[Event] Stratford Coconia Lunar Festival

[Murasaki]

This RP thread is an official event thread for the Coconia Lunar Festival! You will receive +50% to your word counts of posts made in this thread (does not stack with any bonuses).

Avon Valley: As the winter snows start to melt, the beautiful spring landscape of the Avon Valley starts to show. The many villages surrounding the main city traditionally hold their own small festivals, making each experience a unique one. When you get into Stratford, the patrolling Wardens also seem a little more festive at this time of year. Perhaps you may be able to go out drinking or partying with some of them on their breaks. Stratford can be said to be having a similar atmosphere to Londinium but with a greater emphasis on private social events and parties.


Local Specialties:

Coconia Steak - Steak that has been cooked and marinated with Coconia Juice, giving the meat a tender and slightly sweet flavor. It is one of Avon's best traditions and the best steakhouses in the city can sometimes have several hours' worth of wait time for those wishing to try it.

Coconia Beer - One of the Stratford Wardens' favorite seasonal drinks, this rich beer mixed with fresh Coconia juice has a distinctly sweet but not too sweet taste. The side effect of confessing one's love while drinking this beverage has led to a number of awkward hookups throughout the city's history, however. Some say that it is used to determine whether a relationship is actually formed through true love.

Dried Coconia Strips - Coconia that has been dried and preserved in the form of a chewy snack, much like how coconut flakes tend to be preserved. As Coconia tends to ripen only during the early spring season, this is probably the best way for one to experience the fruit's distinctively sweet flavor during the off-season.

This event takes place on February 17th, 2020 in the timeline. No post order but keep it reasonable and don't just post every other post for the sake of milking the event bonus!

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Areas of Interests: (You may move between areas during the thread, but you should probably indicate where you are in the thread at any given time)

Site A - Stratford Market District: All of Stratford's festivities are concentrated downtown, featuring a large amount of bars and restaurants, many of which have reservations up to capacity, celebrating in the event. There are a large number of festival stands similar to Londinium, but primarily Lander-run instead.

Site B - Stratford Carnival Grounds: A small carnival filled with all the carnival games you can think of! It is designed in a circular pattern, all booths with a great view of the center stage. Dart tossing and hammer strength booths are among the popular ones, where you can win prizes for yourself and friends. There are also circus acts performed at the center stage every hour.

Site C - Dimensional Theater: The Dimensional Theater at the center of the city holds a great number of plays and theater performances throughout the season. Performances are open to the public, allowing even inexperienced actors to present their performances in front of a receptive audience.

Site D - Snowdonia Hiking Trails: Just because winter is almost over doesn't mean Snowdonia isn't still a site to behold! The ballroom used for the Winter Ball is still holding its own party, and the beautiful still-snowy trails throughout the area make it a nice place to explore and hike through.

[Shuwen]

Words: 427

Shuwen was lost.

He’d gone out to Windsor forest for the purpose of hunting monsters for the usual adventurer-ish reasons, but the lack of a map, a few wrong turns, and his curiosity regarding what was over the next hill had led to him going much farther out of his comfort zone then he’d intended. Normally, when an adventure did that so recklessly, he’d usually just end up running into more opposition then he could handle, and get himself killed as a result. But either Shuwen’s luck was better then he was willing to admit, or someone with a dry sense of humor was playing a joke on him, because he soon found himself in another situation entirely.

Disoriented as he was wit his entry to a not-quite-new world, he hadn’t been keeping track of the days and hadn’t realized it was a certain that that certain people liked to celebrate. Nor was he aware that the village he’d coincidentally found himself in had a festival that was intended to celebrate an in-game equivalent of the event.

But there he was, standing stiff and wide-eyed in the midst of a village festival, celebrating the harvest of suspiciously heart-shaped fruit. His HP had taken a significant amount of damage on the way to the village, so he wanted to spend some time recovering before he went back out into a monster-infested zone. But in the meantime, he wasn’t sure how to deal with the atmosphere. I guess I could try some of the carnival games to kill time. Trying not to look too out of place, he got in line for the dart-tossing contest and waited for his turn to arrive, perhaps a little too patiently. There were a fair number of people in line, so it took a minute or two for him to reach the front, but when he did, he realized he may have made a mistake.

Everyone in the immediate vicinity was watching him out of idle curiosity, or to see how much longer he’d take. As he was already somewhat off balance due to the atmosphere, he was more tense then he was prepared to deal with, and didn’t do anywhere near well enough to get a prize. Well, at least the last one hit the dartboard. He thought with a sigh. So what should I do next? Another carnival game was out of the question, as it would just repeat that pathetic excuse for a showing, but most of the other options seemed to be things he wasn’t very interested in. Hmm….

[Eniko]

As Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year was approaching, Eniko couldn't help but smile as he walked into Avon Valley where he can celebrate this world's version of those said events called Coconia Lunar Festival. And as he walked through the streets of the city, he saw pink, red, and gold streamers, festival booths, and not far away from him was the carnival that was going on right now. Can't helped but to enjoy it, he ran to the carnival and was completely excited as he saw carnival games he always saw in carnivals back in the old world. "Wow, this is just like me and my parents went a few years ago! It really brings me back some memories."

As he wandered around the carnival while looking for a carnival game to play, he noticed some police are enjoying themselves. If he can remember correctly, they are known as Wardens, which was the available class in Elder Tale that protected Avon from Miasma. Yet despite he thought of them as strict and serious, he was relieved that this festival managed to loose them up a little. Although he would make him a little better if he didn't saw them drinking, which he disliked since he was still a kid. Then as he continued to wander around, he smiled to see a dart game going on, which he ran to it to play, only to bumped onto an adult. As he recovered, he was shocked to saw the man's appearance, which he has blue spikey hair with a ponytail and red eyes that almost looked like a cat's eyes. But remembered his manners, Eniko quickly said, "Sorry about that, I didn't watch where I was going."

WORDS: 286 (Event AP Bonus for Main Class: 429)

TAG: Shuwen

GOALS: To enjoy the Coconia Lunar Festival in Stratford

[Shuwen]

Words: 239

Shuwen’s train of thought was interrupted by an unexpected collision. A younger male, a fellow adventurer according to the interface, had accidentally walked into him and was knocked back a little due to his lower weight. The monk could think of two ways he could react. The first was to assume that the boy was a Nazi spy sent to contaminate his precious bodily fluids. The second was to assume he was simply another adventurer out to enjoy himself. He decided to go with the latter assumption.

“Do be more careful.” He replied with a frown. “Not everyone is very forgiving. Buuuuuuut…” the frown turned into a grin “I’m not everyone, so don’t worry about it. Say, do you know where the food is?” He knew there was food somewhere, but he hadn’t been keeping an eye out for it, and despite a quick scan of his surroundings, he didn’t see any signs giving directions at the present. Just carnival games, carnival games, and more carnival games, with the occasional carnival game to break up the monotony. “I gave the games a shot, but I’m not really up for them right now.” He was annoyed with himself for not thinking of it earlier. Eating would keep his strength up, and depending on the level of the food, it might buff his stats or even increase his regen speed, which would allow him to get out of there more quickly.

[Eniko]

After the man forgave him on crashing onto him, Eniko became confused when he asked where the food was. He was here for the carnival games, but as for the food, he somehow missed yet. But when he remembered about the Wardens and some Landers carried some food with them, he might remembered seeing one when he got here. "Hang on a second." Eniko said to the man before he looked around the carnival for a food booth or something. Luckily for him, he managed to find one near two of the carnival games as they are somehow serving some kind of chewy snack and some steaks. "I think it's over there, selling steaks and some snacks."

He then ran to the booth with his hopes of the man followed him and decided to try one, since he needed some snacks before playing some carnival games. "I would like one of your snacks please!" He asked to the booth lady. "Sure, it's our specialty. Dried Coconia Strips, the best time to enjoy these since they are made from Coconia Fruit." Eniko then became confused when the lady mentioned "Coconia Fruit", which he asked about it to her. "Oh, you haven't heard? If you eat this fruit, you will confess your true love." Eniko froze upon he heard those words as he knew he didn't met anyone and the fact that he didn't have a girlfriend yet. But now that he thought about it, Valentine's Day happened a few days ago, but when he learned about the fruit's history however, he can't think of anything that was his true love.

