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

[reformedsinner]

If you don't mind, then!

[He eyes the shirt, and looks down, counting puppies. There are eight of them left. She can probably fit four or five in her shirt; he'll just put the first two down, pick up another two while he's at it, and deposit them in the cloth hammock, where they slide yelping into a pile with the others.]

[usedperishsong]

[ Kanade grins. These dogs are in good hands. Shirt. Whatever. ]

Wriggly little suckers, huh.

[ Go on, more dogs. She can totally take more dogs. It's not like these dogs are trying to climb her, or she just got a paw stuck in her cleavage, or anything. She can take more dogs. ]

[reformedsinner]

A little, yes!

[Okay, four dogs is officially her limit. One of them seems to be trying to go down the top of her shirt....

Hakkai sighs, considering the others, tucks the glass ball very carefully into an alcove where it's unlikely to be bumped while they're finding the puppies a less disruptive place to be, and scoops up the remaining four in his arms. They are very wriggly. This is not going to work for long.]

-- Ah, we should probably hurry to put them outside....

[usedperishsong]

[ That is a brave dog. Kanade does not disrupt this investigation, however. She just leans back and tries to keep her load corralled. ] Gotcha!

[ Can she run while holding dogs? She will find out.

...It ends up being more of a cautious, jerky hop. But it's probably faster than just walking? ]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai's not trying to run; he's keeping it to a fast walk, at that careful line between going so slowly he'll drop a puppy spirit before he gets to the exit and going so quickly he jars his own grip loose.

He's keeping up with her, mostly. Longer legs help.]

The next left, and I think it's not much further from there....

[usedperishsong]

Left, huh? Right!

[ Don't bother laughing. Even she thinks that one was bad.

A dog sneezes in her shirt, sending the other dogs rocking, and therefore exploring. ] Whoa, there, it wasn't that dumb.....Everyone's a critic.

[ STAY. STAY, FIDO. STAY. Kanade is still moving forward, but she's basically juggling puppies. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai laughs. Look: his bar for humor is set very low, and that was funny enough.

Laughter is the only help he can offer, though, because her puppies sneezing and his own fast pace have the dogs in his arms squirming wildly to escape, and his hands are very full.]

Maybe we should go a little faster?

[He swings hastily into the left-hand corridor. Sunlight shines at the end.]

[usedperishsong]

Works for me....

[ Well, isn't that a beacon of hope down there. Kanade hurries her way along, hoping to avoid shedding shedders. One makes a brave leap--

She ends up on one leg, cupping the rest of the dogs in one arm, holding a wriggling mass of dog in the other hand. ]

...Go on without me.

[ Save yourself! She'll pull through! ]

[reformedsinner]

[He'll remember her sacrifice!]

I'll be right back.

[It's only another dozen steps to the door standing open at the end of the hallway, and out onto the polished wood of the walkway at the side of the building. He crouches at the edge of the walkway and sets the puppies down; they yelp with excitement as they land in the grass, racing around each other in a rush.]

[usedperishsong]

[ There is a stumbling noise, and a few yips, from behind Hakkai. Kanade barely makes it to the end of the walkway before crouching down and dropping her hands, spilling puppies everywhere. ] Be free......be free........

[ Pupdemonium ensues, but at least they mostly all run their wriggly way out onto the lawn to play with their friends. Kanade drops to her knees in mock(?) exhaustion.

But then she turns and gives Hakkai a thumbs-up. Mission accomplished. ]

[reformedsinner]

You succeeded!

[He bends down, still laughing, to boost the last puppy down onto the lawn from the walkway, and heads over to Kanade to offer her a hand up.]

Somehow... thank you for your help, miss.

[usedperishsong]

Workin' up a sweat ain't a bad way to spend some time. [ Thanks for the lift. Kanade will accept it gladly.

She then looks out over the puppies. ] Cute kids.

[reformedsinner]

They are, aren't they? A little messy to have inside, but...

[He trails off, watching them. He's not sure if they're living beings or spirits: animals are better at interacting with gods and shinki than humans, mostly.

If they're spirits, at least they're safe here.]

I wonder if we should be coaxing them back to that park? Or if they have an owner?

[usedperishsong]

Do they microchip spirit dogs?

[ Like, is that a thing? Or do ghostie rays interfere with the scanners and stuff?

Though Kanade has no way of knowing if these are living or spirit dogs, either. ] You'd try to zap one and the signal'd go right through.

[reformedsinner]

Ah... [He clears his throat apologetically.]

"Microchip"?

[usedperishsong]

Sure. Little thing, about so big. [ She holds her fingers up, barely apart. ] Lets you scan 'em like at the supermarket.

Or. [ Crap. ] Have you gone grocery shoppin'?

[reformedsinner]

Yes, but I've never heard of putting microchips on pets. How would you keep it from being lost?

[Shedding -- scratching -- there are just too many ways to dislodge something so tiny.]

[usedperishsong]

I think they use all that loose skin. Like, you ever try to pick up a cat?

[ And yet, she can't be sure...She settles for watching puppies, which seems like a sound afterlife decision. ]

Well, they make it work.

[reformedsinner]

Hm. I understand collars, but...

[He's imagining something rather like a piercing now, with a chip on the earring. It's a strange mental image. Still.

Shaking his head, he smiles a little.]

I'm sure someone would know how to check!

[Are there veterinarians in Heaven?]

[usedperishsong]

There like. A god of cute in this place?

[ Or that?

Come to think of it, her own god would probably not mind being a god of cute. ]

[reformedsinner]

I believe Forrest is a god of beauty, which is a little different...

[It may also be as close as it gets.

Though, considering how much he's come to realize people enjoy "cute," perhaps it's past due for deification.

Having Hello Kitty running around the Heavens would certainly change the mood.]

[usedperishsong]

Then we're probably stuck with doctor gods and animal gods.

[ It is extremely unlikely these puppies are microchipped, anyway, so Kanade shrugs. ] They get to be mystery puppies.

[reformedsinner]

I suppose so!

[He laughs, taking one last look at the gamboling puppies before he shakes his head and gestures back towards the hallway.]

Well, I'm afraid I should get back to checking the security... and I think we can leave the puppies here. They'll find their way out, I'm sure.

[usedperishsong]

They're good at pokin' their noses places, yeah.

[ Kanade nods in agreement. ] Good luck with the borin' stuff.

[ It's important stuff. But it does not involve puppies, inherently, and thus is probably less...exciting. ]

[reformedsinner]

Good luck with the puppies.

[Less boring! Possibly more frustrating.]