Sleepover!

[clothes_make_the_man]

Who: Forrest, all of his teenage CR, and CR of that CR
What: Giant sleepover log
When: The night of June 21
Where: Lakshmi's temple
Warnings: Cuteness overload

[Forrest has never had a sleepover before, so he's pretty excited to host one at his temple. He sends out invitations ahead of time to everyone he can think of, letting them know to bring pajamas, snacks, and even a friend or two if they want. He's clad in a frilly pink nightgown with ribbons and bows for the occasion, and he's temporarily converted Lakshmi's audience chamber into a space where the guests can all party and sleep. It was already mostly full of pillows to begin with, so all he had to do was move some more in and set up some tables for snacks and things. One of the tables conspicuously contains all of his beauty supplies, because like hell is Forrest hosting a slumber party without makeovers. Anyone who shows even the slightest bit of interest will get their makeup, hair, or nails done. Soft music and the scent of lotus blossoms drift through the air, creating the perfect atmosphere for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves.]

((OOC: If you've got a teenager that Forrest has talked to more than once, assume he invited them. Friends of friends are totally welcome as well. Everyone can feel free to put up their own toplevels, and everybody tag everybody and mingle to your heart's content!))

Comments

[returnedfromtheline]

[Yukine feels for you, Yata. So much.]

[Also completely flustered by all the girls in pajamas (what the heck are they thinking?!) and figuring that he's done enough socializing for one night, Yukine is carefully trying to make his way to the door. Spotting someone looking about how he feels, he moves slowly, quietly closer.

When he figures he's close enough he asks in a low voice,]

Are you ok? ...'Cause if you're not, you could leave.

[thevanguard]

[ If anything, Yata hunches even more at the offer, heaving out a much put-upon sigh. How annoying. ]

No. I really can't.

[returnedfromtheline]

… [Yukine is irked a little by that, because this guy obviously looks like he doesn’t want to be here.]

Well, if you can’t you can’t, but it looks like you’re just avoiding everyone anyway.

[So no one will miss you. Come on, he’s giving you an out here. It’s easier to leave a party when you’re not alone.]

[thevanguard]

[ Well, obviously. Does he look like he belongs here?

Yata glances over at the kid before his gaze moves across the room to where Nami is sitting and having fun. ]

My god is here.

[returnedfromtheline]

[He follows the guy's gaze.]

Ah.

I don't think that really matters, but hey, your call. I'm not gonna force you.

[Straightening to go he pauses for a moment, wanting to add one last bit.]

But you know, if you're really miserable, your god will feel it.

[thevanguard]

[ He's still learning the details of this whole shinki business, so that takes him a little bit by surprise as he flicks a startled glance sideways at the other guy. ]

Eh? Really??

[returnedfromtheline]

Yep. So you're pretty new, huh.

[Hunching down again to be closer, Yukine settles into the explanation.]

I'm Yukine, by the way. A shinki, but not one of you new ones. I've been asked to help you guys out, so I'll explain.

If a shinki has negative emotions their god will feel it. It's not mind reading. [He's quick to add that bit, based on assumptions other new shinki had made.] It's just they can feel your distress. Like an ache in their chest.

You can force yourself to be happy so that your god doesn't feel anything, but it's not all that great in the long run. So if you have a problem, tell your god about it. She's going to know you're miserable anyway.

[thevanguard]

Yeah. [ He guesses that's pretty obvious from how much he doesn't know. ] Only a couple of days now. I'm Yata.

[ Yukine's advice sounds pretty solid, but that doesn't make it easy. ] How am I supposed to tell her things like this? It's awkward. [ And talking to girls is weird. He doesn't get it. ]

[returnedfromtheline]

Don’t worry about being new. At least you have some mentors around to tell you stuff. I only had my loser god who didn’t tell me anything. Well, barely anything.

Anyway… [That wasn’t going off topic to avoid talking about awkward. Not at all. Yukine looks up at the ceiling for a moment, making a disgruntled sound in his throat.]

…That is awkward though, isn’t it. Girls are weird. Even if you say what you mean, they might get scary on you.
[Turning to face Yata again he says seriously,] It’ll be awkward any way you go, so just say it straight.

[thevanguard]

Not a fan of your god, huh?

[ Yata sounds a little surprised by that, because most shinki he's come across so far had all seemed pretty enamored of their gods. Personally, he was still on the fence and that had nothing to do with the fact that his didn't seem to understand what shirts were.

