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

Elise

[lilys_poise]

Pre-festival, closed to Forrest:

[Elise had been so super excited to get her festival finery. It's adorable too! It's a dark purple with a white wisteria blossom pattern running all over it and comes with a pink obi. She can't wait to wear it!

After about a dozen failed attempts to put it on herself, Elise finally admits defeat. Which is why she's knocking on the door of Lakshmi's temple pouting like a sad kitten. The yukata is crooked, and the obi is inexpertly tied in the front. Help her Forrest!]

Stalls:

[Games! Treats! Music! Elise just loves festivals! She's got a box of takoyaki in one hand and a bag of candy in the other. And is currently looking over the games. What should she play?

Hey there, random passerby! You look well informed! Probably.]

Hey! What's your favorite game?

Wishes:

[There are so many things to wish for! Elise is reading the other wishes for inspiration. People are asking for money, love, advice, success.... there are as many types of wishes as there are people wishing!

She looks down at her own blank paper and frowns.]

This is really hard...

Stalls

[battered]

["You look informed" is a very loose descriptor of this particular passerby. He's managed to get himself something tasty looking to eat, and that's real the extent of his indulgences for this festival thus far. It bodes well for his own appearance of 'maybe sort of knows what he's doing' that he can't respond right away, considering her's got a bite of yakitori in his mouth when the question is posed, but the effort of chewing and swallowing gives him enough time to stir up an answer for her.]

Baseball...!

[Uh. Oh. That's not something that's being offered in any of the stalls. It's just a general answer to what sounds like a general question. No, he has no idea how to help you. I am so sorry.]

Re: Stalls

[lilys_poise]

[Elise is pretty sure she hasn't seen a booth with that game. She looks up at him curiously.]

What's baseball?

[battered]

[If only there were booths big enough to contain a whole game of baseball that would be a stadium and not a booth but whatever]

Oh! It's, you know... [And here he makes some rather vague gestures that could be construed as swinging a baseball bat, but that's totally not helpful for someone who doesn't know what it is in the first place.] A sport! With a ball!

[lilys_poise]

[She tries to copy the motion he just did.]

And is that... how you throw the ball? To the side like that?

[Because that would be weird.]

[battered]

[That would be a totally different sport. Probably.]

Oh, no! You throw it like this! [Here, have a demonstration.] Then someone else hits it with a bat! [That would, apparently, have been the first gesture he did.]

Stalls

[kokuyoyo]

[There's something about the dull eyed look on Chikusa's face that gives off the impression of sleep walking, and his belated blink and stare at her question doesn't help it much.]

[...Oh. Right. Games.]

...Yoyo Tsuri.... I think.

Re: Stalls

[lilys_poise]

Yoyo... Tsuri?

[Ooh, that's a new one. Her face just lights up with interest.]

I don't know that one. How do you play? Can we play right now?

[kokuyoyo]

You can play it whenever you want... It's not that hard.

[It's actually moderately tricky, but then, Chikusa might say that a lot of things aren't that hard in his current state. He nods to one stall in particular.]

Just get a hook through a string loop and lift...

[lilys_poise]

[Oh! Is there a stall for it? Great. She reaches up and tugs his sleeve in that direction.]

Show me!

babby no

[clothes_make_the_man]

[Forrest answers the door a few minutes later, eyes going wide as he sees what Elise has managed to do. It's actually kind of impressive how wrong she managed to get it.]

Elise... do you need some help with your kimono?

Re: babby no

[lilys_poise]

[Wibble. Sniffle.]

Yeah....

[She holds out both ends of the obi for him.]

I tried to put it on but it's really haaaard.

Re: babby no

[clothes_make_the_man]

Come inside, I'll help you fix it.

[He smiles, reaching out a hand for her to take.]

I can help you with your hair if you'd like to do something extra special with it for the occasion, too.

Re: babby no

[lilys_poise]

Thanks...

[She manages a small smile as she takes his hand.]

I think they made my sash thingy way too long. It's taller than I am.

[nibelungvalesti]

Do you truly have nothing you wish for, Elise?

[Ordinarily the Valkyrie finds these sorts of traditions pointless. One does not achieve one's reward by wishing, one lives one's life.]

[But... well, Elise is a bit past that point. So the Valkyrie feels some measure of empathy for her.]

[lilys_poise]

That's not it.

[She shakes her head with a slightly sheepish smile.]

There's too many things I want to wish for. I don't know how to choose.

[nibelungvalesti]

[Ah. The Valkyrie is not certain if she should be surprised at that. A shinki has no memories, but that in and of itself could inspire many wishes.]

[She contemplates for a moment how best to answer.]

I am not you. But if I were, I would wish for something I could not achieve on my own. Many of these wishes -- [She gestures to the other strips already hanging from the bamboo.] -- are for things within the power of the wisher to grant themselves.

[lilys_poise]

They are?

[She's surprised and looks back toward the wishes, reading them again. Actually.... good grades, promotions, dates...

A lot of these are things that someone could do for themselves.]

Oh... But why are they wishing for things like that?

Wishes

[thehandhungers]

[Fear not, because someone is blazing through here minus his memories and rapidly building the story for himself that portrays him as this charming hero.

And a charming hero is here to help children in their time of greatest need!]

It is not so hard when you listen to the voice deep within your soul.

[Owain stops in his aimless wanderings to offer absolutely useless advice to this child.]

I can feel from you a great presence. A power to change this world and the next. Let silence fall upon you and listen to the first words you hear from within. Let those words guide your wish and let your wishes guide the future!

[With that he falls into a deep quiet, flashing his hand before his face and holding still as if not to disturb her. Waiting to hear her response.]

Re: Wishes

[lilys_poise]

[At first she's confused.]

My soul has a deep voice?

[But a great presence? The power to change the world? That sounds awesome! Excited now, she answers in a breathless whisper.]

Wow... My wishes will guide the future?

[Okay, time to hear her inner voice.

..........


A small frown.]

Um... I think my inner voice wants to go back to the crepe stand.

[That may have actually been her stomach growling. They do have really good crepes though.]

[thehandhungers]

Then let us make haste! Do not deny yourself when the power within you has spoken! To this crepe stand!

[Okay, Owain's going to run around and try deserts with children. This is a thing now.

Either way, he's started down this road and he's going to finish it. Even if that means granting wishes before they are written down.]

[lilys_poise]

That's a great idea! I tried the strawberry one earlier but they have a chocolate creme crepe that looked super good too.

[Wow this guy is really good at wishes. She pumps a fist triumphantly into the air.]

To the crepe stand!!

[And to the crepe stand she goes, waeving through the crowd excitedly.]

Stalls

[starfestival]

[She looks a little confused. She's in a simple purple yukata, but perhaps she's been found out?]

I am unsure so I must ask in return - are you speaking to me?

Re: Stalls

[lilys_poise]

[Elise giggles]

Of course, silly! I want to know what game you like best.

Re: Stalls

[starfestival]

Link