♥ November Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

November (Malom) Event Log
The flurry of Lasohm turns into the quiet chill of Malom, and fall at last begins to give way to winter. A chill wind runs through the air, and small, sporadic snowfalls begin to occur in the latter half of the month. Clean-up from the chaos of the events from the previous month is in full swing; abandoned communicators are collected, and for the souls who remain, are traded out for more advanced models, along with their belongings. There is undoubtedly a wave of disappointment in town, as there had been an obvious buzz of excitement to see so many extra bodies populating the city. For those who remember, at least… those who had forgotten are left only with a lingering sadness they don't understand, as loved ones from the past vanish from this world and from their lives once more.

Still, life must go on. And for those who remain, there's plenty to be done.

---

❥ PROMPT I: Get on the Hydra's Back

Construction has been in full swing at the arena for some time now in the background, mostly underground, though it's been busy recently as the work in other areas of the city settles down enough that they can focus on one more slice of their old history. If you've been in the area and have wanted to lend a hand, the residents are very grateful! There's been lots of crumbling old pillars to dismantle and move aside, steps and seats to re-pave and clean, electricity to be wired. Progress has been fairly slow but steady, mostly due to it being a low priority overall. Still, they're proud of what they've gradually been able to accomplish.

Finally, around halfway through the month, it is announced that the arena has at least been partially opened to the public, and offworlders are invited to come and try out the mechanisms that the locals have unearthed from the deeper sections of the basement that had been sealed by degradation and some very poorly labeled blueprints. Most of the new construction has been to clear pathways, open up the field, and set up observation areas that are out of the way enough to make it secure for patrons, while still offering a decent view. The arena is still pretty rough around the edges, and not all sections of it are back to 100% working order, but it's functional and safe enough that the locals would like to know what sort of interest it garners as-is, and in the future will budget city resources accordingly. (In other words: if you like it, use it, and they'll make it fancier over time!)

A particular machine beneath the arena has been unearthed and repaired, and the workers have discovered its crown jewel: an enormous collective of nanomachines, tiny interconnecting robots that can be linked via computer to form temporary 3D models of all shapes and sizes. In the past, the primary purpose of these machines was for mental and physical training, and while combat is hardly a common requirement in town, the locals have recognized that many of the residents have a tendency to feel… well, restless. Or bored. Perhaps a relaxed lifestyle ill suits the otherworldy visitors, which they don't understand, but they can understand that it might be frustrating to be dragged from a more adventurous world and trapped in such a silly bubble. Not to mention that certain emergencies (such as the walls breaking or expanding) have made combat necessary a couple of times, so a place to hone one's skill might come in handy later. Thus, the revival of the arena has been on the to-do list for the last few months, but they've run into some bumps along the way, namely getting the darn machinery to function with their modern technology. The nanomachines are astonishingly advanced, but the rest… not so much. They also needed more of the factory to be up and running before they could utilize what the arena had to offer.

What might that be, you ask? Well, in short: the sky and your creativity is (mostly) the limit! Remember the experimental holodeck technology from a few months back? (Bear Hands!) Well, that was the stepping stone to how the nanomachines might work. The holo VR was able to use your requests, both described and imagined, to create all sorts of challenges - monsters to fight, buildings to destroy, etc - but such challenges were mostly digital, and the rooms were too small to really make the most of this technology. The arena is under no such limitations however. Want to fight a stomping Magitek mecha? Or a host of shambling zombies? Or a line of Goombas? Nanomachines have got you covered. They have an impressive level of AI, so while they might not behave like real thinking, breathing creatures, they can still put up an impressive fight. For some beasts, they might even be more challenging than the real thing. Computers can think awfully fast, after all.

If you're not the combative type, you still have options to play around with and exercise your brain. How about a changing labyrinth to solve? A giant Rubix cube? A life-size game of Monopoly to ruin friendships with? The biggest jigsaw puzzle you can imagine…

The locals running the arena only have one request: please do not use magic or weapons that will completely obliterate/vaporize the nanomachines! They are durable little critters, and can take many a heavy hit, and they are designed to collect their fallen comrades, either to repair one another or take them to the re-assembly facility for recycling. However, they can't fix or recycle what no longer exists. So remember the three R's: recycle, reuse, reassemble! Don't reduce into unrecognizable molecules.

❥ PROMPT II: This Might As Well Haven

Things have been very weird around here lately, that much is certainly undeniable. The residents are eager to get everyone back on track and focused on what matters: healing the world and working towards an eventual peaceful existence once more. Restoring the arena has been the latest step in achieving those goals, and in the process has gained the locals access to buried historical records of how it was used in the past, long forgotten festivals and Olympic-style contests, all of which has been food for thought for the governing body of Havenwell who are often trying to come up with new ways to liven the place up and make life a little more bearable for their reluctantly abducted guests.

