🎉 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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Choso | JJK | Revelation

[gimu]

01. The Wishing Trees

[ set up in a veritable forest of potted bamboo, a booth sits bright and proud like a beacon. stacks of paper strips and various wonky origami shapes decorate the table top like offerings, accompanied by several boxes proudly on display filled to the brim with pens and markers of every thinkable size, thickness, colour, and (yes) scent. (the scented markers seem to be pushed a little to the forefront more than the others, like a hint.)

manning the table is one (1) weird guy, eyes ringed like he hasn’t slept in a year but looking Determinedly Welcoming despite everything. when asked, he will launch into an obviously-rehearsed explanation of the whole wish-making deal before foisting you, dear wisher, on the nearby posters and signage designed to teach you of a cosmic love tale so he need not have to talk more. please. read it. he begs of you. ]

Do you want to make a wish? I can hold you up to the taller branches if you want.

[ unless you’re a pest and shaped like one (1) Gojo Satoru, in which case Choso’s smile will disappear altogether just for you, bastard. ]

02. Fireworks

[ the evening of the first day finds Choso out and about to enjoy the festival in full. content that the festival-goers can write on some paper by themselves, he’s taken to wandering and exploring the various booths set up.

perhaps he may he found amongst the food stalls, drifting from one vendor to the other with a steadily increasing number of snacks and faire foods accumulating in his arms.

perhaps he’s out by the games, trying (and failing) to catch a goldfish with a paper net that looks absurdly tiny in his big paws, or hefting a rubber ball while he sizes up prizes at a throwing game booth.

or perhaps he’s up on one of the nearby hills, pausing in his wanderings to watch the fireworks beginning to light up the warm night skies.

the night is long, and full of possibility. how will you approach? ]

03. Bygone Fragments

[ the second day dawns slow and sluggishly sweet, weighted by the temperatures promised by the coming day; Choso loves and hates the inescapable heat in equal measure, greets it with warmth even as he accepts with great resignation that he must be out in it for the sake of the festival. the price of love was sacrifice; for Yuji, he would battle the Neo Tokyo summer and sacrifice the comfort of LILITH’s HVAC system. such was life.

for all that he was prepared to meet the day, the bubble of Yuji’s domain nevertheless proves to be everything he wasn’t expecting.


the second day finds Choso… nowhere to be found, actually. he is not out and about like he had been the previous day, his place at the wish-making booth left empty. the streets hold no sign of him or his strange urchin odango.

but wait, listen: there on the very edge of hearing, an attentive ear might pick up the soft susurrus of conversation, as if a great group were talking, whispering amongst themselves. where could it be?

perhaps it’s over there; in following the murmuring, one might find themselves at a ramshackle shrine set between equally ramshackle buildings, their facades cracked and peeling from their years of neglect. listen: the voices are near. down one side of the old shrine stretches a faded and narrow alley, more path than pavement, leading to a quiet and shaded space overgrown with grasses and weeds in wild profusion, lit only by what light reflects off the surrounding buildings.

in that space sits Choso, and surrounding him sit nine sealed glass cylinders, and as you, interloper, as you draw closer the whispering seems to fade below the threshold of hearing into a murmuring that could be voices as much as it is the breeze stirring the grass, the leaves, the flaking paint. here in this clearing it is only Choso’s voice that remains audible, a soft and unceasing murmur as steady as a litany, as clear as mud. whatever words he speaks aren’t for you: they are for the nine jars and the things within.

take a closer look, won’t you? the things within are looking back. nine foeti in their little glass prisons, arranged in a semicircle before Choso, varying in size and colour and shape and none of them truly human in any capacity. they don’t move at all but the sensation of being watched, of being acknowledged by all nine is as powerful as nine sets of eyes turning to look at you, at you, visitor, intruder, guest.

what will you do in this hallowed place? ]

03.

[eyescar]

[ Yuji finds him, even small.

A small body tumbles into the space, eyes wide and searching as he looks around, takes in the sight of Choso, the cylinders, a tilt of his head and a moment of confusion. It feels wrong to be here, he thinks, but it feels just right, too, his small body walking over and lifting his hand in an awkward little wave. ]

Sorry... I...

[ Why does this feel so... Right? ]

I'm here too.

