event pt 1 | full moon & litha

[moustre]

Event Log: June, A Midsummer Night's Dream

I. IUNERIL 17TH - THE FULL MOONS The days leading up to the full moons are the same as last month: Monsters are a little itchier and a little easier to agitate, whether they mean to be or not, which becomes increasingly noticeable the day before the full moons. But of particular note is that this may be the second full moons that some arrivals have experienced, and with that comes greater risks, greater agitation, and further reminders to take care of themselves. Weather fair, despite the worries of the city, Monsters will find that the Sisters aren't blocked away by clouds this night. The moons cast their light down on the city, and the pull is strong for even the veteran natives that call the city home. The Coven is offering potions and charms, in an attempt to encourage those without a Bond to ensure that they will be able to keep their wits about them throughout the entire stretch of the Sisters' time in the sky at their fullest. They're always allowed to reject the offer, but it's with a warning: if they let their newfound instincts overtake them, then they might find themselves back in the Coven under worse conditions. But the Sisters rise framed in stark red skies, even as evening falls across Aefenglom, much to the discontent of the city. Streets that are rarely dim are lit up even moreso, now, in the face of this omen, lanterns and candles leading all the way to the Harbor District. Their colors flicker with shades of blue, green, violet - anything to offset the red. Boats that come and go along the river also carry a lantern or two with the same intent, and ships in the harbor are decorated with magical faerylights, strung across hulls, masts, the works. There's no place in the Harbor District untouched by light, with nary a sign of red in the midst of their goods. Tensions are already high, between the humans and Monsters of Aefenglom. It's especially noticeable on this night: full moons already cause everyone to be a little jumpy, but with the red tidings for Litha, they're more on edge than ever. Some blame the new arrivals, though never directly to their face, especially when they don't know who, or what, someone might be. It's always a there-and-gone whisper, it seems like. Gossip. Distrust. Unease. It doesn't lend well to the full moons, but there are still those that want to help. Many will notice that there's already activities and decorations up for Litha, some of them still under construction despite the fast approaching festival. The most notable of all are the hedge mazes that have been constructed, both by hand and with magic to encourage their growth. Behind the festival organizers' backs, a group of people - both man and beast - are offering Monsters a chance to burn off some of their energy by embracing their instincts in a more... constructive manner, with native Witches and Monsters alike prepared to intervene if things get a little too violent. In a sort of mockery of Litha's traditions, they're partnering Monsters up with a willing participant to run the mazes, with a variety of options that they will list. The partner - or partners, if there is a party looking to go in together - can be either Witch or Monster, and the people organizing this won't judge as they inform the interested individuals of their options: a. A-HUNTING WE WILL GO, allowing the Monster to either hunt a small livestock or game animal (a piglet, fowls, rabbits, the like) or to hunt down their partner through the maze they've chosen. This need not end violently, and can become more of a game of hide and seek meets tag. b. EVERYBODY WAS FIGHTING, where one maze in particular has been devoted to a makeshift fight ring at the very heart of it. The organizers hope, somewhat, that by making the Monster(s) in question run the maze first they'll be a little tired out already when reaching the ring. c. UNDER THE PALE MOONLIGHT, because instincts don't always call for violence, the organizers offer a more intimate experience here, whether it's sexual or nonsexual. Maybe you just want a good cuddle..? The organizers emphasize the idea of consent, and will not force anyone against their will into the hedge mazes, no matter which one it is. They also want to make sure that they will step in to help if called upon, in case someone gets a little too overeager. Witches looking to use magic this night will, peculiarly, find that their magic is a little less... cooperative. Many of the Coven Witches speak of how they specifically wait to cast powerful spells on the night of the full moons, to ensure that they have the greatest chances of success with the help of the Sisters. However, Witches of the new arrival persuasion are much weaker on full moons. Their magic is still there, and they can still draw upon it for spells, but they'll have to put greater effort if they want to cast a spell with any significant amount of power. Overexerting oneself while doing this is entirely possible, so it's best to try and find some sort of balance, lest you find yourself exhausted and without a means to defend yourself. We ask that any and all NSFW threads be marked accordingly, or otherwise moved to a locked post on the log community or an entry/inbox on a character journal. Remember to please be excellent to each other, and respect all limits that your threadmates might have, if you explore the more sexual or violent aspects of the offered prompts. If things get OOCly out of hand, please let us know; if things get ICly out of hand, please let Nessie and Mhairi know.