One of those festivals is announced to occur this month: the Feast of the Winged Lord. Technically it's meant to be a summer festival, but Havenwell already has a handful of seasonal celebrations that they hold near and dear to their synthetic hearts, so instead they've opted to integrate it into an end-of-fall festival to coincide with the re-opening of the arena. Many of the restored architecture heavily features a creature that, if asked, the locals can't quite give a name to; some renditions show it to be a gryphon-like animal, others an enormous dragon that dwarfs any imagery of Rawna, a few show a giant bird clad in flames. The general consensus is that a Winged Lord does feature in certain old texts, but the truth of said tales has become muddled over the centuries. Some cite him to be the creator of all things at their origin point, others dub him a usurper of undeserved power. Most people honestly can't remember anything about him, so they're having a ball making up a bunch of nonsense that may or may not have an ounce of truth to it.

What does the Feast itself entail, you ask? For the most part, it is self-explanatory: there's a lot of food. Decorative display carts are set up in lines along the sides of the arena, in and out, though the majority is outside to avoid interfering with whatever folks happen to be doing with the nanomachines. Meat skewers and fried dumplings, cream-filled pastries, dipped fruits- the food is all manner of strange and spicy finger food recipes uncovered from the old days, measured precisely and quite delicious. A year of trial and error (and lots of feedback, good or bad) has given the locals plenty of experience in how to cook again, despite lacking the ability to eat it themselves. The entire street smells amazing and enticing.

Offworlders who have been around the block long enough may feel wary about eating the food here to avoid strange or uncomfortable effects, but they might be surprised to discover that there are no side effects from the food.

Throughout the Feast, everyone can enjoy several forms of entertainment like...

A Daily Parade
At the end of every festival day, the native robots parade from temple to temple, playing music and carrying holo-images of the different deities - now including the Winged Lord in its various interpretations. The parading robots themselves are dressed up, swapping parts for things like mechanical wings or cat tails or adorning themselves with rainbow sashes or synthetic feathers. Some robots have taken it a step further though and have decided to dress up as some of the offworlders. They would love it if the offworlders themselves would join along with the procession and some might be a little more insistent than others in trying to get characters to dance and follow along with them.

Winged Delights(?)
As the festival ramps up, people might see some of the natives walking about with wings sprouting out of their backs. The wings range from mechanical to animalistic in nature and seem to grow directly out of the metal chassis quite naturally. When asked, the robots will direct people to one of several booths that have large wings projected onto them, and a sign with an amount of Dora. Every booth seems to have different prices from expensive to relatively cheap. Go up to the booths and the owners will offer (for a fee) to give characters a nanotech patch. The patch, when worn against the skin, causes small wings to sprout from their own backs. The wings can be of any design of your choosing, so long as the size is adjusted to be small. These wings remain on and move like a natural part of the body so long as the patch is on, or for 24 hours, after which the nanobots retreat into the patch and go dormant. The patches can be recycled at the booths for recharging and a new patch can be bought at that time.

For the native robots, these wings seem to be nothing more than an interesting decoration, but for the offworlders, there's another unforeseen perk: flight. So long as characters are in contact with another person, the wings are capable of short-range flight! Aerodynamics be damned, these small wings can help you and your partner soar the skies for an hour, graceful (or graceless, we don't know your style) as a bird. After an hour, the wings will gently guide you back to the ground, whereupon the nanobots retreat into their patch, the wings melt away, and you'll need to buy another patch to get them back again.

Or...do you? For some offworlders, it seems the pull of the Winged Lord is too strong, and they naturally grow a pair of small wings even without wearing the patch. These naturally grown wings are also capable of flight for one hour when you are in contact with another character, and come in the same wide variety of styles. These wings, however, do not melt away after flight, but remain behind, albeit as inert appendages until the next day. The wings can either molt off after 24 hours and return at any time, or remain continuously throughout the event at player discretion.

Silly Games, Silly Prizes
What festival is complete without at least one thematic game? The Feast of the Winged Lord is no exception and these game booths can be found scattered all over the festival area. The booth consists of a small stall decorated with prizes that range from silly whistles with wings on them to scale models of representations of the Winged Lord to "Mystery Coupons." Behind the stall is a cylindrical glass chamber filled with flying VR-realistic miniatures of the Winged Lord. The gryphon-like animals are mixed with dragons and flaming birds, all flitting around the chamber in erratic patterns.

Pay the Dora fee and grab a partner because this game needs more than one to participate! The gamerunner will take your fee and hand you and your partner(s) a multicolored length of ribbon before explaining the rules and opening the glass door to the chamber. Once inside, your team will have a set amount of time to work together and loop the ribbon around as many of the flying creatures as you can. The different versions of the Winged Lord all have different point values and the more creatures you wrangle, the better your points! At the end of the time limit, the booth owner will count up your points and hand you a prize that corresponds to it. ...You think? The prizes and points seem to be set to a system only the booth owner understands, while quality control on the prizes seems to vary booth to booth. The whistles might be made of cheap plastic at one booth, but made of gold at another; or the Mystery Coupons could be an IOU for a back rub by a random robot, or for a free meal at a cafe in town. Feel free to make up your own silly prizes if you feel like it!

Tasty Pursuits
A feast needs imbibement and merriment in turn, and this festival delivers! For adults who are of drinking age in their respective worlds, offworlders can pay a fee and make their own personalized bottle of wine at the winery booth. Choose and sample the different varieties of Alcosynth (a newly developed synthetic alcohol with all the flavor and none of the drunkeness) and full alcohol wines, both red and white, then mix and match them together to create your own personal bottle to take home with you. The flavours of wines range from things like a basic red merlot to stranger things like sour green apple or toothpaste. The natives aren't quite sure what kind of things you offworlders like to drink, so they decided to make it in every flavour available. Luckily, every bottle flavour is clearly labeled so there isn't too much danger of accidentally adding a splash of limeade to your rose. Each bottle will be laser printed with your name and a design of your choice before being handed over with your concoction inside, along with a notice for a secondary event.

