June Aftermath: Magic Lantern Strange

[lifeaftr_mods]

JUNE AFTERMATH: MAGIC LANTERN STRANGE

Who: Everyone!
What: A celebration!
When: Evening of June 21st, and well into morning
Where: Ensō, E3 and E4
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Slide the Light Off You
As promised, the evening of the 21st finds the Jormun hosting a party on Ensō's largest beachfront. Near immediately, it should be clear that they've spared absolutely no expense when it comes to showing their story-walker brethren a good time.

Of course, they may also be...showing off a little. The stalls and comfortable seating supplied around multiple firepits appears to be a mishmash of Jormun built contraptions and items requested from the Storyteller- many may be delighted to see the variety of beach cushions and blankets, items the Jormun will be happy to let their story-walker friends take home at the end of the festivities. A veritable smorgasbord of food and drink is also readily available, from the kid-friendly options of brrshavak (a spicy drink with a taste akin to liquified chili pepper) and molkavarr (a rich chocolaty broth) to the alcoholic rakvrhak (a rich wine that tastes oddly plumlike). Do be warned, however, that the last is incredibly potent.

Large slabs of driftwood have been laid out to form impromptu tables, bristling with the Jormun's culinary expertise: fried squid, seaweed wraps, spicy pickled kelp, kebabs of roasted eel, hard-boiled snapling eggs, and so on. The vegetables and meats of the sea have been laid out for all to enjoy, so tuck in!

Throughout the evening the air will be filled with the sound of music, with multiple Jormun eager to show off their skill in instrumentation. Conch-shell horns, carved driftwood flutes, urchin-needle harps, and countless more contraptions engineered by a deep sea-dwelling people fill the air with the most peculiar but nonetheless not unpleasant sound. Most of the bands will be set up in the shallow waters, however, as their instruments are not made to be used in open air - try playing them above the surface of the water at your own risk.

Of course, there's plenty more to entertain even the most difficult of people.

You're Living the Strobe Light
Those interested in proving their strength and skill will be encouraged to enter one of the many tournaments across the shoreline. The tournaments vary, featuring such challenges as play fights with the schlacknorkcvic to prove who is the greatest warrior, timed events to see who can stay on a bucking tigershark for the longest, and even a tourney of brovonkosshk, a board game somewhat similar to chess. Don't see anything you're interested in? Make your own. If you can think it, the Jormun will happily accommodate it - impromptu challenges are the highlight of such evenings, after all, though the Jormun won't be taking any responsibility for the first poor soul that decides to usher in a drinking contest.

A small variety of walker games are also available. Jormun children are more than eager to play such games as hide-and-seek or red light, green light, while Connor Murphy will be bringing his Cards Against Humanity deck, for those ready to completely screw with the idea of a fourth wall. There's even a game of Spin the Bottle... except the bottle is being spun overhead like a mace. Being hit by said bottle requires you to do a stupidly ridiculous task, so perhaps it's best to avoid that particular adaptation...

And of course, there's the lightshow.

As mentioned previously, the main show of the evening is the show of brssticca: bursts of magical light beneath the water that will put any fireworks show to shame. The lights are safe to wade and swim through, do keep in mind that the phosphorescent algae tends to cling to the skin. And should you reach into those spiraling, fluorescent nebulae of patterns beneath the surface, some of the configurations of light may abruptly shatter like broken glass.

Additionally, skilled Jormun will be happy to assist those who care to dress up for the event with intricate applications of shellivthiss - a style of waterproof body paint that is not only bright, but luminescent. Something the Jormun may forget to mention, however, is how similar shellivthiss is to henna; should you decide to get all dolled up, except to shine bright light a diamond for weeks to come.

Lastly, those who wanted to bring their own adventures are welcome to as well! Supplying some dope roast? Bringing those sweet, sweet greens? Have some alcohol to supply? All is welcomed by the Jormun - and undoubtedly, your fellow adventurers as well.

You May Find Some Peace
Feeling a tad adrift? Make sure to check the OOC Event Post, which has details regarding the event timeline!

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[yourattention]

[It takes Connor a second to recognize, but then he starts singing along:]

With splits all up the side.
And everywhere that Mary walked, Mary walked, Mary walked
the boys could see her thighs.

[Those are definitely not the words, even if they fit the beat, but were you really expecting the actual rhyme to come out of Connor's mouth?]

[postictal]

[Oh my god.]