II. LITHA - IUNERIL 21ST TO 23RD Despite what chaos there might have been on the night of the full moons, and the subsequent day after as things began to calm, Litha still arrives as scheduled on Iuneril 21st, as the sun begins to set. The summer solstice reaches its peak the following night, and the festivities wind down the third dusk. While certainly still lively, it isn't as completely festive as Boaltinn, most certainly because of the red skies, and the natives are obviously trying to make the best they can of what they perceive as a poor situation. To say that the natives are on edge would certainly be an understatement. Whatever happened in those hedge mazes is untraceable, now, and everything looks pristine. Faerylights decorate every awning, overhang, and eave, magical and twinkling with colors to offset the red skies. There are no bonfires, this go around, but much like the fires it seems that the lights all lead to the primary area of celebration: in contrast to Boaltinn, Litha is celebrated in the Entertainment, Shopping, and Harbor Districts. Doors to businesses are wide open (with many even having large signs indicating VAMPIRES WELCOME HERE - those that don't make a clear statement), and stalls offering wares and foods and activities alike are set up at nearly every corner alongside preestablished businesses in the market. The harbor is especially lively, with many sailors coming and going as they prepare for setting sail. While ships themselves are always coming and going in the port, Litha is an important time for the more longterm voyages and those meant to carry some significance, and each ship departing is bid farewell with equal fanfare. Fireworks and celebration that is, at least in some part, genuine, but does carry a certain level of enthusiasm that borders on force of will. a. ASKING FOR A LITTLE COMPANY Though all businesses in the Entertainment District open their doors for the festivals of Aefenglom, the brothels of the city in particular are offering a warm welcome this Litha to anyone who might be interested in spending some time with someone - or, multiple someones. They have open rooms for mingling, lounges with floor pillows and low tables where customers can partake in spiced and unspiced drinks alike, where the unspiced are lacking in the potions and near-aphrodisiacs of the spiced drinks. Private rooms are also available for those seeking a more... intimate experience, however one may take that to mean. The brothel workers are more than happy to attend to any interested parties, but also aren't against randomly pairing individuals up, based on their specifications. And, after a little misunderstanding regarding their classes, the Head Madame of the guild has decided that they will be offering chances for individuals to perform at their establishments. She was rather charmed by the mishap, bless your souls, as were the rest of the guild, so the new arrivals have endeared themselves to the brothel workers. Dances, conversation, assorted busking - whatever skills that their quest-takers learned, whether it be of the more sexual nature or not, they'll provide whatever they might need to put on a show and attract or entertain clientele. b. I'M WISHING FOR THE ONE I LOVE Anyone interested in making their way into the Shopping District will find just as many open doors, as well as numerous stalls interspersed where they weren't before. Vendors hawking their wares and goods like always call out with Litha specials, and businesses set up temporary stalls to draw attention to themselves, with promise of greater bargains and products to be found at their main establishment. There are many that sell spiced foods and drinks, with varying degrees of strength depending on how one wants to feel. Others are selling candles and lanterns, offering a magitech version of a lighter at a steal, depending on how much you purchase otherwise. The largest stalls, and the biggest displays at storefronts, are the flowers though. Every single flower shop in Aefenglom has come out full force, practically painting the district in a myriad of non-red colors as they put their stock on full display. They offer deals for those who wish to buy bouquets for a sweetheart or someone they admire, as well as anyone wanting to make flower crowns for those they care for. Each of the seven largest shops are also handing out a single flower for those partaking in festivities to place under their pillow to dream of future partners, the flower they're typically most well known for; this varies from shop to shop, but the up and coming Rose Bush certainly isn't going to let superstition stop them, and are handing out red roses. It's a bold move, but one that causes the tizzy that they were intending it to. And if one is feeling particularly whimsical, they can go to any well at night, looking into the depths in a bid to see their future spouse and true love within. Perhaps making an offering of a flower would bring good luck..? Just don't linger for too long, as there's a rumor that someone is pushing unfamiliar faces into the well, likely targeting those they think are new arrivals. c. GET LOST WITH ME Though the Harbor District has some bleedover from the Shopping District in terms of festivities, their streets and warehouses are where the most room is available for the hedge mazes. Some are sprawling as they fill the streets and alleys, spilling into the towering buildings that have been empty to load the contents onto waiting ships. They create their own environments, with flowers from the flower shops blooming in the rows and creating archways at entrances and exits. Some are enchanted to seem neverending, although there always is an exit, if one can only figure out the puzzle. Each maze has a different method to its madness, and arrangements that those running them have decided on. (Some faces may seem familiar, to those that encountered them on the full moons; they'll feign otherwise, focused only on the now and refusing to draw attention to any recognition.) Some mazes send in the partners together, randomly selected and tasked with figuring out how to reach the end of the maze together. Others will send the partners in from different ends, with the instructions to find one another, whether in the center of the maze or in its winding path. Another variety offers something reminiscent of the hide and seek meets tag game, tasking one as the hunter and the other as the hunted, a game of pursuit meant to replicate the "playing hard to get" variety of courtship. There's no restrictions on how many times one can enter the maze, as it allows one to forge many bonds - and possibly Bonds - and replicates the process of finding your true love. Or, loves; no one here is going to judge anyone. They certainly won't judge, either, if participants opt to take a swig of something for luck in love before they go in. However, some mazes have been tampered with: rather than opening out into somewhere safe on the street or in a building, they empty out unaware participants into the port itself. Hopefully you know how to swim. Once again, we ask that if any threads take on a NSFW nature that they be marked as such, or otherwise moved to a locked post in the log community or an entry/inbox in a character journal.