A friendly showcase of the created wines is being held concurrently, and people are asked to donate their bottles to a tasting event at the end of every day. Donations receive the fee they paid to participate back in exchange. Those who are of age can come by and try everyone's wines, including those that some of the natives tried their hands at making despite not having the ability to taste them. Those who come by the showcase can vote on the best tasting wines of the day and winners receive a small Dora prize. Every day might have a different winner and different wines to try, so come by and enter often!

For those who aren't of age or simply lean more toward sweets than drinks, candy making is a newer pursuit to take hold in Havenwell, and it's a roaring one! Characters can come by the candy booths, pay a small fee, and spin sugar into their own designs using every color under the sun. The flavours here also have the same wide variety as the wines, from things like licorice to cola to fruit flavours, to downright strange ones like taco meat. But maybe you really need that particular shade of brown in your special treat? The reason why you may be so particular is there's a candy-making competition to see who can make the best representation of the Winged Lord out of confectionary delights! Since there's no real set image of this particular god, everyone is going all out on what they imagine the "real" Winged Lord must have looked like. Characters can donate their candy representations to the booth, and at the end of every day a winner is judged by a rotating panel of priests, citizens, and researchers. Losers get their candies delivered to their doors that night, while the winner has their candy displayed in the town center for the next day before being similarly returned when a new winner is chosen.

Build Your Own Booth
For the entrepreneurs among you, there are many open booths that characters can sign up and take for their own uses. If your character is interested, please sign up below to create your own festival delights! Do you have a business you want to advertise? A ware you'd like to sell? Maybe you want unwitting test subjects to try a maze of your own design or to drink your latest potion so you can record the results? The festival is for everyone so post below with this form and people can visit your booths!

Booth Name: The name of your booth!
Owner(s): Who is running the booth?
Purpose: Are your advertising? Selling? Buying? Researching? Playing games? Keep this short and sweet.
Description: Include a description of your booth and what it is doing or what it looks like, a menu of things offered, etc. Go crazy here, but please keep descriptions within reason lengthwise (300 words or less preferably).
Link: LINK (a link to your event comment if you have one)

<b>Booth Name:</b> The name of your booth! <b>Owner(s):</b> Who is running the booth? <b>Purpose:</b> Are your advertising? Selling? Buying? Researching? Playing games? Keep this short and sweet. <b>Description:</b> Include a description of your booth and what it is doing or what it looks like, a menu of things offered, etc. Go crazy here, but please keep descriptions within reason lengthwise (300 words or less preferably). <b>Link:</b> <a href="URL_HERE">LINK</a> (a link to your event comment if you have one)

❥ PROMPT III: They're in My Eyes, My Eyes, Oh No

Good news, all you VR lovers! The seasonal Robot Crossing VR game has added a new minigame: beekeeping! Create your own little honey heaven, make friends with your new buzzing buddies, and collect as much honey as you can before the timer runs out. It's all very cute and oddly relaxing, despite the time limit. Perhaps it's the ambiance.

What isn't so relaxing is the fact that through upgrading the game, a fragment of the VR network has gone slightly haywire, sending the code out of the cafes… and into the arena. The result is that a bunch of the nanomachines have assembled into a collection of shoebox-sized bees that are programmed to search for their hives and aggressively defend them. And since the arena has no hives, the nanobees split off and populate the city in search of anything that might resemble either a hive or a bee's natural habitat- such as the household yards, the botanical gardens, any greenery… maybe some really colourful hair…

A giant robot bee invasion is understandably troublesome to the local population, especially when some of them start trying to tear apart whatever greenery still exists in the tail end of fall, trying to cross-pollinate in accordance with their borrowed AI programming. The locals would very much not appreciate their gardens being destroyed by a bit of accidental hacking, thank you! And you might not like it happening to your property, either. Thus, the city urgently requests that if anyone happens to come across a nanobee, please contain it and bring it back to the arena for de-programming as soon as possible!

How you choose to get the bee back is up to you. Maybe convince it to follow you through bright colours, flowers, or a hive disguise. Maybe trap it in something you think might be nanomachine-proof. Heck, maybe keep it and end up with the world's most annoying disobedient pet. We're not here to tell you what to do. Just try not to make them angry! A few of them might come with taser stingers.

---

This event will run from November 16th to 30th. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread.

Comments

Sephiroth | Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII | Rawna

[silversoldier]

II -- This Might As Well Haven
[ Sephiroth can be found along the edges of the festival stands. He appears to be assessing the situation and taking note of the people passing to and fro and in what activities they are engaged. He seems especially interested in those with wings.

