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

[bussounoshima]

[Sharak stops calmly in front of the shadow web, arms crossed in front of her. That's interesting.]

I can't answer that. [But the phone screen suddenly in her face triggers the memory of Celty's death. Another screen, some kind of banishing spell... Ah. Sharak's face tightens, but she manages to keep her reaction to that. She knew the vision was coming.] Don't think about it. It's in the past.

[And if she keeps trying to think about it, Sharak will have to kill her.]

I am the 28th of Arhat, Sharak Sanzo. I'm currently filling in for the goddess Aditi. [And there's a name Celty may have been told to listen out for.] Put that down and step forward.

[lookingforhead]

[Celty isn't thrilled with the answer, but it's one she heard before on her arrival. Every time she tried to give thought to it during the past few hours just had the thought slip away and a feeling she could best describe as 'Don't worry. You'll be fine.' Not as a platitude, but some sort of self assurance.

And as ephemeral as the thought has been, it's pushed away easily as Sharak offers her goddess name. The name stirs something in her, not familiar and yet as if something she's been waiting for.

She's not thrilled with the order though. The shadow strands of the web slacken and fall to the floor, but Celty only takes a single step. She's still wary, but for now she chooses to trust.]

[bussounoshima]

[Cautious, but not stubbornly so. Sharak can approve of that. A single step is enough for Sharak to look at her anyway, not that she didn't get enough of that earlier. Sharak steps closer herself, looming over Celty intimidatingly.]

Tell me your name.

[It's only polite to return an introduction, after all.]

[lookingforhead]

Celty.
Celty Sturluson.

Did they tell you I'm not human?

[Celty steels her shoulders. This woman is intimidating yes, that much of her presence is doing its job. But she's not going to let herself be cowed by someone claiming authority over her.]

[bussounoshima]

They didn't tell me anything. But it's not hard to tell.

[Ah, yes, Sharak definitely approves of that backbone. Good, she'd be pissed off if she got stuck with someone meek. None of this shows on her face, of course, as she stays looking cold and intimidating.]

You're not human. Do you see that being a problem, Celty Sturluson?

[lookingforhead]

Of course not.

[The swiftness of her reply tells her a lot about herself that she's only now piecing together. She may be different than the others around her, but she is happy with herself as herself. The gaps in her memory are frustrating but she's been warned about chasing them carelessly, and again her instincts have left her inclined to agree.

Be yourself for yourself. The rest will come in time.]

So now what? What is it we're supposed to do?

[bussounoshima]

[Sharak nods, agreeing.]

You can take the helmet off. You don't need to hide anything like that from me.

[Granted, Sharak is expecting pointed ears or weird tattoos or something like that, not... nothing. But the principle is the same.

Sharak lets out a mildly irritated huff, though she's less annoyed than she thought she would be. Celty seems confident, business-like and composed. That's good. She had been hoping she could maybe skip another cycle of assigned shinki, but apparently she isn't that lucky. Fighting it right away out of stubbornness could lead to problems later, and she's still trying to keep a decent reputation going.]

As for what comes next... I'm supposed to give you a vessel name, to complete the spell binding us. That will allow you to take the form of a weapon that we can use to kill ayakashi, demons that attack humans in this world. Otherwise, unless you have any objections, you'll reside at Aditi's temple with me, assist me in answering prayers to her and find your own direction for your new life.

[She tilts her head to the side and raises one eyebrow.] How does that sound?

[lookingforhead]

Do you have wifi at the temple?

[Another bit of herself that she's rediscovering. A monster who prioritizes an internet connection. Funny. She can't remember what sites she used to frequent though. Seems the Near Shore will have to do without the Dollars for the time being. Probably for the best.

She quirks her helmet briefly, considering her options. Sharak doesn't seem the sort to panic over this, and she did ask for it to be removed. If it does spook her, well point to the home team then.

She reaches up and gently removes the bright headpiece, to reveal the lack of a head beneath. Her neck simply ends in a stump, obscured by a black smokelike substance that seems to be gathering in and around it. However if she is to be inspected there will be some kanji printed on the back of it, just above the knot where the spine reaches the shoulders.]

[bussounoshima]

We have wifi.

[What the hell are those priorities? How does Celty already know about wifi? It took Sharak weeks to learn all the terminology for that stuff. Unfair.

Sharak's ready to see something strange, but she's not ready for... nothing. Both eyebrows shoot up and her eyes go wide.] You-

[Okay, Sanzo-sama, chill. It's just a smoke... demon... thing. She's not scared, so much as surprised, and after that initial second of shock she's leaning in to examine Celty's neck closer. She's tall enough to see the kanji- hah, a headless horsewoman, she gets it- but she's more fascinated by the lack of everything else.]

Interesting... [Sharak waves her hand over Celty's neck, checking that the head is gone and not just invisible. That's not rude at all.] So you can't talk, but you can still hear and see?

[lookingforhead]

[Not only is she pretty internet savvy, Celty once had to teach a Japanese high school student how to use a chat room. Not that she remembers.

She squirms a bit as she's inspected, a touch self conscious at the close scrutiny. It's not so much a matter about her headless nature as she is just a touch unnerved by the other woman's close proximity in her space. She ducks away from the waving hand and the phone comes up to act as a buffer, as well as to answer the question.]

Yes. I don't know how it works, but as long as it does I'm fine.

I'm a Dullahan. What some call a "headless horseman".

[She pauses, and then the shadows begin to flow a bit thicker as she scrunches her shoulders in embarrassment.]

I don't know where my head is. Or my horse.

[bussounoshima]

[Sharak leans back again when Celty tries to put distance between them, watching her body language curiously. It's interesting, how much she can tell even without facial expressions to go off. The shadows are interesting too.]

... Well, you'll manage without them. [Encouraging looking for them or dwelling on where they might be is likely to incur blight. Sharak doesn't mind a bit of that, but too much is risky.] Do you have any other questions?

Sorry for the delay, this is the height of my con season, but I'm all in for this :)

[lookingforhead]

Yes, but nothing worth asking. I don't think you know why they had us meet like this rather than introducing us.

I guess the best thing to do is go along with this and figure it out from doing.

[Her neck flexes as she 'looks' her god up and down one more time. Even with no memories of her past life this situation feels simultaneously unexpected and yet...inevitable perhaps? But any deeper meaning to the thought slips away from her like so many other thoughts have.

At least she's getting used to it and not chasing after them.]

So are we supposed to be hunting these Ayakashi tonight?

(ooc: I was at a convention this past weekend and I'm now in final prep for one I staff at the beginning of June. So if there are slow tags it might be because I'm focused on that. Should pick up a bit after that con though.)