(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

Lan Jingyi | MDZS

[gusumouthcannon]

Ghost-free Window shopping - Early October - OTA

[After spending September basically hiding in his room from all of the ghosts (ghosts!), Jingyi is finally ready to prove that he is both brave and dashing. Unfortunately, he chooses to do so when it is absolutely pouring. Even so! He is window shopping in town--peering in the little shops, going into them to poke around all the miscellaneous nonsense in its various states of decay, and generally exploring now that it's more or less safe. He is paying attention to his surroundings, though, so if he sees someone, he will definitely say hello!]

Soggy Bowling with Sizhui - Early October - Closed to Sizhui

Are you sure it's safe?

[Jingyi is...unconvinced. And a little jumpy. It has not been very long since, well, since last month and everything that had been haunting the town. But Sizhui had mentioned bowling and, well, Jingyi was game for it. It was just.]

Do you promise?

Wen Ning | ota

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

» early october: a helpful boy/a creeper in the woods

[ Wen Ning had woken up one morning with a surprise: a small pendant nestled in his open palm. He didn't know where it came from, or who it belonged to, but something about it-- the glass it was made from, the way he felt when he looked at it-- reminded him so much of his long lost sister. He wears the pendant every day from then on, placing it securely underneath his clothes and never taking it off, not even to bathe.

With the increased space of their containment box comes the possibility of increased dangers. Wen Ning takes to some old habits as a result. Namely, following people from a distance as they walk down the roads and paths that criss cross the containment zone. He stays in the trees and bushes alongside the road, out of sight unless he steps on a particularly loud branch. He just wants to make sure no one is caught unawares and attacked. If any monsters or resentful creatures make themselves known, then he'll spring into action, leaping in to fight them off.

Maybe it's a little creepy, to follow people without making your presence known? But Wen Ning means well, he promises. And every time he sees someone safely to their destination, he gets a warm feeling from the pendant around his neck, like his sister is looking down on him somewhere, telling him what a good, helpful boy he is. ]

» mid october: a wet boy, taking shelter in the Foodland

Wen Ning is soaked. It's not that he doesn't know what an umbrella is-- they do at least have those where he comes from-- but he can't figure out how the modern umbrellas in the gas station work. He presses the button to get them open, but then he can't get them closed again! And the metal keeps bending out of shape every time he tries. Better to just forgo an umbrella altogether.

As the month progresses, and the rains get worse and worse, he begins to regret leaving the metal umbrella behind. Caught in one downpour, he dashes quickly into the Foodland to get out of the rain, already soaked to the bone. Thankfully there are racks of clothes there so he can trade out his wet ones for some nice dry ones instead. The variety of clothing strikes him as rather odd, but who is he to judge modern fashion he knows nothing about? He finds an outfit in a color that suits his tastes and gets changed quickly in an empty aisle, leaving only his long underclothes on underneath. The short sleeves still aren't quite warm enough for him, so he throws on a shearling lined jacket for good measure.

He's still going to wait out the worst of the storm in here before he heads back to the lake, so feel free to find him sitting on the linoleum floor by the entrance, staring out the large glass doors at the darkened sky.

[ ooc: will match prose or brackets! hmu @ Chris_#9103 if you want to plot something else. ]

Naminé | OTA

[lethechained]

A. || LAKE SHORE | OCTOBER 18TH

[ The small figure curled up in the sand seems to be very concentrated on something. Her back is to the treeline, body angled halfway toward the water; like this, it might be hard for a passerby to see exactly what she's up to, but - whatever it is, it seems to involve holding her hands very close to her face. Every now and again there's a flicker of odd light that emanates from those cupped palms, a faint glow that peeks just over her shoulder. Every time it seems to end up punctuated with disappointment, if the faint murmur or sigh that follows is any indication. As engrossed as she is in whatever task she's set her mind to, it probably wouldn't be very hard to sneak closer.

Except when the wind kicks up, that is. That seems to shift her attention immediately, her head turning to peer warily over her shoulder toward the leafy ground beyond the shore. As she does, angry red line scored into her cheek might become considerably more obvious. ]


B. || ANYWHERE | OCTOBER 19TH - 23RD

[ In a place like this, there are a lot of things that could be considered Concerning - the contents of that sketchy candy, for instance. If something looks weird, sounds weird, smells weird or acts weird, it's not outside the realm of possibility that it may, in fact, be a threat. But...

The individual wandering around in what appears to be one very confused Halloween costume is not exactly as intimidating as they could be if they were maybe a little further over five feet tall. It looks a lot like someone started trying to dress up as a student of Hogwarts and then decided at the last moment that they wanted to be Jason instead; the sweater and long pants are normal enough, but did they really need two hooded capes layered together? And the mask, while it provides plenty of protection for one's face, is kind of disconcerting.

But, you know, at least now Naminé can be quite confident that she won't be having any unpleasant run-ins with sharp flying objects again. She might, however, give someone quite a start; she's not exactly the most friendly-looking person at the moment, and it'd probably be worrisome to turn and find her wandering down the same street as oneself.

