OPEN MINGLE

[parodeity]

WHO: EVERYONE...
WHERE: the garden area generally!
WHEN: all month but particularly evenings
WHAT: pumpkin carving & trick or treat. also the skeletons are like There i guess
WARNINGS: probably badly carved pumpkins

Welcome to the garden! It looks pretty much as usual, except with more...spooky designs? There are a bunch of pumpkins gathered onto a table Dave dragged in, and he's hung up some truly shitty artwork of ghosts and various Halloween monsters. There's also a vague attempt at some paper chain decorations, which may be improved upon by people more capable of doing that.

He's also supplied carving tools (finally, a fucking use for his Pile Of Knives, thank you harpy quest) and some paint so people can trace out what they want to carve or like...just Go For It. Or paint the pumpkins. The world is your oyster.

It seems like the entire garden area (which takes up maybe two plots of land at this point) has been surrounded with a crude and somewhat shoddy fence, but it seems to be capable of keeping the skeletons out of the garden. It does look like the shambling skeleton horde sort of walked all over the strawberry patch before Dave put up skeleton defenses, though. Bummer.

The trick or treat trail has an actual trail with places for treat givers to hand out treats, with little signs posted in the various areas. There's the Strawberry Kingdom (with sadly trampled strawberries), the Onion Grove, and so on and so forth. People can even pick up really shitty maps for the trick or treat trail, even though you can literally see the entire thing just by glancing. The map sells the experience.

You can:
1) Carve pumpkins! There even seems to be some sort of pumpkin carving contest going on? The prize is a pet rock, though, so like. Maybe don't get too excited.
2) Paint pumpkins, if you're a loser who doesn't want to carve them.
3) Hand out treats!
4) Accept treats!
5) Pull tricks if you are so inclined?
6) Shore up the garden defenses if a shambling skeleton manages to finally knock over some fence. Please protect the plants, we eat those.
7) Just like, gaze at the shambling skeleton army outside the fences. It's a very nice view, maybe.
8) Do whatever you want, basically.

Comments

blue

[asano_san]

For Tonbokiri

He's oversold his pumpkin carving abilities to Tonbokiri, but he's not even feeling worried. He has the idea of it. How hard can it be? When he found out about the pumpkin carving gathering in the garden, it got even easier. All the supplies are here waiting for them.

Now he just needs a Tonbokiri to join him.

Trick or Treat

[After an incident, Keigo is not leaving the house without a treat these days. When he sees the pumpkin patch also has a trick-or-treat trail, he decides to take advantage of it to try to get some easy questing in.

The thing is, he didn't have a lot of spare food sitting around, basically a bunch of coffee beans the town gave him and some blue cinnamon Maya was nice enough to give out to people walking by. That's what his treat is. Coffee beans covered in blue cinnamon. The full bean just rolled around in some cinnamon. And he's been carrying them in his pocket.]

General Carving

[Even after he shows Tonbokiri how to carve a pumpkin, Keigo hangs around the garden. It fits his need for something to do and his desire to do quests that aren't above his pay grade. The pay is fear.

If anyone remembers Keigo as the guy who couldn't make a flower crown to save his life, he's doing much better with this crafty pursuit! He'll even offer to help anyone who looks like they're struggling.]

For me!

[youwillbeunequaled]

Uncertain of what to expect, but looking forward to it very much, Tonbokiri joins Asano at the garden he'd pointed out. Wearing an orange kimono with the sleeves tied back and carrying his spear as always, he's ready for cutting! That is, carving.

"Good day, Asano-dono. Once again, I shall be in your care." He nods his head slightly. "So, what can you tell me about this 'pumpkin carving'?"

[asano_san]

Keigo eyes the spear. He knows Tonbokiri generally carries it around, but it does make him wonder if he plans to carve a pumpkin with it. That sounds like a good way to get pumpkin puree. But he'll worry about that later. Now it's time for the important imparting of knowledge.

"The point of carving a pumpkin," he gives the pumpkin next to him a pat for emphasis, "is to cut out a design so when you put a light inside it glows through the openings. Then when you're trick-or-treating they light the way."

[youwillbeunequaled]

(He assures you, it would be a very clean cut, not puree.)

Tonbokiri listens to the explanation carefully, doing his best to understand it within the knowledge he has. He follows up until 'trick or treating'.

"Mm. So, the design can be anything? And the... 'trick or treating'. What is that? Ah-- does it have to do with the quest that says to "receive a treat, or pull a trick"? Should we be doing that quest only at night, then?"

[asano_san]

"I think-" Keigo remembers his expert status. "Yes, it can be anything, but a lot of the time it's eyes, a nose, and a mouth to make it look like the pumpkin has a face."

"Usually it's kids wearing costumes saying, 'trick or treat' like the quest. We're already doing that different. They can't care about whether we're doing it at night." Well, they shouldn't. They can do whatever they want, and always do.

