Event Log: August, Lunasa Celebration

[faileas]

Event Log: Aguril, Lùnasa Celebration

Lùnasa From dusk of Aguril 1st to the dusk of Aguril 3rd, Aefenglom celebrates something fairly special: Lùnasa. Traditionally, Lùnasa celebrates all kinds of traditional marriages sanctioned by Parliament, generally of the arranged kind, and handfastings, a ceremony based more on love and how long it lasts. The Coven's Bonds err on this side of things, though some Witches do have official spouses - Miss Nessie and Mhairi, and Theodore and Sowilo, are examples of this, though not everyone marries their Bonded, either. Many of them are made during this festival, prompting the city to dress for the occasion just in case they find themselves in the middle of a ceremony, and just as many of them are formally renewed. Like during Litha, shops offer lovemaking potions, but only to those renewing vows or taking them; smaller fireworks, like sparklers and fountains, are also a common sight. Lùnasa is also home to the city's largest fashion show, showcasing fun and upcoming trends in the city. No experience is required to sign up to show off designs or to model them, and hundreds of tailors and needlework experts come together to quickly make dreams into reality for the end of the festival, when the show happens in genuine. The clothing is often wild and sorted into three categories: children, where those 14 and younger can submit their designs and model them as well; popular, where those 15 and older can do the same to try and vie for the judges' vote on what's in and what's out; and bonding, where all ages aspire to modify and make personal the traditional garbs of marriage and handfasting.

I. Poppin' Parties With Lùnasa beating bright from day one, there's already a need for celebrations and celebrators alike across the city! Citizens are dressed to the nines just in case the occasion calls for it (and, in true spirit, it usually does) and anything that seems worth celebrating, be it the holiday's weddings and bonding ceremonies or something else, is absolutely celebrated with appropriate noise and fanfare! If you're in a good mood, they are too–– And if you're not, well. All it takes is a wildin' party to bring the mood back up! That means you, yes you, and you and you are all invited! Maybe if you smile a bit and have a good time they'll let you go, but others be prepared to be part of a comedy routine, sung around as you're swung around, and to be cuddled by various furry creatures who're more than happy to be pet and scritched all you'd like. Turn that frown upside down, this is a joyous occasion! They're taking willing volunteers too, of course, as the more the merrier, so whether you're the harasser or harassed it's sure to be a ball! Perhaps you can even earn some tips by joining in to these impromptu parties as needed. It's considered good luck to have as many people as possible celebrating your marriage or Bonding around this time of year, and several natives want to encourage participation in their own little celebrations.

II. Say Yes To The Dress Some of the fashion shows that pop up around the city during and after Lunasa have taken on a new, interesting bent. With many of them having large categories for wedding and handfasting wear anyway, some groups have gone the full mile and set up "mock marriages" to show off a variety of themed outfits or collections all at once. Appropriate wedding guest attire, dresses and suits for brides and grooms, designer robes for those who want to be a little extra with their Bonding ceremonies, they're showing them all, in a variety of patterns and eye-catching colors, from the simple to the overly-embellished. It's not unusual to stumble into one of these 'show' weddings, which usually have the officiant talking about the merits of the collection of clothes and their designer, rather than the usual vows and the like. It's also not unusual to get roped into one of these mock weddings if you aren't careful! Watch out you're not grabbed off the street and manhandled nicely into a changing tent with an array of outfits, and told to play a bride or a groom or some other role at a traditional wedding. At least they're happy to let you keep the clothes you modeled when you're done! The biggest trend this year is a special fabric that magically fits itself to the wearer, draping and tucking in and falling just right, no matter how tall or short you are, no matter if you're human or have pesky Monster parts getting in the way. Most designers are using this fabric now, dyed in a rainbow of colors and embroidered with a whole catalogue of patterns. It means any outfit you get thrust into in the name of impromptu modeling will fit you perfectly, at least. Some designers may also take requests and throw something together at the last minute that's more to your style! Thanks to efforts last month, though, many of the fashion designers are currently really into shoulder-pads and glitter, so maybe keep an eye out that they don't take any liberties with your request... Even if you aren't in the wedding spirit (come on, at least pretend), Lunasa is a good time to fill your closet with the latest and best, so make sure to take advantage!

