middaeg | VALENTINES CHARITY

♥ 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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm cold blooded. I need it to keep me from dying or going into a coma when the temperatures are low.

[Near has never been the best at socialization. He's used to having a small team to direct, one that's generally good at following his orders. Normally someone else would be ordering this for him.]

It doesn't matter what it's made from. The enchantment is all that's important.

[Making it gold or silver would just be a waste of money, and he's spent enough on protective measures already.]

So, to keep your body temperature up. [That should be easy enough. A radiant heat enchantment, a modification to contain the area of effect. He can dig through a magitech heater if he needs any help sorting it out.] Yeah, that's doable.

Steel, then. Were you looking for a necklace, a bracelet, a belt buckle, something else? Do you have design preferences?

I need something that can be easily slipped on and off. The simpler the design the better, so it's less likely to be stolen.

[He frowns in thought. All of his future changes still have to be taken into account, and that's bothersome. He doesn't know how much certain parts of himself will change in size.]

Would a ring be possible, or would that be too small?

[A ring could potentially be resized - or perhaps even worn around his neck depending on how the enchantment worked. He doesn't need this to wear all the time, at least not if the tattoo works properly. But there's the potential for shedding (if he does end up shedding) to remove any additions to his skin, or at least weaken them. He doesn't want to be left vulnerable.]

Do you expect to get mugged? [Somehow Hiccup has never managed that, even in the worse parts of town. Maybe this guy is just paranoid.]

A ring is possible. It'll take longer. At that size, you have to be really precise with the runes. It also might need to be recharged by a Witch more often. [It'll need to be recharged periodically regardless, but he imagines you can fit more magic into a bracelet or something larger than a ring.]

A stone will hold more magic than just a band, but you'd have to source one yourself.

I like to take precautions.

[He's a little paranoid, yes. Comes with his previous profession.]

In that case a necklace might be better.

[He worries about a bracelet too easily slipping off his delicate wrists.] No need for more complications than necessary.

There's precaution, and there's paranoia. [Hiccup says with a mild shrug, sketching out a quick couple of designs on a slip of parchment from his pocket. One is just a round, flat disc of metal strung on what looks like braided leather, with some little lines and dots as stand-ins for the runic enchantment. The other is shaped similar to an axe blade or the head of a Norse battle hammer, also strung on a cord.]

Something like either of these? A pendant gives me more room to work with, and will probably be less likely to get lost than a ring anyway. Easier to adjust as well since you can replace the cord without bringing it back to me.

[Near hasn't been here long enough to judge how safe or unsafe it is in regards to thievery, and he doesn't have a whole lot of money to his name just yet. Any cold preventing enchantments are important enough that he'd rather not take the risk.

He looks over the parchment and doesn't hesitate to point at the plain round one. Simple is fine.]

This will work.

[He pauses, twisting a few strands of his hair absently around one finger.] I appreciate your help.

You can pick it up at the Phoenix Tear in about a week, then. Maybe longer if the enchantment gives me any troubles. [He scrawls some quick, easy directions to find the Phoenix Tear - a Monster-focused clinic located in the barracks - on the slip of paper and hands it over.] If I'm not home, I'll make sure to leave it for my Bonded to give you.

[The Phoenix Tear. He hasn't been there, but it seems like a useful place to have directions to. Upon taking the paper he takes a moment to scan over its contents, memorizing them.]

Who is your Bonded?

[Near refrains from asking any other Bond-related questions, even though the topic still fascinates him. He's been taking in what he can from the network posts of other Mirrorbound.]

Newt Scamander. Tall, handsome British guy. Curly hair. [He has to stop himself from adding 'his smile lights up a room'. That's not necessary information, Hiccup.] If I'm not in, he probably will be. We both live there. [Or he could just have Sharpshot deliver it, he guesses, but so far, the guy hasn't volunteered much information - Hiccup can't see him giving up his place of residence.

Now that he thinks about it, the brusque, no-nonsense mannerisms kind of remind him of someone. Linden? But that's probably just a coincidence.]

[...Well, he's heard stranger names. It's not his job to judge. He makes a note of that also, and supposes he'll have to be more courteous to both of them. Social norms are a pain.

Any relation Near has to "Linden" is of course completely coincidental and there's zero connection between them whatsoever. None.]

A week, then. I'll remember.

[Wait til he learns Newt Scamander is partnered to Hiccup Haddock. They're the kings of weird names in Aefenglom.]

I'll try to have it ready by then. Oh- What's your name, by the way? Just in case I do have to have him give it to you.

Eli Dagwood.

[Totally not as weird. At least his alias is original and not borrowed from a deceased criminal.]

I shouldn't be too hard to find.

[As much as he wishes otherwise.]

VALENTINES CHARITY - Feoveuer 14th

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