[youwillbeunequaled]

Mm. As expected from Asano-dono. He sounds rather confident in his knowledge.
A face seems a strange choice, but if that is the way... It is more detailed than he was expecting. Although it's not carving wood, he feels the edge of an unpleasant memory creeping into his mind.

"I see. If that much already is different, then perhaps such a detail won't matter too much. The quests are always very short on detail, but at least that gives many opportunities to complete them."

Picking up a pumpkin he rolls it over in his hands. "It is lighter than I expected. And orange- it is a bit unusual, isn't it." Holding it firm between his palms he looks to Asano with an eager expression. "So, how do we start with this carving?"

[asano_san]

He thinks that's light? Well, maybe he got a smaller pumpkin than Keigo picked up. Yeah, that's it.

Time to get started. Keigo is saved from telling Tonbokiri that the first step is to just start cutting by looking over and seeing someone else pulling the guts out of their pumpkin from a hole in the top.

"First we have to clean the pumpkin up! You make a hole in the top like this." He starts cutting around the steam, at least figuring that part out on his own.

[youwillbeunequaled]

At the word 'clean', Tonbokiri has the image of washing the skin of the pumpkin, so he blinks when Asano-dono cuts into it instead.

"Clean it? Very well." He trusts that no matter how peculiar, this is a step in the process. So Tonbokiri takes up a knife and starts cutting as well, intensely focused on carefully making a circle around the stem... but cutting a circle like this is difficult. Knives go in straight lines better, after all. "Are there any particular standards I should be aware of?" Which is to say, does it matter if his circle doesn't look like a circle?

[asano_san]

"As long as you can fit your hand in the hole, it's fine." Keigo's circle is better but still not really a circle.

"See them over there?" Keigo gives credit to his cheat sheet by waving towards the person scraping a few last strands out of their pumpkin. "You have to reach in to pull out the insides." What do you call it? Pumpkin meat?

It dawns on him, "That's how you put the candle in if you're going to light it up, too."

carving

[troubadamsel]

That's... actually quite impressive.

[She doesn't mean for it to sound insulting, really. that's just how she is.]

[asano_san]

You don't have to sound so surprised.

[Someone else might not have taken it as an insult, but that's just how he is.

Keigo turns his pumpkin more towards Maribelle. He's trying to make a mouth with more jagged teeth for this one.]

It is pretty cool, isn't it?

[troubadamsel]

[She tilts her head, observing and ignoring his complaint.]

It does look rather garish, which I suppose is what you're going for... are you basing this off a person or monster you've run into?

[asano_san]

It's spooky, not garish!

[He pats his pumpkin, like he's soothing it against this defamation.]

No, I'm just doing it to try to make a scarier face. Do you know any people with pointy teeth like that?

[troubadamsel]

No... well, then again, one of my allies did try to sharpen his teeth in such a fashion, and we all had to beg him to stop.

[asano_san]

You'd cut your tongue every day!

[At least he's never known anyone like that.]

The only thing the monsters I know about have is a hole through their bodies. A pumpkin with just a hole cut out of the middle wouldn't be very good.

[troubadamsel]

It does sound like a waste of a pumpkin... I'll trust your judgement, then.

[asano_san]

[Maribelle is saying all the nice things to him lately!]

Are you carving one?

The Incident

[queenofminiskirts]

[Look, Kaoru may be a nice girl but mischief is something all three of the Children practise. So, the moment she saw this quest she knew she'd be doing it. Too bad she doesn't have a cute costume. But what she does have is a unicorn pin that makes her sparkle. That will do!

So she's sparkling as she comes up to Keigo from behind, slapping him on the back.]

Trick or treat!

[asano_san]

[Being an easily startled person, Keigo jumps and whirls around, expecting death at the hands of the skeleton army any second. Would a skeleton slap on the back feel so solid? Either way, it doesn't matter because that's no skeleton in front of him.]

Oh hey, Kaoru! Nice sparkles!

[Not providing a treat yet. Not even really taking the "trick or treat" seriously.]

[queenofminiskirts]

Thanks! [In a way, she had him to thank for the sparkles since they'd completed that quest together.]

But you still need to give me a treat! Compliments don't count!

[asano_san]

[Keigo checked to make sure everything sparkled when he wore the pin, and then it felt too weird to use again.]

I'd give you a treat if I had any.

[That counts, right?]

[queenofminiskirts]

So you don't have anything so that means...it's time for a trick!

[She holds out a hand and, hey, Keigo, have you ever wanted to know what it felt like to be held upside down in midair by an invisible power? Well, you know now!]

[asano_san]

What?

[He finds out what in about two more seconds.]

WHAT?

[Why is he upside down again? This isn't fair!]

[queenofminiskirts]

[She laughs for a moment before she sets him down gently.]

That's what you get for not having treats on hand!

[asano_san]

You didn't even give me a chance to go get some!

[Not...that he has any treats at home. Would she have accepted a coffee bean? A pinch of cinnamon?]