(october catch-all) IT'S TIME TO GET FUCKIN' DAMP

[vestigemods]

OCTOBER CATCH-ALL

► YOU CAN BE REGULAR DAMP

As Autumn sets in, the containment zone begins to settle into all of the trappings of autumn. Chilly weather, bundled clothing and hot drinks, the turning and falling of leaves... It really just goes to show that life goes on in a place like this just as it does anywhere else.

For those unfamiliar with the seasons on a cultural level, the newfound offerings that Foodland and the gas station have to offer might be a little surprising. After no seasonal trappings to accompany summer, we now see an abundance of plastic gourds and multi-colored corn, of browns and oranges and leaf-themed decor - and as the month goes on, an influx of spooky decor in blacks and purples and... still oranges, orange is pretty universal as far as fall is concerned. Many of the buildings around town also sport seasonal decor, subtle but present. A pumpkin here, a glittery sign with a fall-themed pun there.

The weather, depending on perspective, has taken quite a turn for either the better or the worse. All of the rain the skies withheld throughout the summer seem to be coming down all at once, sometimes a sprinkle and sometimes a downpour that soaks you to the bone if you dare venture out for groceries. But the rains are just short of lukewarm, not yet carrying any proper chill, and the lush greenery of the landscape seems to be thriving in it. Perhaps it isn't all bad after all?

► OR YOU CAN BE EXTRA SPICY BONUS DAMP

On the 18th of October, however, the weather starts to get a little bit... dodgy. Which is to say: You should probably be ready to dodge, as you find that the leaves blown about on the savage winds no longer just flop wetly against your clothes or your cheek. It will likely come as quite a surprise the first time one stings - you might even mistake it for an unusually frigid drop of water splattering across your skin, at least until your fingertips come away reddened just slightly with blood. But it's certainly not the end of the world, nowhere near as bad as rotting away or being haunted by some malevolent ghost. You can just bundle up! It's not as if they can slice through clothes.

But oh, it's not quite done just yet.

On the 24th, the cutting winds come to a head in a thunderstorm. Dark, ominous clouds greet you as you wake on this morning, perhaps even confusing your sense of time as a far dimmer light than expected shines in through your window. But the storm sets in like an oncoming wave, first hitting the town and then sweeping west. Those with an eastern view over the nearby trees will see it coming, a foreboding curtain of rain encroaching all to quickly. Then comes the thunder, rumbling far too close to feel entirely safe. Which is true. It isn't safe. Because after each clash of thunder comes the immediate flash of lightning... Lightning which skips right past high-reaching trees to seek out the nearest living being it can find. No - not any being. Just those who've been trapped here. Those whose suffering brings rest to the elder gods below.

Perhaps it's best to stay indoors.

► MOD NOTES

• This is the October Catch-All Log, for any action top-levels throughout the month which don't fit in a designated event log. Large gatherings (parties, meetings, etc) are still encouraged to post their own logs for organizational purposes!
  
• All top-levels for the Winds of Change mini-event also go here, since it won't be getting a log of its own.
  
• Refer to the bottom half of the October Bulletin for any October-specific info to potentially include in your prompts! The above blurb is honestly just mood-setting flavortext.
  
• Because this is a catch-all for everywhere + all month, try to remember to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location of each prompt (whether in the subject or in the prompt title within the comment). Also try to indicate any event prompts for the Winds of Change mini-event aside from just listing their dates, so they can be easy to spot!
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

I-- [ He hurriedly nods. ] Yes, I will always try to protect people. To save them.

[ It's all he's ever wanted to do, even before he kind-of-sort-of-not-really died. Back then, he was too weak to really do much except help smuggle prisoners out of occupied areas by drugging their captors and making them fall asleep. He couldn't fight the way he can now.

But... How does he explain this? ]

When the resentful energy within me is being controlled through demonic cultivation, it's like... I can do more, be better. Be stronger.

[ Strong enough to do things like punch his fist through a man's chest. Definitely a moment that Wen Ning regrets. But an action with consequences he's had to carry for over fifteen years. ]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé isn't inclined to doubt him, no matter how rushed the response might be. The hint of tension in her brow hasn't gone away, yet she doesn't look suspicious of him, even when he explains further. After a beat, she concludes grimly, ]

At the cost of your free will...?

