come_sailaway | When the guidepost is away...

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When the guidepost is away...

WHO: Yatogami and you!
WHAT: Exploring the ship, meeting new people
WHEN: Rest of November
WHERE: All over the place

[Note: Yato has some passive powers at play because he’s a god. Unless he draws attention to himself he cannot be noticed by humans who don’t have some sort of connection with him. They will also not remember his name nor the fact he was part of an interaction until they have a connection. Other creatures though, are fair game. If you have questions don’t hesitate to ask.]

To say he was disoriented when he opened his eyes was a bit an understatement. Yato opened his eyes and found himself resting comfortably on a couch of some kind. He couldn’t remember. He was fighting and then... did he die?

He drew in a deep breath and let out a low, pained groan. It didn’t feel like he was dead. Yato sat up slowly, he could already tell under his clothes he was bandaged in a few places. That didn’t stop him from unzipping his track shirt and pulling his t-shirt away to look down. He could feel another up under the fringe of his hair. Bandages, no blight. Okay, he could work with that.

“Rekki!” He called, holding out his hand, presumably to catch something and...nothing.

I. Deck

Catching Yato early in his voyage around the vessel would have him looking around and calling out for someone. “Kazuma?”

At both ends of the deck he’d hold out his hand and call again. “Rekki!”

Nothing. Absolutely disappointing. “Bishamon is going to kill me.” He muttered under his breath.

Presumably, those he would run into would be humans he had yet to draw their attention and he would offer a smile. “Hello!” He greeted, literally out of nowhere. “Don’t suppose you’ve seen a guy, about twenty, glasses?” Hopefully he wouldn’t startle them too much.

II. Fate’s Design

“How can you be so stupid and eat all my chips!” Yato lamented, using his fist to pound lightly on the slot machine, like it’s the slot machine’s fault he’s just unlucky. It was a good thing there were many chips in abundance really.

“I swear, if she’s thinking of me right now-” He banged on the slot machine again as he lost, again. It was somewhat noisy and easy to attract people’s attention like that at he rate he was going.

III. Atrium

It was there that Yato was melting into the background, collecting his thoughts while perched on a banister. How it was he got in that exact position might be a mystery.

Humans wouldn’t catch sight of him sitting there, drooped with exhaustion and his brow furrowed in worry.

IV. Everywhere Else

This was a less than ideal situation really, he appeared to be trapped on a ship disconnected from everything the best he could tell and completely unarmed. Again.

Yato had on his biggest smile in that moment. He didn’t have a pen or paper in hand, nor did he have a phone number that he knew of so it was going to have to be old school.

He would approach everyone and anyone, no matter what they were doing. “Hi!” He chirped brightly. “I’m Yato, local god of fortune, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

Yato was very much not in the mood for this. He was tired, his body ached and this was not the best day. All the same, he would do his best to smile and engage the public, seeking out human connections.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Another of the gods?" Maeve doesn't know that any of those actually exist here.

"Ah." She nods. "I'm sure it will be only a matter of time before you end up back to your full health. I'm mildly surprised gods can actually be injured at all. Then again, here, I wouldn't be surprised if they could also die." She looks over out of the side of her eye.

"I don't know if I can tell you anymore than anyone else here."

"No. Gods of course can be reincarnated, but I know of a human that did it."

He huffed lightly. "Humans can't leave many lasting marks, they heal pretty quickly but other gods, or someone who happens to have a shinki which is a divine weapon of sorts can strike a god down with only as much resistance as they can put up. Up against a shinki it's like humans facing off against one another."

"Hm. Curious. I haven't met one that truly could. My creator made sure he would still be in the programming of Westworld, a whisper of a memory of a person. I saw him as I was dying once. I didn't die, of course. But..." She shrugs. That's a different story.

She listens. "A divine weapon." She sighs. "Is it something that's been blessed?" But she's never heard of anything like that.

"It should not be possible, but it is." Yato was not going to divulge how he managed that because with any luck that monster's lifeline was cut.

"No." Yato said. "Although that's something that's important as part of honing your weapon. A shinki is a human spirit that is taken in by a god for their protection. They happen to take the form of something that the god needs. For me, it's a weapon."

She hums thoughtfully at the answer. So many impossible things done despite themselves. She’s not sure how much she believes in impossible things here.

