Light up the Night - [BACKDATED to 2/5]

[mamaterasu]

Who: Ammy + Anyone interested
What: Fireworks show for the Lunar New Year!
When: Evening of 2/5/19
Where: Monkey Compound
Warnings: None so far, tag as needed!



[It's about noon when a message is posted to the Message Rock, as well as over the Stones of Farspeech - an elegant writing in kanji with a translation below. The voice is foreign, not often heard and possibly lost from most peoples' memories, but it sounds...excited? There's definitely a chime-like laughter hidden in the depths of it.]

All interested in a beautiful sight, please show up at dusk at the Hana--eh...the Monkey Compound. Drinks - for the elders among you - and some snacks will be provided, but I encourage you all to pack a box lunch.

Those unable to attend...I'll try to make sure you see it. Thank you.

[How very enigmatic indeed.

Still, those that do show up as the sky begins to change into a purple-blue color, dotted with small, glittering stars, will see that the Monkey Compound has been done up a bit. There's a line of small, flowering cherry blossom trees creating a lovely arch by the entrance, and little paper tags have been hung from a few of the branches, holding pictures of a tiny boar, or piglet, and a prayer written on the opposite side in kanji.

Inside has a very, very pleasant air to it. Much different than what this place used to be. It's laid with fresh, clean, springy grass and flowers, and a bountiful garden off to one side, which looks a little barren...probably because most of the foods have been harvested and laid out neatly on a bushels of palm fronds. Fresh vegetables and fruits from Ammy's garden, ripe for the taking and eating, if you're more the rustic type. There's also fire-roasted fish, skewered on a stick and cooking nicely by a crackling bonfire. Eat, enjoy, converse with neighbors and friends alike! Drinks have indeed been provided for the adults, a large barrel of sake with a ladle to pour it into one of twelve dishes. And yes, a bowl of water has been added to the side to rinse them off.

The centerpiece is a very basic shrine put up with a folding wall, once white in color but painted over with a beautiful portrait of a boar rolling a round firework, and a tiny, ceramic figure on a boar topping a little rock pile. Below the statue is an offering of sake, a single sakura mochi, a grilled fish, and some flowers. That is where the wolf will be when you first spot her.

For...a moment, at least. Because once the sky grows truly dark, and the embers from the bonfire has crept to soft, orange glow, a whistle will wheeze its way through the sky as a streak of light soars up, and up...before it explodes in a puff of white sparks. Nothing exciting, more a call to attention.

A minute passes, then another, and the're movement by the far end of the compound as the wolf readies everything she needs. A few final touches--...there! All ready for the show to begin.

And what a show it is.

The fireworks are beautiful and vibrant, coloring the skies in a vast array of rainbow hues, dancing like they're actually alive. True artistry, and a blessing from the God of Explosions, Bakugami (and the local rabbit god, who provided a number to help make this work). An explosive force meant to open the gate for a blissful new year - full of color, full of life, and bountiful in all things that bring happiness and joy to those with good in their hearts.

Happy Lunar New Year. ♥]

Comments

Pyrrha | OTA

[tokenflavortownie]

[Across the multiverse, several worlds, and a couple of datascapes... fireworks were still pretty. Hands down, she was not disappointed by answering the public invitation.

Early on, before the fireworks has started, you can catch Pyrrha wandering around the cherry blossom trees, softly inspecting each tag that she can find hanging from their branches. Curiosity is the name of her game, and she assumes there's a rhyme and reason for what's being shown to her.

Later on, during the fireworks, Pyrrha found a nice place to sit near the bonfire. Her gaze slowly shifts from the orange and red of the flickering flames to the many, many hues that burst overhead and disappear just as quickly.

She can only think one thing about all of this, and speaks it rather clearly, even if it's directed to the fire before her.]

I've missed parties like this.

cherry blossom trees

[barberian]

(Yasha isn't sure what the tags are for. She hasn't encountered this kind of celebration before... she catches one or two between her fingers to try and read, but she can't understand the language upon the back of them at all.

Pyrrha is not far away, doing much the same as her. Abandoning the tags entirely, Yasha simply plucks a cluster of blossoms from the tree and takes out a little book from her pack, flipping it open to a random spot, and gently tucking the flowers inside.)

Excuse me, (she calls, to Pyrrha,) do you know what kind of flowers these are?

[tokenflavortownie]

Hm? [Currently still focusing on the tree above her, and watching it's gently swaying branches, Pyrrha just barely caught when she was being called to.

She looks down, a bit surprised. This wasn't someone she'd spoken to before.

.....What did she want?]

I'm really very sorry... What did you say?

[barberian]

(Yasha blinks, simply looking at her for a moment. Then, she gestures awkwardly to the tree.)

I... wanted to know, what these flowers are called? Do you know?

(Okay, now she's a bit embarrassed. It doesn't really matter what they're called, it won't stop her from pressing them into her book anyway, but it's always nice to know.)

[tokenflavortownie]

[....Ah. Oh.

It's Pyrrha's turn to look a bit embarrassed now. Here she is, getting so caught up in something that she ended up ignoring an honest question!]

I'm sorry. [She definitely says that enough.] These are called Cherry Blossoms. Do you like them?

[barberian]

That's okay.

(Yasha is selecting another blossom for her book, pinching the flower from the bough by fore finger and thumb. She isn't a small person, by any stretch of the word. Her hands are wide-palmed and calloused, but she treats the little flower with infinite care, pressing it gently between two pages.)

I do like them... I haven't seen anything like them before.