[gimu]

[ Yuji is here too, and all his brothers acknowledge him simultaneously. as Choso’s head lifts, the whispers in the grass and the trees seem to intensify, like a gust of wind to herald the arrival of the youngest of them all.

he can put two and two together, can connect Yuji’s sorcery with these phenomena without difficulty. more than that, he can recognize Yuji in any form, any shape.

Choso smile warmly, and holds out a hand. ]

It’s okay. Hello, Yuji; do you want to greet your brothers?

[eyescar]

Brothers?

[ The small figure stumbles closer, toddling over as he leans down to look at the cylinders, his eyes widening a little as he reaches out to take Choso's hand.

It feels right.

He feels safe, here. ]

Hi, onii-chans... I'm Yuji. It's nice to meet you.

[gimu]

[ is this what the heavenly realm is like? for the first time since he incarnated, Choso feels truly, entirely surrounded by his family.

so he takes that little hand, and he urges the little shade of Yuji to sit down beside him as his other sweeps out to encompass the little clearing and its occupants. (with the prosthetic arm; he cannot bring himself to touch this vision with it.) ]

They— we are so happy to meet you. We have waited a long time.

[ better to look ahead, at all what has been granted, rather than to dwell on the mechanics that have made this meeting possible. the time for questions could come later. ]

We have all wanted to keep you company.

oo1. the wishing tree

[gorb]

( It's entirely possible Choso is talking to some other person, someone slight and sweet who titters at the offer and flees, but there is brick shithouse Geto Suguru nearby, his own wish held between painted fingertips - purple, like Choso said and an opportunity present. He looks over, something mischievous in his fox-like face, eyelashes fluttering in a playful approximation of a person batting them. )

Oh? Will you?

( Absolute fucking bitch. )

I'm very heavy, Choso-chan.

( Monstrous. )

1/2

[gimu]

[ so entrenched in this role is Choso that for a long moment he doesn’t see Geto, doesn’t register his presence at all until the man speaks and even then it takes that extra bit of time to fully spark. ]

If you require the help—

2/2

[gimu]

[ ah, wait. it’s this bitch.

instantaneously, Choso’s expression shifts accordingly. ]

I may be capable but even that will crush me.

[gorb]

That?

( A sniff, offended. Is it the shorts? )

Don't you like my outfit? I thought it suited me.

[gimu]

Not the outfit.

[ horrifyingly, mortifyingly, Choso’s gaze drifts Down to Derrier-territory. ]

01

[lostdestiny]

What if I wish for you to get some sleep? [ Shinn says skeptically, looking at those dark circles. He picks a pen up and wags it threateningly -- yeah, could write that bad boy down any second. ]

[gimu]

[ now this one… seems vaguely familiar. was this not one of those neurotic robot riders? the pen waggling receives one whole raised brow for the effort. ]

Then I shall have no choice but to grant it immediately. The power you wield is surprisingly immeasurable here.

[lostdestiny]

[ Less neurotic and more high-strung, but sure. ]

Hah? This is just some kiddie thing.

[ That's his recollection from a quasi-Japanese childhood, anyway -- something fun, but not something to be taken seriously. ]

[gimu]

Aaaaah? Are you calling Yuji’s hard work and dedication a ‘kiddy thing’?

[ not that Choso is angry, maybe. or is he? it’s hard to tell, but he’s sitting upright now, and his stare could possible drill holes in soft wood if one were inclined to try it out. ]

01

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou is hoping to do this fast, to sneak in a wish while his summon is distracted and hopefully doesn't notice his presence too strongly. He selects an unassuming, slim piece of yellow paper, and grabs a calligraphy brush and some ink. He writes his wish with his precise and unmistakable handwriting, even adding a quick doodle.

He's not fast enough, though. When Choso approaches him, Raidou is looking for a spot for his wish, somewhere back and up high to hide it amongst the others. He hasn't quite found the right spot, so when Choso gets closer, he stops and holds his wish close to his chest in a subtle motion.]

Ah. I think I'm okay. Just... looking for the perfect spot.

[gimu]

[ Raidou’s great mistake is in thinking that Choso wouldn’t pick him out in a crowd at two hundred paces, but he is right in that Choso is distracted; he’s too busy to approach right away, preoccupied as he is with loading a spiky blond guy up with information and materials. only once the bird-head has fled does Choso find himself the time to go sniffing Raidou out. ]

The perfect spots are higher up, I’d think, but you’re quite short. I could launch you up there if it’s dignity you’re worried about.

