EVENT: SLEIGH BELLS RING

[cuddlemods]

EVENT: SLEIGH BELLS RING.

Can you hear the bells? Throughout the city of Cadelle, the sweet chimes of bells can be heard, cheerful and bright as they sway in the cool breeze. It seems winter has finally come to the city, replacing the dreary drizzling fall rain with crisp, cool weather and — of course — the first of what is sure to be many snowfalls. In keeping with local traditions, citizens have begun hanging up their seasonal decorations, and no traditional home would be complete without a few (or a few dozen) small brass bells, hung just above doorways to merrily chime out with each coming and going. Early in the winter season, the soft blanket of snow spread out across the ground and newly found chill in the air provides a perfect opportunity for festive frolicking. Whether you're an Olympic hopeful or content to just linger on the sidelines, there's something for everyone in the city to enjoy. ▸ By mid-week, the pond in Golden Park begins to freeze. It doesn't take long to solidify into something sturdy enough to hold weight, and as soon as it does, the city is all too happy to request the assistance of the Zamboni in making it smooth as glass. Those that have been practicing their skills over at the Ice Castle might want to show off, but those a little less familiar should have no fear — the public skating sessions are open to everyone, and skating teachers will be on hand an hour before each session to give lessons for anyone who might be interested! Skating is free, and should you get too cold after a spin or two on the ice, there's always the concession stands nearby... maybe pick up a hot chocolate or two and warm up? ▸ If you prefer to keep your feet firmly on solid ground, the gentle flurries that accompany the first few weeks of December prove the perfect atmosphere for a few wintertime classics. Snow forts, snowball fights, and even snow angels can be spotted all along the grassy shores next to Blue Springs Pool and within the tree-lined meadows of the city's many public parks. Feel free to join in to the fun! Who knows, you might even spot the Mayor building a tiny snow replica of City Hall. (Just please don't knock it over, whatever you do. We hear she's quite particular about her replicas.) ▸ While it's certainly beautiful to look at, cold weather isn't for everyone. Some prefer it hot, and for those that do, the city is all too glad to accommodate. Within the friendly and vaguely Nordic halls of the Elsket House, visitors will find a plethora of piping hot offerings to keep the winter chill far, far away. Those looking to rest and recharge may enjoy the saunas and steam rooms — the rock salt sauna claims to reduce stress, while the sun room's heated loungers provide a more relaxing opportunity to enjoy all that heat has to offer... and there's always the traditional wood saunas or steam rooms to consider too. Why not try them all? ▸ Last but certainly not least, those that linger out in the city center may notice the surprising absence of locals in their more common haunts on those days when temperatures dip below freezing. Ask around, and you may discover one of Cadelle's better kept secrets: the cave pools, open each winter season, are a collection of natural hot springs just beyond the city border. Tucked away inside caves within the lower slopes of the western mountains, the pools are local favorites for beating the chill, and are often quite popular throughout the season. While many are family-friendly, there are a few on the far end that are rumored to be adults-only both in attendance and... well, in everything else, too. (It's a bit of a don't ask, don't tell sort of arrangement. We're neither asking nor telling, so be discreet!) Beyond the cuddle-worthy temperatures and picturesque backdrops, there's always something to do in the new month. Whatever you do, we hope you have a happy, merry, holly, jolly time during this time of year! Can you believe it's already December, cuddlers? We can't either — even if it doesn't really feel like winter for some of us, we're delighted to share in the seasons greetings with you and some light-hearted winter fun! (Don't count on it all staying fun... but our lips are sealed!) With all the wintertime activities available, we know there's one on the list that might spark a little extra curiosity. Yeah, that's right, we're talking about those magical hot springs, tucked in the hollows of caves, just waiting for the brave to find them and enjoy all that they have to offer. Should you choose to explore them, you'll have the choice between the standard and more adult-oriented of options. Both pools are imbued with the Energem's magic, and will leave bathers feeling warmed up and in good health. Small injuries, like a pulled muscle or shallow scrape, will heal with just a few minutes' time in the baths. However, the pools at the far ends — the adult-only pools, of course — have a higher concentration of magic, the potent mixture having not yet met with the freshwater near the middle. These pools will not only warm a man and wash away his pain, they'll also leave bathers feeling particularly friendly after a while. Maybe you'd like to get to know someone better? Or more intimately? (We see you. We know what you're about.) If you have any further questions specific to this event, we encourage you to ask away on our QUESTIONS COMMENT here in this post. If you have general questions, or prefer a more private venue, our GENERAL INBOX (and SCREENED INBOX) is always available for you. In addition, if you've got an idea for a future event, feel free to drop us a line at our EVENTS SUGGESTION POST. We hope you have tons of fun out there this month, cuddlers, and we'll see ya around!

