synflux | 🎉 TANABATA FESTIVAL 🎊

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🎉 TANABATA FESTIVAL 🎊

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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You're welcome" He says, looking smug as fuck about the whole thing. Little Donnie meanwhile is making a face at the whole display, because it looks like magic and he can't believe an older version of himself would use magic. Instead the younger turtle is going to say nothing and just keep eating, while looking disapproving at this whole thing.

Now with his helmet back on, he relaxes, since he knows it helps keep him from looking too much like a turtle and just a sporty human kid. Well, green skin notwithstanding. He returns to eating more of his takoyaki, though he notices that little Donnie didn't seem to think that it was as cool as he did.

He does a little happy wiggle dance now that he's not stressing about being seen, munching away at his food. After a few more disappear, he's swallowing and asking again. "Do you think we can maybe play some of the games then, D---I mean Shiki."

He repeats the human name a few more times to try and remind himself to use that instead.

"I mean, it might be best if I find my oldest brother first?" He suggests, since it would probably be best to get little Raph back with big Raph. Just in case like, something to do with whatever is going on needs the younger selves to return to the older self. Which is why he's been doing his best to keep an eye on himself.

Which isn't too hard, all things considered. Especially as little Donnie isn't prone to wanting to be in crowds for long, or at all.

"Oh." The little Raph considers this, because there's the little disappointment about not being able to play the games that he's seen, but he was lost earlier...

"Is he lost too?"

"Something like that," he's not just going to admit he doesn't know what Raph looks like as a human so... He's going to just ask.

"Was there a say, big human around you at any point since you got here? Might look a little bit like me?"

"Uhm... well there were a lot of big humans around..." he says, trying to think about it. He wasn't sure what this other big brother might look like...

He finishes up his takoyaki, then the little Raph looks around for somewhere to throw it away, hopping off of the bench to scurry off toward a bin. He goes up on his tiptoes to throw the little paper basket out.

While this is going on, little Donnie is still nibbling away at his own food. While teen Donnie sighs at Raph's answer. He knows what Leo looks like cloaked, but not Raph and well. Right now he's kind of not avoiding, but not actively seeking Leo out.

So as Raph goes to throw out his trash, Donnie thinks. Before coming up with an idea, he stands up on the seat they're using and takes a deep breath.

"Wrestling is fake, and Ghost Bear sucks!" He shouts at the top of his lungs, hoping that that will catch his oldest brother's attention.

Little Raph finishes up throwing away his trash, making sure to clean up since it was a big festival and he's not about to litter, but when he turns back around - big Donnie is shouting. It startles him a little bit, since he knows both Donnies like it when it's quieter, but he goes open mouthed at WHAT he's shouting about.

"It is NOT!!!!" he cries, right back at him as the stompy feets make him stomp back over to Donnie, jutting out his bottom lip. >:C

So far, there isn't any sign of a big human dude coming to do the same though.

"Shhh, Raph." Donnie says, as his younger self makes a face at these shenanigans. As he tries looking out among the people at the festival just to see if anyone has taken notice of him shouting.

Beyond the few people giving him a weird look for doing so, of course.

The amount of pouting and wanting to stomp his feet just makes the little turtle huff as he gets shushed. "But you're wrong!" he whines. Still pouting. >:CCCCCCCCC

There doesn't seem to be much difference in the crowd at first.

Until there's a shift in it, a tall, broad shouldered man with dark hair scanning over the top of people's heads to see what the commotion is about.

Just ignoring little Raph, because he's going to shout something else. He's not sure if regular Raph still holds this against Leo but...

"Boy, Ghost Bear deserved that loss to Leo!" He even cups his hands over his mouth to make it even louder, before he scans the crowd. If he notices the broad shoulder=ed young man, he shows no sign.

Little Raph just pouts even harder, his little hands balling into fists because big Donnie is ignoring him! >:CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

The broad shouldered man steps around a couple that is giving Shiki the stink eye, dressed simply in jeans, tank and a light coat before he's stepping closer, his eyes narrowing.

"That shouldn't have counted as Leo wasn't a recognized wrestler; it was interference."

He also looks Shiki over, recognizing him now from the base. "...also not cool to ditch your brother when he first comes here with these forms, Donatello."

"You don't get a say in that, and you know it."

He's trying to not smirk, but once again his cloak is a betrayer with his emotions. So he brings a hand up and clears his throat.

"I have no idea what you're talking about?"

The little Raph ducks behind Shiki's legs, not wanting to get caught by another human.

