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The Old Hemisect boardwalk clings to the coast, an abandoned amusement park down at one end, empty dunes at the other. Apart from all images of the previous queen being torn down, nothing much has happened here since the destruction of the city. Now however, two hotels have been reconstructed, for high and lowblood trolls to stay in, and drones have been repairing and rebuilding the boardwalk in what appears to be an attempt by the queen to begin restoring the old city. Rotting booths have been torn down and rebuilt, and now the beach is dotted with changing shelters, snack counters, a bait shop, and even a small souvenir stand. With the strands of lights decorating the buildings, the stars twinkling in the sky, and the sounds of faint music echoing through the speakers, there is a festive mood in the air.

OOC information
Here your trolls can hang out, comment on the games taking place, or just enjoy a yummy beetle kebab. This thread encompasses all non-event activity taking place in every area of Old Hemisect's beaches, so feel free to have your trolls visit the hotels, gift shops, beach, or even the ruined fair ground.

Bloodfest, a chance to just have fun and not get bogged down with political correctness, a perfect place for Minist to be. Seriously, what could be better for a fun loving troll who didn't care about what color you wore on your chest? Just a chance to have some fun in the moons, kick up some sand, splash some water, it was going to be great!

While she had never planned on visiting the old capital she was sort of intrigued by it. All these dilapidated buildings that were once so proud and honorable. What secrets did they hold, she wondered. Could there be some seaddweller's forgotten treasure hidden among the ruins? While she wasn't a pirate, the idea of running around the old buildings and finding stuff sure did sound like fun! Maybe between events she could sneak into one of them and have a look around.

Before that, however, she headed to the stage where she saw the queen standing proudly. Obviously the last time she saw her played through her think pan and she couldn't help but puff out her chest a little bit. This time was happier because because they had gone down to fetch a cure for the sickly Mother Grub, because she fetched the cure. Now, she wasn't going to boast that it's because of her that the Mother Grub was better, but she was the only one to actually pick the plant, so she felt like she could be awarded some small bit of pride.

Regina turned on her mic and as she explained the situation Minist got more and more excited. Games and teams and points and reminding all those stuck-ups that even lowbloods had the chance of winning, it was all great! She got so excited she couldn't help but throw her hands in the air and yell, "WHOOHOO!" Some of the nearby trolls looked at her, but she didn't mind. She was just showing how pumped she was, nothing wrong with that. This was going to be awesome!

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Bessy was sure to be looking for her. Orange eyes peered around in the dark water, watching for any white shapes that may be a certain blubbery lusus. The coast remained clear and the tiny seadweller bolted from her rocky hiding spot and swam towards the surface. Only a few hours ago she had left her hive in one of the rare moments when her dear lusus was not at her vigilant post. With no planning involved she fled from her home. While she felt panic for sure, panic at what dangers she might run in to or that her lusus would discover her delinquency and haul her back home by her fins, what she felt most was a sense of glee. While she was on the run she couldn't help but feel giddy with joy. The pressure of her hive walls were gone and now there was nothing but open water for her to stretch her fins in. It was fantastic.

Now, though, she had her sights set on something bigger. Khanda was going to go on land for the first time since she was in the brooding caverns. She was used to the sea, but the land held the unknown and the new. The land held other trolls.

Her head burst out of the water with a splash and her eyes fell onto the nearby beach. While she was going to be excited no matter what she saw for land, she was practically brimming with joy when she saw crowds of trolls milling about on the sands. In the back of her think pan she wondered if Bessy had lied to her about the abandonment of Old Hemisect City, but she quickly pushed that thought away as she swam for shore.

Emerging from the water she gazed around, wide-eyed at the stalls that had been set up and the trolls wandering around, some looking as amazed as her. There was just so much to see! From a nearby stall she smelled something delicious being cooked and her mouth began to water, but she noticed most of the trolls were starting to crowd around the stage so she pulled herself away and followed suit, dripping water everywhere. All the while her head turning every which way as she tried to soak everything in.

Suddenly there was a horrible shrill squealing and Khanda nearly dropped to her knees as she tried to block out the horrible noise with her hands. As quickly as it had come, though, it was gone and replaced by a bubbly voice. Looking towards the stage the young seadweller's eyes fell on the symbol of the speaker. Her hue was a proud one and Khanda grew even more excited. This was another seadweller like herself! The queen even! Oh she hoped she would get a chance to speak with her, one on one. There was so much she wanted to say!

