LOVE POTION #9

[metamods]

LOVE POTION #9

LOVE IS... not in the air! The reintroduction of Confluences into this world has left it rocked, so the season of love is not quite as lovey-dovey as it usually is. People are stressed and anxious. Valentine's events are being cancelled left, right, and center in fear that a Confluence may catch young lovers unawares.

Unbeknownst to mortals, the God of Love really can't afford his month to be ruined by a few little dimensional catastrophes. This is his month! ... And for whatever reason, he seems to be stranded on the Earthly plane.

Surely he can fix things. Push it along a little. Though Gods don't usually meddle in mortal affairs, this is a personal catastrophe. All it takes is a few drops of love potion on a token of affection, and voila! Instant-connection.

(This event has a blanket warning for dubious consent of the love spell variety. To opt out completely, characters can simply not be in Sunset Falls at the time of the event, which runs through Valentine's Day.)

WHITE HEARTS FESTIVAL

Welcome to Sunset Falls, the most magical place in all of America! Literally. The streets are charged with magical energies, and while it won't be spinning your words into spells, it will give anyone who is magically inclined a comfortable little buzz. Maybe it's the boost you need to get a spell working, or maybe it's just a pep in your step. Confluence-displaced metas who take the Guilds up on their offer to tour the new housing will arrive just in time to witness the an annual tradition: The White Hearts Festival, a festival dedicated to all forms of love - familial, friendship, and romantic.

The whole town is decked out in pinks, golds and reds. Town square has been overtaken by food booths peddling elaborate meals and desserts with various magical effects. (It's probably better not to ask why some of the cookies being handed out are in the shape of anatomical hearts.)

• Eat an emoji cookie and find yourself sprouting heart-eyes, or gaining a flurry of hearts above your head.


• The Bolder Biscuit - by far and above the densest thing you've ever tried to eat - makes you bold. It compels you to march right up to someone and tell them what you think, good or bad.


• And there's also the Firework Delight cake, which makes you shoot off literal fireworks the moment you touch that special someone that makes your life complete... but honestly, they go off when you touch anyone. Sorry if you end up giving off the wrong impression!

In addition, pop-up craft stands sell trinkets that guarantee you'll be together with your people forever and ever. The most popular item on sale this year appears to be the Eternal Bond - which is just an enchanted finger-trap that refuses to let go unless you tell someone a deep dark secret.

There is an altar at the town park where you can make your offering and give prayers to the God of Love in hopes he will smile favorable upon you. Lay your chocolate heart at its base and offer up a prayer to the God so that your life will be full of love and connection.

Truthfully, when it started it wasn't as cutesy as it is now. It became a lot more wholesome when people began to offer only chocolate hearts to the God of Love. Now it's fun for the whole family! ... So long as you don't veer into the woods. Some people still practice the old ways, and there are (what you hope to be) animal hearts nailed to trees. This is Sunset Falls, after all. Weird often goes hand in hand with terror.

LONELY HEARTS

For those of you who don't yet have those special people, lonely hearts still single can collect white rose enamel pins from the festival committee. They're expected to pick someone to give it out to as a declaration of their attraction by the end of the festival. However... there seems to be an issue this year. There's more pins here than there are people in town. Committee members start handing them out to anyone, single or not, and from there that's where things start to get a little weird...

You clip the pin onto your shirt and at once, your life has suddenly become a romcom. Everything is just a little brighter, the sounds a little more musical (sometimes literally), and you're suddenly compelled to reach out and find connection.

And the universe is conspiring to bring it your way! Cliches won't stop happening around you. Suddenly people are determined to give you a makeover so you can catch the eye of an admirer. Your friends are betting on your romantic future. A complex love triangle is springing out of previously platonic friendships.

You're not not limited to one partner, and that partner doesn't need to be romantic. It could be a best friend, or a nemesis that you're compelled to fight over and over again for the joy of it. What matters is the connection and the way the world seems to stop at nothing to give you that perfect three act structure: You Meet, You Lose, You Get.