WORDS: 269 (Event AP Bonus for Main Class: 403)

TAG: Shuwen

GOALS: To enjoy the Coconia Lunar Festival in Stratford

[Shuwen]

Words: 412

It didn’t seem like the boy knew where the food was either, but unlike him, he was more willing to seize the initiative and ask someone else, specifically one of the Wardens who acted as the town’s law enforcement. As he did, Shuwen rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He’d only wanted to know if he already knew the information, not for him to go around asking for him. It felt more then a little awkward for someone to be doing it for him. It was a little late to correct him though, and complaining now would only make the situation more awkward. So when he returned with the information, he simply nodded in appreciation, following him relatively closely.

Before long, they reached a stand selling strips of dried Coconia fruit. Shuwen, having already gone out of his way to figure out what the festival was about, already knew most of what the vendor told them, except for one important piece of information; that the especial effects of the coconia fruit persisted the food’s prepared forms as well as the raw ingredient. That… might be troublesome. That said, the vendor’s explanation was lacking. “It isn’t necessarily your true love.” He attempted to clarify. “It could be a food you love, or a favorite book or something like th-”

“I LOVE MEATLOAF!” Another adventurer, one who’d already partaken of the coconia strips, suddenly bolted upright and yelled out his love at the top of his lungs.

“Like that.” Shuwen finished lamely. “I think I’ll go try some of the steak instead.” He headed for a nearby stall in order to do so, only to return a moment later with a small plate of meat in hand. The strips appeared to be more of a preserved food; something that was best saved for later in his opinion, while the juicy-looking steak was something he preferred for an on-the-spot meal. Fortunately, the steak was most definitely prepared manually, because it tasted about like what he expected it to taste like. He could still taste the coconia though, in the form of a sweet aftertaste that ensured he wouldn’t forget it anytime soon. “It’s goo-“ He suddenly felt himself go red in the face as his body suddenly tensed up and his posture became more rigid. “THE PEOPLE! I LOVE THE PEOPLE!” He yelled loudly. A moment later, he slumped back into his original posture, and his eyes went a little wide. “Ah, eh… what?”

[Rubber Ducky]

[attr="class","boneshatter1"]

[attr="class","boneshatter2"]

AND WE'LL NEVER STOP 'CAUSE WE'RE ONLY GETTING BETTER --- ALIVE AGAIN, ANOTHER DAY, I'M NOT AFRAID TO GET OVER ---

[attr="class","boneshatter3"]The festival sounded like a wonderful opportunity to get out and have some fun and all. Plus, if he was lucky enough, he and Princess Ozma could go around town without getting a bunch of odd looks. No matter how unliked Heretics were, Ducky refused to leave her for long. They were partners, constantly in a party together, and Ducky vowed to himself that he would help her out of this game no matter the cost. On this particular day, he was dressed in his usual battle outfit, wishing desperately he had saved enough money to buy some actual normal clothes. You know, like the ones they wore in the real world. Those would have been pretty nice so he didn't stand out.

Every now and then, Ducky would reach out and gently brush his hand against his friend's, hoping to elicit some sort of smile. He knew better, though. He could see how difficult it was for her to control her miasma, which was something he honestly never hoped to have to experience himself. But whatever happened, he would be right there with her. But tonight, tonight would be the night that the two of them could let their hair down and enjoy the festivities in this new world. It would at least help remind them of home. Home...it was beginning to become such an odd concept. Was home here, in Elder Tale, where he could possibly spend the rest of his days wandering about, or was home back in the real world that he would yearn for so much? Those questions were but a flicker in Ducky's mind, for tonight he had no patience to consider these philosophical thoughts.

Instead, he playfully teased Princess Ozma. "Looks like I'm not the only one who forgot to save up for some real clothes." The two were headed to a place that he was selling steak, hoping to find some delicious treats.
Word Count: 325 + 50% (162) = 487 Total
Tag Princess Ozma

deltra of gangnam style

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[Midori]

[attr="class","polarisB"] [attr="class","girtabB"] [attr="class","gifB"] [attr="class","backgroundsinisterB"] [attr="class","stardustB"] [attr="class","starduskB"] [attr="class","lockedroomB"] [attr="class","psychelockB"] [attr="class","murasakB"] Pay the price of karma and let's go together. Meanwhile in another part of the carnival, the young magician held a mallet and loomed her body over six small holes on a machine. Her body tensed and she focused her eyes, ready to strike like a snake about to lunge at its prey. There was a loud dinging of a bell and then a cylindrical object with a heart on its flat surface jutted out of one of the holes. The raven-haired Adventurer smashed the hammer into the object, knocking it down and causing a score table to increase by 1 point. She gave quick glances toward her opponents. There were two middle-aged Stratford Wardens participating in this match. Luckily she chose to hide her class, otherwise there could have been accusations of cheating due to the dubious nature of the Heretic class. If anything, cheating by a Heretic was very noticeable in comparison to some other class like an Enchanter. One of the other opponents was a man with dark blue hair and a navy-looking uniform. He had also made it to this final round of the Whack-a-Heart tournament by punching the targets rather than using a mallet as assistance. The other three were quite intent on winning the grand prize. For her? She mostly just wanted to win. She had played carnival games like this in real life and her own room back in the real world was full of prize plushies. The grand prize for this contest wasn't plushies though if she remembered correctly... In terms of combining Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year together into one festival, she was rather surprised that this kind of thing had actually happened. Back during the previous February, three months after the Adventurers had found themselves stuck in this world, Valentine's Day was also one of the common holidays that had not been celebrated. There was some talk about a certain group of Adventurers organizing such an event, but in the long run, nothing was really done and the event basically felt through. It was similar to the Silent Christmas, where the distressed Adventurers were too busy trying to find a way back to the old world that the Christmas season had gone by without any fanfare. However, this time around, it seemed to have changed in atmosphere. The Adventurers, now a year into the world, had been able to maintain enough festivities that the entire world itself had seemed to react likewise. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why the Snowdonia Winter Ball was held this time around. Even the streets of the major cities had gotten into the season for that time, decorating itself accordingly with streamers and Christmas trees throughout the streets. She had a few theories about what may have triggered such drastic changes between years, but maybe it was due to the Adventurers having restored much of the city's original functions. Anyway, returning back to the concept about Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year being merged. It was a very odd choice. It was the combining of a holiday about celebrating the new year with one that was based around your significant other (if you were lucky enough to have one) by showering them with gifts of chocolates and flowers (if you were the man in this situation, then social pressure was even more apparent) and spending time with them for the day (despite that you should spend time with them more than just once a year). What a long sentence. Lunar New Year wasn't really a tradition that most British people would have been used to, anyway. She had a couple Chinese and Vietnamese friends, so the occasion to her was essentially revolving around red envelopes. Each red envelope you received meant that you were now a little bit richer. Her friends claimed that they usually received amounts ranging from $10-20 USD. Combine all that together and it was a sizable amount of money simply for sharing the culture. Japanese tradition did a similar thing, but only her grandparents ever really gave her a lot of money for New Year's anyway. Never mind her even celebrating Valentine's Day. Midori was part of that forever alone crowd, although she wasn't actually desperate for finding a date as much as others may have been. She preferred a strong friendship prior to even considering anything like relationships and dates. However, that was harder said than done because most of her personality was hidden in her thoughts. You know what? Someone's just going to try here in this thread in the near future, aren't they? She needed to find some kind of excuse. Let's be a third wheel for some couple. Let's see, was Hirosame going to be in Avon today? Yeah, yeah. Enough backstory. Throughout what probably would have taken five minutes to describe if this were a scene in an anime, only five seconds had passed. The next target popped up, then the next. The players' scores went up with each successful target. Eventually, after 20 targets, the score was essentially decided. The Stratford Wardens had scores of 14 and 16 each. The navy-haired man held a score of 19. Midori herself also tied with his score at 19. The winner would have been decided at 20. There was practically only one match to go. The final target rose up and the players took aim. Midori lowered the mallet upon the target, striking it with considerable force and pushing it down into the hole. That should have decided it. The bell rang in order to signify a champion. Her eyes looked up and she was confused. Her own score was still... 19? The young man raised his fist in the air, standing before a machine with a score of 20. Apparently he had struck the target a split-second prior to her, effectively ending the match right there. "And for the champion, here are four last-minute tickets to a prestigious restaurant in Avon! You'd better get there fast, I hear lunch hour is packed and if you miss it, they'll move on to the next available customers!" The dark-haired man gratefully accepted the gift and the two guards shrugged and left the booth, perhaps to find another game to play. Her eyes looked to the tickets and then briefly glanced at the man. Their eyes had met at that very moment. Normally this was when a heroine would receive some kind of invite like 'would you like to come with me?' Instead, he pulled one of the tickets and held the remaining three in his other hand. "Here, take these. I only need one anyway." he tossed the tickets into her hands. "Enjoy!" Before she was able to say anything in response, the sailor ran out toward the carnival ground exit and over to the destination. She took a glance at the reservation. It was apparently one of the high-class steak restaurants in Avon in front of the Dimensional Theater, about a 20 minute walk away. The reservation was made for... 15 minutes from now!? No wonder he was running! She needed to check her Friends List. Were any of the Alliance members in Avon at this moment? "Otherwise I could just sell these...?" The thought crossed her mind that she could probably just head to the restaurant and stand just right outside in order to sell the vouchers. However, that was a bit blatantly too capitalistic for her own tastes, as it would have been taking advantage of peoples' desperation. While she had to admit that such an opportunity was often an excellent opportunity, Elder Tale was not just simply a game at this point. Now that it was basically a form of reality, she would have to negotiate with people in person if she wanted to sell something this urgently. Otherwise she would have loved it if it was possible to put up assorted items for sale and then just have random people buy them all, all without having to meet them in person. But well, things were not that simple in a transition between game to life. Maybe she would keep one of the tickets and then give the remaining two to a random couple as a last-ditch scenario. Of course, the writer of this post has other plans for it. You'll have to find your own reservations elsewhere if you want to interact with this little magician, I'm afraid. Wait, why are you still waiting, Midori? Run! "But I'm checking the friends list!" Well, you're a good multitasker! I'm pretty sure you're weirding out potential strangers by talking to a 4th wall presence too. "Isn't that the pointtttt?" [attr="class","notesbg"] NOTES I write a lot. WORDS 1437 (2155.5) TAGS Charuen @0x1dea AREA Site B: Carnival ATTIRE CREDIT BY jumpstart! of btn and ote [attr="class","borderradius"] 皐月 冬子

