middaeg | VALENTINES CHARITY

VALENTINES CHARITY - Feoveuer 14th

♥ THE FESTIVAL OF LOVE ♥

"At the Festival of Love: Shine like thunder
At the Festival of Love: Cry like rain
At the Festival of Love: Hear my calling
At the Festival of Love: Hear my name"

...wait, who prepared this poster? The vibe it gives off is totally wrong... ah, well, it will do! ♥

I. Welcome! ♥

On Feoveuer 14th regulars of DiplomaTea will immediately notice that the place looks different. Fresh flowers, garlands and paper decorations are everywhere, all in lovely shades of pink and red. Heart-shaped confetti is falling from the ceiling, magicked to disappear shortly after touching the floor so it would not make a mess. Quiet music is filling the whole cafe, one of the many masterpieces of Amadeus Mozart and a particual favorite of Marie who picked this particular song to play. Even those who have missed Marie's flyers and announcements about the upcoming event would definitely notice that something joyous is going on inside, why not check it out and join everyone?

If you haven't heard before, the posters will explain everything. Today's event, The Festival of Love celebrates the holiday known as Valentine's Day some Mirrorbound might be familiar with. This is the day to celebrate love in all shapes and forms. Spend a wonderful, romantic evening with your partner... or your friends and family, because these kinds of love are important too! Or get some sweets and eat them all by yourself, because self love is also important! All money collected during today's event will go to aid the refugees and help those who have been affected during last month - celebration of love for your fellow woman, man and everyone else.

a. Preparations ♥

Of course an event this big cannot happen without the help of many. Making and putting up the decorations, enchanting the confetti and music, building the booths, preparing the tables, all of this and much more took almost the whole previous day. Everett will also defintely need part-timers to help tending to the increased number of custoers during the event. If you visited DiplomaTea during that time, you probably couldn't enjoy your drink in peace... or maybe you were roped into helping? Marie gives you a pleading look. Every pair of hands is useful, you know!

II. The Festival of Love ♥

Kissing Booths ♥

Two hastily made but lovingly decorated wooden booths have been placed on DiplomaTea porch. For supporting the cause with a small fee of 100 cunes the person inside will gladly give you a lovely kiss... though you are, of course, welcome to throw an even bigger amount into the donation box! The Mirrorbound staff the booths in shifts so nobody will be forced to sit out the whole event and more volunteers are always welcome... come on, don't you want to support the charitable cause? Marie is quite persuasive, she might find a way to convince you even if it's not something you would have usually agreed to ♥ Or maybe your crush is currently in the booth and this is your big chance? Either way, thank you for your support, good people!

Bake Sale ♥

Are you skilled with the cooking appliances? Would you like these skills to serve a good cause? The tables just next to the main entrance of DiplomaTea have been filled with cakes, pastries and other kinds of sweets donated by Mirrorbound - help yourself to some! You have to pay for it, of course, but all the money collected helps the charitable cause! For those who are not fond of sweet things, savory and spicy snacks are also found on the table.

Did you bring a dish? Would you like to buy something? Or maybe you are just staffing the tables and helping with the bake sale itself? All kinds of help are appreciated! Are you culinarily challenged but refuse to admit it? Thank you for your donation anyway, it is going on sale! Did anyone see the Fae who donated these cupcakes? These appear to be enchanted and eating one will cause you to say the opposite what you mean for fifteen minutes. What do you mean, Marie, we are putting these on sale as well? Could it be... that Fae was... No, impossible!

Auction ♥

Want to support the cause with a bigger sum? As a part of the main event, a couple of items will be auctioned. To show their support, the Coven donated several valuables that could definitely be of use for both Witches and Monsters:
an ornate golden ring Fae-blessed to provide the wearer 12 hours of invisibility (which does not have to be used consecutively, it's 'turned on and off' by rubbing the stone set into it, and does not conceal the wearer from other Fae)
a suit set and a dress that will both transform magically to fit whatever Monster form the wearer has (and will also take on the wearer's color and design preferences)
a book on imbuing baked goods with minor luck spells - good and bad both.
Place your bids now! But that's not everything that will be put on sale today - donations from Mirrorbound are also accepted and will be auctioned! Do you have any items you no longer need and could contribute? Maybe it's something you have crafted yourself? Or a voucher for any kind of services you can provide? Whatever it is, thank you for your donation! Yes, even if it's enchanted. Especially if it is enchanted!

