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~
sing_for_me: (nee-san smile)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2018-04-02 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That was the million dollar question. She's not sure how to respond at first, but after thinking about it, she answers.]

Better. A lot has happened, but I was assigned a new shinki, and...his cheerfulness is infectious.

[ But now she turns it back to him. Maybe she was being nosy, but he had that same expression on then. ]

How about you? Were you able to resolve that issue with your friend...?
redmare: (get moving)

D.ii

[personal profile] redmare 2018-04-02 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Chinatsu focuses on supporting the other two in this fight, creating borderline between them and other ayakashi while they tackle one. Others she'll distract, dodging them while waiting for Shun and Kotori to finish their current opponent. ]

Anytime you wanna take this on...sooner would be better than later!

[ Not that she was getting tired. It was just getting difficult to multi-task. She really needed to get herself a weapon or something to fight back with...]
lionhearrt: (Cleansing Fire)

[personal profile] lionhearrt 2018-04-02 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Suoh heals them as they come in so by the time he comes back with the family, the black that marred the girls hand is gone along with the cuts on her legs. The family takes longer. More people means more fire which means more energy. The cleansing fire wasn't anything like his red aura. He could use that in excess without ever getting tired but it burned him from the inside out. The cleansing fire healed him along with the victims, the flames proving to be less discriminatory than the red aura that allowed him to choose what it burned. ]

Same as always.

[ He grumbles as he rises to his feet and heads away from the family fast asleep. He doesn't ask him where he found the two older ones- he doesn't care - and activates the flames letting the fire consume them. It races up their skin, and penetrates past the deep tissue burning away every malady that plagued them along with the blight. He keeps the fire burning until he burns away the blight. The fire dies then and Suoh sits back on his haunches taking a moment to catch his breath before rising to his feet. ]

letteropener: (fond smile)

Fortune Weaving realtag

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-04-02 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Put them all together and see what comes of it, I think. [Celestia smiles over at Alex, weaving together a pair of plaques. With fingers, today, as she's taken a human form.] They ought to be able to come to their own decisions. At worse, they decide none of them can make it work, and are prepared to move on. And on the other hoof, who knows, perhaps all three of them will work it out.
onehandsomeslickninja: (eh heh)

C

[personal profile] onehandsomeslickninja 2018-04-02 06:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Man's gotta get a date somehow.

[Edge has no shame at all as he shrugs.]

The way I see it, this is just trying to give luck a boost. No one's compelled or anything.
lostinshadows: ([37])

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-02 06:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Guess that makes one of us.

[He is not happy to have fallen asleep. At all.

But he does lead her to a less crowded area.]


How have you been?
lostinshadows: ([12] Can we make the final call)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-02 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
No idea.

[But he does hand Caster his plaque after he weaved the string through it.]

Not fond of possibly being stuck with someone you don't like?
redmare: (smirk)

Pre-Meeting

[personal profile] redmare 2018-04-02 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
You're pretty good at hiding how badly you want to jump out of that suit.

[ She casually comments as he passes her by after finishing what looked like the most boring conversation with a random god. ]

Did you remember that you can loosen your tie?

[ Chinatsu smiles from behind her glass, pointing towards her neck. She wasn't in a suit this time, although it still wasn't traditionally feminine either. ]
redmare: (short hair smirk)

Early Announcements

[personal profile] redmare 2018-04-02 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ How was it that even with her back turned, she knew who had dropped their glass. She turns, unable to stop the smirk on her face, taking a sip from her glass.]

Careful, Hibiki. You might have a hard time picking up the pieces of your pride amongst all that glass.
letteropener: (excited)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-04-02 06:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[No lie. She looks amazing in the suit. There's just no getting around that.]

[In the middle of coming back from slipping one of her plaques in a different circle, Celestia stops to smile at Ginia -- a smile that becomes only broader, with a little giggle, as she realizes she's looking the woman eye-to-eye quite evenly. The feeling is particularly strange considering how few people are on her height as a human... and that she has literally been the tallest pony in existence for two thousand years.]


Oh, thank you!

[Then she has to take a step back to look Ginia over, which only takes a moment before she can reply with utter truth.] So do you!
redmare: (make a bet)

B

[personal profile] redmare 2018-04-02 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Crossing her legs, Chinatsu plops down right next to Nanako, taking some plaques from her basket. Thankfully, her clothes allowed for such comfort. ]

Between the both of us, these plaques don't stand a chance.
kokuyoyo: (At which point did I decide that it)

Midnight Disaster

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-04-02 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well, if there's anyone she's more than familiar with by now... It's certainly Chikusa, a backpack at his feet, a canteen in one hand, and his gaze narrowed down at the blight that's spread out across his forearm.]

[So, yes, he's a little injured, but it seems like the ayakashi responsible isn't around at least.]

[Popping open the cap with his teeth, he begins to carefully pour some temple water over the blight.]


You're on it.
sing_for_me: (._.)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2018-04-02 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Alex glances at the person next to her, quite enraptured by her aura. She couldn't put her hoof--hang on, did she say hoof? ]

Ah--Yeah..I could try that. I don't think I'd want to make any connections too deep. It...doesn't feel genuine that way.
letteropener: (chatting away)

[personal profile] letteropener 2018-04-02 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't believe you can. Call this a nudge in the right direction. My niece has a magic similar to this, in fact -- it helps remind the people she subjects it to why they love the ones they do.
sing_for_me: (there's nothing there)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2018-04-02 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah-- I'm sorry..I didn't mean to assume..

