🎉 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.

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Yato | Noragami | Everlight

[intertwinedfates]

💙 1. God of Fortune

[Yato loves tanabata. Loves the festive air, the colorful decorations, but most of all, the wishes being made. As an aspiring God of Fortune and Happiness, he finds it to be his duty to help fulfill them as best he can, even if nobody truly expects them to come true. After all, that's the best kind of wish-granting, isn't it? Surprise happiness!

So he can be found snooping on people's wishes, looking for ones he can grant in his own mundane way. Feel free to call him out on being nosy or - GASP - taking down one of the wishes in order to try his hand at fulfilling it!]

🎋 2. A Dream Is A Wish

A: [While Yato may be trying to carry out various wishes, he's not above making some of his own. Even gods are entitled to desires, right...?

Thus his wishes are written in highly beautiful script, contrasted with glitter and sequins to make them sparkle. On the pair of paper strips he has are written two simple things:

"I want to live a happy, safe, long life together with Hiyori." and "Please grant me the strength to continue protecting my friends here and back home."

Satisfied with that, Yato sits back with a smile, before thinking better of it an grabbing a third paper to write: "Let our wedding be fun and successful!"]

There! That should cover it!

🍡 3. Tiny Fragments That Remain

A: [If there's one thing Yato never expected to see here in Neo Tokyo, it's his younger self. At first he seems terrified at the prospect of his youthful transgressions come to life, and anyone who knows his dark secrets may understand why, but thankfully it seems that the powers that be have not taken him from his murderous years, but when he's a little older and has learned compassion and kindness. Unfortunately, he's still not prepared to keep an eye on a small child, and quickly loses him in the crowd.

Off on his own, bitty Yato gravitates towards the weapons, naturally. So while it may be slightly startling to see a young boy wielding a bow and arrow at the archery range, he actually proves to be a deft hand at it, coming damn close to hitting the center of the bullseye. It's not close enough for him, though, and he stomps a foot angrily at the near miss.]

Shoot! I almost had it...!


B: [Later on, after Yato's found himself in more ways than one, both of him take to the neat game of catching crayfish! At first all goes well. ...until the older god decides to try grabbing a rare one with his bare hands, resulting in him getting pinched, hard.]

YEEOUCH!!

[Something his younger self finds hilarious and promptly cackles at, pointing to his grown counterpart meanly, legs kicking as he rolls back and forth in amusement.]

Haha! You got bit, ya idiot!

[Even though it's himself, Yato can't help being annoyed at the mockery, and promptly grabs his kid reflection by the cheeks, pulling at them.]

Oh, shut up, you! Nobody asked for your opinion!

🃏 4. Wild Card

[Feel free to come at me with other ideas or reach me at lombardia to plot!]

▶ 001.

[eyescar]

Yato-san!

[ Does Yuji sound... Scolding? Hands on his hips, he looks like some kind of irritated mother, leaning forward to give him a sour little look. ]

Put those back, right now! You're stealing my job!

[intertwinedfates]

Hiya, Yuji!

[That tone of voice has him pausing in his tracks and looking a touch sheepish, though when Yuji continues on further, it gets him a confused expression.]

Huh? Since when was fulfilling wishes your job...? [wat] People are praying to the gods, y'know!

[eyescar]

I set up the festival! I wanted to try and grant everyone's wishes today.

[ He might be... Pouting a little bit, now, rather than being mad. ]

But... I guess I can let you off this one time.

[intertwinedfates]

Oh, I see! I guess that makes sense, yeah. In that case...

[He carefully reties the wish back on a branch before turning to beam at him. Honestly, it's sweet that Yuji's so determined to help people out like that.]

How about you let me know if there's one you don't think you can handle, and I'll see if I can do anything about it, yeah?

2

[saudadist]

[ She's being nosy. She shouldn't be, but she is! A young girl with pink hair under a woolen cap reads Yato's wishes with wonder. ]

A wedding?

[intertwinedfates]

[Aw, what a cute kid...! Even if she is curious. Something that Yato doesn't mind as he glances over at her and nods.]

Yeah! For me and my good friend and future wife, Hiyori. Have you ever been to one?

[saudadist]

[ Her answer is flat, immediate- ]

No.

[ But, her lips purse together in thought before she speaks up again. ]

Do you have rings?

[intertwinedfates]

[At least the neutral response makes it easy to tell who this little one is, though he's not sure which name she'd go by...]

They're really beautiful, with flowers and everything.

[He gives another nod, smiling wide.]

Sure do! You interested in romance, kiddo?

