It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest

[ironwood]

Characters: Anyone unfortunate enough to pass by
Date: July 20th, 2017 (2018 in-game)
Location: Water Sector
Situation: For-Con, or a Festival of Fools
Warnings/Rating: Rated D for a bunch of dumbasses
AC Note: This log is eligible for AC counts in both July and August.



The eighteenth dawns with tents and make-shift pavilions being set up in the Water District. It’s a relatively small gathering but still sizable enough that it begins to draw a bigger crowd later in the day. At it’s peak, it may be about 200-250 Kedan wandering around the tents and displays. Some seem quite enthusiastic about the whole thing, others rather bewildered.

There’s a lot available to curious attendees, such as food, games, and, of course, little trinkets to sate rampant consumerism.

-Food stalls are everywhere with Kedanese cooks preparing your favourite meals from home (or reasonable facsimiles thereof. Or barely recognizable, in-name-only attempts).

-Yep, the Kedan officially have their own version of Real-People Fanfiction. Most of it is Foreigners going on adventures with various historical or mythological figures, or fairly tame speculative fiction about day-to-day lives back in the Foreigner’s worlds. But, of course, there’s always a few oddballs. Who do the Kedan ship your characters with?

-Some talented Kedan have sculpted figurines of of Foreigners (some of whom have come and gone) out of a resinous substance. These little figurines are surprisingly accurate.

-"Guest Speakers”, or more accurately, “unsuspecting Foreigners Kyde bribed or otherwise somehow managed to rope into answering Kedan questions”. Most are standard fair, what you would expect to get asked by people curious about whole other worlds, but there’s always weirdos with no filter.

- Trinkets and memorabilia from other worlds will be on sale. Is there something you want for your character from home that you want for them but is too mundane to bother spending AC on? Here’s your chance to get it. The rule of thumb here is that the item has to be fairly mundane (for example: a photo album, a treasured piece of jewelry, a toy, a favourite mug, a pet rock, their favourite brand of shampoo). If it’s magical or high tech in some way, it will still require an item request and the corresponding AC point percentage. Please note in the OOC thread below what your characters will be getting

-Yes, that does appear to be a body pillow.

Comments

OOC - Items

[ironwood]

Note the items your character(s) will be getting here. No more than two items per character please!

[simulsimul]

His wife's pendant, pls.

Re: OOC - Items

[purered]

A set of basic prosfair pieces - so the little ones, not the big mofo at the center

[denyamenti]

A toy horse and a Mehen board, thank you!

[annihilist]

The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake and T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets, please.

Re: OOC - Items

[redlightgreenlight]

A feathered pen.
Thank you!

[schrodingersghost]

For Danny:
Can he get his telescope from home?
If not that, his model of the space shuttle.

For Conan:
This picture

[ironwood]

(Telescope is fine!)

KRATOS; OPEN except for the fanfic burning, which is closed to DEVIN

[simulsimul]

[Kratos had not intended, initially, to attend; but in light of the special request made of him, he didn't feel he could refuse. When he offered to allieviate some of the humidity, it hadn't been with the intent to be seen as an honourable anything. At best, he hoped perhaps making his presence known would make it easier to slip away before too long.

[No such luck. He has a guide who refuses to let him out of her sight and insists on showing him everything. This involves showing him everything more than once, because some things, apparently, change.

[That means he can be found in various places over the course of the night, drawing on patience with an element of grim resignation. Chefs wanting him to taste-test (most of them are, at least, better than Raine, even if the dishes are nothing as they should be). Sculptors wanting his opinion on figurines of himself (those are exceedingly creepy, but the artwork is to some degree accurate and receives compliments). Writers ... apparently just wanting to show him appreciation in ways he would rather they wouldn't (with fictional guesses as to valorous actions and adventures).

