It’s a special time of year and the sword army is invited to come down from their citadels and celebrate. What? A summer festival, an offering to the gods, or perhaps a special ceremony of sorts. The normally quiet, rural village at the foot of the mountains will transform for the night with lanterns, fireworks, and music all around but first! Some preparations need to be done. Did you really think you would be invited down here without having to do some work? Prepare to dance, prepare to sing, prepare for a night of fun.
1. CEREMONY PRACTICE
At the citadel, a new chore has been added to the list: ceremonial practice! The swords selected to perform at the festival will have to practice their song and dance or else they'll risk embarrassment in front of the crowds. Or maybe this entire thing is embarrassing... either way, this is your duty! Saniwa's orders! Where and when is up to you but you better be ready.
2. PREPARING THE OFFERINGS
Those who aren’t practicing have been going on a lot of expeditions lately, haven’t they? Some of the materials brought back from missions has been set aside to take to the festival and offer later. The same can be said for the crops in the field, the alcohol that is suddenly off limits, and ah… do you smell that food from the kitchen? Yeah, that isn’t for you either. These are offerings to the gods though so don’t you dare try to get greedy! Are you listening?!
3. SPECIAL CLOTHES
You can’t wear those same old clothes. They’re all torn and worn or just not appropriate at all for the type of festival you’re going to. The organization has all of your measurements and has sent special robes for the spirits and saniwa to wear. It even comes complete with accessories! What’s taking you so long? We should have left twenty minutes ago. Do you need help? Or are you trying to perfect your appearances for your big debut?
4. PERFORMANCE
Everyone is dancing and everyone is singing. Are you one of the performers? Or are they dancing to you? What kind of songs are you hearing? What dances are you watching? Did you see the ceremonial sword dance? Or maybe you were invited to dance in a special performance with your saniwa! When the performance is over, make sure to congratulate the performers on a job well done… or tease your friend.
5. PAY RESPECTS
After the festive ceremonies, a more somber moment takes place. Remember, we are fighting a war and it’s important to remember those that have fallen. The swords that were broken and damaged beyond repair are gathered up and taken to a sacred fire so that their spirits can be purified and reborn. Later, all of those offerings you have been saving are offered up to the gods for their blessings. One by one, you can come up to the shrine or fire and say your prayers.
6. SPECIAL SUMMONING
What better day to summon a sword spirit on the day you’ve made offerings to the gods and have prayed for good fortune? Maybe it’s a first-time saniwa summoning their first spirit or a veteran saniwa trying their luck. Maybe a saniwa has tried to purify a particularly corrupt sword tonight... Either way, a special spirit is going to be born tonight. Are you the spirit? Happy summoning day to you all.
7. FESTIVITIES
The ceremonies are finally over! Wow, that sure took up a lot of time, huh? There are still a couple of more hours left in the night so enjoy the festivities. Try the food, play the shooting games, win a couple of prizes. How many goldfish can you catch? Or maybe the important question is: How are you going to take care of this goldfish? At the end of the night, you can catch the fireworks before the night ends.
8. WILDCARD
Pick your own adventure.
This is a meme inspired by this plurk. What if the saniwa had to perform other duties besides just summoning swords to fight? What if they had to take part in special ceremonies? What if they had to invite their swords to perform with them? Feel free to get as creative as you want with this prompt as far as things like: Why are they celebrating? How often do they get to leave the citadel? Etc.
[Where there is food, there is Namazuo. As one of the swords who doesn't mind working in the fields, it's easier on everyone to send him out there, especially since he's less likely to throw mud than he is other materials of a smellier constitution. (Or is he.)
So it's Namazuo's job to help bring in food from the fields for tonight's ceremony. But apparently he's lost his partner somewhere, because he's carrying far too many cabbages for someone with such short arms to handle. He can barely see past his mountain of crops, so it's probably no surprise when he rounds a corner and doesn't see you coming.
Do you collide in an epic cabbage disaster?! Or are you fast enough to prevent an accident? Are you a jerk that's going to trip him up for funzies? TAKE YOUR PICK, have at him, save this poor tiny nerd somehow.]
3. Clothing
This can't be right, can it...?
[Namazuo doesn't dress up. Despite his time with Hideyori, he doesn't really like formality, and he doesn't generally like having too many layers on. His corporeal body is always so warm, and it's too easy to get uncomfortably hot. So more often than not, he wears few layers, casual clothing, and light material.
But this is a ceremony, and he's a good sport, so he didn't put up a fuss when he was given his fancy new clothes. There's just one problem, though--he has no idea how to put them on himself.
Has he enlisted your help, O Wise Fashionista? Or have you overheard him talking to himself and puzzling out all these complicated layers? SERIOUSLY, SAVE THIS POOR TINY NERD.]
