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Entry tags:
shinnen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu
Who: Mitsuru and you!
When: Backdated January 1st ICly
Where: The largest looking Shinto shrine in the pleasure district.
What: It's the new year and Mitsuru's homesick. She's off to welcome the new year in a very traditional manner. (I just wanted to put her in a kimono ok)
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for some inappropriate new year charms.
[ Mitsuru was a woman who was raised right and slightly homesick. After the storm calmed down and the Santas stopped being murderous, she peeked out of her window to find that all was normal once again. Everything seemed to be calming down and she was looking forward to ringing in the new year properly.
Save for the fact that the dates had suddenly jumped. No matter how many times she checked her calendar, it said January 1. How long was that snowstorm? She couldn't tell, did the whiteness of the snow somehow interfere with her sense of time?
Everything else seemed to indicate that it was January 1, no matter where she looked. So that meant no year end soba noodles. That was a shame. She had a fondness for traditions like that. Just because the changing over the year passed her, doesn't mean that she can't celebrate it still.
So decked out in her kimono and geta (but her rapier and evoker were still at her side, because she isn't going out there without some sort of protection), Mitsuru made her way over to the pleasure district where she knew, even if it might be quiet - for her to pay her respects. ]
i) bell ringing
[ The dedication that CERES had to making the experience authentic was something to behold, because not only was the shrine decorated for the new year, but there was a singular giant bell near the entrance. As she approached it, the bell let out a sonorous gong - seemingly on its own.
Taking a step back, no doubt that the bell was probably robotically controlled as well.
She sighed, but noticed that there was a little plaque and a mallet next to where she was standing. ]
"If you wish to ring the bell, please use this mallet."
[ Mitsuru read the plaque curiously and looked around her as she grabbed the mallet. Would anyone object to her ringing the bell once more? There was no reason to it, but it simply felt like the right thing to do. ]
ii) prayers at the shrine
[ She took careful steps on the stairs of the shrine, careful not to trip. Walking in geta and kimono was always harder than one expected, no matter how many times you wear them.
As see walked up, Mitsuru's mind was circling with thoughts on what to pray for once she reached the altar. Good health? Longevity? Prosperity? World peace? All of the above?
Mitsuru reached the altar and clapped her hands, closing her eyes. For completion's sake, she would pray for all of these things - but also the secret wishes in her heart. For her friends to be safe, both from her world and the ones she had met here in the colony.
And as irrational as it may have been, she also prayed for her father.
It seemed as if she was standing there for eternity, quietly taking in her own thoughts. ]
iii) charms and trinkets
[ While it was normal for shrines to sell charms and other such things, the charms here were... definitely not traditional. Mitsuru's face is that of unamusement as she read through all of them, her face growing more and incredulous with the audacity of some of them. ]
"Hoping for hot romances", "Meeting a woman with big boobs", "Having my fantasies fulfilled by a robot harem"...
[ Well, this was the pleasure district, but still. ]
"Luck in being noticed by Julius Vincere".
[ Now that one just took the cake, nevermind the fact that it was the most garish looking pink charm she'd ever seen. ]
iv) osechi
[ She felt the pangs of tiredness catch up to her. Mitsuru barely slept or ate during the whole deadly Santa fiasco. Any sleep she managed to get was purely because Fuuka or Minako made her, rather than any inclination of her own to do so. Mitsuru was living off caffeine and willpower for the most part.
But what kind of leader was she if she didn't fight through the fatigue? No, she mustn't succumb to it. Never.
Mitsuru found herself seated on a bench inside the shrine, a box of traditional new year foods resting in her lap. She was going to take it back home to share with the girls if she didn't meet anyone while she was out.
Unfortunately, it seems like the events of the past few days finally caught up to Mitsuru, and she had closed her eyes and was lightly asleep on the bench. Even in sleep, Mitsuru was still relatively poised and the only sign that this wasn't the case - was the fact that that carefully prepared box of food was on the verge of slipping out of her lap. ]
When: Backdated January 1st ICly
Where: The largest looking Shinto shrine in the pleasure district.
What: It's the new year and Mitsuru's homesick. She's off to welcome the new year in a very traditional manner. (I just wanted to put her in a kimono ok)
Rating/Warning: PG-13 for some inappropriate new year charms.
[ Mitsuru was a woman who was raised right and slightly homesick. After the storm calmed down and the Santas stopped being murderous, she peeked out of her window to find that all was normal once again. Everything seemed to be calming down and she was looking forward to ringing in the new year properly.
Save for the fact that the dates had suddenly jumped. No matter how many times she checked her calendar, it said January 1. How long was that snowstorm? She couldn't tell, did the whiteness of the snow somehow interfere with her sense of time?
Everything else seemed to indicate that it was January 1, no matter where she looked. So that meant no year end soba noodles. That was a shame. She had a fondness for traditions like that. Just because the changing over the year passed her, doesn't mean that she can't celebrate it still.
So decked out in her kimono and geta (but her rapier and evoker were still at her side, because she isn't going out there without some sort of protection), Mitsuru made her way over to the pleasure district where she knew, even if it might be quiet - for her to pay her respects. ]
i) bell ringing
[ The dedication that CERES had to making the experience authentic was something to behold, because not only was the shrine decorated for the new year, but there was a singular giant bell near the entrance. As she approached it, the bell let out a sonorous gong - seemingly on its own.
Taking a step back, no doubt that the bell was probably robotically controlled as well.