[He's twice roped into being a 'guest speaker' for two different crowds, which is both uncomfortable and alarmingly easy. He makes some attempt not to talk too much, or give answers which won't encourage him to start talking without thinking. Some of the questions are ordinary (what's the architecture like, what kinds of things do you wear, is magic very common) and some of them are ... not (details about smallclothes and extracurricular uses for magic go ignored, as does a weirdly persistent kedan who seems convinced that Kratos's world is ruled by a giant squid). A few of the more observant kedan from the Guild take the opportunity to ask him questions about what he is, but these are mostly diverted around.

[There are a handful of times he manages to escape his captor guide. During one, he can be found at one of the trinket stalls, staring wordlessly and with an especially granite-like expression down at an open pendant. During another, he slips away to a shadowed corner between buildings with sheaf of paper in hand to burn one particular written work with a flare of orange mana. He's not blushing you're blushing.]

ehehehe

[annihilist]

[Unfortunately for Kratos, the shadowed corner he's selected to commit arson is the same one that Devin is currently lurking near. This... festival or convention or whatever it is has some amusing aspects, but mostly he finds it a bit unsettling. As a result, he's been skirting the edges and resolutely trying to stay away from any kedan who might corner him and ask questions about his fangs.

The sound of something burning catches his attention, and he spots the red-haired angel. It's dim, but his eyesight is exceptional, and that is definitely another flush upon Kratos' cheeks. He has got to find out what put it there.]

Fancy meeting you here.

OPEN

[annihilist]

Devin has zero interest in actually participating in the festival, but he knew there was value in observation. Clearly, some of the kedan had a special interest in the Foreigners, and presumably would be more likely to help them in a dire situation. He's also just morbidly curious about the whole thing.

He spends almost all of his time skirting the edges and lurking in shadowed corners, occasionally taking notes. His hearing is advanced enough that he can pick up information without needing to be in front of people, which means he can avoid them. Anyone who approaches may be able to get him to chat.

At one point, the vampire risks being accosted long enough to acquire a book that's well-worn from being read so many times. Once he returns to his quiet corner, he doesn't read it; just runs his hands over the edges a few times before tucking it into his jacket for safekeeping.

[purered]

Klaus had not expected to bump into Devin that day. There weren't a lot of people he genuinely just tried to avoid. ...There weren't any, actually. But since Devin's little reveal about being a vampire over the network, Klaus had been keeping what one might call a polite distance, punctuated only by the occasional menacing glare when they passed each other at the hotel (though that could also just be Klaus's face, it was hard to say really).

Klaus was, by nature, a proud person, with strong conviction that only wavered when he was presented with solid evidence to the contrary. During Daseng's attacks and working with Devin, he'd gotten just that. It had left him a bit shaken.

Still, he wasn't so proud that he couldn't admit fault, and he had been, frankly, kind of a dick.

"Mr. Parker," Klaus said, his jaw still tight and his posture a bit stiffer than usual. He may have been wrong about Devin, but it would take quite a bit of time before Klaus didn't feel at least somewhat wary of vampires. "May I have a word?"

Re: OPEN

[wellhello]

The festival was...interesting, to say the least. If nothing else, Jack had to admit that he'd never seen anything else quite like it. He was weaving his way through, through the inner workings to brush elbows and shake hands and see what all had been cooked up. To get to know the populous, maybe find some entertainment for the night.

He wove out to get an idea of who was watching on the borders of it all. Call it instinct or paranoia, but given everything he'd heard about the attacks it seemed better safe than sorry. If something happened, he'd rather not find out in the middle of a panicked crowd.

One face in particular sticks out to him while he spends some time skirting the edges, and he grins brightly when he sees it for all that the crowd's already gotten his endorphins up.

"Devin!" Jack calls out in greeting, moving forward and brushing a hand idly through his hair, the best approximation of a tanktop he could manage sticking to him in the heat. "I didn't expect to see you here."

OPEN

[purered]

I. Treasures
One might have mistook the handsome case of figures for a chess set (albeit without a board). At least at first glance. Upon a second glance, it would appear there were far, far too many pieces total for a proper game. But Klaus recognized them immediately.

