>Would have been the Heir
Oh, so it's more than the fact you're a danger to her that will create friction with her family. By committing herself to you, she's denied the role she would have otherwise fulfilled.

>advice
Hug her back. I... thank you. I didn't want to steal or consume anyone.

The predominant thrust of her advice seems to be caution. Catherine's going to want to rush into this, and your own instincts are going to be to do the same thing. Which means you're going to have to work against that- slow things down so that Catherine is tempered by the flame instead of consumed.

Which will be hard, since that will likely mean saying no to her at points when you don't want to.

>sex, pregnancy
Well, this moved quickly. Certainly weren't thinking that when you woke up this morning.

>turn into a pine needle and
...man, being a god just makes things so much more complicated. But yes, pulling any Zeus-like antics anytime soon seems like a terrible idea. Finding your own place in the world is going to be complicated enough without another child to worry about.

Okay, hold up time. How much do you know about your divine faculties--do you even know if this priestess (who hasn't given us her name) is right about that pine-needle thing?

We may want to ask her about what it is she thinks she knows about us, stuff like what a Catherine acting as a 'mirror' does, what the common powers of beings like us are, and so on. If so, we could try asking like this:

"I'm not ready to be a mother yet and I'm not entirely sure what you mean about that pine needle. I'm still young, and apparently I lack in common knowledge about what it is I am able to do--I'm lost on what you mean by calling Catherine my mirror and how I would consume her. Would you please explain some of this stuff to me?"

>>565194
I would say the pine needle was mostly meant in jest (possibly in reference to a more established myth), although the sentiment about not needed to sneak around might have been real (I'd say we're certainly better off being as open as we can with her family. It might be hard at times, but it'll be better long term than if we choose to treat them as adversaries or opponents). Literally, I wouldn't be surprised if we could pull something like that (transformations, even Zeus antics) off in the future if Jasper really wanted to. She's already got at least two different forms, why not more? Assuming shapes or avatars to fit a situation is pretty common with gods in a lot of myths.

The 'mirror' is metaphorical. It describes Catherine's role relative to our own; she would be reflecting Jasper's light. Showing us things about ourself, drawing her own illumination from our power (rather than from whatever source the Kichi normally work from), showing us visions our future self chooses to 'reflect' off of her (Jasper had the impression the visions were sent), etc. It's also part of the metal / fire metaphor the priestess was using too- we have to be careful to temper and forge her into a useful reflective surface and not melt or burn her away to nothing. She was explaining role and risk in a compact form.

Oh , and if we were going to ask follow up questions, I'd focus on this
>consume her the right way
There's a right way to consume someone? That makes it sound like something we can't avoid, which I would have thought we'd want to.

>>565198
As plausible a guess as any, but I would rather be thorough than witty with analysis of the cryptic. Yes, I know this is me who is saying that after making multiple high-intuition guesses about our father, sister and other things. Here we have a rare chance to ask the nice lady we're talking with about what she means and even some follow-up questions. When we have the option of doing better than some scraped-together interim hypothesis I say we splurge, spend a few minutes, or even an hour or two, and ask some questions that our conversational partner could reasonably have answers to.
Your guess about what a mirror is sounds an awful lot like a high-priestess, I must say.

>>565210
>There's a right way to consume someone? That makes it sound like something we can't avoid, which I would have thought we'd want to.
In many kinds of mythology individual deities have particular say in the afterlife of their followers, and even in the form of their life if there's a particularly strong connection. If our colleague is right about their interpretation of a super-condensed lecture that would seem to follow as advice not to turn her into a martyr or eliminate her self-will and individuality too early. Sounds creepy, sounds like she knows something I don't.

Talking PowderedLight 2014/03/05(Wed)09:41 No. 565309 ID: 9e206c
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> Oh, so it's more than the fact you're a danger to her that will create friction with her family. By committing herself to you, she's denied the role she would have otherwise fulfilled.

Yeah. I think I kind of owe them a lot. I'll have to see about what I can do to make it right. Make it Just.

I Hug her back. "I... thank you. I didn't want to steal or consume anyone."

She replies, "I know, and I am serious, you do need her more then we do, and its not like she is going away yet. I'll still get to see my cute niece for quite a while."

I nod.."The pine needle thing was a..a joke right? I .."

I just start blushing here. This is so confusing!

