[Open Log] The Turning of the Year

[thewatchers]

The Turning of the Year
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New year, new you, same old world. Assuming you manage to keep it intact, at least. But hey, your track record’s been pretty good so far. That’s the nice thing about having preventing the apocalypse as your mission statement: as long as the world is still around to complain, you can tell them you did your job just fine.

A. Sweeping Out The Old
Like any old institution, Daybreak has accumulated a great deal of random clutter in its massive storage rooms.

Unlike any old institution, a lot of that clutter is cursed as fuck.

You know, to use the technical terminology.

As per tradition, the last day of the year is generally spent going through the stockpile and carefully dispelling, re-binding, exorcising, or outright destroying anything that needs to be dealt with- all the better to start off the new year by not leaving the future you some alarmingly malevolent artifact to deal with.

More advanced students and faculty are recruited to handle the legitimately dangerous items, whereas less experienced students are given the more obnoxious but less threatening ones to practice with. You never know when you might need to break a curse, after all...

B. In With The New
Of course, it’s not all work- under the circumstances, Soleil is celebrating the New Year with the kind of vigor that only comes from having made it through something you weren’t entirely sure you were going to survive. The students are permitted to come down to the town and join the festivities as they please, although the Academy will have some stern words if you cause any trouble.

...well, too much trouble.

More trouble than they were expecting you to do, at least.

C. Minutes To Midnight
Still, in the end, some people are a little more solemn about it all. And that’s fine, too. Daybreak’s pointedly non-denominational chapel has been carefully swept out for the New Year, and many people are taking the opportunity to use one of their quiet, empty rooms for some quiet contemplation and inward reflection. Meditate on the absolute chaos that is their daily lives.

...At least one of them is probably just here to nap away from their partying roommates. Please try to ignore the snoring.

Comments

[stavros]

[a]

[You'd think that since half her weapons are religious artifacts, Kokoro would do pretty well with the curses. Well, mostly. She's currently grumbling and consulting a textbook as she copies the directions to undo an array as a book struggles in its chains and growls at her.]

You stop that.

[b]

[She does have some time to herself, though, and can be found wandering the town, debating pastries in a shop window.]

I know the New Year's feasting in France is particularly large, so perhaps I shouldn't get anything now... do you think we'll have goose in the dining hall this year?

[c]

[And of course, you can find her in the chapel as well, though she just seems to be wandering it rather than going into any of the private rooms or confessionals... or the nap corner.]

Did we do well?

A

[bxbxbxbx]

Simply telling it to stop isn't going to make it stop.

[It's not clear when, exactly, Katida happened upon the scene, but she's here now and the chained book has started growling at her too.]

You need to make it clear that bad things will happen to it if it doesn't.

[She mouths a brief incantation to herself while a small orb of reddish light builds up in one hand, which she then lifts up and aims toward the book in an obvious threat that she'll be doing something to it if it doesn't behave. Judging by the heat that the orb is giving off, the threat is probably one of incineration, which what Kokoro's trying to do would probably be preferable over that.]

[stavros]

[The book struggles further, and Kokoro works more furiously at copying the array down onto looseleaf.]

Perhaps, but the option must be there -- you are making a nuisance. Why do we keep these things for so long?

[bxbxbxbx]

[Katida could follow through with her threat since the book is evidently not calming down, but there's too much of a risk of collateral and she doesn't need to start drawing the wrong kinds of attention while she's here at the academy. The ball of red light flickers, becoming visibly unstable for a moment before it pops into a series of smaller white lights that harmlessly drop to the floor and then vanish.]

Good question. [It's a question with multiple possible answers; there's the thought that some of them might eventually become useful, but it's also possible that somebody might have simply been taking up a collection of sorts, among various other possibilities.]

b

[silksoul]

[ Hornet, never one to debate on when and where she should eat, has a fruit tart glazed with honey in hand as she steps out of the shop, the bell jingling obviously to signal her presence. She's still somewhat furtive about her sweet tooth, but not furtive enough to hide it from Kokoro, so she only pauses for a moment before stepping over to aid her with her apparent dilemma. ]

I don't know. [ She doesn't know enough about traditions here to say. ] But if you want something to eat, you should get it.

