GHOST TRICK PART ONE: Festival Log!

[indigo_league]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Either Ecruteak City or Lavender Town; please mark your toplevel comments accordingly!
When: August 13th-15th
Summary: Celebrate O-bon at a festival near you! For details, see the infopost.
Rating: Will vary from thread to thread. Warn for common triggers if something comes up.
Log:

The streets are lined with NPC-run stalls for food, games, and the assorted tchotchkes of every summer festival you’ve ever seen in your animes! There’s Goldeen Scoop, heaping cones of Swirlix Candy, Test Your STRENGTH (there are two different machines for people and Pokémon; HM04 not required); basically, if you can think of it, it’s there. There will also be a yukata rental stall if you want to go full hog on the cultural side of things. Ecruteak boasts a small stage where the Kimono Girls give a short performance once every two hours; the festivities in Lavender Town are a little quieter, but they also have Haunter-shaped ice cream treats. When you lick them, they Lick you!

On the last evening (August 15th) of the festival in either location, there will be a large bonfire and traditional bon-odori dance in which everyone is welcome to participate. In Lavender Town only, they also set paper lamps afloat in the water past the cliffs.

The closer you get to midnight on the last night of the festival, the more ghosts pop up.

Again, please say which city your character's in and note what dates/times they're there in the header of or within your top--level comment to avoid confusion. Play nice and have fun!

Comments

rhys - ecruteak

[atlasrising]

august 13th

[ Rhys is absolutely, positively miserable. To be honest, he doesn't want to be here right now. The second he gets some food in his belly and a little breath of air or two, he's off to the next town. There's too much going on for him to have a clear mind, and doing anything like "enjoying himself" is virtually impossible.

The festival would be nice, otherwise. It was busy, there was some...pretty cool entertainment, he'd say. There are ghosts popping up every now and then, and when they do it scares the every loving crap out of him. For the past few days, Rhys has been on edge. He wanders around to buy things like food, but he doesn't purchase a rental, nor does he play games or watch the group of Kimono Girls. He can't enjoy any of that with how he's feeling right now.

He also might seem...distracted. He's keeping an eye out for Handsome Jack, because their last conversation went very, very badly. The next time he might meet his old boss will probably be the last, because he'll be dead. He's scanning through the festival, but he's not looking for friends or festivities.

Have fun with him otherwise, though! ]

august 15th

[ It's the last day, and has Rhys enjoyed himself? Not once!

The bonfire's going on now, glowing brightly in the night sky. There's a big group of people dancing away, but Rhys prefers to stay...not near anybody, to be honest. He just sits nearby with his knees to his chest, watching halfheartedly.

Rhys has eaten once, maybe nibbled twice on food today. There's way too much stress going on for him to enjoy anything. Jack told him to go right to Goldenrod, but with all this going on it was kind of impossible. Basically, he's procrastinating.

If he hears anybody nearby, he'll probably pipe up a little bit. From the way he talks, it's obvious that whatever has been going on with him has made him lose sleep. ] Some party, huh?

August 15th

[grifterinpink]

[Fiona is still trying to find her bearings. She and Firebutt had come to a truce but that was about the only thing in this mad place that made any sense. She saw the signs for the festival and decided to give it a go.

When she finally runs into Rhys she's tempted to give him hell. The only problem was he looked as though he'd been through the ringer. They'd all been through shit but he looked haunted.

Rhys speaks and she knows it's bad when he doesn't even notice who he is talking to.]

I've been to better. Of course, they usually ended in a shootout so I think the word 'better' is relative.

[atlasrising]

[ Rhys drags his mismatched eyes upwards and hey, there's Fiona! He still has no idea what's happening with her, other than some kind of miscommunication in the future that she's definitely taking out on him now, but he can't find it in him to yell at her. Or bring it up. Or do anything, honestly.

It's the first time he's bumped into her since Helios, so he should at least get himself up and smile. Or shake hands. Or something.

He gets himself up on his feet, offering Fiona a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. ] I bet if there's anything good to say about them, at least they'd be interesting.

August 13th

[notachocobo]

[Cloud's been dealing with his own nasty little ghosts following him, several gastlys in particular bothering him as much as possible. He was in the midst of trying to play some of the games when one of them decided to spook the blonde--a feat in itself--and it sends Cloud back-stepping away from the game booth--

And slamming with into Rhys.

It's his honedge, Buster, that saves the day though, the sword holding it's sheath out with it's ribbon hand to keep Rhys from falling and using the rest of it's body to keep Cloud from doing the same.

The blonde immediately straightens and turns with an apologetic look on his face--one that quickly melts into recognition.]

Hi--sorry. Are you alright?

[atlasrising]

[ Rhys is so lost in his thoughts he doesn't hear Cloud barreling towards him, so he more or less falls over like a dead weight. The nice Honeedge is his saving grace; it's strong enough to keep him from falling into the nearest stand, and gives him the opportunity to find his legs again.

When he straightens up, he doesn't look mad or upset. Just a little more bewildered than he did a few seconds ago, is all. He looks over to the blonde guy and at first is a little confused...until he sees the hair.