Welcome to the event log, part I! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs; take the prompts offered and go wild, go crazy, go stupid, have fun. As ever, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans, let the mods know, and if you have any questions about the log, ask them here!

Comments

iii

[ishisstrength]

You don't know?

[Her voice is light, warm and softly teasing as she scoots a little closer to his side. Justine brushes her shoulder against his and points up to the large black sections of clear sky.]

Look there. [She whispers into his ear.] And wait.

[A few minutes of eager tense silence pass and then a bright explosion of light bursts at the center of the sky.]

[oceanschild]

[Paris sits quietly next to her, watching where she pointed and waiting, wondering what they're looking for. He nearly jumps at the sound of the explosion, having not expected that at all, but soon enough he settles down, watching the lights bursting with color with a sense of wonder.]

Oh... [He's absolutely enraptured by it, his blue eyes wide and trying to track every speck of light.]

[ishisstrength]

[She rests a hand on his shoulder a second before he jumps and smiles as the look of wonder fills his eyes. He's adorable but after a moment she finally looks up at the bursting sparks of flowery light.]

There like flowers, [Justine beings as her fingers slip through his and her head rests on his shoulder.] Bright, blinding and beautiful and before you realize it, gone.

I love fireworks.

[oceanschild]

Mm. They're... really beautiful.

[He watches them quietly for another long moment, watching them spark to life and vanishing just as quickly, before asking.] Are they magic? I've never seen anything like it before.

[ishisstrength]

[Justine gently shakes her head.]

Not magic. It's a reaction though I suppose that the people here might use magic in place of chemicals and gun powder. [She doesn't know the specifics.] I might be able to learn to do that.

If you'd like to see it again.

[Maybe on a smaller scale.]

[oceanschild]

[....Paris is not going to ask more about how that works. He can already tell it's probably a bit complicated.

But he smiles at her, giving her a little nod.]

Mm... i-if you do figure out how, I... think it would be nice. [Because this is nice, sitting together and just watching them go.]

[ishisstrength]

[Justine smiles softly though the expression quickly slips from her lips as her eyes watch the large bursts of brightly colored explosions in the sky. She slides a little closer and moves his hand so that it's sitting comfortably in her lap.]

Then I will, for you.

[She closes her eyes briefly feeling the warmth of him sitting next to her before continuing to stare up at the sky.]

I assume they don't have fireworks in your world? That's a shame. We do where I'm from. Most are for holiday celebrations.

