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

[mersunary]

[Cute and talented! She mentioned that earlier! But yeah it's pretty much at least 80% the cute thing.]

Nothing wrong with that, right? [Zero shame.] Cute things should be admired!

[kokuyoyo]

[Hold on, wait. He needs to think about this for a second.]

Why?

[mersunary]

[... Why?]

Why not? [But, uh, this probably warrants a more substantial answer, doesn't it?] If someone makes an effort on their appearance like that, then that kind of work should be appreciated.

Besides, it's hard to not let your heart get the better of you when you see something you like!

[kokuyoyo]

So it's just an emotional sort of thing.... I see.

[Well, he doesn't, but at least's it's a reason he knows is common even if he struggles with his own sort of emotions.]

[mersunary]

[Not entirely but it's a large enough part as far as she's concerned that there's really no reason to argue that. Still, the way he put that, it makes it sound like he's not very well adjusted to being around other people, perhaps?]

Hmm...! Those girls up there, do you not think they're particularly cute?

[Not offended, or anything, just curious.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Blinking, he looks over the girls on stage again before rolling his shoulders in a shrug.]

I guess, objectively, they are...? They seem like the kind of popular looks that a lot of people have, and that I see in magazines.... but it's not really doing anything for me. I can't understand all that excitement...

[Although maybe that's a lot of things in general? Hm.]

[mersunary]

[Hm...! It's like he gets it, but doesn't really... get it. It's not a totally unheard of concept for her, though there's really not a whole lot to do with it aside from agreeing to disagree.]

So, are there other things you like better? I mean, I guess not everyone has a thing for cute girls, but there's probably something else that makes you feel all giddy, right?

[Possibly?]

[kokuyoyo]

[That actually makes him go quiet, chin tilting downwards while he thinks. Yet no matter how he racks his brain... A slow shake of his head.]

If there is... I haven't realized that part of myself yet.

[Being a shinki is tricky that way.]

[mersunary]

[That sounds... pretty sad, honestly. She's got enough tact to not say as much out loud, not right now, anyway, but she does give a low, pensive hum.]

Then, that would be like... sort of an adventure, right? Trying to learn more about yourself by finding something to be passionate about.

[kokuyoyo]

...I guess so. [His shoulders roll in a slow shrug.] There are a lot of shinki that are like that, aren't there?

With amnesia, learning about what you can do and what you like... is normal.

[So he wonders what it says about himself that he hasn't found anything yet.]

[mersunary]

[That definitely makes sense. She can't relate, really, considering the whole. You know. Not-a-shinki-status. She can imagine, at least, and it's something worth mulling over, she thinks.]

I suppose! Ahh, I bet there's a lot of surprise in a situation like that, though. Like, if you suddenly figured out you had some kind of cool magic powers, or... [Less pleasant,] really bad allergies, or something? [It would still be a surprise, technically? Are shinki even affected by allergies??]

I hope you can find out lots of stuff about yourself, though. I imagine it would be frustrating to not know, you know?

[kokuyoyo]

...It's strange. Definitely that much, at least...

[And somehow, not knowing makes him pay much more attention to how different he is from the things that seem to be commonly expected. It's not something he can say he likes.]

[Falling silent, he curls up a little, chin resting on one knee.]

[mersunary]

[Ah, he looks a little gloomy, did she say something wrong...? Hm...]

Well, I guess, for now it's best to just enjoy the party as much as you can, right? Is there anything here you've had fun doing?

[Since it sort of sounds like he might not be digging the whole performance being put on too much.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Blinking, he glances back to her, clearly not having expected to be talked to again.]

....At the festival, or in general?

[mersunary]

[She had meant the party, but, honestly, since he brought it up,]

Either, I guess! It seems like there are a lot of fun things to do here, but that doesn't mean this is the only place with cool stuff to do, right?

[kokuyoyo]

....Do you know the water yoyo game?

[It's. A start. He guesses.]

[mersunary]

Water yoyo?

[Give her a second, she might have passed by something like that already...]

Was that the thing with those balls in the pool? And you have to fish them out, right?

[kokuyoyo]

Right... That kind of thing. I think I like doing that...

[It sure is absorbing for him, if nothing else.]

[mersunary]

[It sounds like he's at least kind of on the right track with that sort of reasoning. It's a step in the right direction...!]

Are you any good with it? [Here, she sounds genuinely interested in what he might have to say on the matter.] I gave it a shot a couple of times myself, but I can't really get the hang of it!

[kokuyoyo]

I use regular yoyos, so.... I guess I have an easier time with it.

[His fingers stretch a little bit, the tips pressing together.]

It's just hand-eye coordination....

[mersunary]

[Regular yoyos? She only guessed what the water yoyos were based on what she may have seen while walking around earlier!]

How is a regular yoyo different from a water yoyo?

[So fascinating! Tell her more!]

[kokuyoyo]

[Slowly, he starts going through his things.]

For starters... The construction is different. A water yoyo is just a small balloon filled with water on a string. So... You have to take into consideration that when messing with them.

[He pulls out one of his usual yoyos, its bright red color still perfectly visible in the festival lighting.]

Regular ones are more... solid.

[mersunary]

[Ah! He can give an example right away! How unexpected, but neat!]

Whoa, it's totally different! ['A round thing on a string' seems like the only common factor here, really.] What kinds of things do you do with it?

[The big thing with the water yoyos simply seemed to be the game involved in pulling one out of the water, so what's the draw of the regular ones?]

[kokuyoyo]

...Tricks.

[Slowly, he starts to fiddle with it once the string is settled around his finger. At first it's just the usual back and forth, but he begins to make it go faster, sending the yoyo flying over his fingers and making shapes with the string.]

[mersunary]

[Whoa! For something so simple, he sure is making it look super fancy! She watches the demonstration carefully, trying to see if she can possibly figure out what keeps it spinning on the string throughout the series of tricks.]

That's amazing! Is it really hard to learn? [If he, you know, even remembers a learning process for it.]