5. Prayers
[Maybe it's surprising to those who don't know him, but Namazuo can be serious. He tries to keep the atmosphere light and fun for everyone's sake, true, but he knows when that's inappropriate. This is a time for quiet respect, and while he's not as spiritual as the other swords, it's only right to pay respects to those who have fallen.
You can catch him having a quiet moment, here, as he contemplates what to pray for. He's said his respects to the dead and broken already. But what of his comrades now? His family? The future?]
7. Festivities
[After everything is said and done, Namazuo is bouncing around, trying out everything he possibly can. The food is a big one, of course (how are there so many flavors of shaved ice?!), but so are the games. Games! Who doesn't love games?
At the moment, he's playing the goldfish game, because of course he is... Fish Solidarity!! Or something. Apparently the goldfish he really wants isn't a fan of catfish, though, because try as he might, Namazuo just. can't. catch the damn thing.
He gets close, so close, but just as he's about to scoop it up, the little bastard darts away and Namazuo makes a forlorn noise.]
[DON'T WORRY, YAGEN GOT THIS. Maybe. Except similiar to Namazuo, Yagen himself doesn't wear that many layers. Anything more complicated would impede his movements during work or battle. He overheard Namazuo's mutterings and spoke up, poking his head inside the room his brother's puzzling in.]
[HEY BROSUKE. Namazuo's always happy to see his family, so he perks up, smiling. He nods in answer to the question, stepping aside so Yagen can see what he's looking at.
It's probably no big deal to some of the other swords, but it's definitely more bits than he knows what to do with. He gestures at the fabric with a frown.]
[He step inside and walks over to look at the fabric better. This... isn't exactly his forte. Oh dear.]
No, not quite. Are these like kimono?
[Asked one sword who saw the battlefield far more than watching people dressed up in fine fabrics like this. Maybe if he use what he knows about the basics??]
[What with all the flowing silk and the sashes and ornamental pins. Namazuo frowns as he picks up two of the separate sashes, tilting his head. Why are there two...]
What are you wearing tonight? [Are the tantous off the hook, because that is so not fair.]
If it's like a kimono, we can start from the first layer and go upward.
[And then figure out the rest as they go. If all else fails, they can grab... Who would know about these things? Souza? Jiroutachi? Well, maybe not Jiroutachi if he's drunk again. He picks up what seems to be the first fabric.]
Me? Just a simple kimono. [He looks down at Namazuo's ceremonial attire.] ... Far simpler than this.
[Yagen wasn't chosen for the dance, so he's free from it... this year.]
[Jirou, why... they need your expertise here, dang it!
But Namazuo isn't the type to get angry or frustrated easily, so he'll just go with it.]
Right! Okay. [The basic robe is fairly simple to understand, though there are ties in the back that he won't be able to reach on his own. After that... well, they'll figure it out somehow!]
Hm~ do you need any help with it? I can come by after this. [Probably not, but just in case! Big brother is here for you, Yagen.] I suppose this is good practice, in case you need to wear something like this next year.
Actually, that laughter is pretty close... Kashuu's standing off to the side of the stall, watching with some measure of amusement. He definitely hasn't and won't be trying out this particular game (fish are gross and he can't get his clothing wet!!), but it's pretty fun to watch others try! ...And fail, mostly. He hasn't seen a single one actually catch a fish yet.]
Maybe if you put some bait on the net, it'll stop swimming away from you?
[Yes. Yes he did. They could sense his aura of rude brattishness and they tried to get away as quickly as possible...]
They'd say something in the rules if it wasn't, yeah? [No, they just don't expect people to be that dumb, probably!! But whatever okay they can make their own rules who's gonna stop them.
Giving him a look at that, though...]
If you're gonna get takoyaki, you should share with me instead of the fish. [That's too good to waste on goldfish!! And also possibly dangerous?! Do fish even eat octopus, real questions.]
[WOW leaping right to the worst punishment, i see...]
'Cause I'm here already, duh!
[What, is Namazuo going to track down one of the other swords to share his hypothetical takoyaki with?? That's a lot of effort! He is kind of hungry, too, but he hasn't yet had the time to actually sit and eat... Being a social butterfly is hard, okay.]
But who said anything about sharing in the first place?! What if he was just going to stuff his face all by himself...
Well, either way, Kashuu's here now and Namazuo is nice enough to share. He'd only need a few crumbs for goldfish bait anyway, it's not like he needs to save a whole takoyaki ball for fish cannibalism.]
Well... okay. Let's go, then, before it's all gone. [Getting to his feet! Probably to the relief of the stall owner... how long has he been in here, it's a true mystery.]
Or at least she is only because she was talking a walk around the fields to see what everyone is doing. She doesn't even know it's Namazuo until she rushes over to stop the cabbages from spilling.]
