22 - Harvest Moon Viewing

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Harvest Moon Viewing
When: September 10, 6 PM
Where: The Meeting Hall grounds
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a moon-viewing party!







Party Games

Children are dashing all over the moon-viewing grounds in the early evening, flying kites or playing tag and other games. Many of them are wearing cute seasonal rabbit masks made of paper, or sporting ink curlicues and scribbles drawn over their faces, if they've lost too many games.

Card games and spinning top battles, a few practice archery butts towards the edge of the park, poetry-composing competitions, and even badminton: there's something for everyone, and anyone who doesn't look too busy may find themselves offered a rabbit mask and a game to play. Or perhaps you'd like to try your hand at drawing people into your own game?

Moon Viewing

The moon rises not long after sunset, looming over the garden in hazy golden and red splendor thanks to the volcanic fumes in the atmosphere. The games are winding down as darkness falls, and the faint scent of burning incense fills the air as people settle to view the moon rise. Shinki in their festival best, adorned with Amaterasu's golden chrysanthemum, are serving the guests. They set out trays of fresh seasonal fruit (Japanese pears, persimmons, and chestnuts) and plates of mochi, serve sake, and light portable grills to cook sweet potatoes and skewers of meat.

Mazed & Confused

Part of the grounds have been rearranged into a hedge-maze made of tall, plumed grasses packed close together. A sign at the entrance reads, "Bring back my ribbon from the center of the maze,
and I'll give you a special prize!"

Unfortunately, that's harder than it sounds. The maze is full of dead ends, confusing turns, and twisty little passages, which all look alike. It's almost magical how easy it is to lose your way inside, and the tufted grass will prove to have painfully sharp edges if anyone tries to cheat by pushing their way through the "walls" of the maze.

Those who successfully find their way to the center will find a white ribbon fluttering from the top of a tall pole. If they can climb the pole, pull the ribbon free, and make it back to the entrance, they will hear the sound of a child's laughter, and the ribbon in their hand will disappear to be replaced by a round cake of mochi. Enjoy the prize!

Wild Moon

One of the children participating most energetically in the games of tag and dashing around the party is wearing an oversized gray hoodie with the hood pulled up right to the edges of his happy rabbit mask. He's not being very careful, either: he keeps bumping into other party attendees and barely taking the time to mutter an apology before he sprints away.

Although nothing noticeable happens at the time, anyone who's been tagged or bumped into by that particular child will begin to feel more emotional, quicker to react, and less self-controlled as the night wears on. Those who he only brushed by won't be too powerfully affected, but the more times that he has run into someone, the stronger the effect will grow.

(Note: This won't cause anyone to have emotions that they wouldn't feel otherwise, but both ongoing moods and temporary reactions could be amplified.)

In Summary:

• Play party games
• Relax with snacks
• Try to solve the hedge maze
• Go wild
• Have fun~

Comments

C

[lostinshadows]

Wondering where you disappeared off to.

[He looks up at where Shun is in the tree, a hand placed against the trunk. Lavi frowns, the expression more genuine than ever since they've met.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun, on the other hand, looks rather reserved, his arms crossed on top of his knees and his eyes just visible over that. It means the obvious pain in his expression is visible, but it leaves him looking rather suspicious, especially since he feels that genuine look Lavi's wearing doesn't bode well for him managing to blow him off without letting on that there's something wrong.]

I shouldn't even be here. [That's murmured, more to himself than anything.] You found me. So you don't need to hang around.

[lostinshadows]

Too bad, I'm worried about you.

[Look, whatever that kid did earlier has his emotions spilling out a lot faster than he would like.

But he remains put, expression growing into that familiar stubborn set.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[That gets a bit of a bitter spitting sound through Shun's teeth.] Your loss.

[He doesn't really have a good record with protecting the people he cares about. Or even not hurting them himself. Usually he can push down those emotions and move on, but right now it feels more pronounced and raw than ever.

He turns his head away, letting out a breath as if frustrated.] Go worry about someone who deserves it.

[lostinshadows]

[His eye narrows.

There's something odd about this. Lavi has always been familiar with a Shun who keeps a lock under his own emotions, usually only showing it through actions. Like him punching continuously after Yuto left.

He shakes his head.]

And you think you don't deserve to be worried about?

[revolutionfalcon]

[The sound that comes from Shun this time is, if possible, even more bitter, though trying to be a snort. It seems naive to him, but then, most people here don't know all that much about him.]

Look at the people who worried about me before I came here. Most of them are dead now because I didn't return the favour. So. I'd say I have a reason to think that.

[Almost as soon as he reveals that, he regrets saying it, but it almost felt like the words came out on an impulse he wouldn't usually allow, the way they do when he's facing an Academia opponent in battle.]