She smiles ruefuly. "Sorry! Yeah it was joke..I mean you might be able to. The Vasili used to tell a story about Crow stealing the sun, and he did it with the pine needle trick. Pretty mean of him actually, but the world was freezing..anyway I don't think it actually happened..but even us shrine maidens don't really understand how myths work. I mean Jade was real..does that mean Amaterasu _wasn't_? Or are they the same person? What about Ra?" she pauses.

And then starts again "And now I am just confusing you. Us grown ups can be silly sometimes."

I nod again. I am nodding a lot today. "So what did you mean by commsuming her right? I don't /want/ to eat her."

She snorts at this. "If you didn't want to eat her, that kiss wouldn't have turned out like it did, and she wouldn't be glaring at my sibling."

She must see my expression or something. "What you don't want is to hurt her, and if you do it right, she might just survive. Even thrive."

She seems to look away from me, and then sort of picks me up while she sits down, so I end up in her lap.

"The Susonov talk about this sometimes. . . clarifying their position from the Riders'." she grabs my left arm with her own until my hand is sitting facing up. "Whose arm is this? Yours right? Whose is it as I move it?" she says waving it around a little. "What if I order you to grab something? What about the lice that live on its skin? The cells flaking off into the air? The germs trying to grow with in it? The food I eat to power it? Your light that powered the plants that became my food? My parents that protected me, and taught me? The pools that make my lively hood? The parishioners who pay us? The fishermen that catch the fish that feed the people that pay us? The ships that brought humans to fortitude in the first place? The rocks that hold us up here, right now?"

"Ownership and identity seem simple at first..but they exist only as ..simplifications. Truth is formless. Or well so they say. I am not really good at philosophy or science. And they say they doesn't work here as well as Earth or Horizon. But you..you are complicated. Even if Fortitude is simple."

"And I don't think I really answered your question." she sighs.

>I'll have to see about what I can do to make it right. Make it Just.
That's certainly the right attitude to have.

>a story about Crow stealing the sun, and he did it with the pine needle trick
>Jade the same person as Amaterasu?
Well, if that myth is true, and it is about your mother, that just complicates your past even further. And makes me wonder if you were the child of the pine needle union, or your older brother. (And makes your hypothetical use of such a trick feel even stranger).

>What you don't want is to hurt her, and if you do it right, she might just survive. Even thrive.
That's what I wanted to hear. Your choices matter. That there is a right path, even if it'll be difficult to find.

Problem is, we probably need a better understanding of your own nature if we're going to make the right choices. And short of trial and error, we don't have many options for teachers. Your mother's temple, maybe? Or the Entropys, or your father?

>arm, ownership, identity
>I don't think I really answered your question
It sounds sort of like the solution is to choose to make it complicated? Find a way to make Catherine yours that still allows her to be something else at the same time.

>Your light that powered the plants that became my food?
Aha. The mortals know you are the sun, Jasper. I suspected as much when Entropy said you had inherited your mother's estate but that pretty much clears it. This explains why everywhere the sun shines can serve at a minimum level as your temple, and confirms why I think visiting the Vasili during their ceremony for you could be eye-opening, perhaps not just for you.

The Kichi seer's ideas about consumption seem to be partly about how you are a nuclear inferno that consumes, blasts and incinerates all that gets too close. Further, you could make Catherine too tightly a part of you and burn away--consume--what they know of Catherine Kichi: A deity apparently cannot have an equal relationship to a mortal, much less one with an impressionable mortal child and her relationship to you apparently will alter her more than her relationship with another mortal could (save perhaps potentially her murderer or jailer).

"My senses of pragmatism and sarcasm, which I try not to let speak for me too often, hope you're talking about figurative and metaphysical details of how the relationship between a deity and a mortal is unequal. They hope that but suspect and worry that you mean more than that. This is a bit frustrating because it seems like you're talking about me doing things which I don't understand properly, don't even know about or can't help because I am who I am. I guess if you knew enough to explain about exact details they would be identified threats instead of worries though; I'll just grow my first gray hair worrying about bending and breaking other people unintentionally, mostly just by existing."

>>565353
On further consideration my previous may sound unduly hostile. The intent was to indirectly complain that we asked for advice about something, mostly didn't get it, and stress that we really need and want that advice, but that's dumb: If we're going to complain about that we should at least be clear.