[stavros]

Ah, well met, Hornet. You do have a point. That looks good! Have you been here a lot?

[silksoul]

[ She pauses for a brief moment. ] Yes. [ Often enough that they know her face, at least...which is probably embarrassing. ] They have good pastries.

[ .... ]
I can recommend some. If you'd like.

[lifeforced]

A:
[Rebecca's not handling any of the variety of Problem Objects that were kept in storage herself, but she has been lingering somewhere relatively close by to one of the storage rooms at least partly in case of any incidents caused by said Problem Objects while other students or faculty members deal with them; she's ready to call or text Ekkehardt at a moment's notice if anything goes awry, and if things get particularly bad and need an immediate response while she's here, she'll try to do her thing, brand on her hand be damned.]

B:
[She does wander down to Soleil for a bit when the celebrations start, but Becky doesn't stay there terribly long before coming back to the campus; big gatherings still aren't her thing.

So, if she's not spotted in the brief time that she spends in the town, she can be found back in Lumière.]

b

[stavros]

[Kokoro returns to Lumière in last Halloween's costume, waving sheepishly when she spots Becky.]

It would seem New Year's costume parties are as lively a tradition as ever. I hope there's still enough time to get to the dining hall tonight?

[lifeforced]

[Becky turns in her seat to take a look at the clock hanging on the wall. Hm. It's late, but maybe not too late.]

I dunno how much longer they're gonna be going, so you might wanna hurry. If you're just looking for something to snack on, though, I've got a bunch of the usual things sitting on the counter over there.

[stavros]

Oh, you have my thanks! I'll have to come back. So you've been baking again?

cw underage drinking/smoking in second prompt

[awooligan]

[ a - kicking it around. ]

[What's a better way to start off the year than making a bad decision like playing hacky sack with a cursed item? Don't ask Cliff, because he's dedicated to this and won't be inclined to try something else unless it sounds super cool and fun. Now, he isn't being a complete dumbass about it -- he's taken something sturdy enough to bounce around, done a cursory inspection of it to ensure its effect, should it break or activate, isn't going to do a ton of damage, and most importantly, he's got the confidence and skills of a teenage boy with better than average reflexes that grew up in a boring podunk little town literally called Podunk, where hacky sack is a unit in elementary school phys ed. He's got this.]

[ b - cw: underage drinking and smoking. ]

[The cool thing about New Years is that it's a day (night) where people drinking alcohol isn't exactly something out of the ordinary. A couple years of shoplifting from local gas stations and shops, Cliff's gotten pretty good at swiping things without being obvious (unless, of course, he wants to be extremely obvious so that his friends can steal even more stuff while he's getting chased by someone not paid enough to deal with his shit even if they're the owner. As had been the case since he caught the werewolf bug of outrunning small town street cars.)

Anyway, the point is that Cliff, two years shy of France's legal drinking age, is swiping whatever he can with a cigarette already in his mouth as a confident bluff. He's totally allowed these things!!]

Oh, ugh. Seriously, this is champagne? Why the hell do people drink this at celebrations?

[whine whine, now he's gotta hunt down beer, which he likes even more now that it isn't the shitty American stuff... Like, he'll still drink this in the meantime between puffs of smoke, but he won't be happy about it.]

[ wc - wildcard. ]

[You know what to do.]

a

[silksoul]

[ Hornet is doing her part to help clean, which is mostly listening out for any screams of distress and proceeding to threaten something potentially valuable with extreme violence. It seems to be working so far.

This, however, is completely new to her, and she stops to watch. ]

What are you doing? [ She has never seen this before. ]

[awooligan]

[Ah, it's that weird girl that didn't know how to have fun but didn't seem entirely uptight. It's that curiosity, flat as she wore it, that saved her from Cliff dismissing her completely. Besides, he should probably make some friends that were less...human. Even as a bird, Tobias doesn't feel supernatural when compared to Hornet.

Rather than risk missing a beat, he carefully rolls the item so it loses momentum and he's able to balance it.]

Are you asking in a judgmental way or because you don't know? Hard to tell with you.