She had to quell her excitement, though, as the regal troll began to explain exactly what all this hub-bub was. Bloodfest? What was that? She didn't recall Bessy ever mentioning anything called Bloodfest. Then she mentioned the word "radical" and Khanda was taken aback. Radical was not good! Radical were those lowblooded scum who got everyone killed, including the previous queen! Radical was indeed, very bad, but the new queen was advocating it? This would have given her a pause to think had the queen not then gone on to mention seadwellers hurting for a nearby city. This perked up her interests immediately. Yes, she would very much like to have a place nearby to which she could sneak away to and interact with other trolls! She never expected to find so much activity going on on this visit!

Her eyes were drawn to the colored scarf that was held up for the crowd to see. It was such a bright, happy color and Khanda couldn't help but smile as she watched it flutter in the slight breeze. Oh, there would be games? That sounded like fun. Something about a tournament? She always got to miss out on things! Not this time, though. She was going to participate in this "Bloodfest", even if her lusus did find her out here she was not going to let herself be dragged back to her watery prison until this whole event was over. This was her chance to actually go out and do stuff!

As the speech ended trolls began to group together and discuss what was going to be happening soon or they filed back towards the stalls and browse. For a moment she entertained the idea of butting into one of the conversational groups, but then she remembered that delicious smell from earlier and decided to find something yummy to eat. Something she chose to eat. It could be anything! Without her overbearing lusus around she could make her own decisions on what she could eat. This was the best thing ever!

Bloodfest was something Taquin had been looking forward to for a while. What a night to be given a chance to prove that your blood caste is just as capable as anyone else's. It was a shame that every night couldn't be like this one, where everyone is basically treated completely equal and the prideful ones at the top get a taste of what the warmbloods really live for. Poodle-dad had told him all about the event and what it stood for, it's cloudy history and controversy. This was surely a ride Taquin would never skip out on. His lusus had expressed a desire to tag along, but that was a ridiculous notion. With all these trolls and competition, there was no doubt that some fights and rough-housing were to break out, and a small orange-veined lusus wouldn't even be considered something to be careful around. No, this opportunity for a night out together was much too dangerous for the little barkbeast. Once Taquin explained this to him, he was finally reasonable and agreed to stay at the hiveblock where he belonged.

The thrilling cheers of joy that the trolls let out around him rang in Taquin's ears as the queen's speech came to a close. He was about as eager as the rest of them for the festivities to begin. There was certainly a different taste in this air then at the usual get-togethers, and it wasn't just the brine of the ocean. Trolls of all colors tonight would prove their worth and be seen as better and worse despite their caste. It was a new environment, and in new environments people would be sure to show off a side of themselves that they would never expose at home. Even the red-bloods were cheering for the queen, and one had brought their rather obtrusive lusus along with her to join the party.

He was glad that the festival was stationed at Old Hemisect, closer to the ocean. There was a better chance to catch some seadwellers out here on the beach than he'd ever had in the inner city. He wondered how those highest-bloods would feel at a humbling event like this one. Speak of the horrerterror, there was one now, still dripping with the salt water of her homeland. She looked awfully fidgety and spell-bound by all the booths and decorations, and awestruck by everything she saw. He crept through the crowd towards the violetblood, taking in her gold bangles and fancy hairbow. "Why, hello there, your highness." He said (slightly sarcastically) to her as he approached from the side. "Welcome to the home of the landwalkers. How do you like it so far?" The girl looked rather innocent for a highblood. Maybe she was letting down her usually haughty facade, or maybe it really was one of her first times out of the ocean. In any case, Taquin thirsted for any chance to get to know someone from the other side of the hierarchy.

Oh, this was precious. The little troll was so happy to be on land with the rest of her miserable race, hm? Okay, he could admit this was a pretty exciting time to socialize, and he understood her enthusiasm, but this little finny grub had much to learn. He smirked in amusement as the violetblood gibbered on excitedly. He nodded in gratitude at the compliment, the slightly crooked expression still plastered on his face.

...That is until she touched his hair. The orangeblood's relaxed stance went rigid as soon her hand baffed at his precious weave, and his expression became stone cold. In no way did he have the capacity to allow physical contact this early upon introduction. He could very well let that one slide, but now she was reaching for his face. This was unacceptable! Before he could calmly remove himself from the situation, Taquin had taken an alarmed step back and swiped the seadweller's hand away from his specs. He'd barely just repaired this pair from that horrendous battle with the rebel group in the desert, and, being a lowblood, the beetles to pay for it hadn't been easy to come by. No one was to touch his glasses. No one.

