modmachine: (Default)
Hᴇx - ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴅ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ ([personal profile] modmachine) wrote in [community profile] cityofhex2016-12-05 08:43 pm

WEEK 03

Preparation for the holidays continues at a steady - if slow - pace. Almost all traces of Halloween are gone by now, except for a few rotting pumpkins shoved into compost heaps, but with over a month until Christmas and the Day of Lights, nobody is yet in a hurry. Still, a few early holiday shoppers are out and about, usually in pairs if they aren't families with children, happily chattering about gift plans.

Weather forecast: The rain has passed, and days grow clear again for this week. Hex’s weather has been getting colder, and people are bundling up a bit more - even those who don’t need to, just in an effort to fit in. Hats and gloves are being prominently displayed in stores, even if they’re not strictly needed yet.

Moon phase: The moon is full on Monday the fourteenth, reaching peak fullness over the city at about 2AM. Afterwards, it begins to wane.

More employment: More decorations for the Day of Lights are going up, with some stronger-backed labor being recruited for the stockrooms in preparation for the incoming holiday rush. No one seems concerned about work history, a boon for people without a human paper trail. The park lights aren't finished yet, either, though things are on schedule to open next week.

Hitting the books: To prepare for the holidays, and raise funds for their community party, the library near the university is selling some of its used books. Most of them are fine, if an odd selection - you might find a cookbook, or you might find a book of poetry. There’s something weird about the books, though - a few of them smell faintly of mint. Watching over all of this is a sharp-eyed librarian. Don’t take a book without paying, or she’ll get up from her desk and try to block the door. She keeps having to chase away teenagers with dirty hands, too.

Bake sale: Some of the local schools are starting to take up donations for their holiday parties. One in particular in the residential district is holding a bake sale in front of the elementary school for an hour each day after classes let out. If you can fight through the sea of small children hoping someone will buy them something, you’ll find a variety of brownies, cookies, and tiny cakes. Many of them are lopsided, but a few look put together by expert hands. They cost more, of course, but it’s all for a good cause. A grouchy mother can be found near the cash box at all times, making sure no one steals the money.

Whoo are you?: Malin will notice that owls seem to be happening at her; they're hard to see, just shapes against the lesser-dark of the night sky, but they definitely seem to be watching her. They particularly seem to gather when she feeds. If she doesn't confront them, this will increase slowly but measurably throughout the week.

Time waits for no one: An old clock tower in the part of downtown leading into the Sixth has been restored to functionality... Mostly. The belltower stands empty, though there's a visible place where a bell should be hung, several stories above the floor. Ryoji might find the scene familiar. On Wednesday evening, there is some kind of reopening gathering at the church below it; the brief service and meet-and-greet is not particularly unusual, save that the young Acolyte handing out papers in the entry won't step into the congregation hall itself.

Like a dog with a bad...: In the Sixth, the construction is ongoing, still with the same handful of men, who rotate through almost like randomly generated NPCs. Lurking around outside is a thickly built man, who watches the whole goings-on with suspicion; strangely, he seems to be watching it mostly through the camera on his phone. On Friday morning, though it shouldn't be cold enough for frost, three of the strangely similar men slip on patches of ice and fall behind a half-finished wall... Where they vanish completely. They reappear after lunch, if it's even the same men, with no signs of injury. That afternoon, the man with his phone looks smug.

A touch of the season: And speaking of ice, passage into many of the city's Avernian Gates is blocked this week by a thick frost that seals the entries shut. An Unsettling Youth and his girlfriend can occasionally be seen investigating them; though they're constantly together, they don't seem much inclined to talk to each other. Occasionally, she'll drape her arm over his shoulders and giggle, while he looks confused; other times, she seems almost to shy away from him.
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2016-12-18 09:40 pm (UTC)(link)
"Like what?"

Still watching that stack of books. Also completely ignoring the librarian. Kitty has priorities.
shigeo: (Uhm)

[personal profile] shigeo 2016-12-19 01:22 pm (UTC)(link)
"The whole magic thing," he said, gesturing to the stack. "None of it really matters, it won't make you popular."
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2016-12-19 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
...That's an angle that she has never used to look at magic, so she's just... staring at him for a long moment, connecting the two concepts. No.

"Why would someone think that it makes you popular?"

Wanted, perhaps, both in the and in the bad sense, but that's a very different thing, because it comes from fear and economical interest.
shigeo: (Dubious)

[personal profile] shigeo 2016-12-22 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Mob sort of awkwardly sorts his thoughts for a moment before responding.

"You know... the people out there that think that because they have powers, that they somehow aren't people anymore. Or that they're better than anyone else, and everyone should just submit to them. People like that," he mumbles, vaguely gesturing.
runs: (duh)

[personal profile] runs 2016-12-22 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"But that will just make you feared, not popular. And then you should be able to back it up very well, or someone will kill you or extract you."

Magic doesn't make you popular. Sure, you can be a show mage, or use magic to make your music more interesting, but then the show or the music are what make you popular and not the magic proper, it'll just give you an edge that is apparently needed to be different, or something.
shigeo: (Who should I call?)

[personal profile] shigeo 2016-12-23 12:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"I didn't say I agreed with them," he sort of lamely adds. "It doesn't matter..."
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2016-12-23 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
She considers him for a long moment, taking her attention from the stack of books.

"...Do you know a lot of mages?"
shigeo: (Moment of hesitation)

[personal profile] shigeo 2016-12-27 02:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um, not a lot, no," he responded a bit warily, giving her another long look. "You're a mage?"
runs: (I got this)

[personal profile] runs 2016-12-27 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Back home, she wouldn't just run around and tell people about that (assuming they hadn't noticed anyway), but this place is different and she still has no idea why. Everyone is hiding, and he's the first lead that she has on mages, so she's going to roll with this.

"Yeah. And you're too, right?"