thenearshore | 015 | Sky Full Of Stars

Entry tags:

015 | Sky Full Of Stars

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

NOTE:

The Bridge

with

In Summary:

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

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[He stares in confusion for a moment before scowling. After another brief moment of hesitation he finally takes a few more steps onto the bridge just to get past Ekko (though he still has Dynamo hovering around his feet nervously...). The red on his face contrasts strongly with all the blue he's wearing.]

Of course it is. It's some kind of heavenly nonsense, so it's not like I expected it to make any sense...

[Ekko just snickers at him and takes a few more steps forward. Though... he does mark down the blush as kind of endearing? Weird.]

You still looked nervous about it.

[Somehow, between Ekko showing his confidence and Add not wanting to look like a pussy, they end up walking next to eachother... not that that's a big deal or anything. They're both business partners, so there's nothing weird about that, right?]

I'm not nervous. There's nothing wrong with showing a little caution in an unfamiliar situation. It would look stupider to walk onto it confidently and fall through, don't you think? For all we know this bridge is reserved only for Orihime and Hikoboshi.

[But that doesn't seem to be the case, since it's holding their weight just fine so far. He allows himself to relax a little, looking up from the ground to stare across the river.]

It really does look beautiful. A river made of stars...

[Nope, this is just your normal, average walk over a starry bridge. Nothing to worry about here.]

Eh, I don't spend that much time worrying about how people think about me. Besides, nobody's kicked us off yet.

[He'll take the moment to look fondly at the view around them. It's a far cry from Zaun's beauty, but there's something pleasant about it all the same.]

I can see why they call it romantic...

[Romantic...

Just thinking about that word makes his face feel like it's going to heat up again. Ugh, why did he have to bring that up? Add scoffs loudly, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve.]

Try not to get too sappy on me, people might get the wrong idea, kukukuku!

[He might be laughing a little too hard... and before Ekko can get a word in he's already starting to ramble.]

O-of course, I'm a man of science, so something like that would never interest me anyway. I only came up here to examine the bridge, anyone watching would have to be dense to believe otherwise. Just because it's a bridge for couples doesn't mean only couples can walk on it...

[He feels like his face is heating up, but... nah, that can't be it.]

Me? Sappy? Please. I'm just saying I get why it's supposed to be all couple-y, or whatever.

[He's chuckling though, amused at Add just in general.]

Nothing's stopping business partners, right? Not like I believe in all those lovey-dovey types of fairy tales.

Right. Obviously. I knew that, I was just saying...

[It would be so easy to misinterpret this casual, platonic conversation as awkward flirting. Not that he's flirting. Not that it'd be wrong if he was flirting, but—]

It's not that there's anything wrong with you, either, I only meant that as a scientist I don't have a lot of free time to consider any relationships of that sort. [okay he definitely said that a bit too eagerly. What's up with him today?? Why has he been feeling so dizzy ever since he came up here...]

... Ah, perhaps since it's supposed to reach across the sky the air is thinner here...

[He knows what flirting is supposed to sound like and... they kind of sound like they're both trying to not while they are.

He feels strangely okay with that, all things considered.]

There's nothing wrong with you either. [There's a fond smirk.]

You think so? Maybe it's the company.

[Ah yes, it all makes perfect sense now. He must be slowly asphyxiating from a lack of oxygen, and that's why his face is red and he feels so lightheaded and nervous right now and his heart is pounding so loudly in his ears. He forces himself to take a deep, slow breath, staring at the river intensely to avoid any chance of meeting Ekko's gaze.]

P-perhaps we should go back down now... ah, Jakob is probably looking for me, I should make sure he isn't causing a fuss... [but despite his mumbling, he hasn't actually made any moves to leave just yet.]

[A low chuckle out of him as he takes a step closer. Looks like the magic of the bridge is seeping down fast. Not that he's aware of what spells this bridge has on it.]

You know... I hear you saying that, but I don't see you leaving just yet. You sure you don't want to stay?

[Even without looking, he can feel Ekko moving closer to him. He was already staying put, but now Add is frozen stiff, as if attempting even the tiniest movement would shatter his mask of composure. If it can even be called that. But as much as he's desperately trying to suppress his confusing emotions, the problem with telepathically-controlled assistant drones is that they're traitorous little things when it comes to emotional responses. The dynamos are all but clinging to Add's body now, tiny sparks of purple light shooting up from them in small bursts. Because the only way to make this more obvious is to start generating his own fireworks...

Although, can it really be called suppressing? Because he honestly has no idea how to handle this. The longer he stays silent and unmoving the more awkward it becomes, but what is he supposed to do? Should he say something? Should he try to leave? Should he... m-maybe...

If he has to hold in this decision any longer he's seriously going to pass out.]

[It's cute the way these little drones are practically making fireworks go off around Add. (He'd recognize this thought as tampered with if they weren't on the bridge because he'd much rather get a look at those machines than consider their aesthetics.) Still, he's charmed in a way he wasn't expecting.]

I didn't take you for the shy type. But... I can go slow if you need it.

[He'll reach out and brush their fingers together, letting them linger for a second, two seconds, before linking their pinkies together.]

[Ah.

Their hands are touching.

Add's brain finally overloads. This is way beyond any kind of situation he's ever been prepared for. To not only... feel this weird way, but... to have those feelings reciprocated...

When he finally regains the ability to think straight (well, as straight as any of this could be considered), he finds himself swiftly being overwhelmed by the knot of emotions swelling in his chest. He wants to break contact right now and leave, but he also doesn't, and he's also not sure what he really wants or whether any of this is right. He can't sort out his thoughts like this. He has no idea what the hell Ekko is thinking...

Eventually he finds the strength to speak again, his voice quivering with uncertainty.]

You're the first person I've met like me. I've done so many things that... normal people wouldn't understand. I can't be honest with anyone. But...

[Ekko is different. They're both engineers, both time travellers. Time travel isn't something people tend to pick up for the fun of it.]

I... want to be honest with you. If you can still accept me...

[Ekko came from Zaun. If there's anybody who isn't allowed to judge Add for all the sketchy shit he's done in his past, it's a Zaunite. Their sewer system is filled with human sized, invisible rats and there's at least a few headhunters running around at any given moment.]

I've met another person who's heavy on the time angle... but what we've got is different.

[What on earth is he saying? He barely knows Add that well. The bridge magic is doing it's work, as he squeezes his hand gently.]

Then let's be honest with each other.

[Add's worked with some pretty sketchy people himself, but "interdimensional genocide" always seems like it might be a slight step beyond what anyone would consider acceptable...

Part of him still wants to be wary or deny it even with the bridge working its magic on them, but... for the first time in his life, he truly feels like he's met someone who could understand him in full. That's enough evidence to prove his feels right now are true, right? Add still can't quite work up the nerve to look him in the eyes right now, but his reddened face is smiling at the ground with an uncharacteristic sincerity. He squeezes back.]

... Alright. Let's be honest.

[... where to even start with that? His head is swimming with intense emotion right now, but he at least has enough sense left to hesitate after that statement. His dynamos start sparking nervously again.]

But... maybe not everything at once. N-not that I doubt you or anything! There's just a lot to cover, and it might take awhile to explain everything thoroughly with proper context... ah, and it shouldn't just be about me, I want to know more about you as well. If that's not a problem at all...

[Ekko's gaze is pulled to the dynamos. They're kind of cute, the way they signal just how nervous Add is right now.

That probably means Add has a lot to be nervous about, but it's fine. He's dealt with plenty.]

We've got all the time in the world. [He can make that true very easily.] But... why don't you ask me a few questions, if you're that curious.

((continued here))

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