[ december catch-all ]

[organfarm]

WHO: Jion & others!
WHAT: Holiday C H A O S (i.e. quests and more).
WHEN: Throughout the month.
WHERE: Around Chroma.
WARNINGS: None atm.

[ Some starters below, but please feel free to hit this up with a blank comment if you'd like a random starter! Also totally open to any other plotting, please hit me up in PMs or at databomb ]

Comments

( quest 38 ; SHIHO )

[organfarm]

[ There's a ribbon caught in the breeze. Or rather, it's more like a long scrap of cloth? Shiho might spot the strip of colorful fabric being buffeted across the ground, followed closely by thumping footsteps as Jion stumbles after it. ]

Aaah ... gotcha!

[ He finally manages to catch up to it and grab it before it gets blown away again, and Jion huffs as he stuffs it in his jacket pocket. Which is overflowing with more fabric strips. And it's only then that he notices Shiho and gives her a cheerful grin. ]

Oh hey! I didn't see you there, or I guess I could've just asked you to grab that for me.

[good_ideas]

[Shiho has one hand outstretched because of course she had already been reaching for it. But that doesn't stop her from pulling it right back.

You saw nothing!]

Hey. What are you doing with those anyway? A scarf? A nest?

[organfarm]

[ He saw that! He totally saw it!!! But he won't say anything about it. For now. ]

Oh, I was gonna use them to decorate a tree! [ He pulls that scrap of fabric back out, toying with it in his hands. ] I have a tree mostly ready, but I got kinda stuck wondering how I was gonna decorate it. But then I remembered I have all these fabric bits -- I've been practicing sewing and trying to adjust clothes, so I have a bunch of little bits. I think it'd look nice if I tied ribbons on the tree, you know?

[ A small nod before he looks to Shiho with a smile. ]

Wanna do it with me? I mean, if you weren't busy with anything else?

[good_ideas]

[....fabric bits do sound like they'd look nice, actually. And hey, using up scraps instead of cutting up clothes was always good.]

That's not a bad idea. [Which is glowing praise coming from her.] And I guess I can help you out a bit. It's not like there's anything else to do here. Right?

[organfarm]

Right? [ Jion beams at the praise, clearly pleased. ] I'm not really good at making anything pretty, but when I thought of that idea, I knew it was a good one! And thanks, I'd really appreciate the help! Here, it's this way.

[ He gestures back the way he came running, leading the way to his place. ]

I guess it'll count as a quest too, but mostly I just wanted to do it for fun. I think it'll be really nice to relax a bit. Y'know, get into the holiday spirit?

( quest 37 ; MAYA )

[organfarm]

[ It's not even like he's a really heavy sleeper -- Jion's used to waking up on quick notice and immediately getting ready for action. But he must have been really tired? Was it the cold? The exertion of chopping down and decorating a tree? The pressure of feeling a creepy giant spider staring at him the whole time? Either way, Jion ends up sleeping a little too deeply one night, curled up in his blanket.

-- only to be awoken by the feeling of his head whacking against the cold ground. ]

What the hell ... [ He ... can't move?! His head whonks against a snow-covered rock, and Jion squirms blearily, blowing snow out of his face. And realizes he's tied in ribbons. And being dragged down the street by elves. For one moment, he entertains the thought that this must be a dream. And then he gets dragged over a patch of snow, and nope, that sure felt real.

From down the street, Maya can probably hear sounds of commotion as Jion squirms and kicks and flails against his restrains, managing to headbutt one elf and sending it rolling into a bush. He may or may not be mumbling panicked, disbelieving 'oh my god's between huffing breaths. ]

[scooptimistic]

[ Ah. What a wonderful night. A good night to stretch her legs, breathe in that nice, chilly air, and--

... Come sprinting down the way, brandishing a pair of bright pink pistols. ]

Hey! Santa's little hell... ions!! Drop him!

[ The elves don't look all that impressed, but that's before Maya starts shooting. Sorry for the noise, Jion. ]

[organfarm]

Oh god, thanks.

[ He raises his head, obviously relieved that someone's come to his rescue. ]

Just don't shoot me in the head!

[ That's probably a weirdly specific request that maybe doesn't need to be said out loud? But he's also distracted trying to squirm away from a pair of elves who're trying to use him as a shield, so. ]

[scooptimistic]

My aim is seriously not that bad!!

[ Geez! One more elf, shot aside, and then Maya's reached them and is resorting to the ancient classic of...

elf-punting.

