modmachine: (Default)
Hᴇx - ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴅ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ ([personal profile] modmachine) wrote in [community profile] cityofhex2016-11-16 10:32 pm

WEEK 02

With Halloween past, the weekend of November 5-6 brings the beginnings of holiday trappings, as businesses begin to put up lights and other decorations for Monday. Residential areas, too, begin to pick up on the trend; throughout the whole month there will be a slow but steady increase in front lawn decorations.

Interestingly, though some are close parallels to the Christmas decorations that those from Earth will be familiar with, many aren't quite right. Locals, if asked, talk about something called the Day of Lights as much as they do Christmas or any other holiday; it's easy to find out that the amber-yellow and blue lights common in shops are for this holiday, and that it takes place on the last night of autumn, before the solstice. Snowflakes and candles are the most common motifs.

Changelings seem especially into the Day of Lights, and it is a near-assurance that they will be picking up blue candles for it as the month goes on.

Weather forecast: In a word: dreary. Small showers through Monday and Tuesday grow into full rain throughout Wednesday, continuing on Thursday and as a light misting on Friday. The weekend looks clear of rain, but is still chilly and cloudy. There is still no frost, though it's expected by the end of the month; gardeners are moving potted plants inside and putting cover over the more fragile ones for winter.

Moon phase: The moon reaches a first quarter on Monday the seventh, and continues to grow throughout the week.

Employment Opportunity: Those who are of adult age in the city can get work collecting holiday donations for charity, or, for those more inclined to physical labor, a park in the residential district is putting up lights for a holiday attraction. Additionally, plenty of shops are hiring for the upcoming retail season.

Free lunch?: Though there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to Thanksgiving in Hex, food banks are brimming with holiday spirit right now, and in addition to their usual offerings, many are handing out warm lunches to those in need, usually soup or hot sandwiches, sometimes pizza. While those at any given food bank will side-eye someone who tries to come in more than once, it's easily possible to make a circuit of them and get quite a bit of food, especially if you're familiar with the bus system.

Photo finish: Hajime gets a mild of small publicity for his candid photos of celebrations throughout the city, and on Friday will get a call about a potential contract for photos of decorations throughout December. He also gets sent an email about a campus-sponsored holiday fashion show at the end of the month - something Ryoji will hear about mostly via various rumours among the students.

Fueling the Art: At a coffee shop on the fringes of the campus, an Art Student can be found most every morning, sipping a latte and working on sketches. The Coffeeshop Manager, a man in his late thirties with a pair of small sunglasses perched on his cheeks in spite of the grey weather, occasionally offers her tips. Those with a keen eye will notice that walls made of gears are a common motif in the art that hangs around the shop.

The Ides of Fall: Out on the Island The Summer Queen is called before her Autumn peer and taken to task for her unauthorized gathering. She leaves his court fuming quietly to herself, and later in the week Makoto will receive a message - "Watch the falling leaves, but don't go chasing them." Several others of the Summer Court get the same message.

Sweet Loot: On the morning of the tenth, Kitty will find a locket and a note in with her stashed clothes. The locket is full of orange glitter that seems to stick to the inside, and the outside is worked with leaves. The note simply says TREAT in letters that are all distinctly different. When Kitty uses a finger to apply the glitter to something, it leaves glowing orange marks that only she can see, unless someone else sees her apply them or she intentionally shows them to someone.

Richter and Corwin, meanwhile, will each find a piece of candy hanging from their doorknobs the same morning, tied on with a ribbon that trails glitter on any surface it touches. The candy is wrapped in clear plastic, and has a strange flavor neither will be able to place.

Right on Schedule: The trains in Hex are going nowhere fast, but they do seem to have changed routes, frequently passing alongside an area of the wall that they used to avoid. New Arrivals, as well as Hajime and anyone else who can see Infrastructure, will note strangely runed plates of metal under this section of track - plates which seem to be directly attached to the Wall via cables. Every time a train passes over them, the plates spark with bright green, though nothing about the train itself seems to change.

Through the Grapevine: Though Network Zero is usually considered a Hunter organization, plenty of supernaturals also make use of it to keep their eyes out for threats - and their eyes on each other. One or two of Hajime's photos of the changeling gathering is making the rounds, with the odd horned skulls in the bonfire circled in Photoshop, but perhaps more relevantly, there's a couple photos of Malin from a distance that have fallen into the grasp of a current meme ("Is this bat ok?") and three photos of men doing construction work on a building in the Sixth that seems innocuous until it's pointed out that most of the men are completely identical.
crazycatvampire: (calm)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-23 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
"No, I'm afraid not. Maybe someday, but it's probably more likely I'll get some cats or a dog or maybe a bird." Once he has a soul to make him remotely palatable to such things, anyway. He isn't even sure his body has the ability to make children, and whether having a soul will change that if it doesn't.
runs: (cat: ttly cat behaviour)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-23 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)


"Cats are a lot better than dogs."