Reach the end of your romcom's little arc and you'll find yourself freed from the spell... and probably will have some choice words for its caster.

HEARTS ON FIRE

Regardless of how you participate in the festival, everyone is at risk when the town itself falls under a love spell.

This may be unlike anything you've known before. Perhaps it's the first stumbling steps of puppy love. You want to be with this person all the time. Hold their hands and work up the courage for a kiss. Or perhaps this is something fierce and passionate. You want to be kissing them always, pursuing these passions heedless of consequences.

This doesn't need to be a romantic love. It can be strong and familial. Perhaps the sort you've always desired but never had. You could fall into a family unit with others affected by the spell. Compelled to hug each other and say words of encouragement or praise. Perhaps you, while living your own love story, are the best friend in someone else's - offering up the speech that tells them they deserve more than they think they do.

Whatever your flavor of love may be, you're prone to dramatic declarations. Confessions at the drop of a hat. It's go big or go home, and since nobody's going home right now, you might as well go as big as you can. Perhaps you're arranging for Flash Mobs to declare your feelings! Or making plans to move in together despite only having met a few hours ago.

This is all fine and well at first, but it may become clear pretty quickly that characters who try to hold their burning passions are likely to burn themselves! If you're the repressed type and you try to resist the compulsions that the love spell puts on you, you might just burst into flames, and someone will need to put you out. Don't worry — move quick enough, and there won't be any lasting damage, and if there is, the Guilds' healers can help you out.

MEET CUTE-PID

For those paying attention to that sort of thing, one constant of all these wild declarations can be spotted in the background. A tall man with curly blonde hair and an all too charming smile never seems to be far from the romance.

Those who are curious enough to follow will find he retreats to a lavish mansion on the outskirts of town. The mansion has the gaudy and abundant decor of a honeymoon suite on the Las Vegas Strip, with lights attuned to music and a massive twirling heart above the roof of the building. Peer inside and you will see hundreds of tiny viewing windows, each depicting a different romantic story unfolding outside of town. The door to the mansion appears to be locked tight and the windows are magically sealed, but some quick thinking may get you inside.

If anyone wants to engage him, HERE is a top level where we will summarize encounters. The more PCs involved in an encounter, the bigger its outcome will be. We will determine the impact on the god of love on Valentine's Day, so get your comments in by end of day on the 13th! You may also use this top level to ask event-specific questions about the effects on this page! (Please refer general questions about the setting to the FAQ, and refer any player plots to the PLOTTING page.)

Comments

David Alleyne | Marvel-616 | OTA

[helpdesk_hero]

I. Bold Of Heart
When David had arrived with Loki to investigate a swelling of magic, a little pseudo-Valentine's festival hadn't been what he'd thought would come of it. And yet here he was, at a fair, his companion having disappeared off who knows where, leaving David to try and investigate alone. For now he had litlte choice to continue on his own, trying to figure out just what was so magical about this event.

That didn't mean he hadn't missed lunch with Loki's sudden call to join him. What was the harm in a dessert or two to power him through the day he asked himself? David found hismelf walking away with two, and soon he was taking the bit of the first one.

This, he thought, was cooking that even his baking could outpace, and he found himself telling the vendor that before turning and walking away.

And there, in the crowds, another person. Someone that he had the overwhelming need to approach.

"Hey, wait up, I've got to tell you something!"


II. Setting A Spark
The boldness he'd experienced earlier was something he didn't want to deal with again, so once he was free of the experience, he tossed the remains of his biscuit and instead started through the crowds to quietly touch strange locals to try and come to some understanding of what was going on here. Sure his Psychomimetric powers weren't as good for things like this that were more experiential and cultural than proper knowledge, but he wanted to believe there might be something under the surface.

