gooseberryhigh | ARCHIMEDES' TEMPERAMENT ALTERING TINCTURE

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ARCHIMEDES' TEMPERAMENT ALTERING TINCTURE

ARCHIMEDES' TEMPERAMENT ALTERING TINCTURE

The weather's not as awful as it was yesterday, but there's something else in the air. Something sinister. The sophomores are acting oddly again. Cassius Holcomb sees Archimedes Rose walking with purpose, a huge thermos cradled in his arms. ~~If they had wanted to stop and question him, they're unfortunately too slow and quickly lose track of him on the trails.~~ He does absolutely nothing to stop him.

Oscar Zabinsky comes across the remains of the sophmoot, and finds a small cup that still has a bit of clearly magical liquid in the bottom. For whatever reason, they decide to drink it. Incredibly, indescribably unwise.

HOW THIS WORKS

Archie, Hero, London, Paris, Nisha, Corrigan, Tuesday, Natalie, Marie, Dinah,, Violet and Griffin all meet by the Ornery Oak after lunch to take the potion Archie's spent the last month working on.

It's designed to trick Bluebell the unicorn by temporarily suppressing moral failings or personality flaws.

The potion appears as a dark green, lightly smoking liquid. It tastes tart and a little boozy, like sour apple vodka and cold medicine.

Hero is insisting that no one can drink the potion until they sign a waiver.

The good news is that it works!
- The characters who drink it will feel content, stable-minded, and compassionate. They will act according to their own moral compass, positive personality traits, and how they perceive goodness.
- It won't erase their personalities, though! They'll simply feel like a better version of themselves. This could lead to them feeling too guilty to try and trick Bluebell. Maybe they'll confess to something they feel guilty about, or perhaps tell someone their true feelings. Maybe they'll do that homework they were putting off. YOU DECIDE WHAT YOUR MONSTER WOULD BE LIKE IF THEY WERE AN ANGEL FOR A DAY.
- The primary side effects are mild giddiness and a purple tongue.
- This will last about an hour.
- Whether this did or didn't fool Bluebell is up to you. She's a pretty savvy unicorn, and it may not work, so these little terrors might be trying again later.

The bad news is that Archie didn't anticipate the after-effects.
- After the hour has passed, all those repressed negative traits will come back in a rush.
- Those who drank the potion will feel their negative traits being especially strong and their impulse control will be at an all time low.
- This effect lasts only about thirty minutes, luckily.
- Some characters may leave the whole incident with a mild headache.

If you have a character not on the list that you would like to have participate... you might be out of luck. Sorry. Archie's skittish. :( The exceptions are if we've discussed them being friends and they've only just entered the game (Griffin) or they've made an incredibly good impression on him (ToddnCash). I can probably justify their participation. But honestly, don't inflict this on your sweet babies.

The Upperclassman B volunteer can participate in the event, but I hope everyone makes fun of them for drinking random potions out of discarded cups in the middle of the forest.

» DR. JEKYLL: For the first hour, those who drink Archie's potions find themselves in a lovely state of mind. They're practically angelic.

» MR. HYDE: ... And then after the hour passes, the dam breaks, and all impulse control goes out the window.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & CONCERNS

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Well, the games hadn't exactly gone how he'd planned - his roommates were all very busy people it seemed but (much unlike normal Oz) he was in far too good a mood to dwell on this as much as he might normally. Instead, Vee had come to join him and the two had had a nice little half-hour or so of playing games, cuddling, and then taking a walk to the gardens. The gardens were really lovely, even all wet and somewhat muddy from yesterday's rain.

As they're standing there chatting, Oscar finally works up the courage. "I've been wanting to tell you something." He blurts out, cutting her sentence off. Running his hand through his hair, he bites his lip for a moment or two before he finally stands up a little straighter and smiles.

"Vee, I love you."

Vee wasn't entirely aware of what Oz could possibly have to tell her when he messaged her on the journals, but she's more than willing to indulge her boyfriend in his whims. Being best friends with someone for as long as she had with Oz before they started dating really highlighted the quirks of the other. And really Vee had always had trouble telling him no before, so. She stood little chance now. The games and cuddling were definitely worth the walk, though she couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to say. It was easy enough to forget her curiosity in favor of enjoying the time, however, and heading into the gardens were the icing on the cake.

Letting her feet squish in the mud, Vee smiles to herself as they talk, though looks startled when he suddenly blurts out about needing to tell her something. "Okay?" she says with a sweet grin once he's finished interrupting what she was saying. "You know you can tell me anything." She studies Oz's face as he seems a little nervous, her brow furrowing in concern. Before she can ask what's wrong, he's speaking again, making her green eyes widen with surprise. Surprise and...well...she has trouble identifying the emotion for a second. At least until it seems to make her chest expand and her smile stretch even bigger.