Comments

jo schumacher • ota

[righthandgirl]

snowy weather

The idea of snow is not exactly foreign. She's seen it in the movies a million times; she's seen them make snow on film on the show before. But seeing the real thing? That's new. It doesn't exactly snow on the Moon.

It gets cold once in a while back in Eagan Hills, but not like this. It's cold and when Jo steps out of the warmth of the Gamma building, it isn't without a cup of coffee suspended in the air with a lock of brown hair curled around it to hold it up. She actually almost went without letting her biogenetic extensions do the work for her but decided that she'd be better off in mittens and it's hard, as it turns out, to hold a cup of coffee with thick mittens on.

Seeing her breath in the air when she walks out is a surprise and it shows on her face. Jo takes a deep breath and lets it out in a huff, laughing when she can see the puff in the air when she exhales. Shivering, she walks down the streets, looking at up at the sky at the falling white snow, catching it in her mouth — or, more accurately, just getting hit in the eye occasionally with it but whatever — and marveling at the snow forts and snowmen.

"What the heck...? What is that?" she asks no one in particular, seeing the snow angels. The coffee cup moves to her lips a final time, her hair tipping up the bottom of it so that she can drain it before the hair extension shifts to drop the cup into a nearby garbage can before settling lifelessly against her back again as she rubs her gloved hands together to warm them.

magical hot springs

After getting acquainted with the cold and snow quite well, Jo decides to see if she's heard right when she thought she heard someone mention in passing that there were natural hot springs. She might not be the most put together person when she's trying to talk to someone for the first time in person, but she's willing to try to fake it til she makes it because it would be awfully lonely — and totally lame — to just hang out all by herself in these things.

She intentionally tries to find a pool that doesn't have anyone else in it, though, because maybe she'll loosen up a little if she kind of has a few minutes to let the warmth envelop her and help her relax before she tries to socialize. Online is one thing. When she's on the clock and in business mode, also easy. Trying to do it just for the sake of doing it is when she gets a little awkward at first. Hopefully if someone joins her, they'll be patient and give her a chance to be normal. It only takes a few minutes. ...usually.

Then again, she isn't usually talking to someone for the first time while in a tiny black two-piece bathing suit, either, in her defense. So it might be an extra...bit before she reins the awkwardness in enough to be considered appropriately chill.

wildcard.

(( or hit her up with your own starter! feel free to shout at me on mistojen or discord: mistojen #8486 for plots. ))

((ooc: Even though this is in prose, I'll match brackets if you have a strong preference for them.))

Snowy Weather~

[coyandcryptic]

He's no stranger to strange things, of course, but this has to be a first even for him. A woman walking along, enjoying the winter day with her hair holding her cup of coffee for her? If that's a warlock mark, it's the most intricate one he's ever seen, and Magnus can't help it, he's too curious, he has to say hello.

While he could use a little magic to keep himself warm, Magnus doesn't mind the cold. There's nothing like walking through the streets of Manhattan during the holiday season, wrapped up against the cold. But that doesn't mean he needs to sacrifice color. His coat is wine-dark, with a sparkling black scarf around his ears, and he tugs it away from his face as he cuts right across the middle of the street and arrives just in time to hear her question.