She sighed, but noticed that there was a little plaque and a mallet next to where she was standing. ]
"If you wish to ring the bell, please use this mallet."
[ Mitsuru read the plaque curiously and looked around her as she grabbed the mallet. Would anyone object to her ringing the bell once more? There was no reason to it, but it simply felt like the right thing to do. ]
ii) prayers at the shrine
[ She took careful steps on the stairs of the shrine, careful not to trip. Walking in geta and kimono was always harder than one expected, no matter how many times you wear them.
As see walked up, Mitsuru's mind was circling with thoughts on what to pray for once she reached the altar. Good health? Longevity? Prosperity? World peace? All of the above?
Mitsuru reached the altar and clapped her hands, closing her eyes. For completion's sake, she would pray for all of these things - but also the secret wishes in her heart. For her friends to be safe, both from her world and the ones she had met here in the colony.
And as irrational as it may have been, she also prayed for her father.
It seemed as if she was standing there for eternity, quietly taking in her own thoughts. ]
iii) charms and trinkets
[ While it was normal for shrines to sell charms and other such things, the charms here were... definitely not traditional. Mitsuru's face is that of unamusement as she read through all of them, her face growing more and incredulous with the audacity of some of them. ]
"Hoping for hot romances", "Meeting a woman with big boobs", "Having my fantasies fulfilled by a robot harem"...
[ Well, this was the pleasure district, but still. ]
"Luck in being noticed by Julius Vincere".
[ Now that one just took the cake, nevermind the fact that it was the most garish looking pink charm she'd ever seen. ]
iv) osechi
[ She felt the pangs of tiredness catch up to her. Mitsuru barely slept or ate during the whole deadly Santa fiasco. Any sleep she managed to get was purely because Fuuka or Minako made her, rather than any inclination of her own to do so. Mitsuru was living off caffeine and willpower for the most part.
But what kind of leader was she if she didn't fight through the fatigue? No, she mustn't succumb to it. Never.
Mitsuru found herself seated on a bench inside the shrine, a box of traditional new year foods resting in her lap. She was going to take it back home to share with the girls if she didn't meet anyone while she was out.
Unfortunately, it seems like the events of the past few days finally caught up to Mitsuru, and she had closed her eyes and was lightly asleep on the bench. Even in sleep, Mitsuru was still relatively poised and the only sign that this wasn't the case - was the fact that that carefully prepared box of food was on the verge of slipping out of her lap. ]
fourrr
[And then, he figures he'll wander around the shrine a bit, to see what else is consistent across cultures. Luckily for this lovely red-haired lady he sees, as King of Napping in Weird Places, he's not going to judge her for falling asleep on a bench. Instead, he takes notice of the food about to fall, and considers waking her up... And there it goes--]
Woah! [Instinctively, he makes a portal at Mitsuru's feet, then one above his hands to catch it. The box teeters back and forth on his fingertips, then comes to a still; the food's shifted in it, and the presentation is wrecked, but most of it is intact. He huffs out a sigh, then checks to see if she's woken up.]
no subject
Ah.
[ There was someone holding the osechi box in their hands. Were they stealing it? ]
These are... relatively easy to buy here
[ She said, suppressing a yawn. ]
no subject
Well, best you don't have to buy two because it fell while you were sleeping, yeah? [Chibi holds the box out to Mitsuru.] It's shifted some; I hope that's alright. I don't know whether it holds meaning, how the food is arranged.
[Not his culture, but he'd like to learn more!]
no subject
[ Now that gets Mitsuru to emit a small noise of surprise as she reaches forward to get the box from Chibi's hands. Sure, it was messed up and not neatly in sections. ]
This is called osechi-ryori, or occasion food in Japanese. It's only arranged to make sure you can tell what food's what, there's no symbolic meaning to it. The types of food in it are more important.
[ Mitsuru looks in the box for a second, before picking up a toothpick with some black soybeans on it. She holds it out for Chibi, as if indicating he should eat it. ]
This is kuromame, black beans. It's very similar to the word for "good health", so if you eat these, it is meant to symbolise good health in the coming year. Please, try it.
no subject
[Interesting that Mitsuru should offer him the "good health" food, first, when his shoulders are all bandaged up as they are; the past week's events have obviously taken a toll. Well, he supposes he does need a prayer for his health, if things continue to be crazy in this new world. He will never turn down well wishes, though!]
Ah-- Gladly! Thank you. [But first, he bows his head and presses his palms together, saying a quick grace under his breath.] Goddess Above, Wakfu Around, I give thanks: For this meal, and for all things.
[Only then does he take the toothpick, delicately, and pop the soybeans into his mouth. After a moment of chewing, he swallows and smiles kindly.] Quite delicious, but it seems you've not had any yet.
[And how can he let that stand??]
no subject
I apologise, it's merely that... I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in my own events that it never occurred that not everyone may have had the opportunity to do so.
[ And she's just completely sidestepping Chibi's second point, because she was mortified. ]
no subject
No, no, don't worry so much! [He has the decency to flush a little.] It's just a little nostalgia on my part; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's not as lonely when you're learning new things, after all.
[The robes, especially, and the way the shrine is set up: they evoke the image of an Eliatrope flower festival, the sort that Chibi's always loved. He casts a glance towards the empty spot where Mitsuru is sitting, wondering if he can
get in on some of that foodmake a new friend.]Mind if I have a seat? My legs are bothering me a bit. [All those minutes knelt in prayer are getting to his thighs.]