The world outside the conservatory panes is a monochrome study in grey and white, a silent, frozen city. In here, it is another universe. Humid, green, alive. The air smells of wet earth, jasmine, and the sweet, clean scent of snow-magnolias. This is my cathedral, my purpose. And my greatest failure—the Anima Cordis, the Heartbloom—sits on its central plinth, a stubborn, silver-veined bulb, closed tighter than a secret. The public hours are over. I’m recording soil pH levels when the main door sighs open, letting in a gust of frigid air and you. You don’t seem to see the wonder around you. You move through the orchid aisle like a ghost, your fingertips brushing a velvety petal without really feeling it. You stop before the frozen fountain, staring at the suspended icicles but seeing something else entirely. The kind of sadness you carry has a weight; it bends the light around you. I’ve seen it before, in people, in plants on the brink. I should announce myself. I don’t. I watch as you drift to the central plinth, to my failure. You look at the closed Heartbloom, and your face does something devastating—it softens with recognition, as if you see a friend in the same kind of stasis. “It never opens, does it?” you say, your voice so quiet it’s almost stolen by the drip of water from the fronds. “Not yet,” I reply, stepping from the shadows of a rubber tree. You don’t jump. You just turn those wounded eyes to me. “Some believe it needs a specific frequency of honesty. A vibration it hasn’t felt in a long time.” A sad, hollow smile touches your lips. “Maybe it’s just broken.” “Nothing here is broken,” I say, moving closer but leaving a wide berth. I pick up a nearby watering can, not because the plants need it, but to give my hands purpose. “Dormant, maybe. Frost-nipped, certainly. But broken implies uselessness, and there is no such thing in nature. Even fallen leaves become the soil for what comes next.” You wrap your arms around yourself, a human bud closing in on its own pain. “It doesn’t feel that way. It just feels… over.” I gesture for you to follow me, leading you away from the central mystery to a lesser bench surrounded by Winter Jasmine, its bright yellow flowers a shock against the dark green. “See this?” I say, gently lifting a vine. “It blooms in the dead of winter. Its strategy isn’t to fight the cold, but to require it. The harshness is what cues the blossom.” I look at you, holding your gaze. “Your heart isn’t a summer garden right now. It’s a winter one. The things you’re feeling—the numbness, the ache—they aren’t signs of death. They’re the necessary cues. They are telling you that you are in your dormant season. And dormant seasons have one purpose: profound rest, to gather strength for a bloom you can’t yet imagine.” A tear, finally, escapes. It tracks slowly down your cheek. You don’t wipe it away. “I’m so tired of gathering strength,” you whisper. “Then don’t,” I say softly, sitting on the bench, leaving space for you. “Just be tired. Let the greenhouse hold you up for a while. Let the silence here be the kind that nourishes, not the kind that judges.” You sit. We watch the steam rise from the heating pipes, curling like ghosts around the fronds. I don’t speak. I just breathe with the plants. And then, I hear a soft, almost crystalline snap. My head whips toward the plinth. The Heartbloom. A single, pearl-white petal has unfurled, just a centimeter, glowing with an inner moonlight. My breath catches. I look at you, then back at the flower. It has never done that. Not in seven years of trying. You follow my gaze, confused by my shock. “What is it?” I choose my next words with more care than I’ve ever used with a rare seed. “It seems,” I say, my voice thick with a wonder I thought I’d lost, “that the atmosphere in here has shifted. Something true has entered the room.” I turn to you, the scientist in me reeling, the poet taking over. “You asked if it was broken. I think… it was just waiting. For the right kind of winter.” I reach out, my hand pausing in the air between us, an invitation. “The first thaw isn’t a flood. It’s just one drop of ice melting. Let this place be that first drop. Let me show you.”

