vallo

So as December hits, I'm reminded of the fact that there is a SMALL POSSIBILITY that, um, we're all getting thrown into a winter holiday Hallmark movie. Or, as it stands to reason given past instances, several winter holiday Hallmark movies.

What the fuck, you may ask?

Well, there's a reality altering witch among us (Hi, not you Wanda! ♥ There's others!) that's been looking for her special someone for the past few decades. She occasionally finds her wintertime beau and we'll get a couple of years of relative peace during this time of year. Since the Outlanders have arrived, we haven't experienced this phenomenon. However, sources (read: witchy gossip among the Ankou grannies) have told me that Ms. Hallmark just broke up with her bff of the last three years and so we might be in for it this year.

So what are we in for?

A town called Serendipity Hills appears for a few days. Some of us locals get pulled into it to live out fairly cheesy holiday movie tropes, while Ms. Hallmark tries to find her new Mr. Hallmark. Other than living out a few days of gazebo dates, winter bake offs, log cabin snowstorms, and fireplace romances, not much else happens. Serendipity Hills also shows up on our televisions as a show so we can catch the latest romances as they're happening. And from all past experience, everything that happens is something our inner selves want to have happen, it's just a little holiday love magic setting the mood. The locals that do get pulled in sometimes have new names and backstories, but at their core, are still themselves.

We've also found that the people that get pulled in want to get pulled in at some level, so it's become tradition to let it run its course. I got a girlfriend out of it a few years back. Ask me about my Hallmark persona. Also, trying to pull anyone out never works, so we simply don't try anymore. Does Ms. Hallmark need therapy? Probably. But I'm not the one to tell the reality altering witch what to do.

So head's up, weird shit might happen this month (as always), but it's fairly harmless. Do I have anymore answers than what I wrote here? No. Are there whole viewing parties dedicated to Serendipity Hills? Yes. Hit me up, I'll send you a list of the best ones if this does go down.

EDIT: Hallmark definition for the uninitiated.

This is one of the major holidays for Hindus associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and it symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance." A loose retelling of a story associated with Diwali can be found here.

We have a lighting ceremony taking place at Grimmauld Place tonight around 6 PM, if anyone wants to join us. There will be food and fireworks right after. Then, as usual, there is karaoke at Galahd tonight from 8 PM to 10 PM. I will only be doing Bollywood songs in honor of Diwali, so come if you want to not understand a word I'm saying! You're all free to sing whatever you want. :)

The twins say come see us.

Prigany's thing this month is the upcoming full moon and water scrying - it's basically just relying on the moon to light up the water, it's done outside, and we're all doing it together because I guess that's what you do when you're in a coven. But if anyone else wanted to come, they're open to that - so if you've got any burning questions you want answers to, joooooin us. They also change their market wares every month and this month they've got candles for specific woo-woo stuff and also little bags of tarot card chocolates - like, they made the mold and made the chocolates from the mold, they're not magical but just taste magical.

Secondly, uh. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Eddie's been blipped out again. Is anyone interested in a pup named Gizmo? Looks like this. I have her with me and Max for now and I figured before I try to convince my ex-boyfriend to keep the dog, I'd offer her to a good home. She'll be happy either way but will she be happy with us or someone else, who is to say. Her best friend is Destiny's pup Argus so whomever takes her has to let them have playdates on occasion too.

Today is a very important day. It is the day that Sirius Black was born, so everyone should probably spam his phone with cute images of animals, especially dogs.

FRIENDS & FAMILY OF SIRIUS BLACK
ooc: please pretend people were contact earlier about this, what is time management

Sirius is still maintaining that he's old now (I threw a pillow at him already), and wants to 'pretend' he's young. So we're heading out to dinner at Galdin Quay (7 p.m.), and then we have a table reserved at Lux. We hope to see you at one or both spots later!

This town is worthless without Syria Sweets. I can't believe that hasn't gotten here yet, one of you Providence-Earth people get on with wishing harder or something. How am I supposed to live in Vallo without chocolate baklava?

[Filtered to Co-Conspirators]
All right, I've managed to get a few names out of her through casual conversation. Here's what I have so far:

• Jake Pentecost: The timing is right, but it seems unlikely that with all those dominant genes, I got virtually none of them. Magic being what it is, though, maybe I should still investigate more deeply?
  
