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

[unlucky7]

Shinki are the tools of their god, we're here to help our gods with what they want to accomplish and to follow their will. We exist for the purpose of serving.

[She shrugs lightly. All things were created in some form for some purpose and exist in a balance. Sure, that she can buy. But sitting across from him, eating hot wings and fries...

Sure not a lot of fear and terror going on right now.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Zetta heaves a sigh.]

I don't get it. You say something like that, but if I were in your position I wouldn't take that crap.

[unlucky7]

Says the Overlord who insists he's evil because someone once said demons have to be evil.

[But you know what? Her next basket of food is here there's no arguing the topic. They'll probably end up going around in circles anyway. But before Ginia gets her fingers covered in sauce again, she sends another message.]

You don't seem that evil to me.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Uh, it's not 'someone'. Demons are evil by nature and breeding both. Saying demons are evil is like saying humans have heads. [The book scowls, his dignity affronted.] Call me crazy, though, but I got the impression you were the kind of girl who didn't think doing evil deeds was in and of itself a fun date activity.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia's already begun digging into her basket, but she glances at Zetta at his last comment.

"You don't know a thing about me."

Not like she knows anything about him. Not like she knows anything about herself. But there's a trickle of annoyance and after chowing down on a few more spicy wings, she wipes off a hand so she can write back a response.]

There's no substance in evil. It's easy.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[And now Zetta is confused. Had he guessed wrong? Should he have taken her out to the puppy-skeet range? Because glares or not, he's pretty sure she wouldn't like that!]

Uh... Well, it's easy for me. I'm a demon. But as an Overlord, I have to put extra work into it. And it wasn't always easy to do things like conquer worlds or humiliate heroes, I just got better over time.

....and none of that stuff's easy for me right now. [The irritation and dismay Zetta lets slip at his situation is almost humanizing.]

[unlucky7]

Sorry.

[Ginia sighs. She's not here for a debate over evil or not and the complexities of morals, not when her moral compass is so skewed and uncertain. But she can be sympathetic to his state; she wouldn't be any happier if she had to be in her vessel form all the time, unable to move around without assistance.]

Do you have any ideas on how to get your body back?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Oh yeah, that's easy. [Zetta instantly forgets any moodiness he might be feeling in the face of the question. She might be getting the impression that he doesn't hold on to much of anything for too long...] I'll transform these worlds into Netherworlds. That will provide a steady flow of mana that I should be able to use to fix myself up.

[unlucky7]

Important question. What happens to everyone that's here if you make everything part of the Netherworlds?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Eh.

[Super reassuring answer, right?]

I figure sending anyone who helps me home is a good carrot to dangle. The people who stay will slowly turn into demons.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia's lips press into a narrow line and her brow furrows slightly.]

And what about the people that don't want to leave, but also don't want to turn into demons?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

...Wait, what's wrong with being a demon? It's way sweeter than being a human. [No lie, it's awesome! Zetta would highly recommend it!]

[unlucky7]

Demons are evil. I'm not interested in being evil.

[Also being forcibly changed into something else over time sounds like a raw deal even if there are perks to being a demon.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Oh, that's not something you have to worry about! As you transformed, you'd also lose your morality, so it wouldn't bother you all that much.

[But it's being changed into a DEMON! Zetta can't see how that's bad at all.]

[unlucky7]

Your sales pitch is really bad.

[Beat.]

How's this plan coming along anyway?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Funny thing is, I'm not really worried about that. Though if you're actually willing to serve, then we can talk.

Minions are a bit low-level still, so having some other aid would help the whole thing along.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia snorts and waves her hand dismissively. Sorry, she can't agree with overthrowing the current establishment for the sake of establishing a greater evil netherworld. Which isn't to say there's anything wrong with overthrowing the current order, just not like this.]

Sorry, I'm more inclined to oppose it.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Really? That sucks. I'm a little disappointed you aren't in favor of me getting my body back.

[Because to self-centered Zetta, it's all about him.]

[unlucky7]

[Careful, Ginia, eye-roll that hard again and your eyes might fall out.]

Don't twist it like that. I'm in favor of you getting your body back, but not your choice of plan.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

You, uh, do realize that there aren't exactly a lot of other plans. We're talking about power on the cosmic scale here. At least one Netherworld, the nexus of evil for a whole universe.

[unlucky7]

Have you considered asking anyone for help? The other gods? There's probably another plan that doesn't involve turning everything into a Netherworld.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

...Why is that everyone's go-to? [Really, Zetta can't even be angry any more -- just baffled in the extreme. She's at the LEAST fourth or fifth to offer that idea up as if it's spectacular and feasible.]

That's not how this works. The only people powerful enough to help me are those who would see me destroyed or humiliated out of petty vengeance or out of a desire to see themselves on top instead of me. Maybe Pram the Oracle would have given me a lead on a plan, but she's just as likely to laugh and step on me a lot. Beyond the top-tier Overlords, though -- who's got the power of a universe to spend just fixing this situation?

[unlucky7]

[It's how it could work. Not everyone is evil or even that self-serving, most people probably don't even care about trying usurp his position. But what does a shinki with five days of memories know? The conversation isn't going to go anywhere else.

Fine. He can carry out his plan, see where it takes him.

Ginia flags down a server to get a box and packs up the rest of her food, stewing in a moody unease.]

Thanks for the meal. It was good.

[Annoyed as she is, that gratitude is real.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Hey, it was a good date. [Despite her unease, Zetta is pleased with how it had all fallen out. She'd seemed a lot more spirited when she'd stopped angling for the date, which had still been a little strange...] Like I said, next time we hit Indian food or the like. Something with another good kick!

[unlucky7]

[Date. Huh. In no way does Ginia see it as one, but she lets the word slide off.]

Sure. I'm not up to much so whenever you're free.

[Free food is free food.]