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

[hegemonwings]

... I think I prefer that to the alternative. [ she lets out a breath, fussing slightly at her hair. ] I'm only myself because of the choices that I've made. I've met Claude's Professor, and I saw almost nothing of myself in him.

[ does it sting for petra to say she's a stranger? yes, obviously. her eagles were her family. but as far as she's concerned, petra's professor is someone else in all of the ways that matter. ]

[islandhuntress]

You... how were you meeting Claude's professor? [She hadn't had too many conversations with Claude, but she knows that they share a similar path. For both of them, Petra ends up fighting alongside the Golden Deer.]

Him? Claude's professor is a man? [So Claude was not the Claude she knew.]

And... yes, I am agreeing. Being strangers has- is better than... than other things.

[hegemonwings]

[ she nods to confirm the question, but— ] I met him during that... strangeness in Harpstring Moon, when Claude first appeared here.

[ though... she finally looks towards petra again. ]

I've been unfair to you in the past. Even... almost cruel, at moments. And I'm sorry for that. It isn't even that you chose the Deer—though I believe that was a mistake—or that you stood against the Empire. It's... [ she sighs. ]

You and a number of the others are... proof of worlds where I made the wrong decision, and changed the world for what I believe to be the worse. And I find that idea very difficult and painful to face, for... so many reasons. [ focus on the vague political terms of it. focus on the big picture. there are deeply personal reasons, a vast array, that byleth is reluctant to share in detail. ] And I find it much harder to cope with you than, say, Felix or Lorenz, because... the Petra I knew was one of my Eagles from the beginning.

She was family.

[islandhuntress]

Oh... I was not knowing a different Byleth was here... That must have had strangeness for you.

[Petra tilts her head slightly, thinking back through their conversations. She really wouldn't consider anything Byleth had said or done to be cruel, just... callous. Cold. For Petra, it helped. It made it starkly obvious that this woman was not the professor she knew.

Her brow furrows as Byleth continues.]

Please. Do not be calling my choices, my life, a mistake. I am not less than your Petra, I have only made different choices. The others are not less than the people you are knowing. We are not living mistakes. We are not wrong, we are only having difference.

[Her eyes narrow.]

Made the wrong decision? You are having great confidence that our different paths are because of you.

I am thinking choosing war is the wrong decision. And if you were having any chance to be avoiding it, that is the decision you should have been making. The Byleth I am knowing did not choose war, war was forced on us. And if you were convincing the Petra you are knowing to be fighting a war for you... I am feeling sadness for her.

[hegemonwings]

Edelgard would have made her move with or without me. [ and if edelgard hadn't started the war, she feels damn confident that claude would have. but that isn't important. ] I couldn't... I would not abandon her when she needed me most. Not after everything. And I didn't convince Petra of anything. She chose to follow Edelgard, believing it was the best way for Brigid. I fought alongside her to repel the Church and the Kingdom from Brigid when they tried to invade. While your Professor asked you to leave the Eagles to join the Deer.

[ she lets out a breath. ]

I don't like being confident about this. But the crux of where all of our histories split, where the war diverges besides the details, is which house I chose. Which state I fought for. You aren't wrong... the fault is with my other selves. And I don't... [ her voice softens, as she crosses her arms in a defensive posture. she feels all too vulnerable right now, and it's... uncomfortable.

this isn't egotism, it's a recognition of the situation. she hates it. ]

I can't stomach the thought of staying as that unfeeling, heartless doll that Seiros wanted. Of losing myself to the power that was forced upon me. That idea scares me more than anything.

[islandhuntress]

[Petra crosses her arms but doesn't argue further in regards to Edelgard. It's an unknown to her but she can't help but believe someone, especially someone as important as Byleth, could have potentially guided Edelgard in a direction that would have meant less innocent bloodshed and ruin.

Petra shakes her head.] You do not need to be speaking to be convincing. War has no benefit to me. But I believe you are correct when you are saying that she was choosing what she thought was best for Brigid. And with no option but joining Edelgard or leaving and perhaps being seen as a spy, I am sure she would be choosing Edelgard.

[She shakes her head again.] Do not speak of my professor. I was showing interest in her class. She was only asking the question I was wanting to be asked.

Stop! There is no 'fault'! The other Byleths did not choose wrongly and it is insulting that you are saying as much. The professor I am knowing is not unfeeling. Or heartless. When you were speaking to Claude's professor, was he that way?

