yes I knew it was no moonshine, it is real

[faceblocks]

Who: vi and various people
What: a catchall for october feat. vileblood anxiety things, animal shenanigans, facepainting things, non-event things. starters will be in the comments. ping me at eisdamme or eisdamme#7495 if you would like one.
When: throughout the month of october
Where: the rookery kitchen, ursulas, cellar door, willful machine, the outpost, the entertainment feed, other places.

Content Warnings: tba

Comments

early october

[givetheslip]

[Maria's been back from the other Trench for a couple of days now and she's still exhausted, but she drags herself to the festivities anyway. Forcing herself to be up and about seems to help a little, strangely, and it's not as though she can just sit around for days and days.

She looks fairly out of place, not exactly one to join in carefree merriment, but she spots Vi and smiles as she makes her way over.]

You look slightly ridiculous. I like it.

[faceblocks]

[the other trench was ...something. something vi would rather not think about, is actively trying not to, but the fact that people are still disappearing? not great. it's one more twig on the bonfire of her anxieties, which ...wow, that's a pile. she'd rather direct her attention to the other bonfires, and to the fake ones on floats, behind the eyes of mock dragons and other beasts - behind curiously carved pumpkins.

vi smiles back, her little leather batwings bobbing as she raises her bottle.]

Ridiculous, huh?

[she is playfully affronted. how dare. ridiculous: it's what she was aiming for, mostly. trench has been playful lately, but not in the fun way. its tricks have been mean, and meaner still.]

Thanks.

Lemme guess: you're too cool for a costume?

[what she thinks but doesn't yet say: you look tired.]

[givetheslip]

In a good way.

[Really really. If nothing else, it's nice to see people enjoying themselves. Maria never yearned for frivolity during her time with the Templars, spent years with a mindset that was nothing but deadly serious in fact, but it doesn't change how she feels seeing it now.]

I don't know about that. I've never had reason to wear one before. They weren't a custom back in England, and then I spent years at war.

[It doesn't occur to her that to some, dressing up as a knight or even one's steward could be a costume.]

[faceblocks]

[her mouth twists a little at the mention of war - yeah, that's a thing that lurks in the back of her mind, always, and she's able to punt her personal feelings elsewhere, but being reminded of someone else's? that's harder to punt anywhere, honestly. but she'll try, because this is about fun. about dancing, and singing, and parades and face painting and ...weird superstitious chants? okay, maybe not that last one. get outta here, stray thought.]

We can fix that if you want. Grab you a mask, or I can paint you up real quick. But it's not like you need it to participate in the fun.

[maybe just in the keeping beasts away? yeah, yeah, legendary horrors, but after dealing with outpost shifts? eh.]

It's supposed to keep you "safe", but you've got ...yourself for that.

[givetheslip]

Of course I don't. I'm perfectly capable of being fun on my own.

[Is she though...]

But if you have any recommendations I wouldn't mind having them. Or maybe you could paint something and surprise me with the results.

[Maria doesn't want to admit it, but she doesn't really have any ideas of her own. She can't recall the last time she was called upon to be creative.]

[faceblocks]

[she doesn't disagree.]

That depends on what kind of thing you're going for. Scary, pretty, or some combination of both. But yeah, I can throw something on that face in no time. You've got a good canvas.

[the latter is what vi would choose if she had to choose for her. and is it a flirt? yeah, a little, but not a serious one.]

[givetheslip]

That's the first time I've ever thought of myself as a piece of art. Or thought of art much in general.

[There's not much time for that in war. The idea makes her chuckle. She feels a little lighter and more energetic than she has in days.]

Scary or a combination, I think. You might be doomed to failure if you tried for something pretty.

[faceblocks]

Thanks to this festival? Everyone gets to be a work of art. And not in the weird, oh no, why do I suddenly have tentacles way, but in a way we can all enjoy, relax...

[...]

...if that's even possible, and [a hand sweep over all of it - the floats, the costumes, the decorating everywhere] all that out there? Art.

I gotta try pretty hard to fail [unintentional wordplay], and even then ...it's like every fuckup is a better fuck up. Like a friend said, " planned fuckups but with improvements". Not that I'm going to blow this, I can draw almost as good as I fight. C'mon, I'll get my paint, I live practically around the corner.

[headtilt.]

You wanna walk it, or are you a climber?

[givetheslip]

"Every fuckup is a better fuck up." Not the kind of aphorism I'd have predicted, but there's a certain kind of wisdom in it.

[It's not dissimilar to things she's told herself in more trying times, albeit not with such colorful language.]

I daresay I'm an excellent climber.

[She'd proved that to herself hauling arse out of the Archive, after all.]

[faceblocks]

[huge grin. vi will go a little easy on the parkour - she doesn't know yet the limits of that excellence, but it's a fun spin on a short walk, and a great way to avoid crowds.

she gives a thumbs up before she's up and over the side of a building and navigating a series of uneven rooftops with ease.

(i'm an excellent shot)

maria won't see the sad smile that lingers just a moment longer before vi hits ground in front of the rookery.]