bakerstreet | the winter festival meme

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the winter festival meme

The Winter Festival Meme

Brrr! It may be (literally) freezing outside, but that doesn't mean you have to stay cooped up indoors. In fact, with the beauty of the fallen snow, the many holiday celebrations, and the myriad activities one can only do in cold weather... many might consider winter to be the most fun and romantic time of the year!

1. illuminations
Who doesn't love a light show? Decorative strings of lights dazzle when they adorn houses, trees, or festive sculptures.

2. hot drinks
Wassail, cider, cocoa, mulled wine... 'tis the season to indulge in something warming from the inside out!

3. winter sports
Whether you're a snowboarder or a skiier, festival competitions are your time to shine! Or perhaps you prefer something more low-key, like sledding or ice skating on a frozen pond with a friend?

4. snow art
Do you wanna build a snowman? Your imagination (and the temperature sensitivity of your materials) is the limit when it comes to snow angels, ice sculptures, and snow sculptures!

5. snowball fight!
The age-old tradition of pummeling your friends with icy cold projectiles!

6. holiday market
Keep your fingers warm with a hot drink while you get your shop on!

7. Santa's village
Wait - those aren't real elves, are they?

8. new year
Put on your sequined best and wait for the ball to drop at this year's New Year's Eve bash!

9. hatsumode
Don't forget to wish for good luck at your first shrine visit of the new year.

10. wildcard
Anything goes!

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[ "As you said"? She didn't. But it has interesting that after all this time, he has finally picked up a thing or two from the Mikotoba School of Mind Reading^tm.

Susato can't help but wince though, because--first of all, why, and second, why? ]

......I suppose I don't know why she'd want to? But I feel like she would try anything once. [ There is a pause as she considers all the various concoctions and inventions she's seen over her time on Baker St. ] ...At least, Mr Sholmes would.

Well...

[Gosh, war flashbacks to court here. Now all he needs is someone smashing something glass for the image to be complete.]

They're both people of science. I suppose...

[...]

...and it's not like they wouldn't want to overcome the challenges of blending them together.

[...]

...I suppose...

[...-]

Oh, do you hear that? I think I hear music.

[This is what's known as a Big Lie, capital letters intended. Well, sort of. There might be something off-key going on over yonder, but it likely had been going on for a while, and also probably didn't count as music. But, it's either going 'look, a distraction' or continuing on a conversation in which Ryunosuke knew would result in him drinking whatever abomination his mouth came up with.]

[ Music.....

She can hear carolers, maybe. The stores are probably playing music appropriate for the holiday. In the end, though, Susato chuckles, sparing him any further efforts to talk him this "distraction." She tugs him by the arm. ]

Come on, silly goose. I think it's part of some sort of light show.

[Why did it feel like Susato had looked upon him, saw his bad excuses for what they were, and, instead of pressing him, chose instead to show mercy and not raise an objection- and why was he thinking in court terms?]

Coming.

[As if he was going to fight the tug.]

All of this is so grand, but honestly, if we haven't been here for as long as we have, I'd wonder if England was capable of being anything but grand. The streets are grand, their law system is grand, their [hotel prices are """grand"""...nvm] er, their everything is grand. At least from the outside. And I have no doubt that when the new year comes, we'll be treated to some other sort of grand spectacle as well.

[ Mr Naruhodo has come a long way, but she finds he still needs that gentle pull (or push) in the right direction. Since he doesn't seem to resist, though, eventually her grip loosens, allowing her arm to swing freely as they approach a street that has been closed off for the festivities.

On either side of them, street vendors have set up stalls to sell their wares, shouting over the crowd, trying to pull in business: hot drinks, fruits, handmade necklaces and other trinkets. The stalls themselves, along with the adorning trees and other storefronts, were also dressed to the nines, with lights in all of the colors of the rainbow, swiftly changing and very bright.

Grand was a very good word for it, she realized, as her smile grew bright to match the décor. ]

It is nothing like the shrines and temples we visit back home, I must admit. [ Though they would both have something to say about their ""grand"" legal system by this point, but details!! She raises her voice to be heard over the crowd. ] It is all very... loud. B, But in a good way!

