not the super-powered holiday smackdown she was expecting and perhaps very slightly looking forward to, but she's willing to be mollified. Especially given the dead elves and attack-reindeer. "Well… thank you."
<Hollyhock God> In their master's presence the hobs look significantly more like the "Santa's elves" you see on TV.
<Hollyhock God> The Lord of Days looks very old in the firelight as he stares up through the windows at the stars.
<Hollyhock God> "The truth is… the recent expansion of my holdings, though it has increased my powers, is not my doing."
<Hollyhock God> "I was at first pleased by the expansion of Christmas, and then surprised, and at last disturbed."
<Hollyhock God> "But by the time I realized my danger, I found that I was no longer in control of the growth of the winter holiday."
<Hollyhock God> "I have not discovered the name of the perpetrator, but I can be sure that the Children of Harumaph are to blame."
<Hollyhock God> ==>**
<Ergo> Are those whatsits the curtains? Credits?
<Sid> It's an arrow.
<Jane> Jane sinks into an offered chair, listens, and starts at the conclusion. "How… how can you be so certain it's not some other Noble's meddling?" Excrucians? -Expanding- an Estate?
<Nico> "To eclipse other estates," Nico offers in a small voice.
<Ergo> "And to undermine itself. If every day is a holiday, then holidays become meaningless."
<Hollyhock God> It indicates that I have stopped talking for a moment and am awaiting input.
<Hollyhock God> Niall nods at Ergo.
<Hollyhock God> "I am familiar with this ploy from days past," he says. "It is the welken-rite."
<Jane> "The welken-rite?"
<Hollyhock God> "You know of the Excrucians and their flower-rite."
<Hollyhock God> He goes to a nearby cupboard and opens it.
<Jane> (I don't think Jane's ever directly encountered an Excrucian thus far.)
<Hollyhock God> Inside, severely sealed within a glass display case, is a sickly-looking purple flower like a rose.
<Hollyhock God> "The welken-rose, or widow-rose, blooms only in the void."
<Hollyhock God> "In Creation, such flowers usually die. But sometimes, instead, they grow."
<Hollyhock God> "Eventually, they come to flower, and drag everything in Creation they root to into the Not."
<Hollyhock God> "Such is the welken-rite."
<Nico> "And it's taken root in Christmas?"
<Hollyhock God> "Where the flower rite seeks to agitate reality and attack it with contradictions, the welken-rite soothes the world and encourages it to accept something that cannot be."
<Hollyhock God> "The disruption grows and grows, until a huge conceptual space has been tainted. And then…"
<Hollyhock God> He raps the glass with his finger, shattering it.
<Hollyhock God> The welken-blossom implodes outward like a……. something hard to compare things to…… and is gone, along with the cabinet and a fair section of the floor.
<Hollyhock God> "Such has taken root in Christmas. I know it, though I cannot feel it."
- Jane starts. "How…" She coughs, finding her voice. Christmas, being used to destroy all of the holidays? "How do we stop it?"
<Ergo> Okay, gonna sleep for real now. Passing out.
<Sid> "Seems like we need to push Christmas back into December."
- Ergo is now known as Melum
<Hollyhock God> "The improper expansion must be reversed, before Christmas as a concept no longer means anything."
- Melum is now known as Melum_zzz
<Hollyhock God> "Locating and neutralizing the forces overseeing the rite will also do much to end the danger."
<Nico> Nico swallows a hard knot of dread. "Excrucians?"
<Hollyhock God> "A Deceiver, or more than one, is the most likely suspect, but I have no knowledge of who. That is what I have taxed my powers attempting to discover."
<Hollyhock God> "I drove myself into exhaustion, and found only this."
<Hollyhock God> From another cabinet, he draws forth a plank of twisted black wood.
<Hollyhock God> "In my visions, I saw poisoned gifts flowing from a shop. I tried to follow the vision of the shop, but it twisted away from me and fled."
<Hollyhock God> "As it retreated into the distance, the signs and carpets fell away and I recognized it as not a shop, but a house."
<Hollyhock God> "I reached out and pulled this plank from the outer wall before it could escape. When I awoke, it was in my hands."
<Hollyhock God> The wood is dark, and not quite straight. In the grain of the board you see grinning faces and ugly sigils.
- Jane looks meaningfully from the plank to Ergo, who seems to be both present and absent somehow. She tries not to think about that too hard.
<Hollyhock God> "Still, fate has sent the answer."
<Hollyhock God> "You are the ones who came, so you will be able to find the criminal."
