you and me in the moonlight

[crosslaced]

Who: You!
What: A year end party MINGLELOG to help everyone recover from the Shit we’ve been through.
When: Forwarddated to Nov 24
Where: Enso E4, close to the ST Temple
Warnings: Mark as necessary, but none expected.

As the end of November draws near…… it’s time for that player plot the mods hinted at in their latest announcement.

Laurent’s Witch Labyrinth! -no, actually, it’s just a party.

[preparation]

All day on the 24th people are hard at work setting up on the golden beaches of Enso. The Storyteller’s Temple can be seen from the site and vice versa; it’s just a short walk away. There’s quite a bit to be done, so every extra pair of hands are welcome!

[the party]

As evening falls, a series of torches light up the party site for the lost; most prominent are the three large campfires spaced out across the beach, offering a variety of gathering spots for those who don’t like the loud partying going on at the other one.

There’s more than enough food to go around. An entire Cariborn is being dug up from the sandy soil way up the beach, having been roasted in the ground. There’s a wide variety spread out on tables… of handwaved origin… maybe they’re the ones left around from 4/20?? It’s probably fine. Herb- baked vegetables, fresh fruits, meat of various types, pizza!! and yes, Muffet’s Magic Blackberry Alcohol abound.

We’ve also got party favors. Amongst them, it seems like..... owo are these sparklers?

Come hang out! It’s a well-deserved break.

[activities]

The children (and adults so-inclined) have some cute party games to have fun with. There’s a simple little ringtoss area set up, with rings that aren’t even proper circles (listen, Laurent tried) and wooden stakes in the ground to be ringed.

Across the wide stretch of sand there's a lot that can be done- want to build some sandcastles? Pick some shells? Fight some crabs? The beach is dotted with doodles in the sand, inviting you to join in.

The biggest attraction is perhaps the petting zoo- well, it’s a cluster of animals just hanging out, but you get the idea. Located far up on the beach and away from the danger of the waves, the petting zoo has three whole Chocobos, two whole Tigerlilies (one of which is clearly guarding the Chocobos), and one whole horse. Sometimes two horses, but the grey wandering one is wearing a plaque that says “I BITE. PET ME CAREFULLY.”

[storyteller?]

Yes, ST-chan is invited! I’m leaving it to them to top-level or tag out at their leisure. Keep an eye out for the bunny god, they’re Coming.

Comments

campfire

[catpiper]

[For once, she's not here to be a complete menace. The pizza is the big hit and she can see why. It's gooey, warm, and it's fun to play with the cheese that strings around her fingers when she takes a big bite.

The chocobo didn't see the appeal of it, which is fine. That's whatever. She'll find something that giant bird wants to eat and while the temptation to hide it in her pocket is strong, Tim's almost done with his slice-he might like another one. He's an adult and they need more food anyway. Not to mention she isn't sure how long that treat will last with everyone going for it.]

Is your stomach growling? Do you want this one?

[postictal]

[It's hard to explain why one has an emotional reaction to pizza, of all things, when flowers growing out of your insides barely merits so much as a fucking blink. It's hard to explain - and it's kind of a relief when he doesn't have to. Ren doesn't require explanations for most things, or at least not ones that make sense.]

You have any already?

[catpiper]

[You know where that other hand goes, Tim? Right to her pocket, where she digs around until she finds the piece of crust she had stuffed in there. That's probably all the answer he needs.]

Yes, it tasted very good. I liked the 'cheese' and the sauce and the bread.

[Speaking of which, she's gonna finish off this bit of bread, but not before holding the actual slice of pizza out to him. Take it!! It's his now!!]

[postictal]

[That's the first time he's seen someone, uh...actually go ahead and pocket the crust, but it's Ren, so he's not exactly surprised.]

One was enough. But, uh - thanks. [That's not, strictly speaking, true. It's just that he'd rather not hog the pizza when so many other people might not've had any, ever.]

[catpiper]

[This can only end one of two ways-he either takes it or it gets shoved into the depths of her pocket, where the cheese will mix with the fruit slices and create some pocket fondue. Don't be like the chocobo, Tim.]

Okay, you can eat it later. I'll put it in your bag.

[Wherever that is or if he doesn't have one with him, maybe she can throw it Chara to save for him. They might be around.]

[postictal]

That's...not a good place to save pizza, kid.

[He means that completely seriously. Please don't put pizza in a bag?]

You gotta put it on a plate, or...store it somewhere it won't get squished.

[catpiper]

[His tupperware secrets don't matter when he's going to end up with the pizza anyway. See? This is why you just take it.]

It's okay. It'll still taste good if you keep the dirt and sand and mold off of it.

[Being squished! Doesn't matter! And she holds it out to him again-save this poor slice from its damnation. Figure out a way to store it because it's not gonna go in her lunchbox if she keeps it.]

You can put it wherever you want.

