🎉 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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Comments

Dr. Ratio | Honkai: Star Rail | Redemption

[curingidiocy]

 001. Scholar in the Making 
  — "I'm used to being alone."

[ There is a young child, no older than six, sitting by himself within the domain Yuji has conjured. Clearly, he is a reflection of an Outsider's past, with his familiar wavy indigo hair and piercing sunset coloured eyes, but there is no adult accompanying him. Instead, he has a big book that looks too thick and heavy for a child to be reading sitting on his lap, and he is poring over it studiously.

No one comes to get him. He keeps reading. And at some point, he starts nodding off, head bobbing up and down as he tries in vain to stay awake.

Perhaps you should accompany this child so that he isn't alone. ]

 002. Wildcard 
[ Always down for some wildcarding! Feel free to hit me up at tenkomi or on the unofficial discord to plan something! ]

[stonehearts]

( Much to Ratio's annoyance, there is another child there. Slightly older, but a bit shorter than Veritas himself. Which is why he peers over the other kid's shoulder, looking down at a book he can't read. )

What's that?

[curingidiocy]

[ Little Ratio ignores him, at first. He doesn't even acknowledge Kakavasha's presence and continues reading the book like no one disrupted him.

... ]

A textbook.

[ It's got graphs and numbers and strange symbols all over—not that Kakavasha could read it, but even if he could, all he would understand is that it's some sort of math textbook. ]

[stonehearts]

I thought all books are textbooks. Why's that one so special? And if it's a text book why does it have so many pictures?

( He's just going to sit himself right down next to Veritas, if it's all the same to him. It's a better angle to look at the book from, anyway. )

[curingidiocy]

[ Veritas immediately scooches away from Kakavasha, shifting the book away and glaring at the other kid. ]

I never said it was special. And these aren't pictures, they're graphs. This is a calculus textbook, stupid.

[followyourstar]

[Isn't this kid a little young to be left on his own?

Sure, most of these kids seem to be versions of their fellow Outsiders in their younger days, but even so...

They crouch down next to him with a glance at the textbook he's reading, their disguise still up in case anyone from outside the bubble is able to peer within.]

Hey, um, you doing all right over here? Are you waiting on someone?

[curingidiocy]

[ It's an introductory textbook on calculus, and it looks like the young child is already halfway through the material.

Instead of answering, Veritas nods to the first question and shakes his head at the second. ]

[followyourstar]

[Hm... Even if that's true...

They sit next to him, and after one more glance at the textbook's contents decide that its contents are way too far beyond them.]

I'll just go ahead and sit next to you anyways. I could use the break.

What's your name? I'm Dante.

[They think they have an idea who he is already, though.]

[curingidiocy]

[ The little boy quietly shuffles aside to give more room to Dante as he sits beside him. ]

...Veritas.

1

[saudadist]

[ She almost completely passes by the kid, but something brings Lucy's feet to a screeching halt. She looks over at the boy, head tilted, and a nagging feeling refuses to leave her be.

...wait. That kid. He looks like...

She approaches and stands at a respectable distance to his side so as not to startle him. ]

That's a pretty big book. What's it about?

[curingidiocy]

[ The little child continues to stare down at the book, initially ignoring Lucy. ]

....calculus.

[saudadist]

That's math, huh? Advanced math.

[ She eases down to sitting and takes a small, leaf-wrapped piece of mochi out of her bag. Not holding it out or anything yet since he seems a bit terse. ]

I'm a beginner at it. Got any tips?

[curingidiocy]

[ Tips? She's asking him for tips? He finally looks up at her, observing her curiously. She's a lot older looking than him. A high schooler, maybe? ]

It depends on what you find confusing.

[ Math clicks easily for him, but saying it's obvious isn't helpful. He knows that much, at least. ]

[thighhighs]

[ The girl in front of him is older, by about a year or two, and her hands are on her hips. ] Hey! Why are you reading when there's a festival going on?

