26 - The Gods' Month

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Helping the Heavens prepare for the yearly Meeting of the Gods
When: October 20 - 21
Where: Around the Heavens (and maybe some mortal shopping trips, too!)
Summary: Amaterasu has been told that the newly arrived residents of the Heavens want to take a bigger part in security and administration, so she's convinced her shinki to let them help with preparations for the big yearly gala. It's also time for shinki to rate their gods and gods to find out what their shinki really think of them....







Security Precautions

The white-robed shinki guards are working hard to secure the Meeting Hall for the arrival of all the gods of Japan. Hard-working shinki are scurrying everywhere! Despite Amaterasu's orders, they're still a little unsure of and standoffish towards the strangers who they're supposed to work with, but there's a lot of work to do, so they're happy to hand out jobs to small groups of newcomers before returning to their own duties.


• Help clear out any small spirits who might have sneaked back into the Meeting Hall after the spring cleaning, from sootsprites to nekomata, animal spirits from the park or well-camouflaged plant spirits.


• Check the magical writing worked into art or inlaid in wood all over the building to protect the Meeting Hall from attack, and make sure none of it is scuffed or damaged.


• Join in on the patrols around the building or spend some time guarding one of the gates. It's boring, but the shinki appreciate the help.


• Test the integrity and extent of the magical protections with glass balls that turn purple outside the protections on the Meeting Hall and clear inside them. But don't drop your glass ball! They're fragile.

Event Preparation

It's not just security that the shinki are asking newcomers to help with. They also have plenty of work to do getting ready for the festivities! The Meeting Hall floors need to be swept and scrubbed, the gardens need to be trimmed and tidied, artwork needs to be dusted, flower arrangements arranged, damaged furniture repaired and rafters cleared of cobwebs. Anyone with particularly good handwriting can help write out invitations and name cards, too.

Besides cleaning and calligraphy, there's lots of food and beverages to purchase! Grab a shopping list, a wad of cash, and head to the Near Shore to pick up the necessities. (Don't forget to keep the receipts.)

Rate Your God

Shinki have the opportunity to submit surveys on their life with their new gods before the big event, and even request a transfer if they want one. Early in the morning, every new shinki will be visited by a small white dove carrying a scroll that, when unrolled, reveals the following questionnaire:


What is your name?

What is your god's name?

How do you see your duties as a shinki?

What is your favorite part of life with your god?

What is your least favorite part of life with your god?

What advice would you like to give your god?

Do you wish to be assigned to a different god? []Y []N


Fill it out, discuss it with your fellow shinki, forget about it until you find it under a pile of junk mail in two months: the choice is yours! Gods will receive a copy of the answer that their shinki submit to "What advice would you like to give your god?" -- there's no name attached, but they might be able to guess.

Heavenly Record Keeping

Gods don't get to skip the paperwork entirely! Although the Heavens aren't asking them to rate their shinki, new gods don't have all of their vital statistics on file quite yet, so they get a questionnaire too. The same white doves will drop their scrolls by in the morning, with the following set of questions:


What is your name?

How many shinki do you currently have?

What are your areas of divine responsibility?

How do you see your duties as a god?

What traits do you most want in a shinki?

Do you wish new shinki to be assigned to you? []Y []N


Unlike the doves attending on the shinki, the doves who drop off the gods' scrolls will remain close by and chirp loudly until they finish and submit their questionnaires. If a god is particularly lazy about it, they might even start pecking.

In Summary:

• Help protect the Meeting Hall
• Lend a hand cleaning and shopping
• Rate your gods
• Help Heaven keep its records up to date
• Have fun~

Comments

[kokuyoyo]

Ah.... Those things.

[Chikusa's nose wrinkles up for half a second.]

All sorts of nonsense ends up in that building, apparently...

[unlucky7]

That's surprising to hear.

[If only because you'd think the Meeting Hall of all places would be the most secure from spirits. Guess not. But as along as it's more of the harmless types, then maybe it's okay too.]

By the way, what's your name?

[kokuyoyo]

[....Oh. Right. That thing he constantly forgets to bother to do.]

...Chikusa Kakimoto...

[Which is rather Japanese for someone with a clear Italian accent.]

[unlucky7]

[No judgement here on all fronts.]

Ginia.

[And with that exchange out of the way, she gestures down at his basket.]

Did you need anything else?

[kokuyoyo]

No.... This is fine. So back to them, then...?

[It's not like he has much of a reason to stick around on the Near Shore himself.]

[unlucky7]

[Might as well. Ginia gives the list and basket a final look over to confirm everything on the list was picked up. Nope, all good. Maybe the next list will have more than just sauces, it'd be nice to wander the store some more.

She begins to wheel the cart toward the checkout line, typing as she walks.]

What are you going to cook?

[kokuyoyo]

[Occasionally, as they walk, the nekomata around Chikusa's shoulder leans down, pressing a paw down to the cart just because it can, apparently. He ignores it, waiting for her phone replies.]

Mm.... Spicy recipes. I'm not good at figuring out the balance...

