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yuji "old man whisperer" itadori. ([personal profile] eyescar) wrote in [community profile] synflux2025-07-17 06:34 pm

🎉 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.
    30storieshigh: (80)

    [personal profile] 30storieshigh 2025-08-19 08:41 pm (UTC)(link)
    [ Not too long ago someone saying "kaiju" when making any relation to Godzilla was a sure fire way to make the big guy's mood turn ugly and send his warning lights flashing. But lately? He's a lot more chill. The only hint of annoyance at the word is a minor twitch at the corner of his mouth. ]

    Perhaps. Assurance however can be provided, myself's scale whilst under the influences of the rifts was much unlike my true self.

    [ Just going to leave out the fact that it was smaller, huh big guy?]

    Hmm. A compromising solution of immediacy. The simulated room of training LILITH provides can be made to replicate such battles in a safe fashion. Pilot Dearka and myself have oft made usage of this, perhaps you would find enjoyment and value in joining. One would welcome the challenge of two of your faker machines against myself.
    egraegis: (87)

    [personal profile] egraegis 2025-08-22 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [Wow, such growth. Athrun would be so impressed if he had a single clue it was a problem.

    As for the suggestion, huh. He's intrigued.]


    Sure, we can do that. Maybe not for a while, though. We're going to be busy doing repairs and improvements to get everything ready for the next attack, inevitably. But the modifications would at least make for a more interesting fight, once they're done.
    30storieshigh: (75)

    [personal profile] 30storieshigh 2025-08-27 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
    Ah, modification? One finds it commendable you are not content to assume martial and technical peaking of capacity. Your kind oft find themselves put upon the wrong foot when possessing weaponry of significant advancement.

    [ While the adults talk about whatever boring thing they're talking about, Ko-Goji wanders back over to his food and starts to... well, devour. Lots of chomping, crunching, and excited growling noises. It's like watching a hyperactive alligator have lunch.

    The adult Godzilla glances down and casually places his own left overs in front of his tiny double before he continues. ]


    A confession, I have begun to hold curiosity into the workings of your machines. Old biases until recent timing made the finer points a thing inconsiderate, they were simply threats to eventually find themselves crushed. [ That nuclear power, bro. He can't stand it. ] However as of current, myself would hold interest in learning of the care of such weaponry. If you find yourself in need of aid in such I am of willing capacity to provide it, should you be of willing candor to provide tutelage.

    [ Godzilla just... really likes weapons, actually, okay? Gun cleaning and sword care are hid favorite hobbies, adding mobile suit maintenence to that skill set seems a decent enough idea to pass time. ]
    egraegis: (139)

    [personal profile] egraegis 2025-08-31 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
    Oh- yeah, actually, that would be good. The list of people who can do maintenance and that we could trust with it is pretty short, but it would be dangerous if something happened to enough of us pilots and they needed repair in a hurry.

    [Sort of like what just happened to several of them...]

    If you want to join me on some of those modification sessions, I could use an extra pair of hands, and I can show you some of the mechanical systems. I'll check with the others, of course. It's their machines I'll be working on.

    [If not, well. Z'Gok is going to need plenty of repairs before the armour is workable around Justice again, so he can go that route instead.]
    30storieshigh: (83)

    [personal profile] 30storieshigh 2025-08-31 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
    Of course. One would not expect to be involved in the care of weaponry another's life depends upon without that individual's knowledge and approval.

    [ This is by far the most reasonable stance Godzilla has ever taken on the mobile suits. Maybe he'll stop sneaking naps on them after this too.

    Probably not though. ]


    I hold myself appreciative to the opportunity of this learning however. You have my thanks, Pilot Athrun.
    egraegis: (153)

    [personal profile] egraegis 2025-09-01 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Probably not Yzak's. Definitely not Shinn's. He'll check in with Dearka and Cagalli...]

    It's no trouble. We're all here to help each other in this world. I'd be foolish not to accept a genuine offer to learn.

    [He's trusting you, bro...!]