[EVENT] A CITY UNDAUNTED

[khuimods]

Characters: All
Date: Throughout February
Location: Aifaran
Situation: The city is still recovering from the massive storm in December but progress is being made; an important festival is held in defiance of the devastation, to celebrate and to strengthen.
Warnings/Rating: Descriptions of natural disaster damage; please add warnings as appropriate in headers


Ongoing storm recovery continues steadily, with signs of life returning to normal emerging in some areas of the archipelago. Shops slowly begin to open in the least-affected areas of Aifaran, and a good number of people are able to return to their homes, reducing the stress on the shelters and city resources. Mysteries remain, and the city pushes onward.

I. QUESTIONS AND CONSTRUCTION

By February, most of the debris has been cleared from the streets and collected outside the city. These piles are slowly but surely being sorted into piles based on size and material. The archipelago is not an endless bounty of resources, and everything that can be reused or recycled, will be. It is hard, messy work, but there is an air of renewal emerging during this process. Rebuilding and new construction begins in earnest.

More difficult is the effort to return personal items to their owners, or to next of kin. Lost-and-found sites at various shelters and other service centers begin the long and sometimes painful process of cataloging everything that's been brought to them.

There is much debate about what to do with the trees that sprang up in the wake of the storm - much is still unknown over whether or not they may prove a danger to the city as a whole or not. Much of these discussions are happening at the Aisling Tower and there is the occasional open forum in which city folk may give their own input and experiences.

Rather abruptly, the handful of buildings in Aifaran that had remained stubbornly flooded empty of water. The water does not suddenly remember it is subject to gravity and drain out into the streets, however. It simply vanishes. Inside, everything is drenched, but not in the way one would expect after over a month of being completely submerged. Paper is sodden without disintegrating, fabric is undamaged- even food doesn't appear to be spoiled. Here and there, furniture and loose objects will have been moved but overall nothing has been displaced. The smell of sea salt - and, oddly, jasmine - hangs in the air. It only takes about a week for the drowned buildings to fully dry out, leaving residents and owners only that lingering scent and too many unanswered questions. The Sentry declares them safe enough, though researchers delay people from returning for another week while they do some tests.

Though preliminary investigations didn't turn up anything, those who returned to their homes that were flooded have reported unusual lapses in time. They can be inside for what feels like a few hours and go out to find it's still the middle of the day and vice versa. There is also reports of the feeling of a strange presence, objects moving, disorientation and a lack of spatial awareness.

II. TINE'S COMMEMORATION

As a mark of shared determination and camaraderie, the city council announces in early February that Tine's Commemoration will be held despite the lingering effects of Xi Tianlong's claws. In fact, a prominent guild of merchants in Malimo have stepped forward as official sponsors. Tine's Commemoration is a somewhat literal twist on the traditions of many Dreamfolk: rather than featuring a romantic holiday, February is a time dedicated to renewing and recognizing friendships, forgiving past grievances, and recognizing our most important ties through an exchange of intricately tied knots.

In the days leading up to the 14th, the lingering cloud of tension and worry from the storm gives way to tentative hope. There's a lot of talk of renewal and remembrance. Merchants and artisans band together to create pop-up or shared shops featuring knotworks and related crafts, as well as collaborative spaces for the community at large to gather and learn how to tie knots. Many of these spaces become impromptu service and support centers, with people finding ways to help each other and forming new friendships they otherwise would not have.

There are specific knots and knot colors meant to signify different kinds of relationships. Friendship knots come in white and blue. White is for the bond of new friends, blue to recognize the joy of old friends. The blue knots typically are added together in a series, one made for each year of the friendship and tied to each other sequentially. More complicated knots are made when forgiving a grudge or past grievance, or to tell someone that they are considered family. While not a major focus of the exchange, there are also multi-colored knots for romantic relationships.

Knots can be worn as jewelry or braided into hair (or sometimes hair itself gets tied, with one friend attending to the other's hairdo), and it's customary to keep them on your person throughout the month. While they can be given or exchanged all on their own, it isn't uncommon for knots to come with small gifts or trinkets as well. After February comes to a close, it's important to store the knots somewhere safe, often in a special box or bag with numerous pockets.

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OOC Notes: This is a mingle-log for the entire month of February. Tine's Commemoration is a game-wide event for your characters to participate in (or try and avoid, if they're that type) as much or little as they want to.

Provided below are some starters, but you can make your own too if none of these work for you!

Comments

[annihilist]

Not unlike last year, Devin has been evading the Tine's festivities. At least this time it's as much about being busy as avoiding the celebration itself. He may be more settled in the city now, less consumed by the events waiting for him in his homeworld, but he is still discomfited by such tangible representations of bonds. The bulk of his past, the specter of life at home, looks at those knots and sees evidence which can be tracked; evidence which lays bare what he would rather hide.

The passage of time has given him some perspective. One year has changed him more than some decades have. Maybe this year, he'll make some knots that don't have to do with apologies. A length of cord is purchased but as yet remains unused.

As ever, Luthien greets him at the door when he enters carrying a small bag of groceries. She herself bears a knot: Leo had given her to him with a blue one as her collar. "Hey," Devin says, a smile emerging when he looks to the Fool on the couch. It is utterly domestic and weirdly wonderful to have his partner here, all problems of Devin's past habits aside. They're personal problems, he knows that. "Have you been back long?"