Of course excessive use of power came with a need for more energy, and without thinking David took a bite of another one of the desserts he'd acquired. Firework Delight, they'd called it. Supposedly it would mean fireworks if he touched someone special who would make his life complete. That was such bullshit, so David didn't even think about it as he approached another person and reached out to touch their arm.

"Hey," he said before his hand touched someone's arm lightly, and then he didn't even know how to finish that sentence anymore because there were bursts of blue and gold sparks going off over his head.

What?


III. Romance Support
A white rose pin now adorned the collar of David's yellow turtleneck, forced into his hands by a local. David, never one to cause tension with strangers that wasn't needed, had just taken the pin and put it on. Well, that had been about twenty minutes ago. And the change that had come over him at that point had been rather extreme. At least he found himself mostly dancing at the edges of other people's stories. Perhaps the universe knew that David was not a leading man.

Some romcoms, he didn't remember, were about always being the bridesmaid and not the bride, until you found your luck at the end.

"So what you're saying," he was currently occupied in saying to another whose story he had gotten caught up in, "is that you want to get noticed. Yeah, I get that. Let's see... Hold on, this might help."

A flower in full bloom, plucked from a nearby display.

"This can help. It really matches your eyes."


IV. His Heart Burns For You [Male or female recipents of attention welcomed]

Love. It's like oxygen. It lifts us up where we belong. It's all you need. It's every fucking trite cliche that the world has to throw out in the form of music. For David, it was something he didn't like tripping into easily. For him Love was meant to be a slow ember, growing slowly, being fanned until it was a nicely crackling and popping fire. To be consumed to the point of flash flames wasn't him. And yet here he was, dealing with a fire burning in his breast.

"I can't help but be caught up in you," he declared to one person, an intensity in his voice that was undeniable. "Your beauty overwhelms me, and I just... I can't go another moment without you knowing how I need you in my life."

II. Setting a Spark

[portolan]

[ Balthier had arrived that morning to attend the housing tour. Absurd, really. He has toured countless fine buildings, but never to inhabit them. He's lived on the Strahl for the past six years or so, and before that in his father's apartments in Arcades.

His father who is dead.

He knows normalcy helps deal with grief. With upheaval. And he needs to stay somewhere once his welcome at Diadem runs its course. But this town feels too quiet, too sleepy, too...rooted to the ground.

There's some sort of festival going on so he turns to roaming. He's dressed to stand out (fashion and ungodly expensive food is about the only thing bringing comfort right now) so he's having to restrain from pickpocketing tendencies. Instead he observes, his fingers spinning and spinning the ring on his left pinkie finger.

He'd never admit it, but he's immensely curious about these firework connection cookies. He wonders if they'd go off with a certain someone at home. He stays away -- he's not certain if it would be more crushing for them to come up blank or to point to starting something new here. Beginnings are endings too.

He's wandering through the stalls looking for some diversion (or tea) when someone calls "hey" and touches his arm. He looks up to see sparkling fireworks above the man's head.

It's 6 years of piracy that keeps the stutter in his heart from his voice. ]

Well hello stranger. You come on strong, don't you?

Re: II. Setting a Spark

[helpdesk_hero]

[In David's defense he wasn't prepared for any of this. He had something planned for after he touched the man's arm he was left momentary flustered. Fireworks. No, that couldn't be real. No more real than his earlier and very public make out session with Loki. It was more of the magic.

He tried to tell himself that and yet...]

See, here I want to say that from behind I mistook you for someone I knew and who developed a fashion sense when I wasn't looking. But Scott Summers was never as confident in something that see through, nor nearly so good looking, as you are.

Re: II. Setting a Spark

[portolan]

Oh, this old thing? [ He definitely spent an entire afternoon -- several even -- browsing high end stores and charming his way into private collections. ]

You're not bad yourself. Remind me of a pirate I met in my youth -- absolutely enamored with him. Didn't stand a chance. [ Balthier flirts as easily as he breathes and swipes fineries, but something about this feels different. There's a twinge of nervousness. A second-guessing of what he's said. He wants this person to like him.

