Hello! My name is Elder Sha (open log)

[erogappa]

Who: Gojyo and whoever he runs into!
What: Snooping around the Far Shore to try and learn more about why they're all here
When: The days following the temple fire (March 27-31ish)
Where: All over the Far Shore and select spots on the Near Shore
Warnings: will update



Gods and shinki both are disappearing, the priest had said. And nobody knows why. As if being told that he was a) dead, and b) a shape-shifting monster hunter wasn't bad enough (although, to be honest, he was really on board with the monster hunter thing. How cool was that?) Without any memories to draw on -- without even really knowing what he knew and didn't know -- he didn't see a lot of options available to him.

(open to anyone:)
1. He could go talk to Amaterasu. She was the head god around here, as far as he'd been able to determine, and given that somebody had just set her house on fire with her in it while papering the neighborhood with DOWN WITH AMATERASU flyers, he was going to go out on a limb and guess that she knew something about the whole mess he'd found himself in the middle of.

Now if he could just find her.

(Open to anyone:)
2. He could -- and he really loved this word -- crowdsource. Whoever was responsible had to be watching the network -- they'd be a fool if they weren't -- so in-person conversations was the best bet. And yeah, okay, he felt a little stupid at the idea of walking up to one random temple after another and asking the gods and shinki there what they knew about the disappearances, but he also turned into a goddamn staple remover, and there was nothing stupider than that.

(Locked to Yuri and/or Neji and/or Hakkai:)
3. He could feel out the resistance. Sharak Sanzo had all but dumped an invitation into his lap, and she'd made it pretty clear that the swamp elf was a part of it, too. Confronting the guy seemed like a potentially dangerous way to spend an afternoon, but he was already dead, right? What harm could it do? And eventually, if he asked around, somebody would have to know where the creepy smiling guy covered in plant tattoos lived.

(Locked to Sharak:)
4. He could blow the whole goddamn plan off, and go find someplace to get a drink.



(ooc: If none of these prompts work for you, feel free to wildcard and make your own!)

Comments

[onerous]

[She looks to him, a bit startled at his sudden approach and attempt to explain himself.

"I don't know you," he says and it makes her heart ache a little more than she would've thought. Right, she supposed he doesn't does he. Not anymore.]

I think as a goddess I'm supposed to say something profound here like, 'do any of us really know ourselves?' [Actually that does sound good, if only she was the type to actually use it seriously or something. She runs a hand through her hair and sighs, turning into the kitchen and busying herself with getting coffee ready.]

But, well... This is your chance then, right? To get to know yourself, what kind of person you used to be or are--and to change it, if you wanted to. [A pause and she adds:] And a chance to get to know me too, of course. I... think I'd like that. [She wonders how dangerous it is to reconnect like that, though, and suddenly she thinks she can understand the agony others might've gone through when their old friends pop up as shinki now]

[erogappa]

Yeah? [ --and his tone is already brighter. It's really not fair, is it, the way they've all been assigned out. Some of them have gotten lucky -- Ekko's a jerk and a slob, but he's a good guy and Gojyo's got no complaints -- but he can't imagine anyone wanting to live in a place like this, dealing with... with whatever kind of prayers the Suicide Temple receives. ]

I think I'd like that too. [ He finds himself rubbing at his lips and chewing his nails a lot, he's found. That smoking habit must have been pretty deeply ingrained... but he's not going to pick it up again. He's the kind of person with good self-control, he's decided, and he's not the kind of person who needs to be huffing smoke at people all day long. ] I mean, assuming your shinki doesn't have a problem with it.

[ His opinion of Yuri might be a good one, but his opinion of Hakkai clearly isn't. ]

[onerous]

[Her eyebrows raise in surprise at that comment. She'd assumed Hakkai would've been friendly with Gojyo, but maybe not? Was he trying to do some self-sacrificing thing and push Gojyo away to keep from getting either of them hurt, or...something?

What does she say here? She sort of-- huffs, amused and looks away, shaking her head.] It's my choice, isn't it? [Even if she had to sneak around behind his back or something, he can't really stop either of them.

But she smiles faintly.] ...He's not that bad, really. But, my word doesn't really mean much, huh? I'm biased, since he's my shinki and all. [He's not terrible! Okay his personality can be pretty terrible, but, uh.

She makes a motion as if to touch her neck and then thinks better, lowering it again. No use touching the blight she knows is there beneath her hair on the back of her neck.

Really, he's not that bad.]

Did something happen...?

[erogappa]

[ He's not that bad. Everyone keeps trying to tell him what a good guy that damn swamp elf is, but it's always in the most backhanded way possible. He's not terrible. He likes being seen as scary, but. There's always a but.

Gojyo's getting real sick of that guy's but. ]

Nah. [ His fingers twitch again, and he finds himself chewing on the edge of his thumbnail. This is getting ridiculous. ] Nothin' you need to worry about. [ Or feel like you need to justify. ] Probably just a misunderstanding.

[ If she works with somebody like Cho, then... then he can't trust her. It's a good lesson to learn -- don't be taken in by a sweet smile and a soft voice.

It's a shame. He really thinks he could have liked her.

Is there a place to sit? He'd like to sit, if he's staying, and chat like they're friends. ]

So how long have you been the goddess of this place?

[onerous]

That tends to happen. [Misunderstanding, she means, and she looks at him quietly. She suspects nothing of his inner thoughts on the matter, which is for the best, really, though she's not sure if it would change anything.

She gestures for Gojyo to go ahead and make himself at home as she enters the kitchen area. It's homey and quaint, but Yuri hardly knows her way around it anymore. She opens a cupboard, frowns, then opens another to locate the mugs] Must've reorganized again... [She mutters, embarrassed, as she goes to locate the rest of the things she needs to make the coffee.

