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

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

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Well according to Disney Channel Original Movie Johnny Tsunami--

Look, the two skills don't necessarily corollate regardless, but Gray will still have a leg up on Atsumu, who hasn't done either. Natural athleticism (something they both have anyway), doesn't necessarily mean someone is going to be good at every sport.

Atsumu is about to prove all of that, which makes the boasting that's happening right now all the more ironic. Does Add realize this? Add has to at least sense it in the air, the impending feeling of someone about to make a complete fool of himself. ]

'Course I will! This is the kinda stuff I do better than everyone else here.

[ God he says it with such confidence as he puts his board down and starts to fuss with strapping it to his feet. At least he paid attention to instructions on that, so that's... that's something. ]

[ Add's intentions are 100% suspect, especially with the huge grin plastered on his face, but Gray believes in Atsumu's bravado with 100% faith. She parks her well-insulated butt in the snow and begins to strap into her board too. She peeks at Atsumu to make sure she's doing it right... Once she's done, she pushes up to her feet, wobbling slightly. Immediately she sees how this will be different from surfboarding; she doesn't know if she likes how her feet are now effectively glued to her snowboard.

But Atsumu is probably faring better than her. She looks over at him. Maybe he would like some encouragement. ]

Um... good luck!

[ Add, cheerful: ] Kill it, man!

[ This is not necessarily a test where copying off of her peer is going to help Gray much, though Atsumu does seem to test his snowboard, trying to wiggle his feet, and deciding they're nice and secure enough. Seems like he got that part right at least, though he does also wobble the minute he stands up, and barely catches himself by dropping into bent knee position that's still a bit too high to be considered a squat.

Already the cracks are showing, but he clears his throat, and points at Add with a nod. ]

I don't need luck.

[ He needs so much luck, but he does very slowly manage to scooch himself forward to the edge of the slope without falling over. He even gets the edge of his board to where the run starts, and for a total beginner it's not a bad job!

Shame that the minute he tips forward, he really tips forward. He doesn't even make it a proper foot before he goes tumbling head over heels into the snow, and then head over heels again, and again, and again until he rolls somewhere off to the side of the slope looking as dazed as he does snow covered. ]

[ The moment Atsumu eats snow, Add is laughing his square, pointy ass off. At the same time, Gray automatically tries to step forward to grab Atsumu before he can tumble too far... but her feet are still strapped in, and so she belly flops onto the snow with an outstretched hand.

She quickly swipes the snow off her goggles before awkwardly pushing back up. She just as awkwardly "walks" her way to the edge of the slope, sliding her board forward end by end. Finally, she slides down. She finds it easy to catch her balance once she has a bit of momentum...

... except when she drags the tail end of her board forward to brake as she comes up to Atsumu, the softness of the snow is greater than she anticipated. She sends a small tsunami of snow blasting onto him. Sorry... ]

[ The icy insult that has been added to this insult is almost too much to bear. It would be bad enough if Add's mocking laughter had followed him in his tumble down, or that Gray had shown him pity and concern in his moment of weakness.

But she has to go and massive spray more snow on top of him too.

He doesn't make a single peep as he tries to press himself further down into the snow. If he does this he can become one with the elements and stop existing in this humiliating corporeal form that just betrayed him in the worst way.

Let him die... let him die here please... ]

[ Of course, Gray feels guilty panic as soon as she sees the spray of snow go up... but when Atsumu doesn't immediately pop up spluttering or shouting, she becomes alarmed. For all she knows, he could be injured and/or suffocating underneath that fluffy blanket of snow. ]

A-Atsumu!

[ She quickly unbuckles from her snowboard and tromps over to stick her hand into the snow and grab for what she hopes is the scruff of Atsumu's jacket. She'll try to pull him out like a rabbit out of a magician's hat, urgent-like. ]

[ As he lies there waiting for the sweet embrace of death to gently carry him away from all of his worldly shame, he feels a hand grab onto the back of his jacket, and unfortunately a little bit of the hair on the back of his head too. Gray's a strong young lady, and even though Atsumu is a big guy, she probably won't have any trouble yanking him up and out of the pile of snow she accidentally buried him in.

The extremely loud yelp of pain he lets out as that small chunk of hair gets pulled with her attempt to save him, however, might be alarming. He's not really injured, but it's hard to tell from the way he's wailing. ]

[ Gray pulls him out as well as her five feet plus change will allow her, but when he yelps like he's in pain, she immediately lets go. ]

Sorry!

[ What if he broke something and she's making it worse... Well, she'd only be making it worse, thanks to the sudden fall Atsumu is about to take. ]

[ If he broke something, he'd definitely be out of luck after Gray dropped him back down like that. Fortunately nothing is broken. As he's found out recently, it takes a hell of a beating to crack his bones, and a little tumble on some (admittedly not soft at all considering it's kind of packed down) snow isn't going to do it.

But when he does sit up, he is rubbing the back of his head where she snagged him by the hair. ]

Quit tryin' to help for a second!

