008 | OVERFLOW

[godsoffortune]

This is an overflow post for 008 | Sakura 2.0: You Can (Not) Have A Picnic. Please bring any further comments here and link to your threads at the original source.

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[cyberfly]

Enjoying...?

[ It's not exactly how he'd describe picnics, but Nagi supposes that these things are supposed to be enjoyed by people. Even picnics that are held so close in succession to a massacre. ]

Not really.

[ Maybe he should pretend to blend and be festive, in but that feels unnecessarily tedious. ]

What about you?

[toremainbehind]

[He hums.]

Not the festive type, then?

[But at the question, Izumo does give a light shrug, a smile on his face.]

The only thing I've tried so far was the food.

[cyberfly]

I guess you missed the massacre.

[ Or maybe he didn't. Nagi thinks that even a normally festive type person would find it difficult to party so soon after what went down last week. But then again, maybe people are more forgetful (or resilient?) than he gives them credit for. ]

[toremainbehind]

[At the mention of the massacre, Izumo's expression changes briefly as he tries to recall it.

But then he does and the smile comes back, if only slight.]

Does that type of thing happen often?

[cyberfly]

Not like that.

[ As far as he knows, anyway. He hasn't been around for that long. A month. The cherry blossoms were still blooming when he arrived.

He stares at the smile, wondering what it means. ]

Do you know something about it?

[toremainbehind]

So it was just a random occurrence?

[But he does shrug, the smile dropping.]

No, not at all.

[cyberfly]

[ He knows nothing. Well, he supposes that's not too surprising. The heavens keep things close to the vest. ]

It was deliberate. That's all I know.

[ So no, not random. But not necessarily part of some masterplan. Susano'o might've just been a weird chaotic fluke. ]

[toremainbehind]

[So it had been planned accordingly, though Izumo is a bit relieved he hasn't been caught in the weird crossfire of it.

Something just didn't seem right, though.]

Odd then for an event like this to take place after something like that.

[cyberfly]

[ It's probably a smokescreen. Something to placate the masses and make them forget the bloody mess and overall incompetence of the people in charge. Nagi is not so easily fooled, though. ]

It's happened before.

[ A picnic after a big mess. ]

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo frowns slightly.]

So it's natural for them to try to cover something up if the event is catastrophic enough.

[cyberfly]

I don't think they need to try that hard.

[ He snorts a little. ]

People here forget without much effort. Maybe it's a Far Shore thing.

[toremainbehind]

[He hums.]

It's easy to get distracted.

[A pause.]

But you don't seem too thrilled to be here.

[cyberfly]

[ Distracted. Maybe that's one way to put it... He shrugs. ]

I don't really have a choice. I'm a shinki.

[ It's either this or not exist. Nagi doesn't believe in the afterlife. ]

Which one are you?

[toremainbehind]

I'm a shinki as well.

[cyberfly]

And how do you feel? About being here, I mean.

[ Since it seems obvious to him that Nagi isn't 'thrilled' to be here. Though truthfully, can Nagi look any other way but not thrilled, ever? ]

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo doesn't answer right away as he mulls it over.

How does he feel? Happy? Sad?

He's not sure.]

Well, I'll be honest and say I'm not exactly thrilled to be here, but I'll make do with what I can. [Adapt, in other words.]

[cyberfly]

[ It sounds honest enough. He's not sure whether the gods in charge expected shinki to be thankful to be alive at all. Fortunately for Nagi, his own god doesn't treat him like some kind of a servant. ]

What's your god like...?

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo doesn't answer for a moment before he smiles.]

I can't be sure yet. I've just met him, but he seems to be a pleasant person. [A beat later.]

What about your god?

[cyberfly]

[ Compared to others anyway, Omi is competent enough. ]

He seems to understand people enough.

[ By which he means, better than Nagi. Maybe that's why he understood the whole point of prayers. ]

[toremainbehind]

Isn't that fortunate then?

[cyberfly]

Maybe.

[ He's pretty sure though, that Omi doesn't understand Nagi. ]

I guess that's supposed to be my job. [ As a shinki, anyway. Being closer to humanity and morality. It didn't quite work out that way. ]

[toremainbehind]

[Izumo hums.]

Yet you're not pleased. [To be a god's moral compass, to be their link.]

[cyberfly]

[ He glances at the guy (whose name he still doesn't know) and considers. ]

I don't know about pleased. [ It's a mission, it's irrelevant whether it pleases him or not. ]

... but I don't really understand it.

[toremainbehind]

[He's forgotten to introduce himself, but. He'll make his name known later.]

It is rather confusing, especially since our [rank? Status?] positions makes it difficult for us to obtain any sort of information. [Shinkis are put into difficult positions already; the fact that their memories are wiped clean-

It's confusing because why would it matter? Yet, no one - not a god - is willing to delve deeper into the topic.]

[cyberfly]

[ Yeah, Nagi tends to forget the introductions too... ]

Have you tried? [ He knows most shinki find this uncomfortable. But he also knows that some of them have successfully regained memories without any consequences. ]