[Semi-Open] Like a ton of bricks

[royaltyloyalty]

Who: Dokugakuji and his CR or Shinji's
When: Nov 24-28th 2016
Where: His temple and nearby
What: Dokugakuji has recovered his memories from pre-death-by-Add-Shenanigans. (Prompts are prose, but threads can be either.)

---
Prompt A: Closed to Shinji, Morning of Nov 24th
Dokugakuji knew what it felt like to get an emotional reaction from his lone shinki. He never thought he'd get hit with a feeling harder than that, but that's the only similarity he can pin it on. Shinji doesn't share in the stunned, waves of understanding that Doku has to go through, but he has to wonder if Shinji didn't hear his god shouting himself awake. It's really early, the dawn is almost breaking, and Dokugakuji walks outside to sit on the walkway leading up to his temple, trying to process why this happened- how it happened. It was supposed to only happen to shinki, wasn't it? This whole... forgetting and remembering thing. Forgetting through death. And he'd thought he'd died when he arrived the first time... what did any of it mean?

Prompt B: Post-Network, Nov 25th+
He figured that he should say something, once he'd had time to sort a few things out for himself. It's not much, but it's public, so those who want to hear what he was trying to say, he figures they'll hear it. The rest will probably ignore him and he's fine with that.

However, he still comes from a mindset of preferring face-to-face interactions. Moreover, especially in the wake of these memories, he doesn't trust scientists and their technology more than ever.

So clandestine conversations are possible with him, just in-person at his temple or your character's, if invited.

Prompt C: Temple Thoughts in General
Dokugakuji isn't the type to make personal calls to his few acquaintances in the Far Shore. However, he does get restless enough to wander the grounds of his temple where people can see him, get some practicing in with his soulless shinki, that sort of thing. His first obligation is to Shinji, in his mind, as the person he's responsible for in this God role, and in the wake of his memories of his other shinki... now he's a touch more protective of the young man. That was at least easier to think about than Gojyo. He'd been trying to reconcile how he can possibly make things right with Gojyo based on the things he'd learned from Hakkai and Sharak on his second-go-round of memories, so those are clear as day, not that that helps at all.

So here he is, once again the guardian of a younger person, and trying not to screw it up. Advice welcome from friends old and new.

Prompt D: Wildcard!
Feel free to contact me on frudence to plot something, or just respond and I'll try to run with it :)

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

In such quiet morning hours, it's pretty hard to miss the noise of a shout suddenly ripping through the temple grounds. It's after a little bit of investigating that Shinji manages to find Dokugakuji outside, though he seems to be fairly alert, as if he had been up since before the unexpected commotion.

The god doesn't look like he's been hurt, or anything like that, and that much is a bit of a relief, but it's not so easy to shake off the feeling of worry from such a shocking start to the morning.

"Is everything okay?"

His tone is soft, not wanting to seem like he's trying to pry or overstep his bounds, but positively dripping with a concerned curiosity.

[royaltyloyalty]

Shinji... He turns toward the young man at his approach, feeling that sensation through their bond and hearing the tone in his voice, potent even for someone like him who is only mildly emotionally intuitive. And maybe to someone from his world he'd consider lying. There would be a point, a struggle that he could weigh in on even if he wasn't ever going back. There was no point in lying to Shinji.

"Not really," he replies while staring down at the scar on his arm - the mark, that is, from his death. "But I figured out why our first meeting was a little off - it wasn't just you dealing with some lost memories, Shinji." He's not mad at Shinji for prying. He's just mid-stride through reconciling everything.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Thinking back on it, it did seem like there was something fairly unusual about the encounter, something vague he wouldn't have thought to try and put his finger on in his own newness when it came to talking about the other shinki in the temple versus himself, or rending ayakashi... but still, assuming it was a case of missing memories would have been a pretty big assumption to make, and that statement still leaves a lot of questions to be figured out.

With Dokugakuji not dismissing him or brushing off his question, Shinji moves in a little closer and crouches down, drawing his knees up to his chest to help stave off some of the morning chill.

"Really?"

He wants to know more, and it sort of feels to him like his god may want to divulge, but... if he's wrong, that should be enough to give him an out of the conversation.

[royaltyloyalty]

Dokugakuji nods back to Shinji slowly, aiming for the shinki's new ground position. "Even gods have a moment where they used to be somewhere else - 'home' if you like - before suddenly they find themselves here. That moment just beforehand... I'd always thought I'd been killed in service to my prince, dying to protect him." He says it without remorse. A soldier's death; a good death, as good as one can get anyway, for someone like him.

"But I thought I was unique in that regard. The other gods seemed to have just gone about their lives before showing up here. It's the shinki who I understood a little better, because after we met, strange things happened - people approached me who seemed to know more about me in a gap of time, months in fact, here in the Far Shore. Months that I didn't remember happening. I then found out that a catastrophe happened - I was caught up in it, and died during it. When I came back to the Far Shore, I had no memory of that happening... until this morning."

