ioduanlogs | [EVENT] FESTIVAL OF SHADOW NIGHTS

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[EVENT] FESTIVAL OF SHADOW NIGHTS

Characters: Anyone and everyone!
Date: Throughout October
Location: All over the archipelago
Situation: It's Goth Christmas, Khu Ioduan style baby
Warnings/Rating: Spoops and scares

"The Festival of Shadow Nights is technically only a week long event from October 20th (Kicked off with the Masquerade) until October 27th (ending with the Night Parade). However there is a certain enthusiasm for the holiday that is infectious and many people celebrate it throughout the entirety of the month."

STREET FAIRS

Street Fairs will be incredibly common throughout Aifaran. Business owners take advantage of this holiday season to sell their wares. The Erol'a stalls are particularly lavish as it's mating season for a number of crustaceans, and they have on display a huge variety of beautiful shells and delicious seafood. Gourds of all sorts are also in season (and always in particular abundance) so enjoy a large amount of foods and beverages containing squashes and melons. Games, beer and wine tastings, and artisan candies are also major additions to these street fairs.

GOURD FOLK

Daemid

SPIRIT LANTERNS

A tradition of the Festival of Shadow Nights is the making and lighting of spirit lanterns. These are elaborately decorated lanterns can come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials, from paper, to glass to seashells. Their candles have particularly unique properties - the flames burn a multitude of colours depending on the wax used. While the spirit lanterns are largely used for decoration, they have another purpose as well - to invite a brief visit from those marching in the Night Parade. Red lanterns repel the dead, and there is a certain taboo around hanging them outside private residences. The logic goes that since any dead that come in cannot actually harm you, you must have a guilty conscience and not want to be reminded of what you might have done to the unwanted spirit.

THE NIGHT PARADE [OCTOBER 27th]

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A - Spirit Lanterns

For all the good things happening in his life, Devin isn't taking any enjoyment from the festivities (and not just because he doesn't tend to care for festivities in general). There are a lot of ghosts who could come looking for him, and only a tiny fraction wouldn't be interested in revenge. He can't help but thinking of that fraction, however, and the chance to see them again. In Keeliai, his parents and siblings had tormented him, but then-- then the ghosts of some of his only friends had arrived. It had brought sharpness back to his grief, but it also gave Devin a chance to remember what true friendship had been like. Maybe, just maybe, he can bring one of them here by force of will and keep his enemies at bay.

It's wishful thinking, and Devin knows it. There's still no harm in taking a look around and allowing himself a moment to image the possibility. Since he doesn't have much in the way of artistic skills, he's wandering through one of the street fairs and considering the lanterns and candles available.

B - Night Parade

Ultimately, Devin decides it's safer not to invite the danger of someone from his past. He's not strong enough to control who it is. The past few months have been full of enough turmoil without having an angry spirit come into his apartment to leave him a note. It's not worth the risk.

He finds a bar with red lanterns and claims a seat before the sun sets. There are other people here who seem to have the same idea, or else have other reasons to sit and drink for several hours straight. There is no judgement within these walls. "Have to wonder why red candles do a damn thing," Devin mutters, decidedly too sober for the amount of liquor he's consumed.

Edited 2018-10-10 03:27 (UTC)

“H-Hi,” says the blonde teenage girl manning the pop-up shop Devin’s come to stop by, smiling shyly at him. Which might be a little weird for anyone who knows Ilda, because Ilda and shy do not seem to fall under the same category — after all, she’s the reigning queen of unsolicited selfies and corny dance videos.

But, yes, she’s way more subdued than usual, and instead of shoving a missing poster or a bright neon blanket into Devin’s face, she holds up a pretty little lantern for him. “Would you like a lantern? Or some candles?”

Devin has not met Ilda. He has, however, seen her presence on the network since he pays attention even though he rarely responds. She is typically very energetic, and her reserved demeanor here is what catches his attention more than anything else. He does give the offered lantern a glance.

"I was considering it," Devin replies after a moment. He quirks a half-smile at her. "Though not seriously, in all honesty. I should probably get out of the way of your paying customers."

