[Video]

[fierybluebird]

[For the first time ever, Marco gets a loud shocking zap. Normally he's way more on top of this thing. For an entire year he's always made sure to watch the thing like a hawk. Must be a special occasion for it to trip him up now. At first glance, Marco appears to be crying, but upon realizing the video got turned on, he stuffs the comm under a pillow. Then mumbles something incomprehensible through the pillow, which keeps being zappy thanks to the comm. So his face comes back into view as he takes the pillow off; deadpan as ever.]

Damn thing...

I guess I haven't been using it much since the switch, eh. [Like... at all. Good job Marco.]

I've just been busy. [Which explains nothing of the tears :|] So how is everyone? Having fun with the mummies? [And then because he's not used to it, he thinks he turned it off, but nope.]

Oi Japan! The hell is with this route? It's so sad! Stop making me fall in love with a pigeon!

Uwah... it's okay dove boyfriend, I'll stay with you no matter how short it is!

✪ Another day, another goodbye. ✪ [Video]

[loyal_cube]

[Anyone familiar with the Northern Lights Bar will recognize where the video feed is shooting from. Cube's head is resting casually on the bar while his arm is stretched out. The little demon lifts a finger and pets the head of a fat keese.]

Do you think he'll come back, Bat-san?

[The rest of the recording is of "Bat-san" biting Cube's finger... and Cube not really responding much to it. Instead, his focus is within himself, recalling his last conversation with Shinji.]

❀ - [Action] - 第四 [元宵節, Lantern Festival, Discedo]

[meilihua]

[ It's late in the afternoon; the sun is still out, but just barely, the light shading orange and red as it starts to dip below the horizon. Soon, it will darken, winding down through twilight and evening and then night.

Not that it mattered at all, really, since this room, the old gymnasium of the high school, high ceilinged and spacious, if slightly drafty, is full of light. 

There are round paper lanterns strung up in the rafters among the beams, bright cheerful colors, some with designs in bold black ink, others in delicate little paper-slit curves and angles, and still others painted on with colors, tiny landscapes and flower motifs. Considering the surroundings, the effect is merry, happy, hopeful. Beneath the lanterns are a few round tables - none of them the same size, exactly, but all covered with different colored tablecloths and set with clean, if mismatched, bowls and utensils.

And food. They looked a bit strange, if you weren't used to them: sticky-sweet  湯圓  (元宵), made out of glutinous rice and different flavored fillings, such as peanut and sesame, floating, still-warm in the light soup that they were cooked in;  年糕, also sweet, though laid out in squares on plates instead of bowls; pyramids of mandarin oranges; and in the middle of each table, a pile of red envelopes with candies inside them. Chairs around the tables and benches and seats pulled from somewhere are scattered throughout the room, for comfort.

You may have followed a red, hand-lettered sign or signs, posted up at various parts of the city, with arrows pointing you in the right direction, or possibly word-of-mouth to this location, whether out of curiosity, courtesy, boredom, or pity. Welcome to the Lantern Festival, the last day of the Lunar New Year ( 農曆新年 ) or Spring Festival ( 春節 ). 

There are red banners on the walls (though not very high up) and sitting at a rectangular table right by the door into the gymnasium is Taiwan, with a pile of differently shaped lanterns behind her, smiling, ready to greet you. ]