Curiouser and curiouser [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: May 26th-June 2nd
Characters:OPEN
Note: Like all welcome mingles, this is a SoL free-for-all mingle meant to get new characters involved by centering around something relevant to them. Without further ado, please welcome Rune Vollan!

---

The weather is beautiful, approaching twenty and mostly sunny, and it's just perfect for the literature festival that takes part in Mossgate every year. A full week - or rather, 8 days - fully packed of all kinds of literary activities and events awaits.

It starts on Sunday with festivities on the Greens that involve all kinds of local groups putting things on the stage set up near the bandstand - choirs, orchestras, theatre groups, dance groups, and more, both professional and high quality amateur productions. Food stalls are littered around the area, and various booths sell, inform about, or simply exhibit various literature related things. There's also a storytelling tent set up near the ruins catering to children during the day and to adults in the evening and half through the night.

Then all throughout the week there are all kinds of things offerend around Mossgate council. Local artists of all walks, ranging from paper artists to dollmakers, from painters to theatre groups and from singers to circus troupes have been offered all kinds of unusual places to bring literature to new backgrounds. There might be a Shakespearean play on the ruins, or an art exhibition on the pleasure pier, a concert in the zoo or a storytime in the Mayor's office (for all the little ones).

There are also Drag Queen Story Hours at the library, bars and pubs and bookstore offer readings of established as well as young up-and-coming authors, and Tarwich town hall has been turned into an interactive exhibition on Shakespeare.

The Manor House, of course, offers something very specifically themed on the Saturday of the festival. As it was the setting of the world famous book "Ann in the Curious Garden" and the sequel "Between the Mirrors", it always has an Ann-themed day during the literature festival. Every artist, no matter what their art be, who wishes to contribute is welcome and put up art or put on a performace in the Manor gardens or the open-to-the-public parts of the house itself. So there is a children's ballet performing in stork costumes, a magician performing themed tricks, there's many artworks ranging from small children's drawings to artful adult paintings hung up in the manor corridors, and much more. And, as every year, the hunt for the dodo is on: Somewhere in the grounds and public areas of the house, a stuffed dodo has been hidden. Whoever finds it will get a free years pass to the zoo.


[note: Ann in the Curious Garden is an expy of Alice in Wonderland. Think along the lines of storks instead of flamingos, and such. Just so different enough.]

Comments

OTA Throughout!

[iamnotgod]

Walter has been keeping himself busy, online and off - for this festival in particular, it's easy for him to get sucked into things.

Most of it being actual physical busywork, setting up tents and moving book stock and so forth. There's something soothing about it, and being able to get it done quickly earns him appreciation rather than suspicion.

He won't tell anyone where the dodo is, though, let alone if he knows where it is to begin with!

[channingchanningchanning]

Chad honestly doesn't understand the fuss about the Dodo. You can't eat it, it doesn't even run away, honestly, it's just like all the other stuffy things in the manor. Just that it's supposed to be special.

And from what he hear you don't even get something interesting when you find it.

(This is totally not about him not being allowed into the Manor House because he's a dog, nope.)

So instead he'll bum around the outside and when he finds Walter helping with some delayed 'shit we need a tent here in case it rains why did nobody think about that' work, he'll get up and about under everyone's feet to inspect the commotion.

[iamnotgod]

Walter notices that Chad is there immediately - enough to warn another worker walking through that there's a dog underfoot - but apart from being relieved that he's not undertaking this exploit as a human Walter doesn't respond to Chad himself right away.

This is Walter's life right now: careful underreactions to sentient dogs. Why.

He'll only gently (but firmly) lift Chad away from anything if the dog starts trying to bite the equipment. Those tents are not meant to have tears, dammit!

[faimommy]

Rune happens to spot Walter walking around as he's doing his duties and, without any hesitation, beelines to his friend.

"Walter!" he exclaims happily. "Fahnsee seein' yuu here! Wha're yuu doin?"