[ how is Summoner-tossing more dignified?! ]

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou blinks at him, because standing here in his festival geta, he's practically as tall as Choso.]

... I'm not that short, Choso -san. And let's not go with tossing me up there. I'm more likely to ruin others wishes that way. Is there, um, something I could use as a step stool?

2.

[bawlsy]

[ She's even tinier, lost among the legs of the adults around her, looking unconcerned as she gazes up at the stall in front of her that's selling, among other things, chocolate covered bananas. Her eyes are wide, and her hair is extremely familiar, golden blonde and piled onto her head in her signature odango, though the twin tails are looped to keep them from dragging on the ground. She's about to take a step towards the stall when an adult who doesn't notice her walks past, knocking her over with a soft thud and keeps going.

The little Usagi sits up on her knees, face crumpling, sniffing once, twice and then—

bursts into tears. ] Owie!!

[gimu]

[ festivals, as Choso has learned, are loud and confusing affairs. people mill everywhere, coming and going and most chatting all the way through, such that the cacophony blurs out into a sea of noise, static and, ultimately, nothing worth Choso’s attention.

yet despite all this, in spite of the drone of innumerable voices, this little rabbit’s cry draws Choso in.

perhaps it was lucky, that he had chosen to leave his brothers’ hallowed little alley for now. his wanderings had brought him here, close enough to hear, close enough to help. ]

What happened?

[ a heavy presence settles in at little Usagi’s side; large creature that he is, he hunkers right down, knees to his chest and shoulders bowed to make himself small, a hand held out to her with palm up as in in offering. ]

Are you hurt?

[bawlsy]

[ A hiccup. And big sniffle. The person at her side is warm, and big, and maybe a little scary but he's not that scary if she really thinks about it. ]

I fell. And my knee hurts.

[gimu]

[ she is so familiar, it isn’t hard at all to place a name to the little face. it’s the hair, the way big eyes glitter even in the gloaming. her simple tears make something ache deep in his chest, but he makes himself be patient anyway, hand still held out with palm up. ]

I am not very good at fixing others, but I can take you to someone who is.

[ he speaks slow, and as gently as he can, as he imagines others might to a small and shivering animal. ]

May I help you, little one?

3; i couldn't decide....

[bawlsy]

[ She doesn't find him at the stall or among the food stalls, the soft murmur reaching her ears as she hesitates at the edge of the festival. Slowly, she follows the sound towards the alleyway next to the old shrine, her steps becoming more careful as she descends the path towards the noise. It feels dark, here, despite the faint light and she tries to be quiet as she watches, but her step takes a wrong turn and the crack of a snapped twig echoes through the area, overtaking his words.

The creatures in the jars all turn to look at her and Usagi flushes, taking a step back, suddenly more aware than ever that she's the uninvited interloper here, and she raises a hand in apology. ]

Ah.. I'm sorry. I just heard you talking, and...

choso has two hands for all the usagi

[gimu]

[ listen: the conversation still continues in the voices of the wind and the leaves and the grass underfoot, a constant susurrus of noise that carries on even when Choso stops to lift his head up to greet this newcomer.

look: how sleepy eyes widen and his expression lights up from within, like a candle rekindled, like warm lights at home flicked on in welcome. ]

That’s okay, you’re okay.

[ a big hand held out in invite. ]

Hello, Usagi. Would you like to join us?

[ us, us, this arrangement of jars and peculiar contents. ]

[bawlsy]

[ There's hesitation, but. She knows Choso — she trusts him. Her gaze drops to the jars and then back to her friend and she takes his hand, moving to settle down next to him. ]

Are you... talking to them?

[gimu]

[ how small her hand is in his, dwarfed against his palm that guides her to sit with a great care. gratitude bubbles up like a spring; that he even has this chance to introduce them is nothing short of a miracle. ]

I am. It is what we had always done, back then, though not in words like you or I know now.

[ he gestures, a sweeping hand to encompass the lot of them; nine, bizarre and strange and floating suspended in their little glass prisons. ]

These are my brothers: Eso, Kechizu, Noranso, Sho-oso, Tanso, Sanso, Kotsuso, and Shoso.

[ as he speaks, he points out each one, but only eight of them he names. ]