farawayplace | [MINI EVENT] ☆T A N A B A T A☆

Those from the four regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh will be very familiar with the sight of bamboo stalks that are left outside decorated with colorful and sparkly paper decorations. There are people gathering around, helping one another put up paper amulet of varying colors to tie around the bamboo branches. On each amulet is a single wish that’s been handwritten by someone.

One can only hope that their wish will be heard…

At night, there’s a surprise to be found: an alternate colored Jirachi is out dressed in what’s clearly a handmade costume. Around its neck, is a colorful paper chain made of sparkly origami paper.

Not only has Jirachi come to grant wishes, Miniors are out and about bright and colorful. They’ll be dancing around seemingly trying to invite people to come join them in the festivities.

((OOC: Happy Tanabata! In the morning is a general mingle post. But as the evening sets in and Jirachi appears, it will start granting the wish written on your amulet whether big or small -- wealth, a long life, or maybe a way to return home. You're free to catch Miniors too, and there's a slightly better chance of encountering a shiny one as well. Just be careful of the ones still in their shell or you might just get a rather explosive surprise...

This event can take place at any town, so feel free to specify a location!))

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Volo tilts his head, wondering about his answer to that question. He used to think he was 'religious', but now he's not sure that's the right word. He has been devoted, if you were to ask him; other people would call it obsession. 'Religious' can imply some kind of obedience, but Volo is no passive follower of Arceus. He may use respectful titles, out of habit, but he is a demander of Arceus' attention.

With a sigh, Volo walks around the collection of Murkrow to take a seat next to Gold.

"Ah, I don't think so. It's complicated. Maybe my feelings aren't so different from yours, since you mention it. I also wouldn't mind having a word or two with Arceus."

...but it's probably best not to get into that too much.

"Oh, showers are wonderful! And, yes, all the nice-smelling things that you can just buy, with money! You may not know the time and effort it takes to make soap from scratch, but...at best, in Hisui, I might have had a bit of plant oil or Combee wax. I confess, I have not delved very far into the world of computers and smartphones. Perhaps those are better than showers. But I cannot imagine anything could be better than being able to get clean. Every day! Twice a day, even!

To the same end, I also appreciate those...whirling machines that wash and dry clothes. Even if the ones at the Pokémon Centre did destroy some of my things, that was almost certainly my own fault for not understanding them..."

He'd just pressed some buttons and hoped for the best. All of his clothes from Hisui were handmade from natural materials, and they didn't exactly come with care instructions. Never mind, those wool shirts would have been no good in Ultern, anyway...

"But forgive me, young sir, now I'm rambling about things that must be very mundane to you! I'm sure you have more interesting news than I do!"

The Murkrow don't pay Volo much mind as he walks past them, preoccupied with food. One flies up and lands on Gold's shoulder, but Gold doesn't react much to it, just shifts slightly to make things more comfortable for it.

"Really? Huh, cool," Gold says. It's a bit of a relief knowing he won't have to hold his words about Arceus around Volo, then. Not that Gold makes a habit of talking about Arceus.

"Yeah, I'd rather be without computers than without showers," Gold says, nodding. He cringes in sympathy at the description of laundry. "I ruined some clothes in the laundry when I was little too! I started to avoid washing them at all, but that ended up ruining them too... It sucked."

This is why it's so interesting talking to Volo, he's dealing with all the things Gold had to learn on his own too. He feels like a kindred spirit in a way.

"Nah, it's not boring at all. I dunno if what I've been doing's any more interesting than that. You know about movies yet? That's what I've been getting into lately. I missed out on them as a kid so now a new friend of mine's showing me her favorites and stuff."

"Oh...I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only victim of the laundry machines. This is very comforting, actually. I did feel quite silly at the time! But then I realised that there are instructions...not only on the machines, but also on the clothing! Not even words, but symbols. If something has so many instructions, and they have to be written in a strange code, it must be complicated."

Now it feels more like a modern rite of passage, if it was something Gold had experienced, too. Sure, he might have been a child at the time, but Volo has to accept that he is like a child here, in some ways.

"Movies...?" Volo watches the Murkrow on Gold's shoulder for a moment or two, wondering if he might be able to make an educated guess about what they were. But his mind is drawing a total blank. Something that moves? Well, that could be anything! "No, I don't think that's something I've experienced yet. Unless it's something I've stumbled across without being aware of the name. I'm sure there must be lots of things like that!"

He still doesn't know what to call a refrigerator, despite buying things from the one at the Pokémon Centre on a regular basis...

"Oh yeah, I guess there's instructions, huh? I still dunno how to read those, but I figured out settings that seem to work fine for all my clothes. But I'm not gonna risk that for these," he says, patting his yukata. "It's handmade, so I asked the guy who made it for instructions and wrote them down."

It's Gold's first time wearing this yukata since he got it! He's been saving it for an occasion like this. He's never had the opportunity to wear fancy clothes for festivals before so he's savoring it.

"Yeah, maybe you've seen it. Uh, movies are like... You know TVs? You've probably seen some. They've got these screens like..." Gold gestures a square shape with his hands, and keeps making vague gestures that probably don't help illustrate his point at all. "And they show stuff. Like, all kinds of stuff. Stories and news and cartoons and... y'know? And movies are like... like that, but... big?" Gold gestures vaguely and widely. The Murkrow on his shoulder caws and mimics his gestures with its wings.

"It is a very nice outfit! You must feel very proud to wear one! And it's heartening to see that some traditions don't change." Realising that his last remark might have made no sense without an explanation, Volo adds, "I went to a festival once, in...in my time, in Hisui. I don't think it was Tanabata, but people were wearing similar things then."

Not Volo, he'd just been wearing his merchant's uniform, as usual. Unsure whether he should mingle or not, he'd mostly stayed on the edge of the celebrations, with some of his fellow merchants. Familiarity is comforting.

Volo finds himself mimicking Gold's gestures, as if that will help him to understand.

"Screens, like...the ones they have in the library, and in the Pokémon Centre? But...aren't they called computers? I'm sure I've seen people watching moving pictures on those! Even speaking to them, sometimes, and they talk back! Is that the same as a TV? Are those...movies...?"

"Yeah, when I'm wearing this it kinda feels like I've got some kinda connection with the past? Like time's stopped, or like, history repeats itself or... Hmm..." Gold's mouth goes thin with thought as he tries to figure out a way to convey how he feels. He looks up at the stars. "It's like, these stars were there a hundred years ago, and so were people who wore yukatas, looking at those stars. So it's like, I'm the same as those people, to the stars, or something. You know?"

It's a bit unusual for Gold to feel so poetic, but something about Tanabata just put him in a mood. And meeting Volo has him thinking about people from ages past more than he usually would.

Gold frowns in helpless confusion as Volo misunderstands.

"No, those are video phones! Or, uh..." He makes a few more vague motions. "Okay, so there's a bunch of things with screens like that. There's TVs, computers, video phones and other stuff too probably... There's a lot of things they're used for, but when you're talking with somebody on the screen that's a video call. But when it's like... Oh! You know plays, like theater, right? Movies are like that, but on the screen! Except I guess in plays the performers can hear if you talk to them, but in movies they can't. It'd be like trying to talk to a photo. Photos are super old so you know about those, right?"

[MINI EVENT] ☆T A N A B A T A☆

[ cw: generic religion reference... (and Volo talking about his laundry) ]

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[ in which Volo thinks video calls are movies...sorry, Gold... ]

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