[Never before has he been reminded of what it was like to attend college quite so fucking powerfully. He’d say something on behalf of the children present, but he is apparently teaching them about Cards Against Humanity so any hope of preserving their innocence is out.]

Taking creative liberties?

[yourattention]

I don't actually remember the real words. [Like, he knows that's not how it goes? But he doesn't remember the original.] Zoe never wanted to hear the real words to rhymes, she always made me make up new ones.

[You know, back when they actually liked each other and he wasn't a grade A mess.]

[postictal]

And now you're a walking glowstick. I think she'd be proud of you.

[He says it with the utmost seriousness, and it's not entirely insincere. He hasn't really...spoken to Connor since they crossed dreams, and now he knows a little more than he thinks he should about Connor's ideal life, so to speak.]

[yourattention]

Nah. She fucking hates my guts. [He doesn't say it like he's upset about it or anything, just like it's a fact of life.] Pretty sure she'd be the first one celebrating my death, so like. The fact that I'm having fun isn't allowed.

[But he's having it anyway. He can feel bad about it later.]

[postictal]

[There's no polite answer to that, he knows, without dredging up memories of some...idyllic, false fucking life, where Tim was some vaguely defined family friend who presumably knew Zoe, even if he can't really say the first thing about her besides what little he's gleaned from Connor.]

[It feels...cruel to ask. To take advantage of that.]

You seem to be having fun anyway. [He almost sounds - maybe not approving, but casually motivating oneself out of spite isn't an entirely unfamiliar concept to him.]

[yourattention]

Well, yeah. It's a birthday party without all the parts I hate.

[Such as being the center of attention and presents. Mostly being the center of attention, even though some of the Jormun present do know his birthday is in a little over a week. Presents aren't actually bad, Larry Murphy just sucks at them.

Later, on his actual birthday, he can be paralyzed with the realization that he's turning 19 and that is definitely not something he ever thought would happen.]

[postictal]

Is it your birthday?

[That had been...a point of discussion, hadn't it? His birthday. A party with friends that his mom wanted Tim to attend, and Connor was going to make an excuse to slip away with Shion at some point, never mind the internal inconsistencies and the way the world folded and bent to accommodate them.]

[But if Tim had to deal with people giving him shit on his birthday, albeit in a perfectly reserved sense, then maybe he can do a little of the same. Something quiet and vague and not something that calls attention to anyone, least of all Connor himself.]

[yourattention]

It's my unbirthday. [Technically not a lie. Definitely not an answer to what Tim's actually asking.] I don't celebrate my actual birthday anymore.

[He would just lie and say he doesn't have one, but then Tim would try and give him a birthday like Ren. That's more trouble than it's worth, because he'd probably end up picking his actual birthday so he could remember it. This way, he might not have to give up the specific day and that's what he cares about.

If nobody knows the specific day, then he can pretend like anything people happen to end up doing actually has nothing to do with his birthday.]

[postictal]

[Anymore.]

[The potential to bring it up - the false memory of birthdays and the subject of them, the steadfast denial to let them truly be celebrated on his behalf, only for his mother to undercut him at every moment - it's difficult to ignore.]

Fair enough, I guess. [Placid and neutral, typically the best way to go.]

[And pointedly ignoring the elephant in the room.]

I guess getting high and covered in ocean body paint probably counts as a celebration for something.

[yourattention]

I'm lit! [Connor laughs. It's a good joke, in his mind.] This is way better than anything that's happened since I got here. Which I guess isn't a hard bar to clear. I killed a god last month.

[He's a little bit? Lot of bit fucked up over that. Video game shit is more fun when you're not living it. He hasn't grown horns or anything, though, so at least there's that.]

[postictal]

[To be fair, it’s the kind of shitty joke Tim would laugh at if he were the type to laugh at all.]

You were in the middle of that? [His brow furrows. He’d burned a fair portion of vines and woodland on his way off the damn island, but he knew better than to chance direct combat with a god.]

[yourattention]

By accident, yeah. [He was kinda, uh. Just looking for somewhere to dump a bomb.] Turns out hatchets are useful against plants.

[As are bombs, but he's more likely to admit he has a crush on Shion than that his big contribution to the battle was to set of a bomb. Which, you know. Is also highly unlikely to ever happen.]

[postictal]

So’s fire.

[In case he was wondering what Tim was up to. He was doing a little incendiary gardening.]