He gestures to the Soulless Shinki starting their usual maintenance of the temple. "I used to have four shinki staying with me here at one point, if you can believe that. Two others came and went as well."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

That is... a lot to sort through. Somehow, the idea that the gods may have been mortals before isn’t too strange - concepts such as ascension aren’t totally foreign to some mythos, as far as he can recall. The idea that Dokugakuji had died before coming here seems a little more odd, since that’s more like a shinki prerequisite, and if he thinks that’s a more unique trait to him, then that makes it that much less clear.

But... maybe detangling how heaven operates is not the important thing to be focusing on right now. Eventful months and a catastrophe is a lot to be so suddenly dumped on a person, god or otherwise.

"That's..." He really doesn't know what to say to all of that. "I'm sorry," The missing months and their abrupt return, the two other shinki who have moved on, the knowledge and memory of having died... having to deal with all of it so suddenly must be very difficult. He feels like trying to help with this is definitely something that's over his head, but if Dokugakuji's willing to share all of it so readily, then he's probably not being a pest for sticking around to listen.

"That's an awful lot to remember all at once."

[royaltyloyalty]

He nods gravely. "I'm not out for pity though, Shinji. You didn't cause any of that, no need to apologize. Some would say..." Including him. "That I even deserved that sort of thing for my reckless actions."

He tilts his head back up to the sky for a brief moment before turning back to Shinji again. "I'm telling you this because I'm afraid something similar may happen to you. As a shinki, you may start remembering things... and it may feel like a rush, good or bad, or just 'an awful lot to remember at once.' " Then he stands up, continuing to speak as he moves towards Shinji.

"And we chose to work together, remember?" He pats one strong hand on Shinji's shoulder and leaves it there. "No matter my opinions about this place, your emotional state matters to me. You are my ward right now, for as long as either of us are here and want to keep this thing going." Trying to reinforce that Shinji can leave if he wants. "So you keep me in the loop, huh?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He can't really help it, giving a thin frown at that particular statement. Reckless or not, does anyone really deserve that kind of fate? This place seems dangerous enough that a moment of carelessness at the wrong time could easily mean dire consequences, but... putting blame on someone for slipping up hardly feels fair.

He keeps his thoughts on the matter to himself, however, as the conversation shifts in his direction a little unexpectedly. As Dokugakuji sets a hand on his shoulder, Shinji blinks back up at him in surprise.

"Hm, well... I haven't had anyone I don't know acting like they know me yet," this is, possibly, a dry attempt at lightening up the situation a bit. "I mean, it's entirely possible that something like that won't even happen, but... I can tell you if it does."

However, if it's always this much of an Experience, there's a big part of him that genuinely hopes it doesn't.

[royaltyloyalty]

"That's good. There might be other things that come up that you may not realize are bothering you at first," he tries to explain as politely as he can, "and I may have to ask you about them."

He pulls his hand away then, looking thoughtful again. "I also remembered one of the things that let my shinki have a little more confidence in themselves and me as a god. Remember how we practiced Rend? Gotta use that on an ayakashi to be effective. How do you find an ayakashi? Usually by answering prayers from my followers and trying to help them out. Sometimes they're not doing anything wrong - it's an ayakashi preying on their fears that are stopping them from accomplishing their goals or sometimes even basic needs."

Then his moody, contemplative look starts to change into a smile. "You up for a challenge today?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

With that line of thinking, it's easy to figure out where he's going with this -

"Investigating prayers and finding ayakashi?" It sounds... like a challenge, for sure, considering he hasn't had an opportunity to encounter an ayakashi on his own just yet, but it has to happen sooner or later. It's kind of the whole reason they're here in the first place, isn't it? "Where would we start...?"

That seems like as much of a 'yes' answer as any.

B!

[hellskitchen]

[As soon as he was directed to do so, Rin goes to meet up with Doku at his temple. It takes a bit to find his way, since his god's temple is in a different district from Doku's. Still, he finds it! A temple that looks like a bowl that's been smashed into the ground. Well, at least Doku was serious! But now looking at the temple, makes Rin a little hungry.]

Hey! I'm here!

[Starts walking up the entrance to the temple, hoping to spot Dokugakuji along the way. If Doku sees Rin he might notice he has a new addition. A tail trailing behind.]

Re: B!

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Rin passes by the adult man and adult woman Soulless shinki that tend his temple while coming down the path into the hollow base of the bowl-shaped area surrounding the actual building. Doku himself is sitting nearby the shrine part, since he was expecting Rin, and stands up. ]

Hey there, Rin! Long time no... see?

[ Yep, that sure is a tail. Since when... he'd thought this guy was a human. Oh wait! ]

Some weird shit going on I missed out on?

[ He means an event-style sort of weird shit. ]

[hellskitchen]

[Of course, Rin doesn't notice the odd look that Doku is giving him. So the question flies over his head. He blinks at the taller man, his face inquisitive and even his tail seems to sway back and forth in curiosity.]

Weird shit? Unless you mean those forest cultist who were kidnapping people,then that's about it. I got kidnapped too, but all they did was hypnotize and restrained me.

