🎉 TANABATA FESTIVAL 🎊

[eyescar]

WHO: Everyone in Neo Tokyo
WHAT: Tanabata festival! 🎉
WHERE: In the centre of the park
WHEN: 17/07 onwards
WARNINGS: N/A

NEO TOKYO TANABATA

aka operation festival funtime

As the middle of July opens, the streets outside of Neo Tokyo seem to get decorated almost overnight. Colourful origami banners hang from the trees, a mixture of tanzaku, kamigoromo, orizuru and toami.

For anyone who has been to the Sendai region in the midst of the Summer months, the decorations will look almost endearingly familiar; it's time for tanabata!

▶ 001. OPERATION: FESTIVAL FUNTIME.

The savvier of people might notice a particularly bright shock of pink hair running around in the early hours of the morning, taking part in setting up the decorations and putting together a basic layout of tables with tablecloths and various goods and prizes. Each decoration is hand made, and if you look closely you might see little golden traces throughout, giving a clue to who helped made these ones. There's something infectious about his enthusiasm and the delight, even as he gets a little more tired as the day goes on - there's nothing stopping him. Eventually, his section of the festival is set up; there are various stands, some for making decorations (bamboo branches with ornaments, more paper ornaments, origami, and various other cute and traditional arts and crafts), some space for you to take a break and have a fruity and always non-alcoholic drink and an area with a handsome backdrop for the taking of photos.

He's not alone, though!

Raidou's looking livelier than he has than in the last few weeks. He's helping the festival in an organizational capacity, while Yuji handles most other things. He sets up the stands, moves and directs supplies to the right place, picks out spots for decorations, and makes sure both vendors and visitors have everything they need. If you stop to ask him a question or ask for direction, you get a quick, polite answer before he flits off to the next task.

Once things are running smoothly, you'll find him working at one of the food booths, where he's frying up takoyaki and taiyaki. Raidou couldn't be more in his element - serving up fresh food and treats to the Outsiders and the community. You might even get your food handed to you from him with a smile.

At night, the festival is lit up with fireworks and sparklers throughout, lighting up the sky with explosions of little joy and happiness.

Throughout the festival, you can also get a free bento, delivered to you by a cute looking rabbit. The bentos come in many designs, cute, adorable or precious!

▶ 002. A DREAM IS A WISH.

One of the most exciting aspects of tanabata remains the wish-making. In the set-up for the festival, there are little posters left around near one particular booth (manned by local cryptid Choso) to explain the story of the festival and the meaning that it holds. Alongside it are an almost ridiculous amount of paper strips in various colours, left with some pens and calligraphy brushes for people to pick up and use. A big sign next to it declares the following:

Make a wish! If it's a good one, it might come true!
The directions are clear: write your wish on a strip of paper and hang it on one of the bamboo decorations. The harder you wish, the more likely it is to come true - and there are some prompts for the kind of wishes people could make, just in case you're strapped for ideas:

Academic or work successes

Prosperity or good health

Care and love for family and friends

Success in love or platonic relationships

Fulfilment of a personal goal or ambition

You might notice Yuji watching as you're tying your wishes up... Don't worry about that!

If you require further assistance in your wish-making (or even if you don't at all) Choso seems more than happy to lend a helping hand. When he isn't cutting up paper strips and sorting them out into strangely-organized piles (paper thickness instead of size or colour), he's preparing the calligraphy ink via manual inkstone grinding or offering an absurdly wide variety of coloured (and scented) markers for your convenience.

The strips of wishes can be as decorative or simple as you like, so don't stress about your artistic genius!

( ooc note: If you would like Yuji to take a shot at making your wish come true, please respond to this comment! There will be some RNG "granted wishes" that you can use in your top level and keep as a fond memory, but please note there is only one "granted wish" per character. )

▶ 003. AS THE POETS SAY.

In the centre of the festival, in the midst of a park with vibrant flowers, is a table where Yuji sits for a few hours at a time between breaks. He seems to be practically vibrating out of his seat, and when approached he launches into an explanation of this particular game:

THE SOULMATE GAME!

