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

[D had truly tested his existence within the universe when he decided he might wander up and try holding Hayame's hand. In all honesty, he would never do this under normal circumstances, regardless of whether he and Hayame were considered friends.

Unfortunately, he did not know about the pollen before venturing out in it, and now he's trapped in a loosey, too comfortable headspace. So Hayame's hand is one of the few he's alright with grabbing.

The fingers under her startled grip are crushed together and crack as they break in several small places. The weirdest thing is probably how docile D's reception of the defense is: he does not so much as flinch when she jerks around and rears back to grab him. If he had planned to move at all, he makes no show of it. Maybe he would have let her choke him out actually?

If anything, she still has his hand. This satisfied whatever bizarre urge the pollen drummed up inside of him.]

Hello. [DON'T JUST SAY HELLO.] I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry.

[The pollen is... overwhelming. So much so that Hayame had gone back home and coated the inside rim of her nostrils with an herbal salve after leaving the house and recognizing the scent that had last year compelled her to... to touch people. To be... softer, and more talkative. Surely she could not risk such a thing happening again, when the previous occurrence had ended up with her holding the hand of a Zenite and confessing something to them they had then thrown in her face to discredit her in one of those so-called "debates".

She wouldn't make that mistake again. ... Except for the fact that, you know, she was still getting some of the pollen in her system via her uncovered eye.

Hayame doesn't even notice that D's bones are cracking under the pressure of a jinba's strength applied to grip, because he doesn't flinch or give any indication of pain at all. She just-]

Y- You do not need to hold my hand to greet me! We are in public-

[Does she... not realize that she's still clutching his hand???]

[The more his hand continues to be crushed, the more he really just stands there taking it. In the end, it's fine because as soon as she happens to remember to let go, the bones will begin to slowly start to painstakingly reset.

She made out a little better than he did for now. If he knew the plants would give him this much of a hard time, he would have simply holed up in the Dokja household and never emerged at all.]

The plants have bloomed, so I apologize.

[It's WORSE when he's aware he's acting bizarrely, yet feels zero inclination to have guilt or shame about it.]

I would let go, but...

[Well, he has let go--on his end, at least. His fingers have opened.]

[But????

Hayame opens her mouth to say it, to demand what it is he is waiting for, then, except... Oh. Oh. It could be comical, how Hayame looks down at their hands, back up at D's face, then back to their hands in quick sequence, her uncovered eye widening. But comedy or not, at least it results in Hayame suddenly releasing the poor man's hand from her defensive death grip???

And snatching it back to her chest and into the grip of her other hand, as if she had to physically prevent it from reaching out and potentially touching someone else.]

M- My apologies-

[D is patient... He gives her plenty of unhurried, nonjudgmental time to register the fact she has crushed his hand (rightfully so) between her own. When she lets go, his hand remains hovering where it's at, the fingers bent together in... a very... not great, unnatural way.]

It's alright. It was my fault.

[This would be WILD for a normal man to say; however... after a long moment, the bones beneath the skin start giving a little pop--like corn kernels breaking open for popcorn. It takes a lot longer than it would on the Frontier, but they start piecing into their natural order again.

Slowly, D lowers his hand to his side before it has even finished, and as she does so, there is another terrible thing that has happened: an empty space where most of his other arm should be. The only thing left is a stalk from the elbow to the shoulder. She really crushed his only hand.......]

[... Did she actually break his bones? She'd been concerned she was gripping too tightly, seeing as it was first done in a flash expecting an attack, and jinba... were terrifyingly stronger than a human, despite how human looking her upper half was, but. That shape is definitely not natural anymore. She blanches slightly, because she genuinely hadn't wished to hurt him but-

He's... popping. His bones are popping. And the other side of him...]

- What happened to your arm?

[One thing at a time. She had seen illustrations of D on some of the newspapers in the aftermath of the Harbinger Oracle, but... She couldn't read the accompanying articles. They'd all been in the papers, like it or not. She hadn't expected...]

[Hayame is very strong!! It's okay, though, because he is being put back together, and that's likely why he doesn't make any kind of fuss about what happened. Also, he understands this is the consequences for getting handsy with people on the street. Hayame in particular.

His eyes lift to her face to give her his full attention. He's really as stoic as ever. There isn't any animosity about what just happened in the street. If anything, he looks almost apologetic still.]

Silco was in one of the rooms of the labyrinth. He attacked me, and after I got the upper-hand, he summoned your "friend" to defend him.

[Her very much not friend at all.]

The demon gave my arm to the effigy in the room.

[Even knowing that D is being facetious? sarcastic? for some reason does not stop Hayame from bristling in anger at hearing Sebastian Michaelis described as her "friend", lip peeling back slightly in disgust to reveal a flash of sharp fangs incongruous with both human and equine.]

Do not call it that.

[Not even "him". It. That foul beast made of shadows and eyes masquerading as a gentile, handsome man that smiled and served in order to live in the proverbial sun despite its darkness, the sheer depths of cruelty and immorality it was capable of. But after she says that... What does she say next? She just stands there, legs stiff, arms stiff, and the struggle is... It's probably a bit too obvious.

