♥ March (Ainir) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

March (Ainir) Event Log

The weather is growing quite lovely, punctuated by a sweet scent in the air as local flowers begin to grow and bloom, signifying the start of what many argue is the brightest and most comforting of seasons. While not all bend the knee for Ainea, she is beloved and well known as the kindest of the local deities, so even denizens of other chapters appreciate the good will she presents when her season comes to play. Brace yourselves, residents of Havenwell: spring has officially sprung, and the mouse is in your house. (Theologically speaking, anyway.)

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❥ PROMPT I: Skits and Giggles

As the month of Ainir wears on, things in Havenwell begin to turn towards the strange and chaotic…more so than usual. Circumstances align in unpredictable and convoluted ways, as though space and time themselves are making small tweaks here and there to rope the city's offworlders into a heretofore unseen range of odd situations. Out of nowhere, impulses will materialize into their mind(s), and while it is not forced, it might be hard to resist depending on the nature of the impulse or the people around them. Two people might find themselves on a simple shopping trip together searching for a strange item despite never having met before, or perhaps one will suddenly discover the urge to try making a multi-tiered cake and drag their friends along for the ride. It's very… unusual. One could even say such situations and desires almost feel randomly generated.

For the latter half of the month, Havenwell will be undergoing a more open-ended kind of chaos than usual; we encourage you to have fun and make your own range of situations from the ordinary to the improbably odd. (Like if Who's Line had no host but just inserted prompts into one's head.) Here are some random scenario generators, to get you started, though you are more than welcome to find your own, mix and match, or come up with something yourself:

A Very Helpful Master List

For One Character/General:
One Two

For Two Characters:
One Two

Something a Little Sillier

Curiously enough, these skits can be both contagious and magical to the point where objects useful to the scenarios themselves may manifest inexplicably to make it easier to play out. These objects don't tend to last long - they'll vanish before the end of the day if you take your eyes off of them at some point after their use has ended - but hey, maybe you'll find a use for that Turbo Doll you just fought some fella in the market for, before it's gone.

❥ PROMPT II: Festival of Flowers

With the influx of plantlife both natural and left over from the previous month's occurrences, Havenwell's residents are well supplied for the annual Festival of Flowers (MARCH PROMPT: Hold My Flower) celebrated every Ainir. Natives of the city will be happily working to weave crowns in all sorts pf colors and shapes; made with flowers real, synthetic, or a mixture of both. They will even be glad to instruct the offworlders in the art of flower crowns, or even insistently looking to weave flowers into the hair of those who might wear theirs a bit longer. If given the chance, they will even speak at length about their choices in both colors and the flowers' meanings, so long as the end result is made to suit its wearer both aesthetically and symbolically. The local greenhouses will be handing out the blossoms harvested for the festival, so feel free to participate guilt-free; remember, flowers are too impermanent to not enjoy! Offworlders will find plenty of species throughout the city, including some that might be familiar. It seems the world is still indulgently borrowing from home as it heals itself.

If anyone has leftover crystalline flowers, vines, and plants that grew from their hands last month, these items are more delicate than normal plants but can still be worked into the flower crowns with a gentle touch and a bit of effort.

❥ PROMPT III: Starlight, Starbright

Over the course of the festival, for some reason the night sky above Havenwell appears to be taking subtly different forms; it never looks quite the same twice, and often differs from person to person. The stars overhead arrange themselves into different configurations: that of Havenwell's distant past, perhaps, or even into constellations the city's offworlders might find familiar. If by chance one can see a sky that another can't, joining hands for an evening of stargazing might just sync them up to be underneath the same distant stars. Enjoy an evening of stargazing, sharing familiar or fresh constellations with someone special.

