WEEK 04

[modmachine]

Weather: If you ask the residents, it's freezing, though it technically hasn't dropped that low yet. A rather nasty rainstorm does pick up steam late Tuesday and last well into Thursday night, however, so it might be a little justified on the part of the unfortunate souls stuck out in it.

Moon phase: Monday the 21st is the last-quarter moon, and the crescent is hidden behind clouds until Friday night.

Carried on from last week: After Ryoji and Kitty open an Underworld gate, the ice from the week before melts away over the next day or so, unsealing the rest of them. The thickly-built man can still be found watching the construction site, though no further strange accidents occur.

It's Black Friday Somewhere - the Goblin Market:

On Wednesday night, flyers start getting tacked up in weird places; the ink used in them is an ancient sort that runs in the rain, but if you can manage to find one that's intact, it speaks of an open exchange of goods... But the location is left mysterious. Those with any kind of supernatural sight, however, will find that the running ink leaves behind a quite useful map when the flyer is taken down.

The Goblin Market sets itself up in the early hours of Friday morning that can technically be called Thursday night, booths full of oddities going up in the central park while the last of the raindrops still sprinkle through the trees. The market is separated from the rest of the park by three strange gates set around the perimeter, all of them formed of two poles strung with flowers. Passing through them causes a strange sensation like stepping through the surface of a pool; inside the market, Changeling masks are disabled, and other illusions have difficulty working properly. Only the Covers created by the God-Machine, whether they belong to angel or demon, remain unaffected.

Almost anything can be found here for the right price, if you know who to talk to or just wander around long enough, and there are changelings on the ground practically from the moment the stalls are set up. The market is open for roughly 24 hours.

A few highlights;

• The Boss: Whoever this guy is, he's Big News. Dressed in what seems to be a suit made entirely of burlap sacks, he has a glittering woman on each arm wherever he goes in the market. The expressions on the women are dazed and dreamy; they sigh periodically. Three glittering children follow after him, occasionally being sent on errands for this or that in the market, and they'll stop long enough to wave if they come across Kitty before going back to work. Occasionally, their boss pulls a glittering beetle or some other insect out from the folds of his suit... and eats it.


• A pair of horned shopkeepers share a stall; one sells a variety of engraved weapons, and the other, star charts. Occasionally, the astronomer glances up at the sky and scribbles something down in a notebook in his lap. Strangely, though their booth has no cover, nothing within seems at any risk of getting wet, and the blade-seller can occasionally be seen flicking water away with his fingers. A banner across the front of their stall proclaims 'PROPHECIES CHEAP.'


• A large enclosure is home to a number of strange animals, ranging from small birds whose voices induce synesthesia, to glittering insects (not unlike the ones someone else at the market is snacking on), to chimeras, to a single, inexplicably normal giraffe. Every couple of hours, the animal seller has to leave to chase down one of several pink puppies that attempt to escape his notice and run freely through the market.


• At dawn and sunset, a golden-haired Fairest ascends the small stage in the back corner to sing. When she does, almost all the market goes still to listen to her voice. The only person who seems capable of moving is her black-wrapped companion; only his eyes are visible, and he rolls them regularly, but no one seems willing to test him by approaching the woman he accompanies.


• A young woman sells gears that are clearly ripped off pieces of Infrastructure, for those who know what to look for. She doesn't seem concerned by the fact that a number of them are covered in blood or other fluids, or by the single angel who is doing a very poor job of finding excuses to walk past her booth repeatedly. Closer inspection will reveal that her dark 'skin' is in fact entirely made of wood, and gears like those she sells have been carefully embedded in it.


• There is an informational booth from the local university, which seems to be accepting payment for winter tuition in whatever barter people have brought. It is by fair the most mundane-looking set of tables in the place, except for the slowly-growing collection of odd payments behind the registrar. Her assistant, a tired-looking adjunct professor, appears to be human, and occasionally rubs his eyes and mutters to himself over some of the stranger applicants.


• A certain Art Student from said university, who is distinctly staying as far away from that booth as possible, and instead looking at a half-a-table full of magically bright pigments. It might be a bit difficult to recognize her, though, with the hood high around her head blocking most of her face from view and the streaks of temporary pink dye in her bangs.