[afoolsgold]

Luthien predicts Devin's arrival before the door opens, giving the Fool time enough to tuck the knot out of sight. He twists about on the couch to greet his partner with a rather coy smile, draping an arm across the cushions. "Not terribly long," he replies, his tone alone suggesting he's up to something.

Lightly, he gets to his feet and steps around to the other side of the couch, leaning back against it. He crosses one ankle over the other. "I have something for you."

[annihilist]

Devin turns an arch look upon the Fool as he deposits the bag of groceries on the counter. Although he has no real love for surprises, those sourced with his partner are usually good.

He sidles over wearing a bemused smile, stepping well within the Fool's personal space as he leans forward. "Oh?" Devin rests his hands lightly against the back of the couch on either side of his lover. Teasingly, he kisses the Fool's nose instead of his mouth. "Shall I guess what it is or must I resort to less gentlemanly methods?"

[afoolsgold]

"Shall I guess what it is or must I resort to less gentlemanly methods?"

The Fool's coy smile breaks into a delighted laugh at that suggestion, and he slips his fingers across the buttons of his partner's shirt as though seriously contemplating the idea for a moment. "Oh, I shall not leave you to guess," he replies, and seems to decide that, however tempting a prospect divesting Devin of his clothes may be, that will have to wait.

"Here," he says, and shifts a little to fish something out of his pocket. Then, rather cheekily, "close your eyes, and give me your hand."

Devin should be able to tell immediately that a commemorative knot has been placed in his palm. What a difference a year can make; this time last year, he'd hounded and pestered Devin into accepting a simple token of friendship from him during Tine's Commemoration. Now, the brightly coloured red and gold twine and tassels, coupled with the intricate knot itself, should be indication enough of how much has changed between them. And dangling from one end is a small carved rose.

The Fool smiles fondly. "You may call me a sentimental fool now, if you wish." Pun intended.

[annihilist]

It will have to wait, but Devin is sure the clothing will end up on the floor sooner or later.

His gaze narrows for a moment, smile undimmed, and he does as requested. Devin straightens a little and holds his hand out palm up. This is probably a smart move in the Fool's part; he can tell it's a knot, and guess what kind it is before he opens his eyes, and this neatly avoid any consternation from him over accepting it. Assuming there might be any - he's in this relationship for the long haul, but Devin is admittedly still terrible at accepting gifts.

It's beautiful. For several long moments, Devin can only stare at it, a representation of their relationship moved to tangible expression. When he leans in again, he kisses the Fool softly and then pulls him into an embrace. Actions are sometimes easier than words.

Amused, after a breath or two: "If you're a sentimental fool, what does that make me?"

[afoolsgold]

He had no expectation of having the commemorative gift rejected; that does nothing to still the light, fluttering sensation in his stomach when he is kissed. He leans into that soft touch and brings up both hands, now free, to curl gently around Devin's wrists.

"If you're a sentimental fool, what does that make me?"

"Ah, are you fishing for compliments?" he teases, drawing back just enough to regard Devin's eyes. He smiles, the expression warm in his eyes, the corners of his lips. He pauses, and then releases his partner's wrists to instead frame his face.

"You are," he goes on gently, tracing a thumb over Devin's cheekbone, "so dear to me. Which you must know, of course, but on an occasion such as this, how could I not show it?"

[annihilist]

Even having heard the Fool say similar things before, even seeing it in his actions if not his words, hearing it is-- difficult is not the right word to describe how Devin feels. It is as if he is being pulled in many directions at once. Denial and confusion are heralds of Devin's old life, the part of him that doesn't understand how he could mean so very much and be given so very much; but the desire to be worthy of the Fool's affection, and the warmth of being able to bask in what they have together, keeps growing stronger, like a plant pushing through the cracks in his soul.

Devin can't find the words. All he can think to do, really, is to secure the knot at his wrist. Eventually, he'll need to find a better place to put it (wearing it out in public probably isn't going to happen), but for now-- this is where the gift belongs.

"I wish I were-- better at this," Devin does murmur, tilting his head down against the Fool's. "And-- thank you."

[afoolsgold]

"I wish I were-- better at this. And-- thank you."

"Better at what?" Already the Fool is smiling wryly, though he closes his eyes and turns his face so that his forehead can rest against Devin's. His fingers slip around to stroke soothingly through the hair at the nape of his partner's neck. Gently, he says, "You are precisely what I need you to be."

This will, he suspects, be a point he will need to make again in the future; he does not mind.

[annihilist]

Devin wonders, distantly beyond the tangle of emotion knotting up his throat, if the Fool understands exactly how much of an impact that statement has. How powerful it is. He had long accepted - or more precisely, absorbed what he'd been told - that he could not belong anywhere. Perhaps it had been as much abuse as a defense mechanism for Devin to fold that into every aspect of his life.

Words would be helpful again, if he could spur his tongue to movement. For a moment or five he can only be there, somewhere between basking and pure terror at the depth of feeling he wasn't sure he was capable of.

"I don't know," he says softly, in answer to the (probably rhetorical question). "Traditional romance?" This is dry. "There's only so much one can get out of books."

[afoolsgold]

"Traditional romance? There's only so much one can get out of books."

Lightly the Fool scoffs, his little smile curling further at the corners of his mouth. "You should not sell yourself short so," he chides and lifts his chin, brushing a soft kiss across Devin's lips. "But, if you would like some guidance..."

His hand slips from Devin's hair to find the front of his shirt and, with a theatrical flourish, he pops the first one loose.

Words really won't be an essential component of this next part, Devin, not to fret.