Even if they're both cloaked in the human forms, it's pretty obvious that the big brother is not happy - with how his brows narrow and the frown remains. The telltale arms across his broad chest are plenty of body language for him. He knows his brother's a terrible liar, but this is already annoying.

"Sure. Whatever, Donnie."

And he turns away to see about going back to the festival.

"... you're really going to ditch yourself here?" He has to bring it up, with how the little Raph is hiding behind him now. While little Donnie is finally going to speak up.

"Surprised he didn't just hit you," the young turtle mutters. Because if he was in Raph's shoes he'd totally hit his older self.

The question makes him look back. "What are you on about?"

Before he hears the familiar whisper and looks to the bench. Spotting the little hoodie wearing turtle with glasses.

"...what the...?"

Donnie is just going to gesture at little Raph while Raph is gawking at his little self. Who is going to try to make himself smaller now.

"Shenanigans, Raph."

The little turtle looks up at Donnie when he gets gestured at to come around, so he steps out and fidgets a little, not sure what's going on. Instead he's reaching for Donnie's fingers to try and hold onto them.

There's no denying that's a LITTLE Donnie trying to hide, so he turns away to not stare and put pressure on the obvious kid, then realizes there's a little him kind of half hiding around Donnie's legs.

"...okay, this is odd, but they shouldn't be out here--" Though he frowns. "So you started hollering to get my attention rather than just text me to meet you here?"

"Look, it's the first idea that came to me."

Also he wasn't sure if Raph would answer his text? And he's letting the little Raph get a hold of his hand as well.

"Anyway, you're like... Good with kids?" The fact Donnie hasn't lost either of them is a good thing. But also, little kids.

The little Raph curls his fingers around Donnie's hand, watching the really big human and not understanding that it's actually him. He keeps his mouth shut and tips the helmet down to make sure his face isn't seen. They're supposed to be hiding from humans.

"So you want to foist them on me so you don't have to help or watch them?"

"No? Just it's better to have more hands on deck with, whatever this is?"

Look, Donnie can handle his little self. He knows how he works, Raph is a mystery to him. Even now, he doesn't exactly understand his oldest brother some days. But he does mean it, that he thinks it'd be better if they stuck together.

"I'm not trying to pull a Leo here," he adds, as if that will make everything better.

It takes a second before he's looking at both kids, considering what he should do about it, but given that they only had each other at that age - he can't really deny that whatever the hell is going on is probably something he should help with.

Little Raph looks up at the bigger Donnie, not sure what he means about Leo, but glances when the new big human lowers himself down to one knee so he doesn't seem so big. He squeezes Donnie's fingers a little, but listens as the man addresses him.

"Hey bud," Raph starts, voice gentle. "I'm El. How are you?"

"...m'okay..." Little Raph answers, quieter than usual. "...though D--Shiki said mean things about Ghost Bear..."

El? Really? Donnie bites back making a comment on Raph's human name, not the time or place for it. And while all this is going on, little Donnie has finished his own food and just kind of stares at his brother and this big human.

Judging Raph, in case he does anything to his brother the little soft shell will do something.

Raph doesn't do anything but just talk to this little version of himself, which is strange in its own right, but from what he's been seeing around the networks from his own attempts at understanding how the world works here - things just...get weird sometimes.

He keeps his voice gentle, just smiling a little. "Oh yeah? Well, he must have known that I was nearby and that I'd come over if I heard him say that stuff. I'm a big fan too."

That makes the little Raph perk up. "R-Really??? He's the best!"

He chuckles, not about to tell this little version of himself that Ghost Bear was a villain now. "He sure is. How are you liking the festival so far?"

The earlier nerves seem to disappear when the little Raph starts bouncing a little bit on his toes. "It's been---well kind of fun! I was lost earlier but D--ImeanShiki--found me and Donnie and we just got a snack which was tasty and crunchy and I liked it. I asked if we could do games and stuff but Shiki said only maybe later but I really want to because there's other kids around and it looks fun but I don't know if we should because there's lots of people around and and and---"

Raph listens though, not even batting an eyelash at it. "And you want to go try with your brother?"

"YES. I think it would be fun--well if Donnie wants to--we don't...have to if he doesn't want to..."

He knew finding Raph was a good idea, as the teen Donnie sits down now and watches the two Raph's talk. Honestly speaking though, he's kind of worn out. Mostly from just trying to keep an eye on his younger self, which might show on his face at he watches the two talk, not interjecting.

No, it's the little Donnie that speaks up after the Raph's are done talking.

"You can do what you want, you don't need to be around me." the youngest turtle here says.

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