The Festival of Wishes!

[indigo_league]

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?

Comments

[insidegalra]

Thace kind of half grimaces regretfully as he looks around at how few of the more expensive prizes are left. "I suspect it's been the opposite of profitable for them this year, so not likely. Unfortunate, because I was enjoying the chance to practice again. Part of me thinks I shouldn't miss it so much, but, I find I miss the activity in isolation, just not the associations that so often come with it."

Killing other people, and often innocent ones at that, he means.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

"That or they'll make adjustments to try to account for all the otherworlders who know their way around a gun." Thace isn't the only one, after all.

He considers for a moment. "In isolation, it's a skill like any other."

(He gets Thace's meaning, though.)

[insidegalra]

"I could offer quite a few suggestions," Thace says, taking a moment to eye the range thoughtfully, "but I wonder if it's fair to the people this game was originally meant for?"

He's fairly sure that if the people in charge are either in this for profit, or need to make enough profit to cover expenses, they would be in favor of upping the difficulty. It's already more difficult than it should be, but that could easily be attributed to lack of use when festivals aren't going on.

"When does an enjoyable challenge become frustratingly near impossible? I'm not sure I could be an unbiased judge of that. Or who would be." Part musing, part asking for Shinobu's opinion on matters, if he's interested in giving it.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

"They could in theory add difficulty tiers, but in practice that may require more effort than they want to put in. Plus they'd probably have to rely on the honor system."

He pauses.

"Also, they'd could maintain the guns better." If only to prevent another otherworlder from field-stripping and cleaning the things for them. "But I don't know if they'd want to train their workers to do it when the object is to get people to waste their money on more tries."

[insidegalra]

"Increasing the difficulty is the safer way to make more profit."

He doesn't like that Shinobu is seconding his concern about potential greed being involved. It makes sense, of course because such things are everywhere, in every species. Thace just doesn't have to like it when there's so little he can viably do about it.

"Maybe what else has happened here this year will act as incentive to keep things in good working order." He can hope. "Perhaps someone will take initiative and ask to learn more thorough maintenance."

That Thace says more for the attendant than anyone else.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

"But it would probably frustrate those who aren't practiced with a gun, and there are more of them." He considers for a moment. "I guess they could also invest in more prizes?"

As for gun maintenance... Shinobu has Doubts. "They could also pay their workers more."

(While they're on the subject of pipe dreams.)

[insidegalra]

"I would suggest making the prize won per target random, much like the balloons and darts game, but that would likely end up frustrating for those with both skill and interest in prizes."

And even then Thace had been pretty sure which balloons had the bigger prizes behind them because they weren't inflated as much. Which ended up leading to a 'dart really stuck in the corkboard' incident.

For a split second, Thace's expression is grim, but then he starts looking around and counting some cash. "They could indeed. If I can find someone to make that suggestion to, I will."

He doesn't have much hope of that, so for now, the solution that is easiest for him is to give all the games attendants a little bonus on his own. Not particularly helpful in the long-run, but he hopes at least one will appreciate it.

[un_oiseau_rebelle]

"And the ones who are less skilled but also want a specific prize?" It's a conundrum.

Shinobu wonders if the attendants are allowed to take a bonus like this. Spirits know they deserve if after everything they've probably been through today.