OPEN | let's change from the heart, let's shout

[nomorules]

Who: Anyone and everyone! That means you! Yes, you, c'mere.
Where: The stream and the lake.
When: July 12th, evening.
Rating: PG in case any of y'all get wild with that decorating.
Summary: Come and take part in a mini lantern ceremony, Wonderland-style. Mingle away, comrades!
The Story:





The evening of the 12th, visitors who feel like moseying their way to the stream where it empties out of the forest will be able to enjoy a summer celebration in the Japanese style. Outdoor lights illuminate the area, and tables hold all manner of art supplies and blank paper lanterns waiting to be decorated.

Didn't catch the network 411? Someone around will surely explain: it's a nod to toro nagashi, the paper lantern ceremony meant to guide the souls of the departed by decorating lanterns and setting them loose. Maybe you have a departed soul you'd like to remember, or a prayer to make. Maybe you'd just like to write a note message-in-a-bottle style. Maybe you just feel like taking the air and enjoying the sights. The choice is yours!

Either way, once the sun has set and lanterns have been decorated, the candles inside will be lit (remember fire safety, kids!), and the lanterns will be released into the water.

Gather at the lakeside afterward to watch them empty into the lake and enjoy the ambiance with some food and drink. Because we could all use a little more light in our lives, no?

Comments

[angewiesen]

Wow, pretty girl was deciding to sit next to him? Of her own volition and everything? That's pretty much... never happened to Jean. He scooted aside a little to give her more personal space. That was a thing ladies liked, right?

"...That's true," He turned his head, mostly because he was too embarrassed to look her in the eyes, "'guess I haven't really been in the state to try and help other people out yet."

[strategised]

She offers a smile that she hopes is encouraging. "If you've got as much to compartmentalise as it sounds like you have, I'm not surprised. But it'll come in time. When everyone's trapped together like this, you can't go on for too long on your own."

[angewiesen]

You can't go on for too long on your own. Jean suddenly realized that a lot of his problems sprung from the fact that he was alone here. Not entirely, but he was without his squad for the first time in years. They were like his family, and he'd never been apart from them for so long before.

"...I miss them," he admitted, as his hand turned to a fist on the wooden pier, "my squad. It's weird that they're not here."

[strategised]

Makoto nods sympathetically. She couldn't imagine being here without her team; the fact that they were in Wonderland when she'd arrived had made it a hundred times easier than if she were here alone.

"I'm sorry. It must be hard being here alone."

[angewiesen]

"...What about you?" he tried to turn the conversation around when he began to feel uncomfortable-- he didn't like to dwell on his loneliness for too long. It really ruined his mood, and he might start getting pissy in defense, "you got any friends around here?"

Makoto seemed nice enough. Even if she didn't have people from her world here, Jean was confident she would have been able to make a friend or two by now.

[strategised]

"I've been lucky there." She feels bad saying so, after he's just admitted that he's at a loss without his team. "Most of my friends were already here when I arrived. It made settling in a lot easier."

[angewiesen]

"Seriously?" that was lucky. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was pretty jealous. It would have softened his arrival as well, "I wonder if I know any of 'em..."

[strategised]

"Well if you're here, I'm guessing you already know Ryuji." She glances back toward where he was standing at the edge of the lake. "Him, Akira, Ann... we're all teammates."

[angewiesen]

"Him? Seriously?"

What was it with beautiful girls hanging out with overly gregarious idiots? Jean would be glad to find out that they aren't that close, but it wouldn't completely quell his jealousy. Guys like him get all the lucky breaks.

"You don't seem like the type to hang around with him... No offense. To either of you."

He was still a nice enough guy, just a bit... much.

[strategised]

Makoto can't help but burst out laughing. It definitely wasn't the first time that someone had been surprised that she and Ryuji were friends.

"In normal circumstances, I don't think our paths would ever have crossed. He's the sort of person my sister would tell me to stay far away from. But he's a good guy, someone I've counted on."