[tokenflavortownie]

[Looks are very deceiving, Pyrrha knows that first-hand. The way that Yasha treats the tree and its blossoms with the upmost respect is something she quickly catches onto.]

There are lovely trees just like these ones where I'm from. And others too. [Mistral was always one of the prettiest places on Remnant, in Pyrrha own, quiet opinion.] But, unfortunately I can't say that I know very much about them beyond what they're called.

[barberian]

That's okay.

(Yasha doesn't need to know much more about it. The name is enough. She closes the book gently and straps it back into its little leather holder, lashed to her belt.)

The place that I came from is very... brown. There aren't any flowers, or plants. There are a lot of dead things.

[tokenflavortownie]

Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. [Her gaze briefly tracks the book as Yasha puts it away. She'd seen some desolate places in her lifetime, and that was never fun.]

What place would that be...? [She looked honestly curious.] Earth?

Fireworks

[journalname]

...yes. Parties are nice, aren't they?

[It's not really the question he's thinking about. Did they have parties in her group? But Asgore does wonder sometimes if he's a little too focused on their shared experience.

[tokenflavortownie]

[She glances at the large man of a monster. He always seemed a bit sad around her... was that her fault?]

There was one here, on the beaches, months ago. Everyone got to dress up, and there was this beautiful lightshow...

[She sits back, eyes drifting upwards to the many lights in the sky.]

Things like this, nice things. That's what I've missed.

[journalname]

That sounds very nice. There seems to be so little time to relax here - it is always something or the other.

[He folds his hands together, looking up.]

I prefer to keep busy, but not like that.

[tokenflavortownie]

[She shrugs loosely.]

It's better than the alternative, right? At least things here only happen so often - And, who knows! Maybe things will get better this new year.

[she can hope. she can dream.]

[journalname]

[Asgore snorts a little.]

I said the same thing at the New Year's party. No one else was quite so optimistic. But it's better to hope for the best, isn't it...?

[tokenflavortownie]

It hella is. [If you'll mind the "language," Asgore.]

...I've spent a lot of time these last few years, hoping for the best. And sometimes it might get worst, but in the end, things will work out. Even if it takes time.

[There's the thinnest twitch to her smile, threatening it to drop. She's been so tired.]

I'm sure you can agree.

[journalname]

[Teen slang???]

I suppose so.

[the murdergames work out, don't they? Not so much things at home, for Asgore personally...but for everybody else, maybe it has]

cherry blossom trees

[galrarm]

[ He's reading the tags, too. Shiro knows what they're for, and when he sees Pyrrha wandering, he gives her a little smile. ]

Have you celebrated this before?

[tokenflavortownie]

Hello, Shiro. [She gives him a curt nod of her head and a smile.]

Nope. I've never heard of something like this. And I wouldn't be able to tell you if this kind of thing was celebrated back on Remnant.

[Her expression softens a bit.] I'm sure Nari would know, or Mira. I should ask her.

[galrarm]

Really? We celebrated it back home.

[ He smiles. ]

It's Lunar New Year. It's been a while since I celebrated, but... it's nice to see that someone does.

[tokenflavortownie]

Lunar New Year. [She repeats it, smiling and turning her gaze back to those tags hanging from the branches like odd fruit.]

That's a wonderful name. And it reminds me a bit of Mistral. [ah] That's the continent where I'm from. There are lovely cherry blossoms there.

[She forgets at times that people might not know where she's originally from, and it gets to be a coin flip sometimes to remember who does.]

Where are you from, Shiro? [She hmms quietly.] Earth, I'll presume?

[galrarm]

[ He nods. ]

Earth, and a galaxy that's just one of many. [ He smiles, and he reaches up to brush his fingers along one of the blossoms. ] But even when I was a pilot for the Garrison, I didn't think there were so many other galaxies out there.

[tokenflavortownie]

I didn't know if there was anything outside of my home planet. Space travel was only a dream some people had... but, a year later, I was a member of a space pirate crew.

[For something that sounds a bit like troublemaking, she sure is smiling fondly at the memory.]

[galrarm]

Space pirates.

[ He doesn't sound put off, just curious. ]

Well, now you can't just leave me hanging.

cherry blossom trees

[wanderingdoctorfaust]

Pyrrha's not the only one investigating the tags. Granted, she's probably not prancing between them with glee, but someone else certainly is. It's likely not very long before the good doctor finds her, and practically skips over to her with barely-contained energy.

"Young Pyrrha! So good to see you here tonight, it's truly wond-"

And it's here his traitorous mind supplies that this may be her first celebration without her partner. The shift in tone is immediate, if not also somewhat subtle.

"-erful! It's been several years since I've been to a Lunar New Year party, ah...it's like I never left home! Come, there is much for us all to do!"

His laughter is loud and genuine, for good reason: Tonight is a night for celebration and prosperity - a time to look to the future with wide eyes and a big smile! Shadows of the past can wait for another time, hopefully.

this is so late I'm very sorry

[tokenflavortownie]

"A-ah, doctor Faust. How nice to see you here."

It's meant in complete honestly, Pyrrha's come to know the doctor in a nicer light since he took up residence in the clinic. Sure, the bag was still a constant question on her mind, but it's not like he's done anything awful yet.

"Much to do, huh? What kinds of things do people do during the Lunar New Year?"

She can't help but sound curious. This is an aspect of the multiverse that she hasn't become accustomed to yet! So, if she ever gets off this planet, she'll be able to tell her friends all about it. But, to do that, she must learn more.