songerein | { something steamy }

SOMETHING STEAMY

This log is open to everyone and doubles as a "Character Intro" for new characters who were just accepted this round. As a reminder, new characters are welcome to carry over their TDM threads backdated to the last week of October (25-31) so that they're not really "new" if players wish to do so! Starting fresh is also acceptable.

I. REVEREIN HOTPOT

With the temperatures cooling down, some locals have decided to throw a huge hotpot party along the riverbank for no real reason other than to try and cook up some good food and meet new faces. While participating restaurants and farmers are happy to provide some surplus ingredients, others are welcome to bring their own. There are plenty of grills and pots to go around, but with so many people and…unique ingredients coming in, there's bound to be a little chaos. (Thanks to Mich for the idea!)

A. Hunt for the "Legendary" Ingredient. To spice things up, a challenge has been posted before the day of the party for those who want to add some unique flavor to the meal.

Golden Truffles. There are special truffles found deep in the swamps hidden within the Wildlands that are said to taste so divine that just a small bite would make one feel as if they are floating to heaven. No it's not poisonous!! While not exactly rare in number, they are notoriously hard to find and require special pigs to sniff and dig them out. Some truffle hunters have agreed to let anyone daring to look for the truffles to borrow said pigs for the hunt. However, they can be ornery and will only cooperate if you sing a happy song to them. The swamps themselves can be filled with some mild dangers, but the pigs should guide you. Probably.
Mandragora Leaves. There is a marked field where the mandragora have taken residence. They will give up their leaves if asked nicely, but if too rough or without showing respect, they will scream and attack instead. Even then you have to take care in clipping the leaves.
Rainbow Speckled Eggs. Some wild hens that live out in the Wildlands lay rainbow speckled eggs at this time of year and they are huge! Can't miss them. They are duds and won't hatch, so they are perfect for eating. The hens themselves won't mind them taken, but the roosters that guard them are a different story. Get past them and collect the egg!

B. Food Thieves. Attracted by the delicious smell and it being time to start gathering for the winter, a few critters and even some small fae try to sneak in and snatch a few pieces for themselves. Squirrels and chipmunks in particular like to swipe any chestnuts some people are trying to roast, and the birds are diving in for any free morsel. There are a few ways to handle this, from chasing them off to trying to create a designated "food try" for the animals to take to avoid them bothering everyone else.

C. Communal Pot Surprise. While there are smaller, individual pots available for more private use, there is a larger pot that suspiciously looks like a cauldron set near the center where anyone can dump in whatever ingredient they desire—even inedible items—and produce questionable yet somehow edible results. Here are some various effects that occur:

Anything green: Chances of turning into a frog—25%. The remaining chance is just having one's hair turn green.
Sour fruit: Everything will taste like lemons for ten minutes. No amount of sugar will help until it wears off.
Candy: Everything will taste super sweet for ten minutes and 50% chance of getting a sugar rush.
Alcohol: TIME TO SING A RAUNCHY SONG WITH GREAT FERVOR but think of the children or don't.
Inedible Objects: Why would anyone throw a shoe or sock in there—the soup will turn black and empty itself so now everyone has to start over.

This is not an exhaustive list or this prompt would go on forever—so feel free to come up with other effects with whatever item your character tosses in!

D. General Mingling. There are plenty of tables and places to sit, so grab some ingredients, find a spot, and start cooking! Just remember to share and greet everyone around! Be mindful of the pots and grills as well as they can be sensitive to emotions. Get too animated and the water or fire might shoot up in temperature. But dreamotion could also help enrich flavors, so everyone is encouraged to play around. There will also be a few spicy and garnish noodle dragons flying around to help season things. Just make sure they don't get too overzealous.

II. DRAGON ISLAND

The Hot Air Balloon Station set just outside some open fields beyond town are bustling with activity as the Dragon Island (name pending) has finally opened its borders and allow outside visitors to come in and visit the island. Its main attraction of course is the hot springs resort, "Draken Springs," where everyone has received a one time free voucher to test its amenities. There are other places guests can visit near the hot springs, and by helping the nearby towns and villages, favorability will increase as well as earn extra vouchers for the hot springs. For more details on the island in general, refer to the Mod Notes.

A. Dragon Riders. There's already a task written up on the Dream Board from farmers requesting help for harvest, but there is another request to help deal with some aggressive animals that have scared off some livestock and then corral the ones that have gotten loose. The beasts are a tough, armored, armadillo-like bear whose hide is resistant to dragon flame and can be tough to fight. Dreamotion works better to strengthen physical and magical attacks. The young adolescents are giving non-dragons the privilege of riding on their backs to fly around to help first find and deal with the bears, and then herd the livestock back to their respective farms and ranches.

