SUMMER FESTIVAL: TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS

[tranquilforest]

It’s something like summer here at the Temple of Beginnings, or close enough to it. The weather’s been rainy and hazy for the past little while, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find some way to enjoy ourselves, right?

The day dawns cloudy and drizzly, but people seem determined to carry on anyway. The space slowly takes recognizable shape as a festival, even if a small one. There are tents set up outside, some of which are transformed into game opportunities, complete with prizes (some of an...interesting nature), surprisingly sophisticated target shooting games, ring toss, and other activities of skill and chance. A few more become stations for the food and drink that had been prepared, and the rest consist of chairs under canopies for people to sit and talk in case the rain continues.

Luckily, as the day goes on, the rain stops and the clouds move on, until the blue of the sky is visible once again. By early afternoon, there are only a few scattered clouds still remaining, and it seems likely that the weather will hold true for the evening. Strings of paper lanterns and other decorations are brought out and hung between the different stalls, around the makeshift stage, and placed at the tables. Some pots of bamboo are brought out and set in two clusters at either end of the line of tents. Each cluster has a corresponding table with strips of colorful paper and pens laid out carefully on a table and weighted down with rocks to prevent them from flying off.

A handful of figures come out and inspect the set-up, focusing especially on a shallow ditch that had been dug earlier, now drained and lined with weighted down tarp and rocks, running parallel to the tents and curving to end abruptly just beyond the fire pit and the stage at both ends. After some discussion between them, there is a flash of flame, as though something were burning, and then the strangest thing happens. The ditch fills with fresh, clear water. Even after a few hours, the water doesn't drain away or grow stagnant, still flowing somehow despite having nowhere to come from or go to.

The sunset that day is a brilliant, auspicious red, and evening sets in with a cooling breeze refreshing everyone outside. As the first stars appear, the lanterns are set alight, the music starts, and the first performer steps out onto the stage, surrounded by floating light.



SUMMER FESTIVAL
Welcome to the summer(ish) festival for Astoria’s Circle! We hope you have a wonderful time.

Layout
Even from the buildings that are actually being lived in, the lights of the festival are visible. If you strain your ears just a bit, you may even hear some music being played in the distance, muffled by the stone walls. Why don’t you come join in?

Once arriving at the festival itself, you may be struck first by how bright it is. Light seems to be a theme, from the bonfire set up in one of the firepits closest to the rest of the complex, the lanterns strung up between the tents and stalls that are set up in a line leading from the other buildings towards the gated sparring area that you may already have availed yourself of. Just in front of that area is a makeshift stage, little more than a raised platform of wood and stone, also lit up well by additional lanterns.

Opposite the tents is the river.

It might not seem that exciting at first. It’s hardly a river, really, just a shallow trench of water about seven feet wide and one foot deep, lined with rocks along the bank closest to the tents, stretching in a not quite parallel path opposite the stalls and tents that have been set up, beginning at the stage and ending near the bonfire. The water is crystal clear and clean, and murmurs as if it is flowing from some unseen source, but it’s not clear where it is coming from at all. As the night goes on, and more people take the opportunity to make floating paper lanterns at the station located close by, the little stream itself lights up, the water reflecting the lights, and just beyond, the stars in the sky.

EVENTS:

Sign-in
While definitely not mandatory, in the direct path from the living quarters to the festival itself, there’s a table set up with sheets of paper and writing utensils where you can sign-in. Let us know (ICly!) who you are. Maybe add a fun fact about yourself. Or draw doodles all over the pages. Whatever floats your boat.

Wishes
As is traditional in the home countries of some members of the Circle, there are some bamboo trees in pots set up on either side of the little river, and tables close by with colored strips on loops of string and pens. Write down a wish, or anything you’d like, really, and hang it from the bamboo. Or, browse the bamboo yourself and see if you find anything interesting. Later on after midnight, they’ll be burned for luck!

Games
You’ll find the usual games in the various stalls, some with a decidedly cobbled together look, using what materials were available at the temple, and some with a little more sophistication, thanks to the particular gifts of those within the Circle. Try your hand at shooting a target, a game of chance, or take over a stall yourself and introduce your fellow Circle members to something you used to play at home. There may or may not be prizes involved, depending on which stall you find yourself at.

