thenearshore | [Semi-Closed] Wedding Bliss

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[Semi-Closed] Wedding Bliss

Who: Aymeric, Leo, their CR and their +1s
When: April 21st, all day
Where: Odin’s Temple, Glitnir
What: It’s a wedding! Please respond to the top levels provided!

The invitations had been sent, the work has been done (and into overtime after certain events), the orders have been made and the scenes have been set. Trying to plan a wedding without a planner can be pretty tough but the support system both men have did help in the long run. A lot of it even with a computer dying in the process. The point was to have a simple affair, no large fanfare considering this was not one of Heaven’s festivals and just a celebration of love between two people. This what both Leo and Aymeric wished for and they did their dammest to make it come to life, to hopefully a successful and eventful day but for all the right reasons.

They earned this happiness. Today is for them and they can share it with comrades and friends and family alike.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

With all the shamelessness that is expected from Kimi for those who know him for five minutes, he just grins and shrugs with his hands falling to the side. A universe 'whups I've been caught' gesture from someone who is perfectly fine with the capture.

In the meanwhile, Unmi finally straightens up and adjusts his clothing. A bright red glow has settled over his cheeks, although that's probably more from embarrassment and laughter than intoxication. Probably. Another laugh pops out of him. "Maybe you'll play a more honest game than Kimi does."

"Hey, I don't cheat!"

Ebisu pipes up. "Kimi, don't cheat."

"I don't!"

Kimi will get his turn later. For now, Ginia is happy to play chicken with him through the act of playing chicken with their coworker. She grins a little as they tease him, hand a bit occupied as she holds the pocky in place as Unmi gets into position.

There's a paradox in her confidence and shamelessness in that it exists in high amounts around people she doesn't care about and tends to lower in varying degrees depending on her company. On the other hand, teasing her shameless boyfriend in friendly company? Ginia doesn't hesitate in advancing fast as she bites off a good inch of pocky on her first approach.

As the peanut gallery of this game, Kimi feels more than fine with giving an impressed whistle at the first chomp of the round, and it's enough to make Unmi pause, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries not to laugh. When he finally gets control of himself, his own bite is much more reserved in length.

To the side, Ebisu seems to realize something. "Oh, I wonder if it's bad to cheer for one over the other..." Unmi has to pause to fight off laughter again.

Ginia's next bite is also a little more reserved, still making forward movement but not as much as the first bite. It's hard not to laugh or smile too much from the continued commentary. Neither can also take too much time deciding as chocolate melts and the biscuit grows soggy.

Bit by bit the stick of pocky shortens, only a few inches of chocolate are left. Ginia raises her brow and smirks, taking a small step in as she bites off another bit.

It doesn't honestly take that long before Unmi finally breaks off a piece, pulling away with some laughter. "Ah, I can never go as far as I think I can! People these days truly are brazen!"

"Or maybe you're too shy, Grampa Unmi," Kimi teases, nudging at his seat with his foot. While the other shinki swats at him playfully, Ebisu reaches over to pat both Ginia and Unmi on the knees.

"Very good, you both did very good!" His compromise, apparently.

Ginia grins as she eats the remaining sliver of pocky. Even if she's the one who won, she takes a sip of her wine. It's fun and silly and it's the kind distraction they all need.

"Bit of A, bit of B, I think." she comments through her phone, stealing another piece of pocky from the box and waggling it. "Who wants the next game?"

Without absolutely zero hesitation despite the fact that he's now clearly aware of how the game is played, Ebisu raises his hand with all the beaming innocence of someone oblivious. It's a very impressive skill.

It's around this time that Unmi unfortunately was trying to take a drink, and he doubles over snorting. Kimi, much wiser to not drinking anything when this sort of game is happening, has no obstacles to his whooping laughter.

Even if it's exactly what Ginia assumed would happen, Ginia still laughs between Unmi's and Kimi's reactions. The alcohol does nothing, but Ginia takes another sip of wine before placing the stick of pocky in her mouth. Hopefully someone makes sure their god doesn't topple off the stool as she crouches to a more reasonable height.

