19 | Peaceful Departure

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Celebrating Obon
When: Evening August 10
Where: The Near Shore
Summary: Mortals may be partying, but there's lots of work for the denizens of the Far Shore to do.



It's the final day of Obon and spirits are being sent back to their homes -- both the ancestral spirits that have been welcomed home for the duration of the festival and the mischievous spirits that have been plaguing the Heavens. But some of them might not go easy, so Amaterasu has requested that gods and shinki old and new alike help ensure the spirits' peaceful departure.



Mukae-bi

Fires have been lit on hillsides and near cemeteries to lead the spirits back to their resting places and to protect them on their way, but angry ghosts and ayakashi are trying to quench the fires so they can attack weaker spirits. Keep the firewood stocked and the fires blazing high while you fight off the attacks.

Heavenly Exorcisms

It's time to bring any possessed household items to the Near Shore to ensure that the spirits are sent safely on their way. Some might go peacefully, while others might have to be purified by fire in order to set the spirits free. Hope you weren't too attached to that chair.

(Careful... spirits that manage to hide from the housecleaning can become permanent guests!)

Guarding the Gates

Hidden pathways into the underworld in caves throughout Japan are open from sunset to moonset on this night to allow the spirits who have temporarily left to return. Gods and shinki must watch over these pathways and ensure that no dangerous ayakashi take the opportunity to escape from the underworld before the moon sets.

After-party

After the moon sets, the denizens of the Heavens can finally kick back. Everyone is invited to a private hot spring on the Far Shore, where a midnight banquet spread is waiting in thanks for their hard work. Wash off any blight in the hot springs and enjoy the banquet before heading back home for a good night's sleep.

In Summary:

• Keep the fires burning
• Exorcise those annoying spirits
• Fight powerful ayakashi
• Enjoy a banquet
• Have fun~

Comments

Exorcisms

[nibelungvalesti]

[Without any warning whatsoever, the Valkyrie appears out of nowhere, like she'd stepped through a curtain without moving at all.]

Is the situation under control?

[bartenderizing]

[ He looks away and over to the Valkyrie, as the flames continued to engulf the appliance. ]

Yo. Yeah, it just needed to get in there. This just took a little longer than it normally would've.

[nibelungvalesti]

That was... a possessed item? [Why would a spirit possess such a strange device? Is that not highly unusual?]

[bartenderizing]

Yeah. Usually they were pretty small or easily grabbed things that got possessed.

[ This one... Was unusual. He blamed Izumo for having just that kind of luck, given that he used the oven the most. ]

[nibelungvalesti]

So I am aware. How did that one come about?

[A change in patterns could represent a dangerous shift in behavior... or it could just be a fluke.]

[bartenderizing]

No clue. For all I know, one of the spirits saw Izumo cooking and wanted to participate or something. His stuff has been pretty popular for possession.

[ Or just being grabbed by spirits in general. Shizuo's pretty sure they're mostly kids, what with Izumo's 'mom' aura. ]

[nibelungvalesti]

Really? How strange. Is there something about him that draws them? [The Valkyrie wouldn't understand a 'mom aura' if she sat in it full-strength.]

[bartenderizing]

He acts enough like a mom or caretaker type.

[ He has no qualms saying it aloud to someone, whether or not they'd understand it. ]

[nibelungvalesti]

Oh. I can see how that behavior would be unusual here.

[If she has met a single person who behaves in such a manner, she cannot name them.]

[bartenderizing]

I dunno how unusual it is, but he's very effective at it. It works on more than just kids too, from what I've seen.

[nibelungvalesti]

I suppose the Far Shore could use more people with such capability. There are few here who are in any way 'nurturing', and no doubt some of the shinki and even the gods could benefit. [She is faintly dismissive in her imperious way, finding such needs to be wasteful in the heavens, but as usual she has to admit this whole situation is a poor one.]