"You, love me?" she repeats, almost in awe. Vee's smile widens even more as she reaches for his hands. "I definitely wasn't expecting that," she adds, but is smiling. "Which is probably because I've been nervous about telling you I love you too.

And then everything just deflates. The second the words leave his mouth, the wonderful good feelings running through Oscar, all the confidence and happiness and laughter is just evaporated. I love you and she doesn't even have to respond before his brain is whirling a hundred miles an hour. Was it too soon? Should he have waited for her to say it, to be sure? If he said it now and she didn't feel the same way, even if she did really like him, it could ruin their relationship. She would leave him. His eyes went wide with fear.

His eyes were wide with fear. Even her words couldn't comfort him. He was focused on the question, on the I definitely wasn't expecting that. He hardly heard the part where she said it back, focusing on the fact that she said she was nervous about it. Why? Because she didn't mean it? Because how on earth could someone as amazing, beautiful, talented, well off, and just... flat out phenomenal as Veronica flippin Powers love someone as goofy, awkward, nerdy, and unlovable as Oscar Zabinsky. He had been such an idiot, asking her out in the first place. Maybe he should just give her the out now, so she wasn't stuck with him forever because she was too kind to break his heart.

"You don't have to say it back. It was - I probably shouldn't have said that." He replied, insecurity coursing through him. She was obviously lying, just trying to placate him. She'd be going back to her cabin and asking her friends how she could let him down gently. Maybe they'd have a laugh - Vee wouldn't, he knew that, but they might. Laughing at how stupid Oscar was for thinking he could ever have someone like her. Love, ha! No one could love him. No one did love him. He was amazed that Karen hadn't pushed him away yet. That was probably coming soon, too. "I should - go - yeah, that's - probably best. I'm sorry I sprung that on you." He said, taking one slow step backwards.

"Really, you don't have to feel, you know, obligated to say it back just to be nice."

The expression on Oz's face is definitely not what she'd been expecting. He'd been smiling brightly just moments ago, all the time they'd spent together today in fact. His mood had been one of the best she'd ever seen. Yet now, now he was looking at her like he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. Vee's heart clenched, and she felt like she might actually throw up. What was going on? Why was Oz acting this way all of a sudden? He'd seemed so happy, so confident, so upbeat seconds ago.

At his words, it was like a physical slap to the face. Vee moved back with it, as if she could feel the sting of it. "What do you mean you shouldn't have said that?" She didn't understand what was going on. Oz never acted like this. She knew he was insecure, knew he had his moods, but this just seemed beyond him. Was he messing with her? Did he regret what he'd said? "And I know I don't have to. I'm saying it because I mean it." Her eyes fixed on his, pleading, hurt, confused. "Go? Go where? You asked me to meet you here and now you're acting like you'd rather be anywhere else." Her newfound ability to try standing up for herself was raising its head, though she was too upset to truly sound angry.

Taking a step towards him, she willed herself to keep the burning building behind her eyes at bay. "What? I don't feel obligated to do anything Oz. It's hurtful to suggest I'd say something that big just to be nice," she said. She was close to him now, but not as much as they normally were. "Please talk to me. What's wrong?" There was definitely something wrong here, but she had too many emotions. "I do love you. You're my best friend. I can't imagine anyone better to say those words too. But if, if you...didn't really mean it or whatever. That's okay. You don't have to. I'm okay with saying it first."

Confusion was running all over Oz's face. He was struggling so hard - he fought this emotions quite often, but it was never this difficult. He felt in his heart that Vee meant it when she said things to him, told him she cared about him. Mostly because they'd had a talk about it before, about his insecurities. She knew more about him than most anybody - even more than Jaime, who'd he'd been friends with for just as long.

Now all he could hear was that fear and pain and that surging need to be loved with that deep, well-ingrained feeling that he was not enough, that he'd never be enough. That at nearly eighteen and an orphan for ten whole years, not a single person had ever wanted to adopt him. They'd wanted Karen, but not Oz. He was Too Much. Yet here Vee was, reassuring him as always even though his words had stung and hurt her. Would he always be like this, unsure and afraid? Would he always hurt her like this, because he couldn't believe her?

Maybe it would be better for both of them if they broke up - before his insecurity drove her away. That would hurt less, wouldn't it? Warring with that part of him was the extreme pressure he felt to hold on to her, to keep her close. He couldn't even think straight. "I don't - no that's not it." He finally said, his words strained. He was obviously struggling. "I meant it, I really really meant it. I mean it. I love you, so much. I just - I -" He faltered and looked away, practically shaking.

