event } catch the last sunbeam.

[seeingyou]

WHO: All of Navi’s passengers.
WHAT: A winter wonderland visit with your new brainmates.
WHERE: All over Vivamion City - and on Navi, if you want.
WHEN: The next three weeks (Dec. 7-28).
WARNINGS: Add these to your comment subject lines as needed! And if you get taken out by a super snowball, please report it on the death page.

Gooooood morning passengers! Time to rise and shine - with a very important Navi announcement incoming:

Attention, passengers.
We'll be landing soon on the planet Trelnar,
near Vivamion City.
We'll be docked for three weeks, local time,
which coincides with the city’s annual winter festival.
Should you require any weather-appropriate clothing,
I will handle the bill for your expenses.
Please stand by for atmospheric entry.

Have fun! As Navi said in their message, any passenger who requires a warm winter coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and/or boots before joining the festivities will be able to select such items from one of the shops near the docks, charged to Navi’s account. Passengers will also find a bank counter just past the docking terminal, where your new windfall of Navigems can be exchanged for credits (the universal currency). Try not to spend it all in one place!

Comments

Partnering up: For Jonathan Sims

[albatrossomen]

Of all the notable habits of mortal beings their festivals and celebrations had to be somewhere near the top of Murmur's list of favorites. Those, and tea of course. The ones clustered around winter were especially close to his heart, likely a surprise to no one who knew him even a little.

As such, once they had the opportunity to get out and stretch their legs (and wings) he was quick to disembark, only taking long enough to stock up on warm clothing to look the part. It had nothing to do with need, after all.

By the time his rune had started trying to sync Murmur was well off exploring the city. He felt the familiar sensation rather than seeing it, and at this juncture decided to put off hunting his new partner down until later. They would find him eventually, and Murmur wasn't especially eager to see what soul he was going to inevitably see sent home in short order. He really was running on an almost unbroken string of bad luck in that department. Or good, depending on the individual's perspective.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Jon, on the other hand, immediately follows the gentle, insistent tug of the blinking glyph on his hand out into the city in search of his new partner. Whoever it is got a head start thanks to the hurdles at Jon’s first stop to acquire a winter coat - crowds and checkout lines, of course.

The coat is the only item he purchased, a decision he begins to regret slightly once he’s out on the streets again with cold hands. Oh well. He can always pick up a set of gloves later on, after the mystery of his partner’s identity has been solved. He’ll survive until then; this coat has pockets, and - ooh, look, a coffee stand. Jon would prefer tea but a warm cup of coffee isn’t a bad second choice. The line here is much shorter and quicker-moving, so it’s not long before he has a nice to-go cup of the local specialty blend in hand (taken black, of course) and is on his way again.

The pull of the glyph is stronger now, like a magnet searching for its mate. Another few steps and Jon feels the connection slide into place. Looking up, he scans the crowd for a familiar face, and his gaze lands on none other than his own self-assigned guardian angel.

Good lord, he thinks, not taking any care to keep his new partner from hearing it.

[albatrossomen]

Always consider gloves, Jon, always. Though a nice warm cup of coffee was an acceptable defense for a short time. Murmur was of course not far from that area as he'd also helped himself to a warm holiday beverage, his full of extra flavorings and sweeteners because when you're going to splurge why not go all out?

Murmur had been mid staring out into the winter sky as he can sometimes be caught doing when he felt the connection click into place, and all at once Jon was very briefly privy to a snippet of just how loud an angel's mind could be. Voices and prayers and thoughts and song all blended together into a cacophony impossible for most reasonable creatures to sift through when that wall was gently slid shut away from Jon's perception, and Murmur's eyes tore from the sky to settle on him as though he knew exactly where Jon was the whole time.

There was an instinctive little defensive flare up at the Good lord, but to his credit Murmur was good at not jumping to the defense of not taking his absentee Father's name in vain anymore. Instead what came through more strongly was an initial almost dread, not quite as dread was a thing rather foreign to creatures almost immune to fear, but close. A quiet despair upon realizing who his partner was... though likely not for the reasons Jon might anticipate.

