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

[1wing]

Rather than a beacon, that sounds like a raging inferno. Which doesn't sound so bad, actually.

[ A phoenix's flame, in fact! Fire is her element, even if she's blue. ]

But if it were so easy to melt your heart, that just sounds like you're far too easy with your affections.

[ A Very Serious observation for Very Serious Swordwings. ]

[priforprince]

[ You don't melt easily yourself, it seems. Well, that's all right. Hibiki is perfectly happy to entertain a slow burn. ]

What's your name?

[ She'll write it on this gift tag. ]

[1wing]

[ Hey, she usually plays the heartbreaker. Maybe. Not that she knows it. ]

It's Tsubasa. Kazanari Tsubasa.

[ She doesn't really need a present, or to have her name written down on it, but it's a nice name, so why not? ]

[priforprince]

Princess Tsubasa....

[ She'll give this realm one thing. Everybody has great names. "Kazanari Tsubasa". "Lux Crownguard".

"Maria Cadenzavna Eve".

The tag is addressed, her marker stored, and Hibiki holds the present out in both hands. ] Please accept this memento of our meeting.

[1wing]

[ She takes the present as graciously as she can, managing to not shake the box to figure out what it is. This much is instinctive. ]

It would be rude not to accept, but usually it's the fans who give the artists presents. This seems backwards.

[ Probably. Well, if Tsubasa had paid for a ticket, she might get a goodie bag, but she clearly hadn't! ]

[priforprince]

Your pleasure is my priority.

[ And she would rather give a present than receive a present. A million times over.

If the box were to shake, purely by accident, there'd be a rustling sound but not much else. Whatever is in there is packed tightly and contains no little pieces or moving parts. ]

[1wing]

I suppose I cannot fault you for valuing your audience too much.

[ In fact, it's a sentiment that brings forth a strange rising sensation in Tsubasa's chest, followed by an emptiness.

This is entirely the wrong way around. She just doesn't quite know why. ]

May I open this then?

[ And if Hibiki says yes, she's going to tear the wrapper off. A little messily, unfortunately, because for all Tsubasa is elegant with everything else, she can still be a slob sometimes. ]

[priforprince]

Go ahead.

[ There doesn't seem to be anyone else in need of a gift at, well, present (hah), so Hibiki is happy to continue entertaining this guest.

It's a dress, incidentally, Tsubasa. A beautiful pale green dress that will reach to its recipent's knees. It comes with a silver pendant for around the wearer's neck, too.

It also looks like it'll be a good fit. Hibiki had every package beneath that tree memorized, to ensure she'd match them with fitting recipients. ]

[1wing]

It's a beautiful dress.

[ Tsubasa unfolds it over her arm, running a hand over the material. She can definitely appreciate how it's made, even if she wouldn't wear green of her own accord. (It's not her colour.) ]

But it looks like it'd fit the performers on stage more than me. Shinki don't need such finery.

[ Unless Corrin wants a uniform for her weapons. ]

[priforprince]

It's nice to have an evening free from those cares, isn't it?

[ This is a tough audience, who needs some more time to think - and to experience. So Hibiki begins to turn and take her leave, but she doesn't seem concerned that Tsubasa isn't won over. It's nice she knows her place, in a way.

But it also means that Hibiki can provide an escapism this girl won't get anywhere else. ] As long as you're within my Paradise, you, too, are a Celebrity.

Let's weave a miraculous dream together.

[1wing]

Perhaps, but even if I'm not physically on the battlefield, I must still be there at all times.

[ Jozai senjou, as it were. She really is a tough customer. Or at least, she's playing the role of one, having decided that she has to take her duties Most Extremely Seriously with no room for deviation.

Still, is Hibiki suggesting what Tsubasa think she is? ]

Do you expect me to be a part of this spectacle of yours? It's very impressive, but I'm not sure if it's for me.

[ Watching performances? It's nice, but leaves a big enough hole in her heart as is. Which clearly means she should be devoting more time to her shinki duties. Clearly. ]

[priforprince]

[ ...she had been talking about spending a lovely evening surrounded by all this splendor, her honored guest alongside everyone else, but that phrasing gives Hibiki pause. For a moment, she'd almost thought--

Hm. Hibiki's lips curl up in a private smile. ]

"Back to the basics."

[ And then she really is taking her leave. But it'll be interesting to see whether her words resound in the other young lady's soul or not. Or, more specifically, her phrasing.

Genten kaiki. ]

[1wing]

[ Gasp!

No, not really, Tsubasa's not literally Sion, but she does perk up at that phrase.

Obviously this is a woman of culture, for who else would bring forth idiomatic language at a place like this?

Probably.

But what are the basics they're returning to here? ]

the funny thing is that at this point, she's just messing with tsubasa...

[priforprince]

[ Think it over yourself. But just imagine. As a shinki, you're a blank slate.

Who knows what talents might lie beneath that? ]