It's time for the solstice!

[indigo_events]

Who: Everyone attending the Azalea festival!

Where: Azalea town and surrounding woods

When: June 21st

Summary: Celebi's come out, so it's time to throw a party in its honor!

Log:

It's Midsummer! Traditional festivities in Azalea are all in full swing, and this year even bigger and better than ever, thanks to the influx of curious tourists and Legendary Seekers drawn by the rumors in hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive Celebi. Everyone in Azalea is putting out their finest, and the whole town is decked out with flowers in vases and pots, colorful streamers, and bright awnings under which vendors hawk their wares.

The fun doesn't stop there, however. Those time disturbances that have been popping up all over the place? They've become at once more localized and more benign. Flowers open quickly and stay in bloom without fading, a blissful moment seems to stretch into eternity, somehow you've managed to sample the food of a dozen different booths and it still is barely mid-morning. It's like a perfect moment somehow drawn out, suspended in time to savor as long as possible. Those who have a particularly fun few minutes may even find them repeated a few times!

Which perhaps should be no surprise, given that Celebi itself has come out to play! If you're lucky and paying close attention, you might even catch a glimpse of it flitting about from one place to another throughout the town and the nearby forest. It certainly isn't shy, though it is moving quite quickly and doing anything but staying in one place. Anybody who might attempt to catch or challenge it to a battle isn’t going to get anywhere at all—and stubborn trainers might find themselves stuck in a time loop for a few hours. There's simply so much to see and do, after all! Strangely enough, if any of the Legend Seekers are around, Celebi never seems to be anywhere to be found.

Eventually, though, the long day will come to an end, and the festivities with it. By morning, all the hubbub will be gone, and Celebi with it. But not quite without a trace: anyone who came to Azalea Town to participate in the festival will find in their belongings a single fossil as a parting gift from the Time Travel Pokémon.

Comments

[a_sin_for_him]

The games and stalls always draw Lust's attention at these festivals. She's fairly good at the games, and god knows she enjoys spending money. It's proof that she has money to spend, she's successful. She can spend it thoughtlessly on festival trinkets if she wants. Besides, she's an attractive, well dressed young woman. It isn't hard to coax free games, under the right circumstances. And she's dressed for the festival, in a long green dress patterned with red and orange flowers up the skirt and across the bodice.

There's extra incentive for something more light and summer appropriate. She's attending the festival with Timothy, a proper date - though she hardly expects them to spend all of their time together. Being here now, she remembers last summer, when they'd only just first met. They met up in person for the first time at the festival in Ecruteak, and she'd urged him to try his hand at the games. He'd won a stuffed Eevee at the Test Your Strength booth. Now here they were, at another summer festival, and how much had changed between them. He'd gone from a near stranger she felt badly about turning down, now she's rather certain they're going to be spending the rest of their lives together in this world.

And the thought doesn't entirely terrify her.

She can be found often among the games and stalls, either with her beau or by herself, and it seems she has quite an interest in the Slowpoke Races. If she isn't browsing wares or giving the games a try herself, she's quick to urge others to do both. Guttle, her Spheal, is with her as always.

[usedstockpile]

[Gil finds Lust meandering by the Slowpoke races. It'd been forever and a day since he'd had a chat with someone in something resembling a similar circumstance, what with the whole age shenanigans, and it wasn't as if Gil was above using his young looks and charm to cozy up to lovely women. Especially lovely women who'd give him wine if he asked nicely. There was a reason women and wine started with the same letter in English, right?]

Miss Lust, a pleasure to see you again! Can I get you a drink?

[The golden boy king, less than five feet tall, is looking rather spiffy in a lovely little....okay no, it's a shade below gaudy. It's a golden-jacket silk tux three piece suit without a tie. At least it's not leopard print]

[a_sin_for_him]

Well if it isn't my little island friend. Hello. You're all dressed up for the day, aren't you?

[Lust offers a friendly smile. God, when was the last time she'd spoken with him? She can't even remember. The days blur together and time is a funny thing. Especially recently...]

What have you been up to?

[usedstockpile]

Well, it's good form to dress formal for little god-like creatures. Or it's just a nice excuse to dress up~

[Gil takes a sip of the soda he's procured, which is decent but not to his spoiled tastes.]

A little of this, a little of that, mostly been on the road. Oh, we got trapped in the Alph Ruins for four or five weeks, that was something. Might be going back to challenge a couple of gyms like I initially planned. What've you been getting into?

[a_sin_for_him]

I suppose.

[But really, that outfit...]

Oh, nothing terribly exciting. I took a weekend trip to Kanto with my gentleman, mostly I've simply been tending the homestead and working with my circus seals.

How did you get trapped in the ruins?

[usedstockpile]

Circus seals? Are you actually opening a circus or is that more of a metaphor?

