September Event - Guest Appearances

[pumpkinhollow]

GUEST APPEARANCES

Ignition

September 20th is the Autumnal Equinox. Many places across the world of Concorde celebrate the first day of fall. While various nations and regions have their own cultural practices surrounding it, nature is god everywhere. And so the inception of Mother Autumn’s domain is universally recognized, even if the names change from place to place. But on a little island named Marrow, in a little town called Pumpkin Hollow, there is another reason to celebrate.

The birth of Dahlia Leeds is not so important an event that it supersedes Celestine herself, and neither Dahlia nor anyone in town is foolhardy enough to claim as much. In fact, after the events on this very same day last year, one might argue that perhaps her birth at least started out as a bad thing. But she is certainly the wealthiest person in town. It is through the combination of substantial wealth and a generous heart, two things that are very seldom found in the same place, that we end up with a soiree where the birthday girl would rather spoil everyone else on her day than herself.

The doors to Leeds Estate, which presides proudly over the town upon its throne at the crest of Founder’s Hill, are flung wide open. Large sums of Brass are paid to caterers, florists, and seamstresses to make sure this place is decorated to the nines. Some businesses labor all year, just to prepare for the handsome payoff they’ll get from this event alone. And you, dear neighbor, are invited. Not only are you invited, but you are dressed for the event in whatever your heart desires, completely at the birthday girl’s expense. Dahlia ensures no cost nor conflict stands in between anyone in town and a much-needed break. She is determined for this birthday of hers to be a good night.

Or else.

Incipience

{ The timeframe between ignition and the peak of burning, where a small, contained fire spreads and grows gradually into an established flame. All it takes is a spark. }

The whole town is abuzz as preparations for the gala begin. From the moment people begin to wake up for the day, the air throughout Pumpkin Hollow just feels electric with excitement. After August, people have been needing this lift in morale, and after how last year’s gala went… well, there’s a lot riding on this one. And Dahlia seems much more in control now.

Speaking of being in control, the whole lead-up process has been incredibly organized. You wake up to a delivery--- your outfit, perfectly tailored and completely paid for. Accessories are included. She truly thought of everything.

It’s noteworthy that Dahlia’s invitations this time included another name beneath her own. “Suzanne Marie Dyneax,” it said. Most people don’t know the name, but gossip gets around in a small town like this. It’s not hard to pick up on the fact that this probably refers to Susie, one of the teenagers that Dahlia recently moved into her home, whose own birthday was ruined by Seemingly’s attack. Gift baskets have been delivered to others whose days were in proximity to the disaster--- Zivia, Capochin, even CT. Wine, fruit, and sweets, along with a birthday card. Dahlia has said in the past, “my birthday is your birthday,” but never has that felt more true.

With businesses mostly closed for the celebration, you are left with the majority of the day to prepare in relative peace. For many of the women in Dahlia’s inner circle, there is even a pre-party group dressing room set up on the third floor of her home. Only those who received her special invitation (Susie, Noelle, Fever, Cassandra, Anya, Alice, Patty, Melanie, Basira, Elsie) are permitted to join, but any friends or partners are gladly invited to wait at the bottom of the stairs for the girls to make their grand entrance.

The food is laid out, flowers placed, dresses laced and buttoned. The clock strikes 6pm, and the fun begins.

FLASHOVER

{ The moment when a blaze reaches its maximum size and heat, and the radiant heat in the space is such that all combustible materials ignite at once, allowing the flame to steadily and freely burn for the rest of the night. }

By the time it reaches 6:15, the ballroom is already flooded with eager dancers and hungry dinner guests. After all, the whole town is invited, and everyone’s excited to see Dahlia’s beautiful new ballroom and take a load off.

The music is elegant, played by a rotating cast of musicians who join the party when their act is over. The food is extravagant--- Dahlia and two of her partners are some of the biggest foodies in town, so this is expected. There is talking and laughing and the swirling of ballgowns, and all is well.