Realizing that he'd dropped it, Taquin attempted to gracefully recover his cheery facade. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "These glasses are a mighty special pair, and I'd rather they stayed on my face than not. With all these wares around, I bet you could find some glasses that would fit you better than these." He tapped the side of his frames and smiled reassuringly. This girl was trouble. If she continued to disrespect his personal space, he would have to talk himself out of her little social circle.

Apparently this was not one of the easily-destractable perky pupas. He dropped the sanguine act completely and let his glare spark from under his eyebrows as she pouted back at him, offended by his refusal. He'd hardly hurt her, but she was clutching her affected hand as if brutally injured. My, she really was a sheltered one, wasn't she? Oh holy grubmuncher, she wasn't giving it up. He shifted his glare onto her impatient hand as she held it out and demanded to have his glasses.

Taquin crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes into slits, portraying his refusal to obey this bratty little wiggler fresh from the cesspool. He flinched and grimaced as her adamant nubs prodded towards him once again, but he refused to give her what she wanted. He took her raised hand in one of his and lowered it forcefully back down to her side. It was his turn to burst her bubble. "It would be beneficial for you-" he moved his face intimidatingly close to hers "-to allow a troll to choose to do what he will with his own property." Normally he wouldn't go to such lengths with a highblood, but this was Bloodfest. His caste had the right to fight back tonight.

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A lone figure made their way down the coastline, bare feet sinking into the sand as they briskly approached the site of this so called celebration, 'Bloodfest'. Eyes locking onto the distant crowd ahead, her darkened lips trembled into a scowl as she was reminded of the name. H-how foul! A celebration of segregation and the most senseless hierarchy ever, was what it was...! Sandals dangled from her fingertips, clinking together rhythmically with her large strides. Byakko Mawiya took a moment to glance down at the simple black bathing suit she had mustered enough courage to pull on that midnight. Her symbol was centred on her chest, as per usual- but instead of being her salmon pink or hemoanonymous grey, Byakko had selected a very special colour to represent herself today. Tugging at the stretchy fabric- ugh, was this thing too small for her?, Akko's eyes seemed to glaze over as she stared down at the vermilion she clutched in her hand.

Each year since her adoption, Trolldad had offered to let her attend Bloodfest. The rebels frowned down upon the celebration, without a doubt- but Akko rarely had the chance to socialize with kids her own age, let alone kick back and just have fun. He always said she was clever enough to not fall for their caste pandering bullshit and that she could just take the opportunity to enjoy the games and festivities; but regardless each year Byakko refused. It felt wrong to disrespect the rebel's beliefs in order to have a night's fun, she felt; but this year was different. This year was very different.

For starters, Trolldad hadn't been there to give her the yearly 'you are a kid and should have fun' speech. She just wasn't that type of kid, she would assure him. Much more grown up and serious, yup yup. Cue a short, yet fiery argument before breakfast. Akko had already grown accustomed to not hearing the sound of her father puttering around the kitchen, cooking their first meal as he had each day of her life. He hadn't been a very good cook, but he was certainly a hundred times the chef Akko was. Each year Trolldad would present her with a new, albeit plain swimsuit, (Byakko would go bring pink and accordingly call him a pervert), and each year Akko would toss it to the back of her scarcely filled closet to be forgotten until the topic was brought up the following year. It had almost become a sort of ritual for them, since Byakko honestly hadn't ever really had the desire to attend the festival and Trolldad seemed to remember the naive Bloodfests of his youth fondly.

Then there was the whole rebel leader matter. While the position had sort of... fallen into her lap so to speak, Byakko took her role very seriously. She was already nervous as it was with her newfound responsibilities- it was all very overwhelming and the timing couldn't have been shittier. Recruiting the foreign, untrusted trolls had certainly put an emotional strain on her- but there was no other option, really. The timing was too convenient, they had to increase their numbers while they remained not too terribly outnumbered by the Queen's army. Kids of all colours would be at Bloodfest, and Akko was positive she would be seeing some familiar faces. They surely wouldn't recognize her; and all for the better. Byakko wasn't here to socialize after all, she was here to work. She was here to observe her new recruits, and silently judge them from afar. Anyone could sign up for a rebellion, but Akko hadn't been able to see what happened between the new recruits and the Jadeblood. Now she could at least get a loose measure on some of her new followers. What test of character is more befitting for a rebellion than a party celebrating the very thing struggled against, after all?!

And so there the mutant was, in the previous year's swimsuit. Byakko released her grip on the front of her outfit, the vermilion snapping back to hug her body. Trolldad had adorned her sign in his own colour each year, saying it was silly to go to Bloodfest hemo anonymous (pink certainly wasn't a caste). She supposed he was right; it would certainly draw unwanted attention. While Akko found the whole thing embarrassing back then, she now found wearing her father's colour strangely comforting...

