5 ❀ Sword Dancing

[konnosuke]

SWORD DANCING an open post

It’s a special time of year and the sword army is invited to come down from their citadels and celebrate. What? A summer festival, an offering to the gods, or perhaps a special ceremony of sorts. A normally quiet, rural village at the foot of the mountains will transform for the night with lanterns, fireworks, and music all around but first! Some preparations need to be done. Did you really think you would be invited down here without having to do some work? Prepare to dance, prepare to sing, prepare for a night of fun. 1. CEREMONY PRACTICE At the citadel, a new chore has been added to the list: ceremonial practice! The swords selected to perform at the festival will have to practice their song and dance or else they'll risk embarrassment in front of the crowds. Or maybe this entire thing is embarrassing... either way, this is your duty! Saniwa's orders! Where and when is up to you but you better be ready. 2. SPECIAL CLOTHES You can’t wear those same old clothes. They’re all torn and worn or just not appropriate at all for the type of festival you’re going to. The government has all of your measurements and has sent special robes for the spirits and saniwa to wear. It even comes complete with accessories! What’s taking you so long? We should have left twenty minutes ago. Do you need help? Or are you trying to perfect your appearances for your big debut? 3. PERFORMANCE Everyone is dancing and everyone is singing. Are you one of the performers? Or are they dancing to you? What kind of songs are you hearing? What dances are you watching? Did you see the ceremonial sword dance? Or maybe you were invited to dance in a special performance with your saniwa! When the performance is over, make sure to congratulate the performers on a job well done… or tease your friend. 4. OFFERINGS AND PRAYER After the festive ceremonies, there are more serious things to do. There is a sacred fire and you can take a moment to pray to the gods. Remember, we are fighting a war and it’s important to remember those that have fallen. The swords that were broken and damaged beyond repair are gathered up and taken to a sacred fire so that their spirits can be purified and reborn. Later, all of those offerings you have been saving are offered up to the gods for their blessings. It's also a chance to hopefully pray for a turn in luck. Maybe you'll pray for an old friend to return to the citadel. It's been a long time since you saw them, right? They'll come home eventually. 5. FESTIVITIES The ceremonies are finally over! Wow, that sure took up a lot of time, huh? There are still a couple of more hours left in the night so enjoy the festivities. Try the food, play the shooting games, win a couple of prizes. How many goldfish can you catch? Or maybe the important question is: How are you going to take care of this goldfish? At the end of the night, you can catch the fireworks before the night ends. 6. SURPRISE ATTACK With so many saniwa and sword spirits gathered in one place, it's the perfect time for the enemy to make a major blow against the Time Government. In what should have been the fireworks finale, there's a loud explosion and lightning strikes. The Time Retrograde Army strikes without warning. It's nothing the Touken Danshi haven't taken care of before but this time, they'll have to protect their saniwa too. 7. WILDCARD Pick your own adventure. Maybe you have to help make offerings or tonight is a special night for a special summoning.

What if the saniwa had to perform other duties besides just summoning swords to fight? What if they had to take part in special ceremonies? What if they had to invite their swords to perform with them? Feel free to get as creative as you want with this prompt as far as things like: Why are they celebrating? How often do they get to leave the citadel? Etc