Food
You’ll find your usual fair fare, though with a decidedly cosmopolitan flair. The foods themselves are somewhat limited by what was easily obtainable within the Temple itself (or improvised), and some Circle members may have contributed decidedly experimental dishes. It really is a potluck, so take a look and see what interests you! Strike up a conversation with your fellow diners as you pick up your food and then find a table to sit at, but keep in mind that most of these are home made by others here, so the cook may be close by, listening…

Performance
What’s a festival without any entertainment? In addition to the music being played on speakers in the background by our very capable DJ, there is also a stage where you can show off your gifts. In addition to singing or other traditional performances, this is an opportunity to demonstrate any interesting abilities or gifts you might have, including new ones you may have gained upon arriving at the Temple! There is an additional sign-up sheet near the stage, so write your name down and what you plan to perform, and we look forward to seeing what you can do.

Bonfire
It’s a really big fire. Enough said (hopefully). Sit and relax, or chat with those around you. If you’re lucky, there may even be some additional entertainment. At a little after midnight, the bamboo bearing the wishes will be burned here and the festival closed for the night.

Lanterns
If you’d like to give it a try, there’s a small station set up where you can make your own lantern out of paper! You can choose from one that floats in the air or on the water (or both, no one’s policing this). Make your own design, and let it fly aloft or float on the water with the other lanterns, chat with others who are working, or just settle down by the water and watch the lanterns and the stars.


**If your character (even if you were just accepted!) would like to participate in the set-up for the impromptu festival at any point, or just wander around and ask what’s going on, please feel free! All the set-up would have been occurring in the space between the TDM and this post. If your character would like to handwave having helped set up, this post is also an option!

(( Set Up: Outdoors ✧ Set Up: Indoors ✧ Sign-In ✧ Bamboo Wishes ✧ Games ✧ Food ✧ Tables ✧ Performances ✧ Bonfire ✧ Lanterns ✧ Clean-Up ✧ or your own!))

Comments

FESTIVAL - FOOD

[tranquilforest]

[[OOC: If your character would have made an interesting dish, it can be listed here, if you wish, for other people to "try". This space can also be used for other food-related interactions.]]

[lumberlady]

[Staying useful. Keeping busy. It's what kept Konoha steady, in this sea of confusion and strangeness. There were so many people, so many strangers, so little familiar...

But she has a trench she can dig, and trees she can haul, and cooking she can do, so at the very least she can try and smile-]

Here, try this!

[Her equine half doesn't quite allow her to join the table properly, too tall standing up and too short laid down, but despite that Konoha reaches with hands protected with rags to move a hot pot slightly closer to the new arrival. It's steaming fresh, a seemingly simple mix of meat, mushrooms, tubers, and vegetables, but. It smells good at least? For centaur food?]

It's my mother's recipe, but I think I managed it alright...

[foundafamily]

[Free food! Firo doesn't need to be told twice. He'll lean in a little closer to scope out what's in the pot and then look around the table for an unused spoon to scoop some out.]

What is it?

[eccitato]

Ooooh, hot pot!

[ The exclamation is chirped happily, as Leo peers into the dish when it's pushed forward. It should register, really, that it's being pushed closer by someone who towers over him because of her very different anatomy, but... it doesn't? After being with Qri's coven, and now with, apparently, Astoria's circle, he doesn't really bat an eye right away.

That might also be because he's so interested in the food.

But he does nab a spoon to dish some of it out, humming a cheerful little tune as he does. ] It looks good, just as good as it smells, so surely you made it so that she'd be proud!

[murderp]

Thank you, miss! I'd be delighted to try it.

[ And he'll be doling out a good amount into his bowl to try out. Give him ten seconds, and then-- ]

It's delicious! Was this your first time making it?

[complementing]

[Minako is very startled by the sight of Konoha at first, but she's too polite to ask questions when she's being offered food. Especially food that looks and smells amazingly, achingly familiar. She grins up at Konoha and claps her hands together.]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much! Do you have rice to go with it?

[Introducing: Minako the glutton.]

[gamboler]

[ It may not be fish, but Blake is a fan of simple foods, so she takes the hotpot without question. Moreso because she's approached Konoha to speak to her for another reason than acquiring a meal. Her equine half hasn't gone unnoticed by Blake, and while she's never seen a Faunus with animal characteristics so prominent, that doesn't mean they couldn't exist. She has to at least ask, desperate for some sense of kinship in this strange, foreign world. ]

It smells great. [ But then, direct to the point: ] You're...not a Faunus, are you?

