As the moon rises on the 21st, all non-emergency businesses will be closing early as the Winter Solstice celebrations are of the utmost importance. Those who participated in the ritual will feel the night is different in their very being. Anyone who participated in the Winter Ritual preparations will be immortal for the next 24 hours. No harm may come to them, they will not be affected by the cold, and their magic will be amplified significantly as they are currently a conduit for the world's magic. Everyone, regardless of whether they participated in the preparations or not, is welcome to partake in tonight's festivities as there are many ways in which the Winter Solstice is celebrated.
The most significant event of the night is the Solstice Night Run. If you didn't participate in the ritual, you may be able to get a hit off of someone's Everwarm to participate. At the edge of the City of Camelot, heading into the Brocéliande, characters will be asked to remove their clothing (or if they aren't comfortable with that, change into very light robes provided by local donations) to return as close to a natural state as possible, then run through the forest. As characters run through the forest, despite everything being covered in ice and snow, the woods will begin to come alive. Will-o-wisps sprout out of the snow and shake the frost off, floating in the air to provide lights throughout the forest. The trees seem to move and dance as you pass by, flurries pick up, and even some animals will start running alongside you. It's a celebration for all, as magic flows through your body as becomes part of the forest.
Inevitably, somehow, someway, those participating in the run all end up reaching what seems to be a crack in the ground, slabs of rock surrounding a stream of water flowing through the crack. This is the fairy fountain of Barenton, a crack in the fabric of Avalon that connects its waters to other worlds. Though it's currently unable to connect now due to the time freeze, some of the fairy folk running with you will happily let you know that some of its powers are still in tact-- try sprinkling some water on the stone slab nearby. As the waters trail down the slab and form a puddle on the floor, the drops from your hand will open a vision of a treasured memory. Anyone near you will be able to see it, so only do it if you're willing to share. There are many other uses, but since you're still very new, this is the only one they're willing to share for the moment. Regardless of whether you choose to use that form of magic or not, as you approach the fountain, it will begin to bubble and glow, and lights like an aurora borealis will begin to glow around you as your connection to Avalon deepens. You'll be able to feel the life of the forest, a connectedness to the world you've likely never felt before. Every leaf, the wind, every living being, the magic in the fabric of the world, is a part of you and you are a part of it.
As the night presses on, a large number of fairies begin to form fairy circles, both in the forest and back in the City-- so you needn't have participated in the run to find one. Toadstools and flowers sprout up through the snow that hadn't been there before, forming near-perfect circles in nature. Stepping into one, whether on purpose or on accident, will shrink you down to the pixies' size so you can dance with them, if you promise to keep going for the whole dance. The dance lasts about 20 minutes straight and there don't seem to be any rules besides keep moving around the fairy circle, even if you bump into someone. In the last minute of the dance, pixies will fly above the circle and sprinkle dust over the whole party. Anyone who completed the dance will be returned to their normal size and granted the ability to fly for the duration of the witching hour of 2-3am. You'll be invited to drink with them afterward, if that's your thing, but will not be offended if it isn't.
Not completing the dance despite stepping into their circle, being rude to the pixies, or attempting to stop anyone who is dancing will anger the pixies. Pixies are a tricksy bunch, so you'd be better off avoiding this, but if a character happens to get on their bad side, there are a few different types of pixie curses they may be inflicted with:
Small Soul: They simply won't return you to your normal size. You may need to find some other way to remedy this, or else you may be spending some time quite small. This can be fixed by a person with healing magic and a simple healing spell, as the spell wasn't originally meant to last this long to begin with.
Pixy-led: The pixies will upset your center of gravity for the rest of the night. Though in reality, there's nothing going on, you may have a huge sense of Spinning Vertigo for the next hour or so. Good luck getting home! You may want to find help. The way to break this spell is to put your coat on inside out, so you'll have to find someone willing to share that with you- the pixies might if you promise to give them something good.
Bellbark: Until broken by anti-magic, any time your character hears a bell, they will mentally act like a dog for the next half-hour. This will last beyond the span of the event until your character is able to get their hands on a counter-curse potion, so be wary if you choose this one for your character. As the night winds down, anyone who had participated in the ritual will find themselves rather suddenly sleepy regardless of where they are and may fall asleep as if under a spell right there out in the snow. They'll wake up normally in the morning, the land having used their slumber as time to finish off its work using you as a conduit. Don't worry, those under the influence of the ritual's effects won't catch cold or anything... though, we can't guarantee anything with those pixie effects-- they weren't really harmful, after all, just irritating. Anyone who fell asleep outside will find that the snow has melted in their area for about 5 feet and bright green plants have started sprouting around them on the ground, some vines growing around their limbs but ultimately nothing that can't be brushed off easily.
