♥ 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]

It hadn't felt like an overreaction at the time, he thinks. He'd really thought, if he did nothing, Faust would turn him away forever. He's still not sure he wouldn't have. They weren't as close then as they are now.

But, maybe someone who wasn't him wouldn't have felt that way. Maybe something in his memories really did get in the way without his realizing it.

He nods his head slow. He tries to take that information in, to really stamp it into his heart and mind. Faust isn't just going to disappear because he fucked up. No matter the what-ifs that come to mind, Faust isn't going to do that. It's a hard pill to swallow.

His nodding pauses and stops with Faust's hopes. He understands the sentiment is good. But...

"You know... if there was... a choice... a way... I'd want to... see you more too... I'd want... more than just... some memory..." Memories are precious, but, that is all they are. And there will be no more memories to make someday. "But thank you... I hope the same... for you..."

[relictus]

"...I doubt that's something we will get any choice in, should we find ourselves back in our own worlds. Honestly, it would be better for you if you could just forget me at that point... but you can be nearly as stubborn as Leno at times, and he never stopped searching for me after I disappeared..." He speaks the nickname easily, whether he seems like someone that would use nicknames or not.

He sighs. On top of that, now he has these kids who look up to him, and new friends who check in on his well-being... how does this keep happening...

"What a pain... it doesn't look like I'll get to return to a quiet secluded life anytime soon..."

Even if he tries to sound disgruntled about it, it hasn't been that bad in the end...

[ghoulserrand]

"He looked for you... all that time...?" And the nickname. He notices that. He looks at Faust for a long moment, head tilted. He smiles to himself. "...Good... Tell him that... I like him..."

While Faust should be allowed his home, his freedom, he hopes those friends will stick around. He hopes they look after Faust the way he's never been able to look after anyone, the way he never can simply because he's human. He hopes that one of them will braid Faust's hair.

"You'll have... your quiet... just maybe not... the total seclusion..." And maybe, someday, that will be okay.

[relictus]

"..." He glances down as they walk, his gaze somewhere more distant for a moment. "He shouldn't have... he should have been able to find his own future instead of searching for me all that time. He thinks it's his fault that I disappeared after he saved me, but that's not how it was... though he did eventually settle down in Southern Country, so he doesn't need to tie his future up with mine..."

This is clearly something he feels conflicted about, without it being tied up in any of his usual shows of indifference or annoyance to make it sound like they're not that close. It's just sincere concern for a friend.

But that aside,

"...I suppose it is a little quieter here than at the wizard manor, at least." Small blessings. Though he still gets dragged into socializing now and then, the same as before.

[ghoulserrand]

His happy thoughts are shaken up by the grim reality. The past still clings to Faust with no intention of letting go. No matter how the present calls for him.

"Saved you...?" He repeats, confused. "I thought you said... that you refused..."

Maybe he misunderstood. Or misremembered. He doesn't want to think so. That talk they had back then, it had been a precious moment to him. It was the first and only time he'd truly been human, but more than that, it was the moment when he and Faust truly became friends.

"... It's not his fault... or yours... but... I could see why... he thinks... that it's his..." He steps closer so his arm brushes Faust's. "It's the same... that you see it... The choices... you could've made... but didn't... because you trusted... If neither of you... trusted... you might not hurt... but you wouldn't have... been who you are... He wouldn't have cared... and you wouldn't... have tried... I like who... you are... But I get it... if I thought I could... do something... and I didn't..." He lets out a soft rueful sigh. "I'd probably... beat myself up too..."

He could see it. He can feel it. It's there on the tip of his tongue, a wish for things to be different. He's afraid to dive deeper. He's just as afraid he'll never know.

"I'm glad that... he has a life... But don't think... he's forgotten you... that having you... exist in his world... isn't what he wants..."

[relictus]

It takes him a moment to realize what Teo's saying. That's right, he did tell him about that, back then...

He glances over when their arms brush, his step a little halting at the unexpected touch, but he doesn't stop. He understands what he's trying to say, though it doesn't really make him feel any better...

"If you put it that way, it makes it sound like it was all inevitable... and maybe it was. Maybe there was no avoiding being betrayed by the humans..." There's that old gloomy bitterness. "But who I am now isn't who I was back then... yet he's barely changed at all, even though he's a Southern wizard now..."

He sighs. He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to convinced Leno that he doesn't have to carry the weight of what happened to him, or the way he disappeared. It's never been an easy or possible feat, to change his mind once it's made up...

"I did refuse, when he came to my cell... but after the fire was lit, he came for me anyway... he's the reason I survived."

[ghoulserrand]

He had wondered, mostly while alone at night and considering sleep. He'd wondered how Faust had escaped, assuming magic. In the really dark moments, he remembered pieces of his own death and felt things he wished he didn't.

But no. All along, it had been Lennox. His gratitude deepens, as does the pain.