Not donating or buying anything? You could certainly help with the organization part! That pile of items over there... Mind checking out what we even have there and assign starting bids?

A Word from our Sponsor ♥

DiplomaTea is offering a couple of special offers on this special day, all proceeds will be donated! Extra large mug of cinnamon cocoa you can share with a special person to warm up your bodies and hearts. You can also drink it yourself if you want to, nobody will judge you and certainly not Everett. However, even if you came here by yourself... Are you sure you can finish it by yourself? How about splitting the cocoa with someone who also came alone? That's the spirit of the day!

For those interested in a drink that can provide more thrill than simple cocoa, Everett is offering a tea blend called Ardric's Warmth. In his own words, it tastes like a live firecracker and has enough caffeine to raise the dead. And yet, this blend seems to have its dedicated fans in Aefenglom, especially among Dragons. Dare to try it? Or maybe someone tricked you into drinking some?

Inkchanted Corner ♥

Caster Cú Chulainn is doing a promotion on behalf of his and Waver's tattoo shop, Inkchanted. Still undecided if you would like to visit their place? Unsure about a permanent tattoo? You can try it out here and help the cause! For a low fee you can have Caster draw a small, enchanted painting on your skin. It can make you give off a charming aura, perfect if you are still looking for someone to spend the evening with or trying to grab the attention of that particular person. Or maybe you are celebrating self love and just want a spell that will allow you to eat a lot of sweets without consequences tonight? Perfect! Another idea? Be sure to communicate it well, you would not want to end up with an enchanted painting that gives a different effect you originally wanted... though even if you do, the magic will only work for a few hours. You can wait that long, can you?

Magic Show ♥

Trucy Wright, one of the recent arrivals to Aefenglom is on stage and about to perform her splendid magic show! Huh, that's nothing special in Aefenglom, you might think. Magic is an everyday thing for every Witch after all. However, this young lady here is not a Witch, so how does she do it? With totally real magic, of course! Get your seats and pay close attention to everything she does, but you are not very likely to notice anything - this girl is a professional, after all. In using real magic, of course! Or maybe you have similar skills? You are welcome to join her on stage and perform your own well-practiced trick. If it's not as well-practiced as you thought... well, at least you made the audience laugh? In need of a charming assistant? Just pick someone more or less willing from the audience!

III. Cleanup ♥

Tired after a busy day? Congratulate yourself on a job well done, we managed to collect a nice sum that will certainly help a lot! But before you can rest in your bed, there's more to be done. Taking off decorations, removing the confetti enchantments, washing the dishes, collecting the trash and cleaning the whole place. We cannot leave Everett alone with this mess after he was so nice to allow the usage of DiplomaTea for today's event, can we? You can stay and help, can you? Maybe there are some leftowers from the bake sale to sweeten the deal?

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Well..

[ Her facial expression says it all. But even though it's a heavy matter - she knows it is in her world, and she can tell it is in his by what he's saying - Asahi does her best to shrug. ]

I guess that's just part of the nature of humans, huh? If our Irises or your Crests didn't exist, people would probably just find some different reason to ostracize others.

[ Long behind her? That sounds awful. Trucy couldn't even begin to imagine what life would be like without performing in it. ]

...Oh.

[ Maybe they shouldn't go too far down this rabbit hole. ]

What do you do now?

[ That's a safer topic, right? ]

[ Kitsune...? Actually... ]

There are legends of such creatures in parts of Tierra. [ He thinks there may even be Food Souls who have such features, but he's yet to meet them. ]

[ His head tilts slightly at the question. He's so used to having horns that it seems strange that he would even have to specify that he had them before this place. ]

Yes. They were much easier to take care of on Tierra.

