Forums » General Roleplay » Summer Soiree - Summer Festival in San Myshuno

Quick summary: This is a modern RP located in the city San Myshuno (from the Sims 4) and is open to all modern characters, including supernatural and magical characters. Your character DOES NOT have to be a Sims character and the city can be treated as any regular city. Silly shenanigans are encouraged! Random, inexplicable, totally over the top drama is too! Just have it all happen in good fun and enjoy yourself.

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The hot, humid summer heat swept across the city and engulfed even the smallest nooks and crannies with an unbearable thickness in the air. If you weren't gushing sweat and trudged to your destination, you were either comfy in an air conditioned building, lounging around in a pool or somehow just lucky to enjoy the heat (and getting weird looks from the people around you). The air shimmered as the surfaces baked in all of the sun's glory, and even the shade hardly provided any protection. It was absolutely miserable for most people in all of the districts, and when the heat showed no sign of letting up anytime soon the city council decided to lift the people's spirits by organizing summer activities all over the city. Flyers were sent to all residents, and social media was quickly populated with ads about the events.

San Myshuno consisted of four districts - Uptown, the Arts Gallery, the Spice Market and the Fashion District, all with their own mixtures of cultures and festivals all year round. A river ran through the middle of the city with a bridge connecting the Fashion District and Spice Market. A majority of the buildings rose high into the sky, featuring apartment complexes and penthouses.

The Spice Market Summer Festival

Home to the famous flea market and Spice Festival, the Spice Market features opportunities to play basketball, eat at various Asian food stalls, fishing spots at the waterside and a stage commonly used by people to play their guitars or violins. A karaoke bar is situated near the river and is a frequent meeting ground for people from all over the city.

This year's Summer Festival events included a watermelon eating contest, and buckets with filled water balloons were placed strategically all over the streets to encourage some cooling off fun.

(More districts will be added as the events go along, as to avoid confusion and help stay focused on what's going on! I will also be adding additional events when I think of them, or maybe you'd like to suggest one?)

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A large table was placed next to the basketball court, decorated with festive banners and triangle flags. A total of six people could comfortably stand next to each other without touching, and the table was approximately 4 feet tall. Next to the table were two large barrels, filled with cool water and kept in the shade, practically overflowing with large green watermelons. The table was tended to by a short, stocky looking man with dark skin and black curly hair kept short but natural, dressed in an open Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and worn out beige toe slippers. A name tag identified him as Markus.

He held a clipboard and pen, regularly shouting out into the crowd with a booming voice. "Watermelon eating contest!! Sign up now!! Winners take home a pair of Super Soakers!! Fifteen minutes left until the next round!"

What the actual hell was it with the heat on this planet?! Amira huffed and puffed as she tended to the plants in her apartment. Although the brick building managed to keep the inside relatively cool, it was nowhere near the luxurious cold air conditioning provided. Her greenhouse was unbearably hot, and she couldn't stand being inside it for more than 5 minutes at a time. Sweat was gushing down her human body at even the slightest bit of effort, and before long she gave up. Her plants were watered, and that would have to do before she passed out from heat exhaustion!

For a moment she considered jumping into the shower and running it on cold, but that would only help for a short time. And what would she be doing? Everything felt too hard when this oppressive heat bore down on her. Wiping the sweat from her face with her shirt, the alien-disguised-human trudged over to the mailbox - the one thing she felt took almost no effort - and took out the day's mail. "Bill, bill, spam, ooh my magazine, spam, spam.. sp-" Oh, wait. A flyer from the city? She read it carefully.

Tired of melting away in your own home? Kids cranky and the pools overflowing? Looking to cool down anyway? San Myshuno is organizing various events over the coming weeks to help you do just that! Come down to the districts and participate FOR FREE in any of the following events!

Amira's eyes lit up. How fun!! She wasn't always the most social person, but this heat could drive even the most introverted people to be out and about if it meant there would be relief. Now giddy with excitement, she wasted not even a single second to rush to her closet and get changed. Navy blue very short shorts, a snug fitting bralette and an old pair of slippers would have to do. Minutes later, she was on her way to the Spice Market.

The area was relatively busy, some teens were playing basketball in the court, people were crowding the food, drinks and ice cream stands, and kids were running around and laughing. "Watermelon eating contest!! Sign up now!! Winners take home a pair of Super Soakers!! Fifteen minutes left until the next round!" A watermelon eating contest? That was intriguing, but what the hell were 'Super Soakers'? Amira glanced down at one of the buckets, still filled a quarter of the way with tiny, funny looking balloons.