[lostinshadows]

[And there it is.

Lavi frowns deeper at the information.]

Shun, you....are you blaming yourself for their deaths?

[revolutionfalcon]

Should I not be? [It's barely a question so much as a statement, and Shun unwinds himself a little, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. He looks tired and pained for the most part, but there's something hard in his expression that's usually directed to someone other than himself.] Hundreds of people died because I put one life over theirs. Because I was angry. I killed innocent people because I refused to see reason. [His fingers dig into the bark, and he looks directly at Lavi this time, because he knows how much harder this one could hit home.]

Whatever happened to Yuto in the end, he lost his physical form because I was convinced not to help him at the critical moment.

[He still doesn't know what happened that night, but he knows that much. Yuto vanished at that time, and then resurfaced within Yuya. He doesn't need details to know that rests on him.]

[lostinshadows]

[A voice whispers to him from the depths of his mind. Humans really are selfish creatures. Shun admitted to being so focused on one thing that he's lost sight of others. In a way, it makes sense now as to why Shun is who he is right now. Why he always seemed to reject the idea of being helped.]

You wanted revenge.

[It's a simple truth of the matter in the end.

However, at the mention of Yuto, the hand against the trunk curls inwards into a tree. He never really did know how Yuto died and he never bothered to ask Hajime. It wasn't exactly something that he wanted to think about, clinging onto a thin strand of hope that maybe Yuto would have had a peaceful death.

But for him to have lost his body?]

Why did you allow yourself to be convinced? [There's a small hiss of anger that's released, but he struggles to keep it under lock and key. But if Shun had a way to have been able to stop that death, then why--?]

[revolutionfalcon]

Because the bastard pulling the strings said I'd ruin his plan if I intervened, and I needed that plan to reach my sister. Or I thought I did at the time. [Something bitter twists his mouth. All the lip service Reisi had given, and in the end, he'd never even made it to Academia before coming here. Depending on how that really ended, he might not have made it to Academia at all.]

I told myself Yuto could handle it. He was experienced, even if he hated fighting. But as soon as I couldn't contact him the next day, I knew what I'd done.

[Consigned him to death, or so he'd thought. Not that an existence trapped in someone else's body, only audible in seconds and flashes of strong emotion, was much better.]

I wanted revenge. And the people I wanted it for died for it. Do you still think I deserve all that worry?

[lostinshadows]

You were blinded by your revenge to even consider the thoughts and feelings of others. [That.....sounds familiar.

The coil of anger inside tightens; he wants to punch Shun, yell at him, for listening to the words of others when he could have done something - anything - to prevent Yuto's death. Was he so blinded that he lost all rational thoughts?

Yes.

In a way, Shun had allowed Yuto to walk to his death, to be left to his fate.

But:]

Do you regret everything you've done?

[revolutionfalcon]

[There's not really much else Shun can say to that remark but nod. Obviously the intent to save Ruri had factored into it, but revenge had always been most of what it was about. That anger driving him, that carelessness...he wanted her back, but most of all, he wanted to rip apart the very foundations of who took her.

Lavi's question makes him hesitate slightly. Certainly, there are things he doesn't regret. Taking down Academia members was necessary, and Dennis deserved everything he got, as far as Shun was concerned. But everything he's mentioned here...those are the things he really does feel guilt about.]

Everything I've said here. I did what I had to. But these are the things that went beyond that.

[lostinshadows]

Then you do deserve to be worried about.

[Regardless of whether or not Shun may feel the same way.

Lavi stomps down the anger.]

You became blinded, and that happens to people, but if you feel remorse for what happened to your comrades - [To Yuto] - then that's fine. [You can still be worried about, to deserve to be worried about.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[While Shun knows he should be some kind of grateful for the gesture of support, he really can't be here. He'd thought raising something that personal would be sure to throw him off...and if that didn't work, is it really going to work with anyone?

With another bitter noise, he turns his head away again.] You're eager to die for someone who's already dead.

[Then again, Shun might be already dead himself. It's not like he can be absolutely sure he isn't until he returns to his world.]

[lostinshadows]

[Lavi laughs.]

Maybe dying a second time might give me a better perspective on these sort of things.

[No, not really, but he isgoing climb up that tree now.]

[revolutionfalcon]

If it didn't work the first time, it's not going to work the second. [Shun's not actually going to stop him climbing the tree, so that's something. However, he's also not going to move to make it any easier for Lavi to find somewhere to perch himself.]

Is whatever the hell this is happening to you as well? It's hard to tell with some people.

[lostinshadows]

You never know. Dying so many times may change a person. [Or break down their psyche.

And it's fine. Lavi is content with hanging off from a branch mostly. However, at the question, he grows silent, almost speculative as he considers it. Then he smiles, strained and absolutely pained.]