[ Rin, of course, leaving out the important detail that they were draining his life force too. The shinki walks up the rest of the way to the shrine and stands next to the other. His tail unfurling and curling behind Rin, moving like it has a mind of it's own. Then a thought does come to Rin, however it doesn't address the elephant in the room.]

Oh, but I did get a sword recently. When I open it, I get these really awesome powers too. I forgot to bring it though.

[royaltyloyalty]

[ He points right at Rin, stocking the 'sword' and 'awesome powers' comments for later. His finger follows the swaying tail for a minute. ]

That. Right there. You have a tail.

[ He's a shinki or Doku would've asked if he was related to Son Goku. ]

[hellskitchen]

Huh?

[Rin follows Doku's hands, looking behind him. As soon as he did the tail slaps his face. At least the end of tail was soft enough to not hurt him. Oh, yeah!

He turns back to the god and nods.]

It is a tail! That's something else that I got with the sword. Don't freak out, it's harmless.

[As if to confirm that it's harmless, the tail end bobs up and down.]

[royaltyloyalty]

It doesn't freak me out. [ He chuckles, amused. ]

I just thought you were human, that's all. Turns out we're more alike than we'd originally thought. I don't have a tail, just these. [ He makes a vague gesture in the direction of his ears. ]

What's this sword you've got then?

[hellskitchen]

That's right, you're a demon!

[It's not that he forgot, but it excites him that they have something like that in common. He then gestures to his ears too. Although they aren't long now, they do lengthen when he draws his sword.]

My ears get like that too, but only when I draw the sword. I don't know what the deal is, but it seems to be connected to me. Whenever I draw it, I turn into a demon and I'm surrounded by blue flames. Oh yeah, now that I have the sword, I can use fire too. I'm still gettin' used to it.

[ He's pretty much trying not to burn anything. He nearly burns up the kitchen in his god's temple. Whoops!]

[royaltyloyalty]

Turn into... like... only temporarily?

[ Because the last person he knew who turned into a demon was Hakkai, and that was quite permanent along with a hell of a cost to get there. Hence his balking a little bit at discovering that. ]

I mean... if you need to practice, we could go a round or two again, but it just seems like the kind of thing that you might want to... restrict until emergencies, to me.

[ If it really is the kind of thing akin to Hakkai's transformation, it could be something that would become permanent with repeated use. ]

D

[abgrund]

[ Ain shows up, as promised. Dokugakuji can probably sense him from a long way away, a figure clad in a simple white robe with dark shadows fluttering out beneath.

He might need to be guided somewhere - while his cloak suppresses the chaotic miasma that accompanies his presence, it is still unsettling; and all he knows is to make a beeline for where he can sense the chaos corruption still lurking within the temple. ]

I lost this tag, sorry

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Dokugakuji's been making his way to the pathway that leads out of the bowl-shaped grassy crater that holds his temple. There, as he sees Ain descending down the pathway, he does get that distinct Something's Wrong feeling he got back at Add's temple. Still, he steels himself. Ain had been perfectly responsive before, like a normal person, albeit curious about the circumstances of getting his mark. So he calls out, raising his arm in such a way that Ain can see the mark. ]

Hey there. Looking for me?

no worries

[abgrund]

I am.

[ He takes a few steps forward, of which it should be evident that he's not stepping on the floor, but floating above it. ]

I promised you that I will help. So here I am.

Re: no worries

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Doku shrugs a little. ]

I'm used to disappointment around this place.

[ He does look a little confused by the floating, and gestures towards Ain's feet. ]

Pretty powerful for a shinki, aren't ya.

[ But as he gets closer, he holds his arm out for Ain to see. It's all dark marks in the shape of a flaming sphere, a symbol of Ksitigarbha. ]

It's still the same, at least. Didn't spread like blight does.

[abgrund]

[ He doesn't comment on anything that isn't the mark, moving closer so he can inspect the stigma of corruption. ]

It has not spread. I am glad for that... it hurts people.

[ Ain extends a hand, and wisps of black smoke begins to rise from the marks. They coalesce above his palm into a black sphere - it takes a while for all of them to come off, but when Doku's arm is clean, he closes his hand over the orb. When he opens his hand again, it's gone. ]

I am done.

[royaltyloyalty]

That easy, huh?

[ He rubs at his arm a little, inspecting it for some kind of lingering effect or maybe the skin discolored where the mark used to be, but only if you squint hard enough. ]

Any chance it'll come back and I need to bother you again?

[ He's of course also wondering what it might have done to Ain - made him more powerful, perhaps? ]

[abgrund]

[ That isn't far from the truth. ]

It will not.

[ Ain made sure to remove everything - to return things to where they should be, equally partitioned. ]

I am well versed in dealing with matters of the void. If someone else is afflicted, I can help them too.

[royaltyloyalty]

Well, the only other guy I know who went through it is named Caster. I'm not sure if something similar happened to him.

[ Okay but on the other hand- ]

I guess some of the others might have gone through after I died, actually. Not sure. Didn't exactly get anybody from the group jumping to chat with me about it lately.

[ And since Ain's here... ]

This 'void' - seems like you can control it better than he can. Enough not to get people killed, anyway, right?