What did you say, when someone lost something like that? When she had been clutching her ruined face, blood crusted around the eyesocket emptied by the clever fingers of that demon that had plucked it out mid-battle, what had she wanted people to say? "I'm sorry" didn't begin to cover it, and it wasn't anyone else's fault to begin with. It all sounds so pathetic, she can remember lashing out at almost everything that was said to her except...]

- Then we will work to defeat that thing and revenge the both of us. Yes?

[Surely he wants that, too? If they were friends... was this not simply just another, sicker thing that tied them together? He had agreed to undertake a quest for her sake, but now... Perhaps he... ?]

Edited 2024-01-06 16:41 (UTC)

[Her anger is valid, so he is not fazed when she gets angry at how he had put it. Now they have an enemy in common. Not that he thought better of Sebastian before, knowing what Sebastian had done to Hayame.

He searches her face momentarily without saying anything.

Personal revenge isn't something he has thought much about, but time isn't going to be his end all and be all here. Time won't ever touch Sebastian Michaelis like it would have touched others on the Frontier.

More than himself, he's still irritated on Hayame's behalf. His had at least been during a (forced) duel. Losing an arm comes with the territory.]

I'm still going to help you.

[He wishes he had his arm, sure, but there are more important vengeances right now, and he worries for others who might also be another Hayame.]

He's dangerous.

[All of that to say, yeah, he's in.]

[... Had she doubted he would? Hayame does not know, for as moment there. Had she thought that he would abandon the task she had asked of him in favor of his own personal revenge? (Would she do that?) Hayame's expression goes strange for a moment, something almost like insecurity showing through the anger.

Yes, he was dangerous. But more than that-]

...

[Her hands curl into fists.]

- Has it been difficult adjusting?

[It had taken her some time, to adjust to having only one eye. It had taken her time again, to adjust to having two. If she wanted to ever acknowledge the mismatched eye in her left socket as "hers".]

[A shame they cannot have Sebastian on the Meridian side, but it's fine. There are plenty here who are too OP, too. Like........ himself.

His eyes watch her face, and then they lower briefly to her hands before lifting again.]

It hasn't been too bad. [He's not sure he could ever set someone like Hayame's mind at ease, but it's worth a shot.] I learned to use both arms. [Being ambidextrous is working out for him now.] Some things just take more time.

[What's not working out he won't admit is... the silence? Anything he has to do with his body isn't much of an inconvenience because he's patient enough to complete it with more time. But the lack of voice, the lack of presence he had within him is... deafening when it's gone, no matter how annoying it could be at times.

He has lived so long with the parasite in his hand that it was almost as if he had been born with it somehow.]

[Um, D, no???? That is not a shame??? You want demon sadists who eat souls on the team???]

... If you already trained to be ambidextrous then perhaps you will adjust quicker.

[Hayame did not conceptualize herself as someone difficult to reassure, because... She did not acknowledge when she did things like this. "Worry". For a "friend". Because she obviously wasn't, it was simply practical concern for an ally, a Meridian she wished to count on, so... Not pity, not sympathy, because she had rankled to receive those things when her eye had been freshly plucked from bloody socket... What else was there?]

If training would assist, I can offer myself as an opponent.

[Though she had expressed intent to avoid letting anyone (any demon) spying on her from realizing they were connected in order to make sure the request she had asked of D would not be discovered... Sparring should be fine. You did not need be friends to do that. She sparred with the Legionarry, with other Meridians as allies. They were at war. It was a normal thing to do.]

[HELP. Listen, he's from a world where demons were servants for vampires sometimes, so if they could force Sebastian to work for their cause.............. maybe.

The offer lifts his eyes to her face. He considers politely rejecting it only so she doesn't have to be burdened babysitting him some way, but he understands this is not something Hayame probably extends to just anyone. (Or extends after they tried to randomly hold her hand.) This is definitely how Hayame tries to be friendly.

So he considers it in silence for a moment. He lost to both Sebastian and Childe. Maybe he could do with some practice.]

I accept. Whenever you aren't busy.

[Hayame doesn't want to have to be seen as a servant killer, but, you know what. If that's what she has to do...

... D is not wrong about the analysis, though. She does not extend the offer to spar with her just because someone is an ally, or they are curious to try their strength against a being as physically powerful as she is. She only does it for those who she believes genuinely wish to improve themselves for Meridian's sake... or. Friends.]

I am most available just before the noon meal, after my morning training courses for the Legionary's archers.

[She would say after, too, but... She has. ... Reading lessons. Now. So...]

Would you prefer blade or naginata?

[She might be a master archer, but that was not her only proficiency. She had worked herself to the bone in an attempt to be sold as a warhorse and not a mount or a broodmare, and just being adept at one weapon wouldn't be enough in a world where she had been born a mare.]

[Friendship sparring...

