TANABATA ⟶ July Sanctuary Log

[likethelight]

 

Sanctuary - TANABATA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"SEE YOU AGAIN, MOM"

The "star festival", celebrating the one time of the year when star-crossed lovers could cross over a sea of stars to meet again. One based on hopes, wishes, and the fervent desire to see each other again. Following the departure of Amaterasu back to the sea, wolf momgod of all who is responsible for the Guardian Saplings including the one Sanctuary has been founded around, Sanctuary is hosting the best approximation to a Tanabata celebration as the Trench will allow. Why? Because hope keeps the trees alive and strong, and Tanabata is about people having hope -- and would have been happening around the same time.

And because people miss dogmom and she would have liked it.

The festival is taking place at Sanctuary, but all Guardian Saplings can be paid visits. Paper for wishes and decorations have been set up at each/given to the other caretakers.

A Sea of Stars
The main hall has been transformed into a living night sky, with jars of hope from the moonlit butterflies back in April hung with care high up, each repacked with a single orb of hope per small vial with care, creating a river of starlike glowing lights overhead. The windows have been covered to aid with the nighttime effect, in addition to helping to keep out the light of the Beast Moon after dark. The gentle glow, as they are literally the tactile hopes and dreams of people, provides a small purifying, uplifting effect to everyone underneath. The light ebbs and flows calmly. The hall is cool as well, thanks to the pale/cold bloodstone cooling system that glows like moonstone along the walls and keeps the indoor areas regulated.

In the evening, as the sun sets, the new choir bell will ring out as well, cleansing corruption entirely from all who hear it. The lights gently pulse in time with it.

Wishes and the Guardian Sapling
The sapling is no longer in bloom, but despite the sweltering heat in full glory. Paper wishes are hung in its branches, along with origami streamers in colorful paper of cranes and other shapes. A bustle of activity is in the cloisters around it in particular, with most tables set up there to keep the courtyard itself clear. Origami streamers are hung in all the doorways leading out to it as well, creating the effect of string curtains, and there are paper lanterns as well.

A life-size stone statue of a wolf bearing a striking resemblance to Amaterasu has been erected next to the sapling, with her most radiantly happy canine expression she could sometimes get. There is room to place offerings for her, and people are encouraged that she would like "all the foods."

Colorful strips of paper (tanzaku) have been cut and placed out on a table in the cloisters surrounding the courtyard, where one can write their wishes for the next year down on them and hang them on the guardian sapling. They come in the following colors with a helpful, but... somewhat hard to read note with arcane handwritten note:

Red will help with wishes relating to ancestors and family, and giving thanks.
Yellow is the color of friendship and is the best choice for wishes about relationships.
White is the color for determination and responsibility, and for making personal resolutions.
Blue represents tranquility and trust and will aid wishes aimed at self-improvement.
Purple is the color to choose if you want to improve your brainpower and skills.

Food and Activities
Following all of the best creative recreation methods available to them in Trench, the cooks in the kitchens have been trained by Megumi Fushiguro, among others, on how to best serve culturally appropriate dishes. These foods are served free at little vendor booths in the main hall (with people encouraged to help out and help serve!) and include pawprint mochi (the inside is either chocolate or strawberry), pickled sakura mochi, mitarashi and tricolor dango, chilled somen with a yuzu-soy dipping sauce, various types of filled onigiri, and cut watermelon in a variety of shapes including stars, sunbursts, and pawprints. Many have been made with small amounts of the Paleblood jam from June and have mild corruption cleansing effects as well. Various kinds of tea made from the dried or pickled cherry blossoms and/or leaves of the guardian sapling are being served as well, and they have a corruption-cleansing effect and have been noted as tasting "heavenly". Some of the jams have been cut with fruit juice/lemonade and frozen into popsicles as well... you're welcome, CorruptionPops are now a thing.

Various demonstration and activity tables have been set up including origami, with... questionably penned instructions from Palamedes in an arcane style for several shapes including cranes, sunbursts, stars, and wolves. Various Sleepers familiar with the practice have also been encouraged to set up there and help teach people how, and everyone is encouraged to hang their completed crafts in the guardian sapling. Most of the paper is red, white, pink, and gold. Paper lanterns have been made as well and light up various parts of the whole festivities.

