The candlelight melts all my shadows away [Open to CR]

[handsome_genius]

Who: Cnoc Áine and related Akatsuki no Yona CR
When: December 3rd
Where: Take a wild guess
What: Mingle log with folks invited for a buffet dinner at the temple and folks can hang around afterwards too. I've included some prompts, but you can absolutely start your own. Any excuse to hang out with Yoon and Yona's extended CR is a good one.


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Before Dinner / Gathering
Yoon is running bowls of food -- see below -- in and out of the kitchen to the hall where everyone gets to eat, so he's harder to get to stand still, but by all means use the opportunity to chat up people. You might find yourself sitting next to someone for dinner that you don't know, or you may want to explore the temple grounds until dinnertime. There's a lot to explore.

Dinner! Help Yourselves!
Yoon naturally took point on what the dinner would include, but he basically made a traditional spread of food - he thinks it's traditional anyway - resembling a giant lazy susan table with rice, a variety of meats that were marinated before being cooked, and grilled vegetables. The table is big enough for others to sit all around the circle, but move the wooden table around to get at the various dishes and pluck pieces of food from them. The rice also has a scooper. There is even stock soup resembling miso because that's what he was able to find on short notice when it occurred to him he should have soup, but didn't have enough time to make his own stock. Of course there is a pot of black tea too.

Near the wall, sitting on cold plates on a more traditional side table, there is also fresh fruit and a variation on lassi - a kind of pudding or yogurt. There's also glasses for milk shakes, but the ice cream and milk is currently being stored so it doesn't completely melt until they're ready, because of course he has milkshakes due to certain influences. Yoon doesn't get to be extravagant often, and Yona insisted if they were going to invite people that it be something pleasant, so he did indeed go all-out.

After Dinner: Bonding Time Etc.
At some point during the meal, Yoon will mention the pools at Yona's temple - Cnoc Áine - where people are able to bathe completely submerged and help wash away their blight. He considers this to be Extremely Important and if your characters - gods or shinki - haven't bathed in holy water within the last week, you can be sure that Yoon will insist on them hanging around long enough to bathe, alone or in a group as they're comfortable. By all means ask him why he finds this so important, or ask Yona about it. Unfortunately, the pools only heal under moonlight, so you can potentially hang around the temple for awhile, or leave and come back, although Yoon might seek a very sincere promise for the return. Good news is that it's winter, so 'moonlight' happens earlier. If Yoon happens to notice any tears or rips in the clothing that your character sheds in order to bathe, they might find them patched up by the time they put them on again.

But if you want to escape the oppressive Mom-ing of a worried Yoon, then you might try to engage some of the horses on the temple grounds, or take a walk through the immense halls and gardens.

Comments

[pirateofdragons]

[A. Exploring]

[Jae-Ha is still relatively new to the temple, so he’s been exploring the wide expanses of it. Judging from the size of it, however, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that this huge building has been occupied by Yona almost mostly.

He’s yet to actually encounter anyone else who lives here.

Throughout the day before the dinner, he can be found somewhere within the temple, roaming its halls, making friends with the horses, or in a garden.

Whenever he sees someone, he immediately smiles in greeting.]

Hello there.

[B. Dinner]

[Dinner is definitely one event Jae-Ha would not be missing out on.

Really, the smell of the delicious food is not something he could pass off, simply too tantalizing. The only difference is that there are some food onto here that he does not recognize.

So, don’t be surprised if he’s quick to go for dessert.

Always for dessert.

He’s eating ice cream.]

[C. Winter Moonlight]

[Although Yona’s temple is often set in the warm glow of summer, Jae-Ha can still feel the brisk winds of winter. He’s not well equipped for it, but the differing temperatures can make it difficult for him to really pick out whatever clothing would be appropriate for him to wear.

Really, a simple cloak would do and he’d be fine with it.

Stationed on top of one of the roofs, he has a cup of sake in his hand while there’s a bottle sitting beside him.

The moonlight is beautiful tonight, an ethereal glow that paints the palace in a pale but breathtaking silver. There’s something about gazing up at the moon that’s calming, the way it eases him and erases the stress from the day’s events.

Of course, he won’t say no to anyone who asks to come up and join him.

He has plenty of sake to share, after all.]

OTA

[darkestbefore]

[ Yona helps Yoon as much as she can, lending a hand whenever he looks like she needs it, but she's also careful about not getting too much underfoot when he wants everything to be a certain way. So when she's not assisting him, she moves instead to welcome their guests as they arrive, smiling happily and warmly at anyone who joins them, no matter how familiar they've been before this day. This was meant for people to meet new acquaintances and get to know existing ones better, after all, and she's not letting herself be an exception to that.

For the most part, she can be found near the entrance to the hall or maybe just outside of it, happily encouraging anyone to come inside and get comfortable, or even offering to show them around if they look interested in exploring a bit before dinner.

As the night wears on, there's a sort of happiness that glows from her as she watches her friends - new and old - get to sit down to dinner together and talk and discuss and laugh. Some of it she is content to watch with a fond smile, but she's also just as quick to jump in with a bit of teasing or questions when the topic turns to something new.