[ Gray quickly snatches her hands back to herself as if they might do something else to betray her and also Atsumu. If it weren't for Atsumu's shout, she might really try to figure out some other way to "help" him...

She hovers awkwardly, waiting for Atsumu to help himself. ]

I'm sorry...

[ She already said that. Add, ever an instigator, whispers loudly at her. ]

Come on, Gray. You'll need better moves than that if you wanna get a kiss out of him!

[ No one can fault Gray for lack of caring. Though Atsumu will certainly fault her for not knowing the right way to do so. He scrambles to stand back up out of the snow now, which takes some effort given the snowboard still strapped to his feet, but he does manage it without Gray needing to try and grab him and haul him up again with her absurd strength.

Though he does almost slip and fall back down in a real comedy pratfall style when he hears that extremely loud whisper. ]

What was that?!

[ It shouldn't be surprising. He's got a kiss bingo card of his own, and Gray's name is on it. For a brief, confusing moment though he manages to forget about that fact as he stares dumbstruck at the weapon, and then Gray, before understanding slowly seems to dawn on his face. ]

[ Gray's expression plunges even deeper into mortification, red conquering the skin that hasn't already dusted pink with the cold. ]

Add...!!

[ She rattles his cage sharply under her cloak even as she waves her other gloved hand at Atsumu in alarm. ]

F-For bingo! He means -- I have you on my card, not that I want to... I mean, I don't like you like that...

[ Distantly aware that she isn't making things much better, her defense ends in a miserable mumble. ]

[ That's a reasonable and fair clarification, and there has never been any hint of romance between them.

But at the same time, Atsumu's pride is an oversized and stupid thing, and her insistence that she doesn't like him like that has him frowning as that pride stings slightly. It's not like he wants that, or any of the complications that would come with it, but like... ]

You don't gotta deny it so eagerly!

[ Maybe if he could manage being nicer than "not actively mean" to her, then she wouldn't be so emphatic about this fact. ]

[ She was trying to make things less awkward, but maybe it backfired. She can only apologize at this point; trying to act like she could possibly want to kiss him of her own volition is way out of the question. She bows a little toward him. ]

I'm sorry. I'm sure there are a lot of people who'd be happy to kiss you.

[ It's not getting less awkward. Unfortunately, her limp reassurances probably won't get any better than this. Gray's honesty can be a great strength, but sometimes it is like this, a critical failure.

She'd like to turn right around and snowboard the rest of the way down the slope so that she can eject herself from this situation, but... she grabs a meager fistful of courage and pushes on. ]

Still... I do have my own reasons, so if it isn't too disagreeable with you... would it be alright if I kissed you?

[ she'd like to die actually ]

[ It's not getting less awkward at all. The way his face visibly twitches at "I'm sure there are a lot of people who'd be happy to kiss you." really says it all. Prior to his world exploding, Atsumu was getting used to being an object of adoration for girls around his age, so suddenly having the reality that without minor celebrity he wasn't nearly as desirable as he has built himself up to be is painful.

It's bad enough that Rin has made it abundantly clear how disinterested she is when he hasn't even attempted to make a pass at her, but now Gray is doing it to him too??

Shit sucks, man... Atsumu's ego is internally whimpering like the most pathetic of dogs. ]

If you quit talkin' about how much you don't want to do it first!

[ He scrambles to grab something in his pocket, only for his chunky gloves to get in the way, and for him to have to bite onto one of the fingers to rip it off and fish out a slightly damp looking bingo card out of his pocket to shove in her face.

His voice comes out slightly odd with his front teeth still clamped down around the small section of glove in his mouth. ]

Just to be clear. It's 'cause I gotcha on mine too.

[ If she's going to stress how much SHE doesn't want to kiss HIM, then he doesn't want her thinking she's more kissable than he is! ]

Oh, thank goodness.

[ She smiles with relief. If this is clearly transactional for him, all the better. When it comes to any sort of positivity toward her appearance or attractiveness, Gray possesses the strongest deflection field known to man. The only way she could be more relieved is if he called her mug ugly, which she would thank him for.

Her entire attitude toward this exchange should be enough to tip her off to the fact that she isn't nearly close to heterosexual enough for Atsumu's objective tallness, handsomeness, and athleticism to tip the scales for her. And yet. Nevertheless, for science, she feels the need to give things a fair shake. ]

Then... whenever you're ready.

[ No point in putting it off. Gray lifts her bulky goggles to her forehead, pushing her hood slightly back; it might still put them in traffic given Atsumu's height, but Gray's kiss IQ is still in development. ]

[ Emotional gut punch after emotional gut punch right to his ego, and Gray is doing it all so innocently. That she means nothing by it might actually make it worse, because if she was doing it to try and hurt him he could at least twist it into her exaggerating in order to try and wound him.

There's no misunderstanding this though.

It rankles Atsumu something fierce, but he spits his glove out back into his hand, before shoving both the wetted bingo card and his glove back into his pocket while she apparently faces down the Herculean task of having to kiss him.