You, uh...are you holding up okay after all that? [Yes, he’s aware that this concern has arrived a tad late. It’s oossibke he desperately wanted to avoid touching on what he witnessed in Connor’s head.]

[yourattention]

[Connor stares off over the ocean for so long it almost seems like he's not going to answer. Then, almost non sequitur:]

. . . How much do we know about the gods?

[postictal]

I probably know less than you, to be honest.

[He doesn't really...talk to the gods. Not necessarily because he isn't curious, but because he's got his mind on more than enough problems of his own - and Ozuma has more or less soured him on dealing with any overlookers of present circumstances.]

[yourattention]

There's a poem that's like. No man is an island, we're the continent of humanity and the bell tolls for you or whatever. [He has a point, but he needs a second to get there.] And it's like - it seems so stupid? For every island to have one god, like they're all just. Screaming into the void or whatever, at the edge of infinity, and just. Lonely. They're all fucking alone.

[He picks at the edge of his shorts, unraveling and fraying the edge further.]

It's a stupid way to write a story.

[postictal]

[It's possible, if only distantly, that Tim's read this poem at some point, in some GE class that he has no memory of - but mostly, he just takes Connor's word for it. Mostly, it's what he says after that sticks.]

Chol didn't have one. I mean...not that we could see. But I guess - yeah.

[The frown, coupled with the wondering hum, is the sole indication that this is something he hasn't considered before.]

It is kinda weird that they're all...separated like that. Do we know if any of them ever...visit each other or anything?

[yourattention]

The sun is the god of Chol, if you want to think about it that way. [Chol only exists for the sun to be reborn, from what the Jormun said, and that's pretty much the same as any of the other gods they've met.] I'm pretty sure they can't leave their islands, though. Storyteller's said it a bunch of times, and I don't think Balance knew about Bliss. Someone told them.

[And the thing is Connor knows what it's like to stand at the edge of an infinite island and scream while you hope that someone, anyone is waving back. And he also knows that's a him problem, not the way things are supposed to be, and maybe it's foolish to apply human things to gods but this whole thing doesn't feel right. It feels like something got broken and it needs to be fixed.]

[postictal]

[Did the sun - well, the sun did eventually leave, so to speak, so either it's the exception or...something else, maybe. He's not the expert here. The only expert they ostensibly have is the Storyteller, and he's - not sure where he stands with them, if he's honest.]

Do they...need the islands? Or the islands need them, maybe?

[yourattention]

I think . . . [Connor's fiddling with the edge of his shorts, trying to put all the half coherent thoughts he's had into a cohesive statement.] Something made it this way, but it isn't supposed to be. I think it doesn't make sense for the Storyteller and Balance to be so upset about Bliss if they were always isolated like this. I think -

[Connor's eyes flick over to the water. For someone who has saltwater drying on his skin, he looks remarkably uncomfortable at the thought of it.]

I haven't asked the Jormun about the water.

[postictal]

Isn't the...I mean, those city people were kinda all about the water, and they definitely didn't like the Storyteller.

[That? That was...hell, frankly. Not so much the rigid conformity, but everything that came after.]

But I guess these people do live in it. Might be different for them.

cw: suicidal ideation

[yourattention]

. . . There's buildings in the water. [Connor gestures in a direction that's more for show than an actual indication of what direction they're in.] I saw them when I was looking down from the floating islands and trying to decide if I should just jump off and die to get back down.

[He didn't, in the end, but it was a close thing. Most of the reason he didn't was because the fear of losing something was fresh in his mind and he just. Wasn't ready to deal with that again.]

I told Shion I'd ask the Jormun about them, but I haven't yet. I don't - I don't know if I want to know the answer.

...same

[postictal]

[That's news to Tim - not the jumping part, because that's not news to anyone who's known Connor for any length of time - but the fact that there were, in fact, buildings of some sort underwater.]

What makes you scared of the answer?

[Not knowing was worse, in some ways, than knowing why It came into their lives - but he'd rather have known it.]

[Rather have known that it was his problem, and his solution that he would be taking into his own hands.]

[yourattention]

Dunno. I feel like -

[If the Storyteller doesn't like the water, he doesn't know why the Jormun like the Storyteller. He doesn't know if it'll ruin something, to ask them a question that they might not want to answer. He doesn't know what he'll do if a huge chunk of his newfound, fragile support system is ripped from under him.]

- they're my friends. I don't want to risk that.