He made his way over, people just seemingly parting around him with little apparent notice of his presence, and yet they flowed away like water. "Should I be concerned about that reaction?"

[chocobosnap]

I. Here Comes The Sun

Prompto stepped off the ship for the first chance since he'd arrived, not really thinking about what they might encounter, but couldn't help but find himself stopped in his tracks, likely in the way at the bright light of the day. He couldn't help but stare for a moment.

They were warned it was cold, so he was wearing his jacket, albeit opened up. "Six..." He breathed, sucking in a breath. It wasn't Eos, but still, it was so bright!

It was possible, one might have to step around him, he was just going to stare for a moment like someone who hadn't seen the sun in a very long time.

II. Winter Activities

His memories of the snow were less than great, but he was there, dressed in some nice new winter clothes that, well they did remind him of his old set, without the holster, but that didn't matter. He wondered what was making it so cold on this world, or how it worked.

More importantly he was eating some kind of pastry with a sweet filling as he watched people sledding down the hill. "That almost looks fun." He commented thoughtfully. "Hey, do you think it takes any, uh, skill to do that?"

He was almost a bit excited, he couldn't help but ask. Skating was just as entrancing really, he hadn't ever done either. Then again, it didn't snow much in Insomnia, Niflheim pretty much had the market cornered on that.

III.Snacks & Shows

The parade was somewhat endlessly fascinating to him, because it was a mix of things he hadn't really seen, and what was a few minutes to watch everything go by? He had many questions, but likely not many answers. That was alright. He kind of wondered where all the monsters were. People didn't seem too worried about that though, so he tried not to worry about it.

Outside of being awed by the various wonders of this celebration which was incredibly different from their own Starlight celebrations, if that was even the time of year, who knew anymore, the best part was definitely the food.

Prompto was not pacing himself. Hot chocolate, funnel cakes, various foods on a stick. He should know better, he did know better, but it's been such a long time. He was probably going to eat himself sick, but who cared?

IV. Partner

He didn't know much about the system or the thing on his hand, aside from the fact he was definitely not thrilled about it, although he had no one to complain to about that.

It probably seemed like a strange ask to be in charge of his own body modification if he so desired?

In any case it was there on his right hand it was reacting, blinking in fact as he got nearer to a woman who might've looked a little familiar? He didn't know her, except then it lit up. "What the-" He exclaimed.

So much for not catching attention.

V. Choose Your Own Adventure

[ I'm up for anything, hit me up! ]

[relance]

To say that Julia Bellamy is entirely sick of this partner bullshit would be the sort of understatement that was so small it's entirely immeasurable via any scientific method. She's tired of all of this bullshit and she's tired of being paired up only to have some stupid fucker just disappear on her. When her hand glows with the telltale sign of another one, she's quite ready to gnaw her hand off like a wolf who had been caught in a trap.

Even before they'd gotten through the bullshit with the dragon and the rescue, Julia's temper had been on a hair trigger, and this only seems to be taking it up another step. There's a low growl in her throat and she just glares at the literal anime-looking fucker who she's paired with. Yet another idiot (at least in Julia's eyes, anyway. But then again she considers almost everyone an idiot.) who she's paired with, and the thought about gnawing off her hand becomes even more acceptable.

But then again, gnawing his hand off would mean that she doesn't need to take the time healing and whatever. And it might make Navi stop pairing her with people. The thoughts press forcefully against the forefront of her mind before Julia needs to shove things back with a sigh. No, she's not going to give into that. Nope, not today, Satan. Not today.

"Jesus fuck, what are you, some sort of long lost cousin to some anime character?"

[chocobosnap]

"An anime character?" Prompto asked with a tilt of his head at her as he had still been looking at the light on his hand. He probed it curiously, assuming it was some kind of magic. Something akin to a star was tattooed on his other hand.

"Uhh, nope!" He offered cheerfully with a weak little laugh. She seemed a bit aggressive, didn't she?

