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

[hyperlit]

[And then - ]

[Then it is like nothing has changed. Simply two silent, strange creatures communicating in the only way they can. Is it as easy as that? As saying you wish something were so, and that being enough to make it? If it is as intangible as a concept of friend, or family, perhaps that is so.]

[If only a cure could be enacted in the same way.]

[They are not one for dwelling. So they take up the brush instead. They may as well try.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ If only asking could produce a cure, or a way to ease pain. But they already have, and found nothing.

They sit, hands on their knees, back perfectly straight. Trying to make things as easy as possible, and resisting the temptation to turn their head and look at what the Drifter might be doing.

They have to wait until it's done. That makes the surprise better. ]

[hyperlit]

[It takes them several long moments of careful, laborious brushstrokes, but eventually they sit back and examine their handiwork.]



[The language may be difficult to discern, considering the strangeness of its design - it is not like circular symbols, but perhaps just as abstruse to the untrained eye.]

[They're not as good at drawing as Ren is. So instead, they elected to design a kinder brand than the one the Knight currently wears.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight waits until they're absolutely sure the Drifter has finished, and then sort of crane their neck to look at what's been painted on them.

They...don't know how to read this. It's certainly a language, that much they can be sure of. But not one they can really comprehend.

They scoot back around to face the Drifter again, raising their hands. ]

YOUR-LANGUAGE?

[ They can ask about the meaning later, but if this is indeed the Drifter's language, it's a precious thing. Good thing this paint won't wash off for weeks ]

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter sketches the blocks out in the sand, a vertical line of geometries that they map out with quick, familiar, two-fingered strokes into the texture of the beach, until they've replicated the symbols exactly.]

yes
means "friend"

[Ta-da. They can do symbols too!]

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight watches in clear fascination as the Drifter makes those marks on the sand; attempting to mimic their writing, the movements of their hands. Somehow, they hadn't even thought about it, the fact that the Drifter might have this kind of language of their own.

(There were things they'd assumed about the Drifter, too.) ]

SHOW-ME-MORE?

[ They want to learn. They want to be taught. (They still remember the dream, unpleasant though it ultimately was -- that brief experience of being a drifter themselves -- and perhaps part of that dream-self still remains.) ]

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter considers that. And then, with the precision of someone who has seen these same words many times before, studied them astutely as they uncovered each piece of that puzzle, they begin to sketch them out with swift efficiency.]

[They translate each line as they go, the words hovering beside their sprite.]

TRANSCENDENCE FAITH IMMORTALITY / IN MORTALITY
RIFTS CRAFTED, DANGEROUS POTENTIAL
A FOUNDATION FOR FAITH & VIOLENCE
A LOSS OF SELF, A NARROW PATH TRAVELED

[lightlessfuture]

[ They read intently, dividing their attention between watching the Drifter work and the translations they're being given.

It doesn't seem to be a personal story - no, from what they know of their friend, it doesn't match up. It sounds like a record, telling something that happened for those who came after. Is this a story from the Drifter's world? It must be.

Immortality. Rifts. Faith. Violence. ]

STORY-OF-IMMORTAL-CELL?

[hyperlit]

[A lower of their head in a nod.]

uncovered over time
old monoliths
a history many did not wish to remember

[Presumably, anyway, given the fact that so many of those monoliths had been buried or hidden, as though whoever had inscribed them was ashamed of what they displayed - or that someone else discovered what they spoke, and wished to see it overgrown and discarded.]

[Perhaps, given what it revealed of the state of the world, this was understandable.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ They nod. They know how that is. (They were a small fragment of Hallownest's forgotten history, after all). ]

OTHERS-MAKE-MISTAKES

TRY-TO-HIDE-IT

DO-NOT-UNDERSTAND

IT-DOES-NOT-HELP

[ Hallownest's old wounds were deep and fearsome. But they could only be fixed once they were revealed. (The Knight doesn't really understand shame at such things (or shame much at all). There was only do, or do not. No point worrying about undoing it. It had already happened.)

They tilt their head as this raises another question for them. Things they'd never really thought to ask. This is a day of firsts for the Knight, too. ]

UNCOVER-HISTORY

YOUR-DUTY?

[hyperlit]

it is what drifters do

[It is, perhaps, understandable - that a history shrouded in shame would not wish to be remembered. But the husks of long-fallen Titans, eroded over time as they collapsed into the landscape, were not simple reminders enough. Not when the Immortal Cell continued to eat at the core of the world, bleeding its toxins into the world.]

retrieve broken history
recover technology that has been abandoned
remember our fallen brethren

[They pinch at the fabric of their cloak briefly between two fingers. Sometime down the line, perhaps, someone will find their body hunched against the wall - reclaim their cloak, their sword, their sprite, and use them to accomplish great things. Their name will not survive, nor will their deeds, but some portion of them will endure.]

[That is the best a drifter may hope for.]

[lightlessfuture]

[ The Knight nods in solemn understanding. It seems simple and straightforward enough; a list of responsibilities to perform, when the need arises.

It is similar to their own travels, wandering from place to place, aiding others at need, wielding their weapon with skill. A sparse existence, needing and asking for little.

(They are not sure, then, why they feel sad. They are not quite able to comprehend the root of that feeling.) ]

DRIFTER-IS-NAME-AND-TITLE?

[ Does the Drifter have their own name? Or is this simply who they are now, all in one, with no other drifters here to contest such a thing? ]

[hyperlit]

title

[They don't elaborate. They've no need to, really. If they have a name, it has long since lots its relevance - to them, to the world, to the culture of drifters as a whole. Even to the god that walked the world (beside them, at times, but mostly in front, her tail a slender exclamation point drawing them ever closer to the end). What is the importance in a name, for someone like them?]

[In essence, not much.]