Halloween Yamatai's Annual Candy Festival (YE 36)

[Wes]

Kyoto, Yamatai

It was that time of year once more. The lampposts and white stone buildings of downtown Kyoto were decked out in orange banners, candy-filled Star Army of Yamatai trucks were positioned on every street corner, and fliers, PSAs, and commercials had been advertising for the last few weekends. It was the annual candy festival! Officially a training exercise for practicing the distribution of vaccines, every year the Star Army of Yamatai called up millions of spare troops and had them go spread cheer, sugary treats, and other food items to the people of the Empire. In accordance with the ancient custom of Halloween, people would dress in costume and in return they would receive bagfuls of treats like candy and cookies. Kids would typically get candy, and adults often had the option of getting luxury frozen foods like steak and lobster that the Star Army Army had stockpiled for this occasion. Along the streets, some of the shops were giving out small items as well.

Happy Halloween!

OOC: This is an open thread, feel free to RP a character dressing up and going out to get food. To give everyone a chance to participate, the thread is open for the rest of October, not just on Halloween itself.

 

[Lamb]

YNP Officer Tamayamo Sashi was on a break. After having patrolled three or four neighborhoods with only the most uptight and annoying thoroughness, carefully inspecting each and every candy cigarette on those wearing the costumes of Flint Vanderhuge and Robert Davis; the YNP detective was suitably tired. Due to his youthful appearance and a keen desire not to mar the YNP uniform with a simple festive mask or seasonal hat, Sashi was more than once mistaken for a teenage boy masquerading as a YNP officer. As such, he had accrued a small bag of candy through a series of awkward encounters. And now, sitting on a bench in front of his favorite noodle shop the young man opened the bag and withdrew his first chocolate bar of the night. It was a simple thing, one squat brown square wrapped in paper. Some middle-aged mother had been giving out squares of baker's chocolate.

Sighing, the towheaded cop took a nibble from his square of chocolate and leaned back to survey the street, taking in just a little of the utopian splendor of his homeworld.

 

[Floodwaters]

At a kebab stand on one of the festively decorated street corners, a Nepleslian woman stood, closing her transaction with the vendor. She didn't stick up much higher than many of the Yamataian populace, in fact, in some cases she was actually several inches shorter, but her noticably non-Yamataian features made her stand out slightly. Her cold, steely eyes beneath a pair of well-groomed, upswept dark eyebrows, in particular, were the most striking, accented with a subtle touch of eyeliner that made the contrast "pop" all the more. Along with her angular, aquiline nose, she had a stern, almost intimidating presence; or rather, she would, were it not for the warm, inviting smile that glowed on her face. Her shoulder-length brown hair bounced lightly, just brushing her sturdy-looking shoulders, and her noticeably hourglass figure was completely enclosed in a solid black ninja costume, cupped just over her deltoids. Her arms would be bare were it not for the long black gloves that covered them from her fingertips all the way up just over most of her triceps, leaving a thin band of her shoulders exposed. She had her face mask pulled off of her face, bunched around her neck below her chin. A cheap-looking imitation katana hung from her belt, and her black leather boots were calf-length with laces up the front, and a two-inch heel. Slung over her left shoulder was an orange and black satchel - perhaps a handout from one of the many trucks passing out holiday memorabilia - partially filled with trinkets and treats she had collected, but clearly wasn't being shy about redistributing.

With an infectiously cheery smile, she thanked the cart vendor once she had paid, and retrieved a modest-sized skewer of bits of grilled chicken interspersed with peppers, onions, and tomatoes, all glistening with a scrumptious-looking glaze. As she turned and continued down the street, taking a bite from her snack, her deceptively stern-looking brow creased upward, overcome with adoration for a pair of young boys scampering down the street, each of them dressed as some kind of superhero duo, arms hooked together, stuffed candy bags in tow. Reaching into her own bag, she called the boys over, waving a handful of chocolates and taffy treats, and happily divided it between them before watching them excitedly run off with a content sigh.

Approaching the bench where Sashi was seated, she dabbed a tiny bit of her kebab glaze from the corner of her mouth with her thumb, and smiled brightly at the officer. "Good evening!" she said in near-flawless Yamataigo. "Would you mind if I sit here?"

 

[Lamb]

At the very enthusiastic greeting, Sashi forced himself to swallow the bit of chocolate in his mouth and sit up straight to belt out with a polite smile, "Not at all, citizen!"

