007 | Clean Up Your Act

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Spring cleaning
When: All day April 15
Where: All around the Heavens
Summary: The Heavens don't like things being cluttered, so it's time to clean up a little bit.







Main Hall

While the main hall of the Heavens seems spotlessly clean at all times, that's not the case at all. In fact, it's been at least a decade since the last time they actually cleaned everything out properly. There are a lot of hidden closets and back rooms that have layers of dust and dozens of boxes filled with nothing but junk. Who knows, though! You might find something interesting and useful in there along with all the garbage.

Suprises

Unfortunately, some of the older temples on the Far Shore seem to have some interesting surprises tucked away, ranging from cursed artifacts all the way to magical creatures locked up in long-forgotten rooms. You are free to be creative with this as a way to get your characters into trouble while cleaning.

Complimentary Dinner

After all of your hard work, you deserve to have some tasty food and refreshing beverages. So the Heavens have provided that for you, so that you can wind down after a long day. It's not as fancy as the banquets they often put on, but there is a nice array of food and drinks for everyone to enjoy.

Counselling

As usual, there is a white-robed shinki bearing the gold chrysanthemum of Amaterasu sitting at a table in the Main Hall. There is a small sign that denotes her as the counselling shinki. Anyone is welcome to approach her, and she will smile serenely at anyone passing by as well.



In Summary:

• Clean up your home
• Help clean others' homes
• Get the main hall clean too!
• Hope no hidden magic jumps out
• Seek counselling if you need it
• Enjoy your complimentary dinner
• Have fun~

Comments

[blossomstorm]

...Neither did I. Well, there are a few facts that don't fit with that theory, but it might have to do with the rules of this place and not with the theory itself. I don't think it's wrong, even though it's unsettling.

[ He folds down the corner of a page, closes the book, then takes another book to flip through. ]

Speaking of that, I've been wondering. What keeps shinki from looking into their past? Is it to protect your gods, or do you feel some sort of strong compulsion?

[ The weather is absolutely delightful and we're not talking about anyone specific. ]

[reformedsinner]

[How could you possibly be talking about anyone specific, when it's not --

Hakkai lets out a breath, drops a double handful of books on the top of the next stack and straightens them compulsively. He's suddenly very tired of the careful not-that-this-means-anything tone. They both know what they're talking about, and Hakkai hates his own answer to that question with a weary self-disgust that makes evasion taste worse than the dust in his mouth.]

There's a feeling that we shouldn't know. I think we all have that.

But, for me...

[He lifts his head to stare straight forward at the wall a foot in front of his face.]

... Do you think you'd feel guilt and despair, if you learned about your life all at once? And you couldn't remember a single face, or a single feeling?

[Who knows? Maybe he will understand. Hakkai doesn't look at him to see; it's taking all of his concentration to smooth his emotions until the words are just words. It's hard even to say this without stinging Elsa.]

[blossomstorm]

. . .

[ Instead of answering, Tenpou closes that book and leaves it on the floor.

For the record, there is no way this could count as a normal response time. You know how sometimes realizations hit people and they have to process them and it takes time? This is what's happening here, and this it's. It's is a terrible place to have this conversation. Even though Tenpou is the one who brought this up, he didn't think Hakkai would be honest with him to this extent.

Sssso he'll answer honestly as well, while being at least a little careful with his words. ]

You're putting it lightly. No one should have to go through something like that.

[ ...You might notice a hint of anger there. It's not obvious, but he's not trying to hide it either. (Spoilers, that's because he's actually furious. Haha.) ]

[reformedsinner]

I'm not putting it lightly at all. A shinki who has those feelings will hurt his god and blight himself. Or herself, of course.

[Not that they're talking about anyone in particular -- and, in fact, they're not. It's happened with all of Elsa's shinki in the past week, Hakkai knows. She's -- tired, she's been sick. It's likely they're wearing her down, and he hates that as much as he hates the bind of knowing he'll blight her if he looks for the information and knowing he's blighting her with how much he hates his inability to pursue it.]

If that shinki couldn't stop feeling that way, I suppose the blight would be fatal, in the end.

[He doesn't know if it would kill Elsa, too, but blight seems to hurt gods even more than it does shinki. He might risk his own life to know, but he can't bring himself to risk hers, too. Not when he knows himself well enough to guess how bad the odds are.]

