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AUGUST EVENT PT 1
premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation
→ 8/3-8/4 School Cultural Festival
Good morning!! The crows start cawing at the crack of dawn and they're really noisy, but while they're usually a nuisance on the best of days, perhaps the wake-up call will be appreciated this weekend, as the school gates are open over the weekend for the annual cultural festival the students have been hard at work on for the past few weeks. It's an open event for family and friends to come enjoy themselves, or perhaps get dragged into helping out in a booth or two, as some of the students have called in sick or can't be reached at all. Either way, the general commotion centered around the school is probably even loud enough to be heard all the way over in Castle Ouma if you're quiet enough. I don't know how else to get you guys who still live in the castle ruins over here... Hopefully you've been hearing people talking about it all of last month? Or maybe you're a newcomer who's just woken up in the castle ruins, spent ten seconds with Kokichi, and decided to leave the forest and never return, that's also very plausible.
Involving the elementary, middle, and high school buildings on their shared campus, all the typical sorts of booths can be found, including a school play performed by the elementary school students in the auditorium in the morning, and various concerts or performances held throughout the day. In the classrooms, food stalls and cafes are common, along with haunted houses for the braver souls. Rumors say that sometimes people who enter the haunted houses never come out the other side... but never mind that. It's fine. Sports clubs hold friendly competitions outside on the field, and many cultural clubs have displays of their work to show off in their club rooms, so there's plenty to do and see and eat all around campus. Despite all the preparation, however, some of the stalls appear to be empty, others with students frantic about not having enough people to keep things rolling smoothly. Looks like the strange illness going around town last month hasn't completely resolved yet, but maybe it's best for those who are ill to stay home in a crowded place like this.
For those seeking something quieter, tucked away in a corner of the high school building next to a struggling yakisoba stand is a fortune telling tent which doesn't seem to be getting many customers. The line is short and there's no fee, so why not give it a shot? Inside, a hooded figure sits, head bowed and face completely obscured in shadow aside from their chin, illuminated by a cheap looking crystal ball placed in the center of the table. A stack of cards lays on their left, a bag of something smelling faintly sweet and spicy sitting on their right. Without prompting, the fortune teller speaks in a low soft voice, greeting you by name. Weird. Weirder yet, they go on to address you by the arcana on your omamori, be it The Fool or The Hermit or what have you, and rather than answering any questions you may have about your future, the fortune teller instead offers one of two messages:
『To return to where you hailed, you must return to where you arrived. Take with you that which bears the name of the being you have banded together to defeat, and restore what once was.』
or
『When the moon's face shines full and bright, at the cusp of night and day, return to the place of beginnings. Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai must be played, to return two lost souls to this world.』
Huh... Before you can ask any questions, however, your time is up and the next person in line is already pushing you out the seat to the exit. You can always return to the end of the line to have another go, but... curiously, when you enter the tent any subsequent times, a high schooler in uniform greets you, bright and chipper. Home? Souls?? She has no idea what you're talking about if you repeat the messages from before, but never mind that! She can read your fortune!! Maybe you'll let her show off some palmistry and— oh... your life line is rather short... Unfortunate. Never mind, we'll try tarot instead and- hm. That sure is The Tower. Oh well, time's up, next person please!
On Sunday evening as the festivities wind down, a bonfire has been set up in the middle of the field, adding to the unnaturally hot summer night. It's still pretty, though, with the sky dark and bright stars starting to peek out, blankets laid out across the grass and sweet potatoes being passed around to be roasted by the fire. Take the time to relax and breathe... because it's un/fortunately a festival month and the villagers are hype about their festivals.
→ 8/6-8/8 Tanabata Festival
- While the students had been hard at work setting up the school festival, the rest of the town had been preparing for the tanabata festival, with stalls set up encircling the entire lakefront at the center of town. Yukata can be bought or rented, along with traditional hand fans to ward off the heat of the summer, and many of the typical food stalls and carnival games can be found, including stalls where you can test your luck in scooping goldfish/yo-yos/other small plastic toys, shooting targets with cork rifles, attempting the rigged ring toss that's impossible to win without cheating, or playing the lottery with tickets for free food from the stalls as consolation prizes. Maybe your luck sucks and you just want to buy stuff and that's fine too. Come with full wallets and leave with full stomachs filled with yakitori skewers, sweet or savory dango, roasted sweet potato, and the seasonal favorite: shaved ice. It's seasonal because it's summer and summer is so hot. This particular summer feels like hell and halfway through the last day, they run out of syrup, but cups of plain ice are still selling very well, so... yay...
While some of the stalls are already heavy with decoration, others are pretty sparse, with the lack of people running them. Which is fine, or intended, because there are workshops held all around for teaching and encouraging people to make decorations meant to improve different aspects of one's life: paper kimonos for artistic ability, strings of a thousand paper cranes for long and healthy lives, paper purses for wealth, colorful streamers for handicraft, wastebaskets for cleanliness, and of course, tanzaku- paper strips hung up on bamboo trees for a wish to be granted by the gods. Decorations are judged for artistic ability, with a small prize given to the best decoration judged at the end of each night.
In the evenings, stages set out along the lakeside feature folk dance performances, and decorations are collected to be lit on fire and sent off in small boats in the lake, the collection of flames giving off a soft light as the paper burns down and turns to ash, reclaimed by the lake as they sink. A reminder from the townspeople to anybody who stands too close to the lake: please do not touch the water. On the very last evening of the festival, a fireworks show is held, shooting up overhead above the lake and is visible anywhere around town, raining down sparks of gold and red, hell fire from the sky.
...Also hell fire in the woods. It's been windy and dry all month, and a small forest fire has started at the edge of town, be it from arson or by accident. The villagers cut the evening short to go help, as there is no established fire fighting service, so any and all assistance would be appreciated. Somewhere nearby, a child starts to cry, unable to find his mother. With the villagers pulled away, the night ends with the stalls left empty. Nobody comes to clean up the next morning...
→ MOD NOTES
- ⬥ As mentioned in the OOC plotting post, a heat wave befalls the town and NPC villagers start disappearing until the daitengu from last month is defeated. 2 more dungeon threads must be submitted before 8/11 to secure the ofuda. Lockdown continues to occur each midnight, with the school transforming into the dungeon; details can be found on last month's event log.
⬥ For the cultural festival: characters will receive a hint about either 1) how to return home (take the ofuda received after beating the dungeon boss to the castle ruins), or 2) how to summon the Velvet Room attendants (playing Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai at the castle ruins during the full moon), and are highly encouraged to discuss both messages amongst themselves. Characters may learn more about how to play Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, date of the full moon, etc. by asking around town.
⬥ On 8/12 (ICly dated on 8/15, the night of the full moon), a mini-log will go up encompassing both of these findings.
⬥ For the tanabata festival: each character may claim one small wish pending mod approval at any time this month (comment below) for writing their wish down on a tanzaku, and 3 characters will be randomly chosen on 8/12 as winners for the decoration judging, and will be contacted at that time for the option of receiving an additional wish.
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[ That's one way to end things. Terry feels so mentally exhausted from all this too. He also has no idea that he vaguely complimented Mondo is a very weird way, but that's fine. Mondo can take it however he wants. He looks back down at the mobile. ]
Can I have that now? [ lol ]
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...Yeah. There ya go. [ Look at your beautiful crane mobile that Mondo cared for with gentle... uh. Not so gentle hold. You can have it. ] Where're ya gonna hang that at, tho'?
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Oh. Right. ]
Um... maybe the cafe will take it as a decoration? If not, I can always hang it overhead on a tree branch as I sleep...
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[ Mondo's half joking, half serious about this. Putting Terry in a cage sounds like a compelling idea too, considering how reckless the guy is otherwise. ]
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Well, not really, but. Terry shakes his head and laughs a little. ]
I'd rather sleep on the dirt than in a cradle, Mondo... besides, I think the cats would like it.
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[ He's half not, but Terry doesn't need to know that. ]
...Maybe I should make some toys for 'em. The mobile's made of paper, 's easy to get them all torn up. I can make somethin' similar with soft wood blocks.
[ ..... ]
How the hell're ya handlin' so many of 'em at once, anyway?
[ Little does Mondo know a similar fate will fall upon him. ]
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[ He looks over to Mondo as if to say "isn't that cool?!". ]
So I don't have to worry about them as much, but I let her take a break by playing with them from time to time. They're really used to people now. Scratching posts would be really good though.
