thenearshore | [Open/Closed] Let's go on a trip!

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[Open/Closed] Let's go on a trip!

Who: Kurama and Mai
What: Prayer #11 - gonna help the guy find a job no matter what.
When: April 11
Where: Going to find the guy that needs help and give him said help.
Warnings: Will update if there are any. There will be possible NSFW talking about certain jobs that may or may not be suitable for this guy.

A - OTA
[Prior to meeting up with Kurama, Mai is kind of just wandering around nearby her assigned meeting place. She hasn't looked around much before and this is her first trip out to see the humans so she's really unsure as to where things were or what to look out for. What was she allowed to and not allowed to do?

Friends would be nice to keep her company until it's time for her to meet Kurama and answer a prayer.]

B - Closed to Kurama
[She's actually on time this time and making her way to the advised meeting point, a little skip in her step. They had a mission he had said. Something important that they had to do that was God and Shinki business and that made her quite happy. Doing important things and making a difference. That made her feel good and like she was a part of something.]

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[Kurama, industrious little taskmaster that he is, has been here for the last five minutes, waiting patiently with a stack of free circulars and printouts all laden with job offers. The location is the fenced-off outdoor seating area of a cute little café, and they're probably not going to get any service at all until their supplicant shows up (whenever that might be), so he's just snacking on blackberries he almost certainly pulled out of nowhere and keeping an eye out for his faaavorite shinki.

There she is! He waves his arm to get her attention, even though that long red hair is rather unmistakable in this largely black-haired crowd.]

[ He was definitely very easy to pick out of a crowd and she makes her way up to him with a wide smile. Having a job to do was rather exciting and she wanted to make sure they did well on their first job together. Well, once she knew what it was.

And just what was that about? She was his only shinki. ]

Are we here to do something important?

Important to the person requesting our assistance, and therefore to our broader purpose. [Kurama pushes the chair to his left out from the table a bit with his foot, a wordless invitation for Mai to get comfortable since they'll probably be here a while.] We're to help the rather unfortunately named Tarou Yamada find a job. As you can see, I've already taken the liberty of assembling some possibilities for us to sort through.

[ She quietly takes a seat, a quizzical gaze thrown at him. They're here to be career advisers? Social workers helping a person find a job? Not here to ... fight things? ]

O...kay. I guess that's important for us to help with.

[ She doesn't sound overly convinced but starts going through the information in front of her. ]

Do we know what kind of work he would like to do? It would be more fun if we got him a job he likes.

He said he'll take anything at this point, but when I offered to put him in contact with one of our temple-goers he suggested we save that for a last resort, so I think menial labor or retail might be better.

[Temple-goers: the rather euphemistic term Kurama's taken to using for the sex workers he's convinced to make offerings to him, because it's easier than flustering Mai into uselessness with more frank talk. He sorts through his own stack as he explains all this, waiting to see how Mai will react to the God of Male Prostitutes thing this time.]

With one of our...

[ She trails off, thinking through the kind of people that would sometimes come through the temple, specifically the few kinds of people that he had taken to recently and she's shaking her head at the thought. No, he wouldn't. She's thinking wrong and it's one of the other people.

Gonna...gonna let that drop for now. But...it might end up being a good last resort job. ... ...She's definitely been hanging out with this guy way too long. ]

I'm sure there are limitations on anything. Did he have any talents? Maybe he can earn money singing or dancing?

[It barely even distracted her this time! Kurama is well and truly pleased by this development, and by the relevance of her questions.]

He's an amateur DJ, in fact, and has been looking to go professional. Obviously that hasn't been working out so far, and the skill set doesn't translate well to the average entry-level job, but I think there was some sort of freelance sound-editing work in there while I was printing up a storm.

[ Outwardly it barely distracted her, if only he could hear all of her inner turmoil at the idea that a God would even consider asking a person to take on that kind of job. ]

Or he can get a job at a TV station doing sound work or...find a job at a night club.

[ She pauses for a moment. ]

Getting him a job...helps with the things we need to do as God and Shinki?

[Perhaps someday Mai will learn to appreciate that some things are just a matter of practicality, and some things are presented as options rather than strong recommendations.

The stack of wanted ads Kurama's set aside for jobs like the ones Mai listed, where Yamada's chosen pursuit might help him, is depressingly small compared to the stacks for entry-level office jobs and minimum wage, but at least it exists. Kurama adds a couple more, nearly but not quite done sorting.]