He wants those sparks to mean something. ]

Balthier. [ He holds out a hand. Ashe's ring glints there. Is this absurd? ]

Re: II. Setting a Spark

[helpdesk_hero]

[This old thing? The way the man says it makes it sound like it's just something he threw on, like he didn't put thought into what he was wearing. And given what it looked like on the guy, he doubted it. With a smile as if it wasn't of any consequence, he let his fingers reach out and oh so briefly touch the trailing scarf. For the briefest moment he let his shields down and reached for the material, asking it to tell him it's history. It meant his own clothes clamored for his attention but he was good at shunting that away.]

This was selected with care, only days ago, and while it's not out and out couture, it's definitely big name designer.

Me? I'm just high end boutique, but not that high end. And lacking the dreamy, romantic edge that pirate stories come with.

[Because he is giving the benefit of the doubt that the guy doesn't mean pirates in the South China Sea. Then he took the offered hand and was happy to shake it.]

David. I'd offer my last name but you didn't give yours. Unless you're like Cher and only go by one.

Re: II. Setting a Spark

[portolan]

[ Balthier quirks a brow. He's seen a variety of abilities and magicks since he arrived, but this is new to him. He's a bit jealous, truth be told. ]

Well that's a lovely trick. I suppose I'll have to lean harder on the romance, since you've taken my modesty from me.

[ Bluntness, a good eye. Ah, Balthier does have a type. ]

Sounds like this Cher fellow shares my excellent taste. Just Balthier. [ He nearly says unless you knew me as Ffamran. That hasn't slipped in years. ]

A pleasure to meet you, David of the secret family name.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Jealousy was not a good idea for this one power. Before David had control over it, it had nearly driven him out of his mind. Now here he was, making a casual display of a power that had become a constant form of support in his life. Last world, it had been how he made his money.]

Something about the look of you says modesty isn't in your normal skill set. But I ask your forgiveness for taking something so rare and thus valuable.

[The words were half playful, and mostly just sassy.]

Cher lady. She gets away with it because she's a famous musician and performer. I think you can get away with it just from the whole thing you've got going here.

[Why is he flirting? No clue. But maybe those fireworks had given him a moment of hope.]

I'm sure the pleasure is mine. You said something about pirates?

III

[kid_flash_found]

Bart wasn't really sure why he'd mentioned his feeling of being the scrawny, overlooked one to David, other than it had felt right. However, he hadn't expected to be presented with a honey-colored bloom that is like nothing he'd seen before. On some level he feels heat rising up, even as a more sober part of his mind is ready to complain about the cruelty of the floral trade. Just because they're dead plants doesn't make them less dead, and to chop off bits for a few days of decoration seems unreasonable.

He starts to speak, but instead of a strongly worded protest, all he really says is, "I'm not really a flowers kind of guy."

[helpdesk_hero]

Hmmmmm.

"Good point. Flowers aren't good for wind sheer, and are a bit too easy to have pulled out. What we need..."

HE tucks the flower into his own lapel, and it looks good there of course. David's just like that, even if he doesn't know that he can look almost effortlessly handsome.

"Then something else to compliment and control your hair. I'm thinking..."

Ah, yes, that would go well. David smiles.

"Beads and braids."

[kid_flash_found]

"Beads and braids," Bart repeats, confusion plain on his face. "I just...don't want to blend into the background."

He always did feel like a third or even fourth wheel with his team, and even in Heropa nobody really noticed him in that way. But he'd had connections before, so maybe.

"I mean, I can't be that bad a catch, right? I know hanging out with a guy who was literally made to order didn't help, and I don't blame Kon his popularity. But I just had the nerds who liked my streams. That can't be all I have going for me."

Oh, yep, there's a full on pity party starting. Oops.

[helpdesk_hero]

"You won't," David promised, a smile on his face and excitement in his eyes. Oh, he had an idea here. A way to make Bart stand out. And David? He wanted at least one of them to feel noticed. So he took his friend's hand and smiled at him.