[oceanschild]

[Paris flushes, looking up at the lights.] I'm not sure... we, um, have gunpowder so maybe someone has and it's just not near me? I-I don't know much about the world outside of my village...

[Hell, there was far too much going on even in Paris (the city) for him to get an idea of what life was like there before he had to run.]

[ishisstrength]

Gunpower is all you need. I think other materials make the different colors.

Cobalt would be blue and- [Justine laughs softly.] I really don't know. I suppose I can look it up. I have enough books to do so. [It's an odd urge but she wants to show him the world or what it could be.]

[oceanschild]

[Paris nods, thinking.] ...Maybe nobles have it. I wouldn't know if they did. [And there's a lot of things around here that normally only nobility would have that everyone seems to have access to... it's a little bizarre for him.]

[ishisstrength]

[Justine turns towards him as the bright expanse of sky fades back into darkness. She doesn't know if the fireworks are truly over or if they're setting up for more but she forces her eyes to refocus on Paris, inspecting his features in the darkness.]

Did you ever want to leave your small house by the sea? Have you ever wanted something more be it Noble or just... more than what you knew?

[There is a hint of wonder in her voice, colored by the sweet curiosity that Justine always seemed to carry with her when approaching something new.]

[oceanschild]

[Paris thinks, still watching the fireworks but very clearly considering her words.]

I'm... not sure. I wasn't... very well liked, in the village. [Too much emotion. Too volatile. Too powerful for either of those things to be safe.] B-but... it was by the water. And Maman wouldn't want to move. So... I didn't really think about it too much, until someone asked me if I wanted to go the city.

[ishisstrength]

[She can't imagine people not liking Paris but it'd been similar where she's from. Hated for reasons that have little to do with personality but instead situation.]

Who asked you? Did you go?

[She can't help but be a little curious.]

[oceanschild]

I-it was a traveler. I didn't know him, really, just talked to him when he stayed in the village. But... I did go.

[Maybe that meant he had wanted to go previously, even if he'd never thought about it before. But--]

It, um. It didn't go very well. I wish I'd never gone.

[ishisstrength]

[Justine gently squeezed his hand in what she hopes is a comforting gesture.]

What happened?

If you don't mind telling me.

cw: human trafficking basically

[oceanschild]

It's... [Paris sighs. Looking back on it, he really feels like he should have known better, but...] Someone must have told him about me, about what I am. So he was nice to me and offered to take me to the city, and when we got there he said we were going to meet some friends of his... b-but the next thing I knew they had me in shackles and he was selling me to them. For my blood.

I don't... know what they were, exactly. I guess some kind of a cult? But they were trying to... bind spirits to them. Force them under their control, and I guess... having blood in their ritual that was half spirit made it easier.

cw: human trafficking basically

[ishisstrength]

[Her hand tightens against his as his story takes a dark turn.]

I'm sorry that you had to endure that. [Justine keeps her side pressed affectionately against his but her eyes are focused on the sky. It doesn't seem to matter that the fireworks seem to have stopped.]

It's scary. I know what that's like. I've always- [She sighs.] I am very pretty, more so than most. I know this but it's always been more of a curse than a blessing. Before I was under the protect of the Raith family. I was nearly taken by Bianca. She had wanted me to become one of her whores. It's how she gathers power within the city and blackmail. Someone stepped and saved me but I didn't have the power to keep myself safe then.

[oceanschild]

[Ah... yes, he definitely knows how that is, even if why he was taken is very different from hers. Paris gives her hand a little squeeze.]

I'm glad someone came to help you... Aeto is most of how I managed to escape. [Best ray not-mom.] And... I'm sorry that it almost happened. I-I hope nothing like that happens here.

[Because Justine is very pretty, that definitely hasn't changed.]

[ishisstrength]

[Justine looks over at him, a light confident smile curving her lips.]

It won't happen here, to either of us, because we have people looking out for us as well as each other. I won't sit by if anyone should take you Paris. [She'll even get mr.big bad wizard to help her if he's in need of a rescue.]

[oceanschild]

[Paris smiles, moving a little closer to her.] Mm. I won't let it happen to you either. I promise.

fade to black?

[ishisstrength]

Thank you Paris.

[It's very romantic watching the fireworks together and Justine can't think of anyone else she'd rather share this moment with.]