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[Deleted]

Coconia Lunar Festival huh? Jacoben wasn't sure why he was even out and about during this particular event. Valentine's day was not the sort of holiday that he had ever enjoyed, his social issues meant that he'd never been in a proper relationship nor had he gained the attention of random classmates as their schoolkid crush. It didn't really bother him all things considered, but it was a bit odd for him to have wandered out into an event that celebrated a holiday he had never had a reason to enjoy before.

Still, perhaps he could find something of interest amidst the various overdone tributes to romantic relationships. He had waved Jane off when she had gotten curious about what he was doing, he kinda wanted to have some time to himself to explore, mope, and become even more accustomed to his new life.

Wandering through Stratford with a mug of apple cider, he had heard what Coconia fruit did to the people who consumed it and he wanted nothing to do with that kind of nonsense, the Fox-tail found himself entering the Carnival Grounds. His mismatched eyes examined the various competitions and games that were set up to swindle people of their money in favour of useless prizes, but he supposed these sorts of things were part of the charm of a carnival. There was an atmosphere of celebration in the area that he couldn't help but bask in. While Jacoben might not want to participate in any of the silly activities linked to the festival it was nice to see others doing so.

Here and there couples wandered with hands linked, some people shooting darts at balloons pegged up against straw, others tossing little rings of metal that didn't fly straight, some testing their strength (perhaps not the best idea considering the severe handicap that non-strength based classes would have). Still, it seemed that everyone had come out in force to celebrate the event and while the young Sorcerer felt rather isolated amidst the multitude in the crowd he was content enough to find some corner to people watch.

The sound of someone declaring their love for 'people' caught his attention for a moment, but he decided it was probably just a case of another person having eaten the Coconia based substances and being forced to express some form of love or another. The white haired youth sipped at his apple cider slowly as he stared out over the carnival. It'd be nice if some bard started to play music, that'd probably tie everything together nicely and really bring the nostalgia home. Of course, there'd need to be a bagpipe involved to really make it feel like the sort of fairs that they used to have at home, but he'd not seen a set since he'd come to this world, perhaps no one knew which class would be responsible for making them?

If he was really that homesick though he would have put on the tartan, but then he'd have needed to find a tailor to attire him in full traditional garb....eh, this wasn't formal enough that he felt the inner scolding of his mother so he would be safe in his simple baggy black robe.

W: 808 (539 + 269 Bonus)

[Zyrune]

Hp: 100 Mp: 100

A warm gentle wind wafted through the streets, bringing with it a beautiful smell of coconia. The street of the Stratford Carnival Grounds was filled with bright colours and so many tempting scents and even more tempting booths as more and more patrons arrived to enjoy the wonderful Coconia Lunar Festival. Dirt also filled the ari as the crowd of people moved around, stomping on the earth as they played games, chatted to one another and enjoyed thenselves. It was a fun enviroment, even if it was only for a short time of the year. The druid moved through the crowds, beside him a tall brunette stood smiling taking in all the sights before him.
As they walked from booth to booth, Zyrune couldn't help but feel thankful for the lander's presence. The past year hadn't been easy on him and he certainly hadn't been easy on it, he had pushed many people away, pull them close only to push them away once more, he had given up and restarted so many times now he had lost count and despite all of that, the lander always greeted him with a smile, they usually exchanged greetings in the morning while the lander or Tadashi set up his baked goods stall, sometimes if he woke on the right side of the bed, he would lend a hand. The two would converse, exchanged idle gossip and then part ways for the day only to see each other again that evening. Everything about this world held so many mysteries and Tadashi would just sit and listen to Zyrune talk and talk about everything and anything, which the druid was thankful for because he always had so much on his mind.

Tadashi never asked for anything in return even when Zyrune told him one afternoon after a respawn how he didn't exist and how everything was a lie, the lander still refused to leave. Instead the tall man extended his hand and brushed it against the druid's cheek. "Feel that?" The lander had asked. "This world is alive, once you let it take hold of you, I promise you that you won't regret it. Let yourself relax and things will start to happen for you." Since that day the druid hadn't given up, if he had a rough day, he spent the afternoon venting to the smiling lander and woke up feeling refreshed and if he had a good day, he couldn't wait to tell him about everything and anything that had happened. Tadashi would just buy them some drinks and they would chat. Sometimes the druid would catch himself forgetting about his sister, his previous life and punish himself by refusing to see Tadashi that evening. Sometimes he wished that his sister could have been brought to this land too, maybe then he wouldn't have felt so guilty for making a friend. While it had been over a year for him, his sister had at best experienced two months of worry and panic and that made him feel guilty, it wasn't a young girls job to worry, they were supposed to have fun and enjoy life while their older brothers were supposed to look out for them, not leave them behind to experience a brand new world.
 Letting out a sigh, the druid shook his head of the thoughts. Right now, he and Tadashi were exploring the carnival, he should focus on that. The lander had excitedly told Zyrune how he managed to get someone to cover his stall for the events duration and how he wanted the two of them to experience it together. The pink haired caster had assumed it was weird to enjoy a festival designed around love with a friend. During the first few weeks of their friendship the two had briefly flirted somewhat, the druid had even watched as the lander had been set up on dates with other people of the land during their friendship and had presumed and accepted that they would remain friends. Still as he watched the lander's eyes light up as he won a prize for knocking cans with a ball, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that they would never connect on a more intimate level. The druid blushed at the thought and pursed his lips. What was he even thinking about, he was a guy stuck in a virtual world, his best friend was a non player character, nothing was going to happen, nor would it ever. Shaking his head, Zyrune tried his best to calm his beating heart.

"Want to try some local specialties?" The calm collected and light hearted voice of his friend broke his train of thought. Blushing the druid nodded and the two started off towards the food tent. "Zyrune?" The lander began after a few moments. "mmmm?" Zyrune replied as he dipped his hand into a bag of dried coconia he was holding. "I have been wan..." The Lander began but before he could finished Zyrune stumbled over something, his dried fruit flying off ahead of him.
The lander managed to catch the druid before he fell over completely, but Zyrune was sure the fruit had gone everywhere.