Holy queen mother of Apodeia that's... a very gorgeous smile. The kind of smile that turns teenage girls into gaping, bumbling idiots. Which is promptly what happens to Ilda, because she is a teenage girl.

"No!" she exclaims all of a sudden, then catches herself a moment later. Cue a look of panic and a thoroughly embarrassed smile. "I-I mean, don't go. You don't have to pay! I mean—" She clears her throat, repeatedly, weirdly, and when she speaks again she does so in a... strangely husky voice. (Isn't that what you do when you want to channel your sexiness?) "Why not? Is this lantern not pretty enough for you? Or does the idea of this festival contradict your fine sensibilities?"

(Uh, what.)

...Uh, what is right.

Devin is clearly bemused by Ilda's behavior. And her voice. Definitely her voice. He thinks he knows why she's flustered, and on a different day and in a different reality, he might lean on that. But he has nothing to gain from it, and he's also had very few interactions with teenage girls in the past 50 years.

He does parse that she wants him to stay to talk, even if he doesn't purchase anything. An eyebrow goes up, his expression turning wry. "Closer to the latter. Let's just say inviting ghosts into my apartment would be idiotic." Beat. "Do you need some water? You must have been talking to a lot of people today."

Okay, so apparently Devin can't resist a little teasing.

Some days Ilda is as perceptive as a brick, and today is clearly one of those days, because when Devin teases her about needing water she totally falls for it. "Oh yes please!" she exclaims, her voice back to its usual timbre. "It's been such a long day and there's so many people because this festival's really really fun and exciting and there's lots going on and lots of stuff to do—"

She pauses to breathe, and then, realizing how much she's been rambling, promptly turns sheepish. "If not a lantern, maybe some candy? It's not haunted candy, I swear. Or a mask!"

Perhaps water isn't needed after all, but in order to get some Ilda would have to stop talking long enough to let Devin walk away. At least she sounds more normal now as she rambles.

"I don't have much of a sweet tooth," he declined. Her last suggestion, however... While Devin does not strictly want a mask, he is certain he will need one. The Fool would never pass up an opportunity like the masquerade. "But I may have use for a mask. Something simple, though. I prefer subtlety over extravagance."

Ilda visibly perks up at Devin’s interest in a mask. “Okay! Just a second—“ She crouches to rummage through the boxes she’s got in her stall, hastily looking for masks that meet his specifications. Before he decides to just walk away.

“Here you go!” she exclaims triumphantly as she holds out several masks to him in her cupped hands. Each a different color, including a lovely blue one at the bottom of the heap.

Ilda's haste is probably wise; Devin could easily vanish in an instant if he felt like it, but this time he remains at the stall. He has patience enough right now for her eagerness.

Most of the selections she presents are either too fancy or not a color Devin likes much, but there's one that might work. He carefully pulls the blue one from Ilda's hands in such a way that the rest don't go tumbling to the ground and examines it more closely.

The glitter might be a bit much, but he has no doubt the Fool will easily outshine him. "This might do," Devin allows, turning it this way and that. "I suppose I had better buy it before I can second-guess the choice," the vampire sighs, digging out his rhinn. "I imagine most people are more enthusiastic about these things."

I. Street Fairs

Antarcticite has come to the conclusion that living things are very--busy.

That is not the same thing as having a gratifying vocation--if it were, perhaps this would not baffle them as much as it does--because in fact there seems to be little in the way of usefulness, or meaningfulness, to these street festivities. They find themselves wandering through the street fairs wearing an expression somewhere between curiosity and reproachful disapproval. (Disapproval, and a bit of envy. Having fun comes so easily to living things.)

A well-intentioned Erol'a has foisted a pumpkin-flavoured treat of some kind onto Antarcticite, who of course does not eat it; thus this is how they are seen wandering the streets, looking a bit lost in thought (but lost in a very pretty way).

Conan did not believe in ghosts. He never had. And nothing he had seen in his life had ever convinced him differently. Not even his life here.

The dead were the dead, and that was the end of it. They couldn't come back to visit. Once someone had died, all you could do for them was to see to it that the truth was found, and see their murderers face justice.