Byakko was tugged out of her train of thoughts by a loud crackling. She was closer to the festival area than she thought; and the Queen was already up on a platform addressing the crowd in her upbeat way.

The Queen.

Byakko froze in her tracks, eyes locking on the monarch opposite the other side of the beach. Her previous grimace twisted into an all out scowl as she glared across at the oblivious Regina. She had never been so close to the highest of highbloods. It was all her fault. Everything was her fault. That scheming, back stabbing little b***h. Nails dug into palms as Byakko simmered angrily to herself, listening the the Queen chirp words of encouragement to all castes.

Bullshit bullshit bullshit bullshit. Byakko felt like screaming and kicking down a tree, yet her face remained locked in a deep frown. Like she valued the lower castes one bit, hah! Like a lowblood meant anything to the all mighty Regina. Like the life of any individual meant anything to the Queen. Pandering was what it was! The sneaky little cu-

And then there it was. The event was more organized than usual, with games and teams composed of castemates. Byakko was genuinely taken aback for a moment- what now? How unusual. She pondered for a moment; that gave the lower castes an honest chance to compete against their suppressors, didn't it? Level playing field and all that. Perhaps coming to this circus act wasn't such a bad idea, afterall- she would surely find out. The crowd around Byakko began to dissipate after the monarch was done speaking but Byakko hung back by the shore, uninterested in the meaningless goods and minor celebrations going on around her. Arms crossed behind her back as she once more lost herself in internal debate over Bloodfest; Akko remained by herself as her eyes darted around her surroundings, ever alert for something note worthy.

Eostre lazily strolled by all the stands, looking for a good food stand. She was hoping for something fancy looking, but so far any food stand she did find was common lowblood fare, and nothing pretty to look at, at that! She tapped her heel, agitated, sighing as she gave up, leaving the front of yet another stand of cheap lowblood garbage.

She'd gone to great lengths to look good amongst her fellow bluebloods, since she was the highest of her castemates that she knew. Eostre was wearing her swimsuit, though it looked more like a dress than something you'd want to jump in the ocean with, but it worked (she originally bought it to use at the spa in Four Fronds). She always kept her gloves on, and of course she had her little cardigan hood, so if she felt lazy about carrying her lusus he could sit in her hood. She wasn't sure how she felt about being so barefoot either, her sandals barely looked like they would protect her feet.

Her hopbeast lusus, Volcano, was nestled in the crook of her arms, looking angrily over her shoulder, grunting and as usual, upset about what Eostre was doing because it wasn't fighting.

Why are ya lookin' at stupid grub stands fer grubs, where's the fightin'? Ya said there'd be fightin' at this shindig, so where's it at? her lusus grunted in her ear.

"I'm looking for something to eat. You can't fight on an empty stomach, you know," Eostre said quietly to her lusus, sniffing and getting a bit impatient. Maybe she could find another highblood who knew where something with a little quality could be found to shove down her protein chute. Daintily of course.

Well, who cares. Just grab somethin' and shove it in. Ya brought yer knuckledusters, yeah? Fer punches these smug kids in their faces an' makin' yer ol' man proud? Are ya gonna fight one now? Volcano grunted excitedly, shifting around in Eostre's arms and trying to look around at all the other trolls in the vicinity, causing a sharp glare from his charge.

"That's disgusting, Volcano," Eostre said, and looked over to her cardigan pocket, her favorite place to keep her brass knuckles. For emergencies. "And of course I have them. You told me never to leave without them, didn't you? But no. I'm not fighting anyone outside the competitions. I wanted you to see my caste win, not see me in a common street brawl," she said, grinning to herself.

Taquin clapped and rubbed his hands together, glancing around at all the possible booths nearby to visit and the trolls to make-believe gossip about. This was going to be an exciting festival indeed. "Yes, of course," he quickly promised before he became too distracted by his ideas. "Now what would you like to do first? You're probably hungry from your swim to shore. Have you ever had grubloaf?"Taquin took her by the hand and led her through the crowd of hungry trolls past the food vendors, searching for something strange and exotic he could convince her to consume. He was eager to begin the deception. "By the way," he glanced back at her as they walked along, "My name is Paxell." There was no way he was going to give this highblood his real name. After tonight he would probably have to spend his sweeps avoiding her as much as possible. Oh, they would probably never meet again. This was worth it. "What do you go by?"