rekindleme | A Festival of Lights

A Festival of Lights

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

America circled around the bonfire to look for any familiar faces he could greet and stopped to give out shoulder pats and handshakes to several strangers any way. Even if it was in the middle of the festival he wasn't about to skimp on spreading the physical contact around to keep people healthy.

"Hey Wing, how's it going? Still tuckered out from all that dancing yesterday?" he asked.

The familiar voice pulls him from his reverie, flight panels shifting with a little start. Wing's expression warms at the sight of his new friend though, fingers no longer worrying at the corners of the paper. He nods, shoulders bobbing in a silent chuckle. "It was quite a day, wasn't it? You certainly seemed to enjoy yourself."

"Oh definitely! That was a lot of fun! I guess we both really like to bust a move huh?" He took a seat on the ground near Wing, then noticed the paper caught between Wing's fingers. "Oh hey, are you trying to fold some sort of origami with that paper?" Surely it would be tricky with hands that large.

"Good music touches the spirit, it's hard not to move with motivation like that." It's friendly, but Wing's tone doesn't match the enthusiasm of the actual words or his movements from the night before. He's putting on a good face, but there isn't the happiest of moods underneath it. Wing looks a little quizzical at the question though, and then down at the paper in his hands. "Origami...?"

"Oh yeah, Earth thing. Oragami is a form of art where you fold up a piece of paper in a certain way so it's shaped like something. Like flowers or bird shapes. I haven't done much of it myself- my friend Japan has way more experience with that since it originated in his homeland," America explained. "Since you had a little paper in your hand it reminded me of it."

Wing's less than happy tone of voice wasn't hard to miss. It was very different from the night before. "Worn out from yesterday? I know I was this morning."

"That sounds amazing. I'd love to see it done sometime." Wing looks down at the slightly mangled piece of paper that's not resembling much of anything right now. "We have a similar activity. It's part an exercise in patience and focus, and part an art form. We fold sheets into complex geometric shapes. It takes precision and they don't hold together unless executed correctly. They are quite beautiful. .... Well, when done properly."

Unlike his rather sad little attempt. America's comment about the dance though brings the memories of the night to the forefront and he looses a strangely embarrassed little laugh. "A-ha yes, it was, um, quite an exhilarating night!"

And then some. He'd gone home alone, much to his consternation, and attended to...things, also on his own, but there was one benefit from the evening: Deadlock had definitely noticed him.

"Well I did learn how to fold a simple crane design... Uh. I could do it with that paper you have there unless you need that for something else," America suggested. The paper looked rather worn out- far more worn than paper truly suitable for nice origami. Considering how Wing clutched it, it seemed to be important and it finally dawned on America that most likely it had some worth that definitely didn't make it origami material. "What am I saying? You're holding onto it for something else aren't you? -I can show you later."

Wing perks a little at America's offer, definitely interested, but they way his hand curls around the paper in his hands he seems loathe to give it up. The jet laughs, maybe a little nervously, at the way he's so obviously fretting over a silly piece of paper.

That doesn't mean he gives it up though. "I, uh..." he looks around him then, spotting the second piece he'd picked up by mistake because well, large metal fingers don't really grasp tiny slips of static stuck paper too well. "You could use this instead? I'd love to see what you can make."

"Sure," America takes the other piece and squares it off so he can fold the crane pattern he had learned. As he matched up edges and corners, folding the paper step by step, he chuckled, "Can't help but be curious about your reaction Dude. I've never seen you clutch onto a piece of paper like that. I understand though..." He gave Wing a grin, "Is it a phone number belonging to a special someone? Got lucky?"

Wing watches, curious and intent, as America goes through the steps of folding the paper. It's kind of nice to get his thoughts on something else for the moment, instead of musing himself into a corner like he was earlier.

But then comes the man's question, and Wing stares blankly for a moment, "Phone number...?" Special someone. Lucky. "O-oh! AH-ha, uh n-no. Well.... _{I wish.}"

Wishes. Yeah. If only Deadlock had given him his personal comm frequency.

"Aw it's not?" He had just gotten excited for his pal too. Then something occurs to him, "Oh! You understood what I meant! So does that mean your race has special someone's er... mates... er lovers. However you might say it?"

