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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.
no subject
[ She hesitates, glancing over her shoulder at the tent, because she was reluctant to talk about it in the first place. But if there's a chance that it's important... ]
That's what that fortune teller was talking about, wasn't it? Going back... I guess to where we both started. And that would be the castle.
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"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."
[He says all this, one finger held up as he recites from memory.]
no subject
That's... "The place of beginnings" would fit too, wouldn't it? But I'm not so sure about playing that game. You'd be summoning ghosts or demons or something— those sorts of games are never about any benevolent beings.
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[Then, he grins, cat-like.]
Heh, so it's a game that summons ghosts? Maybe we'll meet whoever's haunting the inn.
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[ DON'T GIVE HER THAT LOOK, MISTER. This is exactly what happens when she says the inn is bad news, people just smile and go anyways and she's losing her mind over that ]
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Does that mean you're not gonna stick around to see what happens?
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It's not going to happen!! You stay away from that castle!
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No way! That fortune teller singled us out for a reason. A clue like that is worth checking out.
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[ And, in the end, the two people they summon are just that ]
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[Killua tilts his head, eyes sharp.] Unless you're in no hurry to find answers.
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[ But she can't help but draw back a little, fingers digging into her sleeves where she's got her arms crossed and wrapped around herself. She really doesn't want to have anything to do with any of this, her fear of ghosts just as strong as her desire to go home, and it's kind of pathetic comparing the two. She can't help it, though. ]
Well. Uh- Somebody should stay behind as backup just in case something happens, right? We all shouldn't rush to the castle, that would be stupid.
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Something about this really scares you. [Studying her for a moment, Killua hazards a guess.] Is it the ghosts? You didn't like it when I brought up the inn either.
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[ The word is spat out, complete denial that's so obvious with the way her head turns to the side at the same time, unable to lie while looking Killua in the eyes.
You don't just call people out on their fears like that? Have some tact. ]
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Okayyyyy. [He draws the word out, clearly not believing her. Well, there's no point forcing her to talk; the way she'd replied is answer enough for him.]
If you think it's better to hold down the fort while some of us check out the castle, that's up to you. I bet there are others who feel the same way about the castle and want to stay here, too.
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That's what I said, right? With something so unknown like this, the smartest thing to do would be to have backup.
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[Though there's still a bit of a smirk on his face, he doesn't tease her anymore. Because as much as he was giving her shit for it, it is smart to have the group split up between the town and castle in case things go wrong.]
Can you tell me more about that game? I've never heard of it before.
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Essentially, it boils down to telling ghost stories. It's something you play in a group, in the dark, with the only light being a hundred lit candles that you put out one by one every time somebody finishes telling a story. After a hundred stories are shared, some sort of ghost or spirit or something gets summoned and it's never a nice one, and it's just a stupid ritual anyways, it's ridiculous and a waste of candles, so don't be surprised when it doesn't work.
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Maybe it's a waste of candles usually, but I have a feeling it might work this time.
[The fortune teller's just one sign of many of the supernatural occurrences in this town. Whatever their intentions are, something will happen if they go to the castle. Killua would bet on it.]
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She fixes a smile on her face. ]
Well, that's it then. You're in charge of making sure it doesn't go wrong, and hopefully you won't need my help.
[ She plans on sleeping early that night or so help her god ]
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I'm in charge? I thought I was one of the youngest out of our group.
[There's just a hint of a smile on his lips, though, making him look more amused than anything.]
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Between you and me, the oldest guy I know here is a dumbass. [ sorry Terry ]
Age doesn't matter, and if you're willing and determined to see it through, naturally you're the best person to be in charge.
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[And, well, she's not wrong, he supposes. Though, something flickers in his eyes as she explains her reasoning.]
Dunno if I'm the right guy for it, but if it'll help, I guess there's no point not to.
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[ It wouldn't surprise her if Killua knows him, since Terry's a friendly guy who doesn't shy away from others just to say hi, unlike Kido who needs a more compelling reason to come up to somebody than them just existing. ]
And it'll be a huge help, so you'll be fine.
[ She half turns to leave, half reaches out with her hand to pat him on the head, unthinking, because that's what you do with kids to reassure them. ]
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[That's totally not what happened, but Kido doesn't know that!]
Huh, thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess. [And then, Killua's tensing up under the touch, one hand coming up like he's about to swat it away, but he seems to change his mind, ducking out from under Kido's hand instead.] What's up with you all and the head pats? First Mondo, now you...
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They make people feel better. That's the hope, at least.
[ Is all she offer as she waves and walks away. ]