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

precautions

[revolutionfalcon]

[Rather than standing in one place scowling at people, Shun has elected to patrol, a.k.a. walking around scowling at people. He's also getting increasingly grateful of the fact that he chose to help with security rather than shooing out spirits and sprites, because he's pretty sure he's seen more people in ridiculous positions because of them today than he's seen on any other occasion here. Kanade's newly cheeping hair is only the latest incident on the list, and he gives it a long, dry look before actually shifting his attention to her face.]

Obviously not. [Considering the Heavens don't seem to get extreme weather often, it's probably valid nesting season all year.] It can't be that hard to get them out of your own hair.

[usedperishsong]

Well sure, I could get rough, but we ain't all a pest disposal service.

[ A big grin. Guess who she's implying is. ]

I'll figure somethin' out.

[revolutionfalcon]

The only pests I'm disposing of are the people. [Since he's patrolling rather than cleaning, he hasn't really had much to do with shooing the animals off except for the occasional stop if someone's been having a ridiculous amount of trouble.

At that second comment, he just pointedly slides his gaze to her chirping hair again.] Better do it before they get comfortable.

[usedperishsong]

Yeah, yeah.....

[ Kanade sticks both hands in her hair, and then flicks them out through her hair, jostling the birds free. ] Upsy-daisy.

[ The birds, startled, take flight, scattering feathers. Kanade lowers her arms, satisfied. ] See? They were understandin' souls after---

[ A bird that just Did Not Care pokes its head out from her hair and cheeps. ]

You're wreckin' my cred!

[revolutionfalcon]

[Considering Shun's own experience with birds (and cats, for that matter), he was kind of expecting at least one not to take the hint. With a pointed glance towards Kanade first, he approaches to see if he can remove it from her hair himself.

It's a small one, so he cups his hands close together to try and just ease it out without needing a tight grip that might hurt it. If nothing else, it seems like he knows how to handle birds.]

You weren't establishing much credit for this sort of thing in the first place.

[usedperishsong]

Well, yeah. But I did that myself.

[ Look at you being all gentle and good with the birdy. ]

Somebirdy else comin' along and messin' with it is just unfair.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Once he removes the bird, he lets it go to fly up to join the other ones. It seems happy enough to do that, despite its reluctance to leave Kanade's hair.]

If there was so little of it in the first place, it doesn't really make a difference. [The birds are still fluttering around a little over head height. Maybe they're expecting food.]

You'd think they'd be able to at least keep animals out of a hall that's supposed to be that important.

[usedperishsong]

Maybe they're to set a mood?

[ Kanade looks up at the birds. ] "All creatures are loved." Some happy god stuff.

[ She is amused at the effect being optimistic tends to have around this guy, so... ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun just gives a dismissive noise at that.] They wouldn't be trying to clear them out this suddenly if that was it, since nobody's going to believe it anyway.

[He's pretty sure nobody would believe it regardless of whether the animals were getting cleared out or not, but that would just make it even less convincing.]

[usedperishsong]

Guess so. [ A few more birds flutter past from around a bend and settle in her hair. Kanade sighs. ]

I'm gonna ferry these guys outside.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun has some questions about why the birds are so fond of Kanade's hair, since it doesn't seem like very stable nesting material, but he just shrugs, making a vague wafting motion in the direction of the airbourne ones so they either follow or sit back in her hair so they can be carried out.]

I suppose it's a more reliable way to catch them than most people have.

[usedperishsong]

That's me. [ Over-shoulder thumbs-up. The birds are obviously recognizing a kindred spirit. ] Reliable.

[revolutionfalcon]

Not the word I'd use. [Hard-headed and one-track minded, maybe, from the impression he got out of that evening of gang-fighting.] And you're going to have to hope they leave on their own.