🎃 Spend a little bit of fall with the OC above!

"Call me stereotypical, but I like these drinks," the teenager chuffed, stirring around her latte with one hand and gripping the sleeve of her cup with the other.

"The pumpkin spice ones. They're really hot; I love that, especially when it starts getting much cooler. You should get one sometime." the teenager turned to glance at the android standing next to her. Her smile shifted into a frown.

"Oh, right, you probably can't drink it," she quickly whispered before pulling the tiny straw out of the cup and taking a sip of her drink. Her expression quickly shifted into a blend of guilt and embarrassment upon noticing his expression.

"Well, it's...pretty and it looks nice. You have that..."

A cool autumn breeze blew through the pumpkin patch, scattering leaves all around.

With a bright smile evident on her face, Syra hummed to herself as she skipped through the field, trying to match Zinnia's pace but occasionally drifting ahead. She couldn't help her curiosity - reaching out to feel & grab at some of the pumpkins she passed by. The girl was like a kid in a candy store right now.

"There's so many pumpkins here! I bet it'd take, like, a really long time to count all these, they're all over the place!" Sure would. "And, like, if somebody wants to find a specific one, they'd have to, like, go through them all. Do they keep some kinda map or something? Maybe there's pumpkin mazes. Like corn mazes!" Chattering on & on, she kept pace, occasionally crunching leaf underfoot - then stepping on it again just to hear the sound. 

The humanoid excitably skipped ahead of pace, perusing through the pumpkins once more. A particular one caught her attention somehow - maybe it was a weird texture to the stem or something. Huh!

Her pumpkin now. /u++ With a grunt of effort, she lifted the pumpkin, proudly holding it up. "Hey, hey, I found a really good one! Wonder how much pumpkin stuff is in it." Curiosity nagged at her - she really wanted to break it and find out, but that'd be, like, messy. She could only wonder for now.

He flops down beside her on a bench, one hand occupied with a rather overly large caramel apple on a thick stick. His expression is determined, yet mildly confused as he looks the snack over, turning it again and again. There's what seems to be confetti coating it, but in reality is actually funfetti sprinkles, the delicious kind that have no crunch to them and only vanilla flavoring. His bottom lip parts from the top and in silence, he adjusts his face into a frown before turning his head in her direction. Surrounding them, the laughter of children escapes the air as several costumed individuals go barreling by, their pumpkin pails rattling with festival treats and tricks. 

"This might be a weird question-" He starts, adjusting his full body in her direction, apple coming closer to her bubble. "But do you know how to eat this? I'm scared like, if I try, my teeth are going to get stuck and I'm going to pull them out. But also, I don't know how else to approach it. Do you hit on something and eat the pieces from the ground?" He pauses, brows sinking inward. "I feel like that'll make me look like a weirdo."

The brush traveled carefully along Chase's jaw, a dark blue line following in its wake. "Oh–hold still!" Eryk cautioned at even the slightest of twitches. "You'll make me mess up the lines then it won't look good at all!" The statement was followed with a light laugh, clearly meant to be lighthearted instead of chiding. Briefly he pulled back the brush, tapping his chin in thought but giving a slight startle at the feel of paint against his skin. "Oops!"

With the folded... what looked like ears on Chase's head, he couldn't help but paint a dog face on the other. The assortment of tools were scattered on the coffee table while Eryk had them seated on the couch of his living room. This little session was for practice–he loved the idea of face painting, but had never done it at any little Halloween festivals or the like. So, he thought he'd get ready for this year!

"I think it really fits you, you know–a blue dog face! And maybe I can paint little stars on your cheeks or freckles or–" The chattering went on and on and on as he continued to paint, now applying some black to Chase's nose to make it resemble a dog's. All in all it wasn't bad by the end, and Eryk held up a little mirror excitedly, beaming. "So do you like it?"