<Hollyhock God> "Thus you will repay me for your trespasses and solve your own problem at once. Very neat."
- Nico says nothing; instead, he simply reaches into his pocket, pulls out a flask, and takes a long drink.
<Jane> lmao
<Jane> "What do you think, Sid?"
<Nico> "Sure," he says, cheeks redder now, "why not. Everyone else seems to be volunteering us for things."
<Nico> "We're here to help you Niall," he says, reaching for the wood. (Still a source of comfort)
<Hollyhock God> Niall tosses it to you absently.
<Sid> "Plus, did you see what we did to your elves? That Deceiver is going to get wrecked."
- Jane winces.
<Jane> "That was an accident," she clarifies.
<Nico> "And a mistake," Nico adds.
<Hollyhock God> Niall's expression of lonely regality is replaced by one of…. I don't know what.
<Hollyhock God> "Just……. go away, please."
<Hollyhock God> So you do.
<Jane> "Wait," Jane says, on the verge of leaving fuck lol
<RandBrittain> Next week: the house that some Deceiver built!
<Jane> :D
<RandBrittain> Christmas Every Day!
<Holden> Nobilis is neat
<Elliott> Indeed.
<Elliott> That was my first game of it.
<RandBrittain> How Toltecatl Stole Christmas
<RandBrittain> and
<Elliott> Bwhahaha
<Holden> Kinda derpy supers until you get the hang of it but shit, that's fun
<Elliott> That was…remarkably smooth.
<RandBrittain> The Secret of Secrets.
<Elliott> Nobilis is the RPG equivalent of top-shelf Bourbon
<RandBrittain> Now, let's take a look at the Destiny board!
<Elliott> Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
<RandBrittain> Remember, you gain Personal Destiny by changing yourself or by struggling with a question.
<RandBrittain> Did anybody do either of those things this week?
<RandBrittain> It seems not!
<RandBrittain> Also, we should probably work out what Projects are currently in play.
<RandBrittain> Nicodemus wants to bind Toltecatl to his will so the ghost will stop being a dick and giving him terrible ideas.
<Elliott> Truth.
<RandBrittain> Does anybody else have any Projects? Even if it's just increasing your personal powers?
<Holden> (raises hand)
<RandBrittain> Yes, O Scream Queen?
<Holden> Jane wants to find out why her history seems to delete itself every so often and how to make it stop. Also, to gin up more Persona and Aspect.
<RandBrittain> Excellent! You should draw a diagram for both of those.
<RandBrittain> Then whenever I allocate you Destiny you can write it into a bubble and make progress.
<RandBrittain> (If you don't actually draw the diagram you'll forget.)
<Vance> I think I'll wait a bit to pick up a project with Sid.
<Holden> is "more Persona and Aspect" one project or two?
<RandBrittain> Can be one Project going in multiple directions!
<Holden> how does that work?
<RandBrittain> So you can add Destiny to one bubble or another.
<RandBrittain> Like, a central bubble "MUST GET BUFF".
<RandBrittain> Attached to an ASPECT bubble on the left and a PERSONA bubble on the right.
<RandBrittain> You can add relevant Destiny to the appropriate bubble.
<RandBrittain> Mostly it would just let you have one diagram file.
<RandBrittain> But if you try to do things to make yourself more powerful, and succeed, or fail, or whatever, you make progress on that Project.
<Vance> "Got Hephaestus to forge me a weight machine (5 Destiny)"
<RandBrittain> I'm ballparking it at 1 CP per bubble, so you need to advance three bubbles or so to raise an attribute by one level.
<RandBrittain> With mysterious and nebulous benefits on the first two advancements.
<Holden> oh yeah
<Holden> do we refresh MP at the beginning of sessions or what, I forget how that works
<RandBrittain> Beginning of stories.
<RandBrittain> I guess next week is a new story.
<Holden> ahh
<Holden> yeah I think I am gonna dig all this extra MP
<Holden> I can throw it around like mad
<RandBrittain> Anyway, the HG is open for questions/comments/concerns.
<Elliott> You have crazy MP
<Elliott> https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1yZzPfI5WrKsp06AXYpnsRLhaXwG3m8vi4M_aIwjvx7c/edit
<Holden> Interesting thing I discovered about Jane tonight that I did not previously know
<RandBrittain> Remember, class! You get points for struggling with questions! So if you find a philosophical problem, don't just wave it away!
<RandBrittain> Wrestle with it for the whole session and watch it turn into ULTIMATE POWER.
