One would think that given it's nature, the Pocket D's ski resort could function all year round.  Of course, some might not consider it the same without the entities (and employees of such) embodying once a year special occasions.

  A certain grim faced butler steps from behind the counter in the ski lodge, and the quality of hot chocolate sold to come drops down several grades.  Certain parties have loaned out his services to the Ski resort and Redemption for the duration of the festivities.

  Nearby, several robots attempt to build a snowman without the benefit of hands.  It is an ongoing struggle.  Resolute Metal (Totally unrelated Praetorian version of Metal Mettle and in no way just a replication accident, honest) tries to wrap his laser sharp mind around certain contradictions of the season.  "Ski lodge, Ski slopes, ski instructors.  Where are these skis I keep hearind about though?  And why are there no rainbow colored ramps or yeti's eating skiers?"

So many robots. Timothius walks through the door that leads from Pocket D to the ski resort. He is wearing his winter outfit and is still a little cold. Timothius ducks his head, huddles up a little with his gloves held up to his face as he breathes on them to have the warm breath reflect back to his face.

He spots Resolute Metal and overhears the bot talk about the ski resort not having skis. "Rainbow colored ramps?" he asks, as if the yetis made as much sense as skis. Because in this world full of supers, it does. "What's that got to do with skiing?"

 "I am starting to think Ski Free may not be an accurate representation of skiing." Resolute answers.  Meanwhile, the constantly name changing Assault Bot roasts chestnuts WITH EXTREME PREDJUDICE.  Chestnuts roasting under open fire, one could say.  _{we're sorry}

  The Butler walks past three winged cat people on his way over to Timothius, and says "Hello Timothius, do you need assistance with anything?"

Does that make the fact that this is not-winged mithra Timothius stand out? Or does the fact he's a guy make him stand out more?* He looks at BB. "Oh wow... hi there. Um... Bladed Butler, right?" What? He was never a member of the villain side stuff (to the player's recollection). He claps his gloves together a few times while bouncing a few times just to warm up a little. "Not yet.. I'm thinking maybe some hot chocolate would be good to warm me up before I start skiing. You planning on doing any of the activities here, BB?" Interestingly, BB is how he remembers the guy goes by Bladed Butler.

*OOC: And then I realized.. there WAS a surprising lack of cat boys. More surprising, though, was the surprising lack of robots.

  BB is dressed as usual, the cold not bothering him or cause for fog breath.  "Of course Sir, I have some prepared stored away.  Would that be with or without tiny marshmallows?"  No, Timothius is not secretly criminal.  Unless it's so secret we don't know about it.

  OOC: Both Robots and Cat Mans seemed more prevalent on Champions.  But then, we also didn't really play on Virtue RP central in CoH.

Timothius smiles at Bladed Butler. "Gosh... thanks, BB. With marshmallows, please. Is it up in the loft?" he looks up at the loft where Father Time hangs out.

  The butler nods,  "Yes it is, I believe the yearly kidnapping of muscular babies has occurred along with the rest of the festivities."  Some days, he suspected Santa's helpers put the redcaps up to it so as to aid their candy cane supply.

  He went back up to where he had just left, pouring some totally better than what the NPCs serve Hot Chocolate from an oversized thermos and adding the expected amount of white fluffyness.  To a white fluffy person.  "Here you are then."

  Meanwhile, if you pay attention to background gags the protect bots are using modified bubble shields to launch battle drones down the ski slopes like out of control hamster balls.

OK, that looks like fun. And while white fluffy mallows to a white fluffy kitty would be fitting, this is mithra Timothius, who isn't white-furred. He does, however enjoy the hot chocolate next to the fire and smiles at BB. "Thanks. So what brings you here? The events? Or just feeling the Christmas spirit and offering good hot chocolate to people at this resort?"

  "I have been tasked by my current employer the Tharian Empress-" As opposed to Empress of the Villain Group, which is a hazy subject at times.  "To offer my services to this establishment and your own organization for the holidays.  The lighting is more to my tastes out here, at least."   Dusting in dim red lighting is HARD.

  "Unfortunately for myself, good manners are not enough to get off Santa's naughty list." candy cane bribery still seems to work though.

Timothius says, "Why were you on his naughty list, BB?"

  "Really Sir, the term Villain Group is all the reason I care to give."  Robbing banks, stabbing super heroes, trafficking in forbidden artifacts.  Not always separating the white laundry from the color laundry.

  Really, it's that last one he feels put him on the Naughty list.

