songerein | { flower festival 2022 }

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{ flower festival 2022 }

FLOWER FESTIVAL 2022

The three day Flower Festival has started and the town is covered in blooming flowers, music, smell of good food, and excited atmosphere. Full details on everything can be found here, but an important reminder that this event log doubles as our Test Drive Meme and information can be found in this section.

This means any outside characters participating in the log are canonly logged as appearing in Songerein in April and will remain in Songerein for the rest of the month of April. However, outside characters can only thread within this log, so for those seriously considering the game, you are welcome to use non-festival prompts for your toplevels. Anyone who apps in and is accepted will have their character count April as their first month in the game, so all content will carry over.

IMPORTANT! All outside characters MUST have "TDM" in their subject line, even if you might not app. This will help people differentiate those who are already in the game and those who are not.

TDM threads are required for samples. Refer to the Game Info for general information and feel free to toss any questions here. Reserves will open Sunday, April 24th and Applications will open on May 1st. Our application cycles are bi-monthly so the next cycle after won't be until July.

TDM Toplevel Link Directory (click to view)

Y'shtola (FFXIV)
Kotetsu Kaburagi (Tiger and Bunny)
Aerith Gainsborough (FFVII)
Nene Yashiro (Jibaku Shōnen Hanako-kun)
Isabela Madrigal (Encanto)
Rinwell (Tales of Arise)
Lumine (Genshin Impact)
Gran (Granblue Fantasy)
Sanji (One Piece)
Meilin "Mei" Lee (Turning Red)
Rob (The Amazing World of Gumball)
Akira Toya (Hikaru no Go)
Zhongli (Genshin Impact)
Yuuki Konno (Sword Art Online)
Kuja (FFIX)
Nice (Hamatora)
Peggy Carter (MCU)
Leo Valdez (Heroes of Olympus)
Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
Roland (Library of Ruina)
Son Gohan (Dragon Ball)
Gracious Skylark (OC)
Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Thancred Waters (FFXIV)
Izaya Orihara (Durarara!!)

I. FLOWER VIEWING

There are gardens and flowers everywhere, but the main central location for the flower viewing is around the eastern side of town between the treehouses and the outside fields. Here there are plenty of both open and shaded spaces anyone can take to sit back, have a picnic, and enjoy the flowers blooming in the trees and along the ground. Food stalls are stationed by the treehouses for anyone who needs a meal and they provide blankets and picnic baskets as well.

A. Flower Crowns. Can't enjoy a flower viewing without flower crowns! There's an abundance of flowers that can just be taken and used to make them, but there are folks who go around and pass some out for those unable to. Or perhaps flower pixies may "bless" people with special flower crowns, tailor made with flowers that match the individual's personality. Once worn, the flowers will reflect the mood of the wear and may even grow depending on how much positive emotion they soak up from the wearer. That crown may become more of a headdress.

B. Flower Serenade. Although it's meant to be a calm, relaxing affair, the flowers are drinking in the festive atmosphere and now have a tendency to sing their joy. They are especially drawn to any couples and will start to serenade them with…an assortment of "romantic" songs. Some may be persuaded via calm emotions to quiet down to a more melodious hum while others may be a little more obnoxious.

C. Flower Maze. In one of the fields, a special flower maze has been erected made of hedges and questionably large flowers, their petals spanning several feet in length. These flowers will move and shift, using their petals to create sudden dead ends and new openings to alter the paths through the maze. No pushing past! The petals will be resistant. If a couple is being particularly flirtatious, they'll curl out and drop down to form a kind of "flower curtain" with their petals surrounding the pair. Whether it's to give the couple privacy or to shield innocent eyes, who's to say. In this scenario the petals can be easily brushed away and the flower will lift up to return to its position.

II. ENTERTAINMENT

All along the market square and the riverbank, stores and booths line the streets to provide goods, food, and entertainment for all festival goers.

A. Music and Dance. In the Central Plaza near the Tree of Memories is a cleared off area with a stage platform set up. Here anyone is welcome to grab an instrument, the microphone, and start singing or playing music to entertain the crowds. The floor is open for anyone to dance along or even show off a special dance performance of their own. Flower petals will join along as well, swirling through the melodious winds and even taking on the shape of some of the music notes.

