Rinne Festival!

[creationrebirth]

Who: Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sakura & you!
What: The Rinne Festival! Lots of food, carnival games, candles to light to remember people you've lost, and a hot spring to relax in.
When: December 7th
Where: The Mental Health & Recovery Clinic

Content Warnings: None for the festival, so please make sure to mark your individual threads as needed.

Rinne Festival
Mental Health & Recovery Clinic

Sakura's Recovery Clinic has been decorated for the Rinne Festival, a special occasion that she's clearly put a lot of dedication towards. The entrance to the clinic is lit up with red lanterns that give a soft glow for people to follow through the storm.

Inside is much calmer. There are tables set up with lots of various festival foods, such as sweet dango, delicious yakisoba noodles, onigiri with various fillings, and more. There are tables in a separate room if you'd like to sit and eat quietly with others, but all the food is also put into containers that are easy to carry around with you while you eat if you'd like.

The large dojo that Sasuke usually has his chakra lessons in has been set up to hold some basic carnival games that are suitable for an indoor space: a target game, ring toss, balloon popping, and a game of senbon biki. For those who don't know the rules of senbon biki, long strings are attached to hidden treats at a booth. The player pulls the string and gets to keep whatever prize is at the end! It can vary from candy to small stuffed animals or even a bag of coins. Some strings may end up having nothing at the end though, so choose wisely. All other carnival games also come with prizes for the winner, usually a large stuffed toy or a gift certificate to a local restaurant.

The outdoor courtyard is still accessible, with large heated lamps put into place to help to give people places somewhere to get warm outside. The snow has been made into small domes, each with a candle inside that can be lit in remembrance of someone who has left, whether it's from Trench or someone who has died in your home world. The candles don't melt the snow and will burn for hours to honor the memory of your important persons.

In another room, there are several large tables set up for gift exchanges. People can sit at the tables with friends and exchange gifts with them, or they can sit at random tables and exchange gifts with a stranger for a change of pace. If you came to the festival without a gift, that's okay! Small prewrapped presents are available for anyone who needs one for the gift exchange, though they're likely to have generic items inside, mostly focused on self care. There are also small gifts with decorations for the Rinne Festival trees, or your Christmas trees if that's what you're more used to.

The hot springs are also still up and running. As the rocks below have been merged with fire chakra, the hot springs will never feel cold, and the snow seems to melt before it can get too close to the patrons below. There's a light dusting on the surrounding rocks, but nothing that would cause a chill to penetrate the relaxing waters. People are encouraged to soak whenever they need and bathing suits are offered for those who wish to not go naked.

© tessisamess

Comments

uchiha sasuke

[retsuden]

candles

[ The first thing that Sasuke does at the festival is go to the courtyard. There aren't too many candles lit by the time he's out there and he's finding himself hovering by the heaters instead of immediately going to do the task himself. It's been a long time since he's celebrated Rinne and it's almost difficult to fully allow himself to honor the memory of his family after so long.

But he finally does get a match, kneeling down by one of the domes, and carefully lighting one candle for his brother, one for his mother, and one for his father. The last one he supposes serves for all the clan, given his father's position, so he doesn't bother to light a forth. He hovers by the candles, his head bowed, and he rubs his hands together slightly for warmth. Why's it always the cold months they choose for this? ]

food/gifts

[ Sasuke's always been a fan of festival foods and he's gotten himself more than a couple helpings of onigiri and yakisoba already. He's chewing on one or the other when he ends up at the gift tables, sitting down with a small pack of presents beside him.

Friends will get individually wrapped small gifts with something unique for them inside. But he does even exchange gifts with strangers, apparently being in some sort of giving mood. Those he doesn't know who choose to sit across from him will get a box wrapped in plain paper, with a healing potion inside from Melius' Potion Hut. Something he thinks everyone could use, really, in this place.

Either way, he clears his throat awkwardly as he hands it over, the socializing thing still not at the top of his talents, apparently. ]

Mm. Happy holidays.

hot spring

[ By the time he's been at the festival for a while, he does need a break. The hot springs were always something he enjoyed, even back home, and so he's made his escape there just to get a minute of peace and quiet.

