[Open] Break my back till the mornin' comes

[volksdaemon]

Who: Schuldig volksdaemon etc.
What: Helpful!Schuldig (thank you Eros) is out and about helping gods & shinki answer their prayers and other miscellaneous desires
When: May 27+
Where: Near Shore for most Open Prompts
Warnings: none currently but new CR please fill out his powers & permissions post.
Prompts are in Action format, but I can switch if you'd like.

---
[Closed Prompts in comments]

[OPEN] Near Shore: Grisly Kabuki Show
[A long time ago, okay two weeks ago, someone had anonymously suggested to Schuldig that he go to see a kabuki show. Not just any kabuki show, though - Yotsuya Kaidan, the Ghost Story of Yotsuya - on the promise that there was 'plenty of grisly revenge for you there.'

Now that he's being subtly encouraged to get out and about more, he's planning to see it. If you see him on his second or third watch, he might even be outside of the theater conning scalpers out of their own money - a deal that's not a deal sort of thing where he buys 7 at the cost of 10 - so that he can give them to people waiting in line.]

[OPEN] Near Shore: Beach Bum
[Schuldig's pale skin is getting tanned and those sunglasses he's normally only wearing like decoration are actually getting use, finally. Feel free to notice him lounging or trying to chat up the lifeguards.

Then there's the matter of trying to be a good-hearted God of Mischief down here. If he notices that there are people haggling down 'tourist' prices from the locals, he uses his telepathy to calm both parties down. If he sees kids playing pranks, he'll help them not get noticed by parents or authority figures as they run off. That sort of thing.]

[OPEN] Near Shore: Ayakashi
[If you've wandered near that fishy ayakashi and gotten yourself trapped, he'll definitely notice, or try to keep you away from it if he notices you wandering too close. He can hear the thoughts of ayakashi getting closer - the raw, tangled mess of raw emotions that is - as well as those of gods and shinki without strong mental shields.

If you actually do manage to get yourself trapped, he'll have to call a shinki to get you out of there, but he might still do it. Depending on who it is and depending on if you got yourself trapped so that one of his followers didn't get caught.]

[OPEN] Near Shore: Fireworks
[Trying to get a better spot to watch? Schuldig might use his telepathy to convince some noisy neighbors on a blanket to take their drinking elsewhere so you can have that one. Or he might be able to get a crying baby to fall asleep. The line for drinks & food could be a lot shorter as soon as he decides to go there, standing behind you in line. If you're trying to get an adult beverage and you're not an adult, he has no problem getting you one. Drinking customs in Europe are different, so he doesn't care.]

[OPEN] Far Shore: Anywhere But His Temple
[Even while very empathetic towards the human race now - specifically his followers - Schuldig doesn't plan to invite people out to his temple. As a result, he's out wandering. Specifically, he's combing the place for one of Amaterasu's lackeys somewhere down the chain of command with low enough mental shields that he can read their minds. It's a promise he owes Jae-Ha, actually.

As a result, Schuldig could be found just about anywhere standing off to the side with a thousand-yard-stare as he canvasses small sections of the Far Shore for just such a lackey.]

Comments

[Closed] Goten: Prayer #23, May 29

[volksdaemon]

[Schuldig hadn't been checking up on the yakuza he'd invited to the bakery awhile back, when he'd answered the bakery owner's request for more business and used Nagi's help to get them in there. That was a problem for one big reason -- Schuldig had used his telepathic influence to keep the police away, to stop them from noticing just how much ground the yakuza had expanded into.

So now he gets prayer to track down some yakuza. Are they from 'his' gang? That gang had become followers of his. If other people found that gang's hideout, the police may just wipe out the gang. Schuldig can't let that happen to his own followers, not now that he's genuinely empathetic towards them. How can he get the new person praying to him to have that answered while not killing off his own followers? But neither of his current shinki are going to be of much use to silently cover as much ground as he needs to to find the yakuza in question. Neither Munechika nor Jennifer can, on their own, travel that fast.

Then he thinks about someone he knows can fly. There's just one problem - the kid hates him. Schuldig can't focus too much on WHY the kid hates him thanks to the spell on his heart, but he knows it's going to be... difficult to say the least to convince Goten to work with him. But he has to try.

