001 | The Welcoming Feast

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: A little bit of explanation, thank goodness.
When: Early morning. (February 15, 2016)
Where: The Heavens. Specifically in the Meeting Hall.
Warnings: Exposition is coming your way, sit back and enjoy the show!



The Heavens have summoned you. And there is no way to turn down a summons from the Heavens. Of course, some of you know where you are and what you are probably doing here, but most of you might be completely confused as to what is going on. All gods have been ushered into the meeting hall, where every person suddenly becomes anonymous and obscured, while every shinki has been gathered up outside in the hallway, both sets to listen to the same message sent by Amaterasu herself. And while you cannot see her properly or really figure out what her voice sounds like, you definitely know that it's her speaking:

'Welcome, one and all, to Takamagahara. There are many new gods and shinki here today, and I hope you all find your stay pleasant. I wish that I could explain to you exactly why you find yourselves here now, but I am unsure of the details myself. Please make use of the shinki dedicated to our services in order to make yourself more acquainted with your new position. You can find them by looking for my golden insignia.

As compensation for the trouble you are all being put through, I have had a wonderful feast prepared. I only hope that it is to your liking. Feel free to eat and drink as much as you would like, though please do not leave before the clock chimes midnight, for that is when your homes will be prepared.

I ask that all pre-existing gods please help those new to our ways. Let them know what is and is not acceptable and what duties will be expected of them. I am counting on your all to support the Heavens in this confusing time as we attempt to sort things out.

Thank you all for your time. And I am truly sorry that you have found yourselves in this situation.

With that, the figure that is Amaterasu bows deeply and disappears from their sights. The gods are released from their chamber and the shinki are allowed to roam. All exits are manned by a white-clad shinki, bearing a golden, embroidered Chrysanthemum on their chests. So, technically, there is no way out. You can't even seem to teleport out by any means.

All that's really left to do is enjoy the food and hope that you'll actually be able to leave after the clock chimes midnight. Though the clock doesn't seem to work on a minute-by-minute basis either...



Banquet Hall

There is food from literally every culture and walk of life here. Everything is prepared gorgeously and deliciously, no expenses spared. There are shinki bearing the Chrysanthemum carrying out new platters of everything as it's eaten up and nothing seems to go hot or cold as time passes - it always at the perfect temperature for eating and it never tastes anything but delicious. Maybe there's a little magic making it taste so good...

On top of the delectable dinner, there are plenty of desserts and every kind of alcohol available and constantly being refilled. The liquor is being offered to gods and shinki alike, no matter how old they are/look. Let's hope that you can hold your alcohol.

Counselling

In the main hallway, there is an innocuous door with a small, nicely written sign that reads "Gentle Counselling". Inside the door is a small room with a few sweetly smiling shinki inside who are willing to listen to your problems and answer any questions you might have. They are also here to help out any gods that are having a hard time dealing with knowing about how their shinki died and also any shinki that is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are dead.

Did Someone Say Games?

A large room connected to the back of the banquet hall has a wide variety of games set up for everyone to enjoy. There are old-fashioned board games (like chess and Othello) as well as newer ones (like Candy Land and Sorry!). On top of that, there is every kind of console available with every video game ever made - and plenty of handheld devices for everyone to be able to play. The devices don't seem to work outside of this room, though, so you'll have to stay there if you want to keep playing. Gaming is, after all, a great way to get to know new people!

After Midnight

Finally, the clock starts to chime. It seems like it's been days and yet only minutes at the same time. Time seems to work so strangely here in Takamagahara and it's hard to keep up with what's going on. But now that the shinki guarding the doors have left their posts, you are more than welcome to leave. In fact, the Heavens seem to want you to leave because all of the food has disappeared, none of the games work anymore (including the board games, which keep flipping over when you try to play...), and the friendly shinki are smiling as they usher you out the doors.

You are welcome to start wandering around Takamagahara, but it's an ambiguous sort of place and might just take you straight home anyway. Feel free to go home and start bonding with your partner. Or sneak home with someone else because your partner is a meanie-pants. It's up to you!



