New Years Festival!

[leaderkun]

Who: EVERYONE! Chosen and Partners, Damemon, Deputymon, Starmon too!
What: The New Year's Festival and Masquerade Ball
Where: Shinjuku Gyoen in the Park
When: December 31st



December 31st has at last arrived, and despite certain events depriving the Digital World of the original creator, the people involved with the New Years Festival managed to pull through. With Roze's work already underway and the designs and directions sent out, it wasn't hard to finish what had been started.

At mid-afternoon, a general text was sent out to all the D-Terminals announcing the festival grounds as open. Going to the Shinjuku Gyoen part of the park revealed a tiny wonderland of games and food manned by Chosen, Partners and Damemon alike.

Every Chosen and Partner have Damemon helpers and shifts rotate at each stall, making certain no one is kept from enjoying themselves to the fullest.

To either side of the festival grounds are picnic areas set up with several tables, all surrounded by bright white and yellow string lights. The four rows of game and food stalls are all decorated with large red paper lanterns, paper dragons and bright string lights, allowing the festivities to proceed well after dark.

At the front of the entire festival grounds Roze's Digimon - Julie the Impmon and Musashi the Kotemon - hand out copies of a simple map. On the back of each map the times for the masquerade dance are printed in case people forgot the time from their invitations.

In the Taiwan Pavilion, from the start of the festival to the end, Maya Matlin and Ryan Evans play music on piano and cello, rotating with Neku Sakuraba who maintains a steady flow of pre-arranged music. Several times throughout the day a handful of Digimon put on a simple but entertaining Taiko drum performance. Two long buffet tables filled with food and punch stay full throughout the day and night.

Jin Uzuki teaches calligraphy at one stall, as well as performs tea ceremony and lectures on Japanese traditions for those not educated on the themes presented by the festival.

Squall Leonhart stands sentinel over the Kingyo Sukui (goldfish catching) stall.

Campbell Saunders covers the ball toss, where people can try their luck knocking down milk bottles.

The Medicine Seller mans the Okonomiyaki cart, where people are free to order any combination of ingredients and eat hot food straight from the iron.

Mikasa Ackerman covers a colorful and pleasant-smelling stall where festival-goers can choose from dozens of bananas on sticks, the fruit dipped in different flavored coatings and numerous toppings.

Shannon Vaughn and Eli Delacroix cover the stall on the center walk where those at the festival can pick up sparklers and handmade papier-mâché masks for fun or the masquerade, if they have none of their own.

A ping pong toss with water-filled glass bowls sits with a pair of Damemon attendants cheering on participants.

Next to the Okonomiyaki cart, Saori Nakagawa and Laguna Loire provide fresh Takoyaki (octopus balls) on sticks, steaming and delicious.

The local Prince, Rowan, cheerily provides personal pies or slices of ready-made large ones and chats amiably with anyone who happens to be drawn in by meat or fruit fillings inside flaky crusts.

Cheerful little Miwako Sakurada watches the Yoyo Tsuri (water balloon yoyo) cart, balloons in bright splashes of color floating in a rotating pool of water, casting a rainbow across the cloth roof of the stall.

The ever large and boisterous Rider struts around a Strongman Hammer game, jeering and cajoling the men and complimenting the women, making bets and offering arm-wrestling competitions.

Little Wily-Kit has a raised platform surrounded by cushions where people can sit and listen to her play the flupe and regale them with tales from her homeland.

Dante sits at a stall of his own, playing guitar when he's not giving kisses for donations to the festival fund.

A ring toss game where one can try to put small rings around the necks of glass bottles stands manned by two Damemon arguing restlessly about the arrangement of the bottles.

Waver Velvet and his Wizardmon stand to dazzle onlookers with card tricks and details of magic performed in Waver's homeland.

Next to Wily-Kit's storytelling and Waver's tricks, Harry Potter serves up a variety of hot drinks close to the front of the festival so people have something to warm their hands and bellies while they enjoy the festivities.

Throughout the entire festival ground, Seifer Almasy and his hand-picked group of Digimon patrol the area, ejecting trouble-makers and seeing to damages while Yu Narukami and his team keep supplies full and assist Seifer with damage control.

The festival continues on through the day until the Masquerade Ball begins. All the stalls close and people are free to dress and attend as they like. Food and punch remains present and the music continues until midnight, when masks are to be removed and the New Year begins!

Comments

Fresh Pies - Rowan

[leaderkun]

[heroofbrightwall]

"Fresh Pies! FRESH PIES! Made to order, fillings of your choice! Fruit, meat, vegetables! Apple pies, chicken pot pies! Personal pies!" Rowan barks, flashing that dazzling smile as he runs a rolling pin over dough and cuts crusts.

Ser Walter and Piper both labor in surprising seriousness for once, the latter in her Champion form, dicing meat while Walter peels apples. The scent of sweet crusts and flavorful fillings drifts all around the cart and beyond, enticing customers. With the pies priced reasonably - not the usual inflated prices one could expect at a festival - people easily walk away with two and more of the palm-sized pies.