Hp: 100 Mp: 100
WC: 863
Abilities Used:
Tagged: @jacoben (if you want to rp, you can say the fruit hit you. :P If not ignore :) )
Notes: As this day is set before the other event days, I have the two together without being a couple yet.

[Eniko]

Upon he saw both Adventurers screamed out their "true loves" after they ate the Coconia Steak and Dried Strips, Eniko was started to have second thoughts about them. It was bad enough that he didn't have a girlfriend on Valentine's or Coconia Lunar Festival, but shouting out your favorite food? He rather not to lose his dignity than to eat them. "Uh, maybe I'll pass. I think I saw some Adventurers selling cupcakes. I rather not waste my appetite eating this." Eniko sheepishly explained to the vendor as the man with him left to get a steak instead, which he tried not to hurt her feelings about them. "Oh come on, just try one. It's really delicious and maybe you can find your true love this year."

"No, I couldn't. I just-" Before he can finish his sentence, the vendor shoved a piece of dried strip into his mouth, which he unknowingly chewed as he tried to talk. As he did, he suddenly became allured by it's sweet aftertaste, which Eniko started to enjoy. However, his body suddenly shook up and raised his arms up in the air before he happily shouted, "I LOVE MY PARENTS!!!" And when he returned to his usual self, Eniko started to blush red, now completely embarrassed at what he said due to the Dried Coconia Strip he unintentionally ate. "I... I should get going now..." He said before he ran away as he continued to blush red. Sure, he really loved his parents the most, but shouting out in front of older Adventurers and Landers was completely embarrassing. He continued to ran into another part of the carnival, which he prayed that his voice from earlier didn't reached there.

WORDS: 285 (Event AP Bonus for Main Class: 427)

GOALS: To enjoy the Coconia Lunar Festival in Stratford and try to forget the embarrassing event involving Dried Coconia Strips.

NOTES: Awkward moment for Eniko.

[Deleted]

Words: 1055
Tags: Charuen

A tired, panting young man clad in a comfortable jacket stumbled through the streets, his poor legs aching from his long trek here from his place in Windsor. “I’m taking the train next time,” he muttered to himself, wiping the small amount of sweat that began to form on his brow. Even though the journey was long, he managed to see quite a variety of sights as he walked down the trodden path that led to a once vast winter wonderland. However, spring seemed to have come a little early this year, bits of green beginning to reclaim its position of top dog as the snow began to retreat from the harsh rays of the sun. Looks like the groundhog didn’t see its shadow this year, he thought to himself. He laughed as he recalled his pet Briar Weasel’s response when he took him outside, asking him if he saw his shadow and weather they would get six more weeks of winter. “Of course I can see it! Whut are yu, some sort o’ blitherin’ idjit?” he had replied in that sarcastic, condenscending way of his. It was all he could to keep from laughing at Omo’s antics. Anyhow, back to the almost present. The familiar sounds of people chatting and festival games in progress had found their way into the guardian’s ear canals, invading them with their happy social sounds. Smells of food being cooked (most of them having the smell of something sweet and fruity) wafted through the air, Ox taking a big whiff of the scent. Oddly, he felt rather loose-lipped, like he wanted to shout out to the world some sort of attachment that he had to a person, place, and/or object. However, that feeling quickly faded as he walked down the streets, rubbing his sore legs from time to time as he looked around at his surroundings, which now brings us back to the present. The city was one of many which he wasn’t very familiar with, as the only other time he came out this far was for a Winter Ball that was held near here. He rolled up the sleeves of his jacket to get some cool air on him as he continued to look around. Lots of food stalls were up, most of them selling a fruit that looked like a heart-shaped peach or something. The ones in which the owners were cooking something seemed to be making recipes involving these Coconia fruits (at least that’s what the sign called them). As much as he would’ve loved to grab a drink and maybe a quick snack or five, he much rather preferred to find a comfortable place to sit. The lines to the stands were long and barely moving, so he made his way further into the center of town. As he walked, he saw a line-up of what looked like a couple of whack-a-mole games. Apparently, it was a contest as a crowd had gathered around, an announcer explaining the rules of the game as he walked by. He couldn’t help but notice that he thought he saw someone who looked a lot like Midori…same dark hair and everything, but from the back, he couldn’t tell. He’d have to remember to walk back this way to see if his guess was right. Multiple-colored streamers were strung up everywhere on the buildings above, like a giant party spider who had a little too much to drink had gone crazy and coated the town in its festive strands. Despite the simile used by the author, the arrangement was a nice one. The streamers almost seemed to act like a guide for the festival’s patrons, guiding them to locations where big events were happening today. Ox found himself walking down multiple streets, not paying much attention to the people around him as he kept his eyes on the decorations, and ended up following the streamers to the center of the party spider’s web: a giant outdoor(?) theater. And best of all, not a lot of people were here at the moment (probably distracted with all the other festival activities going on). Almost letting out a cry of joy, the guardian walked as fast as his sore, tired legs would carry him. A couple of smiling attendants were standing outside the entrance, handing out theater pamphlets to those who were already entering. As Ox approached them, it was all he could do not to bolt right past them and claim a chair to stretch out on. “Good day, sir. Welcome to the Dimension Theater!” the first one said, beaming with a grin she seemed to have permanently stuck on her face. “Trying to beat the rush to get the best seat for you and your date?” asked the second one, wearing a smile similar to the first one. “Ah, yes. I guess you could say that,” he replied, trying not to grimace in pain and impatience as he returned the smile. “Do I need to purchase a ticket or something, or…?” Wait, did she just mention a ‘date’? Ox turned to look around him, seeing if he had accidentally picked up a tag-along somewhere along the way, trying to mooch a seat off of him. “Oh, not at all. The shows for today are completely free in celebration for today’s event, but the seats are first-come, first-serve. So, will you be needing two seats? The pamphlets act like tickets, and those without one will have a much harder time saving a seat,” she replied. What a cutthroat system. “Two will be fine, thank you,” he said, accepting the two finely decorated pieces of parchment that listed the plays for today. With a small nod and a ‘thank you’, Ox finally made his way into the theater, picking a seat close to one side in the center section. Just in case he decided that he didn’t want to sit through them or if he was stuck next to someone he couldn’t stand, he could make a hasty retreat out of there. After settling in, the guardian let out a big sigh, placing one pamphlet over his face as he leaned his head back to take a quick nap before the show started. The noise in the hall began to increase as more and more people began to make their way inside.

template coded by oxford of ET

[Shuwen]

words: 404

It didn’t take the monk very long to figure out what had happened. He’d already had a pretty good idea of what would happen, but everyone’s reactions seemed to confirm it. “Well that was… interesting.” He commented, struggling for the right word to describe the sensation. No sooner did he get over it then the shop keeper forced a coconut strip into the kid’s mouth. “Uh, are you sure that’s a-” He was interrupted by him loudly proclaiming his love for his parents. That has to stink then, being trapped in this place away from them. Once he regained control, the boy clearly panicked and ran away in embarrassment. “There’s no shame in that you know.” He tried to say, but by the time he finished his sentence, the boy was long gone. “Well that was depressing.” He turned towards the shopkeeper. “Did ya really need to force it down his throat?” The shopkeeper rubbed the back of his head guiltily. At least the kid didn’t have to pay for it.

With his stomach full and the kid elsewhere, he was somewhat at a loss in regard of what to do next. He didn’t really know anyone there, and he didn’t really have a reason to talk to someone else. Maybe I should go look at that theatre thing? They might have something entertaining on. However, he guessed the odds of it weren’t very likely. Hmm. Now I have some food in my stomach, maybe that will take the edge off of being watched while I play carnival games. Hnnnnnnnnnn I guess I can give it another shot. He headed back towards the games, passing a handful of adventurers along the way, including a cleric and a few other magic users he couldn’t identify. Now then, what game should I try next. It looked like there was already a crowd around the hammer strength booth, and he didn’t really feel like trying the dart throwing again. Fortunately, it looked like there wasn’t much of a line for the ring toss, so he decided to give it a try. He managed to get one ring o the target, but even though he managed to get close several other times, those slid off just a little bit. Blah. At least it wasn’t the total failure the dart throwing had been. Once his turn was over, he began looking around to see what else he might do.