At least he seems to have found someone who finally understands his dilemma. ] Right? Plus she's my god. I'm stuck with her if I seriously piss her off. What then?

[returnedfromtheline]

[He grins and shakes his head. Heh. Nope, not a fan of his god. (But maybe they’re growing on each other.)]

Then get her to release you and find yourself another god. [He shrugs like it’s no big deal.] Shinki change gods all the time. Even more with you new guys. You aren’t stuck with her.

[thevanguard]

[ His eyes go wide at that because he hadn't realized that was a thing. That makes him frown though and shake his head firmly. ]

No. That doesn't seem right. I mean I was given to her for a reason, right?

[returnedfromtheline]

[Yukine opens his mouth clearly intending to say “Not really,” but closes it again thoughtfully.]

…The new shinki aren’t found the same way regular shinki are. So, maybe you aren’t entirely wrong.
Who knows.

[thevanguard]

[ Yata blinks, because this is the first time he's heard of it. ]

There are different ways? What do you mean?

[returnedfromtheline]

Mm. Well, I haven't seen a naming myself, but gods normally look for a spirit wandering on the Near Shore. There's usually not many around though.

You guys though- you all just show up in Takamagahara. It's really weird. But hey, 'weird' is par for the course when it comes to the new gods and shinki.

[He shrugs.
Either way, he can admire this guy's devotion to his god, even though it's rough for him. So glancing off to the side he adds,]

...But you know, if it's rough for you but you manage to get through it, you'll probably have a good bond with your god.

[He can't quite speak from experience yet, but... maybe things are getting better between Yato and him.]

[thevanguard]

All of it's weird.

[ Yata gives a long-suffering sigh because that had been the story of his life since waking up here. Just really, really weird. ]

Yeah? Maybe. She seems okay, for a god, I guess? [ Not that he has a lot of experience with those, but he liked her better than some of the others he'd met so far. ]

[returnedfromtheline]

Then you'll probably be able to stick it out.
It's important to have loyalty to your god. [Even if that's another thing the new shinki are weird on.]
I think you can work together better, that way.

[thevanguard]

[ Surprisingly enough, that gets a bit of a laugh from him, a hint of a pleased smile tugging at one corner of his lips. ]

Well, that's what we're here for, right? She seems pretty nice. Told me up front she wanted me to be her partner instead of... I don't know, whatever some other people here do.

[returnedfromtheline]

Tools. [The word slips from his mouth before he thinks about it, and he quickly shakes his head.]

No, I mean, that's the worst-case. Most of the new gods and shinki really do seem to want to work on getting along as partners, which is great. The old gods have all sorts of different relationships with their shinki too, but all of them that I've seen look positive and respectful.

[thevanguard]

Yeah. That.

[ It's what he'd expected, honestly. To have her immediately inform him otherwise had been... nice. ]

She doesn't even seem to mind that I sorta suck as a shinki. So I guess I lucked out.

[returnedfromtheline]

[Yukine shakes his head.]

You don't suck as a shinki. You and your god just have to work together to figure out the best way to use your ability.

And... seeing as you just got here, I'm guessing you haven't learnt how to make a borderline yet. I can teach you.

[thevanguard]

You can try.

[ Yata huffs out an exasperated sigh, looking frustrated. ]

I tried at training. But apparently I can do something weird instead and every time I tried to cast a Borderline I just ended up making some sort of fire barrier instead.

[returnedfromtheline]

... Fire...

Weird is the norm for you guys...

[Yukine puts on a stubbron expression.]

But that doesn't mean you can't do a borderline too. I had another shinki with a similar problem, and he's mostly gotten over it. [If Goten-kun can do it, you sure as heck can, Yata.]

[thevanguard]

Another shinki who could summon fire?

[ Yata's atention is piqued by that. ]

Well, if you can teach me, then awesome. Because the last thing I need is to accidentally set my god on fire when I'm trying to protect her.

[returnedfromtheline]

[Yukine shakes his head.]

Naw, it was actually some sort of energy beam. Heh, compared to that, fire is kinda normal.
But I get what you mean- you gotta learn control either way.

[And Yukine now enters teaching-mode, looking over at Yata seriously.]

I'll start by recommending to you what I did for him- if you always shoot fire with your right hand, try making a borderline with your left. It might help separating them like that. Other than that, it's just a lot of concentration and practice.