What Prompto was wearing was a winter jacket, which hid the fact he only had his uniform at his disposal. "H-Hi." He offered, stammering slightly. "We haven't m-met. I'm Prompto."

Ugh, why was he such a disaster sometimes?

ota

[dealwiththe]

Lucifer is thoroughly bundled up. Coat, scarf, gloves - no hat, because his hair is exquisite, thank you, and he's not about to ruin that. But he looks incredibly out of his element despite his fashionable winter-weather gear. Or especially pleased.

"Why on Earth does anyone choose to live in a climate like this? If I wanted this, I would've moved to Vancouver, not LA!"

[ OOC: feel free to find him browsing food stalls, sampling hot cocoa, making fun of ice skaters who fall on their butts, or maybe even venturing under the ugetta vine! ]

[devilsheel]

Chloe is just as bundled up as he appears to be, deckered out with cloth gloves, a thick knit scarf, wearing a parka-like long coat and a droopy toque with a big fluffy pom on top.

She’d said she would meet him by the food stalls, and she’d kept her word.

“I don’t know, both places have their perks,” she begins, coming over to him, cup of hot chocolate in her hands, mini marshmallows melting within. “It’s not that bad, c’mon.”

[dealwiththe]

“Name one perk of living in a place like this that you can’t get in LA. I can even do naked cuddling in front of a roaring fire on a cool evening there. No need to risk frostbite.”

He raises his eyebrows at her in challenge.

[anormie]

While he may not be wearing a hat, Ella is. Of course because it's a hat that Ella is wearing it means that it's got fuzzy kitten ears sewn into it and the front has added whiskers and a nose. What else Ella has that Lucifer doesn't is a childhood in the trenches when it comes to snowball fights. As such, she's like really really good at making them, and because she's a veteran of many wars with them, Ella knows to stockpile a decent amount of snowballs before the first one is even lobbed. It gives you an advantage and as someone who had so many brothers, Ella has always needed every advantage with them that she could. So by the time the first snowball hits Lucifer dead in the back, Ella's got a second in the air on the way towards him.

[dealwiththe]

The cold thwack against his back catches him by surprise, and he turns immediately to try and find the source - just in time for the second snowy projectile to hit him in the chest.

"Miss Lopez!" He is shocked! Shocked and angry! Look at how angry he is!

Okay he's not really that angry, his eyes aren't turning red or anything. His face just has a normal, stormy sort of look to it as he ducks behind the nearest piece of cover.

"You realize this means war!" he calls out, already packing together a snowball. Hey, he's a fast learner.

hey partner

[imarealistnotacynic]

Richard is in his element. He loves cold weather, he loves Canada and Vancouver and Chicago and all of the lovely cold places he's lived - he's never been truly comfortable with beaches and sand and sunlight.

That familiar pull to a partner has pulled him to Lucifer's side the moment he mentions vancouver. Enjoy that sense of amusement Lucifer as Richard, sipping on his coffee, smiles.

"Not a fan of winter wonderlands?"

[dealwiththe]

Ugh, that partner thing. It always unsettles him a bit. He doesn't like all this sharing he's forced to do with strangers - ironic, perhaps, for a chronic over-sharer like Lucifer, but still true.

"I'm a warm-weather sort of Devil," he comments lightly. "Used to fire and brimstone and all that."

Sort of. As usual, it's not a lie, but it's not completely the whole truth. He just finds it easier to refer to Hell in terms that most humans can understand - the familiar imagery from centuries of art, music and poetry.

Re: ota

[11calls]

Well, cue one actual Vancouver native walking up wearing a jacket and a hat and holding a cup of (what else) coffee that had been very generously spiked. It's too cold for her, that's certain and her cheeks are red from the cold. "You know, Vancouver only has like nine days of snow a year. And most of it is gone pretty quickly." When Alex is talking about her hometown, the accent that she's spent so long attempting to shed comes out in full force.