Schuldig tracks Goten down to Aditi's temple and has just enough patience to wait until Goten appears, wandering near the chicken coop and the very mean rooster, before calling out to the boy.]

'It's Loki. Hear me out. I'm not here to hurt you or anyone else.'

[sonofson]

[If he's not hunting down bugs and frogs, he's bothering the chickens. Goten is good at making his own fun and keeping himself entertained much to the poor birds dismay. He's careful with them, gentle even, but it's clear they don't care much for being bothered by the energetic child.]

Come back! I got more food for you! Sharak won't mind!

[At least he thinks so. He already scattered about over half the bag's contents as he's dragged it along behind. Never mind the flock of chickens already pecking at that trail, he's trying to befriend the rooster---until he hears that voice.

Goten freezes to a halt and shoots up instantly into the air. He stops just above tree level as he looks around with wide eyes. Left, then right and even up and down. Where is he? Why is he around? Goten can't see the god but he can hear and there's an odd sense...he knows he's around somewhere nearby. Frowning, Goten clenches his fists a bit, taking a breath as he shouts back:]

Uh-uh! Not after what you did to Sousuke!

[He even sticks his tongue out---but just for a second. He's angry with Schuldig but he's more scared of him after there first meeting. Goten knows he's strong and fast but that means nothing when it comes to this god.]

[volksdaemon]

[Schuldig rolls his eyes. Nope, not gonna be easy. He knew that but the kid being up in the air means he can't even get face to face with him.]

'Shout all you want but if you're up there then I can only talk to you in your head like this. If you get to the ground then at least I'll talk out loud.'

[But he gets the emotional impression from Goten a half second later. Fear and anger both make sense, but he has to get that feeling redirected somehow. Well, like this, he has no reason to withhold what his purpose for coming was.]

'This isn't about Sousuke. It's about some innocent humans on the Near Shore who could get killed if I don't get down there soon, but I need your help to make sure that doesn't happen.'

[sonofson]

You can't get me up here! No way am I coming down! You're trying to trick me!

[He waves his arms as he shouts back down at the ground. He has a rough idea where Schuldig is...or at least where he's guessing he is. There is no way he's coming down from the safety of sky because as far as he knows, the god can't fly and can't get him up there.

But its the mention of people getting killed that makes Goten blink slowly and settle down a bit. He doesn't want anyone getting hurt or killed...]

....

[He frowns thoughtfully. Schuldig didn't seem to care about people getting hurt when they first met. He actually stopped Goten from activity helping more people out so why does it matter now? Is that a god thing?]

How do...you know that?

Near Shore: Grisly Kabuki Show

[countingthecost]

[During one of his wanderings in the Near Shore, Yamanami had seen a flier advertising the show. Curious to see if kabuki has changed much since the Bakufu period, he's been in line for a good hour to try his luck at tickets. Someone teach this old man how to book tickets online.

Imagine his bad luck though that the last ticket was bought out just as he reached the front of the line!! Yamanami takes the news like a champ, smiling and telling the ticket sales representative that there's no need to apologize, he'll just come by for the next showing. But when he's walked a few steps away and out of sight, he lets out a sigh.

He really wanted to see the show.]

Re: Near Shore: Grisly Kabuki Show

[volksdaemon]

[It's only thanks to his telepathy that he notices two things about the man after the rest of the crowd has gone inside - one, he's from the Far Shore and two, he'd been trying to see the show. He'd been hustling the hustler while the chat about a lack of tickets had been going on, but he catches up on it in a brief rewind of the man's last few minutes.

That's when Schuldig walks up, all smiles the likes of which people better acquainted with him wouldn't think possible.]

Well this is a bummer - I bought two tickets and it turns out my friend's not going to make it.

[He holds up the two tickets for extra effect.]

Were you trying to get in just now, by chance?

[countingthecost]

[Yamanami's grown accustomed to being largely invisible among the living, to the point that when he hears a voice right next to him his first reaction is to assume that offer is not for him.