For those who are participating in the Festival of Flowers, you might notice a curious added effect: if you happen to go stargazing while wearing certain flowers, the starscape that appears may coincide with the location, season, or biome that flower is native to, as if the two are calling to one another. Since Havenwell has acquired a bountiful number of species from varying worlds over the last few seasons that this festival occurred, feel free to get creative with this concept. Does your world have a reverse sunflower that follows the moon during winter? Enjoy your winter sky and a very happy flower crown. Maybe you found a ghost orchid that only blooms in the hottest part of the summer. Sounds perfectly suited for a summer sky that just happens to appear above you now…

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This event will run from March 15-31. 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. You can also use the Havenwell Status page or the General Plotting Comment to give you other ideas for original prompts!

Comments

[ghoulserrand]

"Except me..." He quips, because of course he'd still hang around. Not to mention, he'd want to see Faust's new pointy and poisonous look. He wonders if there's a magic to keep such things from harming wizards...

He doesn't get the chance to ask. Faust gives his command, looking suddenly stern, and Teo drops back down into the seat as though compelled.

"O-okay..."

Is he in trouble now...?

[relictus]

Of course Teo would still hang around. He has a suspicion he would even if he weren't already dead.

After some perusing, he picks out a few to set neatly together; some calendula, dandelions, and chamomile- or at least, they have a striking enough resemblance. Then he turns to step behind Teo, inspecting his hair.

"...It could stand to be brushed first..."

It's more of a comment to himself, and soon enough he has a brush in hand.

[ghoulserrand]

He notes the flowers lain out by him. Not in trouble then. Just being decorated. Faust is that determined to prove him wrong.

He wonders at the reasoning behind the choices in flowers. Because they're all teas? Edible? Or maybe it's the colors as Faust mentioned would stand out on him.

He croaks out, "Huh...?" Which really just sounds like inhuman gargling. His head ducks a little in embarrassment.

"I guess I... could... take more care..." He does shower not at least.

[relictus]

"I wasn't commenting on your personal habits. It will just be easier to braid this way."

But it is nice that they have access to baths and showers now, even if he can cheat with magic sometimes. He pauses behind him, not touching his hair yet.

"Are you all right with this? It shouldn't take long."

Even if he sort of consented already when he thought it would be the robots handling his hair, it's important to make sure that still applies when it's him.

[ghoulserrand]

"Oh... ha... right..."

The idea that he would allow robots to touch his hair but not Faust is laughable. True, he can worry more for Faust's safety, but wanting him near? Faust wins out every time.

Even if he is still a little embarrassed to express a want for this at all.

"I'm alright... take your time... Uh... if you want..."

[relictus]

"...Let's continue, then."

His hands are deft and gentle as he spreads out Teo's hair and begins to work through it with the brush. Technically this is something he could achieve with magic these days, along with the braiding and flowers... but for something like this, it seems more appropriate to use his hands.

"Have you always worn your hair this way?"

More like, did it look like this when you were alive. Even if it continued to grow after his death, it looks like it was a rather messy cut to begin with...

[ghoulserrand]

Even though he knew it was coming, he's immediately thrown by the sensations. Purposeful, repeated, and careful touch is something he doesn't have. It's something he doesn't get to have. And yet here Faust is, running a brush through and smoothing it over with his hand.

His hands lift from the edge of the seat to instead wind together. Something feels caught in his chest that he can't quite name. He has to remind himself not to bite his lip.

"I think it was... like in... the dream," He says. "I can't... imagine it... much shorter... I think... it must have grown... between then... and... when I woke... Must not have... um..." Died right away. But he can't go and say that out here. "I must have seen... some of the start... but that's... the hardest... to remember..."

[relictus]

Even if it's been a long time since he's handled anyone's hair but his own, especially by human standards, he's generally good with methodical and focused tasks like this. It's refreshing, and it feels faintly nostalgic, yet the feeling is more solid than the memories themselves.

That's right... even then, while not as long, his hairstyle was messy. It's a little hard to imagine him with something more clean-cut, though.

"...I see. Would you ever want to cut it back to that length?" A haircut would likely be more permanent for him than for someone alive, but it's his hair to do with as he pleases regardless.

As he works through his hair, he roughly separates it out into three sections, matching up the mismatched ends as well as he can. A basic braid should be enough... though he certainly has enough extra for smaller or more intricate braids.

