I saw Mommy kissing Samba-Claus (KISS BINGO EDITION) 💋🌿

[beleos]

QIASU (HIGHSTORM)

On December 15th, the marker of the latter half of Takiltu, Kenos comes together to celebrate unity and togetherness, to come together with friends and family, to be kind to others and share in one’s wealth - whether that comes in the form of knowledge, monetary gains, or the exchange of gifts and one’s time. This celebration is an amalgamation of many worlds’ winter festivals, and as such, is known in the two cities as the Year’s End Festival, or Qiasu as Highstorm calls it.

This part of Takiltu is when Highstorm truly starts to hit winter. Snow is a frequent occurrence, but it’s one that the city welcomes, since with the snow comes a few of the most beloved traditions of the city. By far the most popular is heading to Greenwood Yards. The gardens themselves may be either dormant or showing their simpler winter gardens, but you may have noticed an area by the bathhouses left in surprising amount of disrepair… This is because during the winter months, this area fills up with a natural outdoor hot spring! Take a swim under the moonlight, and even explore some of those ruined old manors, now with their first floors warmly flooded. It’s a tradition to bring in your favorite drinks and spend an evening sipping it in a parlor with friends, and to make new ones by sharing your drinks. Of course, do watch out for the ghosts. They’re mischievous more than malicious, but this is their favorite time of the year too!

You can also head to the Great Tree, which is decorated for the season with glittering glass orbs and is the current roost for the pale Moonbugs of Highstorm. Write a wish on a slip of paper and hold out your hands, and one of the Moonbugs will come sit within them. Whisper the wish to the Moonbug and it’ll take the paper and fly away to find someone to fulfill it. Of course, this also means that a Moonbug is likely to come find you! Besides it being good karma to fulfill the wish, you’ll be given a brief vision of the person whose wish you fulfilled and be blessed by the tree for the duration of the month depending upon your Aspect:

• Advocate: People are more likely to buy you meals/rounds and every recipe you make turns out perfectly.
• Exalt: Animals seem to think more kindly of you, and you'll find them much easier to befriend.
• Harbinger: You're given a more silver tongue as your arguments seem to be better at persuading people.
• Iconoclast: You won't be effected by cold weather in any way.
• Savant: You heal much more rapidly from any injury and are generally the very picture of health.
• Stargazer: Your indulgences (whatever they may be) are both easier to find and are of higher quality.

And of course, there’s one more well-known practice in Highstorm, though it’s more of a tradition of Kowloon’s… The Gävle family is a well-known family who has lived in Highstorm for a long time, and they brought a tradition of building a festive Yule goat made straw in the square outside of their businesses. However, it also happens to be outside of Yura Szczepanski’s home. He’ll never do it himself, of course, but if you manage to burn it down? He’ll reward you, obviously. It doesn’t make it any more legal, so those that try generally spend some time in a Highstorm jail, but it’s an enshrined enough practice at this point that not only has it burned down more often than it’s survived, but there’s even a betting pool in Kowloon for whether it survives or not.

Of course, if these traditions aren’t quite your vibe, you’ll also find the city just generally set up for a metropolitan winter. The Antiques & Baubles Market is rearranged to make room for a large ice-skating rink, Tasseography (the coffeeshop by the Tomes) has a seasonal special for a hot chocolate that will fortify you from the cold for a few hours (and make you fire resistant? Weird,), and the city also hosts a full-size gingerbread house that you can indeed take a bite from, to name a few things. Generally speaking, if it’s something you could do in a snowy city at home, you’ll probably find an equivalent somewhere in the city of moonlight.

Be warned, however, if you are visiting from out of town. Highstorm's reception seems just a touch bit chiller than the weather!

YEAR'S END FESTIVAL (SPRINGSTAR)

Springstar will never turn down a chance to celebrate, but eternally Highstorm’s opposite, this is the warmest time of year. With the sun always shining, some days can get near sweltering, but that just means you have a different set of traditions to have fun with it!

The ivy-like vines that decorated the city in the beginning of the month (November) are now in full bloom, and you’re now likely to learn why the Meri consider them sacred. Wherever the flowers bloom, they encourage feelings of warmth and slightly higher inclination for physical contact within those that encounter their magical pollen*. Holding hands with someone by the flowers will give you feelings of liveliness and happiness, and for a few hours, the positive traits of the person you’re holding hands with become more prominent in you and vice versa. These effects do linger a bit longer, since for a month, you’ll also find that being around this person also gives you both a little boost in energy. It’s very sweet! This also comes with a bit of a further game, if you’re at all a frequenter of Psychagogía...