It's pettiness more than anything that has him lifting his hand up to both nudge those goggles back further, and cover her eyes up at the same time as he leans in to press slightly chapped lips down against hers. Despite taking a dive in the cold, his mouth is fairly warm albeit a little dry, but the fingers pressed against her face are icy cold, and cannot be fun to feel right now. ]

Edited 2024-02-04 22:58 (UTC)

[ Gray has experienced a small handful of kisses by this point, and she can easily say that this is the strangest one. She doesn't think too much of Atsumu pushing her goggles up, but the cold hand that lays over her eyes is shocking enough to her system that she stiffens with a small noise of surprise that gets swallowed up by Atsumu's mouth.

By now, Gray has come to terms with kissing being a pleasant experience, as if it once would have been sinful to admit. Even if Atsumu's lips are a little crackly against her softer, warmer lips (magical enhancement will do that for a girl), she doesn't dislike the sensation. It's an honest kiss absent ulterior motives or awkwardness -- just his normal rough-around-the-edges signature.

She isn't completely sure she understands the icy hand over her eyes -- why?? -- but in truth, she doesn't hate that either. Not having to worry about being looked at from up close is a relief that manages to outweigh the shiver that possesses her due to the cold.

What now? Should she kiss him back? ... No, that would probably be a bit too weird, so she just politely waits for him to pull back whenever he's satisfied. ]

[ Maybe it's his fault for pulling that weird move of making sure she wouldn't look at him at all during the kiss, but the lack of any reaction at all is...

It's weird, right?! The only person that Atsumu has kissed so far has been Gen, and Gen's kisses have been forceful to the point of being bitey. Gen is good at kissing, but there's something very combative about them. Atsumu has his criticism about Gen's style, but there had been something kind of fun about kissing him.

But this is awkward. This is way weirder than if she did kiss him back, and Atsumu makes a confused sound in the back of his throat as he tilts his head, trying to deepen the kiss in a desperate attempt to get some reaction out of her.

Without explaining anything though, Gray has no reason to think she should be doing anything differently right now. ]

[ If Gray was level 1 confused before, she's at level 3 now. She really expected him to pull back by now...

She's very sure that he would never view her in a romantic or lascivious manner, so what's happening here? It seems like he's expecting something. Maybe he thinks her active participation is necessary for credit on the card -- and maybe it is?

After a moment's hesitation, she decides to oblige Atsumu's insistence. She's Gen's complete opposite, soft and yielding; she tilts her head to complement Gen's angle, her mouth opening slightly to caress his, just once.

Just as Atsumu's experience comes from Gen, Gray's primary experience comes from Rin, making this some sort of horrible teen circle. In any case, Rin was gentle and patient with her, and it reflects in the way Gray kisses Atsumu, present but demanding nothing out of turn. ]

[ This is probably the most confusing kiss either of them have ever had. Admittedly neither of them have an expansive list when it comes to this particular activity, but even if they manage a few more kisses here and there, this will probably stay the most confusing kiss they've ever had.

That Gray just wants to half-ass the kiss and check it off her list doesn't even begin to occur to Atsumu, who doesn't think to half-ass anything other than polite behavior.

The kiss that Gray does finally give him seems to satisfy whatever it was that he was looking for from this. He'd be extremely begrudging to rate Gen's prowess higher than anyone, but the more demanding style did suit him better than this very gentle and still passive kiss that Gray offered him, but at least it was a kiss.

His lips curl up into something undeservedly smug looking as he finally pulls back, dropping his hand away from her face. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the kiss he just gave her, even if there wasn't anything particularly terrible about it either, but he seems to think he pulled off something impressive here. ]

[ When Atsumu finally pulls away and relinquishes his hostage hold on her sight, Gray is level 4 confused about the highly smug look that greets her. She stares at him as she absently tugs her goggles back over her eyes, her hood back in place. ]

Um. Is something funny?

[ Is he gonna say she kisses like shit, because she wouldn't be surprised if she did... ]

[ Well, that does make the smile drop off of Atsumu's face pretty fast. Here he was ready to be smug when Gray was awed by his kissing prowess...

Only to have Gray clearly not feel any awe at all over his kissing prowess.

What the hell? ]

Nothing.

[ He looks so disgruntled as he half turns away from her, starting to fuss with removing the remaining bits of snow from his clothing, really phoning it in as he keeps glancing to the side at her, waiting, just waiting for her to belatedly tell him he's good at this. ]

[ Hello?? Gray watches him with ever mounting confusion, eventually tromping lightly around to keep looking at his face as he turns away. Normally she might let him keep his secrets, but the flip-flop in his expression is just too strange. If she's upset him, she'd really like to know why so that she can avoid doing it again. ]

Did I do something wrong? I haven't kissed many people, so...

[ They're going full on comedy here as Atsumu keeps trying to turn away for a moment, before he finally snaps back his piece. ]

Yeah, well neither have I! Just to be clear!

[ So if she's disappointed because he apparently sucks more than he realized, it's because of a lack of practice! He can get better!

... He could get better if he had anyone to practice with. It's a thought that flits through his head briefly, unaware of the fact that events of the future will soon put that thought to bed for good. ]

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

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