B. Game booths. Come one, come all! Try out the various carnival games on offer. The game booths can be found lining around the riverbank and while there are many, here are some of the more popular ones:

Pebble Toss. Use dreamotion to change the color of a pebble and toss it into a bucket of water. The bigger the effect on the water, the more points scored. Earn enough points to win a prize!
Goose Rings. Try to toss a ring around the neck of a goose sculpture. Which is, of course, magically enchanted to move around and dodge the rings. Being a goose, the sculpture is a bit of a jerk; it’s attuned to players’ dreamotion energy and will absolutely move around more as they get frustrated, so keeping one’s cool is important.
Bubble Pop! Use dreamotion darts to pop magical bubbles floating across a board. Can be played alone (score points by popping as many of one color as possible) or competitively (whoever pops the most of their color wins).
Flighty Flowers. Create colorful paper flowers and use them to craft a floating lantern. The higher and further the lantern flies, the bigger the prize earned. Or, if one is especially creative or creates especially colorful flowers, they may just win a big prize regardless of how high it flies. Players can keep their lanterns if they wish.
Smash! Toss balls at a series of bottles to try and knock them over. To keep with the theme of the festival, the bottles are tiny terrariums. Thanks to the magic of the festival,, the plants inside the bottles remain undisturbed no matter how many times they’re knocked over.
Swan Boat Races. Find a boating partner and participate in a timed race where you have to navigate through obstacles and try to post the fastest time with fewest penalties. Use dreamotion to get through obstacles like ramps, slow whirlpools that will cause the boat to spin in place, turbulent waters, etc. If not interested in the races, people are welcome to help paint and decorate the swan boats! They have to match the mood of the festival, after all.

III. TREE OF MEMORIES

At the center of town is a giant tree that is as tall as a clock tower and with giant books about as tall as a person hanging off its branches. There are a few attractions set up here and there are also some small owls that fly around and greet anyone who come by. They serve as the "guardians" of the tree, and should anyone try to harm it, they will converge together to form a giant owl to deal with them.

A. Dream Petals. As the Tree's petals fall, anyone who manages to catch one before it hits the ground will find their secret dream reflected on it. It could be something they are longing for or something they wish to keep from anyone. Once the dream's reflection is complete, it will remain on the petal and can be viewed at any time.

B. Dreamscape Rooms. Selected by the owls, a few of the books can be found lying open on the ground. Everything is blank—there are no titles, no words, no pictures. The owl will beckon anyone who wants a "fun adventure" to dreamwalk into the book and have an adventure through its pages. It could be any established fairy tale, folklore, myth, legend or perhaps something random. The "players" will be thrown into random roles for the story and will need to complete at least three objectives (which can be handwaved). There is a one hour time limit so if anyone is unable to get through the story, the owls will yank them (safely) out and the book will remain on the ground for another group to try their luck. If they succeed, the story will magically appear on its pages and the book will hang proudly on the tree's branches.

C. Soaring Butterflies. Ever wanted to just ride on something huge and enjoy the flight? There are giant butterflies that are large and strong enough to carry up to three people on their backs. These butterflies are actually local to Songerein and brought in by a native Fae. Whether that makes them more or less trustworthy is up to the character, but the butterflies are definitely frisky—and fast.

D. Book Cages. Sometimes something a little weird happens around the Tree. Black wispy energy will seep from the hanging books and they will suddenly drop down on unsuspecting visitors, especially anyone who has a lot of love in them. The book will open and the pages will fly out like walls and trap the victim before it transforms into a cage and hurls them back up high into the tree. Although unharmed, the prisoner will start feeling some of their feelings of love being drained away and making them more irritable and hateful towards things. It will be up to someone else to try and get them out. Fortunately it's not too difficult a task—just need to get up that tree somehow and break through the iron-paper bars. Some fire should do the trick. The problem is, it needs to be fire made from dreamotion and focused on some variant of love or loyalty. It doesn't have to be towards the prisoner at least, so anyone should be able to help. However, the tree seems intent in keeping the prisoner, so thorny vines will try and smack anyone away. The owls will also try to assist, but they're kind of small and useless and can't use their ultimate transformation to harm the tree. Maybe the Giant Butterflies might be useful?

IV. FINAL DAY

On the third and final day of the festival, the winners of the Flower King and Queen contest are announced. However, there's a huge surprise as everyone finds themselves in a costume. While all contest participants have their own "Royal Court" theme, everyone else will find themselves suddenly dressed like a flower. There are a lot of variations from elegant to downright silly. Best(?) of all, the costumes will stay on until sundown. While parts may be loosened, altered, and removed for a short period of time, the costume will refuse to be changed out of and any attempts will be futile.

