Soulfasting Mingle

[bravenewmods]

Who: EVERYONE
What: Soul Fast
When: During Soul Fast
Where: All over Ninetails Vale and in people's houses, etc.
Summary: The Celebrations of Soul Fast Begin!


It's that time of year again, and all throughout Union and in particular the Ninetales Vale, celebrations are beginning. A festival celebrating the passage of another year, of remembering and honoring the dead, and of placating particularly violent spirits has begun. Soulfasting, an old Union tradition, is one of the most popular holidays celebrated, with the Ninetales Vale being overrun with people of all ages.

Children scamper through the streets of the Vale in masks and costumes, begging for candy, while surly teenagers do the same and occasionally play pranks, and adults celebrate in a variety of fashions. Elaborate, highly fashionable costumes are all the rage, and even the nobility slips out into the Vale for a bit of fun. It's not exactly a popular destination most of the year, given the high concentrations of Dark and Ghost-types but during the festival it's most definitely in vogue and teeming with people all happy to help revitalize the area for a week.

The sounds of music drift through the air, celebratory tunes, dirges, jigs, and tunes for all ages. From the Kurain school on it's hill overlooking most of the Vale, a pipe organ solemnly plays out traditional tunes, and is surprisingly cheery for a ghost school. Across the neighborhood on another hill, Hikawa Shrine has it's doors wide open to welcome visitors, with decorations of all sorts set out.

Games are set up at both locations, including Apple Bobbing, Ducklett Pond raffles, and Pin the Scroll on the Spiritomb, though there are others set up all over the Vale's plazas. Skeeball, Target Shooting, Bell-and-Hammer games, and perhaps most strangely a “Whack-the-Diglett” that's been possessed by one of the local ghosts to give the little wooden Digletts faces all hideously angry ones. Eating contests, Pokemon Battle Circles, a Haunted House (with real ghosts!) and dozens and dozens of fortune telling stands all further add to a carnival atmosphere that even the dead can enjoy!

Lanterns and faux Spinarak webs hang from every lamppost and awning, and food stalls line the streets as vendors ply their wares. Food from all over is available, and it all seems to come together around a central square between the two hills. A stage has been set up, with musicians from all over the known world called in to show their stuff. There are dance tunes from Caldera, Union Pop and Jazz songs at work, setting crowds on fire. Sanctuary has sent a full orchestra to play various classical pieces, while Citadel's famous woodwinds and tribal drums surprise and delight. And towards the end of the day, a band from Glacier comes on stage. Their music starts out slow and ambient, but after a few sets they set up electric guitars and the gloves come off. A folk metal concert, complete with an armored warrior-woman doing the vocals and several of the soldiers from the battle weeks prior (some still bandaged) backing her up. It might be a bit shocking, but some of the youth are definitely getting into it...

And then night falls, and the party atmosphere becomes a little quieter. Plays, family meals, Ghost-story tellings, and more subdued activities become the norm though there's still a contingent of rowdies at the heart of the celebration. It's then that the ghosts really come out to play, slipping through walls to greet relatives or tease revelers. For the most part they seem friendly but not always. As usual, some specters of ill-repute have slipped in among the friendly ones, and they're making trouble. Good thing you have a Warp Band to call an exorcist, right?

((OOC: This is a general mingle log, feel free to put up your own top levels and tag around! Welcome to Soulfasting, everyone! We hope you enjoy =D ))

Comments

[ladyofluminosity]

[OTA | SEEKERS BOOTH]

[ Maeve and Ceilto had unexpectedly and rather quickly hit the road, leaving what little staff left to man the booth. Meaning Lux, acting as one of the most senior members, got the short end of the stick. Their booth nestled in one of the busier areas of Ninetales Vale, they were surprisingly dead, no pun intended, when it came to business.

She had picked out the materials herself, make sure everything looked nice and that the artifacts they did show off were interesting and properly labeled, and yet somehow no one seemed interested. It was frustrating, really. Cheek rested on her hand, the blond resorted to people watching, perking up a bit when someone happened walk by, only to very visibly deflate when they kept going. Tabling was hard.

Someone had to at least be somewhat interested, right? Who needed made up ghost stories, she had real ones right here! And legends about the gods! Come on, people, you should be lining up by now! ]

This stinks...


[OTA | PRODIGAL EXPLORER]

[ Soulfasting was one of her favorite holidays, and while working the Seekers booth was a bit of a drag, she was still able to find time to sneak away. Making her way toward the Prodigal Explorer booth, she did her best to try to be sneaky. Ezreal had since learned how to pick up on her cloaking, so she would have to rely upon more conventional methods to sneak up on him.

Thankfully, Ruby was more than happy to lend a bit of her foxfire to the cause, summoning a few blue flames to hover near the blond. Putting on her Froslass mask, she stalked toward the booth. To a casual observer, she might look like a bit of a ghost herself, her skin pale and glowing gently, her hair practically white and ethereal. She certainly looked the part ]

Excuse me~

[ Her spooky voice, well, that wasn't her strong suit. Maybe a 3/10. ]

booth!

[actsmagnificent]

Kind of dusty for a souvenir stand.

[ Don't mind Haruka she's just reaching down to pick up an artifact. It's okay, she doesn't know how to be clumsy will be careful. ]

booth!

[ladyofluminosity]

[ She wouldn't be the first one to say that, and while Lux might normally snap back some sort of response, she had a responsibility to be at least somewhat polite. ]

I'm sorry, but I believe you're mistaken, these articles aren't for sale.

