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

She's headless and still tall... XD

[returnedfromtheline]

Huh-? [He leans back a bit to read the text on the phone shoved in his face. She can hear him but can’t talk? What the heck kind of spirit is she? But that thought is put on the back burner as he reacts,]

That’s what you’re worried about? And what’s with all this black stuff-- [He shivers and backs away, a creepy thought occurring to him-] You’re not like, bleeding out, are you? Do you need the helmet for that?

[Although he doesn’t move back into the crowd yet he does cast a glance back the way they came, trying to see if he can spot the helmet while he waits for her answer.]

[lookingforhead]

[The deeper importance of the helmet was lost to Celty since her transition to the far shore. But while its origin was a mystery to her she still knew she arrived with it and it helped her to avoid standing out in the crowds.

With all his questions and with few answers to offer she turns and acts on instinct. She turns to face the crowd, reaching out towards where the helmet had fallen. Her shadow surges, and black tendrils whip out at ankle height. They sweep across the ground carefully avoiding any people, snaking around in search of the helmet.

One of them snares it, and with a sharp pull it's yanked back to her, along with the other shadows. All of this takes scant seconds, and nobody seems alarmed or the worse for wear about it. To them it just seemed like it got darker briefly.]

[returnedfromtheline]

[When the spirit turns towards the crowd instead of answering his questions Yukine is a bit irked, but then he notices the name on the back of her neck. (Thank goodness for yukata.)

His attention is promptly diverted by the... whatever-it-is that she pulls off, using the dark-shadow-somethings to snag her helmet back.
Under his breath he murmurs,]

Crap... okay, cool, but weird... [And raising his voice a bit he concludes,] You're a new shinki though, so something weird like that is par for the course.

[With a faintly relieved sigh that he's at least dealing with a shinki and not a headless wandering spirit (although she is still headless wtf), Yukine settles down a bit.]

I'm Yukine, a shinki. But not one of the new ones like you, brought in from another world or whatever. Um, did you just get here?

[lookingforhead]

[Celty shifts at Yukine's reaction. Her neck bobs in what would be a nod if there was a head there, confirming the comment about her being both a shinki and new.

With gentle care she puts the helmet back on, adjusting it, and when her hands leave its sides it sits nicely as it would with anyone wearing it normally. Her hands free once more she then takes the chance to fiddle with her phone again.]

I'm Celty. Thank you for your help and sorry for worrying you. Yes, I'm new here. I'm still trying to make sense of this.

[returnedfromtheline]

[Phew, but she's easier to talk to with the helmet on. He's seen a lot of weird stuff since the new shinki and gods started showing up, but this takes the cake.

Reading the text on the phone he shakes his head slightly.]

Right... no problem. I guess it'll take some time to... [wrap your head around it] get used to this, but don't worry too much. Being upset makes your god feel bad. Literally. Just... try to take care of this life you have?

[Is he rambling? Maybe a little. Even with her helmet on, he's imagining that headless neck and the smoke... too weird. Way too weird.]

[lookingforhead]

[The helmet bobs in a short nod.]

I will. And I don't think I feel upset. In fact I've been feeling a bit calm, though that's a little weird. I guess I'm just more frustrated than anything else?

I'll be fine
I think

[See? She can ramble too.]

You're wondering about my head, aren't you.

[returnedfromtheline]

[Rambling in text. That's kinda amazing.]

Uh- well, it's hard not to.

[Yukine restlessly scratches at the back of his head for a moment, then sighs.]

Well, don't worry about it. It's not like the past really matters. You're not upset over it, and that's what counts. So it's fine.

Actually, a lot of the other new shinki are weird, so it's ... not that much of a stretch.

[Just a little bit of one though, ok ok.]

[lookingforhead]

I'm not sure how I should feel about that.

[She forces her hands to her sides and her shoulders rise and fall as if she's taking a breath.]

I guess it's nice to know I'm not the only one in this situation or feeling this way. Thank you. I'll do my best and figure this out as I go.

[She's not so sure about the past not really mattering but she does have to admit it makes her feel better to just let those thoughts go. Something deep down tells her that things will work out in their own way and in their own time.]

[returnedfromtheline]

Continued here