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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
As according to her request, he hands her the shaved ice with green syrup on it, then takes the seat beside her again to eat his pink one. It's kinda funny how the green matches her hair. ]
Oh, this tastes better than I thought.
[ He turns his head to see how Enkidu's faring. ]
no subject
[To be honest they just chose the fruit they were more familiar with — they knew in theory that strawberries existed, but couldn't remember off the top of their head what a strawberry actually tasted like. Enkidu has, however, seen shaved ice; Emiya liked to make it during the summer. So they start licking at it, smiling faintly. It does taste like something he would have made.]
Ah. It feels good.
[That's genuine relief and satisfaction. A lot more candid than you usually get out of Kidu. They look over, tilt their head a bit, and smile.]
Thanks, Mondo!
[A giant crack becomes visible as the hair falls away from their face. A gash runs from their cheek up the bridge of their nose to their forehead.]
no subject
But oh... goddamn if that doesn't make Mondo weak, the tilt of the head and the smile. Holy shit. He almost melts into a stupid grin himself when he suddenly notes the cracks in her face. His eyes widen, and he leans closer, blinking and rubbing his eyes in disbelief. What?! What's going on-- WHAT?! ]
E, E, Enkidu?! Yo, your, your face--
[ It's in Mondo's policy not to touch girls (haha) without their consent, but this is an urgent situation and he needs to know what's causing this! He immediately reaches out to touch her face as gentle as he can, hoping that he can keep it together and not crack further...
Alas, it just continues to crack bigger. No, no, no no no, fuck fuck fuck!! This isn't-- oh god. This texture against his fingertips... clay...?! Mondo's not getting everything that's happening here, but he knows how clay works, at least. He needs water, stat, but the only thing he has with him here is sports water. Dammit. He's not sure if it'll work, but he'll try it.
Opening the cap, he pours a little amount on Enkidu's cracking cheek, smoothing his fingers over it.
...H, how's that?! ]
no subject
[For once Enkidu looks like they're caught off guard, looking directly at Mondo in wide-eyed fear as they realize what gravity does to loosely hanging objects. They had a plan for all of this— they were going to break it to Mondo in a calm way, a nice way, because he really did seem to like them so much, and—]
[...and now they've blown it.]
[The sports water has more of an effect than nothing. At least, it's enough that the skin-clay becomes a bit more malleable beneath Mondo's fingertips. Enkidu's expression has changed again, and their brows are furrowed closely together as they look somewhere off to the side. A particular patch of dirt, maybe, changing colours beneath the fireworks.]
[Mondo had a very specific idea of Enkidu. He liked that idea. And the idea is literally falling apart before him now. It's been subconsciously nagging at them for a while, but now they're fully aware — they care a lot about what Mondo thinks of them, and this is going to have a negative impact.]
[All they can think to say, head bowed in shame as their skin is literally smeared around, is:]
I'm sorry.
no subject
The sports drink won't do, and the heat won't help this situation. He doesn't quite understand but it seems like Enkidu's body is made of clay...? ]
What're ya sorry for?! We'll get ya somewhere cool, aight?
[ Carefully, he attempts to carry Enkidu... bridal style because it seems like the safest way...??? He prays none of the limbs will fall off... ]
no subject
[...well, since they died.]
[But they're not going to die here, Enkidu has to remind themselves. No spiteful goddess is out to kill them as payment for what they've done, it's just normal heat. (Or perhaps supernatural heat from the dungeon, but the point is, it's not Ishtar.) It's not Gil holding them, for all his might and splendor powerless to stop the process — it's Mondo, still Mondo, and all they need to do is get to a river. Everything will be fine then.]
[Enkidu allows themselves readily to be carried; it is easier this way. And, they realize, the embrace of an actual human being feels strangely nostalgic. It's the same feeling they got with Gil, too: he's putting their value far, far higher than what they're actually worth.]
[Just for now, though, they'll allow it. Because they miss it. Just a little. And if they're leaning into Mondo, it's just because they want to keep everything together.]
no subject
He increases his pace, ignoring the stares from his surrounding as he doesn't stop running towards the forest. But the closer they are, the hotter it gets. It's weird. The forest is supposed to be a lot more chilly than where they were. ]
Tch...!
[ Mondo stops on his tracks when smoke rises - a fire has started deep in the forest. Shit. Of course, like any normal person would, he's concerned about the fire, but Enkidu's his top priority right now. It seems like there are people who are there to put out the fire too, so he u-turns and dashes out of there with all his might, heading off towards Hoshino's - the carpenter family that took him under their wing. It feels like every time someone is in trouble, the first people he runs to are them - just like the time with Terry and Rei. Then again he doesn't have much choice with his place being devoid of air conditioning or water. He watches Enkidu with concern as they're headed there, his own arms grow cold from worry.
When they arrive, a lady in her 50s opens up for them, and like it was before, she doesn't ask a thing and lets them right in. She seems like she's already used to Mondo barging in and borrowing their space for... pretty much anything. He heads straight for the bathroom, twisting the tap on the tub so it'll fill it with water, before sitting down on the small bathroom stool. He'll use one hand to cup water and apply it on Enkidu while they wait for the tub to fill up. ]
no subject
W-where are you going??
[They don't know how they feel about having such little control over their own fate right now.]
[But Enkidu is absolutely powerless to do anything to stop him, so they just sit there and wait as a doll would while Mondo slams into someone's bathroom. The water certainly helps; before his very eyes, their clay becomes softer and more malleable. It's a small dribble of water down one of their arms, but it's already having a noticeable effect. As for the rest of them, Enkidu is just looking around the room in a state of mild shock.]
Is... this your house?