Covent Garden Flowers; Tuesday [10/30].

[white_oleander]

The jack-o-lanterns hadn't bothered Astrid too much since they started increasing their presence nearly exponentially over the past few weeks, except for that first day when they made her feel like a disturbed murderer because she wanted to make more. It was kind of disturbing her, though, how well preserved they all were. Shouldn't they be starting to rot and decay by now? Maybe this place had something going on that allowed for them to stay nice and fresh until Halloween, and then whoever was working on Thursday would be met with just a big pile of overdue decayed pumpkin mush.

...and these were the things she thought about now, and Astrid sighed a little at herself, shaking her head, settling in behind the counter after taking care of a few things. If she couldn't see a more natural decay of the jack-o-lanterns, she was going to draw them. She found it interesting, the way they caved in on themselves, their previously precise features wilting and curling and collapsing in fascinating ways, so she was enjoying the challenge of trying to figure out just how they might decay in her sketches.

Covent Garden is open!

Clothes Over Bros- Tuesday

[gobrookeyourself]

As advertised, the store was open and there were costumes. They were more "sexy dinosaur" than "comfy dinosaur onesie," but was it really Halloween if you weren't showing a little leg?

Maybe Brooke wasn't the right person to ask that.

Anyway, the store was open, the mannequins were dressed up, and you had one day, people.

[Open!]

Caritas- Tuesday

[throughaphase]

Kitty was beginning to see her some women might stop working before their babies showed up, because she was tired and annoyed and really didn't want to work. But this was also her social time, and it kept her sane and distracted for at least a few hours every week.

And you knew she loved you, regulars, because she was sitting through the zombies playing Christmas music already.


[Open, no OCD!]

Furnado Animal Shelter, Tuesday

[puppy_fair]

"... Why is there a baby bear in here?"

That question, really, ought to sum up Zack's entire day. He'd come in to the shelter, and the dogs were going crazy and the cats were all puffed up, and there was a baby bear in the vet's office. Just hanging out. Being a bear. Apparently it had raided the pet treats aisle and was casually munching on a fruit and nut stick that was usually intended for the parrots.

Which was kind of a relief, honestly, because a free-range baby bear seemed just as likely to try to eat the parrots themselves, to Zack. Or any one of the other hundred animals just conveniently packaged up in cages.

"I mean, you're a cute bear! But we usually deal in pet animals."

The bear nodded a little in understanding, and then returned its attention to the treat stick.

"... And where's the vet today, you'll probably need a checkup."

The bear rolled its eyes at him, expressively.

Furnado is open. You might want to take any pet emergencies to the mainland today, just in case.

[OOC: Open!]

The C.I.C., Tuesday Afternoon - Evening [10/30].

[hashtag_chocobro]

"So it worked?"

Prompto Argentum, fully geared up and ready with his headset and controller, the comfiest of all the chairs in the place, surrounded by bags of snacks and bottles of soda, was clearly prepared for an evening of epic 'hard work' that Tuesday at the C.I.C., grinning stupidly at his monitor at the main desk.

"Of course it worked," Noctis's voice came back to him through the headset. "I still can't believe you spent your birthday money buying a gaming system for me."

"Worth it!" Prompto sang back. "What's the point in kicking ass, taking names, stomping on newbs with all these Earth games if I can't do it with my best friend? I'm just glad I was able to rig up something to work with our tech, but it helps that, you know, it's not really that diff--oh, hey! Watch your six, you've got--nice!"

"Thanks; I think I might be finally getting the hang of this."

"Yeah, maybe in a few weeks, I might even be able to stop carrying your ass all around the map."

"Right, because who had the higher kill score the last few games?"

"Glitch! I had a glitch! Also, a customer, I am technically working right now, you know."

"You are such a nerd."

"Hey, I may be a nerd, but at least I'm not a dork."

"Hey, I may be a dork, but at least I'm no---ugh, crap. Iggy's home, he's probably going to start getting on my case about homework."

"Iggy can go suck a chocobo egg."

"...Is that Prompto?"

"Hiiiiiiiii, Igniiiiiiiiiis!"

"Prompto, Noctis can't be playing video games all night; he has school in the morning."

"Yeah, and so do I, and it won't be all night, the C.I.C. isn't open all night, just most of--Aww, crap! That was a sucker shot! Iggy! Stop distracting me!"

"But I--ugh, never mind. I'm going to prepare dinner; I hope your Highness can tear himself away long enough at least to eat?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

And that was pretty much how it was going to be that evening at the C.I.C. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The C.I.C. is open! (but perhaps a little distracted).

The Magic Box, Tuesday

[always_someone]

Norman opened the door to the magic shop, and immediately had to duck as a whole colony of bats came flapping out toward him.

He straightened up again, wide-eyed, and peered tentatively back in through the door.

...

Okay. Everything in the shop seemed to be black, orange, or purple, or else it was white or bright green and glowing eerily under a mystery blacklight that Norman couldn't find the source of. There were rows of jack-o-lanterns along the baseboards, possibly migrated here from the flower shop overnight, and a really big one on the counter, staring back at him with a crooked, broken-toothed grin. A display of cauldrons was sourcelessly bubbling a thick greenish smoke that poured out and down and then drifted lazily across the floor. Every step he took into the main room had floorboards creaking, and occasionally he could hear footsteps coming from nowhere in particular.

