Opens: Dec 1st Closes: December 18th 11pm PST Judges: Embi-lamb and grandma duck
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, this Fallen/Naga is experiencing the Summer Solstice. Instead of experiencing the shortest day of the year, this character is celebrating the longest day of the year. How does this hybrid spend their time during the month of the Summer Solstice? How do they celebrate?
How this Works:
How does this character feel about Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice happening at the same time, but in different parts of the world? Do they think it's weird? How are the celebrating the day, or are they indifferent towards it? Keep your responses between 500-1000 words. A little under or over is okay! Please make sure to spoiler your entry!
Rules:
This contest is completely free. Please use the form provided. Anyone may enter, whether they are a newbie or not! Staff may NOT enter this contest! Whining, guilt-tripping, or generally misbehaving over the contest will result in you being disqualified. Winners will be quoted with an uncert. Please do NOT use the preview. Make sure you've read the Guide to the Worlds forum in its entirety! You may not gift or trade prizes from this event.
Form:
[b]Username:[/b] [b]Prompt:[/b] How does this character feel about Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice happening at the same time, but in different parts of the world? Do they think it's weird? How are the celebrating the day, or are they indifferent towards it?
[b]Entry:[/b]
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 2:37 am
Username: belloblossom Prompt: How does this character feel about Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice happening at the same time, but in different parts of the world? Do they think it's weird? How are the celebrating the day, or are they indifferent towards it?
Entry: Ravi had been a summer child. He had been told that when he was Freshling, though he could hardly remember it now, his smile lit up the area more than the sun itself did. His friends would always jab at him, saying how he used to be so active as a Freshling and how at school when he was older, he was always itching to go outside rather than be stuck indoors. When he was young, he'd wake up at dawn to watch the sunrise and once the sun was high in the sky, he would be clinging to the legs of his caretakers to let him out and play with his friends.
When he first began attending a school and his classes, he hated it. He hated being cooped up inside when he had spent the majority of his life outside. He pitched such a fit about it on the first day of his classes that his teacher would always seat him next to an open window. It wasn't quite the same as being outside, but it was as good as he could get it. As a result, he tended to do better in any outdoor classes, like Physical Education or Botany, but when it came to indoor classes, his grades suffered.
Some suspected it was because he tended to get cold easier than most Nightmares or Daydreams. Others thought it was because he was born during the summer, thus dubbing him a summer child. He remembered that when he first heard of that, that he had wondered if children born in the winter liked the cold better and shuddered at the thought. Who in their right mind would ever celebrate the cold or the Winter Solstice, he had thought. Lunatics, for certain, he had concluded not long after.
Eventually, he dropped out of the school system. He didn't learn a particular craft, but he was more than content to accept his consequences and laze around in the sun all day as he pleased. Yes, Ravi always preferred to spend his days outside, only returning inside when the night came and it grew colder without the sun being up. He had found that he much preferred going out to stretch out on a nice flat surface, rather it was a bench or some patch of rock or road and sunbathe for hours. Sure, his skin always tended to get a shade or two darker when he came back in after sunset, making him the object of teasing and joking from his companions, but there was nothing as comforting than the feeling of being enveloped by dry warmth along his skin, feathers and scales.
Naturally, when the Summer Solstice came around, he was happy as ever to spend the longest day of the year sunbathing. He brought out water to make sure that he didn't get dehydrated as the day went on. The thought of the Winter Solstice happening other places didn't even cross his mind, for once he had sipped on the edge of his cup and lay down, he found himself in a happy stupor under the Solstice sun.
Username: iMoony Prompt: How does this character feel about Summer Solstice and the Winter Solstice happening at the same time, but in different parts of the world? Do they think it's weird? How are the celebrating the day, or are they indifferent towards it?
Entry:
Imani scratched his head in confusion as the tutor finished explaining for the second time. “But,” Imani said, “How can two separate events go on like that at the same time? We’re all on the same world, right?” The tutor sighed and debated how best to go at this again. They had already spent an extra half hour on this and the school was surely deserted by now. The tutor decided to bring out a notebook and pencil to draw the planet they all lived on.
“You see this? This our world. It is so big that different regions experience different occurrences. The globe goes around on a tilted axis, like this.” The tutor drew a line through the planet going about 45*. “This creates a weather difference between the bottom half and the top half.” Realization slowly dawned slowly on Imani’s face with a smile and a nod.
“Oh, I think I got it! Thank you for explaining it further. I was really confused despite the teacher trying her best this morning.”
“No problem,” said the tutor with a sigh of relief. They could finally go their separate ways.
Imani arrived home to find his family busy with preparations. “There you are!” his eldest sibling yelled while fast walking past the front door and holding the traditional picnic basket. It basically could hold the stones that Imani's dads had imbued just the other day. Imani chuckled at the thought of carrying his yet-to-be-released siblings that way. He was pretty sure his dads would not appreciate it even if Imani was only joking.
Just then one of Imani’s dads, the Fallen, came rushing by with one of said stones in his arms. “Imani, could you lend a hand in the kitchen? They still need to finish wrapping everything up and it’s going to be time to go soon. The children aren't being as helpful as you are.” Imani hurried to follow his dad into the kitchen where, sure enough, two little bodies tried to sneak hands over the countertops to reach veggies before they could be packed away by their older siblings and Naga father. Imani scooped the children up, much to their surprise and joy. They were then promptly deposited outside the kitchen. Imani decided to stand where the children had been to prevent future thievery.
“Happy Summer Solstice,” Imani said cheerily. The greeting was repeated back with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Working as a team, the family quickly got the picnic basket filled without further incident and headed out to their favorite valley spot.
The family enjoyed the seasonal food they had picked fresh from their fields and the warmth of the sun on their scales and/or feathers. There was plenty of laughter, songs, and games to fill the time before sunset.
When the sun finally did set on the longest day of their year, the family settled in to enjoy fireworks sent up by other families scattered around. Imani and the two rascals sent up their family’s set. Next year it would be these two and whoever came out of the stones nestled between their dads. With a soft smile, Imani watched the colors from the sky tint his family and decided that maybe he might go see what they did during this time up in the North. That is if he could pull himself from his family for a while.
