revivalproject | New Tick And Winter Fair!

Whale Comb Back To New Tick!
If there was one thing the Agrii were rather good at foreseeing, it was apparently the snows that came along with the changing of the year on Agra-10. While the start of a new year rolled forward the snows grew deeper, until at last they formed a blanket over the city of Temba, one nearly a foot deep. The top-most layer of snow, nearly two inches thick, is different though. Instead of the soft white one might expect, the snow is a soft, pale pink shade that probably isn’t common in nature, but marks the arrival of something on Agra-10. It’s a lovely sort of snow too, the kind that packs perfectly for fort and snow creature making, and invites you to come and otherwise enjoy its unique beauty.

Those that have been here for a year or more might well recognize the signs that New Tick time has come again. Perhaps in this case they are the lucky ones, for they have already heard the whole spiel from An Nu in the past. Those He Rows that were present for the previous New Tick therefore only receive a brief message from the Agrii about the celebration, coming in the form of a text just before noon.

He Rows Greet they I am! Is An Nu to tell they that this is day! Is New Tick! Play in sweet cold! Is good luck! Go Whale Comb Sent Her and get gifts from us to they! Share memberings of last Tick! Play spark sticks! To Night more big sparks in sky. In next day have games and fun. This day all are fam. Be happy fam!

That is not the only message to go out of course. There are always new He Rows to explain things to. They will be treated to a spirited, high energy audio message at fifteen to noon. Because was there really any way that An Nu interacted except with insanely high energy?

New He Rows Greet They I Am! Am still An Nu, and I tell they of New Tick! New Tick mark Agra 10 move circle of sun. And mark day when time turn over in ship. Agrii group with fam and fronds to tell of all pass in last turning and turning before and before. Tell of life and happy and sad and all things. We give gifts of what come before. Give gifts to make good come for after.

When in Temba, before storms, Agrii play in sweet cold. Make many shapes and have games. Day has sweet cold, very much luck come. He Rows play in sweet cold then come Whale Comb Sent Her for gifts of Membering. We give food for tellings. Then, when dark, we give light sparks for New Tick wish time! Only burn sticks when it dark. They hold from body, sparks make burn pain. Give He Rows heal cream too, for burn pain. Then when much dark give sky fire, and drop ball of shine like He Row Bill Lee speak of! Great fun!

Sure enough as promised, all He Rows will find the Whale Comb Sent Her decked out for the holiday. The decorations inside are a collection of silver stars and garlands hanging about, and the big tables with Agrii foods are back, offering He Rows a meal to help with their celebrations. Actually, a lot of it are foods from Great Full too, including what seems to be Agrii attempts to recreate He Row dishes from the celebration. When one makes it past the tables (and obligatory stacks of peanut butter sandwiches, hearty stews, and roast ‘beasts’ made of vegetables), they will find the mounds of presents!

The presents are all wrapped in a metallic paper in shades of pink and purple, are covered in silver and gold bows, and come in various sizes. Every He Row will find a present labeled with their name, and inside they will find a gift from the Agrii. He Rows will find that even if they don’t attend on New Tick itself, the gift will wait for them in the Whale Comb Sent Her until they receive it, or until three days pass, at which point it will appear wherever they commonly sleep.

That night another table will appear at the door just inside the Whale Comb Sent Her doors. This one will be covered with two piles. The first will be of long, thin boxes that have sticks inside smelling faintly of sulfur and looking for all the world like sparklers. When lit these will result in a shower of quick, bright, and rapidly fading sparks in shades of pink, gold, and silver. These are An Nu’s light sparks, and they are fun to play with outside. The other pile there is made of jars of cream that, when applied to burns, will lead to quick relief of pain, and improved healing. But don’t spend too long looking at them, because soon after they appear, noises will start out in the Temba square. In the full dark of night, and perhaps accompanied by He Rows playing with sparklers, there will be a quick burst of fireworks. Well, they aren’t very good fireworks, because the Agrii don’t understand yet, but they’ve tried. In the course of a minute seven different lights will go off in the sky above the fountain, made up of bright sparks of pink and gold and silver, as if the Agrii have set off a lot of sparklers at once in one place. At least they tried.