"I do have an unusual background and particular knowledge perhaps beyond what you'd consider normal, but I'm also a confused and worryingly-ignorant little girl with serious worries and apparently more responsibility than I know about. I don't know how much I don't know, and what I do know is that this consumption hypothetical and this mirror concept that you're talking about are both things I don't know enough about. I'm also still not sure what other worries you have besides apparently me trying to do things that would make me a father--I don't think I'd be willing to make time for that while I'm still worried about my little sister even if I did discover some unknown desire for it."

> "I do have an unusual background and particular knowledge perhaps beyond what you'd consider normal, but I'm also a confused and worryingly-ignorant little girl with serious worries and apparently more responsibility than I know about. I don't know how much I don't know, and what I do know is that this consumption hypothetical and this mirror concept that you're talking about are both things I don't know enough about. I'm also still not sure what other worries you have besides apparently me trying to do things that would make me a father--I don't think I'd be willing to make time for that while I'm still worried about my little sister even if I did discover some unknown desire for it."

Hmm I was going to rewrite this, but I kind of like the formality. Feels like talking to one of mom's Ministers, or when I talked to the Winds.

"I do have an unusual background and particular knowledge perhaps beyond what you'd consider normal, but I'm also a confused and worryingly-ignorant little girl with serious worries and apparently more responsibility than I know about. I don't know how much I don't know, and what I do know is that this consumption hypothetical and this mirror concept that you're talking about are both things I don't know enough about. I'm also still not sure what other worries you have besides apparently me trying to do things that would make me a father--I don't think I'd be willing to make time for that while I'm still worried about my little sister even if I did discover some unknown desire for it."

"Well..I will help you as much as I can, but honestly Catherine is who you need to talk too. She is going to be over eager, but out of all of us she knows her path best."

"All I really want you to try for is to remember that simple honest work, and standing by your family can achieve a lot here. I want you to remember that you are still young and you have time, time to do things right. As far as I understand, what happened to day was because that initial vision she had was full of power, of energy that swam inside her, trying to get to you. She should be fairly safe around you _now_..though..I am pretty sure she doesn't live forever..that she will die for you some day. But then again that is normally what happens for humans. It's ..not really fair, or right, though the Buddhists would argue that immortality makes enlightenment much much more difficult.

She sighs. "Again I ramble. Just remember your really hot inside, and most things cant survive being burned in a nuclear furnace. That Catherine might want to be hurt, might want to be consumed by sex or fire or martyrdom, and to try and make her wait, okay?"

I nod and grab her hand firmly. "I will tr..No I will. Period. She is beautiful, and it isn't Just to use more then you need."

>you're going to outlive people
Ah, right. They're mortal, you're rather less so. Hopefully not something that's going to be an issue for a while, though.

...and hopefully you age at a similar rate as everyone else around here.

>make her wait
Alright, sounds like that confirms my initial read. The challenge is going to be keeping Catherine from destroying herself. Saying no when you might not want to. Granted, it may be hard to keep your own impulses, and what she wants, at arm's length. But I think you're sufficiently motivated to do it. You've got a strong sense of what's right, and you know more than any child should what it's like to lose someone.

>what do
Thank her again for hearing you out, and her advice. You hope she doesn't attract any of the anger the rest of her family might be feeling about this as a result.

After that, it's probably time to move on. We've done as much as you can here, for now, I think. That morning ended up being far ore complicated than you expected. (Like you said earlier, we'll have to see what we can do to make that right too).

Well then, we seem to have had this conversation dismissed, unless we're being told that Catherine's involvement in our life comes along with an adopted family. That seems probable, actually: We might want to get to know our newly-adopted family, and become familiar with their strengths, struggles, needs and faces.

I also find it interesting that the Kichi are directly referring to the philosophies of other belief systems when explaining things. This place may be more cosmopolitan than I was expecting.
On the other hand, when was the last time you stretched out and exercised in your true form, Jasper the sun? I see all this mist around here, and if the Kichi family is truly adopting you then perhaps you should offer a sign of acceptance like changing that? Don't risk boiling off the pools though.

>>565834
>...and hopefully you age at a similar rate as everyone else around here.

I dunno, the maturity of deities seems to be a widely varying phenomenon: Some reach physical maturity in a day, and others take a millenium to age a year in human-comparative terms. Little sister being one of the former cases would explain a fair bit without needing to involve the particular features of Excrusians and "outside" actually. Mental note: We should send letters to her and Eclipse sometime.

>>565838
>stretch out and exercise in your true form
I'm going to hope that mean messing with the sunlight (like we did in meditation) to burn off some mist, or to make rainbows, and not going big. We were just warned about the danger of exposing things to a nuclear furnace, after all.