A few vendor booths are set up, including one "selling" white yukata, trimmed in red and gold and bearing a distinctive star pattern on the back of it and intricate embroidery. Most Sanctuary members would receive one for free if they expressed interest, and anyone else can receive one for volunteering their time and helping out. People are encouraged to wear them for the celebration if they didn't have their own; these are styled in honor of Amaterasu.

Koz Orphanage has been specially invited as well, and children from it can be found running around during much of the event and given various activities to do or items to play with.

Sparklers are available for individuals as well, also courtesy of Viktor. Perhaps there might even be glowsticks from someone... :)

Fireworks and Closing Celebrations
On the final night, all the wishes will be gathered from the trees and collected in a ceremonial firepit. The wishes are burnt in order to release them to the heavens to be heard—and perhaps by Amaterasu still at sea—and will be ignited by several Sleepers with fire abilities (Shouto Todoroki, Megumi Fushiguro).

As they're burnt a fireworks display will begin overhead, launched from the steeple up high, courtesy of Viktor and anyone else assisting him in the matter. Anyone outside watching them in the courtyard will have the effects of the Beast Moon diminished by the blessing in effect from Moon Presence. The choir bell will toll a final time at the end, to clear the effects of any lingering corruption, and signal an end to the festivities.

WHAT

Sanctuary is about humane beast purification efforts and corruption relief. Renovations began in May 2022 and room clearing and rebuilding is still in progress. Beast patrol efforts and purification started more in earnest in June-July.

All roles are volunteer on an as-you-can basis up to full time, with time reimbursed by food, shelter, care, and community support. And because it's run by people who BLEED SENTIMENTALITY EVERYWHERE in addition to being founded on discovery of a Guardian Sapling, it's hosting a Tanabata celebration in conjunction with honoring the memory of Amaterasu.

WHEN

Starting July 7, ending after a few days in a final celebration and ceremonial burning of the wishes.

THINGS OF NOTE

Tanabata
➢ Please feel free to presume your character could have helped out with setup if they have any ties to Sanctuary or characters here! If they would provide a food, service, or game they are free to have a table set up.

➢ This event is open to the whole of Trench and would have been freely advertised as such, including as a safe place to treat effects from the Beast Moon and corruption.

General / Member Update
➢ Sanctuary has been blessed by Moon Presence for the month of July, thanks to the efforts of Luna and Sansa. All negative effects of July and the Beast Moon are lessened within its walls, and anyone meaning Sanctuary or the people in it will be physically repelled. Lunar flowers have begun growing up the sides of the monastery in earnest like morning glories as a result.

➢ as of June, coordinated efforts to patrol Trench on their own and save Beasts and people both have begun. Members will be on a group chat in order to coordinate with each other and reach out to purification Sleepers when encountering Beasts. Everyone is encouraged to work in teams, especially to partner with someone who can purify Beasts or corruption.

➢ a training facility has opened up, with currently self-defense hand-to-hand combat classes being taught by Jason and others willing to train others encouraged to come forward. Fighters on patrol and wardens will be contacted to let them know about open sparring times so members can coordinate better in fights. There is an indoor room with training dummies (that fight back courtesy of Viktor) that opens up into an outdoor space between two of the long halls that can also be used.

➢ with the hidden archives now unlocked, scholarly members of Sanctuary are encouraged to help study them and uncover other artifacts—and especially the strange new locked door discovered within.

➢ there is a family of batcat kittens old enough to be crawling everywhere throughout the building now. They might still be learning manners and latch onto you in an overexcitement to taste your blood from time to time.

➢ the large communal baths have been cleared out and renovated, thank god. They run on being open to male-identifying characters for one set of hours, female-identifying for another, and the rest of the time operate on "nobody cares". Privacy screens are hung between the tubs though—one side is regularly cooled down with ice for the hot months.

➢ with more people needing safe harbor during the Beast Moon and rising violence from natives during July, more actual rooms have been cleared out and are free to use for anyone who will also help work to maintain the place (chores, grounds keeping, etc.). There are always spare beds in the infirmary wing as well.

➢ members who patrol or purify beasts/fight in some way now have access to various relic items that have been donated for use for when they are actively on patrol. These will eventually be tracked in the member spreadsheet... eventually. Just give them back when you're done.

➢ Viktor and K's efforts have resulted in the lunar generator coming online and bringing lunar lighting and cooling throughout the building via a cold-pale bloodstone network. Rejoice!