“Ah. We’ve been used as weapons. Well, I have. Dolores tended to use multiples of herself as weapons or things that could be disposed of if necessary.” She shrugs. “Does the person involved physically change? Or do they just gain more power?”

"Shinki are not disposable. To believe that is reprehensible." Yato said, looking completely disgusted by that idea. It was instinctive, and yet some of them fit into that category.

"It is both. There are things shinki can do that gods and humans cannot in the pursuit of protecting their master. They do also change form. Sekki was an odachi at first and Rekki is a katana that shifted into a bow, as well as a piece of armor." He smiled slightly. "Kazuma is quite talented. I'd never had a piece of armor before."

"Sekki was the first for me that changed into a hafuri, and when he did that, he changed into two blades, a katana and a wakazashi."

It was complicated, but Yato didn't look like he thought it was much of a secret.

"Hm. I guess some people have differing ideas." A beat. "It's been my experience with humans in general."

That is not quite what she expected. "Huh. But do they stay as those things or transform back and forth?" Another person who uses a katana, though. "I have my own katana, but it was never a person before. Just a katana. It was given to me by the man that wanted me to be his weapon, however."

"They take the form that's requested of them." Yato said. "So, I determine the form of my shinki. They do have free will as any person though, they could disobey me."

They could, they have. "It's generally frowned upon because it stings me if they do something sinful, including turning against me."

Maeve frowns slightly at that. "I don't think I could. I would prefer to be myself. Even if I sometimes don't know what that is." More in a vaguely philosophical way, than anything else. Programming over matter...or is it mind?

She hums thoughtfully. "I guess they choose that...knowing what will happen?" She certainly hopes so anyway.

"Not really." Yato said honestly. "The problem is there's only so many options for trapped souls. They either figure out how to let go and move on, or they're swallowed up by malevolant spirits. Even worse, they continue to wander the world unseen and alone in a kind of purgatory." He sighed softly.

"Shinki are souls that can't be tainted, and they're always people who've died unexpectedly. Mostly young by human standards. So." Yato kicked his foot a little bit in a lazy manner.

"So they're offered protection and a home with a god. I have a great deal of responsibilities towards my shinki. I suppose there's ways I could mistreat them, but they can also walk away. It can be complicated. I personally don't force any shinki to stay with me, if they request to leave I take away their name and grant them that much. Usually they serve another god instead. Shinki at least learn that they have to seek out the gods sometimes."

Maeve frowns at that. Choice is well, very important to her, actually. After so much of her life not being her own, it's hard to consider that there would ever be a time she'd give herself over in such a way. She is gathering, however, that these are possibly already dead people. So perhaps there is nothing lost there. If they are trapped.

"We don't have souls," she says after a moment. "At least back home. I have been told by people here that I do, so I'm not sure how or why, but...I guess it's just one of those things." She studies the ground. "The souls here are similar in that manner. When I was possessed, all...I can remember is nothing. An endless nothing. I had no form, nothing to do, nowhere I could go. Coming back from it is just as disorienting as waking up in it."

She glances up at him. "I guess all of what you've said is fair. It isn't like I really understand things in your world. But if you treat them fairly, I suppose it's better than the alternative."

"Neither do I." Yato said simply, because he wasn't dead, he was just unliving, so to speak. He wasn't human, things like that didn't work that way.

"There's little choice but to treat them fairly. A shinki and their master is like two parts of the same whole. If I were to treat Yukine poorly and he felt bad, as anyone would, I would feel just as badly as he did." Yato said. "When he has volatile emotions that are sad or distressed, I get very very sick."

He sighed. "My guidepost is a teenager, it's such a troublesome time." He complained lightly. "I let him run wild a the beginning and he nearly stung me to death."

There's a nod at that. "I guess that helps keep things honest at least." The part about a teenager, gives her pause. "I am told teenagers have quite a lot of emotional bandwidth." She pauses. "Can you actually die from their emotions?"

"His emotions have a great effect on me and when he is sad or depressed I can barely move. Teenagers are very volatile." Yato smiled a little bit. Even so, he was so proud of Yukine.

"Stinging is slightly different. It's not just a matter of emotions it means that your shinki is committing sins. Humans can sin by doing something they know they shouldn't. I can't sin." Yato explained. "But he can, and if he gives into temptation it causes a blight to me and invites malevolent spirits to attack him. He didn't notice until he was time to be cleansed and to face punishment."

He considered his thoughts for a moment. "And yes, a god can be stung to death. Most of them won't put up with it. I had my reasons for letting him run wild. It was really hard for him to come to terms with the fact he was dead." That, and he hadn't wanted to punish him.

Maeve nods at that. That makes a little more sense. Though, her understanding of sin is...quite limited. Human religion is a basic and vague concept. "Ah. I guess it might be hard to know when you do not...uh...fully understand."

There was a nod at that. "Death can be hard for those who haven't done it before. Even for those who have. And I've died so many times already."

"He's fourteen, he's always going to be fourteen. There's no future, no connections with other people. Other shinki, sure, but it's not the same thing. It's a very deep and difficult thing to accept."

Yato frowned a little bit as he considered his thoughts. "You could return, but Yukine couldn't."

Maeve frowns at that. "It's unfair that children should die." She doesn't mention her daughter, isn't sure it's worth it to do so at this point. People like Ford lived long lives, chose their ends...but children...children couldn't.

"I can't imagine how he must feel." Perhaps he would show up here? Be able to live a life...but this place isn't a place for children either. Despite the fact that there are so many of them here.

"Yes, it is." Yato agreed with a little frown. "Death is always unwanted and unpleasant, but it's also sad."

Yato placed a hand to his chest. "Shinki don't think about their deaths once they understand, because they cannot remember."

"Not even a little?" That's...well, perhaps it's for the best. Remembering her own deaths hasn't really brought her peace about them. "Perhaps that is for the best. No need to mourn something you can't change anyway."

"They must never think about it. It festers like an illness and will destroy them from the inside out. A shinki that does begin to ask questions is immediately isolated from others." Yato said seriously.

"...Most of the time there's nothing that can be done. They will be corrupted and destroy themselves." Yato frowned. "And so discussing such things is not permitted. It is precisely as you say. They cannot change anything and if they begin to recall all those horrible resentful feelings, malevolent spirits take hold. People don't want to be dead. There's a good chance the master will be swept away with them."

"So you would also be destroyed?" She supposes that seems to be on brand for this conversation. "I cannot forget. I guess it doesn't help me, but...that is the reality of things."

"It's possible, but most likely wouldn't get that far. I could release them to save myself." As horrible as that might sound. "But they won't be saved and I'll likely have to end their existence."

Which was why it was important to protect his shinki, because he didn't want to destroy them. Who would?

"I guess you wouldn't, from what I know." He wasn't that up on technology, truth be told. "Does it bother you to remember?"

Maeve is almost certain by this time that she'd prefer to be a Host than a god. Especially with these circumstances. Certainly a much better situation. "Have you had to before?" Should she even ask? Well, she already has, she guesses.

"I guess it was disorienting. I can deal with my own deaths easier than my daughter's." She shrugs. "But she's a child."

Whether she should ask or not, it was a little bit late and Yato was quiet a moment. His posture didn't change, but the fact he wasn't willing to answer the question might tip one off that he was uncomfortable speaking about the past.

Maeve was there and waiting and while he didn't think she'd smack him for avoiding the question he'd been trying to reach out to others. That was what this whole thing was about wasn't it?

The pause is way too long to have been a coincidence. "I have. The first shinki I took in on my own. I was told to tell her her name and I had no choice."

Yato had also been in a lot of trouble for that one, but that was neither here nor there. "I don't have very many long-term shinki. They find me too troublesome."

He exhaled. "Children dying is...rough."

Maeve could probably successfully blame it on being robotic, but she has far too much perception and general understanding of human emotion to not be aware that perhaps she was a little to familiar in her questions.

Had he simply said he didn't wish to talk about it, she would have accepted it. But since he replied, she gives him a sympathetic look. "Too troublesome." She studies him for a moment. "I am sorry to hear that you seem to have lived a lonely life." It sounds lonely. Not that she has lived a life that wasn't that lonely. But she'd had Hector, Armistice, Lee, Felix, Sylvester, and countless others at various points in her journey. But she's recently lost every last one of them except Armistice.

"It's why I was changed from my original loop. I woke up. Apparently, in making us, no one considered we would actually feel things. Truly feel them. Like humans. They were short-sighted."

When the guidepost is away...

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