(mingle) PLEASE ACCEPT THESE ROASTED BIRDS

[vestigemods]

PLEASE ACCEPT THESE ROASTED BIRDS

NOVEMBER 27TH

► TRYPTOPHAN MAY BE A MYTH, BUT WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED

On the morning of the 27th, every claimed phone in the containment zone once again emits that terrible sound for the third time in as many days. This time, however, it comes with what amounts to a GPS navigation map set to guide each person to a location near the center of the available section of town. With it, a message:

In light of the last 48 hours, a Thanksgiving feast will be provided at the marked location at 4 PM. No tricks. Just alcohol and food.

And they mean it, too. It's one of the few things the Technicians will offer with no actual chance of death - unless you choke on your food or murder someone over their jukebox music choices, and honestly, that's on you.

The navigation leads you to a building labeled 'THE BAR' (creative, right?), which those who've spent any real time in town might notice looks... a little less run-down than it used to? But the real change is inside - which many of you will discover at precisely 4 PM, when the plywood covering the door falls away to the sidewalk, revealing an unlocked wooden door.

It's truly a shame that no one yet bothered to break inside in the past couple of months, because only they could truly appreciate how much The Bar has changed. Though still quite dimly lit, it now looks more like a well-worn alcoholic haunt than a desolate broken-down waste of perfectly good booze - and speaking of booze, the shelves are lined with it. The bartop itself, meanwhile, is covered with an array of food, the rich aroma of which welcomes new arrivals in the moment they enter the door. The spread is quite diverse, with cooked turkeys and various Thanksgiving side dishes, some traditional and some a bit more offbeat, and a number of non-alcoholic drinks can be found refrigerated behind the counter.

As for the ambiance, it's festive but not overwhelmingly so. The Bar seems to have bought into whatever Foodland is selling, with a few recognizable decorative items scattered here and there to make it look appropriately fall-themed. A faintly-glowing jukebox sings out from one end of the room, cycling through various classics from the 60's, 70's, and 80's (it particularly seems to like Elvis, the Beach Boys, and Motown hits). A peek through the offered albums, however, will find a variety of other options on tap - Christmas music, heavy metal, banjo-laden hoedown music, who knows what you might discover (and force everyone to listen to) at one wrong press of a button!

All in all, the atmosphere is... weirdly uplifting, considering the month and the recent days' visitors. There's a distinct chance that there's a teensy-weensy artificial mood-enhancer in the food - but it's not much! Just a little! The Technicians are just trying to help. It's not nearly potent enough that anyone starts acting unlike themselves. Just... maybe the tiniest bit less weighed down for a couple of hours, y'know? It wears off naturally after five or ten minutes of fresh air, and it's generally mild enough that you likely don't even think twice about your good mood. The festive environment put a little distance between you and the chaos the visitors wrought, at least for an evening.

► MOD NOTES

• This is a catch-all log for top-levels pertaining to November's Please Accept These Roasted Birds event, taking place on the IC date of November 27th (the day after Thanksgiving). Go ahead and utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
  
• The original event briefing can be found on the November Bulletin, but most of the concrete info is here on this log.
  
• A note that not only does the mood enhancer enhance mood, but it also dulls the event after-effects briefly while characters are at the feast. They're still present, but not nearly as intense/potent as they are outside of the bar.
  
• As of this mingle, the bar, #9 in the 'town' section/map, is now an active location within the game and can be revisited at any time. Alcohol remains stocked and the jukebox continues to play. It'll be added to the Locations page when I have a minute.
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

[toosmall]

[Vivi wonders if he's said something wrong at first, Namine seems surprised at his words. Thankfully he hadn't upset her in some way he's happy to find she feels the same way.

If there's anything Vivi is thankful for in this place is that he's made many more new friends. Even if he one day can't see them again, the time they shared will be precious regardless.]

I'm glad we can be friends too.

[In his very short life the one thing that's really enhanced it has been the friends he's made along the way.]

If you're ever in trouble Namine I'll protect you.

[He was made to hurt and kill, but Vivi wanted to use his magic to protect his friends and that's what he's gonna do!]

[lethechained]

[ They're of the same mind where friendships are concerned. As much as they're trapped here, Naminé's nevertheless been able to enjoy far more freedom in this place - especially where establishing relationships is concerned - than anywhere else she remembers. And though she's still recovering from the pleasant shock, the girl smiles warmly at his expression of gladness.

