005 | Sakura In The Night

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Cherry blossom viewing
When: Nighttime March 26, 2016
Where: A park with sakura trees
Summary: Heaven is throwing a small party to view the sakura and let everyone relax.



After the absolute disaster that happened with handing out chocolates, the Heavens are tripping over themselves to make up for their inability to properly handle the situation. They are eager to make amends and assure everyone that they are hardworking individuals who want nothing more than to make everyone's stay here enjoyable or at least pleasant. To that end, they have invited all of the gods and shinki to a lovely flower viewing, since the sakura are in season.

And by 'invited', they mean 'mandatory', of course. You will accept their apology, whether you like it or not.

It's not all bad, though. The Heavens have provided various kimonos that can be worn, if you haven't brought your own, but you're not required to wear a kimono. They would, however, really like it if you did wear them. It's very traditionally Japanese, after all.

The party is taking place at night so that you can all hide your merrymaking from the Near Shore residents and also because the night sky is beautiful against the cherry blossoms. So try to at least enjoy yourselves while you're here.



Banquet

Every kind of food imaginable is available for your eating pleasure. On top of that, there are dozens of different kinds of desserts ready to be devoured as well. For the older crowd, booze has been provided and is being served by white-clad shinki bearing the golden chrysanthemum of Amaterasu. They are, however, refusing to serve alcohol to anyone who looks too young to drink, sorry guys.

Cherry Blossoms

The blossoms are absolutely gorgeous this year, and they are at the peak of their blooming right now. Nearly every single bud has bloomed and the pink petals are floating by everywhere you go. There is an ethereal light emanating from each of the trees, lighting up the area with a soft, pink light, yet it doesn't seem to be drowning out the brightness of the stars at all. It really is the most beautiful cherry blossom viewing anyone could ever hope for.

"Secret" Corner

Somehow, the Heavens have managed to make one small corner of the grotto into a completely secluded area. There is no marking or signs to indicate what this corner should be used for, but anyone entering it will suddenly realize that this is a place for lovers to meet privately. Only those that you enter the corner with will be able to notice your presence, and you will be unable to notice anyone else's presence as well. Enjoy yourselves, young ones!

Counselling

Off to the side, there is a tiny table set up with a small, nicely written sign that reads "Gentle Counselling". On the other side of the table is a sweetly smiling shinki who is willing to listen to your problems and answer any questions you might have. She is also here to help out any gods that are having a hard time dealing with knowing about how their shinki died and any shinki that is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are dead. Counselling will also gladly be offered to anyone who is still pissed off or upset in any way about what happened after White Day.



In Summary:

• Enjoy the cherry blossoms
• Eat lots of good food
• Promise it's not poisoned
• Spend time with people you like
• Meet the newbies
• Have fun~

Comments

[doestheickyjobs]

"Sure we can stay out of it." Axel reaches over to snag one of the cupcakes for his own. They look pretty good, and if Add's eating them, they're also probably tested for safety.

Which is nice to know.

"We just need to be real careful about whatever the Heavens ask us to do, and keep an eye out for our gods."

And if that doesn't work it doesn't work... but it should.

[subtract]

"In theory, perhaps." If they avoided doing any work with the Heavens, that could keep them out of trouble, but... "We don't know what other methods these enemies might take. They've already shown that they see us as unwitting accomplices, if not direct targets. Note how their attack caused harm to humans as well as the gods and shinki who were delegated the work, but I don't recall seeing any of the higher-ups doing that work personally. So even if we say they were targeting the Heavens, they didn't actually attack the Heavens directly."

If they could sneak in ayakashi like that, why not set them up to be released while still in the Heavens' possession? Actually, if they wanted to attack the Heavens to usurp control, wouldn't it make more sense to avoid attacking gods or shinki who are only following orders? Those are the people you'd want to try and convert to your cause, attacking them directly would only cause them to side with the Heavens more firmly.

... Unless they're not concerned with persuading anyone. Add frowns.

"It's also possible the Heavens aren't the real target," he suggests after a long pause, thinking over his words carefully. It's a bit more of a delicate subject. "The Heavens may have just been the most convenient method to distribute the ayakashi. There would be easier methods if they were targeting human victims, but if they wanted to attack new gods and shinki...

"Our existence in this world is unusual. Perhaps there are those who disagree strongly with new souls being dragged in to act as gods."

[doestheickyjobs]

"So you think they were trying to get us? Nah," Axel says, waving a hand. "They told us not to eat the chocolate. Somebody wanted us to turn against Heaven."

Which could be a way to get them, too, just using Amaterasu as a weapon instead of ayakashi.

