Tanabata - [Open City Post]

[stringmods]

▼ 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.]

Comments

[justjustice]

[Ah, more Japanese honorifics! Then again, Hinoto-Ri is Japanese, even if not all the people are... so what was Apollo expecting?]

Hi! Nano, right? How are you doing?

Yeah! I've never really been to a festival like this before. My new "friends" kind of pushed me out to it.

[all_wound_up]

This is my first time too.

[Nano smiles and waves to the fairies.]

[justjustice]

[The fairies all wave back.]

Have you checked anything out yet? I'm not sure where to go first.

[all_wound_up]

The food stalls are very good.

[justjustice]

Really? What have you tried so far?

[all_wound_up]

The konpeito and taiyaki were both very good.

[justjustice]

Uh... what are those things, and where are they? I think I'd like to give them a try.

[all_wound_up]

Konpeito are little sugar stars, and taiyaki is a sweet cake shaped like a fish and filled with red bean paste. They're selling them at the food booths.

[justjustice]

Shaped like a fish...? That's weird. I know there are gummy candies shaped like fish, but I've never heard of a fish cake. I guess I'll have to give that a try.

[all_wound_up]

They're very tasty!

[justjustice]

Guess I'll have to go check them out, then! Where did you see them being sold?

[all_wound_up]

Oh, in those booths over there.

[pointing!]

[justjustice]

Alright, guess it's time to check them out. Want to come with me?

[all_wound_up]

Okay!

[Nano nods happily, falling into step next to him.]

Which one do you want to try first?

[justjustice]

Hmm... Maybe the konpeito first. It's simple enough. Then maybe the taiyaki next.

[all_wound_up]

I'm sure you'll like them both. Most people do.

[justjustice]

Sounds like a good recommendation to me. Let's see here... [He arrives at a stand with the sugar stars and takes one.] Huh. Sweet. Not sure what I was expecting.

[all_wound_up]

Well, they are called sugar stars, after all.

[justjustice]

Ahahaha... yeah. What was the other thing I wanted to try next? Taiyaki? Let's go there next.

[all_wound_up]

All right! I think it's just a few stalls down.