[You have no idea, Lust. This is tame for the King of Heroes. Sitting right on the border of gaudy and bearable.]

There's that room where you fill up the words with water, right? At the time I had a Krabby and a Magikarp who could do it. The Magikarp knocked out my Krabby, and splashed all the water out. It was...not pleasant.

[alltoblame]

Ed's not really interested in the games, he came to the festival for a number of reasons - but the main two were that he was already here, and it had something to do with a legendary pokemon, which caught his attention. Still, he was exploring every aspect of this festival, even if that meant simply walking through so it was only a matter of time before he bypassed Lust in her appropriately colored dress.

One that stuck out as oddly inappropriate in his mind. Ed- paused, blinking as he took in the sight before him, almost as if he hadn't realized she was even here at all, all over again. The ponyta by his side nudging him rudely for stopping so abruptly without warning, but he didn't seem to notice, waiting until the race was over to speak.

Lust had been pleasant enough over the Gear, and Al had said they were harmless here. Basically human.

"You're pretty good at that, huh?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"I've won more than I've lost, so I suppose it's an accurate enough statement. Hello, Edward."

Lust turns to the familiar young man, offering a faint smile of greeting. She shouldn't have been surprised he's here, with all the talk of legendaries and mysterious happenings, it's just the sort of thing to draw an Elric.

She's perfectly content to be civil and amiable, as long as he remains the same. In person, the changes the years here have wrought on her are even more evident. The way she holds herself, the air she gives off. Much of the bite of danger and haunting sorrow have faded. There's color in her cheeks and her makeup is subtle and her hands bare of the old trademark gloves. Other than her violet eyes and unnaturally pale skin, she wouldn't look out of place on any city street among throngs of human women.

Guttle, however, shows none of the slight distance Lust presents. The over large Spheal rolls over to Edward and his Ponyta happily, excited at the prospect of new friends.

[alltoblame]

"Yeah... Hey."

It's an awkward enough greeting, considering the circumstances, but Ed still hasn't really worked out the whole etiquette expected of him in this place. Al being on that train with Envy like it was normal was something he was still trying to puzzle together - Wrath was another matter all together, Sloth had been mentioned but he'd seen no sign of her so far, and here was Lust... civil enough. Ed has noted the changes, every outfit, every gesture or expression. Even Envy seemed different here, if only slightly by his standards.

Still, it had been years since they saw each other, and Lust wasn't the only one that had changed. He might seem like a time bomb waiting to go off if the right match was struck, although she'd be able to tell that he was older just by looking at him and his demeanor was calmer. There was a slight edge to him that was new, whether from how unpredictable this world was or something else. Overall, if anything he might just seem tired, and that was a fair assessment - but he was adjusting to this place and at least this time he didn't have to do it entirely without Al.

Edward visibly startles when Guttle approaches, but the Ponyta is just as happy to meet the Spheal, offering a nuzzle in greeting while his trainer looks on in surprise. "They make friends fast..."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Oh, Guttle adores anything with at least two synapses firing inside of it." Lust waves her hand in a dismissive gesture of her starter. She's well used to this sort of thing.

"He has a good nature that verges on trying sometimes. He hasn't battled in years, he prefers not to. He's my starter." And will always remain a special favorite in Lust's heart, no matter what her initial reaction to him had been.

"Are you enjoying the festival? Azalea's pleasant in summer, though I prefer Violet." Look at her, she's mastered human small talk! Television has proven a vital instrument in learning about and navigating human social norms.

[alltoblame]

He's a little dumbfounded by that response, but he lets it go. At the mention of battling, Ed glances at the two again, curiously. "Mine likes to battle... I guess they kind of treat it like sparring." Although he couldn't speak for the personality of everyone, he definitely knew the Ponyta enjoyed it, like a sport.

"Ah..." Ed seems a little surprised by the sudden change of topic, but his attention turns back to Lust almost immediately. He might look a bit sheepish, with his response. "It's not so bad. Food's good, at least. I was hoping it would be more... informative, I guess."

[kissmyaspis]

[Unsurprisingly, the other members of Timothy's ragtag little group of travelers aren't far away. Even after nearly a year, the festival scene still wasn't Athena's thing. But between the others wanting to check things out and her own suspicion that all this activity surrounding the sightings of a legendary might attract Team Rocket... well. She's here.

She's not indulging in any of the food and games, but she winds up close by when Lust goes to check out the Slowpoke Races. She's watching the pokemon zoom around, brows furrowed and arms crossed.]

Has anyone even thought to ask what the hell is going on with these things?

[a_sin_for_him]

You mean their speed? It's just one of the atmospheric effects today. Time and its passage are very distracted.

[Lust shrugs. That's honestly enough of an explanation for her. These things happen. She spent a week half-Espurr, for god's sake. Sped up Slowpokes? Not that strange.]

