TEFc Invents a Springtime Holiday [Share your ideas!]

AlisonRobin's picture
Everyone loves the rut because it is a great excuse to roleplay, play, and meet people. In the rut discussion thread there was chatter of another get together at the opposite side of the year in springtime (unless you're in the southern hemisphere sorry guys) and do something similarly fun.

I'll do this with bullet points because it's faster

-It should be a holiday-like community event
-It should give every character the opportunity to participate and should not exclude
-It should relate to the lore of the game in some way
-It should reflect the collective culture of the characters in some way
-Just like real holidays, everyone should be able to celebrate in different ways (ex. in real life my family eats chocolate cake for Christmas that says "happy birthday Jesus") to avoid limitation in roleplay

This would be a community event so feel free to shout out ideas. I'll maybe clean up this first post with time. Only rule is please no getting mad on the internet.
thelittleraven's picture

Currently I don't really have

Currently I don't really have a suggestion, but I'll be making a post with mine soon if I come up with one.

Quoting a spectacular idea:

Jacklo wrote:
Rather as mentioned this possible new event should parallel the rut as instead of competitors/challengers fighting over judges, and instead have it be about fresh new beginnings, practicing sparring after a long winter and after the hardship of the rutting in order to hone skills for later in the year and sizing up potential allies/enemies, and for children born from the rut to come together with other families as a socializing event where the whole purpose is to encourage the children to make friends and their mothers to socialize with other mothers.

So for instinctual characters, it can be the rut: guarding/joining a harem, mating and then new event: herding, socialising their babies and practicing their sparring and herding techniques.

And for less instinctual, its just a big happy party with kids saying hello to each other and the males slapping each others metaphorical backs and nodding.

Though there would be a little herding its less serious, less driven around 'I must gather potential mates' and more 'okay if i gather all these judges then I can use this in the actual rut and __ will help me! And hello __ you're looking nice today."


Not necessarily lore related but good nonetheless.

I also like the idea of an arbor day, as suggested by Aiv:

Aivilo wrote:
Maybe some kind of arbor day or 'April showers' thing where it's a big gardening party?
Gotta upkeep the Forest somehow after all those rutters tear it up, right?

Trying to think of how you'd make it a really social event like the rut is. Give it 'glue' so to speak.
I think I remember someone suggesting a 'pollinate' event a long while back? Where you get a flower and go 'pollinate' other flowers, so you have to meet as many people as you can? Maybe something like that would work. It could be represented with an action/combination of actions in-Forest (nuzzle+listen-shake?), and would encourage the interactions to be roleplayed.

Could do it like reverse hide-and-seek, maybe, where once you find someone you stick together?
The groups would get pretty huge pretty quick, though, and eventually there would be one big blob haha. Maybe have it start over every day, or on every hour.
Aivilo's picture

\o/

\o/
Mary13's picture

thelittleraven has some nice

thelittleraven has some nice ideas there, but overall this is just a great idea!

I'd love the idea of playing around in the forest, such as a big group of playing hide-and-seek. This could work by turning your pictograms off in the menu and the only way the other player would find you is giving signals of their location by mooing.

Or maybe we could play chase, and whoever gets caught is "it".

But as for the lore and culture thing, it's a little trickier to figure out something that honors everyone. I was thinking that maybe we could do a certain dance pattern in the forest that we'd practice before the actual event. Everyone should have the opportunity to say what they want the dance to include.

Overall, just those little playful events that everyone would be aware of in advance. It would be real nice to see all the deer get together once in a while, it gets a little lonely seeing everyone in small groups of two or three ;_;
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A masquerade.

A masquerade.
WayfarerHart's picture

Watching. I don't have any

Watching. I don't have any ideas to contribute though I'm afraid!

I'm also relieved not to be the one to host it! Haha. Def participating. <3

SoliloquyChryseis's picture

I will look at this when I am

I will look at this when I am alive (aka awake). Tracking so I don't lose it!
Silverfang's picture

Keeping an eye on this.

Keeping an eye on this. ♥
Jacklo's picture

Tracking and also may edit

Tracking and also may edit this with ideas after work! also if it did ever become a thing I'd love to help organise ovo"

Jacklo's Characters/Hub
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Hallinish's picture

Blank atm so just curiously

Blank atm so just curiously watching

/nests

/nests
Waning-Sun's picture

I find this concept would be

I find this concept would be super fun. Especially something that combined the two ideas(lore and flowers)...
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Thais's picture

Placing a track, Im very

Placing a track, Im very interested in these ideas (:
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ApoideaBee's picture

Can we call whatever it is

Can we call whatever it is something to do with being twitterpated?