He shrugs.

"That's my bet, anyway. It'd be easier to get us out of the way if they wanted."

[subtract]

"Hm, that's a possibility as well, but I wouldn't expect the Heavens themselves to go to all that trouble, no. An enemy of the Heavens who is also against the new gods and shinki seems most likely to me. A plot to turn us against the Heavens, though..."

He hadn't really thought about that one yet, mainly because it seemed to be having mixed results so far. Some gods and shinki offering to help, others expressing their anger and disappointment in how the matter was handled.

And Add kind of offered his help, too, even if he's mostly doing it for his own personal gain. Whether he shares his findings or not will depend on what he can get the Heavens to offer in exchange. Or on what his findings actually say.

"... Maybe. It's hard to say for sure with only one attack to draw upon. If there are other attacks that appear to highlight the Heavens' incompetence, that could very well be the reason."

[doestheickyjobs]

"You'd have to ask someone who's been here longer about that," Axel said.

It was interesting, sure. Axel's not sure if there's going to be a clue about Heaven's motives in what they'd done before he got here, but maybe.

And did it actually matter? Sure, if they were going to get attacked, it would be nice to know which way the attack was coming from. Axel figured, at this point, he'd just need to keep an eye out everywhere.

[subtract]

Add scoffs. "Obviously. I'm just theorizing." He doesn't really expect Axel to have any answers for him, but it helps to have a second opinion.

"Anyway..." He pauses, having finished his cupcake and now surveying the dessert table to see what else is good. Which ones has he tested again...? "How are things going with your god? Any success with the temple issue?"

[doestheickyjobs]

"Yeah, actually, we did figure that one out!" Axel brightens: good news, as opposed to the who-knows news that's about all he can provide with most of the questions Add comes up with.

"Pippa came up with a ritual out of one of her books to get the place to like me a little better."

As for the details: okay, those were a little weird and embarrassing, but whatever, it worked.

[subtract]

"Did you, now? Interesting. Did you determine the cause of the problem, then?" Add hasn't really checked in about the temple thing since they figured out it hates both him and Roxas, but perhaps whatever Axel and Pippa researched shed some more light on it. It was never really Add's problem, but he does find the topic mildly fascinating.

Of course, he's not the type to accept answers without all the details. "What sort of ritual did you use to fix it?"

[doestheickyjobs]

"Well, see, it turned out the place just did that to guys. Roxas was right."

Axel waves a hand: no seriously! No details necessary! It's fine, he swears. "It was some kind of dedication ritual for Aphrodite. See, I figure that because shinki just get handed out like popcorn around here -- our gods don't pick us and we don't pick them -- the temple didn't really know I belonged. So, we had to convince it."

[subtract]

"So the temple has a will of its own, in a way. Hmm..." He hasn't run into any issues with his temple, but that's an interesting possibility to consider... although, since it's to do with magic, it's a bit annoying to study.

As he trails off on that thought, he picks out a a cookie from one of the other platters... or, well, more than one cookie. Several. He just kind of stacked as many as he could fit in one hand. It's easier this way, alright?

He bites off half of one before he remembers the other half of Axel's answer. "Mm, what did the ritual involve? Could be useful, if someone else every needs to visit."

[doestheickyjobs]

"I don't think it's a visitor kind of thing." Axel shrugs, savoring his bite of dessert. "You know, especially for someone else's shinki. It was all about 'I dedicate myself to thee Aphrodite,' and that kind of stuff."

Apparently it didn't have to be taken too seriously to work, which is just as well, but Axel thinks it'd be kind of the wrong thing for someone else's shinki to do. And it might not even work for a god.

[subtract]

"So? It's not like it really means anything, if that's all it is," Add says in the voice of someone who is definitely thinking 'I can just lie my way through, right?' It's not like he has any pride in his current god or anything. No big deal!

But he's also not especially determined on this point, either. It sounds like it might embarrassing... maybe he'll just skip that plan, if he ever needs to break into Pippa's temple for whatever reason. He sighs.

"Fine, keep it to yourself. It still could be useful to know. Perhaps other gods might require similar rituals, if their homes had any unusual security. It seems like a lot of their old things were left behind."

[doestheickyjobs]

"Hey, if anybody actually wants to do it I'll share. You'll probably have to figure out whatever ritual goes with the other god if their temple has problems, though."

Axel shrugs. It's not like he has any particularly strong loyalty to whatever goddess Pippa happened to get tossed her way in the shuffle, even if he likes Pippa well enough. But he's not just going to let people in without knowing them. Add's kind of weird. He might start experimenting in the place, and they've had enough trouble with the junk heaps.