[ She shouldn't get her hopes up. But if nothing else...she may be something similar to one. ]

[purrtagonist]

[oh my gosh. hot pot]

[Akira is immediately invested, and Konoha will soon have a scruffy looking teenager hovering by her table, waiting for the proper moment to serve himself]

Do you finish off your hotpots with porridge or udon?

[ghostdrives]

[Aqua's never been to a festival quite like this one, so the noise and sights are definitely welcome. The smells in particular make her drift to the food tables, especially Konoha's.

She's hardly bothered by Konoha's more inhuman traits. Not even staring at her horse half! The only thing is that she looks a little uncomfortable having to reach like that.]

It smells wonderful. May I ask what's in it?

[cadeuces]

( Perhaps Konoha had a better handle on those who were here than she may have originally thought— when she turns to a "new arrival", she happens to catch one of the newest arrivals, still trying to get her bearings in this place.

She's heard of festivals like this before. From Genji, mostly. Angela never thought she'd have the chance to see one in person. The sound of hooves isn't the first thing to catch her attention, but the voice to her left snags it just fine and her eyes are a bit wide when she turns to face the— very tall... girl? mid-sit. It gives her pause and she straightens once more.

Oh. That explains the hooves. It's something Angela observes in her peripheral so as not to be rude, but with the gesture of the hot pot moving closer to her, the doctor can't help but smile. )

If you don't mind— it smells delicious! It's nabe, right?

( Angela's reaching for one of the bowls set out to dish up a little, keeping some room for whatever else she may find. )

Have you been here long, miss...?

[funneral]

[Antigone doesn't want to be here - here being Home Base first and foremost, but also the party. She would've been perfectly content to stay in her room and sulk… if it wasn't so goddamn BORING. No dead bodies to embalm, no foreign arthouse films, none of her usual pastime activities. Staring at the wall and snapping and ghost servants was fun only for a day or two.

So there she is, sulking about in her frumpy dress and messy hair, staring at people and objects like she's trying to drill holes into them with her eyes. The glum aura around her is almost palpable.

After eating a few bits and pieces, she finds the drink table. Namely, the suspicious moonshine no one else touched, the one that smells like it can burn through six inches of dry paint. Antigone downs it in a single gulp and spits it out immediately (do watch out).]

What is this thing? Who put it here?! I didn't even go blind – it's basically water!

[rootandbranch]

Water is good too. If you're going to waste it, just give it to me!

[the huffy, reproachful voice is coming from the shadows of the treeline, not too far from the drink table. it's just also coming from... the wrong height, somehow; it's just not quite where someone about Antigone's height or taller should be speaking from...

Geir can sympathize with the drinks here not being nearly strong enough, but really, that's just disrespecting hospitality. you could start a war with that sort of behavior, and that would seriously interrupt the party.]

[complementing]

[Minako peers into what's left of the moonshine and makes a face, recoiling away from it.]

Ugh. Why would you want to go blind? Why would you want to drink any of this stuff in the first place?

[She has a healthy interest in alcohol just like any other teenager, but she'd prefer alcohol that doesn't melt her insides.]

[runicking]

There's what in this?

[ Celes gapes in abject horror as a container filled with fried dough is pushed into her hands by one of the vendors. She nearly drops it, in fact, fumbling briefly before grasping the food with both hands. W-well, she did want to try something new, and this is definitely not a food she's tried, but...

The only octopus she knows is an total creep. Don't think the thought of roasting him over a spit hasn't occurred to her, but she didn't actually want to eat Ultros! He probably tastes disgusting!!

So Celes will be finding the closest sucker hungry festival goer and all but shoving the container filled with takoyaki at them. Here you go, "friend". ]

You look hungry. Here, you can have this.

[ She's suddenly and conveniently lost her appetite. How convenient. ]

[ebonyengine]

[Food is one of the great pleasures of life, and unlike Celes, Ignis has zero problems with octopus at all. In fact, he rather likes it as he's always had a strong preference for seafood. He's already had some of the takoyaki, but he certainly isn't going to say no to more. If he can't finish it, he knows three other men who will.]

Allergic, I presume?

[Given this woman's outburst earlier, that's what he's going to assume. Shellfish allergies are common, unfortunately, and octopus often triggers it due to mollusks being included in that category. He hopes she hasn't eaten any of it. He doesn't know if there's a way to treat food allergies here and they're no joke.]

[murderp]

Oh! For me?

[ He loves takoyaki wow what a nice person. ]

Thank you! But are you sure you don't want them?