[blossomstorm]

[ He takes another book, but this one isn't a casual choice. His movement is decisive enough. And then he begins what looks like a search for specific titles, without moving from where he is-- there are enough books around him to find what he's looking for. ]

What you're saying may be facts. But that still sounds like a shinki cornering himself, or herself, into a situation where they'll always feel guilty because of their own nature.

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai shakes himself back into movement, setting the book he'd picked aside on top of one of the stacks where he can easily spot it later, and beginning to stack again. The back of his neck prickles, which is probably just psychosomatic, but he's going to have to check in a mirror later to be certain.]

Not necessarily. It's just our nature. But I have to think of this as a different life, in order not to feel that way.

That's what stops me from looking into my past.

[blossomstorm]

[ Truth be told, the last thing Tenpou wants to do is to drop the subject. The fact he shouldn't discuss any of this because of an external imposition makes it difficult to stop being angry about it. But what Hakkai said was clear enough in at least one sense-- Tenpou doesn't know what it's like to be a shinki. So pressing him further would just be pointless, and hurtful. So he nods at that, and continues with his search.]

I have that feeling that I shouldn't talk about the past around shinki, too. It's not strong enough to be a real problem to me, but that's because I can afford to be that way. Bringing it up was unfair to you, though. I'm sorry about that.

[And he is. This might have been different if Hakkai's motivations had been related to his goddess and blighting her, and maybe he could have helped if that had been the case. But conversely, Tenpou can respect this choice not to search for answers that probably won't mean anything to him in an emotional sense. Even if he doesn't completely agree with it. That's his own problem, and not Hakkai's.

So he changes the subject, slightly. ]

Konzen mentioned he'd spoken to you the other day... How is Goku?

[ Hakkai's "different life" has the same people he had in his life before, but if he can justify that to himself, and he clearly can, well. Tenpou won't confront him with it. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai offers a small nod, and starts stacking books again in earnest. The ground's slowly growing clearer around his feet. There's even floor visible in places.]

Goku's been doing well.

[It seems like they all have that same feeling: gods and shinki alike. Even if some of the gods are willing to ignore it. It's a good thing Tenpou's changing the subject, though; Hakkai doesn't think talking about it anymore will do any good. If anything, it'll just sting Elsa again.]

[blossomstorm]

I'm glad to hear that. Then he hasn't gone back to his god... Susano'o, if I remember correctly?

[reformedsinner]

No, he hasn't.

[A brief, small smile touches Hakkai's lips as he neatens a stack that's reached waist-height. Goku'd briefly gone back to Susano'o's temple, but that hadn't lasted long. It's a good thing, too; Hakkai feels more comfortable with the boy staying with them, and not his first, unpredictable god.]

Susano'o's returned, but I think Goku prefers staying with us.

[blossomstorm]

I see.

It's good to know he's not alone.

[ He stands up to take a box, then leaves it on the floor where he was sitting and opens it. It's time to start putting things in there. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Oh, he's actually getting around to choosing his books? Good. They might even be able -- well, he might even be able -- to escape this section of hallway soon at this rate.

Hakkai nods in quiet agreement with Tenpou's words.]

... You seen to care a lot about him.

[Maybe it's pushing the boundaries of what he should and shouldn't ask, but whatever relationship Tenpou and Goku had, Hakkai's willing to tell himself that that has nothing to do with his own life. No matter how true that may be.]

[blossomstorm]

[ If Hakkai bothers checking what he's putting in there, he might be able to notice there's a pattern to what he's taking-- any books or papers that look like they have been read a lot or scribbled on (there aren't many), a couple of very old books on Japanese history and mythology, one on belief and spirituality... And then he's stacking a bunch of manga on them every time he puts one of those in there. You can probably make a wild guess as to what he's actually doing here. ]

...The three of us do. So please take good care of him.

[ Not that Goku needs that, but you'll have to excuse him. This is more about him his (their) failure than about Goku needing protection. Feel free to catch that nuance, it's there. ]

[reformedsinner]

[It's an interesting selection. Not what Hakkai'd been looking for (he'd focused on the old bureaucratic records, whereas Tenpou seems to be going for the things that the people here had cared about in their free time) but, Hakkai thinks as he goes back to stacking, very interesting indeed.

He pauses on a particularly well-worn history volume, and turns to put it over in the pile nearest Tenpou.]

We'll do our best.

I don't think he'd mind you helping, though.

