tornheart | [OPEN] FLOWER FESTIVAL

Entry tags:

[OPEN] FLOWER FESTIVAL

Who: Open Log (All)
Where: Point-à-Tarte
Summary: A festival of flowers.
Warnings: N/A

" Ah... the Festival of Flowers while a dreadful deadline looms! Enjoy what normal life you may have left...soon you may long for the return of these simpler times..."

A week of celebration (General Prompt)

At Point-à-Tarte, at the edge of the largest park in Eddan, booths that have been worked on for the past week are finally being opened to the public. Colorful banners decorate every single tree and and even the dullest of areas are covered up in the most creative of ways.

The booths themselves have everything one could hope in a flower festival, from mountains of flower crowns and necklaces being given to every resident of Eddan for free to the flower-shaped candy to the city-approved businesses touting the latest and greatest of the upcoming flower technology. New flowers, some supposedly glowing under UV light and others made to look like galaxies, are being sold at eye-popping prices.

The food, as always, is delicious and fresh, with early spring greens and even flowers themselves being added to salads. The only negative to the entire festival (if one can call it that) are the giant counters displaying the remaining time before sunset that serve as a reminder of Eddan's strange nature.

Opening Ceremonies (Special Prompt)

Sunday's opening sees the release of over ten thousand 'floating' seeds into the wind, a promise from the city to continue to make Eddan the greenest city in the entire world. Each person coming to the festival is given tulip bulbs in a variety of colors to be taken home.

The mayor takes time to speak about the recent string of murders and assures the people that they city shall continue to be vigilant to make sure that its citizens are kept safe. This is greeted with cheers from most of the population. Even the rainy weather doesn't keep such a happy day down!

An hour before sunset, the opening ceremonies close with a fireworks show. Due to the fact that they must be released only during the day, the explosive components have been changed as to give the night varieties a run for their money.

As the bright lights fill the sky, those soon-to-be-Awakened may have a flash of a memory from their past lives, such as a happy moment they spent with someone close to them or a moment of glory. This will soon be drowned out by ringing in their ears. For a few, brief seconds, they may notice figures close by glow oddly, their forms becoming distorted, but before they realize what has happened, blinking returns their vision to normal.

The headache, however, lingers until bedtime.

Weekly contest (week prompts)

Royal Mount opens its WonderWorld Park to the public on Monday. For its opening week during the festival, the rides are all free.

Green Valley Organizes a flower judging contest for the various schools on Wednesday. Students are asked to present their most beautiful and unique flowers. Flower arrangements are also judged and with prizes evaluated at over 20 000 Macca, the stakes are high!

Eastmount offers rides in flower-shaped carriages driven by mechanical horses that could almost pass off as the real thing. (Though it is only the latest technology, thus keeping the entire thing animal cruelty free!)

The Giant Float Parade on Friday afternoon travels around the vast forest of Point-à-Tarte. Each school has been encouraged to enter its cheerleaders and theater productions into the parade. The Flower King and Queen greet visitors at the very end, throwing little presents for the children.

The festival continues until Saturday Nightfall. The schools visit the festival in turn, sometimes for education courses about the various flowers and trees that dot Eddan's landscape, sometimes to show off flower and plant-based sculptures that the various clubs have worked hard on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I: General/Sunday]
Go somewhere new. Get some fresh air. Simple enough instructions to follow. And initially, Michelle is ready and content to do just that.

She manages perhaps one hour, tops, before that plan comes crashing down.

And the catalyst for that? Comes in the form of one flower stand she finds herself halting in front of. (And perhaps tripping up any number of people behind her, due to how sudden her stop is.) It’s one of those stands selling flowers at wallet gouging prices, but certainly appears to deliver on their displays; today’s selection comes in the form of hibiscus blooms, all in a dramatic array of colors and patterns. A few even are set under UV lights, to glimmer against black backdrops.

It’s all very pretty. Which doesn’t explain the way Michelle’s eyes narrow, and her expression wars between distaste… and a certain degree of desire.

“So, they decided this was the best time to trot out their bio-organics research?” She frowns at a logo set above the plants. Some sort of stylized crown and eye symbol; it’s almost drowned out by all the blooms. And the fact it’s easy to see as a simple corporate brand, in different parts of town.