"... If he saved you... then I owe him... I want him to know... I'm grateful..."

His words are quieter now. The reality presses in. Faust didn't and couldn't have survived alone. Faust was that close to death and he was that close to never, ever meeting him.

"It's not... inevitable... beyond one man... taking advantage... of your goodness... That's it... Maybe there... are more like him... But I won't... I won't be Alec... I won't look at... who you are... and use you... And who you are... was made... by who you were... You remember... I said that... don't you...? It's still part of you... and that goodness... is something that... I refuse... to forget..."

[relictus]

"..."

It's not something he could be grateful for at the time, even more so than his more recent brush with death... and yet, in the end, he did survive and live on to this day. That wouldn't have happened if Lennox hadn't intervened at all. But even if he seems grateful to have finally found him again, he can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have been better for him if he hadn't done that... if he'd been able to know for certain that he was well and truly gone, so he wouldn't feel compelled to search for him... or be disappointed by what he eventually found...

And yet he remains by his side whenever he can, and now here's Teo, a human who didn't know him back then, convinced that he's still a good and kind person... it shouldn't be this way, and yet here they are...

"...I can't say with any confidence that it's a good thing I survived. By disappearing on him, I left him with only regrets and uncertainty... but the state I was in, I couldn't have stayed. It was hardly a desire to live that kept me alive, back then..."

He closes his eyes only briefly, fragmented and painful memories washing over him.

"I never intended to get involved with the world again... but somehow I've found myself responsible for the lives of others again... will I fail again, I wonder...?"

Aside from those back in his world, now there's Teo as well... foolish of him, to make his well-being his responsibility, but somehow he just can't look the other way the way he might have tried harder to in the past... "goodness," huh... does that even matter if he can't protect anyone in the end?

"But whatever happens... thank you. For the kindness you've shown me."

Now, and from the time they met.

[ghoulserrand]

"You might have... hurt him... Lennox..." He can admit that much. With all they've talked about, it's probably clear that such a thing would have hurt him. Maybe irreparably. "But that he looked... all that time... is proof enough... what you give... is greater than that..."

And that's why he has to manage his own future. He can't look for Faust the way he's looking for Sara. But remembering him will still be greater than the pain of losing him.

And to be thanked in turn, that's something too. He moves again to bump Faust's side.

"Don't worry... so much... I'm not meant... to be your... responsibility... just your friend... whatever happens... I trust you... you can't fail... at that..."

His fingers trace the braid that Faust has woven, the flowers tucked within. There are many things he can never say. But even still, there are much more simple things that he can.

"It's who you are..."

[relictus]

It's funny, the one time Teo seems to agree that he was at fault in some way, it's for one choice he knows he couldn't have changed, not with the state of mind he was in back then... but he's not about to make excuses for any harm that it caused.

He wants to argue that Leno is just stubborn and refuses to give up once he's set his mind to something... and that he could easily fail to live up to that trust Teo has in him. Don't worry so much, huh... he has been worrying a lot more, now that he has others to worry about again...

That's part of the reason he can thank the Sage for saving his life, now. Even if he worries and he's failed at times, he's had the opportunity to help the younger wizards grow and watch over them... as well as find some peace with old and new bonds...

"...If that's how you feel, then know I'll be counting on you in turn."

He still feels responsible for ensuring his safety, as well as ensuring he is safe for others to be around... but as friends? That's a different sort of relationship that requires more mutual trust... it doesn't have to be deep unconditional trust, but there has to be some understanding that they'll look out for each other. And he's willing to give him at least that much.

[ghoulserrand]

Maybe initially running off was bound to happen. Hiding for 400 years, not so much. But it's not as if he can talk, given what he feels of himself and what his letter implies.

He stands straighter, drawing a breath. Faust is counting him... ironically, given all the encouragement he's just given Faust, he feels a bit of nervousness under the pride.

"I'll try... my best... not to let you down..."

He's messed up before. Both with Faust and in his patchy past. But, if he's going to make things right and if he wants Faust to feel like it isn't a mistake to trust, he has to be better than he's been.

Faust deserves better.

[relictus]

"I will hold you to that."

It's not a promise, just a statement that he'll try... and he's more willing to place that expectation on him than to expect he keep a promise that he'll never fail.

"With that said... if there's ever anything you need, you can come to me. Even if it's not within my power to help, I can at least lend an ear..."

He may be limited in how he can help him with his undead situation and his forgotten life, but if there's any other ways he can support him... he may as well try his best, himself.

[ghoulserrand]

Again, there's that same mix of fear and pride. Faust is counting on him. He can't let him down.

Some of that fear eases as Faust goes on. He hums quietly in lieu of a laugh he can never quite manage.

"I think... I already knew... all that... Never even... had to ask..."

Faust was just there, as he's always been since the beginning. It feels like much more time than it actually has been.

"But thank you..."