lifeaftr | you and me in the moonlight

Who: You!
What: A year end party MINGLELOG to help everyone recover from the Shit we’ve been through.
When: Forwarddated to Nov 24
Where: Enso E4, close to the ST Temple
Warnings: Mark as necessary, but none expected.

As the end of November draws near…… it’s time for that player plot the mods hinted at in their latest announcement.

~~Laurent’s Witch Labyrinth!~~ -no, actually, it’s just a party.

[preparation]

All day on the 24th people are hard at work setting up on the golden beaches of Enso. The Storyteller’s Temple can be seen from the site and vice versa; it’s just a short walk away. There’s quite a bit to be done, so every extra pair of hands are welcome!

[the party]

As evening falls, a series of torches light up the party site for the lost; most prominent are the three large campfires spaced out across the beach, offering a variety of gathering spots for those who don’t like the loud partying going on at the other one.

There’s more than enough food to go around. An entire Cariborn is being dug up from the sandy soil way up the beach, having been roasted in the ground. There’s a wide variety spread out on tables… of handwaved origin… maybe they’re the ones left around from 4/20?? It’s probably fine. Herb- baked vegetables, fresh fruits, meat of various types, pizza!! and yes, Muffet’s Magic Blackberry Alcohol abound.

We’ve also got party favors. Amongst them, it seems like..... owo are these sparklers?

Come hang out! It’s a well-deserved break.

[activities]

The children (and adults so-inclined) have some cute party games to have fun with. There’s a simple little ringtoss area set up, with rings that aren’t even proper circles (listen, Laurent tried) and wooden stakes in the ground to be ringed.

Across the wide stretch of sand there's a lot that can be done- want to build some sandcastles? Pick some shells? Fight some crabs? The beach is dotted with doodles in the sand, inviting you to join in.

The biggest attraction is perhaps the petting zoo- well, it’s a cluster of animals just hanging out, but you get the idea. Located far up on the beach and away from the danger of the waves, the petting zoo has three whole Chocobos, two whole Tigerlilies (one of which is clearly guarding the Chocobos), and one whole horse. Sometimes two horses, but the grey wandering one is wearing a plaque that says “I BITE. PET ME CAREFULLY.”

[storyteller?]

Yes, ST-chan is invited! I’m leaving it to them to top-level or tag out at their leisure. Keep an eye out for the bunny god, they’re Coming.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The tug at his coat is surprising by itself since it's so far down that Molly just assumed it snagged on something - but then he turns around to free himself and sees the little creature (?) waving at him.

He has no idea what it is supposed to be, but the little wave told him it was at least some kind of sapient creature.

Curious, Molly crouches to take a closer look. ]

Hey there?

[ Compared to the tiefling in front of them, they're almost entirely monochrome; a featureless white mask lacking anything but eyesockets and a grey cloak with the hood pushed back. Vaguely buglike on first glance, but...off, if given more than a cursory inspection.

They step back a bit to allow him space, since he's nice enough to crouch down for them.

They can't respond with words to his greeting, but luckily, there's paper for that. They fish out a piece of paper from their cloak and hold it up as high as they can (not very, they're like two feet tall and that's with horns) for his inspection.

CANNOT TALK
I AM FRIENDLY
NICE TO MEET YOU ]

[ It looks like some kind of bug-skull-child and Molly's definitely intrigued. They seemed really friendly and polite, but he sighs internally when the creature sticks up a piece of paper for him to read. Another being that couldn't talk. He should really learn thieves' code or some kind of charades, shouldn't he?

At least words written on a paper were a bit easier to read than the hovering light text, so it doesn't take the tiefling as long to make sense of the words. ]

Well, you do seem quite friendly! It's nice to meet you, too. Do you happen to have a name?

[ Luckily Molly doesn't voice his sigh out loud, or they'd probably attempt to apologise for their own voicelessness. It's something they've had to live with since they were born, but that doesn't mean it doesn't frustrate them sometimes.

They're prepared for this question, at least. They flip the paper over and show it to him.

NAME IS KNIGHT

Then, they lower it and sort of...gesture and tilt their head in apparent curiosity, trying to ask without words what his name is. How much of this question gets across is...debatable. ]

[ It's not their fault that Molly is a shitty reader, so he's not frustrated with them as much as his own squinting and pauses as he reads. At least these were short sentences and not like a fucking book. ]

Hello, Knight. I'm Mollymauk, Molly to my friends. Are you having fun?

[ It was a party, after all. ]

[ They do notice the squinting - Molly isn't the first person they've met who can't read well (or at all, in Yellowfang's case). Happily, they've learned something from a recent experience, and though they still don't like the way the voice sounds, they can sacrifice a bit of comfort for someone else's sake.

They tuck the piece of paper away and fish in their cloak for the Farspeech stone, clasping it tightly in both hands to ensure it works. (It would probably work just as well, being in one hand, but they want to get it right.)

The voice that emits is nondescript and neutral. The sentences are disjointed and halting, as if spoken by someone who doesn't quite know how to put words together . But it's a clearly audible voice, at least. ]

yes
having-fun
are-you

[ They're not really used to parties in the sense that they've never experienced many of them, but they're enjoying themselves. People are happy, and that's important. ]

[ He wasn't quite prepared for the little one to speak, and even less from the messaging stone - but it's a good thing to know that they can at least make themselves heard somehow.

It might be disjointed and weird, but Molly doesn't care. ]

I'm having a great time! Parties are my favorite thing, it brings people together and makes them happy.

[ They're of the same mind on that part. People being happy is important. ]

parties-are-fun
did-not
go-to-any
before-i-came-here

seen-many-never-joined

[ They've never really been a participant. They've just hovered on the edges, a perpetual stranger in a community where everyone's grown up around each other, and watched. They all seemed to know what to do, and...the Knight did not. So they never joined in. ]

people-being-happy
good
important
it-is-nice

That's a pity, you should have! At least you're here in this one, though.

[ He knows everyone isn't a party person, or in more sinister cases not even invited to parties because they're... well, a little bug or a tiefling. It's not that strange that the little creature isn't used to them, even if it's a damn shame. ]

...and you're very right. Being happy in a place like this is really important. We need it to keep going.

[ It's a little surreal to have this talk with a tiny skull-faced creature, but Molly's pretty adaptable, and they had good opinions. ]

What's your favorite thing?

you and me in the moonlight

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject