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AUGUST EVENT PT 1

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→ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm not sure if it's a compliment or not, but you're...very human.

[ He doesn't know any other demigods, but he can't imagine them getting in debt at a local hospital. ]

You're not as distant and you don't ask weird questions about humans either.

Oh, so like... an actual alien!

[ Neat. And honestly, yeah... Terry's the outlier because he's the only one whose healing rate absolutely sucks. ]

So, it's more like... I'm usually the one that gives weird answers instead, right?

You know what? That's very accurate.

[ His conversations with Terry usually take unexpected turns before he knows it. Which, by the way, is quite fun. ]

How about you tell me something about one of your friends? You mentioned that person who you were cooking for once...unless it's not a friendship but a foodship.

[ Hibiki get out ]

Why not both?

[ Terry laughs at that. Hibiki is the best... it might as well be both anyway. ]

His name is Jace! He's my best friend from back home... He does all kinds of stuff in the medical field and I sometimes helped him out at the hospital he works at.

Both friend and food are the best kinds of ships.

[ Hibiki's glad he asked about Terry's friend—things are always happening so much in Hirajiro, there's no time to just sit down and talk about stuff that aren't dungeons, Shadows and all that. ]

I hope that he can cook something simple at least.

[ What is even going on back in their worlds... ]

He can cook a little, but I think he likes microwavable food better. And that he doesn't have time to cook anyway...

[ Terry feels a little worried for him, but he's... a doctor. He should be fine! But he can't really ignore this feeling. ]

... I miss him.

[ Hibiki wraps his arms around Terry and pats his shoulder in a reassuring gesture. ]

I'm sure he misses you too, no matter how much he likes that microwave food.

[ Oh. Terry didn't expect this, so his eyes are a little wide from surprise. He quickly calms down though and gently puts the sparklers down on the ground before hugging him. Physical affection is so nice. Even if it's stupidly hot outside, the heat he feels from another person is enough to endure through it. He classifies them as two different things. ]

... Yeah. I hope so.

[ There's a pang of guilt that strikes his heart, because no matter how much he misses his best friend, he doesn't want to go back. So there's only a small smile, and it might look a little sad. ]

Terry... [ Hibiki takes a deep breath. ] I think we'll be together forever thanks to this heat. I'm melting.

[ It might be difficult to pull away from that sweaty hug. Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea, but Hibiki doesn't mind. ]

Maybe I wouldn't mind?

[ ahaha. Though Terry does let go and fan Hibiki with his hand a bit, not that it helps any, but the thought is there. ]

You can make ice with Byakko, right? Can he make shaved ice too?

He can. He can even freeze you in a block of ice.

[ Hibiki sounds somewhat proud of it. ]

He's been making ice all day, though. I figured out that he might need some rest.

Oh, that's fair.

[ Fluffy tiger deserves the rest for making for much ice. Thank you for your service, Byakko. Terry thinks it's nice to see Hibiki sounding somewhat proud of his Persona. ]

He's so convenient for times like these... I'm jealous! Vassago can't really do much practical stuff.

Maybe you haven't unlocked your true potential yet. I'm sure Vassago learns how to charm Shadows sooner rather than later.

[ Well, Terry is charming for sure. That's not exactly how it works, but how is he supposed to know that. ]

[ ...

Terry thinks about this for a moment and... a dragon... charming people...

...

??? ]

Would he really...?

There are much weirder things out there that can use their...charms...

[ Hibiki hides the wince behind a smile. ]

[ Terry lets out a thoughtful hum. He can only view Vassago as something like a killing machine in full force, so it taking the time to stop to charm someone sounds pretty hilarious. But he nearly grimaces at the implications behind that. He pushes the thought away from his mind pretty quickly. ]

... I'm kinda curious now.

About what?

[ Hibiki you can't say stuff like this and not share with the class. ]

I'm just saying that everyone has their individual charm.

[ Doubt ]

[ Also doubt. Terry stays quiet as if he's thinking about something but he's actually using pinpointing, so.

...

Huh. ]

A different alien hit on you?

Eh?

[ Hibiki did miss the moment when they started to being such good friends that they're reading each other's minds now. ]

A demon, actually.

[ He can't believe he admitted it. ]

[ An actual demon hit on Hibiki. Amazing. ]

Wow... your charm really does work on everyone. Maybe you're the one that's meant to have a charm skill instead of me?

[ haha. ]

You probably jinxed it...you're going to be the first victim of my charm skill, I swear.

[ For once, Hibiki's really flustered—that memory will haunt him forever and it'll never stop being embarrassing. ]

[ Oh.

...

Seeing Hibiki flustered is kinda cute............... Terry's taken back by surprise since he's never seen him like this before. ]

Is that a threat?

Who knows...but you should be careful.

[ He's managed to calm down a little even if his cheeks are still tinted pink. ]

It was terrible. It called me some weird pet names.

Like what?

[ The teasing train doesn't stop here. Maybe that's why Hibiki is teasing him so much in the other thread... well, anyway, he does that thing where he changes his demeanor when acting things out at the cafe and gets his index finger to tap it under Hibiki's chin. ]

"Sweetie"?

Try again.

[ He might be saying that but his cheeks are on fire now as he forgets that he was supposed to calm down.

Don't say stud-muffin. By which I mean please do. ]

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