[unlucky7]

[She nods slowly. There's a precision to cooking she likes, but the freedom allowed in adjusting a recipe to taste is intimidating. Since she's only cooking for herself at the moment, there's space to figure out what she likes, but it's still hard not feeling like she's making a terrible mistake if she considers deviating from the recipe.]

Do you only cook for yourself or does your god eat too?

[kokuyoyo]

....My god.... sometimes.... but it's mostly for Ken. My partner.

....and Hakkai as well, I guess. Our current god. [Since Axel isn't here anymore, a fact which never fails to sting a little.]

[unlucky7]

[It must be nice to have someone to cook for. Ginia wonders if Chikusa means partner in the romantic sense or in a more general way, but it's none of her business to ask.

'Current god' also doesn't go unnoticed.]

What do you think about him? Your current god.

[kokuyoyo]

He's an idiot.

[There is zero hesitation.]

....But... he makes more sense than a lot of other people... which makes it more annoying when he's an idiot.

[unlucky7]

[His immediate response is surprising and she huffs at how easily it comes, but his follow up is the kind of thing said if there's some fondness. Generally.]

You don't mind serving him then?

[kokuyoyo]

....I have to serve some god... at least if I want to use magic.

[Which lets him protect Ken.]

So.... I'd rather it be him.... He understands the important parts.

[unlucky7]

[Better a god than no god. Ginia looks at her hands as they step into a line for the cash registers. The unfinished survey sitting in her room comes to mind. Right now she can use borderlines and protect her god, fulfill her duty. But at the same time, there hasn't been much need for either.

What good is a weapon that's never used?

She mulls on her thoughts and carefully picks her words.]

If he didn't understand the important parts, would you have found another god?

[kokuyoyo]

[That's a good question. Would he have found a different god? Chikusa pauses, gaze drifting while they wait for the line to budge forward. Eventually, he finds his answer.]

I might have gone somewhere else with Ken.... but I would have kept the name. [Ah. Right.] If someone wants to cast a spell on you... At least with shinki magic... Then they need all of the names you have.

So.... it's useful, in that aspect.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia knew about the concept of nora from the guide, but the fact a spell needed every name to stay effective is new, very valuable information. Was that why nora were looked down upon? Not just for divided loyalties, but because of the potential they held?

Though a god could have multiple shinki. Why couldn't a shinki serve multiple gods?]

Thank you for telling me.

[She's in no rush to run out and get herself named by another god, but it would be nice to fulfill her purpose all the same.]

How long should a shinki stay with a god before finding a new one?

[kokuyoyo]

As long as they want, I guess.... [It's not really something he's ever thought of, after all.] A lot of people don't have a choice....

It's just a matter of finding one to name you, I guess.

[unlucky7]

[Choice. A blessing and a curse. It's easier when there are set orders and routines, things she can focus on and follow to a t. She can be a good shinki--she wants to be a good shinki--but when there are no orders, nothing to do, no way to serve...

...then it's her chance to make a choice. Find a god that can put her to use.

But that's disloyal to her current god. Maybe it's a matter of time.

Her feet feel heavier as she pushes the cart forward and loads the basket onto the conveyor belt, lapsing into a withdrawn silence.]

[kokuyoyo]

[....Well. That's a level of silence, although Chikusa isn't sure if that's because she's done speaking, or because she's thinking. Either way, he falls into silence as well, watching her hands move dully.]

[Fortunately, there is a chatty cat more than fine with breaking up the silence.]

This distresses you, then?

[unlucky7]

[Ginia looks back at the cat and lifts her shoulders in a shrug. Being mute means no one can force you to talk, but sometimes it's because she doesn't know how to say what's on her mind.

But simply saying nothing is rude too, so Ginia makes a guess and deflects.]

Were you closer to your previous god?

[kokuyoyo]

[...Oh, it's back to him again. Chikusa glances up again, blinking a few times. With the cat being the one to start up the conversation again, he hadn't really considered himself a part of it until now.]

....Yes.

[Quiet and simple. There's a lot he could say about his feelings towards Axel, on the positive and simple side alone, but he's hardly sure where to start.]

[unlucky7]

I'm sorry.

[Ginia doesn't know what the apology is for, but it felt warrented. She's quiet again as the cashier rings up her basket, turning the cart so Chikusa can get his basket, paying and moving to the bagging area without another word. But she'll wait around for him to finish his transaction.

She's lousy company, she knows, but if they're headed in the same direction, no sense splitting up now.]

[kokuyoyo]

[It's fine; Chikusa isn't particularly great company either. He merely shrugs, and accepts his basket when she hands it to him. It's only as they're stepping back into the fresh air and daylight that he speaks up.]

Gods disappear here... constantly. So do shinki. Finding out the reason.... has been difficult so far.

[unlucky7]

[She's heard that from a few people now. It seems cruel, unnecessary. Mostly, Ginia wonders what happen to shinki. Where do you go after you die if this isn't an afterlife?]

The older gods don't know either? Or do they know the reason?

[kokuyoyo]

They tell us nothing.

[Reaching up, Chikusa adjusts his glasses, sliding them further up his nose.]

Even when shinki and gods were being murdered... New ones... I know they were investigating, but they didn't address the issue with us at all... Our own had to track down who was responsible.

The old guard... is unreliable. [As far as he's concerned.]