This feat caused the poor young man to cough and he struggled with wide eyes to keep the throaty (yet effeminate) barks contained in the fist he held up to his mouth. With tears beginning to form in his eyes, the YNP officer waved his free hand dismissively in the universal symbol of 'I promise I'm okay, please ignore the fact that I am now coughing up the better portion of an ID-Sol's lungs'. Ignoring for now the complexity of such signals, I will only also mention at this point that Sashi did all this whilst trying his best to scrunch up against one side of the bench and give the newcomer a little more room.

 

[Floodwaters]

The woman's lips parted and she sucked in a sharp breath through closed teeth, her expression turning worriedly apologetic. "Oh, jeez, I'm-- oh dear. I'm sorry about that!" she said quickly, her open left hand coming up and hanging in the air with a couple of hesitant back-and-forth motions, as if she wanted to give the poor man a couple of gentle claps on the back to help him through the coughing fit, but wasn't sure if it would be appropriate or not. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Gingerly she lowered herself into the seat next to him, still watching him with a concerned expression, at first a few inches too close, then sliding back a bit to give him more room. "Are you all right?" she asked.

 

[Lamb]

"I'm fine." Sashi managed between deep and heavy breaths, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. Yamatai could design and build perfect bodies for its citizens all they wanted-- but they couldn't fix stupid. As such, Sashi always ended up doing something like this if something even remotely interesting happened while he was eating. So he was used to it. Eventually, he cleared his throat and turned at an angle to better face the woman who'd made him chocolate himself half to death.

"Don't concern yourself so much," He assured her in soft tones, hands outstretched to show some sort of surrender. "It's just something that happens. Sit down, enjoy your meal. I'm Tantei Tamayamo Sashi, of the YNP."

 

[Floodwaters]

"Okay," the woman said with a sweet smile, relaxing at last in her seat as she set her satchel down on the ground by her foot.

Her arched eyebrows raised a touch when he introduced himself, and her cheeks flushed red ever so slightly. "Oh, you're actually YNP?" she asked in mild surprise, and grinned sheepishly as she seemed to feel obligated to explain herself. "Sorry. It's just there are so many people in costume. Not that yours doesn't look great." Her blush deepened. "Er-- I mean, it's very official-looking. But then I suppose it should be, since you're..." She smiled more broadly, and shook her head as she placed her fingertips on her forehead, peering out from underneath them. "I should just shut up now, shouldn't I? I'm Kira. Actually former Nepleslian NPF, coincidentally."

 

[Lamb]

This wasn't the first time Sashi'd had this conversation. In fact, with the exception of Kira's name, it wasn't the first time he'd had this exact conversation all the way up to 'since you're...' and the unwritten 'not actually a kid' beyond. Sashi just smiled back and rubbed the collar behind his neck kind of nervously. On the plus side, if any actual criminals thought it might be ironic to rob a kid dressed as a YNP officer-- they'd be sorely disappointed that Sashi's NSP was more than real. Which made it super-real, or something. Either way, there was a charming and mysterious Kunoichi to make conversation with, so Sashi snapped out of it and replied, "Oh, it's a common mistake. I'm very young for my rank. Though--"

Sashi looked off to the street before continuing at a more measured pace, "It's nice to meet you either way, Kira-san."

 

[Floodwaters]

Kira smiled again, appearing relieved that Sashi didn't seem offended. She knew that honor and respect were paramount in Yamataian society, and she'd done her darndest to make sure she was careful not to step on anyone's toes so far. But as she just proved seconds ago, she wasn't immune to stumbling over herself in the process.

"Pleasure to meet you too!" she said cheerily. She took another nibble of her kebab, enjoying the savory grilled flavor, then swallowed it and looked back at the boyish officer sitting across from her, pulling one of the pieces of meat a half-inch up the skewer with her thumb and forefinger. "So how long have you been serving? Your superiors must think highly of you to promote you so quickly."

 

[Lamb]

"Actually..." Sashi outright frowned. He had been popular with his superiors for some time, but now... The young man wasn't sure how exactly to explain his situation, so he just leaned back on the bench and sighed. "It's complicated and boring, but I'm between Special Investigations units right now. The unit I was in got disbanded, and I only got put there because I made a mistake-- so, eh..."