“…But.” She finds herself continuing, more quiet than before. “Those flowers are… nice, I suppose.”

With the way she edges towards them, ‘nice’ is a clear understatement.

Try to talk her out of making an extravagant purchase?

[II: Sunday, Opening Ceremony]
((OOC: Warning for Persona 3 brand pseudo-suicide for this prompt.))

Michelle settles back to enjoy the ceremonies, her own spot picked out heedless of the rain and damp. She DOES have a decent umbrella on hand however, to shield herself and anyone nearby from rain, depending on how bad it may get.

But that umbrella gets folded away for a moment, once the fireworks begin; she wants to have a clear view of these. And the flashes of color and light are indeed impressive, and-

Something cold is pressed against her head. It’s a solid weight she carries in her hands, a smooth grip and trigger that fits to the curve of her palm and finger.

She should be terrified of what comes next. There’s no proof that she’ll be sane or survive the mental shock of what is to follow, once she pulls that trigger. But she can feel eyes on her, watching, waiting.

And she isn’t about to let them down. When everything is done, she can say that she didn’t flinch, and she managed to invoke with the tool given to her.

BANG.

Michelle doubles over at the memory, a sick feeling doing its best to settle in her throat. And her heart is racing at a dozen miles a minute and did she really, truly, just imagine putting a gun to her head? And that she was proud of what she was doing?

Compared to that, the eerie glow seems almost common place. Some… some after effect of the fireworks, no doubt. And her own odd moment could be blamed on the noise, perhaps.

That’s what she wants to claim, for now.

“Q-quite… quite the display.” But it doesn’t stop her voice from shaking. She speaks to whoever is closest, and carries a fading ember of that glow. “It brings… many odd things to mind, however.”

[III: During the Week]
Despite a rough start to the festival, Michelle seems determined not to remain confused or inactive for long. It’s going to be a common sight, spotting her moving among the arrangements and attractions. And always with a notebook and textbook at hand, for some studying.

…Which, does cause a noticeable stir a time or two when some of her papers get blown free during the parade, and she rushes to catch them.

And perhaps it’s a sign of how unnerved she is, but that distant facade of hers shows a few cracks, as a time or two she offers to use what’s left in her stipend for someone to go on a carriage ride, if they appear to need to relax; sometimes, those small acts of kindness aid her in feeling a touch more at ease, herself.

Finally, there’s the sight of her moving among the sculptures towards the end of the week; sometimes with a school group, other times on her own, and always furiously trying to get a few more notes in.

The first day at the festival had been...interesting, to say the least. Natsume's honestly really bothered by these recurring headaches and visions and things, especially after the scene he saw on Sunday. But with all the excitement of the festival--or no, let me rephrase that: he's a lot more interested in the festivities this week than he's been in previous years! These displays sure are fascinating, aren't they! He helped the theater club set up their production in the parade, too! (As a stagehand in the theater club.)

He's wandering around looking at the sculptures with the same amount of enthusiasm, looking more at the flowery figures and less at the path in front of him, focusing on all the pretty colors...and almost manages to crash into his schoolmate. There's a confused and hurried attempt to back away as soon as he realizes his error, but he manages not to trip over himself.

"Ah--sorry..."

She's almost gathered all those errant sheets of paper (and is seriously considering the virtues of stapling each and every one of them into a new notebook. And taping them in place too, just to ensure that another embarrassment like this doesn't strike again) save for one more bit of note work fluttering around in the breeze. And a glance at the paper already tells her that it's one of the more important ones, covering some key points of this week's psychology lectures. Something she hasn't had time to memorize yet, and will doubtlessly be on the final exam.

All of this factors into why her vision and focus is narrowed on catching that last scrap, to the exclusion of all else.

It's pure luck that the person in front of her scrambles out of the way before she crashes into them. Michelle brings herself up short with a very undignified squeak in the back of her throat. It takes nearly three seconds of confused blinking, before she gets her mental feet back under her and figures out what the situation is.

"The apology should be mine, actually. I'm afraid I was a bit lax in holding onto my notes... and now it seems I'm paying the price for it." She can at least get that much said, while watching the last note twist away in the wind-

The wind which suddenly shifts, and sends said piece of paper fluttering back down towards their faces.