[Deleted]

Jacoben  HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

More and more people began to show up, adventurers at least, which made the Fox-tail cringe into himself a little. He wasn't so concerned when it was just people of the land, since they tended to treat Adventurers with a level of distance which was relatively comfortable for him, but other Adventurers....they were a little less likely to leave him to his own devices, much to his discomfort. Perhaps it would be better for him to go now and do something else before he got corralled into something he wasn't sure he could handle. After all, it's not like anyone would be interested in interacting with him anyway.

At least, that was what his anxious mind began to tell him anyway. Why bother staying at a place when you had no good reason to hang around? He couldn't socialise with others and he was beginning to feel so very alone amongst such a large crowd. Instead he could have been somewhere else on his own with something to do that would keep him from feeling so isolated, like working on his crafting or something. When he was working on something then he felt calm and productive, as though it didn't matter that it was only him around. He could even have gone to work on his Roleplay Subclass and try and train animals, then he could have a companion to help him and keep him company whenever he needed them. Anything would have been better than the slow ache of loneliness he was beginning to feel at this point. It always took a while to sink in, but when it did he couldn't help but want to flee from the cause of it, cursing his own social anxieties.

He probably would have convinced himself that he had to go too, if it weren't for the sudden splash coming from within his mug that sent a spray of cider up into his face and all over his robe. Cringing slightly as the fizzing and sticky fluid got into his hair and eyes the Sorcer felt his ears press against his head, which only made it worse as the fur on them clung to the sticky strands leaving him feeling even more uncomfortable.

Flailing slightly as the cold liquid began to slip beneath his robe and head for his other clothing, Jacoben was forced to pull the article of cloth off lest he get soaked completely through (it had been a very large mug after all), dropping the remainder of his drink in the process. Frowning to himself at the irritating turn of events the silver haired youth wiped his face with the now dirty robe and sighed. He was left in simple grey pants, plain black shoes, and a baggy dark grey sweater-like top.

"Just brilliant," he murmured grumpily, putting the robe away and picking up his mug to see what had caused the problem. Sitting at the base of the now mostly empty mug was a dried Coconia fruit, looking oh so innocent as it rolled around splashing in the remains of his apple cider. Sighing to himself he looked around, hoping to find some water to wipe the sticky fluid from his face and hair, and maybe he could get another mug of cider to make up for his loss. Others might have gone looking for whoever had caused the incident, but Jacoben wasn't the sort of person who could have gone up to a stranger and asked for an apology.

That was when he noticed the pink haired male who looked like he had tripped over. It took him a moment but he did recall meeting the Druid before, though they hadn't really interacted much due to Jacoben's social problems. It seemed that Zyrune was the one who had launched the fruit into his drink... not that it really mattered the youth supposed, he was still not going to go and start a problem over the issue. He just wanted to find some place to clean up and then maybe he'd just go home after all. It was probably a dumb idea coming out here on his own.

OOC NOTES:
TAG: Zyrune

Word Count: 1035 (690+345)

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Eniko]

He ran and ran as he tried to forget his embarrassing shout out due to the Dried Coconia Strip's effects until his legs gave out. When they did, Eniko panted in exhaustion before he admitted, "I know most of us missed our parents, but shouting out mine who just passed away a few years ago really doesn't help." As for the reason why he shouted out about them instead of his step-parents, it was obvious for him. He didn't like them due to only caring about his grades and him becoming their successor, so his true parents are the only ones who loved him more than anything as they showed him how to live his life the way he wanted and are happy to see him soar his own wings.

Then, when he saw the Wolf Hair man wasn't with him, he guessed that he must have ran away from him as well, considered what just happened. Nevertheless, if he found him again, he'll try to explain everything and apologize for running off like that. For now, Eniko saw a skeeball booth near him, which he decided to play it as he visited this kind of carnival game a lot in the past. As he played the game, he remember the fond memories of his carnival visit with his parents, such as seeing the circus act, play carnival games to win prizes, and eating ice cream with them on the bench as the day ended. As he thought about them, three of the balls missed the holes while three of the holes fell onto the 50 points hole and two of them fell onto the 100 points holes. After this, he was given a Brier Weasel plushie as a prize for getting 350 points, which wasn't a big plushie as he hoped, but he shrugged it off. With his skeeball game done, Eniko started to wander around some more to search for more games to play and maybe try to draw something from his sketchbook of this carnival.

WORDS: 338 (Event AP Bonus for Main Class: 507)

GOALS: To enjoy the Coconia Lunar Festival in Stratford

[Shuwen]

Words: 1018

Shuwen’s wandering eyes were caught on a rather unique stand among the food vendors. It wasn’t a stand that sold food per say, but one in which patrons could cook their own coconia dishes and keep them. As he passed by one of the finished dishes on display, he took a look at the flavor text, and saw that it actually looked rather useful. Huh, that would be nice to have. I mean, any party member I gave it to would probably hate me for it, but the boosts could be really handy in a pinch. I certainly can’t produce anything that powerful on my own right now. He took a look at the pricing of ingredients. He winced at the price of the Coconia fruit, but considering the effect of the food, and his basic knowledge of economics, he grudgingly admitted to himself that it made sense. It was high-quality and very much in demand; of course they’d sell it for a high price.

Sighing for his greatly-reduced wallet, Shuwen pulled out the money he’d need and walked up to the vendor, a babyfaced slightly overweight man wearing a chef’s apron and hat.

“Hey, uh, I’d like to make some cookies or-” He began hesitantly. Despite his uncertainty, the vendor’s face lit up. “But of course young man! Let’s get started!” Grabbing the monk one arm, he swiftly dragged him over to an unused over, and began to pull out the necessary ingredients in rapid-fire. “So you’re a fellow chef? Eeeeeeexcellent. What’s your level? … So you’re a newbie eh? No biggie! I can help walk you through it!” Needless to say, Shuwen was having more then a little trouble keeping up with the Lander’s relentless pace.

It seemed the chef had already prepared a dried mix that was supposed to act as cookie dough. He also had a pitcher of milk and a whole coconia fruit. However, he made it clear Shuwen was going to be doing the rest of the work; he was just going to supervise. “This is the kind of food you need to put your heart into, yeah?” The lander explained “No good if I just make it for you. But don’t worry! I’ll make sure you don’t do anything wrong.” The last statement made him laugh for some reason, but the monk chose not to dwell on it.

The first thing he needed to do was cut the coconia into tiny pieces, so it would mix well into the dough. He was given a sharp knife, (sharper then he was used to using) and began to chop it into thin slices lengthwise. He’d already had some experience doing this when he made potato chips; he’d needed to chop the potatoes thin to make those, but the coconia was thicker, and the chef looking over his shoulder had much harsher standards then he was used to. “They’ve gotta be thinner then that man, or it won’t mix smoothly! You want an uneven cookie! Pah, don’t make me laugh.” Despite his baby face, the chef was a stern taskmaster. It took several minutes longer then Shuwen would of liked, and several times more grief then he wanted, but he managed to slice the coconia fruit into pieces thin enough to meet his instructor’s expectations. He was about to spread them out so he could cut them individually, but the cook knocked his hand away. “No you don’t! You’ve gotta cut them all at once!” Oh give me a break. He thought. Neither the less, he did as he was told. Not like he could finish the recipe without the guy’s help after all. Grimly, he held the sliced Coconia fruit up on it’s side and began slicing it width-wise. Ah, that’s why he wants me to do it. Slicing it twice resulted in the fruit being reduced into tiny rectangular pieces, which would mix in with the dough much more easily. By cutting them all at once, he could get it done in much less time then if he’d slice each slice individually; otherwise the repetition would have increased the amount of time it took to complete dramatically. Doesn’t make it any easier to do though. He’d just have to grin and bear it after all.

