Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rhona had been working for weeks on this event, carefully organizing the stalls and vendors in her market to make sure everything was perfect. She had her merry band of high school workers had also been busy all week decorating the inside building so that it was as sickeningly autumnal as possible. Just inside of the door was a welcome stand crafted from bales of hay, corn stalks, colorful pots of mums and sunflowers, and bright orange pumpkins, manned by a cheerfully waving scarecrow. Along the front of the hay bale stand was a chalkboard with “Welcome” hand lettered onto its surface.

Past the entrance to the church the repurposed worship area had been draped in colorful garlands of autumn leaves, pumpkins littered the floors along walkways, and more and more piles of red and orange mums potted the area. Stalls were decorated according to the vendor’s goods, with one stall, manned by a slender elderly woman, decorated to look like a spooky apothecary to sell her homemade soaps and salves. Yet another was covered in framed pictures of hand lettered messages, chalkboard decorated with scripted quotes, and various hand lettering and journaling supplies. Yet another was sporting a huge harvest wreath and was showcasing various floral arrangements, both fresh and silk, and similar, more reasonably sized wreaths for sale.

The ambulatory -- now a cafe -- housed several different mix and match bars. On a table near the front was a candy bar, where tiny sugar pumpkins, corns, and other candies all sat in apothecary jars of various sizes. Another hand lettered sign invited visitors to purchase a conical bag and fill it with as many different candies as anyone could want. If you ate all the candies before leaving, refills were free. Next was a caramel apple bar, with caramel flowing from a fountain otherwise used for chocolate, apples speared with dowels, and every topping Rhona and her workers could think of. Mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, crushed candy bars of all assortments, and chopped nuts, just to name a few. And finally, for the adults, a cider bar. With the flash of an id, adults could partake in nearly half a dozen different spiked ciders -- don’t worry, there were also a couple of flavors for the kids.

Even the outside was lovingly adorned with more mums (seriously, where did Rhona get all these mums) all along the walkways and a trail lines with hay bales leading to the back and into a hay bale maze. There was also a tent dedicated to pumpkin carving, a tub for apple bobbing, and a table for face painting.

By the time opening came around that morning, everything was ready, everyone was in place, and Rhona stood, clad in her most harvesty outfit, at the front of the church with her arm around a mousey little girl who worked the cafe on the weekends.

“Did we do well, Miss Lee?”

“We did fantastically,” Rhona sighed, giving the girl’s shoulder one last squeeze before she released her to greet the guests.

OPEN!

Eunkyung was still recovering, mostly mentally, from the theater. It had been a lot to deal with but hearing about this...this was good, this was a way to refocus and try and push the theater behind her.

So after donning a nice off white sweater, soft to the touch and with something of a loose collar, and a dark red, burgundy, skirt and matching booties Eunkyung had headed right for the market that the city had. The market she'd heard was inside a former church and Eunkyung could only hope this event wasn't something bad either, things in this city always seemed to go bad...somehow. She just hoped this would be different, she really wanted to participate in something normal, for once, and maybe bring home somethings for her cousins, cousin in law, and maybe her cousins adopted twins. She wanted to bring home a bunch of things, really, and make it feel more like autumn.

The small, short, heels of her booties hit the pavement as she headed into the church. All the mums were amazing so were the rich, and vibrant, colors as she glanced about. Long hair moving this way and that against her back as she made to check out some of the pumpkins...wondering if they were for sale or where she could find some for sale. She thought these ones were likely just decoration. She wouldn't mind bringing some home and getting her family to carve some...though it did seem perhaps a bit early for that? She really wasn't sure....maybe she could find and ask someone?

(Open for interactions.)

Looking up, and over her shoulder, Eunkyung moved slowly to stand and turned towards the figure speaking to her. "O-oh...I was hoping to find some pumpkins for sale which I could bring home to carve. I want to involve my family, especially my cousins adopted children - it is their first Halloween." Smiling as she spoke softly, gently, she was excited at the prospect of getting her family involved in celebrating the holiday more than they had since moving here.

She also really wanted to get lights and other things. They may have an apartment but they had windows and they could decorate inside and have some fun with things, especially for the twins.

"I didn't know if these were for sale or just decoration...and I didn't want to ruin them."