[ She's noticed that she tends to say the wrong things when she's around Lavi. Talk about foot in mouth... ]

I'm...um.. [ Her hold on his arm tightens a little as she debates her response. ] Adjusting..?
lostinshadows: ([12] Can we make the final call)

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-04-02 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
It's okay, Alex. I'm sure you and countless others are relieved I've slept at all.

[No worries, okay?

Lavi looks at her when he feels her grip tighten.]
Sounds like something's happened recently?
kokuyoyo: (Please don't place wagers on my)

a

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-04-02 06:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe that one will go home with you instead of harassing me.

[Yeah, hi Shun, guess who's noticed where your attention is, and is still carrying a grudge over being harassed.]
toremainbehind: ([06] To use our little light)

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-02 07:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Only because I don't think my boyfriend would approve of it.

[As long as it's not actual matchmaking, he supposes it's fine.

He takes the plaque.]
Will you be tossing one of your own in?
toremainbehind: ([172])

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-04-02 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
It isn't.

[Still, he takes a plaque and hands one to her.]

But perhaps it'd be interesting to see who you'd get tied to? Maybe your fate will be matched in with someone you know.
seasung: (01)

[personal profile] seasung 2018-04-02 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
『Pre-Meeting』

    [Not everyone has made their way inside just yet. A short distance from the entrance, Kanata can be found sitting inside of the pond of a nearby water garden. The outfit he had picked out for tonight's festivities, though rather lovely, is altogether soaked by now; the loose, flowy fabric of his blue and pink haori spreading out all around him on the surface of the water, like a great floating lily pad.]

    The meeting hasn't officially 'started' yet, you know. If you're looking for 'something' to do in the 'meantime', the water is very nice tonight. Even the fireflies have come out to look at it.


『Fortune Weaving』

    It's not only for 'romantic' connections? Ah. I see. There are many 'different types' of fates that can 'connect' two people... like friendship, or a shared goal, or drowning~♫

    [With this new information guiding him, Kanata tucks his own plaque - a doodle of a Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker fish - into his obi for safe keeping before he begins picking through the plaque pile. He's looking for connections that seem to have just the right amount of risk and mystery.]

    I suppose we will have to think about this very carefully.


『Midnight Disaster』

    There, there… it will turn out okay. We will find her soon. You are safe here.

    [Kanata uses the sleeve of his fancy robes to blot out the tears and sniffling nose of the distressed child he is currently tending to. Save for a scuffed knee and some muddied clothes, the four-year-old looks to be perfectly fine. His mother, on the other hand… Well. Time will tell. While more experienced gods and shinki are out searching for her within the blight, Kanata has chosen to hang back beyond its reach, keeping the scared child company in the meantime.

    But when comforting words and gentle head pats fail to calm the boy down, the sea god changes tactics. What he needs is a distraction. Something to temporarily take the child's mind off of the current predicament…]


    That is a very nice 'shirt' you have there. Is that Super Sentai Daidango Ultra Ranger Red on it? Do you like him too? [The sniffles slow down. The boy gives a quick, bashful nod.] Well then… Why don't we all 'sing' the Super Sentai Daidango Ultra Ranger 'theme song' together? Yes, yes. All of us~. You, me, and- [Kanata grabs a passerby by the arm, pulling them over.] -our friend here~

    [I hope you know the Super Sentai Daidango Ultra Ranger theme song (or at the very least, can do a convincing job of faking it), because there is a very small, very sniffly child now looking up at you with hope-filled eyes. Yes, the fate of his emotional well-being rests entirely on your ability to sing… The Best... Rendition... Of Super Sentai Daidango Ultra Ranger... Ever.

    No pressure.]
Edited 2018-04-02 19:52 (UTC)
sing_for_me: (pen)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2018-04-02 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That was a nice way to reframe it. ]

Your niece...? Is she a god too?
kokuyoyo: (Please don't place wagers on my)

early announcements

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-04-02 07:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Obviously.

[Most people probably wouldn't have heard D2's words... but Chikusa has been pointedly keeping an ear out for anything interesting, and he's just near enough to catch that.]
sing_for_me: (Uhhhhh)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2018-04-02 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
..Yeah...but it's okay, really. I'm..dealing with it.

[ He'd just woken up from a sleep he didn't really want, so Alex didn't want to dump all that on him. ]

Oh, um..I was assigned a new shinki. You might seem around. He's got um..fox ears and a tail. Bright personality.
kokuyoyo: (And the cops are back.)

pre-meeting

[personal profile] kokuyoyo 2018-04-02 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well, Chikusa was interested in seeing how food would go for some people... He just wasn't expecting all this chatter.]

...Apparently.... They're usually supposed to stick to their domain and country.... probably.
sing_for_me: (peeking)

[personal profile] sing_for_me 2018-04-02 08:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Alex takes it, staring at it for a moment before looking back at him. ]

Did you write your name?