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.
[OF COURSE KASHUU IS THE ONE PUSHING EVERYONE TO THE DEADLINE. Of course it's Kashuu...
But considering how meticulous he normally is when it comes to what he wears and how he looks, it's only natural that he'd basically go into turbodrive for something as important as this ceremony. He's been up since ass o'clock specifically so he'd have enough time to prepare himself, but no amount of time could ever truly be enough for this fussy princess, which is why he's still in front of the mirror when they probably should have left several minutes ago.
Of course, hearing that just makes him more jittery!! And jitters means his fingers aren't as nimble as usual, which slows his progress. Eventually, with no small measure of embarrassment, he'll call back in response to Haru's question.]
Um— yeah. [He's done??] I could use a little help. [No, of course not.]
[ tucking the combs away so he can fret about them later, when he has a more experienced saniwa around to sort out what to do with them, he crosses toward kashuu. turning the spirit toward him so he can see what's left, his hands lift, tying and tucking the last bits and patting at his sides and back to make certain he hasn't missed anything. ]
Did they send anything for your hair? What about makeup?
[ haru'd been pretty confused about the makeup part, himself, but jirou had helped him with it. (oh, maybe he'll ask jirou about the combs.) ]
[He gestures toward the table, where an ornate hairpin has been set. He's spent most of his time fussing over how to put his hair up, so he hasn't actually gotten around to sticking it in his hair yet... As for makeup, his is already applied and done well, of course! Though he still frets over it, because ceremonial wear is much different from the sort of thing he applies on a normal day.]
I already finished most of my makeup. Does it look good?
[ he's distracted from his staredown with the hairpin (how is that even supposed to stay in?) by the answer and its following question. blinking, he glances up as if seeing kashuu for the first time again, and his expression softens with helpless affection. ]
Yeah. You look really pretty. Everyone's gonna' be stunned.
[ he hesitates, then pulls the combs back out, dropping them in kashuu's hand. ]
Do you want to use these, too? I don't know why they were sent for me in the first place.
[That seems to ease some of the tension in him, at least! Haru's compliments always do. He raises one hand to tuck some hair behind his ear; the gesture is almost a little shy-looking, even though it's totally ruined by how brightly he smiles.]
You think? Thanks, Haruji. [That's certainly what he's aiming for!! If he's going to be the center of attention, he wants to be remembered for being pretty!
Looking a little surprised once the combs are dropped into his hand, though.]
Huh? You don't want 'em? [Sure, Haru's hair is a little short for combs, but...] They'd look good on you.
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130bladeworks2015-08-14 04:05 pm
iii!
But considering how meticulous he normally is when it comes to what he wears and how he looks, it's only natural that he'd basically go into turbodrive for something as important as this ceremony. He's been up since ass o'clock specifically so he'd have enough time to prepare himself, but no amount of time could ever truly be enough for this fussy princess, which is why he's still in front of the mirror when they probably should have left several minutes ago.
Of course, hearing that just makes him more jittery!! And jitters means his fingers aren't as nimble as usual, which slows his progress. Eventually, with no small measure of embarrassment, he'll call back in response to Haru's question.]
Um— yeah. [He's done??] I could use a little help. [No, of course not.]
no subject
Did they send anything for your hair? What about makeup?
[ haru'd been pretty confused about the makeup part, himself, but jirou had helped him with it. (oh, maybe he'll ask jirou about the combs.) ]
no subject
[He gestures toward the table, where an ornate hairpin has been set. He's spent most of his time fussing over how to put his hair up, so he hasn't actually gotten around to sticking it in his hair yet... As for makeup, his is already applied and done well, of course! Though he still frets over it, because ceremonial wear is much different from the sort of thing he applies on a normal day.]
I already finished most of my makeup. Does it look good?
no subject
Yeah. You look really pretty. Everyone's gonna' be stunned.
[ he hesitates, then pulls the combs back out, dropping them in kashuu's hand. ]
Do you want to use these, too? I don't know why they were sent for me in the first place.
no subject
You think? Thanks, Haruji. [That's certainly what he's aiming for!! If he's going to be the center of attention, he wants to be remembered for being pretty!
Looking a little surprised once the combs are dropped into his hand, though.]
Huh? You don't want 'em? [Sure, Haru's hair is a little short for combs, but...] They'd look good on you.