--

Follow-up! Also "Is willingly able to eat onions like apples." Same En, same-

"Wow, that scarecrow is scary!" En breathed while admiring it. "I almost thought it was an actual person for a second! You're really good at this," he praised while turning to Eryk. How he was able to get even the proportions right was beyond the prince; maybe he'd been doing this for a while? It seemed to be popular, at least by the looks of everyone here. There was a huge crowd in the hayfield, it was the reason En came here in the first place, and how he learned just what a scarecrow was. Everyone came here to build one of their own for the fall season, and they all looked amazing! Some looked friendly and inviting, others looked terrifying and monstrous, then there was Eryk's, and his looked... En couldn't quite explain it, it was like looking at fine art. Even the stitch lines were clean and fine... were those necessary for scarecrows?
And then, of course, there was his own: a stick with an open shirt and hay all over. If anything, it looked more like a broken broomstick. En picked up some hay and sighed. He knew it wouldn't look beautiful right off the bat, but he thought he'd at least have SOMETHING ready!
"I just can't get this hay to stick," he muttered. He looked at Eryk. "You're really good at this. Do you think you could help me with mine?" He handed his tools to the older man, hesitating. Weird, it felt like his arm was touched. Not like that in itself was unusual, but it felt like it was more... felt than touched from objects being passed around. Maybe he was just jumpy...

"I haven't been out like this in... in a while."

Hala's voice was barely able to be heard over the bustling of the fall festival. The downtown streets of the capital were packed, and given this was a rather developed area... There wasn't as much of the cool, amber ruralness that would be expected otherwise, as stone buildings towered over them, even as they ascended the staircase from the alleyway. Up ahead was the sharp smell of baked and grilled foods, alongside red lanterns hanging from their posts.

"I suppose I should attend this year, anyhow. I didn't last year because I forgot." she admitted to En, "I also forgot my birthday this year, earlier this month, you know. I'm twenty-nine now."

JK Vapor forgot because Vapor hates Hala.

"This is nice, though!" She gestured wildly for a moment, but then quickly retracted her hands once they were closer to the public eye. She peered down the street upon the endless row of vendors, before her gaze fell upon a parade of fursuiters making their way down town -- as in, their costumes were made out of real fur. Real animal faces, or at least grotesque attempts to keep them preserved, their eyes beady black holes in the twilight. This is the closest thing we're ever gonna get to Halloween here.

Anxiously staring at the weird ass furries for a moment, she nearly dove behind En as they passed, and as she shifted to the other side of him, she asked, "We should take a look at these food vendors -- that one there, right in front of us, is that alright? I don't know if you like funnel cake, but we can grab some, and with a bit of topping. We can even wash it down with hot chocolate, or cider, if cider's what you want... You just seem like you'd prefer hot chocolate

Virgin cider, of course, because she absolutely was not getting wasted tonight.

hala would be the stereotypical pumpkin spice girl.

   - Hala..... you're so precious.... I'd die for you..... 🥺🥺❤❤❤❤

also her with pumpkin spice is valid and you can't tell me otherwise- >:(

Walker strolled alongside the fellow upper-class woman, yet the atmosphere was peaceful in spite of the silence that existed between them. Perhaps that was fine. Perhaps there didn't really need to be anything said at the moment, as the former combed her fingers through her hair, then looked up at the reds, oranges, and yellows coloring the leaves above them.

"I have to admit that I usually see this time as more of a harvest season than anything to really celebrate," the middle-aged woman admitted with a surprisingly tender chuckle, "Like... I just know that this is when the farmers pick the fruits from the trees and start reaping the wheat they planted back in spring. Is that too somber? Mostly just because at least we can enjoy such goods for this season, as well as winter too..." Yet even then, Walker felt like going on just a walk - instead of one of those advertised hayrides - seemed like a bit of a cop-out.

But then again, she found that rather kitsch anyways. The wagon seemed rickety, and the pathway didn't seem particularly smooth - thanks to the potholes and crevices that littered much of it. She didn't trust the ride to be anything like the carriages she had used back at home, and even then, she was half-convinced that it was a blatant attempt by the lower classes to imitate what the upper ones had - albeit in a clearly inferior fashion.

Yea... Better not say that out loud.

The older woman then clasped her hands together as she continued, "But... I imagine that you would rather get away from much of the fervor of those festivals, right? Just take the time to go through the woods, where it's usually quieter, and then hope that something comes into mind. Like maybe for your writing..." Walker paused. Then why was she here in the first place, if her words somewhat implied that this stroll was meant to be solo? She gazed down at the ground, her brows furrowing slightly. What to say, what to say...

"Maybe that can be better discussed over a drink? Nothing alcoholic, of course. But maybe something with pumpkin spice... Pumpkin spice tea, perhaps?" Nice. Imagine if that existed.

Yet of course, Walker just dismissed the idea seconds later, sniffing, "Though I do find the idea somewhat ridiculous... Pumpkin spice is such an unusual flavor anyways. I doubt it would mesh very well with tea, though... I suppose there would be no harm in trying later on, right?"

