(open) celebrating everything it took to free us from the land of the broken and betrayed

[whatsupcroc]

Date & Time: February 12th - February 14th
Location: Throughout Exsilium
Characters: ANY & ALL
Summary: Separation Awareness Day is a festival and time of celebration for the hard won and retained freedoms of those who live on the island of Exsilium. Separate from the United Earth, they continue to exist, and thrive in their own way. As those identified as teenagers and children are showered with gifts of sweets, foods, and toys from the adult population, merchants are selling on the streets and color had invaded the often grey atmosphere. Feasting is practically a law, singing can be heard in the streets, and instruments that may stay safely indoors most the year are brought out to encourage dancing and such other frivolities as are rarely seen.

The night of the 14th there are fireworks shows throughout the city, with the most impressive display being launched from the remains of Buckingham Palace.

Warnings: Festivities!

Date your threads as you will, and feel free to use this as a Valentine's exploration as well for those more inclined to appreciate a holiday from home amidst the celebrations of a whole different sort of world!

Comments

february 13th, early afternoon / february 14th, night, both open!

[motioned]

A. It's the sound of music that brings her out into the streets. She still feels empty, hollow from being taken from all her friends and family just over a week ago, but once she leaves the Hold, she's glad she's decided to take a look. She's not interested in the gifts passed along to her, though she doesn't reject them. What makes her glad is the laughter, the color, the music. She can't help but feel a certain excitement at all the motion and joy around her.

Once she finds an area where instruments are being played and people are dancing in the square, she can't help but join in. Her movements are clumsy and uncalculated, but not without a great amount of excitement and joy. Her hair is loose, flying all around her as she spins in giddy circles, grinning brightly.

B. On the night of the fourteenth, there's a more somber feeling. Though Valentines Day isn't being recognized here, she can't help but think of a certain boy she'd left behind not weeks ago, someone she's dying to see. She'd planned to stay in today, but once the sun sets, she happens to look out the window and catch sight of fireworks exploding outside.

She takes an umbrella to shield from the rain, going to the top of the Hold for a better view. Sitting there, her knees pulled up to her chest, peering at the sky, she resolves to only stay a few minutes.

[aceordisgraced]

A~ hi~ ru.

[What a way to approach your (teenage) friend at night, Phoenix. But he at least approaches from in front of her, with the fireworks lighting him up enough that he knows she'll recognize his hat at the very least, and he flops himself down on the grass next to her.]

This seat taken?

[motioned]

[Lost in her thoughts, it takes a moment for her to realize there's somebody speaking to her, let alone that there's someone there. She inhales sharply when she sees him, a moment of surprise, before she nods.]

A-Ah, yeah! I mean, yeah as in yeah, you can sit there, not yeah, it's taken. Um, go for it!

[aceordisgraced]

[Whoa there! He didn't notice that she hadn't noticed he was there. He raises his hands in a show of "no harm" and to make sure he can catch her if she falls over, but she seems okay so he smiles again and makes himself at home.]

Thanks. Are you sleepy or something?

A

[ultimate_coordinator]

[ Kira wasn't really there to party. He was there to look for his friends. Unfortunately, no one was listening (How could they when they can't even hear him through the music?) and was dragging him all over the square. ]

Er--- sorry, if you'd just let me through ...

[ He has two left feet when it comes to dancing --- so he accidentally bumps into Ahiru as he tried to pry his hands away from another dancer. ]

[motioned]

[She can't hear him well, either, and she mistakes his movement for a sign of interest in the dancing going on. She smiles, stopping her motions for a moment as she speaks, trying to raise her voice so he can pick up her words.]

Do you know how?

[ultimate_coordinator]

[ Still quite confused. He is still trying to figure out what was going on.

Finally the moving stopped and he was standing in front of what looked like a young girl. ]

Err ... know how to ... what?

A

[idealord]

Hilbert's kind of entranced by the clumsy but jovial dance Ahiru's doing. It's obvious she's not that coordinated, but she loves it so much... He slips through the crowd and grabs her arm, grinning.

"Can I dance with you? You look like you're having a lot of fun."

[motioned]

She turns as soon as she feels the touch, caught off guard, but the smile returns as soon as she realizes the boy doesn't mean her any harm. If anything, the grin grows, and she nods.

"Of course! I might not be the best partner, though."

[idealord]

"You'll probably be better than me! I don't have a ton of experiences with dancing at all, just battling." And while it's certainly a type of dance to Trainers, ultimately it doesn't help here.