Kimi is right; as a kid, Ginia can't bring herself to be too daring. Even as an adult, she's pretty sure she'd back down first. But she's not going to rob her god of some fun and gamely nibbles a bit closer on her end.

There's no need to worry on the small god front. Since Unmi is right besides him, he reaches down to keep a steady hold on the back of his kimono. It should keep him right where he is... hopefully.

In the meanwhile, Ebisu more than happily takes a good chomp down. He can only bite so much as a kid, but he also has less fear of... anything, really.

Please don't choke on the pocky either. Ginia takes another measured bite in, mulling over how the others would fare in a the pocky game. Takami she's pretty sure would be an embarrassed mess hiding somewhere. Aomi would probably fare better, but also blushing no less. Kunimi and Kiwami would make for a fun challenge, stoic as they both are, but mostly she'd want to watch them play against Kimi.

Nom, nom, nom. Distracted with her thoughts, Ginia inches toward the halfway point.

At some point in the proceedings, Kimi gets out his camera to record the game... mainly because Ginia isn't the only one who just keeps munching right on. Ebisu seems perfectly happy to keep going as well as he nibbles ever forward, beaming around his pocky stick.

If Ginia doesn't think this won't get spread around the office unless she steals her boyfriend's phone...

Ginia notices how close she is before she notices Kimi recording. There's a final tiny crunch through the chocolate-covered biscuit before she jerks away from Ebisu, stumbling back in the process. She corrects herself and straightens up, blushing a little.

That's when she notices Kimi recording.

Enjoy that stunned expression before she pouts and lunges for the phone, face burning hot. KIMI!

With a loud whoop, he hastily tries to leap off of the stool to go scrambling over the bar counter as fast as possible. However, for all that shinki are faster and lighter than a normal person, well. His girlfriend still has nanotech making her even faster. It's just a matter of catching him quickly enough.

And while that happens... Unmi takes out his own phone to film this mess.

Ebisu doesn't seem to mind the chaos, at least. Instead, he raises his fists in the air triumphantly with a piece of pocky sticking out the corner of his mouth. "I win!"

The speed and lightness of a shinki combined with her longer legs, honed reflexes, and overall athleticism means the sight is like watching a cheetah chase down an antelope. Ginia leaps after Kimi, clearing the bar counter without disturbing a single glass, landing and running without losing a stride. She curbs the instinct to drop a borderline wall in front of him or to clip his legs with an attack because that's a bit excessive and please, they don't even need to cause even more of a scene at her friend's wedding.

So Ginia satisfies with running him down, getting into range to grab his shoulder and jerk him back. She seizes his wrist as she turns him toward her, eyes shining and her annoyed pout falling into a triumphant smile.

You're such a damn tease, but you're my tease, Ginia thinks. Her hand slips from his shoulder up to his cheek as her head ducks down to kiss his lips.

Being caught is really only an expectation at this point, and Kimi is grinning widely as she spins him around. The kiss isn't, however. His eyes widen a little bit from surprise, only for him to adjust in a heartbeat as he leans up against her with his free hand reaching up to curl around her neck.

Unmi is still filming all of this, although he has to lean to the side a little bit to get a good shot. In contrast, Ebisu doesn't seem particularly interested one way or another as he glances around.... Only to jolt upright.

"If we had a western wedding, we could have had a bouquet," he whispers.

It's not a shy or a chaste kiss, not even unsure. As Kimi reciprocates, she releases his wrist and slides her hand to his back, holding him a little bit closer. It feels right, startling so when so much else hasn't. For once, she's not worried about making a scene - this is the capper for the scene they've already made - or about what others might think, gods included. Ginia is happy and relaxed, savoring the light weight of his hand on the back of her neck, the press of their bodies, the softness of his lips. When she breaks the kiss, she doesn't go too far; her forehead rests against his, a relaxed smile as she sighs.

It's nice.