It really doesn't help that she's pretty quiet. ]


C. || THE CABINS | OCTOBER 24TH

[ The thumping of footsteps on one's porch might be an everyday occurrence, or perhaps it's less commonplace. Either way, they're there all the same - and whoever's making them sounds like they were in a hurry, whether welcome or not. Hardly a few seconds go by before there's an unmistakable burst of lightning right outside, the thunder deafening. If one should happen to investigate by peeking outside thereafter, one will find poor Naminé just next to the door, her body flattened against the wall. She looks rather perturbed, going by the round eyes and shortness of breath. Did she run all the way here?

Well. Nevermind that it's not her cabin; cover is cover. She might make a more concerning sight than usual, however, what with the fact that she's still wearing that weird costume - although by now she's at least thought to push the mask up, so she only sort of looks like an overzealous trick-or-treater. ]

Tuuri Hotakainen || OTA

[skaldish]

[ A.October 18th || Mid-morning || Out and about ]

[ Ok, so the ghost thing was pretty bad. She's decided that she's done with ghosts once and for all in fact. The fact that it's been...Mostly quiet has been a relief. Mostly. People disappearing isn't a great relief. And it's with that semi-relaxed state of mind that she decides to take a walk with Han. For the first fifteen minutes, a good distance from the cabin, it seems to be fine.

Until the wind picks up. ]

Geeze, it's really windy today, isn't it Han? All these lea-Ow! [ The Finn is taken by surprise by an errant leaf hitting her in the forehead. They're...Supposed to flop wetly on you just like they've been doing for most of the month. ]

That hurt! I wonder if it was attached to a twig...[ It takes a minute or two and a concerned noise from Han for her to notice the feeling of something wet on her brow. She touches where she was hit gingerly, pulling her hand back and noticing a bit of blood on her fingers. ] I guess this means our walk is over, huh? [ As she says this the wind picks up stronger and this time a leaf brushes against the hand she used to feel her temple, leaving a sliver of pain and thin red cut on it. ] Ow! It's the leaves?

[ Her dog barks a warning as another leaf streaks by the Finn's face and leaves another streak of red dangerously close to her eye. There's an understanding between dog and master and both start making a run for it back towards home. Tuuri has her arms and hands over her head and face as the leaves swirl dangerously around her and leave little cuts on her hands and any exposed part of her head. She is thankful it doesn't seem to be penetrating her clothes at least, but that doesn't help the current situation. After what seems like an eternity, she thinks, as best as she can see, she's home, and she slumps against the cabin door.

Or at least she thinks its home. Maybe it is? She's still reeling a bit from the fury of the leaves, checking if Han is ok, and isn't quite paying attention. ]

[ B.October 22nd || Afternoon || Foodland ]

[ This time Tuuri's made the journey to the Foodland sans Han out of fear that he'll get attacked by the razor leaves, even if he hadn't shown signs of injury since it first started up. Better to be safe than sorry right? Either way, she's bundled up as much as she can with an errant throw blanket wrapped around her upper body for extra protectionso that only her eyes can be seen, at least until she gets indoors. Once in the Foodland, she unwraps her head, letting the throw hang over her like the largest scarf - Of course because she's so short it makes it look even larger on her - Almost like a poncho. She pulls a flyer out of a coat pocket, all sparkly and festooned up for the upcoming holiday.]

So...I need a..Costume for something? I guess this would be the place to get it, right? [ She shrugs slightly to herself and starts to browse the store. Might as well grab necessities and more clothes while she's here too. ]

[ C.October 24th || Evening || Cabin ]

[ The Finn has wisely decided to stay OUT of the storm and is in the cabin watching out the window, sort of absently watching the storm, bundled in blankets and petting Han. She's open to conversation or if you're an unlucky soul trying to dodge the lightning, you might be able to find refuge since she's not one to leave someone outside to be struck by lightning. She can always apologize to the other cabin occupants later for letting a stranger (or maybe not a stranger) into the house.]

Vivi Ornitier | OTA

[toosmall]

Foodland: Before the 18th

[There's a clatter of cans hitting the floor from the pet food aisle. A short and stout little black mage works on gathering up said cans into a few plastic bags he's found.

He's on a very important mission!]

... nine... ten... eleven... hm. I wonder if this will be enough?

[Stuffing the cans in a bag he stops to read one.]

Tuna and eggs? ... do cats eat eggs?


Town: During Rain Times

[Vivi can be seen pushing an unfortunate looking grocery cart through the town. He's barely taller than said cart, but he manages. The rain doesn't seem to bother him too much, his hat keeps a lot of it out if his face thankfully.

Anyone who happens upon him will see the small mage stopping at any of the shady spooky looking alleyways to open a few cans of dog or cat food and set them out. Kneeling down a little ways off, Vivi will watch and see if any of the many stray animals skitter out to gooble a few mouthfuls, looking uncertainly at him out of the corner of their eyes before dashing away.

Sometimes he empties out little piles of dry food as well. He's trying to get a read on what they like best.]