B. Dragon Nursery. One of the neighboring villages is taking care of many of the new hatchlings that were recovered from the previous "raid" on Reverein. Despite a month passing, some dragons are still trying to figure out who the parents are, and there is a strong suspicion that some of the eggs were never originally from the island at all, leaving many orphaned. The dragons have a very strong communal instinct when it comes to raising their young, so some have been adopted but others are still waiting to be taken as arrangements are still being made. Thus in the meantime, help is requested to do one simple task: play and help feed the young hatchlings. They are basically toddlers so it might be quite the challenge for those unprepared, especially as their own magic is still wild and out of control. Calm dreamotion will help as well as using opposing elements to help balance the magic.

C. Hot Springs: Testing the Waters. Everyone has a chance to grab a towel and test both the indoor and outdoor public springs. For more private rooms, they will need to pay up as the voucher only covers the public springs. But they will still be provided with complimentary drinks, snacks, towels, and use of the showers to clean up before and after using the springs. As for whether it's mixed, separated, covered, or bare it all…well hopefully visitors are able to decipher the signs. There are also the saunas, just be mindful of how hot it can get.

D. Hot Springs: Special Snacks. There are some unique foods that the town and resort offers for anyone to try that can be only found on the island.

Dragon's breath peppers are hot, but these won't kill anyone (the dragons are too considerate for that). This particular species is safe to consume but as the name implies, will give one fiery breath for a while. Anyone who had the kebabs from the festival might recall a similar effect.
A spiked fruit that suspiciously looks like durian has a notable stench that will carry for quite a ways, but anyone daring enough to get past it will find the fruit sweet and seeds edible once boiled and the skin peeled away. It even has a bit of a rejuvenating effect.
Dragon fruits are a nice palette cleanser especially with yogurt or ice cream. Anyone who eats it will be able to relax more easily.

E. Hot Springs: Recreation Room. There is a sizeable recreational room where any guest is free to relax and lounge in. They offer a small snack bar, some board and card games, yoga mats, billiards table, and a ping pong table. The ping pong table in particular is set a little ways from the rest as the competition can get a little heated—literally. They even had to erect magical barriers to prevent wildly charged balls from hitting others outside of the containment area.

F. Hot Springs: Peeping Toms. Even the hot springs on Dragon Island are vulnerable to unsavory characters. Although rare, there are some unwelcome guests who try to peep into the springs, and while there are security personnel and magic devices that try to catch them, some still manage to sneak in. Especially the monkeys. Descending from the higher peaks, most wild monkeys use the other pools outside of the resort for their own use, but some are attracted to the food and other amenities and make their way into the resort pools instead. Some of them are respectful and can make for great bathing company. But others are clearly not and need to be kicked out without remorse. So whether it's an uninvited or unruly guest, or a wild monkey, if caught in the act either report or feel free to handle it. Remember, even if thrown off the mountain, they will not fall to their doom, and in this case will be caught by the magic security devices.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Make it rain, exactly.

( he is but clay to mould in your hands, ann. in fact, he's taking that liberty himself, floofing up her pigtails and making sure the ends are curled just right.
he continued pampering and primping, building their act up as they made their way to the patch, and a gathering of them loomed close-by. )

All right, okay. Just follow my lead. ( he was the leader-kun, after all. ) Ready to hit the stage, Ann-chan?

I believe in us.

[ Mostly. Don't mind her also fluffing his hair as well, somehow making it even more voluminous than it already is. Truly, his hair would be envied by hipsters of the 70's and 80's. ]

Sounds like a plan! [ Because HECK YES, she is absolutely ready to try and bamboozle these little creatures out of their leaves. So much so, in fact, that she pumps an enthusiastic fist into the air. ] Heck yeah, Ren-kun~ Let's knock 'em dead!

[ Or maybe not dead, maybe just gently render unconscious with their angelic voices... ]

( it is time. a small fairy circle of mandrakes lies just beyond the ~~curtain~~ plant cover ahead, and he looks over to give ann the signal. )

Dun... dun dun dun dun—un!

( he starts making questionable guitar-like noises before they make the scene, completely living this frizzy-haired glam rock vibe she blessed him with!
but the year is 20XX. and as a teenager in these times, his music inclinations lean a little more towards... )

dun dun dun DUN— dig through the ditches and burn through the witches and slam in the back of my MANDRAKE-ULAAAAAA—!