Eventually, Sephiroth finds his way into the crowd to better gather information. Although he doesn’t partake in any of the activities, he does pause near the food vendors and seem to weigh his options. ]

IIa -- Locked to Galaxia

[ The idea of the festival doesn’t appeal to Sephiroth. It is only the theme and certain rumors that have reached his ears that have him walking down there to witness the spectacle in person and try to gather information. He has read a few things about the “Winged Lord,” but these are only brief mentions. He thinks that perhaps one or another of this so-called deity’s adherents might be at the festival or nearby but his initial investigation does not reveal much more than the average reveler this sort of event tends to attract.

Sephiroth moves from the outskirts of the festival, following a trail of people with wings until he finds the vendor selling them. However, this proves to be a fruitless endeavor as well. He turns away, muttering under his breath. ]

Useless.

[ That is when he sees Galaxia not too far away. Sephiroth goes still for one awkward moment. He really isn’t sure what to do with her after their last encounter.

Except.

He isn’t about to leave her alone. Not after what she pulled. It has been on his mind ever since then, likely just as she intended.

Sephiroth approaches her from behind and leans over her shoulder just so. ]

Miss me?

[ His tone is extremely dry. With his point made, Sephiroth stands straight once more. The noise from the festival fades into the background as do the other people. She has all of his attention. ]

IIb -- Locked to Cloud and Galaxia

[ Much later in the day, Sephiroth can be found walking at Galaxia’s side with his arms full of the useless junk she has foisted upon him after dragging him through virtually the entire event. These include several bottles of wine, candy, a ribbon, an inflatable set of wings, a teddy bear, and some truly distasteful matching shirts. It’s a ridiculous sight and Sephiroth knows it, but as always this does not bother him. Rather, it is that the entire situation is unfamiliar and he doesn’t know what he is doing with her or the things in his arms or...any of it. It leaves him both feeling and acting somewhat awkward. ]

There can’t possibly be anything left to do here.

[ What more does she want? But no sooner are the words out of his mouth than he spots someone familiar heading their way. ]

Extra: [ This is meant to be a catch all for anyone who would like to run into Sephiroth at the festival. Please let me know if you would like something specific and I will arrange it. ALSO it is up to you whether he has his magnificent black wing from canon or not. ]

IIa

[superstring]

[Galaxia did not like large gatherings of people. The type of people did not matter in the slightest. Mass groupings just meant more annoyances in one place. Sure this place might have a lot going on, but she's not sure having to deal with others makes it worth it.

But maybe she can find something useful here and do it without killing everyone.

The latter part will be hard.

In fact her thoughts keep shifting back to how quieter it'd be if she did just that -- until everything shatters with the voice just over her shoulder.

The do keep running into each other like this don't they? It's not all that surprising, but still ...

Galaxia tilts her head to the side to look back at Sephiroth without fully turning around.]

Should I have?

[To anyone else that might sound mean, but it isn't really meant that way. This is just how they do things, right? At least it seems to be. She has no idea how to talk to people normally and even less so after what happened between them last time.]

This does not seem like the type of event to draw your attention.

[Not that she knows him super well, but he doesn't seem to care for many others either so ...]

IIB

[superstring]

Are you going to start complaining unless we leave?

[They probably have hit gone through everything by this point. Who knew that the two of them would have ended up staying so long doing all these stupid activities.

It's doubly amusing that Sephiroth has actually gone along with it for the most part. There might be part of her that considers seeing just how much she can get him to carry before he just gives up.

She is not, however, paying attention to anyone who might be approaching.]

Honerva; ota

[shroudedsecrets]

( II a. peer through the windows; )

[ The message that follows is deliberately anonymous over the network, but those who know her tells probably can figure out the source of the commentary. ]

Food for thought: it was but a year ago that knowledge of two unnamed gods were discovered to be stricken from known record and 'living' memory of our hosts, and yet now in light of discoveries made in the archives, the citizens now seem enamored with the thought of celebration for at least one of them, despite knowing little of the validity of the records that were discovered, and that their interpretations now vary among one another.

It also seems of interest to note that while such an unknown variable is now seeming to surpass the reverence that they would had held for the others in these times, it is in conjunction with the fact that a year ago, the barrier was under attack from another mysterious source, that is little talked about save for the victory over repelling the invasion.


( II b. of lost time; )

[ With Affurgato being temporarily closed for family reasons, it would have been hard to find Honerva willingly away from the home she shared with Lup during the early part of the month for too long. Even here, toward the middle of the month, it still takes any amount of convincing for her to come away from it.

Perhaps spending the time with another might do it, if she were asked to come along to... observe the situation, or distract herself with company, or if Lup had made a strong suggestion she go out for fun or something, but who does that. ]


( III. looking over my yesterdays; )

[ Though another matter might have her out and about and it may be to simply deal with the... "bees", there are certainly flowers here that need to be brought inside or protected against this bizarre assault. Mostly, her little scouter robot can distract them, but that only seems to go so far because... she has a lot of hair, which at least is more distracting than the smaller flowers for the sheer length of it. Perhaps this requires assistance. If one happens upon her dealing with this. ]


( Wildcard! )

[ Feel free to contact me here or on shadedwhite plurk or discord if you wanted to do anything more specific, or yolo :) ]

III - hi Ma I hate your robot but also have long distracting hair and also may I have a beebot

[waitatick]

Lotor hated the robot. Had since he'd been a small child, and that hadn't changed, even with her having changed immensely from the memories he was familiar with.