[darkened]

[Well, hey, there's someone the Replica knows. That's part of the reason the Replica heads in Rowan's direction, really-- a familiar face in a mass of unfamiliars. Plus, Kotemon's been nudging him to go mingle, anyway, and she's been awfully pushy lately.

So, here he is, giving a faint smile at Rowan.]

I didn't know you baked.

[heroofbrightwall]

"Oh certainly. Bake, blacksmith and even play a bit of the lute. Can I interes you in some pi--OH! Well, if it isn't my friend in search of a name befitting him and no one else, yes? Wonderful to see you!" the Prince perked happily, clapping his hands together and dusting them off, rubbing them clean as he could in an apron around his angular hips.

He reached out across the stand, offering a hand to the Replica, not at all put out be the strange circumstances of their first encounter on the mainframe.

"Have you found what you're looking for yet?"

[darkened]

"Sheesh, so you're a real jack of all trades." The Replica laughed. One of his hands slid down to his hip, and his eyes drifted towards the pie. It does smell pretty darn good, so how could he resist?

Well, that can wait. The guy wanted to know about his quest for a name, so best to stay on track.

"Well, I've narrowed it down a bit. Most people think I should shoot for Aiden, but I'm still not completely decided yet. I mean, once I pick a name, that's pretty much it. Most people don't go around changing them later."

"It'd get really confusing, now that I think about it." Kotemon hummed, tapping at her chin-- or well, where her chin would be, if her mask wasn't covering it. "But us Digimon do it all the time when we evolve."

[heroofbrightwall]

"Heroes should always be talented in a variety of skills in order to make themselves useful in various situations. Baking can be quite profitable. Besides that, there's nothing but good in making sure hungry people are fed and your nation is healthy," he remarked cheerily.

"Here, try this! Most people don't even realize you can make meat pies. If you want something more fruity, let me know. But you look like you could use a hot meat pie on a chilly day, hm? Might help you make your decision. Serious choices should never be made on an empty stomach," the Prince stated with a serious nod, setting a personal pie on the counter and neatly folding a napkin under the plate.

"Aiden is a good name. Sounds strong without being comical like Brock or Brutus or Stein. Ah, would you like a pie?" he asked, smiling at the Kotemon.

[darkened]

"A meat pie, huh? Well, I can give it a shot." He scooped the pie up in both hands, scooting to the side to make room for his partner. The heat alone made his stomach growl, a feeling only amplified by the succulent smell. "How much will it cost?" The least he could do was tip, after all.

As for Kotemon, she nodded and bounced up and down, trying to get a better look at the offerings. "Do you have anything sweet? Well, I guess all fruit pies are sweet... um, okay, that was silly of me. But er, do you have peach? Or maybe cherry..."

"Looks like someone's a little indecisive. C'mon, you sound like you've never had pie in your life."

[heroofbrightwall]

"Perhaps she never has, though?" he offered, arching a brow and smiling at Kotemon. "Considering she probably spent all of her time in Primary Village or looking for her partner, she's probably never really bothered with the things we take for granted."

He nodded, turning around for a moment and cutting out a few slices of larges pies set aside for taste testing, arranging them all on a plate and setting them down on the counter for the Digimon.

"Here. Peach, Cherry, Apple, Blueberry and my favorite, Mincemeat. Now you can try them all and not have to choose. Sometimes the little choices are the hardest to make. And they don't cost anything. You can make a donation, but they're all free."

[darkened]

Kotemon nodded, and though no one could see it, she wore a smile beneath her mask. Once Rowan passed on the pies, she hopped up to grab a couple, just to lighten his load. After all, that's a lot of pie for just one guy!

"Thank you, Mr. Rowan! That's awfully generous of you." She brought a sleeve to her face, muffling a laugh. "We'll have to share some of these with Mr. Sora and Miss Sophia... um, well, if that's okay."

"Hey, it's not like I can scarf all of them down. Not at once." The Replica chuckled, shifting the remaining pies over to one arm before setting down a tip-- 200 bit. "Anyway, it's not a lot, but it's gotta count for something, right? I'd offer more, but I'm kind of short on cash right now."

[heroofbrightwall]

"Nonsense, your donation is very generous, thank you!" Rowan smiled as always, shaking his head and setting brown curls bouncing. "Take the pies and if you want more, by all means, come back. I'll be here all day."

[leaderkun]

It's the smell that attracts Yu, and his nose leads him right to the stall- and Rowan. He blinks a few times... he remembers the man from the last attack on the city. The accidental racist.

"Those.... smell amazing, Mr. Rowan."

[heroofbrightwall]

"Ah ha! You! Te fellow from the battle!" Rowan laughed, grinning brightly. Not racist today, it seemed. But then a fight was a fight and pies were for peacetime.

He was rolling and punching dough, turning it over and over in puffs of flour. Behind him his Digimon swapped hot pies out of a little oven for cold pies waiting to cook, setting the finished ones along shelves around the stall. It was steady, consistent and Rowan proved to be extraordinarily skilled at it.