• Atreus GodOfStuff: Physical genetics-wise, possible. Magical genetics, though...I'm pretty sure I'd have noticed if I was 1/4 god. I'm good, but I'm not that good. On the other hand, gods are well-known for abandoning their children, so that's a point in the "maybe" column.
  
• Lena Luthor: Apparently during the period in which my mother was a man, Lena was among her conquests. I hadn't even considered that my mom might not have actually carried me until she mentioned THAT, so I guess the net just got a hell of a lot wider. And of course there's also other kinds of magic, we all know Finn. And let's be real, no one would be surprised if I had villain genes.
  
• Ostyia Rabalska: I sure hope not, because it would be gross to think my other mom is as hot as I think she is. But I better check anyway.
  
• Arthur Curry/Fucking Aquaman: Is the ability to talk to fish a recessive or dominant trait? Maybe if I find out I'll know whether I can cross him off the list or not.
  
• Brigitte Lindholm: She's an engineer, so we do at least share a head for math. Beyond that, I don't know much except that she's a cute redhead.

So, time to do some interviews. Does anybody know any of these people well enough to ask questions? Or barring that, ideas for an approach to any of these people?
[/filter]

I know we all have very important people to focus on right now, but I still need to remind everyone that almost two weeks from how isn't just Halloween, it will also be Samhain (not pronounced how it looks, please Google the pronunciation so no one looks at you like you're clueless).

This is a big one for many covens. The time when the veil between the this life and the Otherworld is the thinnest, and to honor those who came before us. Some consider it the end of the year as the harvest season comes to an end and the darker half of the year begins.

Celebrations will occur the 31st into the 1st.

FAMILY FILTER (including god-parents, honorary aunts/uncles, extended family etc.)

Sirius and I are hoping everyone might be available to get together for dinner later this week once things have settled down a little. Maybe Wednesday? Please let us know. We'd like to take advantage of this situation while it lasts.

Grab a coffee or something stronger. I got a text from Care Caroline about what we can only call Vallo being Vallo. She's got her hands f Some of you are likely already aware, so to head off questions and chaos, the DOA can confirm there seems to be some kind of timeslip event happening. Don't freak out if you suddenly have a kid or someone you know isn't the right age. The latter might be easier to adjust to since it's happened at least once before in the time I've been here - but the kid thing may be a bit shocking.

If you need a hand, the DOA has services to help out. That said, though, in an effort to coordinate and assist, we're asking you to chime in here with any reports you want to share so that we can manage resources and get a handle on expectations.



[ooc | this here's the catch-all post, I offered to get one up early for Meghan]

A reminder that once again the Barns will be hosting a Halloween event on Thursday, October 28th during regular market hours and extended after the sun goes down. As always most of the spaces are kid-friendly, including the maze, the music, and the costumes on the animals. However, Ronan made a pumpkin carriage that alternates between wheels during the day and mimicking Baba Yaga's house at night. So if a gourd with chicken legs freaks you out, maybe avoid that part of the event.

And then our wedding is three days later and I'll be pausing tarot readings during the last week of October in preparation, so if you're in desperate need, the ladies of Fox Way can always help you out or we can schedule something outside of market hours.

Never have I felt more awkward over a virtual post. Take a shot.

Hello all. My name is Shi Meiying. Please call me Mei. I'm a representative of a group you've probably never heard of - the Enki Coven. We're a coven that deals mostly in technomagic; the integration of magic and technology. We're fairly small in comparison to some of the other covens out there.

You're more likely to have heard of our business venture - Mage Net. We deal with cybersecurity, app development, green initiatives, and community outreach. It was through them that we came across Tag! and its very amusing dick pic recognition software. We invested in it and, with that, have been pushing our Elders to pull the sticks out of their asses and let us come play with you all.

Late afternoon today, we invite you to gather with us at Sanya Beach for the creation and release of paper lanterns in honor of the mid-autumn. There will be supplies available for anyone interested, to design lanterns with any messages or designs you see fit. Messages can include hopes for this coming year, prayers, questions to the ancestors, dick pics - honestly, go wild. We'll release them after sunset.

I hope I get the chance to meet some of you this evening there.

It seems like posting on here is the thing to do after arriving.

I'm Stefan Salvatore. Good to meet all of you.

I don't know if one night of less sleep than normal is truly enough to trigger some sort of sleep deprivation hallucination, but it seems more plausible than what I think I did just witness?