3b

[wwtd]

[ meanwhile, hiyori has taken to carrying her younger self on her hip as she enjoys the festivities. having gotten over the initial shock and confusion at THE CHILD VERSION OF HERSELF HOW???? she couldn't let her wander around on her own without supervision.

she goes where young hiyori points without argument. to games. to wishes. to pretty decorations. to cute bunny bentos. to the scuffle happening between

yato and........... smaller yato.

ah. him, too.

on hiyori's hip, bittyori giggles loudly at the spectacle. ]

[intertwinedfates]

[Both Yatos fight fiercely, yanking and pulling at each others' cheeks until they're both sore and stinging. Only the laughter of a young girl startles them out of their battle, both curious as to who's watching.

And when Yato sees double the Hiyori, his cheeks immediately turn pink with delight and he abandons the fight to scramble over and say hi. Coming up to the girls, he can't help getting his arms around Hiyori to embrace both her and her younger self, all wide smiles now.

Bittyato, however seems more reserved and curious as he hovers in the background.]

Hiyoriiiiiii! And Tinyoriiiii! I get double the dose of my favorite person! How awesome is that?! Gosh you're soooo cute! Precious~!

[Hopefully she (they?) like hugs, because he seems intent on clinging to them for a little while, swaying back and forth so they shift on their feet.

Back behind him, little Yato pouts. Cute, huh? .... yeah, maybe. But what about him?]

Boooo.....

[wwtd]

[ bittyori blushes and hides her face in hiyori's shoulder when yato gets close. especially when he goes in for the hug, too (which she squeaks at, STRANGER DANGER) hiyori pats her younger selfs back comfortingly while the other goes around yato.

she also peeks over her shoulder at bittyato and gives him a bright smile.

this is so weird what is going on but SMALL YATO IS SOOOOOOOO CUTE. eventually, bittyori seems to warm up to the hug from the guy she doesn't know too once she senses no actual danger from him. only commenting about his sweaty palms. oops. ]

Do you want to join the group hug? It's cozy.

[ she pulls her hand off yato, while small yori IS A SAVAGE telling him his hands are too wet, and offers a hand to the tiny god. ]

[intertwinedfates]

[Definitely STRANGER DANGER, if only in terms of embarrassment central! Though who's the one being embarrassed is up for debate when Bittyori goes in for the kill by immediately calling him out on his sweaty hands. That makes Yato go aghast and hunch his shoulders while gritting his teeth.

He can't truly be angry because it's Hiyori, but still...! To be so damn astute and hurtful...! Brutal.

Little Yato meanwhile seems to hesitate as he watches his older self get all friendly with the two girls he doesn't recognize, jumping slightly when Hiyori addresses him. With wide eyes, he merely stares at her before inching closer nervously, like a skittish cat. Finally, once he's slightly hidden behind Yato, he peeks around to look between Hiyori and her young counterpart, as if undecided who interests him more.

Eventually though, he takes the offered hand, and...]

Not sweaty...

[OUCH. It's enough to make Yato huff irritably out of embarrassment.]

Would you two cut it out?!

🍡 3. A:

[blastedass]

[By now he's realized something's causing all these brats to appear. The majority of Outsiders back when they were children. Stopping them isn't going to happen as they only appear within the festival grounds rather than outside, and only when the Outsiders themselves are present. Where the hell his own shitty twerp got off to is anyone's guess, but he has a few people who know his little self is present and keep an eye on him. Meaning he likewise is part of said network, noting when kids appear and who they are.

Unlike a certain someone else, he doesn't need a closer look to know whose this little runt is. Bakugo handled a bow and arrow at a young age during a summer camp, but he had supervision doing so. Unlike the boy firing off another shaft into the target. Figures Yato would've handled weapons at a young age. He stops beside the kid, eyeing his result.]

Then stop pouting and get it.

[intertwinedfates]

[It's very likely that Yato got distracted by getting him and his younger self some food, allowing the tiny brat to run off and get into trouble. But... at least it's moderated trouble? There's only so many arrows for him to use, meaning he has to make each shot count. Which is why it rankles him so much. He's a god, damn it! He can do anything!

...he's just... not practiced with a bow much. When he played with the village children at Sakura's encouragement, they'd taken turns shooting a bale of hay, but it's not like he has the same innate experience like when he names a shinki. Not yet, anyways.

At the sound of someone encouraging(?) him, he glances up at the blond, brows furrowing. "Get it", he says. If only it was as simple as that. But Yato's not a quitter! He puffs up his cheeks and debates on whacking the guy in the shin, but thinks better of it. For now.]

