🎉 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

[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.]

[blastedass]

[What, did Yato think Katsuki was gonna go easy on him because he was a kid? You should see his interaction with kids in the remediation class. He was yelling the hell at them and threatening them with violence for correction. All with the rationale of "That's how I was raised!" ... which gives some arched brows to his mother's punishment techniques... or Katsuki is simply being his melodramatic self.

His brow twitches in mild pissed off when a tongue shoves out at him; this goddamn brat...!]

Stop fishing for bugs, damn chameleon. [Tongue thing. And he's not letting him off the hook for a tantrum. Small as it was, still there. Katsuki's not gonna praise someone who just got lucky! (Unless he's in the mood. He is not in the mood.) Red eyes narrow as Yato steps up to the proverbial plate again.

And wham, even closer. Definite improvement and skill.]

Hn. Bet you're better than anyone here, huh.

[intertwinedfates]

[That Katsuki isn't one to be lenient is something Yato is quickly (re)learning, though it's true that him pushing the kid to try harder and do better means he's improving more than he might have had he not had such tough encouragement. Though that's hardly going to stop him from being a kid.

And a punk, it's true. He's always had a naughty streak, apparently...]

Chameleons are cool, so there! And if I was hunting for bugs, I'd eat you first, pest! [wOW, watch what you say, tiny god?? At least he's easily distracted by making his second attempt, and then a third, getting just a smidge closer still. Turning back to Katsuki, he braces both hands on his hips and puffs out his chest.]

Of course! 'm a god! No mortal can best me!

[blastedass]

[Not like he's been so concerned with kids he's been forced to deal with. Whether it was the kids in the remediation class or those two brats from the island Nine attacked. Some people think kids need to be coddled and protected from all harm. Katsuki's not that kind of person. Kids are gonna get messy, hurt, and had better learn to suck it to get stronger. Life doesn't care to hold their hand all the time. Or hide hard truths.]

You couldn't eat me if you fucking tried, brat. [The sheer amount of jaw unhinging is disgusting. Katsuki watches each arrow land its mark, improving over and over. He'll be hitting the bullseye within half an hour.]

Uh-huh. [Katsuki hold his hand out.] Hand it over.

[intertwinedfates]

[There's some merit to Katsuki's method of dealing with kids. They're gonna get scraped knees and bumped heads, bruised and battered through play and accidents. They need to be tough enough to handle some mishaps, it's true. What matters is making sure they get support to know they can weather pain and tough situations and still come out on top.]

Betcha I could! Rawr! [He holds up both hands in a clawing gesture, apparently going for more monster than chameleon. But he's laughing all the same. The idea of eating someone is so silly.]

Try not to miss, grandpa! [Yeah, he's going there. But he's passing the bow over just the same before folding his hands behind his head to watch.]

[blastedass]

[He gives them that kind of support, but it's ironically backwards. By telling them to get up and stop crying, he's no demanding them do something he knows they can't do. Grumpy as he is, Katsuki tells them to rely on the strength they have inside already and push through it. Is it the healthiest way to deal with trials? Hell no! But it's how he was raised and what he does.]

You'd blow your stomach up.

[Technically HE'D be the one blowing it up, but swallowing a grenade's asking to get detonated from inside out. Katsuki takes the bow when passe-]

SHUT UP! YOU'RE OLDER THAN ME, SHITTY BRAT!!

[He knows this to be true. But takes his place at the stand and hefts the bow. It's not a child's bow. Good. Give him a few seconds to adjust to the weight and check the tension strength of its bowstring. Weight of the arrow... length... Katsuki lifts it and lowers his arms and the bow to a settled position, other arm drawing he arrow back in a smooth motion at the same time. Been a while since he's done archery, but physical things stick with him...

*thumph!*

Not a bullseye, but he lands his arrow right beside one of Yato's close-to-the-center ones.] Tch!