[ It's been dark for nearly the entire day now. It literally sucks for Mako who's so used to waking up with the sun as it rises and, being a firebender, the sun plays a major part in fueling his bending and energy. Mako's currently got his communication device propped up on his bunched blankets while he's laying there with half his face swallowed up by his pillows. There's a light on in the corner but the darkness outside, to him, is starting to feel like he's suffocating in it. ]

... I'm going to assume this is another stupid curse. [ His words are half-muttered into his pillow, the grumble of discontent that follows inaudible.

Mako exhales heavily and buries his face into the pillows, reaching over to disconnect his device. ]

Prolonged nighttime.

One more reason for the Citizens to start panicking and behaving like idiots.

[ He hasn't celebrated the Moon festival since childhood. With Pai. But he isn't nostalgic. There's a sharp divide between his memories of Heaven's War and those of his old, tidy, normal life. Why waste time remembering? Work keeps you focused. Backtracking doesn't. ]

[ Maybe that's why he's baked. Again. Again. ]

[ And again. ]



[ Over the colorful mooncakes, 'Li' offers a timid, boyish smile. ]

...The last curse ended on a bitter note, didn't it? So much fuss about prenups and contracts. All amounting to nothing. [ Unsurprising. Marriage is largely irrational. A curse just adds to the senselessness. ] However, I'd like to apologize to anyone I got involved in the mess. [ Specifically you, Korra & Co. ] I was cursed. But that doesn't make it any less embarrassing.

[ A sheepish laugh. ]

In the meantime, if anyone's interested, you're welcome to stop by Cafe Satine. We're serving candied pomelo and mooncakes with a variety of fillings. Including custard, ice-cream, fruit and chocolate. Be sure to try them out!

[ He could, theoretically, take some down-time. Enjoy the festival like everyone else. ]

[ He refuses. ]

Options For Meetings:

( Xanadu (Li) )

( Out & About (Reaper) )

[Yes, you are seeing exactly what you think you are! This is Gazelle sitting on a rooftop somewhere in her pink star PJs not too concerned with her appearance due to the day still being night. She has one of the floating lanterns rested on her lap and a whole bunch of various colored mooncakes too. It's slightly breezy but the wind doesn't seem to bother her, and she addresses the camera with a curiosity in her eyes.]

I have a question! What are these festivals really about? ... I mean, I know these cakes taste so good and all [Here she holds up a mooncake that already seems to have a bite taken out of it to show what she's talking about.] and the dancing is fun, but is that it?

[She pauses momentarily to look up at the dark sky and sets the mooncake she was holding up back down to her lap, before continuing,]

It seems weird when you can't see the sky during the day, if you ask me.

So anyone know where the sun went? And why it seems that most people are just having a time of it?

[Charlie's working the later shift at the Jasmine Dragon. It's busy and Charlie's stuck at work until closing. Despite how busy it is, Charlie's relaxed, even smiling just a tiny bit. There are those mooncake things on a tray behind her. IT's clear the stack was bigger at one point but people have been grabbing some.]

Didn't the sun fail to come up once before? I feel like we did this already.

[And to a customer who'd just picked up one of the mooncakes;] I wouldn't eat that. I don't know where it came from. That's not something we made h-- okay go right on ahead.

[A pause and then, still to the customer;] You're okay? No ill side effects? No one elses memories running through your head?

[The customer speaks, it's partially muffled by the food they have in their mouth.] Okay. Good.

[The customer wanders off and Charlie addresses the camera again.]

Seriously. We did this full day of darkness thing before right? Or am I imagining things?

I'm always suspicious of free food, but that goes double for this place.



[ooc: thank you to anon for the gift ;_; ]

[Filtered from Known DELILAH Members || Unhackable]
Another day of night, it would seem. And, along with it, as expected, a festival. That's rather enjoyable, I think.

And, of course, there's the usual panic about what the darkness might mean or when the sun might return--to say nothing of the fact that there seem to be sweets offered by the City and what the ill effects of those might be.

I can't speak to the sweets, but I do remember the first time I encountered a curse, when the sun refused to rise for the whole of a day. I was quite sure that we would all be condemned to darkness for the rest of our time in the City. And yet, here were so many people busily celebrating.

I suppose now I'm one of the ones celebrating and reassuring those who are quite sure we're now all condemned to darkness.

Do believe me: the sun will return in a day or two. And, thusfar, the festivities seem harmless enough. A few people I've spoken to even seem to recognize them--they say it's rather like a 'Moon festival' where they come from. I seem to recall hearing about that before.

We don't have a Moon festival or a Lantern festival--which was another celebration we've had here in the City before--where I come from. We've enough nighttime festivities of our own, though, between Bonfire Night and Hallowe'en and Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. But I almost think I rather like the idea of a celebration of the autumn moon. Or perhaps it's just the novelty of it.

Once when Riff and Merry were both here, there was a festival such as this, and it may have been this very one, and they convinced me to dress in Chinese costume, since that seemed to be quite the thing to be done that day. I think we must have made quite a sight, but it pleased Merry a great deal. I do think of them on days like these, strange as it is.

I would like to think I would have heard by now if these cakes and sweets were of any danger. But there might not be any danger shown until tomorrow or some days after. I suppose I'm accustomed to the City to some degree, but I'd like to think I don't trust it completely. I, for one, would rather not eat these cakes, no matter how appealing they may seem--at least not the ones the City has made. I rather wish we had our own for the cafe. I think they'd be popular.

We're coming up fast on October, and all that October usually promises or threatens in the City. So perhaps it's best to celebrate for one last day-and-night of September.

I know I'll be out in the City today--or tonight, whichever it might be.

~C.

[ooc: Cain is out and about in the City! Feel free to run into him and action it up!]

[And you can hear her softly murmuring, almost laughing,]

Ladybird Ladybird, fly away home. Your house is on fire, your children shall burn. Ladybird Ladybird, fly away home. Your house is on fire, your children shall burn. Ladybird Ladybird, fly away home. Your house is on fire, your children shall burn.

I gotta have more. If you don't want yours look me up. Let's talk.

[ A burp...and then another burp, this one sort of sounding like there's a hiccup in there too. ]

Wonder if there's a City record for the number of cakes eaten...

That makes...25? No...27. I think. So far.

You guys should really try some of these. They're great!

 [The camera is pointed up through the trees at the sky, showing the bright outline of the full moon through the branches.  Isaac's not visible in the shot but he's holding the camera, pointing it upwards and away from him]

So does anyone have any idea when the night's going to end?  

Also it sounds like there's some kind of party in town, what's going on there?  [He can smell the sweetness of the cakes on the wind too but mentioning that would be a little not subtle.]

[ Day, time, Howard rarely keeps track these days, but for once he checks, takes note, and decides that maybe he should take the afternoon off considering it's a Sunday and he's not even sure if he actually works Sundays. But being locked up in his lab, lights always on overhead and enough moonlight seeping in through the semi-closed blinds, Howard doesn't even realise how dark it is until he's stepping out of City Solutions and into the street.

He wanders, the sound of celebrations carrying, and he follows it, removing his device from his pocket at some point and switching it to video. He knows he's not been as sociable as he used to be, the people he annoys - annoyed - on a regular basis coming and going far too frequently, mostly going, and even he's not that good at pretending to be okay. Hiding never fails, especially when there's so few to seek him out. ]

Someone decide to throw a party and forget to invite me? 'Cause I know how to party, and, I gotta say, it's your loss if I ain't there.

I have had a long day of it.

Night of it.

I'm not even curious as to how many of those marriages became divorces and how many were just annulled.