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

[toremainbehind]

He really does have a knack for it.

[A blink before he chuckles. He smiles at her.]

Do you want a ride, too, then? Since Goten seems very enthusiastic about it.

[sonofson]

It is! Only I don't have to do anything at all.

[Goten grins. He's not a lazy child by any means but it is nice to take a break from training and just have fun. Izumo's shoulders are perfect for that currently. Great view, great seat and food is constantly being offered to him! What's better then that? Don't pass it up Nanako!]

[welcome_home]

He does! [ She's happy that Kanji is here anyway, but his gift has been her favorite thing today.

At the offer, she looks surprised. ] Oh, but he's having fun! I don't want to make him get down. It's okay.

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo chuckles, shaking his head.]

Mm, I'm sure Goten doesn't mind too badly.

[He peers up at the child on his shoulders.] What do you think, Goten?

[sonofson]

[And to answer that question, Goten floats off of Izumo's shoulders slowly, staying just over head as he smiles down at both of them.]

It's fine Nanako! I don't mind sharing Izumo with you!

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako's mouth drops open at that, because can he do that without his cloud, too? Either way, it makes her smile in excitement. ]

Really? It's okay?

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo smiles and nods.]

It is.

[And he crouches a bit, grinning at her.] So hop on.

[sonofson]

[Goten nods again, smile growing. Gee, she's super considerate isn't she? He floats a little lower.]

C'mon Nanako!

[welcome_home]

Okay!

[ Smiling brightly, she carefully moves to climb up Izumo's back, being careful not to jab him with her foot or knee when he's being so nice to offer but with a little maneuvering, she manages to seat herself on his shoulders, hands clutching at his collar for balance. ]

Okay, I think I'm ready!

[toremainbehind]

Hang on.

[And with that, once he's sure she's steady, he stands up.

Immediately, he places his hands on her legs, steadying her.]

Alright, where do you two wanna go?

[sonofson]

[The natural first response is to try more food but he glances at Nanako thoughtfully before shifting his dark eyes back to Izumo with a smile]

There's a whole festival to see, right? We can walk around till we find something. Unless you have any ideas, Nanako?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako hums thoughtfully, resting her chin atop Izumo's head to try and not make too much extra weight for him. ]

Mmmm, well... We could go find something to eat, or find a game to play? Or, hmm... There's the wishes? [ That was an important festival thing, right? ]

[toremainbehind]

[Nanako, you weigh nothing to him.

Either way, Izumo chuckles.]

Let's check out the wishes then. After, we can eat and play games.

[sonofson]

Huh? What about wishes though?

[Goten hadn't paid too much attention to that part of the festival. Not when there was talk about food and games. He floats along after them, keeping pace with Izumo.]

Did you already make a wish, Nanako, Izumo?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako nods from where she's perched, looking a little sheepish about admitting it out loud. ]

Yeah, I made one. But there are lots of them all over the place, too. Did you want to make one, Goten?

[toremainbehind]

I haven't made a wish.

[Nor does he want to, but he won't say it.

Instead, he looks at Goten, waiting for his answer.]

[sonofson]

Uh...no. I don't really have a wish cause I already have everything I want...

[Family, friends, food and he's already getting stronger by training....]

MAybe I'll wish for a land made of cake or something? [Grin~!]

What about you Nanako? Izumo? What would you wish for?

[Or already did in Nanako's case]

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako hums softly, glancing down with a sudden bout of shyness as her fingers absently toy with Izumo's hair. ]

I wished that my dad would be okay, wherever he is, and that he wouldn't be sad.

[ There's a hint of hesitance in her voice as she confesses that, because she knows she's the only god here among them and she doesn't want to accidentally make them feel bad when they don't have memories from before this place. But if there was ever anyone she wanted a god somewhere to help, it would always be her dad - especially when she couldn't be there to keep him from being sad herself. ]

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo listens to Nanako, feeling her play with his hair.

He smiles slightly. While her words did bring in some sadness, it's more of a sad feeling for the young goddesss than for himself.]

That sounds like a very good wish, Nanako. I'm sure your father is alright.

[Even if neither he nor Goten remembers about their own family, Izumo still wishes Nanako would be able to reunite with her father one day.]

[sonofson]

[Goten blinks slowly. That wasn't the kind of wish he was expecting. If anything, he's a pretty basic child. With no memories of his own, his 'family' focus is mostly what he has here. He does feel for Nanako but it doesn't make him sad about what he does or doesn't have. Acutally...]

Yeah! Izumo's right. I bet your dad is fine.

[He perks up and smiles before floating over so he can fly next to her now]

Hey, I know, Nanako! I'll use my wish for your dad to be okay and stuff too! Then it's gotta come true. Double true!

[That's how wishes work right? There's plenty of tasty things to eat, so he can save his food wish for next Tanabata]

[welcome_home]

[ She blinks in surprise at the offer before breaking into a bright smile because that's one of the nicest offers she's ever heard. With him flying next to her now, it brings him close enough to reach over and spontaneously throw her arms about him in an impromptu hug. ]

Thank you, Goten! But you don't have to use your wish on me. I'm sure my dad will be okay until I see him again. A land of cake sounds pretty fun, too. But wouldn't you get a tummy ache if that's all you ate?

[ She glances down at Izumo again as she straightens on his shoulders once more, hugging close to him as well. ] Isn't there anything you want, Izumo?

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo's quiet as he listens to the children, chuckling quietly to himself.

In a way, it's heartwarming to hear them like this. And for Goten to offer his wish, too, just makes it even better. Izumo can't remember if he's spent enough time around kids to feel so fond of them, but there's something about their interaction that makes it pleasant to hear.

However, at the question, he blinks once and hums thoughtfully.]

No, there isn't. I'm content with what I have right now.

[sonofson]

[The hug catches him a bit off guard. He blinks a bit startled, face gaining a bit of color before he ends up laughing. Smiling, he leans a little against Nanako as he he returns the hug a little more shyly]

I wanna use my wish on you though, Nanako! If I had a land of cake then I donno if I'd have room for Izumo's food and I gotta have room for that!

[He grins, looking to the oldest of the trio.]

There's nothing you can think of to wish for Izumo? What about a bigger bar or something? Oh! Maybe a new temple?

[welcome_home]

Izumo's food is really good!

[ At least that logic makes perfect sense to her.

Although Goten's comment catches her by surprise and she leans around to peer at Izumo curiously. ]

What's wrong with your old temple?

[toremainbehind]

Continued here