But there is a guest you do not recognize in the corner of the ballroom. An older man with white hair, strong features, and a dour expression. You can see Dahlia eyeing him, then flitting over to him, then talking to him. Her expression shifts from anxious, to annoyed, to resigned, before at last she sighs heavily and leaves him to it. Whatever it is that’s going on, clearly it’s something Dahlia is willing to begrudgingly tolerate in order to get back to having fun.

The reason for the disturbance becomes clear in short order, but by the grace of Celestine (and perhaps Eligos), it isn’t a reality bending nightmare or an attack by some monstrous beings. It is simply more guests.

A lot more, in fact.

Those who were on the island in September of the previous year will recall the Visitor’s Center, which appeared briefly just past the beach and served as temporary living and meeting quarters for visitors from the homeworlds of current residents. It would seem that this is a repeat incident. For the night of the gala, one to two “plus ones” have been invited for the vast majority of offworld residents. Most of them are friends or family who are happy to see their guests--- but this is ultimately a working of Eligos, so naturally, this is not always the case.

At the very least, Eligos seems to have been generous with his own granddaughter. As she turns away from him, she very nearly runs into someone much shorter than her. A dark haired human man with dwarfism. He laughs at the accident, grinning up at her as she stares back at him, utterly baffled. Then, petticoats billowing out, Dahlia sinks to the floor and embraces him as tight as she can, head pressed to his chest with little regard for her carefully-styled hair. Even those across the room can hear her shout his name. ”Jonah!”

Within the hour, the ballroom is packed with nearly double the people originally expected, turning the party livelier than it’s ever been. Tearful reunions, laughter, dancing, mischief, romance, sparring, cruelty, and even proper, righteous violence. Truly, this Leeds Gala will be one for the books!

--------
[ OOC reminders: each apped-in player character is entitled to one or two guests from their homeworld. This can be former selves, family, friends, enemies, and they do not have to be from the character’s exact canonpoint. They can be from the past or the future. You may play them yourself, ask another member player to do it, or recruit a non-member player to do so with moderator approval. Non-member players are permitted to join the Discord server while they’re active in this event! Threads you write for your own guests are eligible for AC for the character they’re there with, and threads you write for someone else’s guest can be used on the AC of a character of your choice. Just make sure to mark them as guest threads. After the gala, guests will be allowed to move freely about town, stay the night on Saturday and go home Sunday, or leave right after the gala if preferred. And last but not least, characters played in the gala can be apped directly from this event, rather than going through the normal arrival process. Let a mod know if you have questions, and have fun! ]

Smoldering

{ The decay of a flame as available heat, oxygen, and burning material gradually diminish. Eventually, the flames will recede entirely into glowing embers, glittering like orange starlight amid the ashes of what once was. }

The party rages well into the night. It’s not typical for residents of Pumpkin Hollow to stay out this late, with everything around here that goes bump in the night, but eventually party-goers begin to find their way out. They move in small groups, huddled around lanterns, may they ever stay lit. Perhaps the surprising bit is that their guests can go with them. There are even reservations made for board overnight at the Oak & Iron, all under the name “E. Rex”.

But alas, these reservations are only booked for one night. And by the time the sun begins to set on the darker half of the year for the first time, an unfamiliar black boat is moored at Jack's Marina. One that the guests will recognize as the vessel on which they arrived. They must leave by the time it becomes dark.

Or must they? Perhaps for a select few, they will fail to feel the call which draws them home. It is unclear why. There are many that Mortanne would have allowed residency for, if she could. But for some reason, all but a small few feel the pull. Perhaps Eligos has simply abandoned them here. (Or maybe none at all end up marooned and everyone goes home? That all depends on you, dear reader.)

When the sky goes dark, the aptly named Heavy Heart shoves off, with only her crimson sails hanging suspended seemingly in midair in the moonlight. The black ship is otherwise consumed by the night. And soon, even those flashes of red vanish into the distance.

Moments recede into memories, like a dying fire settles gently into glowing embers at the bottom of a hearth. The festivities are over, and the guests are gone. Life in Pumpkin Hollow resumes as before. But maybe just a little warmer and brighter.

