Children went to and fro, up and down the streets, toting little ammo boxes filled with bullets and candy. As was Nepleslian tradition, the young ones every Nepleslian family went out in a disguise and went door to door, delighted greeting every homeowner with a loud 'Bullets or Boom!'. From there, the homeowner was entitled to give out some bullets, or some candy depending what they had on hand. When rewarded, the 'Bullet-Runners' jogged off excitedly to knock on another door. When denied, usually when rudely denied, the children resorted to 'Boom-tactics', which was really whatever they had to prank or vandalise a home.
This holiday, however, was not always a holiday. The Festival of Bullets was once a simple supply day out of the year. In particular, the holiday got it's start when the youngest of every gang went out in opposing gang colors to go around asking for armament or bullets. Generally it proved to be a successful tactic, but the genuine bullet-runners of yesteryear decided to make it into something more child-friendly for their progeny generation.
Today, the Bullet-Runners in the Festival of Bullets go around in all sorts of costumes. Sometimes they wear old gang colors, military uniforms(even Yamataian), or less run of the mill costumes that had nothing to do with guns. Children ask for candy and bullets, instead of supplies like back in the old days. Shops, which normally kept to the inside of their reinforced walls, had booths outside that sold nice treats. Some stalls, particularly for the children, only accepted bullets for payment.
Why?
Bullets were not just a traditional aspect the holiday, but they also served the purpose of acting as currency on the Festival of Bullets. Children would learn the value of their small-time currency, and even barter and trade among each other, learning to haggle efficiently. Bullets would go for the stall, earning even better treats or items. Sometimes kids would exchange between each other, giving their candy value against the standard bullet, with caliber generally marking value. However, all in all, it was truly up to the individual to how much value that little .45 ACP round had.
If you were an adult, you mostly had to escort the children aboout. Yet, the Festival of Bullets wasn't just for the roving candy gatherers. Some booths and stalls still took DA, and more often than not, store-owners were selling things they didn't sell throughout the year. Rare meats(Like Rader-Gator On A Stick[a popular favorite]), certain candies like Pixie Bars(Solid blocks of flavored sugar[keep out of reach of children]), and even a few alcohols for people of Nepleslian to drink and revel with each other.
