⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Winter Breaks: Day 6 - Day 25
Where: THE MOON
What: The carnival journeys to one of its moons to celebrate the Lunar Solstice. More information here.
Warnings: Winter fun.

MOON WALKING↴ The journey to the moon only takes a blink of an eye, but it leaves the carnival far away beneath you. The second moon can be seen on the peripheral, massive compared to its usual view. At least when the holidays start out, there will be no notable wildlife on the moon, though this is something you can talk to the Ringmaster about if you think it needs a change. It sounds like this is the first time she's used it in quite a while - it probably needs some dusting off! Claim your cabins, and proceed to... well, do whatever you want! There is no rush and little obligation, besides to enjoy yourself. For real, this time. She promises there will be no vampires. Or, at least, none that don't already work for the carnival. ► CABINS: Living arrangements are character choice for this event, and there are a variety of cabins of various sizes, mostly built to house 2-6 people, though you can fit more in if you squish. They are all made of wood and of a rustic design - no fancy modern furniture, here! Each building is housed with a fireplace and the needed amenities. You can pick up materials to cook with the private kitchens if you like. Theoretically, you could spend the whole holiday sequestered away, watching the snow fall. Some of them also have outdoor hot tubs available! ► ACTIVITIES: Activities are mostly going to be character driven, though there will be some large group games like bingo and maybe a poker tournament happening at some point in one of the festival halls. Otherwise, there is a lot to offer: skiing, snowboarding, hiking, ice sculpting, snowball fights - it goes on! If you'd like to run a winter activity, just let the mods know, and we will get the word out there for you. ► FEASTING: Every day isn't a full-out feast because that would get a bit unhealthy, but there will be a number of specific feast events over the holidays where everyone is encouraged to let out their inner hedonist and stuff themselves. There will be one big feast per week, with smaller but also delicious meals offered in between. The feast dates will be B12, B18, and B24. There's also plenty of alcohol available for anyone who wants it. ► SHOPPING: As mentioned in the planning post, there is a massive market being run by the World Walker Caravan! The Ringmaster has given everyone 1250 credits to spend on items, but there is a caveat - must spend at least 500 of those credits on gifts for other people. And it better be a good one, if you only buy one! (She will ask that you do not buy her presents, however. She appreciates the sentiment, but it seems sort of silly buying her things with her own money! If you'd like to gift her, please have it be something more personal or handmade, but you are not obligated to get her anything at all.) ► TREATMENTS: The beginning of the holidays will also be about the time that the emergency Medical Team will have finalized their treatments for the Prince's poisoning. Watch out for further information on that - and make sure to get treated if you are suffering from petrification or poison induced illness! The holidays will be a lot more fun that way.

Comments

[kingsroads]

As Yuya focuses the spell, Strange bends down, scooping up some snow and packing it into two snowballs. Getting to his feet, Strange holds a snowball in each hand as he gives Yuya a grin.

The first snowball is tossed smack dab in the middle, in a place where the barrier was before. But the second one is tossed more towards the side, a foot or so to the left of where the first snowball was.

[lonesomewanderer]

Who would he end up working with then? A small list of coworkers would be more bearable at least though he wonders how much work they will truly have.

"Magic is not a rarity, but I am unfamiliar with some of what I have seen here. I am curious to the kinds others use." And if he was here for the duration of his contract, there's no reason not to indulge in his curiosity. Probably at magic club.

[dirthena]

( She would argue that's not difficult -- it is all too easy to be doing better that she is, after everything that happened. One simply needed stability.

And perhaps both arms. )

Good, I'm glad to hear it. You will tell me if it changes?

( Because the Inquisition maybe disbanded, and Cole might have returned to the Fade, but he was still a friend. If there was something she could do in order to make sure that nothing happens to him here-- she would do her best. Even as she's already finding the lack of power discomforting. )

[lonesomewanderer]

His brows go up slightly at the explanation. What a powerful fae would request as part of her contracts couldn't all be basic supplies. He imagines it is something he will learn with time and he can be patient.

"Solas is fine," he corrects though this man may be the first human he's run into that's attempted some sort of politeness. "My time here will pass quickly if I am busy. Does the carnival run into more than its fair share of trouble?"