The aim of the game is simple: you are given a ribbon at random with a number on it. Your mission? Find the person with the matching ribbon within a time limit of an hour and win a special prize. Don't worry though... If you lose, there's a prize for not quite making it within the limit. The festival is meant to be a celebration, after all, and Yuji doesn't want anyone to miss out.

Here's the problem: Yuji isn't making it easy for people to find their soulmate. He's not left a boundary for how far you can go (in case you were tempted to hide...) nor has he done anything to make the festival less distracting. This area is set up with your traditional festival games, such as (fake) goldfish scooping, ring toss and some chairs and tables set out for food and conversation.

To make it worse? Sometimes, Yuji might pop up and give you a hint to go in a particular direction, only for it to be a total red herring. This is definitely fun, isn't it? Who doesn't love a good chase? The problem is...

Will you find your soulmate in time...?

( ooc note: If you would like to win (or lose) at the soulmate game, please respond to this comment! Go ahead and OOCly decide who your character gets paired with and whether or not you win or lose - there are different prizes for each. You can play the soulmate game as many times as you want ICly, but you will only get one prize roll per character! )

▶ 004. TINY FRAGMENTS THAT REMAIN.

NOTE: THIS PROMPT WILL REFER TO THINGS THAT ARE SPOILERS FOR JUJUTSU KAISEN CHAPTER 264 ( refering to Yuji's powers and how he uses them in a fight ).
Here's the thing: Yuji wants everyone to have fun. His dream is that people are able to find some joy and peace in the midst of the darkness of the last few weeks, and so he sinks into something that is familiar to him - cursed energy, and his domain expansion. In the early hours of the second day of his festival, you might catch him making a hand sign before a ripple of powers hits, collecting around the area of the festival like a literal bubble. Anyone on the edge of the bubble will see it like a flickering, semi-transparent void, but there's nothing to worry about... Right?

The power of Yuji's domain expansion is simple enough, in theory: it transports into the memories, digs into the heart of what people want to show. His intention is to share the tanabata of his childhood with the people of Neo Tokyo and spark some joy for the Outsiders who have been through so much. He wants to show them something sweet and nostalgic, but he doesn't quite anticipate the side effect.

Outsiders who end up stepping into Yuji's domain will find themselves able to come face-to-face with their childhood selves, and enjoy the festival together. If they're together with another Outsider, those childhood versions of themselves (shaped in the way they remember themselves rather than how they actually looked!) are visible and shared, like an extension of their thoughts come to life.

It's still tanabata, but this particular part of the festival is influenced by what Yuji remembers from his youth, and Outsiders can find themselves seeing and being able to take part in various activities:

Crayfish catching (try and get the biggest or rarest one!)

Archery (can you beat your friends and get the bullseye?)

Horse riding (and you might hear Yuji commenting on how big their faces are)

Parades (are you going to join in?)

And anything else you can dream up! It's your character's childhood too, right...?

As soon as Yuji realises his mistake (at the end of the day, lost in his own memories) he brings down the domain, but it might be too late for some Outsiders who have come face to face with their more adorable versions. Whoops.

EVENT BREAKDOWN (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. OPERATION: FESTIVAL FUNTIME: The festival is being set up by Yuji and Raidou, with support from other Outsiders to make decorations. Food and other entertainment is on offer for anyone who attends, but all drinks are non-alcoholic.

2. A DREAM IS A WISH: Outsiders are given the chance to take part in the tanabata tradition of wish making. They can decorate paper with their wish and hang it up in the hope it will come true. Yuji will be granting one wish per outsider.

3. AS THE POETS SAY: The "Soulmate Game" has characters being randomly assigned numbers and tasked with finding their matching pair to win a prize. They have an hour to find their partner and, win or lose, there is a prize for taking part.

