awashlogs | October Catch-all

Entry tags:

October Catch-all

WHO: Clark and you!
WHAT: catch all for October, questing, plot, etc.
WHERE: wherever
WHEN: October throughout
WARNINGS: none so far
NOTES: If you'd like a starter set up, feel free to ping on

yarnzipan; otherwise, feel free to tag him wherever. I'm happy to roll with stuff!

[ Clark's going to put his nose to the grindstone even more than he has been, with Bruce gone. You'll find him at the cafe, scouting out spots for a waterway throughout town and you'll find him scouting various metallic objects and resources wherever he might find them. Sometimes he's on the ground, sometimes he's in the air, but the main thing people might notice is that he's just a little... distant.

Don't worry: it's nothing personal.

The one place he'll always be found is near the well, in the field there, in the mornings: as promised, he's happy to help people learn about meditation in whatever form works best for them. ]

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[ Heyo, she spends a lot of time at the cafe as well. Kohaku hasn't had a lot to do since getting here, so she just spends time with people she knows at least a little bit. She's been a bit shy about talking to people but she's starting to warm up to the idea now that it's been some time.

Distant seems to be the general mode of people she knows so far, so she's not all that surprised to see this guy is the same way. There is a small teenage girl sitting next to Clark now at the cafe. ]

Are you enjoying the food?

[ It's as good an icebreaker as any. ]

[ Most of his time in the cafe is back in the kitchen, but he's been out having his own lunch while he works on the problem of the water system. He has a few different pieces of homemade paper out on the table, sketches on a few of them and notes on others, and he needs a moment as he looks up at-

Oh, hello. ]

Yes, actually.

[ Blink. ]

And... you?

[ She's glad he reacted to the sudden conversation well! She smiles at him now that she has his attention and nods in response to his question. ]

Yes, of course!

[ Kohaku notes the sketches. ]

Could I ask about what you're working on? It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm just curious.

[ He looks down, and he only realizes as he does that it's not immediately obvious with a slight chuckle before shaking his head. ]

I don't mind.

And I'm working on figuring out a water system for the town. Something that would allow for water heating and proper distribution.

[ Kohaku perks up a little at that. ]

Oh, wow! That would really come in handy. I've only been here for a short time, but I have definitely noticed there's not much in the way of heated water ...

[ She wants to offer her own help, but honestly, she knows nothing about the mechanics behind that kind of thing. Plus, she only just met this man, so it might seem weird to just offer help to someone whose name she doesn't even know yet. ]

[ He can't help a bit of a wince with his chuckle.]

Yes, I know. And I know there are a few people with the means to help themselves, but I know we need something that everyone can use.

Mhm. I agree.

[ She glances back at the diagrams. ]

It's a great thing you're doing for this place. I'm still trying to figure out something I can do to help, really.

The good and not good thing about this place is how much we've had to set up for ourselves. That means there's a lot of opportunities to help.

[ He gives her a smile, because he's always a fan of folks who want to be helpful. ]

Is there something you're particularly good at, or that you enjoy doing?

[ As promised, he'll be in the house all day working on some soap. Or rather, soap components. After all, no one wants to be in a town full of stinky people... ]

[Although Tonbokiri comes by later than he was hoping to, it is still only the late afternoon by the time he arrives. Knowing a little better what to expect now, at least on the pumpkin carving front, he is wearing an orange yukata with the sleeves tied back. As always, he carries his spear with him.

He greets the man warmly and nods at him.]

My thanks again for having me over, Kent-dono. Again, I shall be in your care today.

Before the pumpkin carving, however, I should share some important news with you. [His expression becomes more serious, but with little gravity for good reason.] The skeleton army that we were warned of in the forum have arrived. However, there is positive news. The group I encountered was small, and although armed they are extremely weak. Even a young man without any powers or exceptional strength was able to defeat one. [Sorry for calling you weak, Asano-dono. But your (unintentional) hit did good.]

I trust Ichinose-dono to take matters of our organization into hand over however long this quest lasts, but at least we can be assured that our enemy is not particularly deadly. Yet, although easily defeated, I personally recommend remaining vigilant. One never knows what the town will do next.

[ That has him standing up a little straighter. ]

I don't hear anything at the moment.

[ Because if he did, he'd be out on the front lines, helping, but thankfully, that doesn't appear to be happening right this moment. Or at least, there's no fighting going on.]

But I'll keep an ear out, especially on my patrols. Thank you, Tonbokiri. I appreciate the warning. Don't worry, though. I can take care of myself.

[ He gestures towards the inside of his house and steps back to welcome him in.]

So you mentioned never having pumpkin pie or baked seeds but... have you ever carved gourds before?

[He doesn't hear anything...? Kent-dono's powers are truly exceptional.
It's a relief to know that they will be able to deal with pumpkins in peace for now, though!

He nods in reply to the thanks. He has no doubt Kent-dono will be fine.

As he enters the house he looks slightly abashed.]

No, not until just before I came here, to be honest. Asano-dono was kind enough to give me a lesson in it, before the skeletons interrupted. So hopefully I will not hold you back in our carving now. But I admit, there is still much about this I do not know about, so your instruction and explanation will be most welcome.

[ He gives a nod in reply to that as he walks over to where he's brought in a couple of pumpkins, and he already has the carving implements out.]