That sure is Namazuo's head poking around this pile of cabbages, if she couldn't tell right away from his ahoge.]
Thank you! Sorry about that. [He's smiling apologetically, even though she might not be able to see it past all the cabbages. He's definitely in desperate need of help, but manners first...] Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble you!
[Sparkles more than Mikazuki (AMAZING). No as if, in her dreams.
Oh, there's the owner of the ahoge. She can see his head bobbing when he speaks anyway.]
It is alright. [There we go, she'll take cabbage after cabbage away from him until it is more manageable.] We wouldn't want this to end in a catastrophe.
[THAT WOULD BE TRULY AMAZING. Maybe Mikazuki can teach her his ways...]
They're heavier than I thought! [More like he's a munchkin?? A munchkin who doesn't think things through...] I'm so lucky you came by before I dropped any.
[MIKAZUKI, WE NEED YOU. TEACH THESE IMPORTANT SKILLS.]
You got so many, though! [It's okay, she's even smaller than he is, so they can be two munchkins. Only she's actually strong...] Ah, I am glad that I can be of help. Where are we taking them?
Heh, I thought it would be faster! [But no, it took twice as long because his cabbage tower was off-balance...] These ones go in the kitchen. I was told there should be some already in there.
[Ookurikara isn't really a fast sword, so he barely manages to avoid being run over by a cabbage pile. He grabs two vegetables that were threatening to roll over and looks down at the wakizashi.]
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130bladeworks2015-08-14 04:05 pm
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[Where there is food, there is Namazuo. As one of the swords who doesn't mind working in the fields, it's easier on everyone to send him out there, especially since he's less likely to throw mud than he is other materials of a smellier constitution. (Or is he.)
So it's Namazuo's job to help bring in food from the fields for tonight's ceremony. But apparently he's lost his partner somewhere, because he's carrying far too many cabbages for someone with such short arms to handle. He can barely see past his mountain of crops, so it's probably no surprise when he rounds a corner and doesn't see you coming.
Do you collide in an epic cabbage disaster?! Or are you fast enough to prevent an accident? Are you a jerk that's going to trip him up for funzies? TAKE YOUR PICK, have at him, save this poor tiny nerd somehow.]
3. Clothing
This can't be right, can it...?
[Namazuo doesn't dress up. Despite his time with Hideyori, he doesn't really like formality, and he doesn't generally like having too many layers on. His corporeal body is always so warm, and it's too easy to get uncomfortably hot. So more often than not, he wears few layers, casual clothing, and light material.
But this is a ceremony, and he's a good sport, so he didn't put up a fuss when he was given his fancy new clothes. There's just one problem, though--he has no idea how to put them on himself.
Has he enlisted your help, O Wise Fashionista? Or have you overheard him talking to himself and puzzling out all these complicated layers? SERIOUSLY, SAVE THIS POOR TINY NERD.]
5. Prayers
[Maybe it's surprising to those who don't know him, but Namazuo can be serious. He tries to keep the atmosphere light and fun for everyone's sake, true, but he knows when that's inappropriate. This is a time for quiet respect, and while he's not as spiritual as the other swords, it's only right to pay respects to those who have fallen.
You can catch him having a quiet moment, here, as he contemplates what to pray for. He's said his respects to the dead and broken already. But what of his comrades now? His family? The future?]
7. Festivities
[After everything is said and done, Namazuo is bouncing around, trying out everything he possibly can. The food is a big one, of course (how are there so many flavors of shaved ice?!), but so are the games. Games! Who doesn't love games?
At the moment, he's playing the goldfish game, because of course he is... Fish Solidarity!! Or something. Apparently the goldfish he really wants isn't a fan of catfish, though, because try as he might, Namazuo just. can't. catch the damn thing.
He gets close, so close, but just as he's about to scoop it up, the little bastard darts away and Namazuo makes a forlorn noise.]
No, come back!
3
[DON'T WORRY, YAGEN GOT THIS. Maybe. Except similiar to Namazuo, Yagen himself doesn't wear that many layers. Anything more complicated would impede his movements during work or battle. He overheard Namazuo's mutterings and spoke up, poking his head inside the room his brother's puzzling in.]
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[HEY BROSUKE. Namazuo's always happy to see his family, so he perks up, smiling. He nods in answer to the question, stepping aside so Yagen can see what he's looking at.
It's probably no big deal to some of the other swords, but it's definitely more bits than he knows what to do with. He gestures at the fabric with a frown.]
Do you know how to put these on?
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[He step inside and walks over to look at the fabric better. This... isn't exactly his forte. Oh dear.]
No, not quite. Are these like kimono?
[Asked one sword who saw the battlefield far more than watching people dressed up in fine fabrics like this. Maybe if he use what he knows about the basics??]