If we successfully answer his prayer, ideally he'll offer devotions and speak of me to others, encouraging the growth of my follower base and providing us with more offerings to support a comfortable lifestyle. Or afterlifestyle, as the case may be.

[Not his most adept wordplay, but he shoots a glance at Mai anyway to see her reaction before he gets into the actual reasons rather than the official.]

[ You know, sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between Kurama being the responsibly God he was supposed to be versus being someone that's just making things up as he goes. Just for the sake of them doing official business today, she was going to hope it wasn't the latter.

There was also that idea that if you threw enough darts at a dart board, one will stick. That usually works, right?

So she picked up three jobs that looking interesting in the pile. ]

Two of these pay really well, and one of them doesn't but seems like something he would enjoy. And then...

[ She glances away and then frowns a little. ]

...if everything doesn't work out we hopefully won't have to rely on your backup job.

[Mai really is the cleverest of girls. He looks at the job offers she's talking about, requirements and responsibilities and benefits, and they do look like solid opportunities. And then he hears the familiar voice of their supplicant excusing himself on the way over; Tarou joins them at the table, sounds cautiously optimistic about the job listings presented to him. He pulls out a laptop and applies to all three while they sit there, snacking and chattering and hoping, and miraculously gets an immediate response from the one that doesn't pay as well.

The people who don't pay very well turn out to be just as desperate as poor Tarou: they ask for a phone interview at his earliest convenience and call right away when he says he's currently free. Twenty minutes later, he has a job, and he thanks Mai and Kurama profusely as they go.

It's abrupt as hell, but sometimes good luck is just a matter of timing. Since she's the one who struck gold, Kurama treats Mai to ice cream.]

[Sorry Mai but this is not exactly a friend, just a very lost shinki who's walking around, pretending he's not lost, and looking at things as he goes.

Zoro walks up to Mai, without actually looking at her, being too busy watching a flock of bird flying over his head, and he ends up bumping against her.]

Sorry.

[ She laughs a little and waves her hand at him in a gesture that indicates everything is definitely okay. He looks a little different from the other people that she's seen around which makes her wonder if he was also just visiting like her. ]

Was there something you were looking for?

[Zoro looks from one side to the other, then shrugs.]

Not really... I just don't know where I am, and this way seemed like the way to go.

[He waits a moment before asking.]

Do you know where we are?

[ Good question, Zoro. Good question. There's a slightly embarrassed smile. ]

I don't actually really know where we are either. I was told to come here to meet my God for something important but I arrived a little early.

I think we're here among all the normal people.

[ Well, not like us. Normal is the right way to say it right? Or living? Living just sounded worse. ]

... Huh.

[He crosses his arms, looking around.]

How did you get here?

[He laughs.]

So you're not normal then. What makes you different?

I came here through the temple.

[ Wait, was she not supposed to say that? Was she speaking to somebody that didn't also come from where she did?

She really shouldn't assume things so now she's thinking maybe she's talking a normal person and panicking just a little. ]

Ah, well. Normal people with memories and know who they are.

[ Insert awkward laughter. ]

Just a bit of amnesia on my part. I'm Mai!

[Zoro stares at her for a bit, and then nods.]

I got here through my temple too.

[He nods again.]

Zoro. I'm guessing you're a shinki? Since you're meeting your god and all...

Edited 2016-08-16 09:51 (UTC)

[ Oh, so she was right. Then all of her babbling was just downright embarrassing. She sighs to herself a moment and shakes her head. Need to keep yourself calm, Mai! ]

Yes! I'm a shinki and I'm kind of new around here so I'm not really sure where everything is or how it all works. I was just told to come here.

Do you know what kind of jobs we do when we're here?

[Zoro shrugs, cleaning his ear with his pinky.]

No idea actually. I'm just waiting until my goddess tells me what would be best. You don't know either, I'm guessing.

[ She shakes her head a little and looks around the area they're standing in. ]

I wonder if there's a way for us to find out what kind of jobs everybody does. Maybe we can then get a head start and do more things to help out.

[Zoro frowns, staring at her.]

What if they're things you can't do though?

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[Open/Closed] Let's go on a trip!

A! no, I'm kidding.

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A of course

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