Madame Dee’s hosts a very popular competition simply called Kiss Bingo. Approach the booth set-up outside the brothel and touch your Shard to a special card, and names will appear upon it. From there, the rules are simple. Just give that person a kiss! It can be on their hand, their lips, their [redacted], all of it counts, and once you do, a little kiss mark will mark their name out. Get a bingo, and you can pick from a variety of prizes such as a ticket for a week’s worth of visits at a local buffet, a shopping spree at a nearby store, or a box seat for a day at the Coliseum. Of course, if you’re really an overachiever, fill out the whole card to get multiple prizes. Madame Dee might just give you a job!

With the promise of home that the Meri deeply believe in, they have their own gifting tradition. The Shard-Bearers know best that it’s possible to receive gifts from the Timestream, and for Year’s End, it’s tradition for the Tribune to pull out all the stops. For a week of the Festival, the Tribune works just outside of Heliopolis, and with the help of priests from the Church of Helios, reaches into the Timestream to produce a gift for anyone that comes to ask. This year, however, he's asked Quetzalcoatl and Samba's elves to deliver gifts, but you might not get anything you asked for (or maybe you did!) but they're all gifts the timestream spit out!

On rainy days (or simply the unbearably hot ones), you can also go to Starlight Park, which offers a reprieve from the weather. Inside the dome, you’ll find a idyllic, snowy valley where you can partake in all the natural joys of winter. There’s (highly) competitive snowball fights, sledding, and skiing to partake in, though you might be cautioned away from one slope. Head down that course and about halfway down, you’ll be chased by… a yeti? Luckily it doesn’t seem to be able to harm you, but it’s still shockingly fast and will catch you no matter how quickly you ski. You can also spend a bit of money to rent a yurt along the river for a relaxing and exceptionally cozy glamping experience. Some Yurts are even adorned with the sacred vines. You know, for no reason.

You’ll also find the Meri heading away from the city of Springstar a bit to head down to some of the beaches that surround Springstar. Being an island within an Island (capital ‘I’ meaning the Kenos kind of island), Takiltu is the traditional start of Springstar’s summer season and all the fun that comes with that. The beaches are bustling, but the cool and crystal-clear waters of the ocean surrounding the city make it worthwhile. Surfing, diving, and sailing are popular activities, but just make sure to stay within sight of the shore. It doesn’t take too long to hit the end of the Island and sailing outside the magical barrier that keeps Springstar floating in Kenos’s starscape generally isn’t survivable.

Just be mindful, if you're trying to escape Highstorm's chill for some summer fun, as attitudes are shifting toward bearers in general, and it might not be as easy as it once was.

NOTES

Weather summary for the second 30 days of Takiltu (NOV & DEC):

• Highstorm is out of fall and into winter. While there are some milder days, snow (and heavy snow at that!) is getting more common.
• Springstar is hot and humid, and it's not uncommon for brief thunderstorms to roll through in the afternoon.

Notable city changes:

• Both cities have experienced changing attitudes toward shard-bearers. You will need to be mindful if you want to travel to a city that doesn't house your faction, as things might not be as easy when it comes to getting around.
• Springstar has had an increase in attacks toward it's citizens, and they are often fatal and destructive. Rumors travel among Springstar's seedier types that these are escaping from Ryad, and they aren't being reigned in. That always comes with a flicker of worry.

CODING

Comments

[bakedapple]

[ As Raphael circles around him lazily, Link's eyes follow. He's still trying to size him up, put a finger on what it is about him that makes such a plain-looking man feel so off, when the war is mentioned. Link tenses up, immediately relieved that Raphael dismissed the idea in the same breath he brought it up, as he definitely would not have agreed to such a thing whether he'd already agreed to a "price" or not. Still, with how noxious his mind had felt earlier, he's not looking forward to what he's about to say —

which makes what he does say all the more strange. The tension in Link's expression drops and he blinks. ]

Someone with a need they can't fulfill? Doesn't... everyone probably have something like that?

[ and especially Shard-Bearers? ]

[narsinssist]

Ah, but do they all have something that nobody can fulfill?