The final culmination of the night, though, will come in the Whale Comb Sent Her lighting up from the outside, with lights pointed toward the top of the building. Where a new structure has been put in. From the ground it will look vaguely like a giant soap bubble on a stick, with some sort of glittering mass inside of it. It will slowly start to sink toward the building, in time with a series of beeps on He Rows’ communicators indicating a countdown. A countdown to the giant orb hitting the top of the building, the bubble popping, and the mass of pink and silver and purple and gold glitter inside falling free. Apparently New Tick is being celebrated with a snow of another type that definitely isn’t anyone’s fault in particular at all.

Winter Carnival!
The fun of course doesn’t end on that night either, as the Agrii did promise more celebration for the He Rows, didn’t they? The next morning comes (albeit with a layer of glitter around the Whale Comb Sent Her and nearby buildings), and it’s clear someone has been busy. The decorations in the Whale Comb Sent Her have been cleared away and instead reappear near the floodplain, which has frozen over for now. It seems like this area is set to be the center of the next two days of activities, and the Agrii are clearly trying hard. A lot of the booths from last year’s Rain Fare seem to have returned!

Arranged around the edges of the frozen over lake are huts and stalls, often wrapped in cloth to trap heat from braizers inside, and offering things for He Rows to do. The potion brewery has returned, as has a newly enclosed stage for musical performances complete with instruments. Instead of a forge and candle making tent there is a fluffy animal cuddling hut (the glownies don’t seem to mind this relocation), a comfy tent set up with supplies for wood carving, and even a little room that seems to be set up for fortune telling, not that there is a fortune teller around. There is, though, a mound of fortune cookies.

Training areas are set up as well, just as before, this time focusing on winter skills. There’s a tent set up for ice fishing so people can try their hand at it, and even rods and hooks provided (but no bait), there’s a stall with snow shoes so people can try their hands at walking on snow, and look, some Agrii even figured out skis and there’s a small cross country course set up through the trees! To go with it all there’s the archery range, an ax throwing hut with thankfully solid walls, and a tent just for people to try their hand at turning wire and pretty stones into jewelry. No, don’t ask why the Agrii think that is a skill, they clearly do.

The good news is that the Agrii are not the only ones contributing to this gathering. Some of the He Rows took the prompting of An Nu last month and created their own offerings. Those that did will find structures or areas suited to what they had wanted to offer. Out on the ice, for instance, there’s a table covered with different sizes of strap on skates, ready for He Rows to test their grace and agility and speed. Nearby on the shore is an area staked and roped off with higher than normal mounds of snow, and plenty of buckets, shovels, and other tools that look appropriate for sand castles, but seem intended for working in snow. There’s even a nice ‘prize’ on a table there, though Agrii seem to have taken the idea of a winner’s cup literally. He Row Reeve has offered to preserve sculptures with ice magic for judging, so no doubt there will be a victor.

Near the edges of the lake, where the heat won’t be a problem for the ice, a larger pavilion is set up in shades of red and green that absolutely clash. Inside the pavilion is quite warm from scattered wood burning braizers, as well as others at which meats and vegetables are being roasted and others where breads are being made, stews being heated, and even smaller cauldrons of hot tea, chocolate, and mulled spice red drink are being kept warm. All of this is an offering from He Row Tommy and any diner workers willing to assist, a place to warm oneself, eat, and share the companionship of friends. The stage tent is even nearby, so one can hear music if others deign to play. And for those that are cold but don’t feel like the heat of the pavilion, there is a stand near the ice that is left unattended, but is covered in sweaters, gloves, hats, and scarves, all clearly knitted of glownie wool. Most of them are undyed and pale, but some are in vibrant colors, and clearly made with love. A sign on the stand in an elegant script says ‘Take what you need to stay warm -Lark’.

But little of this is truly suitable for night time fun, right? The cold will be too deep for sports, and food can only get you so far. Ah, but someone has already inspired the Agrii to do more. At night the area prepared for the stage changes. At night the illusory people that tended the Rain Fare appear once more, seeming to play music. Well, they stand at instruments and music plays at least. Just inside the entrance flap to the tent are a mound of masks for people to put on for dancing to the music. All of the masks are identical, and all of them are of an Agrii’s face. Ga Re’s in particular. It seems someone told Agrii about masquerade balls, but they didn’t really understand the assignment. Especially since the dance floor is absolutely littered with colorful children’s ballpit balls. Oh well, at least they’re trying, and the music is probably good enough to dance to.