Would you like-

[He was being drowned out by the crowds, and, of all things, it made him think of his first court trial, the one in which he raised his hand nervously like he was a schoolboy and said yes instead of something firmer - an objection, a take that. In hindsight, it was a wonder anyone heard him. One of those bittersweet memories that made Ryunosuke smile, in the 'I've come so far, but I also started as a murder suspect, so I can only be so fond of where I started' sort of way.]

Do-

[Louder, but using his indoor court voice also seemed wrong. Plus, what was at that stall over there, did Susato see that stall? A merchant trying to sell lanterns of all kinds, made of brightly colored glass and glowing like they were ornaments.

And next to it, a stall, selling animal hats. (As in, hats looking like animals, not hats made of animals, there's a lack of swan hats- anyway...)

Anyway, leaning in-]

Shall we take a look, Miss Susato?

[By which he meant that he was tempted to impulse buy something.]

[ From what she could understand, there was a crowd gathering along the Thames to release the lanterns as part of their festival of lights. The brightly colored glass of the lanterns indeed grabs her attention, for just from a glance, she could spot all the hues of a rainbow: pink, blue, purple, red, any color a child could want. And right next to it? Any animal they could think of, in the form of a hat.

Clearly Susato has outgrown such childish pleasures. Normally she would scold Ryunosuke for even considering making the various unnecessary purchases he does, as has become his habit, but today... just for today, at least, the lanterns look gorgeous.

So gorgeous, in fact, she's afraid she won't be able to bring herself to let go, but perhaps they could find one they could keep at their flat. She would say yes, but she's already looking-- ]

There are so many different colors. Which one would you release?

[ She holds two lanterns in her hand: a pink one, like her kimono, with an array of hearts displayed on its surface, and a purple one, like her shawl, aligned with stars. Of course, neither is also an option... ]

[And really, what option is there besides-] Neither, of course.

[Blink.

In his hand is a bright orange garish thing that he is neither going to buy nor want to keep, and, in fact, it's put down almost as quickly as he had picked it up. Because it's garish, and also- well. This is more important.]

Both of them remind me far too much of you, at least in their own ways, even down to the patterns. I can't hardly release anything that makes me think of you into the Thames.

[He Is Not A Savage.]

...What?

[ Susato doesn't know what to think at first, given his choice. Had she really chosen that poorly? But... then, she glances to one lantern, and then the other, and she kind of understands. Both choices are rather egregiously Susato-flavored, so as it turned out, she didn't choose poorly, but rather was just a bit predictable.

...Sigh. ]

Oh. But, they're so beautiful... [ And no, that is not why they reminded him of you, you get that idea out of your mind right now, young lady. ] Would you really rather release something unsightly?

Well.

[...]

Yes?

[The 'yes' was said slowly, in the way one would when half-suspecting a trick question of some kind - either the question before, or a following question. There was some point he was missing. Some...thing that was flying over his head, much like a bottle flying into the galley.

Nevertheless. Even if he didn't know what he was getting at, the truth was out there, murky and vague, but present.]

No one would miss this-

[-wait, this part would be better with the lantern in hand again. And again, he grabs the orange thing.]

-this, or if they do it's only because it's so garish the absence is noticed immediately. Of course I'd release it to the Thames.

[It's safety cone orange, not even a nice orange. And the design is something like tiger stripes or lightning bolts, it's difficult to tell. They were trying to do something. Who knows what.]

Whereas with those you have- [...stare.] the patterns are even right. You've given me courage, and you've shown me the way countless times.

[Heart, star, it works way too well.

He is missing something, but that's okay.]

...

[...why is he holding the orange lantern, down it goes again.]

But we could, I mean, if you'd prefer. I'd just rather keep something which reminds me so much of you close, if I could.

[ She could practically hear the cogs turning in his head as he settled on his answer. There is an innocent tilt of her head as he lifts up the safety-cone colored lantern with the overly flashy design. Then--well, she has to look somewhere else, because she might just be blushing.