C

[spelleton]

[ Ekkehardt, for once, is not at his usual post in the infirmary. He can, in fact, be found in the chapel on this very serious and solemn day, playing some complicated tune on the organ on the last day of the old year - to ring in the new year, or so he says.

When the chapel is left silent in contemplation in the last hours of the old year, however, he's noticeably absent from everywhere he usually is.

One of the empty rooms there is, however, occupied. The door is ajar enough to reveal that someone has dragged a casket of all things in there, for reasons unknown. It could be a prank. It could be a wayward spirit. It could be something even stranger.

Those brave enough to investigate and crack open the lid will be greeted with the rare sight of Ekkehardt actually asleep in it.

Jostling or disturbing him (or just the casket) enough will wake him, however; anyone who dares will suffer the consequences.*

*Judgemental staring, probably. ]

[arcadianvampire]

[While Ekkehardt plays the organ so elegantly, Valvatorez sat in the audience, listening to his performance silently. There had been a great deal on his mind over the past year... and even moreso over the past week. Despite working tirelessly at trying to track down Judge Nemo, eventually the Seers themselves had to essentially throw him out of mission control for his own good. Despite his protests, he eventually relented when reasoned with... and in so doing, displayed his trust in the Academy's leadership.

And in truth... being forced away was doing him some good, even if so much was still on his mind. The music helped him cool down, relax, and reflect... on a great many things. So when Ekkehardt's playing ceases, he gives a round of applause with the rest of the crowd, but seemingly vanishes afterward.

At least until Ekkehardt moves toward the more private, quieter rooms in the chapel. Waiting for him by one of the doors is Valvatorez, back pressed against a wall, leaning back with his hands in his pockets.]

Hello, Ekkehardt. Could I trouble you for some of your time? [He doesn't sound like it's terribly urgent, but rather... much more casual than the daemon normally could be.] ...I was wondering if I could share a drink with you tonight. If you felt so inclined.

[Removing his hand from his pocket, and flourishing it, he produced a bottle of port from a small, glowing dimensional rift... probably one leading to his liquor cabinet. ...And it looked to be enchanted, a flow of magic emanating from the bottle.]

[spelleton]

[ It's not something he expected, but it's hardly a terrible surprise either. ]

Is it really troubling me if it's a friend who asks? [ He feels they've seen enough together that he can call him that, at least.

He remembers last year, when he drunk together with Grimm, and he said perhaps more than he should (though it had worked out, in the end). Well, he has nothing unfortunate to confess this year, so it will probably go less embarrassingly for him. ] And of course! If you're going so far as to share something of your own with me, it would be rather impolite of me to refuse.

[ He'd already dragged his casket into this room, when the least number of people would be around to ask him about it. It can just sit there neatly tucked into the back, it's fine.

He doesn't seat himself, or close the door, until Valvatorez has made himself sufficiently comfortable. ]

[evangelclairvoyance]

[He had wanted to find a place away from prying eyes to pray. Somewhere quiet, peaceful, and private. He's not sure whether or not it's for forgiveness for what he's about to do, or even if it's for his success.

It rides the line between what needs to be done and being an outright traitor to his people, the cold, ruthless decision-making that Celestia knows him for turned around on it.

Always a man with an eye for detail, Christo catches sight of the door as he walks down the hall, and the faintest glimpse of a casket manages to jostle him just enough out of his troubled thoughts for curiosity to take hold. Brow furrowed and a frown firmly planted on his face, he inches closer to the out-of-place object and cautiously cracks it open to peek inside.]

[spelleton]

[ The casket is just a casket, worn and well used, though oddly enough there's the occasional child's scrawl or carelessly placed sticker adorning it here and there.

There's no movement; it simply sits there, an out-of-place oddity. Magic radiates from it like heat, pulsing like a heartbeat. ]

C... ish... Feel free to leave untagged, I just want this response to exist

[skeletones]

[He stumbles on the casket purely by accident. It makes him freeze up. Would the school really just keep a dead person there? Did it really count as that when he knew now that dead people could just as well get up and walk around...?

He steps forward in the silence, unsure, breath held. He considers using his power to just peak inside, but the idea of coming face to face with something makes him shoot that idea down. Instead, the old fashioned way. He opens the casket just a peak. Then quickly sets it back.

