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.
transient_specter: (super suspicious of you now)

[personal profile] transient_specter 2016-11-30 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
"I guess? A job's a job." He'd have even taken an illegal one at this point. He can't mooch off the Freehold's resources for long without pitching in himself.
chalicejoker: (Contemplative)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-30 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
"They discuss everything, true--it's just that they're wrong about a great many things." Hajime nods. "Misinformation can serve a purpose, true, but with others? They're only endangering themselves through ignorance."
chalicejoker: (Suspicious)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-30 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
Hajime's getting closer now, but Tobias is still going to be able to keep an eye on him...

...and will see him look up there in Tobias's direction. He's not even hiding it now. Weirdo photographer's coming for you, kid.
notachickenhawk: (boy: casual)

[personal profile] notachickenhawk 2016-11-30 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, okay. Time to stop hiding, then. He stands up and walks over to the side of the roof, sitting down again and letting his legs dangle over the edge.

"Hey."
chalicejoker: (Normal Expression)

[personal profile] chalicejoker 2016-11-30 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
Hajime is not a fan of this guy. Walking into a shot once or twice, he can deal with. But this many times? The guy's made Hajime's list of annoying people. (Not that it is very hard to get onto this list.)

When the man steps onto the tracks, Hajime takes his opportunity to strike. There's a perfectly valid human conversational response to this. He will use it as he walks over to where the man is standing. "You shouldn't stand on the tracks. It's dangerous."
crazycatvampire: (grin)

sorry for the late! holiday + weekend tripped me up :<

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-30 05:14 am (UTC)(link)
"They are kind of my favorite," Corwin admits with a little grin. "Cats, I mean. Dogs are wonderful, sure, but they don't purr." Not that... he's heard a cat purr in person. Like, ever, that he can recall. Just on cat videos online. But even videos are soothing, so in real life it must be even better, right?
crazycatvampire: (curious)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-30 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
"This is definitely not a place I'd go to study math," Corwin has to admit. "I'd go somewhere quiet with a table, so that I could work out problems." Either Ryoji here is very bad at studying, or he's not really here to study. Corwin is a trusting soul ( ... pun unintentional), but he's not stupid, either. It makes him curious. "What's your name?"
crazycatvampire: (grin)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-30 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
"It's a change in perspective even if you keep drawing here," Corwin agrees with a nod. "So long as you don't mind it sparkling a little bit. Maybe that will be a new perspective, too?"
crazycatvampire: (working)

[personal profile] crazycatvampire 2016-11-30 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
It takes him about halfway to the house before he realizes where she's leading him, and he stops, squints up at her though his sunglasses, and finally guesses, "Are you the fox...? Because you're taking me back home, and an owl wouldn't know where that is. Unless it's a coincidence and you're taking me somewhere nearby, but I think maybe you're the fox."
runs: (duh)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"They think it'll get them more profits or power." Which is essentially the same. And, hey. It creates a lot of jobs. "And if someone who wants to blow up everything gets information on bombs, that's dangerous too."
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 12:16 pm (UTC)(link)
She can see why they warn you of attachments to family and others as a runner. You take risks just so they can have a good life. Would she do that for Chantalle? She isn't sure. It never came up - the old lady was the one providing for her, and she'd never been endangered by something while Kitty was there. Aside from visiting family members being nasty, and aside from running under their feet and tripping them up she couldn't really help with that.

"Is that because you're a big brother or would you feel the same as a little brother?"
runs: (cat: hunter baby)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)


"...A cat has purred at you?"

He'll be hit with the most critical gaze that she can muster, because she really can't believe that one. As a cat - in her original shape, that is - he feels terrible to be around.
Edited 2016-11-30 12:19 (UTC)
movingon: (owl)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-30 12:22 pm (UTC)(link)
She hoots at him in reply; perhaps he will take that as a yes. But they still need a private place to talk, where she can turn back without worry, and his house sounds like an excellent choice for that, so she will continue into that direction.
movingon: (fox)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-30 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
There is a clearly ironic tone to her next words. "I guessed." Human mages exist, she knows that much, but she's fairly sure that they wouldn't smell of dog that strongly. Or do strange contracts.

"...How do you look human?" She's very doubtful that she could emulate it, doubtful also that he will tell her, but she can't bring herself to not ask. It's only a tiny little hope, a hope that she almost a hundred percent sure will be crushed, so she should better try to crush it as quickly as possible.
Edited 2016-11-30 12:25 (UTC)
transient_specter: (okay that hurts)

[personal profile] transient_specter 2016-11-30 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"... I don't know." There was someone else he thought of as a brother, wasn't there? It's hard to remember. It's hard to fight through the fog. "I've never been one, so I don't know."
runs: (I got this)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
That makes sense.

...She makes a decision and reaches down into a hidden pocket of her coat, extracting a candy bar that is almost unmelted, pushing it over the table towards him.

"You should give this to her and tell her hi from another cute girl. So you'll have a reason to visit her even if she's busy with other people."

He doesn't know that he was an unwitting part of her little experiment with the glitter, but she still feels like she should return a favour for a favour, and he sounded a bit like he needs reasons to see his sister.
transient_specter: (you want me to put what in where?)

[personal profile] transient_specter 2016-11-30 08:14 pm (UTC)(link)
"... It's just something that I can do." He's really not sure how the Mask works at all. Even if he did, he's not sure he'd tell someone else who wasn't a Changeling. "It's something most of us can do, I think."
transient_specter: (moshi moshi asskicking desu)

[personal profile] transient_specter 2016-11-30 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"I -" He looks down at it, and hesitates. He doesn't want to take this - not when he doesn't know that it's safe, and not when he hasn't done something for it. "... You shouldn't give things away for free."

'Free' is pretty much never really free, after all. Present setting excluded.
runs: (I grew up down here)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
...Okay, fine. She narrows her eyes on him.

"You already paid. I needed someone to try this," she taps the statue with a finger, "out on."

She does have some sense of justice, even if it's twisted and more than a little bit backwards in places.
transient_specter: (this is my serious face)

[personal profile] transient_specter 2016-11-30 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"What, try painting something?" He frowns. This is... odd. And he doesn't like it when things go odd. Can't he just have a relatively normal life in human society when he's out and about?
runs: (duh)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"Figure out under what conditions people could see what I painted."

Not that her poking at this stuff will be over now, but this brought her a huge step forward. She just wonders what she should do with it, knowing that it won't be seen unless the other person sees her apply it.
transient_specter: (moshi moshi asskicking desu)

[personal profile] transient_specter 2016-11-30 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Ah. "I see." He takes the candy bar and tucks it into a jacket pocket. Hopefully the Spring couriers will be decent and let him see her today.

Still... "You probably shouldn't announce that kind of thing, though."
movingon: (fox)

[personal profile] movingon 2016-11-30 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
It sounds nice.

But it also sounds like something limited to ...whatever he is.

"It sure makes things easier for you."

She can't help but sound a bit hostile at that. Envious, that's what she is.
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2016-11-30 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Why not?"

She could have replied that she only announced it because he refused to take the candy bar, but that sounded like he knows something about the glitter.

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