acatalepsy_logs | SUMMER FESTIVAL: TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS

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SUMMER FESTIVAL: TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS

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!))

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[ different appearances aren't exactly new to winn, but they're also not exactly old hat either, so he can't help but stare, but he does so with wonder, almost with giddiness. if this is the kind of fantasy stuff he gets in this world - he can deal with it.

it's his experience that when someone means him harm they're usually not so polite about it, so there's an almost air-of-calm, most panic still just originating from the whole kidnapped-to-another-dimension ordeal. ]

Uh no sure yeah you bet my pleasure - [ he reaches for the brush and paper ] lay it on me.

Thank you... My writing is awful...

[Konoha more than readily offers up the paper and brush, her then-free hands wringing together just a little in absence of something to hold. She may be muscular beneath her clothing, quite large, towering over Winn on account of her human half beginning where a horse's neck did, already at shoulder height on most people... but she has manners, and nothing about her speaks to aggression in the slightest.]

Could you write... "I pray for the good health of my parents in my absence"? I know I'm supposed to pray for some sort of ladylike skill, but surely it's alright to make an exception on account of circumstances... ?

I dunno if mine's the best, but it's legible?

[ he has the writing of the brilliant - and the out-of-practice, typing really is turning it into a lost art. fortunately, he does draw, that helps keep him somewhat in shape. ]

Hey - [ that homesick hollowness aches him a little more. he can't help but think of what his best friend would say to that. ] I think it's ladylike to wish for anything you want. It's personlike or - centaur? like? [ maybe they have a different name for it? the multiverse is confusing. ] And for what it's worth? I think that's a way nicer wish. [ not one he'd be able to make. he rests the paper on the table and leans down to write it as clearly as he can before straightening back up and showing her his completed work ] This okay? [ he doesn't believe in this ceremony, but that doesn't mean it isn't comforting. he doesn't mind doing it over as many times as it takes for her to like it.

not like he's busy or anything. and free time is the enemy of his panic-suceptive mind. ]

[As he goes to write, Konoha leans over his shoulder to watch. She'd been schooled... somewhat, in the village. As best as a village girl could expect to be, anyway, she'd learned the basic letters at the local temple and that was it. She was far better at work than writing...

So to her, his hand seems marvelously skilled.]

It's wonderful... Could you sign it for me?

[Maybe she should sign it herself... ? She wasn't sure, but surely the gods would be far more happy with a prettier offering?]

My name is Konoha. Sorry, I should have started with that-

[And here she goes, forgetting to even introduce herself properly!!!]

Of course - [ there's a little wave with his free hand and an awkward-but-kinda-happy? chuckle ] hi I'm Winn, by the way. Schott. But just Winn's all you really need. Can you just - I don't wanna mess up, how do you spell that?

[ look there could be a silent g for all he knows or a silent letter he's never heard of. or. something. better safe than sorry! ]

[Wow, he can write well and he has a surname... it's impressive to her, at least, and she looks weirdly awed by it.]

It's, ah, Ko-no-ha. Just as it sounds.

["Schott Winn"... what a strange name...]

Are you... from a very large village, Mister Winn?

[Maybe that explained it.]

Edited 2018-07-08 11:56 (UTC)

Ko-no-ha - [ he repeats slowly as he writes, before showing her the result ] Like this?

[ it's a name made for punning. ]

Actually I'm from a city - National City, is what it's called. Which is kind of a very large village? It's in the United States of America which I'm guessing you don't have? I mean as far as I know we don't have centaurs, but until recently people have been trying to tell me we don't have aliens and boy were they wrong, not to mention that the idea that only one planet developed life in a giant universe even if you subscribe to the finite universe theory is absurd even if you don't have proof - [ he can hear kara in his head, sternly saying his name and giving him a look (the look is visible in his mind's eye, he can't hear looks, that seems like a thing worth clarifying in a world of magic) ] - sorry, I get carried away sometimes. [ "sometimes" ] Where are you from?

Yes, that's right.

[Pleased to see it, and in such a fine hand, Konoha half reaches to take it from his hand before holding herself back to wait and be handed it. She wasn't in her village or at the lumber yard anymore, she wasn't the boss here. Manners.]

I haven't ever heard of the United States, no... have you heard of... of Tateyama? It's in Etchū Province, right off the alpine road to the bay! I mean- I guess it's small, you wouldn't know it anyway, we don't get many scholars about, it's mostly logging and farming, you know, so-

[A half moment later it belatedly registers that she's just... run on like he had, and probably made just as much sense as he had, and she pauses, a hand gesture half done now frozen in the air.]

So... I'm from a small village, is what I mean.

[ he wouldn't have minded her taking it back one bit, it being hers and all. as for handing it - he's gotten a little too engrossed in the conversation to remember his own manners. gees winn, what if she just wants to take it and leave? not everyone (read: barely anyone) wants to listen to you babble.

he frowns a little in concentration. no, he's not trying to figure out if he's heard of the place, he's pretty sure he didn't, couldn't. ]

Does yama mean mountain? [ because that's one of his anime-acquired vocabulary. ] So weird question, or maybe not so weird - do you have humans where you're from? [ cuz she doesn't seem weirded out by him (then again that could be a here development or she could just not be easily rattled) but he's definitely still staring a little bit. ]

[Just two members of Babblers Anonymous, at it again.]

