A Festival of Lights

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone Where: The stable areas of Saeng Seong - mostly in the third district When: 24th July to 31st July Summary: The residents of Saeng Seong are celebrating their annual summer festival, and the offworlders are invited to take part! Warnings: Inbox death may occur. System overload at own risk. SOME NPC RESPONSES WILL BE SLOW UNTIL THE ONE WHO PLAYS THEM IS PRESENT. It's time to celebrate, to celebrate, to celebrate... There's been a general sense of excitement among the natives of Saeng Seong for the past week or so, now; anyone who's stopped to question them about it (or has been close enough to hear them discussing it amongst themselves) will hear mentions of "the festival." On the 24th, what they're talking about becomes clear. Each year, the residents of the city come together to celebrate the summer. Setting the festival up is an all-day affair; taking part in the festival's events will make for an entertaining week; and tearing down the booths and decorations is another extensive process. But in the end, the residents usually agree that it's worth it, and this year they would like for their would-be saviors to take part. July 24th On the 24th, the characters will notice that most of the city natives are moving about with a general purpose; they will find that in the Second District, in the very plaza where they all arrived, a committee of sorts is organizing volunteers and assigning them to different tasks in different parts of the open districts. The committee needs people to help with preparing and placing decorations all over the city; paper lanterns, twinkling strands of lights, and garlands of flowers, though they'll note that the flora is fake. They also need people to set up tables, chairs, and makeshift stages at the riverbanks in the first and second districts, as well as to help redo the outdoor marketplace to make it more accommodating for booths hosting festival foods, games, and trinkets for purchase. Physically stronger characters may be asked to assist with setting up carnival rides in the free spaces - everything from a towering Ferris wheel to a carousel to bumper cars, and many others besides. During this time, characters can also volunteer to man the booths on certain days, if they have anything they would like to contribute or would like to assist with anything. Characters who take part in the setup will be awarded with five vouchers, good for use during the festival. These vouchers can be used for the purchase of food, admittance to rides, or to allow them to play some of the games for free. July 25th The festival begins early morning on the 25th - that is, the booths are open and ready for business, selling all manner of street food - crepes, kabobs, funnel cake, shaved ice, almost anything you can imagine - along with a wide variety of other things for purchase, like one-of-a-kind clothing, hats, scarves, and the like, as well as jewelry and other trinkets. There are also booths where you can get your face painted, where you can have your fortune told, and all sorts of other activities. There are also the games. Standard festival stuff: Knock down a milk bottle, win a prize. Throw a dart and pop the right balloon, get a prize. You can play a game to catch and take home a goldfish, if you like, or try your luck at any of the other games that are interspersed with the other booths. These booths will be operating all throughout the festival, until the closing ceremony on the 30th. The opening ceremony doesn't actually take place until sunset, despite the fact that the booths have been operating all day. It's a simple ceremony, set at the riverside, with a speech about how summertime begets togetherness and how everyone should be thankful for the opportunities they've been given. All in all, it may be a little boring for characters with shorter attention spans. However, at the end of it, everyone lights a candle, makes a wish, and sets it adrift on the river once the sun has gone down entirely; the flickering candles will drift around the river all throughout the festival, and they never seem to burn down. July 26th The rides and games are going on full-force outside from the time the sun comes up, but in the afternoon characters will find that it's not as crowded as the day before. That's because there's dancing going on in the convention center - the afternoon is full of traditional group dances, the kind that are easy to learn the steps for and join in on; the natives will be especially delighted if their visitors teach them some of the dances from their home. In the evening, it is not quite so energetic, though the dancing doesn't end. The songs slowly fade into slower, perhaps more romantic tunes, and the final dance will end precisely at midnight. There will be refreshments available for free in the convention center during the dances, though not anything so filling as what characters will be able to purchase from the booths outside - mostly water, lemonade, cheese, and crackers. There is also a bar where specialty drinks and foods may be purchased. July 27th This day's special event happens after dark, though it's easy to see the preparations for it happening in the plaza where all the characters arrived - when the sun sets, a massive bonfire is lit, and many people gather, some with benches, to bask in the firelight. Some even write down the things they'd like to accomplish during the rest of the year onto slips of paper and cast them into the flames, in the hopes that the smoke will carry their wishes into the heavens. Others gather around to toast s'mores and chat. Still others continue the dancing from the night before - off to the side to begin with, though as the night wears on they may expand into a bigger dance that will involve large groups of people circling around the fire in spirals. Even away from the plaza, there are blazing lanterns throughout the city, and some smaller bonfires crop up in areas where it's not likely that anything important will catch fire. July 28th This day's festivities begin early on. The morning and early afternoon are devoted to a cooking contest - there are categories for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, and a winner for each - that both residents and visitors alike can take part in. Characters who cook delicacies from their own worlds may find the natives crowding them and asking for information about the dishes, and recipes to try on their own. The late afternoon also has to do with food, and the characters are once again invited to take part in a variety of eating contests. There are your standard hot dog, watermelon, and pie-eating contests, as well as many others - the more daring may find themselves taking part in a contest where contestants are blindfolded and made to eat as much of rather... interesting concoctions as they can. Characters who take part are given a voucher for use at any of the booths or rides in the festival; winners are given additional prizes. The winners of the cooking contest are determined ICly by character vote, so if there's a dish they especially love, make sure to mention that they'd vote for it so a tally can be kept! Winners of the eating contests are determined by RNG after all participants have been confirmed, with characters that have a canonical advantage (IE Maya Fey and her "separate stomachs") having more than one number that would lead to their win. Be sure to note such advantages while having your character take part. July 29th The extra activities on this day include showing off your physical prowess and your ability to cooperate with others. On foot, there are three-legged races; pick a partner and try not to fall as you make your way to the finish line! There are also relay races - in teams of four - and you'll want to pick your teammates' positions well to ensure maximum speed. These races will take place multiple times during the day. There are some other events to take part in as well: Thumb-wrestling tournaments, arm-wrestling tournaments, and outright wrestling tournaments. At the end of the day, there will be a massive tug-of-war. Everyone who's mingling around and wants to take part will be sorted into one team or another, and then the two teams will face off. Participants will receive festival vouchers; winners will receive additional prizes. July 30th The last day of the festival continues on like normal - the rides and booths are all operating, at least until the start of the closing ceremony that begins midafternoon and continues until the sun goes down. Winners of the various contests are once again recognized, the people who made the events a success are thanked, and the speech ends with a wish for pleasant experiences throughout the rest of the year. The ceremony is timed such that there will be about twenty minutes for everyone to position themselves where they would like to be by the time fireworks begin being set off from a barge floating on the river between the second and third districts. There will be spaces on the riverbanks for people to watch from, though they can most certainly be seen from any other vantage point a character might like to try watching from, should they want to avoid the crowds. July 31st This day is a blur of activity as well, though not as fun as the past few days. The residents of the city are packing everything away and taking down the decorations, and they could use a little help if the characters are so inclined. Characters who assist with the teardown will be rewarded with leftovers from the festival - plush prizes, food, maybe even some little trinkets characters have had their eyes on that haven't sold. No one's getting any fireworks, however. Feel free to put up your own top-level comments, but be sure to put when and where the action is happening in the subject line!

