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!
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[Diarmuid giggles, starting to dance with his friend. Cu Chulainn is still a little faster and smoother at it than he is, but he's having fun so it doesn't really matter to him.]
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Do you think the Moon really walks like this? Maybe that's why she always gets tired and gets really thin when her cycle ends.
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[Diarmuid giggles and returns his friend's wave.]
You should ask Lord Alfred the next time you talk to him! I bet he would know.
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It sounds like you have met a lot of future people! Who else have you met?
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[Diarmuid claps his heads excitedly, but then his expression saddens.]
I've met a lot too...but a lot of them have gone away. They aren't here anymore. Lord Loki and Legolas and Nick and Yogi...
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[He stops and gives Diarmuid another hug.]
I hope nobody else is gonna go away.
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Me too. I especially miss my friend Legolas. He was going to help teach me to fight, and he was going to tell me all kinds of stories about his home. I was looking forward to hearing the stories. And learning more about fighting so I could teach you!
Maybe he will come back someday...
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[Cu Chulainn also clings to his friend.]
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[Diarmuid shuts his eyes for a few moments before continuing.]
Legolas has long blond hair and pointed ears. He said he was an elf. He was so pretty and looked so young. Just like father!
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I'll tell you if I see anyone who looks like that.
[He's very curious about this strange person who looks like a god.]
You're lucky you got to meet him!
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[Diarmuid looks sad for a moment longer before shaking it off.]
Thank you for helping me look for him! I am sure if he comes back he will train us both and tell us both stories! He was really nice.
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...Do you want to hear a good secret? Since there's a lot of sad things happening?
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Yes, please! Tell me!
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We'll never leave each other. Because I made a wish on a candle saying so, and when you wish on a candle during the festival and send it floating down the river, then your wish will come true.
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You are the bestest friend ever! I made a wish that everyone will be happy. We will be happy if we get to stay together forever. Two wishes means they have to come true! There is no way they can't!
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Two wishes should make even the most impossible thing possible. No matter what happens, we'll always be together and we'll always be the best of friends!
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[Diarmuid grabs his friend's hands and starts jumping up and down excitedly.]
Now we don't have to worry anymore! We will always have each other no matter how many people go away!
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See? I was really smart when I made that wish!
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[He bounces alongside his friend for a while longer before settling down a little.]
What should we do next? Should we look for more food or more toys or...?
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[Diarmuid skips over and gathers his toys into his arms.]
Do you want to race back to our room?
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Of course! Don't get lost following behind me, though.
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[Diarmuid giggles and then suddenly heads off running toward Building One.]
I'm going to be in the lead!
should we end this thread too>
Seems like a good spot to me!