He's curled down with the water almost up to his chin, closing his eyes and watching as his breath comes out in small puffs of white into the air, mixing with the steam from the water. Mostly, he seems content to keep to himself, but if someone does get close enough, he eventually figures he should say something. ]

... Having fun...?

[ This is just as bad as asking about the weather. Fuck. ]

CANDLES (and i am sorry for this icon it's the wrong vibe)

[stayscared]

[mike has brought with him his prize from the string game, a plush, stuffed bear that's tucked under his arm as he approaches the candles. he means to light one, of course, but then he's struck by the impulse to check his omni, and finds himself lighting a second candle - and deliberating on a third. it's cold, so he finds himself rubbing his hands, too - and then he no longer has to, because he's wearing (fingerless) gloves. brightly knit, with colorful buttons on them, out of place and incomplete - but he smiles at them even if they don't warm the tips of his fingers. he can always shove his hands in his pockets.

he gives a careful nod to sasuke.]

mike enslin

[stayscared]

[of course he shows up, makes time for this - he did pencil it in, after all. he might be found inside, piling a small amount of food on his plate after taking a bit of time to deliberate, carrying said plate with him as he wanders through the carnival area, watching others play games with a distant fondness, until he, too, joins in to mostly lose, with the exception of a yellow plush bear: a surprise win from the senbon biki game, which he tucks under his arm. (he will donate this to the sanctuary for the children, he thinks, if it's on a child's list - or maybe it can be the reader's mascot for his "classes" at koz orphanage, should his references (and apology) prove successful.)

he makes his way toward the candles, comtemplative and unsure of just how many he might light, nodding at anyone he should pass, but not speaking unless he's spoken to first.

mike has brought a small gift for the exchange, a gift card to one of the many bookstores in trench. he will avoid or do his best to slip away from receiving gifts, though he may not be successful, there.

the plush bear is set aside to sit guard as mike takes a little dip in the hot springs. a moment to close his eyes and forget the horrors of the past few days. months. of before trench. he didn't think it possible, but as time passes he's almost asleep. his omen settles into the bear's lap, making sure her sleeper doesn't sink beneath the pool.

when mike's not in the water, delmira will hand out mushrooms to anyone that looks like they might need them. and failing that, she will sit at a table, maybe even to exchange gifts with a stranger! meeting someone new? that's exciting!]

gifts

[azurestar]

[Lance spent most of November keeping himself so busy to distract from hallucinations he almost missed the announcement of this festival. His only response was a quick 'I'll be there' and well, now it's time to show up. He brought gifts for the hosts Sasuke and Sakura because his Mother didn't raise a complete heathen. He also still owes them both for letting him and Keith use their pond as squids. And owes Sasuke for moving his house and barn. And for putting him in that pocket dimension when he… yeah, he owes him a lot.

When he shows up, he grabs a dango and finds Sasuke at the gift tables, ah perfect. He flops down across from him and places a wrapped box down in front of him.]

Right back at'cha.

Candles

[tempredmental]

[Keith also went to the courtyard first. Yeah, it kind of brought back some memories of waking up after being a squid, but he understood that it was a good place for what they had staged here with the candles. So, he pushed through the memories and stepped outside. It was chilly, but he didn't feel it, thanks to being a coldblood.

He spotted Sasuke standing over a set of lit of candles. He'd seen the memory of the destroyed clan home. He had a feeling what those candles were for. He quietly approached.]

This is a nice tradition.

[His voice was soft when he spoke. He was seriously thinking of lighting a few candles of his own.]

Keith

[tempredmental]

Food

[Keith certainly wasn't shy about trying the different food that was being offered. He could be found at some point munching one item or another throughout the evening.]

This is pretty good.

=====

Games

[Keith spent most of the time playing the target game or the ring toss. He tried the senbon biki once or twice and then started to get frustrated when he pulled too many empty strings, so he forced himself to give up. He was afraid that, if he got too angry at it, he might set all the strings on fire, and that would be a bad thing.

Challenge him to some target practice? Or tossing some rings?]