But then he realises that there's no happy "thank you"s, no grateful response. And when he looks around, he realises there's a man standing there, looking at him expectantly for an answer. Schuldig's caught him a bit off-guard here, and Yamanami's quite taken aback. Both by the generous offer and by the fact that he's actually being approached by a random stranger.] O-oh, I apologize. Were you talking to me?

[volksdaemon]

[That gets a laugh out of Schuldig straightaway.]

'Course I was. I knew you were a Far Shore person, so why not?

[He wiggles the ticket in the air near the man's face.]

Little token from a god. No sense letting it go to waste, after all.

[He's a little excited to get into the show.]

Near Shore: Beach Bum

[thirdbeauty]

[Clearly, the absolute best scenario for everyone involved here is for Natsuru to run into the guy who had been borderline creepy about her work costume a while back at the beach, of all places. While she is, of course, wearing even less. Though, to be fair, so is mostly every other woman on the beach today. So there's less reason to be awkward here, especially when the living still kind of glance over her like she's invisible.

Still, her eyes meet his briefly and she immediately glances away, unsure of what to do. It's not that she's nervous - she can handle him, if he decides to make pervy comments again. She's just not exactly jumping at the chance to speak to him again, and maybe hoping he doesn't notice her any more than the other guys around do.]

Re: Near Shore: Beach Bum

[volksdaemon]

[Well here's a familiar face he can try to make it up to that may be a bit easier to persuade than someone with multiple interactions with him before, like Sora. He's out here helping his followers, but he can spare a minute to go talk to her.]

Hey Natsuru-chan... you look like you're ready to enjoy the day. Could I buy you an ice-cream?

[He finally rounds to face her, a far more genuine smile than she saw him with last.]

To make up for before.

[thirdbeauty]

[Crap, he saw her... she raises a hand to brush at her hair, looking like she might avoid him for a moment. But he catches her off guard, by being... polite? He doesn't make any weird comments, or leer at her.

It makes her pause and actually look at him, slight confusion in her eyes. That smile seems awfully genuine.]

Oh... um...

[Well, they only met that one time. Maybe he's really not like that.]

... You're serious?

[volksdaemon]

'Course I'm serious.

[The spell over him allows him to have a sort of logical disconnect with the last time they met. He knows he made a bad impression, but just assumes it was a misunderstanding.]

I'm out here enjoying the day, so you should too.

[Certainly acts genuine today. He doesn't know about the spell on him.]

Prayer 20 I'm so sorry this is late

[eternalshield]

[Zeno runs right past Schuldig, actually. Doesn't see him, because right on his tail is a grimy gruesome spirit he's disturbed. Something something young people felt an awesome responsibility to... clean, he investigated despite not having a shinki, and. Now he is being chased.]

How old are you?

[He laughs, because he can run forever, his body already recovering. And he sympathizes with the ayakashi, oddly. Poor thing didn't ask to be disturbed.

It's just, you know, flooding the place with polluted water, and that can't be borne.]

Zeno needs a weapon...

Nah <3 May 27 I think

[volksdaemon]

[Well if it isn't his old friend Zeno, the undying dragon who he shared a drink with. Why on earth would he... Ah, an ayakashi.

Schuldig teleports a few feet ahead of Zeno so that he can ask as the other God runs past.]

Was that question for me? Doesn't matter a shinki's age, does it?

[Even if he's... not one. Then, he calls out, a bit louder since Zeno's gaining ground now.]

Holy water works too! If you're shinki's not around!

<3

[eternalshield]

For this ayakashi!

[It just feels old. Maybe it's his sixth sense, or maybe it's just an instinctive recognition of something he's so intimately familiar with...

Also, teleporting! Why does he always forget about that ability...? He leads the ayakashi a ways from Schuldig, then reappears next to him.]

Must Zeno be the one that blesses it, or...? [He'd done that a lot during his time as a priest, it never... seemed to do much... Maybe there's a real proper way to do it here.]

Or how else do you obtain it? Hi! It's good to see you! Zeno appreciates all the help.

[All of his time with Schuldig has been pleasant so far!]

:3

[volksdaemon]

Ayakashi can't answer questions like that, you know. They're just writhing balls of raw emotion--

[That's about all he gets out before the ayakashi turns on them, coming back for Zeno again.]

Nah, I'm a god too, so I can find a shrine real quick. Keep it distracted - but don't let it touch you.