Oh god, the hair guy! Rhys talked to him before! ]

H-Huh? Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. [ He takes a second to look over Cloud's hair in person -holy shit, that's seriously impressive- before he returns to scanning through the crowd. Literally scanning. He's got his ECHO eye scanning and everything.

A few moments of doing this show nothing alarming, so he returns his attention to Cloud. ] You alright?

[notachocobo]

[You know, it's probably a good thing that Cloud doesn't know he's the "hair guy" in Rhys book. He really wouldn't know how to take that.]

...You sure?

[He sees you scanning the crowd like that, Rhys. Cloud knows paranoia when he sees it and if the shared look with his Honedge says anything, Buster does too. The sword pokemon doesn't return his sheath just yet, holding it as if preparing for a fight just to be on the safe side and Cloud himself can't help but tense just a little bit.]

Yeah. Just some of the ghost pokemon causing trouble. [His tone is dryer than the desert. Someone is not a fan of the little tricksters.] You look like you're expecting to get attacked or something.

[atlasrising]

[ Don't mind him. Rhys probably wouldn't spike his hair up like that, but holy hell. He's got to learn your tricks. Think how much money he would save if he didn't have to gel his back all the time!

He doesn't even notice Cloud sharing a look with his Honedge- he's too busy just looking. ] Yeah. I'm fine. Perfectly fine.

[ When he returns his attention to Cloud, he raises his eyebrows. ] Ghost pokemon? I haven't seen any around here yet. [ That's probably because he hasn't been paying attention like he should. ] They're around here...?

...I, uh, kind of am. [ Rhys isn't sure how much he should or shouldn't tell about the fact that Handsome Jack is probably going to strangle the shit out of him, but. ] Let's just say I'm on Handsome Jack's bad side right now. It's not looking good.

[notachocobo]

You don't seem very fine.

[The blonde's wearing an almost worried sort of frown and it's not the first time that he's wished he had his sword. You're paranoia is rubbing off on him, Rhys.]

Here and there. I think they're attracted to the festival itself.

[Buster hums in agreement, the sword having moved around to Rhys's other side so the man was in between Cloud and the Honedge. Nothing was going to get past them, since there seemed to be a need to be on guard.]

Who's Handsome Jack?

13th

[grapeeater]

[A Lucario wanders up to Rhys, tilting his head and making an inquisitive sound. Are you okay? He knows enough to know that Rhys looks down. Anything he can do to help?]

[From far off, the sound of Isamu, where are you? floats towards them, but the Lucario doesn't move away yet.]

[atlasrising]

[ The sound of something nearby drags his attention away from the growing crowd to see a pokemon nearby! It's not one he's seen before, but it looks...oddly familiar. Rhys looks down, offering a smile. Sure, he doesn't know a lot about pokemon, but he swears it can tell something is wrong. Just by the way it looks to him.

Also how he can hear someone calling, but the Lucario doesn't really do anything. Maybe it's name isn't 'Isamu' (is he hearing that right?), but, you know. ]

Sorry, sorry. I'm okay. I'm just...looking. For someone. [ Someone not good. ]

Am I in your way...?

[grapeeater]

[Isamu shakes his head, pointing at Rhys. How does he communicate with people who don't speak Pokemon or who aren't his trainer...]

[He draws a smile in the air and points at Rhys again, before making a little whimper. He's not so good at this... but he's trying.]

[atlasrising]

[ Oh my god, this is cute.

At first, Rhys points to himself when Isamu points first. This is like a game of charades! Rhys blinks, tilting his head to the side. ] Me?

[ Then it draws...what is that? Two dots, and uh...a smile? Was he being told to smile? Okay, after seeing this little guy (actually Isamu's not little, compared to Loader) and being told to, y'know, smile, he can definitely do that.

A grin breaks its way on his face. ] You want me to do this?

[grapeeater]

[Isamu nods and claps his paws together, making a pleased noise. He quirks his head to the side as Micchy finally pushes through the crowd to find him.]

There you are. I've been looking for you. Ah... he wasn't bothering you, was he?

15

[pipers_son]

[It's a good thing Rhys spoke up first, because Joker was making a beeline to him for the express purpose of maybe kicking him a little. Purely to help him enjoy himself, you know.]

[But being addressed is a good sign, even if the sign of sleeplessness is not, and he grins to him.]

I'll say. For all the world hoppin' or whatever, this place sure knows how ta throw a party, huh? Course, doesn't look like you've been celebratin' it much.

[atlasrising]

[ Looks like Rhys lucked out!

He shrugs a little at what he has to say, shifting a bit so his arms can rest on the ground behind him. In his opinion, he's celebrated plenty! He's eaten some. Talked with some friends. Had some fun time with Loader and Money Shot. Good stuff. ]

Let's just say I'm not in a partying kind of mood. [ He's really not, though. ]

[pipers_son]

Ha. And ya still came ta a party? Lemme guess, did someone drag ya along?

[God knows it happens plenty, here.]