Still, when the street festivals start his curiosity drives him out into the streets to explore. He wanders alone through the festival, trying out a few kinds of gourd and fish street food. Eventually he finds himself near a stall selling spirit lanterns and pauses to watch one being constructed.

Edited 2018-10-06 22:47 (UTC)

I: Street Fairs

Sheena's a sucker for street fairs, so it's no surprise that she can be found wandering through the area slowly, checking out the stalls and their wares. She's also experienced at this, so she's making one pass to see, and then a second round to go to the stalls that truly caught her eye.

One can either find her at one of the food stalls enjoying the food without hesitation or at a couple of the stalls selling seashells, trying to choose between a few particularly large ones.

"Hmmm... I wonder which one Ilda would like as a necklace?"

II: Gourd Folk

Suddenly, Lightning Strikes begin appearing in an orderly fashion--heading away from the Fair and looking like they're walking down the street. And in a way, they are.

At first, Sheena had been enchanted by the creatures as they followed her, but once the masks came off--so to speak, she was less than thrilled. There was no way the piskies were going to take up residence in her new place--now that she had finally moved in. So, after dropping her packages off at her place, she had begun herding them out of the area, using her Lightning Cards to guide them and keep them moving.

Suddenly, one tries to dart away towards a bystander--prompting Sheena to shout.

"Watch out! It's a Daemid!"

III: Spirit Lanterns (Before the Daemids)

Of course she's going to buy one. Or two. It's only natural since Sheena does have connections to certain spirits, after all. And that's who she has in mind as she looks through the colors--skipping the Red for Efreet for obvious reasons. But he's the Fire Elemental, so he's still covered.

True, it's not keeping with the main idea of the Lanterns, but to Sheena, it's a way to honor her Spiritual Comrades.

Right now, she's trying to decide between two Lanterns for Gnome--a squat round yellow one with a flower design that burns a white flame, or a squat round yellow one with a diamond that burns a green one. Spotting someone nearby, she calls out to them.

"Excuse me, but could you help me for a moment?"

IV: Night Parade Preparation

Okay, yes, Sheena believes in ghosts. How can she not? She fought a few of them on her world from time to time, plus there had been that strange vision of Corrine back in Keeliai. She hadn't heard from or seen him since, but she's hoping tonight will be different. That somehow he can break through and contact her again--even if it's just pawprints across the page.

And no, Tomoya won't be the one doing it because he's going to be with her all night to make sure.

Anyone--believer and nonbeliever alike--can find her anytime before midnight either buying the writing supplies she needs or heading home with her new purchases, looking somewhat hopeful.

And uneasy.

[ ooc: Her reaction to the message(s) received will be put out on the network. ]

Edited 2018-10-09 22:50 (UTC)

"I think she'll like the one with the pink shell."

Ilda's head pops out of the stall next to the one selling seashells, grinning. She looks as goofy as always, but there's a pinkish tint on her cheeks — clearly, she's pleased that Sheena's bothered to think of her. "Hi, big sis! And thanks, though you really don't have to get me anything!"

Sheena jumps slightly at the voice. She had been focusing on the shells so much that she hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings.

Laughing, she shakes her head. "Ilda! You're right, I don't have to get you something; I want to!" She looks down at the shells. "Pink, huh?" She peers at the displays again and waves a hand over the numerous one in different shades.

"Which one do you like? I kinda like this one." And she'll point to a shell that matches Ilda's blush.

A - STREET FAIRS

Pepper is all kinds of excited for the festivities. Street fairs and block parties are seasonal in New York, too, and since shopping is her favorite sport, this is another perfect opportunity to get out and have some fun. Even if she's not buying a lot, Pepper is definitely accepting samples of food and candy, and collecting information from artisans she might want to buy something from in the future.

And since a certain important someone is back in town, Pepper is in search of the perfect candy. "Do you have anything that's sweet but with a little salt and maybe has some fruit in it?"