[dealwiththe]

Lucifer squints at her for a moment - the accent doesn't give him pause in the slightest - he's heard every possible accent (and tried many of them out himself over the eons) - mostly he's just confused that she's trying to convince him that Vancouver isn't that bad!

"It's still bloody cold," he points out. "My demonic best friend was there a couple of years ago and told me so herself."

[10billionpercent]

Senku couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

"California is significantly warmer than most places." He said, perhaps unhelpfully, overhearing the exclamation.

Senku was wearing a winter coat that was made fur lined bearskin, it was long to his ankles but had short sleeves. He had particular clothes. His fur lined winter boots were also bearskin and watching him walk, whatever he was wearing beneath it, did not include pants. Most people would be cold.

[dealwiththe]

"And Hell is significantly warmer than California, which is why I didn't move to Vancouver," Lucifer points out, because it's true!

[anormie]

Some Wintering

Despite the fact that Ella was born and raised in Detroit and she's got the experience of all of those winters under her belt (and it's definitely colder there than in New York, no matter what New Yorker's say) she's lived in LA long enough to have her blood thin out. Honestly, given the way that she'd skipped the last several holidays with her family it feels like it's been a thousand years since Ella has faced temperatures even approaching that of snow. But one doesn't forget how to layer themselves up for this kind of weather, even if the amount of clothing that Ella has on below her puffy red jacket completely make the tiny woman almost look like she's been swallowed by a tomato. This effect isn't helped by the fact that Ella normally wears platformed sneakers in order to add to her diminutive height, and her boots lack that in favor of gaining traction in the snowy ground.

Of course, there are definitely still signs of Ella: the hat that she's wearing has furry cat ears, and whiskers and a pink nose embroidered in the front of the black hat. Two furry balls on strings hang and bounce against her scarf which is definitely a Fourth Doctor one. (There had been Star Trek ones, of course but in the end Ella didn't feel as comfortable with them as she might once have been but she's getting better.) Choosing gloves with mittens that can cover them for mobility. Ella can be found wandering the market with steaming cups of boozy hot chocolate or mulled wine. What described itself as ponche con piquete, the normal drink that Mexicans drink during Christmas wasn't as good as her abuela's and it made her homesick. Instead, their version of Coquito is rather perfect, the sort of booziness that you can't taste, but will kick your ass. It's served cold, but Ella's beyond the point of carrying. "Oh my god, have you tried this? It's so good."

Closed to Simon.
After the last time they'd stopped and Ella had miscalculated by taking him to a busy waterpark, this time she just gets them into a sleigh ride. It's quieter, just the horses hoofs in the snow and the sound of the bells. Well, at least it would be if Ella wasn't you know... Ella. She doesn't know how to be quiet. But she does have boozy peppermint hot chocolate and cookies, which either make up for it or only prolong it depending what you're thinking. At the moment, she's talking animated about the planet that she'd been taken too.

"And then," Ella says, her hands gesturing up in the air. She's not wearing gloves, so it takes a second for the blinking blue light to register to her as solid. "We're playing the elevator game, right? Like me and Strand who was surprisingly easy to get to do it even if he wouldn't touch the damn Ouija board..." Then there's a pause. "Huh. Wait. Do you think--" that we're linked? It doesn't come out of her mouth, but it's certainly thought very hard.

[bilocates]

While Simon had initially been wary, much as he was at the water park, it was more the wariness of someone who had never been around an animal as large as a draft horse than his typical anxiety. He relaxed some once they settled in, this time he'd also partaken of the boozy drinks, having left his usual choice back on the ship. He was going to try to make it without them for a change. It might be a terrible idea.

As for Ella being Ella, fortunately Simon enjoys listening to her chatter. Her enthusiasm is enough to draw anyone into a conversation, even the awkward crazy guy. Cookies are also a good bribe.

"He didn't spend the whole time debunking it?" Simon asked, tone faintly amused in such a way as to suggest he's very aware of how Strand behaves. However, her pause made him finally cast a cursory glance down to his own hand and... sure enough, it was also a steady blue. He frowned faintly, not because he disliked Ella, but because he'd have to work even harder to keep that creeping demon side of himself carefully locked down. ...It would appear that way. He shot back, raising a wary eyebrow.

