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

B

[nibelungvalesti]

I do not believe you.

[What did she expect from the Valkyrie, who is blunt and straightforward, even as she makes her best effort to be sympathetic?]

[She regards Maria from her barely-superior standing height, then drops to a knee, the better to be on the other woman's level.]

You are clearly troubled.

[declamando]

[It's not too surprising to get that kind of reception from Lenneth, and it puts a somewhat bitter smile on her face.]

Well, it was worth a try. [Wiping her tears away a bit more, she shakes her head.] I'm not sure why, but a lot of things just felt like they came to the surface at once. Things I thought I'd dealt with.

[It puts a bit of a frown on her face, but not out of concern for herself.] Does everyone else here seem fine?

[nibelungvalesti]

I am a poor judge of that. You were being... particularly obvious, I am afraid.

[Even the Valkyrie can understand how troubled a person must feel to suddenly lose control in such a manner.]

Still, in the Far Shore, this is not surprising.

[declamando]

[Maria laughs softly, though there's no real energy to it.] I thought so. I just didn't want to trouble anybody. But I suppose I should be looking into it myself as well if there really is something happening. It's not unusual for this place, but others might be taking it worse.

[She feels like utter garbage, at least. It's probably worth checking on who she can to make sure they're getting on decently.]

[nibelungvalesti]

You are being ridiculous.

[Even the Valkyrie's empathy comes in blunt, unsparing tones, as she regards Maria with distant, imperious force.]

Were you to see another reacting as you, you would aid them without qualm, and never think for a second they were 'troubling' you. By that token, you have no right to claim your own problems are troubles to one attempting to aid you.

In fact, I would not be surprised if your troubles stem from your failure to address them with yourself and others, instead putting others over yourself.

[declamando]

[Well, that's certainly straightforward, but it only stuns Maria for a moment. It's honestly the kind of manner she tends to take in advising other people, and after a moment, her mouth twists into a somewhat bitterly amused smile.]

You're probably right. But it's easier to deal with when it's other people. And I can honestly say that they deserve it more than me.

[She still needs to atone. However much she's done since then, it doesn't feel like enough, and it especially doesn't feel like enough when she's done so little here overall.]

[nibelungvalesti]

You speak of what people 'deserve' to a goddess of fate? [Really, Maria.] When death claims you and your fate is arbited, by myself or my sister or whomsoever is tasked with that duty, then and only than shall you know what you truly 'deserve' in any meaningful sense. Until that moment your life is yours to lead.

[Tch. She is the least suited of any she knows to address whatever problems Maria has, and yet in this moment she possesses the position and leverage to address them as others apparently have not...]

In any case, you are not able to persuade me not to offer what aid I can, so cease to argue with me and speak of your problems.

[declamando]

[There's a fair point to what Lenneth is saying, but Maria finds it difficult to believe as she is right now. The fact that she ended up in Heaven before her death, somehow, is the factor mostly messing her up here. Otherwise, she'd be entirely fine with the concept of a final judgement.]

Still, I'd like to know what reason they had to bring someone like me here. If they had a reason to bring someone like me here. [It's hard to tell sometimes.

At Lenneth's command, she lets out a hard breath. Taking orders...that, at least, she's used to.] I'm not even sure where to start with something like that. I suppose the core of it right now is that nobody here knows me as well as they think they do, because nobody knows what I've done before I came here.

[nibelungvalesti]

[...The problem cannot possibly be this simple.]

[Well. Yes it can. Humans have a remarkable capability to resist logic and sense, and fail to see the obvious. So it falls upon the Valkyrie to explain, thus proving this is the strangest of all possible worlds.]

You are confusing the past and the present. Those who know you here know you perfectly well. They may not know your past self, but that is immaterial. You are not doing the things your past self did. I presume you are not going to do those things.

This is not to say that your past left no mark on you, only that you are who you are, not who you were.

[declamando]

[It's a very straightforward answer, as Maria was expecting, but also one with little appreciation for human reactions to things. Though, Maria supposes, explaining back and forth might do something to help her as well.]

Some humans don't think of it that way. And others will think of it as deception if you don't tell them who you were even if you are someone else now. I think I should tell them, but even then...I'm a little afraid to.

[She trusts them, but it's a hard habit to break, only disclosing her past as it becomes relevant. It doesn't feel like something she should just open up about, and when nobody even suspects she might not just be good, there's no real opening for it.]

[nibelungvalesti]

That is true, but I do not believe that is what truly troubles you. To judge by your initial phrasing, you still believe you are that person -- as if who you are now is an act, or a lie.

[The Valkyrie is not entirely without insight. Granted, it is a rather alien form of insight to the human mind, given that it takes a far broader perspective than the birth-to-death cycle of humanity.]

[declamando]

[A slightly bitter smile tugs at the side of Maria's mouth at that.] Not fully, but...yes, I think that person is enough of me right now that the person I am is at least a little bit of a lie.