Should one pass by the stall, they might find Klaus talking excitedly at to a merchant who has the vacant expression of a man quietly praying for death. The topic? Well, if what Klaus is saying, it sounds like a game that is the unholy amalgamation of various strategy games and designed to be played entirely by people with more brains than a social life.

Do you dare join the conversation and possibly save this poor merchant from being bored to death?


II. Embarrassing

He was somewhat flattered about the story a young Kedan girl wrote, even if it was about a somewhat sensitive topic for him. Her own speculations about how he'd acquired his rather prominent underbite.

Given the expressions of his fellow foreigners over some of the inaccurate but very enthusiastic stories, this was probably not the worst thing to discover at these booths.

She gave him an expectant look as he slowly read through the Kedanese.

"So - am I right? Is that how it happened?"

Klaus was not a lying man - a powerful enchanter certainly didn't curse him for stealing a treasured pet. But he also wasn't one to wreck a teenager's dreams - especially not with the horror story that was actually behind those fangs.

"Fairly close indeed," he said with a nod.

At least it isn't whatever they just read, he thought ruefully as a beet red Foreigner shot past, clutching a document with an angry Kedan hot on their heels.

OPEN

[no_light]

He had known he would regret coming here, sometimes ignorance truly is bliss, but Kylo's common sense has never been able to outdo his curiosity. And so here he is, strolling through the con with all the airs of a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Being greeted by complete strangers as if they know him does nothing to improve his mood. Some girls giggling over him only makes it worse. And then there's one who blurts out can I see your lightsaber? only to go alarmingly red and make him wonder... He doesn't stay to find out the answer.

But none of that compares to him getting his hands on that print-out. A story.

About him. And Heather. ...and he bends her over the desk, her short skirt...

Watch him melt into a puddle of embarrassed fury. Watch him. It's fun.

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis didn't want to be anywhere near this party, but curiosity got the better of her. She kept to the shadows, avoiding people with limited success. She sensed Kylo before she saw him, but when she did see him, she couldn't help but head in his direction. The poor boy seemed most distraught.

"Oh, my, that's something I never thought I'd sense coming from the great Kylo Ren."

Was that...embarrassment? How fun.

[annihilist]

On one of the brief forays that Devin took into the crowds, he spotted Kylo. Blushing. Intensely.

Oh, this had to be good.

The vampire strolled his way towards the young man, smirk firmly in place. "Something scandalous, Mister Ren? You almost look afraid. It's only paper."

OPEN

[backwordscompatible]

Zatanna sat in a typical cross-legged position--(or it would have been 'typical' if she hadn't also been hovering about three feet in the air)--with her body hunched over, deep in concentration. Her brows furrowed deeply as her eyes took in the manuscript sitting in her lap. Every so often, she would flip between two pages, the frown deepening at what she read until she could no longer keep silent.

"No, no, no! Who even wrote this?!" Her head darted up, fire between her eyes as she waved the pages in the air before highlighting one paragraph on the current page in particular. "Okay, first of all, if you're going to reference a prominent artistic figure of the Renaissance era, it had better be Leonardo da Vinci. Get out of here with all this Michelangelo praise. And second..." a couple more page flips, and another paragraph highlight. "The phrase would be ward em ekil eno fo ruoy hcnerf slrig, NOT slrig hcnerf ruoy eno ekil em ward. It's like they don't even know me! Although I'll give them points for the part about the secret ice dungeon beneath the Welcome Center. That was pretty clever...."

With that, the Mistress of...Editing(?) summoned herself a bold, red marker, the cap of which she took off and subsequently held with her teeth as she began muttering each correction as she made it.

"'ell 'ur e'i'or 'e's 'ucky I 'ame a'on'. I 'on't e'en 'arge 'or 'y 'er'ishes...'is 'ime...."

OPEN

[looksfine]

Aya was...rather impressed.

