-Overflow- for 24 - Autumn Reception

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Autumn Reception
When: September 30, 6 PM
Where: The Gods' Meeting Hall
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a formal party! Old and new gods alike are invited, so put on your nicest outfits and some good dancing shoes, and come see what this shindig is all about.

Continuing from HERE!

Comments

Shun

[revolutionfalcon]

Lenneth

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

Aren't you the one giving up easily, then? If you think there's no hope if it's not something we can see clearly.

[Shun's used to an enemy like that - a shapeless malice that never seemed to get smaller no matter how much was chipped away. To him, it's only a reason to fight harder, not to say it's impossible to combat.]

[nibelungvalesti]

If the responsible force is so absolutely competent that no effort of ours can reveal it or affect its plans outside of what it will permit? Then it is as far above the gods as the gods are above mortals. I do not believe that is possible.

[revolutionfalcon]

Think what you like. But some hard-headed charge isn't going to solve our problems in this case.

[As much as he would like it to. This, unfortunately, is a situation for diplomacy, something which he's never been terribly good at.]

[nibelungvalesti]

Such was not my proposition, although such an element may have its place in a grander plan.

[Don't get her started on failure at diplomacy.]

Fubuki

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

[Shun hadn't really considered that the most helpful thing to say right now - he doesn't deal in empty platitudes, regardless of how dire the situation is - but it seems it worked regardless.

It doesn't stop him from looking a little surprised, briefly, at the thanks before he turns his head away, finally taking a sip of his own coffee now that it isn't going to burn his mouth.]

It's just useful to remember. For anyone, not just someone like me. [Who doesn't really have a lot waiting for them but more fighting, and those dots, those people that make the whole thing worth it, are a true rarity to.]

You seem to be coping a little better than last time now, at least.

[blizzardrock]

[Which...time...]

...Yeah? [It isn't a real question; the fact that there was a "last time" (the fact that were multiple "last times") isn't...good. But he can't help that.]

...My sister...Asuka. I remembered her a while ago... I have to believe...that she's the type of person who can move on from my...from my death. If she can do that...then I have to, too.

[A moment passes, then he sighs and buries his face in his arms as he remembers the reason, aside from personal pique, that he purposefully didn't bring that up with Shun.]

...Sorry. I know...you're fighting to get your sister back.

[revolutionfalcon]

[That...definitely explains a few things, and Shun only hesitates briefly at the revelation before he nods a little, lowering his cup. He can understand how painful that would be, though he shakes his head a little at Fubuki's apology.]

That doesn't mean I'm going to begrudge how you choose to handle your own. If there's no way to get back to her, then...believing in her from here is the best thing you can do for her. If she's strong, and keeps hold of her memories of you, she can do it.

[Losing a sibling is a tragedy, he knows that well enough, but there are still hands that can be reached for, and people to take up that support in his absence. Or so they both have to hope.]

Moving on doesn't mean letting go. I think you can do it as well.

[blizzardrock]

[His response comes a little muffled.] She's strong.

[And that is...all he's capable of saying about that at the moment.]

[...And that's when a thought finally occurs to him.]

Shun...you knew yesterday when I brought it up. [...He's already established that Shun knew all along. But—] Were you...

[A small laugh bubbles out of him.] Were you going to tell me right there at the dance? That was pretty dangerous, you know...?

Wendy (tag-in)

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

That's basically the same thing. [Arguably, it's worse, because it probably made them feel guiltier, but the guilting them isn't the thing he has a problem with anyway.

At least it was for something useful, though, and Shun nods like he's familiar with it.] I've talked to her about that. I offered to help defend it when you've both got it set up, since that many shinki in one place is going to draw ayakashi like nothing else.

[nopixiedust]

Actually, that was what she was worried about too... Amaterasu, I mean. So she's offered us to use one of her shrines.

It should ideally keep ayakashi away... [Wendy tilts her head to the side.] Right?

[revolutionfalcon]

In theory, but having patrols would help ensure it. It might still attract ayakashi, even if they couldn't attack the shrine itself.

[It still wouldn't really help if a high ayakashi concentration in the area ended up being the result of it.]

It's still a good precaution to have a location like that, though.

[nopixiedust]

Mm. Then, how about I invite you over? I'm still getting some things set up, but this way you'd know more about the place in case anything happens!

[The security is who you want to inspect every nook and cranny of a place, after all.]

Wendy (tag-out)

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

[Well, she's not wrong in her guess, so Shun can't exactly get affronted about it, just giving her a bit of a side-eye before offering a faint snort.]

"Ignore" isn't really right. Mostly. [He does think Shun is a better person than Shun himself does, but he's also prone to either laughing at or trying to finagle Shun out of certain of his flaws, so he wouldn't put it that way himself.]