[There are only a tiny amount of people who know what she does in her world, an even smaller amount who know what she's lost because of it, and none who know what put her on that path. It's hard not to think she's still been lying through her teeth in trying to be honest.]

[nibelungvalesti]

That is your own guilt and remorse speaking, not logic. [As ever, blunt and straightforward as a hammer, though not without some sympathy.] You are who you are, not who you were.

[declamando]

Who we once were can also make up an element of who we are now. It's not always clear-cut. [Maria's tone is largely patient, but there's a hard edge to it. It seems this isn't something she will simply be swayed on.]

[nibelungvalesti]

[In answer, the Valkyrie draws her blade, then immediately reverses it to lower the point to the ground, holding the weapon vertical as an illustration for her point.]

Take a mortal blade and put it in the fire. Let its edges soften, then hammer them flat, so that no sharpness remains to it.

It is still a sword. At one point it cut through lives, broke bones, let blood, and those deeds still belong to it. Yet in that blunted form it cannot cut. It is not a weapon, though it was one once. Even if it took a thousand lives, no one would reach for it for that purpose again.

That is the distinction you must learn, Maria. Your history and legacy are yours and forever shall be. Yet you cannot call yourself a weapon if you no longer can be used as one.

[declamando]

[Maria stiffens a bit as the blade is drawn - perhaps it's not only her upset being raised so significantly tonight - but relaxes again when Lenneth holds it as she does. Though she listens rather attentively to the way Lenneth puts it, she doesn't seem entirely convinced, and a hand goes to her neck before she clenches it and lets it drop.]

...I am still a weapon, though. Just one for a better purpose than what I once was. I'm not beyond being misled into doing the same things again, like I was that first time.

[True, she's learnt a lesson about it, but not one she feels guarantees she won't end up in the same position again one day.]

[nibelungvalesti]

Of course you may be deceived or misled. That is always possible. But are you arguing to me you have learned nothing? You have not grown? You have not changed in the slightest?

[The Valkyrie will have no patience for such arguments, and makes it clear. They both know better.]

[declamando]

I...don't know. [There's a certain preoccupation to Maria's tone as she says that, but it's a serious one, as if she's trying to figure out why she thinks it.] The people around me showed me how to change. But only one of them is here, so it makes me wonder if I've taken steps back in their absence.

[nibelungvalesti]

Doubtless you have. The human journey is not a simple one. It is steps forward and backward, with perfection inachievable. Yet you do not also consider that you may have taken steps forward in their absence as well, which ought to be a clear sign to you that you are not thinking about this logically. Your fear and your distaste for your past self are what give it power over you.

[declamando]

[For a few moments, Maria doesn't answer that. Logically, she knows it's true, but as Lenneth has pointed out, logic isn't in the driver's seat, and no amount of knowing that really does anything to help it not be the case.

Eventually, she grimaces slightly and inclines her head.] True enough. But getting rid of that feeling is going to be a journey all its own.

[nibelungvalesti]

[The Valkyrie nods slightly, acknowledging the sentiment.]

First, when that feeling arises, counter it with the logic you know. It will not banish the feeling, but it will weaken it each time. Second, rely on your friends and comrades, and trust their words.

Third. [The Valkyrie pauses, quite deliberately, to make certain she can catch Maria's eyes and hold them.] Know this as truth, for this is my domain -- I, the Valkyrie, greatest of the goddesses of fate. When the day comes that you die and the fate you have earned for yourself is meted out unto you, you will be judged by who you are. Not who you were.

[declamando]

You've pointed out the logic as I understand it is different to how someone on the outside understands it, though. [It might be flawed, incorrect logic that she applies to herself, but it is, in a way, logic. It's what her mind understands to be true. She can't really argue with the other two points, though, and she dips her head in appreciation of the advice.]

In any case, I'll try. Thank you for taking the time out to try to deal with this.

[nibelungvalesti]

[...Why had she taken the time to do this? It is not her business. It is not even part of her duty. The Valkyrie bows her head slightly, her silence palpable for the long moment it lasts.]

Mortals... deserve better than what they have been given. It is unfortunate that you have been taken from your proper place. If this is to be your fate, then I wish good to come out of it.

[declamando]

[That's an interesting way of looking at it, and Maria interlinks her fingers and watches the moon as if pondering.]

I do wonder how much good is coming out of it. Whether we're doing for the mortals of this world what they'd expect despite most of us being mortals ourselves.

[As someone quite religious, it's still a bizarre notion to Maria that someone as flawed as her could be looked up to like that.]

[nibelungvalesti]

Of the Aesir, only I and the other Valkyries had aught to do with Midgard and its dwellers. Lord Odin's concern was of Ragnarok, and the Aesir focused primarily on such matters in Asgard as they needed to address.

[She ought not to think ill of the highest of gods, nor ought she to think of aught but her duty... but these days, that pure raw duty seems hard to grasp.]

In my time here... I am beginning to believe that is a mistake. Midgard and those who dwell within it would benefit from the help of those above.