4. TINY FRAGMENTS THAT REMAIN: Yuji uses his domain expansion to bring Sendai tanabata to life, that has the accidental side effect of allowing Outsiders to meet and see their childhood selves. It also allows them to visit Sendai itself and take part in some other minigames that are not tanabata related if they want.

code

Comments

yuji itadori / everlight

[eyescar]

001. OPERATION: FESTIVAL FUNTIME.

[ Yuji is, obviously, busy with the preparation for most of the early hours and late morning.

You can find him running around, carrying boxes of things, holding things up and checking them, pinning an assortment of bamboo, paper and fabric delights here and there and generally seeming to be having the time of his life. If you try to grab his attention, he waves a little, looking sheepish and offering very little in terms of explanation: ]

Sorry! I'm busy right now!

[ There are tables set up, there is a lot of food, there are cut out bits of paper, and it looks, at first, like organised chaos. It's probably a good thing that trailing after Yuji are his fellow conspiritors, making sure that the whirlwind that is Itadori Yuji is, at least a little, put back together.

You might be lucky and be able to catch him taking a break, in which case he'll wave, downing a huge bottle of water. ]

▶ 002. AS THE POETS SAY.

[ Yuji might not be taking part in the soulmate game himself - it feels a little bit like cheating - but he is hanging around as other people run around and try to find their partners, gleeful and excited to see people having fun after the stress of the last few weeks.

If you're playing the game and approach him, he shakes his head; ]

Nope, no cheating!

[ If you're not playing, he grins, waving a numbered ribbon as if trying to entice a puppy. ]

Don't you want to come and take part...?

[ Either way, he's always there with a bright smile, having the time of his life. ]

▶ 003. TINY FRAGMENTS THAT REMAIN.

[ In the depths of the domain and the veil around it, there are two Yujis that you might encounter.

One is the more recognisable one: the teenage version, looking sheepish as he wanders around the landscape, rubbing the back of his neck and looking... Pensive. ]

I didn't mean for it to go this far...

[ The other is a much younger varient, settled down with a cup of something that seems like warm milk, kicking his legs as they hang over the edge of the river. Hovering nearby is a familiar figure, and Yuji beams when approached. ]

Don't fall in, okay! It'll be a pain if grandpa has to go and get you.

[ Is he talking about Muramasa...? ]

▶ 004. WILDCARD.

( Feel free to find Yuji literally anywhere else - this is his event, so he will be everywhere! Throw something at me or PM me on plurk or discord to arrange something! )

3

[saudadist]

[ There's a tug tug tug at Yuji's sleeve from a small hand. Its owner lets go quickly but continues to stare him at him from under the brim of a woolen cap and a curtain of pink hair.

Eyes burn with a question she can't yet find the strength to voice. ]

[eyescar]

[ That's weird.

Luckily, Yuji is as sweet as a small child as he is as a teen, and he tilts his head to look at the small girl beside him. Lifting his head, he smiles a little and waves. The way they look together right now, they could be brother and sister... ]

Hi. Are you lost?

[saudadist]

[ She slowly shakes her head. Someone else with pink hair? But he doesn't have horns. Not the same, then. ]

No.

[ She points to the cup of warm milk, hand swiftly dropping back to her side. ]

Where can I get milk, too?

2.

[zauneyete]

Not in particular.

[ He says, bluntly. Yeah, he's in the sun. Yes, he's eaten one or two pieces of the food. Yes, Tezcatlipoca somehow swindled him into something appropriate for the weather. (He used Jinx.) He is, however, currently slipping his flask back away. You cannot expect him to weather this without alcohol.

He's also hot, grumpy, and miserable. He's a peepaw who is too tuckered out for games, as if he was willing to play them to begin with, which was highly unlikely. Unless he thought there was a way to fix it and make someone mad. You know. Normal reasons to play games. ]

Looks like my advice to not sleep was fairly useful, given how busy you must have been.

[eyescar]

[ Yuji gives the alcohol a side look, but he doesn't stop Silco from indulging. Instead, he shakes his head. ]

I did sleep a little. Some of this was in storage, and some of it was from people helping me. I didn't do it completely by myself.

[ And even if he did, he'd never admit it - that's not the kind of person he is. He relied on a lot of other people. ]

Are you having a little bit of fun, at least?