III. Red-String Strung Along With love in the air, a gaggle of single Witches at the Coven decided it's high time they stop being single! The group of them managed to cast a Red String spell together to find their true loves, wherever they may be - but with the Sisters full in the sky during much of Lunasa, they vastly overestimated the amount of power needed, spreading the effects of their spell city-wide and skewing the results. In such a large area, the accuracy of this Red String spell... may be called into question. A Red String spell, often used by silly Witches searching for their True Love, does exactly that: it causes a softly glowing, semi-tangible red string to appear, tied from your finger to the finger of someone else. The string can be felt by the other party when tugged on, but otherwise will be unobtrusive in the day to day. While normally this spell is only visible to the user and the person their string is tied to, with the spell going a bit out of control, these strings can be seen by everyone, creating quite a chaotic sight in the streets. Luckily, only the strings you yourself are tied to will be tangible. Yes, strings. Another malfunction of the miscast! It's possible for one person to have multiple strings tied to their fingers at once, tying them to multiple people, which is certainly not the norm! What in Geardagas could that mean? Which one is your true love, if any of them? If you wish to make your string disappear, the only way is to track the other person down and state your feelings for them - even if those feelings are only "you're a stranger to me", or "you're just my good friend". Once a mutual admission of feelings has occurred, the string tying the two together will dissolve into a lovely little show of red sparkles. Sadly or not, this isn't necessarily the end, because you might find another string, tied to another person, forming on your finger at any point! Or maybe you're one of those who never find a string tied to their finger; some may look at you with pity in that case, thinking you utterly alone in the world. Regardless, the effects of the spell fade completely one week after Lunasa ends, and any remaining strings will disappear by that point. Your character can have their red string broken and reformed as many times as you'd like, with as many people as you'd like, and it's possible to have multiple strings at once. They'll all disappear when the enchantment fades in a week, but you can play with it as much as you want until then.

Welcome to August's holiday log for Lunasa! As always, please direct your questions here! And as a reminder, this will be the only mod-posted event log this month, as the next events this month are all very exciting player plots that we're happy to give a chance to shine!

Comments

[trost]

Fine. At least this shouldn't last so long. [ He has to focus on the fancy suit he's bringing home and not on the absurdity of being in a wedding photo with Eren, of all people. All they want are pictures, so it doesn't look like he has to say any serious vows, at least.

How do vows even go? It's not like he gets invited to many (any) weddings. ]

I, Jean Kirstein, promise to hate this asshole for the rest of my life.

[usurpers]

[ maybe eren has lived a wedding . . . as his dad . . . maybe? the world will never know for sure, and eren doesn't exactly facilitate. jean is such a fuckin tsundere but what other way would it go? no other way. any other way would be blasphemy. the dragon drags out a sigh and then: ]

With vows like that you might as well end me.

[ said so . . . so flatly. ]

[trost]

It's tempting sometimes. [ The tsundere song and dance continues. The flash of cameras are irritating his vision, and all that is doing is heightening his annoyance at the situation. He doesn't expect those pictures to be very romantic at all. In fact, he doesn't know how two people can look any less like they want to be married. ]

Well? Say your damned vows, "husband". [ If he has to do it, so does Eren. Around them, the organizers clamor, urging them to make more of a romantic impression. "The smoulder and tension are perfect, but show us more of that intimacy! Hold each other, if you must!" ]

[usurpers]

[ intimacy, huh. there’s nothing more intimate than holding hands and a game of gay chicken, a younger eren would eventually say to spite jean— but he doesn’t, here. the physical stretch of it was an easy one for the dragon, pausing, staring, rolling his shoulders then reaching from underneath the other’s palm to grasp his fingers. there. the great smoulder earns a gasp from somewhere close behind lens. ]

I promise [ to give you a peaceful life, pay more attention to you, be a better friend, ] to keep being that asshole.

[ nailed it, with a deep, serious, well meaning touch that accidentally didn’t seem irked at all. he tried, but in the end and when he had already started to think about it— he couldn’t anymore.

sorry, jean. this ain’t gay chicken anymore. ]

[trost]

[ Wait. What is this. The words coming out of Eren's mouth aren't particularly offensive to his sensibilities (very safe and normal for them, in fact), but the whole atmosphere is off. His hand is being taken, and it's not the rough hold one would expect - he's not being yanked anywhere by the wrist, or halted forcefully from doing something. Eren's just holding his hand.

It's weird now. Jean's face starts to redden in that familiar fluster, scrunching into a frown as he tries to understand why the whole vibe of their interaction has suddenly turned so strange. Eren's hand, gripping onto his fingers, are soft, and this sort of treatment from Eren of all people is difficult to tolerate. What is all this? Just like that stupid time Eren dropped that bomb on them on those railroad tracks. It had Jean feeling soft inside for his friend and that's why he was yelling later, because that's just not allowed.

Eyes barely able to maintain contact, face red and frowning yet not protesting the hand in his, Jean has a look that most would call 'bashful'. Of course, if anyone ever called him that, he would riot. His voice is more hesitant now. ]

What are you doing ... [ Obviously, Eren is doing as he's told, but still??? ]

(1/2)

[usurpers]

Telling the truth.

[ message received and all, eren’s about to let jean’s hand slip away from his before their high priest announces, all as the pictures continue to be snapped (they love it, by the way, the witch blushing and all): you may now kiss your beloved.

jean was no queen but eren inhales, tip his head back in slight preparation (augh), but a lack of true resistance as he bent down just enough, took the hand to his lips and waited for a few clicks and flashes to go by, was probably . . . questionable. ]

(2/2)

[usurpers]

[ jean’s hand is released with a slight snap, eren straightens, and— he’s fucking done. it’s just his heat season influence and perhaps it’s best not to let it show up more than necessary. with jean, it shouldn’t be showing up at all.

no matter how fuzzy this is and how he’s craving it sooooo time to back the fuck out. ]

Enjoy your suit.