• A girl of about twelve, running about the market unsupervised, occasionally produces a strand of her gleaming silver hair to trade for seemingly worthless items. By day's end, these strands are one of the most in-demand pieces of merchandise in the market.


• A creature that looks like nothing so much as it does a metal statue of an antelope harshly appraises goblin fruit at the various stalls offering such. In the late afternoon, one seller takes issue with this assessment, and attempts to start a fight, but passes through the creature as though it were air. In fact, the goblin fruit seem to be the only thing that it can touch.

EVERYTHING ELSE:

The Hunt is On: The day after the goblin market brings an unusual number of gun-wielding farmers into town - as well as their richer, fancier counterparts. There seems to be some tension between the two groups of hunters; those who spot an encounter between the two near the central parks can almost feel it in the air.At nightfall, the two groups assemble at opposite ends of the park, and chase... something through the grounds that previously hosted the Goblin Market. Though it seems to be a competition, neither group is successful in taking their quarry.

Spooky Scary: Network Zero goes through bursts of activity, and it’s started bursting again with rumors of one particular warehouse in the Sixth being haunted. Indeed, anyone who wanders over towards it can find a scruffy-looking Cameraman with a handheld camcorder poking behind boxes and trying to catch… something on camera.

Long Nights at Church:The greeter normally stationed outside St. Madeleine's church belltower seems uneasy, glancing up at the empty tower repeatedly throughout the weeknight services. Finally, on Sunday night, after all the human worshippers have gone home, she takes one of the largest of the handbells from holiday practice and takes it up the tower, ringing it twelve times at midnight. Over the course of the next few hours, several other dwellers of the night climb the steps and make their confessionals into the empty space, each ringing the bell when they have finished.

Comments

[dangerouslyinlove]

That... he was definitely looking at Thanatos just now, wasn't he? The geist bristles a little, coffin wings flaring. Ryoji tries his best to ignore him. "Do you need help? I know the area pretty well... where are you trying to go?"

But then again, the last time he met someone who was 'lost' was Kitty. And normal people should not be able to see Thanatos.

[helborn]

"Um... home. But no one here seems to understand what I mean." He bites his bottom lip, trying to ignore Thanatos' display. That's... concerning, but he's not sure if he should leave it alone or not. "No one here even seems to know what America or Canada are."

[dangerouslyinlove]

...Nope. None of those ring any bells, but it does answer his questions. "I'm... not sure we can get you home, no," he says apologetically, "Did you just get here? Do you remember how?"

[helborn]

"I... walked through a door. And then I was on a street, but I shouldn't have been, and the door was gone. And yeah, I just got here." He looks up at the raven, which doesn't answer. Look, he's got no idea either, okay?

[dangerouslyinlove]

Yeah that raven is also weird. But Ryoji tries to give him a reassuring smile. "I have a friend who that happened to, too. But I wouldn't really go around talking about it to most people... I can try and help you at least get settled and stuff, if you want? What's your name?"

[helborn]

"I... yeah. Probably. And I'm Casper. What's your name?" He looks right at Thanatos and raises an eyebrow. You want to give him your name too, buddy?

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I'm Ryoji. It's nice to meet you!" He beams, and then looks down at the raven. "What's your friends' name?"

And... sure, why not. Thanatos flares out its entire form, much like a bird fluffing its feathers to look intimidating. Its voice is hard to distinguish, sounding like thousands of voices all speaking together. Unfortunately, that does muddle it some, but Casper might be able to distinguish the call of THANATOS.

[helborn]

"This is Bob." He does smile a bit - seriously? That name? Well, if a ghostthing wants to use that name, it's not like he can really complain. "It's nice to meet you. ... Uh. Both of you."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Oh. You can see him, huh?" Ryoji chuckles weakly, offering a slight glance back at the geist. "It's nice to meet you both too! I... don't know a lot about what's going on, but I can try to help? Or explain what I do know."

[helborn]

"I... yeah. It's okay. Maybe let's... head somewhere less crowded?" This area seems to have a lot of people, after all. And if he's going to say things, maybe it's better to not have people around.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji nods. "Yeah. Come on."