She almost continues that he should get a cat, not a dog, but. Even if it's a someday thing, unless he manages to become unpossessed, she really wouldn't want to inflict his constant company on any other cat. Or dog or bird, really.
crazycatvampire: (curious)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-23 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
While he knows he needs to find Malin, Corwin is still curious-- and besides, maybe the owl knows something! So he perks up and trots after her, coming to a stop under her perch. "Is something here, friend owl?" he asks hopefully.
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-23 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
She takes off again, hooting at him and moving down the street until she reaches the next corner. She sits down on one of the cables hanging between the skyscrapers this time. Whatever they are, they are useful observation points and, right now, make for a good seat to wait on.

She can do that all the distance to his house, if he follows her.
Edited 2016-11-23 21:58 (UTC)
chalicejoker: (Standard Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-23 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
She's in luck--there's an open window in the kitchen. That also happens to be where they're going. The conversation is a rather dull one--the kid's asking Hajime how the photography's going before chattering on and on about his guitar lessons and hey, he can play the first bit of "Wonderwall" now, does Hajime want to take a listen...
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-23 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
...All of this starts to feel more and more pointless. Should she risk trying to get into the house? Perhaps if they leave the kitchen window open after they left - but then what? Going by outer appearances, there very well might be nothing interesting inside the guy's room, either.

Now it would be practical if she knew if the house has a pet. She swings around a bit and finds a tree from which she can peer inside some of the windows, hoping to spot an animal there.
chalicejoker: (Normal Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-23 11:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Hajime frowns and shakes his head. "No. But things like that wouldn't have been my department." There's a long pause. "Unless it makes things explode."
runs: (oh *shit*)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-23 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
She throws a quick, worried glance at the dove under her arm.

"I don't think it can do that."
chalicejoker: (Casual)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-24 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Through one of the windows, she'll see what looks like a fairly normal teenage boy's room--posters all over the walls, an acoustic guitar laying on the bed--and there are pets in there. They're just a pair of hamsters, but they're there.

But there's also another room where all of the windows have been papered over with black paper. It's impossible to see what's in there.
chalicejoker: (Contemplative)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-24 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
"If it could," Hajime says thoughtfully, "it probably would have done so already." He's guessing she's played with it more than just beautifying doves.
runs: (I got this)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-24 09:41 am (UTC)(link)
"...Good."

She finally lets the dove go, though not without rubbing the remaining glitter on its neck. The dove flies away and lands some distance away, ruffling its feathers indignantly.

"Look, it isn't hurt at all."
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-24 09:44 am (UTC)(link)
Well, the hamsters are in a cage and behind a closed window. To do anything with them she'd have to break into the house first, which would defy the point.

...And she wants to know more now, because the black paper makes her curious. Sure, it could just be a photo lab, but would you really turn your bedroom into a photo lab?

Unless there's more bedrooms. She flies around the house to count.
chalicejoker: (Creeper)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-24 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"...just sparkly." At least it's loose, it has that much going for it.
chalicejoker: (Contemplative)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-24 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
He'd really turn his bedroom into a photo lab. He's that much of a dork about his human job...and secretive enough that the idea of blacked-out windows is appealing.

There is one more bedroom, the master bedroom, that looks like it's kept by someone who is very much into keeping everything neat and tidy and just so...but a window has been left open.
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-24 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
She is aware of just how terrible judgement this is, but she still takes the chance and flies in, using the weight of her body and her wings to open doors inside and trying to find the correct room - all the time keeping an ear out for voices from downstairs.
runs: (I got this)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-24 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes."

That's excellent. More doves should be sparkly.

"...And you can see the sparkle." Now the question is why. Is it because he's like the gears?
chalicejoker: (Standard Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-24 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Apparently." Hajime shrugs. There's a lot in this world he can't explain.
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-24 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm....

She opens the locket and draws a small circle on the ground with the glitter.

"Can you see it now?"
chalicejoker: (Creeper)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-24 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
There are still voices downstairs, but it's the same boring conversation from before. There's also the sound of a fridge door opening and closing--they may be in the kitchen a while.

When she gets out of that bedroom, she'll be out in a hallway. One door is open and clearly leads into the teenage boy's room. Another looks like a closet. Still another is cracked open just far enough that it's clearly a bathroom...and then there is one door that is completely closed.
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-24 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
...Perhaps she can press the handle down by sitting on it, and push with her wings to open it. She flies over and tries. There has to be a way of doing it in this body, as she doesn't want to risk turning into her regular body in here. Being in here as an owl is risky enough.
dangerouslyinlove: (Ryoji [Smile])

[personal profile] dangerouslyinlove 2016-11-24 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
It's ok. Ryoji is very outgoing. He'll make this work.

"Oh, ok. They probably need all the help they can get this time of year. I bet they're grateful to have you." Even if they are paying him.
dangerouslyinlove: (Ryoji [Happiness])

[personal profile] dangerouslyinlove 2016-11-24 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's just a math book," Ryoji says, picking it up to show him, "For one of my classes. I have exams coming up..." He's not sure how he's going to do in any of his classes, considering how much time he spends not studying, but.
chalicejoker: (Skeptical)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-25 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Hajime looks at it, and he nods. "...should I not be able to?"
runs: (I grew up down here)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-25 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nobody else was able to see things that I drew with it."

At least not that she could tell. What did she do different this time? It's not the material, after all.
chalicejoker: (Pensive)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-26 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
The door cracks open just a bit, but one of the hinges squeaks horribly.

The noise from downstairs has not changed.

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