Meanwhile, in retroactive land;

Angel cries, "WHYYYY?! My favorite white super suit now has yellow and blue splotches all over it!!"

Snow Miracle says, "All I wear is white... and now I can't wear anything in public until this gets fixed..."

Back to current:

Timothius ohs and says, "You and your friends should totally join the good guys. We call it the Redemption Supergroup for a reason you know; anyone can join as long as they turn from their evil ways."

  "Not my place to judge the other members morally, sir.  I am certain the feeling is mutual should any of yours indulge in their larcenous and violent tendencies more than they can get away with.  I simply aid those I work for, and aid of my kind is in surprising shortage in the Rogue Isles."

  Butlers who will make your tea and NEVER POISON IT... Well, except for the ones who ask for poison in their own tea.

One of the reasons someone as sweet as Reverie was ever villain side. OK, so she also has as much spite (maybe even more) as Maverick, but still. It looks badass when you can tell other villains "I wake up and drink poison coffee"

Timothius nods to the butler. "I wouldn't say 'surprising', considering the wealth of unprofessional attitudes among villains. You're an exception to the rule, BB." he finally sips from the hot chocolate. Timothius has a sensitive mouth and likes his consumables to be less than 85 degrees.

Imagine how much more resssspect those ssssnakes would get if they ssstarted acting professssional. "I do sssay, ol chap, as long as you keep your end of the bargain, sssso will we."

  The time BB fought Mirror Spirit involved a lot of apologizing from both of them... And a lot of silent swearing at how impossible it was to chase eachother down between the stealth on one end and teleporting on the other.  Through a cave system.

  "Good or Evil, sometimes standards remain the same.  Just like having Longbow shoot at you remains the same."

Timothius squirms. "Yeah. Never is pleasant." Of course, he's much more upset about having to fight allies than he is over what they can throw at him. Still sucks to be on the receiving end of longbow powers.

He looks down at his empty mug. "I think I'm warmed up enough for a few runs down the slope... have you given the ski slopes a shot?"

Meanwhile, at the end of the advanced ski slope, Angel flies off, does a backflip and lands in front of Ski Instructor Linzee. "Wooo! Beat my old Gold Medal score! High five!" she hops to high-five Linzee.

  Whichever Angel, hopping is something she is totally good at.

  "I have given them a few tries, yes.  I have also found that it does not count if you start at one slope then end up at the finish line of another."  Hey, if they didn't want you to ramp off into the sky and land in another lane, they shouldn't have put sweet jump pads everywhere.

Timothius nods. "Every game has rules." He heads over to the beginner coarse. "I'm gonna need to try this out a bit first before I can try the advanced coarse."

He squats a little, claps his gloves and does the whole Neo jump program routine before running forward and gliding down the slopes! "^WHEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeee_eeee..."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:18, Sat 09 Nov 2013.

  The good news is the robots have finally made a snowman.  The bad news, it's at the bottom of guess what ski slope (no we don't know how nobody else obliterated it by now).

  The Butler meanwhile, simply walks down the hill.  There is plenty falling from great heights as it is around here, sometimes being leisurely is nice.

Timothius looks like he's genuinely TRYING not to crash into the snowman, but he fails and slams into it, falling to the ground in a pile of snowman parts. "....oh dear..."

What is the reaction of the Battle Drones to this obliteration of snowperson?

10, 10, 8 (Killbot Zap removed points for trying to avoid it).

Butler arrives at the bottom of the hill, and offers a hand up if Tim is still laying in a pile, as well as a brushing off.  "Is that a new record for your decent Tim?  I'm afraid I may have missed the time."

Timothius is helped up. "I..." Ski Instructor Emlyn walks over to the two and offers Timothius a gold medal. "Wow! What speed! That was amazing! Congratulations, Timothius, you earned the Speed Demon medal!"

Timothius takes the medal and cracks a smile. "I guess it IS a new record... thanks, Ma'am."

  "Well done sir, it appears blind panic can increase your speed even when it is entirely at the mercy of gravity."  This could explain why Wile E Coyote makes such big craters.

  Off in the distance, the Assault Bot attempts to make snow angels.  Shooting snow and then throwing candy purchased halo's on the puddle isn't quite how that works.

Timothius smiles. "Thanks, BB... say. Wanna join me in rescuing Baby New Year?" by now, Timothius thinks the whole BNY mission is just a game the baby likes to play. Hence comments like "It's about time. And no, that wasn't supposed to be a pun." but mostly hence the CONSTANTLY being kidnapped.