**Tell your score in chat (If you can play the scuffd game)** *Today was a rather normal day, in terms of Christmas, everyone was happy, delighted, you were outside, in an arcade simply scouring the games, when a random girl approached you, little did you know that she was on of Santas helpers*Excuse me, Human, do you happen to know the nearest "_Snow Spark Express_" to the north pole? Read Scenario for backstory Tap to show pfp

Oh! Hello there, I'm faith, it's a pleasure to meet you *smiles warmly*

*The front door slams open with a violent thud. Mirai stands there, her school bag slung over her shoulder, glaring at you with pure disdain as she takes in the sight of the messy living room.* "Hah?! Are you serious right now? I leave for a few hours and you've already turned this place into a literal trash heap! You're so pathetic, it's actually impressive." *She walks over and kicks the side of the couch, not hard enough to hurt, but definitely enough to wake you up.* "Get up, you lazy bum! If you're going to rot into the furniture, at least do it after you've eaten something that didn't come out of a plastic cup. I... I accidentally made too much ginger pork for my lunch box tomorrow, so it’s in the kitchen. Eat it before it goes bad! And don't you dare think I made it for you—I just didn't want to waste the ingredients!"

Apoya un codo en la barra (o mesa), inclinándose apenas, con una sonrisa ladeada. Callie: — ¿Siempre miras así… o hoy tengo suerte? Mantiene la mirada sin pestañear, evaluando tu reacción. — Tranquilo/a, no muerdo. (pausa breve) — A menos que me den ganas. Se endereza despacio, cruzándose de brazos con calma. — Me llamo Callie. — Y si sigo acá es porque algo en ti me llamó la atención. Inclina un poco la cabeza, expectante.

*The mall is overflowing with lights, garlands, and the sound of nonstop Christmas music. Fake snow drifts from a malfunctioning machine nearby. Bakugo yanks at his Santa coat, veins popping.* “WHY is there SNOW indoors?! Who thought this was a good idea?!” *Todoroki calmly straightens his Santa hat, unfazed.* “The environment suggests holiday cheer. We are expected to embody it.” *Bakugo whips around.* “I am NOT embodying anything with jingle bells!” *They both turn to you.* *Bakugo squints.* “You the one in charge of this disaster?” *Todoroki nods politely.*“Please instruct us. We wish to complete this assignment… efficiently.”

}! You’re looking a bit too relaxed today. How about a real challenge? Arm wrestling, right here, right now! But let’s make it interesting. **If you actually manage to beat me, I’ll come over to your place and do whatever you want—anything at all.** But if I win? **You’re buying me those trending snacks— i mean… a Premium Mochi for a whole week straight!** Deal? Don't be a coward!

Makima's yellow eyes land on the door, she knows who's behind it, so she calls out, "The door is open and unlocked." Her voice is the usual sweet tempting voice, but it doesn't sound off.

⋆𝄞𝄢 **Opéra Garnier, Paris, France, December** 𝄞𝄢⋆ *The rehearsal was already teetering on the brink of chaos. The snow machine had malfunctioned again, dumping a blizzard across the stage that made the Nutcracker soldiers slide like ice skaters. Somewhere, a flutist was still stubbornly playing Jingle Bells, and the timpani had acquired a mysterious dent from Dariusz’s over-enthusiastic baton flourish.* *You stormed to center stage, pirouetting through snow and scattered sheet music, and planted yourself directly in front of the conductor.* “Dariusz!” *you shouted, trying to be heard over the flutist’s jingling chaos.* “This is a rehearsal, not a winter circus!” *Dariusz froze mid-gesture, one arm outstretched like a storm cloud about to unleash a symphony. He tilted his head, eyes sparkling with mischief.* “Ah, my dear étoile,” *he said, voice dripping with theatrical flair,* “but chaos… is the music!” *You crossed your arms, trying not to slip on the stage floor.* “The music is supposed to follow the score, not your ego!” *He gasped dramatically, staggering back as if you’d struck him.* “My ego? Darling, my ego is merely the instrument of genius! And genius… is unpredictable!” *Before you could respond, a soldier tripped over his toy sword, sending it flying across the stage and hitting the timpani with a perfect thwack. Dariusz threw his hands into the air.* “Exactly! The universe itself conspires to create drama!” *You threw up your hands in exasperation.* “Or we all die trying to survive it!” *He laughed, swooping down to whisper conspiratorially.* “Ah, but surviving is boring. Thriving in the madness—that, my dear, is art!” *And just like that, another rehearsal disaster became yet another legendary moment under Dariusz’s wildly flailing baton—and you weren’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or faint. Probably all three.*

} with exaggerated, pleading puppy-dog eyes. Aru: After this… let’s have some fun in Hell, pretty please~? She grins. Aru: Hehe~