[zauneyete]

[ Yuji he's just a functioning alcoholic. It's good to just let him have this. ]

Hm. Why am I not surprised that you were planning this for a while. It has your mark all over it.

[ It's endearing, in its own way. A little trite, but... innocent. Kind of like Yuji.

Silco thinks it doesn't fit him at all. ]

Well, considering Tezcatlipoca has been badgering me into participating, I suppose you could say it's as close as I will get.

[ Which means. Well. It's still Silco. What's fun to him? He's... not hating his time here, at least? That's like having fun. ]

001.

[shadowban]

[ the bunny swarm has taken to their new task as literal taskrabbits to heart. they hop around and follow yuji's instruction with little difficulty, and it pleases megumi something fierce to use the shikigami in a helpful, harmless way. the datto are happy enough to ferry objects back and forth, forming and dispersing into shapes as yuji or megumi needs them.

one memorable shape is a human hand, the swarm swiping in an arc underfoot to clear yuji's or his fellow organisers' paths ahead and keep them from tripping.

when a short break comes up, megumi joins yuji to sit on the cement garden island outdoors, cradling his own bottle of energy water. ]

You really planned all of this. It's impressive.

[eyescar]

[ Yuji is clearly delighted by the way that the bunnies are working, watching them go here and there before bending down to greet each and every single one of them as if they're a personal friend. All the effort he has put into this festival seems to be paying off, and the bubble of warmth and genuine joy he feels are nostalgic of his first few weeks at Jujutsu high.

He's happy; he's genuinely happy.

Grabbing a snack and passing it over to his friend, he smiles warmly. ]

I had a lot of help.

[ As genuine and generous as ever. ]

I'm glad it all came together.

[shadowban]

It looks good. I'm sure everyone's gonna have a lot of fun, and I'm really happy for you for coming up with this.

[ maybe they could do something like this back home, eventually. there aren't too many students left in the school currently, but because of kenjaku's mass idle transfigurations and binding incarnations, megumi thinks the student body will at the very least grow in number. it could be a good thing. they could truly change the world for the better, like gojo-sensei had wanted.

here, sitting next to yuji while he peels the rice treat out of its plastic, megumi thinks he feels hope blooming in him. hope, and genuine happiness. ]

Are you gonna play the games too? You should get a pass and just pick something out of the prizes if you wanted.

oo3. baby time ( but also we still gotta do the pain somehow when ur around i'll bother u to plan )

[gorb]

That's all right.

( Hello, teeny, tiny Itadori Yuji. ) I know how to swim.

( Muramasa gets a wave but Geto's certainly not checking in on if he's allowed to talk to the child. He was here as parental figure first, old man. Instead he's taking a seat at the edge too, legs folded up before him, attention firmly fixed on the pink-haired boy. )

It's nice here, isn't it? Are you having fun, Yuji-kun?

[misclassed]

[ peepaw perceiveth you, geto. ]

hmu whenever

[eyescar]

Oh, you do? That's good.

[ Yuji brightens, relaxing a little as he gazes out at the river. It's warm, the atmosphere flush with heat, and he seems genuinely content and at peace. ]

It's a good day and I get to go fishing later. I'm definitely having fun!

1

[wwtd]

I know! That's why I came over!

[ seeing him running about like a madman. albeit, she has to be happy that he looks like he enjoys this form of chaos.

instead of asking what needs to be done, she takes a good look around and figures it out herself and works alongside him. at some point, grabbing some food from the tables to give it to yuuji. ]

You weren't kidding about a big party. I should've hired you to help for the wedding.

[eyescar]

I don't mind helping if you need it!

[ He's stopped to take a breath for now, to have a drink and shove the snack in his mouth, and that's enough to get him settled to speak to her properly. ]

Are you and Yato-san all ready for that?

003. tiny fragments

[tokakujuho]

[ It's nostalgic, the landscape, the sunlight warm on his skin, the weather-worn roads and walls. But then everything is nostalgic where the boy is concerned, is it not? Nanami wanders the boy's domain, carrying his much younger self in his arms. The little one had approached him and lifted his arms silently in an universally known gesture of 'pick me up'.