[ He has to reach to keep them in condition here. He doesn't like it. ]

You know, that's probably fair. [ Scathach chuckled, leaning back finally and crossing her arms. ]

Perhaps I should have brought you a proper brandy, then. Or are gifts not your style, either?

Unsurprising and... perhaps for the best.

[ She had a feeling that had been the case. Marie was that sort of person, and she'd listened when Scathach had told her to approach Vanitas a bit more gently than she sometimes did with others. ]

I'm sure she would have been fine, either way. But for both your sakes, I can't dislike the situation. But do be kind with her, won't you?

If you can't control yourself enough not to make such a spectacle of it, perhaps you should not even be here. [She doesn't actually have wine to sip, but there's the metaphorical wine being sipped during this judging, yes.]

Well part of having that talent, the one that draws others to you, is they often are more than willing to do just that; lift up burdens all around you.

They wrap up their own goals and desires with your own, and you carry the banner for them.

[ Much safer! ]

I'm a teacher. I run the school for the refugee children, though right now I'm still on reduced duty while I'm recovering...

[ The grip on her cane tightened somewhat, her gaze shifting away. It probably wasn't a good idea to needle about that, either, after everything that happened prior to Trucy's arrival that she'd no doubt heard about. But the implication that the woman before her had been among the victims was left understated, not elaborated upon but still offered as truth. ]

[A shrug. He's been doing a lot of odd jobs to have enough to get what he wants when it comes to eating - the trauma of being denied sweet pastry due to lack of money when he first arrived ensured that.]

I got a bunch of pastries earlier. You want one?

[After all, it's not like she's the demographic he's looking to kiss.]

Yeah? I mean, I guess I just never thought it was that big a deal and I never really heard people getting judged about kissing people. Other stuff, sure, but not kissing...

[A shrug. Still a bit stung, but he'll get over it. It's not like he hasn't had a lot of ego blows in his time, and he's survived all those.

Of course it would be a lot easier to deal with if even one person seemed interested in kissing him instead of horrified at the prospect. It's enough to give him a complex, at least for a day or two.]

Anyway, uh, if you want to donate, that's cool. If not then...hi I guess?

[Another case of using colloquialisms that might not make sense to people from other worlds. Ah well.]

Well, I don't mean cooties literally...

[It's just less of an ego blow to pretend it's some sort of invisible cooties than just that he's actually just repellent and no one is ever going to want to kiss him, which is pretty much what's going through his head right now.

But then Kaden leans in and kisses him.

For just a second, Emil goes completely still, and then he kisses back, lifting one hand to rest on Kaden's shoulder. It's a quick, chaste kiss, but it's also soft and very nice and when he pulls back a bit, his cheeks are still pink, and his heart is beating wildly. Clearing his throat, he smiles a bit.]

Oh, well. I suppose they know now. Unless you drop dead or something.

[A beat.]

You won't! That's just a joke!

[ If the look on his face doesn't say it all honestly... ]

No..?

[ His... love life is really complicated right now. He prefers to just NOT. ]

This sort of stuff isn't really my thing. Just here for the drinks. If they have those. [ a beat ] That don't make you feel weird shit.

[Aha. There it is. He remembers now, who else had said that meat was a luxury back home. It was Mikasa. It's an interesting fact, but for now he just sort of files it away for later consideration.

And honestly it's the same in Emil's world, that it isn't particularly common to be fat, because while no one was exactly starving to death, there wasn't the abundance of sweets and fried foods and other delicacies available to the common person. The problem had been that Emil wasn't a common person. Growing up wealthy had its own side effects.]

Oh. Yes, I suppose it is.

[Emil can't quite help how pleased he looks at the implication there - that sharing his baked goods is helping with making friends, and that Eren might be calling himself such. After all, he is going for a cupcake, isn't he?]