Sashi just shook his head a little and put the smile back on before asking, with a renewed tone, "Have you come to Yamatai to visit family, Kira-san? I notice you have a Yamataian name, and you speak Yamatai-go with skill."

 

[Floodwaters]

Kira looked simultaneously amused and flattered. "No, I don't have any family here," she explained as she nibbled another section of the kebab, tilting her head slightly as she watched the throngs of people milling about, children shouting excitedly, and parents rushing to keep up with them. "I don't think my name is Yamataian; it may just be a coincidence. But I was actually born before Nepleslian independence, so I grew up speaking both."

She turned her steely eyes back to the officer, her head still tilted slightly. "Big organizations are rough sometimes," she said with gentle understanding. "Especially when the ones making the decisions can't see everything through your eyes."

 

[ShotJon]

"Hoo boy," came a voice to the duo. It spoke perfect Yamati-go but the accent was very... nepleslian. A woman came to Sashi, with a sly smile on her face. She wore a white toga with a pair of fake wing on her back, imitating an Elysian. Very unnatural Elysian, thank to electronic cigarette between her lips and pair of boots on her feet. She bumped Sashi into the shoulder in friendly way and breathed out a small cloud of steam from her mouth, taking the cig in her free hand.

"I see you caught more than a candy this year Sashi," Andrea Carver said to her ex-colleague. "Though taking your uniform for a costume is pretty lame I must say. I would expect you come in as a samurai or some shit." The woman grinned.

 

[Lamb]

"Karuba-san..." Sashi groaned girlishly, butchering Andy's last name as usual, "It's not my costume. Just because Tantei don't have to wear the uniform, it's not like we don't have to."

Feeling an introduction was in order, Sashi cleared his throat and gestured to the wouldn't-be Elysian with a wide, sweeping motion as he explained to Kira, "This is Tantei Andrea Carver," He took a little extra care with the last name for the sake of introduction, "She's also a YNP officer like myself. We were in the same unit of Special Investigations together, until it got disbanded. Again."

Then, Sashi reversed the sweeping gesture and did the same thing, really enjoying the showmanship, "This is Kira, Andy-san. She's Nepleslian like you were, so perhaps you two could talk shop about things like what tobacco tastes like."

 

[ShotJon]

"I would ask if you got any smokes on you," Andrea turned her head to the girl in kunoichi costume. "But if then I might would have to arrest you depending on the answer," she added with a small laugh. She then reached out with a hand, offering it for a shake.

"At least one can still smoke this little thing," the chestnut haired cop in angel costume waved the electronic cigarette. "You should see the frown it gets out of some people hah."

"Her Sash," Andrea then turned back to the policeman, "Did you see Buck around? I got message from him earlier, but I deleted it. Not sure if I want to see his ugly mug."

 

[Floodwaters]

Kira looked slightly shocked by Andrea's assumption, and her lips parted to quickly correct her, but little more than a hardly-vocalized half-syllable escaped before the faux-Elysian continued. Instead, she simply took another bite of her kebab and smiled pleasantly while the two talked.

Her face fell ever so slightly at Sashi's suggestion that they talk about tobacco, obviously unsure of how to respond to the rather off-color remark. "I don't smoke," she replied politely as she swallowed her bite, and smiled warmly at the woman as she stood and accepted the handshake. "But it's nice to meet you, Andrea."

 

[Lamb]

"No, I haven't heard from the Lieutenant. Unit Six got out of a press conference half-an-hour ago, though, so he'd probably around." Sashi replied to Andrea with the hint of a 'hmph' forming beneath his words before refocusing on Kira.

"Kira-san, Andy is a rude person." 'Not like you' was the unspoken compliment, the way Sashi said it like it was a category to be filled or a quota to be met. There had to be rude people in the world, and Andrea was one of them. Rude people got things done. There were always clever lawbreakers who needed a good smack from the officer who didn't particularly care about regulations. There were sidearms to be shoved in the face of reluctant informants. There were blunt jitte to hook behind the ear of delinquent teens. Andy had probably done all of those things at one point or another. For Sashi, though, the polite and unsmoking Kira was the preferred company. So, he held up a hand to the woman he shared the bench with and said, "I think it's great you don't smoke. It must be awfully hard for you, being a--"

Sashi stopped himself and chuckled nervously, a teenage girl's laugh, "I'm sorry, you said you were a former officer. Are you still in enforcement?"