So when he saw it, his immediate response was to tense up. Until he saw the veritable swarm of...the Earthlings called them bees, didn't they? But these were large and clearly not natural beasts, though they did seem rather attracted to Honerva's hair...

With a sigh, he called his sword to his hand and let it catch the sunlight, hoping the flash on the metal might distract them enough to give her some space to move.

2b

[scourgingstars]

[It was early evening when there came a light knock on the door. On the other side of it was Ardyn, as quietly uncertain as ever. It may have been a safe bet that the small ash-gray wings at his back were a likely culprit for his self-consciousness today, at least.]

[Where it was just late enough into the day that the sun had already mostly set, he wasn't alone today--a small creature was right on his heels, empty hands clinging to Ardyn's leg.]

( II a. peer through the windows; )

[kingkingcxiii]

[Regis might not know exactly who has posted the message, but he does have a good guess. After all, there are only a few people who he has found that have continued to hold on to their need to investigate as the months have passed by.]

One of the gods 'ruled the skies' and the other 'slithered in the dirt.' I find it unsurprising that this god is very well suited to ruling the skies no matter which interpretation one picks. It is quite interesting that they are only acting on this now and not when we mentioned it to them before. What kept them from finding these records back when we asked about them? Did they not even care to look?

We have just finished having another invasion of sorts. While this one was not as violent, it was unsettling on many levels and more far-reaching if some of the new arrivals are any indication.

IIa.

[connectsthedots]

[This anonymous poster clearly had been here a while, or else done their homework. A whole year to react? Very interesting...]

On the one hand, that it'd take so long for them to show interest doesn't entirely surprise me - they don't seem highly motivated to question or seek out new information. On the other, perhaps because they typically seem so uninterested, that they'd suddenly rally together around it is highly peculiar.

Do you think they're trying to conceal something? Divert attention, as it were?

[Dot has suspected there was some sort of cover-up/conspiracy at play ever since she got here and she'd love to have someone lend credence to that.]

Ken Ichijouji | Digimon Adventure 02

[ourtomorrow]

[ I ]

[ Ichijouji Ken loves jigsaw puzzles.

He discovered this not long after discovering that he loves origami. Something about fitting pieces together, taking disparate parts and uniting them into a pleasing whole, just fills him with a sense of rightness that's exceptionally satisfying.

So he's actually feeling a little more outgoing as he, and whoever cares to join him, set about assembling this arena-sized puzzle. ]

Could you pass me that piece? With the straight edge.

[ By your foot, right there. Ken is collecting the edges first. ]

[ II ]

[ Ken hadn't tried out one of the patches, so no one is more surprised than he is when he feels an itching on his back and a pair of gossamer dragonfly wings pop out - ]

What--?!

[ Except maybe whoever had been passing by and into whom he just whacked his sudden WINGS FROM NOWHERE!

Ken stares, too confused to even speak up. What just. What. Why.

On his back, the wings twitch. ]

[ III ]

Stop it--! I said to be careful!

[ Uh-oh. This boy is COVERED IN BEES. And being dive-bombed by still more.

Except instead of attacking him, they appear to mostly be interested in - swooping in to sit on him, or cling to him? All over him?

Ken is trying to make use of the fact that he seems to be a Bug Magnet, but he's got them on his legs now, too....it's hard to walk.

And this also tickles. ]

Watch where you land!

I

[original_is_best]

[Verstael, too, enjoyed such things. Perhaps not simply putting a puzzle together for the sake of a picture, but definitely when it comes to playing with a new brand of technology. He's even examining each piece closely, trying to figure how they are made with intense fascination.

The thing was, he was used to doing these things alone. It wasn't that he was opposed to group activities. More that there was rarely people in his life that shared his interests or were able to pursue them at the same level as him.

So he glanced over curiously, glanced down at the piece, and with a push of his foot slid it over to Ken.]

You're quite young to be here.

I

[wakemelater]

[Nico has spent quite a bit of time in the Arena before now, poking around and trying to figure out what it had been used for. Nanomachines had not been anywhere on his list of possibilities. Before now, he didn't even know what a nanomachine was.

He looks down at the expanse of the puzzle, orienting on the piece in question.]

Oh. Yeah, sure.

[Nico nudges the piece over. The kid looks about how old he had been when he'd first learned he was a demigod.]

Are you here alone out here?

II

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Honerva has not been particularly about this month, though she recognizes that there is a phenomenon that merits attention, as much as she is having to deal with it herself.

She is not near enough proximity to be hit by Ken's sudden sprouting of wings but she was close enough to observe it happen--there's a robot who apologizes for being in the way and also complements him on his new appendages and gives praise to the "Winged lord" before taking his leave, which is certainly still enough to be unhelpful to the fact that the boy is remaining in place and at a loss for his circumstances.

So with that in mind, she'll make her approach. She may, also, have a set of wings mysteriously granted to her, but given Ken's shock they are not likely to draw attention in the moment, given they're not quite as pronounced as the ones the boy is now dealing with. ]

... Are you well?

III

[breathoflove]

[Mitsuri is easily drawn to the scene by the sounds of distress! And especially since they're coming from her new little roomie.

