Cherry Blossom Festival (May 4-6)

[stringmods]

Who: EVERYONE
Where: Central Park (Capricorn Ward)
Summary: Open - Post-event log for everyone!
Warnings: Nothing

The battle was over, and the city was busy licking its wounds and trying to repair for the next few days. Amidst all of this commotion, however, Golden Week continued and with it, the weekend and next Monday was a day off to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms. And despite the fighting that had been going on, Hinito-Ri continued to adapt, and enjoy what little time that they could.

After all, fighting for such beauty did make you a lot more appreciative of it.



Tens of thousands of trees dotted the park's landscape, but it was the Cherry trees that were the stars of the weekend, the pink petals creating a heavenly smell only enhanced by the small stalls that were busy selling hot yakitori (grilled chicken on sticks), takoyaki (octopus balls on sticks), shioyaki (Salty grilled sea bream on sticks ) and kakigori (Shaved ice with syrup, not on a stick).

The prime picnic places were being taken and families grouped together to eat homemade lunches and bento, but there were still many spots and trees to go under should you wish to do so with friends. Townsmen would nod towards you, knowing that you had helped last week, young couples walked hand in hand, and many young students sat under the trees, reading books or playing games.

In the central area, Shinto monks had set up a O-Mikuji area, where you could-- for a mere 10 yen-- hope that questions on love, family or fortune would befall you favorably.

The danger had passed for now. Life continued to flourish.

Enjoy it well.

[OOC - And don't forget to add your character's tag!]

Comments

Fortunes [OPEN TO ALL]

[stringmods]

Thousands of small pieces of paper are tied to three large conifer pines with colorful string. Each tree had a sign in Japanese (that you could read) above it; Fortune, Family and Love. A demon held out a small box, where you could put in the ten yen coins for each fortune you wanted to draw. If you didn't have physical money, you could get some at a small booth nearby using your Visitor card. The coins were part of the experience, after all!

[OOC - Write on top what you want your character to draw from. You are allowed one from each maximum, but you don't have to do all of them. Keep in mind that these predictions are for the most part true - so if you get a bad luck, feel free to have your character have a bad luck day! On the other hand, good effects may bestow you some bonuses. May the odds be ever in your favor!]

ALL OF THEM \o/

[blessed_by_the_world]

[She went and got out enough coins to draw one fortune of each type. This is her first time at a festival on her own, so she got a little excited. The sight of the demon manning the box does make her hesitate though. She's still not used to them.]

Hello....

Um, I'll take one of each. Please.

FORTUNE

[emperor_penguin]

[DeDeDe's usually pretty content to hang around at the club for most of his days, but even he enjoys a nice stroll in the park once in a while. He'd gotten used to living in a place devoid of nice scenery, so he's actually feeling somewhat at peace for a change. Catching sight of the fortunes, he heads over to see what it's all about.]

...Huh. Well, can't hurt to give it a try.

[Fishing out a coin, he flips it into the box before drawing out a fortune.]

Wonder how the club's gonna do this season.

Love, Family, Fortune

[travelingtheworlds]

[Sasha loved pretty much anything to do with fortunes, so when she learned about this tradition, she made a beeline for the tree with the fortunes.]

Can I please have one of each?

Fortune

[blitzkriegzwei]

[While Ludwig didn't put much stock in fortune tellers, the fee was cheap and it was a tradition, so he figured that he might as well try it. Fortune seemed to be the only option to go with, because he wasn't so sure he wanted to know how his family was doing, and love was flat-out not an option. He reached into his pocket, fished out a ten yen coin, and put it into the box before drawing his fortune.]

Fortune

[justjustice]

[Huh, a fortune booth... couldn't hurt to try it out. Apollo deposited one ten yen coin and took a fortune.]

FORTUNE & FAMILY

[primordial]

[Fortunes? Ha. Sam didn't really believe in occult stuff like that...well, at least, not before he came here. It seemed this place had more than a foot in the supernatural business, and Sam can't help but wonder whether this actually had any meaning. Maybe it wasn't wise to shrug off fortunes like they were nothing...]

[He approaches the booth, looking over the signs. Eh, Love would never happen with him. That was definitely out. Fortune for sure, and...Sam frowns. Even though he feels like drawing a Family card would be worthless, considering the only family he had was, well, passed on, the strange feelings he was having in that speck of humanity still left in him for certain people here urged him on.]

[He deposits a couple of coins, murmuring to the demon behind the booth.]

I want to know if things will get better for me. And whether...whether any of these familial feelings inside will go away anytime soon.

[He doesn't like those feelings one bit. They hurt too much.]

Gimmie all three plz!

[gigglesnortpriestess]

[Yukiko was glad to enjoy the festivities during Golden Week, but it seemed this one was a bit more quiet. It was welcomed after the mess earlier and whatever that whole cluster was before. It was when she saw the fortunes that she decided to give a shot. She paid the demon two coins at first...]

I hope the inn will continue to grow and that my friendships will stay with me.

[But then the last one...the love one. She wasn't sure what to do on that but then again, it is just a fortune. Maybe it would tell her to stop moping and move on.

Oh what the hell. She puts in the third coin and draws the slips.]