I'm assuming you've learned the basics. How about we get started on our pumpkins and I'll offer advice if it looks like you need it?

That sounds good, thank you.

[So Tonbokiri settles himself with one of the pumpkins, takes up a knife, and starts poking a circle around the stem in the top.
For as fearless as Tonbokiri usually is, he is oddly careful about how he handles the small knife, his brow knit in concentration and eyes focused on his cutting. This is not wood carving, but it is close enough to make him wary.
When he speaks, he fully stops his work and looks up.]

Kent-dono, you are not from Japan, correct? Could you tell me about what meaning this tradition has in your experience?

I'm not from Japan, no, [ The question of where he's from is a complicated one.] But I've been there a couple of times. I was raised in the United States, America. In the state of Kansas.

[ He just wanted to clarify that, since he should know that his experience did have a limit. ]

And this tradition is tied to a holiday called Halloween.

[ Clark is actually cutting out the bottom of his pumpkin and putting it carefully aside before starting to put the spoon to it to empty it out into a bowl.]

The pumpkin lanterns are supposed to scare away the spirits that wandered during the holiday. The idea is to scare them away, or to make them think that the pumpkins themselves are spirits who have laid claim to the home to keep others from causing harm.

[Although that emphasis on 'from' sounds odd to him, he simply nods at the further explanation. The United States is a vast country, isn't it...

He raises an eyebrow, interested at the difference in their techniques for opening the pumpkins. But of course, there are many ways to do it. He could cut a square in the side, if he wanted to, surely.

He follows suit to spoon the insides of his pumpkin into a bowl as he listens.]

To scare away spirits... So it is a holiday of malevolent spirits. In Japan, we have festival days in which the humans welcome spirits. They remember their ancestors, and the sacrifices they made.
It is fascinating, how different cultures perceive the return of spirits! [Tonbokiri becomes gleeful, learning more about this wide world.]

Did you have a tradition of being in costume and playing... 'trick or treat', was it? Asano-dono mentioned that as part of the holiday.

The day afterwards is celebrated in some cultures as a day to venerate the spirits of the dead and offer them tribute. I'm not sure what the logic is; perhaps that the bad spirits come with the good and once the bad ones have been scared away, the good can be thanked.

[ He's almost done with emptying his pumpkin. ]

But yes, the costumes are supposed to be to trick the spirits into thinking that children are spirits like them, so they won't be attacked. And the 'trick or treat'ing is part of that: taking an offering from the house, so to speak, to keep a 'trick' from happening to the occupant.

I couldn't say what logic there is to be had in matters of spirits. But that sounds like a positive turn of events, in the end. There is a lot more to this holiday than I thought there might be.

[That's Kent-dono for you- always so efficient. Tonbokiri will be a bit longer to get his pumpkin properly cleaned out. Besides, it would be interesting to see if his technique is different in any other respects.]

Did you ever dress in a costume and take part in the festival yourself? What are the costumes like?

Of course. I dressed up every year as a kid. My parents would drive us down to mainstreet and we'd go trick or treating.

[ Going around 'neighborhoods' didn't quite work when you lived in a town where most folks were farmers.]

And there's all manner of costumes. Sometimes they're scary, but just as often these days they dress up as superheroes or princesses or firemen.

[Tonbokiri gives a short but loud laugh, then raises a hand in apology and quickly explains,]

I got the image in my mind of a child dressing up like All Might-dono, and found it amusing. Have you met him? He is a hero of his world, who is extremely muscular and has unique hair, so imaging those features as a costume on a small child... [Having the mental image of one of the tantou swords he knows dressed up like that, he chuckles again.]

'Trick or treating' sounds like a lot of fun. It would be nice to see. [His expression is still cheerful, but a sliver of somberness is in his eyes. It is not for touken danshi to see a festival in that era, in that country. They only travel to where they are needed in Japan's history.]

[ ...he can't help a strange sort of smile at that comment, considering. But he shakes his head, because he's heard of the man but he hasn't met him, not yet.]

I haven't but I'm... familiar with that sort of thing. Plenty of kids dress up as heroes in my world. I happen to think it's pretty adorable.

[ Seeing kids in the S is one of the things that make him feel like he's making a real difference for people.]

It's a fun tradition. Maybe we could do something like that here.

[ He pulls out the knife again and starts working on some very basic jack o'lantern eyes.]

[He looks up from scraping the last remains into the bowl with surprised interest.]

You think so? ... It does seem like a lot of people here know of this holiday already.

In that case, if it happens here, I will be very happy to see it.

[He picks up his knife again and carefully studies the surface of the pumpkin for a moment before adding softly,] Perhaps I could even experience it for myself.

I might put up a post to see if anyone would like to participate. That could be a nice celebration for the town to put together themselves.

[ He holds up his partially carved pumpkin.]

Especially considering how many of these will be around.

Haha, that is right. It would be a waste to not use them. Keigo-dono said that usually these are used at night to light the way for the people doing trick or treat.
So a celebration might be a good chance to do everything together.

I wonder if Mr. White would be happy to see us doing even more with his quest than expected.

Mr. White?

[ You'll excuse him. He's got a lot of association with that name. Between Perry, and the name he and Lois had taken, it makes him blink a little.]

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October Catch-all

cafe!

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@tonbokiri - his house

Oct 3

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