[ It's pretty clear she doesn't like the idea exactly, but she doesn't raise a fuss about it. In fact, her eyes fall instead, expression a bit hard to read - although perhaps her thoughts become more obvious when, after a few moments, she lifts the apple in her hand. ]

Well... whoever, or whatever you are - I should thank you.

[ Which is probably why she took such care to clean off this one particular fruit. She holds it out to him now at arm's length to illustrate her meaning, and this time she's the one who musters a wan smile for the sake of his worries. A touch bashfully, ]

If you like food, that is.

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

[ He's... surprised, by her concern. No one's really been all that concerned about his free will, ever since his sister died so many years ago. Not until Wei Wuxian came back from the dead and freed him from Xue Yang's mind control.

It's a difficult thing to describe, the matter of Wen Ning's free will. Certainly, the years he spent as a puppet for the Jin Sect, he lost all control of his free will and was effectively a prisoner within his own mind. But the time he spent with Wei Wuxian... He willingly chose to fight beside him, to protect him, to let his demonic cultivation flow through him and control him. That was always something he felt like he wanted to do. ]

It's really alright. [ He isn't sure how much his promise will mean to someone who doesn't know the whole story of why Wen Ning is the way he is, but... Hopefully it will reassure her somewhat. ]

And, I do. Thank you.

[ He steps forward slowly, still trying to appear nonthreatening, and takes the apple, offering her a small bow of thanks. ]

This is very kind of you.

[lethechained]

[ There is one last contemplative glance she gives him in the wake of his reassurance, but presently she nods, giving a soft hum. If it's really his choice as he seems to be claiming, then-- ]

I understand.

[ She doesn't know the whole story after all, and she's quite aware of that fact, so the best she can do is take his word for it. His words of thanks - or perhaps merely the fact that he's able to use the gift at all and she hasn't offended him with it - bring a faint upturn back to her mouth.

She's seen enough people bow by now to incline her own head slightly at his gesture, her hand gently relinquishing its hold on the apple as he takes it. Although there's nothing hurried about the motion when she draws her arm back in, she does move her newly freed hand close to herself again, using it to steady the bag in her grasp. She seems to be almost as inclined as he is to make herself small despite not needing to try, and shakes her head narrowly at the compliment. ]

I'm only repaying your kindness. You're the one who decided to look after me first.

[ Regardless of whether or not his method was the most effective one, she can appreciate the motivation. Without quite thinking about it, she naturally takes a half-step back once the gift has been handed over. He's not threatening to her, not any more than the average stranger is - but the 'average stranger' is themselves cause enough for her to be at least subconsciously on edge. Her face is kind even so as she regards him for a hesitant, almost shy beat. Then, ]

We can walk the rest of the way together, if-- that's still what you want to do.

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

[ She truly is kind, to repay him like this. He takes kindness as a given, coming from him. He always tries to be kind to others, unless they do something to deserve otherwise. But he's still not quite used to people being kind to him. In his life, there haven't been many people who were. ]

Th-thank you, yes. I would like that.

[ He tries a smile on for size, and tucks the apple within the sleeve of his robe to bring home and eat later, thinking it would be rude to eat it while he walked with her, just in case she wants to keep talking. He doesn't want to talk with his mouth full. ]

This one's name is Wen Ning, courtesy name Wen Qionglin. Just... So you know who you're walking with.

[lethechained]

[ Something about his reaction is innately recognizable to her - because how could she not see it when she's so unused to being treated well, herself? The way he shrinks, the way he refers to himself, how he responds to consideration... Her heart (the physical one, that is) squeezes in her chest even as she returns his smile with a gentle, almost melancholy upturn of her own mouth. ]

Okay, [ she confirms softly, trying not to let on that she feels a certain retroactive worry as she wonders how this state of being came about for him. The concern is buried well under her warm features as she turns to step the rest of the way back onto the road, prepared to head the direction she'd been going before the apple incident. She won't start off until he looks ready as well, however, and regards him as she comments, ] Maybe we'll both be a little safer this way.

