ph_logs | [Cukefest] June Event

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[Cukefest] June Event - Vegging Out!

VEGGING OUT!

Come on out, the weather's vine!

Happy Summer, Pumpkin Hollow! May the blessings of Kora be ever at your shore and the summer sun bring Serranai’s gifts to life. The days are long and the nights are alive, and the cucumber harvest has arrived. That can only mean one thing--- it’s time for the annual cucumber festival!

2 years ago, in the year 16:53, the festival was cancelled due to all of the cucumbers being turned into turnips by a prankster witch who remains at large. As such, last year the Green King election from the bungled year was honored. But this year, Pumpkin Hollow has opened voting to its newer residents, and with an exciting turn-out! So join us for this beloved summer holiday, and enjoy cucumber-based delicacies, dance at a fancy ball, check out Pumpkin Hollow’s first-ever Pride parade, and honor our new Green King!

This event (ICly) is one week long, running from June 8th to June 14th. It is a brief reprieve from the spooky shenanigans of Pumpkin Hollow and is therefore horror free. Come get a slice of life--- and a few cucumbers too!

Gherkin this party started

Easy Being Green

The first day of the Cucumber Festival is always dedicated to the crowing of the Green King. Last year, this was Theodore “Teddy” Pennyburrow, the foxfolk man in charge of the island’s dormitory house for children without family. This year, it will be his honor to crown the new Green King.

Unlike the airy, floral affair that is Merrymeet, the Green King procession is rustic and raucous, taking place in the cobblestone streets under the fierce glow of the summer sun. Drums beat and cowbells jangle as the sidewalks crowd with cheering neighbors and the members of the Green Court are asked to strut their way to the town square, where each receives a green sash embroidered with vines.

Bringing up the rear are the two runners-up--- Father Mulcahy in third, and Radar O’Reilly in second. Each one is gifted with a pin for their sash (one bronze, one silver) with their names engraved and an enormous jar of artisanal pickles from Miann Farm in their choice of spiciness. Then, it’s time for the man of the hour to make his way forward.

A breeze whips up a fine cloak embroidered painstakingly with cucumber vines, a collar of cucumber leaves adorning his broad shoulders. He is all smiles, and what a winning smile it is. The town’s beloved baker, voted Handsome Offworlder of the Month by the Northwest Hollow Senior Ladies Knitter’s Club for three consecutive months! The man, the myth, the legend, with a name so nice you say it twice--- Max Maximum.

When he reaches Teddy, he has to bend down to receive his leafy golden crown and scepter, but he stands tall to face the crowd as their 16:55 Green King! Congratulations, Max!

From there, it’s time for the commencement party, which is held both inside and outside of the Oak & Iron. Loud and joyful music, dancing, and tons of great food are on the docket for tonight, along with a sacred ritual. It’s time to get the Green King pickled!

The rest of the Green Court is tasked with each buying Max a drink until he’s unable to continue (though Crichton is given permission to present Max with a glass of pickle juice if he chooses). It’s up to Max to earn the right to graduate from Green King to the coveted rank of Pickle King. How much can our fearless leader handle? Can he hold his liquor well enough to beat Archie Brenning’s record? The night is young--- let's find out!

Barrel of Laughs

Once the first day of the festival is out of the way, it’s all fun and games--- literally! There’s a ton of carnival games, tests of strength, cooking contests for pickle-related dishes, and even a contest for biggest cucumber. There’s also some rides, some magically powered and some kinetically powered, as well as “dragon rides” that allow townsfolk to ride on the back of a red, flying leviathan around the island! (It’s just Inspekta in an enormous dragon mask, but he’s hamming it up.)

As with last year, there will be a raffle--- this year hosted by Calloway’s Curios, and with a very interesting selection of items.