  Refer to BB's previous thoughts on Candy Care acquisition plot theories.  Still, an excuse to stab things without anyone complaining (that people care about the complaints of).  "Of course, that muscular baby will not save itself.  He is probably afraid of getting redcap blood all over his tiny toga."

Timothius says, "I'd rather not deal with blood stains in my toga either. You can only get it three weeks out of the year..."

He heads for Father Time, picks up the mission, and goes to the mission entrance. Which teleports whoever enters to an outdoors winter wonderland. In a circle of mushrooms.

  "Which has always been rather perplexing, considering travel To Cimerora is well within the capabilities of many.  Though perhaps people prefer the fabric of more recently sewn ones."

  The Butler follows along through the doorway to frozen fairy faraway land.  "Would you like to do this the easy way, or the profitable way, sir?"

Timothius considers. "Isn't the fast way also the profitable way?"

  "I suppose if you do not want the pocket change and snack goods of those standing between us and whichever cave Snaptooth is up to his old tricks in."  So far as snowmen, deer chewbaccas, and redcaps even have pockets, but loot is loot.

  "Otherwise, you may wait here until I can retrieve you to a more convenient location."

Timothius smiles. "Thanks, BB. Though... I guess I am feeling kind of casual, so... I guess let's mow our way through the monsters this time."

Casual means fighting through hordes of enemies. Probably because "grind" means tearing through them at incredible speeds and doing the mission over and over.

  It is a strange world where fighting a bunch of enemies isn't the grindy method.  But there it is.

  Because Butler can be a jerk some days, he starts off by tapping the shoulder of a Tutha champion (hey, leaping skill), then stabbing them from the other side.

  "You stabbed me!"  Butler waves his hand, "I did not just stab you."  "You did not just... where did he go BLARGH! You stabbed me!"

  Every stalker knows the Jedi mind trick.

Timothius hovers just out of reach so that all the guy can do is throw rocks at him. Then blasts the beast with black magic. Should the beast ever actually notice and hit BB, of course, Timothius does what he does best and heals the heck out of the butler.

  The obvious downside of being a 'tough' Stalker, is that that pretty much everything hits you.   The bright side is that you can survive long enough for you or allies to deal with that instead of needing to call the hospital a soon as you realize you have been injured.

  "I suppose if we had something in common aside from being polite, it's that we are somewhat more brutal than outward appearances suggest."  D'aaaw, look at the kitty OH GOD TENTACLES GETEMOFF.

 Still, that's one batch of fuzzy beasts out of the way.  "I am very thankful that candy canes are individually wrapped."  So are the Tutha probably, or they'd have so many stuck to their fur.

Timothius has been adored a few times, but it isn't as common an occurrence as it would be if he was a normal cat*. Happened about as often as people going "d'aaaw... a little boy" at Eli.

Timothius chuckles from the comment. "Still... maybe we should find someone who is willing to take hits for you? I can heal you, but it would be nice if you didn't get hurt in the first place."

---

OOC: Also reminded of something that happened recently in the pathfinder game I run for Byron. Same time as Chris was recalling with dwarf being stubborn. When Byron's character Quinn convinced Mittens to go with the dwarf and Bethany to go with Quinn, he said, "Heh.. I get the cute one." to which Beth said, "Mittens is cute too." and Quinn replied, "Fur isn't my thing."

I remained quiet on that topic, but I couldn't help think it ironic since Quinn worships Raichel.

  Butler is somewhat surprised that out of all the various things run into, there has not been much in the way of Egyptian themed situations.  Otherwise Tim might be even more popular.

  "I am less certain about them taking hits for me, but I suppose a mutual acquaintance might be willing to help."

  Through the wonders of Cell Phones, Resolute Metal arrives escorting his shadowy obscured horde of enthusiastic robots.  "Actually shooting everything in sight, wonderful!  The drones do so loathe the usual rescue procedures."

Timothius chuckles nervously. But hey... he can't complain. OVERWHELMING DAMAGE can be just as effective protection as an actual tank. Sometimes better. "I guess we'll really be mowing now..."

  Additional heals certainly don't hurt as well, even if they are one's that only kick in near the robot with the cape, or whoever the shadowy blob of spare nanomachines feels like aiming at any given moment.

  "SPACEBALLS THE FLAMETHROWER! ORDER NOW!" The Assault bot melts snowmen with the fiery doom of copyright infringement.  We don't ask how candycanes survive that.