Yes, that's right- Does that mean you've heard of it? Or... maybe you know Takayama? I heard they're a castle town, way more people probably know Takayama, and they do sound close-

[Wait, did they have humans there? What a silly thing, she thinks, but... He said his village didn't have jinba, so that's why he asked, surely. (But he... his world still had them, right?)]

Of course we have humans... Mostly humans!

Sorry, [ he shakes his head ] I just recognize the word - it's Japanese, at least in my world. I mean, not that my not knowing it means it doesn't exist but, [ he's, um. pretty sure her not knowing the usa means exactly that, it likes to make itself known. and the whole centaur thing sure, it doesn't sound like they're hiding from humans so he definitely would've heard about them. maybe he would've even dealt with his fear of heights (and horrifyingly pricey flight prices. maybe supergirl could've given him a ride?) and gone to visit if he knew he could see a real centaur across the ocean. who is he kidding, if it were real and he could afford it, he'd absolutely be one of the idiots visiting jurassic park, too. ] I'm pretty sure we're not from the same place. [ alas. that would've been so cool. ] Wha, what else do you have?

[ look. if he's been kidnapped to another dimension the very least he's going to get out of the experience is some knowledge, okay! ]

'Cause Tateyama is in Japan.

[She hadn't mentioned it because, well, she sometimes forgets there are other countries.

At the question, though... she blinks. Then blinks again. What else...]

Deer? Boars? Crows? Bears? Frogs... ?

-- [ okay. so same countries. maybe different times? ] What year is it?

[ or maybe it's just a multiverse quirk, it's perfectly reasonable. maybe in her world the united states aren't a big deal or maybe her village is so small it's like living in a cave, or maybe japan exists but the united states doesn't - maybe it's still england, or undiscovered, or another country, or maybe the continent just doesn't exist - the possibilities are limitless and it's exciting and he wants to know dammit! ]

...do they talk? [ what! it wouldn't be the weirdest thing he's ever heard of. ]

No... ?

[Talking animals? What kind of world was that? ... Well, actually-]

I mean, not outside of stories...

[Year... year... Konoha actually struggles to recall. Most people in the village didn't speak about such things, but Sha's pay slips always were done up proper, and so were the invocations at the shrine, and they said...]

Um... 6th year of the Kan'ei era... ?

[... 1629, she means.]

[ look where he's from she only exists in stories, don't knock stories!

right, right, cuz in japan there are eras named after...he wants to say emperors? he doesn't recognize that one, though, so it's definitely not his world's 2016. ]

...I have never missed google more. [ because you never go without it, that doesn't count. ]

[Too late... !

Her clothing offers some clue, even though she doesn't know the Gregorian calendar. Simple, handmade kimono (or at least the top half of one) tied with obi of pelt, a white cloth skirt over her equine nether regions, tanned hide leggings on forelegs.]

What's "google"? Your friend?

[A particularly smart friend?]

-- more like an all powerful overlord. [ it's funny because it's true? ] But for our purposes, it's a search engine, you can look things up using it. It's digital, you know like - [ he points at his astoria watch and - oh right the paper is still in his hand. sorry! handing it over now ] oh right, here you go. Do you have computers?

[Um, he says "overlord" awfully casually...]

No... ?

[She takes the paper gratefully, but doesn't move to put it up just yet, staring at him in confusion.]

Man, you are so missing out. If we ever end up somewhere with one, I'll show you, they're awesome.

[ he is both incredibly frustrated to be away from his baby (his tech setup) and confused by it. what does he have to contribute to whatever it is they're supposed to be doing if he's afk? he's the tech guy, not the hero guy. ]

They can tell you what year it is?

[She has literally no idea what a computer is, so she only has what he's said to work off...

Then again he is talking to a girl who couldn't write her own wish down properly, and she knows she's not the smartest out there, okay, but.]

-- if the information's out there, yeah. Basically a computer is a machine that processes a lot of information, really really quickly. When they're connected to a network - like the kind we use here, they can theoretically access all the information on it, if the person using them knows what they're doing. Which, I do.

[ why is he bragging about hacking? it's not legal and not even impressive to someone who doesn't even know what it is. sometimes, he really needs to look at his choices. ]

Do you have libraries?

What's a machine? And a network?

[He sounds awful competent, which is good for him, and maybe for... them? But-

Libraries... ??? Her head is starting to spin...]

Do computers live in libraries?

I mean, most libraries have them nowadays but - that's really not the point. Okay books. Imagine a lot of books, like - as far as you can see? All books. And imagine you want to know something that's written in one of those books, you don't know which and you don't know where it is or where in the book to find it. Nightmare, right? Well, if that information is on a network then all you have to do is ask a search engine for it, and that looks through all of those books for you in seconds and gives you back that specific bit of information you were looking for. Does that help? Should I try again or just -- let it go, you have a suffering face -

[ he recognizes it, though he usually gets an exasperated angry face, or people just walking away. ]

[A library... was a room full of books? How rich do you have to be to have that many books? The local temple had... a few books, right? She's seen a glimpse of them once or twice, but those were sutras, who wanted to search through sutras?

What a crazy idea...

Wait-]

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