lostcarnival | ⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

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⇨ THE LUNAR SOLSTICE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Really? [He moves to give her plenty of room... but he is leaning forward a bit, ready jusy in case she looks like she's going to fall.] Why are there so many monsters?

[Rita's eyes widen in surprise at that question, though the expression soon gives way for a look of mild approval.] People don't usually ask that. It's been that way for hundreds of years.

But... from my research, I'd have to guess... it's because of the blastia. It's--aah! [She lets out an indignant yelp as her feet slide out ahead of the rest of her, throwing her off-balance and seemingly about to fall over backwards.]

[Yuya's from one of those more peaceful worlds, at least in regards to monsters. He's curious when she mentions the blastia... until she's flailing about.]

Ah, Rita--! [Yuya lunges forward, grabbing for her arms to try anf pull her upright again.]

[He catches her in time, and soon Rita's steady on her feet again. She give him a brief grateful look, then cautiously starts moving forward again.]

--Right, so... the blastia. Using them causes distortions in the aer, which monsters happen to be sensitive to. With all of society relying on blastia over the generations, it's made monsters increasingly aggressive, which... ironically, makes people even more reliant on blastia for protection.

[Yuya lets out a sigh of relief. He lets go to let her keep trying to skate, but this time he stays closer to her side with one hand hovering over her shoulder in case she starts to fall over again.]

So everything between people and monsters kept getting worse because of that? [Huh... they probably didn't actually know that's what was happening at first.] Is there a way to fix it?

Yeah... there's a way. [Rita reaches a hand under her scarf, feeling her blastia with her fingertips. To her credit, she seems to be keeping her balance all right now.]

We'd have to stop using the blastia.

[Oh.] You do? I thought you used it for everything... what are you going to replace it with?

[Electricity? Electricity doesn't attract dangerous monsters. But blastia is important to Rita, so he's not going to say that.]

Answering that question is the reason I'm here.

[She gets a bit bolder and starts taking longer strides over the ice as she tries to get a feel for how to move and balance properly.]

But... for a start, I plan to shift the focus of my research to the study of spirits.

[That's right, she did mention being here for magic before... so it's for something so serious, why she wants to know more about magic.

When he sees her start to skate more confidently, he starts to pick up pace himself. Not enough to outmatch her, but maybe seeing it will encourage her to find the right movement for skating around.] Spirits in your home? What are they like?

[He can't help but he curious, especially since it's taking her attention from the study of blastia.]

They're elemental spirits, but to be honest, there isn't much known about them yet.

[Her pace slows as she takes a moment to look at the snowy scenery around them.]

Actually... the first time I met a spirit was in a place kind of like this.

[Elemental spirits, huh? So probably spirits tied to nature, like rock spirits or...

He glances around as she does.]

What was that spirit like? Did it talk? Did it do anything? Can everyone see them?

She was a spirit of water. She asked us to give her a name, so Estelle called her Undine.

[Rita slows to a stop, looking fondly nostalgic.]

We created her.

Undine... [Yuya tests the name, and then smiles. He didn't know Rita had such an interest in spirits. Yuya doesn't, exactly, but he does have a closeness with some.]

How'd you create her? [Did she find life because of them or was it something more artificial?]

I developed a formula to convert aer into a more stable form, to combat the issues that come from aer imbalance.

There was a... crystal [To keep the explanation simple, she opts not to use its proper name.] that I used as a core during this process, and when we carried out the conversion, it took on a new shape and became conscious.

It was an unexpected byproduct... or maybe something like... [she hesitates to use the word] a miracle.

Maybe the crystal always had a spirit, but you gave it a way to live outside it. [Yuya circles around in front of her with his skates, looking a little excited by the prospect.] That's so cool!

Actually... you’re right, in a way. [Also, it is super cool.]

The crystal comes from a certain species of intelligent monsters. It’s what they leave behind when they die. It seems that some part of their consciousness, or... the soul, I guess, remains with it.

[So like a resurrection or something... now that he thinks about it, he's not sure where spirits like Odd Eyes even come from. Some duelists say it's the way you treasure your cards that brings them to life, but Yuya thinks they were probably always there.]

And when you brought Undine to life she could talk to you? [His tone is a little bit dreamy as he thinks about it.] What was she like?

Appearance-wise, she looked like a person, except blue, and with... fins? [Spirits are kinda weird. Though Undine's probably one of the less weird ones.]

She was... overjoyed, I guess, at being reborn. Said she could feel the waters of the world at her command. She was happy to cooperate with us.

That's amazing. Are you going to bring more spirits to life? [Randomly bringing life into the world should probably be mildly concerning. Yuya knows the reason it should be concerning, but he still looks excited anyway.]

[Yuya's enthusiasm is encouraging. Rita expects her intentions to be met with a lot of opposition back home, but... it looks like some people can see the good in what she's doing.] Yeah. A lot more, in fact. That crystal I mentioned... it's actually the same thing blastia cores are made from.

[She holds a hand up to her neck, where her blastia is.] Maybe this one can become a spirit, too...

I think if anyone can do it, you can. [He means s it so sincerely. Because to Rita it's something important. She's smart, but more than that... she cares about it. Like he does.

All this talk of spirits reminds him, though--] Oh, I have a gift for you!

[Rita's sure she would succeed even if no one believed in her. But... it's kind of nice, that someone does.]

[When he mentions a gift, though, she gives him a look of surprise and curiosity.] A gift?

[Yuya nods.] Yeah! It's at my cabin right now, but I can bring it by later if you want.

[Unless she wants to skip the skating for a present.]

S... sure. If you want. [Rita glances away, her face slightly red. She's apparently unused to the idea of getting gifts.]

[So people are actually going through with this weird gift exchange thing the Ringmaster mentioned...? Rita wasn't sure about it, but if other people are doing it, maybe she should go take a look at the market... not because she feels a need to return the favor or anything, but... maybe she'll pick up a few things for people, if it's convenient.]

[For now, she starts moving again, pushing off with a wobble but managing to stay upright.]

So, uh... You've been at this for a while? [Seems like a fair guess, considering his apparent confidence in skating.] What else have you been up to this past week?

[Yuya gives her a toothy grin as she turns away. While Rita skates forwards, Yuya skates backwards. It makes it easier for him to keep up with her pace, but he's not looking where he's going.]

Mmhm! I've been outside a lot, and buying gifts for my friends. And Mr. Strange is teaching me magic, so I'm practicing a lot!

[And reading a lot. Ugh, the reading.]

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