View source for 2020-05-17 - Uminari Matsuri: POWER

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! style="background:#CC6699; border: 2px #CC0033 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Title: Uminari Matsuri: POWER'''
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|'''Summary''':<br>
''Endo and Mikoto take on a strength test booth, and win fabulous prizes.''
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| '''Who:'''<br>
[[Mikoto Minagi]], [[Endo Naoki]]
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| '''Where:'''<br>
Uminari Seaside Park
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| '''OOC - IC Date:'''<br>
2020-05-17 - 2015-08-29
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|}

 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
 <SoundTracker> The Cat Empire - Party Started https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_-NJyFZsvs

Here the moon rises over lantern and fluttering banner, cheerful LED lights around painted paper. There's a booth for decorating mirrors with sequins and shells and glitter, and a strength test complete with comically oversized rubber hammer.

(It's not as heavy as it looks.)

And here there is a girl in a light blue yukata, cat-faced purse slung over one shoulder and black case over the other. She carries with her a BALL IN A CUP, one attached to the other with colourful yellow string, which she won from a ''water balloon popping booth.'' Mikoto Minagi doesn't have Natsuki's aim or Homura's steady hand, but she managed to vanquish enough of the balloons for a prize regardless.

(Though, let's be honest here, everyone gets prizes. It's a festival.)

She has her own stall responsibilities, after all: well, that is, ''Mai'' has a responsibility to represent Linden Baum, and Mikoto is also there. But everyone's still setting up, so Mikoto inevitably wandered off, following the path of so many great cats. She'll get back in time to start cracking eggs, probably.

(That will go well.)

Right now, eggs are a distant dream, because Mikoto is having fun at the festival with one of her friends. She holds the cup upside down, bouncing the ball up and down. Her friend swats at it, jumping up to catch the bouncy ball as it dangles. Also, her friend is a cat, ginger and short of hair. Yakisoba has been drawn from Tokyo Bay by the allure... of ''festival food.''

(Yes, Mikoto named him Yakisoba.)


 <Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo too has responsibilities at the festival. He has escaped the konbini to do volunteer work, which so far has mostly been helping erect booths. He's due to help shape riceballs and fry things later, but there's still some time left to actually get out and enjoy the atmosphere before he's pressed into service.

He wears a yukata of his own, deep blue with a white belt holding the loose garment in place. If he weren't volunteering he'd be wearing more traditional sandals instead of the sneakers half-way hidden under the swish of the garment.

He has no friends with him yet, but he does have food. A small bowl of yakisoba and a pair of chopsticks in one hand helping funnel it into his mouth at regular intervals. Out of politeness he stands nearby the stand he receives it from, content to absorb the energy of the warm summer evenings.

At least, until he spots a cat (two cats?).

"Mikoto-chan!" Endo calls, raising his voice to be heard over the small din of festivalgoers. After a moment more he shuffles over to join the familiar girl and her small companion. "Where'd you win that?"


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yakisoba's ears twitch-twitch-twitch as a voice rises above the others, and so do Mikoto's. She turns, ball-on-string dangling for a moment as her eyes search for: "Endo!" It's a happy word, pleased to see him.

The cat sniff-sniff-sniffs at Endo as he approaches, tail quirked up high like a question mark and ears forward. Mikoto's friendly body language is a little different, because she is not, strictly speaking, a cat*; relaxed shoulders, a bright smile, easy movements.

He calls attention to the ''ball in a cup,'' and Mikoto grins, tilting it rightside-up again to bounce it back into its cradle. "Water balloons!" She chirps, pleased with herself. "I popped lots of them!"

Bounce, bounce, the cup catches the ball. "Endo, won anything yet?" Mikoto asks, because ''obviously'' he would triumph over the festival games.

(* magic mishaps excluded)


 <Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo scrunches down, crouching to carefully reach and pat Yakisoba between the ears. It is Mikoto's friend, so it shall be his.

"Aaahnot yet." Endo confesses. "I don't know if I want to carry around a lot of stuff. I was going to try the hammer game later." Food had been of more importance last time he passed by that particular booth, as his bowl of noodles can attest to.

"Do you want to help me win a prize?" There's still time before he has to do his work, and spending it with a friend is preferable. "We can get food on the way, if you want something. Do you have a favorite festival food?" There are so many choices, after all.


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Yakisoba receives pets! He thonks his face into Endo's hand, because Mikoto's friends are gentle and kind and good and would never do a single thing wrong.

(Yakisoba has killed three birds today.)

"Hammer game..?" Mikoto asks, as she looks around the booths to try and figure out what one he means. When her eyes fall upon that booth, her face lights up in understanding. "Hammer game!" If Vita were here, Mikoto is sure she'd be the best at that game, but there are only two ''other'' smashy titans in residence. They'll do.

She is, of course, distracted from her enlightenment by -- "I like noodles!" Mikoto insists. "And cotton candy! And crepes! And ayu fish, and, and --" her head tilts up like she's made herself dizzy with all those options, free hand scratching at her cheek. "Favourites are hard..."