Now that he was finished slicing the coconia into small pieces, the next step was to crush the pieces so they would mix even better. Shuwen would have been fine with using his fists for this, but the cook insisted on using a rolling pin. “It’s quicker, and makes for a much smoother mash.” He explained. His student still didn’t quite understood, but it wasn’t as big a chore as what he’d been doing, so he didn’t complain. It was somewhat easier then he thought it would be; he didn’t have to push very hard to apply enough force to mash the coconia fragments to his instructor’s satisfaction. “Good, good. It looks like yer catching on.” He secretly breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t going to make it any harder; that could get old really fast. The next step was to mix the mashed coconia pieces with the (mostly prepared) cookie dough. The that purpose, the instructing chef pulled out a mixing bowl and a long flat spoon-like utensil that Shuwen couldn’t remember the name of. What he needed to do next didn’t even need to be said. Dumping both ingredients into the bowl, the monk began to use the spoon-like utensil to mix them as thoroughly as he could, as quickly as he could. That may have been a mistake though, as he was rougher with it then he really needed to be, and a small amount of the mix almost flew clean out. “Not that much energy boy. You’ve got ta keep it in the thing, yeah? You can’t cook it if it goes flying everywhere.” Grinning sheepishly, he toned the stirring down a notch.

Despite his mistakes and near-mistakes, it seemed like he was making good progress on making the cookies. It was just a matter of time before they were done.

[Charuen]

"KNOW THAT I'M ALREADY HOME" Stratford Upon Avon in the Unfounded Kingdom was equivalent to Stratford in the real world. Charuen, being a fan of all things literary, had always been very fond of Stratford. After all, it was the birthplace of one of the most well renowned playwrights to have ever lived: Shakespeare. Oh, how she adored Shakespeare! While some considered him to be a bit too mainstream (Haters gonna hate!), the cleric absolutely loved his work. She found his plays genuine and very captivating in ways that other writers failed to achieve. Therefore, when she had heard that the Dimensional Theatre in Stratford Upon Avon would be putting on multiple plays written by the iconic playwright, Char hesitated for merely a heartbeat before deciding that she would make the journey to the faraway city. She had expected the trip to be relatively long, but some unfortunate events along the way had lengthened the journey by quite a bit. Firstly, the public carriage in which she travelled in to reach Stratford had broken down mid-way. One of the wheels had come loose, and the entire process of replacing it added an additional half an hour to their journey. Shortly after resuming their journey, they had to come to a halt once more upon finding an overturned Lander carriage on the road. Everyone in the carriage that Charuen had been travelling in, (including her!) had gotten out of their mode of transportation to help clear the road and make sure everyone in the overturned vehicle was unhurt. Altogether, the process took about one hour and thirty minutes. While nothing else arose to obstruct Charuen's carriage from reaching its destination after that, by the time the healer reached Stratford, it was already well into the afternoon. From the carriage's drop off point, the cleric weaved her way through the crowds, setting The Dimensional Theatre as her destination. Having only visited the city twice (And the second time she had merely passed through it.), navigating through the streets took a bit of though. However, as she got closer and closer to her destination, Char noticed a number of street performers on the street, dressed in colourful costumes and displaying extraordinary talents. While there was nothing more that she wanted to do than to stay to watch and admire the performances, she had to a play to catch! The pinkette tore her eyes from eye-catching scenes, and made her way to the theatre. Upon arriving at the entrance of her destination, the healer was stopped by an attendant who carried a small grimace on his face. A feeling of dread settled in Char's stomach as she noticed the young man's expression. The feeling only grew stronger upon hearing what he had to say. "I'm sorry miss, but you arrived just a tad bit late. I'm afraid I am out of pamphlets, which serve as tickets for our show today. You are free to go in and stand near the back of the theatre to watch the play, though. Or perhaps you'll luck out and find someone inside with an extra ticket!" Charuen pursed her lips into a thin line and gave the attendant a small smile before nodding. "Thank you for the information." She said, and entered the theatre. Her eyes widened slightly as she immediately took notice of the large crowds of people that occupied the perimeter of the theatre, where the audience was suppose to sit. A small sigh escaped her lips -- perhaps she could make one round around the theatre and look for an unoccupied seat before resigning to stand at the back... The pink haired adventurer began her walk down the aisles, trying her best to not draw any attention. The play was scheduled to start in five minutes. As she made her way through the seating area, her heart continued to sink deeper and deeper, for all she saw were occupied seats, until... A man, whose face was covered by a pamphlet resting on his head, sat next to an unoccupied seat near the middle-back of the theatre. Charuen's face immediately brightened at the sight and she quickly made her way over to him with graceful strides. Oh, what luck! The half-alv tapped the man on the shoulder to get his attention, but upon getting no reply, gently removed the pamphlet from his face. "Oh, Oxford!" A look of surprised flashed across the cleric's face upon recognizing the once sleeping figure. She most definitely did not expect to bump into a fellow guildmate here. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant surprise, and the pink haired beauty greeted the guardian with one of her friendly smiles. "Well hello there. I must say I did not expect to bump into you here!" Charuen gave Ox a small wave before motioning towards the empty seat. "Is this seat saved for an- Ah, I'm sorry. You're probably on a date, aren't you?" She bit her lip gently, wondering why she did not realize it sooner. After all, they were at the Coconia Lunar Festival, something that was primarily celebrated by couples. With Oxford being such an eligible bachelor, he was probably watching the play with a pretty female adventurer. "Oh, no I didn't bring a date. However, you might be able to change that if you don't mind joining me." The words most definitely took Charuen by surprise. Despite every fibre in her body telling her to remain calm, the cleric found her heart beating faster upon hearing Ox speak. Her mouth opened slightly as she attempted to think of something witty, or perhaps even flirty, to say. Although she refused to acknowledge it and pushed it to the back of her mind, the fact that the higher leveled player had come alone to see the play made her rather happy. Ah, he was so forward... He probably doesn't mean it. I wonder if he is like this with other women? A grateful smile graced Char's features and she nodded once at @0x1dea. "Thank you Ox. I most certainly do not mind." The pinkette sat down next to her fellow guild member, but did not say anything further for the theatre had fallen silent. The play was about to begin. The smile on her lips grew wider -- not only was the play being performed written by Shakespeare, but it was also her favourite play by him: As You Like It. ============== The sound of clapping died down only to be replaced by the shuffling of chairs as Adventurers and Landers alike began to rise from their seats and head for the exits of the theatre. The play had just ended, and it had been just as wonderful as Charuen imagined it would be. The cleric found herself walking beside Oxford as they joined the crowds of people attempting to leave. The pinkette turned to look at the guardian, her head tilted slightly in curiosity, and a small twinkle in her eyes. "So do you have anything else planned for the evening, Ox?" she asked. However, before she could hear his reply, Char felt someone push her from behind -- perhaps in an attempt to reach the exit faster. Nonetheless, much to her displeasure, she found herself being jostled away from Oxford by the flow of audience members. HP100% | MP100% WORDS 1211 | ATTIRE  x x NOTES |

MADE BY VEL OF GS 

[Steel]

"Looks like Valentine's day is the same everywhere." Steel thought to himself as he walked down the streets which were now decorated with a lot of decorations of the colors pink, red, white and other such colors. Originally, he just came to this town to buy some better equipment, the two new swords that were on his back and had completely forgotten about the date. If he knew prior, he would have just gone off to train and left most everyone else to their own devices. However, it was a bit too late now since there were way too many people crowding the streets and he'd never be able to get outside of the town so he just decided to bear with it. Still, it annoyed him that there were couples everywhere acting all lovey dovey. This was the reason why he found this February holiday to be irritating. Being by himself in such a situation made him feel awkward and out of place, a feeling that was just amplified due to his Asperger Syndrome. They don't nickname this Single's Awareness Day for nothing I suppose. Steel thought to himself in annoyance as he continued to walk around. "Well, hopefully nothing will go wrong today." He whispered to himself. Right after he said that, he had bumped into someone. When he turned to see who it was, it was a girl, a guy was right next to her, presumably her date for the day. "You okay there?" He asked the girl he bumped into as he offered a hand to help her up. As that happened, romantic sparkles came from and put the girl in a slight love sick like trance. This did not go unnoticed by the guy who was her boyfriend and that guy became irritated at Steel.

"What do you think you're doing, hitting on my girl?" The guy said as he got a hold of Steel's collar. It seemed he didn't know about the Courtesan ability or it's just that he was pissed that his date became like that. Not that his rage was completely unreasonable. At this, Steel started to panic as he didn't want to get into a conflict. He hurriedly turned the skill off, snapping the girl out of her little trance. I hate how this skill acts like a running gag!! Steel exclaimed in his mind before using martial arts to escape his captor's grip and jumped back.