Fortune + Family

[nemophila]

[Of course, Jun was still superstitious, after all this time-- and he'd always found the fortunes to be both interesting, and helpful. One could argue self-fulfilling prophecy, but-- well. The power of belief certainly went a long way.

He had no need for the "Love" one, of course; Tatsuya was here, and things were fine-- more than fine, actually, the fact that they were all here and alive and well and remembered each other was more then he could've dreamed, in retrospect. It was just about the one thing that he was confident in.

Still... he didn't, really need that, did he? But... there was a small nagging in the back of his mind-- he'd always gotten Family fortunes as a child, usually support by feeble hopes, but maybe it was a touch of nostalgia. Maybe it'd give some sort of insight into Nyarlathotep's plans, on the off chance that counted.

So he smiled to the Fortuna, nodding his head in acknowledgement as he dropped two coins in, and pulled one from each of the appropriate trees. Honestly, he didn't have much in mind besides those few, disconnected thoughts.]

FAMILY

[shibuyasmusic]

[My my, trees completely full of O-mikuji? The entire scene of this springtime festival was already overwhelmingly nostalgic, but the trees alone just took the cake... Standing back and watching as people received their respective fortunes, Joshua wondered if nostalgia was even the right word for what he was feeling... If nostalgia was a recollection of how one felt about their memories, and his own memories were nothing but fabrications...

He didn't want to think about it. So it was time for a little distraction...

Picking up a ten yen coin from the nearby booth and flipping it between his thumb and index a few times, Joshua looked from one tree to the other. Fortune, Family, or Love? Not that he'd ever put too much faith into these things, and not that he had much faith in luck or fortune anymore anyway, but there was little denying that of the three options, he could've cared less about love and fortune.

Family, on the other hand, he gives a scrutinizing look with his one good eye. Approaching the demon, Joshua drops the coin in the box before approaching the tree, looking over the rolled pieces of paper.

As much as his cat was family to him, he knew deep down that it wasn't going to cut it... He'd be risking his humanity again if he kept secluding himself.

He whispers to himself softly.]

Perhaps you can tell me how I can fix all of these messes I keep making with the people who are insane enough to actually care about me?

[And he picks a fortune from the tree, unfurling it.]

All

[greatseal]

[Fortunes are something Minako has employed a lot, with a varying amount of belief in them. She knows they're mostly for show and tradition, but they have seemed to work for her on some occasions...

'Fortune' is general enough, and 'Love' is for fun, although she's happy where she is with it right now. She takes out coins for both of them, but hesitates with the third.

'Family.' Not something she's needed to ask about for a very long time, and getting a fortune now seems like wishful thinking. It won't bring him back here or affect his fate. But still...

Before she can ponder it any more, her fingers close around a third 10 yen coin and she drops them all into the box.]

one fortune, one family

[terra_nullius]

[Oh boy, fortunes! He's mildly curious about this, whether these things come true or not, and he tugs Xion along with him up to the fortune-demon, pulling out his wallet to dig out change.]

What do you think, Xion? I'm going to try. I wonder what it'll say... do you want to try too?

[She pauses, considering the trees and their fortunes, then nods.] Yeah. I think it could be fun.

[He fishes out a dull brown ten-yen coin and puts it in the box. He reaches for the fortune box, taking a few moments to draw what he feels is the 'luckiest' one, the only thing on his mind curiosity about what it holds and whether or not it will come true. Xion heads over to the family tree, considering it with something a bit more regarding concern. It was still strange thinking about how she… was going to have a family? Sora said she was his little sister in his time, so his parents had… basically adopted her and Roxas.

With that in mind, she pulls out her own ten-yen coin and, after depositing it, reaches for the box of fortunes.]

All Three

[hetried]

[Daichi didn't necessarily believe in all of this stuff-- but hey, it couldn't hurt, right? And this city was such a weird place, that maybe stuff like this would come true. And either way, it was kind of fun. Kind of like how when you know something's dumb or pointless, but you do it anyway. Sort of.

So he drops on coin in the box and goes to take one from the Fortune tree, simple enough! Maybe it'd even get him off the hook with Q and the fire department, ahaha... Yeah right.

Before he unrolls it though, he stops a moment. 'Family' and 'Love'...

He steps back over to Fortuna, and drops another coin in. Family... well, his family wasn't here, obviously, but-- maybe he'd be able to figure out if they were at least OK? No, that was dumb, it wasn't really fortune telling, was it? Not like that... but... now that the thought had crossed his mind, he couldn't resist.

'Love'... unsurprisingly, he thought of Io for about a second and a half, but-- no, that was even dumber. She was with Kaito now, and he was damn well sure he was over it! So, his romantic prospects were currently zero unless he counted that weird as hell moment when Kairi kissed him during the Taurus attack, but it couldn't hurt. He was a teenage boy, what would you expect!]

Uh-- sorry! [He was probably taking too long, so he dropped yet another coin in Fortuna's box and rushed over to the trees, taking one each from the remaining two.]

All three! /o/

[poweryetunknown]

[... Sure. He'll bite. He nods briefly to the demon and drops in three coins before reaching for his fortunes.]