Humans were weirdos. What was this? She grabbed one of the balloons with a confused expression. There was liquid inside, but..... why? She glanced around, looking a little lost, trying to see if anyone else was doing anything with these things to get a better understanding.

It was a very hot summers day, and the exact place Jacob Sanchez did not want to be. Why should he be standing outside, sweltering in the heat? At least, inside had air conditioning. But his mother had needed to do some deep cleaning. Jacob had offered to help her, but was simply shooed out.

"When you're back from college, you need to have fun with your friends!" she had said with a frown. Jacob wanted to argue with her, but one look from his mama, sent him scurrying. Unfortunately the only thing going on was the San Myshuno festival, the current epicenter of the town and all sorts of people. The 20 year old boy hated anything that had to do with people that weren't involved in his gang. But he didn't really feel like meeting up with them either.

Shuffling along to the Spice Market, he looked around the various stalls. Children ran and played, vendors shouted about their wares, and grumpy parents searched frantically for their kids. AT least there were things to do. Passing by a sign that said in huge block letters,

Watermelon eating contest!! Sign up now!! Winners take home a pair of Super Soakers

Jacob scoffed at the silliness of the events. What was this? An elementary school? Turning to his left, he saw a girl standing alone. A mystified expression her face as she stared down at a water balloon.

What planet was she from? Jacob mused. Grabbing a red ballon, he debated chucking it at the unsuspecting women. It would certaintly be funny, immature, but hilarious. Biting his lip in thought, Jacob mentally weighed the consequences. It was possible that he could get kicked out of the festival, but that wouldn't be that bad. Shaking his head, he smirked and tossed the balloon lightly at her. If he did hit her, it wouldn't hurt, but she would probably be in for a surprise.

Regardless if he hit her, Jacob would go over with a cocky grin. "It's a water balloon. What are you from, the North Pole or something?" laughing at her with twinkling brown eyes, he shook his head. "I'm Jacob. " The college student didn't like making many friends, but he had tried to soak her with a balloon, so maybe it wouldn't be that bad to talk to the pink haired girl.

This was the weirdest thing! Nobody else seemed to be confused about this, and it made her feel like she stood out uncomfortably much. With doubt creeping in, she began to put the balloon back into the bucket when-

SPLASH!!

The balloon burst against her shoulder, having been thrown just hard enough to break it without hurting. "AAAH!" Amira squeaked loudly and jumped. "What the-!" Startled, she looked at the young man who approached her. She blinked rapidly and realized that he had thrown one of the funny liquid filled balloons and it drenched most of one side of her bralette. Thankfully it was only water! "I uh..." She shook her head and then laughed. "Is that what they are? I've never seen them before, we don't have them at my home p- home town," she explained, catching herself right before she made a mistake in the moment of confusion. How fascinating! Amira had to admit that the water was nice on her hot skin, and it suddenly made sense why they were around.

"I'm Amira." She weighed the balloon in her hand and gave him an expectant look, as if to seek permission to drench him in return. The social rules on this were not entirely clear to her yet. "You live in the city? I moved here a few years ago, I didn't know summers could get so hot!"

"You don't have them in your town?" Jacob asked skeptically. "Where are you from anyway?" when she asked if he lived in the city, he nodded and sighed. "Born and raised. It's pretty boring, besides the Festival. " pointing to the watermelon sign, he cocked his head. "Are you going to enter in that." Jacob didn't see the point in an eating games. It was always some over eager jock boy that won. They usually just ended up making people look like idiots. Food dripping down onto their shirt and faces, who would even want to be humiliated like that?

She was right about the weather though. It was way too hot. Even though Jacob was Hispanic, Jacob didn't really like the burning heat. His skin was tan from spending hours outside, but there wasn't much to do inside. The movie theater and mall didn't interest him, and he wasn't a very social person.

Seeing her look, he shrugged and nodded. He doubted she would throw it hard, and it was hot enough to gain pleasure from getting soaked with water. Bracing himself for the water balloon, Jacob sighed and cocked a brow. "Want to get some food or something? I can show you which stands rip you off, and which stands have good food." Jacob wouldn't press the matter, if she said No, then that was that. But the women was far from annoying, and better company than one could ask for at a stupid festival.