[hegemonwings]

[ she didn't grow more upset until petra started talking as if she's somehow wrong to feel this way about something that—to her mind—is solely her own business. about courses her own life might have taken. byleth moves away slightly, but doesn't make to leave, even with the string having dissolved. there's some anger here, but mostly she's just... saddened. she was serious when she said how much this concept upsets her, and petra's apparent refusal to understand isn't helping.

claude's professor had struck her as kind, but empty. ]

The insult is to myself and my choices in another life, Petra! Do not deny me that, I have every right. I know myself, and I know what I was. A monster, a demon whose stone heart tried to smother all feeling. Just what Seiros intended, the perfect vessel for her mother.

[ she clenches her eyes shut, taking deep breaths before she resumes, trying to calm herself. still, her voice is... shaky. byleth feels a tightness in her chest and throat, tears beginning to prick at the corner of her eyes. she looks in petra's general direction, but she can't quite bring herself to face her. ]

Sothis urged me to carve my own path, and all these other Byleths have done is follow one placed before them. There was little clarity or feeling when we came to the Monastery, the Ashen Demon was nothing but a blade. I chose my humanity and fought with everything I am to take it back. In any scenario I can imagine, it is lost to them, and it can only end with... with the death of the person who I love most. With all that I have struggled, bled and killed for turning to ash.

[islandhuntress]

I think I am having agreement with Hubert now... That we are all different people. We are both strangers to each other. The Byleth I am knowing is not you. At all. So... No. You cannot be saying that she was a mistake. That her choices are a mistake. You are not having that right over her. You are having happiness with your choices. And... I cannot have certainty but she was seeming to have happiness also.

[Petra is quiet for a moment. She knows the woman is bearing her soul but she still can't simply agree.]

... And I am having happiness she was making the choices she made.

You can have your own thoughts on that but please... do not be speaking to me like my world is a mistake. If you are not able... then I am not wanting to speak to you further. I am not wanting to speak to someone who is thinking I am... a result of a mistake.

[hegemonwings]

[ she shakes her head, at last. ]

I think that's true to an extent. [ being not quite the same people. even if she doesn't agree that it's as simple as petra is making it sound. ] But I don't mean to suggest... [ she draws a breath, rubbing a hand over the ridge of her brow. nope, trying again.

she finally makes eye contact with petra again. ]

I'm sorry for my careless words. It wasn't my intention to insult you today. I don't wish to sever ties, Petra... really, I would like the opposite. I can't change how I feel about my other self's path, but... what I had hoped to say with all of this is that I want to set that aside. I've been wrong to let those feelings affect the way I've treated you.

I would like to get to know you as you are.

[islandhuntress]

You do not mean to suggest what?

[She looks at the woman warily, even as Byleth attempts to move on. Not so much crossing her arms as simply hugging herself, she keeps her coils situated around her protectively.]

You were starting this talk with an apology also... Apologies are having emptiness if you are quickly doing what you are apologizing for again.

I am not having certainty. I have had understanding of everyone else... even Edelgard. I am having understanding of why they were doing what they did, what they were thinking... even if I am not always having agreement. And it is feeling like they are understanding me. Even if our feelings of one another's choices are complicated.

I am having respect for them because they were doing what they thought was right for them. And it is feeling like they are having respect for me, for my choices, even if they are not agreeing with them.

It is feeling like you are not. You are not having understanding or respect.

[hegemonwings]

I'm... [ she lets out a breath. ]

My problem is not with your choices. It never has been. I understand why you've chosen your path, I simply—I have only been trying to explain— [ byleth shakes her head.

she can't understand petra's professor's choices. her own choices, in another life. but petra is refusing any train of thought that involves that woman, and acts as if byleth has no right to be upset over notions relating to her own life that she finds existentially horrific.

she'll try one last time. ] ... I was projecting my own anxieties onto you, before, and that's where my behavior came from. I know that you have done what you feel is best for your people and your home, and I do respect that. Despite the impression I may have given.

[ she begins to move to leave. ]

For whatever any of that is worth to you.

[islandhuntress]

Can you have respect and understanding of choices that you are also calling a mistake? [Petra doesn't seem to be asking Byleth so much as quietly posing the question to the universe.

None of this sat right with her.

She certainly doesn't make any attempt at keeping Byleth from walking away, though being alone doesn't bring her a feeling of relief, only her own troubled thoughts.]