=====

Candles

[Keith definitely had people to light candles for. He knew of this tradition from Earth, having seen it in a Catholic church he'd visited once. He'd never seen it done this way before, but the meaning was still the same. It was a way to remember someone, to pay homage to them, and he would do just that. He lit a small grouping of candles. One for lost Blades, one for lost Garrison, and one for his father...

He'd remain there for some time, the cold not bothering him thanks to his coldblood powers, and just quietly observe the flickering of the flame.]

=====

Gifts

[While Keith hadn't exactly brought a ton of gifts to exchange, he had a few for more personal situations. It would be a small crafted item, symbolic of how he met the person in question. For others he didn't know so well, he made use of the generic gift options available at the festival for the sake of having something to exchange if someone wanted to.]

Ah... thanks. Happy Holidays.

=====

Hot Springs

[This was nice. Keith wasn't usually one for this sort of thing, but he was definitely okay with it. That said, he was using a swimsuit. It was a public hot spring, after all. He didn't need everyone and their neighbor seeing that much of him, thanks. He'd been through that on his initial arrival already.

That said, if anyone looked, he wasn't a meat dorito like his "brother", Shiro, but he definitely wasn't scrawny. He had a solid athletic build, and some additional scars to the one on the right side of his face that were normally hidden by his shirt. A long one over the top of his right shoulder, another thin vertical line just at the level of his heart, a matching one to that on his back, and a small horizontal line just above the waistband of his swim trunks on the left side.]

Have you ever been to a hot spring before?

hot springs (because how could i not?)

[azurestar]

[Lance slipped into the hot springs earlier, going unseen for the most part and figuring he would just sink into the dark steamy waters and stay there a while in a far corner away from others. But then Keith arrived while he was lazing half awake on the edge of the pool facing away. Both of his arms are out of the water, crossed on the stone and he's got his head pillowed on them. And they sure are chiseled and muscular, but not beefy, he has what one might call an olympic swimmer's physique.

His right arm is covered in a spider-y lightning-like scar much lighter than his complexion that goes from the top of his hand and disappears under the water on his shoulder-blade. There's a scar circling his left bicep and several slashes and claw-marks on his forearm and shoulder. There's another scar circling around his throat and a large stab wound in his upper back as well as an ugly jagged one curving around his shoulder blade and chest like some beast tried to bite off his arm at the chest and his collar bone was clearly broken by it and reset. Under the water, there's more of course, hints of them through the steam and water.

Of course he hadn't even noticed Keith coming in because his relationship with sleep is so bad and it's nice here so he'd started to doze. And the sound of his voice has him yelping and splashing as he spins to face him with his arms raised and glowing. The lightning scar all over his right arm lights up completely and brighter than what's in his hands, white with swirls of faint red, whereas the light in his hands is blue-gold. His other scars don't do that.]

Keith?! The hell did you sneak up on me for, huh?!

at least he's lighting candles and not a room

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke had watched the other man as he lit the candles, saw the contemplation on his face that had probably mirrored his own as he'd tried to figure out how many candles to light for his family. He'd intended to stay quiet, give him the privacy this sort of thing likely deserved, but he notes the nod and is at least polite enough to return it.

There's a pause before he offers: ] They say it's better to light too many than too few.

[retsuden]

[ Sasuke's still adjusting to the idea of getting gifts. He'd sent some home during birthdays and the Rinne festival when he'd been on his travels, but his location had never been known for anyone to send them in return. He had gotten a couple during his birthday in Trench after Sakura had announced it, but it was still surprising somehow to get something here that wasn't one of the generic gifts that Sakura had gotten for people to hand out just in case.

He takes it a little hesitantly, going to unwrap it, and staring down at the piece of antler jewelry inside. There's a pause before there's a somewhat amused look that crosses his face, given the similarity to what he's given in Lance's own gift box. ]

... Hn. Thank you.

[retsuden]

Mm.

[ Sasuke always coming in with the most verbose responses. He knows now at least that that doesn't give much, but it's a little harder to override the impulse during something as emotionally overwhelming as this part of the festival can sometimes be.