[curingidiocy]

[ What a demanding girl. She has the kind of tone that tells him she won't leave him alone easily, so he looks at her with irritation. ]

Because I want to. The festival doesn't interest me.

[thighhighs]

[ She looks back at him with the exact same amount of irritation. ]

Then why are you here? [ She leans forward, squinting at the book's title. ] What are you reading, anyway?

[curingidiocy]

[ That's a very good question, isn't it. He has no idea where he is, to be frank, and no idea how to get home. It should be panic inducing for a child as young as he, but he's got something other children don't have.

He's smart.

And smart people don't panic in unexpected situations. So he's not panicking. ]

Do I need a reason to be here?

[ The festival is noisy, sure, but not overly so from where he's seated. And when he's ready to start searching for a way home, he can get help here. ]

I'm reading a calculus textbook.

[30storieshigh]

[ The smaller... what did the Elder One call them? Humans? Weird name. Anyway, the smaller humans are much less intimidating to Ko-Goji than the adults, for obvious size related reasons. He feels a lot more confident indulging his curiosity with his fellow youngsters.

Which is how this particular boy ends up with a spikey lizard just kind of, hovering behind him, head tilting to one side, then the other, as Ko-Goji tries to figure out what it is he's looking at. There's markings on the strange thing the boy holds but what do they mean?! ]

Kree...?

[ Sorry Ratio, no words right now, just curious lizard chirping. ]

[curingidiocy]

[ Unlike his older counterpart, young Veritas is not so attentive to his surroundings when immersed in his readings, so the soft noise catches him off guard, and when he turns and sees a creature's face inches away, he does the most sensible thing any young child would do in this situation. ]

Ahhh!

[ Yell in surprise and jump away, of course.

Except the heavy book falls off his lap, tangling with his feet, and causes him to trip and hit the ground hard.

Veritas lays there, too stunned by the impact of the fall to continue fleeing. ]

[30storieshigh]

[ A few things can happen when someone tries to bolt from a young critter with predator tendencies. One of those is it decides the runner is something to chase down and bite...

Ko-Goji however leaps back much like Veritas, uttering a "Kreeonk" of surprise. He stands still at alert waiting for what's next, but when the human doesn't move further he decides there's no threat. ]

Ape is hurt?

[ Asked while he steps up to the fallen boy and couches down, nudging Veritas cautiously with his short dinosaury arm. ]

Elder says Ape's kind "squishy", hurt easily.

[curingidiocy]

[ It hurts, and he's certain his knees and palms are bleeding, but he absolutely is not going to cry like some toddler who wants their mama to make the boo-boos better.

He sniffles quietly and sits up, looking down at his torn palms for a moment before starting to pick at the wounds to remove debris. ]

I'm not an ape. I'm a human. Apes are our evolutionary relatives.

[ He hisses when he grabs hold of a particularly deep splinter and stops for a moment. After this he's gotta find a first aid kit to bandage himself... ]

[muttering_and_mumbling]

[Izuku is walking by when the lone child catches his attention. He pauses to watch him a moment and then looks around for signs of any adults nearby that may be a parent or guardian. But no one seems to be paying him any mind and the poor guy seems to be falling asleep. So Izuku comes to kneel down beside him and gently tap his arm.]

Hey there. Are your parents around little guy?

[curingidiocy]

[ The child blinks back awake when his arm is tapped and he stares at Izuki for a moment, as if needing time to process who this unknown teenager is. Then his expression scrunches a bit as he thinks for a moment, before he seemingly lands on a decision. ]

No. But I can take care of myself.

[muttering_and_mumbling]

[What a precocious little guy!]

I'm sure you can. But you probably shouldn't be sleeping out here. Do you know how to get home?

[curingidiocy]

[ Veritas frowns, his entire face scrunching up in a manner that can only be described as cute on a six-year-old's face. ]

I wasn't sleeping!

[ He totally was. ]