➢ There is now a small, hidden stash of coffee bartered from Dabi. Someone might have to pry it from Viktor's jittery fingers.

 

This log is WIDE OPEN for Tanabata festivities and serves as the general log for Sanctuary for the month. Go wild and do whatever you want, have fun with your top levels, etc. :)

Comments

[entreats]

[ There's a small nod of acknowledgement at what Qrow is saying, and then Ange steps forward to hang her own wish on the tree. It's not too hard to catch a glimpse of it, with the wish written on the paper in neat handwriting. For my magic to become strong enough to protect those I love.

Ange doesn't seem entirely too focused on it though. Instead, as she finishes tying it up, she catches a glimpse of the offering the man put out, saying: ]

You know, I think the lack of a creative offering on my part is putting my wish at a huge disadvantage compared to yours when it comes to it becoming reality.

[ Not that Ange really believes in some higher power making these wishes come true. It's why she wrote hers the way she did - like a promise to herself, more of a resolution.

But saying this is one way to keep things relatively light. She's actively trying to not look at Qrow's wish, since it feels a little too intrusive without his permission, but she's in all actuality so curious. She's burning with it. ]

[bolstafir]

[Qrow, too, is avoiding looking at Ange's wish. These things are best kept private, he thinks. They're too vulnerable, too close to one's heart. An eyebrow gently lifts at her quip.]

That so? Well, I'm sure Ammako wouldn't mind too much if we went in on an offering together.

[He grins, ruffling Ange's hair a little -- but not enough to mess up her hairdo this time. She's put in all this work to look good for her date, after all...!]

She did seem pretty cool, for a goddess.

[High praise from Qrow "would fistfight any god in a Denny's parking lot" Branwen.]

[entreats]

You--

[ Ange starts, but then is cut off by that hair ruffle with a small 'oof.' At least she's not resisting it either, though she might be moving her hands up to sort out her hair once he's done ruffling her hair. Even though he was being gentle about it, but it's not like she knows that. She has to make sure she doesn't look super dumb right after!

At least she's talking at the same time as she's sorting out her hair. ]

You knew her? [ It sounds like it, after all. Ange doesn't think Qrow would bother to talk about someone in this friendly of a way unless he truly approved of them, after all. ] I've never met her, but people here seem to be pretty fond of her.

[ Judging by how much of a theme she seems to be at this festival. Maybe she knew a lot of people, and Ange just happened to not be included in that group because she's so anti-social... ]

[bolstafir]

We only talked a couple times on the network, really, though she was there on that expedition too. Actually didn't realize she was a goddess until we came here.

[Which is part of why he can speak casually about the whole thing despite his complicated feelings about it. She was a goddess that didn't make you feel like a lesser being before her.]

She felt more like a person than a god. Or, more like a wolf, I guess. ...It was nice.

[entreats]

[ It's not like she has a whole lot of experience interacting with deities, so Ange can't really be sure how common or uncommon Amaterasu's attitude is on a multiversal level. She guesses it's probably uncommon, given how beings seem to become more full of themselves the more power they have.. The witches in her world as a prime example of that, she'd say.

And she truly can't imagine Qrow caring for that kind of attitude in the slightest either. ]

.. I'm sorry then. To hear she's gone now.

[ Even if it doesn't sound like she and Qrow were BFFs, she still knows that it's not like he easily opens up to anyone out there. They're similar in that regard. So sometimes it's kind of sad to lose someone who you even just were able to amicably talk with. ]

Maybe she had really pressing business to get back to in her world, if she really was a goddess.

[bolstafir]

[Back in her world...he wonders about that. As far as Qrow understands it, nobody actually leaves the Waking World, once they're part of it. It's just a matter if whether they're in the sea or awake on land. There's something oddly comforting about it, having quite literally closed the door on ever going back to Remnant.]

People who leave are called back to the sea, right? I like to think maybe she's going to protect the other Sleepers who are still squids. She sounds like that type.

[It's tied into the wish he put on the tree, too. If she is a goddess that cares about people, and she has gone back to the sea ... perhaps she can take care of those members of his family he has yet to be reunited with. He'd like to believe that, in the absence of any guarantee he'll ever see them again.]

[entreats]

.. who knows.