FAQ
Is the Pink Snow safe to eat?
Yep. It's just snow that tastes faintly sweet. Anyone who could study it on a molecular level will find that it has a very small amount of a sweet compound in it, but it will not leave your hands, or the city, sticky when it passes.

I didn't ask for something on the Season of Gifting page, or I joined the game after the cut off date. What does that mean for my character(s)?
Any character that didn't have a request posted will receive one (1) full outfit from home that previously belonged to them. The rules here is that the outfit cannot have a power/ability/armor associated with it. These are just casual clothes. The outfit can either be complete or a single piece of clothing, but will include no more than: a hat, some garment for the upper body like a shirt/sweater/tank-top, some over coverage like a coat/jacket/cape/cloak, a garment for the lower body such as shorts/pants/skirts/leggings, a garment for cushioning shoes such as stockings/socks/pantihose, appropriate undergarments, some form of footwear, gloves/mittens, and possibly a scarf or tie. A dress/robe/other one piece clothing can be used to substitute for upper/lower body pieces. No jewelry/accessories will come through.

You do not have to run this outfit by the mods for approval, we ask you to just respect that the outfit does not have powers/abilities/armor aspects. We want people comfortable, but not gaining an advantage with these clothes. For instance if someone were playing Master Chief from Halo, his 'outfit' could not be a set of power armor. If your character doesn't have clothes this would normally be true of back home, they will receive a casual outfit identical to an outfit you want them to have that doesn't have special properties to them. If you have questions ask them in the first comment below

What happens if I try and open someone else's gift?
Any He Row attempting to open someone else's gift will receive a light shock from the package which will cause them to drop it. No matter how many times they try, they will not be able to open a gift that is not for them. Nor will they be able to destroy it. No amount of dropping will break the presents while they remain in their packaging.

Does this mean the wrapping paper/boxes/etc is indestructible?
Only until they are opened. Then the paper and boxes and other things can be destroyed through any conventional (and numerous unconventional) ways. Characters may take these to reuse them, but anything discarded packaging/wrapping that remains in the Whale Comb Sent Her overnight will disappear the first moment no one is looking at it.

Okay, are the Light Sparks just sparklers?
Yep! Just sparklers. They come in any variety you might normally find as a normal stick sparkler. Enjoy your little fireworks! Any unused sparklers will disappear at the next dawn. The burn cream will remain.

Do I have to tell everyone what gift I got?
Nope. Just like with a gift you open when no one is looking, He Rows don't have to share what they get with each other. This is true IC and OOC. You can be as open or as secret as you wish to be.

Can I use this as a Mingle Log?
Yep. Just put your top levels below. You're also welcome to make your own Log or Network Posts if you want. Any Top-Level started on this page will be valid for January AC. So don't be afraid to do what makes you happiest! Happy New Year to all!

Who will win the Snow Sculpture Contest?
Everyone can sign up for the sculpting contest in the second comment below. Please include a description of what the character would have made. Then indicate whether you would like them to be considered a possible winner or not. Any potential winners will be put into an RNG to decide the absolute winner who gets the mug. If there are only people who indicate they don’t think they should win, those people will be in the pool to win. If only one person enters, that person will win by default.

I wanted to set up a booth and forgot to submit information!
Any He Row can see what is going on and put together their own booth for the winter festival. There will be empty booths around they can convert to their purposes. They are also welcome to tear down these empty booths for supplies. Who is really going to stop them? If you’re adding a booth, please indicate it in the first comment below, with a subject line of ‘Winter Fair Addition’ so people know what else they might be able to do.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Emptier in Sh'Ka. Seems like no one wants to live there, not really."

Hopefully whoever was involved didn't get hurt either.

Cal nodded. "True, but...most of what's been repaired is here, and it doesn't seem practical to separate what few people we have."

Setting out to fix one city on their own was ambitious enough. Thinking of his work in Sh'Ka only reminded Cal that none of the team he'd had along with him to fix the electricity were with them anymore.

Exactly, Reeve has agreed about that.

"Safety in numbers, and comfort in it too?"

"I'd say so," Cal said with a faint smile. "It's not the greatest, being alone." True, one could feel that way even among other people, something he knew from experience. But the people here were easier to get to know, and willing to go out of their way to help each other sometimes. Maybe that's why the Agrii brought them.

