[ OPEN ] CULTURAL FESTIVAL

[coastal]

Who: Anyone and everyone! Yes, even you.
When: IC Date: 6/9 || OOC Date: 3/20
Where: Centered in CERES Academy but spilling out into the streets!
What: It's all fun and games until someone chokes on cotton candy or gets a black eye from jousting. The player plot of the cultural festival!
Rating/Warning: Totally PG, family-approved fun! Please poke me if this changes.

Flyers have been up for the past two weeks, students have been all atwitter (whether this is good or bad chatter is up in the air), outside help has been enlisted by a bunch of weird adults and finally the day has dawned upon us.

The cultural festival is here.

And it looks like stepping into an alternate dimension of Cerealia, a far cry from the Hunger Games that many had to endure just days ago - and maybe that's the whole damn point. Wander around, have some greasy comfort food, and win a stuffed animal to muffle your tears into or something. It's all gonna be okay.

I » PREGAME-FESTIVAL Let's back up a little bit. Set-up for the festival was intended to begin at 8 PM the night before to allow all groups an hour - maybe even two! - to set up their booths so that everything could be pristine and ready. . . . . Of course that didn't happen. So here you are, in the gym of the school where it looks like a crafts store went to die. Don't slip on the glitter glue! Don't touch that feather boa, the drama club might need it! Is that a soccer ball while everyone else is trying to prepare? Do you want to die? The clock continues to tick later and later, a groan coming from everyone in the room when it strikes 3 AM, but there's nonetheless an air of dedication here. Everyone's working - are you? - and this seems like a great time for caffeine overdose and some late night confessions.


II » WELCOME Whether it was through hard work or sheer dumb luck, the festival is underway!! There are sounds of yelling, students competing for patrons - "Care to have your fortune read?" or "Check out this kickass magician!" - or cries of defeat - "That balloon game was impossible - how am I going to get my McCeres plushie now?!" and "What's up with that scavenger hunt?" - You can already hear the sizzle of deliciously greasy food in the distance mixed in with whatever terribly Teen Pop mix they've got playing in the background. It's a little hard not to feel excited! Or... maybe it is, given the fact that you might not have wanted to end up here in the first place?! But the festival is spilling out into the streets! Pushy teenagers and teachers alike might've just tried to corral you in here like cattle to a brightly-colored, teeny bopper slaughter....

But if you look like you're not at all interested in having fun, this may be the time when a snowball smacks you right in the back of the head, suddenly implanting the idea of.... fun?


III » INFLATABLE HELL Whether you were running after reading some horrible gossip about you or getting way into playing the part of a fleeing criminal in the mock trial, you've found yourself in what every single carnival needs and deserves: a bounce house. But wait - that's not all?! Apparently this is some kind of inflatable course from hell as you realize that once you enter, there's even more waiting for you. Yes, that's right, welcome to the squishiest obstacle course of your life. When you make it to the end, you still have one last task: joust for your honor against the person that you've ended up with or break out your intense sumo knowledge for the exact same thing. The student overseeing this area just nods solemnly with an air of 17-year-old sage wisdom. "There can only be one."


IV » ANIME FOOD So that's what you're here for. Well congratulations friend, they've got every sort of carnival contraption or festival delight and dish - apparently this is where the culture can be found! But... but oh god, what's that? The hell is that?! Apparently there's an eating competition for these heart attacks if you really wanna try your luck.

Also hey - is this cotton candy really sticky to anyone else? Careful, don't reach too close to that other person or you just might end up stuck together...?!


V » AFTERPARTY So... where were you after the school festival officially concluded? Were you in the middle of a food coma? Were you trying to steal a giant sumo suit before they could be closed down? Were you caught on the ice of the frozen swimming pool? Drowning under the weight of discount flowers? Hopefully, you're not caught up in the craziness of a cleaning crew turned cleaning competition... or are you?

Either way, there's no way that this party is going to end with a fizzle.... but rather with a bang! Literally. The sky is lit up with a sudden firework, followed by another and anotherandanotherandanother-- except don't those... seem to be a little close? They're deafeningly loud and blindingly beautiful and perhaps that what covers up Lili's distressed screech of, "Those weren't authorized!" Hopefully all the little sparks extinguish in the air before they get too close... Kindly help make sure nothing catches on fire? Stand there and actually enjoy the show? Start a lawsuit for your sudden bout of blindness and deafness? Your move.


VI » WILDCARD ME UP For the record, there is a medical tent for anyone who gets a little too violent excited during the events. And besides all the festivities mentioned here, there's also the typical bunch of carnival games and prizes, too. Maybe even a maid cafe. Also hey, is that smell of something burning... normal? Do we have a fire on our hands?! Or is there some other type of carnival gimmick that you really love but didn't get written up here? Feel free to make it right on up! Have fun, everyone!

Comments

[retorter]

[ He did remember because of the obi, but also because well. He remembered. He doesn't really want to know the reason behind why he remembered in the first place. It's a little strange. He had been so caught up in his own problems back then. Lili must have left a bigger impression than he thought. ]

[ Souji responds with silence. Because it was taxing, as much as Souji would like to pretend it never happened. But Lili doesn't push any further, so Souji swallows back whatever defense mechanism he has in place. It sure is frustrating to ask after Souji's health if he gets all snippy about it every time... ]

[ Finally, he speaks up. ]

I've been here for a while now. So whatever this place does, no matter how annoying it is, it can't hurt me. It's all the same in the end.

[ whether it's fucking with his tb or his rasetsu powers or having ghosts try to murder him or the impromptu trips down memory lane.... He'd like to think that he can't be caught off-guard by anything anymore. maybe. ]

[coastal]

[ . . . well. She'd presumed that he'd been here for some time if he's adapted so much to it. So there's not a lot of argument on her end. Not... really.

