thenearshore | 001 | The Welcoming Feast

Entry tags:

001 | The Welcoming Feast

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Bo is one of the new gods here. One that's still kind of confused and yet oddly amused by her new position as well. Considering who her father is, it was odd she was now a Norse goddess. It was doubly odd because of her connection to Tamsin, a Valkyrie, where she came from.

At any rate, Bo didn't look like the typical picture of Freyja, nor did she even really look Scandinavian. Brown eyes, though they turned blue when she was using her chi-sucking ability, and brown hair. She was also not overly tall, a couple inches shorter than the average height for women.

Looking up from her plate of food, which she'd eaten most of, and gotten more dessert of the chocolate variety, she saw the woman, swallowing the food in her mouth and smiling back.]

Yeah, I am. Can't complain about the food or alcohol.

No, no one certainly can. Heaven always knew how to throw a party.

[ All these new faces. At least everyone seemed to be having a good time. Whatever reason heaven may have for bringing all these gods and shinki here, at least they aren't being neglected.

It's a little hard to ID everyone though. After all, it's not like they have nametags. But it's good to see another lady around the newcomers. ]

Did you arrive along with everyone else?

I can't argue with that!

[She laughed. This was also a way more pleasant experience than the last time she was in such a place. She'd traveled to Valhalla to get Kenzi back. Then she'd been kidnapped by her father and taken to Tartarus. Or had it been Hel? Really, it all blended together after a while.]

Yeah I did. New comer and all of that. Trying to figure out why I'm here, but I never say no to food or alcohol.

[Or pretty people. Which brought up another issue. At some point, she would need to feed on chi. But she would at least be fine for a while yet before she needed to find someone that could help her in that department.]

Did you just arrive as well?

Food and alcohol is always a good way to start things off, after all.

[ Loosens the tongue, makes conversation easier... take your pick. There's a small chuckle though as she takes another sip from her glass. ]

No. Unlike everyone else who seems to be here, I am one of the pre-existing gods Amaterasu referred to earlier. It only seems polite to welcome all of you the best I can.

It tends to make things more fun, in my experience.

[Bo at least could hold her alcohol. And she wasn't actively drinking to get drunk. Not yet anyway.]

Ah, well thank you for the welcome. It's kind of weird being here, but there must be some reason why we are here.

[A reason that Bo was more than willing to seek out and find for herself if no one else did.]

It does... depending on the company.

[ War flashbacks to that sakura tree incident. Internal disgusted shudder. But that's a different story for another day and one she'd rather not share with present company. ]

I'm certain there's a reason. If they aren't telling us now, I'm certain they will in the future... unless someone decides to try and find out.

[ But it won't hurt to poke around a bit. There's a very very small insinuation of a smile at that, however, as if to say 'if you want to do the poking around, I'm not going to stop you'. ]

That being said, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I can only imagine not everyone here is as experienced as they should be with their new responsibilities.

Hopefully the company is more of the fun type around here.

[So long as it didn't turn into a game of keeping the truth from them. Bo hated when lies were told.]

I'm not about to rest on them telling us. And I am not the type to sit around waiting for answers to be given.

[Nope. She was the type who went out to find trouble. She meddled where she wasn't supposed to. That wasn't about to change, no matter what her role as Freyja was supposed to entail. She would still undoubtedly ruffle feathers because she didn't like playing by other people's rules. Especially if she was going to be summoned to places. No one summoned her.]

You could say that again. But what exactly are we supposed to do? Just...sit around and be gods?

It depends on who you ask.

[ Really. You have dour sorts that don't quite enjoy partying and then you have gods who'd rather party than do anything at all. But there's a small knowing smile at that. Good. At least she'll have someone to rely on come the time a little manual labor is needed by way of looking for information.

But she'll swirl his glass thoughtfully a moment, looking into the contents as if to try and pick the right words. ]

There's more to being a god than sitting around and receiving praise. Though why heaven has brought so many gods and shinki together in one place is beyond me.

[ Note to self: check for increased ayakashi levels or any reason for there to be need for more gods. ]

[In a way, Bo suddenly felt like she was dealing with the Fae all over again. A couple decades earlier, she'd been told she was Fae and that she had to choose a side, Light or Dark. She'd remained unaligned, something that had worked to her favor eventually. But playing by rules wasn't something she necessarily liked doing.

And undoubtedly she'd be sticking her nose into places where it didn't belong here. Bo was a meddler, it was her nature, and with the mantle of Freyja now upon her, she was one who would have her hand in many things.]

I would hope there's plenty of work to do. Though from experience, numbers gathering like this are typically a prelude to war.

[She was a war goddess now, one of Freyja's many realms. And Bo herself was a warrior. She would gladly take up arms to stop evil wherever she could.]

Yes... I've seen it all too often. Even if war isn't as frequent in this day and age, it does happen.

[ Though she can't help but let that look of distaste appear on her face at the thought of more work. But then again, all these new gods should be able to help. Maybe. But ugh... A war amongst gods would be a dangerous thing for the mortals to face. ]

It would be an unfortunate day if this does mean war.

Lucky for this place war hasn't been frequent lately.

[Bo had fought more than her share of wars in the recent past. Most notably fighting against her own father, Hades. At least in the end. It hadn't started out so well for Team Good Guy, especially when Bo was under Hades' control.]

Hopefully war won't happen here, but after fighting in some myself, better to prepare for it than to be caught unprepared.

I'd be up in my ears in work if it was.

[ Unlike back in the day, goodness, those were busy busy days those. Just... give her a second to down that drink in a way that doesn't suit her rather classy feminine demeanor at the moment because that seemed needed. ]

Humanity fights different wars now, it seems. With different armaments. No rest for the weary.

Definitely no rest for the weary. Seems that once one problem is dealt with, ten more pop up in its place.

[She pursed her lips a bit in thought.]

Exactly how much or how little are we supposed to get involved with humans? I'm assuming there's some sort of working relationship given being gods and all.

As long as you understand that, I find you'll do well here.

[ Pardon her amused chuckle as she takes a small sip from her glass. It's true. It was all true. Cut down one ayakashi, you find five more after it. Answer one prayer, find six more where there were none. ]

Our presence is barely felt by humans. We answer prayers and cut down ayakashi plaguing mankind but they never notice us or our shinki. And that's how it should be. The less questions asked, the better.

I'm kind of used to that being the norm.

[Not exactly something she liked, but it was what it was. She supposed if she wasn't dealing with Fae Shit, it would be God Shit now. She didn't know what one was the least irksome to deal with.]

Understandable. Things would probably be way more crazy if people knew we actually existed.

[The more she learned about this situation, the more she felt that this situation was very similar to what she'd found herself in when she'd first found out she was Fae. She supposed as long as her father didn't show up and try to manipulate her again, she could stomach this. For now.]

It certainly would. I can only imagine the panic humankind would undergo upon discovering ayakashi in their midst.

[ That would be the kind of madness that would drive her to drink, to be perfectly honest. Terrible idea that. Let's never talk about that again, yeah? ]

They have acknowledged us from time to time... but they never remember we were there.

I can definitely relate to that. Sometimes it really is best to keep humans ignorant of such things.

[There was a reason the Fae kept themselves hidden from humans. There would be one hell of a mass freakout if people learned about that, let alone if they learned about gods and the like.]

This may seem like a stupid question, but considering there are multiple pantheons represented here, are there petty squabbles between the pantheons? You know, the sort of 'my pantheon is better than yours' sort of playground bullshit.

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001 | The Welcoming Feast

Banquet

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