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]

Kitty having a puppy is kind of hilarious, honestly. "I did!" he says with a smiling, patting the dog on the head, "I guess they must have escaped from somewhere, huh?" That's a shame. He kind of wants to keep it but it would probably look weird. And is likely too expensive.

[runs]

"But now they're free and don't belong to anyone." And they're pretty dumb - it would be much more sensible to run away if the other option is being sold to you-know-not-whom. And they're obviously already able to run around. They should make a run for it, in her opinion.

But what should you expect from dogs.

She holds the puppy that she's holding up. "Do you want this one, too?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

They might be dumb, but they are very cute. "Sure!" he says, beaming at her, "I can at least keep an eye on them." And pet them. That will keep them occupied. And Kitty prooobably doesn't want to be stuck with it.

[runs]

"They'll have to be fed and taken out for a walk, too." Dogs are pretty dependent creatures, after all.

That is, if he's going to keep them in the long run and not just... sit around and pet them until the stall keeper finds him or the market ends. Which, admittedly, is more likely, but a girl can tease.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I could do that!" Ryoji laughs a little, petting them both, "But... I guess they probably belong somewhere. Do you know where?" He should probably find out and return them. But he can also keep petting them for a little while longer. They seem to like the attention.

[runs]

"There is a stall," she very vaguely points into the right direction, "that sells that kind of dogs."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Oh! Ok." Ryoji will go ahead and pet them a little before picking them up and starting to walk that way. "D'you wanna come?"

[runs]

"...Okay."

She has nothing better to do and is kind of curious to see the stall owner's reaction.

"I can hold one, too." She isn't keen on it, but before Ryoji drops one of the puppies or it jumps out of his arms...

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Are you sure?" Ryoji won't make her if she's uncomfortable, but if they start to wiggle too much he might hand one over to her. ...It's still kind of a funny concept.

[runs]

She is way bigger than a puppy! And older!

"Yeah. As long as they don't bite." And so far they haven't done that. "I know how to handle puppies." Not that she's ever done it, but the people on TV often own ones.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Alright, if you're sure. Do you know the way to the booth?" That would probably be easier, if she knows, than for him to wander aimlessly until he found it.

[runs]

"Yes." She was wondering if he'd ever ask, and just starts wandering into the correct direction now. "It's on the other end of the market from here." So it'll take a while.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Oh! Ok." Well. It's good that she's leading now. He'll just continue to pet the puppy in his arms. "Have you found anything interesting around here?"

[runs]

"No-" She pauses and then grins and changes her direction. Maybe those gears he will be able to see. "I found something that I have to show you. But don't talk to the stall owner or get too close." Don't befriend people who gut angels or ex-angels, Ryoji.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Alright..." He has no idea what she's on about, but maybe it'll be something cute! (It probably won't, it's probably 'business' instead of pleasure.)

[runs]

Very much business, sorry Ryoji. They have cute puppies, and there will be more cute puppies at the end of their little journey, at least? Just some business in the middle.

"Do you come to markets like this a lot?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji shrugs. "Whenever they pop up. They're pretty unpredictable... you haven't bought anything yet, right? You need to be more careful than normal with the cost of things around here."

[runs]

"Why?"

There has been nothing so far that would really have interested her. Nobody seems to be selling contacts, and she has nothing in mind that she would really need right now.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"From what I've heard, a lot of things can come with extra conditions, or cost something from you as a person. Stuff like that." Stuff it's good to be careful of.

[runs]

'Stuff from you as a person'. "Like what?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji shrugs. "I'm not sure, exactly, I've never done it. Memories, probably. Less concrete things like soul or humanity, maybe." It's hard to say and he's not terribly eager to find out.

[runs]

...

"That makes no sense." Said with the absolute conviction of a seven year old who thinks that you're being ridiculous. And will run into the hedge before the market is over he judgement is great ok.

[dangerouslyinlove]

He laughs a little, petting the puppy. "Maybe. But a lot of things don't make sense around here." He is not wrong. Damnit Kitty.

[runs]

Fair enough.

"Even less sense than around the city in general." Like the walls. Her being here. Things clearly being very different from home and yet similar. And all that.

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Yes." That's... well, it's the only way of putting it. He'd known his life had been a little bit weird before Kitty showed up but now it's that much more obvious.