With all the new faces lingering in her temple for the night, she flits between all of them a bit like a butterfly, wanting to make sure everyone feels comfortable and is enjoying themselves. But when a few stick around to slip out to the pools for a soak after the moon has risen, she does wander out that way as well, finding a few moments to soak up the quiet and the brightness of the moon as she settles on a large rock near one of the Temple pools. ]

OTA

[onedrinkwithme]

Exploring-Pre Dinner

[Now this was a party that Aymeric would not see any harm in attending. With the Heavens always seeming to host one, it just felt tiring and with ulterior motives, a way to try and sooth the masses. But when he received a message from Yona about a dinner at her temple, he did not think twice about answering her summons. He had only been to her temple once to use her pools for his wounds and did not think on exploring the temple back then. This time, he's definitely exploring the grounds, including being entranced by the horses running around. Having only seen mostly chocobos and his hawks at his temple, seeing these creatures roam is very soothing.

No, he won't try to pet one. He's learned from his own beast of a cat to let an animal come up if they want to.]

Dinner

[Despite his sweet tooth, he strangely doesn't go for the milkshakes when it is time to eat, instead going for one of the lassi drinks. It was something he never tried before and finds quite pleasant to his surprise. Note to self: find the recipe. The setting itself even though it is more self service, it feels lively and Aymeric is certainly feeling it as he finds himself within conversations where he needed not to act like a leader but around friends. It's so nice.]

After Dinner

[...what? Did you think he was going to join those in the pools? He personally doesn't feel that he needs to, having used holy water every time he saw blight but he will enjoy the sight of the stars above as he takes a seat outside of said pools. If someone wants to try and convince him...good luck.]

It still amazes me how beautiful stars can be...

[yousaytron]

Before Dinner
[There are a couple of things Keith had to take into consideration before deciding to show up to the party. Knowing Yona as a friendly and well-liked goddess, and Yoon just as likely to have a decent handful of guests of his own, the chances that it's going to mean spending the evening at a party with a bunch of people he doesn't know is high, which isn't the most appealing idea in his mind. On the other hand, if he were to turn the offer down, he's sure it would upset Yoon, which is frankly unacceptable.

Dinner and mingling it is.

He's spending any pre-dinner time he gets by exploring the temple grounds. It's not the first time he's been here, but there's so much to see that can be easily passed by in a shorter visit that taking a look around seems worth it. Or, you know, maybe it's just an excuse to slip away from the gathering and try and keep to himself for a little longer. Either way, it isn't as if he's completely unlikely to bump into someone doing the same - despite the size of the temple grounds, he's not straying too far from everything. Wouldn't want to miss the main event, after all...!]


Dinner
[At least he's not acting quite so standoffish by the time the meal is ready to be served. If anything can get him to sit still for a while in the face of a situation like this one, it's a good meal.

Everything looks and smells delicious, and Keith's apparently made it his mission to try at least a little bit of everything. The lassi in particular strikes him as interesting, and pleasantly tasty...! Something to keep in mind, probably.

Mostly, he seems pretty engrossed with the food, and while he isn't exactly... mingling, he's at least not making himself difficult to catch should someone want to chat. Talking and getting to know one another is partially the goal for tonight, after all!]


After Dinner
[Feeling refreshed after a good meal, Keith hasn't quite hit the point of feeling awkward about sticking around a while longer just yet. He's gone back to a pattern of drifting away from any large group of people, but he's not wandering too much at this point, so pinning him down shouldn't be any trouble.

For the most part, he'll be hanging around outside, possibly checking out the gardens, the horses, or simply taking in the view of the night sky.

Maybe the pools, too. You know. For curiosity's sake.]

[lightninglobster]

[ before dinner ; exploring ]

[ Ryoma's taking the exploring route. People can't mother hen you if you're nowhere to be found in the absolute fortress that Yona calls a temple, now can they? Ryoma has been convinced not to wear the armor, and so he'll look halfway normal (except for that goddamn torrential outpouring of hair) as he makes unhurried rounds through Aine's grounds. He watches horses for a bit, he skims book titles in the library, he enjoys a sit in the breeze as he overlooks the forest-- all in all, he's having a good time being out of the way.

If he remembered more about himself, he'd be horrified that he wasn't helping or socializing, but screw you, traditional leadership upbringing. Horses are neat, and give Ryoma some hope that cars haven't completely taken over some portions of this world. ]

[after dinner ; do not wet the lobster ]

[ It's time for exploring part two, until he can safely take his leave. The concept of public bathing doesn't bother him because modesty is for other people, have you seen what he wears to the beach, Ryoma you're a mess. It's more the idea of being fussed over that sits oddly with him; he's not used to being taken care of, and the reminder that he is fallible is a slap to his immense piles of self-sufficient pride.

Hopefully Ryoma's ride will leave sooner rather than later; in the meantime he'll get to exploring the parts of the temple he missed on his earlier roaming. It's nice to not be super expected to be the center of attention. ]