[ghoulserrand]

"...I don't know," He admits. Certainly, having it the length it was would probably make him more recognizable to the people he's lost. But. "Wouldn't want... to mess it up... And it's... helpful if... I need to hide..."

That is if the worst-case should happen and he, for some reason, doesn't have any hood, gaiter, or goggles in reach.

"But maybe... someday... Get the nerve..." Maybe if he ever finds the ones he was looking for. Maybe if they accept him. Maybe.

Much more real and tangible is the feel of his hair being pulled apart and then, soon enough, woven together. It's a weird sensation, but definitely not a bad one. It's a selling point for keeping his hair as is, though he doesn't have the nerve to say that.

"Don't think... I've ever... had this done... Not even... when little... Did you... do your sister's... and friend's... often?"

[relictus]

He can hardly disagree with such practical reasons, though it's unfortunate that something like how he wears his hair should need a solely practical approach. But, well, perhaps he'll get at least some enjoyment out of what he's doing with it right now, taking his time to achieve an even braid, tucking in flowers as he goes.

It takes him a moment to answer the question, as he has to think about it. "...I don't remember, with my sister. It was at least a few times, when we were young?" Though they were both still young when he left the village...

"But as for Bianca..." her name slips out, but it's not as if that needs to be a secret; he moves on after the briefest pause. "She asked me to as a favor, at least a couple of times... we were often on the move back then, and we had to be careful not to overextend our magic, so it wasn't always easy to do it herself..."

He's not about to openly speak of the rebellion out here in public, but Teo might understand more of the context.

[ghoulserrand]

It's hard to shake practical habits after the apocalypse. Even if he didn't have the same sort of struggles survivors did, there was still a level of ingrained judiciousness.

But then, like right now, he's also had the privilege of letting his hair down. Literally. Faust weaves his hair and his scalp tingles with the careful touches and tugs, like coming to life without him. He's not so distracted that he doesn't listen.

Bianca. Bianca the witch who loved flowers and asked for her hair to be braided. A revolutionary with Faust. That thought prickles uncomfortably, knowing the fates of the others.

"So you... braided for her... Like your sister..." And even now, the skill remained. He sits in the place of a long lost sister and another lost friend. To ask if Faust misses them would be stupid. But-- "Does it... ever bother you... that you... can't remember...?"

[relictus]

He's quiet a moment, taking his time with a more delicate flower.

"It's the nature of living such a long life. We inevitably can't remember every single thing we've experienced, or every single person we've met... even humans can't do that, with their much shorter lives. As it is, I suspect the only reason I can remember what details I do is because I spent so long away from the world... I wasn't making any new memories to take their place..."

Just endless days spent in the same place, following the same routines, beating himself down with the same memories...

"...And there are things other than the passage of time that can affect your memory... as you well know. But for a wizard, losing a decade or two can be barely a drop in the ocean as time marches on..."

As he reaches the end of the braid, he reaches up to remove the flower that Teo placed behind his ear, gently tucking it behind his scarred one.

"To properly answer your question... sometimes, yes. But not as much as the mere idea of it bothered me when I was young."

[ghoulserrand]

It makes sense, the way Faust explains it. Although his own memories are fractured, faded, and missing altogether, he understands how memories work in general. Like new roads, things are paved over. Footsteps on dirt path will be gone as quick as days or weeks, overwritten. He is sitting in the place of Faust's friend as she sat in the place of his sister and someday someone else will sit in the place of him.

In theory, he should find it sad that Faust hasn't forgotten. In theory. And yet...

"You know... just now... it was really silly... but with what... you said... I was really scared... for a minute... that you'll forget me..."

His throat is tight. The tying off of the braid, the flower tucked by his torn ear, though gentle, just make it worse. His hands wind together.

"It's silly... because... everyone's gone... in my world... Only a few... survivors remember... and they'll only... remember a few..." And he still doesn't know if he's one of those few. He might never. "Getting to be... remembered at all... should be a gift... but I still... felt real scared... just now... Stupid, right?"