But they're at a wedding and they shouldn't be the center of attention. Ginia glances back toward the other two from their temple, eyes widening a little as she realizes Unmi's taken up recording. She stifles the urge to flip him and the camera off. Once Unmi posts the video, their phones will explode with notifications from friends.

Well, no harm in that. Instead of ruining the moment with a bit of peevish immaturity, Ginia leans in a different direction as she effortlessly scoops Kimi onto her shoulders and carries him back with all the triumph of a cat with a fresh kill and all the grace of hauling a sack of potatoes.

"Think we'll get any more invitations to weddings after this?" Ginia asks through her phone after she sets Kimi down.

Listen, the bar already had a sign threatening people with evidence of their shenanigans. This is hardly any worse.

While Unmi hums saving the video and Kimi laughs shamelessly from where he's been hauled over Ginia's shoulder, Ebisu kicks his feet a little. "It would be nice if we could," he says, looking over all the happiness spread throughout the venue. "This is the first wedding I've ever been to, at least for fellow gods. I wonder if anyone else will consider it?"

"I know there are other couples in my generation, but I don't know." Maybe if there was more of a guarantee knowing whether one would stay or leave. It feels immensely brave otherwise. It's a testament for Aymeric's and Leo's love for each other.

"What about the older generation? Any interesting wedding stories? Do shinki get married?"

"I have no idea!" Ebisu answers with the kind of cheerful bluntness that only kids can truly manage effectively. The 'why' for this answer is obvious, of course... but even then, it's possible that Ebisu's past incarnations might not have paid attention to such things when he was so dedicated to his projects. "In regards to gods, I believe most who have gotten into such relationships did so a long time ago..." Like Orihime. "I think, in some ways, this is another area in which we can be slow."

Then again, perhaps that's only to be expected. When one is immortal, one's sense of time becomes a little skewed.

"Meanwhile, no idea on my end!" Kimi chirps into Ginia's back. "Grampa Unmi, what about you?"

Struggling to get a video posted where he wants it to be, Unmi pauses. "Oh, well. It's a little complicated. Are you really interested?"

It makes sense. Everyone already knows about the marriage found in mythology. Ginia wonders if new mythology will be written over time with some of the relationships formed between gods. Will the wedding of Odin and Forseti create its own mythos? Time will tell. It feels surprising there haven't been any weddings among shinki, but they too are immortal (to a point). It's a different social structure too.

Ginia sets Kimi back on the stool he started on. She rolls out her shoulders and straightens her dress, helping herself to one of the drinks still remaining on the bar before addressing Unmi's question.

"When you phrase it like that, how can I not be? I'll post the video for you if you tell me the story."

"Then I will be in your hands." Or, rather, his phone will be in her hands, and he'll trust her to get it posted instead of deleting it from everything. Setting his cell on the counter, he leans back and begins to gesture slightly.

"Essentially, on our end, a shinki should be loyal to his god above all else. That's the general consensus, or at least what people will be told. But in practice, well... It's rather unreasonable." His hand kind of wobbles downwards and he laughs. "Even if we are not human anymore, or rarely ever were in the case of most gods, we are still people in the end, and bonds will be formed whether we like it or not. They're the very basis for the connection between god and shinki. So with that in mind, it ends up being more of a case-by-case basis depending on what temple you speak with, or inhabit."

As he says that, his hand makes a light flick of a gesture towards the party. "Marriages of this manner are truly fairly rare, whether amongst shinki or amongst gods, so relationships tend to be a lot more quiet in that aspect... But they do happen. In all my years, it's been a fairly rare to see a pair of gods nurture a relationship with one another, and almost as rare to see shinki from different temples become close. I suppose that latter one is due to a mixture of factors, both from culture and, well." He waves his hand. "Simple time. You're more likely to get to know someone that you live and work alongside of." A pause, and a pointed grin spreads across his face as he looks to the two across from him.

Kimi just finger guns and leans against Ginia. He has no regrets whatsoever, and so is super not sorry.