[Besides, she's been betting well.]

They do look rather ridiculous, don't they, moving like this. I wonder if they'll miss it, when things return to normal.

[kissmyaspis]

Is there any aspect of this place that won't go out of control at some point?

[She doesn't even sound bitter. It's just that every time she thinks she's seen it all, she's proven wrong. It's getting kind of old at this point!]

If they're even smart enough to understand what's going on, I imagine they will. Wouldn't you, if one of your abilities changed so drastically like that?

[a_sin_for_him]

No. I've found myself seven years old, I've found myself trapped in someone else's dream, and I've found myself half espurr. Among other adventures.

[They didn't stop. Sometimes they were more frequent, sometimes the respites were long, but they always resumed.]

Well, I don't know. They aren't fast, this might be terrifying for them. Or exhilarating.

[kissmyaspis]

[... Yeah Athena won't even touch that first one. There are very, very few things that can scare her, but the idea of going back to that point in her life? Yyyyyeah that's one of them.]

Is there even a point to any of that? Usually when someone pulls some kind of weird shit that drags this many people into it, they're trying to flash their power, proving how much better they are than the people they're screwing over. But all the locals still acts like these "legendary" Pokemon are benevolent forces. Seems a little backwards, don't you think?

[garbagechild]

"LUST!"

Fortunately for everybody, there's so much going on that Lust has had plenty of uninterrupted time with The Bae (tm).

Unfortunately, there's so many things to spend money on that it's only a matter of time until the little prince of wolverines reappears from the festive chaos, and reappear he does, with Mad the Deino scampering at his side.

Even if she's already turning to acknowledge him, he tries to tug on her dress.

"Lust, I need more pocket money."

[a_sin_for_him]

"Already?" Lust raises an eyebrow as she looks down at him. Should she be teaching him the value of money? That seems like one of those things that children should be taught. But on the other hand...oh god, how can she resist those big eyes of his? Look at him, tugging at her dress and and so expectant... And really, there's plenty of money. What harm could it do?

"Is this the only time I'm going to see you, when you need more money?"

But there's an amused teasing note in her voice, and she's already going for her purse.

[garbagechild]

If she wants to know where all the money went, she need only look down at Mad, whose scraggly black mane has been pulled into dozens of tiny ponytails held in place by cheap plastic rings from the Pin the Tail On the Slowpoke stand.

She needs more ponytails.

Wrath holds his hands out to RECEIVE THE CASH DOLLARS.

"No, you'll see me when I get hungry too."

It's a perfectly earnest Wrath Statement (tm), but there is the SLIGHTEST cheeky edge in his voice when he says it.

[a_sin_for_him]

"Oh, of course. Why spend your money feeding yourself when I'll do it? I'm beginning to see why everyone says having children costs so much money." Lust is still smiling, and handing over P5000. He's just a child, he can't need that much money.

Then again, it's Wrath. Well, if he needs more, he can easily find her.

"Have you been playing many of the games? I...oh for god's sake, let me fix Mad's hair. That looks terrible."

She can only ignore it for so long.

[garbagechild]

He eagerly accepts the money-- because yessss. Now he can go back to throwing things at other things for prizes, something he's gotten very good at ever since Joker started teaching him how to throw knives for the circus.

He does, however, let out a sound of dismay when she goes to fix the atrocity that is his tiny, angry dragon's hair.

"Nooo, no, leave it alone! She's beautiful! See how many colors she's got?"

She does indeed have a lot of colors.

All of them clash.

[armoredsoul]

The Slowpoke races seem to be quite the draw at the moment, considering how long it takes Alphonse to spot Lust in the crowd watching. It's after the third round that he spots her and heads over, offering a cheery wave as he does. Amicus the Null plods along behind, looking at Guttle with interest.

"Lust, hey! Did you put down any bets?"

[a_sin_for_him]

"Alphonse, there you are! It seems I never see you anymore - and I imagine I'll be seeing you even less, all things considered." The Elric brothers - at least those two - have always been inseparable.

"And I have. I've been winning, actually. At least for the moment."

Guttle rolls forward to say hello, barking in his funny way.

[armoredsoul]

"Yeah, I just seem to keep missing you--I'll try to keep in better contact while I'm with Brother--you know he's here again, right?"

Al grins and gives Lust a thumbs up while Amicus lowers their head to whuffle curiously at Guttle. Hello, are you a friend? "Awesome! I haven't had too much luck, but the races are still fun to watch."

[a_sin_for_him]

"We've both been busy. I've been taking a number of day trips to Violet and Azalea lately. And yes, I've spoken with Edward." Amiably enough, on both occasions.

"I'd say there's a trick to it, but there really isn't. I just choose the name I like the most." She laughs, watching the two Pokemon greet one another.

Guttle is, of course, everyone's friend, and more than eager to play.

"How have you been?"