It's so funny to hear Hayame's schedule... before lunch and after rigorous training. Why is this the most Hayame thing he thinks he could hear? The dedication. He appreciates it. He would think the reading lessons are endearing much to his own detriment (like grabbing her hand suddenly had been).

To this, he nods his head briefly.]

I will get in touch with you during that time then.

[He doesn't hesitate too long with thought. Very surely:]

Naginata, if you don't mind.

[Why not go hard straight out the gate? A cavalry-like opponent who has the additional reach of a long weapon? And he's down an arm? Sure, why not.]

Is there a particular area you would like to be for it?

[Good thing she didn't go into her entire schedule, or it might have been too Hayame. Up at dawn, morning stretches, breakfast, market, second breakfast, cornerstone to Springstar, training for the Legionary archers, "free time" (personal training), noon meal, studying letters, "free time" (usually work), dinner, evening patrol with the Legionary in Alenroux, second dinner, time with-

... Anyway.]

Naginata, then.

[She could always stand to improve her polearm skills to match her archery. As for the area-]

Let us remain at the Legionary training grounds. We may as well allow our sparring to serve as additional lessons for those with an eye to learn.

[HAYAME, YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE! D would think that just tracks for her still. No thought, only staying busy.]

Alright.

[He's not usually the type of person who looks to put on a show of any kind, but if that is something she thinks would benefit others, then he will go along with it. At the very least, it won't distract him from the ultimate goal of sparring with Hayame.]

Thank you for the offer.

[Sorry, he has to be polite.]

[Aren't you equally busy, D? Everyone else? N... no?

Also, watch her start out with that instructor mentality of "I'll already be in that area anyway, and the Legionary might as well learn something from this" but... Once she gets her human-shape magic jewelry thing she will very quickly change her tune... oh, no, then she'll have to ask D to spar with her in private to help her get the hang of human shape...

But for now-]

You are welcome.

[As angry and brusque as she can be... She was raised as a slave to humans in a society where manners were everything. She knows how to be polite.

... But though she thinks to go, to just walk away then with perhaps a last "be mindful who's hand you grab from now on"... She hesitates. She shuffles her hooves a bit, wondering if it is appropriate. But if their roles were reversed, and this was her first time encountering the pollen, she would want the assistance, so.

Hayame reaches into one of her waist pouches and pulls out a small tin jar, which contains... a rather strong aromatic cream that seems to be made of wild herbs. Apparently she's been using it, if the finger swipe indents are any indication. Tapping her nose (which does have a hint of glisten beneath it), she supplies a slightly muttered,]

- I would advise you use this.

[She learned her lesson last time.]

[Unfortunately for Hayame, D would be more than happy to help her learn how to be a bipedal freak lile the rest of them. In secret, too, so she didn't have to worry about others witnessing her.

What surprises him is the offer. He does not think Hayame is as heartless as she seems, but he had not expected her to go out of her way to give him pollen relief... though maybe that is on him, considering she had said they were friends. That she was willing to be friends.

Since this is what friends do.

Slowly, he reaches up to take the tin jar from her. He watches her explain, and then looks over the jar in his fingers. The scent is apparent to him even without opening it.]

Thank you.

[He sounds... a little touched. It's hard not to when your kind had been ostracized back home. So few people gave him gifts.]

Do you want it back?

[... Okay, she will have to take him up on that. Shame and embarrassment aside, it would be important to master that form, if she wanted it to be useful to Meridian at all.

But for now... This is. What friends do. Isn't it? Not just on holidays or on occasions of celebration or apology, but just... casually... ?

Hayame had been a slave all her life. She never owned even her own clothing, her own weapons. Everything had been something that belonged to the stable master. But here... She bought her own things, she had a house, she had money... So.]

No. I can make more.

[She'd learned the crude art early from a groom, used it to dull her sense of smell out during her heats. It worked on... anything, though, really, that one did not want to be led astray or affected by. Not by any clever means, it was simply putting herbal scent so close that it drowned out everything else, but...]

If your sense of smell is as keen as mine, you might find uses for it.

[But even if it just helped for Springstar's... annual summer pollen... Well. That was enough, too.]

[His fingers close over the gift once he understands he doesn't have to dip a bit and return it. The situation is a bit heavier now. He really doesn't expect a whole lot of kindness from others, even if she made it very clear they were treading the fragile ground of understanding friendship.]

Thank you then.

[His hand retreats beneath the long cape, but it doesn't seem as if he tucks it away. He will maybe try some once they were finished, and hopefully the potency wouldn't destroy him so close to the nose.]

I'll get in touch with you later for a spar.

[Will there come a point when people such as they start getting used to receiving kindness? To realizing that despite the lives they have led in their own worlds, that this one, however long they might be in it... was far, far different?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But for now... Hayame is trying. She is. (Should she apologize again for hurting his hand? He only had the one now, but... it was already fixed...)

So instead she nods, and gives a last bow, a little,]

Until then.

[Before she turns off onto a side street, hoping a demon unseen was not still watching.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject