🎉 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

[photosympathies]

It's -. ( He pauses, but then he starts laughing. Can't quite help it. ) You don't see the resemblance, huh?

( Never mind. He just gets both Vash's peering at him, the eldest one through orange tinted glasses and the younger with those strange blue eyes. He definitely seems more wary of Bakugo though, even though he blinks when he's asked a question, flushing. The explosion. Tentative, but bolder by the second. It looked fun. I've never seen someone do that before. Apart from that one time Rem exploded the kitchen. Another immediate laugh, Vash's eyes crinkling. )

Oh god, that was funny. She was so panicked.

( Poor Rem, not really knowing how to cook. )

Which kid are you looking for, Bakuboom?

[blastedass]

Stop laughing! There's not a damn resemblance except it makes light!

[Of course explosions make light! And yes, he's used his Quirk as a lantern in the darkness before. Still ticks him off if someone describes it so "nicely" to another person. Ugh. He cracks his knuckles out of frustration, then shoves one hand into his pocket when the smaller boy addresses him. Must be Vash when he was younger... He can see the resemblance... somewhat.]

How the hell did he blow up a kitchen? [This one more pointed to Vash, but both can answer. Still, he turns his un-pocketed hand over, palm up, fingers curled, and a quick flurry of explosions-- boomb-boombubomboombom! --crackles around his hand like so many little grenades going off in quick succession.]

A little shit who looks like me. [Yeah, he's got his own squirt running around the place.]

[photosympathies]

( Tiny Vash makes several excitable, awed noises. It's pretty, even if Bakugo would rather it not be described in such a way, and it's enough of a focal point that the everything of the festival doesn't overwhelm him too much. Even the older, more used to it Vash makes an appreciative sound before he fixes the brightest of smiles on his friend. ) She was just really bad at cooking. I don't think she expected having kids on the ship. Nai refused to eat whatever she made for a while, but he didn't need it as much as I did.

( Vash Jr. perks up at the mention of his brother, pipes up sometimes he eats if I ask him to! )

We should bully him less, maybe. But we don't have to worry about that right now, huh? We've got a kid to find. I'm coming with. A tiny Bakuboom? I want to meet him. Let's go.

[blastedass]

[He does not! Though he has one technique and one trick that are. Bakugo isn't going to do this for too long, mostly because there are other people around and they're starting to notice. Reactions ranging from "cool" to "BOMB!" and nobody wants that last one sending a festival stampede out the exits. He cuts his explosions and drops his smoking hand to the side before anything gets too attentive.]

Was it a gas stove? [Honestly more curious about "how" she blew the kitchen up, unless Vash meant she only burned some food. Kids and their wild descriptions.] Hmph, and she eventually won him over, huh.

[It's sad, knowing how far apart the brothers grew. Being an only child, Bakugo would never have the reference. But he knows people who have siblings. Seeing them close or far... it brings different reactions.]

If it makes him eat, bully him into the ground. [BAD INFLUENCE BAKUGO!!] Ugh, you don't have to meet him, just tell me when you spot him!

[His small self is embarrassing!]

[photosympathies]

He doesn't need to.

( Eat, he means. ) He's not like we are. And she didn't actually explode anything. That would be pretty bad on a space ship. ( There was a lot of noise though, and all that stuff fell over. ) Yeah, it was real loud.

( He's going to cart his younger self around, spinning in a circle to scan the crowd. )

No, I want to! A tiny you. I have to. And maybe these two can hang out. We haven't met any other kids before. ( At this age. ) Besides Nai, and that doesn't count.

[blastedass]

[So Vash needed to eat, but Knives didn't? Bakugo holds back on questions since the little one's there and he doesn't want any sordid details coming out about the older brother's result.]

Hmph, thought so. You should show your kid the skills you picked up.

[There are plenty of food stalls around here Vash could probably demonstrate some flipping or other little cooking tricks. Brag to his past self. Bakugo drifts to the right, heading for the games. Knowing himself, his kid version's probably trying to win all the prizes and get all the praise.]

Ugh. I wasn't that small, dammit! [Stop making him out to be some munchkin! ... Even if he barely comes up to his own thighs now. Noted on the "no friends" part.]

[photosympathies]

Oh right! I can cook.

( The younger version of himself gives him a look of such disbelief though, brows furrowing as Vash starts laughing again. Ah, it's funny. ) I can! Bakugo taught me. And besides, you're going to work in a diner at some point, so you'll know to.

( I don't know what that is, Jr. says, and Vash hums, is interrupted before he can continue, You can put me down now. ) Oh, right.

( He does so immediately, watching as the smaller version of himself straightens out his tunic. Maybe the contact has helped with the overwhelm, who knows? He turns to Bakugo What do you look like? I'm good at finding things. Vash shrugs, helpless in the background. )

Maybe he'll manage it. If they're both at the same eyeline.

[blastedass]

How do you forget that?!

[Not that Vash would be spilling out a year of his life to his younger self on instinct with all the details privy. Bakugo threads through some more people before breaking out into an open lane. He pauses, waiting for Vash and co's catching up, then starts walking about.]

You worked in a diner?

[As in, actual work? Not whoops I poured my own beer or bussed my own table cause I'm nice and want to avoid attention? Bakugo glances back when the younger Vash is set on his feet. Oh yeah, his little self is definitely not that tall... Then again, Vash is taller than him anyways.

Wait- what does he look like?!]

You're looking at me! [Is that even a question?! Ugh.] Me but younger.

leaving the other one where it is bc it's a nice stop but ilthem they're such buddies

[photosympathies]

Oh, yeah. A couple'a times. Have to make money somehow, right? Usually I'd just fill some sickness vacancies, get some double-dollars in my pocket and move on. I told you I could fry a good egg, right? But it was the other stuff I didn't know how to do.

( The younger version sticks by them, pale eyes swinging wildly from stall to stall. Unfortunately in a move befitting all children, he stage-whispers to his older self is his kid going to be just as noisy? Vash makes a spasming little noise in response, desperate. )

Hey. ( To Bakugo. ) Sorry, we haven't really spoken to a lot of people. Just Rem, and Nai, and the rare awake scientist. ( They're always really busy, and Rem says we have to stay quiet so they don't ask too many questions. ) Yeah, so we have not got people skills yet.

( Hey.

A mimic of himself earlier. Nai does all the talking for us anyway. )

no prob! *tags it to oblivion* they are amazing buddies!

[blastedass]

Here or back home?

[Decent enough question knowing what he does of Vash's life in his world. He's assuming it's in No Man's Land, since Vash has more permanent opportunities here if he wants them. Mostly working in the orphanage as Bakugo's aware. Kaiju fighting and monthly pensions can carry an Outsider through the month if they're good at budgeting.]

Che, I bet you could fry eggs almost anywhere in your world.

[The adage of frying an egg on the sidewalk or car hood. Bakugo instantly snaps a glare towards the little shit whispering at Vash about him. What, you think he didn't hear that?! But Vash covers before he can comment.]

Hmph. You can get your fill of new people today then. Be as loud as you want, ask whatever you want.

[Hell yes he's freeing your kid, Vash! If it gets the blonde into embarrassing situations, well... suck it up!

LOOK AT THAT!! I GOT IT!! That's so cool! Guess who's over there at the pop gun stall.]

[photosympathies]

Home. And you can. I've absolutely fried one on the hood of Roberto's truck before. ( A grin, amused. Bakugo turns to his younger self, and his gruff response makes that smile turn a little sweeter, watching as it clearly flusters Vash Jr. ) See, told you we were friends.

( Whatever response is about to come gets cut off short by the nearby yelling, both Vash's turning towards it. Is that him? Contagious excitement, the younger version immediately starts veering off through the crowd. )

Whu -? I thought we were shy!