[ Her voice is a little quiet. Not contradicting him in any way, mind you, though Ange likes to think differently about the way the sea works, no matter how many books here describe it. Something about the idea of them being out there forever doesn't quite sit right with her, especially since friends of hers left this place who really wanted to go home.

She likes to think they somehow managed to reach that place, despite everything.

Amaterasu, however, is someone Ange doesn't even know. Who would she be to say anything else, when the one who knows her better here is making an assumption? ]

Let's not think about it too hard. [ She adds, shaking her head. ] I really dislike thinking too hard about the sea.

[ Especially with Battler only just having disappeared right back into it. But even just with Ange's abandonment complex in general, and the sheer amount of people she's lost. It's her way of saying 'it really bums me out' without actually saying as much.

She hopes Qrow will understand that nuance, considering they're both the type of person to hide certain emotions like that. ]

I'd rather think about things here and now. Was there anything else you wanted to try out at the festival?

[bolstafir]

[Qrow indeed views the sea somewhat differently, as a hopeful sort of thing--a chance to reunite with those who have been lost. But he certainly is versed enough in "feelings bad" to recognize an intention to declare a topic closed, and Qrow understands.]

Well, I could always go for more food. These snacks are from your world, right?

[Some of them are familiar, because Mistral is at least vaguely Asian-esque, but he could always do with recommendations for the Best Snacks. It runs in the Rose-Xiao-Long-Branwen family.]

[entreats]

[ She nods. ]

This entire festival is. [ It's why she's a little surprised it's here in Trench to begin with. Not that there aren't quite a few people here from Japan, but there's still people from enough varied worlds that it's a little surprising they settled on something so distinctly Japanese as the theme. ]

Immediately wanting to go for the snacks though.. Now I can see where Ruby got it from.

[ Especially since Ange never got to interact much with the other members of Ruby's family before they were no longer among them. ]

Are you the one who inspired her to be such a horrible snack fiend? [ None of those words sound like something bad though when they come out of Ange's mouth. She truly doesn't mind, despite what those words might mean when anyone else says them. It's just a part of Ruby's charm. ]

[bolstafir]

[Qrow nods solemnly, as though they are speaking of a topic of utmost importance.]

Ruby and I just so happen to share some of our biggest priorities in life. You can't really teach someone to appreciate the majesty of a freshly baked cookie, you know?

[entreats]

You could have fed her a carrot or two.

[ No, Ange isn't entirely sure how Ruby's family situation worked back home. She's gotten some of the story from Ruby, sure, but it still means she doesn't know a whole lot about what a day in the life was like.

But even with other people around caring for Ruby too, her point still stands. Clearly a very, very important point!! ]

Then maybe she wouldn't be inhaling the birthday cake all by herself at every single party nowadays.

[ Ange actually loves Ruby and her cake inhaling ways.

Don't tell anyone, Qrow. ]

[bolstafir]

....Does carrot cake count?

[Look. LOOK okay there is a reason he is an uncle and not a father. Healthy meals is too much responsibility.]

Anyway, clearly the solution is to get more cake for the parties. Everyone wins.

[entreats]

[ Ange definitely makes the kind of expression at him like she can't believe he just said that. So easily. So shamelessly.

It only lasts a moment though, since there's no true offense. It's just the same as ever - her feeling very much like the straight man in the middle of a group of ridiculous people. ]

I definitely know who to blame now. [ She just says, before shaking her head. ] Anyway, let's hurry on over to the snacks stands before Ruby has already managed to empty them of their entire stock due to a certain someone's influence.

[ Never letting this go now, Qrow.

At least it's just teasing. ]

[bolstafir]

Wow, I'm wounded, Ange. This way you can get all the carrots to yourself, you know. Ruby and I are visionaries, actually.

[A beat for Dramatic Effect follows, then:]

Race you there?

[Sorry your in-laws are Like This, Ange,,]

[entreats]

[ She just gives him a look at that last question. It's not a look of rejection, mind you. It's just suspicion, in this case about: ]

Are you going to cheat?

[ You always have to suspect that with these in-laws. And Remnant people in general. Sure, she knows what Qrow's Semblance is, but who knows whether he can't just whip out some other superspeed power or whatever. You never know!! There's always new Remnant surprised!! ]

[bolstafir]

[y u gotta be so ru-u-u-de ange!!]

I mean, I could fly, if you want a real challenge.

[huFF.]