(no subject)

[harmonicalsoul]

[ Soul looks worse for the wear when he appears on the network. This isn't unusual, as of late - he's spent most of September looking like that. But what's different is that he has a big grin on his face, not often seen by anyone here yet. Except, of course, people from home. ]

So, August sucked. September kinda sucked for a lot of people too, and even those who it didn't probably need a break So it's good that we're nearing the end of September, yeah? Because we're almost to October.

[ That is super obvious but whatever. Even cool guys state the obvious sometimes. ]

October rules. We get to spend all month preparing for the biggest party of the year and the general atmosphere is nice. I know some of you might not even know what Halloween is. [ He imagines there's worlds where it doesn't exist, as sad as that makes him. ] If you don't, it's a great time where for one night, we all get to dress up as the coolest things we can think of and pretend. We get candy and treats and play pranks, too.

So this is a general PSA. If September sucked, October is gonna give you great things. Let's all be prepared and try our best to make it awesome, yeah? All this war stuff will ruin it if we let it.

[ October makes Soul optimistic. How odd. ]

Comments

[incendiarize]

[Arthur still thinks the phones are just magic bricks, but he's kind of getting used to them. ...His video feed might be upside down. He's not sure how he did that, he just pushed some buttons. No wonder he was never allowed to touch anything that still lit up, in the ruins...

Anyway. Party sounds good, costumes sound better, he's on board by the time treats come out, and pranks just seals the deal. Who invented this Halloween thing? They are clearly the closest anyone has ever come to actually being an angel. But first thing is first - when the heck is this?]

What's an October? How soon do we get to do the Halloween thing? It sounds awesome!

[harmonicalsoul]

October's a month. Have you got months where you're from?

[ Soul's not sure if that came out condescending. he didn't mean it to be, but you never know how words will be interpreted. ]

We can do it in 39 more days. October itself is in 9.

[ He pauses and eyes the fact the feed is upsdie down. ]

Try turning your phone over, man.

[incendiarize]

Yeah, today's Aries 24. It'll be Capuchin in five days. ...I think, it's kinda hard to keep track here. [Does this castle even have seasons? Arthur hasn't really noticed a ton of change that couldn't just be this place being this place.

He flips his phone over. Smartphones being smartphones, this fixes it for all of two seconds before the phone realizes it's upside-down and "corrects" the feed.]

[satanslash]

I haven't done anythin' for Halloween since I was a little kid. Dad would hold a party for the local kids after school and I got stuck helpin' but that was really all I ever did. I was never old enough to go to the big parties downtown.

So what kinda party is this one gonna be?

[harmonicalsoul]

Aw, that's kind of sad. The big parties are real fun.

I'm not sure what kind we should hold yet, I guess it depends on if Ozuma is doing a feast. But a party is different than a feast, yaknow?

[harmonicalsoul]

....something's up with your phone, it's all weird and you're upside down. [ Pause. ] Capuchin, huh? Isn't that a monkey?

[incendiarize]

We don't have stuff like this back home. I don't use it a lot. [He probably accidentally switched some setting. Maybe he'll figure it out in a few months.]

Yeah, I think they live on the Southwestern Continent? Dunno why we named a month after them, though.

[harmonicalsoul]

I could look at it for you, but I don't know what could be happening from here. I'd have to see it in person.

Probably named a month after them because they're great. A monkey saved my life once. [ Or was it an ape? What's the difference, anyway? ]

[incendiarize]

Want me to bring it to you? [He's pretty eager to actually understand his magic brick - it reminds him of a friend. She's so strong.]

Awesome! I need to meet more monkeys! ...Our months are named after a lot of animals.

[harmonicalsoul]

Sure. Where should we meet up? We can talk about your months and Halloween while I look at it.

[hoshikishin]

Still haven't given up on that October thing, huh?

[ Black*Star's more cheerful than usual, too. Soul's been in love with the fall ever since they were kids and it's nice to see that things never change, no matter what world you're from. ]

[harmonicalsoul]

You're talking to me normally again, huh? What a change of pace.

[ Soul is trying real hard to be cordial but it's hard hen he's got a bone to pick. More than one, really. Possibly all the bones in the world. ]

Why would I give up on it? October's great.

[incendiarize]

I usually hang out at the work table or library. I'm Arthur.

[harmonicalsoul]

To the library we go, then.

I'm Soul.

[incendiarize]

Alright! [And, having little knowledge of phone etiquette, that's all he says before his fingers fumble at the screen and eventually cut the feed.

Soul will easily find Arthur in the library. He has a few of the actually readable books scattered carelessly, taking notes from one idly. ...Closer inspection will reveal his notes have dwindled into speculative doodles regarding Halloween.]

Soul, hey!

[freedom_engineer]

See, me and a couple'a people have been talking.

There's gonna be some stuff done for this holiday, don't you worry.

At the very least, we're gonna be showing some themed movies and having some candy.