In that moment, she chose to look back at her chosen lanterns again as he addressed them. Could she really let them go, given what he's just said? ...Did they have a place in their crowded, but homey little attic? ]

I, I don't know... I'm normally the one scolding you for buying things we don't need. But they do remind me of home, too...

[ In addition to what he's said, they are pretty Japanese-flavored as well. ]

I could keep them in my room, but that would hardly be fair to you. [ He'd never see them. ] ...So I must insist we find an appropriate place together. In our office.

[ ...... ]

In the meantime... we can find something else for the Thames. Something slightly more neutral, perhaps.

There's surely something here that would suit that.

[Now he needs to take at least one of the lanterns Susato's carrying, because if they're going to look for one to toss into the Thames, they both need at least one hand free. RIP if he trips.]

Something that's...plain, but not too plain, but not so [reminiscent of Susato, er, no, what's a good word] remarkable it would be a shame to lose it. [He either nailed it or didn't.]

Perhaps this one?

[And this time, he picks up a slightly overcooked asparagus green (the same shade of asparagus left in a microwave to cook) lantern.]

It's a very...ah, refreshing color.

[ Susato, on the other hand, starts looking and finds a red one reminiscent of Kazuma's headband--or rather, the one he used to wear. It is plain, and she is looking it over when she glances up at Ryunosuke's choice.

......Hmm. ]

I don't hate it, but that color is... [ Maybe it's the shade? She doesn't normally have anything against green. ] It is doing something to my stomach. Maybe it is just me?

[ She supposes it would be a relief to release it then, at least... ]

[Maybe it's the years of wearing student uniforms in stark black that have done in his sense of color. Maybe it's the fact that London is a simultaneously drab and vibrant city in a weird mishmash of expectations, and that throws him off when it comes to colors. Maybe it's just his experiences. Like how there's that one over there, silver-gray with some design that's like gears or a clock. Reminiscent of Mael Stronghart, actually...and now that he made that connection that lantern is terrible, nevermind, horrid, get rid of it.]

You know...

[Now he's really looking at it, and really considering it, and also really going to put that down because she's right.]

To be honest, it is somewhat pea colored, now that you mention it. Whatever is London's obsession with peas, anyway? I barely had them before coming here, and I feel like I see them everywhere.

[That red lantern, though...it is like Kazuma, but Kazuma is the sort of man whose life was one long journey, so...it's fitting, anyway. Whereas the Susato-lantern is going to be kept close, and it's also possibly giving him the spark of an idea, an idea which is a bad one but is also going to be one that he pursues, maybe.]

...Ah. [ Susato watches as he puts it down, and suddenly it all makes sense. ] So that is where I've seen that color before.

[ She doesn't see the one with gears, but ew, get it away, burn it. Instead, she looks back at the Kazuma-red one, and seems to like it the more she looks at it. She doesn't exactly want to release it, the same way Ryunosuke seems attached to the ones that remind him of her, but the idea of setting him free is kind of... nice. ]

Do you like this one? It is rather vibrant, and it'll be easy to keep watch on it as it floats the current.

[He's going to say it. He is going to say it.]

It kind of makes me think of Kazuma. It is his color, isn't it?

[And here it comes:]

He was always the most adventurous of the three of us. Is it bad that I think he'd enjoy being the one to brave the Thames? It seems...fitting. And as you said, it's bright and I don't think I'd be able to miss it.

[He got hit enough times in the face by Kazuma's hachimaki, after all, that color is seared into his brain.]

[ ...She regards him with just a stare for a moment, with a hard to read expression. Almost like she's... surprised, or impressed, maybe? Either he picked up a bit of Mikotoba mind-reading over their months together, or she is getting worse at concealing and not feeling. Which is... sadly probably true.

Either way, she seems pleased. ]

No, I don't think that's bad at all. It will be good to set him free, from whatever demons he may be fighting.

[ She doesn't necessarily say it, but it is obvious that she misses him. ]

Let's do it. We can release it together.