He clears his throat slightly before he glances over Keith. ]

Back home, it's done on the path that goes from the village graveyard to the temple. It's supposed to represent the Pure Land, I think.

exchange

[tagartist]

[ Chloe likes books, even if she pretends she doesn't, so she's actually pretty pumped to get a random gift card for some from a total stranger. There was even a sweet that escaped her, before she realized that the other dude was getting up before she could hand over her own gift to him.

She's quick to push herself up enough to reach for his sleeve, hoping it'll stop him. ]

Yo, hold your horses there, Santa. It's called a gift exchange. Sit your butt back down.

yes this is much better

[stayscared]

[that's a good way to look at it, actually. and so with a slight shift of his features - too faint to be a smile, but edges fade and collapse a bit - he lights the candle he'd been waffling over. if he's dead, he's dead - doesn't mean he has to leave himself out of it. this is a ...different use of fire. there'd been the draugr, the lighthouse, whatever else his mind wouldn't let him remember (or maybe that was a mercy) but this is a bit of a palate cleanser.

shit, that means ...is his father still alive? does he deserve a candle? now he hovers over a fourth, ultimately deciding maybe three is enough. he'll think on it a while and he can always light it on his way out if he decides to.]

I think three'll do for now. I might change my mind.

[stayscared]

Shit.

[it's a deflated, half-hearted 'shit', and he stops at the sound, at the tug (oof, that's a flashback) and does, indeed, sit his butt back down and offer a sheepish smile to the girl - she'd not one he knows, but when has that ever mattered? he can't ghost a fucking kid in the middle of a gift exchange. he's been caught, so he'll take his punishment.

it's not even a punishment. he's kind of glad about this, but it's a sad sort of glad and he just didn't want to deal with feel---

---nope, that's bullshit, too. this is the wellness center. it's in the title of the place, it's right there. is it wellness to irish goodbye a gift exchange?]

Okay, okay. You got me. Do I close my eyes and put my hands out, or just sit down, shut up and wait?

[tagartist]

[ She gives a grin in triumph, letting go of his sleeve when she's sure he's actually staying put, and leans down to dig into her bag. ]

The latter. I also accept table drum rolls to build up the anticipation.

[ After a second, she pulls out a fairly plain envelope, holding it out to him. It was a rushed thing, she barely had heard about this whole festival thing before coming, but she wasn't about to show up empty handed. ]

Tada.

[ Inside is a drawing of a dill pickle in a hat and scarf and penned beside it are the words Have a Dill-ightful Holiday. ]

Happy whatever holiday this is supposed to be for, I honestly wasn't paying attention.

[retsuden]

Mm.

[ They'd still be there, after all. Sasuke's pretty sure that Sakura probably won't even remove the candles immediately after the festival is over. Unlike at home, they're not in the path anyone would normally walk, and the courtyard hasn't been very usable in the snow.

He looks at his own three candles, still burning, and gives a nod. ]

Three's a good number.

[azurestar]

[Lance leans back in his seat a bit with a bit of a crooked grin. That wasn't exactly easy for him to make, he had to ask Sansa for help because he's not a jewelry maker or anything. Though she wasn't an expert herself, she knew more than he did.]

It's a piece of antler. Uh, my antler, specifically.

[Wow, out of context that sounds really fucking weird.]

[stayscared]

[guess who's getting a table drum roll free of charge? does it help diffuse feelings? absolutely. he's intrigued, honestly. a plain envelope could hide so many things. he smiles at the little 'tada' and slowly pulls out the drawing.

what happens next is a bit of a surprise even to him. there's a tug at his lips and a snort of laughter at both the drawing and the phrase. it's something he'd own on a tee shirt, a ball cap, a mug - a fridge magnet.

if he sent out holiday cards, this might be one he'd buy. so he can't hide his amusement here, and sure, that's a feeling, but it's one of the easy ones, so he'll manage. this drawing is getting a place on his wall.]

You know, I don't really know, either. Maybe it's all of them? But this is great, this is really...

...well, I'm dill-ighted.

[also, while he is being an adult about this. he will probably have a drink cry about it later, because it's a gift that someone made.]

I'm also Mike.

[he is searching the drawing for a signature, because hey, artists sign stuff sometimes.]