[And then he teleports away to get a bucket and some holy water from his own shrine.]

[Closed] Goten: Prayer #24, May 29

[volksdaemon]

[Continuation of this thread.]

[Schuldig starts wracking his brain. Now's when he needs Goten the most, really.]

I need you to fly around and look at these yakuza recruits - see if you can notice anything strange about them. I can give you names and descriptions long-distance if you'll let me, or you can do it the hard way. I just want to find the common thread.

[That's when he sighs.]

And not even the higher ups here at their headquarters know enough about all of the new recruits for me to find them through telepathy. At best I'd be dealing with third- or fourth-hand information. That's not good enough to get all of them, let alone see what's going on around them.

[So he looks to Goten, trying to figure out if any of that makes sense or sounds reasonable, while still realizing that Goten is a child.]

Round 2!

[sonofson]

[By this point Goten is sitting down on the roof cross-legged as he waited for Schuldig to 'hash' this out. He couldn't really suggest too much seeing as he hardly knew what yakuza were outside of being this gods' followers or something. They didn't sound very nice though.

But he waits patiently, looking down at some ants trailing along the roof top. Sadly there aren't many bugs or lizards on hot rooftops. He's interested in helping Schuldig, he really is, but all the waiting is boring and he really doesn't understand everything. At least, its allowing him to become a bit less jumpy. That is to say, Goten isn't fully letting down his guard either.

But when he is spoken to, he lifts his head and perks up a bit. Listening, he blinks slowly, several times, before speaking up.]

So...I just gotta fly around and spot 'em and let you know if they're being weird?

[Goten straightens his legs as he leans back and hops up with ease. Okay, he knows what to do now! Awesome! That sounded ease enough.]

I donno if names would help me but if you wanna tell me what they look like, that would. Do you want me grab them and bring them here if they're being strange?

[Because there's nothing abnormal about swooping down and snatching someone out of the blue!]

Re: Round 2!

[volksdaemon]

[The suggestion from Goten gets a laugh out of the man.]

Yeah, bringing them back to me would help a lot.

[Unlike his normal behavior, this would mean actually just TALKING to them and wringing them dry of information the telepathic way. At least to start. Depending on the situation.]

Okay, let's see what I can find...

[Ah, there we go, the boss did know something as it turned out.]

All of the newer recruits are getting armbands that are registered for some after-school club, nothing too nefarious at all. But the armbands are green with silver characters on them. So anyone with one of those is fair game. Let's see...

[He walks over to the edge of the roof and motions for Goten to follow him. There's one such young man wearing it by the back of the bakery - at the intersection with another building, clearly being a look out. He can't be more than 16, but he is in fact wearing the green armband.]

That's what it looks like. Someone like you should be able to feel any sort of... funny Far Shore business, right? Like, in case you run into a random ayakashi. Don't try to engage it right now.

[Godless, and thus unable to defeat it. Granted Schuldig's in the same boat, but he doesn't want Goten to come to harm today - or get distracted, as a matter of fact.]

Late to the beach

[returnedfromtheline]

[Walking along the beach is usually a pleasant enough pass-time. But now that the weather is warming up the vendors are coming out in force.
Yukine can hear it just as he comes in view of the storefront- haggling is not really a thing that happens in Japan, but these guys are doing their loudest and best. Yukine rolls his eyes as he walks. It doesn’t even look like rain for the moment, so why fight so hard over an umbrella?

And then suddenly, the voices tone right down. He might not have even noticed, but for how abrupt it was. Half-afraid that it’s an ayakashi appearing to make things worse Yukine takes a careful look around, but it turns out that the vendor and the customers are just …calmer.
Well, that was weird. But welcome.

Shrugging to himself Yukine continues walking down the sparsely peopled street.]

Re: Late to the beach

[volksdaemon]

[Now this kid is interesting to Schuldig because, when scanning a crowd, he catches all kinds of wild chatter - white noise really. Nothing much of interest, but it's a steady stream of information as he switches channels from the store clerk to his customer and back again. Then there's this kid - not exactly a blank spot, but with a kind of shield up that prevents him from even wanting to talk to him. Apart from obviously being a Far Shore denizen - obvious to Schuldig - this makes him interested in who the kid is.