"That delightful pastime is snow angels," he answers, watching in fascination as the hair (the hair, how is this possible?) lets her finish her coffee and tosses the cup aside. "I have to ask. How are you doing that? Magic? And if it is magic, can I get your secret? I'd grow mine out again for that," he adds, running his fingers over the side-shave thoughtfully.

[righthandgirl]

Jo looks around at the response she only half expected to actually receive from someone, figuring no one had really been listening since she hadn't directed the question to any single person. She gives an impressed little facial shrug and nods her head a little, thoughtfully. Snow angels... "Cool," she replies, looking back at them and when she does, now that she knows what they're called, she can immediately see why. "Ooohhhhh, I get it!" she chirps happily. "Oh that's so cute!"

His question takes Jo off guard for a second because biogenetic extensions are hardly uncommon back home, but it occurs to her that maybe they're more uncommon here than in Eagan Hills. "Oh, uh...they're just extensions, you know?" she asks, lifting her eyebrows. One of her extensions lifts itself and then extends out toward him, sort of floating in the air like an invitation to be touched.

"They're just standard biogenetic hair extensions, you can see for yourself," she offers, nodding to the extended...extension. "Do you not have those here...?" she asks, giving a sheepish, lopsided sort of smile. "They're just kind of a thing back home. I finally decided to get them after a year or so in the business, because sometimes you just need an extra hand or twenty, you know what I mean?" she laughs.

[coyandcryptic]

"I do know what you mean, but my extra hands are usually just..." Magnus snaps his fingers and a little tendril of blue-tinged magic wraps around his wrist and reaches out to touch the hair, before he curls a finger around it himself. It feels like ordinary hair, except, well, prehensile and obeying its owner's every mental command.

"I've never seen something like that, you say they're common where you're from? Amazing. At first I thought you might be a warlock, but even a warlock mark isn't as elaborate as that." He wiggles his finger as if shaking hands with the tendril of hair before pulling back. "Which business is that? I can hardly imagine."

[righthandgirl]

Jo's expression drops in an excitable surprise, jaw slackening in an awestruck smile. "That's so cool! How'd you do that?!" It doesn't bother her to have him playing with the piece of hair in his curiosity. It's been a while since she's met anyone who wasn't already familiar with the concept of the biogenetic extensions. It's kind of novel, having someone look so fascinated by them.

"Oh yeah, tons of people have them back home. They're a little pricy, but nothing too crazy. I could've gotten an extra arm but really, that wouldn't have been cute," she says, wrinkling her nose. There are people who've done that sort of thing, too, although largely the biogenetic limbs are typically reserved for people who've lost and are replacing one of their own.

Her eyebrows lift in question before she realizes he's just continuing the conversation even though she's wandered down a line of thought related more toward other biogenetic devices. Reel it in, Jo. "Oh, uh I'm a personal assistant," she says, "in Eagan Hills." Sometimes she forgets that not everyone knows what the hell she's talking about or why it's significant to tack on when she's talking about her job.

[coyandcryptic]

"Oh, well, you do need extra hands when you're a personal assistant, and you're right, an extra arm wouldn't be cute at all. And it would only be one, whereas this," Magnus gestures at her hair, "is like a more practical Medusa without the horrifying side effects."

He swirls the magic around his fingers, flipping it back and forth as if it's a coin. "Back home, a lot of people have magic." Then he holds one hand out, twists his fingers, and conjures two fresh cups of hot chocolate. The magic levitates one and holds it out. "Well, not a lot. Only warlocks. And there aren't as many as there used to be."

[righthandgirl]

Jo's face lights up at the man's response. He might not be familiar with the extensions but he gets it and that makes this whole conversation veer quickly away from potentially awkward and defensive on her end and straight into easy peasy lemon squeezy territory. "Yeah, sometimes I probably look like a real beauty, carrying a ton of things with it, but it's easier than having to stop and pick up the armful of dropped stuff every five minutes when you inevitably drop because you don't have enough hands," she agrees. "These can't hold up more than thirty-two ounces, so they're not as useful as they could be, but the heavy-duty ones were like so not cute. They looked more synthetic and no thanks," she says, wrinkling her nose with distaste.