[It's been a long time since he's done this, anyway. And a little good fortune could be helpful.]

Fortune & Love

[bondsofsuffering]

[Well, why not? The more the better, right?

He puts one coin into the Fortune and Love boxes, mostly for kicks and giggles - even though time tended to prove these events led to more serious results. Although he eyes the Family tree, he ultimately decides that could go down a decidedly bad path and gives it a skip.]

...Also all

[eyewillprotect]

[She was originally just going to get Fortune and Family, but... her curiosity overcomes and she eventually puts in coins for Love as well. It's all in good fun, right?

And there goes thirty yen, ten into each box!]

All of them

[electricyousei]

Ruri really didn't hold to fortune telling, but she feels a little bad about preparing to level several city blocks and figures this will go into repairs of the city so she slips a coin in each box.

"If you want to just keep the fortunes it'd be all right, I just figure its part of the festival atmosphere, but if they go with them, its all for something, right?"

Fortune and Family

[tyrantball]

Desco considers the boxes before pointing at Fortune and Family and dropping in the coins. As a bonus, she hands one of her personal HL coins, stamped with the official portrait of President Axel, to the demon as a tip.

Love & FAMILY TOO OH GOD SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WRITE ANOTHER

[all_wound_up]

[Glancing back and forth and flushing a little, Nano digs into her pocket and fishes out a ten yen coin. Her hand trembles a little as she deposits the coin, clapping her hands together twice and closing her eyes as she offers up a silent prayer.]

[...And then about half an hour later, she comes back, feeling guilty that she didn't ask about family too. She really does miss the Professor and Sakamoto, after all. So in goes another coin, and up goes another prayer.]

Fortune

[capitalbackup]

[Fortune, hm?

Miyako doesn't really believe in them. They're foolish fortunes, serve only to grant reassurance to people who do believe in them. They never really come true.

However...she stared at the fortunes with a frown, before she take out a single ten yen coin for Fortune and take a paper fortune.

She have no need for Love, and she's fine with her brother (kinda?) to bother with Family.

...Alcor never counts. No.]

Fortune and Love

[demifemme]

After the stunt she pulled during the Taurus days, Shura is trying to be as discreet as possible. Therefore, she's dressed in long clothes to hide her body, using the hood of her vest to hide her face as much as possible. The demon with the fortune box caught her attention; since she had change to spare, she decided that she might as well try it out. In the end, though, she didn't pick one for Family, as she ended up figuring that it would only depress her further.

FAMILY AND LOVE

[otakuro]

[Atsuro slowly approaches the sign and blinks for a few moments.]

The last time I drew these, I got daikyou, and I dropped my wallet down a sewer two days later...

[He figures he would be safer with the other two. It's not like his family and love situations could get any worse than 'nonexistent' anyway. Atsuro deposits two coins.]

All of the above!

[darkens]

[Even considering the bizarre, almost supernatural turns her life had taken in recent months, Hoshi doesn't put much stock in things like fortunes. Games for foolish children and wishes that will never come true; that's all they are.

Even so, when she happens upon the fortune-offering demon, she stops and considers it for a long moment. This is something she would no doubt get dragged into with her friends, had they been dragged here alongside her. "It'll be fun, Shi-chan!" they would tell her, and they wouldn't stop nudging her until she finally gave in. So, with a shrug, she pulls a small pouch out of her pocket and digs out three coins.

One for Family: there's no power in the world that can change the past, or repair her relationship with her father, of course, but as the saying goes, friends are the family you choose... Not that she expects Keiko or Mitsuki to magically appear in Hinoto-Ri just because she bought a fortune.

One for Fortune: she could always use a little extra luck.

One for Love: she's only learned recently that she is still capable of loving and being loved, so it seems appropriate.

One, two, three, the coins are dropped in the box, and Hoshi bows at the demon in thanks before taking her fortunes.]

Love, Family, and Fortune because LOL WHY NOT.

[greyerrant]

The eternal skeptic, and scowly warrior lumbers up to the three pines, and puts in the coins, giving the demon a look that indicates he'd as soon rip it asunder with a blade as pay it, but he understands this is an accepted cultural activity, and frankly, he's curious about the strange folkways of Old Earth, as Terra was known. And so he pays in, and will drawn down the paper, musing quietly that they don't look so different from small oaths of moment.

family for naminé; love and fortune for kairi

[charmedbymemories]

[Naminé feels disconnected with everything that's going on around her. Visiting the festival is more for a change of scenery and fresh air more than enjoyment, and as she pauses by the tree, it's bitterly disappointing to realize that Kairi would have loved this festival and this sort of thing, were she awake. Kairi thrived in this sort of party environment.

Well...she could take a fortune back for her sister, couldn't she? And bring back some of the cherry blossoms, too. She approaches Fortuna, but then hesitates on which type of fortune she should draw before dropping three coins into the demon's box.]

Family for me. [She murmurs as she reaches for the first fortune.] Kairi will wake up soon. I know she will. So let me ask instead...will any of our friends from Facility show up in Hinoto-Ri?

[She hovers her hands over the tree before plucking two more.] And Love and Fortune for Kairi. Will she be happy?