"Sorry about that!" Steel exclaimed before running off. He hoped that he wouldn't be chased by that guy. This day was already off to a bad start and the Half Alv Swashbuckler hoped that this day wouldn't get any worse.

A few minutes later...

Well that hope didn't last long. Steel thought to himself as he continued to run. For some reason, probably because of the day of the year, that subclass skill kept turning on to the point that Steel just gave up on turning it off each time. Unfortunately, because of this skill, Steel ran across several similar situations where he accidentally caused a girl to fall into a trance in front of her date, causing the said date to chase after him in anger. On a side note, the girls affected went back to normal once Steel was over 10 meters away. As he escaped his latest foe, Steel was just getting tired of it. "At this rate, I'll be the enemy to all men and I won't be able to catch a break." Steel said as he panted a little. He was partially amazed that nobody has caught him yet. He knew that he had to lie low for at leadt a while. But how would he do that when he stuck out like a sore thumb being one of the people who didn't have a date and his Courtesan skill wasn't helping either. For once, he couldn't have a low presence, something he took for granted in the past. By the time he finished these thoughts, he just realized he was behind the theater. "I guess I'll just hide in here for now and perhaps enjoy a play." Steel said before beginning to walk towards the actual entrance. Before he did though, he heard someone act all worried about something.

"What are we going to do? All of the actors aren't here yet! And the audience is already starting to enter the theater!" A man said talking about the actors for the play that's supposed to come on soon. "Even if they hurry, it'll take at least 10-15 minutes to get here" He was wondering what to do. Steel could see that the guy was really troubled.

"Excuse me sir, would you like help in stalling for time?" Steel asked as he approached the man who appeared to be in charge of the event. Steel had an idea that he thought would work. The man in charge looked up at Steel. "Just tell me the name of the play and I'll go stall them."

"It's the play by Shakespeare 'As You Like It." The man said in response. Having knowledge of Shakespeare let Steel know that the man was an Adventurer but decided not to pursue the topic as it was unnecessary and unrelated to the current topic.

"Okay, I got it. I'll stall for time." Steel said with a smile before the man led him to the stage. As they walked through backstage, Steel put his swords back in his inventory and began preparing himself. At the question as to what he would do, Steel just answered. "I'll just introduce the story through my music." He said with a smile. At this time, most of the audience was seated and this would be usually the time when the actors came on stage. Instead to the audience's confusion, Steel came onto the show. Steel manipulated his inventory menu and summoned out his piano, making it appear in the center of the stage. He sat on the seat that came with it and put his hands on the keys. Since the play is all about love, I'll just play songs about it. Steel thought to himself as readied his mind for what he would play. Kreisler's Love's Joy and Love's Sorrow. He would combine both songs, something moderately easy to accomplish as they were companion pieces. From his memory, the play that would start had both elements and that's why he chose to do this.

His fingers began to dance on the keys, producing beautiful music. He heard these two songs a lot when he was a child so he knew them by memory. He started off powerfully and full of intensity but then changed his playing style so that it sounded so gentle and beautiful. The audience became captivated by his playing and it helped that the Courtesan skill that he kept on attracted the attention of people in the first place. However, this time nobody was in the love sick trance which caused him trouble earlier. Steel just continued to play in the style he felt and it created a powerful imagery to the point that some in the audience began to wonder whether it was an illusion. As his song neared the end, he began to slow down and created a beautiful yet dramatic close to the song. He stood up and bowed as the audience applauded. Once it died down, he said. "Hopefully the music was able to put you into the mood of the play, please enjoy it to the fullest extent." He said acting as if he was part of the cast and this was all planned. He noticed the actual actors arrived and were ready as he walked back stage again, the piano disappeared as well. Afterwards, he was invited to watch the play which he accepted and enjoyed the play like everyone else. Afterwards, there was a huge bustle of people trying to get out through the exit. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out okay. Steel thought to himself as he walked towards the exit as well.

When he was there, he began regretting not waiting for a bit as he was also caught in the swarm of the crowd. He didn't know how to proceed from here. He went left and right, he was turned at times, basically, he wasn't any much closer to the exit. All of a sudden, he felt someone being pushed into him. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a girl who got pushed into him. Oh man, not this again. Steel thought to himself remembering what happened earlier that day. He looked down and to his surprise, it was someone he knew, Charuen. "Oh hey Charuen funny seeing you here." He said with a friendly smile. "First off, we might want to get out of this crowd. Because of it, we've been put into an awkward position which could cause misunderstandings." He said this in an embarrassed tone as he looked away due to the current situation. Because of the crowd squishing people together as people are trying to get to the exit, the two Half Alvs who were in close proximity due to the said crowd were put into a rather compromising looking position that could have created misunderstandings for the people around them. With that, he found an opening and got the two of them out of the exiting rush hour. Before he continued to converse with his friend, he turned off his subclass skill so he could talk to her normally. "So how have you been? It's been a while hasn't it?"

Words: 1603

OCC: I finally figured out a way to get into this thing! I couldn't think of anything at first

[Deleted]

Words: 1265

Noises echoed around him as the crowd from the festival slowly began to pack themselves into the many seats that made up the grand, outdoor amphitheater. The sounds of strings plucking and slow draws of music could be heard as the orchestra began tuning their instruments in preparation for musical accompaniment for the show. The sounds were chaotic and scattered, yet soon they began to blend together in flowing harmony, the combined sounds turning into one voice that carried over the crowd. Stagehands were running back and forth in preparation for the show, everyone shushing and quieting their loud, obnoxious voices when the announcer came out to get the show underway. Ox had only read a couple of plays done by Shakespeare, but this one was entirely new to him. It was mesmerizing tale, Oxford’s eyes riveted to the stage as the story came to life through the actors. The dialogue carried the distinct Elizabethan age dialogue of its time, which is precisely why Oxford had his full attention focused on the play before him. He felt that he’d miss something important if he didn’t listen hard enough. Otherwise, he probably would’ve been staring at the pretty woman sitting next to him. The play was over, and people began to pour out of the theater, the guardian putting himself in the steady stream of people to act as a wall against the flow to allow the Cleric room to exit the row. The two of them began walking with the rest of the people as they made their way out. Charuen had turned to ask him a question about whether he was doing anything this evening, and before he could do anything, she was whisked away in the sea of writhing bodies trying to get back to the daily festivities. Luckily, she had pink hair, so keeping track of her was fairly easy. However, she seemed to moving faster than he did to keep up with, losing sight of his kinda-date as he found himself outside the threshold of the Dimension Theater. Pulling up his menu, he summoned his old friend Omo, which would give him another pair of eyes to help him find his fellow guild-mate. That is, if he would cooperate. A flash of light shone for an instant, and there was Omo on the ground before him, giving him a mean look. “Oi, what do yu want now? I ain’t doin’ the shadow thing again, you loon!” he said in that hilariously gruff Scottish voice of his. “I swear on me mummy weasel, you adventurin’ lot shure have ta weirdest ideas!” “No, nothing like that. I just need you to keep an eye on someone for me,” he replied, waving his hand in front of him. “It’s Charuen, you remember her? The nice lady we went questing with that one time and where I totally schooled you in that apple-picking contest?” "Aw, you cheated in dat contest." Omo’s ears perked up as he realized who his owner was talking about. “Ah, me lass? Me wee bonnie lass is lost in ta big city?” A worried look appeared on his cute, furry face as another thought crossed through the weasel’s mind. “Oh NO. What if some pervy bastard took her hostage? She’s got nice curves, so of course they would be droolin’ all o’er her! She could be in danger!!” “…Are you sure you aren’t the pervy one here?” he said, laughing at his friend (who really didn’t find the current matter to be funny at all). Now that the thought was in his head, he suddenly became genuinely concerned Charuen, almost feeling like when he was on the verge of panicking until he saw her talking to what looked an NPC. It could have been an adventurer, but the guy she was talking to (was it even a guy?) looked too bland and boring to be one. Anyways, that wasn’t important. He managed to the find the lady who would escort him (or vice-versa, you never know) around the festival today. “Ah, found her. No worries Omo. She’s safe.” “ARE YA SURE? THAT GUY LOOKS LIKE A TOTAL CREEP!” Omo exclaimed, half paying attention to Ox, the other half being used for his playfulness as he jumped around after a fly. Someone had dropped a couple of food items so a small swarm seemed to have descended upon it, the flies hitting Oxford in the face. He equipped his shield, activating [Shield Bash] every now and them to exterminate them on contact. “BESIDES (er, c’mere ya runt), HE’S WEARIN’ A TRENCHCOAT! NUTHIN’ GOOD EVER CAME FROM A MAN WEARIN’ A TRENCHCOAT! (tch, almost 'ad 'im)” “That’s a jacket, Omo.” “IT’S TH’ SAME DIFF’RENCE, YA NUMPTY! Ah, ta hell wit’ it, I’m goin’ in!” he exclaimed, chasing his fly over to where Charuen and that one guy stood. He jumped onto her shoulder, rubbing his soft head against her cheek while he stared daggers at the irrelevant unknown individual. “Back off, mate. Dis be my girl,” he hissed, waving his tail menacingly. “Omo, you’re an adorable ball of fluff. You’re not intimidating. Also, I think he’s just a random Lander or something, so he probably can’t understand what you’re saying either,” Ox said. He sighed internally at the whole mess this situation had turned into to. The guardian was about to confirm whether the man (no wait, probably a kid with a face like that) was a Lander or not, but the fly from earlier kept buzzing around, flying in everyone’s face. “Hold on, I got this,” he said, activating [Shield Bash]. With a hum, the shield glowed as he jabbed it upwards at the fly, but it was too quick. Not wanting to miss it, Ox swung his arm backwards, letting out a loud “NOPE” as the shield came down with a loud thud. …Thud? De-equipping his shield soon revealed that he had knocked the other person out cold (or maybe some other guy, I dunno), the man sprawled on the floor with a dazed expression on his face. Realizing that he had just possibly PK’ed someone (which turned out to be false, as the entity didn’t spontaneously dissolve), Oxford quickly looked back and forth to make sure the Royal Guards weren’t out for his hide. Luckily, it was dismissed as an accidental hit since the focus of his attack was the fly and not the person in question. “Oi, you okay?” he asked, lightly slapping the man in an attempt to awaken him. No answer. “Hoo, boy…” He took out a small satchel of money and a piece of paper, writing out the words ‘My Condolences’ as he set the two items on the person’s chest. “Wow, that escalated a little too quickly, but don’t worry. He should be fine,” he said as he turned his attention back to the pink-haired cleric, getting distracted once again by those mesmerizing eyes again. “To answer your question from before, I’m thinking of hitting the carnival section. I think I saw Midori over there, so it’d be neat if we could meet up with her. Who knows, the rest of the Alliance might be hiding in here somewhere,” he said with a laugh. He held her hand gently, yet firmly to make sure she didn’t get whisked away by someone else. Ox gave her a kind smile and her hand a small squeeze as the two made their across town. He made sure to walk a little faster just in case his logic was wrong and the Royal Guard system suddenly came after him.