[valuedstrength]

[Steve is so confused, but he's an adaptable guy. He takes them from her with a polite nod. He's not one to let food go to waste considering when he grew up.] Thank you, ma'am. I'm always hungry.

[complementing]

[Minako tilts her head and blinks]

Are you sure? I don't want to eat your share of the food.

[She has a bottomless stomach, though, and that stick of takoyaki is looking amazing right now.]

[seaclipsed]

[ she'll take it, mostly because she's been more or less forced to after celes shoved it at her? katara blinks before looking down at the container now in her hands.

she doesn't know what this is, or what's in it. there's a pause as her gaze shifts from the takoyaki to celes. ]

Is there something wrong with them?

[juniberries]

[Allura has tried all sorts of foods from all across the galaxy. Not to say she's liked everything she's been made to try, and more often than not at gatherings some of the food offered by others have wound up in a potted plant or vase or two (but that was when she was young and her father had caught her and given her a scolding).

But most of the food here she finds, is quite delectable. Different, but good; almost reminiscent of what Hunk has prepared for the team when given the right sorts of resources.

Things with tentacles are. Not appealing, but luckily the takoyaki she has being shoved in her direction by a familiar face looks like innocent fried balls of. something. So she takes it, because she doesn't exactly have a choice since otherwise it would likely fall to the ground.

But there's no denying the tone of disgust in Celes' voice, and that gives Allura a bit of a pause.]

Is...is something the matter?

[Platt, meanwhile, has already hopped down from Allura's shoulder and onto the plate, taking a ball for himself and shoving it entirely into his mouth.]

[rootbound]

[there's a lanky young man in the food section with a mildly irritable look on his face, in charge of a fairly large pot and some surrounding bowls. if you approach despite the grumpypants attitude, you can see that the bowls hold some kind of thick bright green soup...? there's a sprinkle of some yellowish stuff on top that might be cheese shavings.]

Take some if you want.

[gracious.]

[annoyings]

[ izumi's not a showoff or anything. he's definitely not inwardly about to have a conniption that he woke up in this bizarre place even a few days after he's had time to process it. he's definitely, completely and totally fine.

he is definitely not stress cooking, either.

tanabata is normal. there was a tanabata festival at home, and back at yumenosaki, the entire school was probably in a tizzy getting ready for one of the biggest events of the year. trickstar was supposed to be performing, and yuu-kun...

thwack. despite the fact that there's already a plate of lovely, perfect nigiri sushi set in front of him, izumi brought his set up with him to keep supplying when the food went out. he's got a piece of some white fish in front of him, and his knife, hand created, is making increasingly violent, if accurate strokes into the fish, cutting it into perfect portions. he's got a few filets next to him. he could do this all day. he's fine. thwack. thwack.

...murderous intent aside, if he notices someone staring, izumi narrows his eyes...but pushes the plate towards you, anyway. ] Oi, if you're going to stare, then eat something.

[unimpeded]

[Geordi has definitely cooked something. He's not the best, but given the ingredients he has on hand, he can definitely make his favorite. Fungilli is nothing out of this world, but it's a good comfort food, and something that's always better hand made.]

Hey. [To whoever is passing by his table.]

Have some of this. I think it's good, but I want a second opinion.

[Shockingly? It won't be awful.]

[purrtagonist]

[well, a promise is a promise! so even though Astoria's temple doesn't have all of the ingredients Akira needed to recreate this dish perfectly, pestering the shadowy servants for things he couldn't find readily available in the kitchen paid off. which is why people will definitely be able to smell the spiced scent of curry wafting from the food table. hooray!!]

[investigation of that delectable smell reveals Akira seated in a chair near the pot of same, one leg crossed over the other as he sips from a super fancy sports mug]

Are you tired of people shoving bowls of food at you yet?

[he says, the mug hiding the tiniest flicker of an amused grin]

[paladorable]

[ Boy oh boy, Arenvald sure does love food! He’s got a big appetite after all, and more importantly doesn’t really have it in him to say no to someone when they shove a plate or bowl or… fried something on a stick at him.

So here he is, arms loaded with all manner of things – most of it unfamiliar to him, but all of it undeniably smells delicious. He’s looking forward to trying all of this, but he would bet that not even he can polish all of this off. ]

Don’t suppose you’d be interested in helping me work through all this, would you?

[ Said with a wide, happy grin to the nearest person, be they friend or stranger. Bonding over food is a great way to meet people, right? ]