"We're going to do this. People are going to look at you. Come here," he says, pulling them toward a beauty booth first. "Are you okay with me messing with your hair some? My vision, it requires me to braid your hair. Complexly.

[kid_flash_found]

Bart doesn't often admit it, but he actually likes having his hair toyed with. There were plenty of times before he learned that most 21st century teens wouldn't allow it when the girls had used him as a way to try out their newest hair ideas.

"I don't mind. I kinda miss the days in Young Justice when I was too young and impulsive to realize that the girls doing my hair in the cave wasn't just another thing to do when hanging out." Cissie had some amazing braiding skills, probably because of her mom and insisting she never let her hair become a hazard in crime-fighting. "Besides, I trust you."

[helpdesk_hero]

"It can be, just another thing to do," David answered. "Some people show affection that way. But I'll make this good."

With Bart dragged along he moves through the booth and pays for a few hair care things. Brushes, hair ties, clips with bits of glittering jewels and metal representations of flowers and speedy little birds. These would be the start point.

"Bart, find me a stall that sells beads or crystals that are cut to be beads. And some wire."

I. Bold AF

[onthe_threshold]

Matthew turns only because he recognises David's voice. He stops walking, a big man in a good suit, eyebrows lifting.

"David," he says, mildly enough. "I didn't realise you were here."

[helpdesk_hero]

Yep, that's who he thought it was. David walks right up at the telepath/telekinetic and jabs a finger in his direction.

"Your world and your morals as a result, are fucked up!"

[onthe_threshold]

Matthew absorbs this with a blank expression.

"You're telling me your world isn't fucked up?"

[helpdesk_hero]

"Of course my world is fucked up. But you act like yours is so amazing and it's clearly fucking not. And you just spend your time licking the boots of your government when they clearly fucking used and manipulated you. I can't see why you aren't just fucking ANGRY!"

And angry woudl make more sense to David. A lot more sense.

[onthe_threshold]

"I don't recall using the word amazing," Matthew says. The rest, however, gets him frowning. He hates having to consider such things.

"I think you should be careful how you speak to me, David. You don't know anything about it."

[helpdesk_hero]

Maybe he needed to consider them more.

"I don't have to know all the details to see what sorta bootlicker you are for your masters. And here you are, finally getting a chance to be free."

bold biscuit wildcard!!

[highborn]

[ Ah, there's a familiar face. Vidana makes a beeline for David through the crowd, a fancy black umbrella in one hand to block out the gentle sun, and the other free to snake in at his side and take his arm.

Her greeting, in those arch, posh tones of every stuck up elf a fantasy world away:] I'm up to three thousand followers. I know that's not much, but I'm sure it's a decent start for a new arrival in a strange new world, yes? Reassure me, darling.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Wait, no, this wasn't what he'd wanted. Don't haul him around. Why are you doing this?]

Yes, it's a decent start, but that's NOT why I wanted to talk to you!

[highborn]

[ Sorry, praise is much more interesting than Being Talked to, so Vidana only smiles and pulls closer. ]

It is a decent start! Thank you. I'm sure I'm still quite a ways off from monetization, but one's first steps can't be at a run. [ She starts them forward in no particular direction. ] What have you been up to, hmm?

[helpdesk_hero]

[Stop that pulling, Vidana. He's already been SO affectioned already today by Loki.]

Will you be quiet for a second? I'm not invested in your social medial life.

[highborn]

[ Well, this guy is much less pliable than last time she saw him. She stops the tugging and rewards him for his resistance with a frowning attention. ]

A bit blunt of you. [ rude! ] What, have you somewhere to be or something?

[helpdesk_hero]

[Yes, it was blunt of him, but he wasn't done.]

No, but you're FAR too forward. Just because you're beautiful doesn't mean you should get to stomp over other people and what they were doing or might be trying to do.