"No," he says with a sigh, lowering his piece of work as Mini tries to scramble under a short table. "No it's not. It's hard. And we have to learn to deal with it."

BD-1 popped out the other end, jetting up onto the table top to skitter around its contents to the opposite edge and lean over to peer below.

"...yeah. But at least here we have an option not to. Right?" Cal said, wiping off wood shavings from his work with a thumb.

"Oy! Them jets ah hardly fair," Mini protested, trying to reach out to paw at the droid's head.

Meanwhile Reeve was contemplating the question. The option not to deal with it.

"I fear that here it's a hard choice to make either way."

The noise from the little droid sounded suspiciously like a chortle as he pulled his head back just barely out of Mini's reach. He hopped down to the ground again, dancing about behind his cat friend.

Cal tilted his head before applying his knife back to the wood, hollowing out a space between what would eventually be a pair of droid legs. "I guess. Maybe what needs to be realized is that no one has to be alone."

The cat sees the dancing, turns around, and reaches out with his hand to try and tag BD. He was going to get one tag in, he knows it!

"Now that I can understand," he says with a smile. It makes sense like that. "But reaching out to others is hard when you know they can be taken away so easily."

BD-1 hooted as Mini tapped his head. Did he let the cat tag him? He wasn't going to say. But he did sound shocked before beeping a warning to give Mini a head start to run before launching into quick pursuit, tweedling a little song.

"That's no reason to shut yourself off from people. If we all did that, we wouldn't know who was here and who was gone, or be able to get anything done. It hurts when people go, but would it really have been better not to know them at all?" Cal didn't think so. He'd had opportunities here that he knew he never would back home, and he wasn't going to ever regret being able to meet the people he had. "I just wish there was a way to actually remember the people we've met here, if and whenever we do get sent back." But that didn't seem to be the case, according to Agent T'Pring. Well, not in most cases. He remembered the holocron they'd found, the message from a Jedi of long ago. Somehow she'd been able to remember something.

Mini didn't care if it was allowed or not. He laughed in triumph as he ran off, trying to find his own way to hide from the droid. He'd have to be clever, because he couldn't even climb out of the way with those jets in place.

That's... A horridly good point. And Reeve had been more prone to it in the last year.

"I don't know. I suppose the jury is still out on whether or not I was better knowing Poe."

And he understood the wishing for memories, so he nodded at that.

"I gained so many people over my years away from home, and lost even more. It's been tiring."

"I have met so many more people here that I've come to care about than I ever have in the past five years I'd spent hiding from the Empire," Cal said. "I've been here longer than I've been away from Bracca. I've...I've gotten to meet other Jedi and see Coruscant again when I didn't think I ever would. And all the people here, I would never meet under any normal circumstances. So it hurts to think that it'll just be like none of that ever happened. But that's why those memories are precious to me so long as I'm still here. So long as we're still here. Because they're still a part of us and the people that we came to know, and they won't be forgotten so long as we remember them."

He smiled sadly. "It'll always be tiring, losing people. I've lost a lot back home, and the weight of it is something I still carry, especially in being what I am. I'm not saying that that makes it any easier to do things here, but you can either see it as a burden, or use it to carry on, to be stronger."

Reeve doesn't know if he should be glad that Cal came to care for so many people, or sad that he had so few back home. But the words have him nodding along. Because it made sense.

"Thank you. I believe I really needed that point of view, especially from someone younger. It reminds me of what I'm trying to be here. Who I'm trying to be."

"Heh. Honestly? I think I needed a reason to remind myself of those things too, to really think about it. It seems like there are certain things you don't really think of when it's just you swimming in your thoughts. Talking to someone helps." His smile was a little lighter. "So thank you too, Reeve."

Reeve looked ready to answer, only to have Mini scramble across his feet in his flight. So instead he laughed over how this was playing out.

"Yes. And there's one thing when swimming in your thoughts. You miss your twenty-pound cat about to run across your feet."

"There is that," Cal laughed, grinning fondly after the two as BD-1 wasn't far behind. It seemed a long way to go about saying that sometimes distractions helped, but in the best way.

"Alright then," Reeve said, looking to Cal. "Do you want some tips on how to do finer details?"

The padawan held up his piece of wood, slowly but surely becoming more BD-shaped. He gave Reeve a nod. "That'd be much appreciated," he said.

New Tick And Winter Fair!

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wrrrrapping up?

yep!

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