Here she'd been hoping she'd be able to protect him if it ever came to it. She's been practicing lately - or trying to, anyway - in the hopes of making more defensively useful forms of magic part of her skillset. It hasn't exactly been progressing as quickly as she'd like, but the efforts have been slowly paying off. ]

Oh...?

[ The Vivi in her world didn't seem like he had much experience outside of Struggle, but she knows better than to limit her expectations based on that. From what this Vivi's said so far, it's pretty clear that he's capable of defending himself. (Or perhaps that his friends were, but it sure sounded like he was part of it all.) Openly curious though she is, she's careful not to get ahead of herself; ]

That's very brave of you. I'm grateful, but... I wouldn't want to put you in danger, too.

This is a million years late I'm sorry

[toosmall]

[At the start of his journey he definitely was much more like the Vivi she knew of. Sometimes he still could be, but even when he was afraid he still wanted to protect his friends.

Vivi shakes his head.]

You wouldn't be, Namine. I'll use my magic, it's okay.

[Or hopefully it would be.]

SHHHHH there's no such thing!!

[lethechained]

[ Eyes blinking a little wider, her brows raise. The fact of the matter is that they'd probably both be in danger to begin with and spellcraft might not be enough to get them out, but she still feels some measure of comfort to know he has some way of protecting himself. (And others, of course.) ]

You know magic...?

[ She's not incredulous at all; it sounds more like a positive revelation, because it is. Sitting back slightly in her chair, she inquires with genuine curiosity, ]

What kind of magic is it?

<3

[toosmall]

[Everyone here has been mostly good about him being able to use magic. Some even excited and amazed. He's glad Naminé seems to genuinely be interested as well.]

Mhm! I can cast black magic. Like fire, ice and lightning. There's a lot of other spells, but mostly they're elemental in some nature.

<3!

[lethechained]

[ As for Naminé, she's been keeping most of what she can do pretty close to the vest. It's not so much that she fears the others knowing about the simpler forms of magic, but rather that her own unique type has caused her such trouble in the past that it feels like the more prudent option not to bring it up at all. But since Vivi's opened the door, Naminé's glad for the opportunity to discuss even this much. ]

I see...! Those are pretty useful.

[ She's definitely seen Sora use them to good effect, anyway. ]

What about healing wounds? That's a different kind of magic, isn't it?

[ The disparity between white and black magic has never really made much of a difference in her case, but perhaps it bears asking anyhow. ]

[toosmall]

[That's definitely a good reason to not tell everyone what you can do. Vivi has dealt with much the same in what he is and his magic being a whole lot of trouble and suffering for him, but also he's able to fight beside his friends and help them too. Mostly here he figures if people know what he can do then they'll know they can rely on him to help.

Vivi nods his head at her next questions.]

Yeah, that's white magic. My friends Dagger and Eiko can use white magic... and I guess Quina too, but they use blue magic which is um, you learn magic from monsters by eating them? It's kind of what their people do, they like eating all sorts of stuff.

[Quina is uh. Quina.]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé gives a soft, 'um,' at the subject of eating monsters, trying not to wrinkle her nose. ]

Well... I guess everybody has to eat what they can.

[ Even if it. Seems kind of gross. ]

Learning something that way does sound-- efficient? [ Sure, she'll go with that. ] That's the friend you mentioned before, right?

[ So it seems like this Quina person really does like gobbling stuff up. Naminé struggles for a moment with picturing such an individual, but lets the thought go. Back to the matter at hand, ]

Actually... [ She hesitates a moment, only to chide herself for it the next. This is Vivi, after all, so she's probably safe to say, ] I've... been trying to learn that kind of magic myself, but it's hard to figure it out on my own.

[toosmall]

[Vivi won't argue that. His grandpa was the same as Quina, so he's kind of used to though, but it was always a little strange.]

Mhm! Quina is strange, but I guess we all are in our own ways.

[Vivi perks up when Namine admits she's been trying her hand at learning magic.]

Really? I wish I could help... I never had to learn, I just could. Have you had any luck at all?

[lethechained]

[ A tiny hit of wryness tugs at the corners of her mouth. ]

Yeah. I suppose we are.

[ Herself very much included in that statement. She's less confident about the whole magic thing, but she seems to brighten when he takes an interest. ]

I've been able to manage it a few times...! Mostly it's difficult to find the right way to practice. Since - healing someone usually means somebody has to be hurt, first...

[ And that's not exactly a matter she's comfortable asking for help with. ]

But I think I know what you mean. Some skills just come naturally, so it's hard to put into words exactly how you do them.

[ Her own magic's always been that way, after all. ]