He doesn't notice that free-flying scrap of paper at first, distracted as he is by the girl he almost crashed into. Or she almost crashed into him? Saying it's both their faults would probably be the wrong thing to say...definitely wrong, yeah. He flounders a bit over what to say instead, having been distracted from his original distraction and therefore being a little more confused than he should be at the moment.

"No, I wasn't really paying attention, either...with all the, er--" He waves vaguely at the floral decorations around them, turning his head as he does so, and promptly gets smacked in the face with the renegade paper.

Natsume carefully removes the offending document from its landing spot, and...can't help glancing at what's written on it, before quietly handing it to the person holding a lot more papers. "Um.

...It's pretty windy today." Nailed it.

Michelle winces a bit over the impact; watching him get smacked by it is the final argument that she needs to invest in a better binder.

"Ah... yes. Yes, it is." Internally she's caught between embarrassed horror, and a very slight twinge of helpless amusement over the entire thing. And doing her best to look calm and polite through the exchange...though with the way her eyebrows and lips both shoot up, that may be a bit of a lost cause. Still, watching him peel the paper off reminds her to keep a tight grip on what she's managed to catch.

"Thank you, however; for catching that last one. I hadn't managed to memorize what was on it yet, and that would put me at a distinct disadvantage during finals." She pinches the offending piece of paper, to guarantee it won't go pelting anyone else in the face.

At least it's only paper...less pain, more embarrassment. He's not exactly looking composed himself, a slight tinge of red coloring his cheeks after having been smacked in the face like that. But the mention of finals is - while slightly distressing because finals - also a topic he can grab onto in hopes of moving past the awkwardness of their meeting so far. Plus...

"You're studying at a festival?" That seems pretty strange to him, but then again, he doesn't exactly have the highest grades in his class.

"Yes; I find that a change in location is enough to refresh the mind. And helps the information stick, more so than another two or three hours of studying at the dorm or library."

It's only after she lists all those facts off, that she realizes there's a faint note of surprise in the other person's voice.

"...This said, I realize this approach doesn't work for everyone. But I prioritize getting good grades right now."

Her answer does sort of make sense...though being a quiet guy himself, it's hard to imagine studying actually being effective out in a place with so many people around. He nods, looks around, gives her a questioning look.

"Did you get to see the parade, at least?" A pause. "...Or the fireworks." He's not sure how to feel about the fireworks, but.

"Oh, of course. I've been watching it where I can. In fact, I managed to review a portion of French history during the rose floats." She can't help but feel a little pleased at the juxtaposition herself; there's every a small and pleased smile teasing at her face, as she warms to the conversation. "And I-"

...That pleased look flickers out once the fireworks are brought up. Her fingers tighten for a minuscule moment on her notes, and give a brief twitch at the memory. And the hallucination brought on by them.

"Y...yes. I saw those as well. It... was not the highlight I'd hoped it would be, sadly."

To understate it.

...Ah. Did she get the same feeling he did, then? Most of the people around had enjoyed the display, he's sure - a pretty show, with no headaches or weird visions involved. At least, that's what you'd normally think of something like that, right?

Even if he's guessed right though, it feels kind of awkward to ask her about it. Did the fireworks give you weird dream visions too?...He lowers his eyes, after a moment.

"Mm. It....kind of hurt my eyes."

Half-truth?

"What's bio-organics?"

Who is this boy with a flower crown standing behind her? When he did he get there? Who knows. But Akira is there now, looking up at her in wait for an answer while also looking over at the flowers. They look like normal flowers, to him.

It takes a moment of glancing around, before Michelle has the presence of mind to look down and see the boy. She's seen cats with less sneaking skills than this young one, and it's a trifle embarrassing that he managed to blindside her so effectively.

That said... he did ask a question.

"It's... In this case, it's integrating scientific developments with something living. One would think that manipulating genetics and basic plant makeup on such a level would go towards something a bit more... beneficial. But instead, they've decided to use it towards crafting flowers."

She sounds highly exasperated about it. But for all that, her eyes keep going back to the blossoms, and lingering on some of the more intricate color patterns.