He sighed and sat himself down at the counter.

"Halloween decorations are way more intense in Blithe Hollow."

Because they were maddeningly witchy all year round.

[OOC: Open!]

Apocalypse Avenue, Near the Park, Tuesday Morning

[notallbluemonks]

Right, so. Ten minutes ago Beau had been contending with a hangover in some tiny podunk town, a few days’ travel south of Trostenwald on the Amber Road, when she'd caught a glimpse of two figures robed in the all-too-familiar blues and greys of the Cobalt Soul. And the hell with that, she wasn’t going back to the monastery, not now, so she'd ducked into a side alley, reasonably sure she’d managed it without them noticing.

She'd been crouched behind a stack of crates with the smell of pretty shitty but pretty strong beer (meant for the tavern around the corner, probably) wafting off of them, trying to listen for any signs that the monks on her trail were sniffing around too close for comfort. Also, thinking about how she'd drink this beer anyway because she figured she'd get too drunk to care about the taste before long.

Just listening. And waiting. And getting a hell of a cramp in her left leg from being squashed into a tiny dark corner and trying not to move at all.

Then suddenly, the noises from the tavern and the passing horse-drawn cart were just gone, and the slightly mildewy scent of the alley was swept away by a light . . . breeze? A breeze with an odd, completely unfamiliar salty tang to it?

Wait, what?

The crates she was crouched behind no longer smelled like beer either, and when she stepped out of the alley it was into what looked like a row of the weirdest fucking warehouses she'd ever seen.

“The fuck?”

This didn't look like any place she'd ever seen in the Dwendalian Empire. The architectural style was . . . varying degrees of wildly off, for one, and then there was the ocean? Which she had never seen before in her life? Yeah. Definitely not the landlocked Empire. Beau rubbed at the back of her head, used her staff to lever herself to her feet, and set off down the completely unfamiliar street just to try and figure out where the hell she was. And how she'd gotten here without even moving from her spot.

Figured. Run away from the Cobalt Soul, still get stuck asking the deep-ass questions, even if they were way more literal in this context. On the upside, it was probably going to be a hell of a lot harder for the monks to track her down now.

By the time Beau was approaching the park, though, she hadn’t gotten closer to any answers or gained any clarification whatsoever, so . . .

“The fuck?”

This was going to be a theme for a while.

[[Post is absolutely open! Usual SP disclaimer applies. Please forgive my lack of icons; it's a thing.]]

Luke's, Tuesday

[uncertain_dume]

It wasn't Kanan's normal day to be at Luke's, no, but Mitsutada had been kind enough to cover for him on the weekend while he'd gone scouting back home to see if he could chase down an old contact of his, and so now Kanan was here, returning the favor.

The busboy squinted at him as he came through the door, and then hurried into the kitchen to confer with the rest of the staff. Kanan just sighed and took his place behind the counter.

And then the specials board came out, and Kanan squinted at it for a moment before deciding, hell, sure, he'd let it slide today.

Today's Specials:
Pumpkin Pancakes
Jack-o-lantern Onigiri
Curry Udon
Red Velvet Spiderweb Cupcakes

There was probably some kind of scattershot attempt at a theme in there, given the holiday, but mostly Kanan was just weirdly thankful to see that they'd thrown pancakes onto the specials board. Probably just to pester him. The universe kept on going, and all was more or less normal for his weird Tuesday shift at Luke's.

[OOC: I remembered, woo!]

Fandom Island Gazette, Tuesday Afternoon

[whatdattonguedotho]

Eddie had been offered a job after the whole Life Foundation/alien bullshit/ruining his own life and career with poor impulse control thing had shook out.

Complete control over the stories he wanted to do, good pay, and not even a mention of the Daily Globe incident either.

Downside seemed to be that he was in a small as hell town. And the building looked like it hadn't been used in years. Which was a little concerning.

"Hello? Anyone here?" he called through the empty bullpen. Out of the corner of his eye, a blue-ish blur darted past. And he could feel Venom just coiling up for a fight like he just wanted Eddie to be unemployed or something. "Okay, if this is a hazing thing, I'm already over it.

Then, very slowly, a few--teal? Was that teal?--teal deer poked their heads up from a few of the desks to blink at him. One was even wearing some glasses.

"Oh. Cool. Delayed psychotic break," he said weakly, waving at one of them.

He turned on his heel, heading back to the empty lobby to go sit down for a little bit.

Eddie. Eddie. Can we eat them?

And also look up flights back to San Francisco while fucking ignoring that question.

[open, of course!]

Community Center Class: Modern Earth Entertainment

[2_old_for_this]

The food this week was a lot of individually-wrapped candy with silly monster pictures on it. And popcorn, because of course.

"We're back to ones I haven't seen before," Peter told the group semi-apologetically before the movie started. "But I asked which movies might be really seminal and holiday-themed, and this is what they suggested. Horror movies are sort of traditional around this time of year, and this one has been around a while. I think a sequel just came out. Anyway, enjoy?"