Operation MOW DOWN is in effect. Timothius follows the group. However, no amount of fire ever seems to melt the ice of the ice pond just outside the cave. The key is soon found, but before Timothius goes to the door, he makes sure to beat up the door camping mobs with his team. THEN he goes through and starts sliding his way down the cave entrance!

  Leaving the caves to get punched in the face by a giant snow fist is always troublesome, yes.  So that's one batch of snowmen gladly dealt with.

  Now that they are actually INSIDE the cave though,  the Butler starts sneaking around to discover what cave Snaptooth is in because really, while fighting things on the way is good, that cave aggro can just get ridiculous.

Timothius patiently waits with Resolute. "Sorry about the snowman wreck... but I'm guessing from the score cards, you guys didn't mind."

 "I've long since stopped trying to keep score in that regard.  Combat log data is hard enough for most people, imagine tracking it for a dozen laser blasts per second from several sources on your end alone.  Win or lose, LASERS EVERYWHERE (and missiles and plasma, we still love you assault bot).

  Meanwhile, the Butler locates the correct cave and begins the process of whisking his allies away to next to him, while Resolute simply re-summons his violent case of split personalities.

Timothius guesses it's obvious... BB waits next to Snaptooth. Then, when Resolute barges in, guns blazing, BB will strike. And Timothius will just slow down the others before shooting at Snaptooth and healing whoever needs it.

Sometimes, Snaptooth can be a total pushover. Other times, he makes the heroes look like a joke. It's really hard to tell if this is a team build that will be made a laughing stock or not.

  It can be a close thing, but considering all the main aggro is A: spread across a bunch of robots around the room, or B: Aimed at a butler who can just jedi mind trick if it looks like he's about to go down,  today Snaptooth is... Average.

  In the end, the multitude of VIOLENCE and healing means the redcaps go down and our rescuers remain standing.

  It also means Timothius gets to lead out the baby man by default because oh hey both Butler and Bot have personal stealth of some kind.

OOC: Almost as bad as Snap during the bad fights, were the Murphy guarantee one of the normal enemies would turn into a boss enemy if things were already going wrong.

Timothius has a clear path due to "fight our way there" plan. So he simply leads the way for WWF baby. Once there, the mission is complete and the baby hands out candy to everyone. Or costume bit rewards. Or badges.

The mission done, Timothius exits with the others and thanks them again.

  Really, if Baby New Year had a folding chair they would probably be able to handle most red cap related problems thrown his way.

  "It is no trouble Timothius, glad to be of service."

  Somehow, somewhere along way Killbot Zap made a crayon drawing of Tim healing people, without the aid of hands.  They flail it in Tim's direction.  "I shot people!"

Timothius is SO happy now! "Yes you did! And you made annoying people sting with much ouch! And wow! What a nice drawing! Is that for me?"

  Zap nods and flails, "Drawing for kitty!  Kitty spray dark things like Dad! I'll bet kitty is great at obli.  oblitera..  breaking parking meters."

Timothius takes the drawing and says, "Thank you. I'm sure I would be if I ever did." he blushes a little at the thought before glancing at the other two. "I need a break from the cold. I'm thinking I'll go back indoors and maybe watch a monkey fight or two, watch some people dance, then come back."

  Butler nods, "A festive and wholesome form of entertainment, monkeys in a cage match."  At least those monkeys all have that particular PvP arena badge.

  "I belive I will join you indoors even if the cold is no bother."  Tim could probably outdance the cage dancers if they tried.  None of them know popdance for starters.

Timothius actually likes dancing... too bad he's WAY to shy around other people to do actual dancing. He goes indoors. Which means he and BB wind up at the redside bar. Timothius eyes the skull and crossbones hanging above the drinks and says, "Say BB... you have any of that hot chocolate somewhere around here, or would you have to run to the chalet again?"

  "I can simply make you a fresh batch, Timothius."  After all, nobody has ever complained when people go behind the bar themselves before.  We're still not sure where Alloy picked up the habit of mixing drinks before heading out to smash Praetorians.

  Hot chocolate for the kitty is prepared, and served.

Timothius says, "Thanks!" and heads off to the monkey fights with BB. He has a seat, sips at the hot chocolate, and watches. Despite his constant show of love for life and other things that hint at him being all about non-violence, Timothius is punching at the air at exciting moments. "Yeah! Show 'em, Furious George!"

OOC: I always found it ironic the monkey cage fights were on the BLUE side of PD while the Christmas Chalet entrance was on the RED side. Kinda cool too, when you think about it. It's like the place was designed to have both sides intermingle.