Her eyes move with the blue wisps, but she's still listening. "Shut up, that's awesome," she says, grinning as he materializes more hot chocolate out of thin air and levitates a cup to her. Another of her extensions lifts from its resting spot on her chest and curls around the cup, bringing it to her and hovering below her mouth so she can blow some of the heat off before taking a sip.

"That is so cool. If I could do that with these babies, I'd never leave my apartment," she laughs. "I'm Jo, by the way; how rude of me," she adds quickly, introducing herself and thrusting one of her hands out to shake his.

[coyandcryptic]

"These can hold as much as I like, but only as long as I'm concentrating. I can't tell you the number of times I've had a stack of books in the air next to me, waiting patiently while I reorganized, until someone knocked at my door. I nearly dropped a Qing dynasty vase that way." He sighs at himself, the recklessness of youth. "Don't worry, I've learned my lesson since then."

He beams as he accepts the handshake with a firm and friendly one of his own. "Magnus. And I think your choice was the right one, they look very cute."

[righthandgirl]

Jo cringes for him when he explains how his works and how that nearly cost him a priceless object. "Yikes, yeah good thing," she says when he finishes by saying that he's learned his lesson. She can't imagine, honestly, having that sort of limit on her extensions. Truly, the biggest appeal of them is that they're not just extensions of her hair, but they're extensions of her, in a way, so she doesn't have to think about what they are or aren't doing; they just instinctively know what she needs and oblige to the best of their ability.

"Nice to meet you, Magnus," she says with a bright smile to match his. "Thank you! It isn't often I get compliments on them. It's nice to be appreciated, isn't it?" she asks and, as if in response, two of the extensions lift and create the shape of a heart when they join in the air. Jo winks.

Then she grins, looking back at the snow. "So, snow angels, huh? Makes sense, now that I know what they're called. I like the concept. It looks like fun," she adds. Then, she looks back at Magnus. "So what else is there to do in the snow? This is my first time seeing it."

[coyandcryptic]

Magnus winks back, clearly delighted at her hair and at her. "It is fun. Well, it's cold and wet, but it's fun when you're certain there's a warm fire and a mug of hot chocolate with a little something extra in it waiting for you." Which, at the moment, Magnus does not, so he refrains from demonstrating the technique.

"Other things to do in the snow? Oh, there are dozens. Downhill skiing. Snowboarding. Cross-country skiing, if you enjoy things that take far too much effort for not nearly enough payoff. Snowshoeing through the woods." He starts walking again, skimming one boot through the powdery snow. "Building snowmen. Or building forts for snowball fights, those are popular. They don't have snow where you're from?"

[righthandgirl]

"Oh, I am one hundred percent here for all of those things," she gushes happily. Warm fire and hot chocolate with what she presumes is a nip of alcohol? Yes please, with or without the snow angels to precede it. Jo grins back at him. She'd never be so dismissive as to replace the Best Friend title out from under Dave, but she can already tell that this guy?

"You are my new Cadelle Bestie," she declares, deciding immediately that he is going to be one of her favorite people to spend time with here. Already, they're getting along well and he's fun to talk to and be around. He's a keeper.

Shaking her head, Jo shrugs. "It doesn't do anything like that. Rain — that's what it's called, right, when it's like this but not...frozen or whatever? Rain? Just sun half the day and not the other half. It stays pretty warm, because the dome regulates; it's usually around 27° or 32° day and night. Which, you know, beats the hell out of the 100° day and -178° nights we'd have naturally, according to my science teachers in high school," she laughs. It doesn't actually occur to her that those numbers might sound strange to anyone, because she's only ever known the Celcius scale and just assumes the same is true for everyone else.

"What's your favorite thing?" she asks, following him as he moves. "Show me your favorite."

[coyandcryptic]

"I'll accept that title with pride," Magnus declares, tossing an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. He could use a bestie here, he has plenty back home and so far he hasn't had the time to be homesick, but it's better to find new friends before he starts to miss the old ones.