Comments

[littlewhitelies]

[How can she NOT be all grins and bright confidence while she does this work? It's something she's good at, AND something that helps; all in all, it's a nice break from throwing muggers and robbers into walls, all things considered.

M'gann motions with her hands, psychically sending another strand of lights and a string of lanterns up into the air, carefully tying both lines into place so they hang over the street. She grins up at her handiwork, motioning for another strand to hang a little further down; M'gann even gives a little spin on her toes as she sends it upwards, drifting along.

Seriously, any more smiling and optimism, and she'd probably manage to cue up a Disney princess song out of thin air, all about how Helping People Is Great.]

lol this song seemed... appropriate for these two cheerful spirits

[hamburgerhero]

[If any one else was in the mood to break into song about how Helping People Is Great, it was this guy, the self proclaimed freedom and dreams hero. In fact, while he was arranging tables and chairs he started singing a happy tune.

After taking a look up at the lanterns he turned towards M'gann and gave her a thumbs up, still singing and dancing in place a little.]

♫ ...Now every time I go for the mail box, gotta hold myself down
'cause I just cant wait till you write me, you're coming around
I'm walking on sunshine whoa ~oh! ♫

I'm playing a little fast and loose with the meta and YJ-verse, but it's fun!

[littlewhitelies]

[M'gann pauses with a (thankfully unlit) lantern floating in her hands when she hears the song. Once she turns her head to where it's coming from, she spots America and waves down to him...Though she also looks deep in thought.]

"W-wait a second, I think I know that song?"

[She frowns as she puzzles out the lyrics. Ironic how she can be chirpy when speaking, but have a much more quiet and cautious singing voice.]

