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❦ Valentine's Key ❦

[ An Act of Love ]

The goal behind putting characters through the events of Valentine’s Key is to develop CR and encourage both cross-faction and cross-aspect play. The island of Valentine is intended to have different activities with multiple mini-prompts. This hopefully will allow players a wide variety of options that all fall within the same theme/umbrella of “an act of love”. Inspiration is taken from Mushi-shi, legends of Saint Valentine and Lupercalia, as well as a multitude of Valentine’s Day traditions — both old and recently commercial.

[ Who is in attendance? ]

On the island of Valentine is a little village of cottages whose markets have opened for their holiday to cast away the dark and bring forth the light. Spring is on the horizon and to help usher it in, the people of Valentine wish to invite you to take part in their festivities. They encourage you to dress in the local style (think renfaire) and participate! Some even have heard rumors that this year, with Shard-Bearer involvement, that Valentine’s Key may just grant the wishes of those who find it…

[ Prompts ]

❦ Arches of Affection When you first arrive on the island there is a little village with a town square done up in silk flowers, colorful ribbons, and the soft glow of lanterns — even in the day time! Locals encourage pairs of shard-bearers to walk under the curving arches of woven willow and reeds adorned with a rainbow of faux flowers that locals wish to be blessed with when harvests begin blooming again. Following their advice will make one’s heart feel light, playful, and as if some weighty and sad has been gently purged from them. In addition the two who do this together will feel a deeper affection for the person they walked through with. Lining the square are little kiosk-type shops set up to provide thematically appropriate souvenirs. However you will always find something better suited for someone else than yourself. The idea is that you’ll want to be gifting your friends and loved ones! There are also wooden poles with silk ribbon draped from the top. If you follow along with the urging of the locals to wrap the pole in ribbon with a partner you’ll both be granted little flower crowns! How lovely. ❦ Tunnel of Love The Tunnel of Love is a long pathway of flower arches much like the ones encountered in the square. However the path splits and the destination ultimately leads to different parts of the forest lying behind the little village. It is said that Valentine's Key is seated in the heart of the forest ready to grant a Heart's Desire when it is reached. However characters may start feeling weird as they venture deeper into the tunnels. A test of self! A test of will! Can the soul remember when the memory is lost? Something tugs at you. A yearning you cannot place. It draws you deeper even if you cannot name why. Oh… but can you even name yourself? Or even your relation to the person traveling with you (against you)? Do you stand with your enemy, or your ally? This portion is made with the intent to make a little future mayhem - the hope is that characters who are currently at odds with each other (or may not have even met) form bonds that will make things a bit (awkward) complicated when the sense of self returns completely. ❦ Love Bugs Once you're in the forest you'll notice that the last vestiges of winter still cling to the ground and branches of the trees. A dusting of snow, the blanket of frost... yet you can pick out little blades of grass and the buds of early spring's crocuses and daffodils. And where there are flowers... there are bugs. Even if you cannot see them. Be wary, as some of these strange creatures may just find you to be the warm body they need to fend off the cold. Kouda ♡ Obsession to instead be replaced with need to seek cross-aspect characters so that the Kouda may eat the developing discord https://mushishi.fandom.com/wiki/Ganpuku ♡ Enhanced sight and short range clairvoyance until large flowers bloom in place of the eyes. Character is temporarily blind until another character of complementary aspect will pluck away every petal https://mushishi.fandom.com/wiki/Un ♡ As-is, but rather than salt water the creature is killed off by having another character cup their hands over the ears to ‘starve’ it of sound. https://mushishi.fandom.com/wiki/Kagebi ♡ Sun Variant - A ghostly wisp that burrows in the bodies of people to steal their natural warmth. Have a friend keep you warm until the creature is “full” ♡ Moon Variant - Inverted colors to the wisp above. It feeds on restfulness and promotes paranoia making it difficult to sleep. One must find someone to hold them close and comfort them until the creature has its fill https://mushishi.fandom.com/wiki/Suiko ♡ FRESH WATER - Meridian characters encountering this creature find themselves stricken with an unquenchable thirst until eventually they find themselves as a being of water! Much like the infamous “goo girl” creature, characters will find themselves more liquid than solid. Unable to revert back unless they find a Zenite (below) to help ♡ TOXIC SLUDGE - Zenith characters suffer a similar fate but they become a poisonous sludge. An all consuming destruction (wilting plants, hurting others) unless they find a Meridian to meld with. If they do both will be consumed in a whirl of magical energy until naught remains but their original appearances. ❦ Festive Feast >lupercalia elements >basically "funky chocolates make you [x]" meme >this is where Arches of Affection comes in → extra spicy reactions if a pair walked under an arch or received a crown >a/b/o? ❦ Heart's Desire >love sacrifice/martyrdom aspect, but your partner has to be the one to stab >the key is a li'l amethyst dagger >wake up in your bed a day later w/ a present :3c