B - SPIRIT LANTERNS

Although Pepper is a little uncertain about actually inviting a spirit into the townhouse. She doesn't have anyone who would be unsettling to see, but Bakura might. All the same, the process of making a spirit lantern seems like fun. Aifaran seriously likes its arts and crafts. There is one person she has in mind as she's making the lantern, which is taking shape in sweeps of paper and strands of beads that flash brilliant bronze and blue. "Just show up in the living room this time, please," Pepper says to herself, smiling wistfully.

The dead held no power over her, never had, never would. Within the safety of the barrier, the magic of the Death Plane was weaker, Valdis had nothing to fear from it. The idea of ghosts walking the streets still unnerved her, but there were also opportunities here. So as the streets began to empty, the sensation of souls grew heavier, a sign that the ghosts were coming. Valdis lifted her nose to the sky and released a long, eerie howl, letting the sound echo in the darkness as she called to the dead. Green faded to red as she called out again, starting to move through the city, issuing another welcome to the dead. If she was going to spread rumors of a Death God in pursuit of whatever happened on the Narrakra, there was no better night to start.

The Ghosts were mostly silent, passing through her without any notice, though the sound of a bell lit the air every so often. The spirits weren't as chilling as she expected, though the existence of the red lanterns meant that some might be worthy of caution to those inside. She made sure to linger outside those doors longer than any others, singing her own song to the night air. Few enough Dreamfolk knew what she was for her to enact her plans, hopefully they wouldn't spoil it.

Jacen quietly stepped out into the street that night, a spirit lantern in one hand, papers and a bottle of ink in the other. He’d heard about the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts from the locals, and had been appropriately cautioned against wandering out into the open, but the idea of communing with the dead didn’t really frighten him. So here he was, a willing participant in the parade, holding up the lantern to beckon a ghost or two.

Anakin, he thought, letting himself fall into the Force’s embrace. His brother was in Aifaran, yes, but it wasn’t the brother he’d lost, the Anakin who’d made his last stand on Myrkr. And so Jacen let his senses reach out to the parading dead, through the hollow in his chest with which he used to be able to sense the Vong, searching for a familiar soul.

What he found was something else entirely.

It started as a whisper, and then it was a howl, long and eerie, enough to make hairs stand. But it wasn’t the howls that brought Jacen up short; it was the underlying message, one he could pick up enough of given his unusual affinity with animals. About some... tragedy on a ship? Darkness and death and a... god?

The air suddenly felt so much colder.

The spirits of the dead were not the only ones on the streets tonight, Valdis stopped short at the sensation of the unfamiliar living soul that entered her awareness. Sorrow, desire, confusion, the concerns of one seeking the dead to answer a question. Those feelings were all around, so it was the sudden shift from passive emotions to the sharper sense of wariness that caught her attention. Her lips curled back as she drew the scent over her tongue, picking out each part that made this newcomer who he was.

Valdis lifted her snout and howled again, the deep sound moving across the planes in an eerie and chilling manner. It started on the life plane, but soon fell into silence as it rose on the plane of souls, sending a sharp chill through any who might hear, a sense of dread. Satisfied that her call had set the stage, she dropped her head and rounded the corner, her massive form moving through the ghosts without a care, her red eyes fixed on the only other living being currently on the streets.

Jacen sensed the massive wolf before he even saw it, although when he did and realized that it had singled him out, he felt no fear. Sure, there was a lingering feeling of dread in his system, one he'd picked up from all around him, but as spooky as the wolf's red eyes were, he was hardly fazed.

Still, he was careful in his movements, slowly and deliberately setting down the lantern and his other paraphernalia on the ground. Then he turned to the creature, keeping his swirling emotions at bay as he tried to reach out through the Force in greeting.

Hey there, he thinks, offering a small smile.

The lack of fear left Valdis feeling slightly disappointed, but Dreamfolk had always been a tough audience when it came to fear and manipulation. The locals were far more willing to believe in monsters. She curled her lips back to show her teeth, as if that might make the boy cower when her call on the Soul Plane hadn't. Valdis blinked, halting her approach when his voice sounded in her head. She hadn't reach out to make any connection, hadn't even considered it, yet here he was, speaking to her. That made things a little more complicated.