[atlasrising]

U-Uh, yeah. More or less.

[ More like he dragged himself here. Because, uh. Food. ]

Someone end up dragging you here too?

15th!

[thedifferencebetween]

Wow, apparently! Holy shit, cupcake, you look like crap!

[Jack's been wondering if Rhys would be around. He has no clue what the hell is up with that kid. He probably ought to have been paying more attention, all things considered, but he's used to delegating and then not dealing with things until someone else did.]

[That's not working so great here. He doesn't have his reputation, which is a blessing and a curse. Sure, it means he's got a pretty clean slate in a world that's all about peace and love and that hippie bullshit, but it also means that people aren't terrified of him and don't just do what he tells them.]

[It's the last night of the festival, so Jack's sporting a yellow and black striped yukata, Doom Boner at his side. Also sporting a yukata, though the floppy eared Houndour looks like he's oozing out of it.]

You been partying all weekend?

[Oh yeah, he's gotta break Rhys' arm. Oh well, they can do that later. It's a party, they're in public, Jack doesn't have any of his equipment...no big.]

[atlasrising]

[ That voice is enough to make Rhys jump. He hops up to his feet, looking at Jack like he's the ghost here.

Which...Jack looks anything but. He's in a yukata, him and Doom Boner both. Jack just looks at Rhys like everything's normal. Like he didn't just give him hell over a video chat, and he wasn't going to do something utterly terrifying here in a few days. Then there was Rhys who apparently looked like crap (and he felt like it too), not dressed in anything special and more or less shaking like a leaf on his feet.

He shakes his head, trying to look like the big tough guy here, but feeling anything but. Handsome Jack was a very intimidating figure on a good day, let alone when you've pissed him off to the point where he's promised to seriously hurt you in some way, shape or form.

If Rhys is being approached like this, it probably promises nothing good. ]

N-No. J-Just, uh, just watching.

[thedifferencebetween]

Yeah, I don't blame you.

[Jack just plops down next to where Rhys had been sitting.]

I tried just watching, but...eh, gotta give the adoring fans what they want! Relax, Rhys, you look like you're about to crap yourself. This is a party. And you sure look like you could use the fun. Plus...

[Jack leans forward, conspiratorial, all smiles.]

I don't wanna spoil anything, but you should probably enjoy this kind of thing while you can. You...you're probably not gonna be on your feet for a little bit! You know, after we have our little employee disciplinary meeting. So c'mon! Sit down, have some fun!

[atlasrising]

[ Adoring fans. Oh, wow. He could say something about that.

He almost thinks about it, until Jack reminds him that no, he's not forgotten about their chat (why would he?). He also gives a hint about Rhys being...well, not dead but not well, and he kind of wants to throw up.

Rhys tells himself not to sit down. But he does. If anything, he just kind of flops. Is the world spinning, or is that just him? ]

Is this your definition of fun? [ Jack had smiled when he said that. Smiled. ]

August 15th

[11121_assumption]

Walter wasn't good at reading social cues. But he knew what it was like to not have sleep and to not eat well and he could at least spot the signs of that in someone else. He hadn't intended to reach out to Rhys at all, simply following one of the ghosts he had taken to observing when they appeared and walked into the outer glow of the fire.

He pauses and looks down to Rhys when he speaks. He evaluates how he looks in a calm manner, his Cubone by his ankle.
"It is." He spoke quietly. "I've never attended any party before."

[atlasrising]

Ooh, that's interesting. He looks at the little Cubone for a moment or two, before looking up to see who in the world has never been to a party before. Loader immediately takes interest in the person's pokemon, which leaves Rhys to ask a question that's automatically burning away.

"...You've never been to any parties before?" Helios usually had pretty fancy parties, especially when you were way high on the food chain and had the important face. Rhys hasn't been to any of those, but holy shit. College? That in itself was a giant ass party.

He pauses. "Not even a birthday party?"

[11121_assumption]

Walter shook his head. "I was only told when my birthday was. There was never any celebration about it." Even then it wasn't entirely clear exactly what day he had been born. It wasn't like it mattered too much, it was just a date. The Wish House didn't give any of the orphans in it's care extra attention on their birthdays and there was still the chance of being sent to the Water Prison for whatever reason. Walter hadn't realised birthday parties were a thing most people had until he was in his twenties.

Eyeing the Elgeym, Assumption slowly waved from beside Walter's ankle.

[atlasrising]

"That's...a really big bummer, actually." Where had this guy been where birthdays didn't matter? Rhys came from the year 2800-something, and people still celebrated and went crazy. The intensity of partying kind of different between people and their age, but still. They partied hard.

Rhys sets his hands on his hips, shaking his head. "When's your birthday? If it's close enough we should just get something to eat. Like a little doughnut or something. Kind of like in honor of you, you know?" There's no way he can just let someone get away without having a proper birthday bash.

This isn't proper by any means, but it's close enough.

Loader hums something by Rhys' ankles, wandering forwards to Assumption and chirping happily! He raised a hand and the three little fingers lit up, one after another...kind of like it was waving.