It would appear that while it was a permitted act during the Winter Solstice, the fae who may have told you about that little trick with the fountain and the pedestal may not have shared the whole story. As it turns out, the slab that everyone was trickling water onto is a stone known as Merlin's Step. Merlin's Step, when a little bit of water is sprinkled upon it, summons rain. When a lot of people put water on it, it summons a huge thunder storm. It is certain to, as many of the fairies are happy to attest, wash away the freezing snow so they can move about freely during the winter again. Fae often have ulterior motives, even if they're often coupled with good intentions. This may have gone a little beyond their expectations, however, as enough people have done it that the storm has brought about torrential rains and hail, frequent zaps of lightning, and strong winds. Most people are being urged and ushered into cellars throughout the city as the hail has been causing injuries, breaking windows, and the lightning is strong enough that it's been striking the ground frequently. You may end up crammed together in a small, dark room while a storm rages outside with little to do except what's in the cellar-- eat canned foods, play old board games, dust of a.. uh oh, is that a Ouija board? Get creative and have fun with what you think could be in the cellar you end up in.
After what seems like most of the day, the storm is still raging on, but the next moment you find still water, the Lady of the Lake's face shows up, with another woman beside her. The Lady of the Lake's ability to communicate via water is being used to reach everyone at once. The Lady doesn't say anything, once she's got it live, well aware that they're short on time as the lake surface is choppy and dangerous right now. They have a limited time above the surface to speak, so she leaves it to the woman with her. |
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isleofavalon2020-12-20 12:32 am
no subject
I know. Don't gotta rub it in.
[ It's like he's got two foxes instead of just one. Jeez, Rosho, avalon let you have two familiars? ]
What's it say 'bout the two'a them if they can't seem t'stand each other? The first time they met, they got into a huge fight. Had to pull 'em off of each other before things got bad.
no subject
Well, [he swirls the drink in his cup idly,] hopefully they'll bond over their similar interests sooner rather than later. Can't say I pegged Sasara-kun as the jealous type, though.
[With his free hand Rei smooths the head-feathers of his familiar, stroking it as he talks.] But if you need a shared enemy for them to ally against, you know where to find me. Heh!
no subject
Can't say I pegged Sasara-kun as the jealous type, though.
Heat swells over his face. He never thought of Sasara being jealous either. But over a little fox? What an idiot.
But if that's the case, Rei is probably not offering the right sort of assistance. I mean, it's not like he knows. ]
Ya know Sasara's got no reason t'go and make ya an enemy. Look at what ya did and he still asked someone like you to join our team. If it was gonna be about me, I... uh, it ain't a matter that's worth gettin' involved in, ya see.
no subject
Not sure the two of you have a great track record when it comes to communicating about each other without intervention...
[(Of course, Rei has no idea. How could he possibly guess what his teammates had gone through, in another world?)]
i hope Rei calls them "the Sasaras" more often tbh
That's how it was. For a while. ]
It ain't that ya don't got a point, but, it's not completely like that anymore.
[ They still have their differences and their reluctance to be honest with themselves, but things are far better than they used to be in the past few months.
I mean, the months that have passed that Rei doesn't exactly know about. Without going into personal matters, he can at least tell Rei about Prismatica, right? Sasara and Rosho aren't that hopeless anymore. ]
Anyone around here tell ya somethin' about some place called Lunatia?
one day he'll say it out loud and get immediately eviscerated
No. What, is it a location around here or something? [Did you two get in trouble..... WITHOUT HIM]
no subject
Not here, no. So it's like, we ended up here and it's weird, 'cause ya never think about endin' up in some other world, ya know? Lunatia's not in this world. That's a city in a different world altogether. Sasara and I were there.
[ Rei is probably thinking: holy shit Rosho is so drunk right now. ]
no subject
There's... all kinds of explanations for whatever the fuck Rosho is going on about.
1) he's super drunk. (Unlikely-- Rei has seen Rosho drunk plenty of times, and he usually still make more sense than this.)
