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

"Yeah! Turns out the locals celebrate with their annual summer festival this week. They were giving out some coupons and credits for food and stuff to those of us who agreed to help set the place up," he explained. No good coupon for free food escapes America!

"A summer festival..." she mused, folding her arms. She had participated in a festival recently, but it hadn't exactly been a leisurely one.

"I will have to participate at some point. It might be interesting to experience the culture of a different world." Freya took a moment to ponder. There was at least one thing at the festival she wasn't familiar with.

"I may see if I can find some way to help, then--unless you are in need of it here?"

"I'm going to find one of the people in charge to get a different job that doesn't involve a couple of jerks," America said, glancing in the troublemakers' direction. "Minus that ordeal helping out has worked out nicely. I'd recommend it- then you can find out what activities they have planned for the festival ahead of time!"

Freya gave a nod of understanding. If someone were to put her in danger for fun, she'd be less willing to work with them, herself.

"I believe I will take your advice. It could be something enjoyable to pass the time with." Maybe she could learn a bit more about the city in the process.

"I hope that you can find something that is less... troublesome."

"I'm sure there's plenty more to do around here. I'll be alright," America assured her. "Oh yeah and I'm America by the way. I'm sort of a human from Earth. What's your name?" he asked.

"My name is Freya," she replied. "It's good to meet you, America."

At least with her, he wouldn't have to explain the whole country deal or be considered ridiculous right off the bat.

"I am a Burmecian, from Gaia. I have not seen anyone from my world yet... but it appears there are several from Earth here."

"Yeah there seem to be a lot of us Earthlings here but it's complicated. It turns out there are multiple different Earths involved. So even though it's the same planet it's not actually the same version of it for all of us. Some of the people I've met are even from totally different times," he explained, scratching the back of his head. "So are there humans in Gaia or is it populated mostly by Burmecians?"

"Even so, the fact that there are so many 'Earths' represented here is curious..."

She made a quiet, thoughtful noise, wondering if there was any significance to it.

"There are humans, yes, as well as several other races. I would not say there appears to be more of one or the other, but the different groups do tend to live in their respective kingdoms."

"Yeah. Considering they're taking people from all different worlds and planets, you'd think the results would be more random than this. But most of us are human and I think most of us are also from some version of Earth. Maybe it's easier to take people from Earth than it is from other planets." Once again he was left wondering where this planet was compared to the Earth.

"Are all Burmecian able to jump the way you do? That was really awesome!"

"That might be possible, but it seems as if that would be the case if this was similar. However, everyone I have spoken to seems unfamiliar with this place or anything like it, be they from Earth or not." It was a line of thought that she would have to investigate later...

"Thank you. Not all of us are able; it is a skill we acquire through training as Dragon Knights. But I have not known any Dragon Knight who wasn't also a Burmecian."

"Saeng Seong's architecture rembles the style in several countries back on Earth. The local writing looks like Korean, one of the languages in those countries. The technology is more advanced than the tech from my time, but it wouldn't be impossible for someone to develop a lot of this in the near future. So it felt somewhat familiar and with all the human citizens I thought for a moment that I was still on Earth when I first arrived. But the two moons proved it really wasn't. Earth only has one moon."

But getting back to a more casual topic, "So does being a Dragon Knight involve dragons in any way?"

She made a mental note of what America told her, wondering if it was as familiar to other people as it was to him. But for now, she put the thought aside to answer his question.

"We do draw some of our power from defeating dragons, and I suppose our focus on jumping may have started in attempting to emulate their flight." She had always paid more attention to her training than to any history they might have taught...

Edited (i should finish my sentences) 2013-08-23 18:59 (UTC)

"Wow. So you have to fight dragons to be a dragon knight huh? Sounds intense! Are dragons big fire breathing lizards in your world like the legends say in mine?" America asked. Not that dragons actually exist in his world oh no. That was crazy talk people like England and China engaged in.

"That is a part of it, yes," she replied. "Some of them can breathe fire, but it is more common for them to be poisonous."

If he told her that dragons didn't exist on his world, she'd ask him to consider the possibility. But the idea of a monster-free world was still a bit of a stretch for her to accept.

"Poisonous dragons? That sounds nasty- do they give off poisonous fumes or something?" he had never heard of that concept before.

"Some of them have poisonous breath, and others have venom on their claws," Freya explained. "Many of them can use wind magic, as well."

"Wind magic?" America asked. He wasn't sure how to react to that. "We don't have magic where I'm from except for performance magic but that's all acting." England liked to do some strange 'ceremonies' in his free time though and America had witnessed things a long time ago on his own continent, but he wasn't so sure that wasn't a childhood dream.

"No magic," she repeated, clearly intrigued by the thought. She hadn't thought of a world without magic. Hers would certainly be different--and probably more difficult--if they didn't have any... so much of what she knew was based in it.

"It must be odd for you to hear about it, then..." Of course, what she meant was that it was odd for her.

"Odd but kinda cool too," he said, a smile growing on his face. "It's neat to think that somewhere in another world the things that turned out to be fantasy in my world are actually real in other worlds. As a kid I believed more of that stuff was real- I was really bummed when I got older and found out otherwise. So as odd as it probably is for you..." He gave a little chuckle. "It makes me kind of... nostalgic? Uh not that I think dragons aren't serious business! They sure sound like they are."

Nostalgic? Well, she supposed she couldn't blame him for that. There were many things one believed as a child that they grew out of. She might have felt the same if she'd learned some of her childhood fantasies were real in other worlds.

"I wouldn't have thought you did. Though I'm certain any encounter with one would have corrected you, if you had," she replied, some humor in her voice.

"Oh I'm sure! They sounds just as dangerous as the legends in my world," he agreed. "Now I can't help wondering if any other creatures from legends are real in your world. Do you have... fairies or unicorns? I used to hear about them and believe in them when I was little all the time." From England.

"We do have fairies," she said with a nod, "but I have not heard of unicorns before. What are they like in your legends?"

She couldn't help but be a little curious about the differences, considering how he'd spoken about dragons.

"Unicorns are like horses- if you know what those are. But they have a single horn coming out of their heads and some sort of magic abilities. They're supposed to be symbols of purity and in most portrayals they're bright white," he explained.

"When I was little I believed in them. I was given one as a pet by the guy who was looking after me but I think it was just my imagination and in reality he just gave me a weird food bowl for it to supposedly eat out of. You put food in the bowl and the next day it mysteriously disappears. Funny huh?" America laughed.

"I see," Freya replied. "I don't believe I've heard of a beast like that, but I suppose it would not surprise me if it did exist somewhere." They had wolves with horns. Why not horses?

She couldn't help but be a little curious about his experience and brought her hand to her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "That does sound strange. I wonder why he would try to fool you with such a thing?"

Sure, there were tales people told their children to make them behave and the like, but pretending to give a boy a magic pet seemed bizarre to her.

"I don't know. Maybe he thought it would keep me company while he was away. I guess it worked while I was small enough to believe it was real," America said with a shrug.

A Festival of Lights

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