Shichi Go San Time-!

[soft_focus]

Who: Anyone coming to the Shichi-Go-San Ginko was talking about!
When: Afternoon of Day 93
Where: Somewhere in Shabondamashii
What: Shichi-Go-San! It's like a birthday without the birthday. And without birthday things.
Warnings: NAH

Shabondamashi is first and foremost a bath-house, and a Tourist City. Buildings are stocked with souvenirs, novelty cafes, and restaurants. There are stands to take photos, there are places to play games and for the more adult patrons play with other things. And with any such a place, sometimes people like to jump the gun and get hitched.

Tanyuu and Ginko needed some kind of shrine to host their equivalent of an Un-Birthday, and a shrine is what they found. Built with familiar traditional structure, a Tori Gate stands between two other rows of shops and gives way to a small man-made clearing that's been decorated with planted trees and bamboo, completing the scene with a small building for guests and patrons and various smaller structures like lanterns, statues, bells...

It's very much as if someone took a Japanese Shinto Shrine and crunched it down into something more compact for the sake of filming or partying. There's certainly space- even shotgun weddings get crowded, and this is far from that- but it's still a bit smaller than some will be used to.

To be fair, everything back outside the tori is festivals and baths again though, so there's hardly any need for it all.

Notably, there is a rather friendly and alien looking priest- not Shinto exactly, but similar enough considering they're in the multiverse- greeting anyone who comes in. Mostly he's there to tell people not to break anything, and about certain nifty rites and rituals they could partake in for good luck. Most are similar to something from standard Earths, but some of them are a bit more off the ball. Hey, might as well try them though right? He seems to be happy about it all however; hosting a small 'festival' is a nice change from getting drunk people married! (Also, he got a nice tip for agreeing to do the protection charm for the sake of completion. Will it work? Nah, but it's the thought that counts.)

The scene is set. There's little 'shichi-go-san' cakes on an outdoor table, and some hot tea to enjoy with it. There's also a little decorated bag that Rin in particular is vehemently keeping anyone from taking if needed. All that's left now is...

The surprise.

Once the surprise is over with, everyone can do the important part of a small festival- eat sweet cakes, watch a little ceremony, and most of all take pictures of everyone dressed up fancy.

.... (You. Did dress fancy for this, right?)

[[OOC - While it's primarily a personal log, this can also be treated as a mingle for those who want to do things as part of 'setting up the festival', or 'waiting for Reira to arrive'. I'll be making a comment for Reira that people can directly reply to with that in mind, but people can still tag the log directly for the same deal.]]

Comments

REIRA

[soft_focus]

Reira doesn't have a clue what's going on, honestly. All she knows is that at some point on the second day they were there, she was told that lunch would have to be small because 'something special' is going to happen and there was going to be food with the 'something special'. It's pretty obvious that people are trying to be secretive about things in the way one gets about a surprise, but since she has no real frame of reference for what the surprise could be, she simply frowns and goes along with it.

It is especially confusing when Tanyuu takes one of her oversized birdy hands in her own and leads her off to a fancy clothing stall filled with sparkling fabrics and kanzashi hair-pieces, pointing at a hairdressing booth not far from it.

She has lost her left geta from the resulting ensemble at least three times before she gets to the Tori gate, but by then the anticipation has her so tightly gripped that she can't even be bothered by it. At Tanyuu's request, the Eagle is staying in her hotel room for the moment- her sparrow, having nowhere to really hide, is simply riding on her daemon...presently in his snowy white-with-ruddy-spots fox state.

There are only a few stairs to go up, but she takes them with Tanyuu and Ginko at her side, fox only a few steps ahead, and her hands gripped by one or the other for balance as they go. It's only once they're especially close that the two go on ahead-

Leaving Reira to somewhat anxiously wander into the 'clearing' with wide eyes.

Get your pictures now, if you want to catch the wonder. The rest of the party will go far more easily once she's trying sweets and the 'ceremony' is done.

[[BONUS - Some details on the ceremonial part of Shichi-Go-San are here...if anyone wants to tag to specifically laugh at Reira trying kid-friendly sake, or anything else. (Only Rin gets to give her the candy bag. He 'claimed' it.)]]

ERUKA | closed + OTA

[amphibiopathic]

[ For Reira: ]

To be honest, Eruka still isn't entirely sure what the big deal is, but she doesn't mind the excuse to go out an do something a little different. She takes her cue from other people as the ceremony takes place, imitating their motions and doing as the priest directs. It's not too hard to follow along -- she's certainly performed more complicated rituals -- and it's even a little fun.

At the end of it, she approaches Reira when she looks like she's got a free moment, hair piled up on top of her head in a near arrangement and holding a paper bag.

"Well~" she sing-songs. "What did you think of the ceremony, Reira?"

[ OTA: Hanging Out ]

Dressed in a black and white furisode, Eruka's sleeves swing freely as she looks around the little shrine curiously. After the ceremony proper is over, she can be found perusing various talismans and charms for sale -- most of them certainly nothing like anything she's ever seen of the sort -- and even trying out some of the fortunetelling activities at the shrine for fun. Maybe you'd like to join her?