[postictal]

It's really not. Mold and dirt can make you...you know, sick. If you eat it.

[Does she know that? It's important to him that she knows that. Food poisoning is no fucking joke, and while it can't be avoided in some cases, this is a circumstance in which it absolutely can.]

Like, really sick.

[catpiper]

[Thankfully, she does understand. That's why keeping it off is important, unless food is limited and you have to cut off the gross pieces for survival. Kravitz already gave her a lesson on 'do not eat sand and dirt' and she's been sure to brush her food off ever since. No worries there.]

I know. Only the ants don't get sick from that kind of thing, but I know people can't eat that.

[postictal]

So you understand why you probably shouldn't keep food in your pockets unless you...wrap it up first?

[He didn't plan on this turning into a thing that needed saying or doing, but you know what, here they are.]

[catpiper]

I know. It's okay.

[This whole discussion could've been avoided had he just taken the pizza!! Either way, she looks down to whatever grubby poncho pocket she's been filling up, eyeing the bulky mess. She understands sure. Taako even gave her a lunchbox for that express purpose-a box she uses for treasure and not food. It's wrapped in the gentle embrace of her pocket fabric until she gets home to stow it away. That's fine.]

I'll 'wrap this up' for you. Then you can take it home.

[postictal]

[There's...no switching her off from it. Tim suppresses a sigh, rubbing at the lower half of his face, and shrugs. Maybe he could take it back to the kids. They probably haven't had pizza in a wild.]

...all right, fine. We'll wrap it up for later.

[catpiper]

[The big smile on her face makes it all too obvious she feels victorious over this. Nice. One battle won and his prize is she won't cover it in dirt. Amazing.]

Stay there, stay there! I'll come back.

[She's gotta wrap it up, since people are so picky about that. Who knows what she'll use. That'll be a problem for Tim and not her though. Don't Move.]

[postictal]

[He's really not sure what she intends to do - what she qualifies as wrapping it up to be, but...he's certainly not going anywhere, so he simply nods, slightly bemused.]

Sure. I'll stay, uh, right here.

[catpiper]

[What up, she's back and there's a purple party hat she's holding like cone in her horrible little fingers. The crust of the pizza is poking over the edge and she sorta smushed it so it would fit, but it's Wrapped. In a way. Spiritually.

Whatever, here. She looks proud as she hands it over to him.]

Now it's wrapped up. You can carry it with you for a long time.

[postictal]

[Well, that's...one way to wrap up a pizza. Tim accepts it gingerly and just...he's gonna hold onto it until he can find a better way to keep it, uh, contained.]

Uh, thanks. I'll just...keep it right here, I guess.

[catpiper]

[Good! The pizza's no longer her problem and she's hopeful he'll take a couple bites of it tonight. He's bound to get hungry later. It'll be worth it. Who doesn't like pizza cones? Fools, that's who.

Content with this ending, she plops down beside him and taps her feet against the ground.]

Did you see the horses? And the big bird?

[postictal]

Saw 'em, yeah.

[He didn't really go near them, though. His experience with horses is kind of limited, but he's not really sure he wants to risk horse bites.]

You pet any of 'em?

[catpiper]

I pet the bird and the nice horse that doesn't bite.

[Thankfully, she could read the simple sign on the other horse. She kept her distance and fed it by rolling apples across the ground. Maybe one day she'll earn its trust and not have to worry about it nipping at her hand. Weh.]

Do you want to go pet them too? Will that make you smile?

[postictal]

It's okay, kid. I already did.

[That's a tiny lie, but who's going to stop him? He is a liar. It's what he's best at.]

You didn't put your own cat in the petting zoo?

[catpiper]

[Nice, Tim. That's the spirit. Pet all those dang horses and chickens and-

She never thought about plopping her cats in there, namely because she's not the boss of them. Kitties are their own masters and if they wanna be in a zoo, she's sure they'll find their way here, but she has a feeling the loud, unfamiliar noises will keep them at bay.]

I don't know if ESP and Egg like this kind of thing.

[postictal]

Egg?

[He, uh...must have missed something. Who the heck is Egg. He wasn't actually aware she had more than one cat?]

[catpiper]

Egg.

[She repeats the name because isn't that self-explanatory?? Probably not. Boy, she's got some exciting news then. Let her regale him with a tale, accompanied with a terrible finger doodle in the sand. That sure is A Cat she's drawing. A big, fluffy one.]

They're a special cat that came out of a treasure called a wand and their heart said 'My name is Egg.' So that's what we call them.

[That is most definitely not what their heart said, but it's sure their magical cat name now.]

[postictal]

[He parses maybe a third of that, and concludes that the only solid takeaway is that Ren now has two cats, for heretofore unknown reasons.]

A wand, huh?

[catpiper]

Yes, it looks like a stick, but Uncle Taako called it a wand.

[But really, it's just like a super cool branch. ]

You can't play baseball with it either. It's very special.