A drabble trade with @domoz, with the prompts "marriage hunt" & "cultural differences"!
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This was the first time in over two hundreds years that the Senju had allowed another clan to be present for the midsummer hunt, much less partake. An act of trust, Hashirama had called it. Tobirama wasn’t entirely opposed, but he did wish Aniki had bothered to explain the details of the ceremony to the other clan.
The Senju Midsummer Marriage Hunt was a celebration of life. It was a matter of connecting to nature, reconnecting to their place in nature. The intricacies of the rituals surrounding it, as most long-ago formed religious practices, were as detailed as they were endless. Dressed only in cotton, bringing only bow and arrows as their weapons, and all of them barefoot- the Senju had taken great efforts to ensure the event remained connected in all ways back to nature. Hashirama had reassured him multiple times that it wouldn’t be trouble- that the Uchiha, as a clan well known for their hunting prowess, would not disturb things where it mattered.
The sun high, the day hot, and the Uchiha’s arrival to the meadow was already proving his brother wrong.
They arrived in a burst of color through the brushwork, making noise that shinobi normally are naturally devoid of. Some are playing instruments, drums and flutes, and there’s laughter and yelling and the clatter of wooden geta knocking together. Tobirama makes a mental note to direct the hunt in the opposite direction from which the Uchiha had come; there would certainly be nothing to catch along the trail after that terrible racket.
Despite all the noise, it’s a smaller group then Tobirama would’ve expected. No children, no elderly; only a small group of presumed-shinobi.
Hashirama’s welcoming smile grows strained, but he still calls out to the procession. “Hello, hello! So glad you accepted our invitation!”
Madara Uchiha makes his way to the front and accepts Hashirama’s excited hug with good nature. As the noise finally died down, the two groups were able to observe each other- and Tobirama is surprised to find matching looks of disdain across the way. Both the Senju and the Uchiha clearly do not approve of each other’s choice in clothing.
The Uchiha are dressed in finary. Delicate silks, layers of jewelry. Even Madara has bothered to tie his hair back in an imitation of a presentable style. They look dressed to meet the daimyo, not for a day and a half of hunting on a boiling hot summer day.
Izuna shoves his way forward. He’s dressed even nicer than the rest, with bright red makeup smeared at the corners of his eyes and his hair a glossy well-groomed braid along his back. He gestures at Tobirama, turns to face Madara, and says, “I told you!”
“Izuna.” Madara responds, in a reprimanding tone near-identical to Hashirama’s. It’s a little funny, but Tobirama hides his mirth for fear of making the situation worse.
Hikaku- and ah, unusual for so many members of the Uchiha main family to have come all together- makes his way to Izuna’s side and pats him reassuringly on the shoulder. “We mustn’t judge the Senju for….aesthetic differences. If their tradition calls for more practical clothing, we should respect it.”
He says it very nicely, but it certainly sounds judgemental. Tobirama would be offended if he wasn’t practicing a very similar judgment of the Uchiha tradition. Dressing up for hunting in old growth forests seems unbearably foolish, regardless of historical precedent.
“Look, look, this is my fault. I really should’ve explained it better.” Hashirama offers, which does seem to mollify both halves of the crowd. “We Senju host a hunt every midsummer in honor of all the marriages in the past year. It’s a way to reconnect with our place in the natural order, which is why we tend to dress down and-”
“Honor the marriages?” Madara stutters out. All of the Uchiha, in fact, seem more confused at Hashirama’s words.
“Yes, exactly! Because of- you know, the spring babies growing up and…” His voice trails off.
“The Uchiha,” Hikaku explains, face flushed a bright red, “Have our own tradition called a marriage hunt. A tradition where a shinobi can catch a spouse. We had assumed…”
Tobirama waits until the clamor from his own clan dies down- outrage from some, certainly, but more laughter than anything. Such an outrageous miscommunication, it’s hard for any of them to find anger and not humor.
“I believe, with some effort, our traditions could be merged.” Tobirama offers politely, and ignores the weight of a very intense stare at his words.
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BATFILES: Jason Todd
FULL NAME: Jason Peter Todd
ALIAS: Red Hood, prev. Robin
DATE OF BIRTH: August 16, 1997
HAIR: Dark strawberry-blonde, white piece at front, loose curls
EYES: Pale blue-green
SKINTONE: Fair
HEIGHT: 6'3"/190cm
WEIGHT: 242lbs/110kg
ETHNIC BACKGROUND: Italian, Dutch, Scottish, Irish, Indonesian
DISTINCTIVE SCARS AND MARKINGS: Light freckles across face, shoulders and arms, deep scars on face, missing chunk from left ear, scar on left side of neck, small scar on right cheekbone, flecks of white in facial hair on chin
LANGUAGES: English, French, German, Italian, ASL, Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Russian (could use some work)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: has moderate hearing loss in left ear and mild in right, suffers from chronic pain, especially in hands, gets migraines
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