khuimods: (Default)
Khu Ioduan Mods ([personal profile] khuimods) wrote in [community profile] ioduanlogs2018-02-14 10:21 am

[EVENT] THE TIES THAT BIND US

Characters: Everyone!
Date: February 14-28
Location: All around Aifaran
Situation: The last two weeks of February celebrate Tine's Commemoration, a celebration of renewing friendships and signaling forgiveness.
Warnings/Rating: Shouldn't need any, but add to subject lines as needed!


During the last week of February, the mood shifts around the city. The tension over the missing Kin'nal girl eases some, and there's a lot of talk of renewal and remembrance. In the days leading up to the 14th, some shopkeepers begin reorganizing to make space to feature knotworks and related crafts, and photos on Xa Xa feature knots in process, some made by special artisans. If asked, they will say that all of this is in preparation for Tine's Commemoration, two weeks that are dedicated to renewing and recognizing friendships, forgiving past grievances, and recognizing our most important ties through an exchange of intricately tied knots.

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.

In recognition of this tradition's roots, there is also an ornate tassel knot made for those who have been lost. The color signifies if they have been lost to death (black, often laced with another color like blue for the sea) or the Dreaming (gray). Most have the person's name woven into them, either on a metal disc or a piece of fabric. Rather than being worn, these knots are hung by the door as a waysign: come home; your spirit may rest here.

Shops around the city sell these knots, but there are also ample opportunities to tie your own! The Tifaut in particular take this tradition to heart and have areas set up at several of the city's parks and civic centers, including one at the Dreaming Bridge. They teach knot-making and provide materials (with a suggested donation for those who can afford it), or you can bring your own cord! Making knots of recycled material, like old clothing or retired fishing rope, can add special meaning to the creation - some believe that doing so means sharing a part of yourself with the intended recipient.

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 an open, 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. New Dreamfolk are always popular integrations of these kinds of festivals in the city, so you can write yours attracting lots of positive attention if you'd like.

Provided below are some starters, but you can make your own too if none of these work for you!
bestofthevein: (kit | tired)

[personal profile] bestofthevein 2018-02-27 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
If you could call Orzammar home... yeah. [Kit's jaw clenches and unclenches. Yeah, there are some unresolved Issues there. He doesn't unpack them... yet, anyway.]

Um. Well, dwarves don't have magic, where I'm from, [he explains,] so yeah. You get hurt, you've got to stitch yourself back up. Humans and elves and the rest, though, they've got spells they can cast to heal themselves. But that never sat right with me. [He threads another bit of string through a loop, then says bluntly,] That's probably why I died.
corundrum: (ok doc)

[personal profile] corundrum 2018-02-28 11:38 am (UTC)(link)
[A reluctant home, then. Padparadscha observes the reaction before turning back to their work so as not to draw attention to it. Things like that require careful handling, especially without knowing what the effects of picking at it could be.

His blunt remark gets a laugh out of them.]
Well, there's nothing wrong with holding true to what you believe in, huh? But they must be lucky, being able to heal themselves like that if they break easily. Some of the gems would be jealous.
bestofthevein: (kit | smoking)

[personal profile] bestofthevein 2018-02-28 07:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I dunno, [Kit muses, still focused on his work, his lips now pressed into a grim line,] I figure folks back in Kirkwall probably think if I'd stuck to what I believe in a little less, it might've worked out better for me.

[Maybe he wouldn't be here, for one thing. Maybe he'd still be back with the Inquisition, with the folks in Darktown who don't have anyone else sticking their necks out for them in Kirkwall. Maybe he wouldn't have died a bloody mess in a filthy back alley--

What a grim subject. He elects to change it.] So you're a gem, I'm guessing? [He glances sideways at Padparadscha as they work, clearly having some difficulty envisioning the person sitting next to him as a substance that might be mined from the stone.]
corundrum: (Default)

[personal profile] corundrum 2018-03-02 10:09 am (UTC)(link)
Sometimes it's like that, isn't it? [Padparadscha puts that rather neutrally, faint smile still lingering, but...well, their problems back home right now are the result of someone sticking to what they believed in. At the same time, they're this intact because of that as well, so they can't be entirely critical of it. It's a shame.

As for his question, they simply nod, continuing to shape another knot.]
I am. That's why I'm called Padparadscha, because it's what makes me up.

[Corundum gems aren't terribly common - there's more diamonds at this point - but getting into the grit of it would probably be less interesting.]