I'm gonna! Don't distract me!

[Because clearly that's what he's trying to do!! Or not. Taking aim again, he lets his second arrow fly, nailing the outer edge of the center target. Technically a success...!]

I did it--!

[blastedass]

[If only it was as simple as that. But is it not? If he wants to get the damn bullseye, he's the only one standing in the way of doing so. You want something, go for it. Get it. It'll take effort and time, no shit. And when that arrow slams into the center, he'll have earned it.

Whack him and you're a dead man, brat. He's not anywhere near as forgiving as Izuku (when Kota punched him in the balls).]

Uh-huh. And throwing a tantrum wasn't distracting. [What, you thought he didn't see you stomping your little stupid foot instead of drawing another arrow and making some more progress? He stands silently by, watching Yato fire again.

Better result.]

Hmph. Do it again or it's just a fluke.

[WOW, TOUGH COACH!]

[intertwinedfates]

[WOW, TOUGH COACH INDEED! Brutal on all accounts, for sure! It's tough to tell what age Yato here is at, but it's pretty clear he's still rather young and still learning plenty of things, from managing his emotions to handling the bow. The latter he seems to have better control over, as he puffs up his cheeks at the surly blond and sticks his tongue out for good measure.

Don't be a grumpy grandpa if you don't wanna get whacked, then!]

I didn't--! [He did. Kinda. It was mild one, though, so it doesn't count!! He didn't go full tantrum mode and cry or break the bow, so it's fine.

The lack of compliment gets him looking dejected for a moment - he loves being praised - but spurs him into doing just that: trying once more. This time he gets even closer to the center, and thus whirls on Katsuki with a bright smile.]

I did it...! See? I can too do it! So there, mister! [No sticking his tongue out again, but he does puff his cheeks up a bit in pleasure.]

2. A dream is a wish!

[cranekin]

(Tsurumaru loves Tanabata. It isn't well known but like a certain pink haired boy, he might also be from a certain city known for a certain summer festival. All of this is to say that Tsurumaru is thriving right now. The colors, the music, the good spirits, and all of the activities? He loves them.

And when he sees Yato writing out his third wish, Tsurumaru can't help but tease,)

I didn't know gods had so many wishes!

[intertwinedfates]

[Ah, it's Tsuru! To say it's a relief to see him up and about and not injured would be an understatement and a half. So Yato happily waves him over, not minding the gentle teasing. If anything, he seems delighted at it, nodding eagerly.]

Most probably don't, but then, I've always been a bit of a selfish oddball. I'm greedy when it comes to things that make me happy.

[Which is to say he's a bit of a glutton, both for people he treasures and that which brings him joy, be it physical items or experiences like this.]

[cranekin]

I see... but then I wonder, who answers a god's wishes?

(Usually its the gods answering the humans but if a god makes a wish, who grants it?)

The gods in this world might be surprised to receive them.

[intertwinedfates]

I... dunno. Maybe no one. It could be that we don't get our wishes answered. Unless we have a dedicated follower.

[Since he knows of one special human who granted his wishes...]

Are there any left here, though? I haven't seen a trace of them. I wonder if they were all felled fighting the kaiju, or simply retreated to the heavens.

A Dream Is A Wish

[muttering_and_mumbling]

[Izuku has thought long and hard about his wish for the festival. But in the end he knows what he wants. So the paper he's hanging nearby is a simple one. Let everyone stay safe here. He looks over when he sees someone hanging their own close by and smiles. He hasn't come face to face with Yato yet. Only talked via text. So he doesn't know yet that they've met. But his eyes flicker over the final slip of paper in Yato's hands.]

Getting married soon?

[intertwinedfates]

[It's true they haven't met in person yet, thus their appearances at a mystery to one another. But the guy smiling at him seems nice enough, so Yato has no problem answering his question with a happy nod and a grin, beaming with the force of a dozen suns. Somebody sure is chipper...]

Sure am! It's coming up in under a week!

[muttering_and_mumbling]

[The way Yato is smiling tells Izuku he's found someone he truly loves to spend forever with. That's adorable.]

Then please accept my well-wishes for your future too. It's heartening to hear people can find each other like that and decide to build themselves a life even with everything that's going on.

[intertwinedfates]

[Even Yato, for as dense as he can be, knows just how lucky he is to have Hiyori in his life.]

Hehe, thanks! It was a bit of a tough decision since like you say, there's so much going on, but we decided that that's exactly why we should treasure our time together. Not only for ourselves, but to give hope to others, with any luck. Sometimes it helps so see other people finding happiness during trying times.