It's not really anyone else's business, anyway.

[nopixiedust]

So if I asked you anything else about it, you'd tell me to mind my own business?

[It's a light tease. She won't prod too much, but she is curious.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun can't help but side-eye her a bit at that. He's not entirely opposed to talking about it, but he has his suspicions about whether he's going to want to answer what's asked, even if she is teasing.]

That depends on what part of it you're asking about.

Futaba

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

My thoughts exactly. If they're going to decide I'm some important figure among the newcomers, I'm going to make it useful even if I couldn't give a damn otherwise.

[Shun isn't the sort to really care about being held in high regard, or even low regard, but he sure is the type to take advantage of the former if it's necessary to get information.]

Hopefully more of us can actually get information out of the old gods at this rate.

Re: Futaba

[all_seeing_eye]

If you can share what you find out with me, I'll definitely pay you back.

[She's got some ideas brewing, but doesn't want to explicitly share them just yet.]

[revolutionfalcon]

You're going to have to be more specific than that if you want me to let you in on anything. You already know I don't trust easily.

[And presumably she doesn't either, if she doesn't want to be specific, but that just gives Shun even more of a reason to be a little reserved about it.]

Ren

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

[Considering dancing isn't a skill Shun thinks is of any actual importance, that response gets a faint snort out of him.]

Good enough. I'll just have to follow your lead, then. [In looking like he knows what he's doing instead of actually knowing what he's doing, because in all honesty, Shun isn't that interested in knowing what he's doing in this particular situation.

The crowd thins out a bit closer to the dancefloor, thankfully, though Shun still has to elbow one or two more people aside before they get that far.]

[shadowrevenger]

[Hmm, that sounds an awful lot like Shun trying to be cheeky...]

Just try not to step on my feet. That's no fun for anyone.

[Ren offers a cheery wave to anyone getting pushed out of the way, which is meant to be apologetic but probably doesn't really come off that way. But then they're through and out in the open and all he has to worry about now is maneuvering Shun into the right position. Turns out grabbing his hand was useful after all, since all he needs to do is adjust them slightly to be holding it the right way for dancing.]

This hand like this...then this hand goes here... [He guides Shun's other hand to his shoulder and sets his own hand on Shun's hip.] And then you just move where I move.

[Like...backward. He'll start by stepping backward first, how about that.]

[revolutionfalcon]

I would've thought you'd like being stepped on. [That definitely sounds a bit more like he's actually trying to be cheeky, or at least slightly less than entirely serious. Then again, he's been remarking on Ren's fondness for pain for a while now, so it's an area of attempted humour he's a bit more used to.

Shun lets Ren rearrange his hands without trouble, since he definitely has no idea which one's supposed to go where, though he does glance down briefly when Ren puts his hand on his hip. It's still not somewhere he's all that used to having someone touch, but he looks up again soon enough.

The explanation seems a little too simple, and Shun raises a brow slightly as he steps forward to match Ren's movement backwards. Mirroring someone's movements is, at least, a skill that's useful in a fight, so it's something he's fairly familiar with.] That sounds too easy.

Dokugakuji

[revolutionfalcon]

[[From here.]]

I talked to Horus that time, but not many others. I suppose we could both relate to sometimes wanting to spend time with birds more than with people.

[Is he joking? It's impossible to tell with how consistently straightforward his tone remains throughout that comment.]

It can at least be useful to keep track of who's who out of the newcomers, since you can expect it if someone tries to use it to get close to you.

[Then again, considering the people in his pantheon Shun actually knows are Mikoto and Lenneth, who avoid people more than they do try to get close, and Hajime, who's learnt long ago he doesn't appreciate that kind of behaviour, he doesn't have much to worry about there.]

Re: Dokugakuji

[royaltyloyalty]

You must be one of the lucky ones.

[Doku might be - is definitely - joking in return here.]

I haven't had one single god try to talk to me because we're in a pantheon together - I approached them first. The only ones who've sought me out knew me beforehand, blessing and curse that that's turned out to be.

[He's specifically thinking of Gojyo there. Then he tilts his head a bit in thought.]

Don't think I know Horus.

[revolutionfalcon]

"Lucky" isn't the word I'd use. [Shun mostly finds it annoying, and he's told others not to do it before, though nobody ever really listens. It doesn't help that he has people like Hajime in his pantheon.]

There's nobody else here from my world to have that problem with, at least. [Not anymore, though there's a slight terseness to Shun's tone that he can't quite disguise because of it. It fades off as he moves on to the next topic to try and cover it up.]

He's a falcon-headed god, one of the better known Egyptian ones. We've never had an incarnation of him among the newcomers, so the current one is still around in Egypt.