I really do enjoy the idea of gathering together so that the fawns can play and meet after the long winter. It would also be a good way for new players to enjoy their fawnhoods around this time.
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Awentia's picture

tracking this bc this seems

tracking this bc this seems like fun! ;u;
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SoliloquyChryseis's picture

I really like what people are

I really like what people are posting so far minus the moo-hide and seek. I can see that becoming an issue for participants and non-participants alike. ^_^; But I DO like the idea of hide and seek. Just need to find a way to get it to work.

I am guessing this would be over a week I think? Let's just assume that for a second.

What if each day during the week we had some sort of event? Just so we can get many of these ideas going but not at the same time. Thanks to TLR for posting what Jacklo and Aivilo wrote!

Example (keep in mind just using these days in this order for ease, it doesn't have to start on sunday):

Day 1 (Sunday): The beginning Pollinate Event. Aivilo's idea basically. Have your character try to meet and encourage play from other characters and have them all join in. This can of course include spell wars, because who doesn't like becoming a rainbow of colors! Some friendly sparring can come out of this, who doesn't want to show off those antlers.

Day 2 (Monday): Flower event. Group up in flowers and "chat". Could possibly have a special blog open for this so people can rp if they want to right there and then. This can work with Jacklo's associate the babies idea. In game all the new fawns can play around while their parents talk?

Day 3 (Tuesday): Tree event. Hide and seek from Aivilo. Can only hide in certain trees maybe, pictos off (this also helps with people's lag issues) and the only way to find out if someone is inside of a tree is to use a spell cast (to get that golden halo). So people would be obligated to keep background on. WIP? Can be an all day thing then at the end of the day sit around the old oak and tell stories?

Day 4 (Wednesday): Need idea

Day 5 (Thursday): Need idea

Day 6 (Friday): Need idea

Day 7 (Saturday): Final day, lore event. Maybe, just maybe we can ask M&A to change the weather to something special for a day and MAYBE get their participation. Many deer gathering around the twins to show their love and appreciation to the makers/gods of the game. Maybe we can gather a collaboration of pictures and poems and other sorts of artistic writing and art to come together into a catalog of the day and MAYBE we can figure out how much it would be to get printed and send it to M&A as a gift if we can gather together as a community and get the funds for it.

Ugh sorry if these are stupid but just ideas Sad
Seed's picture

At one point in time, I was

At one point in time, I was developing ideas for an event about the exchanging of flowers, so maybe something to do with that?
While I don't know how good the idea would be without using the story I was going to use to accompany it, which never fully left larval stages, I do still have most of the brainstorming for it Here. Certainly, I'd like the idea of a more springy event, maybe something with a bit less focus on fighting.
AlisonRobin's picture

I've been watching this on my

I've been watching this on my phone all day but I think I'll finally start replying.

I love a lot of these ideas, that was why I didn't want to say anything, I wanted folks to get a chance to talk but I can't wait anymore. I've started synergizing a lot of the ideas I've seen here.

"Masquerade of Flowers"

During the celebration, adult characters grab a brand new mask and pelt spell. Antlers at default, cover them with flowers (to cover your scent so no one can recognize you by smell). Non-antlered character participants could use branches or any other item to decorate themselves with flowers. I'm not sure if there are any characters who are immune to Forest magic but perhaps they could invent other disguises. Fawns/children also wear flowers. Pictos off is optional. This is meant to remind people and teach children that the way someone looks doesn't matter.

Characters meet in flower patches and rub/brush antlers and their flowers in different flower patches to help pollinate and to socialize. Adults are encouraged to communally keep eyes on children (I think many characters have this mindset already, though not all) and watch out for them to help teach children that old adage that "it takes a community to raise a child" and help the shy ones learn that there are friendly folks out there. Parents, you get to take a breather and nap in some flowers!

Fawns are also encouraged to try taking their own leadership roles and gathering their own groups together for play. It's the holiday for them to blossom and branch away from the people they spend all their time with to actively make new friends. That can be scary for them (and moms & dads) but it's for the best.

Games such as hide and seek, spell tag, and others could happen, as well as sparring amongst participants thinking six months ahead for the rut, particularly adults educating young adults and "teens" in sparring so they won't get hurt in the actual rut.

Only "task" of the celebration: Meet someone you don't know (or don't know that you DO know because they are in disguise) and walk with them from a patch of flowers to The Twin Gods. Thank The Gods for this opportunity to make a friend. Irreligious characters or characters who worship other deities are of course exempt from this rule.

Thoughts?
Seed's picture

I like that; I think it

I like that; I think it sounds like a cute idea, and I'd certainly be happy to participate in it. It has a pleasant, springy feel that sometimes gets lost in the often more dramatic flow of community large events, and has a decent amount of structure, with a certain amount of "give" for things to be mixed into it.
din's picture

sneaks

sneaks
Nazzard's picture

Going to stalk this. A 'War

Going to stalk this. A 'War of the Flowers' is something a certain someone in my character line up would be totally gung hoe about. Besides what's better than spring time?