"Oh." That only half answered his question, mostly because... well, he could only understand half of it, but whatever. "What do you think they should be used for?" The flowers are pretty, he thinks, but she obviously thinks they're not pretty enough, or something.

"Medical advancement. Isolating potential harmful traits someone may pick up from their parents. Something OTHER than flowers which are then sold at high prices, as a way of flaunting and bragging about one's research." She seems to get more and more irritated, the more she speaks.

But given the way she frowns at the flowers, it's clearly not who she's talking to. Rather, what she's talking about.

"...Which is why it's so frustrating that they honestly are lovely, in terms of appearance-" Michelle checks herself at that. She's coming dangerously close to losing her temper.

"But... that isn't what you were asking about. At all." She amends quickly.

"No, it wasn't." He agrees. That was not what he asked at all.

He pokes at one of the flowers, considering them. "There are other pretty flowers. Would those make you less mad?" Don't be mad, stranger lady.

"I assure you, I'm not mad. Just... frustrated. Stressed." So she says. But the way her fingernails dig into her palms suggests otherwise.

The fact she's become so ruffled in front of a child only adds salt to the wounds.

"And yes, there are others which are quite nice. It's simply that these... draw the attention, for various reasons." There's also the fact they're the first hibiscus she's seen here, and something about that fact draws her eyes back to them.

"Aren't festivals supposed to make you less stressed?" Hm. Maybe she's just not very good at festivals.

After a moment, Akira reaches out to grab her hand, completely unaware of how socially not appropriate that is. "There are flowers over there too, maybe you should look at those." And so he begins to tug, which... is largely ineffective if she doesn't choose to follow, given his size.

It may be ineffective... but the fact is, it's a request being made of her, and Michelle finds herself falling into step behind him. It makes for a curious picture, seeing a young boy lead around a much taller girl by the hand.

"You are correct though. The goal here is to become less stressed." She lets herself admit. "And... alright. I can't argue that there's other things to look at here, either. It wouldn't hurt to take a break from that particular display."

And... she's reasonably certain that there aren't any eyes at her back, from those managing said display. At least, she hopes there isn't.

Akira doesn't stop until they're by some flowers a ways off, ones arrange in colorful bunches and bouquets. There are many of them bunched together, so that makes them better, he's pretty sure. He won't let go of her hand immediately, though. She has to become less stressed first.

"These are nice," he tells her, looking up at her. Don't you think these are nice?

A few of those papers fly into Rei's path. He's quick to pick them up before they fly any further, glancing at them only long enough to figure out who they belong to before glancing around to see if he can spot their owner. When he spots Michelle, he ambles over, holding out the papers once he reaches her. "These yours?"

"Embarrassing as it is to admit... yes." It's probably the fact that she still needs them back to memorize, that she's motivated into dropping her dignity and running after them. "My apologies if you had to go out of your way to gather any of them..."

She trails off, once she realizes who it is she's speaking with.

"Though... correct me if I'm wrong, but we happen to go the same school, don't we? So it may be you're familiar with some of what's been written down."

Rei shrugs. "No big deal."

She probably does go to the same school as he does; at least, he thinks he recognizes her. "Green Valley?"

"Right? They're wonderful, aren't they?" If Michelle was hoping for someone to convince her not to spend money, it apparently isn't going to be coming from this girl, who's also been looking over the flowers.

"I think the brown and red dwarfs would be good, personally... Did they really have to name half of their new flowers after stellar objects, though?"

"...I can only guess at what their marketing division has in mind with these names." Michelle sighs out in response. "Probably trying to appeal to people who want more, or want to have a higher opinion of themselves. Stellar names would inspire that feeling of being bright and important."

A part of her is surprised she managed to latch onto that idea. If the curious blink she gives those name cards is any indication.

"But... that's of secondary concern. I'm not a business woman right now; just another person debating if this is worth the price."

...They are pretty though, and she eyes the red dwarfs in particular. Something about that range of scarlet appeals to her.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OPEN] FLOWER FESTIVAL

Michelle Chastain (Mitsuru Kirijo) | OTA | Warning for Prompt 2 and pseudo suicide mentioned there

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