[Not that Goku does need taking care of from any of them -- except, perhaps, in the realm of "being fed frequently" -- but he doesn't like not seeing his friends.

And as distressed as he'd been about not remembering Konzen, these people were once his friends. They deserve a chance to get to know him again. If it's what he wants.]

[blossomstorm]

[ He takes that history book casually, along with a copy of an old collector's of Dr. Slump. Thank you. ]

He probably wouldn't. But surely you're aware that since he's staying at Menrva's temple, we'll interact a lot more if we visit regularly. Won't that complicate things for you?

[ He did promise not to do that. ]

[reformedsinner]

Sanzo will have to speak for himself, but in my case, I don't think seeing you around is going to be any more of a problem than knowing you're around.

[While he appreciates the promise, he is no good at all at not thinking about things. Perhaps it'll help to see him more, in fact. He'll be able to pick out all of the differences, and stop wondering what about Tenpou might reflect the person he was in life.]

[blossomstorm]

Understood.

[ He didn't have that conversation with Sanzo, though. If Hakkai doesn't mind, that's enough for him. ]

Ah, and before I forget, thank you for helping me with this. Feel free to drop by Athena's temple if anything I'm taking catches your interest, or if there's anything else you'd like to discuss.

[ They are at the main hall of the Heavens, after all. ]

[reformedsinner]

Why, thank you! For now I'll just take this, but if I happen to need any extra reading material, I may take you up on that.

[He picks up his novel off the top of its pile, and gives Tenpou a brightly polite smile. They are in the main hall of the Heavens, after all.]

I've picked up a few other books today, too. You can find them in our library if you're looking for something to read yourself.

[blossomstorm]

. . .

I'll keep that in mind.

[ His smile is genuine, though.

This box still has some space, but it will probably be too heavy if he adds more things to it. So he takes out his phone instead, apparently typing a message... And this reminds him of something, so he speaks while texting. ]

Are things going well with your dragon? I read about that the other day.

[reformedsinner]

[Tenpou's smile is unsettlingly genuine. It just seems wrong, on a face that's so much like Hakkai's own.

Well, he supposes he'll get used to it eventually. It does at least make it easy to remember that they're different people. How different, he's not yet sure: but different.]

Yes, Jeep's been settling in well! You saw that, then?

[So he keeps an eye on the network.]

[blossomstorm]

[ He nods slightly with a quick glance at him before putting his phone away, and then he goes back to his books. Friendly reminder that the network is a public space, if he wants to take it that way. ]

I did, and I was intrigued. It was an eventful couple of days.

[ He starts flipping through an old worn volume of a collection of Japanese folktales. ]

Does Jeep get along with others easily? Dragons seem like more like a roommate type than a pet type, so I wondered about that.

[reformedsinner]

Wasn't it? Ha ha, I wondered if they wanted us to clean in order to check for any more odd appearances.

From the dust, most of the things in storage here haven't been moved in a very long time, though!

[It had seemed like a good theory at first. Oh, well.

As for the other question, though? Dragons seem more like a roommate type...]

Jeep's opinion seems to depend on the person.

Should I ask if you're personally acquainted with any dragons?

[A small group of reincarnated souls: well, that's bizarre, but Hakkai supposes he can accept it. Surely not even his pet is a reflection of some past life, though. No matter how smart the little creature seems to be.]

[blossomstorm]

I don't know if you should.

I didn't live with one, and I most definitely never had a dragon as a pet, if that helps. That would have been completely unthinkable.

[ Ha, ha. Even the thought is more than a little awkward. ]

[reformedsinner]

I suppose if you think of it, he is more like a roommate. He seems quite intelligent, although he can't talk.

Perhaps he's too young for it?

[...or it has to do with whatever happened to him that allows him to turn into a car? What an unpleasant thought.

In any case, he's just not going to ask any more questions about dragons in Tenpou's friend group. Whatever the answer is, it's probably going to be disturbing.]

[blossomstorm]

Perhaps.

[ He won't be the one to say anything about science and magic here; he's not even supposed to know that Jeep can turn into a car. So he closes the book he was inspecting (it had nothing of value) and stands up to leave it on the now-rejected book stack against the wall, using this chance to look at what Hakkai put there to see if there's anything worth considering. ]

Ah, speaking of actual pets. Do you have a rabid dog, by any chance? One that threatens to bite people to death?