I forgot a stack of graded essays on my desk this morning when I left for school, so I came home to find a ball of [...] stuff just rolling around the library of our house, somehow picking up all of the books and ink and paper -- and I think that there may have been music? I was able to grab a few of the books back, which was good, but then I saw that there was a very small person that seemed to be collecting all of these things? And then that person disappeared and all of the things in the collection of items just sort of scattered everywhere.

This sounds more like a contrived story to explain why I had stolen a load of my housemates' items from around the house and brought them to the library, but given the state that the library is now? I would not treat books with such disrespect, especially since many of these are not mine. (I'm very sorry, Caleb.)

Please tell me that this is some Vallo thing and that I am not slipping. And apologies to those that live with me, but I had to teleport back to school for my next class, so... if you're missing something, that is likely where it is.

Is there anyone else here who reads Arabic? My translator was sent back a little while ago and I just set the doormat at work on fire by mistake.

I've lounged by the pool at Morningside. I've watched the torrential downpour waterlog literally everyone who ventured into the lobby. I've visited the adorable little sushi restaurant in downtown Vallo. And I made it through Monday. Someone, please tell me that things get more exciting than bad weather and interrupted vacations.

At the risk of sounding like I'm at an awkward networking event, hello. Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn. You can avoid hurting my delicate feelings by not admitting you've never heard of me or Brooklyn.

Hello Outlanders! I'm Jory. I've been dipping my toes in on your network for the last month and I think it's about time I sent out an invite to my favorite place in the world - Infinite Green. Some of you already know the best magical plant nursery in Vallo, but for those who don't, you can find it at [address] and all Outlanders can mention this post and get a 30% discount thru the end of this month. We've got more plants than you've ever seen inside one building, magically knowledgeable staff, remedy tea brewing on the spot, and the coziest little reading room a plant lover could ever want. (I promise not to make a habit of this cheesy advertising, I just really love my job.)

[FILTERED TO SHIFTERS AND WERES*]

So this is going to be a little awkward, but I hope you'll bear with me for a few minutes. I'm a witch in the Ankou coven and I have a weird personal situation that sort of applies to you all? Well, only if you want it to apply to you anyway.

About four months ago, I was a part of a seance to connect with a murdered werewolf to try and give him peace. The way our mediumship works in Ankou, we get a sort of soulbond going during a seance and take on thoughts, feelings, and abilities of the spirits we connect with. I screwed up Something went wrong in my seance and now I can't shake this stubborn guy. I'm not a werewolf, but I often get the emotions of one and sometimes some of the physical qualities. Strength, speed, sense of smell, the occasional growl that startles the crap out of my hedgehog, that kind of thing. I'm adjusting at this point and it's mainly just full moon discomfort and some outbursts I have to apologize for. Nothing like what real werewolves have to deal with, that's for sure, but it does give me a glimpse into the kind of life some of you live.

So why am I bugging you? Well, our coven is trying to increase our outreach to outsiders, particularly supernatural groups. I've been semi-officially named the were/shifter liaison. I have ZERO idea what I'm doing and have no ambition either. But I'd like to get to know you all better, maybe find a way for my coven to connect with you and offer our friendship and aid. And our really great block parties? Okay, that's it! Thanks if you read this far. I tried like twelve times to cut this down to something more reasonable but it just wasn't happening. Hit me up if you want to talk or just come by the nursery.

[OOC: *any weres or shifters that have openly admitted to being such either on the network or in-person where anyone could overhear.]

Big thanks to Rasalas for giving me a Vision Quest potion to try out - it only mildly tasted of weirdness, like if the experience of my husband sniffing my shirts to try to remember me had a taste.

Here's a gif representation of what I saw:

( cut because it's sort of an inappropriate gif )

I mean???

Oh, and I'm testing out flaming cocktails at Galahd tonight. Surprised I didn't think of that shit sooner but come by if you wanna experience it.

Happy Back to School day for all you students and fellow teachers. May your coffee be on point and power you through the day.

Things of importance happening with local covens:

1. The Vorerra Charity Gala is this weekend.
2. Preparations for the Autumn Equinox in September are starting with some covens, so if you want to get involved from the start, now might be a good time to start talking to any of your connections. Don't know where to start? Talk to myself or Max Trevelyan, we might be able to help.

Check the comments for some specific activities taking place.

( SIRIUS, RONAN, REGINA, CAROLINE, RASALAS. )