template coded by oxford of ET

[Shuwen]

Words: 1164

The next step was mixing the would-be cookie dough the two of them had already prepared with the milk the Lander chef instructor had supplied. Though the coconia pieces had added some sticky dampness to the mix, it was still too solid, and was sticking together in uneven clumps, rather then forming the smooth mix that was necessary to actually make cookies. “You’re going to have to mix it pretty thoroughly; those clumps are gonna be hard to even out.” Shuwen didn’t bother to respond verbally, but nodded in acknowledgement. He continued to mix the dough, now moving the utensil in a steady beat, occasionally knocking against the side of the mixing bowl. Every so often he put a little too much force into it and cause some unwanted turbulence in it, but he managed to keep himself sufficiently under control that none of it actually flew out of the bowl. With the addition of the milk, the consistency of the dough became much thinner, and the dough began to smooth out, the clumps that had formed around individual pieces of mashed coconia finally began to disappear. It looked more then useable to Shuwen’s eyes, but his Lander chef instructor wasn’t yet satisfied. Every so often, he’d take the spoon-like utensil and move it around inside the bowl to check for the less then obvious lumps, and oh so helpfully point them out to him, insisting that he keep mixing until those were gone as well.

Eventually, he managed to mix it to his instructor’s satisfaction. Next, he needed to make the final preparations for baking, and shaping the dough. The overweight chef produced a no-stick baking trey, and showed Shuwen what to do next. Pulling a clump of dough out of the bowl, he swiftly rolled it into a ball with his hands and pressed it against the trey, gently smashing it so it took on the round flat shape normally associated with cookies. He’d also positioned it so it was in the corner of the trey, leaving plenty of room for the rest of the soon to be cookies. Not needing further instruction on this particular step, Shuwen grabbed his own fistful of dough, moulded it into a ball, and pushed it against the trey, right next to the one that had already been made. At the same time, his instructor pulled out his second ball of dough. “I don’t mind helping you with this step, it’s not like you need to practice it much.” They took turns, alternating between who was pulling out a ball and molding it, and pushing it against the trey in an efficient position. Before long, they filled the entire trey, using up about half the mix they’d made in the process. Fortunately, the chef had a two-rack oven prepared. He gave Shuwen instructions regarding the necessary temperature and cooking time, and the younger male set the oven accordingly. When it was ready, he opened the oven’s door, picked up the cookie laden trey and pushed it in, closing the door behind it.

With the first trey done, and half of the cookie dough in the oven, they set about using up the remaining half. The instructor pulled out another trey, as Shuwen pulled out another fistful of dough and rolled it. It was the same as before, minus any more words from the instructor. They both knew what to do at that point; they just needed to get it done. The end was in sight, and they were both eager to reach it; talking would only take away their focus, and make the task take a little longer. Neither of them wanted that. When the trey was ready, Shuwen opened the oven and pushed in the second trey onto the remaining free rack, making sure to keep track of the difference in remaining cooking time between the first and second trey. With that, the physical labor they needed could immediately do to spur on the cookie’s production promptly dropped to zero, leaving the two of them to do little but watch. There was another chef making their own coconia food, but they were of a higher level and already seemed to know what they were doing. The instructor kept an eye on them to make sure they didn’t do anything disastrous, but otherwise left them to do their own thing.

“So who are you making them for?” The instructor asked Shuwen suddenly. “You have someone special in mind?” His expression was uncomfortably sly, in the monk’s opinion. Shuwen shook his head, a little bit rueful. It wasn’t the kind of conversation he’d normally enjoy having with a stranger, but they’d bonded a little bit during the cooking, so it wasn’t as big a deal. Plus, it was certainly a relevant topic, so it wasn’t like he could complain about the lander prying. “No. Well, not yet at least. I’m just trying to get better at cooking, and get a cool event item in the process.” The chef pursed his lips. Shuwen guessed he couldn’t blame him; it was certainly in contrast to the intended theme of the festival and all that, but fortunately for him, he wasn’t so disappointed that he’d scold him. That would be a pain.

Finally, it seemed like his hard work had paid off; the cookies were completed. First one trey, then the second. They each tried one to make sure they each came out well. That may have been a mistake on their part.

“I LOVE ANVILS!” Shuwen yelled loudly. “I LOVE COOKING!” The chef yelled, almost drowning out the monk in the process. A moment of recovering later, they were both red faced and a bit more energetic then before. “Guess I should have checked the flavor text first.” Shuwen admitted sheepishly. He promptly did so.

A special cookie made during the Coconia Event. A large sweet-tasting cookie. Upon consuming it, it gives one the urgent sense to confess their feelings about something they love. If it’s given to and used by another player, both that player and the original item's owner as well as the user receive a 10% bonus to physical/magic attack and physical/magic defense when they are within 5 meters of each other for XX minutes.

“Looks like it turned out alright!” Shuwen said happily.

“Yep!” The instructor replied. “Now we’ve just gotta clean up!” Shuwen’s smile fell just a little bit. They’d used up quite a few utensils, plates, and bowls during the whole thing, so it wasn’t going to be a quick chore. Awww maaaaan.

About ten minutes of mind numbing dishwashing later, Shuwen was finally on his way. The chef had made sure each cookie was individually wrapped before they went into his inventory, so they could be conveniently eaten one at a time, which is what he’d probably be doing with them most of the time. I just hope I don’t end up eating them all. He thought with a self deprecating chuckle.