[ he asked, his arms gestured with his words. ] Everyone wants something, but it's the truly... intriguing that I am interested in. The things that one man alone cannot achieve, that I can provide.

[ His lips curl into a smile. ]

I have lived many years making dreams become reality. It is what I excel at, in fact!

[ Not for free, though. ]

Do not worry, if they choose to not use my services, I will not hold you accountable. They will not be forced into anything.

[bakedapple]

...

[ This... feels familiar.

This feels pointedly, unmistakeably, importantly familiar.

Is it a coincidence? Is he imagining things? Or... does this sound just like what Sebastian told him the other day when they had dinner together?

Link isn't an intellectual type. He can't hold a debate with a silver-tongued scholar. But that doesn't mean he's stupid. He recognizes patterns when he sees them — and although this is only the second time meeting someone like this, isn't it weird that it's happened twice now? ]

Are you a demon?

[ Asked completely flatly. Almost casually, if it weren't for the way Link is peering at him. ]

[narsinssist]

[ Raphael's insulted scoff escaped his lips with less control than normal. ]

Hells! Of course not!

[ He shook his head. ]

I see you have been talking to our dear friend Sebastian. He is a demon unlike those that I am familiar with, but to me, Demons are chaotic, vile creatures. Why, my people have been at war with them since before I existed.

[ Existed. Not born. ]

That is an insult, to call me so. I'm a devil, and thus: we're quite different.

[ He shook his head, as if Link's insulted him gravely. ] Really! A demon.

[bakedapple]

[ Link has no idea what a devil is. He's never heard the word before. But the way Raphael describes a demon — that is most definitely familiar to him. ]

Oh, I'm... I'm sorry if I offended you.

[ Blinking, he takes a step back and straightens up a little, feeling sorry for the faux pas. ]

But you're right, I know Sebastian. And... yeah, I was surprised when he called himself a demon too, because demons where I'm from are a lot like what you just said. We've been at war with them for thousands of years. Sebastian is nothing like them, but... I mean, what you just described sounds a lot like the sort of thing he does, too. But you're saying you aren't a demon like him?

[narsinssist]

Sebastian is not a chaotic creature, I think.

[ He said, with his hand to his chin. ]

No, I think not. You see, that is the difference between they, and creatures such as he, or I. Chaos is the antithesis to whom we are. No, perhaps it is more accurate to say that we are creatures of the same kind, with different names, hm? We are similar enough.

[ Sebastian even had a name similar to one of the devils in his own world, but he would not share that with anyone. He understood the need to keep such things secret. ]

But perhaps it is appropriate to think of us as differently named beings regardless, hm?

[bakedapple]

Oh. Well... alright.

[ That would make sense. The difference in terminology is something Link has struggled with regarding Sebastian until only recently... And this sounds like just another simple semantic problem.

Link crosses his arms and looks Raphael up and down with new interest. The deal-making thing, that part is familiar, but he wonders if the two of them do it in the same way, or for the same reasons. ]

You eat people's souls too, then? [ casually asked. ] I'm not gonna send just anyone to you if I know you're going to eat them after. Even if they fit what you're asking for...

[narsinssist]

[ He scoffed ] Eat? Of course not.

[ Well. For the most part. Not a physical eating. Sure, many ended up as fodder for his power, but they were not something he ate for food, but instead he would burn them up for power. He does not, however, elaborate on that point for Link. ]

The terms of a contract are laid out clearly for a mortal, and they have full rights to review them prior to signing.

[ He said, as if it were obvious. ] I do not know many mortals that are so desperate to agree to being eaten.

[ SILCO........ ]

[bakedapple]

[ Link huffs, almost as if he's scoffing back. Not eating souls... well, that could be a good thing? But now he has half a dozen new questions, and no increase in willingness to actually send anyone Raphael's way until they're answered. ]

If you don't eat them, then what do you get out of it?

[ At least when Sebastian eats souls, they're the souls of bad people... ]

[narsinssist]

Who says I have to do anything with them?

[ Sure, he collected them for power, but it wasn't always the soul that he purchased. Sometimes it was something else. A favor, an item. His father collected wizards and sages to conscript into forced labor in his burning palace in the chill of Cania, but while Raphael kept his debtors (and his soul pillars) there were even more within the world.

They would make their way to him eventually, upon death. ]

They live out their lives. I ask for an equivalent favor, in exchange for what they want.

[ All true. ]