<Holden> Isn't that kinda rude tho? Hogging the whole session with internal monologues?
<Elliott> Yeah, that was gonna be my query
<RandBrittain> Make everyone else wrestle with it, too.
<RandBrittain> Build a giant machine for testing your ability to kill people!
<Holden> see previous question, replace "internal" with "external"
<RandBrittain> Not in practice, no.
<RandBrittain> Going on and on about the meaning of your Estate is almost the heart of the game.
<Vance> "Halloween is just the good side of the town that cosmic horror is the bad side of!"
<Holden> I thought it was about deflecting cruise missiles and accidentally starting elven holocausts
<RandBrittain> I mean, if you want to, you can just work it out with me to have an entire story about "Jane improves her Aspect."
<RandBrittain> And the delightful complications thereto.
<RandBrittain> Oh, that holocaust was no accident.
<Holden> It was for me!
<Elliott> Could've been worse if I'd used my Gift. Well, next week.
<Elliott> Bwhahaha.
<Holden> anyway, interesting discovery: she's arrogant about her Estate.
<RandBrittain> Raising up soulless shells is just asking for them to be invaded by a ghostly blood chocolatier.
<Holden> But doesn't like to show it.
<Elliott> That might be a project that comes off this. Trying to figure out what the heck Toltecatl did to futz with the Estate/get half-killed.
<Holden> But yeah— seriously, Labor Day calling a meeting of the holidays to order? Not exactly one of the big heavyweight occasions there.
<Elliott> …Does Labor Day wear white?
<RandBrittain> Only on his front half.
<RandBrittain> Honestly, the Autumn Council is a bit of a social club.
<RandBrittain> Nobles love social clubs.
<Vance> …so, we need to find a game where Holden can be Google, and I can be Social Media
<Elliott> We should convene a war council of all the holidays.
<Holden> Yes
<Holden> That's exactly, yes.
<Elliott> Get Eostre in on this.
<Elliott> Also, I call dibs on The Internet.
<Vance> Porn is the most powerful estate of all
<Elliott> Properties of the Internet:
<Elliott> [4] It's for porn.
<Vance> that is a terrifying property to sling around via enchantments
<Elliott> Bwahahahah
<Elliott> "That dog. It's for porn."
<Vance> "Cars are for porn."
<Vance> "Socialized capitalism is for porn."
<Elliott> "You, young man of promise and ability, are for porn."
<Elliott> Isn't that last one true already?
<Elliott> That's the whole point of trophy wives.
<Elliott> Ooooh
<Elliott> Power of Memes.
<Holden> Huh, I think I got to use all four of my Properties tonight. Neat.
<Holden> oh god
<Holden> power of memes noooooo
<Vance> the power of memes sorta tanked when his estate went from "self-replicating ideas" to "animal pictures with captions"
<Vance> Nowadays he just uses Treasure miracles with his anchors
<Vance> 4chan and reddit
<Elliott> Hahaha.
<Holden> "We need to get out of here! Lesser Enchantment of the Cockmongler on that entire crowd the Excrucian agents are pushing through to pursue us. Run!"
<Vance> god
<Vance> Imperial Miracle
<Elliott> God cannot help
<Vance> spake by 4chan
<Elliott> Nooooooooooo
<Elliott> So
<Elliott> I still have no idea what kind of Imperial Miracles I could speak about my ghost, book of evil magic, or employees.
<RandBrittain> Well, Toltecatl's is probably similar to the Rival's blasphemy. Lets people hurt themselves or set things on fire if they want to.
<Vance> You could probably use the Book to pull off big spells
<RandBrittain> The book might be able to do something like "And the land was covered by a wave of dark. Also of dark chocolate."
<Vance> "All who taste the Chocolate of the Smoking Mirror will die by drowning and jaguars!"
<RandBrittain> An Imperial miracle is less a single event and more "the plotline of an entire story."
<RandBrittain> So it's less "you die" and more "I wish we were all 16 again."
<Elliott> But being covered in dark chocolate is still a single event.
<RandBrittain> But the *world* being covered in dark chocolate and dark magic is an entire evening.
<Elliott> Fair point.
<RandBrittain> A Noble miracle can be unhappened with a sufficiently powerful deletion; an Imperial miracle can only conclude as part of the plot.
<Elliott> Ah.
<Elliott> That
<Elliott> is actually a tremendously helpful statement.
<RandBrittain> I made it up just now!
<RandBrittain> And realized that it was true!
<Holden> Nobilis!
<RandBrittain> Problem solved, guys! All problems solved!