[ The introduction lifts her brows slightly, then higher as a second title gets involved. She gives a soft, 'oh,' but her expression is only curious; she must not recognize his identity like someone from his world might. ]

... I see. In that case - my name is Naminé. [ Since it does seem prudent for one to know who they're traveling alongside, and that goes for both of them. With a tiny shake of her head, ] Although-- that's the only one I have.

[ She pauses a beat, considering whether or not that might somehow be impolite in some world somewhere to not have a second name. (Truthfully, she's lucky she was even given one moniker - other than witch.) The thought doesn't last long, because more importantly; ]

It's very nice to meet you... [ 'Wen Ning' is the name that her mind supplies first, but her keen memory and the word courtesy cause her to hesitate. She doesn't let it trip her up for long, however, and inquires with only mild self-consciousness, ] Would it be more polite for me to call you 'Wen Qionglin'?

[ That'd be her best guess from what he said, at least. ]

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

[ If Wen Ning were someone more important, someone of better status and social education, he might insist on her using his courtesy name. But in all honesty, he doesn't mind what name people use for him. As long as they're talking to him, he feels happy just to be noticed. All of the people who are important to him, and all of the people who are important to them, have all called him Wen Ning or similar. Wen Qionglin is a name he feels too removed from now. A name from another life. ]

Ah... Whichever you prefer is fine, really. I don't mind either way.

[lethechained]

[ The girl gives a hum, proceeding to study him very intently. Her expression is serious as she weighs the options, and clearly she actually means to consider this carefully - although of course it's not as though she's picking a new name for the poor fellow. It just-- wouldn't feel right to decide carelessly, even if it's only a choice between two possibilities. ]

I think the name 'Wen Ning' suits you better.

[ She renders this verdict with a very slight undertone of apology, as if she half-regrets not being able to decide on the more polite option. Apparently seeing the need to clarify, ]

It just seems... [ Naminé struggles briefly to find the right word even though she knows it already - there's only the one that comes to mind, after all, but she hesitates to say it out loud. ] ... More gentle.

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

[ She may have hesitated to say the word, but hearing it brings joy to Wen Ning's face. After all the pain and loss that he's been a part of-- that he's caused-- 'gentle' is exactly the sort of thing he wants to be. ]

Th-thank you, Young Miss Naminé. Wen Ning is what my friends call me.

[ Now it's his turn to hesitate. ]

I... I hope that we can become friends, too.

[lethechained]

[ It doesn't take long for her to realize the description hasn't given offense. Pleasant surprise makes her brighten subtly, shoulders relaxing. Perhaps she's too used to teenaged boys who prefer to seem stronger than they are, whose bravado might suffer some embarrassment under such a word; this fellow seems far more interested in projecting the opposite. She may not know why that is, but it doesn't strike her as being part of any nefarious intent. (If he's really as frightening as he seems to feel he is, what difference would it make what she thought of him? He'd have no better an opportunity to do her harm by deceiving her than he already did before revealing his presence.) ]

Of course, [ she finds herself saying in response to his gratitude while she still hasn't fully processed it, the reaction automatic as some part of her instinctively tries to soothe whatever might have caused him to stutter. Only - something he says next seems to give her pause, mouth stopped around an, 'oh?' as soon as friends are mentioned.

She spends the duration of his hesitation wondering whether or not she's overstepped, for she's reluctant to presume that she's so welcome as that - but no sooner has she started fretting than he renders the entire thought obsolete. The girl sucks in a little breath, then lets it out quietly as she admonishes herself; better not to make a big deal about it. Just because she's not used to having friends doesn't mean other people give such things the same weight she does. ]

That would be-- um, that is... [ Bashful, she has a mercifully brief argument with herself about the phrasing, then, along with a nod, ] ... I'd like that.

[ Her fingers curl slightly as she tucks her chin; if her arms were free, her hands would probably be clasping each other out of quietly nervous habit. ]

Since we're all going to be here together for a while, it only makes sense for us to get along...!