Laughing a little, Unmi continues after a moment. "So that's certainly a little more common to see, and often easier to deal with from the god's point of view, I imagine. So long as a shinki has their god's blessing with the relationship, then things should go off without too much of a hitch on that front. However, it can still be rather tricky to deal with." He shakes his head. "If a temple is too small, then those kind of relationships might become awkward over time, especially if things start to turn sour... That may play a part in a great deal. Not every temple is as large as ours-" Even with the people they've lost. "-and so things can become rather... cramped and uncomfortable. It's easy to see why some gods might not give their blessings, or why some shinki may decide to abstain."

Something occurs to him, and he snaps his fingers. "Ah! And since I know you would ask, for a relationship between a god and one of their shinki- or any shinki, I suppose- that would be considered extremely taboo. Perhaps even worse than harboring nora, or maybe the two would be considered even sins."

Ginia briefly considered deleting the video, but she is a person with some degree of honor. It'll make the rest of the temple happy, she can accept that. She uploads the video and even sends copies to Kimi's phone and her phone as she listens. It all makes sense. Her generation is certainly closer to humanity so bonds form easier and faster, but it certainly isn't impossible given an immortal lifetime and time together.

The new also spend more time and mingle together, so it's not surprising there are relationships across temples with as many within the same temple. Ginia smiles a little sheepishly, but leans in to Kimi and bumps her head against his. No regrets here either, even if she's still working things out bit by bit.

But as Unmi continues on, it feels like he dumped a bucket of water on her. It takes all of her will and focus to wall up behind a polite and interested smile as old wounds tear open. Ginia pulls away from Kimi as she sets Unmi's phone back on the counter, looking over the selection of drinks, back stiffening as he mentions a relationship between a god and their shinki is considered a sin.

What Heaven feels is different from what her temple feels and the new generation already breaks enough rules left and right. She doesn't judge anyone and their relationship at all. She'd defend many of her friends in a heartbeat if anyone tried to tell them their relationship was wrong.

Ginia silently chokes on old regrets, quashing all her feelings down so it can't bother Ebisu or Chris on such a happy day, casually drinking down rum-spiked punch as easy as water. She's already nora, she's already hiding a dangerous artifact, in league with rogue gods. She's already poison in Heaven's eyes so why not throw on the sin of sleeping with your god for good measure?

Even if she knows her temple wouldn't judge her, she can't risk the possibility they might. It's a sin among others she can bury deep inside and take to her grave. Maybe it's better that way.

Ginia clutches her phone in a vice-grip as she types, smile a bit too poised, eyes a bit too blank.

"Thank you, Unmi, that's all very interesting." As her message plays, she peers at his phone to make sure the video uploaded properly. It did and the comments are already rolling in. "Video is uploaded."

Even if Ginia might be doing her best to hide her feelings, there's a problem with that. Two problems, as a matter of fact. Even as Unmi blinks at her response and gives his thanks, her god and boyfriend are both shifting their attention towards her. Ebisu swings his feet, almost seeming ready to fall off his chair to go to her, but Kimi manages to wave him off for a moment while he loops an arm around Ginia's.

"Well, if we're done having culture lessons, want to get some cake? I think I'm going to need actual food in me if I down any more alcohol."

There's the trouble with a perceptive temple. Ginia lets Kimi lead her toward the cake table and even leans a bit into him, but is still at a loss at what to say. The determination to not make more of a scene at the wedding is what keeps her together, but there's no stopping the churn of self-judgment.

"Dance with me after cake?" Ginia finally signs. There's no point pretending she's fine, not when she knows he can tell, but it's nothing she wants to talk about unprompted either. The moment is still salvageable though.

"Well, we should probably get one dance in before we go back home," Kimi replies without missing a beat. If she doesn't want to talk just yet, he can understand that. Still, just in case it's not clear enough, or she needs a little push... "We can talk later if you want. No rush." With that, he untangles himself from her so that he can lean forward, carefully slicing through to get cake for both of them.

[Semi-Closed] Wedding Bliss

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