Open!

[unlucky7]

Who: Ginia and YOU!
When: April 11th - April 14th
Where: Around the Near Shore
What: Work never ends when you work for a God of Fortune. Come help out (or not) Ginia with prayers all around the Near shore.



[A. Maid Mayhem]
[A popular maid cafe is putting on an event for tokyo's Deaf community with all of their regular services provided in Japanese Sign Language along with Japanese. With multiple prayers begging for the event to go well, Ginia and some of her coworkers are keeping an eye on things and lending a hand. However, with the cafe crowded as ever, news stations covering the event adding to the crowd, and tensions running high, plenty of help is needed.

1) Help out at the cafe. You don't have to don a maid outfit; there's also cooking in the kitchen, making sure the light and sound equipment is ready for the stage show, and helping the media crews with filming.

2) Fend off ayakashi. The place is a hotbed for minor ayakashi seeking to cause some trouble. Throw up some borderlines, rend some ayakashi, just keep the place going without making a mess!

3) Or maybe you're here to enjoy the cafe. The food and drinks are cute and great, Ginia is happy to greet with a smile and a heart made with her hands as you're seated in her section.]

[B. Baker's Dilemma]
[A bakery in a shopping district is struggling with a new bread. Everyone who has tasted it either thinks it's the most delicious bread they've ever had or the most disgusting, inedible thing with no middle ground. Sometimes disagreement comes from two people trying the same loaf!

Ginia and her coworker, Hidemi, stand a few feet away from the store. They're wearing matching black suits with dark green ties. They're having a quiet discussion, Hidemi holding a loaf of bread that's had a few pieces torn from it. A third opinion is desperately needed and they're quick to flag down anyone that feels like they're from the Far Shore. You! Yes, you! Come over here!]

"Excuse me, can you try a sample of this bread and let us know what you think?"

[Delicious or disgusting? There's no middle ground.]

[C. A Horse of a Different Coat]
[Spring is a great time to go to the zoo and Uneo Zoo is hosting some mini programs aimed at children. When the person originally assigned to help with the zebra program falls sick, Ginia quickly steps in to help. There's only one problem. While Ginia, dressed in a zebra costume is busy entertaining kids, it means she can't focus on borderline duty like she intended. With mild ayakashi swirling around, drawn by children and shinki alike, Ginia looks around for anyone who can help out. Wrangle those ayakashi as the program continues, but don't let the kids see!]

[D. Wildcard!]
[Have something else you want to thread out? Contact me through PM or at cordially!]

Comments

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku refused the vacation on the grounds that he probably hadn't deserved it. All the had managed to do was get himself frozen. He wasn't even sure how the fight had ended, considering most people had left the scene when Caster had unfrozen him and they hadn't stuck around for long either, with the ceiling coming down.

He doesn't quite recognise Ginia at first and his posture stiffens into something more formal at the sight of the uniform before he sees her face and relaxes, eyes going to her hands. He can mostly understand her now, even if it takes a little guess work.] Thank you, Ginia. Food would be welcome. How was Hawaii?

[unlucky7]

[Oh, so he didn't go? Ginia glances over him, looking for any signs of injury. She'd seen him fighting the Old Woman and caught him freezing, but between being in her vessel form and then her near brush with non-existence, she wasn't in a good position to check on him.]

It's mostly cookies and chocolate. Hawaii was great. [She'd say more but she doesn't want to seem like she's rubbing anything in. A bit of worry shows.] Is everything okay?

wow sleepy me did action instead of prose

[swordofzero]

He would make sure to go and try some of them, since she had been kind enough to bring some back.

He smiled at her and nodded, upset at himself for her worried look, especially since she had seemed so relaxed a moment before.

"It's all fine, I'm still getting used to things here." It was very hectic but also very organised so Suzaku always knew what he was supposed to be doing. That helped a lot. "How have you been?"

No worries! Happens to all of us.

[unlucky7]

Plenty of people to watch out for him too. Everyone's overworked here, but no one lets anyone flounder either. It's not the department she works in, but Ginia knows he's in good hands.

"If you need help, ask anyone, they'll help you. And I'm doing okay." She pauses. It's true. She's doing okay, but it's not like there aren't things on her mind. "Still processing the compound and what happened, but I'm okay."