Rhona fell silent for a moment, considering the woman's request. She honestly didn't see why not... the pumpkin would get carved either way... and they were her own grown pumpkins, so it wasn't like she was profiting off of someone else's work. Finally, she smiled and answered, "I'd have to charge you a little more per pumpkin because you'd be taking your carving elsewhere but I mean I don't see why we can't arrange something like that! Although, it'd be great if you wanted to reserve your pumpkins, go grab the kiddos, and come on back. We have plenty of things to keep them entertained while they're here." But of course, Rhona understood if that wasn't a possibility.

"Come on around back and you can pick out your gourds to take home!"

It. Was. Fall. YASSSSSSSSS~



Maggie had been tweeting and tumblring and snapchatting daily in avid anticipation for the first legit cool day of weather to arrive. And it. Was. ON. So when she heard about Harvestfest? The girl had slid into her fleece-lined leggings, stepped into some Uggs, put on her long sleeve tee with puffy Northface vest over it, slapped her hair up in a ponytail, and all but strutted to Starbucks to get three pumpkin spice lattes. Why three? Because she was generous. And this was her season.

It had taken a couple positive responses to her Snapchat story about wanting to check out the Harvestfest to enlist both Marnie and Nolan to join her in embracing the greatest season of all time. But they weren't just here for the warm drinks, cinnamon brooms, and chunky sweaters. Oh no, they were also here -- though Nolan didn't know it -- to help Maggie insert herself into the presence of the most recent attractive older boy who had wandered into her scope.

Marnie did. Marnie was an ace pal. And maybe okay with some light stalking.

Eying the handpainted signs with an audible, "AWWW~" Maggie was reclining attractively (she thought) against a hay bale, hoping that her Older Crush may wander by, see her, and have his life forever changed. Or, you know, maybe Nolan and Marnie would come along so she could gush. And so they could start taking some Instagram-worthy selfies against this choice backdrop.

Tom or ‘Thomas’ depending how well he knew you, or at least he’d like about that being any kind of criteria, was enjoying the chill that had started in the air. It meant he could wear his favorite coat without overheating.

You could hardly call it ‘trendy’ but maybe that made it more so, basically being a long white trench coat, the patches on the shoulder and the off white design, so hard to make out on the back being some kind of mysterious ‘code’ or inside joke between himself and his sister. It vaguely looked like a fox rendered in creams and white, on white. Remarkable that it was so clean looking.
Hands tucked into very well fitting jeans, a loose white cable knit sweater caught up on his hands

Fall was a nice season, it had a lot of red, and he was pretty damn fond of red. He checked the dye in his bangs, idle gesture though it was. Swatting it aside when he was satisfied and pushing the blue tinted lenses of his glasses back up his nose. He whistled a contented tune

He watched bemused as two young ladies greeted each other over latte’s he could hazard a guess were one variety or another of seasonal flavoring. He really needed to try one some time, though last time he’d inquired, the person he was with had given him a lecture about how ‘pumpkin spice’ was different than ‘pumpkin with spices’ in your drink, and he’d honestly tuned it out.

In response to Marnie's trill, Maggie pulled the latte out of the cardboard holder and held it aloft, not too unlike Rafiki did with Simba. She passed it to the girl's hands with a grin. "I am a woman of my word," she said, cheersing the other girl's cup with her own and taking a sip. "The lipstick. To die. I pray to be so bold." Maggie was the type to buy some purple lipstick and metallic gloss, only to ever wear it around her house and in Instagram snaps. To do so outside? It was the kind of boldness she loved about Marnie.

"Nolan should be here soon. No sighting of the very attractive target just yet." Her eyes scanned the horizon, just missing Thomas as he approached. Normally she would be more observant, but Marnie had just arrived -- and then, like magic, Nolan behind her.

"Nolan!" she said brightly, finally standing to pass the boy his own latte. "I dub thee fall-ized. Please sip from the inaugural PSL chalice." And then, just as she let out another gleeful laugh, her eyes fell on the familiar shape and tres chic hairstylings of the object of her most recent affection.

One hand gripped Marnie's arm, and the one holding her latte thumped into Nolan's chest. "He's here," she said, mostly to Marnie since Nolan was really getting roped into this quest. (She'd probably apologize later. Maybe.) Her latte arm casually gestured in Thomas's direction before she turned to the side, hoping to be a little less obvious. "In a chunky cableknit and everything -- be still my heart. Oh god, Marnie, I hope I didn't look like an idiot."

She turned hopeful eyes to the other girl, still not pausing to explain what was going on to poor Nolan. He knew Maggie well enough to probably guess. Her crushes were frequent, fleeting, but intense.