“My birthday is your birthday,” as Dahlia often says.

Happy birthday.

References to the appearance of Leeds Estate can be found here!

Comments

[faithful_lt]

Fond companions.

Oh. Well then.

It's not the first time Felix has left him behind in one way or another, or even the second or third or fourth or--

Hoshi shakes his head to scatter his own thoughts and makes himself focus on the here and the now, on the bit of grace he's been granted to be here at all, and to hear that --

"I'm... glad. That he... remembers me in a good light," he settles on.

He'd never wanted Felix to be unhappy, and he never wanted him to be lost and alone. If he's managed to find peace and contentment - or more - here, that's more of a gift than he'd ever have thought possible.

[lovethyneighb_or]

Mulcahy has never counted himself as among the most observant, but you come to notice a few things when you’ve walked the paths he has. He frowns, and moves to very gently touch Louis’ elbow.

(And, oh, could both of them relate to each other about Felix leaving them behind more than they realize.)

“It may not mean much coming from me, but for what it’s worth… he did not simply seek to fill a hole in his heart. Whatever we have, I struggle to put a name on it, but it’s not romance. If you had been here with him all this time, I could easily still be somewhere at his side just the same.”

A beat. “And, ah… I must ask you a very strange question, because this is a very strange place. What do you last remember of him?”

[faithful_lt]

He blinks at the other man's reassurance and doesn't pull away from his touch. "No, that's not what - we were - I mean, he ended things with me, you know, before, um, before everything. And given... well, I'm just glad that there's good things for him to remember."

Hoshi's smile is real, for all that he's struggling a little with the unexpectedness of the moment. "So I'm glad. That the two of you have whatever you have between you. But I don't understand your question: what do you mean, what do I last remember?"

[lovethyneighb_or]

A touch of regret foments in the pit of his stomach; he so often seems to have a skill for putting his foot in his mouth. Blessed is Gaeta’s taste for the patient and compassionate.

“Well, it’s… it’s an odd thing. There are a few people here from my end of the universe as well, only… from different times of the war we were in. One of us is even from an entire year or so prior, and knows nothing of what I’d have considered recent events involving him. I thought you may want to be aware of this ahead of time, instead of stumbling on the possibility in a less pleasant manner.”

Hoshi knows something of the mutiny, clearly, but… (well. Not that Mulcahy knows much of it himself either, other than that it failed.)

[faithful_lt]

"Oh." He can't fathom it for a moment or two. What would it be like to encounter Felix before the mutiny, before the Demetrius, when they were still as happy as it was possible to be in the Fleet, and yet still knowing what was to come?

Could what was to come be changed, if so?

(all of this has happened before)

"Oh," he says again. "I see. Thank you for the warning." He finally remembers that Mulcahy'd asked him a question. "I, um. The last - it was shortly before the --"

Execution, he almost says, before a hint of caution strikes him. "-- um, the way things ended. For him. If you know about that?"

It's an honest question. These are deep and treacherous waters, he feels, or they could be.

[lovethyneighb_or]

Ah.

"Yes, I... I do. It seems we're all caught up, then." He sighs, wringing his hands. "I never did want to push the topic with him. Not when it ended how it did, and anyway, all of us are here for a second chance. But I still..."

The smallest thorn of doubt, still. He knows in almost all cases he'd still love him, but...

But.

"... well, I... sometimes I wonder."

[faithful_lt]

Hoshi blinks, and at the sight of Mulcahy's distress he reaches out to touch the other man's upper arm as gently as Mulcahy had reached out to him, trying to provide reassurance or comfort or both.

"Wonder what?" His question is as gentle as his touch.

[lovethyneighb_or]

“Just—what it was like to be on the other side. Of, of what he did.”

The words are hurried, like if he didn’t get them out now, he might never manage to.

“Is that unfair of me? To Felix, or to you, to ask that?”