His question makes her pause and hum thoughtfully.] That's... [A good question, actually. How long had it been?] Almost 4 months now, I think. [It feels like much longer.

4 months of those types of prayers... She glances out the window at the noose trees and winces] I don't enjoy it. [In case there's any sort of misunderstanding, and she glances to him anxiously to make sure he understands that.] People hear 'goddess of suicide' and get a lot of wrong ideas.

[erogappa]

[ Yeah, he just bets misunderstandings tend to happen around Cho.

The place is a lot nicer inside than it was outside -- a little small, and a little plain, but he's not one to judge for stuff like that. He's got no idea of what his personal taste consists of, but, nooses aside, this place is pretty nice.

Speaking of nooses, though.. the curtains need to be thicker (or, y'know. Exist). Those things are gonna take away his appetite. ]

You're serious? [ People actually think that? ] Nobody wants to deal with suicides, are you kidding me? [ She might have the afterlife's worst shinki and be blind to his faults, but that doesn't mean she wants -- or deserves -- to live in a place like this. ] That shit's just creepy.

[ Four months of being surrounded by death trees, answering prayers -- he can only assume -- about suicide. He doesn't know if he could do it. ]

Can't you ask to be reassigned?

[onerous]

[She runs a hand through her hair and sighs, relieved despite herself. It's a little strange to think she knows how Gojyo will react to things, only to be aware that she really may not, at all. Who really knew the real Gojyo?

She's still appreciative of his response though and smiles sadly.] I don't think they would. Besides... If they did that, they'd just give this role to someone else. I don't think I could bear knowing that I sent someone else to this just because I wanted out. [She plays with the bag of coffee beans a moment, taking a deep breath and a slow exhale as the comforting smell of it begins to permeate the air.]

I can handle it, so I'll do it. [She glances to him curiously.] What does your god do?

[erogappa]

[ Well that was some self-sacrificing bullshit. Maybe this was the right role for her after all. ]

Ekko? [ He makes a huge mess tearing apart electronics he steals from the living world, is what he does. ] He's a god of time or something, so he -- we -- live in a clock. [ It's every bit as stupid as it sounds. ] He's new, though. We both are. Some of these gods, they've been here for hundreds of years, but all us new folks only seem to have shown up in the past six months or so.

[ The coffee does smell good. ]

Have you heard anything about what might have happened six months ago to trigger this?

[onerous]

A clock? [She echoes him in surprise, trying to imagine this. Like... a big grandfather clock?? Or one of those round clocks? She opens and closes her mouth a couple times, trying to decide if she should ask before she gives in.] Is it digital or analog? [SHE'S CURIOUS, OKAY. And clearly fighting a little smile.

His question makes her hesitate though, going over the information she does know.] I'm not sure about six months ago, but... Amaterasu, the goddess in charge of-- Everyone, as far as I know, she died or was killed and reborn before the new gods and shinki started showing up. Apparently the old gods can do that. [Just be reborn like it's nothing.] She just appears as a little girl now and doesn't remember anything before she was killed, I think.

I'm pretty willing to bet that the two are connected somehow.

[erogappa]

[ He's not even going to dignify that with a response.

The part about Amaterasu, though... this is new information, and fucking disturbing new information. He roughly combs his hair back with both hands, scrubbing at his scalp as he tries to think through this. ]

She died?

[ And came back. So if she'd died in the fire a few days ago, would she have been found in the ashes as an infant? Like a... a what's it called. Phoenix.

But there's no way she set that fire herself, and it doesn't sound like she meant to die the first time, either. So somebody is killing gods. ]

Who the hell could kill a god?

[ There's a little fear in his voice, and for good reason. ]

[onerous]

I don't think it's really that hard. We can't die of old age, and probably can't die from illness either I guess, but... Any of the 'usual' methods of killing someone would probably still work.

[She runs a hand through her hair] The old gods come back as children, but I haven't seen any of the 'new' gods coming back like that. Or... Usually coming back at all.

[She glances to him and then away, frowning. She pours the coffee to distract herself and sets one mug down in front of him, curling her fingers around her own to feel the heat of it. It burns her fingers, but it grounds her at least.]

But for someone as powerful as Amaterasu? Either someone even more powerful than we could imagine, or someone who managed to take her by surprise.

[erogappa]

[ The coffee's still far too hot to drink, so he holds the cup gingerly and blows on it to stop himself from fidgeting. ]

Like someone close to her.

[ It's happened twice now, hasn't it? First time she died, and then the fire where she almost died. ]

If it was somebody super powerful, I think we'd know it. They'd be taking her throne for themselves, wouldn't they? [ He blows on his coffee again. ] Or at least putting their own puppet ruler on the throne.

[ But the fire started in Amaterasu's temple. Who has access to the temple? Is it just her and her shinki? ...Damn, there's just too many questions he needs answered. ]

Do you know how she died?

[onerous]

It seems most likely. Someone she'd trust, someone she'd let her guard down around...

[She rests the edge of the coffee against her mouth, just breathing and thinking.] Maybe they were trying to see if they could permanently put her down. If the gods come back, there's no way they could have killed her and set themselves up as a rule right away, knowing she'd just come back.

But if she dies and is reborn without her memories of before, and that person tells her, 'I'm a trusted person you can rely on, just follow what I say...' Amaterasu might be the 'puppet ruler' herself.

...At least, it's a theory. [And so far just that, really. She's not sure they really have any solid evidence to point to anything. At Gojyo's question she shakes her head after a moment of thought, expression apologetic.]

Sorry, I don't know for sure. I didn't think to really ask, actually... [He might not like this next bit of advice, but:] You could try asking Hakkai, if you get the chance. He's been investigating for longer than I have, he might remember more details.