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

[thisisamazing]

If you've got any other Witch friends, they can recharge it in a pinch as well. It's pretty easy. [And it doesn't take much, all things considered. Heat and fire enchantments, he's found to be relatively simple, and not very draining. Maybe it's just a personal proficiency, considering his background.

He watches with a little amusement while Eren admires the blade, deciding it's probably not worth it to scold him about putting sharp things near your eyes. He's learning. Eren's gonna Eren.]

If you want to help out, I can probably find some work for you. Percy and I might build another ballista. Or something else along those lines. I haven't spent much time out at the forge lately, though, I've... I've had other work to be doing.

[usurpers]

[ everyone’s been busy with tasks that aren’t their usual it seems. now that this blade is examined, he simply drop it in his poncho pocket and grabs for the other one— the extension blade. he does nod in terms of wanting work, but soon adds with curiosity: ]

Like ballistas?

[ what have you been up to 👀 ]

[thisisamazing]

[He laughs, shaking his head.] Nothing that interesting. [He and Percy did build a ballista, and lugged it up to the top of the Bright Wall during the blizzard in December, to lob sharpened stakes at approaching Shades, but they haven't built another one since then.] Repairs on the Phoenix Tear, mostly. Taking care of the animals. Taking care of my Bonded. [A whole lotta domestic stuff, honestly. He still gets out a few times a week to the forge, but he's not there constantly anymore, which is probably healthier in the long run.]

It's been a lot of up and down since... well. Everything, last month.

[usurpers]

[ mm, eren hums. he’s . . . hardly really any sort of domestic. eren hardly stops at all if it wasn’t something that had to do with work. investigating, opening up paths to get them all out. they really did have different priorities, but it’s that sort of unspoken teamwork that gets things done in different areas. talon scraping across iron and getting the blade to extend (almost dangerously), eren’s features fall.

not upset, but there’s certain intentness in it. ]

It comes naturally to you. [ being so . . . careful. or perhaps, caring was the word. he’s been checking in on lex and taking care of her his own way, but she’s awfully independent. eren has to be the one to hound her to go see a mechanic and fix those wires popping out of her face, most likely, but . . . if it weren’t for any of that, or even his own instinctual socialization, he’d be a loner out of circumstance. don’t get close to people because that’s not your job or what you’re here for, you know? hell, he’s realized he’s being a shitty bond for both of his and needs to fix it. ] Guess I’ve always been, [ he looks for the word, then shrugs. ] more selfish.

[ he’s both glad and upset about that, which is weird to feel at once, but! it is what it is. ]

How’s your Bonded doing?

[ he knows, more or less, who was taken and who wasn’t, even if they don’t talk. ]

[thisisamazing]

[Vastly different priorities. Maybe Hiccup could be considered complacent, but he's had some things happen that have made him... less in a hurry to leave. Not that he wants to stay forever, but he also isn't so eager to cut it short. He steps aside deftly as Eren extends the sword blade, without a thought.]

My role was set when I was born. It's how I was raised. [Hiccup doesn't judge Eren for that; they're very different, the two of them. He shrugs.] "A Chief protects his own." That's what my dad always said. I'm nobody's Chief here, but- my friends, my partner. They're my own, for at least as long as I'm here.

[A little more warmth comes to his expression when he asks about Newt, and the corners of his lips twitch up.] Newt's doing better. Not 100% maybe, but we're both... doing better. [And there's definitely something there that he isn't quite saying - something good, that makes his eyes shine and his body temperature rise a little with his innate fire magic.]

[usurpers]

[ if anything, being told the latter gets eren’s smile to soften like marshmallows with understanding. when he was born, he could relate. although he won’t say it this time, he does remember: everything eren had been was set since the day he was born: he was free, and that was his throne to man. his life hadn’t been all like this, but it did lead to a rather lonely end. lonely, but perhaps— satisfactory.

there are some more pressing matters though, something eren can catch and assimilate nowadays. the twinkle in falco’s eyes when he spoke of gabi. when his father fell for dina, and then, later in life, for carla. ]

That good, huh.

[ he’s definitely going to push. it’s what friends do. ]

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup flushes, the tips of his ears turning red with embarrassment. Or heat. His temperature tends to be a couple degrees higher these days than a regular witch thanks to his proficiencies, and it rises another degree or so when he blushes.]

Yeah, that- things are pretty good. With us. [They haven't really discussed how or if they want to tell anyone that they're together, but Hiccup is bad at lying and also bad at keeping good things completely to himself. It's really hard for him not to be just glowing in his praise of his Bonded.]

Oh, I uh, I moved into the Phoenix Tear at the end of last month. So- if I'm not out at the forge, I'm- you know, probably there. If you have to find me for anything. [Smooth subject change.]

[usurpers]

[ as an equal flusher when he becomes embarrassed (especially the ears, the god damn ears always have eren away when he lied or did something awfully humiliating), the heat around them was rising in a way that eren could point out like one of those . . . people who scream when you’ve turned the ac down one degree because they know they can feel it. the second blade shortens, and gets dropped into the dragon’s second pocket, as he shakes his head and spreads his smile wider.

you are not smooth. but eren can appreciate something like this being born, even if he was far from emotionally capable. hah.

he won’t torture him too much. ]

I have a friend at the Phoenix Tear. [ a faun!!!! a faun friend. eren’s hand claps on the other’s shoulder, and it’s— gentle. hiccup is way too soft. ] I’ll see you there, then?

[thisisamazing]

[Bless you Eren. This is all still pretty new to him. He hasn't had a 'new' relationship for- years. Actual years. He and Newt are kind of muddling through things together, but whatever's going on, he's very obviously happy with it.

Even with a gentle clap on the shoulder he still kind of stumbles a little. Balance. It's not always his friend. A cough.]

Yeah? Who is it? [He's curious because he's not aware of anybody else living there at the moment.]

[usurpers]

[ you need to eat hiccup look at your sticks. ]

Judar. [ but maybe . . . he has left and eren doesn’t even know!!! ] I don’t know about now, but he mentioned it a while back.

[thisisamazing]

[Wow rude his sticks are fine. He eats plenty!]

Oh- the, uh- the Faun? [Right. They had one awkward meeting where Hiccup helped to cart him out of the Rathmores' basement.] I don't think he's staying there anymore. He said he moved out a little while before the- the whole... incident. [The one that he doesn't want to talk about in very many words because it was Bad.]

[usurpers]

[ eren helped haul him out too but rp is not bound to simple linear timing!! at the lack of naming the actual incident, eren stares for a moment, browns almost furrowed as if he were thinking and thinking and— ]

—The Rathmore Incident. [ he’s assuming! the words don’t bite, hiccup. ] I’ll have to go find him, ] he points, before he actually does begin to turn ] but that doesn’t mean I won’t visit you guys.

[ for some reason, it almost sounds threatening?! or maybe it’s just eren being imposing. ]