  Even a pacifist can enjoy the sight of something else beating the crap out of eachother, after all.  It's not like they are the ones being violent right?

  "I've always been partial to the Banana Bandito myself." Gee, we wonder why.

Timothius says, "If I was gonna root for someone on red team, it'd be The Banana-nator. But hey, they are all fun to watch."

After the fight, while waiting for the next match, Timothius looks over at BB. "So what's new in the Rogue Isles? And what's new for the Tharian Empire?"

While he may not agree with a lot of things done redside, Timothius likes the fact he can sit, relax with some hot chocolate, and discuss these things calmly with a villain. Then again, it could be the effect of Pocket D being such an amazing atmosphere.

  Probably a bit of both, considering it is a nice place and one of the (usually, despite the bloodthirsty maniacs involved) more reasonable villain groups.  "Doctor Aeon is trying to introduce new flavors for his nutrient paste.  Anchovy Anarchy is not selling as well as he would hope.  As for my employers, business as usual.  Though I myself am getting more involved with the isles shrimping buisness."

  It involves a surprising amount of having to hit the coralax.

Timothius says, "Redemption hasn't had a large influx of ex-villains lately. Maybe we already got everyone who was just jumping on the chance to change. Or those who didn't join us simply joined a more powerful supergroup. Or went solo."

  "Not to mention those seeking redemption have to first feel they were wrong.  That is likely the most difficult part in that regard."  Admitting you are wrong is hard enough, but imagine admitting you are super wrong.

Timothius nods and watches the next fight with BB before he heads off to watch the dancers for a bit. As he does, Angel (the bunny) comes up to BB catching her breath with a bright smile and wintery gear on. "Well... what fun. You having a good time, Bladed Butler?"
This message was last updated by the player at 03:01, Wed 13 Nov 2013.

  The Butler nods, "I am, thank you Angel.  Helping out redemption as asked has also been going well.  I do hope you have found some time to enjoy yourself during all this, Empress."   He gestures to the still plenty of BB prepared hot chocolate.  "Coco?"

Angel nods and sits to have some hot chocolate. "Thanks... *pant* I beat my old record *pant* on the advanced ski slopes. Next... *pant* try to place without needing the Speed Boost and Inertial Reduction buffs."

Because the advances slope is THAT hard.

OOC: I forget which one, but one of those buffs your ability to STAY on the slope while the other buffs the speed at which you fall. Between those, the gold medal was only a matter of time and practice. But I wonder if I could have eventually done it without those buffs.

  "Would it perhaps, be wise to bring some skis?  I can imagine difficulties for you making it down the slope in good time normally."  How close are bunny sized feet to snow shoes compared to the average booted super being to tackle those slopes?

  "I am still hazy if bringing actuall ski equipment beyond the outfit to the ski slopes is considered cheating."  The butler also offers a nice warm fluffy towel to master Bard.

OOC: As the inertial reduction grants jump physics, Inertial is the 'stay on' one likely.

Angel takes her coat off and puts the towel on. "Thanks. You are on the ball, as always. Speaking of balls, would you like to shoot a game of pool in a bit?"

  Butler smiles (somewhere, a small planet explodes in shock), "I would love to, Angel.  Something oddly peaceful about it, maybe it's the standing around."  There is no polite way to say 'shall I fetch your standing crate', so he will just quietly retrieve if for the bunny when they get there.

After she has warmed up a little more, she gets up and heads over to the pool tables with BB. "I like eight-ball. But if you have a preference, lemme know."

  "Considering this is recreational Empress, you can hurl the cueball with your bare hands for all I care."  When you can hide sharp objects and assorted butlery goods, a pool cue in two halves is simple by comparison to have when needed.

  The Butler provides Angel with a subtle stepping stool... So far as the top step being standing on lord Recluse's head is subtle.  But she clearly earned it when she joined the club of those to travel in time and beat the crap out of him.

Angel climbs onto the table in order to set up the balls and says, "I'll break first." before climbing down to the head of Recluse. She carefully aims, bending forward and hits the cue ball. A couple striped balls make it in. "Guess I'm stripes."

Angel isn't AMAZING at pool, but it's Angel. If it involves aim at all, she's really good at it. She gets another ball in before setting the ball up but not hitting a ball this time. "Your turn."

  The Butler steps to the side of the green fuzzy hole filled table, pool cue set up.  It helps that the Assasination™ pose for Claws is somewhat similar to setting up a shot.  This is good in the sense he totally dunked that solid into the hold.  This is not so impressive in the sense that was one ball hit really well, compared to Angel's multiple.