Ah, but she doesn't really know what to do upon seeing him...]

O-oh my gosh, Ken-kun! Are you alright?? HAVE THEY STUNG YOU A HUNDRED TIMES?!

Ignis Scientia | Final Fantasy XV

[blindedbyloyalty]

[IIa. - OTA]

[ Ignis can be seen walking around the food booths first, accepting the free taste. This is what interests him the most honestly. The local food.

When he's done there, he can be found just around the festival itself, listening to people talk. He has his walking cane this time around, thanks to Noctis.

He'll stop and talk to people if they wish to! He's been missing in action since his arrival as he needed to clear his head a bit. ]

[IIb - OTA]

[ Oh, oh dear. He stumbles a bit as a wing sprouts out of his back. He's thoroughly confused and reaches a hand back to touch it.

He's pretty sure that he hit whoever was close by him too when the wing sprouted. ]

Apologies. [ He lets his hand drop back to his side ] I don't quite get what just happened.

[ Great, now his back is itchy. ]

[III - Locked to Ardyn]

[ Unfortunately for Ignis, he's not aware of the bee problem just quite yet. So when one zaps by his head, he thinks nothing of it and swats at it in natural instinct. Unfortunately again, the bee doesn't take to kindly to that and dive bombs to sting Ignis. He lets out a hiss in pain as he stumbles a bit. He's immediately stunned though when the taser takes effect, making him drop to his knees, teeth gritting in pain.

It's not over as a couple of more bees start to swarm around him. Oops. They're not too happy with Ignis and they move to sting him....

Someone better pull him out of danger before he gets stung by the bees again... ]

[Wildcard]
[ Got ideas? Feel free to PM this journal or to add me on plurk from the player contact page! ]

[scourgingstars]

[Even without benefit of sight, Ignis probably knew a warp when he felt one, the tingle of magic in the air too similar but hardly identical to Noctis’ magic.]

That is quite enough of that, thank you.

[It wasn’t the first time that scarlet outline had warped in front of him, not that Ardyn knew that much. But this time, his back was to the tactician—the sound of a taser glancing off a blade followed the sudden arrival, and then the distinct spark of thunder magic from another source entirely. It sounded disruptive enough to get the insistent buzzing to start to back off, whatever he’d done.]

@ carbungle

[blindedbyloyalty]

[ After Ardyn's taken his leave, Ignis slowly moves to the kitchen, grabbing a mug of Ebony. He takes his time here, and uses his cane to navigate around. He's almost at the point to where he doesn't need it in the house anymore.

He takes the mug back to the couch, discarding the cane at the side of the couch. He tugs a blanket to cover himself up a bit and he holds the mug of Ebony in his hands.

He's lost in his thoughts when Noctis returns, as he doesn't hear him come in at first. ]

Noct? That you?

[IIb - OTA]

[kingkingcxiii]

[While Noctis had warned him that Ignis had returned and had no memory of his previous time here, seeing the young advisor again had been quite a surprise anyway.

Being bashed in the face by a wing as he approached had been an even bigger one.]

There is no need to apologize. Wings seem to be the in thing at the moment. Are you all right? That didn't hurt, did it?

[This is the first time Regis has actually seen the wing sprouting happen--mostly he has just seen people with them afterward--and that looked very uncomfortable.]

Ardyn Lucis Caelum | FFXV | Ainea

[scourgingstars]

[ii; goodbye to all the plans that we made]

[As a lost relic of written history himself, Ardyn felt he had a unique perspective on the apparent 'discovery' of some deity.]

[That perspective? He didn't like it in the slightest. Either an ancient beneficial force for good or some accursed destroyer, perhaps something in between. Maybe this was one of their missing gods he'd likened to a missing negative force, and maybe it wasn't. No matter the truth of the matter, the unclear nature of what little had been found left the man known only to history as a formless monster himself feeling deeply uncomfortable.]

[So as much as he disliked crowds and gatherings, he chose to linger around the edges of the festival for the sake of investigation--often examining the depictions carved into the architecture with a look of deep contemplation.]

[...He wouldn't be hard to track down, particularly not with the ash-gray wings at his back shedding the occasional feathers.]

[iii; i'm free to do as i may]

[A lifetime ago, Ardyn Lucis Caelum's hair had been a simple, ordinary auburn red. While that was no longer the case, the blighted violet shade had never presented a problem until this very moment.]

[Three large cube-shaped bees hovered around a slightly startled Ardyn very insistently, with an occasional harmless bonk into his head.]

...I do hope you're usually a little better at discerning flowers from anything else.

[wildcard; farewell to all the earthly remains]

[any other plans/anything i missed/what have you]

III

[ourtomorrow]

It's happening to you, too?

[ Says a walking beehive.

Oh, wait. It's an eleven-year-old boy. Somewhere in there.

Psych! ]

ii

[carbungle]

[What's that? Hating crowds? Sign Noctis up for that shit. He'd sort of wandered around, played some games, won some really useless prizes, and now he's parked himself on top of an abandoned booth over on the outskirts, nibbling away on a meat skewer, legs dangling over the side. Good place to people-watch... and to spot a familiar figure poking at the ruins.]

You too, huh?

[What he means might not stand out immediately, until Ardyn happens to spot the golden sheen of bladefeather wings at his back.]