So he walks on up next to Yukine, hands in his pockets.]

I know they tell us to keep an eye out for wandering spirits, but I take it they didn't mean someone like you.

[returnedfromtheline]

[Never quite expecting to be spoken to while on the Near Shore, Yukine is surprised by the man suddenly appearing at his side and speaking to him. But he tries to not let it show too much.

Looking up at the red-head with a bland expression he shrugs.]

That makes for a good pun seeing as I'm just wandering around killing time right now. But other than that, no, it doesn't mean me.

[He points to his left collarbone, where his shirt is partially covering the red kanji of his name.]

I'm already taken.

[That's sure a weird way to start a conversation though, pun intended or not. Must be a new god. Or new shinki, but he can't imagine that the shinki have been told to watch for wandering spirits, when they can't do anything about them.]

[Closed] Goten: Prayer #25, May 29

[volksdaemon]

[Continuation of this thread.]

[Schuldig could of course just tell Goten that he knew that, he knew that Goten wanted to protect them. But after all, he kind of already had, right? He'd admitted as much when he promised Goten the blackmail, giving him a way to protect Sousuke and Rin that was far, far better than 'his word.' That wasn't why Goten flared up, though. It was a show of power that Schuldig didn't back down from. He'd gone toe to toe with a pyrokinetic, flames licking his skin, and didn't back down then either. Snapped the guy's neck. His moral compass hadn't magically been fixed with Rin's spell, just Schuldig's priorities and what he'd do to accomplish those things being mitigated by the cost that could potentially befall his followers if he failed.

When Goten agrees, he holds up one hand to start the naming spell.]

Not just find it - Rend it into pieces.

[And he raises his hand, the light seeming to brighten in the space between them while their surroundings darken.]

Then you'll know my true name. For now, I'm just Loki.

[And what vessel form would Goten transform into, he wonders?]

[sonofson]

[Goten continues to sourly frown up at Schuldig as if it will somehow change the god's mind. It doesn't. He knows it won't but he's not happy about this at all. Especially after pointedly being questioned about those he cared about and being scared. Why does his first fight going to be the one person in all the far shore he's the most uneasy about. But it is for Sousuke and his god so Goten isn't going to back out.]

Rend it...R-right.

[He's not that similar with the word but he knows what it means from speaking with Yukine. He nods to that. It's not as though Goten could walk away from an ayakashi causing trouble and hurting people anyway.

The light between them becoming noticeably bright and surroundings darker makes Goten blink before he glances back to Schuldig looking more confused then upset now.]

How'd you do that..

[volksdaemon]

Rend is a spell I have to cast, but it gets channeled through you - the shinki. You just throw your whole self into destroying the ayakashi, from what I know.

[Without waiting for Goten to fully absorb that description, he begins the process of Naming him, so that the boy either commits to being Named or flees on the spot, be done with it.

The words he has to say feel different now - like without their past issues, regrettable in his current mood but necessary, they might have worked well together. The sarcasm and spite he normally conveys with the naming isn't there. He can't change the phrasing without risking the Naming process going wrong, but this is the first time he doesn't particularly want to. It's a rote memorization he can rattle off now. He holds onto the spiral of colors a bit longer than strictly required, to give Goten time to back or get completely committed. Flecks of yellow and orange light appear around them as Schuldig speaks]

Spirit, you are lost and adrift
You have nowhere to go and nowhere to return to
Thus I grant you a place to belong!

[His eyes glow brighter blue than they already are.]

My name is Loki!

[That's when, instead of random swirls, Schuldig starts to draw the character between himself and Goten then, twice as big as Goten himself. It shines bright orange and yellow as Schuldig paints it in midair.]

Bearing two names you shall remain here
With these names I make thee my servant
With these names I use my life to make thee a regalia fit to be wielded by a god.
Thou art Goten!
As Regalia, Ho!
Come... Hoki!

[He waits as the bright blue light engulfs Goten - a mental note telling him that he'd nickname the kid Chokuri or Chokery if this were to last longer - and pulls the spell colors in the general direction of his outstretched hand, wondering what the boy's vessel will be.