(Fancy seeing you here! What are you doing?) He might be curious, but he's honestly more curious to see if he can spirit Walter away for a bit of fun. Probably at the bar.

[iamnotgod]

"Just helping out," he responds, hands currently occupied by a box full of books.

"Getting this stock of fantasy books where it needs to be."

Which, granted, wasn't going to be at his house, but it wasn't as if he had a say in it either way.

"How's business looking for you this week?"

OTA

[ineffablytartan]

During the week

Each lunchtime, afternoon and evening there is a special reading on at the museum: each day a different room, and a story themed to the room. Some are published works; poetry, fiction, and historical non-fiction, and one is the winner of a writing competition for the occasion. Felicity leads with the Monday one, as she's not working at the university that day, and can also be found attending some of the evening sessions.

She can also be found around and about taking in the various offers around town, but especially at any performances at the ruins. She can normally be found somewhere off to one side, often accompanied with a bottle of wine, which leaves her a little more chatty and affable than usual.

Saturday

Curiouser and curiouser. Felicity has never been one to back down from a mystery, and since she is in charge of the schedule (and she doesn't often take Saturdays off) once again she has the Saturday of the festival free and has driven down to Moss Manor. She takes her time, walking from display to display, but she also has a sharp eye out for that dodo. Not that she would claim the tickets - she can afford that ticket well enough herself - but just because she wants the satisfaction of knowing where it is this year.

Which means she can also be found in various dark corners, furtively looking in any place large enough to hide it. Well, at least she isn't the only one looking suspicious.

Saturday

[faimommy]

Y'know, Rune has seen quite a few people poking in strange places, and it's had him just a bit curious himself. And watching Felicity poking at a particularly dark corner, he's finally curious enough to go find out why people are poking at things. Maybe he missed something, or maybe she's missing something.

He casually wanders over to Felicity with a smile.

"Ello, iis ii meh yer lookin' fer?"

(Hello, is it me you're looking for?) He has a joking tone, but he's hoping to sound cordial enough. And just in case it isn't...

"Rillee though. Iis there sum'n yer missin?"

(Really, though. Is there something your missing?)

[ineffablytartan]

Oh dear. A smooth talker. Just what she needs. Felicity doesn't roll her eyes - she's too polite for that - but she's thinking it.

"Oh, not really. Just keeping an eye out for the dodo. Do you know if it's been found already?" She probably shouldn't assume that everyone knows about it (after all, not everyone's been attending for years) but her mind is somewhat elsewhere at the moment.

During the Week

[iamnotgod]

Peri - one of the other volunteers - had convinced Walter to come to one of the performances in the ruins for a change, rather than stay in town.

"... Did they paint that pattern on all of their props?" Walter comments, about halfway through the show.

He's neglecting to mention that it's not one all that easy to distinguish from where he's sitting; tinkering with the webcams had come to something in the end, something more than just being able to see the sky instead of the inside of webspace.

[ineffablytartan]

Felicity squints through her glasses, then takes them off, cleans them on her sleeve, and puts them back on again. "Which pattern is that?" Does she need to get her prescription checked again?

During the week

[catted]

It's Drag Queen Story Hour at the library, and her younger kids wanted to go.

Which is perfectly fine by Mary Ann - it's fun, and it's a community that they're all at least tangentially involved with. Queer spaces overlap. She likes her kids to be a part of that.

The problem arose when she took a minute to chat with the queen doing the story hour and was told to 'definitely hang out at the cafe while you wait, everyone's sitting there and I haven't seen you around the Hive or anywhere recently, you probably missed a lot, let them catch you up'.

Because no, she's not interested in being swamped with the latest gossip. Not because she minds on principle, but - she's had a long day. A long week, a long couple of months, really. She just doesn't have the mental strength to deal with a gaggle of drag queens and adjacents right now.

Sadly the cafe is right by the entrance to the museum/library building, so she can't sneak out without being observed. And here she thought she could use the story hour to get some shopping done...