Not when his words bring her comfort. It'd be nice to think that this place isn't capable of hurting him and so she glances up at him, painfully sincere.]

Do you promise that?

[That he'll be safe.

Lili's a rather rude person, incapable of judging her own emotions. So she can't say why she wants Souji to be safe... not really. They disagree rather often and he's openly laughed at her a lot tonight but... that doesn't remove the times he's been kind. Sorta like right now when he offered to walk her home.

A good person shouldn't suffer. That's all.]

[retorter]

[ People are never easy to read, but Souji makes it easy for himself. All he does is categorize them into two categories: enemies and not-enemies, who to stab and who to ignore. But then there are always those individuals that need to be defined further. Not-enemies who have turned into comrades, people he should really ignore finding themselves on the fringes of his attention anyway. Like now. ]

[ Like Lili, who's asking him a question that sounds strange coming from her. Not that it would sound at home with anyone else. People don't often get Souji to promise them things. Anything, for that matter. ]

First you want me to swear, and now you want me to promise.

[ He tucks his hands into his sleeves, curious despite himself. ]

Does a promise really matter so much to you?

[coastal]

It does.

[And maybe that's naive. Lili will still take people at their word once she's determined that they're worthy of her time. She's the type of person who will cluster people together for the sake of simplicity. Because she likes Kashuu, all swords must be acceptable. Because she is fond of Saitou, all Shinsengumi members must be honorable.

Including Souji.

(Though this doesn't count for when she does take Souji on his own merits and still isn't disappointed. That complicates matters, though.)

But it's because it's a matter of her own pride, her morality, and her way of viewing the world that she doesn't seem to back down from his verbal challenge.]

You don't seem like the kind of man who would betray his word when it counts.

[retorter]

[ It does seem naive to Souji. Souji, who still doesn't quite understand Lili and why she acts the way she does and who's still annoyed at her assumptions. What a troublesome girl.... ]

Really. That's a high opinion to have for someone you barely know.

[ He wonders if she's wrong. Maybe if he paid more attention to the samurai ideal, maybe if he cared more about that like Hijikata and Kondou did, then he'd be flattered. It felt strange to be called a man who keep his word, when the Shinsengumi had betrayed before. ]

[ Well. He could be counted on for some things at least. ]

I'm not gonna die. That's what you want to hear, right?

[ He sighs, like the words aren't even worth speaking because they're clearly the universal truth. He can clearly take care of himself!!! He cuts her a look, raised eyebrow and all. Lili might not have voiced her reasons out loud, but Souji has a feeling that his association with Saitou is giving him brownie points by association... and that just won't do. ]

Anyway, you should know — that just because I'm part of the Shinsengumi with Hajime-kun, doesn't mean that we're anything alike.

[coastal]

[Is it a high opinion?

She tilts her head a bit at the idea, that just believing that someone is able to keep their word is equivalent to high praise. Rather, in Lili's book, it's actually just one of the first hurdles to earn her time and barest modicum of respect. Still, she'll listen to his words - and indeed find relief that he won't die, essentially labeling that a promise in itself - and meet him with silence for a moment.

When she does speak, it's with a bit of a sigh of her own. Lili is stubborn above all else and doesn't take well to being questioned even now.]

... I rather think that I know more about you than I would like, given how little time we've known each other.

[If she's being completely honest. As for Saitou —]

It's very obvious that the two of you are almost nothing alike in terms of mannerisms. [It's why publicly, Saitou is her favorite and Souji is her least favorite.] However from my understanding, you both uphold your duties to protect the public, don't act out and abuse your power when the same public wrongfully scorns you, and possess a sense of honor.

[Her mind temporarily flashes back to the soldiers who apprehended her in the forest, shoved her face into the dirt, and told her that she would be executed.] That is already more than others possess.

[retorter]

[ Souji's frown is the only visible sign that he's rankled by that comment, reminded once again of when he had no control over either of the things that mattered to him the most, and in front of Lili. ]

[ Naive, he thinks again. But not without a reason. He didn't know whether or not Saitou or any of the other Shinsengumi Lili might have met talked about it, but Souji knew that he had gone no further to explain what the Shinsengumi was, much less talked about himself to her. ]

So that's what you think.

[ So it didn't really matter, whether or not Lili thought of them that way. Like how it never mattered with any of the people in Kyoto who thought them murderers and thugs. ]

What you said — [ Souji finally continues, after some silence. ] It's not a sense of honor. Hajime-kun might have it, but I don't care about that.

[ not honor, but ]

I might uphold my duties to protect the public — [ dry at first, but then neutral ] — but my duty is always to the Shinsengumi. That's all.

[coastal]

Does that make a difference?

[It's a sincere question - because she'd asked Leon something similar not a terribly long time ago. What's the difference between soldiers who follow because of duty or because of loyalty to the organization? Is one worse than the other?]

The Shinsengumi dictates that you are to protect the public and you uphold that regardless.

[Right?]

So regardless, something drives you.

[ . . . even though Lili has to realize that she actually doesn't know... what that something is.

So there's more that she doesn't know about him after all.]

[retorter]

They don't always go hand in hand.

[ If Souji had a mind that was more keen on politics like Shinpachi, then he might phrase his answer along that vein. Perhaps explain to Lili that protecting the public could be done in all sorts of ways, and the way the Shinsengumi had chosen unfortunately conflicted against so many others, which always lead to violence -- and the public getting hurt. Though they did try their best. ]

[ He cants his head to the side and looks at her. ]

Are you curious?

[ about his motivations ]

[coastal]

[I'm running out of clever overflow quotes.]