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

[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.

[faimommy]

Rune blinks, and for the moment looks genuinely confused. A dodo? That's a bird, right? A very dead one, if he recalls correctly.

And so, he laughs, thinking for sure it's a joke.

"Aye, yuu allmose gah meh there. Iis tha like ah guus chaes, as they sey?"

(Aye, you almost got me there. Is that like a goose chase, as they say?) After all, what else would chasing an extinct bird be?

[ineffablytartan]

"What? Oh - oh, no. No, an actual Dodo. Or, rather, a stuffed one. They hide one every year for us to find. This year the prize is a years ticket for the zoo."

The mistake - while confusing for a moment - is understandable. After all, it's a bit of a strange hunt if you're not expecting it and somehow missed the signs up over the entrance.

[faimommy]

OH! A prize is involved! And that makes much more sense now, too. Rune's smile brightens and he takes a mild bow and a wink.

"Well thn. If'n there's ah prahze invulved, ah will be happeh t'help ah luvlee lehdee such as yerself. Cah'n hav ah lehdee go withoww a prahze, now, kin ah?"

(Well then. If there's a prize involved, I will be happy to help a lovely lady such as yourself. Can't have a lady go without a prize now, can I?)

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?

/wagers some AUing in the mix

[iamnotgod]

"It looks sort of like cat ears," Walter adds, with some note of bafflement.

"Not with whiskers, though; just the ears, and shape of the face."

At which point someone else tells him to shush, despite Walter thinking he'd been quiet. He shrinks, but looks to Felicity on his other side.

"It's an appropriate theme, though. But it looks more suited for Saturday."

Due to Ann's cat friend - or "friend" as the case could be argued - being a rather popular motif.

[ineffablytartan]

Felicity ignores the sushing, taking another sip from her wine glass as she considers the props again. She can just about make out something but it could just be her glasses. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with drawing a theme through the week. Or perhaps it becomes relevant later."

[iamnotgod]

"That does make sense."

Walter settles in again, glancing in the direction the shushing came from before putting his attention back on the play.

"Still, it doesn't strike me as... particularly period-accurate? Though I'm only basing that off of what I know," he admits.

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.

[catted]

"Oh, sorry." She steps aside, making space for the other woman. "Will I be in the way if I wait here?

...I can also help, if there's something you need help with setting up. It's not like I got anything else to do until it starts." Which is about right - the Queen Story Hour only ends fifteen minutes before this reading, just enough to let people wander over if they're so inclined, Mary Ann assumes.

[ineffablytartan]

"No, no, not at all. You're fine as you are." Felicity unlocks the case and withdraws a diary from the bottom of it. Once she's found the right page in here, there's only the water left to go, and really she could have left both until later, but it's nice to know that everything's ready.

"Feel free to ask me any questions you have, though." She adds, as she locks the case again, book security held in her other hand.

[catted]

"...You know, I actually do.

About the boat in the other room, if you can answer questions about that, too? I had a discussion with a kid in my practice recently..." And if she can present him with an answer the next time he comes in, that will hopefully give her enough to entertain him with during the testing that the chronically ill child sadly needs to regularly get done.

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!"

[dreamtamer]

Thom was cheerfully oblivious to any misgivings. He'd never spent much time with any adults outside of his family and teachers at school, so the idea that he might be causing any discomfort never occurs to him.

"Not yet! I didn't find it last year either! But that's okay, because its really the adventure looking for it that I like best."

[ineffablytartan]

"Last year they managed to find a particularly difficult spot. I don't think I would have found it either, if I hadn't come down the backstairs at the right time - the sun was just at the right angle to show it's shadow from that angle." It was certainly the most difficult she's dealt with so far, although so far this years is also turning out to be rather elusive.

"If you don't find it before you have to go home, you can always ask at reception if it's been found already. If it has, they'll normally give you a clue, or let you know if you'd rather."

[dreamtamer]

"I guess I could." He sounded more than a little doubtful. "But wouldn't that just take all the fun out of it? I kind of like that its a mystery if you can't find it."

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?"

[ineffablytartan]

It is a rather ridiculous sight, and Felicity stares for a moment, before looking away, and then looking back. "I am. Are you too?" Can she see anything in those glasses? Felicity could be blunt and say something, but they have to be there for a reason, right?

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie blushes, "Ah, yes I am. This room looks to be just as empty as the others downstairs though..." She trails off with a sigh, "You didn't notice any extra clues or anything about it did you, feels like I've searched most of the manor by now?"

[ineffablytartan]

Would the girl notice any clues if they were there, Felicity wonders. "I've only looked downstairs so far, but I haven't seen anything so far. There is a cupboard out of place in the living room, but I think they just moved that for one of the performances." She spent quite a long time hunting around it, but didn't manage to find anything out of order aside from that.