"Sadly no." He's trying not to pout and...slightly failing. He heaves a great sigh, one heavy with his frustration and confusion, but he can't help but slowly warm to topic. He is a romantic after all. "We do couple, yes. Uh, not for reproductive purposes mind you. But for intimacy, pleasure..." He doesn't seem too shy about it either, in this context anyway. But then his voice gets quieter, and maybe there's a hint of sadness in it? "We love. Sometimes deeply...if we're lucky."

Wing was talking to the right guy. America wouldn't call himself a romantic openly, but he sure was one in multiple ways, including about love. "Oh wow not for reproduction at all? That's how the species on Earth do it... Well- At least in a lot of cases. It's more complicated than that and varies species to species. Humans can fall deeply in love too- for a mix of reasons... Companionship and intimacy." He considered asking how reproduction worked but figured that possibly embarrassing question could wait.

"Having someone is nice..." America gave a little sigh at the pleasant thought, "Do you have a special someone back home?"

Wing looses an amused chuff of air. "No we don't reproduce genetically. Our homeworld births new sparks. Or...used to." He shouldn't get into it though, not because of any sort of embarrassment but more that it's just a sad subject. He grabs for the rest though, because he likes to dream of better things. "Companionship, yes. It's so important--I tend to think so anyway. Especially when you live as long as my kind does."

That little sigh gives you away, America. Wing senses a kindred spirit. "At home? No. Well, not really." Wing thinks of a certain other knight who's been his good friend for a long time. They'd even been together for a while, but the knife-loving knight was not one to settle down. 'Not conjunx material' he'd said. As much fun as they still had together sometimes, it wasn't what Wing would call special.

"It is nice though, yes." He smiles, but it's a small thing compared to his usual. "What about you? It sounds like you speak from experience."

America snapped to attention. "From- oh! What me? Nah! I don't... 'speak from experience.'" America excused himself. "I... When you're a nation it's complicated." It was easy to hear the sorrow in his voice.

Wing is quite for a moment, realizing he's assumed a little too much. But he understands the sorrow, or at least has a guess. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume," he says quietly. "Someday you'll have to tell me how all that nations business works, but, I think... maybe I can guess part of what you're feeling."

A small, sad smile. "Sometimes the distance between you and what you want, even if it's right in front of you, seems so very far away."

America felt a pang in his chest immediately after hearing those words. He gave a small chuckle as he forced out his words, "I'd be happy to explain more about the nation thing." He swallowed and turned to look back towards the fire. He had to wonder if Wing could see with his mechanical eyes in the firelight the redness of his face now as he tried to mask his distressed emotions. Did he know what blushing was?

"That's a really good guess. A lot more observant than I think most people I know have been. The last person to suggest something like that was France and he has a sort of sixth sense about this stuff." He hesitated, then got it off his chest, "You're right actually. There is someone special- more than special even... But they don't know yet. It's been a secret for a really long time now. Like I said... It's complicated." He could have said he was in love but he couldn't get that word out just yet.

"What about you? Have you been admiring someone lately?"

Wing doesn't mean to strike home so succinctly, but it's a metaphor for what he's feeling and experiencing now, and a far too common theme of life. Like the night before, dancing before Deadlock, when he swore the other mech was going to respond, reach out, reciprocate...or something. He never wanted to be touched so much in his life as he did then.

And Wing might not know what blushing is, but he knows his own dermal plating sheds extra heat when he's feeling stressed or embarrassed, and it creates that certain uncomfortable shifting, so he can guess a little bit of what America is feeling.

Wing offers a consolatory smile. "I try to understand people and help them. It just...doesn't always work." And then the sadness is back and he looks off into the dancing flames himself. "There is someone but I don't know if he wants me or not. _{You can probably guess...}"

His sad face takes on a compassionate cast then, "A secret? That must be so hard, loving in secret. I...do not think I could do it." At least that's how Wing understands 'more than special'. How could that not be love?

"Are you... talking about that guy... Deadlock?" America guesses. He realizes it might have been rude to actually guess for real and he hurries to apologize, "Sorry! I really shouldn't say any thing like that." He waves his hands a little in a slight panic.

Falling quiet again, he puts his head down. "It's been at least a hundred years now so... I've gotten used to it being a secret."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A Festival of Lights

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Sorry TMI meta, /whistles

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LOL Your Surrender by Neon Trees is playing on Pandora right for reals

lol watch out Wing America's curiosity is a great force

lol it's a beautiful thing, but what goes around, is gonna come around!

bring it on mwahaha /torture muses torture torture

It is the best past time yes? >:D

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