Third prize is a Talking Water Companion. An apparatus worn on one's back that carries a substantial tank of water that it can expel for various uses. The nozzle also talks for some reason. Don't worry, it's friendly. Probably.
Second prize is a Bicolor Teleportation Circle Cannon. Using one blue magical ring and one orange one, it can be used to designate the entry points of a makeshift teleportation circle, apparently by clinging to the celestial and otherworldly magic lingering on surfaces around town. Can only be used on flat surfaces with enough area to allow entry to an average-sized person standing upright. Use with caution.
And first prize is a Triangle of True Sight. A teeny tiny triangular arcane construct worn on the ear. The wearer can use it to see monsters through solid surfaces and track their movements, spot otherwise hard to see tracks from animals and people, access a map of the island and receive guidance to specific locations, and translate languages---- including R'lyeah. It also includes a health monitor that can track your heart rate and count your steps. Fancy!
The consolation prize, given to all players who do not win a major prize, is a Chatty Rectangle, which is a little red object with a panel that opens on the front, which can tell them factoids about the island's Pokemon residents. Calloway has a whole box of them. Please get rid of them. (More will be available for purchase after the festival ends as well.)

Tickets this year have a significant price hike, because of course they do. They are each going for a whopping 300 Brass. Despite Calloway’s protests, Town Hall has asked that the purchase be limited to 5 tickets per person still, in the interest of fairness. If you'd like to purchase any, please use the "RAFFLE TICKETS" thread below to do so!

A Dill-ightful Array of Colors

For reasons some of you may be familiar with, Pumpkin Hollowites tend to be a bit dubious about the idea of parades. So when the idea of a Queer Pride parade was pitched to Town Hall, it was met with no small amount of side-eye from the locals. However, after a thorough explanation of the tradition and its significance, the event was approved wholeheartedly!

On the Wednesday of the festival week, the morning schedule features a parade of brightly colored horse-drawn floats, beautiful men wearing very little clothing, muscular women in heavy knight’s armor, androgynous people in fantastical clothing, and people of all genders clad in symbolic color palettes or different flavors of drag. It’s a splendid display that offworlders and locals enjoy, and the parade leads to the Greymare Library lawn, just off of the main area of the Cucumber Festival that is designated for Pride-specific booths and activities.

Gerry Keay will be hosting a repeat of his popular seminar, “Gay Shit 101”, and various speakers will also be asked to share speeches, performances, art, and poetry about their experience with sexuality and gender. Drag shows will be held on a small stage, the lady-knights will be sparring on a section of lawn for entertainment, and booths will be selling special craft pieces, clothing, and street food themed around the event. This festival will run alongside the main event from Wednesday to Friday, but will close on Saturday to allow the folks running it to attend the closing festivities of the Cucumber Festival.

Town Hall would like to extend a huge shout-out to Pinhole Printing and Binding, the Velvet, Ambrosia, and Silk brothel, and the Bizzyboys for helping to sponsor and organize the event! Pumpkin Hollow is excited to incorporate this celebration of identity and expression into their summer traditions going forward!

A Slice of the High Life

On Saturday, it comes time for the closing ceremonies. Many of the food and game booths are still open in the main area of the festival for the morning and early afternoon, but they close up early to prepare for one final event.

You see, Pumpkin Hollow’s last major celebration was for Merrymeet back in February. The normally delightful spring cotillion was interrupted by Efrain himself, preventing people from fully enjoying the party for the second year in a row. To make up for lost dancing time, this year’s closing celebration of the Cucumber Festival will feature an indoor-outdoor fancy dress party in Town Hall and in the plaza.

As before, if you would like a custom outfit for the occasion, you will need to foot the bill. However, if you aren’t able to pay for one, there will be 50B rentals available, with one catch---- everything that is available for this offer is in a shade of green, since the clothes made for this purpose are made of excess fabric from the festival decorations. Seems like Yorick, in a distracted state after his breakup from Mayor Poe, ordered double the amount needed, and Town Hall is very much hoping that the rentals will help make up for some of the lost budget.

As usual, there will be an impressive array of food (much of which will still be cucumber-based), plenty of music, and good times with friends! Perhaps a little interpersonal drama for later gossip as well? Time will tell! Let’s end the Cucumber Festival with a bang!