It's stupid and silly how tremendously much the thought hurts. How selfish he is. How greedy. How cruel to even wish.

"I'm closer... to the age you were... so I guess it's... just a part of... being younger... Now you've lived... and know better... what's best for you..."

[relictus]

He's about to suggest Teo take a look at himself now that he's finished, but he's given pause as he expresses his fear that he'll forget him. He lets him finish his thoughts, after which he sighs softly.

"I don't know if it's a matter of knowing more or better, or anything like that... Any fear of what could be lost in the future is stronger when you're younger, certainly... such as fear of being forgotten, or of forgetting things important to us. For wizards, I don't think that's a fear that always goes away. We simply have to find other ways to live around it... whether that means avoiding relationships with others entirely, or making a name for ourselves, or clinging tightly to those we don't want to lose... or their memory. Or running away the moment we think we're in danger of losing something." There's a slight sourness to those last words. "...It's difficult to live such a long life to the fullest. Everything ends, but that takes a very long time for us... so we have no choice but to experience many other endings first."

"...But as far as whether I'll remember you, I don't think you have to worry about that. I can't promise you anything, and our paths may branch before long..."

He turns a mirror set up nearby for Teo to see himself, and on top of that he summons his own mirror to angle behind him, allowing him to see the full extent of the flowers and his braided hair from the front and back, the larger orange blooms accented by the smaller brighter ones.

"But you're not as forgettable as you seem to think."

[ghoulserrand]

He hears Faust sigh. He already wants to apologize. He's being a tedious human, and besides that, Faust is the one who's going to have to live with it all. It's just as he describes. Hundreds more years to live and so hundreds more losses to endure.

There's a line in there that prickles in his brain-- running away the moment we think we're in danger of losing something-- but he's not sure if there's something to it or if it's just the bitterness of his tone that's sticking out. But even that bitterness turns toward the greater regret of so many losses.

He's reminded of the people back in his world, the survivors. They saw it all, lost everything, and lost who they used to be almost as thoroughly as the dead. They had long past the point where it became too much, and yet, they still kept on. Just as Faust is still here. It's a strength he can't compare too. It's a pain that makes him want to pull Faust close. Instead, he's presented with his own reflection.

"Oh." The soft exclamation slips out without thought. The image doesn't quite make sense to his brain because-- "I look... nice..." True, his face is still hidden by the gaiter and goggles, so he can't say that it would totally salvage his appearance. But in this moment? "It looks... pretty..."

He looks up at Faust. His heart still hurts, but with something kinder than before.

"Thank you..."

His gratitude isn't just over the braiding.

[relictus]

He knows that this won't do anything for the hidden features of his face, but-

"There's no reason you can't." Look nice, or pretty, or however else he wants to. "And not just with magic."

He can magically change Teo's appearance to how he used to look, but this he did entirely with his own two hands; he could do the same for himself.

"Aside from their beauty, these are all flowers that can be used in remedies and healing. Of course, prickly and poisonous flowers can look just as enticing, but for you, I think this is what suits you the most."

There's more he could say, but not out here. So he leaves it at that, dismissing his mirror.

"That's all I wanted to show you. You can go now, if you'd like."

[ghoulserrand]

It could be platitudes. Easily so. But Faust doesn't tend to deal in those. He took the time and care to do this without waving his hand to make it so.

He doesn't know what to say. Not to all this, not to the suggestion he'd be remembered, and note to the idea of being more healing than poisonous. He'd only thought it might feel nice. He hadn't expected more from it.

He rises to stand and rather than leave, he decides to risk something he's never tried before. He steps forward and he pulls Faust into a hug.

It's a brief squeeze, only lasting a moment. He draws back and steps further to put the space Faust tends to prefer. His hands fidget with one another in their gloves.

"Could still... do yours... if you... don't mind me... fumbling..."

[relictus]

He waits to see if he'll leave or if he has more to say, as he often does. What he isn't expecting is to be suddenly pulled into an embrace.