Maybe, probably. I want to say 'yes' considering how much I wanted to actually punch you in the face earlier.

[revolutionfalcon]

Or destroy them. [Looks like Shun had the same thought there. Dying multiple times really doesn't sound like anything anyone should be testing out for effect. Not even being sure if he'd died the once has been bad enough for him.

That expression is enough to tell him it's affecting Lavi, and while he offers a faint snort at the remark about punching him in the face, it's probably not the thing to focus on right now.] Then you might as well tell me what's bothering you, because after all that, I'm hardly going to let you get away being silent about it.

[lostinshadows]

Would you be willing to die so many times if you get something in return? [It's a mild question, asked as if he's asking about the weather.

Lavi laughs, hardly surprised by that.]

You ever think of a chance that anyone you grow close to - grow to love - they just leave you? [He swings on a branch briefly before he pulls himself up.] And then when they're gone, you can't take some words back or you wish there was more to tell them? Enough where it gnaws on you, festering until it forms into guilt and all you want to do is try to forget about it since they're not here anymore.

[He pauses, watching Shun for a moment.]

Or you grow into that much of a pessimist that you just let that guilt sit inside of you while wondering if their last words to you are true or not.

[revolutionfalcon]

Depends what it is. [If Shun had to die so many times to protect something important, then maybe. But it's not really something he's given too much thought to yet.

The way Lavi phrases his problem gets a bit of a critical eying from Shun, because grow to love is a strong term, especially in this place. He's lost some people close to him, certainly, but he hasn't yet lost anyone he'd apply that word to, unless he classified Yuto as familial love.

Still watching Lavi, he curls his fingers against his arms a little.] I've lost a lot of people who grew close to me here, so of course I know that risk. There are opportunities I wish I'd taken while I had the chance, and it's not something that can be forgotten so easily. But "love" is a strong word, and it sounds like you're thinking of some very specific last words.

[So he can't exactly judge the situation as a whole unless he knows them, though he wouldn't be surprised if Lavi refused to share.]

[lostinshadows]

[He's quiet, a soft hum escaping from him.

Then Lavi grins slightly.]

It is a strong word. Familial love comes close, but sometimes it's hard to ignore the ones on the romance spectrum. [He is taking extra care not to tell Shun about why he's so affected by Yuto's disappearance, but the god will eventually start connecting it together.]

Someone told me I didn't deserve my name after I made the reckless choice to reveal a memory personally tied to a god I had befriended. [And by doing so, he'd risk Cardia.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[...So Lavi was in romantic love with someone, who then vanished. Shun isn't quite focusing on that yet, but he doesn't know much about who disappeared around Lavi and when - there was Yuto, someone named "Allen" slightly before that if that slip-up with Hakkai had been any sign, and he doesn't know who else. It means the pool of options there is rather slim. But for now, he's going to pry about the latter point.]

Did that "Allen" guy have something to do with it? [Shun hadn't met him, but from Lavi's reaction at that time, he has to have been someone Lavi was close to who also disappeared. Not to mention not knowing him means Shun doesn't know his status as god or shinki either.] Either way, that's not their decision to make. That's between you and your god, and nobody else.

[lostinshadows]

[Shun remembered the name.

In a way, Lavi still curses Hakkai for letting that bit of information slip. At the same time, he also doesn't know how close Allen was to anyone else during his time here.

Either way, the mention of the lost god has Lavi tensing instinctively before he forces himself to relax. He grins at Shun ruefully.]

He was a god that I allowed myself to be named by other than my assigned god. [While he has no issues being a nora, Lavi did become reckless. He allowed that one memory to be what's left between them and that was the last time Lavi's seen Allen, too.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun has a habit of filing away information that might be useful later. While he definitely wasn't going to press for information at the time, he hadn't forgotten the name that had brought on that reaction.

That relationship explains a lot, though, and while Shun hadn't known previously Lavi was a nora for any length of time, he nods a little as if he's not surprised.]

If he was the one who said that to you, it's pretty pathetic to do that to someone he made a nora in the first place. Sounds like he was bitter. Or his other shinki was bitter, since that's the only other person I could imagine being that invested.

["You don't deserve your name" is a very bizarre and specific insult to choose of the variety that could be chosen. Clearly it hurt a lot, and there has to be a reason for that.]

[lostinshadows]

[It really is a bit dangerous to mention to Shun that Allen knew who he was before and that is reckless enough.

Their relationship was weird, but Lavi still adored him.]

She chose a very specific insult to say to me before she left. [And it hurt because Lux knew why Lavi had issues with his name. It brings a flare of pain, an ache in his chest that has a hand curling into a fist.]