[open mingle log] stargazing club meteor shower!

[friendlyflower]

WHO: Flowey & the Stargazing Club (and any other interested parties)
WHAT: Viewing a meteor shower during a clear evening
WHEN: Early December
WHERE: A big hilltop picnic
WARNINGS: None (will change if any come up)

are you a star?

a. gathering

[Togetic- something of a figurehead for the hobby clubs and an overall advocate for relaxation- has been spreading the word! A meteor shower will be visible tonight! Everyone who's interested should gather up on Lookout Hill for the clearest viewing experience!

It is terribly cold lately, of course, especially at night. When Pokemon begin to arrive on the hilltop, they'll find chairs, blankets, and a kettle for serving hot drinks. Some Pokemon are huddling together to stay warm or just to be comfortable before the meteor shower begins!

Any Pokemon who were already here on this nice, quiet spot overlooking the city will soon find it's beginning to get just a bit quiet. At least there are other spots a bit further away that might offer more privacy...?

It's also a bit of a climb up the hill. Togetic and a few other winged Pokemon are escorting smaller ones up the hill-- though Flowey, stubborn as ever, notably refuses.]

b. star light, star bright

[The sky is clear and unclouded. A tapestry of stars is visible overhead. Some Pokemon are pointing out visible constellations. Though, sometimes if you look away, the stars might be just a little different than you remember. How odd...

A few others are setting up telescopes. If you want to use one, maybe you can even see other celestial bodies-- though you might be interrupted by Minior playing in the atmosphere.

All of a sudden, some Pokemon cry out in surprise. Is that a Minior, too...? No, it's the first shooting star of the night! Make a wish!]

c. shining with hope

[The meteor shower has begun in full. Streaks of light cascade across the heavens. Pokemon of all shapes and sizes gaze enraptured towards the sky.

Although... that one is awfully large, isn't it? And it's getting closer! A few Pokemon run in panic!

Fortunately, the falling star is actually too small to hurt anyone. It simply 'thunks' down in a snow bank. Togetic extracts a rather large Moon Stone. They and other Pokemon decide to take it to the Lum Guild for study.

However, other resourceful Pokemon might be able to gather Stardust, entire Star Pieces, or even fragments of Moon Stone! While the former don't have a use and the latter are much too small to be used for evolution, at least they're pretty. Some Pokemon begin talking about making accessories or decorations from them.]

d. farewell

[Soon, the meteor shower comes to an end. Some Pokemon decide to stick around longer, but many begin to make their way towards their homes-- and their warm beds.

Flowey remains behind, still staring up at the sky. He's been... unusually cooperative and quiet tonight.

If you draw near, he doesn't quite look at you.] ... what a show.

[Or, maybe you're also lingering in silence. Finally, he might approach you.] Not heading home yet? Aren't you cold?

e. wildcard approaching

[Wildcard option. Feel free to make your own prompt here or throw something at Flowey, or message me on plurk at friendlyflower

As a note, feel free to use the Togetic NPC if you want to in these threads. Just assume they're a helpful character who wants everyone to have fun and enjoy the meteor shower.]

Comments

[loopsiedaisy]

[Is that right?]

[Like when stardust wouldn't let go of the idea of the dagger...]

[...]

That must be inconvenient for you!

[They tilt their head back upward, as if they're not concerned about this at all.] But you've already told me, haven't you?

[Maybe that counts as a loophole? She's already answered enough?]

[They won't interrupt her if she does keep going, though.]

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ That was indeed a good loophole and Dolly was pretty thankful for that one. ]

I suppose I have, maybe I can talk about constellations instead? The ones back where I was at was sort've like a zoo and library rolled into one.

[ That was a good trade, trading something painful in for something enjoyable instead. Dolly straighten herself up a bit, grief being stuffed back into that tiny little box...yep perfectly fine! ]

[ Dolly offers a spot to Siffrin to come closer to get a better view of the sky line with her, it's only fair. ]

[ She really was enjoying Siffrin's company even after the loaded question. They did help her there with the loophole, at least, Dolly understood it as such. ]

[loopsiedaisy]

["Perfectly fine and normal" solidarity!]

[But she's right, they might have been trying to help her out with the loophole. Just don't bring it up or they'll deny everything.]

Sure, why not? Just as long as you don't expect me to contribute my own!

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ Clearly a start to a wonderful club, patches included too with membership. ]

That sounds like a deal to me, so where would you like to start? The storytelling constellations or the zoo?

[ Dolly glances up at the stars again and...woah okay weird they changed positions? Are they mobile like that one constellation back in Doriene? This was a weird one for sure.. ]

[loopsiedaisy]

I'll take a story! Those are usually way more dramatic.

[Siffrin's never actually looked away from the stars, only blinked - but they lash their tail once. Did the stars change? They've seen that before, but they must be really close to the forest and fog, here - as far as Siffrin could tell, the changing was only happening in there.]