"I-I'm walking on sunshine~! Wo..Aoah!
And it doesn't feel good!"

[She pauses, looking a little bashful.]

"I never could understand how someone could be happy about it one second, and then say they don't like it on the next line. But then again, the sun is pretty hot and uncomfortable, I guess."

[...She may not have heard the CLEAREST recording, or had the best understanding of the lyrics.]

[hamburgerhero]

_{[America found her misinterpretation of the lyrics amusing, though understandable if she wasn't familiar with the expression of "walking on sunshine" or simply just mishearing.]}

Ooh ouch that would really hurt huh? Though... I'm pretty sure it's "And don't it feel good?" like a question. "Walking on sunshine" is an expression for being really happy. So the song is about being really happy because of this person they're in love with. You know, that "I'm on top of the world" feeling.

_{[He explains it to her, but not in a condescending way. And despite saying, "you know" he really had no idea if Martian love is any thing like human love- or if she knows the expression of being "On top of the world."]}

♪I'm walking on sunshine! Whoaaaa ooooh!
I'm walking on sunshine! Whoaaaa ooooh!
And don't it feel good?! HEY! Alright now!♫

[littlewhitelies]

[M'gann listens closely, shutting her eyes and nodding in time to the song as she listens. When she opens them again, her expression has lost some of that uncertainty and has brightened up.]

"Oh! So...That's how the lyrics actually go? That makes a lot more sense."

[And as for the 'in love with' M'gann gets an odd sort of smile on her face as she nods again. And tries not to go slightly pink in the face.]

"Yeah, that really makes a lot more sense, now that I think about it like that. Thanks; didn't even know I wasn't hearing it right!"

[hamburgerhero]

It's funny when you find out you were mishearing lyrics or words isn't it? Don't know if you've heard the song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" but for the longest time I thought the lyrics said "Just sin for me! Oh baby!" ♫ Instead of "Send for me." Kind of sounded like they were sending for something dark in the version I thought I heard.

_{[He laughs at the memory. Growing up with England probably hadn't helped keep away the visual of summoning dark creatures in the back of his mind.]}

I didn't find out the right lyrics until I was singing karaoke one time! -Speaking of which, I wonder if they have karaoke here.

[littlewhitelies]

"I don't know...Never really tried karaoke before,"

[Though wow does the idea of it sound good. Something about a social gathering with a lot of music leaves her with a light, fluttery feeling in her stomach. It takes effort to not float up too high when she pictures it.]

"So I wouldn't know what to look for...But what about you?" [She gives him a curious look, head canted to the side and everything.] "Have you ever tried it?"

[swordofzero]

Suzaku wasn't smiling, but he was helping. And despite his less than chearful exterior he seemed to be happy enough holding lights for people to string up. It reminds him a little of the school festivals back in Ashford, and he forced his mind away from those memories as he called up to the woman. "Need any more lights?"

[littlewhitelies]

M'gann paused from her spot in the air, glancing back down to the person holding onto more of those coils of lights. (It still surprised her, what people on Earth and this place could do without bioluminescent materials and the solutions they worked out instead.) She flashed a quick smile, hoping that might help with whatever mood was hanging over him.

"Sure! If you could just hold your hands up, I could..." She already had a hand out, extending a small telekinetic pull on what he was holding to bring it up to her.

[swordofzero]

He did so and blinked as the lights floated from his hands. Though he had heard of magic, something in the system of Rakuen had blocked it, so he had only heard from people that they should have had powers.

He had never seen it demonstrated. He stared at the floating lights a moment, in shock.

[littlewhitelies]

M'gann, meanwhile, was quite blissful with fastening the light strings to another building, admiring her handiwork, and then finally floating back down. And with feet on the ground, noticing that shocked look. While that was different from his earlier expression, she wasn't entirely sure it was necessarily a good thing, and M'gann leaned in a little closer with her eyes narrowing in concern.

"Hey, you alright?"

[swordofzero]

Suzaku blinked and then nodded, "Yes, I apologise, I am just unused to such powers."

[littlewhitelies]

"Oh-"

She cut the power on her telekinesis, dropping from toes on the ground to being fully on her feet, and pushing the wind out of her cape and hair. "No, no! It's okay; I mean if you're not used to it, how can you react differently? Not the easiest thing, right?"

While in the back of her head, M'gann worked through a small jolt of panic and insecurity as she glanced at her hands; what about green skin? Was that ok or also unusual for him? And if so, was it a good idea to switch to a more human color? But then that made her wonder why she shouldn't stay confident in what WAS supposed to be a normal color for her, and-

...And maybe she should have just cloaked herself in camouflage to solve the problem completely.

