you and me in the moonlight

[crosslaced]

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.

Comments

[antepone]

[ She blinks. It's... kind of lonely to think about the way they put it. ]

My friends will understand. Besides... they have other friends to spend time with.

[hyperlit]

[It haunts them. This restive, inconsolable need to always be doing something, to always be acting, this refusal to sit still and wait. It is not enough to simply enjoy themself, unless it is to do something they can still view as constructive, such as spar.]

you were out here before

[Why?]

[antepone]

Oh--

[ She isn't ready to admit to anyone, especially someone she's just met, her fears about being around others for too long. She's not about to admit that she still gets exhausted and worn out in every way if she's around too many people for too long, even when emotions are so positive.

So... ]

I was collecting shells, so I could make gifts for people.

[ It's not a lie. Not really. ]

[hyperlit]

[The Drifter, being the way they are, does not ask questions. That is the explanation she offers, and so they take it at face value, as they do most things.]

treasures

[That's what Ren calls them, after all.]

[antepone]

[ She nods. ]

Exactly. Treasures that can be made into other treasures. Do you have anything like that? Something that's special to you?

[hyperlit]

[...]

[The Drifter glances down, as though considering the question. Eventually, they extricate something from beneath the folds of their cloak.]

[It's a mask - the sort of disposable face-masks that one wears to minimize smoke inhalation. It is dirty, torn, and has long since stopped being useful for its intended purpose. But they continue to hold onto it, regardless.]

yes

[antepone]

[ Considering Mira is someone who keeps a bowling pin on her bedside table--a reminder of her seventh birthday party when everything was still okay--and various pieces of broken costume jewelry--Halloweens, when her mother was still willing to take her by the hand and go door to door--the mask isn't too odd. ]

Have you always had it? Or is it something you found here?

[hyperlit]

a gift
from a friend

[They were not friends, at that point. It was an exchange, because Ichimatsu didn't want to have to owe them for all those coconuts. The very first day they met. The very first...day.]

[No longer dead. Living, and willing to make good on their desire to be...better. Kinder.]

[Some would call it the desire to "pay it forward," but the Drifter has no access to such terminology. They only know it for what they wish to be.]

[antepone]

[ She nods. ]

I have a few of those, too. They've always been my most treasured items, I think.

[ A stuffed rabbit with a blue ribbon around its neck. A signed novel by a favorite author and best friend. Ribbons to put in her hair. Pretty journals and oversized sweaters she drowned in, but which she misses. ]

I hope you get more things like that, here.

[hyperlit]

[That's the problem, see. They do. They have more gifts like these - small treasures and things that Ren gives them, that the Knight makes for them, that people...see fit to commit effort to.]

[They pocket the small object again, and look out across the water. How do they explain that? That it is a waste, that they are a waste, because they have already seen how their story ends, and knows it will end in death?]

should not
will only be lost

[antepone]

[ Lost... There's something deeply sad about that, and Mira bites her lip. Her heart aches a little for them, even if she doesn't know the whole story. Still. ]

Even if you shouldn't, don't you want to?

[hyperlit]

does not matter
what i want

[Their shoulders spasm suddenly, jerking in a stuttered convulsion. Their coughing is quiet, muffled by their cowl, but it's distinguishable as coughing nonetheless.]

[antepone]

Ah--

[ It's hard to mistake it for anything but coughing. Mira bites her lip. ]

I'm sorry-- are you alright?

[hyperlit]

sick
dying
no cure

[Offhand. Almost dismissive. They've issued the explanation so many times over - going from a place where everyone understood what this illness meant implicitly, and only needed a glance at the pink haze of their blood and the sour scent of sickness to discern what afflicted them, to a world where few seemed to recognize it at a glance.]

[But the Immortal Cell does not stalk this land, and so...no one would know without asking, would they?]

[antepone]

There's-- no cure? Not... not even here?

[ There's something like distress in the way she asks. ]

The Storyteller can't help you?

[hyperlit]

[They shake their head. Tug their cowl a little more securely over their face.]

already dead

[Even death does not cure the dying, it seems. They are still dying here and now, but rather...in slow motion, without the Cell's looming weight to speed their way. It is a certain kind of gift, in some respects. It allows them so much more time than they deserve.]

[But they could do without the long-standing ache it entails.]

[antepone]

[ She hesitates. ]

Still... there must be something to help ease your suffering.

[hyperlit]

not sure
still looking

[They never really stopped looking. Even if the possibility for success is so painfully, obviously low, they are not one to simply give up.]