Ginia pauses again, sighs a little.

"Sorry I couldn't help you after the old lady got you."

Re: No worries! Happens to all of us.

[swordofzero]

"Don't worry about it." He had known Ginia had been there, Ebisu was there and Ginia was not the type to let her god go into danger without her. But the fact he hadn't seen her meant she had been in vessel form. "It did no harm in the long run, I'm just sorry it rendered me useless."

"It was quite intense and chaotic there at the end. I'm glad you're alright."

Or at least sort of alright, she said she was still processing things.

[unlucky7]

"Temporarily disabled, not useless." Ginia's signs are firm. "You got some hits in, you took a hit. Happens to all of us."

Her head tilts toward elsewhere in the office.

"Come on, let's get some snacks."

The floors themselves are very large, but with the reduced numbers of shinki, everyone still ends up congregating in the same areas. The break room Ginia dropped off the food at has a steady stream of shinki gathered around the packages of cookies, sliced fresh fruit, and broken up pieces of chocolate.

[swordofzero]

"I'm not sure I landed a blow." His words were quiet but he followed her obediently to the break room. He approaches the table awkwardly due to the amount of people milling around. Everyone has been very kind here but he is always aware of being an outsider.

He took a cookie and a second one which he offered to Ginia. It was good.

[unlucky7]

No one will treat him poorly. People make space for him as he approaches the table, offer friendly suggestions on which one to try first. It's still different from how Ginia is treated, with a bit more friendliness and familiarity. She's part of the Mi clan and that is the difference in who is an outsider and who isn't.

Ginia gently waves the cookie away. "I've had plenty, believe me." There's also a set of cookies in her room. Best to let everyone who couldn't or didn't go to Hawaii enjoy the food. "Definitely try the fruit."

[swordofzero]

"Thank you." He picked up some fruit as well and smiled at her again. He took another bite from the cookie and ate it slowly, whilst looking around.

His eyes went back to her a moment later, he had to watch her so he could see her signs.

"It was nice of you to bring all of this back. What was Hawaii like?"

[unlucky7]

Ginia begins to sign, but with her coworkers hanging around, she decides to pull out her phone. She's been wary of being too enthusiastic about the vacation considering she was able to take one when the others in the temple couldn't, but no one seems to hold anything against her either.

"Great weather, warm water, great scenery, very beautiful and relaxing. I think it's what a lot of people needed."

[swordofzero]

He smiles as he reads the text. "It sounds like it was what you needed."

She seems a lot more relaxed than he's seen her in a while.

Then again the last time he saw her they were fighting cultists so that had bee a very different situation.

"You definitely deserved a break."

[unlucky7]

"To be young and relaxed again," teases one of her coworkers, patting her shoulder. "Good thing Kimi didn't go; you'd never have enjoyed the scenery otherwise."

There's a friendly laugh around the room. Ginia rolls her eyes and lightly swats her coworker on the shoulder before she types and plays another message.

"So do you. If you need suggestions on somewhere to go for a vacation, let me know."

[swordofzero]

Suzaku gave a small smile at the teasing, though it was a little awkward, he was slightly embarrassed for Ginia though she didn't seem to mind herself.

"If I'm ever going on vacation I'll make sure I get recommendations off you first."

Not that he was planning on a vacation. Though now he thinks about it, it seems like the sort of thing Edge and Lord Saber would enjoy.

[unlucky7]

When most in the temple don't have the chance to leave, in-temple gossip keeps things going. Ginia is used to the teasing; it's from a place of friendliness and love.

"Good, you'll make sure I still have a job." Gotta keep that economy running after all! "But I mean it. Take time to relax. This fight isn't over and we all need a fresh start."

[swordofzero]

"It isn't. You're right."

But really that's why Suzaku felt they couldn't relax. The raid on the cultists had been a victory of sorts, but as far as he knew both the teenager and the old woman had escaped, they had infiltrated the stronghold but they had no idea if it was the only one or where they had regrouped.

As far as Suzaku knew. He also had no idea how many other gods the cult had. Considering he had been completely incapacitated fighting one of them he knew he had a lot to do if he wanted to be any use in the fight ahead.

