awashlogs | OPEN MINGLE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Haha, not bad at all!"

He joins Asano in retrieving the pumpkins and... Tonbokiri lets out a sound of dismay as he picks up his.

"Asano-dono, the side smashed in when I dropped it..." (The walls of the pumpkin got scraped way too thin, after all.)
He holds up the pumpkin for the boy to inspect. Although it's not an out-right hole, it is clearly broken and one of the eyes is damaged ... It looks like such a mess, Tonbokiri is rather downcast over it.

Keigo's pumpkin fared better, but there's still a definite break in the middle of the eyes. High off skeleton defeating, he doesn't want to give up, even if it's not looking good for either of them. He just has to think.

"I'm making a cyclops pumpkin!" He stares intently at Tonbokiri's bashed in side. "Maybe you can push the side back out on yours, and we'll find something to make an eye patch with to cover up the messed up eye and make it a pirate!"

"Oh?" Cyclops?
"Ohhh! That's the professional Asano-dono for you! With your guidance, we shall not only finish, but it shall be even better."

At least, he has a vague idea about the pirate thanks to the town's books, so he has equal confidence about the Cyclops.

Keigo carves out the rest of flesh between the two eyes and tries to round out the outside edges. It's a very wide eye, so it really is more of a Cyclops pumpkin, if jamjar living had seen fit to introduce him to the X-Men.

"Eye patch, eye patch, eye patch... How about some paint on a leaf?"

Meanwhile, Tonbokiri makes a very rectangular mouth for his pumpkin's face. Well, for a first attempt it's not bad.

Putting down his knife, he turns his attention to Asano's musings.

"That sounds good. Certainly better than just a grey leaf. I'll search for one of the right size now." One big enough to cover the damaged eye shouldn't be hard to find.

Sure enough, it's not long before he comes back with a rounded leaf. He holds it up to his pumpkin and looks towards Asano-dono for approval.

"Would this do?"

While Tonbokiri hunts for a leaf, Keigo works on a big smiling mouth for his pumpkin. Maybe it should have had some teeth...but it's too late for that, now. He looks up to check out the leaf.

"Yeah, that's exactly like I was thinking!" But now there's another problem. "I don't know how to make it stick to the pumpkin." He doesn't think he's ever seen any glue around here.

"That's not a problem." From his obi he pulls a couple of long pine needles. "If you didn't have an idea, I thought perhaps-" Still holding the leaf over the eye, he stabs the needles deftly through the leaf and pumpkin wall.

"There, it will stay like that."

(Leave it to the spear to think of stabbing it?)

"See, I said you were a natural!" (Why didn't he think of just stabbing it?) Keigo moves his pumpkin so it's sitting right next to Tonbokiri's.

"Two fine pumpkins!"

For some definition of fine.

They do look rather fine, sitting side-by-side. Although, admittedly, he has no frame of comparison.

"You are satisfied with my first attempt at carving a pumpkin, Asano-sensei?"

It's not as teasing as it might seem- Tonbokiri really is looking for affirmation from the one with experience.

With anyone else, Keigo would have assumed they were making fun of him. Tonbokiri is too nice and straightforward for that. Also, Keigo wishes he had a camera to record the first (and possibly only) time someone called him sensei even kind of seriously.

"It looks good to me! The only reason it's not perfect is because of those stupid skeletons!"

"That's true." He spares a glance at the piles of bones that were formerly skeletons. They are strange, but he won't worry too much about it this moment.

"Thank you. My first time carving a pumpkin is a success because of you. ... So, now what do we do with them? Leave them here?"

"I saw something about a contest, so we should keep them here if we want a chance at a prize." Keigo looks at his pumpkin and doesn't like his chances. Where's an apple-based treat for a boost of confidence when you need one?

"Or we could take them home and try to find a candle to light them with." And wait for roommates to complain about rotting pumpkins in the house.

"Is that so? I am fine with leaving this one here." He also is not confident about their chances in a contest, especially as this is his first time doing such a thing. Still- "No harm in being entered!"

Tonbokiri then gives a slight bow to Asano-dono.

"Thank you again for your help today. From here, I shall meet with Kent-dono to work with pumpkins too, but I will have confidence because of what you taught me."

He then casts a glance towards the forest, where the skeletons seem to have lumbered from.

"Although I know you can defeat a skeleton, I shall still offer: would you like to return to your home now? It would be no trouble to go together."

"You're welcome! Call on me any time you have a quest I can help you with! I'll be your official blue friend."

But then he has to really think about his next reply. With Tonbokiri by his side, he'll truly be protected from anything. At the same time, it's turned out to be a threat he can easily handle, and he does have other plans he'd be taking him away from.

"You can go ahead. I'll just hurry back." If nothing else, these lumbering skeletons proved he can outrun them, even if he never feels like taking another swing.

Tonbokiri is very touched at Asano-dono calling himself his friend, and it shows in his expression and tone.

"Thank you. I shall."

He really is relieved to know that Asano can defeat a skeleton on his own, but he'll still worry.

"Understood. Please do take care on your way home when you go, then." And don't do anything unnecessary? ... Well, it is still Asano-dono.

Leaving it at that, he nods his head in thanks again before going on his way.

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