setting: table by the ax throwing (or anywhere honestly)
tagged: @helltownhqstarters
"What a fucking trip." Audrey smirked, watching everyone meander around the bonfire, doing whatever they believed would make the solstice gods happy. Or whatever it was they were doing here. She didn't care all that much what anyone did as long as a good portion of them found themselves back at Hellcats afterwards spending whatever money they had on her establishment. These kind of town wide events always led to her doors spinning round and round with patrons coming and going. "Cheers to...I don't fucking know, the sun?"
LOCATION: summer solstice (the buffet)
FOR: @helltownhqstarters
It wasn't her type of scene. Tala preferred things a bit more glamorous, but the same could be said about the town she now called home. She would have never stepped foot in a place like Helltown if not for following Rafael there, but even after all this time she didn't regret it — as much as she missed Paris — as long as he was by her side. "Do you... know what this is?" She questioned the person closest to her, nose scrunched up as she gestured to the dish before her. "It does not look like it's made for human consumption."
"i apologize, my eyes were on the ground the entire time i--" sunset stops herself from eventually ending on a yap-fest in front of the person she accidentally just bumped into, hoping she hasn't spilled their food or drink, if they were holding any. the blonde tends to wander, not just in her head from time to time. she had been taking everything in around her, her surroundings, the music, the feeling of freedom, she wasn't used to it very much, still. "i'll, i'll get you whatever i've knocked out of your hands." sunset finally takes the moment to look at the other.
you've sat with this text, this private invitation, for the last . . . however many days its been. time seems to pass by differently in 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐎𝐡𝐢𝐨. days feel like weeks, but weeks feel like seconds; as per usual, nothing makes sense. something always feels off. even the wind, as it floats down the dirt-ridden streets filled with cracks in the asphalt, seems to hum with something sinister. you could be standing outside in the blooming summer heat and the breeze alone would send chills down your spine like you were being bitten by jack frost himself.
do you go ?? you've heard whispers, talked to your peers. . . for a private invitation, it sure sounds like everyone was invited. minus a select few but, you know more people with invitations than people you don't.
so, JUNE 20th arrives . . . and per the texts instructions, you find your way down the winding path in the woods. maybe there are others amongst you, walking ahead or behind, and the leaves seem to be whispering above you all as the sun bleeds through outstretched branches. . . the summer solstice appears to be in full effect as you move down the path.
you see the bonfire in the distance, roaring with life, and you hear . . .laughter. it isn't a sinister kind of laughter though, it sounds joyful. given the circumstances, maybe the joyful laughter is more horrifying than the alternative but, you see residents scattered around an open area in the wood and think hey . . . maybe this isn't so bad. maybe this is just a bonfire to kick off the summer and nothing more than that.
there's a make shift bar to the right of the fire, a fold up table littered with liquor bottles and a keg perched on a stump beside it. the woman running it is wearing a mask, one that seems to resemble a deer with two faces. you look around and notice that . . . everyone working the festival is wearing similar masks. some even have necklaces that look like they were made of animal bones.
those were animal bones, right ??
there's a huge buffet, filled with homemade goodies, fresh fruit ( this is some rundown rural town in ohio, where did they get fresh fruit from ?? ), turkey legs, and other enticing looking treats. no brand names to be seen so, all of it must have been made from scratch.
music fills the woods, played from a trio of musicians stationed just behind the fire, and its music unlike any you've ever heard before. the roaring bonfire sits in the middle of it all, stretching so tall it has to be the tallest attendee here. its flames swirl and flicker, but it shows no sign of dying as more masked festival-runners keep it well fed with oak and kindling. there's axe throwing, flower crown making stations, dancing, and the sound of nature stirring surrounding it all. every time you pass one of the festival goers they nod to you; " happy solstice " they say, " may they bless your summer and all of your days."
it almost feels like you've been transported back in time. back to when things where simpler, where merriment came from the little things, and for a moment. . . maybe. . . you feel peace. or maybe all of this fills you with an overwhelming sense of dread.
all you know for sure is that you're here, and you might as well make the most of it, right ??
how bad could it truly be ??
𝐨𝐨𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
this is PART ONE of a two part event !!
whilst the event is in two parts starting on june 1st, both parts of the event are taking place on ONE in-character date; june 20th. the events of part one are going to take place from 4:50pm when the festival starts until 8:16pm. all times are in EST.
the vibe ?? think farmers market meets modern renaissance-ish. also, please make sure you ask box is open :)
part one will go from june 1st-june 20th !! please reach out to the main if you have any questions. we are posting this a day early so you can get your thinking juices flowin and start plottin should you wish to.
please tag all event threads #helltownsolstice1 so we can read!!!
LOCATION: anywhere at summer solstice
FOR: @helltownhqstarters
The ironic thing was, Adeline would love this, with every fiber of her being, if she wasn't worried her mother would also be in attendance. She must have looked miserable, trying to stand out of everyone's way, debating leaving like she had been since she'd arrived. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she forced a smile to her face, gaze shifting to where they stood. "Quite the party, huh?"
FOR: @thedcrkroom (maya)
LOCATION: the summer solstice
The anxiety that had lodged itself beneath her sternum the moment the ominous text had came through had not gone away since that day, but it seemed to swell as June 20th inched closer and closer. Now here, Adeline wished that she could appreciate it, the music, the fire. She wished that she could feel some relief to see such a lively little event, but all she felt was pure dread.
"Do you think it's rude?" She found herself asking, bag clutched to her chest as if someone was threatening to rip it out of her hands. She felt like a child, lost in a grocery store. But the last person she wanted to find her washer mother. "To leave... only ten minutes after arriving?"
She hadn't meant to wander off from Rafael, but Tala was sure he would seek her out soon enough if she stayed put. Which was... hard, when she got bored simply standing around. She wasn't even sure how she found herself throwing axes at targets, hardly hitting the board... until one landed right in the middle. "Did you see that? I did that!" Turning around to show off to the first person she spotted, she was grinning as she added, "Hell yeah, I'm not just a pretty face!"
He had lost track of the amount of alcohol he'd consumed already, and to say he was tipsy was an understatement — which was impressive, considering how high his tolerance was these days. There was an upside to that, though, and it was that Brax didn't care. He didn't care about what he'd found out about Kayla recently, he didn't care about the people that gave him nasty looks when he passed by them in the crowd. He just didn't care. It felt necessary, with as much as he'd been caring lately. Stuffing his face now, not bothering to even inspect the food he was popping into his mouth, his slightly blurred vision moved to the man approaching. "Try the strawberries," he suggested, that was if he hadn't eaten them all in the last ten minutes, "they're hella fresh."