The small figurine in her hand was a near exact replica of her likeness. In multiple ways. Not only did it resemble her Volkreig form...but, after a quick demonstration from the vendor, the pieces were somehow able to be manipulated until they formed a rough model of the Interceptor. Complete with light up boosters made of what was once her bright, blue eyes.

"This is not what I was referring to when I had stated my current physical form was constructed of spare parts from the ship." Still, she spoke with an increasingly rare smile on her face. Once which quickly turned to confusion as she placed the transformative model down and picked up a slightly more...interesting version: one in which she was wearing a certain outfit instead of her usual uniform. "...I do not understand the significance or reference."

OPEN

[unetrustworthy]

Midii was just there for the food, really.

No, really really; she'd heard a few rumours of what was going on in certain corners of the festival and--despite the even present struggle of her insatiable curiosity threatening to get the best of her--she was putting off venturing over there for as long as possible. Fortunately, there seemed to be an array of foods being sold. And some free samples as well.

"Oh, thank you." She smiled as a small piece of baked good was practically shoved in her face. Lack of personal space aside, it smelled divine, so she accepted it with a graceful nod of her head and popped it in her mouth. "It tastes very--"

She was cut off, however, as the secondary flavor hit her. One which was significantly...less fruity. Unless one counted rotten fruit into that flavor chart. She turned slightly green in the face as her eyes discreetly darted about in search of a nearby trash can.

"...interesting..."

OPEN

[lasergrenades]

Pepper is seriously amused by this entire thing. She's especially interested in the food, because there are things she's been missing from home. Nothing is quite right, and she's not afraid to tell the vendors when they've gotten it wrong and where they might improve. She's encouraging because she'd really like more food that's approximately 'from' home.

The figurines also catch her interest, given Bakura's hobby of making wooden carvings. She lingers over a few of Foreigners who have since gone home, debating whether buying them would be creepy or akin to having photos of her missing friends. There's a few of her in the Rescue armor that make her laugh.

She's totally willing to answer questions and generally engage in most aspects of the festival, although the fanfiction is... well. Some of it is entertaining. Some of it leaves her as red as her hair, and that she tries to skirt around.

Since it is a very public event, and since the last public event in the city went disastrously wrong, Pepper can't help but keep an eye out for trouble the whole time she's there, too. For this reason (and because it was the best excuse she could think of to get him to come), she's also wheedled Bakura to attend as well and provide some additional stealthy security. Pepper is known as a KPD member; Bakura may be known well enough, but he's not 'official'.

OPEN

[denyamenti]

FOOD
Bakura is fine not seeing any food from home, although it's not surprising that with the number of people that have come through Keeliai from some variety of Japan, there's some attempts at that cuisine. Some of it's decent, some of it's definitely not, and the thief is hardly reserved in letting the makers know which are which. But sometimes he'll at least throw in a recommendation on how to fix it, which seems to perk most of the vendors back up.

It seems at least some of them have gotten close though, and Bakura pauses partway through the day to find a seat on one of the low walls that follow the Sector's canals, balancing a bowl of dark grey noodles in one hand, using chopsticks to eat them as he watches the rest of the gathering.

FICTION
The hilarious, and hilariously bad, attempts were to be expected. (Ryou was Japanese-- Bakura had thereby mentally inherited quite a lot of recognition of extreme fan behaviour.) A few particularly brave souls attempted to read him select passages, which mostly got eyerolls.

"You should probably either research or get experience before you try writing about that..."

TRINKETS
Not all of the day is quite as lighthearted... he'd checked out some of the kedan stalls claiming to be selling Foreigner goods, expecting them to be as much knockoffs as the food attempts had been. Instead, he'd found a game board type that he hadn't seen in a very long time... but then also something much smaller and more personal: a small horse toy carved out of bone. The rest of the festival seems momentarily forgotten as he can't seem to figure out what to do with the figurine now that he's got it.