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[What with all the flowing silk and the sashes and ornamental pins. Namazuo frowns as he picks up two of the separate sashes, tilting his head. Why are there two...]
What are you wearing tonight? [Are the tantous off the hook, because that is so not fair.]
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[And then figure out the rest as they go. If all else fails, they can grab... Who would know about these things? Souza? Jiroutachi? Well, maybe not Jiroutachi if he's drunk again. He picks up what seems to be the first fabric.]
Me? Just a simple kimono. [He looks down at Namazuo's ceremonial attire.] ... Far simpler than this.
[Yagen wasn't chosen for the dance, so he's free from it... this year.]
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But Namazuo isn't the type to get angry or frustrated easily, so he'll just go with it.]
Right! Okay. [The basic robe is fairly simple to understand, though there are ties in the back that he won't be able to reach on his own. After that... well, they'll figure it out somehow!]
Hm~ do you need any help with it? I can come by after this. [Probably not, but just in case! Big brother is here for you, Yagen.] I suppose this is good practice, in case you need to wear something like this next year.
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7!
Actually, that laughter is pretty close... Kashuu's standing off to the side of the stall, watching with some measure of amusement. He definitely hasn't and won't be trying out this particular game (fish are gross and he can't get his clothing wet!!), but it's pretty fun to watch others try! ...And fail, mostly. He hasn't seen a single one actually catch a fish yet.]
Maybe if you put some bait on the net, it'll stop swimming away from you?
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Isn't that cheating? [Surely the person running the game would've given them bait if that was allowed, right?] I suppose I could get some takoyaki...
[Namazuo?? He's thinking of the breading, but it sure doesn't occur to him to clarify, whoops.]
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They'd say something in the rules if it wasn't, yeah? [No, they just don't expect people to be that dumb, probably!! But whatever okay they can make their own rules who's gonna stop them.
Giving him a look at that, though...]
If you're gonna get takoyaki, you should share with me instead of the fish. [That's too good to waste on goldfish!! And also possibly dangerous?! Do fish even eat octopus, real questions.]
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That gets a puzzled look, though.] Why with you?
[BURN. ...Unintentionally. But look, if Kashuu is hungry, why isn't he eating right now??]
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'Cause I'm here already, duh!
[What, is Namazuo going to track down one of the other swords to share his hypothetical takoyaki with?? That's a lot of effort! He is kind of hungry, too, but he hasn't yet had the time to actually sit and eat... Being a social butterfly is hard, okay.]
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But who said anything about sharing in the first place?! What if he was just going to stuff his face all by himself...
Well, either way, Kashuu's here now and Namazuo is nice enough to share. He'd only need a few crumbs for goldfish bait anyway, it's not like he needs to save a whole takoyaki ball for fish cannibalism.]
Well... okay. Let's go, then, before it's all gone. [Getting to his feet! Probably to the relief of the stall owner... how long has he been in here, it's a true mystery.]
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2!!!
Or at least she is only because she was talking a walk around the fields to see what everyone is doing. She doesn't even know it's Namazuo until she rushes over to stop the cabbages from spilling.]
Goodness, do you need a hand here? Or two?
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That sure is Namazuo's head poking around this pile of cabbages, if she couldn't tell right away from his ahoge.]
Thank you! Sorry about that. [He's smiling apologetically, even though she might not be able to see it past all the cabbages. He's definitely in desperate need of help, but manners first...] Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble you!
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Oh, there's the owner of the ahoge. She can see his head bobbing when he speaks anyway.]
It is alright. [There we go, she'll take cabbage after cabbage away from him until it is more manageable.] We wouldn't want this to end in a catastrophe.
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They're heavier than I thought! [More like he's a munchkin?? A munchkin who doesn't think things through...] I'm so lucky you came by before I dropped any.
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You got so many, though! [It's okay, she's even smaller than he is, so they can be two munchkins. Only she's actually strong...] Ah, I am glad that I can be of help. Where are we taking them?
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2
Watch where you are going.
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[SO CLOSE but phew, his veggies are safe... oh, and Ookurikara is safely un-cabbage-ified. Namazuo smiles, looking gratefully up at him.]
Thank you! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. [TOO MANY CABBAGES.]
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You should have gotten less cabbages. Or asked for help.
[He's not offering help, nope. But he is still holding some of your cabbages.]
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Oh, Honebami was helping me! But he got called away, so I said I'd take care of his share, too.
[He was trying to be nice, unlike a certain former tachi...!]
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Tch. [And he's now getting half of the cabbage so Namazuo can actually see while he's walking.] You're taking these to the kitchens, right?
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Yes! There should already be some in there. [Assuming nobody's absconded with them for some reason.]
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