Libra | Fire Emblem: Awakening | Ohma

[monklookslikealady]

Hydra's Back

[Well, this technology seemed interesting. A bit out of Libra's knowledge and league, but it was intriguing. Looking through the selection of what he could fight, Libra selects a dragon... because familiar, yet not at all, before stepping into the arena.

He could tell he was getting rusty, and that was something he couldn't do, even in a seeming time of peace as this was. He lifts his axe to rest upon his shoulder as he waits for the machines to load into their program.

If anyone would like to join him, they are more then welcome. Last time he fought a dragon, he was with a small army, so this was going to be a challenge.]

BEES

[Libra has started to realize that having long hair was problematic in this world. Especially when he had something colorful in it. Like colorful feathers he found at the festival.

Because now there was a swarm of bees around his head, trying to attack anyone who came too close to him, as if it was their home. Sitting on a bench away from anyone, he pulls out his tablet to type a quick message.]

Does anyone have any experience with... beekeeping?

[Ooc: These are generic, I know. Pls feel free to hit me up at penguinknitter if you have any other ideas!]

BEES!!

[daikonrose]

That sure would be nice, right? Even if they can't make honey, there's bound to be a use for robot bees if you can actually manage them.

[ That's totally why he asked, right. Right. ]

Dot Pratt | Fallen London (Ohma)

[connectsthedots]

[IIA. To hell with pretentious wine-tasting jargon!]
When she heard there was a wine-making event, Dot was immediately intrigued. As fond as she was of wine, she'd never tried making the stuff herself. It should come as no surprise, then, that you'd find her here every day of the festival, sleeves rolled up and a determined, excited look on her face as she experiments with mixing flavors and tasting combinations.

"Here, here, try this!"

She's holding out a small glass to you. Yes, you. Regardless of how old you are. She looks very pleased with herself. "This one may be my best yet! What do you think?"

Should you choose to drink, you’ll find it slightly sweet and nutty. But wine is, after all, an acquired taste...what do you think?


[IIB. At the end of the day, we’re just here to DRINK!]
Dorothy Pratt is a little bit drunk. It's not particularly ladylike to get drunk at a wine-tasting, but she hardly seems to care. She looks perhaps more at ease than she has since she arrived here.

Catch her sprawled out across a nearby table, laughing to herself. She's in a state of partial undress, having thrown off her coat and undone a bit of her blouse. If she catches you looking her way, she’ll wave you over and call out to you. Her face is flushed and her eyes wide.

"Hello there! Llllovely weather, isn’t it? I’d missed this crisp air. I’d missed snow. God! The snow!” She laughs, waving her free hand about in the air, nearly (or perhaps a little more than just nearly) smacking you in the face. Is it even snowing right now? Maybe not. "Do you get a lot where you're from?"


[WILDCARD]
[Hit me up, homie. I'm down for anything and you can contact me via PM, discord (Carrieface#2175), or plurk (carrieface. Prose or brackets both A-okay.]

IIB

[this_loser]

Oh, hey, is that the journalist lady. It looks like she's having a blast. Prompto smiles, waves back, and makes his way over to her.

"Hey, Dot." He finishes off the wine in his hand with a bit of a sour face - he's not much into wine. "Snow? Depends on the region. Not a big fan of the stuff, if we're being honest."

Tamaki Yotsuba | OTA

[21kingpuddings]

There is! So much! Happening!

Of course the festival and everything it has to offer is going to draw Tamaki in - such a big shake-up from the usual routine is always going to be welcome! He's been missing things from back home like festivals, filming, touring... this much can at least capture the spirit of a lot of that! So, it's with great enthusiasm that he throws himself into pretty much... everything there is to be offered.

The wing patches are a pretty quick draw, and once he's finished sampling the treats being offered (actual food that tastes amazing, actually! What a concept!) he checks out the stalls offering them. It's not like he has any shortage of dora to be spending, and after a bit of back-and-forth with the vendor, he ends up with a pair of shimmery blue butterfly wings at his back.

"Hah, so cool...!"


With those in place, and whatever shenanigans they may bring loaded, he checks out the various game stalls. Even if the prizes weren't appealing, just the idea of getting to play a strange and fun looking game is going to be more than enough for Tamaki to try it out at least a few times.

"Ah," too bad he can't just play it alone! That's where you come in, and Tamaki turns to face whoever is nearest to him who might be looking to get some play-time in as well. "I'm gonna need a partner, wanna do this together?"


Elsewhere, you sure won't find him even trying to sneak his way into getting a bottle of wine, but the candy crafting is right up his alley! In an amazing display of self-control, he's actually managed to get most of a sculpture concocted, which appears to be halfway between the griffon-like depiction and the straight-up giant bird variety of this 'Winged Lord', while only tasting a few samples of the sweets he's using. Mostly just to make sure he'll still want to eat them later. Some of these flavors, after all, are... how to put it?

"Hot pepper candy..."

It's a good color. But. Hm. Hmmmmm.


And, of course, at the end of the day, the parade will find it incredibly easy to lure Tamaki in to the fray. He needs like. zero reason to want to jump in and dance with the rest of them. Another benefit to him being there is, naturally, if he happens to spot anyone he knows along the parade route, he's also not shy about trying to get them to join in on the fun.