HERE IS MY FOLLOW-UP. Walker might just end up following her mom's footsteps and becoming an adopted mom figure - minus the murder bit.

also can I just say how cute the idea of this thread - as well as forum game "events" in general - is?? I'd love more seasonal threads to pop up in time tbh- 👀👀

Aiden blinked slowly as he trudged along the pavement. He glanced down, noticing that his feet were buried in the sea of leaves. With every crunch that sounded under his feet, his satisfaction grew; he admittedly enjoyed the sound too much. He felt the urge to leap in the large piles that were occasionally littered around, but struggled to suppress this. He had a bit of an adrenaline rush from the coffee he drank, but it would still be short-lived.

When he abruptly stopped, he suddenly felt a bump behind his back and a scalding pain on his back. He whipped his head around, facing James and allowing his lips to curl into a frown. His gaze shifted to the downed cup on the floor, noticing the dark liquid pool out of the cup. Speak of the devil. The teenager's gaze abruptly shifted to James's chest, unable to muster up the courage to look at him directly in the eyes. First, the teenager bit his lip, suppressing the urge to whimper upon feeling the scalding beverage run down his back and pool in his sweater.

"I-I-I'm sorry, sir!" Aiden blurted, his frown growing as he gripped his fists.

"I-I-I n-never mmmeant to-to-to do-do that. Again, I-I'm sorry, so-so-so sorry."

Today is a day off! Good, finally! 

Xiu's mind do a celebration break dance, she's happy yet hope her co-workers will handle things without her, without messing up. But nah, it's her day off, better not get those wander thoughts bother herself. Xiu can't go hometown, well, it's far from here, and homesickness is a thing so she so glad that she can have something homelike! 

Mid-Autumn festival! Not exactly a crowded and uproarious festival but a mooncake, what kind of mid autumn festival that don't have a mooncake. Xiu remember eating those mixed roast chicken filling mooncake with her family when she was young.

"Here, here, have a slice" Xiu in her excited tone, perfectly cut the cake into four then pass the one to Aiden. "They were made by the best bakery product in my hometown" 

Mooncakes are offered between friends while celebrating the festival. It wouldn't hurt to share with others. But Xiu is busy happily enjoying her slice now, don't have time for that thought.

(let's just imagine they're friends already :) )

Angela walked close to Xiu, not wanting to get lost in the huge sea of people since the streets of Chinatown were flooded because of Mid-Autumn festival. Angela's grandma actually encouraged her to go out instead of work this year, saying something along the lines of "We have a lot of workers this year, why don't you go and have fun?"

To be honest, she didn't want to go, but Xiu was in town and it was a perfect opportunity to spend some time with her friend she didn't get to see often. They spent most of the afternoon together, going through the different stalls of food, arts and crafts, and other fun things to do. But they especially had to get moon cake. There was this bakery on the street that had the best Angela had ever tasted before, she had to bring her friend to try it at least once. Even if it wasn't as good as the ones from Xiu's hometown.

"来啊，我最喜欢这个月饼," Angela said, smiling as they popped open the wrapper and split the moon cake in half with her hands. The way they ate it wasn't traditional, but it was fine. It tasted so good that Angela didn't even care.
"Do you like egg-yolk? Should I buy you another flavor?"

There really was nothing better than spending it with her friend, especially one that understood her culture and enjoyed it just as much as she did. 

Finally, someone whom Fitzgerald was taller than. It was time for him to assert dominance, though not necessarily by screeching like a bratty five-year-old (yet). Instead, he had arranged for them to go to a fall festival for the sake of "research."

That was objectively a shitty excuse, given that there was nothing related at all to either the law or... Well, zoology, for that matter. The closest thing to an animal here was those stuffed crows with the worst case of anatomical inaccuracy the youth had ever seen, but that didn't seem to faze him. Not one bit, as he brushed some dust off his coat and took note of the pumpkin spice filling the air. Fitzgerald then stepped off towards one of the vendors selling confectioneries, though he continually glimpsed over his shoulder to see if the other party was trailing behind him.

"Oh, I seriously doubt anyone's doing anything illegal here," the aristocrat teased with a smirk and wave of his hand, "You know how it goes. It's too bright for that sort of activity. Most of the illicit stuff takes place at night." Sure. He was probably thinking of robbery and murder, when other crimes such as fraud and extortion existed. Okay then. He took in a breath before stretching his arms and remarking further, "Though I have to admit... the chilly air is what gets people all agitated sometimes... Makes them more willing to act desperately to get what they want..."