A lightbulb flicks on over her head, as Mikoto's attention snaps back to Endo. "Let's win prizes, then decide!" This is the genius solution Mikoto has settled on. Well... let's be fair to Mikoto, she was never known for her intricate plots.


 <Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

"Festivals are hard." Endo agrees. Mikoto's plan seems to be good enough for him, though. "Okay, prizes first. And eating can be the second prize after, right?" The boy beams, offering a good-natured laugh before he turns his eyes around the festival again. It takes a second, but through the haze of lights he locates the booth again.

Back that way they go, through the sights and smells of the busy park pathways. Endo does his best not to give in to distraction, and soon he's laying down several coins at the booth to pay for a turn for both himself and Mikoto.

He hasn't decided on a prize yet. There's a good handful, plush dolls and toys, paper fans, other things. But for Endo it's about the thrill of swinging things around, not the reward.

And swing it he does. The hammer isn't actually terribly heavy, as necessary to appeal to the wide range of festival goers. It's a little awkward to get a handle on, as seen by the near-miss on the first try. But once he's got a moment to readjust he proves his strength! At least, the electronic scoreboard makes a lot of beeps and boops as it counts up his points.

"This is the kind of game I'm good at." Endo decides. To be fair, it'd be pretty hard to be bad at.


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

"But they're fun!" Mikoto offers sunny retort to the eternal struggle of the festival. Sometimes, hard things... are worth it. And sometimes hard efforts are worth ''two prizes,'' and she nods firm affirmation, humming her agreement.

Yakisoba sneaks off to go see if he can find some of that ayu fish, because Mikoto follows Endo through the hundred-hundred festival lights - they catch at her eyes, all those colours reflecting off bright, bright yellow - to the ''hammer booth.''

"Wooow," she opines, on the nature of the booth and all its prizes. There are so many good things here! Her attention goes back to Endo as he takes up the hammer - which does not, to be fair, look ''that'' oversized to Mikoto's eyes, especially in his hands. "Yeah!" Mikoto cheers, fist pumping into the air. "Hit it!" Which he does! DOINK! Beep boop beep!

"This game is easy for us!" Mikoto decides, brightly, as she takes up the hammer. And - visibly double-takes, with a confused noise, as she feels it in her hands without any heft at all. Is it made of air, or something? "... all right!" Her grin returns, as she gets over the uncanniness of a weapon only designed to ''look'' heavy.

Down it goes. DOINK. Beep boop beep!

Don't worry, despite her gung-ho attitude, Mikoto does not break the strength testing machine. Her guess wasn't too far off: there's a ''lot'' of cushioning in that thing.

"Dang," remarks the man at the stall, as he looks over the numbers. "You kids must be the stars of the Athletics Festival, huh? Feel free to choose any prize you like."

Mikoto's eyes light up, as she looks over the various prizes on offer. Novelty plush backpacks, and headbands with various decorations, and slinkies which are ''made of glitter.'' But in the end she points at an ornate paper fan, the sort with ''good'' wooden slats supporting it, emblazoned with a coiling dragon. "That!" She insists, in certainty.

Mikoto wants to bring something back to Mai, too..!


 <Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Truly the hammer stand was not ready for warriors of such calibur. Endo beams, encouraging, "Good hit!" As the numbers beep and boop for Mikoto. It's a great victory for the both of them.

When it comes time for prizes her has to consider carefully. Anything of significant heft is right out, considering he'll have to carry it both around the festival and then find a place to store it during work. The toys and fans get some consideration, but Endo eventually decides on one of the headbands.

It only takes a moment for him to fasten it in place. Now his forehead proudly declares: POWER in a big, white kanji.

"What do you think?" He asks of Mikoto. "Does it look good?"


 <Pose Tracker> Mikoto Minagi [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.

Mikoto's solution to her ball and cup was to loop it over her shoulder, obviously. Her shoulder, and not her neck, because...

She reaches back to retrieve the ball from behind her and return it to its rightful place in the cup. Having demonstrated that trick, it will probably come up again later to let her free up a hand, but for now she has ball and cup in one hand and fan in the other. A ladylike fan like that doesn't suit the rough-and-tumble Mikoto terribly well, but Mikoto thinks it would suit someone else just fine.

There are other gifts which make more sense on their winners: take, for instance, ''Endo's new headband.'' "It's good!" Mikoto says, plainly enthusastic, as she looks up at the emblazoned kanji. "'Cause Endo's really powerful!" Is... is that why it looks good..? ... well, Mikoto's never really been one for fashion...


 <Pose Tracker> Endo Naoki [Juuban Public School (12)] has posed.

Endo seems to find this satisfactory. He smiles brightly once again, replying, "I'll keep it, then!" Easy enough!

"Okay, now, let's find some food." Endo's already eaten, but there's always room for more. Especially during a festival.

"We can find more games after," He notes as he begins to lead through the park. "And you can come by our stall, if you get time. I'll be helping out there for the rest of the night-but hopefully not all of it!" And he leads on, to food and glory.
[[Category:Logs]]