He lets go of her arm and holds out a hand. "I don't know any formal sorts of dances, so I'm fine with you leading."

a

[velveteened]

( GUESS WHO ELSE IS TAKING PART IN FESTIVITIES )

[motioned]

[She doesn't notice his face in the crowd, packed as it is. Sooner or later, as is in her nature, she makes a misstep that she can't correct in time. She collides with the boy on her way down, but that doesn't quite stop her; she's lucky that he breaks her fall as they both plummet to the ground.

For a moment, she can only focus on the surprise, not the surprise of the situation.]

Ouch! Jeez...

[And then, all of a sudden, she realizes she's basically laying on top of someone. In her hurry to rise, she plants her hand down to propel herself up. She's so frenzied, of course, that she doesn't happen to pay much mind to where her hand falls... Which is, as luck would have it, right over his face. Once she realizes this, there's a sudden redness in her cheeks as she moves, looking away from him in her embarrassment.]

I-I'm so sorry! For falling on you and then for the thing with your face, I'm really sorry...

[velveteened]

- ow!

( he can't help but yelp in surprise as they go down. and he'd been having a lot of fun dancing and playing around too...of course, when he tries to see just who fell onto him, his face gets immediately covered with someone's hand, so he's left sputtering under there until she finally notices and moves. he pulls himself up onto his elbows, wincing a little, and not quite looking at her just yet as he rubs his head. )

...ahahah, it's okay. ( A LITTLE WEAKLY ) You didn't mean to, right? So it's fine.

a

[onlyasong]

[Someone spots the girl twirling around so happily and can't help but go over and join in the spinning. Having fun is what festivals of this sort are about, after all.

As soon as she's near Ahiru, Lacie begins mimicking the twirling. A smile breaks out on her face and a laugh follows shortly thereafter.]

This really is fun, isn't it?

[motioned]

[She grins, her motion not stopping, though she does glance at the girl each time the direction she's moving allows for it.]

Yes! So fun, I love things like this. You too, huh?

[The dancing leaves her a bit short of breath, or she'd speak more; still, it's an excited breathlessness/]

[onlyasong]

[The smile gets sent Ahriu's way. Lacie isn't out of breath yet, but she'll get there soon enough at the rate she's going.]

Mhm. Dancing like this is incredible. All the energy and movement and breathlessness makes you feel truly alive.

[And considering she, well, no longer exists back home, it makes this feel all the more amazing.]

A!

[boredallready]

[Her movements catch Lloyd's attention. He wasn't a dancer himself, but he had seen other people do it before. And this girl's movements looked nothing like anything he had ever seen before. He's curious, so he has to approach her just to ask:]

Are you dancing or something?

[motioned]

Of course I am, what does it look like I'm doing?

[...She probably doesn't want an answer to that question, but anyways.]

A

[galactically]

[On the other hand, Sheryl's dance movements are well-coordinated — a slight swaying of her hips here, a graceful twirl with her arms outstretched there. Each step matches to the rhythm as she continues dancing, laughing merrily along the way. It's only a matter of time until she bumps into someone, distracted by her own fun that she doesn't notice Ahiru until a second later.

Her mouth gapes and there's a gasp coming from her, halting her steps abruptly.]

— Ahiru! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you.

[motioned]

[She nearly loses her balance after the impact, waving her arms hurriedly to regain footing, but once she's righted herself, she turns back to Sheryl with a smile. She raises a hand amiably, shaking her head.]

Don't worry about it! It happens to the best of us. I know it's happened to me a bunch of times!

A.

[bittertears]

[Alice just watches from her spot in the crowd. Certainly not the most graceful or refined dancing, but that doesn't seem to have stopped Ahiru from enjoying herself.

Indeed, she just smiles as she continues to observe the redhead.]

B

[acemedium]

[And who should appear at the top of the Hold with her, armed with her own umbrella?]

[Maya recognized the other girl - the girl she should have remembered - and immediately smiled in greeting, waving one hand. As awkward as their situation was, Maya had resolved not to think too much about it. Instead, she approached the other girl without hesitating. What was she doing out on her own? Love blues?]

Hey!

[motioned]

[She looks up at the greeting, smiling though it's not that bright, and waves.]

Hi, Maya! Do you want to sit?

B.

[revolutionized]

Finding Anthy has been an unsuccessful trial, and it's left her more confused than ever. By the time the first firework bursts out against the night sky in a flare of color, her mood has also taken a turn for the worst. The fireworks are nice to watch though, take the edge off some of her melancholy, and before she knows it, she's climbing to the highest floor of the Hold to get a closer view.

There's someone there already, and she clears her throat politely. She doesn't want to alarm this girl.

"I guess you had the same idea as me, huh?"

[motioned]

She stands hastily as she looks towards the other girl, offering a smile as she nods to the question.

"Yeah! They're really pretty, and I thought this would be a good place to watch them."