But the museum can be accessed from the library without passing by the cafe, so she'll just... wander around there a bit, and then settle into the room that will have a reading later. It's nice and quiet here right now. She likes it. She'll just... stay for a bit. If someone asks she's waiting for the reading.

[ineffablytartan]

With the story hour in the library, the museum is relatively quiet, making it a good time to prepare for the evening reading in the museum itself. Felicity isn't running this one, but as she's finished at the university for the day she's offered to prep the room before she goes home for the evening.

She bustles around the room, preparing the chair for their guest speaker, and a few other chairs for other guests. The cushions from the library will have to be moved in after the story hour finishes, but that'll be someone else job. She's aware of the other woman in the room, but leaves her to browse - at least until she's finished pulling in the chair next to the reader's chair and placed the book on it.

"Excuse me, I need to get in that cabinet." She asks, coming up along side her. "If you're waiting for the reading, it doesn't start for another hour." She adds, afterwards, just in case.

Saturday

[dreamtamer]

Thom liked reading, sometimes. But on a Saturday like this there was only so long he wanted to spend sitting quietly watching plays and readings. He'd taken to the idea of the dodo hunt with a great deal of enthusiasm, if not very much success.

He cheerfully wanders from display to display, looking behind anything that looks promising.

"Hello!" he calls out as he sees Felicity. "Are you looking for the dodo too?"

[ineffablytartan]

Ah. Felicity has never been particularly good with children, although she's had to get somewhat used to them around the museum. The smile that she offers isn't quite genuine, though it's kind enough, and hides her discomfort from all but the most observant.

"I am! I take it you haven't had any luck either? They seem to have hidden it well this year!"

Saturday

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie had absolutely been using her eyesight to her advantage in the search for the dodo, although, for maximum effect she'd taken off her contacts to properly see into the darkest nooks and crannies.

Which meant that Felicity was greeted by the ridiculous sight of Sadie wearing sunglasses indoors in a very dim room in the manor's interior, "Oh, hello. Are looking for the dodo too?"

OTA

[lovedramamoron]

Jimmy is drawn out to the festival by curiosity at first. He spends much of Sunday afternoon on the Greens, exploring the different booths and productions. He is particularly interested in the booths showcasing mystery authors. He even writes down the names of a few to look up later.

Later in the week he keeps coming back to see a few of the art exhibitions and plays. He makes a point of stopping by the bookstore for readings of young authors. He didn't have any of his own prepared, but it was still interesting to hear what other authors were working on.

On Saturday he goes wandering through the manor house. He sits and watches the magician for a time, before being drawn into the search for the dodo. He wasn't particularly interested in the prize, but the hunt for it was a puzzle. And he couldn't resist.

Re: OTA

[iamnotgod]

While Walter's not running this particular booth, he has been asked to keep watch over it while the host makes a bathroom run.

There's always someone timing their shifts wrong, it seems.

"Not buying anything today, hm?" Walter remarks, looking at Jimmy's list.

"Smart."

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie waves at Jimmy, spotting him watching the magician too and makes her way over to the slightly younger Numbered, her wide-brimmed sunhat and large sunglasses standing out even with the weather as nice as it is.

"Hey Jimmy, how's things?"

OTA

[faimommy]

On the Greens, there is a tent setup. Banners around it advertise for a troupe by the name of Fe Ringe, and two alternating plays: The Mermaid's Pool and Die Sechs Schwäne (English Translated, of course). The plays themselves are well-constructed, with a colourful flourish of costumes, athletics, and interpretive poses as a narrator reads, and the actors perform their own lines. Breathing life into their characters, they hope to entrance you enough to join them in a new world.

Before and after the plays, you can stop by the portable kiosk to buy some merchandise suitable to the current play - childrens books, small paintings, autographed photos of performers in their roles, bags and keytags, even t-shirts. And, of course, there's a selection of faerie wings for both children and adults. While there, feel free to coo at the mascat. He's just curiously watching you buy your things, and might even bring the item you want up to the cashier to have it rung up.

