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

[faithfulflame]

No. Just wait. But I wanted to make it clear when I was starting.

[And with no further ado, she tosses the hair into the brazier and closes her eyes in concentration, firelight dancing and shifting into dozens of shapes and colors as she focuses on it.

Slowly, it takes on an image, of Raine lying on the ground, breathing heavily. The last wisps of evolutionary energy are leaking off her...and it's fairly obvious what's happened.]

An evolution is coming, it seems.

[wise_maiden]

[Raine nods, falling silent, not really knowing what more to expect, though lets her gaze follow Rei's lead toward the fire.

And. Well. She doesn't know whether to be disturbed or impressed by the results, hovering somewhere around surprised as she didn't expect the 'fortune' to be something visible or nearly tangible.

A shade frightened, even, at the implication.]

I do see... how fascinating ...

[A word that does not quite sum up all of her thoughts or state of mind.]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei waves a hand through the illusion, the flames swirling around her hand like smoke, and the vision fades. Turning, she casts a serious smile to Raine. Fear was normal, especially given the thoughts.]

I suppose I should congratulate you in advance. Evolution is an exhilarating experience. It's like nothing you've ever gone through, and it can only happen twice, as far as we know. I know it might seem frightful, but it is also a draining experience.

[wise_maiden]

I -- I know what it is. [There were just some things not talked about in Sanctuary. Or that could have just been her own household.] I just wasn't expecting to see something like that. Or that something like that would be happening -- soon. It's not necessarily soon, is it? It's just a fortune. That could happen to just about anyone.

[faithfulflame]

It's a fortune, yes. And I can't tell you when exactly that will happen. [But Rei inclines her head.] But it will happen. My fortunes are never wrong.

[wise_maiden]

You seem very confident about that. But it's your craft, isn't it? It wouldn't lead you astray.

[But even with her inclination toward skepticism, she knew better than to doubt the power of Seers, being from Sanctuary. Really, the nervousness was in something else.]

[faithfulflame]

My fortunes have never once been wrong.

[It's not confidence, it's absolute certainty in her voice.]

You'll evolve. And probably through strife. But you'll make it through fine, merely tired.

[wise_maiden]

Fair enough.

[Raine shifts her gaze away from the flames, shaking her head slightly.] And here I almost wish it would have revealed something a little more fanciful.

[A slight attempt to lighten the mood, this was really not something she wanted to be preoccupied with, though the idea of it would likely haunt her for a while. Irony in that.]

Still it does seem like a fascinating practice. [The... fortune residue reading that is.]

[faithfulflame]

Well...[Rei chuckles lightly to herself.] Evolution is fairly fanciful, if you ask me. Even having done it twice, it's a significant act. And one I still have difficulty believing.

And if you're interested in learning more about it, I can point out a few books on the subject?

[wise_maiden]

... Forewarned is forearmed, I suppose. If there's somewhere in particular to study about it, I would appreciate the insight.

[She absently reaches up to adjust her glasses, making sure her hair was still covering her ears.]

And... twice? That does explain why you've seemed so powerful.

[faithfulflame]

Alright. I'll send you a message on the Warp Band when I've had the chance to compile that list.

[And Rei rolls her shoulder at that.]

I've been actively training weekly for over a year, and I've been through some rather...trying...experiences. I guess it pushed me harder than some.

[wise_maiden]

That makes sense. Honestly, the first few weeks here have been some of the most... well, not like anything I had ever experienced before.

[faithfulflame]

You came at an awkward time, but...that was unforeseeable. And I apologize.

[wise_maiden]

It's fine, you can't really hold yourself responsible for that. If I hadn't gone when I did, there would have been a lot I wouldn't have been aware of, certainly not with firsthand experience anyway.

[As unsettling as the experience was, not to mention how unprepared she was for it, it was also uncomfortable to think of how blinded Sanctuary was to it all as well.]

[faithfulflame]

A fair point. [Rei concedes that much at least.] And you wouldn't have that Sawsbuck friend, either. I'm sure it's life would be different. [Ripples in fate and all that.]

Still, you did end up in danger. And will again. Evolution never comes without some inherent risk, of course. Because it's through strife that we grow.

[wise_maiden]

It's a little funny. Growing up the way I did... danger was one of those things that just seemed imminent, but it was never anything we could do something about. Traveling to Glacier and confronting it in that way was so ... different.

[faithfulflame]

I can only imagine. Union was pretty peaceful up until we ran into Caldera, honestly. It's since then that the danger really hit home for me, too.

[wise_maiden]

That was about... a year and a half ago. It took longer before the rumors of Union started to trickle in toward us and it sounded so unbelievable at the time. You must have experienced a lot.

[Even though it's a little difficult at the moment to reconcile Rei with what she witnessed of the other woman in battle and that willingness to initiate the combat.]

[faithfulflame]

You know, compared to some? No. But if I really think about it? Yes, I suppose I have. Darkrai's nightmare world, fighting against one of those poor Enhanced, being sent into the past, Diancie's caverns of trials...the battle of Sanctuary.

My evolutions are really the least of my trials, in all honesty. Despite the side effects.

[wise_maiden]

... I'm sorry, what?

[Some of those things she hadn't heard spoken of in detail just yet, as odd as it was to hear Sanctuary's battle end up on the tail end of that list. She knew the gods had given trials, of course, but... being sent into the past?]

I ... well, I suppose it would depend on the context of the experiences over time. Everyone is unique after all.

[faithfulflame]

What, what? I'm sorry, I'm rambling a little bit. It happens sometimes, around Soulfasting in particular. With the way the air is charged and all.

[She waves a hand.]

A lot of that is probably stuff you've heard only rumors about. Mostly trials by the gods, though.

[wise_maiden]

No, don't apologize, I just... hadn't heard about any of those experiences in detail before. [Which is exactly the sort of information she had been looking for, really.]

I have been curious, though it also seems like an oddly personal thing to ask. Especially of strangers.

[faithfulflame]

Well, some of them are more detailed in the newspapers. Darkrai in particular.

But if you have some questions, I don't mind talking a little. I have some more time to spare before dusk, though after that I'm going to end up being quite busy.

[wise_maiden]

Are they? I haven't had a chance to catch up on all of them yet. Even knowing dates would help narrow down that search...or anything more specific you're willing to discuss about those incidents. Although... we can always discuss them another time, if you think it'll take a while.

[faithfulflame]

It's no trouble. Darkrai and the Dreamworld were well documented. It was...last year, October. The Enhanced were also well documented publicly, and that was January and February of this year.

The past and Sanctuary were less so, but I can provide an overview of what I saw, more or less. The...cave of trials though, that less so. The short of it was Diancie showing us our greatest fear, and that's deeply personal for all involved. Imagine that, though. It was a test.