Having lived all over the world, where they do use Celsius, it's easy for Magnus to take the first temperatures in stride, but the other two make him stop walking and turn to her, a little shocked. "Those are the temperatures you'd have naturally? That's a little...well, I can't lie, it sounds horrifying. So you live in some sort of weather-regulated dome without rain or snow, just day and night? Some people I know would find that a paradise, but I like my seasons."

In answer, he scoops up some snow in his hand, then uses magic to shape it into a perfect sphere. But instead of throwing it, he makes two more smaller balls and builds a tiny snowman on the palm of his hand, complete with tiny top hat and scarf and the world's smallest carrot nose. "I don't know if this is my favorite, but it's a crowd pleaser."

[righthandgirl]

Jo grins brightly when he takes the declaration positively and even goes so far as to indulge her on it by agreeing. "Okay, good, because it's better with pride than with shame; you were stuck with the title, either way," she tells him playfully, nudging her side up against his.

"Oh yeah, it's totally a weather regulated dome. Moon is so not habitable otherwise," she agrees easily, but she says it with so much nonchalance that it would suggest that it should be just common knowledge. For her, it is. She's still getting used to being surrounded by people from a time well before Earth sort of snuffed it and the humans moved to Moon and Mars instead. "I could get used to the seasons if they all mean new things like this for me," she agrees with a smile.

Her eyebrows lift with excitement and her jaw goes slack with a big grin as he creates the little snow-man. "Oh my God, that is so cute!" she squeals happily. "Can we do it without magic or no?" she wonders.

[prosecutorial]

Okay, so one of those snow angels in progress may be Laurel Lance.

Most other snow-themed activities are too frustrating due to her perfectionist nature because she always wants to get the round shapes exactly right, but snow doesn't always cooperate that way, and then she winds up with snowballs too small for her purposes. That being said, snow angels are easy enough, and as long as she has a little help, she can even manage not to get the footprints and handprints left in her wake. So when she hears Jo's voice, she holds up a hand and waves to get her attention.

"Snow angels," she says with a smirk. "A little help?"

[righthandgirl]

The movement is what catches Jo's eye and she turns her head, lifting an eyebrow at the response. In a second when she really looks at them, it'll make more sense, but for now, it just sort of throws her off and she ignores the explanation in favor of the request.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, hold on, one sec," she says, moving closer and taking the woman's outstretched hand, trying to help her to her feet. "Sorry."

Her eyes move to the form in the snow once the woman is back on her feet and Jo has her lightbulb moment. "Ooooohhhh..." she murmurs, a grin creeping onto her lips. "That's really neat! How'd you know to do that? Oh! I'm Jo, by the way," she offers the latter part belatedly and with a sheepish grin.

[prosecutorial]

"Laurel. And I've been making them since I was a kid. Whenever we would get a big snow fall back home, My friends and I would just sprawl out and make as many as we could"

It's one of her favorite things to do in the winter, when she has the opportunity. But she hasn't really done it in years. She looks at Jo for a moment, before she tips her head to the side.

"Do you live in Gamma? I think we might be on the same floor."

[righthandgirl]

"That's so cool," Jo coos thoughtfully. "Nice to meet you, Laurel." Jo supposes if she'd ever seen snow before today, she probably would've thought to do that, too, because it looks like fun. She might or might not even have to do one a little later just to be able to say that she has.

Jo's eyebrows lift and she realizes at about the same time that Laurel asks that the other woman does look familiar, actually. "I do yeah, on the sixth floor?" she asks more than says, not because she's not sure where she lives, but because she's kind of transitioning to asking Laurel where she is, mid-sentence.

"I thought you looked kind of familiar just now, but I couldn't place you. That makes sense," she says with a smile.

[prosecutorial]

"Yep, I'm in the East block," she nods with a smile, a bit relieved. Putting names and faces to her neighbors has been one of her number one priorities, mostly because the sooner she does that, then the sooner she can say she's actually made some friends. That's important, one way or another. "I only just got here though, so I haven't had a chance to get to know my neighbors."