 

[Floodwaters]

"Oh, I'm sure she's just fine," Kira replied, her warm smile returning reassuringly at Andrea as she released the handshake, juggling her kebab back into her dominant hand. Returning to her seat, she looked back over at Sashi as she crossed her legs and rested her free hand on her knee, her back straight in a posture that smacked of the term "proper." She raised an eyebrow slowly as the YNP officer continued into his unfinished sentence, and the smile never faded, only morphed from inviting warmth to slight amusement.

"It's not so hard, actually," she continued with a whimsical grin. "You're surrounded by it all the time, so anytime you did have a nicotine craving, all you have to do in most places is just take a few deep breaths. Besides, I never cared to try." She plucked one of the peppers off the kebab and popped it into her mouth, chewing it as she nodded in response to Sashi's second question. "I was, seven years," she said, swallowing. "Not anymore, though. I'm actually here looking for work."

 

[ShotJon]

"True it is much harder when you smoke for years and then move to a place where smoking is illegal," Andrea spoke up again with a smile. "All I have is this crappy e-cig. Otherwise, not a puff in years." That was of course a lie. For a cop, it was not such a trouble to get her hands on some tobacco, of course she tried to not do that. There was luckily no need to, since she had buddies on nepleslian embassy, where she could go have a puff now and then. After all in Nepleslian Embassy, there were nepleslian laws.

"Looking for work eh?" Andrea asked, and puffed on her e-cig again. "It is not hard to get a job here. If you are okay with serving in a coffee hourse or something. You might want to try and go for YNP though. Especially if you used to be on the force. You will find that being a cop on Yamatai, compared to being a cop on Nepleslia is like being a Kindergarter teacher compared to Prison Guard."

 

[Lamb]

"Being a prison guard is actually pretty close to being a kindergarten teacher." Said Sashi with a boyish smirk. The boy arranged his part and wiggled his back further into the bench before continuing, "Besides, we handle plenty of tough cases here on Yamatai."

In the distance, a creature of another sort was approaching. The figure was that of a beautiful man-- the kind you'd see in a clothing catalogue with the top button of his collar undone and his tie loosened. The type of man with a chiseled jaw and a button-nose and that oh-so-ready-to-work-on-the-house five-o-clock shadow. A man with eyes deeper than an ocean and more complex than the crags and crannies of a mighty mountain. He waved once with an easy smirk on his face as he approached the group, though he kept silent. More interestingly, this beast of a mountain of a man was dressed as a Nepleslian tourist. It was a gag costume, with a bright floral shirt, cargo shorts, knee-socks, oversized camera around the neck, humongous stetson hat, and a big plastic cigar to top it all off.

When Sashi caught sight of the guy, he shrivled instinctively and leaned a bit closer to Kira as if huddling to her for safety.

"Some of us even handle tough coworkers..." He moaned.

 

[Floodwaters]

A lighthearted titter slipped from Kira's smiling lips at the comparison, and she licked a bit of the glaze from them when she figured no one was looking. Shaking her head with the grin at the joke, she nibbled another miniscule bite of her snack. "I actually already have an application in with them, so it's just the waiting game for now," she explained, her eyes lingering on her kebab for a moment before turning up towards Andrea. She didn't bother to add that she felt fairly confident she already knew what the reply would be, assuming she got one at all. "But yeah, there's quite a few places to try around this city. It's huge, and really dazzling," she continued, shifting the subject a bit as she looked around her at the lavishly decorated streets, the brilliant color scheme, and the dizzying heights of the buildings. "I mean, not that I've never seen a megacity. Just that the one I grew up in is quite a bit less..." she added, and narrowed one eye as she searched for the word. "...festive?" she said hesitantly with an uncertain smile, then shrugged. "And it's really, really expensive to live here, it seems like. I bet just paying for a place to live, if you didn't work a profession, you'd never have time to sleep. And so many different districts to learn, too..." she kept going, then paused, suddenly looking a little flushed as she grinned sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I'm babbling again, aren't I?" she said lightheartedly with a wave of her hand.

It was then she realized that Sashi was only half paying attention to her anyway. Following his gaze, she spotted the statuesque man approaching their bench, and without realizing it her eyebrows raised slightly as her eyes locked on him for a moment. "Oh, wow," she murmured, barely loud enough for anyone more than a couple of inches from her to hear, her kebab frozen in midair in front of her.