He steps back, heart racing now, until his back hits a wall. Almost. The guitar on his back keeps him that from truly happen. He stops looking again to the casket. Then, slowly, he sits down, pulling the guitar around to the front of himself.

He doesn't play loud. His fingers go over the strings as quietly as possible, playing on the gentlest tunes he can come up with. It just... seems like the right thing to do.]

B

[shockingblue]

[It's been a long year. ...A long couple of years, truthfully. Last year, Gunvolt was anything but ready to celebrate the holidays. His life had been yanked out from under him, thanks to Asimov's betrayal, and his quest for revenge and to save Monarch. It led to a months-long awkward alienation from QUILL, though fortunately those fences had slowly been mended. But even with that, he wasn't sure he could ever go back to QUILL in earnest. Even beyond that, the past twelve months have been a whirlwind of work, constant threats to humankind, and the second pair of Heralds threatening humankind.... the Veil falling, and more.

In truth... so much of it is a blur. While many of the events are crystal clear, many memories both good and bad, Gunvolt has found himself constantly asking where all that time went. Even his anniversary with Desidera felt like it came faster than it should've. How many dates did he really have with her over the past year that they could share without too many worries?

So when New Years finally came, while some people took it somberly, Gunvolt decided... it was a day he would take to celebrate. The previous New Year was a rough experience, wounds too fresh to enjoy, even if he gained new figures into his life. This year, though... this year he would go down to Soleil, with as many of his friends and acquaintances as he could gather, and have fun. During the evening and until about an hour before midnight, Gunvolt will be all over Soleil, sharing a meal with whoever he could gather, before rolling over to the arcade to take it over for a few hours.

There will be gaming, DDR, Pump It Up, Skee-ball, and whatever else you can dream up there. Alternatively talking over dinner would be great!]

[Private for Desidera]

[Following that though, at about 11:00, he breaks off from the main festivities with his friends... taking Desidera and instead going some place a little quieter. One of the smaller, more remote cafes in town, where the two of them sometimes went in the past. There they could be mostly alone, with what few patrons were there, along with the broadcast of festivities on a single TV mounted in the corner, behind the counter.

He took a sip from his cup of hot chocolate, not coffee for once, before taking Desidera's hand into his silently.]

[unlogic]

[She had realized where they were going when they were about halfway there, and had no objections to it for several reasons.

It was somewhat odd seeing Gunvolt not go for coffee, but also he probably didn't want to keep himself awake all night. Desi, for her part, has a hot chocolate of her own; she doesn't normally like hot drinks, but tonight, she felt she could stand to make an exception.

She does kind of freeze for a moment when GV takes her free hand—her other hand still holding her mug as she'd just taken a sip from it—before glancing down at that hand and then to him. She doesn't say anything yet, though; coming here was his idea, so she'll wait to see if he was planning to do or say anything himself.]

[shockingblue]

[It was strange, all of a sudden. He felt like he had a lot to say coming into this, some kind of good idea for a somewhat romantic night. But now that he was here, it was harder to come up with what he wanted to say to her. Maybe he didn't need to say much of anything? He wasn't sure. Truth was, he wasn't very good at being very romantic, though it didn't stop him from trying.

He squeezed her hand, gently, eyes still a little distant and lost in thought, if only for a moment. A blink brought him back to the present.]

I'm glad we could be together like this tonight. Especially because we didn't really do anything nice last year.

But after everything that's happened, I....

[The thought sort of trails off, petering off in his throat for a moment before he can really say it. A gentle shake of his head, followed by glancing over at her.]

...There's no one I wanted to be with more than you tonight. ...Only you.

[buddinghopes]

[Of course Lia was coming along with Gunvolt! Something like this sounded just like what they all needed after everything the year had been.

At some point, she stands near one of the air hockey tables, waving Gunvolt over.]

Hey! Want to play few rounds?

[shockingblue]

Oh, you know it.

[GV beamed a confident smile and walked on over taking one of the paddles up before shoving a coin into the machine, bringing the table to life.]

Your serve first, Lia. I'm not gonna let you beat me as easily as you did last time.