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[ Mondo has seen it in mother figures other than his to understand that, but he's also gotten to the point where he's no longer bitter 24/7 about it. He's happy where he's at, and he doesn't want any changes. He can genuinely feel that it really is cool, the sheer willpower of mothers who bring up their kids on their own. The same goes for Ami, who does it well even with the handicap.
His views on cats have tremendously changed ever since he came to Hirajiro. They're incredibly cute and self-contained, able to take care of themselves well as opposed to dogs that are always starved for attention and love... then again that's what's cute about dogs, but... they both have their own charms. ]
Scratching posts, huh. Gotcha.
[ He looks at Terry then. ]
Are ya not gonna get a proper place to live?
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[ ... ]
... Eventually. I'm already saving up for that.
[ It's hard to believe, since this is Terry and his... everything, but he really has been saving up despite his debts. ]
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[ Suspicious eyes. ]
I'll finish it before you move in fo' sho'. Who knows if you'll ever be able to move in, anyway.
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[ As if... he wasn't already working hard enough? ]
I'm gonna clear that debt in one month and be able to move in before you know it!
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[ He flicks a finger to Terry's forehead. ]
Don't work harder than you already did. You're just gonna go back to the starting line if you get hospitalised again.
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[ looks at drinking blood
looks at the death
looks at getting his ear almost sliced off
... Most of these could be avoided though, yeah. ]
I'll be fine! Really!
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So what were you hospitalised for? Besides the one time with that bird fucker.
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[ Though it could be easily guessable, seeing as to how the clip-on earring with a feather dangling off it really stands out with its black color, despite his own black hair. ]
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[ He sighs. It's not Terry's job to report everything to him. He's not Terry's boss. ]
I knew something's off when you started wearing that earring. Feelin' real dumb for thinkin' that you prolly got interested in fashion or somethin'. 'Course not... How the hell did that happen? [ For both accounts. It's like Terry's just an extremely accident prone guy or something. ]
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[ Wow, he can't believe the nurses didn't believe him when he told them to call the Hoshino's about his injuries because they weren't in the emergency contacts!! He's going to make sure that doesn't happen next time. ]
And, well... it's inconspicuous, isn't it? Like you said, you wouldn't really be thinking about it other than me wanting to get an earring or something. I dunno how the berserk Persona thing happened, but Kido was trying to get a mascot head off me, but I ended up getting my ear cut a little.
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Does it still hurt? Your ear. They managed to get it fixed up?
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No... If it still hurt, I wouldn't be able to use these clip-ons. They're not actual earrings.
[ He takes the feather one off. Easy.
If Mondo glances over at the ear now, there are obvious stitches in place that line up the middle of his earlobe. ]
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[ And he does look over, yikes. Kido... no chill at all. Mondo had ever thought about getting her to cut his hair but now... one fear. ]
I dunno how you always get yourself in trouble, tch. 's like you're a trouble magnet. [ ..... ] Heh. Not that I can say anythin' bout it.
[ He had a lot of time to think over his life back home while he's here and back in Wonderland. In doing so, he realises just how much of a walking disaster he was. He still is, but not as much as Terry has been... so far. Maybe he's passed the unfortunate card to the guy. ]
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[ He'd rather take the unfortunate card and keep it to himself as long as, well. Gestures to the fight thread. Gestures to the reunion thread post-trip. Yeah. Yeaaaaah. ]
I dunno either, but life sometimes happens.
[ He puts the earring back on as he says that pretty lightly. Life comes and life goes... he's still naive in a certain way, but it's fine. He'll learn everything Soon. ]
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Mondo doesn't know what it is about Terry that always makes him so irritated, but he can't get angry at him for real either. So here's another exasperated sigh. His reactions to Terry are largely divided by two categories: sighing or inflicting physical pain (light). ]
'course I'll worry, you dumbfuck. Won'cha worry if ya see Rei have some injury on her knees or somethin'?!
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Yeah, of course! Then I'll have her get it treated or treat it myself!
[ But then, that's it. It's done. ]
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[ Is he being overprotective here? He doesn't know. That was how he always was around Ishimaru back in Wonderland. He'd made it his life mission to keep him safe, so he could return back home well and pave his future... He doesn't know how else to function. He's a guard dog. ]
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[ Terry is usually overprotective of Rei too, but this is just how he's always seen things. ]
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