The question caught her off guard a little (she wasn't the best in social situations after all), and she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Uhm.... you probably never heard of it. It's a place pretty far from here. Different customs and all that stuff, I guess?" Amira was desperate to change the subject before she'd blurt out something she'd regret.

Her gaze followed the direction he pointed at and a grin took over her expression, lighting up with excitement. "The contest? Oh yeah!! I've never done that before, it sounds like so much fun." She was a little more than oblivious to his distaste for eating contests, so when he offered to show her around the food stands she followed up with, "Maybe later. You wanna compete with me in the contest instead? I have a big appetite, just warning you," she laughed, sounding very much like an over-excited child.

That same excitement was still sweeping over her when he approved of the water balloon, and - unsure how hard exactly you had to throw it for it to break and splash someone - gently tossed it at him. It barely made it all the way, hit him on the shoulder, annnnd... bounced off harmlessly onto the pavement where it broke and gushed all over his feet. Disappointed, her shoulders slumped. "Awww..."

"Well, okay?" he didn't press the matter. He probably had never heard about it. Jacob was intelligent, but he never tried very hard. And Geography wasn't his strongest suit anyway. Besides, she was there now, so did it really matter? When she asked if he wanted to compete, he couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Cocking an eyebrow at her he shook his head with amusement.

"You think so? Well, alright..." he doubted the girl could eat that fast, but Jacob decided against saying it. Even though he was usually a very candor person, Jacob knew people didn't like or use honesty as much as he did. Her excitement was strange, but it was oddly refreshing. Jacob didn't really hang around people described as "hunky dory" or "bubbly", and this women clearly was.

Smiling up at Amira, he went over to the list and signed his name in a lazy messy scrawl. He forgot about the water balloon, but when she threw it at him, and it fell to the ground with a splat, he laughed softly again.

"Hey, that's okay..." grabbing two more, he handed her. "You have to throw it a bit harder. Watch!" pitching his arm back, he chucked it at a guy a few feet away. The balloon hit the bulky man with a splat. Smirking at Amira, he fiddled with his fingers, pretending it wasn't him, and kept his eyes trained on Amira as if they were having a deep conversation.

The angry man couldn't seem to figure it out, and finally just walked off.

"See! Like that! Hurry now, before the contest starts. Hit me with your best shot!." Jacob felt confident she wouldn't be able to inflict much damage anyway.

He was going to do the contest with her! Amira's smile was so wide it was almost comical and she nodded excitedly. "Thank you!!!" She would feel better joining the contest with someone she 'knew'. Jacob was still kind of a stranger, but he was nice to her and it put her at ease almost instantly. How nice of him to join her!

She followed him and signed her name in overly flourish handwriting afterwards, just positively beaming at the prospect here.

Concern washed over her face when he encouraged her to throw it harder. "But what if it hurts?" she asked with a frown, holding the jiggly balloon like it was a dangerous grenade. That man sure seemed upset at being pelted with a water balloon, but he also wasn't crying out in pain. Plus, it hadn't hurt when he got her, right? Still, she worried about maybe going overboard with this. When Jacob encouraged her to throw it at him, she weighed it in her hand and looked between him and the balloon twice, then decided that he had asked for it... and SWOOSH, the balloon went flying in an almost straight line and exploded upon contact!

Amira gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. "You okay?!"

Mi doesn't often go out to festivals anymore and it's been a long while since she's really had any fun! So her first visit to San Myshuno is a well deserved and desired one.

The short statures young woman in her soft blue cotton sundress and straw hat shuffles immediately over to the table next to the basketball court. Watermelon! She adores it and can be very competitive when she wants to be. Not to mention the hot sun makes dozens of 'cool water sandwiches' sound absolutely amazing. Her parents would not even remotely approve, but they're not there. So who cares!

"Hi... Markus!" Mi-hee beams her voice as sweet as strawberries, "I'd like to sign up."

Given that she was handed the clip board and pen she would eagerly sign just in time to watch some balloon throwing happen. Water exploding everywhere.

Okay well, maybe there was one thing she wasn't sure about getting into. She brushed her dry hair behind her ears and stayed close to the big table. pursing her lips as she squinted to look through the sun even with the brim of her hat shading her face.