Discord:Nazzard#9068 ||Click for bios.
thelittleraven's picture

Alison, that idea is

Alison, that idea is fantastic. All the ideas in this thread are really great, but I think that one takes the cake for me.

I also think it's a good time to point out flower sparring! During the masquerade event, any of that sparring done should be flower sparring, I think.
Aivilo's picture

Just thought of a variation

Just thought of a variation on spell tag and flower sparring - Red vs. Blue flowers.
Grab a bundle of deer, pick up some flowers, and see which 'team' can cover the other team first.
I doubt anyone would ever manage to cover everyone all in the same color unless it was a very small group, but it'd sure be fun to try : P
AlisonRobin's picture

Flower sparring seems like a

Flower sparring seems like a great idea and a good, peaceful way to introduce fawns to the sport so they can practice before they have antlers. Plus continued pollen passing and smell mixing for disguises.

Teams (and constantly switching teams) could be a cute bonus too.
Pretzil's picture

track. i love the idea of the

track. i love the idea of the red vs blue flower sparring! i've wanted something that sort of kept with the rut but a baby-boom event isnt exactly something everyone could enjoy.

i really do like the flower sparring idea, though!
onowl's picture

Tracking with great interest!

Tracking with great interest! Laughing out loud
Hum's picture

A rut period based on the rut

A rut period based on the rut cycle of Eld's deer because I want stone to stand a chance. (This would be a very boring idea, don't take it seriously.)

I've always admired that holidays in a traditional sense celebrate something that helps people. Solstices celebrating the varied lengths of day, crop-based celebrations, so on and so forth.

I think on Groundhog's Day, February 2nd&mdashfor the sake of narrowing it down to a single time period—the deer could do something to celebrate their food coming back into season. I mean, especially for animals who are depending exclusively on farmless techniques for growing their food, having the winter end and the food come back into season is basically the best part of the year.

I didn't know how to celebrate it, but reading through, I love the idea of having it largely be about socializing the fawns who are being born. (Would have to move it into actual spring rather than the beginning of it for that though! Sounds more fun anyway.) The Flower Sparring is literally perfect, as it completely incorporates even those who aren't aware of the event into itself. All fawns can nab purple flowers and have poppies cast upon them, and nameless can do both. I would even feel comfortable sneezing off my character's representational antlers to participate. (He's highly associated with a very feral look, so looking even vaguely different is extremely uncomfortable/stressful for him. He's never go on with the all-out mask and pelt change, and I'd view him as just using his own antlers for the event, but I think aside from needing default antlers to spar, it's a really great idea.) I love the fun of it—it's so lighthearted that even those who take issue with "fighting" (ICly and OOCly) might be able to accept it and even participate, if only in the background, due to its playful nature.

Tl;dr some sort of "ending of winter/coming of spring" celebration in which characters gather to celebrate the main aspects of spring—the birthing of fawns and the growth of plants— toward the beginning/middle of spring sounds amazing. Even for species which don't birth fawns around this time, or who aren't interested in sparring, there seems like there'd be something to do, and that's perfect.

I haven't had a chance to

I haven't had a chance to read through all the comments yet, but just wanted to pop in and say that I would love to see some event days and activities that are less structured. Fun without needing all the rules of a formal game? The mentions I saw of flower-giving events sound really nice to me because it's something that a HUGE group could do all at once very intuitively (which you can't do with a game like Simon Says or Hide and Seek).

My logic behind this is that I for one can't play the game for very long OR access TEFc while playing, so it's hard for me to join more structured events. I always feel like a bother when I need to leave/pause frequently to cool down my poor overheating laptop haha.

The flower sharing idea also sounds like it could work very nicely as a starter for Role Play here on TEFc! Having 'flower patch blogs' with a role play starter that encourage characters to interact with anyone who happens to be in that 'Patch' (aka any character currently being RPed in that blog).

Anyway: cool ideas all round I look forward to actually reading through them when I get a chance!

edit: Another idea that's really simple and will likely happen anyway (these have always been my absolute favourite part of Ambiogenesis events) would be a 'herd run' which is where we get as many deer as we can to all run together. It's really fun, no need to worry about who is 'in charge' the group just charges around the forest loosing and gaining members as it goes.
ApoideaBee's picture

Should we list all of the

Should we list all of the things we associate with the season?

-babies being born or coming out of dens
-melting of snow
- New growth, food, etc.
- young bucks getting their first antlers in
- last year's fawns losing their spots
- coming of flowers
- butterflies
- The return of the birds
- finding new love
- leaves coming in on the trees
- Longer days
- emergence
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