You are brave to touch the mind of a goddess, Valdis growled, allowing the soft hiss of the Void to slip into her voice, altering it enough to hopefully make her true voice unrecognizable should she meet this person in her human form. Don't you know this is a night for the Dead?

Well, now that took Jacen aback, brown eyes widening at Valdis' response. He was used to picking up impressions of thoughts and feelings — if they could be called feelings — of various animals, but they hardly actually talked back. Unlike this one. And a goddess? Perhaps this wolf was of a sentient race, and a Force-sensitive one, too.

He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but remained standing on the same spot. He wasn't afraid, just surprised, and a little wary. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said, ditching the telepathy; he wanted to befriend the wolf, not antagonize her. "That you're a goddess, I mean. I know it's a night for the dead." He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from cracking some ill-timed joke about how obvious it was, because he wouldn't put it past the wolf-goddess to feed him to the ghosts for his insolence (or something equally sinister).

Valdis grinned wolfishly, her teeth flashing as she felt him hesitate and pull away. She could almost feel the wheels turning in his head as he evaluated her reaction to him and what she might be. The raised hands, a sign of respect and caution, yet there was that friendly edge to him still. In some ways, it reminded her of Wan, but making friends with this boy was counter to her current plans. So she laughed. A harsh and chilling sound, echoed by the hissing of the dark serpent.

Few dare to wander the streets this night, She lifted her chin, taking a few more steps in his direction. So I ask, whom among the dead do you seek?

He continued to stand his ground even as the wolf approached, although her laugh did not fail to make a chill run down his spine. There was something dark, almost ominous to it, and he didn't like it. Probably because it reminded him of what happened that time, back in the bowels of Coruscant, when he'd called upon the dark side of the Force in his rage...

He hesitated at Valdis' question; not because the direction of their conversation made him uncomfortable, but because of the sharp ache that wormed its way into his chest. He glanced away for a moment, averting his gaze to the spirit lantern, before turning back to her. "My brother," he finally answered, his voice becoming as quiet as the parading phantoms — but it was a silence that spoke volumes. "I just want to... apologize."

Valdis blinked. From her conversation with Jacen at the masquerade, his brother was alive, and here. Unless of course the two of them came from different times, just like some she had known had. The large black hound tipped her head, eyes curious.

You mourn one who lives now, she replied, Do you not care to see to the present? Or are you simply going to dwell on the past and future.

Skulduggery, Erskine and Anton had been able to see the present, and perhaps that's all that mattered, even if Anton was now dead.

It was Jacen’s turn to blink. The wolf-goddess knew who he was? Or could she read minds, too? After all, they were communicating telepathically, although he’d decided to stop projecting his thoughts to her to avoid aggravating her.

“I see the present,” he responded slowly, trying to put his thoughts into words. “But I’ve not made peace with the past. I couldn’t save him, I saw him die and I—” He closed his eyes. “I just want to... say I’m sorry.”

He’d thought he’d come to terms with Anakin’s death, put it behind him, back on Yuuzhan’tar. But all it took was one look at the Anakin here and his wounds reopened. He was the big brother, he was supposed to protect him, but Anakin had died so he and the others could live, and it wasn’t fair.

You do not need to make peace with the past to let go of it. She growled, eyes flashing in the darkness as she considered her next move.

Jacen's pain was a dull ache, a lack of forgiveness of himself more than anything else. The pain of a loss that couldn't be replaced, a very human sensation, yet one she could relate to. But she couldn't be friendly, or too kind in this guise.

Enjoy your life while you can, boy she growled, You never know when death will find you.

Something about what she said took him aback, although he wasn't certain if it was her tone, or her actual words. Perhaps it was even the way her eyes flashed in the darkness, reminding him of the many times his mother affixed him with her powerful, rebuking stare.

"But how?" He pursed his lips into a thin line as he thought silently, How do you just let go? How would that be any different from forgetting? I don't want to forget.

At her words about death, though... he had to give her a wry smile. "I'm already dead, ma'am." A part of him had died on Myrkr. In the Embrace of Pain. In the Well of the World Brain. "I just haven't gotten around to lying down yet."

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[EVENT] FESTIVAL OF SHADOW NIGHTS

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