JAYVIK
Soulmates Festival
JULY 7TH
A Jayvik celebration of Jayce's birthday
✽ For his birthday this year, we asked everyone's Golden Boy to make a wish. To absolutely no one's surprise, he simply said, "All I want is my partner back."
You are invited to join us, Jayce, and Viktor in a very romantic celebration.
✽ As if written in the stars, Jayce’s birthday falls on July 7th, a date that marks the beginning of a beautiful Festival of Love observed all across East Asia. Known as Tanabata in Japan, Qixi in China, Chilseok in Korea, and Thất Tịch in Vietnam, this legendary Star Festival honors two soul-bound cosmic lovers eternally separated by the Milky Way, who are granted just a single night to reunite every year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
✽ The only prompt for this event is Soulmatism: whether through the revival of myths, literature, music, or through completely original works, the goal is to embrace the fortuitous, romantic overlap of Jayce's release date and the East Asian Double Seventh traditions, and weave a tender wish across the stars for him and his better half.
FAQ
✽ Why Jayce's birthday and Tanabata?
∘ Jayce’s canon birthday (the anniversary of his champion release date in League of Legends) falls on July 7th, perfectly aligning with the traditional East Asian Star Festival celebrating two star-crossed lovers who are eternally separated by the Milky Way, and only reunite on this day once a year. This legendary tale beautifully mirrors Jayce and Viktor’s fated journey as cosmically-intertwined soulmates, bound to look for each other in all timelines. The goal of this fan event is to turn fanworks into symbolic birthday wishes for Jayce, honoring his ultimate desire to never be separated from Viktor again.
✽ Are there any prompts? Where can I find inspiration?
∘ The only prompt for this one-day festival is Soulmatism, which you can interpret from any angle you prefer. For example, if you want to remain in East Asia, this is the perfect chance to write or draw for Spirit Blossom Jayvik. The Spirit Blossom Festival takes place in Ionia, the Runeterra equivalent of East Asia, drawing inspiration from Japanese customs such as hanami and Obon, alongside folklore spirits and legends for the Akana and Kanmei. If you prefer a winter twist, remember Jayce has received a Petals of Spring skin earlier this year!
For more ideas, please visit our Resources page, where we have listed moodboards and references to help you find inspiration for the event.
✽ What are the event's posting guidelines?
∘ Focus: All contributions must center on Jayce, Jayvik, Vikjayce.
∘ Tagging: Use the tags #JVSoulmatesFest and #JayceBdayWish to help us find and share your work.
∘ Ratings: Both SFW and NSFW creations are welcome, and all participants must be adults.
∘ Pacing: Create at your own pace. Sharing WIPs is highly encouraged.
∘ Disability: Both Viktor and Arcane Season 2 post-ravine Jayce are disabled, and we ask you to portray them with respect.☑ All forms and mediums of fanworks are welcome, as well as all interpretations of Jayce and Viktor’s gender identities, and all languages.
☒ No AI-generated content, plagiarism, hate speech, or explicit content involving minors, animals, and incest will be accepted.
📚
⬦ About Tanabata
∘ The legend
Inspired by a folk tale that dates back thousands of years, the Summer Star Festival celebrated in East Asia, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, started as a different kind of celebration under the name Qiqiao, focused on craftmanship and sewing skills. The tradition eventually inspired the birth of Chilseok in South Korea, Thất Tịch in Vietnam, and Japan's beloved Tanabata.
At the center of the original myth are two celestial beings: Zhinü, the weaver princess known in Japan as Orihime, and Niulang, a humble cowherd known as Hikoboshi. They embody the stars Vega and Altair, separated by the Amanogawa, the Heavenly River we know as the Milky Way. Before they met, Orihime lived an isolated life weaving garments for her father, Tentei, the Sky King. Her endless work left her no time to find love, prompting a worried Tentei to arrange an encounter with Hikoboshi, who lived on the other side of the river.
It was love at first sight, and they married shortly after. However, they fell so deeply for each other that they neglected their celestial duties: Orihime stopped weaving entirely, leaving the Sky King’s robes unfinished, while Hikoboshi’s cattle ran wild across the skies. Furious, the Sky King banished them back to opposite sides of the starlit river. Orihime’s endless tears eventually moved her father to grant them a single reunion every year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
Yet, when the night finally arrived, the River of Heaven proved too wide to cross on their own. Sympathetic to their despair, a flock of magpies flew up from Earth and locked their wings together, creating a bridge for Orihime to cross into her beloved's arms. But their reunion is never guaranteed: if it rains on the seventh, the waters rise too high, preventing the magpies from forming the bridge. Which is why, when the skies pour on Tanabata, the rain is affectionately called sairuiu, the bittersweet tears of the lovers weeping over a reunion denied.
∘ Traditions
Across Japan, Tanabata celebrations bring local communities together and are an eagerly anticipated highlight of the summer season. The heart of the festival lies in an ancient ritual: writing one's deepest wishes, dreams, or creative goals onto colorful paper strips called tanzaku. To entrust these wishes to the stars, everyone ties their tanzaku to freshly cut bamboo stalks, watching as the summer breeze carries their words straight toward the heavens.
Beyond individual wishes, Tanabata is an incredibly romantic event. Many couples dress up in light summer yukatas to visit temples and shrines holding Tanabata festivities. Together, they pray for long-lasting love and purchase matching omamori charms to protect their bonds. Outside of the sacred grounds, the holiday blends into a larger, nationwide celebration with bustling night markets, colourful street decorations, folk dances and parades, and spectacular evening fireworks displays.
∘ Moodboards
