Work Text:
Kip gazed out his hotel window at the bonfires dotting Zangoraville. He tried to tell himself they reminded him of celebrations back home in the Vangavaya‘ve, but they did not. At home, bonfires were all about bringing the community together, but the Nijani fires were the opposite. Every faction built a fire and burned, in effigy, their currently-most-hated adversary, be it the leader of the closest rival faction, a representative of the Nijani police, or even their hated Duke, which Kip was inclined to think represented an expansive world view in comparison. He wondered if mapping the bonfires and each of their targets would provide insight into Nijani politics. He envisioned himself wandering the streets with his writing kit, politely asking at each fire just who was being burned.. He could represent the bonfires in different colored inks, illustrating the spectrum of Nijani political views… he reluctantly concluded that he could not gather all the data before the night was over and people resumed less geographically specific politics. Still, it was an excellent opportunity to talk to people. He wondered if he could color the dots by the intensity of emotions at each bonfire, as well as by political stance…