"I do hope they smell amazing, haha. I'd be a poor pie-maker indeed if they smelled dreadful! I'd shake your hand but I'm covered in flour and shortening, and I've doused a few people already today," the Prince remarked, cheeks coloring with mild embarrassment.

[leaderkun]

"No worries. Though I will admit, I don't think we've been officially introduced. You can call me Yu."

He leans over, waving the scent into his face and allowing a blissful expression to form. "How much for three? Ah... two apple and a meat?"

[heroofbrightwall]

"Purely for donations...You...want me to call you Rowan?" he asked, blinking rapidly, pausing in the middle of running a rolling pin over the pie crust.

"That...seems strange. Is it a cultural thing where you're from, to take the name of someone else? That must get very confusing," the young man remarked, squinting in maintained confusion. He went back to work at least, tossing the crust over the pie beside him and pressing it before sliding it down for Walter to shape and put in the oven.

"Then how do two of you get names from one another? Surely you have a name given to you by your parents?"

[leaderkun]

Yu laughs, bright and cheerful, with no malice. Ever since he came to Terminal, the fact that many of the people here spoke English made for some funny conversations.

"No, no... though I guess I could do worse then Rowan. Yu. Why-you. Sounds the same, but spelled different." He can't help but be glad his English is pretty good so he can explain the issue easy enough.

[heroofbrightwall]

"Why you what? What did I do--OH! OHHH! Right right right! Good heavens, and here I run a kingdom," he laughed, thumping his forehead with the heel of one hand, leaving a broad smear of flour across his brow.

"I must sound like a fool. Haha, sorry, Yu. Sorry. Sometimes I just don't even know where my head is. Yes, though. Pies are for donations. A little or a lot, your choice. That lovely woman that arranged it wanted to recoup her own investment and a lot of this was done for free on promise of payment afterwards, I'm made to understand. Evidently all at significant debt."

[leaderkun]

His smile falters. With Roze gone, who knew if that money would ever be recouped... He reaches into his wallet and tosses a... surprisingly decent wad of Bits into the donation box.

"Roze put... a lot into this, didn't she... Anyways, don't worry about the name issue. Trust me, you're not the first to mix those up."

[heroofbrightwall]

He frowned slowly, the gaiety of the moment robbed by his callous words.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." he trailed off with a sigh, reaching out to scrape the bits into a basket under the table. "I'm sure everything will be fine. People come back, I've heard. Perhaps the young woman will as well. She seemed very kind, if a little...ah...aggressive. Sure this world isn't done with her? We need all the help we can get, right? Please, don't let my foolish words spoil your good fun..."

[innermonologues]

Squall decided to drop by Rowan's booth for a moment. They were roommates after all so it was only natural that he'd be just a little curious as to what the other guy was doing. It seemed like he was selling food. It smelled delicious so at least standing off to the side didn't bother him too much.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself. "

[heroofbrightwall]

"Why shouldn't I be?" he asked, smiling brightly and leaning forward, sliding a plate along the counter. It was a large, oozing and steaming slice of black-berry cobbler.

"Here, sit, have a bite to eat. I only make the cobbler every so many pies since its for myself and the others. You should try it. Its about the best thing you'll ever have. Father's recipe!" he grinned brightly, tossing his errant bangs from his face, only to lean sidelong as his Pawnchessmon reached up to help by tying his hair back afresh.

"What about you? Not enjoying yourself?" he asked, with a sincerely concerned look.

[innermonologues]

He was about to decline him, but Rowan always made the effort to deal with him so he figured he might as well have a bite. He sat down in front of the stall and took a small bite of the cobbler. It wasn't too bad. He nodded his head and took another bite.

" I'm not... really much of a party person. So it's more awkward than anything."

[heroofbrightwall]

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry to hear that," the Prince replied, and sounded like he meant it. Most things that sounded sarcastic or placating on others sounded genuine on him. He didn't say something unless he meant it in truth.

"It isn't for everyone. I like meeting people and having a good time, but even I sometimes prefer a quiet night alone. I sympathize. You shouldn't force yourself to be here though. I'm sure the Kindly Damemon would be just as happy to man your stall for you. You ought to do what's best for you, you know."

[innermonologues]

"I made a promise so I need to stick it out until the end... I'm sure I'll find some time to take a small break away from people." He stared back down at his cobbler before taking another small bite.

[heroofbrightwall]

"Well, would it trouble you overmuch if you stood around here and talked for a bit? I know we really haven't seen eye to eye very much. You have a very different view of things, I suppose and I might be a little too...optimistic? At times, surely. But I wouldn't mind the company for a bit. Its a little slow right now," he explained at length, gesturing around the area.

"Walter and Piper are awfully quiet. It gets dull, thought I like the work."

[innermonologues]

"It's not like I hate you.... And I don't have to get back to my booth for a while so... "

He glanced over to Rowan for a second before finishing off his plate of cobbler. Needless to say, he thought it was pretty tasty.