She's sorry if she accidentally kicks you, Jion. ]

( quest 37 ; LUX )

[organfarm]

[ Just because he can wake up in an instant doesn't mean he does it all the time. Jion's still prone to wandering downstairs half-asleep from time to time, especially when it's so cold, and he thinks nothing of it when he makes his way to the kitchen one morning, rubbing his eyes with a blanket wrapped over his shoulders --

-- only to trip over something lying right at the base of the staircase.

He goes down like a ton of bricks, whacking his face into a chair on the way to the floor, and he has a nosebleed when he scrambles to sit up. At least that chased away the remnants of sleep real quick, and he turns to stare at what he tripped over.

Or rather, who he tripped over??? ] Uh. Lux?

[interlucere]

[ Lux had never met an elf before today, and let's just say she's not all that impressed. What started as an effort to make conversation turned into... whatever this is. Being tied up in obnoxiously yellow-colored ribbon and tossed into someone's house like a badly wrapped Snowdown gift.

As far as first impressions go, this is probably one of the worst.

It seems like the house is fast asleep, and so instead of making a bunch of racket through her awkwardly tied gag, she decides to stay silent. It's fine. She doesn't think she's in danger, and she has manners!

Too bad for the poor guy who trips over her. Lux lets out a muffled shriek of surprise, shuffling around to try to get a look at who she managed to accidentally KO.

Oh. Oh no she knows him. Ahh, this is awkward. Also his nose is bleeding? Ugh, this really is the worst. Lux offers up her best attempt at an apologetic smile and a vague attempt at a greeting.

Oh. Hi Jion, fancy meeting you here.......... ]

[organfarm]

What ... [ Jion just stares dumbly at her for a moment longer, not quite understanding what he's seeing. Why is Lux here? Tied up? With ribbons??? He still has his blanket draped over him as he struggles to digest the situation. ]

Um, gimme a sec. I'll, uh, do something about that.

[ The blanket's still sort of tangled around him as he crawls over to start tugging at the ribbons around her. The one on her mouth first, of course.

And then he realizes his nose is bleeding. Right down his chin, onto Lux's clothes. ]

Oh shit -- [ He hurries to sit back, hand to his face. His voice comes out muffled as he mumbles, ] -- um, gimme a moment. It should stop bleeding in a sec. And, uh, sorry for stepping on you? What're you doing here, though?

[interlucere]

[ Lux might try to diffuse the situation if she wasn't so completely mortified by... everything, really. The ribbons tied over her mouth put a damper on things too. This is a mess; her brows practically raising into her hairline as the smile she manages stretches dangerously thin. She can't really inch away from him, so Jion is going to just. Bleed on her.

It's fine, she hated this outfit anyway. She hates all of this tbh.............

The moment he pulls the ribbons away from her mouth, she lets out a hard breath. ]

Ahh, finally— [ How long has she been like this?? Lux looks up. ] It's fine? I'm sorry you tripped over me. Clearly someone here has a terrible sense of humor.

[ aka Mr F you're on her S-word-she-would-never-say list. But slearly she's a gift! Happy holidays, Jion!! ]

( lake, quest 39 ; IZUKU )

[organfarm]

Come on, come on ...

[ If Izuku's passing by lake, he'll probably spot Jion kneeling at its edge, staring intensely into the ice as he mutters under his breath. And even as he rubs a hand at his temple, no doubt trying to fight off a ferocious headache, he still maintains that hard stare --

-- until he finally gives up with a loud sigh, flopping back into the snow around him and inadvertently right into Izuku's path. He was so focused on the lake for a moment that he totally didn't notice anyone approaching. ]

Oh, whoops. Sorry, didn't mean to get in your way there. [ At least he sits back up quickly enough, dusting the snow out of his hair and jacket as he looks a little embarrassed. ]

[inheritance]

[Oh, now there's a face he's been hoping to see again! Ever since Izuku had run into him with his color drained, he'd wondered how the other was doing.]

That's okay! [Though Izuku had tripped and toppled into the snow, he laughs now, while shaking himself off.] It's Haru-san, right? I meant to check in on you, but I didn't get your hex code before. You look a lot better now! [With your color returned and everything.]

[organfarm]

Oh geez, that! [ Jion gives a low laugh, looking kind of embarrassed. ] Um, I'm totally fine now! But I really owe you one for then. I gotta admit I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I feel like I made a lot of trouble for you then, and you helped me out in a big way. So I really appreciate it.