[dirthena]

It might not have been her place, but that doesn't mean she had to accept it with grace. There has never been a point in her life, save for the years from her birth to her manifestation of magic, that she has been without some sort of authority. It chafes at her, unpleasantly. "You are not the one with the history of doing so," she points out -- assuming that his position as leader of a rebellion is one he rose to rather than one left to him by the will of others.

But she's happy to chase a conversation with him, not willing to let him go just yet. "What do you make of all of this? The strange magic, the Carnival itself?" For Solas was always full of answers and ideas -- getting them from him now just might be more difficult than it was before.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya nods and starts diggin deeper through the sleds. He hauls a larger one from the back, stumbling a bit as he rebalances himself. It'll be a bit tight, but they should be able to fit.

Yuya leans over to look around the sled with a grin. "Let's go! We'll set it right on top of the hill." He steps back out into the snow carefully, watching his steps before he haphazardly drops the shield on the ground right at the slope down.

He sits on it with his legs hanging over the front and gestures for Cole to come closer. "You can hold onto the handles, you'll have a way better grip that way."

[hurtcomfort]

Cole emphatically shakes his head. "Things here are alive but not alive. The house wasn't just a house, it was something else."

An earth elemental, enslaved and bent to that different fae's will. A bit more alive than a spirit, more alive than Cole himself.

"Ask about the Prince. Others can explain more. They were there for all." Because that is the problem with Cole: he arrived during the middle of something and only has a story patched together from what he learned during and after that middle.

[lonesomewanderer]

The one who left many though Cole was one he genuinely missed. That the spirit was here was both a comfort and a concern for many reasons.

Solas stares openly at the hovering device. Enough of what 9S says makes sense that he can piece together an understanding. So the device served a purpose beyond following the other man around. He's reminded of the glint of metal he had seen on the back of 9S' legs on his approach and wonders if he may be a variant of similar creation.

"A living construct then," he decides on. Similar to a golem yet... not? If he is understanding correctly. It did look like something the dwarves would tinker with if given enough time. "A gift from your time in the carnival?"

[lonesomewanderer]

"Necromancy?" he supplies with a raised brow. On a level he hasn't seen before and she seems oddly embarrassed by having to explain. As poorly as he handles losses, he is grateful the necromancers of Thedas had yet to progress to a point of raising someone from the dead so completely.

"You were raised from the dead then arrived at the carnival where you became a being of light?" he says carefully as he studies her. He wants to make sure he understands this correctly.

[lonesomewanderer]

He nods. "I will, Cole. Thank you." Because if that can help him make sense of what they were dealing with in the carnival, he would carefully pry information from others.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Since Cole has been here longer. Either more for him to follow-up with others or what Cole felt he could share.

[lonesomewanderer]

"Your circumstances were extraordinary." As much as he regretted how they fell out. Another example of a failing of his and one that had harmed her greatly as a result, changed her in a way that could never be undone. It was far too late to ask for any forgiveness for his list of sins.

"That it is old and powerful, it should not be underestimated," he answers simply with a slight shrug. "It will take time to learn." Not to mention that many who came here brought their own brand of magic. If he were to spend another year elsewhere with his plans delayed, at least it was one where he could learn a great deal.

[hurtcomfort]

"I don't know either," Cole responds, with a little frown. He's standing next to Junko, hands in his pockets, frown on his face as he thinks.

"I just know they did." And then, Cole looks up at Junko..and just kind of blinks in surprise. "You have a lot of hair," he points out the obvious, awed tone in his voice, downright staring at her pigtails.

Dragon Age: Inquisition has a lot of short haired women.

[lonesomewanderer]

"When I have a need for them," he answers before he looks up to learn why the footsteps approaching had sounded odd. A talking bird. It is not the strangest thing he has seen in his very long life, but certainly not a sight he expected here.

There's a moment where he examines the bird and notes the feathers. It's not one he recognizes from Thedas although theirs tended to be far smaller and unable to speak. Generally.

"I was given this when I signed my contract. I thought I should become familiar." Since for some reason they used these to communicate.

[atouts]

Someone with a funny taste in color, possibly.