One foot slides back as Teo moves in, but the reflex is too late to escape it. He makes a quiet startled noise and he's left too stunned to react in the brief moment that it lasts. Once he's given his space again it takes him yet more time to recover, and he tugs down on the brim of his hat as he feels his face and ears heating up. Not even entirely because of the hug itself, but because he was taken so off-guard by it... no one at the manor would even dare to try...

"...That's- it's really not necessary..."

[ghoulserrand]

It was with good reason that he made the hug brief. Besides wanting to be careful with potential contamination-- even if he's made liberal use of the shower and laundry machine since coming here-- he also didn't know ho Faust would take it. Indeed it does seem to catch him off guard, but, though he hides a flush, Faust doesn't snap at him or anything like that.

He takes it as a good sign, starting to relax. He shrugs.

"No, but... it's nice...and we can... I wouldn't take... too long... you're hair's... shorter..."

[relictus]

Unfortunately for Teo, he's not completely in the clear yet. He's flustered, but that just makes him turn prickly to compensate.

"Don't get too full of yourself... I hardly gave you permission to hug me, and now you want to play with my hair too?"

[ghoulserrand]

His shoulders jump up and the rest of him stiffens. Now the alarms go off, well after they should have, like before he even did such a stupid thing in the first place. He hesitates a moment and then bows his head.

"... No... I'm sorry... You're right... Had no right... It... I won't do that... again..."

He turns slightly, gripping his hood like he's going to hide again, but he remembers the braid. He doesn't want to ruin that.

"I... didn't consider... being safer... didn't mean... it was okay... Even to... thank you... No excuse... Distance... I can keep... distance..."

[relictus]

It's almost annoying, the way Teo is so quick to shy away and withdraw when he shows even a hint of claws. At least he wishes it could be annoying, but instead he's just forcibly made aware of how he's the one being unreasonable, when he knows how he has misgivings about getting physically close to anyone at all due to the state of his body, among other things...

He sighs deeply, his hand lowering from his hat so he can cross his arms instead.

"Good grief... you didn't do anything so dire that you have to say things like that... just give me some warning next time."

Any concerns of infectiousness aside, it's just a hug... and just because it's been centuries since he's had that sort of contact doesn't mean he deserves to have that taken out on him...

"...If you want to braid my hair, I don't have a problem with that. There just isn't as much to work with..."

[ghoulserrand]

The shift leaves him more thrown off than before.

"Oh... Sure... yeah..." He can do that. He'll still keep his distance, he thinks, but if there's any reason to reach for Faust, he can definitely ask first. No problem. He'll be good.

Except maybe this once with the chance to give Faust what he's just had done.

"It's fine... I'll do... a little one... Unless you want... to magically grow more... but then... you'd be stuck... with that..." As long as the braid is in, anyway.

[relictus]

"...I could, but then I'd have to cut it back down..." Teo got the chance to see the way he used to wear his hair. He doesn't intend to keep it that way again.

Regardless, he hesitates a moment before he takes the seat that he vacated, already feeling some regret rise up at putting himself in this position... but he's already here and it's just some braiding, he may as well commit. He takes off his hat to settle it in his lap, at least giving him something to hold on to.

"...Have you even done this before?"

Presumably he must in order to have offered, but when it comes to the state of their memories, Teo's are in overall worse shape.

[ghoulserrand]

He figured that would be a no-go. He's not put out. This is the Faust he knows, the one who befriended him.

Faust settles and he steps close. The gloves are going to be a pain for this given that he can't properly feel the strands for himself, but it's not worth taking them off. He goes to reach for the pieces at the front, gently guiding them back past Faust's ear.

"...I don't know," He admits softly. He closes his eyes a moment and tries to imagine what it would feel like. Then the image comes. "... Once... I'm young... she's got... long dark hair... very pretty... She tells me... what to do... and I sit...and braid her hair... just how... she likes it..."

He opens his eyes again to Faust, and not the girl he only barely recalls. This braid will indeed be much smaller, but he tries to follow the vague memory of her voice. One over the other, then the other...