[harmonicalsoul]

Maybe we can do our stuff together? I really want to throw a party.

[harmonicalsoul]

Hey there.

[ Soul sits at the chair across from Arthur and peers at his notes. ] Nice doodles you got there.

[freedom_engineer]

I think that can probably be arranged. I try to keep morale up around here, and a party sounds like a great idea.

[harmonicalsoul]

Keep up morale, huh? That's admirable.

[freedom_engineer]

Half admirable, half self-serving. We're less likely to get killed horribly if we keep our spirits up.

I like seeing everyone in good spirits, but I also like not dying.

[Sometimes, the humor is REAL hard to get with this one...]

[harmonicalsoul]

Heh. I get that. my spirit's been kinda low but I'm determined to get it back up. I like not dying too.

[freedom_engineer]

Anybody told you about the movie nights? I show movies every couple of nights, just to give everyone a nice little communal spot of diversion and socialization.

After that last month, though, I can understand why anyone would be down in the dumps.

[harmonicalsoul]

Never heard of that! That sounds great. [ Soul doesn't exactly socialize well, but if he tries, it'll probably make both him and Maka feel better. ] And my problem's more related to someone from home. They've been pretty ridiculous.

[freedom_engineer]

Yeah, we try to get snack food, and some good all-purpose movies. And I try to play to requests, so hey, you think of anything you wanna see, you let me know.

Rough time with acquaintances from home, huh? Anything you need to talk about?

[harmonicalsoul]

What kind of movies are available here, anyway?

...possibly, but I'm not sure you want a stranger unloading on you.

[freedom_engineer]

I have the collected digital libraries of six planets stored in my arm.

Without going into too much detail about multiversal differences, just assume I have all the movies. The planets I've download from are Corsica, Earth, Draconis, Fieras, Mentar, and Rigel. If any of those names mean anything to you, I mean.

[You can't see him, but he's giving a shrug.]

Worse comes to worse, I can tell you that I've heard enough. Why don't you let it out and we'll see where it goes?

[harmonicalsoul]

Yeah, the name Earth does, at least. In your arm? That's boss.

[ A pause as he tries to decide what to do about the offer, then he speaks again, his voice a little hesitant. ]

Is there a way to make this so nobody can hear it?

[Locked down to Private!]

[freedom_engineer]

Yeah, sure, gimme just a sec...

Okay, yeah, we're private now. Nobody'll be tapping into this convo unless they're a better hacker than me.

So nobody will be tapping into this convo.

[satanslash]

I think even if I was old enough to go, Dad probably woulda made me stay and help with the kids' party. [He's not all that bitter about it, even if it would have been nice to go to even just one.] Yeah, totally. I'd be down for helpin' with that.

[harmonicalsoul]

Hey, thanks. Cuz yeah, some of this would be pretty dangerous if it got out. At least for my friend.

[harmonicalsoul]

Sweet, thanks. Just remember to enjoy this one.

[satanslash]

I plan to!

[freedom_engineer]

That bad, huh?

Just having a rough time adjusting to things? Or is there something dangerous about?

[harmonicalsoul]

Great!

[harmonicalsoul]

See, uh, my world's pretty normal. [ To Soul, anyway - a lot of people would disagree with him. ] But he comes from a place where our world went horribly wrong. And apparently he had to do a lot of scary shit to survive. It made him snap. So we've been trying to take care of his mental state and nurse him back to health but it's hard.

[freedom_engineer]

Alternate universe difficulties. That is... not easy.

Sadly, there's not much I can do to help with mental issues. I'm on that boat myself, actually.

But I can point you in the right direction to at least get started. There's a fellow here named Ghaleon. He's the sort that seems to be best suited to dealing with matters such as that.

[harmonicalsoul]

I'm on the mental issue boat too but he's worse off than I am. Ghaleon, huh? You think he'd mind me contacting him out of nowhere?

[freedom_engineer]

I can say with near certainty that he wouldn't mind it at all.

He's offered himself for people who need him. He knows the value of keeping people... ah... sane, I guess is the best word here?

[harmonicalsoul]

How do I contact him? Just ask around or what?

[freedom_engineer]

If you ask on the network for Ghaleon, I'm certain he'd answer. If you don't want to do that, he sometimes attends the movie nights. You can't miss him, I think the only person here who's taller than he is would be AZ, and AZ is a giant.

[harmonicalsoul]

Oh dang. I'll try the network, I think. Seems easiest.

[freedom_engineer]

It usually is, once people figure it out.

So, you gonna be okay? Sounds like this is taking a toll on you?

late as heck

[incendiarize]

[...It's probably clear he doesn't actually know what Halloween is supposed to be like, but there's no shortage of enthusiasm. He slides his phone Soul's way - the whole display is upside-down. Who knows what he did to it.]

Planning is essential to a good party, right? This Halloween thing sounds awesome!

[harmonicalsoul]

Physical toll, if anything. I'll be fine emotionally.

[ Soul's a liar. ]