[tagartist]

[ Dill-ighted, he says, and Chloe looks like it could've been her own personalized holiday gift to hear her bullshit pun quoted back at her. Even the jokes, the dumb sketches, still come with that sort of strange vulnerability that anyone gets in sharing their art, especially with new people. She's gotten used to it over the years, especially given her leaning towards graffiti rather than traditional mediums, always open to public commentary, but there's a connection that comes with having a person appreciate the work you put out.

Mike is cool in her book. For the moment. There's a scribble on the back of the paper, one that might be a signature or maybe her pen just ran out of ink and she was trying to get it to work again. It's hard to tell, though there's a pretty clear C and a P, so it's likely the former. ]

Chloe. I knew a kid named Mikey once. You don't look like a Mikey, that was just one of those ice breaker anecdotes my therapist used to give me to try and make introductions feel less weird. Probably up there with "gift them a Dad joke."

candles

[strongroots]

[ Is it awkward to be here? Robby isn't sure, at least -- he doesn't know how Sasuke feels, reserved as he is. But Robby had wanted to come to this small event to give his support, even if just with his presence. It's a lot more than he was expecting, with Sakura seeming to know how to go out.

The remembrance, however...is probably not for him. It doesn't sound for him, but Robby still ends up looking out with interest at the set-up, or so it comes to be. He first notices Sasuke by the heater, walks slowly up to him and it. There's nothing unusual about his arm, not by this time; but he'd had it in a sling for a while, after having Tory use her own magic on it. Fixing it, rewinding time on it--a painful fucking choice, and still leaving everything tender and uncertain for some weeks.

Even now, he doesn't use it to hold his drink in that he's got in his other hand. He gives a small ] Hey [ to the other guy in greeting, but with his eyes out on the small ice mounds. ]

You ever met someone who went back out to the ocean? I heard people just get a calling, go back.

[ It's conversational, not looking for names or anything too personal despite the question. Robby hasn't; he's only really become aware of the possibility recently. ]

[stayscared]

Well, it worked. And I used to be a dad, so it's a double hitter of a win there, Chloe.

[he doesn't look sad at the moment, even after saying 'i used to be a dad', it's just part of what is, you know? he can't change it, and not talking about it didn't go well for him, so this is one of a series of steps in dealing with things. the candles helped. they also helped solidify an idea that's been rattling around. he's unused to being cool in anyone's books, that's the second hardest thing he's had to swallow, here.

it takes a moment for things to click, but he'd seen the reception she got in the network post (she'd been missed. that's ...something) to which he'd contributed none pizza. same sort of vibe in her texting that's in her speech, so yeah.]

So, you like memes, you know your artists, and it looks like we share a weed dealer. I hope you like books.

[he turns the drawing over again, smiling a little at the scribble.]

sansa stark

[dohaeris]

gifts.

[after a lot of consideration, sansa has decided to recreate one of the northern gowns that reminded her of furisode in silvery imitation silk, with sleeves and hemline shortened to a more practical and trench-appropriate calf length. she wears a padded collar richly embroidered with pale blue winter roses with bits of muted greenery and silvery trout running along the underside (lady has a matching one). her braids are pinned back in a neat little bun. she is very happy to be here.

she's brought good woolen cloaks and furs for everybody––tied in a bundle with a leather strap lady uses to carry them with her mouth. for sakura and sasuke, sansa has the banner she'd discussed on the network––the uchiha sigil surrounded by camellia flowers, and she's added a sakura tree in the background. she also has some camellia flowers made of fabric and attached to wire stems.]

candles.

[sansa smiles sadly to see all the candles; she wonders if there are even enough of them left to represent all the people she's lost. she should at least light one for the north––she moves instinctively towards the edge of a table where dowel rods might be kept at a sept to light candles from other candles, but she doesn't see any (she does a remarkably good job of keeping her sleeves away from open flames).

she clasps her hands together and looks around.]

Are there any sticks, for the candles?

[a cold bloodstone bangle sparkles at one wrist. she glances briefly down at it with a rueful smile.]

I'm not very good at lighting the fires.

