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

[mithrarin]

I got it, but thanks.

[Accepting the feather duster back, Dust leaps into the air -- a vault almost twice his height, but still not enough to reach the rafter... Till he jumps again, as it seems like a pair of wings flash out of his feet to send him high enough that he can catch the beam and haul himself onto it.]

[Dust is a video game protagonist, you know.]

What have they got you doing?

[unlucky7]

[Double jumping in mid-air, there's an impressive trick. Ginia smiles and gives him a thumbs up. With him back on the rafter, Ginia turns from text to audio.]

Detail cleaning, mostly. I wouldn't mind cleaning in the rafters, but I think I'm a bit too tall to make it work.

[mithrarin]

[Dust makes a note to mention the audio function to Celty. It might save her this sort of grief. By now, he's used to this sort of communication; it doesn't even give him pause.]

Not if you're careful. I'm managing... mostly. [And aside from his own lanky height, Dust is also managing a long cloak and a hat. And a tail.]

[unlucky7]

[Her laughter is no more than a small huff of air and an accompanying grin. Aside from the fumble, he seems pretty steady. The tail must help with balance.]

That jump you did was pretty cool. How did you do that?

[mithrarin]

[It might a little, but honestly, Dust is just fantastically athletic. His body looks long and lean, if the lines of his clothes are any guide, but to judge by his movements and grace he's solid whipcord muscle.]

It's a long story, but... I have a lot of talents that let me do what I'm supposed to do. Just happens some of them have some other utility, too?

[unlucky7]

[There are certainly a fair amount of athletic individuals on the Far Shore. It's something she's noticed since her arrival, watching people move and train on her first day, observing people now. Maybe physical strengths lend themselves well to fighting as a shinki. Maybe those most physically active are also the most likely to come to an end.]

Sounds useful. Never hurts having skills that work across multiple fields.

[Unlike her own abilities. Oops.]

[mithrarin]

I've had to learn to adapt. It's... complicated. [Way too complicated, in a way that make Dust pause in his work to frown darkly.]

[unlucky7]

[Had to learn to adapt... It's a long story...wait a moment. Did that mean he remembered learning to adapt?]

Sorry to pry, but do you remember things about yourself?

[The pamphlet on the first day mentioned new shinki could occasionally remember things, but if her line of thought is correct, he's the first she's met with intact memories.]

[mithrarin]

[Dust falls silent for a moment. His memories aren't intact, but he remembers a number of things... because of how short his life had been.]

I remembered some things. Yes.

[unlucky7]

What is it like?

[To know about yourself? To have something more than just blank gaps, to have a context and understanding of yourself. It must be a blessing and a curse.

A nearby shinki shudders and flees from the room.]

[mithrarin]

...Honestly? It messed me up pretty badly.

[Dust sits back on the rafter, folding his arms.]

When I found out who I was, who I am, it left me questioning everything.

[unlucky7]

I'm sorry.

[Ginia studies the layout of the room, marking out estimates as she plans her path up to the rafters. She can't do a fancy double jump like Dust can, but she approaches a support beam jutting out of the wall, shimmies up it with her feet and hands on either side until she's in range of the rafters. Still clutching on, she turns, pushes herself off the beam, catches the rafter, and hauls herself up all in one smooth movement.

Dust is right, it's not hard walking on the beam if you're careful. She crouches and walks her way over to him, sitting down next to him and taking out his phone.]

I have a lot of questions about myself. I think I'm afraid to find out.

[Because with all her skills, all her knowledge, she couldn't have been a good person.]

[mithrarin]

[Dust watches her progression -- despite the hat. She's athletic and skilled, clearly, and moves with an instinctual knowledge of how her body works. Maybe she was a dancer or something... but Dust doesn't think so.]

What we instinctively know says a lot. I'm guessing you were a warrior of some sort.

[unlucky7]

[Warrior. It seems fitting, but at the same time, it doesn't quick click either.]

I can fight too. Hand-to-hand, long range weaponry.

[And that's not even getting into the tech running through her body. She stares at her hands a bit, legs dangling over the rafters. There are the things she can do, but all the many things she can't. Cooking, baking, sewing, how to shop for items.

Who was she? What was she?]

Did you ever find answers to your questions? About who you are?

[mithrarin]

I found three answers. Who I was, who the people I once was were... and who I am.

I'm still struggling with the last one, but it's the important one.

[Dust turns slightly, as close to glancing sidelong at her as he ever comes. She may be getting the impression that eye-contact isn't his thing.]

Who you are here and now is more important. And you have a lot of control over it.

[unlucky7]

[Control over the present. Ginia gives a sharp scoff as she looks down. There's a lot of danger when it comes to freedom, the greatest the burden of mistakes and failure. But Dust isn't wrong; she just needs time to adjust, to figure out what she wants.]

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind. I'm Ginia, by the way.

[mithrarin]

The name's Dust.

[He looks down at the feather duster still in one hand, and a faint smirk crosses his face at the joke.]

Anyway. I don't know how much help I can be, but I know where you're coming from. If you need any advice, or any help... I'll do what I can. And I can at least be a friend.

[unlucky7]

[Dust cleaning dust. Ginia looks at the feather duster and smiles a bit. Her expression shifts as her eyes widen at his offer, settling back into a drawn, neutral smile. Friendship. She doesn't know what to do with such an offer given so easily and nods absently, deflecting into a question.]

What happens when you get your memories? Do you just know or is there something else that happens?

[mithrarin]

[Dust has learned that... you have to give it easily. You have to build those connections, because what else do you have?]

I just woke up with them. From everything I've heard, there's nothing special about it, from the outside anyway.

[unlucky7]

Just like that? Is that a thing that happens often?

[It seems so... simple.]

[mithrarin]

I get the feeling it happens sometimes. I don't know about often. [Only ever happened to him once.]

Don't be in too much of a hurry, though...

[unlucky7]

["Don't be in too much of a hurry." Ginia huffs lightly at the advice, smiling reflexively, looking down. Maybe that's her problem; patient enough to wait, antsy enough to want immediate results.]

If I remember something, I'll keep you posted.

[mithrarin]

[Dust understands. Entirely.]

Just don't turn into an ayakashi over it.

...That can happen.

[unlucky7]

I saw the warning in the pamphlet.

[There's an ending she'd like to avoid if possible, but if she could learn more about herself... there's a light shake of her head as self-preservation kicks in.]

Do you know anyone that's happened to?

[mithrarin]

I've done two ablutions once. It... wasn't pretty, or fun. [Few things had tired him out more than those back-to-back Borderlines for hours on end.]