A. Flower Power. While some may feel very…uncomfortable in their new "wardrobe," others are having a blast with the small powers that come with the costume. With just a wave of their hand flowers will appear and bloom, and they will leave a trail of flowers wherever they go. But most importantly, they have glitter pollen which is to help bring about love and joy to all! However, not everyone is enjoying the glitter all over the place and some are growing more irritable and hateful instead, which is twisting their own pollen to spread negative feelings instead. Help soothe the unhappy ones and clean up the mess!

B. Flowerworks. Once sundown hits and everyone is back to their usual attire, a call is made to announce the "Flowerworks" presentation and for all to gather out into the fields. The moment the sun is completely set and the stars appear in the strange, moonless sky, a light will shoot up and burst into a beautiful, flowery display. It's a fireworks show, but instead of using traditional fireworks, glowing flowers are sent up instead, their petals illuminating brightly as they drift harmlessly down to the crowds.

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[ The impossible has happened: not only did Sholmes remember an important event, but he's actually ... right on time? The detective, however, doesn't seem to know this is the case as he jogs up, thoroughly winded, with his violin case in tow. He was supposed to be here well over an hour ago, surely? ]

Apologies for my tardiness, Miss Anya. I was thoroughly indisposed this morning. [ As if to lend credence to the fact, he pulls a handkerchief from the pocket of a blindingly pink waistcoat and gives his nose a trumpeting blow. ]

It must have been harrowing to take the stage without me, but I have the utmost confidence that your solo performance left the audience utterly spellbound.

(Now she wasn’t expecting to see Herlock to be in sniffling all the sudden just before any of them go out to the main stage and perform, but she could see that he’s not in a great state to perform on stage. She is guessing that it must be the abundance of flowers that this world is having right now.)

Oh dear, Mr. Sholmes, are you going to be alright? I am going to try to do my best to perform solo and do it for the both of us.

(Pooka is also just as surprised as soon as he could hear Herlock blowing his nose onto the handkerchief, which has him very concerned right now. The poor dog cranes his head with his right ear perking up out of sympathy as he barks softly.)

[ Oh ... so he wasn't late, at least? He breathes a thick sigh of relief. ]

No, no. I'll soldier through, my dear. I've been taking medicine to suppress the worst of it. [ Worst? He already looks awful by normal allergy standards. No telling how dream pollen was distorting his sniffles and sneezes before the introduction of this remedy.

But to drive home his point, Sholmes stuffs the kerchief back in his pocket, cracks open his violin case, and sets about getting ready. He spares a glance at the dog. ]

Don't worry yourself either, Pooka. This shan't be too embarrassing. For you, anyway.

Arf…

Oh no, don’t worry, Pooka. It is going to be fine. I am pretty sure that the recital will go on as planned even with some hiccups happening along the way.

(One can hope for the best. Anya takes a deep breath as she gets her violin and bow ready for the recital, hoping that nothing is going to turn it upside down before she turns to Herlock and asks him one question before they can go out to the stage.)

Alright, ready to wow the audience?

[ Sholmes pulls a bottle from his pocket and squeezes a few dropperfuls of something into his mouth. If it's medicine, it's probably more than the suggested amount. He grimaces as he swallows, then swaps the bottle for his kerchief, blowing his reddened nose once more for good measure.

He straightens his tie, gives Pooka a quick pat for luck, and takes up his instrument. ] Absolutely!

[ The preceding act—a band of bickering crow-like kenku—flap and hop off stage with their instruments, followed by tepid applause from the audience. Not a difficult act to follow at all.

The emcee gives the cue and, even with an allergy-reddened face, Sholmes breezes onto the stage with easy confidence; if it wasn't already obvious, he thrives on attention (positive or negative.) ]

Ladies and gentlemen, I am Herlock Sholmes, and it is with great pleasure that I introduce the violin virtuousa ... Miss Anya. [ He gives a flourishing bow in her direction. ]

(Even with her concerns of what could possibly happen next, Anya is doing her best to keep a brave face as she faces the audience waiting to see her perform. She does a quick curtesy as they watch in quiet muffles.)

Hello everyone. This is my first time performing in front of you all today. To start this recital, I am going to first perform a song that is dedicated to the current season we are in.