( which he belts out, bursting onto the unsuspecting plants, who turn at shocked attention— )

[ They're almost cute, she thinks. They look so happy, so at peace within their adorable little space. They're so sweet, so unsuspecting. It's time to spice up their lives. At his cue, she nods, and the show begins. As Ren begins that sweet guitar solo, Ann twirls onto the scene, busting out her best dance moves. Which make no sense at all, given the music that's about to come out of both of their mouths, but she'd like to call it interpretive dance, really. ]

Mandrake's like a melody in my head~ [ Okay, so maybe they aren't singing the same lyrics. Maybe it's super... not cohesive and more than a little chaotic. But look at them go. Ren with his sick guitar noises and lyrics, Ann with her... what appears to be a take on some stupid American pop song and some made up dance moves. They're really lucky there's not cameras here...

At least they've captured their 'audience' with the spirit of their performance. Even if the looks on their little plant faces read a mixture of 'what the fuck' and absolute confusion. They aren't screaming yet, at least, but they aren't exactly shedding their leaves, either... ]

( somehow, perhaps through dreamotion miracle, their act actually seemed to start to make sense the more it goes on? after his outburst, he lets ann take the spotlight— fading back just a little and falling into a complimentary rift to her mandrake-lody.

the longer they go on, the more cohesive it seems to become... ¿¿ ??

entirely fuelled by both ann's energy and the lack of screaming and blood coming out of his ears, he switches gears. shifting to the forefront again, he belts out a new tune, seguing in seamlessly with a: )

You and me could have a MAND-ROMANCE...

( he crooned, venturing to reach out to one of the entranced mandrakes in particular, who slowly, s l o w l y opened its mouth silently— before falling back to faint in awe of this spectacular show, as a handful of leaves puff up into the air.
s- success ??? keep up the momentum, ann! )

[ She has no idea how ANY of this seems remotely okay to the little creatures, and yet, here they are. Belting it out to the best of their abilities, and not a scream to be heard thus far. Maybe... maybe they really are good! Ann's actually starting to believe that!

Or maybe they've just stunned their new little friends so much that they're speechless? Either way, it doesn't really matter. As long as it's a job well done at the end of all of this, and they have hearing, that's all that counts.

When Ren reclaims the forefront, her eyes widen because she actually semi recognizes that particular song -- even with the rendition. So, whilst he sings, she falls into the choreography of it all... well. As much as she can remember, at least, marching back and forth, arms swinging for what appears to be a very captivated audience. And their performance is paying off, because the leaves are flying like dollars in a club at this point. After the first Mandrake begins letting leaves fly, a few more do as well, even if their expressions still read stupidly confused.

Dancing a little bit closer to Ren, she begins to sing, still keeping with the tune he's chosen-- ]

Whooooooaaaaoaoaoaoaoaoooooooo howmanymoredoweneed whooooooaaaaaoaoaoaaooooooo caught in a Mand-romaaaaaance!

( while she has their attention, he starts gathering leaves, getting ready to make out like the bandit he truly is. he pockets what he can, getting a fair amount and deducing: )

Ra-ra-ra-ah ah! Seven or eight more-ah! ( he sings, jumping in with the next part and trying to emulate her sweet moves. she is much better at this than he is, and you know, sometimes even a leader-kun needs to be shown the way.

you know what we must do ann. this calls for a third act show-stopper in order to bring it home. so without hesitation, he takes in a long, hard breath and belts out: )

I want your leaves and I want your leaf stems you and me could have a Mand-romance! Whoa-ooah ooh oooo! How about it folks, give it up for Ann-channnn~!

[ Leader-kun is pretty good at this, actually. Then again, she's pretty sure he's good at almost everything he does. As the green flies, and as he confirms that they're almost done, she smiles brightly because they're almost home free.

As he belts out that lovely finisher, she pulls a few more semi choreographed moves, and then strikes a pose at his side, low enough to where she can scoop up a few more leaves for good measure. Maybe if they take more than they need, that'll somehow be better for them in the long run-- ]

Want your Mand-romance! Wow, thanks, Ren-kun, but you really stole the show! What an absolute superstar!

[ Straightening, she winks and blows their plant-tastic new fans a kiss. ]

I hope you enjoyed the show, but we really have to be on our way now~ Thanks for being such a great audience!

( it's probably just a protag thing. or a wild card thing. look he has a lot of trump cards to draw from apparently... but right now, the only thing he's keen to play 52 pick up with are those leaves!

her finisher is enough to draw their attention and more, as foliage rains down and mandrakes faint and applaud loudly with their little root-like hands. for his part, ren is grabbing all of the discards that he can, until his arms are loaded and he backs away slowly... )

Thank you Mandrake-town! ( that's... not even what this is. ) Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leaf, am I right?

( he's still backing away, checking from the corner of his eye to see that ann is ready to book it. now that they've got the treasure, it was time for a patented PT getaway! )

{ something steamy }

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this is ridiculous, i'm so sorry

why would you apologize for artwork as fine as this

i've never felt more understood

you never saw it coming

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