  "I don't suppose there is anything similar to this out where you are from?"

Angel giggles. "Sure is..." as she watches BB going for his next shot. She puts a fist on her hip and says, "I was listening to you earlier while I was skiing. I hope you aren't the kind of guy to take offense when I say the whole event between you and Timothius was cute. At the very least, very pleasant and musical to my ears." she twitches her ears like scissors.

  "Angel, while there is a large outward emphasis on dignity with butlers, the job would be impossible if we really worried about it that much." How fortunate in this case, seeing how helping the heroic kitty was the result of Angel's orders.

  Another shot, another ball goes in hole.  "Of course, even then I can hardly see a reason to be offended in treating them well.  Unless the situation calls for otherwise."  Just like the Butler is the sort not to offhandedly poison his employers tea, he's also the sort to throw hot coco in someone's face on his employer say so.

Angel chuckles. "I can't really see myself giving orders to be mean to the likes of Timothius. Unless he agreed to it and it was part of a plan to defeat a dangerous foe." This conversation is full of exceptions. "But was more referring to using the word 'cute', Bladed Butler. Some men find that a hard word to swallow when it describes them."

  "It helps to consider the alternatives.  People could consider the bow tie stupid instead of cute."  Or consider him grim faced creepy man.

  "Though I suppose you wouldn't be any more offended for being called a tough girl as you would be the most adorable space empress."  FUZZY BUNNY PUNCH HELMET BACKWARDS SMASH!

Angel watches BB since he still hasn't ended his turn. "Why thank you, Bladed Butler. That was a pleasant thing to say." she gives him a sly smile. "So are you enjoying the holidays so far?"

  The Butler goes through the required pool cue motions, then gestures for his boss to take her shot.  "A relaxing time away from the Isles."   Or the Banks and police stations of Paragon.  "Though I suspect a month or so of comparatively good behavior will not take us off Santa's naughty list."   You'd think there would be a Holiday Tip Mission to steal said list like there were other holiday Tips.

Angel moves her Lord Recluse stepstool into position, bends far over the table and takes her shot, getting another ball in. "I'm not too worried about that. I may be a naughty girl, but I'm nice too." she stands up straight again, chalking her pool stick. "What do you want for Christmas, Bladed Butler? Aside from a bonus check."

  "A discount with a reputable laundry service." Oh Butler, still putting the job first when asking for things to make your life easier.  "I do not suppose you have any suggestions for what the bunny who already inspires such loyalty would like?  I have some difficulty considering nice gifts as opposed to practical ones.  I am the boring man who gets people coats for the winter."

Angel considers. "I'm looking to get a new harp..." she says as if saying that just to think. "But harps aren't cheap. I'll be thinking on that. I honestly haven't thought too much on it yet."

  "At this point, I think that is hardly a concern.   Do you have a style or size preference?"  After all, just 'A Harp' can be as vague as 'a guitar'.  "If you wanted a Rularuu harp that may take a bit longer than the holidays."

Angel chuckles. "A concert harp. 46 strings. Finest quality harp and strings you can find. Style-wise? I'd probably like it to look as angelic as possible with a gold and white color scheme to it."

She takes another shot and gets another ball in, but the cue ball falls into a pocket as well. She hands it over to Bladed Butler.

  "Well then something to look forward to then, if I have the chance to hear you play."  He was going to say if she plays half as well as she shoots, but it would be poor form to say that right after a less than completely perfect shot (Hey, Angel's accuracy has STANDARDS).

  Oh look, Butler didn't get a ball in.  Though that was just the RNG thwarting him, nowhere near as frustrating as missing stationary targets while you are invisible, twice.

Angel is accurate. But sometimes, she can hit things too hard or not hard enough. Which is less an accuracy thing. But still... we're sure Angel appreciates BB thinking of her by not saying anything about a less-than-perfect shot.

"My old harp was destroyed by a base raid, annoyingly enough, or I'd show you right now." Angel comments as she takes another shot and gets the ball in. "I'll be ready for some more snow activity after this game. Will you join me?"

  "I suppose that's marginally less annoying than having it destroyed by that passing 'security measures attack everyone' phenomenon."  Nemesis totally claims credit for that one.  Also for there not being any more paper towels in the bathroom. HAHAHAHAHA.

  Shots taken, he adds "Of course I will Angel.  All you have to do is ask."

Angel gets to finishing the game with BB. There were only a few shots left anyway. Then heads off, gets into her more wintery gear, and enters the winter area. She claps her gloved hands together a few times with a bright smile. "Alright! Take your pick, Bladed Butler! Which event do you wanna do now?"

