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

[sweetdeath]

That's what they are. -- I mean, there's lots of different fuda you can make.

[He hands the single sheet over.] That one's a ward. It can keep an ayakashi from getting through a door or, you know, out of a jar or whatever. See?

[He points out a couple of characters in the pattern: bind, close, stop.]

[kokuyoyo]

Ah.... I didn't know that.

[Japanese religion and spirituality is still something foreign to him... which is only to be expected, considering he's Italian, his first two gods were of the Greek pantheon, and Hakkai's origins are from China, apparently.]

So... [Accepting the sheet, he tilts his head a little.] How do you make it work?

[sweetdeath]

Yeah, it's like saying "a card," you know? It doesn't tell you what card you're holding.

So, the first thing you want to do is focus your energy.

[He folds his hands together, knuckles of the pinky and ring fingers touching, index and middle fingers extended, thumbs out.] Put the ofuda in your pocket first, and fold your hands like this. Imagine there's a light right at the tips of your fingers.

[kokuyoyo]

....Alright...

[Carefully, he tucks the paper where it should be, according to this guy, and raises up one hand to mimic the hand gesture. There, Tsuzuki might notice that the same sturdy ring with its blue gem is where it was probably since the two of them first talked. And as Chikusa concentrates...]

[Whups. The gem is now on fire. Blue fire. Chikusa blinks slowly.]

....Ah. Did it wrong...

[Habit.]

[sweetdeath]

Whoa! [Tsuzuki flinches back from the flames, but Chikusa doesn't seem to be hurting; he reaches out, after a moment, to brush his fingertips through them.]

Does that happen a lot?

[kokuyoyo]

[The flames definitely feel odd. They don't burn, like proper flames should, but instead are almost cool, like water- a testament to the strange water refraction pattern which flickers through them. In fact, they're cool enough to numb.... Are his fingers falling asleep? He should watch out for that.]

Ah... When I focus... Like you said.

[sweetdeath]

[His fingers are going oddly numb and tingly, but it's painless and his fingernails aren't falling off, so he's not bothering to take his hand away yet. Tsuzuki peers in fascination at the ring.]

Hey, good news, I'm pretty sure you've got magic.

[kokuyoyo]

...I'm not sure that's what it is.... but I can't properly explain it either...

[So, you know, whatever]

But this is all I know... and so far I can only channel it through this ring, and into certain items....

[sweetdeath]

Cool as that is -- try taking it off and focusing again? That might make it easier for you.

[He takes his hand back, shaking it to try and coax the blood back to his fingertips.]

[kokuyoyo]

[....Well. He doesn't like it, but... Carefully, he removes the ring and keeps it tucked in with his other important items like his yoyos, before shifting his hand up again to the proper position. Taking a breath, he concentrates...]

[....But nothing.]

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki watches for a few breaths, nodding thoughtfully. He hadn't expected to see anything visible; considering last time the kid's hand had burst into flames, he wouldn't have been totally surprised to see something visible, but he isn't expecting it.

Instead, eventually, he says:]

Okay, how does that feel? Anything?

[kokuyoyo]

...What should I be feeling...?

[He's not exactly sure he's doing this right... But then again, he's not even sure borderlines feel like anything until they break.]

[sweetdeath]

It's not a quiz! Just tell me if you are feeling anything.

[If not, well, he figures he'll get Chikusa to try the next step anyway. Learning to pay attention to your own spiritual energy takes longer than using it, sometimes.]

[kokuyoyo]

[...Somehow that makes him feel worse.]

I... don't feel anything yet.

[And he's not sure if that's something to do with his flame or what.]

[sweetdeath]

[He looks worried. Maybe; it's hard to tell with that deadpan, but he's hesitating like he feels worried.

Tsuzuki nods, and pulls out one of his own ofuda; it's a summon ofuda, and he holds it between his extended index and middle finger, hand in the same position he'd directed Chikusa to use.]

That doesn't mean it's not working. It's pretty subtle, so you might have to learn how it feels by seeing when your spells work.

Hold the ofuda between your fingers, and picture yourself focusing energy into it. Then activate the spell--

ōn! [It's a snapped syllable; the sheet between his fingertips warps and spreads ghostly wings, vanishing into the body of a white dove that perches on his hands.]

This one's a summon. You can try casting yours on me -- if it works, it'll hold me in place for as long as you keep the spell going.

[kokuyoyo]

I see...

[Reaching over, he tries to poke the dove.]</small. And you have to say that word when you do it...?

[sweetdeath]

[The dove is fuzzy-edged, but substantial, and it hops away from Chikusa's prodding fingertip with a squawk.]

Yeah, that's the incantation that gets the spell going.

[kokuyoyo]

...Alright.

[Removing his hand away from the harassed dove, Chikusa moves his fingers into place again and takes a breath.]

ōn.

[It's quiet but sharp, full of will.... but nothing happens.]

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki transfers the dove to his shoulder, and smiles cheerfully at Chikusa. Full points for style, but hey, who gets that to work the first time?]

Not bad! If you want, I'll just leave that with you, and you can practice invoking it to see if you can get it to work.

It usually takes practice, so that not working the first time doesn't mean you can't get it to.

[kokuyoyo]

[But Tsuzuki, if he's not absolutely perfect on his first try, what's the point????]

[...No, really. For all that he's trying to encourage the teen, Chikusa is still frowning down at his hand as though it's stolen his spare loose change.]

...Yeah. Okay. Then... I'll try that.

[sweetdeath]

[Kids these days. Tsuzuki laughs, and claps him on the shoulder again.]

Relax! Nobody gets it on the first try. Hey, do you have my number? If you need any advice, or get it to work for you, give me a call?

[kokuyoyo]

[He's touching him again... Chikusa peers up at him from beneath his bangs.]

....You work at that bar.... right?

[sweetdeath]

[He sure is. He figures Chikusa'll either actually object, or get used to it.]

Yeah, you bullied me into giving you a drink, remember?

[And then criticized his mixology skills, which was mean, even if it was also accurate.]

I don't know if that's a good place to find me these days, though. [They've had yakuza problems.] Just text, it's easier.

[kokuyoyo]

...It wasn't bullying...

[Probably. Still, that has him tilting his head curiously.]

Why? [You can't just say that and say nothing, buddy.]

[sweetdeath]

We've had some gang problems around there. It's not like it's dangerous, but if it gets too bad we might have to close for a bit.

[There, that's... probably enough to keep him away, without scaring him, right? Tsuzuki's sidelong gaze is anxious.]