"Well, yes," he tentatively agrees, looking up from the fabrics to shrug at her. Like, yeah, she's not wrong, not exactly. "But they're typically bigger meals, more people involved. It's not entirely unlike the feast days they have planned up here on the moon."

Albeit smaller than a magical carnival crowd. Not necessarily less rowdy, though.

[hurtcomfort]

[ And Cole nods. Of course he would. Lavellan would worry if he didn't and Cole did not want her to worry in the slightest. She had too many things to think about and the carnival was small. He couldn't hide from her even if he wanted to.

(which he didn't. This was the Inquisitor. She was wonderful in his eyes.) ]

You have to tell me if it changes also, [ Cole explains. ] I can tell but sometimes it's hard.

[hurtcomfort]

Cole frowns a little, thinking. Is there anything else Solas should know... "Everyone is built of little hurts here, but a few shine stronger than the rest. Hell. Portland. The Prince. Tread carefully."

He's certain Solas will, Solas is nothing if not careful, but it's always good to know the points that people might have problems with so as not to bring them up in conversation or speak delicately if they are mentioned.

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Because Cole has a feeling the answer is yes. Whether Solas tells him or not is another matter entirely.

[lonesomewanderer]

What a list to keep track of. They were ones he would keep to heart if they come up in conversation. It was always easier to get information when people weren't on the defensive. If only others weren't so wrong, so often...

Cole's question has him standing up straighter somehow, sharper.

"Nothing that you need to play a role in, but I suspect you have questions."

[soft_focus]

Mnh.... Ok.... [Unsure how this will be fun, then, but if they say so....they certainly seem pretty certain of themselves, at least. The girl stoops down and starts gathering some snow, patting it into a ball.] ....Are you supposed to just try not to get hit then...?

[soft_focus]

"It is?" Not that she's questioning him specifically, but that's super weird. Just super weird. But, she'll absolutely take a seat there to look over the various pieces of popcorn, cranberry, and string.

"...I can help..! ...It's sort of weird though," she notes, blinking. "...Is no one going to eat it?"

[soft_focus]

"...There's that many knives?" she asks, though it is less a question and more a sort of observation. Maybe Foster needs the perfect knife. Or maybe needing the perfect knife is....creating an issue?

Well, regardless.

"...How will you know it's the right one? What would it look like?"

[dirthena]

The huff of laughter that draws from her is tight, strained. "Varric once told me I was the luckiest person in Thedas to have lived through what I had." She wasn't certain about it then, and she's not certain about it now -- she doesn't feel lucky. All she feels is that she survived. An accomplishment, yes, but nothing to crow about.

"Mm," she says, in agreement. Not that she could compare with his magical knowledge and skill, but she'd felt something underneath it all. "At least it seems we are given the chance to do so." Which was something she appreciated, being as curious as she always was.

[dressedtothe]

9S shakes his head. "Pod 153 is from my world."

A world he hasn't yet decided if he would return to, after everything he learned at the ball.

"I was allowed to bring it, but only after I disabled some of its features." He gives Solas a sidelong glance before he continues, "Anyway, do you have any familiarity with messaging devices at all?"

[kingsroads]

"We'll have to have some help with that one," Strange chimes in, with a wry little smile. He's perfectly fine indulging Susan's daydreams and hopes. Why the hell not have an ice palace!

"I can help make the castle itself, but I'd be rubbish at designing the maze. There'd be far too many twists and not enough dead ends."

[disjunct]

"... yeah, a lot of people died, and I have a lot of hair... really makes you think, doesn't it?"

She's just fucking with him at this point, digging for context about the whole who died and should she know about it/was it here/is this place secretly aiming to take their lives? She doesn't really think so, but she looks as melancholy to match her (nonsensical) words.

"Who died?"

[wilt]

I'd do anything to go back to being whole again.

[ A pause, because he realized he just admitted something Kinda Strange. ] Er, I have a soul by the carnival's standards, but not my home's. My deal with the ringmaster was to restore it by experiencing new things with people.

... you'd think I'd keep that on the down-low, but frankly, I want as many people to know as possible. So they can try to get me to react and stuff.