  "Let's see, there has been skiiing, Manbaby rescue, and monkey fights.  I suppose that leaves finding where colorful presents are hidden among the streets of Paragon when it comes to the usual events around here?"

Angel ponders. "Don't wanna play anymore in the snow? I can go for presents with you if you like."

  "Well, something does come to mind in regards to snow."  He considers the piles of snow around them, and says "I suppose it will be almost fair.  I almost stand a chance."

  That said, he pitches a snowball at Angel and wanders out of attention as butlers do.  Oh hello snowballfight.  Perfect accuracy vs Sneaky Butler.

Angel grins and goes for cover while making a snowball. The snowball fight has begun! But with no BB in sight, she'll have to wait. Her tactic is to keep her back against a wall while hiding so she doesn't have to watch her back. She does think to look up, though.

  Butler knows that you know to look up, Butler also knows that you know he knows you know to look up and wow we're already confused by this old joke.  Either way, instead he uses a more stupid plan.  Being noteworthy again, right in front of Angel. "Boo... Wait, wrong holiday."

  Is holding a severed snowman head cheating?  He left the carrot in as he just drops it over the Bunny.  Of course she's so short she's got extra time to move compared to taller people also named Angel.

Angel saw the snowman head coming, but as she dodges, some of it hits her. She throws her snowball at where BB was and throws a spare snowball at one of the directions he might dodge to, giggling.

  The Butler gets a snowball right in the face, as is one of the many unalterable laws of the universe, snow makes it's way down his shirt collar.  How fortunate the cold does not bother him these days (well, outside of hitpoint loss from Cold Attacks).

  The second one misses by way of 'what's dodging?' coincidence, as he scoops up another snowball and hucks it at his bunny boss.

Angel gets splattered in the face and falls backward onto her back, legs in the air. "Oof!" comes the muffled sound of Angel's voice. She then hops right back to her feet and goes to tackle BB!

 "Oh dearblarg"  Look, just because technically he didn't have the wind knocked out of him, some instincts are habitual.  The butler is forced into making an improvised snow angel by bunny angel bringing him down.  "Was it the carrot? It was the in poor taste carrot to the head wasn't it."

Angel giggles some more. "No. It's just play." She chomps on the carrot. "I like carrots, remember?" She then starts piling snow on BB.

  Butler ends up with a case of Santa Snow Beard before sitting up, and attempting to shove Angel off in as a dignified manner as possible (harder than it sounds).  "And I love tea, sometimes stereotypes are pleasant I suppose."

Angel flops onto the snow and starts making a snow angel of her own. "Nice to see your more playful side."

  Butler might have smiled for a second there, it's hard to tell as he wipes the snow and ice off his face.  "I assure you, it is always there somewhere.  Though as easy going an employer you are it is against my usual sensibilities to act less than professional on the job for you."  Outside of areas with enough security measures for them, Stalkers have plenty of chances for out of sight entertainment.  Such as switching the Arachnos soldier's regular coffee with decaf, YOU FIEND BULTER!

  He stands, and waits for a properly finished snow angel before offering a hand up to the Bunny angel, ready to help brush her off.

Angel takes the offered hand-up and smiles up at BB. "Thanks... speaking of on-the-job, isn't your break coming up soon anyway?"

Angel has standards too. Regardless of the fact villains don't follow laws like "you have to give your employees breaks", Angel does. It's just practical. The fact BB doesn't NEED breaks is beside the point.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Tue 19 Nov 2013.

  The Butler gently but thoroughly brushes the snow out of Angel's hair/fur (because snow turning into soaking wet once you get indoors is lame)  "That it is.  Though as ever, I find myself wondering what I shall do with my completely free time when it comes."  Angel isn't the sort of person to take offense at someone taking their vacation days after a major holiday, like some he (and his player) had in the past.

Angel gives a bright smile to Butler as the snow is brushed out. "Thanks again. Hmm.. tell you what; why don't you spend Christmas with the supergroup and just enjoy it rather than being butler to it? I'm pretty sure not a single member of our supergroup has a place they can call home besides our base. I've been thinking of hosting a party there to cheer up our members. I can hire a temporary butler so you can sit back and be served for a change."

  Some would consider their boss in a maid's outfit at that suggestion, but considering BB's job that sort of thing is rather boring to him.  "While we have no shortage of violent maniacs, we do seem to be surprisingly trustworthy to one another for the most part. So I am sure you will easily find someone for that, on top of setting up the party."

