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Save Our Earth Mods ([personal profile] ourearth) wrote in [community profile] saveourearth2018-11-11 03:24 pm

Light the fires [Mingle]

Date: 2nd to 5th of November; backdated due to the Halloween mingle being too close by
Characters: Open!


2nd to 4th

Bonfire night approaches, and like every year, a large bonfire is set up on the Greens, as well as an impressive fireworks display, intended to happen on the 3rd. It's been advertised for a few weeks now, and many families, groups of teenagers, and just regular people are planning on going... And then it's abruptly cancelled at the evening of the 2nd. The official word on it is that some kind of safety regulations weren't met, and as this was discovered at the final security check, there is no time to fix them. Oddly enough, at the same time yellow signs go up near the Greens, reading:
Mossgate POLICE Working for a safer Mossgate
We are appealing for witnesses: Can you help us?
Police incident
An incident occurred in this area between 1pm on the 2/11 and 2pm on the 3/11.
In strictest confidence, plase phone
020787574
Did you see or hear anything?
Please call us
On the number above or at your local police station

...And the perceptive person might notice that there are a few oddities going on around town. For one, there is more police out in the streets than normal, constables nobody has seen before, too, and they are carrying guns. Why are they carrying guns? This is not the airport or central London! This is the first thing that really gets the rumour mill going.

The second thing is that the area that was fenced off so when fireworks and bonfire happened, only those who paid an entrance fee would be able to get close, is still fenced off despite the cancellation. And those who peer into the area will notice more police there.

And then, on the 4th of November, a few nondescript vans and a small nondescript lorry arrive at the parking lot at the bottom of the Greens, and some people get off. All of them wear civilian clothes. A few simply wander off into Mossgate, but the rest goes up onto the Greens. And some of those carry large suitcases that seem to be quite heavy. Too bad there's bushes and trees and it is impossible to see what they're doing at the place where the bonfire and fireworks were set to happen...

[ooc: There are a few dedicated open NPC toplevels below for people to investigate, as well as toplevels aimed at specific characters. If anyone has ideas for investigating that are not covered by the below toplevels and needs input, prod the mod contact thread on the last setting interactions post!]



5th

After the fireworks in Mossgate couldn't happen, it was decided to do them in one of the villages in Mossgate Council. Naturally, Folkton and Moss Manor both clamoured to get them. But after a few young men got into a fistfight about it and a nose was broken, Mayor Gary Russell arrived at the Salomonic decision of having the fireworks happen in Tarwich instead. They have a nice little park there, and the official reason for the decision is that it is closer to Mossgate town so it will be easier for people from there to attend. The real reason is of course to not take any sides in the village rivalry.

Tarwich, by contrast, is too young to truly have rivalries and there are no old families that could bring true patriotic pride into the mix. Nicely bland and harmless. An excellent middle ground.

So on the evening of the fifth, like every year, there are two massive bonfires in Mossgate council, one in Folkton and one in Moss Manor. Little fairgrounds have sprung up next to them - a children's carousel, a kiddie train, an ice cream van, one or two vendors that sell festival foods like candy floss (= cotton candy).

But unlike other years, there's a third event, and most unusually the location is the often-forgotten Tarwich: Carefully timed so that people can first go see the fireworks and then go to whichever bonfire they prefer, there is a very nice 30 minutes long firework taking place in Tarwich, just after nightfall. There are no carousels or ice cream vans here, but festival food is offered, too.
spaghettimonster: (HUMAN: PUZZLING)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-05 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
It might not count, since she presumably had some memory hinting that it was a possibility, but it's sure concerning in a whole other way. Russell draws back, staring down at her, and asks, "how high was this high place...?"
runs: (considering all that)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-05 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"A couple of stories high?" She thinks. It's a bit hard for her to make correct estimates on heights, and it gets a lot harder when you're not quite clear.
spaghettimonster: (HUMAN: SWEAT)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-05 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh my god," he squeaks out, burying his mouth in both hands as he tries not to yell too loud about something that clearly already happened, when yelling wouldn't fix it or solve anything. The squeak goes on for a few seconds, a tea kettle sound of his inability to resolve the mental image of this kid just blithely walking off a roof or cliff or something, and he glances around for her minders. Clearly there's gaps in coverage.
runs: (laughing)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-05 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
No minders in sight. Or, well, technically there are quite a lot of adults around, but there's nobody who would be specifically looking at her.

Kitty, meanwhile, sniggers. "You sound like an old timey kettle."
spaghettimonster: (RUSSELL 1)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-06 07:40 am (UTC)(link)
"I could use some tea," Russell manages to say as the squeak winds down. He coughs a couple time, partly to try clearing his through, partly to suggest that's why he could use it - rather than jittering nerves.

So there's been no adults keeping an eye on her, at least not often enough to prevent that. He should probably say something to them, but then, would they take that as a reason to give him the job? It would be too much.

"But. Uh. It didn't occur to you to try... flying from the ground? Or over a... pool?"
runs: (duh)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-07 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
She shrugs. She doubts that she was thinking particular amounts at that time, but...

"People who use parachutes also start from high places. And I'd have to go somewhere else to start over a pool."

She does offer him some of her candy floss though. It's not tea, but it might help?
spaghettimonster: (HUMAN: PUZZLING)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-08 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
He stares at the candy floss rather than take any, with the mixed grimace of having already had a lot of his own, and trying not to yell at the kid (again).

"You didn't... have a parachute, though. They go up high because they know they have one? You only thought you might?"
runs: (seriously?)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-10 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"I knew I didn't have a parachute." She rolls her eyes. "I thought that I could fly."

Listen properly, duh.
spaghettimonster: (HUMAN: ACTUALLY)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-11 06:37 pm (UTC)(link)
He's trying, but listening properly just gets him back to wanting to tear his hair out over this contrary kid. Is this how his dad felt, listening to him at this age?

"Did you think you knew you could fly, or did you think you might be able to?? That's a big difference! I know I might win the lottery, someday, it's possible to, but I'm not counting on it or anything."
runs: (duh)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-14 08:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"I knew that I could fly. I wouldn't have jumped if I was unsure." Obviously: Even high as a kite, she wouldn't be that stupid.
spaghettimonster: (HUMAN: HIDE)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-15 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Right. Right, of course not." Russell buries his face in his hands again. He would sure like to believe that, and even more than that, he sure would like to believe her judgement. But she's a seven year old who jumped off a building because she thought she could fly. The part where she was right doesn't make that any less alarming to his usual paradigm.
runs: (I got this)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-17 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
One of these days she'll use this paradigm to try and get herself an ability, and it will backfire badly, and he'll be proven absolutely right.

But that hasn't happened yet, so she feels like she absolutely has the higher ground here.

"You should try it some time, too," she thus tells him patronisingly.
spaghettimonster: (HUMAN: SWEAT)

[personal profile] spaghettimonster 2018-12-18 06:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Jumping... off a building...?"

He might be managing not to say certain things out loud, but his tone and the parts of his expression around his hands speak volumes of hesitance and discomfort.

"I, uh, I think I'll find a pool for that. Or lake, or river, or... something soft. Just in case. I'm not sure flying's one of the things I'm picking up, you know. You might be the lucky one in that!"

Please don't encourage other people with numbers to jump off buildings, flying kid.
runs: (I got this)

[personal profile] runs 2018-12-19 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
"...Well, you won't know until you try!" She steps over and pats his arm, and in doing so catches her foster mother's glance. Uh. "If you ever end up trying, tell me! But for now I have to go."

And with that, she leaves him and runs over towards the woman who seems to be trying to gather a few children around her. She's not interested in getting asked questions later.