OPEN

[wintershepherd]

FOOD
Jack gets a lot of taste-testing pushed at him (possibly because he's assumed to be on the nicer side when it comes to critiquing) and he's starting to feel a little overwhelmed by it. "Um, I don't think that's supposed to be... yellow... I guess I could try it?"

(By his subsequent expression, it is definitely not supposed to be yellow.)

FICTION
Given the length of time that Jack's been here, and his general prominence around the city (especially from before his year-long disappearance), it's kind of expected that a good number of aspiring kedan writers have added him as a character in their stories.

The relative inaccuracy of them, however, was leaving him at a loss. "That's, uh, one way of looking at it...?"

GUEST SPEAKING
Now this was an area that Jack excelled at, and Kyde doesn't have to entreat too much for the winter spirit to tell some tales about other spirits back home. He'll answer general world questions too, but he can really spin some tales about the former, which are much more interesting anyway. "And that's why Johnny Appleseed wears a tin pot as a hat. Cool, huh?"

Open

[redlightgreenlight]

Figurines
There are some very interesting sculptures at several of the booths and the majority of them are recognizable, perhaps a sign that she'd been here awhile. One of them catches her eye, a wolf, carved from some sort of dark wood and stained darker so it was almost black. It was worth the amount paid, and she also picked up a few gifts, including a small replica of a certain winged serpent she thought Bakura might appreciate.

Fiction
Unlike a few of the foreigners who have found fiction written about them, Valdis is sitting behind one of the booths with an aspiring writer, reading something with a very amused smirk on her face.

"You have a very active imagination," she laughed, "I can think of a certain someone who might not appreciate it, but it is very good. Mind if I take a copy or two?"

That certain someone would definitely be getting a copy.

OPEN

[highprofilerichkid]

[Food]

Some of the Foreigners are understandably wary about the kedanese attempts at their native cuisines. Tony has no qualms whatsoever. He quickly discovers that the food vendors are more than happy to give him samples in exchange for his verdict and suggestions, and makes it his mission to score as many samples as his stomach can hold. Free food, fuck yes!

There are some reliable favorites (the pizza and chocolate imitations have gotten pretty dang good), some, ah, interesting interpretations, and a few... well, let's just call them very valiant and well-meaning attempts. Tony tries them all.

One aspect that the chefs seem to struggle with is keeping straight the commonly-accepted categories of flavor profiles. For example, while chocolate souffles and cheese souffles both exist on Tony's Earth, the chocolate and the cheese don't usually go in the same souffle. "It's, uh... not really how we'd do it at home," Tony admits to the hopeful food vendor. "But, you know, it's growing on me."

[Fanfiction]

At first, Tony doesn't know what to make of the... literary offerings. Fanfiction isn't on his radar to begin with, and RPF is definitely not something that was ever within the scope of his imagination before.

Once he grasps the concept, though, he is quite tickled by the whole thing. Of course people are writing stories about him. He is totally awesome and does lots of super cool things in his amazing power armor! Gosh, his ego sure did miss having an adoring public.

Then he discovers those fics.

Like, he's flattered and all, but that's not how, uh, anything works. Oh, boy. Do the kedan really think they...?

Actually, the accurate ones are almost worse. The others he can laugh off, but the ones that seem to have an uncomfortable familiarity with anatomy are, um... You know what? He should probably just. Take these. Away. So no one else can see them. Should these really be out in public like this? Is he blushing? He hopes he's not blushing. (He is blushing.)

[Twenty Questions]

Aside from certain... personal inquiries... Tony is thrilled to answer questions from the enthusiastic attendees, and he has a rapt audience for tales of his exploits as Iron Man.

He also brought the armor with him (both for security reasons and because it's a festival celebrating Foreigners, no duh he's going to bring his armor) and, predictably, it's a huge hit. He lets the kedan get up close and personal with it, and performs demonstrations on request.

He is obviously thriving on the attention. Tony may be an awkward dork most of the time, but he's also been the center of some kind of attention for most of his life. He's surprisingly good at working the crowd.