Speaking of bangs, once the party ends, there will be fireworks lit outside, so grab a seat on the Festival Green for a romantic evening or grab a complimentary potion of Deafen on your way home for a good night’s sleep. Happy Cukefest!

| CONTENT WARNINGS: alcohol use |

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Valdis looks away, back into her wine.

"I'm not ready for that discussion yet, Erik. It's very confusing. I mean, yes, it's nice to be able to confide in someone that way I can with you, but...I don't feel like that's entirely what you mean when you ask that question."

"It is, perhaps, a mild probe. But I do mean the sentiment. I won't press, I'll simply hope we get more chances to confide in each other. I can be satisfied with that."

"I'm happy to continue our friendship as it is."

She hesitates to offer anything more than that, to give him any kind of hope after their tumultuous beginning and how it has grown. She fears hurting him with her inability to commit, to make him feel like something being used instead of someone she values. There's also Max to take into account. And Fever. And Miles. How would they all feel? She's not even sure how she feels.

No. Friendship is the safest thing to offer.

"I am sorry about what I did, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't do it again if it meant protecting Max."

Somehow it's far more difficult to say and she's actually surprised by how hard it is to speak those words.

"Then I will not bring it up again." If friendship is all she desires from this relationship, it's still leagues away from how they started and more than he ever imagined they could be. He'd be a fool to push for more, and he tries not to be a fool.

"Valdis, I have long forgiven that," he says, though it does touch him deeply to hear her say so. He never expected her to. "But, thank you, it does make me happy to hear. Still, I think you know that if you had asked, I would have told you to do it. I owe that and more to Max, despite how he'd argue otherwise. When it comes to Max, I will rely on you to always choose him over me."

"I knew that then," she replies. "That's why it was so easy to decide. For someone who is the embodiment of death...I don't really like killing, not really."

She takes another sip of wine.

"I like feeling powerful, but...it always leaves a bitter taste behind."

"The problem with power," Erik says pensively, "is once you start building it, you can never stop. Someone will always want to take it from you."

It's a never-ending cycle. Still, he can't help being a little glad that even she doesn't like killing. Even if that must make it hell for her, he'd hate to see her go power-mad for their souls.

"Having powerful allies tends to help with that."

Valdis knows him well enough by now to understand that Erik never wanted to gather power, he doesn't crave it like she does, but he needed it to survive his world.

"Powerful allies never helped me, I was on my own once I abandoned the pack, and even my own power was useless. In order to survive I had to blend in, and blending in as a woman in the era in which I found myself...well, I'm sure you can imagine what kinds of things I had to do. I was obviously always going to be better off than any human woman, after all, there were plenty of women who seized what power they could through their wiles, but too much power and I drew attention I didn't want...Power means nothing if you cannot use it."

She had the power to remake the world she came from, but using it would mean never knowing peace, always fighting, always having someone against her. She'd never wanted that.

"I don't need to imagine in this case." The world was not markedly better to young orphans on the streets in ancient times, either. His sister didn't bear that brunt alone.

"I think it depends on the type of power. But that is splitting hairs and I won't pretend I do not see your point because I do. What would you use your power for if you could?"

"I don't really know. What would you do with yours if you didn't have to hide your true self?"

"I think the question answers itself in my case. My desire for power was always about protecting myself and, once upon a time, my sister. If I am safe to live as my true self, then I might not want power. If I still had it, then I would like to think I'd use it to protect others, cliche as that must sound. That's the only thing that's ever really given my life any meaning."

"That sounds lovely, and I would do the same, but humans tend to fear what they don't understand, and the supernatural is sorely lacking in my world."

She tips her head.

"Do the humans understand what can go wrong with the vampires if they lose control?"

"It does, doesn't it?" He's sorry it can never be for her.

"Humans generally? I don't think so. Not for some time. But the humans who administrate the supernatural investigation branch of IOPSA certainly do. Not only that, they have been given the means to stop a rogue vampire if the need is great. Mother herself gave them vials of her own blood directly from the vein. Anyone holding that blood in their possession can command a vampire just as she can. It has been necessary to use that tool before, and I'm sure there will be more need for it yet."