[ Not quite looking up yet, she sees one of the more expensive specimens. Well, there goes that politeness. ]

E-excuse me, but that's not--

Haruka?

[ Wow look, it's an angry looking skitty glaring up at you. She's trying her best not to look it, but you're making her job difficult. ]

Um. I don't mind you looking, but they're not really...

[ If it were anyone else, she would lay into them. ]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka smiles and gently replaces this priceless piece of world history back where it belongs. You were saying? ] I'm surprised you're not busy. Though maybe looking for gods has lost its novelty lately.

[ The gods appear to have sought them instead. ]

[ladyofluminosity]

[ Yes thank you, now she can breathe again. ]

We aren't giving anything away, or anything like that. Although we weren't nearly this dead last year.

[ Dead.

Soulfasting.

That gets her to smile. Unintentional puns yes good. ]

Our job isn't looking for gods, actually. The Seekers strive to learn more about civilizations of the past, and piece together what happened so that we can learn, for the future.

[ She's only said this maybe about a hundred times today. ]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Noted. Same (former) means, different end. Haruka peruses the artifacts on the table, keeping her hands off this time. ] And what's your most recent discovery?

[brandnewshoes]

[Estelle only just got back. She had to check up on the apartment she's staying in and some basics. So, when she walks up... well, she hasn't seen Lux in a few months.]

[She can't keep the smile off her face, as she approaches the booth. She waves a hand at Lux. Then she grins brightly, a little brightly to match her joke. She's happy to see Lux, and it slips through:]

Aw, we should sell Seeker plushes. It'd get all the people here!

[ladyofluminosity]

[ Lux was generally in a sour mood by this point, and not necessarily engaging people as she should. She sighed a bit. ]

We're not here to sell things, you know. Not like you would be the first person to suggest it.

[ Looking up, the blond paused, blinking a few times. Wait. ]

Estelle? What are you doing here?

[brandnewshoes]

Tell me about it. This happened to me at a couple of booths in Caldera before.

[She grins, then she walks closer, and waves her hand cheerfully.]

I'm back in Union! I got tired of the paperwork. Want some help?

[ladyofluminosity]

I don't want to take away from your fun. It's been pretty boring here, although people watching isn't bad.

Booth!

[niepokonany]

[Feliks sort of wanders past the booth, then does a double-take and perks up, turning back around to come over to her.]

Hey, what are you doing over here?

Booth!

[ladyofluminosity]

[ Lux sits up a bit. It's been a long day, she hasn't had a break yet, and she was beginning to get more than a little bored. ]

Working. I'm here at the booth today.

[niepokonany]

You're working? Laaaaaame. Did you like, at least get time off to go get sweets or whatever?

[ladyofluminosity]

[ Sigh. ]

Not really. We're short-staffed, and I'm one of the only senior members around and able to man the booth.

[ She may have gotten suckered into it, just a bit. ]

Prodigal Explorer

[indy_wannabe]

Hey babe, lookin' good.

Prodigal Explorer

[ladyofluminosity]

I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about~

[ Her spooky voice is the best, although she may be breaking character a bit. ]

[indy_wannabe]

Spooky voice should be a bit more booming, but I'm not sure that's in your wheelhouse.

[ladyofluminosity]

[ Her shoulders slumped a bit. ]

I knew I should have cloaked myself.

Booth!

[bnw_ax_npcs]

[Well, that was the wrong thing to say. A curious stranger that had just approached the booth stops and blinks down at the blonde Seeker curiously. She was interested in this, at least.

Only...]

What stinks? I'm afraid I don't smell anything out of the ordinary...

Booth!

[ladyofluminosity]

Huh?

[ Looking up, Lux stands from her stool, looking a little confused. What stink--oh. Right. She chuckles a bit awkwardly. ]

Sorry, it's an expression. You've heard it before, right?

[bnw_ax_npcs]

[The woman looks confused right back...]

I have not. Forgive me. What does it mean? I am a stranger here.

booth!

[wise_maiden]

--Hm?

[Dressed for the holiday in elegant purple patterned robes and a golden yellow dress, cat ears, and oversized pink cat's-eye glasses, Raine certainly isn't going to pass up an opportunity to look at a booth of artifacts.

Really, it's one of the things she least expected to see out here, in the midst of all the revelry.]

Oh! This is fantastic!

booth!

[ladyofluminosity]

[ She expected to watch the woman pass by without a second thought, but the fact that she stopped, and the look look on her face made Lux positively light up. ]

Right?

[ She claps her hands once. ]

Some of the items here are reproductions of course, but if you have any questions about anything, let me know! I picked out most of the pieces on display today. There are a few that I actually helped find and identify, in fact!

[ Not that she's gloating. Of course. ]

[wise_maiden]

Were they excavated from different sites?

[Of course, she could read the labels to find that out too, though mostly she wants to admire the uniqueness of each of the artifacts, her eyes lingering on a worn-looking stone tablet.]

[ladyofluminosity]

[ Lux nods, smiling a bit more. ]

For example, the article to your right was extracted from a ruins on the coast. You'll note the interesting carvings in the petrified wood. We believe that that it may have been part of a marker of some kind, perhaps from an old building of some sort.

Or this piece here--

[ Raine probably won't stop her, but Lux will proceed to go into lengthy details of each item gleefully. ]