[Maybe a little of both. Maybe they had spent enough time around each other that they thought along similar lines when it came to certain things, important things like Kazuma and the color red and the fact he was absent from their lives when he shouldn't be...he had to be, but if the world was just he wouldn't have been. (And then thought differently when it came to others, like the color green and ladders, and whether or not lanterns which remind him of Susato should be released, and whether or not Herlock Sholmes should be allowed to cook...or maybe they agreed on that...but it wasn't all a monotonous sense of agreement. But when they saw a certain shade of red or the way a stranger stood or move, they thought of him.)

Ryunosuke opened his mouth to say something like, "I'll pay." or "Are you going to pay?" or "Find a spot and I'll meet you there." or something - most of which was to be decided, before it swung shut because three lanterns, he had two hands. Of course they had to go together lest someone from Scotland Yard tackle them (him) to the ground under suspicion of thievery.

So they went together and he paid - because he was had been going to get something anyway and what better thing was there than some Susato-lanterns to light his way - and immediately had regrets as while he didn't- while it was a worthy- while it was important it would make it harder to get something nice for her(/himself/the both of them if it was food) later, and there goes his half-baked plans to get her something nice. Because London was expensive.]

...

[London was very expensive.]

He'll be back with us one day. Even if it's not in the same way as before.

[...

Also, taking her by the hand is tough when they're juggling three lanterns, so he's going to ignore that impulse.]

I think there's a nice spot over there...

[ If he thinks Susato is just going to let him carry all of the lanterns while she just watches like some high-end madam--particularly when two of those lanterns are colored like her, associated with her--well, he's got another think coming (and perhaps a Susato Toss). Luckily, they manage to break away from the vendor without incident, sharing the burden like the got-damn adults an ocean away from home that they are.

...Oddly enough, she shares a similar impulse. Or, at the very least, despite her hands being occupied, there is definitely a lack of warmth, an emptiness that she notices. But she doesn't understand way, so she also brushes the thought aside.

The walk along the Thames is already a calming experience, despite the crowd and the hustle and bustle going on. Keeping Ryunosuke's words in mind also helped bring her comfort, as they settled in to an open spot along the water. There are already quite a few lanterns from others, bobbing along in the water, but after watching them for a moment... they rise, slowly like balloons. It's unclear whether this was expected, but it does seem to encourage some cheering from the crowd. ]

They float?

[ In the air? How? She finds herself turning over the lantern she's carrying, as if looking for some magical device causing it, something right out of 221B. ]

London is...

[ Expensive. Amazing. ]

[He had to blink, at first wondering if maybe he was seeing things or perhaps he had been up too late and his eyesight was blurring, or maybe the crowds were getting to him. Because the lanterns seemed to be floating, like balloons.

They float? was the only thing that reassured him that he wasn't hallucinating everything. Blink, and then he looked beside himself, and there was Susato, turning over the lantern in her hand. But, she had always been cleverer than he was and always one step ahead.

There really was only one thing he could do.]

London really is.

[-he doesn't know what it was, but London sure was something. But, that wasn't the important part.

He placed his on the- no, he very carefully placed his on the ground as it wouldn't be good to, say, accidentally kick a lantern he had just established was very much like Susato.

And now he was going to join her in turning that lantern about and peering at it as if they could divine how it was they floated. It was like a puzzle, if the sort of puzzle that maybe forced them to crowd in a bit together and maybe their fingers brushed against each other for a moment there, but-

He slipped into Japanese for a moment, as Soseki-san had been right, and some things really were best said in their native tongue.]

Every single time I think London has shown us all it has to offer, it finds a new way to astonish me, Susato-san.

[ It's definitely reminiscent of the way they would turn over evidence in the Court Record--the difference of course being that evidence usually yielded answers in some form or another, whereas the lanterns... not so much. Her best guess is that they operate like a bunch of mini hot air balloons, but her second best guess is literal witchcraft. Steampunky witchcraft.

His slip into Japanese gives her a bit of a start, but it's not entirely unwelcome. She'll speak Japanese, too. ]

Let's not wait any longer, then.

[ If her hands had brushed against hers before, they definitely do now. She puts her hands over his, squeezing slightly as they both hold onto the red lantern. ]

To Kazuma-sama.

[ What was this, a toast? Sure. ]

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the winter festival meme

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