"We need to be ready for next time."

[unlucky7]

There's a difference between relaxing and letting ones guard down and relaxing to reset and focus. Everyone needs rest of some kind, especially with as dragged out as things can get.

Frankly, after almost dying, damn what anyone else thinks; she deserved that vacation.

Ginia nods. Who knows what and when next time will be.

"Don't get wound up and jump at shadows though," gently suggests one of the other shinki as he loads mango onto a plate. "You two are young. This could go on for awhile."

[swordofzero]

Ginia did deserve a vacation. Suzaku would not argue that for a moment.

He looks around at the advice and nods once. It could go on a long time, but that was just another reason they should remain vigilant.

But getting worked up about it wouldn't help either.

"It could... Especially since... Do you know where any of them went after the fight?"

Asking Ginia, because she knows things, but his gaze takes in the other shinki as well, in case they know something too.

[unlucky7]

The other shinki, having been in the temple and generally out of the loop, shake their heads, taking it as their cue to hurry back to their desks. Ginia taps her phone to her chin in thought, trying to remember how things had gone. With her coworkers leaving, Ginia resumes signing.

"A gorilla grabbed the old woman. I only imagine she's in someone's custody? The teen... I remember there was a bright flash and she disappeared. I think she was a god and the spear her shinki?"

Given the look of her and the way the spear flew around, it's not a difficult assumption to make. Ginia swears she heard the god unvessel the shinki before the flash too.

[swordofzero]

"A gorilla?" Suzaku spoke as he repeated the sign, unsure if he had understood it properly. Someone in vessel form perhaps. The teenage girl had disappeared.

"So the teenager got away it seems." And she had at least one shinki. "So four gods... How many more in this cult I wonder."

It would make sense for there to be more, but how had so many gods risen outside of the knowledge of heaven?

[unlucky7]

Gorilla. Ginia nods and repeats the sign. She's not sure where the gorilla came from. Vessel form? Ability? Who knows, the specifics don't matter. As long as someone has the old woman in custody, the shinki too. They need answers and Ginia is beginning to find she's caring less how they're gotten.

Her brow furrows a little in thought. "I think we're at three gods, unless I missed one? I suppose the old woman could be one, but I'm not sure. But the specific number doesn't matter. Gods are born out of belief. The cult could, in theory, continue to will gods into existence."

Or kill gods, bring them back, and control them that way. It's an unsupported theory but still a possibility.

[swordofzero]

"Ah I assumed the old woman was." He nodded, three then. Perhaps a fourth. "She had power but the paper itself might have held the spells rather than her..."

He really doesn't understand magic. He might have to ask Caster, he had been clearly in a hurry to get away after he had rescued Suzaku but Suzaku was sure he would have some theories. More than Suzaku anyways.

[unlucky7]

"I wonder if the spell paper was any different from the spell tags we keep finding?" In itself ofuda aren't unusual. That one could stop Suzaku in his tracks makes her wonder if they're designed to target those of the Far Shore or anyone it touches?

"You wouldn't happen to have it, do you? The paper?"

[swordofzero]

"No. Lord Caster may have it. He was the one who freed me. I'm not sure if he kept it." It seemed like something he might do, as it was clearly magical.

But the paper spells as well as the traps made it clear that the cult knew how to stop and hinder those from the far shore. That was worrying enough on its own.

[unlucky7]

Lord Caster? There's a slight uprward raise of her brow, but Ginia doesn't comment any more. If that's the case, then it's a lead she'll leave for him to pursue. She has her hands full enough with the mask and questions around the ayakashi.

"The amount of magic used at the compound is troubling, especially anything that could target us directly. I wonder who they have working with them?"

[swordofzero]

He sees that raise of eyebrows but doesn't say anything. He knew that she had left Caster's temple and doesn't really... know everything about what happened. He hoped he had not caused her unpleasant memories and for a moment he looked a little awkward.

A slight subject change was welcome. "Yes. Especially some of the traps like the one that you helped me with. That was clearly something that was only useful against those from heaven." It made sense if there were gods within the cult, but that was still a lot of power, considering the sheer number of traps. Not to mention the magic in the walls themselves.