[ He'd been clambering to his feet while talking, and he hurriedly extends a hand to help Izuku up. ]

Here -- guess I'm still kinda making trouble for you, huh?

[inheritance]

Not at all. [Gladly, he takes the hand up.] Thanks. Don't worry about the memory loss too much, it's pretty normal when you lose color like that.

So what were you doing, lying in the snow? [Not that Izuku's against playing around in it, if that's what he was doing!]

( quest 38 ; GUREN )

[organfarm]

Oh, good afternoon, sir!

[ Guren might recognize that chipper greeting, though it's a little drowned out by the sound of branches dragging on the ground. Because Jion sure is hauling around a whole (little) tree as he trots over to say hi, the axe still embedded in the trunk so he doesn't have to carry it. ]

It's pretty cold today, huh? [ His breath puffs out around him, but Jion still looks in good spirits. The tree he's dragging around makes it pretty easy to guess why he's in such a good mood. ]

[swordfucker]

Hey.

[Guren pretty much always looks tired, but there's something different about it lately. A heavy weight that's actually visible over his shoulders, a darkness beneath his eyes that won't go away with sleep alone. He's stressed, there's something on his mind, and it's harder to hide it in a situation like this. His friends aren't here to reassure him, they're not here for him to see and remember that his decision was right.

He doesn't even know if they're really okay.

But he's trying to ignore all of that, focused on Jion and then sliding his gaze to the tree he's been dragging.]

You sound happy about that. [The cold? Or just the season.] You're doing a quest?

[organfarm]

[ Guren looks tired, as he usually does. Jion tries not to notice, but notice he does, and it bothers him. Of course someone like Guren would have a lot of work to do, but still, it can't be healthy to be run this ragged, right? ]

Um, not ... [ He's about to say 'not really,' when he connects some mental dots and immediately corrects himself. ] -- yeah! I mean, yes, the quest with the tree-decorating. It sounded pretty fun and safe, so I thought it might be a good idea to give it a shot! But, um, I do need another person, so.

[ Truth be told, the question was second in priority to just the experience of doing the whole tree process. But maybe this would be a good excuse to drag Guren into taking a bit of a break? Jion tries not to sound too eager as he goes on: ]

Could I ask for your help? I mean, if you're not already occupied, sir! I'd really appreciate it.

[ Please say yes, please say yes. ]

[swordfucker]

[The eagerness shines through at least a little, and Guren isn't sure how to react to it. He's so positive, so nice, and as loyal as any of his men in the Moon Demon Company— or how they were, before he—

He lifts a gloved hand to rub at his eyes a bit, sighing. He had stared for so long, it might have seemed like he was going to reject the offer, but he doesn't.]

Alright, alright, sure. Where are you putting it?

Now that I got my notifs working, how do you feel about a quest? Any of them is good!

[yuzanagi]

this is for the wishing-bell quest but if you're full up on that i can write tree-decorating!

[organfarm]

[ An afternoon finds Jion idling by the edge of the woods, crouched down beside the path and making tiny little snowmen on a treestump. They're basically just little lumps of snow patted round, with pebble eyes, kind of lopsided and doofy-looking. But Jion also seems distracted as he makes them -- even from a way down the path, it must be obvious he's periodically looking up to stare into the woods.

He's kind of spaced out like that when Yu walks by, and Jion looks up with a start, reflexively squishing the little snow-blob he'd been shaping. ]

-- oh! Um, hey. [ He still feels weirdly a little embarrassed thinking back to what kind of first impression he must have left on Yu, but tries not to think about it, giving an awkward laugh as he gets to his feet and dusts his hands off. ] Sorry, I'm not in your way, am I?

I am good with this!

[yuzanagi]

[If Yu was thinking about what had happened previous, he didn't seem to showcase it in his movements or reaction, admiring the little figures.]

Not at all. I was just going around actually.

[He kneels down to get a better look at them.]

They are very cute.

[Thumbs up!]

[organfarm]

[ Jion gives a sheepish laugh as he rubs his hands; his fingers feel cold, now that he's not so spaced-out. ]

Oh, um, thanks! They're not anything specific, just ... kinda keeping my hands occupied while I'm thinking, I guess.

[ Even as he says it, his gaze drifts back towards the woods, and he gives a tiny sigh, as if contemplating something. ]