Festival - 2 Days before MEGAMAX

[srwuga_mods]

Over the skies of Old Seattle, the White Chalice docked. The streets were alive with a festival of all kinds of people. It was the anniversary of the Space Needle being recommissioned by a very generous grant from an anonymous donation, and there were people all around it, celebrating.

Comments

[an_alpha_wolf]

Clanners and carnival games were a natural pair, as Resnick was showing. Pop guns, ring tossing, that thing where you inflate a clown's mouth with a water gun until a balloon pops, skeeball, he was doing it all, recklessly spending all his coin for more chances. Soon he was so overloaded with stuffed animals, backscratchers, noisemakers, firecrackers, fake mustaches, and other brickabrack that even his large frame couldn't hold it all. He looked in despair at his isorla, for there was no seeming way to move it all.

[saikyocivrobo]

Huh. That's not a sight I expected to see.

[an_alpha_wolf]

You did not expect to see me winning these games?

[saikyocivrobo]

More like I didn't expect you to throw yourself at festival games with such... gusto.

[an_alpha_wolf]

Contests are a regular part of clan life. This seems a natural way of distributing prizes.

[saikyocivrobo]

I'm pretty sure that was something like wrestling over a pit of angry bears, though. Festival games are mostly popular among kids and people who want to impress their dates.

[an_alpha_wolf]

Only the Ghost Bears do that, and it is a Big Deal for them. A trial can be fought in any arena, with anything from a whole unit of mechs to two people fighting, arm wrestling or playing chess.

But tell me: what is a "date" and why would one wish to impress them?

[saikyocivrobo]

Sounds like a very competetive lifestyle.

When you have a girl (or guy, if you swing that way) you like, and you go out together to have a good time? That's a date. Both the event, and the person - English language likes to be confusing like that. The impress part should be self-explanatory at this point; most people like to look good in the eyes of their love interest.

[an_alpha_wolf]

Oh, this must be related to this concept of winning a 'boyfriend'. Yes, I can see why you would want to impress that person.

[saikyocivrobo]

Huh. Who did you hear that from, out of curiosity?

[an_alpha_wolf]

[Hi-mi-tsu~, imagine him in a sailor fuku saying that with a finger wave and a wink.] A-...I am not at liberty to divulge that. Was I right?

[saikyocivrobo]

[Yeah, I'll do fine without that image. Mental barriers, up!]

Hmm, true enough. I was just wondering whose taught you about such a common element of our culture.

Not yours though, it seems. The Clans are probably too busy fighting for all this lovey-dovey stuff, huh?

[an_alpha_wolf]

That depends on your definition. Copulation, you are free to do with as many willing partners as you wish. It is a gift exchanged between sibkin or comrades, or another venue for competition. [Yeah, no embarrassment here. Lacks a taboo about talking about this in public.] It is this concept of romantic love that is usually not seen among us. It seems tremendously important to you though...Why is that?

[saikyocivrobo]

Well, I'm no sociologist, but I can tell you that...

...Wait a second. What's a sibkin?

[an_alpha_wolf]

Short for 'sibling company'. Warriors are raised together in groups of several dozen, trueborn by genetic lineage, freeborn by year and area. Bonds between sibkin are often close. [Uh yeah sourcebooks don't seem to acknowledge the Westermark Effect so I have no idea where to go with that...]

[saikyocivrobo]

And you're not worried that the offspring of a brother and sister might be a little, you know, strange and deformed?