[faithful_lt]

He goes very, very still. (Gods, how he hopes Helo'll have time after shift; even if Hoshi could never explain this place or how he'd been brought here, he already knows he's going to need to seek out the company of someone else who udnerstands, after this.)

"No." Although he'd meant it to be louder, the single word is a mere harsh whisper. Hoshi clears his throat, swallowing hard, and tries again.

"No, it's - it's not unfair. At all. And I'll tell you, if you really want to know."

His gaze, clear and direct, meets Mulcahy's.

"Do you?"

[lovethyneighb_or]

Hoshi’s gaze is—not frightening, but striking, to be sure. It cuts clean through his thoughts, offers its own kind of focus.

“I don’t know if that’s the question,” he says. “I think what I should be asking you is, should I?”

[faithful_lt]

"That's a harder question to answer, in some ways." Something almost unutterably wry tips the corner of his mouth.

"It might help you understand him better. Again, in some ways. Because what he did... it doesn't change who he is. Was. Still is, I'd figure."

[lovethyneighb_or]

A hand rises to rub at his throat. He feels so, so very strange to be discussing this without Felix around, but then—perhaps this is the only good way for Mulcahy to know this part of him. And if he's going to be this close to him, then he ought to know exactly who Felix is.

He takes a deep breath. "Then I'll listen to whatever there is to tell."

[faithful_lt]

He sends a brief prayer up to the Lords of Kobol and whatever universe-spanning power lies beyond them, the same power that let him and Racetrack find Felix against impossible odds when he was lost and drifting in the dark. It holds no real coherent thought, just a silent plea that whatever he says now won't frak things up for Felix here.

Maybe he should stay silent. And yet... and yet, if someone had been able to offer him this kind of insight so that he'd known better what to do when it mattered, so that he might have been able to be there for Felix when, before--

-- he has to try. He has to.

"One thing you need to know is that there's more than one thing at the center of it all that's true. Even though it might seem like they contradict each other, they're still true." Hoshi blows out a shuddering breath and makes sure that he meets Mulcahy's eyes as he speaks.

"First, Felix would never have done it if he hadn't believed it was the right thing. All the way down to the depths of him, even knowing the price he'd end up paying for it, he believed it was the right thing to do. And second, it was still a betrayal."

[lovethyneighb_or]

Though a troubled look may cross his face, though something in his chest may twinge, he does not flinch or turn away. Mulcahy stands as he is, and he listens. He pushes away his own churning thoughts. All there is to do is wait until Louis is done.

A complicated knot of truths, at least, is not anything new to him.

“I understand.” He nods. It’s simple to believe. It sounds very, very much like Gaeta.

[faithful_lt]

He doesn't miss the shift in Mulcahy's expression, but he doesn't comment on it. The other man has a reason for asking, probably more than one, and being troubled by the truth of it all - well, Hoshi can't imagine not being.

"Do you?" It's an honest question, but he doesn't wait for an answer. "Anyway. I can't imagine something like that happening again --"

Please, gods no.

"-- but when it did, he pushed me away. Cut me out entirely. I should have pushed back, but I didn't. So if something like that ever happens, look deeper for reasons. Maybe you can stop things going wrong, where I didn't."

[lovethyneighb_or]

Ah. Oh.

He nods, gravely. "I... I see. Thank you for the warning. I will."

He is silent for a moment, looking elsewhere.

"And I do understand. In some manner. It was nothing so dire as a mutiny, but..." he laughs and shakes his head. The bitter misfortunate is comical in its way, in hindsight. "Once, the whole town was trapped in a place that deliberately put all of our regrets on display. That was the day he admitted that he cared for me, to pull me out of my misery, and then he vanished from my life for months even after everything went back to normal. I thought that he needed... time, perhaps. He had said to wait. It turns out he'd made an arrangement to... dull his emotions, as they'd grown too painful. And he'd forgotten about me."

And again he feels strange to be talking about Gaeta this way without the man here, but if there is anyone worth telling, it's Hoshi, isn't it? Especially about this.

"It appears there's something of a pattern. I prefer to think I'll know better the third time."