Jacob turned to see a women walk up and sign her name on the list. Rolling his eyes, he almost scoffed. Seriously? What was with these strange women and entering food competitions? At least the new woman didn’t look like much. She was short of stature -probably not taller than 5’2- and quite slender.

Whilst studying the women, a water balloon sailed and pelted him in the chest. It exploded in contact, spraying water all over his clothes. He watched as the water dripped down his shirt and onto his shorts. The impact had only stung a little bit, but he had been shocked by the force.

“I’m alright, don’t worry about me.” He tapped his chest and smirked. “All my workouts helped.” Shaking his head he clasped his hands and sighed. “You sure about entering the contest? I’m sure that angry man will enter and we won’t stand a chance.” Jacob teased softly.

He really didn’t think he or she could win. They were both pretty average in size. There was no possible way that the girl could pack in more than him, especially not in a race.

“There’s lots of other stuff to do as well... But if you insist.” Stepping toward the table with the preparations, he chuckled. Nodding his head at the girl with a hat, he sighed. “Just don’t be sad if I win, okay?”

Relief washed over the pink haired woman, and - now giddy as all hell - she giggled about her first successful water balloon hit! When he asked if she was sure, she looked over to the table and nodded repeatedly. "Yeah!! I can eat for two. Or maybe three." A cheeky grin crossed her face. "I might eat the angry man's melon too!" She was kidding, obviously. Or... was she? It was hard to tell with the amount of confidence she was radiating there.

Her attention was drawn by the other contestant and she was happy to have another challenger to take on. She followed Jacob to the table and smiled warmly at Mi. "Hi! Good luck." The greeting was friendly but very brief, mostly because Markus stepped up and cleared his throat to get their attention as he placed a paper plate with their pretty big slice of melon in front of each of them.

He spoke in a only slightly less quiet version of his formerly booming voice. "Alright guys, here's how this is going to happen. Everyone gets a quarter of a water melon. Do not touch it or start eating until I give the signal. You may not touch it with your hands, so you better keep them on your back! The first one to have eaten all the watermelon down to the rind, wins! If you must spit out the seeds, spit them out onto the table, don't spit at anyone else or onto the ground, okay? If you throw up, you lose. Anyone who doesn't follow these rules will be disqualified."

His eyes locked with each of the three people for a moment. "Any questions?"

Jacob fought the strong urge to roll his eyes and mock the man who stood head of the contest. No use of hands? This really did bring back flashbacks to elementary school games. Field day, parties, and carnivals. Nodding his understanding, he looked at his companions and smirked confidently.

Jacob didn’t atcually care if he won or not, as long as he could make a new friend or too, things would be alright. And Amira has Enough excitement for the both of them.

Jacob didn’t have any questions, and so he prepared himself. Putting his hands behind his back and leaning down slightly toward the watermelon piece. Crap, he’d Look like such an idiot. Closing his eyes, he waited for Marcus to count him down.

Amira was practically bouncing in place from excitement. How could someone NOT have fun doing this?? She shook her head - nope, no questions from her, although she tucked her hair behind her ears so it wouldn't get dirty. Her hands clasped together behind her back while they all waited for the signal to start.

As Markus received no further inquiries, he stepped back, and announced loudly that the contest was starting in... "FIVE.... FOUR.... THREE... TWO............. ONE! GO!"

Her eyes, thoroughly fixated on the watermelon before her, closed as Amira basically smashed her face down into it. Chomp chomp chomp, her mouth was overflowing within two seconds and she struggled to swallow the watery fruit fast enough to keep up with her motions. Half her face was already covered in its juices and she had no time to even glance to either side to check on her worthy opponents!

Jacob took a deep breath, and stared down at his melon piece. At least he could probably go home after that. Or least quit the silly games they were playing. Maybe he could just get Amira to simply go eat or walk around. The games were mindless, and the prizes weren’t fantastic. Still, he was there... And Amira had asked him to compete.

Leaning down, hands behind his back eh waited for the countdown. Leaning down, Jacob began to munch into the fruit. Juices sprayed and fell down his chin. Seeds were spit out, as he ate the piece As fast as he could.

Jacob was never going to a fair again. And he was never going to compete in a stupid game. Not with all the people who would Ridicule at him. Already people were jeering and laughing and calling.

[My money’s on that one!/i]

Shooting a glare at the Lanky man, He shook his head and continued to eat. Almost done.