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ Truly an oddity, was it satellites in this area or was it something else? Dolly will have to go back to this spot again to do more research into it...how very odd this space was indeed. Downside, she'll have to start another star chart as she prepares the next sheet. ]

That sounds delightful to me. There's Hercules who had to do twelve labors and then there's the two for one story deal with Perseus involving monsters both of the literal as well as figuratively speaking kinds as choices to pick from. Both stories are incredibly dramatic.

[ Dolly offers a warm smile at Siffrin as she goes to getting a second star chart going, though this time of Earth's constellations so Siffrin has a reference to go by. ]

[loopsiedaisy]

[It takes Siffrin a couple glances between the sky and Dolly's new chart - those don't match at all?? - before they realize. Ohhh, right, these must be the stars for those constellations that Dolly is talking about.]

[Monsters or labors. What a choice. "Hercules" sounds a bit like "Hero," or maybe that's just whatever language the two of them are speaking, as Pokemon... Siffrin tries not to think about that one too hard.]

Let's hear about the labors.

[They're wondering, now, if the constellation itself will have twelve stars in it too...]

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ Humorously enough, the constellation of Hercules has fifteen stars and the old art of the constellation used to have the ancient hero holding the three headed snake bouquet with suspiciously dog like traits called 'Cerberus'. Dolly was still upset that Cerberus had been made obsolete, that one would've been a popular constellation for others. ]

Sure, I'll tell you the labors then. It all started like any story did back then, there was once a champion named Hercules that committed a heinous crime caused by the jealous Goddess, Hera. In order to be forgiven of the crime, Hercules had to perform twelve impossible labors as given by King Eurystheus.

[ Dolly goes to show Siffrin the constellation of Hercules, it's an incredibly big constellation too from the looks of it compared to the others like the tiny constellation of Vulpecula. ]

The labors themselves were treacherous at best, the first of which was slaying the Nemean Lion, a beast that was immune to weapons due to its indestructible pelt.

[loopsiedaisy]

[Siffrin traces the constellation after Dolly. Who knows, maybe they'll actually remember this one, since it's not one of theirs. (Or maybe it is? But no, it doesn't have that vaguely familiar feeling... this one feels totally new.)]

[Or maybe they won't, since it still belongs to the Universe. Or just because they have a bad memory.]

[But oh yeah. This sounds like prime theater material.]

So what did they do instead? Seduce the lion and then reject it, so the poor thing would die of heartbreak?

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ It would've been better with the original chorus Dolly remembered as an aisling on special outings. Alas, Dolly was only one person and not a classical chorus, she'll have to make do with her own narrative. ]

Oh it was much more brutal, though would've loved to have seen that one. No, Hercules trapped it in a cave, gave the lion a bonk on the head, and then strangled it with his bare hands. Wild stuff that first labor was, ended up wearing the pelt during the whole labors.

[ Carefully, Dolly goes to point out the constellation of Leo for the Nemean Lion in the story. This one isn't as big as Hercules, but is still a good number of nine stars in total for the constellation. ]

The pelt itself was so frightful that the king that sent Hercules out on the tasks hid in a giant wine storage jar till the sight of it was gone. What a wonderful king that was for sure, definitely, no signs of cowardice there. That was one labor taken care of and eleven more to go for Hercules.

[ Dolly goes to check on how Siffrin is doing with the narration of the classical myth. ]

[loopsiedaisy]

[After they've looked at Dolly's demonstration of Leo, Siffrin is back to watching the meteor shower. But they're still listening.]

[Strangling it... that feels like cheating! Shouldn't hands being used to strangle also count as weapons? But noted - if they ever need a Nemean Lion killed, they should ask someone like... Isa...]

[...]

[Who's the biggest Pokemon around, here? A.B.A, maybe?]

How'd he skin it? Wouldn't a knife just bounce off?

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ The nasty as they come king in this story would've fully agreed with Siffrin on that one! No strangling the Nemean Lion, you gotta woo it and give it the worst case of heartbreak ever. ]

[ Dolly offers a smile that was warm and gentle as she goes to explain as Siffrin did bring up a very good question given what was told about the lion. ]

That's the fun part, Hercules did try to skin it the traditional way with a knife, twice to be met with failure. Third time though, he went to a goddess of knowledge that told Hercules something pretty logical in hindsight, use the Nemean Lion's claw to cut into the pelt.

Sure enough, that did the trick and that was how Hercules gained the Nemean Lion's pelt to wear throughout the other labors.

[ Dolly goes to wait and see what Siffrin thinks of that solution that was used in the story. It really was part of the myth wild as it is. ]

[loopsiedaisy]

[Okay, they have to admit...]

I like that trick more than the strangling. [Feels clever! Makes for a more satisfying story!]

[autumnrainrunaway]

[ Dolly smiles at that one, it really was a fun solution to the story. ]

I do too, it's a pretty clever solution to a pelt that couldn't be pierced by conventional blades. A part of me wished the story had Hercules taking the claw to make a blade with.