"I mean I haven't told anyone that in a really long time. Ever, really. I mean I tell Karen I love her but that's not the same." Even telling Karen that could be hard sometimes, seeing her grow and flourish and be wanted in a way Oz never was. She'd smarten up and leave him, too. He'd lose everything. It was crushing, it was a horrible awful feeling he couldn't even remotely begin to push away right now. "Because, you know, because people don't feel that way about me. And one day you're going to wake up and realize that you don't - you don't want me either."

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, quiet these thoughts but they were so strong. Oscar was so thrown by this, he'd completely forgotten about the potion and that hey that might be why he was acting like such a loser.

Vee really didn't know what was going on. None of this made any sense. She'd known Oz forever, knew the baggage he'd come with, knew everything about him almost. Just like he knew all those things about her. She'd never seen him like this, not even at his very worst. He'd never acted like she would say something to him just because she wanted to be nice. In the long run, that was the opposite of nice. It was cruel, which was something Vee just wasn't.

As she took a step towards him, she held back from trying to take his hands again. Oz looked like he was struggling with something, and she was afraid he'd bolt if she spooked him. Best to approach him like a skittish horse. Tilting her head to the side at his reassurance, she studied him as he spoke. The concern furrowing her brow worsened, and it was almost physically painful not to reach out and touch him. "If you meant it, then what's going on?" she said gently, biting her lip as she struggled to keep her own tumultuous emotions in check. "You can tell me anything, Oz. I'm always here for you." He'd looked away now, missing the intense sincerity in her eyes, but that didn't matter. Just his words did.

Her heart seemed to shatter as he finally explained what was bothering him so much, and Vee couldn't help but step forward and put her arms around him. There was a long moment where she didn't say anything, just wrapped around him, hopefully calming that shaking fear she saw in his eyes. When she finally pulled back, she fixed her eyes on him carefully. "I feel that way about you," she said finally watching him closely. "A lot of people do, because you're amazing. You're funny, you're smart, you're loyal, you always know what to do and say for your friends when they're down. You're worth way more than you realize," she went on, gently reaching her hand for his. A tentative question in the way her fingers brushed his. "You are wanted, Oz. And you deserve it."

He'd imagined telling Vee he loved her for a while now. He had thought about how he might do it. Should it be romantic and big? A grand gesture? Or just between them, something quiet and nice and perfect they could hold onto forever? Oz was just not a super flashy person when it came to the emotional stuff, so he'd chosen something quiet, something soft. He thought she'd like it better that way.

This was exactly how he had imagined it all going down - up until his minor freak out. Vee was reassuring him and he hugged her back, having to try really hard not to cry. He hadn't felt this insecure, this unsure of himself in a very long time. These were old insecurities, old feelings that used to run this high and rampant but that he had spent years trying to quell, push away, and quiet down. Now they were here - front and center, all on display again.

"I don't know why I'm acting like this." He finally said, breaking away from her hug after a long while and turning away to absently brush the back of his hand across his eyes. ~~He's not crying, you're crying~~ After a moment Oz looked back at Vee, shaking his head. "I was feeling so good earlier, you know, like better than I have in ages and then it hit me like a ton of bricks, this awful feeling."

In a million different scenarios of how she thought they might one day tell each other how they really felt, Vee had never imagined this. Of course she wasn't upset at Oz for getting upset. She was worried as to why. A small voice in the back of her head was trying to tell her that it was because he hadn't really meant it. She wasn't really the type to love because all she did was try to make everything (herself included) perfect all the time. But this wasn't about her, and just having heard those words from Oz's mouth made her feel warm all over.

If he meant them, of course.

Keeping her arms around him as long as he needed, Vee took a deep breath as she held him close. She didn't know what had brought all these feelings on, and the idea that she had missed something bothering him this much made her feel awful. Looking up as he spoke and broke away, Vee shook her head. "You're not acting any way. It's okay to be upset, whatever the reason," she said, squeezing his hand once before he stepped back a little. "I'm sorry I didn't realize something was bothering you before now," she said, biting her lip as guilt swirled in her.

Tilting her head to the side as he continued, she let her thoughts swirl for a minute. "Did anything happen today? Like, did you talk to someone? Read something weird? Anything that was out of the ordinary for you?"

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ARCHIMEDES' TEMPERAMENT ALTERING TINCTURE

Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Re: Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Re: Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Re: Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise

Re: Oz and Vee, trouble in paradise