godsoffortune: (coin)
The Far Shore Mods ([personal profile] godsoffortune) wrote in [community profile] thenearshore2018-04-01 09:08 pm

27 - The Gods' Meeting

Who: Everyone!
What: The Meeting of the Gods is here at last.
When: October 30
Where: Heaven's Meeting Hall
Summary:







Pre-Meeting

    Guards at the front door are carefully checking each god who enters off on their list of attendees, and taking the names of each of their shinki attendants.

    Once the participants are past the doors, they are guided down the hallway to a huge meeting room by one of the guards, who will announce them by divine title, and each of their shinki by whatever name they gave. It's an open question as to who's actually listening, though, because the room is swiftly filling up with gods and shinki. As well as the newcomers, old gods are here, some in human form attended by their uniformed shinki, others in stranger shapes -- giant bears, round-bellied tanuki, turtles, dragons, and more. There's even one tricolored tabby cat in a small blue cap, seated majestically in the arms of a uniformed shinki and chatting with another god.

    Buffet tables bearing every kind of food and drink imaginable are set up at one end of the room, and a dais with a podium is at the other, draped in bright gold and white bunting and emblazoned with a chrysanthemum emblem.


Early Announcements

    Finally, the socialization comes to an end, and the meeting itself begins as Ookuninushi grabs the microphone and steps up to the podium. The year's most popular gods are named first: Hotei, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, is in third place, Tenjin in second and Ebisu in first place. Each steps up to bow and accept their accolades in turn: Hotei is a big man with a wide smile, Tenjin a tall, ascetic man wearing old robes and concealing his smug expression behind a fan, and a tired-looking younger man in a business suit announces himself as representing Ebisu, who is watching over the Near Shore during the event.

    Next, the most popular new god is announced: Ookuninushi has to stop and wrinkle his nose at the name for several seconds before he pronounces it-- Nekhbet, a new arrival in the Heavens.

    He moves on to call for a moment of silence recognizing the difficulties of the last year. Many gods have faced reincarnation and returned wearing unfamiliar faces! The Heavens can't yet explain the cause of these changes, but Amaterasu herself urges them to welcome their friends' new incarnations as brothers and sisters in the Heavens.

    His final announcement is that, after the successful resolution of the trouble associated with some recent deaths, Orihime has been restored to her place among the eight million gods.


Fortune Weaving

    Announcements finished, the main activity of the evening begins. The white-robed shinki bring in huge baskets filled with wooden prayer plaques, setting them down all around the room, and the gods begin to form into circles around each basket. The older gods will gladly explain to any confused newcomers that they're weaving fortunate connections between mortal lives as they spread the plaques out and tie strings off together with great care. All the plaques have names written on them; some are filled out with prayers, some just with notes, and others adorned with pictures of flowers, animals or favorite characters.

    Gods and shinki are given blank plaques to inscribe with their own names, too, in order to give them the chance to make fortunate connections as well. (Not necessarily romantic, the other gods will assure them! There are many different kinds of fated connection.)

    Help out, take the opportunity to chat, and make some fortunate matches for yourself as well as these hard-working petitioners.


Midnight Disaster

    Just shy of midnight, while the gods are still matching up plaques, finishing the last of the banquet, and getting into drunken arguments over who to connect to whom, a shinki in a dark suit torn at the shoulder comes dashing into the Meeting Hall.

    "Calamity!" he cries-- and tells the assembled Heavens that a mysterious blight has fallen across a sleepy residential community in the Tokyo suburbs. The blight, a huge circle covering about two blocks, is sucking the life out of everything inside it: plants are wilting, and people and animals have fallen into deathly slumber. As if that weren't bad enough, it's also attracting big, dangerous ayakashi. Ebisu and his shinki are there now, but there aren't enough of them to fight the ayakashi and move the people trapped inside the blighted circle to a safer place before they die.

    Volunteers will need to fight ayakashi and rescue the mortals trapped in the blight -- once they're outside its edge, they'll begin to wake up and recover on their own.




In Summary:
  • Enjoy the banquet before the announcements
  • Hear about the most popular gods
  • Help make fortunate connections for the living
  • Respond to a disaster
  • Have fun~
kokuyoyo: (Tell him next time I'm going to be)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-04-30 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
....Sure.

[That seems good enough... And maybe by the time they return to that old man, someone will have taken care of that ayakashi. By the time she asks her question, he's started to roam around to inspect the building they're at.]

....For that to happen... You'd have to stay in a safe place. Do you think we could find one...?
lostinshadows: ([06] Oh we have felt it all)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Nah, think I'm good.

[Lavi grins at her.]

But how've you been doing, Chinatsu?
lostinshadows: ([10] Only one will take it all)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Come on you. Seems like you need a breather.

[Still gonna tug her along.]
toremainbehind: ([06] To use our little light)

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-30 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Hm, can't argue against that.
letteropener: (chatting away)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-04-30 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Friendship and love are vital for everypony. Humans are no different in this than ponies, griffins, zebras, even dragons. But sometimes those things can be very difficult to find.
lostinshadows: ([26])

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
...

[Lavi gives her a searching look.

He frowns a bit at the explanation. He looks a bit upset at himself for being asleep while she was going through this ordeal, and it shows in his eye. Lavi looks somewhat pained, but relieved still that she's okay.]


But you are okay now, right?
toremainbehind: ([07] Before in the piercing wind)

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-30 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[Izumo chuckles.