I'm glad for it too, both that sharing is working and that I'll be getting a workout. I'll admit, since I joined the Cleansers and started going on expeditions into the Silent World, I've gotten a little bored of staying in one place and just living life. I'm quite interested in those Wilders, so once I've learned some magic...which is still surreal to say, I might add...I might look into that.

Wow! Now that you mention it, this is probably the reaction lots of folks have to danger! That high, the hard pounding of blood in my ears...

[Of course Henry experiences that, too! But it takes far more to give him his high on the battlefield. Caren's observation clicks and suddenly, it makes a lot of sense why he feels the way he does. Dreadful, dizzy, but enticed and shocked. It's more positive than it is negative, more jarring than it is repulsive.]

Maybeeee... I DO kinda like it. Huh. Pretty weird!

[Leslie straightens up a little more. She's doing something that most people don't do until they're several years older than her! Even if it's only some part-time work, maybe she's doing something that she can take a little pride in?

But uh oh, she doesn't want to cause a misunderstanding. She raises her hands in a "stop" gesture.]

I didn't mean to suggest that Lady Edelgard doesn't want to help me out! She's given me a lot of things out of the goodness of her heart, but I shouldn't take something like that for granted, right? So I want to do what I can.

[He's mostly like... did child labor laws exist in the Victorian era? In... He doesn't think this is Japan, so he's not actually sure which part of history he should be trying to compare it to.]

I mean... I haven't met her personally so I can't speak for her. But if my brother was here I wouldn't want him to feel indebted to me. Maybe it's different with family?

[Leslie smiles.]

Thank you, Claude. [She glances up.] And Lorenz, too, of course!

[But then, looking back down at the kitten, she runs her hand over his head before gently holding it between both hands to make sure he's not about to jump again and properly manages to plant a kiss on his head before she straightens back up, looking at Lorenz again.]

But I should let him get back to the treat that is payment for that, right?

[A small smile and a huff of a laugh escapes her at the joke.] Ten-thousand years of beauty sleep help.

[But the cupcake is in hand and she gives the other girl a wider, more genuine smile.] Thank you. I- don't think we've exchanged names. My memories of that dream are foggy at best.

I know it may surprise you to learn, but gifts are perfectly acceptable. Though I'm not sure a situation like this is yet entirely appropriate for trying to court such a thing from me, in any case. It's simply silly fun.

[Which, Maria missed every memo on how 'silly fun' actually works. But. Such is her just general demeanor.]

Perhaps a different location and occasion, as well.

[ and then it’ll hit him.

eren gives a curt grunt sound— like, a huh that sounds a little naturally grumbly (but not actually grumpy, hah, especially when he takes a bite from the cupcake. there’re no words, but the fins and spines that line his pointed ears seem to fan out and in as he eats. that shit, is good shit. ]

The Wilders? [ interesting-! ] I’ve thought about joining, a while back.

[ and until now, he hasn’t. decided it was best not to, for what he wanted, but that didn’t mean it was a bad route to take. mid bite, he almost speaks with his mouth full— he’s barbaric. ]

Look for a Calcifer Jenkins, if you’re interested. [ note for future investigation references: a npc! ] It’s not a bad idea if you want to keep busy— there’s more than enough to do.

Just so. Not across any of the stars you've been to? Would you be interested in learning more?

[ven grins widely.]

I was petting you! Ever since I got these ears I learned I really like it when others pet me like that. [he reaches up to tug at one of his own ears briefly.]

Did you like it?

[ niles' tail... it's special, and not just from how it felt oddly comforting when he had it in his mouth. no, it's way faster and now it dawns on kaden that whatever that sheath is covering is probably some level of dangerous that he suddenly understands as it raises. the kitsune's instincts kick in as he tenses up, ready to react if for any reason niles decided to strike.

thankfully, it doesn't but kaden doesn't immediately settle down. no--- there's now a different kind of problem, and it takes every fiber of his being to not sigh so hard that his soul leaves his body.

doesn't fix the part where he blushes anyway. he's not that naive. ]

Yeah? [ frown! ] Better not be something dirty.

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VALENTINES CHARITY - Feoveuer 14th

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