destinystrings | Tanabata - [Open City Post]

▼ Evening of the 7th

Who: Anyone
Where: The entire city
When: July 7th
Summary: The Star Festival
Warnings: That depends who is there. Remember to mark your titles clearly if any warnings need to be issued!

▼ A tale of two lovers...

The bamboo leaves rustle,
shaking away in the eaves.
The stars twinkle
on the gold and silver grains of sand.
The five-colour paper strips
I have already written.
The stars twinkle,
they watch us from heaven.

▼ A festival for a growing city

It is perhaps the most classical love story that most of the Hinoto-Ri natives knew about; the story of Orihime, the weaving goddess, and Hikoboshi. Instantly falling in love, the two gods would often forget about their duties to the point of negligence in order to be together, so much so that the other gods forcibly separated them. Crying for each other's comfort, they were allowed to visit each other on the 7th day of the 7th month...as long as it didn't rain.

Today, the sun is high in the air, a small wind making the overall experience not too unpleasant. Clearly it's a time for celebration so the lovers may meet again.

In the Capricorn ward, at the edge of the Central Park of Hinoto-Ri, numerous booths have seemingly sprung up overnight. Colorful banners decorate every single tree, and you can spot the faeries fluttering about, the very same ones who caused the Visitors so much trouble up to just a few days prior, helping out by adding their own personal touches to the festival, be that a good thing or a bad thing. Most of the leaves are filled with perfect droplets of dew, reflecting the sun and giving everything a jewel-like appearance.

Even with the harsh life, Hinoto-Ri knew how to make each celebration special. The booths themselves had everything one could hope in such a festival, from mountains of star candy to spinning top toys to booths selling small bambo and basil plants decorated for the occasion. Booth food, as always, was delicious and fresh, and you could attempt to catch goldfish or even turtles if you had money to spare.

Walk around in the more traditional outfits or in your normal clothing, no one is going to complain in this mixture of demonic heritage and human initiative.

Giant streamers were attached to the largest tree trunks and many large bamboo trees had been brought in, covered in paper cranes and wishing paper, blank sheets nearby so you could add your own. In fact, it is encouraged! What wish did you want to write down today?

At night, entire rows of the city are covered in bright lights and laterns, the festival lasting until early morning, despite the 13th hour. Just be careful where you're going, they set up parameters for this, but it just wouldn't be a star festival without viewing them up in the sky, right?

The giant telescope at the astrology center is made public for all those who wish to see the heavenly lights. Just don't linger too long, as others want to get a glimpse too! It's important to share...

...Especially when the fireworks go off later at night! Not only are they absolutely stunning to watch, but there's an evident bit of magic involved in them, as they take on figures and animals, telling the mythological tale of the two lovers, now found.

During the day and through the night, you can hear sounds of the Taiko drums in the various public squares. There are a few groups, each with their own set giving you a listening experience unlike any other.

[Feel free to start your own threads! The festival is open to everyone, day and night and you can do anything ~~at zombocom~~ at the festival. If you want to get a better understanding of what your characters might see and do, these videos will help.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh yeah... in Tokyo, right? I bet they were really something there.

[Maybe he enjoyed these festivals back home too, but he can't recall.]

Y-yeah, I'm just a little overwhelmed. I'm not sure where to start...

[She nods.]

It depends on what part of Tokyo you go to, but it was always a lot of fun. Ever since entering high school, my friend Komaki has insisted on going together every year.

Insisted, huh? Sounds like Hinata...

[He shakes his head, laughing weakly.]

What'd you guys usually do?

Just the usual things... We would both wear yukata and go around the festival, seeing the lights and enjoying the atmosphere. Komaki really enjoyed playing the games, too.

Ah, are you not much of a festival gamer yourself?

Not really... I'm not very good with them, I'm afraid.

I don't think anybody is really "great" at them.

[Except maybe a handful of people, including a certain mint-head.]

You don't want to, ah, try for fun?

Is that an invitation?

[Well, it is a festival. It would be a shame not to try, at least.]

I think if it's just a few... I should be able to handle that.

Sure, I mean... Why not?

[Because it's not about winning.]

Which ones do you want to try? I, uh, I liked the fishing, even if I messed up a lot...

I don't have any real preference, so... Fishing would be fine with me.

Haha, all right..!

[It isn't too far from them, so he'll head off to the booth, making sure she's still in tow.]

It'll be fun even if we're bad. I promise.

[And she follows!]

I'll trust you.

What exactly are the rules?

Oh, well... We can't work together. We can both play, but using both of our poi together to get a fish would be cheating.

[Easier, but cheating.]

And, uh, no using your hands. Just the paper scoop. We can buy as many poi as we want, though. They break pretty often...

Okay!

[She looks... oddly determined, if still a little puzzled. After a short talk with the stall owner, she settles down by the tub to begin trying to collect the fish. However, as fish tend to do, they always seem to dart away before her scoop can get close...]

Ahh, try to get one of the slower or bigger ones...

[He points a few of these out.]

Right.

[She removes the scoop from the water, slowly bringing it over to those fish before carefully dipping it in again. However, when she finally manages to scoop one up--]

Ah-- a tear.

[And the fish makes its escape!]

Ahh, that happened to me a lot. You were really close, though!

[So he smiles encouragingly.]

Try again?

Hmm...

[The scoop has only a single tear so far, so it's still usable. Rather than waste the whole thing, she begins carefully maneuvering it once again, eventually getting close to a cluster of fish--

and yet again, they all dart away. Drat!]

You're actually pretty good at this. I broke some of my poi right away, haha...

[He's curious to see just how much use she can get out of this single try.]

Ah, really? But mine is already torn...

[Even now, some of the paper is beginning to drag behind, no doubt loosening the rest of it. Which just means she needs to act more quickly...!

...Well, sort of, anyway. She holds the scoop an inch or so below the surface of the water, now trying to wait to see if any goldfish will swim over and make themselves easier to catch.]

Yeah, but the ones I broke were completely unusable after they tore. Ah-- that's actually a good way to do it. For me, i was all in how I moved my wrist.

They tore that badly.

[Oh, there's one! She tries to scoop it up, but...

Having soaked in the water for so long, the water can't even support the goldfish, dropping both the remains of the poi and the fish back into the tub.]

Oh-!

[Aww. She thought she really had it then!]

Tanabata - [Open City Post]

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