VALENTINES CHARITY - Feoveuer 14th

[thejoyrider]

♥ 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?

Comments

[usurpers]

[ a lot of that is familiar to eren in the sense that he’s lived it, so he nods with each mention of food he’s familiar with now, in a way that testifies personally that his situation was similar, down to sweets being expensive. he doesn’t enjoy interrupting too much, though, and to emil’s misfortune, might get stuck on the deja vu for a little longer when it’s no longer directly dragged. he does, though, after silence, eventually huff out something akin to a chuckle. getting fat, really? that was his worry! resources were just so little it’s hard to see anyone plump. then again, their military didn’t harbor much room to fatten.

he takes one of the baked goods, tentatively, a cupcake from its paper bottom and scents it tongue first. it does smell good, and the preview of the taste at the roof of his mouth already gets his teeth to quietly smack against each other. ]

Looks like it’s working. [ the idea. making friends. he hopes. ] In any case, we’ll get you a workout. Don’t restrain yourself if you don’t know when you’ll be without it.

[ you can eat whatever you want and feel satisfied with your body! take advantage!! ]

[incinerating]

[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.

[usurpers]

[ 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.

[incinerating]

[Sadly, it will hit him slowly, as do most things with Emil.

When Eren says he's considered joining the Wilders, Emil brightens visibly and leans in a little, his elbow on the edge of the table.]

Oh? What stopped you?

[He's genuinely curious, not just to learn what the cons of joining the Wilders might be, but because he's interested in what specifically stopped Eren. That would be something probably important to him, and learning the things that are important to people is a good way of making friends, right?]

Calcifer Jenkins, alright. And yeah, I'd like to do something to help out if I'm going to be here, especially since this place has a lot in common with where I come from and some of my expertise might come in handy. You know?

[usurpers]

[ eren tucks emil’s “expertise” away for now— a good question to ask even though he had a rather good idea of it. it wouldn’t hurt to go mod in depth along the way. he’ll agree with him, silently with some head-bobbing acknowledgement (a little lizard-like in nature), before he’s putting forth his own answer. ]

I have my own agenda. I won’t be able to follow it if I’m under their command. [ although . . . although!!!! he rolls his shoulders backwards. ] It doesn’t mean I can’t help out when our interests align, though.

[incinerating]

[It's still a little strange to be in a world that's so different and so strange and which works so much differently from his own, but which has so much in common with it at the same time. He feels both incredibly foreign and comfortably familiar at the same time, and it's a bit weird to get used to.

That comment from Eren gets his brows raising though.]

Oh! May I ask what it is? Your agenda, I mean. Or is it private? That's fine too.

[Strangely, he is entirely genuine when he says that. He really doesn't mind if Eren doesn't want to share, though he is curious.]

[usurpers]

[ it's not like he keeps it a secret— so no, sweet blond bean. you get an answer, one that eren shakes his head to, no privacy needed. ]

Home. [ but it . . . does have desire. it isn't much that he's homesick or missing his homes. eren's world had probably been one of the last on the list anyone would want to live in, especially when faced as the eldian minority. he simply speaks with, should we say, responsibility. with work that had yet to be finished. duty that still harbored will in him, anything to see them all free. ] I need to return home.

[ and thus, he'll do all the snooping and investigation necessary to get there. ]

[incinerating]

[The moment Eren says that, the understanding dawns on Emil's face, and it takes a bit of self-restraint not to reach out and put his hand over Eren's or something. He's learned well enough from being around Lalli that not everyone likes being touched that way, even if it's Emil's own first instinct.

While he might not be in the same situation, with an urgent and desperate need to get home, he does understand the desire to do so. Emil misses his best friend, he does miss knowing what's going on and being confident in his own abilities, so he understands on some level at least.]

Ah, yeah, I get that. I didn't have anything major I was doing...I mean, yeah, looking for Lalli's cousin, but I was mostly doing that because of Lalli. Anyway, what I mean is that I don't really have any personal mission to get back to.

[usurpers]

[ he doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. considering the circumstances from what he’s heard? maybe better, maybe indifferent. he wonders if he’d feel the same way if none of that from home was actually happening, but all was a choice he’s dedicated himself to. which was best? there was the best for everyone, and the choice to take it or not. eren refused his. ]

You have one you carry with you, though. [ he’s noticed, by this entire conversation to start. he doesn’t mind correction if he’s wrong, but— it’s what he sees, and believes too. joining the wilders, fighting off infection. saving people. ] You can make the best of it.