Gee.

With a laugh, the youth then pointed a hand at a display of pies as he proclaimed, "For example, this exhibit- I mean... Pie display. It's full of pumpkin, pecan... I think I saw apple once? I always thought of apples as a summer treat, but maybe they're clearing out a bit for the fall." He forced out a scoff before crossing his arms with a huff. "I seriously doubt that anyone would commit a felony over a pie," he joked wryly, "but at the same time, I can see a robbery. Those pies look good anyway. Too bad I have enough money to afford these suckers." Of course he'd bring up his money to flex. How disgusting.

"Now, let's just get this done with," sniffed Fitzgerald before suddenly spinning on his heels and walking away from the pies. He was definitely going to come back to them later, because he was a simple fellow. If he scented sugar or spice, he was going to want a piece of that likely delicious food - for better or for worse. "You said you wanted pumpkins, right? I don't know if it's for baking or for gardening; I don't care, really. I'm just here to study what they have for sale. You, on the other hand..." He waved a hand nonchalantly.

"You can do whatever you want. Just don't do anything stupid, and you'll be fine." Sure, Fitzgerald. Like you're the rational one here by any means.

TAFFY............... 🥺🥺🥺🥺❤❤❤❤ I MISSED WRITING OUT HER FRIENDSHIP WITH FITZGERALD BLESS YOU DUDE.

HERE'S MY FOLLOW-UP- >:(((((((((

(sitting in this thread with a rose clenched between my teeth) I FELL ASLEEP WRITING THIS SORRYMASEN

"I swear, it has no right being this hot in the middle of fall! It's, like, the leaves are changing and everything, but it's still so sticky out!" Taffy groans, tying her hair back into a tight ponytail. Without the cover of her bangs, the look of combined excitement and exhaustion on her face makes itself plenty clear. Her kitchen was a bit of a cluttered mess, spices laid out far from the rack where she usually kept them carefully tucked together, grocery bags full of ~*specialty flours*~ laid out across the island, and in the center of it all, a decently-sized baking pumpkin. Despite her nervous jitters, she'd picked out a decent-sized spread, clearly with the thought of pastries keeping her sane through another harrowing trip to the grocery store. The occasional non-pumpkin gourd sits across the kitchen, kept in the wings for some later date when she really felt the need to bake an entire spaghetti squash. She could name more than a few people who'd appreciate the gesture, and it never hurt to prepare in advance.

"But, uh, it's pumpkin spice season anyways! So I figured we'd get right in the mood. I mean, pumpkin spice isn't even exclusive to fall, hell, it doesn't even have any pumpkin in it, we just associate it with the season because of corpora-aand I'm rambling. Sorry." She clears her throat, tracing lines in the hardwood as she stares down at the floor. "But, uh, yeah! Pumpkins. Yay! They're surprisingly versatile, actually. You haven't lived until you've roasted some pumpkin seeds with some cinnamon sugar and just ate 'em like popcorn. They have no right being that decadent." She putts around the kitchen as she speaks, taking a large, serrated blade down from the wall and hefting it in her hands a couple times for good measure. "I assume it's going to be down to me to gut this thing, yeah? Wouldn't want to get yourself dirty, now." It comes out as awkwardly saccharine as ever, but the sudden underlying snark to her voice is hard to deny. The knife slides in around the stem of the pumpkin with a wet crunch, and she sets to work sawing the thing open. She usually carries herself very delicately, sure, but the way she's hacking at that gourd is anything but. She didn't get those muscles sitting around looking pretty.

"See, baking pumpkins-" scrape- "Are bred specifically-" scrape- "For flavor. So once you've got that lid off, the most reasonable course of action-" The knife drops to the table as Taffy yanks the pumpkin upwards by the stem, the main body of the thing landing loudly back onto the granite as she holds the stem and its dangling innards in the other hand like some trophy of war. "- Is, of course, to make pumpkin pie with the flesh. However! These things hold up in the oven very nicely, so it's entirely within the realm of possibility to bake an entire cake in this pumpkin using it as a pan instead of something metallic, lending it a nice sweet, earthy flavor... People love pumpkin spice, but they sleep on pumpkins so much! It's like- Oh! You're the guest, though, so it should be your say what we do with this... Especially if you're going to be taking some home with you."