2) There's something in this drink making Rosho go nuts. (Unlikely-- because if there was, Rei probably would just be going along with it having drank the same thing.)
3) Avalon fairies got to Rosho and other people and are spinning some sort of collective hallucination tale. (This seems the most likely-- considering Rosho's Anyone around here tell ya somethin' about some place called Lunatia?, there's some group SOMETHING going on. But....)
4) He's telling the truth? (???????)
Finally Rei says:]
Okay. Then, what about it? 's that got to do with the two of you being honest?
[Clearly Rei needs more information before he can properly dunk on him.]
no subject
Listen, ya probably don't believe me but it's true, just 'cuz this is your first time experiencin' it. Us endin' up here is real, ya see? So who's to say I wasn't in some other place that wasn't Japan? How's that so unlikely? It ain't!
[ He points an accusing finger in Rei's direction, drink still in hand. ]
Stuff can happen without ya bein' aware of it. Hard to believe but ya gotta deal with it. Not everything's in your control, Rei.
[ He almost sounds like he's trying to make a heavy point here, but Rosho just takes his drink and downs the rest of it, then holds out the empty glass to Rei. ]
Another!
no subject
[Rei is forced to summon all of his willpower not to laugh at his poor sloshed teammate. HE DIDNT EVEN SAY ANYTHING WHY IS HE GETTING YELLED AT 🥺🥺🥺
Thankfully with enough effort he manages to wrestle his face into something closer to bemused than amused, and waves over a passerby fairy for Rosho's totaled drink to be refilled.]
You still haven't told me why it's important, though...
no subject
He holds out the glass again for another refill, and they dutifully follow. ]
It's suuuper important, stupid! You're like thinkin', ohh, those two are so hopeless without me, they ain't got a clue. Just 'cuz ya made us talk again don't mean ya gotta be takin' all the credit! What else've ya been doin', huh? Nothin'!
[ Rosho's been trying to use the alcohol to steady his nerves, but the problem is now he can't stop yammering and he's losing coherency by the second. Another long chug of his drink brings the drunken flush to his face in full force. ]
Sasara an' I didn't need none'a yer help back there! We talked it all out, and now we kiss and stuff like that!
1/2
JUST
COMPLETE WIPEOUT
HOLY SHIT]
2/2
Bwahahaha! Oh, Sensei. You really aren't shitting me, are you! Hahahaha!
no subject
Don't got a single shit t'give! Shut up, stop laughin'! It ain't funny! I'll go an' beat the shit outta ya again!
[ Rosho you didn't exactly do well without Sasara's help that first time... ]
no subject
No, no. I know you well enough to know you're dead serious when it comes to Sasara-kun. [Rei has had an eye to that for long enough.] It's just... you know... announcing something like that solely as argument ammunition... [sfhksjssdfsdf
For all his giggling, though, Rei's mind has seized upon this revelation like a steel trap. If Rosho and Sasara really are as intimate as he says, it's incredibly important information. The two of them were already pretty close, but this kind of relationship might stabilize them. Might empower them. That's lucky, for Rei. Rei needs them as strong as they can get, and without him in the equation, too. They'll be able to stand on their own, together, when he--
When he--]
Well. How about this, then.
[Rei's smile sobers into something more sincere-- as sincere as Rei gets.]
Congratulations.
no subject
Rosho's chest puffs up proudly though another hiccup jostles his shoulders. ]
Yeah! Congrats t'me an' my partner, for makin' 'im my boyfriend, so I ain't ever gonna leave 'im again!
[ Rosho juts out his arm, holding out his drink. ]
Toast me!!
[ Well? You heard the man. ]
no subject
To the original Dotsuitare Honpo duo, for becoming partner partners.
no subject
T'my partner partner! An' Mastermind bringin' us together again, 'cuz he's a genius sometimes!
[ Only sometimes. ]
no subject
Well, Sensei. [He sighs.] I think your drinking habits're rubbing off on me. If I didn't know better I could take a nap right here.
[no rei, that's the magic]
no subject
Nuh-uh, is too early for sleepin'! [ Rosho tries to reach across and give Rei a slap to the shoulder to help him stay awake but he completely misses, slouching off his stump seat but oh so smoothly sitting on the ground as if that was totally what he intended to do. ] Ya gotta have more drinks wit' me! It yer bedtime or somethin', old man? Huh~?