(So Anya gets to work by performing this very song on the violin with elegant grace that she never thought could flow naturally to her until now. Pooka couldn’t be allowed to poke his head out of the curtains but he could be heard barking to the tune in eager barks of joys: not too loud that it could get her distracted.)

[ Sholmes eases into the song, leaning back and forth—closer to Anya when the notes overlap, and away when the song turns into more of a conversation; answering Anya's snippets of melody with trills of his bow.

Half-way through, a sneeze builds: his face reddens and eyes water as he does his best to hold it in. As the song reaches an energetic crescendo, he loses the battle and— ]

ACHOO! [ His bow shrieks across the strings and there's an explosion of ... glitter? From his face? He quickly finds the next note and the audience gives some vague applause. Was that part of the performance?

Sholmes raises his eyebrows and bobs a little, catching Anya's eye under the rain of magical sneeze-glitter (yuck?) as if to say "Just roll with it." ]

(Okay, she didn’t expect glitter to rain down in front of her face, but she can’t just lose her concentration or cool because of it when she sees the signal from Herlock to continue on playing as normal in spite of his glitter sneezing.

So she continues on playing the song as if nothing weird happened and going with the flow of the sonf, though Pooka did jumped for a moment out of pure surprise. The poor pup lets out a whimper of concern which can’t be heard by anyone in ever. He really needs to calm down for the sake of his master and her mentor.)

[ Sholmes spares a breath to blow the glitter off of his violin strings before it can get stuck in the hairs of his bow. If he can just hold out a little longer ... ugh—

The next sneeze (because of course there's a next sneeze), Sholmes is better prepared; he waits for a brief pause in his part and aims the blast pointedly away from either of them. The bulk of it lands on the flock of kenku who were still huddled just off-stage. They squawk and ruffle their feathers in irritation.

He offers Anya another encouraging smile, sparkling with stray bits of glitter. ]

(Anya couldn’t help but to feel relieved when he gives her a reassuring smile after that last one. At least he is able to keep it together during the second sneeze as they keep on playing for the audience in sync with each other.

Pooka meanwhile gets away from the pollen’s line of sight when he sees the kenku ruffling their feathers to get the pollen out of their feathers. The little dog did got some glitter on his fur, but it was not that much that he could sneeze all the sneeze.)

[ In a feat of endurance, Sholmes manages to hold back for the remainder of the song, barely daring to breathe. The audience flinches every time he makes a sudden movement.

At the last note, he lurches a few steps back and lets out the pent-up sneezes. Stunningly, these manifest not only glitter, but iridescent, spectral butterflies. At least it's appropriate to the theme of the song?

He manages a sniffling bow as the audience applauds. ]

Well done, Miss Anya. [ Sholmes congratulates under his breath. ] You didn't miss a beat.

Why thank you, Mr. Sholmes. I am glad that I was able to do it very well.

(She does a quick bow to the audience while Pooka barks in happy delight as he scampers onto the stage and towards her. Giggling to see how excited he is in the end of the song, she picks him up and cuddles him in her arms.)

Bark, bark, bark! Bark, bark! Bark!

I believe I've cleared the worst of it, if you'd like to give them an encore? [ He says fanning away the cloud of butterflies and shaking the sparkling residue from the body of his violin. ] Danse Macabre, perhaps?

[ He gives the dog a nose boop with his bow. ] If Pooka promises to behave himself a bit longer?

Oh yes, that would be a great wrap up for this recitial.

(She then looks at Pooka to tell him that he needs to wait a longer and behave himself.)

Alright Pooka, we just need to finish this, then we can explore the festival freely as much as we like. Promise me that you’ll behave yourself while we are doing it?

(The dog didn’t complain too much as she brings him backstage for him to wait in while she and Herlock are doing the finale.)

Ladies and gentlemen, do not dismay! [ Sholmes wags a finger at the emcee, who was already half-way on stage to announce the next act. The man mouths an angry "what?" then throws up his hands and shakes his head; turning this into a scene is worse than getting a few minutes off schedule.

As Anya takes care of Pooka, Sholmes continues to fire up the audience with a bit of showmanship: ] The talented Miss Anya and I have a second song for you! A rousing piece from Camille Saint-Saëns, the only French composer I can abide!

[ There's some understandable muttering at this controversial statement while Sholmes begins playing a few meandering warm-up notes. Only when Anya resumes her position does he tear into the song with gusto. ]

(After putting Pooka back on the backstage portion and asking him to behave himself, Anya returns to the stage and joins in Herlock in playing the music. It didn’t take her too long to get her violin again and start playing the song with much patience and elegance.