This was about to be interesting.

[anormie]

“Huh.” The word is spoken aloud because the whole talking in someone else’s head isn’t something that Ella has gotten used to. Besides she tends to speak on the whole rather a lot so she doesn’t want to crowd someone’s brain in the same way that she may or may be crowding the air around them with her voice. The person who Ella was paired with for the longest (and let’s be honest the best) time was Murmur so he’d had a better grasp of things than most of the rest of them did.

“Well, there’s definitely worst people we could be paired with. If I had to have Strand in my head I’d probably need to murder him considering everything.” Considering the whole fact that she’s basically been surrounded by celestials her entire life. Ella respects that people have different faiths and of course that some don’t but she really doesn’t want to deal with the whole thing where someone spends a hell of a lot of time attempting to talk her out of it.

Frowning for a moment, it’s clear that Ella realizes something important. “You know him and don’t like him. He’s from your world then, right? So is it him just like plugging his fingers into his ears and pretending none of its true or something?”

[chocobosnap]

Eventually, even someone like Prompto was going to stop being so awed by the sunshine and looking around. He didn't look nearly as relaxed as everyone else, and his winter coat was a good cover for the fact he was wearing a uniform, although his bottoms and boots certainly weren't helping.

"Hm?" He hadn't met Ella yet, but he was curious about what she was drinking.

"What-uh- what is that?" He asked, very curious.

[melodiouspacifist]

Demyx did not take a winter coat, he thought it might be too awkward. He didn't know how he felt about everything.

Of course, maybe he felt nothing about it, but he didn't think so.

For some of the day, he could be found playing his sitar, a unique looking and sounding instrument possibly for the world.

By nightfall, however, at least one night, at some point, somehow Demyx had found a sizeable net and he was sneaking around, net resting on his shoulder.

He didn't know if this world had the object of his vendetta, but just in case, he should be prepared.

[sisterswitch]

Jack happens to feel at home in the dark, blending into the shadows. She's not really following Demyx, but she's out for a nighttime walk and he crosses her path, so she stops to watch him silently for a moment before making her presence known.

"Off for a little snipe hunting?"

OTA

[11calls]

Let it Snow let it snow let it snow.

Honestly despite Canada and hockey and everything, Alex has lived in the Pacific North West her entire life which means that her snow days have been pretty few and far between. Even in her time in Seattle, it's only snowed a handful of times, so for the moment Alex Reagan is rather entranced by the world of white around her. Just like herself, she of course gets too involved in things like snowball fights, and snow angels. So, feel free to be hit with a snowball or something like that before there's a giggling apology.

Toe pick!

While there wasn't a lot of snow in Vancouver, one thing that there was tons of: ice rinks. While Alex doesn't think that being able to skate and loving hockey is quite as much of a law as some people may claim it to be, it definitely was one in her house. One of the first things that had happened after her adoption was that the Reagans had taken her and taught her how to ice skate, and Alex took to it like a fish to water. Well, frozen water in this case. Perhaps more importantly, though, Alex played hockey in high school.

Come on, did you really think she didn't?

So, she can be found twirling her way around the ice rink. Alex skates both forward and backwards, but she does it with power and speed of a blunt sort--there's not anything that's pretty in it. But Alex is a good teacher if someone doesn't know how to skate.

a very late tag-in oops

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Guess who's walking around and not expecting to get beaned in the head by an errant snowball - it's this little Archivist! Jon is in fact so startled by the stray projectile, he's knocked clean off his feet and topples over into a small snowdrift on the side of the path. He lands with a short yelp, spilling the contents of the package in his arms onto the ground. It's just a few tins of various specialty teas - luckily sealed tight - and they end up scattered nearby.

Jon is too bewildered by the accidental assault to do anything but lie there, stunned, for a long moment. At least the snowball wasn't hard enough to leave a scar?