He'll lead them to the park, where... well, if someone comes across them it should at least be less bad. Thanatos still lingers just over his shoulder, keeping its skulled eyes on Casper. "Have you run into anyone else who kind of knows what's going on yet?" he asks.

[helborn]

He wanders along with Ryoji, not bothered by the gaze in the slightest. In fact, he seems... a little happy when he's being watched? Bob, on the other hand, can't seem to follow the gaze and feels uneasy.

"Sort of... she wasn't really clear." He glances at Bob who hops off his shoulder and flies up into the sky to check to see if there's anyone around.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"In her defense, it's not really easy to be." Though if it's the 'she' he thinks it is, that might also have something to do with it. "But... yeah. I'm from here, but I've met a couple people now who've just shown up out of nowhere, like you. Nobody really seems to know why or how, but it seems like maybe it's been happening for a while. We're... just going to have to help you try and make the best of it for now."

[helborn]

"I... okay. I need to get back to where I'm from. She mentioned that there was an underworld... maybe I can get back through there? My mother's realm must touch it somewhere..."

It has to. It's not even a physical location, so it should be fine, right?

[dangerouslyinlove]

Thanatos flairs up in anger, so much so that the force of pure death that comes from it in an attempt to communicate how not ok with that it is that it's impossible to get any words out of it. Ryoji winces. "That... might be not a good idea. The Underworld is really dangerous, and I'm not even sure you'd be able to get in." But he is curious- "Who's your mother?"

[helborn]

Casper takes a step back. Sure, he can handle death and entropy energy just fine, but that doesn't mean it's good to stand in the firing range. "... I've been in her realm before... and um. She's Hel. Norse goddess of death? Her realm is Helheim."

[dangerouslyinlove]

Well. That gets both boy and geist to stop and stare. Yeah, Ryoji knows who Hel is. He's a Sin Eater. That kind of thing tends to be of interest to him.

"...Your mom is a death goddess?" That doesn't seem right at all, and yet... it's back. That niggling feeling in his head, that he's forgetting something. Something important, if the fact that it keeps showing up is any indication. This makes time number three. The first, when Tobias was talking about the Dark Mother, the second when he had that vision in the Underworld, and now... this. It's kind of getting on his nerves. He wish he could just remember what it is.

...But there's also a part of him that tells him that he actually doesn't want to know.

He shakes off the feeling, chuckling sheepishly. "In that case... maybe you could? I have no idea how that would work."

[helborn]

"Yeah." He at least has the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "I don't know. I've never managed to open one myself... I don't really know what to do. I've only climbed out, not back in."

And really, he's not sure he wants to go there, but he's got to get home. There's not an option. "But... um. It's... I've got to get back there. I need to help fight the titans..."

[dangerouslyinlove]

Hm... Ryoji thinks about it, glancing as his vaguely bewildered geist as he taps his chin. "I... might be able to get you in," he says carefully, "But it might work differently here. I know the friend I mention before's world doesn't work at all like this one."

[helborn]

"... That'd be.. useful. I'll have to think of a way to make sure I get to the right underworld... I wouldn't be able to climb out from Hades or something." Plus, he's not sure that Hades would help him given how much trouble he's given Aiden sometimes. He's not sure his mom will help him either, but you work with what you have.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I can go in with you for at least some of it," Ryoji offers, "I can find my way around part of where the Gate lets out." It might not be much, but... "How are you feeling? We might not want to go now if you're not totally rested."

[helborn]

"I'm... doing okay? I'm pretty refreshed, I hadn't done much before I showed up here." He shrugs, looking at Bob. "You feeling okay?"

He just gets a stare. That means something along the lines of 'what do you think, idiot?'

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji laughs. What an interesting bird! "Alright... well, I know where a Gate is, if you want to try..." He's pretty clearly not sure about this at all, but he's willing to help if Casper thinks it'll work.

[helborn]

"It's worth a shot, right?" He smiles a little bit, scratching Bob's head fondly. "And... uh. Well. I haven't actually been down there in a while. Just once, really. So... if you've got experience..." Help. Please.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji shoots him a grin. "Don't worry, I'll help! Gimme about ten minutes, I'll be right back and then we can go." He just needs to get some things.