Pooka sits on the floor backstage, waiting patiently as much as he can while his tail wags about frantically.)

[ As they play, the emcee exacts his revenge by sending up a pair of dreamotion-powered brooms to sweep the glitter from the stage around the violinists. The brooms start out mechanically enough, but before long, the energy of the music sends them spinning and swishing in time to the melody like a pair of ballroom dancers.

Sholmes is so caught up in playing that his eyes close, even as he bobs and sways. At least he's not sneezing? ]

(Meanwhile, Anya couldn’t help but to stare at the dreamotion enhanced brooms causing a glitter pollen swirl to surround her and Herlock as if they were getting carried away by a hurricane. She doesn’t know what is weirder: that the emcee is annoyed by the sneezing and the amount of glitter Herlock had made or the brooms are honestly freaking her out.

But she couldn’t just stop and do nothing but stare or show fear while performing so she still presses on in her violin playing. Can’t let her concentration suddenly slip away as she is performing.)

[ The brooms are indeed adding to the mess; it's hard to say if it's the music itself or the detective's own subconscious, chaotic dreamotion at work. Maybe a bit of column A, a bit of column B?

After nearly six minutes of this madness, the song eases to a slow stop. Sholmes' bow is a bit worse for wear: a few hairs have broken free and swish around with the last notes. With a final, spinning flourish, the brooms drop to the ground as if exhausted.

Another round of applause erupts (and a few sneezes from the glitter-pollen-covered front row.) Sholmes shoots Anya a smile, only now recognizing what torment he's put her through. ]

It has been a pleasure, dear audience! Would that we could treat you to one more, but sadly, our time has come to an end!

(Finally, the whole recital is done. For a moment, Anya thought that the brooms could ruin it for her and Herlock, but that didn’t happened to them even when they dropped down onto the stage floor. Pooka barks softly as a way to say if it is done now.

Anya then pulls out a curtesy to the audience while smiling in relief.)

We would like to thank you for coming and listening to the performance. Until next time, that is all for today.

Bark, bark, bark!

[ The emcee breezes onto the stage with a strained smile, giving Sholmes a goading shove as stagehands set about sweeping the traditional way. Backstage, the detective is still red-faced and watery-eyed, but all smiles. ]

What a wonderful debut, Miss Anya! I daresay that was a performance they'll not soon forget.

[ Sholmes returns his violin to its case and, from a compartment, he pulls out a baggie that Pooka might now be familiar with from previous practice sessions. ]

Here you are, Pooka. [ He tosses the dog a piece of deer jerky. ] For mostly containing your enthusiasm.

Why thank you, that was a great way to start a promising violin performance even with a couple of hiccups along the way.

(Meanwhile, Pooka is barking happily upon seeing deer jerky with his ears flapping about. He wholeheartedly accepts the deer jerky as he bites onto it as soon as he sees it flying towards him.

Anya is happy to see how her dog is able to behave himself for most of the recital, even with pesky magical brooms and glitter everywhere. She walks up to him and proceeds to stroke him on the head while he happily feasts on the jerky.)

You did a great job behaving yourself during the recital, Pooka. What a good boy.

[ Hiccups, yes. That's all they were! This experience should make any future performances a walk in the park. ]

And you kept your composure quite well. [ No small feat. He gives a nod to Anya as he snaps his case closed. ] You didn't so much as miss a note.

[ He dusts some stray glitter from his waistcoat and ruffles his hair for good measure. ] Off to enjoy the rest of the festival, then?

(She puts her violin back in its case and shuts it close and tight: she doesn’t want it to get lost or broken from having an open case.)

Yep, I am definitely going to check out the rest of the festival and see what they have to offer today. Okay Pooka, are you ready to see the rest of the festival grounds now?

Bark, bark, bark!

Then I will leave you to it, Miss Anya and Mr. Pooka. I doubt you want such a volatile geyser of glitter in tow. [ Sholmes starts to laugh, then gets caught in the ah-ah-ah wind-up of an incoming sneeze. He brings his elbow around just in time to catch the bulk of the sparkly pollen. ]

Oh dear. [ A sigh as he bats the stuff from his shirtsleeve. ]

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grandduchess_anya - 2022-04-26 18:20 (UTC) - Expand

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thegamesafoot - 2022-04-28 17:13 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{ flower festival 2022 }

Violin Recital!

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