39 - Where Do We Stand?

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens investigate what remains of the cult and their compound
When: May 2
Where: A converted farm on the rural edge of the Tokyo metro area
Summary: Characters can discuss what they know about the cult, choose how much or how little they tell the Heavens' representative Suijin, and help make decisions about where to go from here.






This place was once a farm, then rebuilt into a compound with a big central building, heavy concrete walls and plenty of outdoor spaces for ritual magic. Now, the rooftop has caved in, and the main floor has collapsed as well, leaving a basement open to the skies above. All around, police tape from a local Near Shore department has quarantined off the area. Amaterasu's shinki, in cooperation with those from Suijin, Fuujin, and Raijin have managed to take shifts warning miscreants and the police away from the area, but left the tape to help with those efforts. Just beyond the tape, they've now put up Borderlines to safely guard against ayakashi for the duration of this meeting, but they're pretty far out of earshot and very focused.

Letter of Invitation

Everyone should have seen the digital letter that Amaterasu sent out, but just in case, later that day each temple receives a single letter, with a wax seal on it with Amaterasu's chrysanthemum as the emblem. It is a reproduction of the same digital letter that Amaterasu crafted the day before; it's not printed out, but rather handwritten with painstaking accuracy. The shinki could be from Amaterasu, Suijin, Raijin, or Fuujin, and they will not force anyone to take the letter, in particular if they're told that the god/dess already saw the message on their phone earlier.

Early Arrival

There's a set time that Suijin will arrive - Noon - but as everyone is encouraged to come early, it is possible you are one of the first or last to arrive among the "early" crowd. How did you get there? Was it by stealth or impossible to miss, even by any Near Shore people in the area?

Topics of Discussion

Now is your chance to discuss with your fellows what you know, don't know, wish you knew, etc. about the cult or their compound. Do your characters think they are still being spied on by Heavens and want to hold back, or are they reasonably confident speaking out with the protecting shinki so far away? At the very least, none of the shinki are making very obvious attempts to return to the compound itself. For the very paranoid, there are little alcoves out of visual range or a small room that still has a door on it, albeit not a ceiling.

Suijin's Arrival

Suijin arrives at the appointed time, stepping onto the compound's front drive and under the police tape at precisely Noon. She comes in the capacity of official counselor for Amaterasu. OOCly, this thread will be free-form individual threading.

After her arrival, we will have mirrored top-level comments with Suijin supplying a piece of information as a jumping off point for discussions about each topic. From that point, it will be individual threading, or multi-character threads if you would like. All of these threads will still be addressed to the group at large, loud enough for them to hear and jump in if players would like.

Redacted April 7th via OOC post: We will run this similar to how we ran the Compound's Second Fight: there will be an opportunity for Suijin and/or her shinki to speak, then characters will be given free reign to respond to her and amongst themselves for a period of time. Then, another "round" will begin with Suijin and/or her shinki's responses to the characters. This structure allows for characters to still react with late comments or reactions to anything being said, or jump in whenever they feel comfortable speaking up.

In Summary:

• Talk amongst yourselves before Suijin arrives
• Check out the damage inflicted on the Compound
• Discuss next steps with Suijin, if you would like
• Have fun~

Comments

[chibisu]

Even as Ginia holds out the Takeru letter, a couple of different things happen in regards to the small group of businessmen (plus one child) that are around her.

The first is that Ebisu makes a quick gesture, smooth if a little bit harried, and Unmi- the oldest looking of his shinki and the oldest overall- actually reaches around to place his hand over the top of the letter where Ginia is holding it outstretched. He takes a quick glance at his god before seeming to understand something, upon which he gives the water goddess a polite and even contrite smile. "Please pardon this humble nora, Suijin-sama. However, my god recommends that perhaps it would be a wise course of action to make copies of this letter before giving it to you and your temple simply as it is. He believes that, this way, there is less chance of losing this evidence completely, and it can be better passed around through the temples of the gods whom this matter concerns as well. If it would please you, then it would be his pleasure and our honor if you were to accompany him to his temple afterwards to get this matter settled with."

Why Unmi says this in place of his god is simple, as Ebisu is instead listening to another one of his shinki. Aomi has crouched down besides him, hand covering his mouth as he whispers something to the young and old god. It lasts throughout the commentary by both Unmi and the other gods such as Komaeda and Shun, whereupon Ebisu nods to Aomi, acknowledging and dismissing him.

Despite the length of the slight exchange, Ebisu appears fully aware of the other comments that have been made, considering the way he looks up towards Suijin to meet her gaze squarely. "So that appears to be the consensus among this newer generation of gods," he says simply, still holding onto one of Ginia's hands. Just... in case. "Then may I make a suggestion, Suijin-san, in the event that this does not constitute enough evidence? I will nominate myself as an intermediary between the two different generations, if that's what's required, and assist in gathering the evidence that both groups have gathered. That way, we can say it is properly balanced, can we not? This would allow all of us to feel that the job is being done properly and that nothing is missed due to preconceived notions."

And with that, he directs an almost confrontationally polite smile over to the shinki who first seemed surprise over one of Ebisu's being a nora. It last only for a moment before he looks back up to the other god. "I believe that is a valid concern."

[unlucky7]

Ginia lowers her hand and turns away from Suijin to look back at Unmi. His concern isn't wrong. A letter written by Imai Takeru with reflections on the god he'd created and his goals is a valuable piece of evidence. It's disappearance or any changes to it would be unfortunate for their case in defending Votelli and Sotero and perhaps how Heaven handles future rogue gods.

That Unmi thinks she hasn't considered that... well, Ginia can't blame him considering how much she's kept all of her research and knowledge to herself. She can't blame him for speaking over her choice, even if it prickles her pride a little.

She pauses to type out a message and holds it up for him to read.

I understand your concern and this is the original copy, but I've already made several physical and digital copies since obtaining the letter. Please trust I know what I'm doing.

So maybe her pride is more than a little prickled.

[sweetspringwater]

"If you wish to frame things in a manner such as what needs evidence to be proven, then I will point once more to their attacks upon the Heavens. You ascribe far more motive to their actions than we have seen borne out in any of our own investigations. If you say we rely on you for evidence, then perhaps it is because so little of it exists to prove your theories. That is the concern I must weight out in answer to Our Lady Amaterasu." She raises her head in Shun's direction. "And it is only by her grace and wisdom that the restrictions have been softened in the face of what our investigation bore out - that while the rogue gods are a threat, they are but a part of the problem. Whether their part is willing or not... this evidence will show."

Still, she turns back to look at Ebisu. "I accept your proposal. Until the letter is in my hand, we can move on to other matters."