[electricity is right out.]

hot springs

[sansa and lady can't help following the scent of water steaming off rocks. she's heard sakura mention hot springs, but she still gasps to see them. it doesn't look much at all like the hot pools in winterfell, and she's not about to strip down to her shift to go in them, but she trails one hand through the water anyway (again effortlessly keeping her voluminous sleeves out of the way). she tries to remember if it feels the same as the pools in the godswood...

meanwhile, lady delicately makes her way into the pool. it's not so deep that her padded collar gets wet, but sansa laughs incredulously anyway.]

Lady!

[lady regards sansa calmly. she is not getting out of the hot springs.]

XD

[tempredmental]

You're the empath. How did you not feel me coming?

[He noted the weird light on Lance's right arm vs the rest of it, but kept it to himself for now. He stood there on the edge of the spring, arms crossed over his chest, his normal sour looking unimpressed frown on his face, and his weight mostly placed on his left leg. It was a very typical Keith stance for situations like this.]

What'd you do? Fall asleep?

[Eyebrow quirk.]

[tempredmental]

We kind of have something similar.

[Honestly, the only reason Keith was even talking was because he thought it was expected. He hadn't hit that level of, "We can sit here and be silent with each other," in his interactions with Sasuke, yet.]

It's usually in a place of worship, like a church or a temple. And they have candles you can light in memory of those who's passed.

[Keith had lit some candles, too... more than one.]

[payingfordeliverance]

[Another canine leans over the edge of the springs, his tail swishing idly as he takes in Lady's contentment. Not being acquainted with Sakura or Sasuke as of yet, Break is acclimating to his own presence here by drifting after someone he does know, and of course Baltus is always pleased to spend time amongst Sansa's many hounds even if he's a little different than they are. It must be a little funny to see Break and Sansa together -- he's in the fine purple coat she made him some while ago, one he keeps reserved for pleasant situations when he's not liable to wind up ruining it, and his style is very different from her own. But they both carry a similar sense of regal propriety on their shoulders, for all that Sansa is the real lady and Break is only a servant who knows how best to represent his household. It means they match more than they don't, and you have to bother to take a second look to spot all the differences.

Incidentally, one of those differences is that the braids in Break's own updo are looking decidedly haphazard. His hair is a shifting and mercurial creature ever since he figured out how to use his darkblood to mess with the length at his leisure, and it's long again at present -- not because Break himself is in the mood for it, but because Alice is still floating more than walking, and Break is hiding a case of mild lockjoint beneath his formal black gloves. Pretending he has to seek her out and hand over his hairbrush to have it cared for gives her a way to feel like she's contributing, and she can gloat about her creativity in all things including hairdressing while she's at it.

Break has his little ways.]

How freeing, to be a creature who needn't worry about wearing trousers in public.

Darth Maul - OTA

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul, showing up and looking socially awkward as usual, made a slow tour of the various places that had been set up for the festival. Once he'd looked in on all of them, he got something to eat, sampling a few of the unfamiliar dishes. He always did like to try something that was far different from what he'd experience back in his own galaxy. His favorite turned out to be the onigiri and he'd happily gnaw on the ones that had fish in them, carrying them around as he walked so that he could continue eating as he observed everything.

He only briefly examined the carnival games, not one much for what he saw as something frivolous, though he could be convinced to participate in them if someone riled up his competitive nature. Instead, he moved on.

Once outside, he became contemplative and a little wistful in the peaceful, quiet, and frigid air. Because he'd lost so many people during his life, he lit two candles, one for all of those dead in his own galaxy and one for the people who had returned to the sea here. He'd kneel there in the snow for a long time, watching the candles flicker and create small shadows on the white walls of the small domes. This was a good chance to get him to talk about his past and galaxy if anyone wanted to get to know him better.

But the hot springs were his favorite place once he'd looked through all the various areas. He just stripped off his clothes and hopped in, modesty not a huge concern since he was metal below the waist. In fact, he got a little too warm and cozy once he'd been soaking in there a while. If no one bothered to stop him, Maul would fall deeply asleep, and end up sinking under the water without even realizing what he was doing. Hopefully someone would wake the poor Sith Lord up before he drowned. That would certainly have put a damper on the festivities.