victory_road | The Festival of Wishes!

The Festival of Wishes!

Who: Everyone!
Where: Pewter City!
When: June 24th
Summary: It's time to celebrate the Festival of Wishes!

Pewter City is one of those towns that doesn't draw a lot of attention. It's nice and has that museum, but it never seems to be the scene of much excitement.

But today, that's different. Because today, Pewter City has been doffed up to the nines, with visitors arriving from everywhere to celebrate the Festival of Wishes. The skies are crowded with uBIRDs flying in people from all over Johto and Kanto. The streets are filled with cheerful noises and many in the crowd have come in their finest yukata and kimono, adding splashes of colour to what might otherwise be a drab crowd. And if you'd like to try out one of these beautiful garments yourself, there are plenty of nearby shops offering rentals for the visiting crowds.

Stalls have gone up all over town, most hawking various forms of street food: Takoyaki, Yakisoba, Kaarage and many others! And for those looking to satisfy a sweet tooth, there's plenty of shaved ice, chocolate-covered bananas and Taiyaki to go around. Hopefully, you brought an empty stomach, because it would be a shame to miss out on all these yummy goodies.

But it isn't just food stalls that dot the streets. A wide variety of festival games are also available. From shooting galleries to ring toss to small lottery games -- whatever you might be in the mood for can be found here. Stuffed animals and sweets are the most common prizes to be won, but who knows, perhaps if you get very lucky, you might even win an Evolution Stone.

And, of course, no festival would be complete without a Test of Courage. Are you brave? Is fear something you only know from the dictionary? Then why not prove it? Why not enter Pewter City most haunted dwelling (usually just an office building) and show your mettle to your friends or even that special someone? Who knows, you might even earn a kiss if you protect them from the many horrors that dwell within (AKA, volunteers in costumes, a few ghost pokemon, and so many 'creepy' paper mache props)

There are also various stalls dedicated to traditional arts and crafts. From Calligraphy to Origami, if you have an interest in these matters, you'd do well to check them out. And you can do more than just buy some nice decorative pieces for your home, or a cute little origami figure of your favourite pokemon partner; many of the stalls also offer visitors the chance to try their own hand at these traditional skills. Are you the type of person who is always looking to learn a new skill? Or have you perhaps mastered these skills already and do you want to show off? Why not come over here and spend some time?

(Who knows, you might even impress someone special!)

And once night has fully fallen, the skies will light up, not just with the light of the stars and the moon, but with the many bright colours of fireworks! If you aren't completely tired out yet from all the festival games, why not sit down, relax, (maybe drink a beer if you are old enough) and enjoy the beautiful spectacle happening above you.

---

But all of that cheer doesn't really answer the big question -- what is the Festival of Wishes?

Keen eyes (and not so keen eyes, really, they are everywhere) will be able to spot various decorations shaped like the pokemon Jirachi dotting the stalls everywhere. From small plush toys to folded origami figures, Jirachi's cheerful face can be found everywhere. There even is a theatre performance explaining the whole tale, but for those too busy stuffing their faces to partake in (ugh) culture, it all comes down to this: Jirachi is the Wish Pokemon. During the festival, people write down their wishes, hoping that Jirachi might fulfil them.

Of course, there is never a guarantee Jirachi will be around. It's been known to sleep a lot. But why not give it a try? It can't hurt, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A - Yukata

[Dimitri may still be somewhat lacking in his understanding of the many aspects to Kanto and Johto's culture, but he does his best to learn when he can. And it has come to his attention that traditional Kantonian wear is encouraged during festivals such as these! Fortunately, there are plenty of stalls even at the festival where one can remedy this issue...]

[Dimitri already was recommended a nice navy blue outfit for himself, so that's taken care of. And yet anyone passing by certain stalls may find themselves waved down.]

Oh, excuse me, but do you believe you could spare a moment for a second opinion?

[He has two Raticate with him - Hob and Cofgodas aka his contest-winning Raticate - already dressed up in a pair of matching Octillery-themed and Inkay-themed yukata carefully tailored to fit their not-so-little rat bodies... but there is just so much selection, and there are clearly a couple more yukata on a tiny rack nearby that are being tried out.]

B - Food Stall time

[Dimitri has found he has something of a fondness for the foods which can be found at festivals. There's just something about the texture of fried food crunching in his mouth, or how it feels to hold something on a stick, or the pleasant smells which fill the air and almost make him imagine he can taste again... It's nice.]

[What's not so nice might be that he's brought Laurel with him in an effort to bond more with her. The problem here is that Laurel is a Swanna, or at least certainly appears to be one.]

[The problem is that Laurel has a tendency to be... reserved. That's the nice word for it! And she is possibly adjusting to a place with so many people in it! So if you are waiting in the same line at a stall as Dimitri is, well...]

[This Swanna is eyeing you. And, uh. slowly reaching out with her long neck towards you....?]

[Dimitri has his hand on her back, but he hasn't noticed what she's doing yet. This is probably fine.]

C - Calligraphy

[Or, well. Ink is sure involved!]

[If you go over to the calligraphy stall, you may find Dimitri and Gabby the Miltank, dressed up in her own little cotton-candy blue yukata. They are seated together in front of a little table and, uh.]

[They're trying their best.]

[Gabby's best means foregoing the paintbrush entirely, instead thinking carefully each time before she presses an ink-covered hoof down onto the paper. This is just looking like cow spots...?]

[Dimitri, in contrast, seems to be hesitating at his own awkward attempts at calligraphy. He thought he would have a handle on this - his handwriting is nice, as expected of a person who was going to be king - but somehow the paintbrush is just... throwing him off a lot. He's only partially done, and his lines don't seem as smooth or confident as he wishes.]

I feel I am doing this wrong...

D - Wildcard

[Go wild]

[Planned out for specific people]

[Really, events like these are rather convenient. People often tend to flock to them from all over, so it ends up being a neat little excuse if you have to meet someone else to start with. In Dimitri's case, he's managed to finally finish off the swords he promised to Hawks, and so now seems as good a time as any to deliver them to him while they're both here at the festival.]

[And, really, wooden "toy" swords will hardly seem out of place in a festival, filled with plenty of silly toys already.]

Still, I do hope that they suit him well enough... I never had a chance to interact with the feathers that he once wielded, so this is all based off of my own guesswork.

[His conversational partner of choice right now is Tarasque the Trapinch, who is delicately but stalwartly holding the wrapped up swords in his large jaws as he stares up at Dimitri. While technically Sylvain's, well... It seems like it was a little less overwhelming to just technically keep him under Dimitri's care.]

[And there is certainly care happening here, with Tarasque wearing a sleeveless little yellow yukata.]

Heyyy, Dimitri!

[A cheerful voice breaks into Dimitri's one-sided conversation, as Hawks waves from a little way down the street. He strolls up, wearing a not particularly remarkable yukata in rather loose fashion, a stick of takoyaki casually held in his teeth. His fashion sense always seems to trend toward the relaxed and informal, and clearly changing his style of dress hasn't altered this at all.]

You know, we have these festivals where I come from but I've hardly ever attended one. It's nice, isn't it? Especially the food. Having fun?

Dimitri - OTA

Individual Threads

Hawks - Sword Delivery

no subject

Claude - Fishing Games

no subject

Felix - Tests of Courage

A!

no subject

no subject

B

no subject

no subject

C

no subject

no subject

A

no subject

no subject