Valdis goes silent, pondering the idea that this Mother had the power to do such things. Perhaps she is like a goddess to the vampire, it would not take much questioning to know more, but she has other concerns.

"And what is to stop them from using it against vampire who are not a danger to them? I cannot imagine that the humans that know are above abusing that power nor would they deny themselves the opportunity to remove your kind from their world."

"The terms of our accord," Erik answers sincerely. "Humans were hunting us to extinction already. There were elite groups of hunters and assassins who made that their very life calling. This was why Mother chose to reveal herself when a group of humans began to organize, looking for a better way." Why then? No one knows, but she must have agreed that the time for change had come.

"So the covenant was struck, humans would stop their hunt, and vampires would no longer be allowed to harm humans or turn them without consent. Mother commanded all her children to follow his law, and we are duty-bound to obey. To the humans, only three vials were given, to be used only when a vampire has broken the accord terms. In common practice, however, we Elder vampires take swift action against accord breakers before the humans have the chance to notice. It is not a perfect solution, but it has allowed for a level of casual human and vampire interaction that never could have been before."

"I am glad of that at least, but I am curious about this Mother, she sounds important to your kind."

She truly is curious and she's sure Erik will enjoy telling her more about him, if only because she can understand better than most.

"She is the first of our kind. Her blood magic runs in every vampire's veins for she is our origin. She is our God. If she were to appear before me now, and if she were to command me to cut off my own hand in offering to her, I would have no choice but to obey." His fear is palpable. Mother is his god, but unlike here, she is one he hopes never to meet face to face.

She can almost taste his fear as he speaks of this Mother, it wafts off of him, thick and freeflowing. She doesn't even fear the Creator to this extent.

"And where did she come from?"

"There isn't a soul who knows." Not living or undead, beside the entity Herself.

"She watched humanity take its first steps. She was there. She created the first thirteen vampires in a time so ancient that no record exists of it. Our origin is as mysterious to us as to anyone else."

She has no desire to ever meet this God of the vampires. Mother seems almost uncaring, or perhaps she is more of an entity like Tiamat, a creature betrayed and seeking vengeance against another. She cannot glean the purpose of their creation from Erik's words, perhaps he doesn't know.

"At least I know where I came from, and why, I can't imagine not knowing the reason for your existence aside from calling it a curse."

Erik hadn't wanted this, not in the slightest. She's sure Meira hadn't wanted to be a Hellhound either.

"It is something we have long had to come to terms with. Mother is our god, but she rarely shows herself to anyone. And she does not explain. We are left to make our own meaning of existence."

"At least the humans got books and legends and lore from their gods. Just one more way they are favored I suppose."

"Too bad it tends to give them an inflated ego." As if vampires don't have those?

"I do find it difficult to relate to those who praise their gods and hope to one day meet them. It took me a very long time to approach any of the goddesses of this world for fear of what they would be like."

"Before coming here I never would have reached out to a God for help. My Creator seeks my destruction and with what I now know of Tiamat, I have to wonder who is in the right. The Captain...I felt sorry for him and in the end that only caused pain. Tiamat has harmed me more than once."

Yet she feels herself considering why Tiamat might have tried such tricks, why the Goddess was so bitter and sad.

"Mortanne and her sisters are different, much as I didn't want to believe it at first."

"They are. I know that now, too. Mortanne was everything I wished Mother could have been. She's given me great comfort." And hope.

"Tell me more about Tiamat. What, exactly, is she?"

"I don't actually know much about her, though I do wish I could safely speak with her. I know I told you what happened with her on the Eterna, but most of that is from second hand accounts. I...do know that you refrained from watching the Opera, so you wouldn't have seen her story."

Valdis wishes she knew more, but she can at least tell Erik what she does know.

"Tiamat is the primordial Goddess of Destruction, she helped create the world I hail from. I don't know all the details, but it seems she was in love with a servant of her brother's, the first Angel of Death, Muriel. He betrayed her for some reason and cut out her heart on behalf of the Creator. From there, I can only guess, but I imagine that since she did not die, Muriel did not mean her to. Though I doubt that was much comfort to her consciousness."

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