In Summary:

• Amaterasu says you're stuck here and she doesn't know why. Sorry!
• There's lots of food to eat, though! Eat your fill.
• Oh, and there's booze too. Try not to get TOO drunk.
• Guidance/Grief counselling is available, if you need it.
• Use gaming to get close to others!
• Try to start bonding with your god/shinki. Or just form new friendships. Whatever you feel best doing!
• Have fun!

Comments

[roeh]

[It looks like Shepard hasn't quite gotten the memory loss memo yet, especially since hers was still so painfully in tact. Still, her expression is very much a mirror to his. That was one way to make an introduction that's for sure.]

Shepard. Commander Shepard. [She'll spare him the rest of the mouthful that would be lost on him and after a beat she accepts his hand with the one that isn't currently occupied by food.]

[spacedog]

[His ear would have perked up at the title, if his ears were the perking up kind at the moment. So instead his eyebrows raise a bit as he shakes her hand firmly and then lets go.]

Commander Shepard? Oh, what do you command?

[roeh]

[Shepard is nothing if not observant and she notes the interest. Well, at least the whole thing wasn't classified anymore. Not exactly.]

A starship. The Normandy. That mean something to you?

[spacedog]

[He shrugs. It doesn't mean anything like it doesn't sound at all familiar, and yet it means something because it sounds pretty darn awesome.]

A whole starship? That is so cool!

[Congratulations, Commander. Coal thinks you are cool.]

You must be a god, right? [Because you remember stuff, and only gods do that.]

[roeh]

[A chuckle.] The Normandy is pretty special I'll give you that. One of a kind. [Not just for what she can do, but what she stands for, Shepard thinks wistfully.]

Supposedly I am. Not sure how much I buy into this bullshit though.

[spacedog]

[He is just now realizing that it had never occurred to him to question what Amaterasu said. So he frowns.]

You don't think you're a god? But you have memories. So you can't be a shinki.

[roeh]

[Sorry to burst your bubble kid. Although she's not all heartless. There is a shred of sympathy for the shinki who had their memory claimed along with their lives. One. Maybe two.]

That's what they're saying but I don't have to go along with it, do I?

[spacedog]

[He has to think hard about this. It's confusing. If Amaterasu is right then she's a god and she would... Wasn't it weird for a god to not believe she was a god? So she should believe it. And if Amaterasu was wrong, then what were they all doing there anyway? He eventually shakes his head. Too tricky to sort out, really.]

I really don't know. Everything just feels too new for me to know, I think.

[roeh]

[Truth be told, it's not like she feels all that different. Perhaps it was precisely because she did still have her memories, and should could recall her life with such clarity that anything more seems like a farce. There was no infinite cosmic power or anything, just one pissed off human.]

In that case, a word of advice. Try to figure out what side you're on.

[spacedog]

[He frowns deeply at her, and its a bit of confusion that's etched into his face but also something more, something that even Coal couldn't describe. Perhaps, something just doesn't feel right about her words.]

...you're certain there are sides?

[roeh]

[Shepard finally nabs one of the long awaited dumplings, eyeing it like she might find some minor imperfection there even though the truth is clear. Eventually, she swallows a bite.]

There's always sides. [For her, it's obvious that's an absolute certainly.]

[spacedog]

[Her certainty makes him even more uncomfortable, and, perhaps bizarrely, even more uncertain.]

If you say so. [He's not going to debate this too carefully, because 1) it makes him feel like he's eaten something he wasn't meant to, and 2) this is one of those self-fulfilling prophecy sort of things, isn't it.]

At least the food is good? [Because it doesn't do to dwell on unpleasant things. Her inspection of the dumpling did not go unnoticed, either.]

[roeh]

[Alright. It's not like pushing the envelope ever got her very much back home and here she doesn't have the proof to back it up. Yet.]

Yeah I'll give them that. [And since he was so interested in it before, why not just burst another bubble.] Life on a starship may sound cool but the food it shit.