[ Carpe Diem ]

With ample time between performances, there's plenty of time to meet the performers, and many will take up the opportunity to go visit other venues, and Rune himself happens to be one of the ones taking that opportunity. He's wearing an elabourate shirt that appears as woven leaves with sequins stitched carefully in. One arm bears a stream of white feathers that flows wonderfully with the slightest movement - he was the youngest swan brother in that performance. The makeup on his cheek glitters in the light and he is all smiles as he wanders to different places to see what they're all about.

He's actually really excited to get to see everything, as he buys foods and goods alike. He is especially drawn to anything that might give him more insights to folklores and faerie tales. He can definitely be seen toting a few bags around. In fact, he's having such a wonderful time, that sometimes he forgets to pay attention, and that's about the time he might crash into you.

"Ah! Ahm saree, ahm saree!"

(Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!) He defintely has an accent. Norwegian to be exact. Even still, he seems to be in pretty good humour about just crashing into you. He's still laughing about it.

"Ah di'en miin ta. Ah yuu a'righ?"

(I didn't mean to. Are you alright?)



[ The Bar ]

Later on, Rune can be found at the bar, just generally chatting with everyone. He drifts between tables, shares a drink, a story, and a laugh, and then floats on to the next one. He's the most social of butterflies, and before terribly long, he plops a seat next to you, looking quite cheerful about it.

"Hey, fren. Kwy tha groop, ai't ii? Nex rund's ahn meh, yea?"

(Hey, friend. Quite the group, ain't it? Next rounds on me, yea?) He hails down a bartender.

"Ah'll hav sum'n fruu-ee, an ah'll buy this'uns too!"

(I'll have something fruity, and I'll buy this one's too.) Rune moves to pat his hand on your back, and nods you to the bartender for you to give your order.

Bar

[saveournpcs]

The man sitting in the chair looks up and regards him with a faintly puzzled look.

"Thank you. But may I ask why you're buying me a drink?"

[dragoonrouge]

To those who know Sadie it would come as no surprise that she has somehow managed to zone in on the booth with a cat.

"Oh aren't you just the cutest?" She coos, holding out her hand for him to sniff.

[channingchanningchanning]

dog

Chad is out and about. Mostly underfoot, everywhere that there are foodstalls. He may or may not have any sort of owner around.

He also may or may not be trying to adopt some food that is lying around unattended. Look at the poor food. It clearly needs some love. It's totally not him sneakily stealing some or anything.


human

"What is a dodo?" Chad wonders out loud as he studies the poster announcing the yearly hunt of the dodo.

He can read, but... Well. Nobody felt it necessary to attach a picture of the whatever that is that people are searching for. He wants to get in on the search, too! Maybe he can trade the ticket for some sausages!

Human

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie freezes when she hears that particular voice. Maybe she could sneak away before Chad notices her...

[lovedramamoron]

"It's an extinct flightless bird that was native to Mauritius," Jimmy immediately answers. "The last reported sighting was in 1662."

He never had been able to resist answering any trivia question in the vicinity, even when it came from someone he didn't recognize.

Jimmy, unfortunately, had no idea that Chad had a human form.

[catted]

1.

One day during the Drag Queen Story hours Mary Ann can be found hanging around the library, idly looking at exhibits, and eventually sitting down somewhere to check her phone. Her kids are there, but she is quite honestly not that interested in the story being delivered and really appreciates having an hour of idle, quiet time.

Not that that will keep her from talking to people she knows.


2.

She and her family will also be at the opening festival on the greens and at the Manor House's Saturday festival. At the latter, she can be found looking at artworks on the wall that look like those of children and read the names on the signs. If someone stops next to her and looks as well, she'll address them: "You don't happen to have seen one made by a kid named Kevin Moore? I promised him to look at his picture today..."