Angel chuckles. "I made sure to make our group trustworthy. Professionalism sets us in a good position. Most villains won't admit it, but they are at their core, people, just like heroes, who have expectations that, when met, invoke good responses."

  "I suppose it helps when recruitment standards are 'hey, we'll give you a place if you occasionally light people on fire we want burnt too'" works both for Demons, AND Raccoons.

  "Though yes, employee retention is much higher if you do not dispose of them half the time, and leave them barely coherent science projects the other half."

Angel says, "Common sense... common courtesy... both are soarly overlooked and highly underrated in the rogue isles. But enough about that. What would you like to do next?"

  Too lazy to check back through the entire thread, but just enough to see a nice idea.  "Well, I suppose hot chocolate after hitting eachother with snow is always welcome.  Though if you are willing to depart the ski lodge for a time, I would like to hear you play that harp you mentioned."

Angel says, "Let's do both." and hops over to the super lift to get thrown all the way back to the top of the lodge. Soon, she is hopping (super jumping) to the fireplace of said lodge.

  Because it is that time of year, our favorite Butler uses the Jingle Jet.  Soon enough, he catches up with his employer, and asks "What would you like with your drink."

OOC Oh man, I'm remembering original prototype Butler having to get by on slotted up combat jumping and hurdle for power pick space reasons

Angel says, "Surprise me."

Jingle Jets... one of the most nifty winter event things. Thankfully, only as temporary as the fuel, so you can use them year-round if you wanted...

  Surprise Results: Extra chocolate, enough tiny marshmallows you can't see the drink under them, and a candy cane sticking out of a stolen Arachnos mug (for all it's flaws, Arachnos takes it's coffee seriously.  Just ask Arbiter sands).

  He has a similar one for himself, as he offers the bunny her drink.  "Here you are, Angel."  Much more traditional than 'just put a candy cane in my vodka bottle' like some prior employers.

Angel gets a wide open-mouth smile and hops a few times before grabbing the drink. "Arachnos mug! These things are sweet!" she calms down quickly, though, and stirs the drink with the candy cane. "Thanks, BB. You sure know how to impress."

  Bunny hops, quite valid for holidays beyond Easter.  Hmm, how to dodge wondering how her standards are so low if this impresses?  "Thank you." there we go.

  He takes a sip of his own drink, then says "I am glad 'fit for an Empress' is something that can be accomplished every so often." Much better.

Angel shrugs. "Sometimes, it's the simple things, you know? Being lavished in gold and linens sometimes doesn't match up to drinking hot chocolate out of an arachnos mug in the cold winter air."

  Butler nods, "Hmm, perhaps later it can arranged for you to have both." At the very least, fuzzy bathrobes are easy.

  "Though I believe somebody already swiped the hubcaps off the Golden Roller's car this year."

Angel nods as she sips her hot chocolate. Eyes slowly closing. Then looks back up at BB. "Well I'm ready when you are. Shall we teleport to the base so that we can pop back here with ease?"

  BB nods, "That sounds good Angel."  He totally was next to Angel the whole time, and did not quickly switch the Longbow's coffee maker with decaf when she wasn't looking.  That would be crazy.

Inside the SG base, Angel heads for the fireplace (because it goes without saying she would INSTALL one at some point). Complete with the lazy-boy chair near it. But there is also a harp near the fireplace, with its own chair. Angel goes to take a seat and plucks the strings just to make sure they are tuned. Once she is sure, she then begins playing a calm melody.

  Butler takes a seat nearby... Which come to think of it may be the first time he's sat down recreationaly in months.  These things happen when you don't sleep, and keep finding things that need to be done.

  To have Angel willing to play music for him just makes this realization that much more pleasant.

Angel mostly has her eyes near-closed and sometimes closed as she plays. But she occasionally peaks over towards BB. She then begins to sing and it blends with her playing in a pleasant, if slightly haunting melody.

  Angel's keen eye is able to tell that Butler's near perpetual calm neutral expression is approaching a smile (what passes for one, with him), as the bunny sings along with her music.

At the end, Angel makes the notes go softer and slower before just letting go of the harp. "There ya go." she says with a smile. "I normally don't have an audience. Tend to play alone..."

  BB's facial expression has hit 'a normal person might tell he's sort of smiling' levels.

  "It was a privilege to hear you play then, Angel.  Thank you for sharing such a lovely song with me.  Hopefully sometime, others are so lucky."  More shocking things working for Angel, not having to fake compliments.