Clearly she is failing on that front.

[righthandgirl]

Jo smiles with recognition, nodding along with Laurel. "Okay, yes, I'm not crazy, then," she laughs. There's nothing more mortifying to Jo than to think she recognizes someone, treat them as though they are that person by greeting them or otherwise being chatty, only to find out a tiny bit too late that she's completely off and then she just looks like an idiot.

"I only just got here, too, so I haven't really met my neighbors yet, either, if it makes you feel any better. I'm just thinking we've probably passed by one another at some point," she replies. Maybe that'll make Laurel feel a little better. Jo's social when she's working, but she's not working while she's in Cadelle, so she's going to have to actually put forth a little effort. It won't just come to her because it's what she does for a living, talking to people.

"Anyway, it's really nice to meet you. Can you show me how to do that? The thing? Snow angel?" she asks, having missed how exactly Laurel managed it without making a mess of footprints around it. There must be some kind of trick to it. If she's going to try it, she might as well do it right and who better to ask than the person who explained to her what they actually are?

[prosecutorial]

"Oh yeah, it's easy."

Laurel pulls away from the one she made and makes her way over to a clear, empty bank of snow. She checks to make sure that it's deep enough that flopping back into it won't be too big a deal before she gestures for Jo to come join her.

"Okay, so you're going to start by basically trust-falling back into the snow. It might smart a little bit, but the snow should cushion you too."

[righthandgirl]

Jo smiles as Laurel agrees and then moves away, presumably to find another prime spot. The shorter brunette follows and picks up her pace when Laurel gestures. Wrinkling her nose a little, Jo nods.

"Okay, just know that if the snow breaks my trust, I'm depending on you to carry me to the hospital," she says, only half-joking. Then she moves to stand beside Laurel, turning to face out and away from the snowbank. Taking a deep breath, she looks over at the other woman. "Then what? Or should I wait and you can show me?" she asks, lifting her eyebrows in question.

If they're doing this, she's going to let Laurel call the shots since the other woman actually knows what she's doing. If it's something easy enough to explain while they're doing it, then she can just do it at the same time, but maybe it's more complex; Jo doesn't know.

[prosecutorial]

"Once you're lying down, just slide your arms and legs back and forth against the snow." She's not going to demonstrate by doing it herself because it'll be easier for Jo not to get handprints in her snow angel that way. But she will use her arms and one leg to demonstrate how she means, bring them up and down in a kind of spread eagle position that looks ridiculous when you're standing but works well when you're lying on the ground.

"After you've made a good impression - a literal one - you can just give me your hand and I'll pull you back up."

[righthandgirl]

"Oh! Like a jumping jack but laying down instead of standing up!" Jo exclaims, grinning. That, she can totally do. With the rest of the explanation laid out, it seems simple enough and Jo lets herself fall back, wincing a little when she hits the snow, mostly by reflex, because it doesn't actually hurt that much. Then, she begins to follow the instruction, figuring that if she's misunderstanding and starts to do it wrong, Laurel will let her know.

"How long is good, you think? I can't really tell if I'm making an impression or not," she asks. It's cold doing this, so she's not sure she'd recommend doing it again without a snowsuit or something — she can already feel her jeans soaking through and that's going to be uncomfortable later — but she's going to finish what she started because she's soaking up the culture and that's one of the biggest benefits of being somewhere new: learning new things.

[prosecutorial]

Laurel watches quietly for a moment, trying to gauge how deep the impression is before she reaches forward and cuts her off, holding out her hands for the other woman to grab. "There! That's good. And if you let me pull you up, you'll have no hand prints either!"

[righthandgirl]

Grinning with satisfaction and accomplishment, Jo reaches up to take Laurel's offered hands and lets the other woman pull her to her feet so that she won't leave any prints behind to mar the design. Once she's up, she turns to face her masterpiece and lets out a soft laugh.

"That is so cool," she says and then turns back to Laurel. "Fun! Okay, it's cold as all get out, but I'll give it credit where it's due: snow is fun. Thanks for showing me!"