[wontdoanyless]

Steve's out and about, mostly trying to help set up decorations in places that he can reach. He didn't have much height, but he has determination and stubbornness at least. That usually works for him, well until he got punched at least. But that was then and this is now.

He lets out a small sigh before looking around, finally noticing M'gann floating around. Oh. Oh wow. Ignore his rude staring, although he looks amazed rather than anything else. "Um, wow, you really have this handled, ma'am."

[littlewhitelies]

She actually is out right humming to herself at this point; some little jingle she heard on television once, that could have either been the opening to a sitcom or an add for a shopping center. Either way, the song gets cut off when she hears someone from below.

And catches the staring. For a second she does a little awkward backwards hover in the air, looking self conscious before checking herself and taking a deep breath. And dropping lower in the sky so she can actually carry out some conversation. Somewhat close to eye level, at least.

"Yeah! If I can help out with this thanks to my powers, I figure I might as well." She holds herself a little straighter, now giving her best confident 'yes I am a useful person indeed' smile.

[wontdoanyless]

When she lowered herself closer to ground level, Steve finally got enough sense to stop his staring. He was still a little in awe, but he managed to give her a somewhat sheepish smile in return.

"I apologize if I was being rude, I just hadn't seen anyone float like that before." Now that he thought about it more, it was bad of him to stare. "But you're really amazing. Your powers that is- well, uh, you in general too! With all your helping out like this." He still had some trouble with foot in mouth syndrome.

[littlewhitelies]

Actually, having her feet on the ground sounds like the best idea right now. Being stable while blushing seems a lot better than being in the air and looking flustered from all the praise…Which is something she still isn't used to.

"Oh it's…It's nothing?" She tries. "I mean, it's nothing too hard to do. With my powers."

Yep. Not nearly as foot in mouth as Steve, but she won't be taking home perfect speech awards anytime soon.

[wontdoanyless]

Maybe he can somehow turn this conversation to be less awkward. Yes, that sounded like a great goal to him.

"I- I still think it's really neat, Miss." He rubs the back of his head for a moment. "Sorry if I distracted you, I can continue on my way. Or um, go to some other area."

[littlewhitelies]

"Wait, maybe you could-"

No, no, she does NOT want to scare or make anyone shy off. At least not if she has any choice or control over the situation. M'gann glances around, looking for something to aid in the conversation and maybe keep things on a slightly more even keel; she's found that sometimes having a task to focus on helps with the conversation.

Which is when her eyes settle on some of those flower garlands. Perfectly colorful, bright, and a good distraction from any awkwardness and blushing! At least in her mind.

"Help me with those?" She points towards them. "They need to get placed, too."

[acro_bat_ic]

[Putting up lights? ...It wasn't exactly at the top of Barbara's to do list. More like the very bottom. Way way below "getting out." Still, it was kind of hard not to get into the holiday spirit.

So there she is atop the roof. Plucking at some of the lights M'gann's sending up, and wondering if she shouldn't be straightening them out or something...

[littlewhitelies]

[...It's hard not to wonder a little at how she got up there so easily. M'gann's thoughts helpfully supply 'stairs' as a possibility, but it still takes her by surprise, leaving M'gann to glance up at the other girl. But only for a moment, after which she gives a friendly wave...Which causes a few of those floating lights to shiver and sway back and forth from the motion.]

"Hey! You're helping out, too?"

[acro_bat_ic]

[She's Batgirl.

What more explanation do you need for how she gets anywhere?]

I thought it might take the edge off of boredom.

[littlewhitelies]

[A costume would be nice; at the moment the two people she knows, in and out of costume, are firmly divorced in M'gann's mind. Meaning that she's still a little surprised by Barbara's apparent ability to find good rooftop spaces, either with or without helps from fire escapes and rooftop access doors.]

"O-oh. I guess that's part of why I'm helping? It's better than standing around doing nothing but...It also feels nice. I like helping people out."

Up for a little tag-spamming?

[acro_bat_ic]

[Shhh. That's secret identity stuff.

For Barbara, all anyone needs to know is that she happens to be an olympic hopful gymnast. So.... boo ya?]

I kind of prefer the more hands on game stuff.

Sure!

[littlewhitelies]

"Games?"

[She floats closer, giving a confused blink while trying to process that.]

"What sort of games do you mean?"