"Come on, come on!"

Best to stay on your guard if you don't want to join in, but if he can manage to grab your hand, then, well, be prepared to join in...!

candy crafting :o

[graspthepotato]

Sougo actually had hit up the wine, though honestly wine isn't really his bag, so he's still nursing maybe his second glass (he thinks) by the time he sees Tamaki working on his candy sculpture. He can't help the smile that tugs at his lips at the sight of his partner, taking a couple of moments to just watch him from afar. That's not creepy, right?

Ahhh, anyway! He quickly downs the rest of his wine and tucks the glass somewhere with a mental note to come back for it later. He just knows how much Tamaki hates it when he drinks. So he makes sure he's all together and looking normal before he approaches Tamaki from behind.

"Hot pepper? That sounds really tasty, Tamaki-kun!" Hopefully he hasn't startled Tamaki with his sudden appearance, oops.

Lance | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Ainea

[the_tailor]

[A]

[Another festival? Oh, you can bet Lance is all over this. Last month hadn't exactly been the cheeriest (which sucks here, because that's twice in a row, and the leadup to one of the best holidays is supposed to be fun!), so he's eager to cheer up with some festivities and fun. The fact that it seems to involve a tooooon of food makes it even better, and he's perfectly fine putting on a few pounds devouring tasties from stall to stall. You might find him at one of them, doing such a thing.

He later hears about a personalized wine booth, and yep, definitely his next stop. Keith and him don't drink a ton, but they usually have a glass of wine a few times a week with dinner, so this seems perfect. Lance hums as he looks over the options once he gets there. Some of the flavor options are nothing short of baffling, and while intriguing? Yeah, no, he's not making tuna flavored wine. He picks out a white wine as a base before going through some of the flavors, briefly sampling them. Ultimately, he goes with a cocktail of tropical flavors, a good compliment to the white wine. Once he's satisfied, he pays the fee, and gets the bottle.

Later that day, he decides to check out the contest for free tasting purposes. Can't go wrong with free stuff. So far, the ones he've tried are pretty good, and he's pleased, though working up a bit of a buzz. If you're there doing the same, he'll turn to talk to you.]

Soooo, any favorites of the bunch?



[B]

[Wings. There's a booth where you can get wings. How flippin' cool is that?! On a day he's not absolutely stuffing himself with food, he decides to make his way over, because this is something he has absolutely got to try out. The only times he's flown has been in a plane, lion, spaceship, or via jetpack. Never actual wings. ...Can you fly with these? Or are they just for decoration? Well, he's about to find out.

Lance splurges a decent amount to get a very pretty set of angelic-looking wings, near shimmering in their cerulean color. And once they're on him? Holy quiznak, they look incredible. Lance laughs, spinning around. He must look amazing. And now to test them out...

He climbs a nearby tree a good story high. If anything and this doesn't work, he knows how to land properly so he doesn't hurt himself. And so he jumps off, flapping his wings--

And goes straight to the ground.]

Oof!

[Thankfully, the only injury is to his pride. He gets up, brushing himself off.]

Okay, alright, there's gotta be some way to get these to work...

Re: Lance | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Ainea

[needmyspace]

Lance! [Keith's voice is somewhat panicked as he appears out of seemingly nowhere, sprinting towards his boyfriend frantically.]

What the hell were you doing?!? [He's checking Lance over with slightly shaky hands, feeling for any injuries.] Does anything hurt? How is your head, can you see okay? Are you dizzy?

Emet-Selch | Final Fantasy XIV

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[Get on the Hydra's Back]

[Fighting is not - and never has been - Emet-Selch's preferred pastime. But an interconnected series of (what he reads as) miniature magitek devices that can be formed into any shape? That is something that he can't deny catches his interest.

(He always has been an architect, at heart.)

He starts simple enough. An Allagan tomelith, glowing gently blue. A suit of magitek armor, at both half-scale and full size. But bit by bit his creations grow more complex, as he tests what the nanobots are capable of.

A replica of Dalamud's outer shell, at a much reduced scale, but in as much detail as he can manage, otherwise.

A nightmarish creature, which seems to have entirely too much mouth and eyes that are either all but impossible to see or straight up not there.

Eventually, though, he turns to an old favorite and bit by slow bit a city blossoms under his fingers. A thing of gleaming spires and gently curving twists of metal, spreading out to the edges of the space he's been granted.]


[This Might As Well Haven]

[When Emet-Selch manages to eventually pull himself away from the simple joy of creating - or, possibly, is made to leave so the next person can spend time exploring the wonders of the nanobots - he turns his attentions to the festival itself.

Or rather, to the various food stalls lining the street. He drifts for a moment, perusing the various options on display and then, after a moment of further consideration, turns to whoever happens to be nearby.]

What would you recommend, of these?

hydra;

[scourgingstars]

[He always had possessed some fascination for Emet-Selch's creation magic, and while this wasn't quite that, watching an architect at work clearly held his interest. The city gradually unfolded, and Ardyn smiled faintly in recognition of something he might just have seen in a memory or dream, once.]

You've quite the admirable attention to detail. I don't think I'm quite cut out for such delicate work, myself.