Once the ayakashi is rended, he moves to continue taking civilians out of the danger zone.]
lostinshadows: ([11] Can we bring to fall the giants)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sure you will.

[He tugs his headband down, letting his hair fall in order to properly obscure the blight.

He'll just need to cover it for a day before he talks to Cardia, but a short nod to Shun before he goes to return to the party.]
toremainbehind: ([26] Are you afraid?)

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-30 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Believe me when I say that has been a complaint many of us has had for a long time now.
toremainbehind: ([06] To use our little light)

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-30 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[He takes the plaque with a nod.

Then he just ties his and Nari's plaques together.]
lostinshadows: ([06] Oh we have felt it all)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh, that makes him smile.]

So glad to know. Have I missed anything else much?
lostinshadows: ([06] Oh we have felt it all)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[He chuckles.]

Just hope the same doesn't happen to you one day.
lostinshadows: ([07] Come crashing down from far above)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-30 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm.

[Lavi peers down at the plaques.]

Well, how about we start off with how you've matched earlier ones? There doesn't seem to be anything specific to match these plaques up with others, so we can go with what may seem to be the closest to these. [A shrug.]
toremainbehind: ([06] To use our little light)

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-30 03:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"Guess even gods can't help but find out who's the popular one among them."
light_of_willpower: (long-hair-casual-awkward-sweatdrop)

I think these are the last...

[personal profile] light_of_willpower 2018-04-30 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
welcome_home: (002)

[personal profile] welcome_home 2018-04-30 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Some of these have prayers on that I'm having trouble reading, though. Can you help me figure out what they say? Maybe then I can find a match for them....
replicatedform: (Upward Gaze)

[personal profile] replicatedform 2018-04-30 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[He thinks for a moment.]

... I'm not sure. I know that it's mostly humans we're working with. If it's that, it makes sense. [But Celestia isn't a human.] Otherwise... there's probably another reason.
replicatedform: (Stare - You called?)

[personal profile] replicatedform 2018-04-30 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I guess... I need to think about this a little more. I'm not really sure if a shinki can do this. But...

[He glance around. Both gods and shinkis are doing this activity, so it's okay?]

It's... I need to think about it. Even after talking about it, the idea is still strange to me.
roundtablerebel: (11)

[personal profile] roundtablerebel 2018-04-30 04:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Mordred wants to whine but even someone as impetuous as she is can see the sense in having some kind of plan. Still, taking things slowly isn't her forte. ]

Fine, let's just get moving. I don't want some idiot showing up and stealing my glory.

[ This is, after all, her first chance to show her quality in a real fight. ]

You have any idea where we should start?

light_of_willpower: (long-hair-armor-smile-confident)

[personal profile] light_of_willpower 2018-04-30 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[She does an amazing job, and Nanako is getting an affectionate hair ruffle again.]

Happily. Do you want help reading those, so we can sort them in with the others as well?

[That way they were focused on one task at a time.]
roundtablerebel: (17)

[personal profile] roundtablerebel 2018-04-30 04:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Tch. Guess it can't be helped.

[ Even though she'd really prefer it the other way. She starts grabbing the few other people scattered on the sidewalk to lay them in the truck. ]

What about them? I can't guarantee a smooth ride once we get moving.

[ With the way she drives a "smooth ride" isn't even a possibility. ]
roundtablerebel: (21)

[personal profile] roundtablerebel 2018-04-30 05:28 pm (UTC)(link)
What the hell are you talking about?

[ She's still learning that not all shinki are the same and that not all of them possess abilities like her own. Mordred adjusts her hold on the first person and flings them up to Edge almost too quickly, forgetting that she's supposed to be treating them more delicately. Attempting to correct her mistake she lifts the second one up for Edge to take from her.

Although she notices the ninja is wounded she doesn't think it's severe enough to bring up right now. Mordred dashes around the truck, shouting back as she bats another of the Ayakashi back with a gauntleted fist.]


Better hold on to something, it's gonna get rough!

[ As she clambers into the driver's seat her armor disappears to allow her access. One key turn later and the truck's engine growls to life. Mordred smashes her foot into the acceleration and the huge vehicle takes off like charging bull. But it still isn't quick enough to prevent a few of the more agile Ayakashi from attempting to latch on, causing the truck to swerve dangerously. ]
roundtablerebel: (6)

[personal profile] roundtablerebel 2018-04-30 05:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww, you used magic? I was hoping it'd be more entertaining to watch you chase him. I'm kinda disappointed, Old Man.

[ She'd hoped the chase would be more comical, that the man running away would somehow be more slippery. Of course, it was an unfair expectation; he was running from a god after all. Although she expresses her disappointment Mordred doesn't seem that broken up about it and reaches up to take the man from Caster if he's so inclined to stop looking cool and get down from the truck.

A skittering sound starts to build from the direction Caster just returned from. In the shadows, a selection of creatures of various shapes and sizes begin to gather but it seems they haven't worked up the courage to show themselves yet.]
nolittlesecret: (11)

[personal profile] nolittlesecret 2018-04-30 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[Hm

Well then]


Isn't that cheating?
kokuyoyo: (Tell him next time I'm going to be)

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-04-30 06:48 pm (UTC)(link)
It definitely seems to be something special.... But I don't know enough about Japanese mythology to say anything about it.

[Although it's sort of funny to talk about 'mythology' when it's a reality that they're all living.]

Mostly... it seems like it's just been the usual idle gossip. I haven't heard anything particularly interesting so far....