godsoffortune: (baths)
The Far Shore Mods ([personal profile] godsoffortune) wrote in [community profile] thenearshore2016-04-15 06:57 pm

003 | Save The Boats

Who: Everyone!
What: It's a few days after Hinamatsuri - time for a party!
When: Late evening (March 5, 2016) into early morning (March 6, 2016)
Where: The banks of the Kamo River
Summary: The Heavens have thrown together an outdoor party to celebrate Spring and ALSO to ask the Far Shore residents to keep the boats from Hinamatsuri from coming to shore.



Hinamatsuri is celebrated in Japan on March 3 every year. It is a festival to celebrate all of the young girls of Japan, not as important as their own birthdays, but certainly a big day for all families with a little girl among their household. It's perfectly normal for all of the cuties to dress up and get all sorts of delightful treats out of the day.

One of the normal festivities is a ceremony during which ornamental dolls are placed on tiers on boats and floated down the river. It is thought that all of the bad luck for the coming year floats down the river with the dolls, taking that bad luck away from their young girls to keep them safe for another year.

But the boats don't always make it all the way down the river like they're supposed to, and the Heavens sometimes like to make sure that the year will be full of less bad luck for the people of Japan. So they have decided to have the almighty gods do some legwork and disguised it as a fun Springtime party! They expect gods and shinki alike to push the boats away from the shoreline wherever they see them venturing near.

New gods and shinki will have been ushered immediately to the party as well, given all of the normal information, and then left to mingle among their new cohorts. This is a perfect opportunity to introduce the newbies to both their co-workers and the kinds of jobs they'll be expected to perform.



Buffet

A luxurious buffet is set up for everyone to enjoy. There are all kinds of foods to enjoy, though they all seem to be of a local variety. The Heavens have apparently used the funding from their own temples to purchase local food and support local businesses at the same time. In particular among the food and copious amounts of booze, you will find some Hinamatsuri staples - hina-arare, hishi mochi, chirashizushi, and a salt-based clam soup called ushijiru. Among the booze you'll find shirozake, a sake made from fermented rice, also a regular fare of Hinamatsuri.

The Boats

As if they are literally overflowing with bad luck, the boats seem to be making a desperate attempt to land themselves upon the shoreline. They are reluctant to make their way back into the water and will gladly run people down if they're allowed to and are happy to ram into someone over and over again to try and get their way. When they are finally pushed back to the center of the river, they will begrudgingly continue on their way. Of course, some of them will simply sink because of the weight of all that bad luck, but who can really blame them.

Children

As expected of a day dedicated to celebrating children, there are dozens of children running around and playing games during the festivities. It's hard to distinguish, but some of them appear to be human children while others are shinki. They are happy to let anyone in on their games and will gladly bother adults to come play with them or to let them try some of the liquor. (Mods will be available to play out any child interactions you may want, just flag us down.)

Counselling

Off to the side, there is a tiny table set up with a small, nicely written sign that reads "Gentle Counselling". On the other side of the table is a sweetly smiling shinki who is willing to listen to your problems and answer any questions you might have. She is also here to help out any gods that are having a hard time dealing with knowing about how their shinki died and any shinki that is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are dead.



In Summary:
  • Keep the boats off the shore
  • Enjoy the food and booze and spring atmosphere
  • Have some fun with cute little kids
  • Seek counselling if you need it!
  • Flag the mods in the top thread if you'd like an NPC
  • Have fun~

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-04-20 10:38 am (UTC)(link)
[It's kind of this man to say it's a clever idea, though Slaine grants there are probably better ways to tackle the boat problem. Their time and resources seem quite limited, but they're all doing fairly well despite that]

It would've been nice to have been able to plan... but I suppose there wasn't the time.

[At least in his case, he was rushed here quite abruptly. Surely he wasn't the only one]

Is this your first time doing something like this?
Edited (html woops) 2016-04-20 10:38 (UTC)
holyorder: (04)

[personal profile] holyorder 2016-04-22 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, [ Ky admits easily. There's no reason for him not to. ]

I've never been to a festival like this before. When they asked us to keep the boats moving down the river, I didn't realize they meant like this.

[ He looks back at the young man with curiosity. ] Is the same true for you as well?

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-04-24 08:15 am (UTC)(link)
[He takes a moment to nudge another boat away from the shore, prodding it along with the pole]

As best I can remember, yes.

[Not that he recalls anything about himself save his name, but-]

This all seems quite foreign to me.
holyorder: (03)

[personal profile] holyorder 2016-04-27 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ky nods in agreement, looking back towards the river for more wayward boats straying too close. ]

That seems to be the case for many of us. I still have yet to determine if it is comforting or concerning.

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-04-29 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, that does seem pretty debatable. On the one hand, it's reassuring when one isn't alone. But at the same time if it's foreign to most of us it might come with difficulties.

[At least it seems to him. There may be a great deal they need to familiarize themselves with]
holyorder: (02)

[personal profile] holyorder 2016-05-04 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, those are my thoughts exactly.

[ He pushes aside a boat that drifts a little too close to him and the shore. ]

And if we must attend to the duties and responsibilities assigned to us by our Gods, such confusion and internal conflicts can hinder our efforts. It is difficult to focus on tasks with an uncertain mind.

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-05-05 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
[He nods, glancing upriver for any oncoming boats that might need their assistance]

Agreed. A united front is far more conducive to successful efforts, especially where our interests should be the same.
holyorder: (04)

[personal profile] holyorder 2016-05-13 01:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. [ Ky is rather relieved he isn't the only one with such thoughts about their predicament. ]

Speaking of united, I appreciate your assistance with these boats. May I have your name?

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-05-15 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
Oh!

[He jumps as though surprised. They'd been talking this last while and he didn't even introduce himself properly...]

I- sorry- my name is Slaine. And yours?
holyorder: (11)

[personal profile] holyorder 2016-05-18 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He smiles. ]

Ky Kiske. There is no need to apologize, Mister Slaine. It's good to meet you.

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-05-19 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
Just Slaine is fine. I can't imagine I'm your senior.

[And for some reason, age and rank strike him as important factors in such matters]
holyorder: (04)

[personal profile] holyorder 2016-05-27 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ky can understand such thoughts very well. ]

Slaine, then. Shall we continue working together to repel these boats?

[personal profile] ex_adept179 2016-05-27 06:04 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, that sounds like a plan.

[Thus the battle of the boats raged on...]