They could be father and son.

(Is this what he's missed out on by choosing Gojo over his dream life? By embracing the hubris of believing he could change the world for the better, he gave up on all his dreams, the values that his parents tried to pass on to their darling son? This little boy, his younger self, seems so full of everything that would make Nanami's heart hopeful...)

His train of thought is interrupted by a cheerful voice and the sight of a much younger Itadori-kun stops him in his tracks. The two blonds study the boy and the man on the bridge silently, but just as Nanami is about to go on walking, his little self starts squirming, trying to get him to release him, which Nanami does of course.

As soon as his feet touch the ground, little Kento makes his way over to the boy with the milk and offers him a piece of his melon pan. ]

baby nanamin...

[eyescar]

[ There's no hesitation in the smaller version of Yuji, distant from his real, teen self, rushing after the smaller figure with an infectious glee. He's unable to resist the pull of someone familiar, of that nostalgic feeling of being around Nanami again.

Things have been a little bit awkward (at least for Yuji, though he doesn't think Nanami knows too much about it) so there's something exciting about letting loose in his child shoes.

Slowly toddling up, he leans down, taking the melon before he offers his drink. ]

I've only had a little bit.

[ A small smile as he leans forward, rocking on his heels and grinning. ]

Or I can get you more! Grandpa has made sure I have as much as I need, so there's lots left!

001. OPERATION ... later

[blastedass]

[No point in trying to grab him during the morning. Reminds him too much of the School Festival. Each class running around as they plan, prepare, and produce their own unique festival attraction. Yuji, Raidou, and Choso must've been busy as hell. Katsuki's normally up at 5:30 each morning and these jokers were up even before that. He went on his run and exercise instead of checking out their activities. Yuji mentioned putting something together before, but was deliberately vague about it. By the time he got back, it was obvious what they'd been up to.

He really should be supportive of the guy... and he is... but... there's a reason Katsuki's stomping across the bridge towards his pink-haired bestie. Fireworks completed, festival in its nighttime swing before closing. Probably gonna be held for a good long while this month...]

Oy Gari Head! You looking down on me?! Why didn't you ask me to help?

[*boomboomboombbom!*]

[eyescar]

What? Hey -

[ Those sparks don't scare him any more, sorry, Katsuki!

Stepping back and away from his final decorations, the box of gifts and prizes in front of him, the echos of the wishes he had been granting all day. His expression is warm, and he has a little bit of sunburn on his nose, but he's clearly so, so happy. Everything had worked out, and people seem so genuinely happy, so he can't be too upset by Katsuki's sparking anger.

Waving his hand, he grins. ]

I had it all handled! It was fine!

1.

[thighhighs]

[ Rin waves back as she approaches, hair pulled high into a ponytail to keep it off her neck in the humid summer heat. She has another bottle of water in hand and she tosses it to him as she gets closer, sitting next to him and kicking her legs up in the air a bit. ]

Finally sitting down, huh?

[eyescar]

[ He catches the water immediately, breathing out a little before he tugs off the top and takes a long drink. ]

Mm, I needed to catch my breath.

[ Leaning back, he smiles. ]

Are you having fun?

2

[queenofkur]

[ She would argue it's not cheating to ask for a hint! Sighs. She deflates and lowers her head. ]

B-But I've been going around for an hour...

[ Is the "soulmate game" trying to send this goddess a message? ]

[eyescar]

Eresh-chan...

[ Yuji reaches out and pats her shoulder gently. ]

I think that means your time limit is up...

002

[muttering_and_mumbling]

[Izuku is not taking part in the soul mate game today. He doesn't even know it's going on. He's just been enjoying the festival. So when Yuji waves the ribbon at him, Izuku tilts his head to the side to consider them.]

Take part in what?

[eyescar]

The soulmate game!

[ He beams, looking incredibly excited over something so simple. ]

You get a number and you have to find your matching pair!