( Oh well, time for them to follow. )

[blastedass]

Hope you cleaned it first. [Otherwise, disgusting. Bakugo's normally not good with kids. Usually by choice and reaction. They annoy him almost all the damn time! As Vash knows. His attitude and disposition either scares them or sets them off, meaning he has to deal with MORE antics! But there are some... exceptions.]

Oy. [Don't teach your kid to say weird things, Undercut. He's gonna start going around introduction Bakugo as "Vash's friend" and the blonde's gonna get pissed. He says.]

Oy! [This time, mirroring Vash's tone, one hand reaching out before Bakugo stalks off after the smaller blonde.] Dammit, keep a hand on him!

[Too late now. And yep, as he expected. A much smaller version of Bakugo is propped up on a stool with his little rifle, happy and excited as the man behind the counter pins up another few balloons.

Watch this! I'm gonna get five in a row!]

[photosympathies]

I didn't think he'd go running.

( Except, that's all Vash ever does, so really if anyone should have been prepared -. They catch up, it's fine. The younger Stampede is watching Bakugo Jr. with all the impressed awe of a very, very sheltered child, his voice pitched in excitement. He's like a cowboy! Meanwhile, the older one swings a little closer to the Bakugo he knows, delight evident. )

Look at you! You're so small. I could pick you up one handed! Cute!

( He wants to pinch his cheeks. Maybe he will. He'd risk getting bitten. )

[blastedass]

YOU'RE ALWAYS RUNNING!!

[Okay, so maybe not here all the time, but during missions, he's seen Vash more commonly go helter skelter than any other movement. Not like he and Vash have an issue caching up with... ugh, yep. There he is. Tiny version of himself all grins and happiness over handling a "big adult gun" even though it's just a stupid pop gun.

Hearing someone compare him to a cowboy piques him, because Bakugo Jr. quickly turns around with a grin. I'm gonna be just like Snipe! Watch this! And proceeds to start firing again, even going "Bang bang bang!" with each shot.

Bakugo stops next to Vash... looking completely pissed off and mortified, teeth grit and eyes burning.]

URUSEI!! EVERYONE'S SMALL AT ONE POINT!!

[Bitty's not the one Vash needs to worry about getting bitten by...]

[photosympathies]

( His laughter comes easy, unworried. )

Am I not allowed to say the baby you is cute? Come on, don't you think they both are? ( The younger version of himself has been inching closer to the booth, and therefore the smaller Bakugo, apparently starry eyed with his skill and enthusiasm. Vash beams, helplessly. ) Maybe they'll be best friends. That sounds fun. There weren't any other kids on the ships, it was just me and Nai, I sometimes wonder if that's what we both missed when we were born.

( The younger him slides closer, watchful. Who's Snipe? )

[blastedass]

He's not cute, dammit!

[He is cute and Bakugo's not gonna admit it because dammit, he's not! Now if he wants to call Vash's kid cute, that's Bakugo's privilege, and Vash can yell at him if he thinks it's weird. (He would never yell at "cute" applied to him.)

Grumbles and mutters vibrate from his scowl as he remains parked beside Vash, watching the two younger boys interact.

Aww, wait'll I'm done. You're gonna distract me. In that whiny pouty kid voice. But focus he does, and score! Once again, all three in a row. He's a super cool hero! His Quirk lets him guide his projectiles to his target, so there's no way they can escape him! Eagerly looking at Vash Jr. and chatting up a storm with pride.]

Maybe. People need more than one or two in order to grow.

[photosympathies]

( Wait, like this? Vash Jr. says, miming a whole series of explosions, hands slapping together in a loud crack. The older Vash cringes a little, but that's fine. It's nice. He might have liked other kids. )

I probably would've been jealous. ( A laugh. ) If there were other children. I was clingy with my brother, and he was better at talking to people. I just followed him around. ( Awful that the roles reversed so dramatically with Vash only wanting to run, and run, and run. ) Younger you seems really good at it. Maybe you and Nai would have been friends. He wanted to play cowboys a lot.

( Miming a gun with his metal hand, affecting an aim. )

I wanted to play house. Dumb, right?

