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

[civicbooty]

[ He brings his other hand up to mirror the first, holding Francel where he is, looking keenly at him. ]

I'll not sit here alone. [ His voice is gentle, but not enough to invite argument. ] No one here is accusing you of doing nothing well but yourself.

[ For emphasis, perhaps foolishly, he brings one hand up to cup Francel's cheek.

He wouldn't like for their positions to be reversed — being a witch is too expedient to give up — but Francel, he thinks, would have dealt with it much more easily, and he would have done the same, if he'd been the dragon.

He lets go, fingertips sliding along Francel's skin, and turns to the table. He picks up his chair and sets it down next to Francel's rather than across from it, and begins to shuffle the dishes to accommodate the change. ]

[haillenarte]

[francel's heart is all in pieces, glass shards in mismatched shapes and colors; a strange mixture of misery and merriment seizes him. on the one hand, he is terrified, half-convinced that he has to disappear. on the other, aymeric has held him, touched him, and that — that —

why does that make him feel so happy? even haurchefant never touched his face so tenderly...

francel sinks into a chair, cradling his horns in his palms, his head held low. he might not be entirely aware of it, but his wings, still only half-formed, curve around him protectively. he looks as though he is trying to hide in himself. the effect might be more charming if his wings were not so scraggly and skeletal.

his thoughts are jumbled, twisted. he didn't want this. he hadn't wanted things to turn out this way — him crying, aymeric dispassionately patient, as always. he hadn't been arrogant enough to expect anything like love, or praise. but he'd wanted aymeric to be happy, to be pleased to find an elegant ishgardian dinner waiting for him in this house they've been forced to call their home, and — and maybe that was francel's first mistake.

the only thing he can think to say is this, miserably:]

...I made... meringues.

[he laughs mirthlessly; it's punctuated by a hiccup.]

I don't know why. You probably don't even like them.

[civicbooty]

I do like them.

[ He props his chin in his hand, elbow resting on the edge of the table, and makes no attempt to hide his amusement. It's been a month, and Francel has already, from somewhere, learned these mannerisms — gripping his horns, the timid motion of his wings. ]

I like all of this.

[ Ah, he thinks — this is what was missing.

Leaning inches too far over the corner of the table, so pointedly close that Francel will almost have to look up, he lays a warm, faintly callused hand on his arm. ]

Thank you.

[haillenarte]

[indeed, if aymeric were further away, francel would attempt to ignore him — but his face is so close that francel must look up. the young lord's eyes gleam with tears, glossy and glimmering in the flickering candlelight.]

...You needn't lie to me...

[his gaze drops. he seems marginally calmer now, however, with his shoulders stooped and his wings trying to shield his heart from further hurts — only moments earlier, he might well have worked himself into a panicked frenzy.]

You needn't... say these things for my sake. It's all right. All of this was wasted effort. You would have been happier if I'd done something else...

[civicbooty]

Oh?

[ He straightens again, starts to cut into the contents of his plate as if to disprove all of it at once, casting Francel a cajoling smile. ]

Are you the arbiter of my tastes? Shall I call you Your Excellency? Where do I prefer to sleep tonight, Your Excellency?

[ It's a deliberate and careful: the levity in it is calculated; and the intonation falls just enough to make it serious.

It's a gamble, but it's brought Francel out of his moods before. ]

[haillenarte]

[francel scowls, but he colors faintly, too, which is generally a good sign, or at least a sign that he has come out of the bottomless pit of his own self-hatred. he tugs awkwardly at the hem of his sheet-shirt, trying to get it to fall into his lap just right.]

S-Stop that at once! I'm no Excellency!

[but his wings fall back by some ilms, and he looks as though he's come out of hiding in plain sight.]

[civicbooty]

Are you not? [ Aymeric raises his eyebrows merrily. ]

Who is to tell me what I like, and what I do not, and what might have made me happier? Surely I myself cannot make that determination; only you can make it for me.

[haillenarte]

That's not what I meant...!

[francel sounds as though he is on the verge of tears again, but he wipes his face cleanly enough, blinking blearily at aymeric with big watery eyes after he does so. he tries again to speak with some measure of dignity, though it's hard to seem dignified when one is forced to breathe by sniffling.]

I meant... that...

[his wings crumple.]

I... I wanted this to make you smile, but... it didn't, not at all, and... if I hadn't been so stupid I wouldn't have wasted all that time...

[civicbooty]

[ I wanted this to make you smile, he says, and Aymeric finally looks away, setting down his fork. I wanted you to be someone who would smile for this would have been more precise. I wanted you to be someone else would have gone straight to the point.

He doesn't know what Haurchefant would have done. Smiled, evidently. ]

You give yourself too little credit, Francel. Continuously, day after day, not only in this.

[haillenarte]

[francel doesn't respond, not immediately. it's not his first time hearing this; stephannot and sylvaintel often said similar things. he wishes they were here now. all of a sudden, he remembers how much easier it was to be a better person when there were people who relied on him to be so.

he rests his palm against his forehead. he feels too hot.]

...I'm sorry.

[aymeric doesn't need to say what he is thinking to be understood; francel knows his mistakes even if he does not know himself.]

[civicbooty]

[ He shakes his head, gives the response Francel probably expects of him, by now: ]

You've done no wrong.

[ He picks up his fork again, otherwise silent. Showering Francel in affirmations of his worth now would only sound disingenuous. ]

[haillenarte]

[only a few days prior, francel would have done anything to hear aymeric say these exact words. he nearly begged aymeric to say it, say that he had done no wrong — and aymeric had not precisely done it, then, but what he said had been enough. now aymeric says it, word for word, but the idea sits hollow in francel's heart — everything he wanted, and not how he wanted it.

he was stupid. he was stupid to think that this was kindness.

laughable, to have been so arrogant.]

...I was foolish enough to think that was true.

[he wipes the last of his tears from his face, then rises from his seat. aymeric said that he would not sit and eat alone, but francel can't eat, not with the taste of fresh self-hatred bitter in his mouth.]

Cover the dishes when you have finished, please. It will keep for one more day.