[And that's why she's going she's going for another dumpling, tossing one to him too.]

[spacedog]

[He blinks at her, and then instead of looking upset, his expression blossoms into a grin.] Is it really? I have no idea what it's really like on a starship. [He laughs.] Does your starship have windows?

[He doesn't know why windows should be important features of starships, but he feels like if you have a starship you would be obligated to have windows and look outside sometimes as you pass by stars and nebulous clouds and whatever else exists out there. Otherwise you'd miss out on a lot. On the other hand, if you didn't have windows, then your destination would be like a surprise when you got there, and that would also be really exciting.]

[roeh]

[She gives him an odd little look like he might be crazy for suggesting something like that. Just what do you think someone with a title like hers is doing out in space? Joy rides and star cruises?]

That would compromise structural integrity in a fire fight.

[And then she thinks of that damn skylight in her quarters and grimaces.] Fortunately for you, someone thought the view was more important.

[spacedog]

[He really does assume she's out sightseeing. Boldy going where no one has... well, he has a rather romantic yet completely vague idea of what space is like.

But he nods in understanding at her explanation about structural integrity. And then smiles because the view is indeed important.] So there are windows. What does it look like? Space, I mean.

[roeh]

[Man she definitely wouldn't agree with you there, kid, but she doesn't build em. Hell she doesn't even fly them.

But she'll continue to indulge him because there's something innocent and almost sweet about his interest.]

Most of it's not that different from what you'd see on Earth. Lots of stars. Even more empty spaces. Some of the worlds are something else though. And the people you find there. I guess that's what makes it really interesting. [She shrugs because it's all so normal to her, so matter of fact.]

[spacedog]

It does sound really interesting. [Fascinating to the point of being something he feels weirdly attracted to, like how he might feel about remembering a creepily pleasant dream. Empty spaces and new worlds.

He shakes his head to clear it.] I bet you've seen some pretty cool things and met some pretty interesting people.

[roeh]

That's for sure. They might find it hard to believe now, but the galaxy is full of life. A lot more scales and tentacles than you'd think too. [Yeah, it's pretty incredible and she's also supposed to be saving it right about now.]

[spacedog]

[For some reason he kind of expected tentacles to be something of the norm? So if it's more than he'd think, then that's a lot.]

Your galaxy sounds pretty amazing. I wish I could remember mine. [Maybe it was the same one, even! It's the first time that he's wished he had his memories, though, like maybe he's kind of jealous of her life's experiences. Maybe his don't match up in terms of awesome, or maybe they are better... but listening to her tidbits and strange facts makes him wonder who he was, where he lived, what kind of people or scales or tentacles he came across before he came to here.]

[roeh]

You never know. Maybe that's where you came from.

[It's a big place after all, even if it's just as likely thtat he could have come from the dozens of other places and times that had been drawn here. But this interest in the galaxy could be rooted in something deeper. Or not.]

[spacedog]

[He smiles at her, because that's a very promising sentiment she's sharing with him.]

Then we'd have a galaxy in common. [Which really isn't that much in common, but it's better than not having any common ground at all, right? And let's face it, with him not knowing where he's from, this is probably as close as they'll ever get to common ground from their former lives.]

Though maybe we are neighbors now or something. Commander, do you have a shinki?

[roeh]

Two, depending on how you look at it. [Maybe it's a bit too hopeful but that just seems to be one of her jobs these days. Defender of hope in a bleak galaxy. And it seems like they could all use a little bit more of that right now.]

I guess I do? [She'd gotten the same explanation as everyone else and she'd more or less understood it, but she hadn't really thought about having such a partner till he mentions it.] I haven't run into them though. Do you know who your god is?

[spacedog]

[He shakes his head.] Not yet. I think it makes me a bit anxious not knowing, though.

[It's not you, is it? How is he supposed to know? How is any god supposed to know? Do they just know?]

[roeh]

[No harm in asking.]

It's not Mórrígan is it?