[blastedass]

[No way! It's like this! Before putting his hand in the shape of a gun and "Bang bang bang!" And then the bullets track his target! They could even duck behind a barrel and it'd pop them right on the butt! See? It's awesome.

Bakugo looks like he's ready to ditch the two and go find something to drown his face in...]

Then you would've learned a hard lesson. [Brothers tend to be clingy for a while, but one of them eventually begins to branch out before the other. That's what he's heard. And sooner or later, they'll go their separate ways, some further apart than others. Bakugo clicks his tongue in annoyance when Vash compliments him.]

You liked what you liked. [The idea of Nai playing cowboys while Vash played house isn't surprising, given what he knows of the brothers.] You took after Ren more.

[photosympathies]

( I've never seen a real gun before, pipsqueak pipes up, and Vash is briefly glad for the drape of his coat. It's already weird enough. No need to explain to himself that he's a gunslinger now.

Still, his face creases into a gentle smile, voice dropping to exlude the smaller ones. He does not want grief to touch things here. )

Haha. She wasn't very good at it either. But back then I thought she was great, that she was a natural. Looking back she just did her best. It's not like she expected to find two kids on the spaceship. We weren't even meant to exist. And she was young. So young. Maybe I get my can-do attitude from here though.

[blastedass]

[This one's not real. It's like an airgun. See? Little Bakugo holds the item out for Vash to look at. It'll pop a balloon but won't really hurt anyone. He sounds so sure and proud of himself, while also assuring the blonde it's gonna be all okay. You can trust him!]

Doing your best makes it good, right? [Perhaps not in the eyes of the world, or the critical gaze of someone who knows better, but for a boy who knew nothing about it, and adored her, Ren's best was Vash's "very good" ... and that's all he has to focus on.] Don't look down on your memories of her.

[photosympathies]

I'm not!

( A sudden protest even as his younger self sidles up to the booth with more interest. I wanna try! ) I would never. Rem was everything to me. I like that she tried, I just wish she hadn't had to. Maybe if it were someone else -.

( She would have died either way, he knows that. Nai made sure of that. )

Anyway, it's a nice memory. She really wanted to raise us as kids, instead of anything else. We were lucky.

[blastedass]

You were!

[Even small disses implied so! Hmph! Look at them, "bickering" like kids while literal KIDS are over there being best buddies with nary three minutes of interaction between them! Sure! But you gotta hold it steady so you don't drop it. Meaning Vash-chan is gonna get a hands-on show of how to hold the airgun. Careful of the recoil...]

Hmph. She probably thought she was lucky too, getting to raise you.

[He wonders if Rem would agree with Vash's wish she hadn't needed to...]

[photosympathies]

We were happy. All three of us.

( He keeps an eye on their younger selves, wincing a little when smaller Vash almost drops the faux gun. It's fine. He did that a lot in the beginning too. The form's all wrong, he's just not going to bother correcting it. He doubts young him will remember anything outside of this place. He's not even sure it's real,

So, a hum, turning to Bakugo. )

What did mini Bakuboom like to do for fun anyway? Beyond winning festival games.

[blastedass]

Sounds like it.

[Bakugo watches his smaller self catch said gun and hand it back. No yelling, unlike his more adult self. What a change. Just encouraging Vash to hold it better and helps him find out where to place his hands for a better grip. He's a good teacher and pretty encouraging, even if his precocious pride remains in his happy smugness. Definitely gonna warn him of the recoil.]

Tch. Mostly played with the other kids in the neighborhood. Adventured in the forest, conquered the playground, games in the parking lots, everything hero related I could find.

[His gruff voice tries to stay clipped, but a grumpy fondness manages to sneak in.]

[photosympathies]

( The recoil still surprises the younger Vash, but instead of being startled he starts laughing, aim a mile wide. Okay, maybe I'm not good at that. Nai's right, I make a terrible cowboy. )

The forest, huh? I can see that. Did you look at bugs under rocks or were they not fun enough?