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

[sweetdeath]

Yeah, I'm a shinki. I haven't met my god yet, but they said she'd find me...

[He trails off, discomfort visible on his expression for a moment as he keeps climbing. The bridge is pretty steep, and he has to keep a hand on the railing to avoid slipping back down.]

... so there are really shinki who don't want gods? I'd think that'd be, well.

[He wrinkles his nose.]

Lonely.

[katanas_and_tea]

I believe that she will. Mine found me pretty easily!

[Takuma follows close behind to provide some sort of support if Tsuzuki did end up sliding a little. They were in this together now.]

Mhm...I agree. My god doesn't speak much, but it's still company.

I hope she finds you soon. I enjoy being a shinki so far.

[sweetdeath]

It doesn't sound like such a bad deal to me. Not as long as whoever we're working with is nice!

[And he's met plenty of nice people here so far. Ichijou's one of them: Tsuzuki tosses a friendly smile his way as he keeps ascending the bridge. He's almost at rooftop level now, and he's starting to be able to see more of the surrounding country. Towards one end of the street, it looks a little more like Tokyo: tall buildings spear towards the sky, and trees line the street in orderly rows interspersed with bikes chained to racks. Towards the other... a wild, star-streaked river rushes by, and fantastical buildings dot the verdant countryside.

He drinks in the view for a few seconds before offering a hand down to Ichijou, just below him on the twig-built span.]

Look at this!

[katanas_and_tea]

[Takuma takes the hand offered to him and uses it to pull himself up.

As he looks out over the view, his eyes widen with delight and a smile grows on his face. Still being new to this world, he hadn't seen anything like it! Quiet houses that may or may not have lights on in the windows, the halo of light around the city. Stars creating a natural glitter over anything reflective. It was amazing!]

I would say that this is well worth it! Hahaha!

[He smiles towards Tsuzuki.]

This has got to be a great way to start off your shinki-dom.

[sweetdeath]

You bet.

[It's bizarre, it's fantastical, it's full of happy bustling people and brightly colored paper streamers of all shapes.

Tsuzuki's expression is soft with amazement.]

... I guess this really is the Heavens, isn't it? It's amazing.

[katanas_and_tea]

[Takuma lets out a soft sigh and nods in agreement.]

It is. I certainly agree. And imagine everything we can help our gods with! I know that we can help answer prayers. Isn't that nice? Even as we are now, we can help others.

[He lets out a chuckle.]

And there's also just that much more to explore!

[sweetdeath]

We get to answer people's prayers? How does that work?

[He's still hanging onto Takuma's hand and the bridge's railing; it's steep, and he's a little bit worried that one of them might slip, so holding hands makes it safer.

It's not weird, or anything: well, it doesn't feel weird to him, at least. It feels natural to hang out with someone. If it weren't for the not-falling-down-the-bridge element, he'd probably have gone with slinging an arm comfortably around Takuma's shoulders instead.]

[katanas_and_tea]

I'm actually not really that sure. My god and I haven't done any yet, so maybe he's still figuring out how it works, too.

[Takuma doesn't mind the hand holding. He wouldn't want Tsuzuki to fall either and he isn't shy about physical contact.]

You also get to turn into a vessel. Your god gives you a name and then you turn into an object of some sort. It's pretty neat!

I, myself, turn into a chasen. I'll be curious as to know what you get to turn into! Hopefully it's not underpants unless they were made of the finest silk.

[sweetdeath]

[Why's he thinking about turning into underwear!? Tsuzuki flushes and drops his hold on the railing and Takuma's hand in order to wave both hands in a gesture of vigorous negation.]

No way! I'm not turning into underwear! No matter what they're made out of, it's too weir-aaah!

[And that's the flailing and the lack of a secure handhold sending him tumbling forward right into the other man.

Whoops.]

[katanas_and_tea]

[At first Takuma starts to chuckle at Tsuzuki becoming so flustered at his home until he saw him begin to fall.

He reaches out to grab a hold of him so he didn't fall, but his own frame is rather willowy so he in turn begins to go backwards.

Thankfully his reflexes are quick enough to keep them from falling, but that resulted in his hold being more secure. It was just like a moment from a shoujo manga.]

Are you alright?

[sweetdeath]

[In true shojo manga fashion, Tsuzuki's going bright red all the way to his ears as he flails for the railing and scrambles back upright.]

Fine, I'm fine! Sorry, are you okay?

[--Or tries, anyway; Takuma's got a pretty good grip on him, so he'll have to let go first.]

[katanas_and_tea]

[Takuma let Tsuzuki go to flail safely and properly back to the railing. He smiles and nods as he straightens himself up as well. ]

I'm just fine.

Though my heart just gave a pitter-patter just then~

[Judging by the smile on his face and the exaggerated giddy sigh he let out with it, it was obvious he was just playfully teasing.]

[sweetdeath]

Don't tease like that, it's weird.

[It wouldn't normally be weird! He'd normally be fine playing along with the joke! Except, okay: Takuma's kind of cute himself, and Tsuzuki's not immune to the romantic atmosphere here. The gorgeous view, the bridge for the lovers' reunion, the festival spread out below...

Yikes. He scoots around the other man, starting to head back down towards the festival street.]

Um, anyway! I think I see a castella booth down there. I'm gonna get cake before they run out.

[katanas_and_tea]

[Takuma tilts his head a bit, his smile falling a little. Did he perhaps go a little too far with his teasing? He watches as Tsuzuki awkwardly starts to take his leave.]

Ah...well...okay...

Would it be too presumptuous of me to tag along? You can be honest.

[Because, well, maybe he did go a little too far with his teasing and not everyone is comfortable with that sort of humor.]

[sweetdeath]

Huh? Yeah, sure. I mean - [Wait, "can I come" isn't the question he asked--] Sure, you can come with!

[It's not like he wanted to chase the guy away! Just: that's awkward. And stuff. Tsuzuki laughs sheepishly and steps away from the foot of the bridge, waving a hand in the vague direction of the stall he'd spotted earlier.]

So, do you like castella?

[katanas_and_tea]

[Takuma gracefully made his way off of where they had climbed up, just so naturally moving that way. His eyes go over to the direction of the hand wave.]

Mm...I think I do. I know what it is, but I don't remember if I like it or not. I know that I do enjoy sweet things and that I don't think I am so picky as to not try anything new. What sounds appealing is if they have a matcha flavor.

What about you? Do you remember having eaten it before?

[sweetdeath]

I, um, don't remember anything, actually!

[He laughs, uncomfortably. Even being asked the question feels ... strange, like he's poking at a broken tooth that doesn't hurt yet, but that definitely will, soon.]

But it sure smells good, doesn't it?

[That's a safe bet. Every stall Tsuzuki's passed so far smells good in its own way, but the sweets especially.]