015 | Sky Full Of Stars

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Tanabata Festival
When: All day July 5
Where: The Near Shore
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a party and you're invited!

Edit: OVERFLOW is here!



With Tanabata drawing close, the Heavens have decided that there is nothing wrong with a little celebration for the annual occasion. So they have invited everyone on the Far Shore as well as a large number of people from the Near Shore to attend a festival for Tanabata. Tanabata festivals are not uncommon in this area, so the Near Shore residents are none the wiser, though some of them are a little uncertain about where this street they've never heard of popped up from...

Tanabata is a festival held to celebrate the one time a year that the lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi can meet across the vast expanse of the Milky Way. Many birds have been working their tail feathers off to create a bridge for the two lovebirds and that bridge - perhaps unsurprisingly - touches down on this street, in the middle of the festival.

The Heavens have prepared entertainment, food stalls, and as many tanzaku as might be needed for everyone to write down wishes, along with plenty of bamboo stalks to hang the wishes from.

New arrivals will find themselves ushered to the festival and offered traditional clothing after their normal briefing at the Meeting Hall.



Stalls

There are festival stalls of every kind present, all run by shinki dressed in white robes and bearing the golden chrysanthemum of Amaterasu. Many of them seem a little bruised still, but they are happy to smile for anyone who comes to the stall they are running. There is food, games, and drinks available of all kinds, so feel free to roam around to your heart's content sampling everything that you can.

Performance

A large stage has been erected at one end of the festival street. The Heavens know that there are many talented gods and shinki present, so they are more than willing to clear spots in the scheduling for those people to perform. Anytime a Far Shore resident isn't on stage, there are plenty of Near Shore acts to go on, ranging the gambit from traditional music and instruments all the way to a rock band that has somehow found themselves here for the celebration.

Wishes

Pieces of paper called tanzaku have been strewn about a number of bamboo shoots all over the festival. There are brightly colored decorations on the bamboo and the papers themselves exist in every color of the rainbow as well. Attendees are encouraged to write down any wishes they may have and hang them from the bamboo, a normal Tanabata tradition. Wishes can range from 'I want a soda' to 'World peace' and anything in between. Obviously, some of these wishes may not be able to be granted during the time of the festival, but gods and shinki alike are encouraged to answer any wishes they can as well.

NOTE: Please report any wishes your characters answers to the first comment on this post along with a link to where the wish is answered. There will be small bonuses awarded for answered wishes.

The Bridge

As stated previously, the bridge that will allow Orihime to meet her lover touches down in the very center of the festival's street. It may be made of tiny pieces, but the bridge itself is sturdy. While it may not be able to take just anyone who sets foot on it across the Milky Way, you are allowed to walk along the bridge yourself, though you will always find yourself turned around after a short time and heading back towards where you stepped on. Lovers in particular are encouraged to walk the bridge together to deepen their bonds, but be cautioned! If you walk onto the bridge with someone, you might start feeling affectionately towards them even if they are your sworn enemy! Such is the power of love on this day.

In Summary:

• Enjoy the festival
• Watch some quality entertainment
• Make and/or answer wishes
• Meet Orihime
• Traverse the bridge
• Have fun~

Comments

[rainbowmaster]

Yona, hey!

[He gives her a bright smile in greeting.

Ruby perks up upon seeing her, too.] Did you come to make a wish or grant one?

[darkestbefore]

[ At his reaction, she relaxes a little and approaches closer, a friendly smile on her face as she comes to greet the pair of them. ]

Both? Either? I haven't decided yet. What about you?

[rainbowmaster]

[He shakes his head, patting Ruby on her head once before allowing her to jump onto Yona's shoulder when she's close enough.]

I haven't decided either, so I thought I'd put up my own wish, too while I think about it.

[darkestbefore]

[ Yona giggles and pets Ruby in greeting, nuzzling against the carbuncle now perched on her shoulder. ]

I was doing the same. It's a sweet tradition, I think. And certainly makes for colorful surroundings for this particular festival.

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan immediately smiles at seeing how comfortable the two are together.

A nod.] It does, doesn't it? I wonder if any of these wishes do become granted later on even without a god helping out with it.

[darkestbefore]

Maybe they do. Some of them are surely ones that can be accomplished with a little effort on the wisher's part, at least from what I've seen. [ Her fingers flit over one asking for good grades as an example. ] The others...

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan takes a peek at some of the other wishes.]

True... [Ah, idea.]

Hey, what do you say we grant a wish together?

[darkestbefore]

A wish? [ She glances over at him, surprised by the sudden suggestion, but then she smiles brightly, charmed by the idea. ] Yes, lets! That seems like a fitting tribute to help with the festivities today. Did you have one in mind?

[rainbowmaster]

[He smiles before sifting through the wishes.]

What about this one? It says: I wish someone will come by to make the children happy.

[Johan tilts his head.] Children, huh?

[darkestbefore]

[ She leans in to peer at the prayer he found, smiling when she reads the words. ]

I think that sounds like a very important prayer. How do we know which children this means, though? Is there any clue with the prayer?

[rainbowmaster]

Maybe we can trace its origins?

[How does this work? But maybe it's similar to how people pray and they can hear it.

Johan concentrates, trying to figure out if he'd be able to find the person who made the wish.]

[darkestbefore]

If not that, then perhaps we can ask around? Perhaps there's somewhere nearby that offers a home to children?

[ Still, she waits patiently as she watches him focus, not wanting to interrupt his concentration. ]

[rainbowmaster]

[A blink as he feels something, but it's faint for him to point out.

Instead, he turns his attention to Yona and nods.]

Yeah, let's go with your suggestion. I'm sure we'll be able to find someone here who can help us out.

[darkestbefore]

[ She nods before glancing around, her expression thoughtful. ]

Perhaps one of the shinki running the stands will be more familiar with what is nearby? Let's ask them first and see if we can go from there?

[ It turns out they're in luck, since Amaterasu's shinki are fairly well informed themselves but also because someone had been by mentioning an orphanage a little earlier in the afternoon. Discovering that at least gave them a direction to start.

Yona looks excited at the prospect. ] Shall we go see if this is the place?

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan gives a nod.

It was fortunate that they were able to find out more about the person who made the wish, though realizing that it was leading to an orphanage made it seem a bit bittersweet.

Even so, Johan grins.]

Yeah, let's go.

[darkestbefore]

Should we prepare anything before we go? [ She glances over at him. ] How do you think we should cheer these children up?

[rainbowmaster]

[Johan pauses, thinking.

Then he brightens up.]

I have some toys that I can bring over. I had to teleport them back to my temple, but we can grab them real quick and bring them to the children.

[darkestbefore]

[ Continued over here. ]