in this town we call home

[topslug]

Who: topslug, anyone at the NCC, and YOU!
When: 30th (day)-31st (day)
Where: Newcomer Community Center, Sector 4
Summary: Pumpkin carving and a spooky sleepover. Family-friendly fun!
Warnings/Notes: Besides a few scary stories and Grell mutilating pumpkins, probably nothing to worry about. Maybe.

Comments

[topslug]

[ Yako's not in costume herself, but she does look a little different, with an apron tied on. Though that long, blond hair is all over the place, it mysteriously never seems to get caught in pumpkin pulp or tangled. Also, is it moving...? Nah, must just be a trick of the light.

While she's a little groggy from last night's masquerade, Yako's ready with a warm smile and a cheerful greeting for everyone who drops by, whether it's to carve a pumpkin or not. People are ushered to the pumpkin pile and encouraged to pick one out before they're led to a seat, which is usually where Yako leaves them to their own business. If they see her again, chances are she's offering them a bit of pumpkin spiced cake or some iced tea.

Considering she seems to be everywhere at once, Yako doesn't get to start carving her pumpkin until well in the afternoon, and she keeps... getting... distracted by how edible it looks. ]

[goesberserk]

[At some point during the festivities Shizuo manages to find Yako when she's not busy speaking with someone else. At this point he's already carved a pumpkin with Rin, so his hands are covered with their insides. Despite that, though, he's managed to keep his bartender uniform completely clean (an apron is to thank for that).

And hey, he's even grinning. It looks like he had more fun than he'd expected. He's shocked to see that the girl is only working on her own pumpkin now, though maybe she'd already made a few earlier in the day.]

So... this wasn't as hard as it sounded. [He'd had to hold in his strength enough to not just slice his pumpkin in half, but being in a good mood and with good company had allowed him that control.]

[topslug]

[ She'd noticed Shizuo come in, but she clearly hasn't had a minute to herself-- between helping clean up impromptu pumpkin messes and attending to some of the other attendees, Yako has her hands full. Now that things are settling down for the moment, she's starting to saw through the top of her pumpkin in preparation for scooping out its insides. When Shizuo comes over, she looks up, grinning. ]

Done with yours already? Someone looks like they had fun. [ Not quite an "I told you so" but she's glad Shizuo found this worth coming to. ]

[goesberserk]

[It's not as if he can protest what she's saying, since he did enjoy himself. Part of that is due to the fact that Rin was there to walk him through the process and no one else butted in or bothered him, but...

For that, he's glad. That last thing he would have wanted would be to tear apart this building in one of his rages. That would be the same as taking Yako's invitation and shoving it in her face.]

Yeah, guess so. Got any ideas for yours? [He grabs for a cloth that's been set out on one of the tables and starts wiping his hands off.]

[topslug]

Not really. It's pretty hard to look at a pumpkin and see anything but a pumpkin, for me. [ There's a bit where the knife just... sticks, and Yako puts a little more effort into pushing it down. It's the last bit she needs, though, and after that it's just a matter of twisting the top off and beginning to scoop out the seeds. ]

What did you carve yours into?

[goesberserk]

[For a moment Shizuo considers offering the girl his help in getting the pumpkin opened up, but she manages it on her own and so he holds back. It's better to let her take care of this on her own. Some people are really protective of stuff their own work, after all.]

Me? I just made a face. I didn't really have any other ideas.

[topslug]

[ Up to this stage in the proceedings, Yako's already had plenty of experience, especially from helping younger kids (not all of the attendees are Newcomers, which is startling enough) hollow their pumpkins out. Now the tricky part starts. ]

I'm not much of an arts and crafts person myself. [ She chuckles wryly, leaning back to size up her pumpkin like she might a grinning shark. ] Are you going to take yours home?

[goesberserk]

[Neither is he, but his came out looking decent, so that means that Yako's probably will too. And now that he's done it once, maybe he can offer some pointers if she needs it.]

Nah, I think I'll just leave it here for you guys to display. [There's not really a good place to put it around the boarding house and he doesn't want some punk destroying it either. Better to leave it somewhere safe in a place where people might actually enjoy it.]

[topslug]

[ As Yako finds herself picking up a pen to sketch out the pattern on her pumpkin, she finds herself thinking of a certain demon. Before she knows it, she's sketched the beginnings of a considerable beak and the hint of feathers framing it. To Shizuo, it probably looks like the face of a very odd bird... ]

All right. Remind me to show you what it looks like when it's lit up, later. You should see it at least once.

[goesberserk]

Yeah, sure. I'll try to remember. [Plus, he's curious. It's not like he made the most impressive pumpkin ever, but he realizes that putting a candle inside is half of the process, so he'll have to check it out later.

He's quickly distracted by what Yako is drawing, though. It looks pretty complicated, though he's not quite sure what it is...]

Is that... [He cuts off, not sure if there's a polite way to ask.]

[topslug]

[ Yako looks down at what exactly she's been drawing; if Shizuo's paying close attention, he might even see her blanch before she starts hurriedly rubbing the ink off with the heel of her hand. ]

No, um, haha-- I don't think that design's any good. [ No, carving any pumpkin into Neuro's face is not a good idea. The demon might take it as a challenge. ]

[goesberserk]

[Did he make her nervous by accident? Shizuo frowns, worried that he might have made the girl self-conscious when he was just curious.

He clears his throat.] It's fine, Yako. You can make it look whatever way you want. Right? [It's not like she has to choose a more common design or anything. Actually, the more innovative ones will probably stand out more.]

[topslug]

Y-yeah, I guess so. It's not like we're really making this to scare any evil spirits off, so... [ She looks down at the pumpkin in her hands, frowning. ]

Maybe I could draw food on it, or something like that.

[goesberserk]

Food? Like what? [It seems like most food items would be kind of hard to draw onto a pumpkin, but maybe that's just him.]

[topslug]

Hmmm... Dango? Ramen? What's easy to draw?

[ Honestly, though, she might be drooling just thinking about it... ]

[goesberserk]

Onigiri, maybe...? [He tilts his head up as he thinks it over.] Or a parfait... [That's not so easy, but maybe just his own bias showing.]