>>565855
I was thinking that the proper place for the sun to be the sun would be in the sky. I agree that if that's a no-go it would be bad to make the local pools glow Cherenkov-blue.

Streatching Out a little. Suggestion 2014/03/12(Wed)10:29 No. 566046 ID: 908033
File 139464537488.jpg - (99.22KB , 800x545 , Playing In Color.jpg )

I think I can try to do that. Might take me a little bit.

Jasper looks out at the pools and concentrates. Trying to show her hopes for the future. Trying to show that she wants to work with the Kichi not against them.

Slowly the mist starts to mostly burn off, the white fog replaced with hints of twinkling color. The greens of the plants turn emerald, and the pools and rocks reveal hidden tones and hues as they catch the light.

'There is a reason to hope.' The Vista seems to say.

I think I like it. Simple honest work.

"So how do you like it?" I ask.

The shrine maiden replies "Its nice. Is that what you were doing when you got all quiet?"

Hehe. I like how unphased by it she is.

>Is that what you were doing when you got all quiet?
*Nod* Yes. That and thinking. Like you said, I get... complicated. (I think that's as oblique a reference to your talking with us, as necessary. I'm not sure how you'd explain that anyways, or how'd you explain what we are, or what extent we're separate or the same as you. Complicated).

Oops, I meant offer as in say with words that you would like to do this for them instead of possibly screw up the way their magic works: We don't know if they need it to be misty for the pools to work like they do. The priestess doesn't seem upset by it though so I guess no harm done.

"Now that I think about it I maybe should've asked first but you've been really kind and welcoming. I wanted to do something to return the gesture and sentiments, and it seems a pretty rainbow is something that I can do."

>>566061
>I'm not sure how you'd explain that anyways, or how'd you explain what we are, or what extent we're separate or the same as you.

What's to explain about us? We are a part of her, and her internal conversations with us are just thinking aren't they? Unless we're empowered to act separately that's the only reasonable way to explain it I'd figure. Perhaps it's slightly different than the way some people think about things but Jasper is large. To quote Walt Whitman:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Hammering excess and conflicting words out, trying again.

"Now that I think about it I maybe should've asked first but you've been really kind and welcoming. I wanted to do something nice for you, and it seems a pretty rainbow is something I can do."

>>566105
Applause on finding exactly the correct poetry for the situation.

>>566134
http://poetry.about.com/od/poems/l/blwhitmansong.htm
Song of Myself. *bows*

Ohh I kind of like that poem. Feels..like how Earth felt when I visited.

Plans PowderedLight 2014/03/13(Thu)10:50 No. 566183 ID: 9e206c
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>Is that what you were doing when you got all quiet?
*Nod* Yes. That and thinking. Like you said, I get... complicated.

"Now that I think about it I maybe should've asked first but you've been really kind and welcoming. I wanted to do something nice for you, and it seems a pretty rainbow is something I can do."

I didn't really notice at the time, but I think my earring helped me with getting the colors right.

We sit for a little while just enjoying the morning.

Eventually the miko sighs and says "I need to help out with the dust pounding. I'll try to put a good word in for you, but I think you should wait a few days. Let my sis feel like she has exerted her authority over Catherine. She'll be a lot more ..open to you if she feels like she has some control. Can you maybe come for dinner Saturday? You probably won't get to be alone with Catherine for a long while though. At least if she doesn't sneak out. Which she probably will..." She looks off into the middle distance. "I was hoping to have a few more years before I had to deal with Sis dealing with that."

--

So Okay should I keep on with the plan? ...which was what?

>Can you maybe come for dinner Saturday?
Accept the invitation, and reassure her you'll be careful if Catherine does sneak out.

>I didn't really notice at the time, but I think my earring helped me with getting the colors right.
Interesting. It acts a focus or guide? I wonder if that's for all mystical / godly powers, or if it's more attuned to light and color because it's made of glass.

We'll have to try experimenting with light and other stuff later, see what effect it has.

>So Okay should I keep on with the plan? ...which was what?
As I recall, you were planning to talk with the rats in the evening, possibly with the intent of figuring out which of your several options for weapon training might be a good one.

How old is Catherine? From upbringing traditions I'm familiar with a child sneaking off to disobey their parents may be a sign of various things. We would need details about her home-life and social conflicts to treat that the best way if when it happens. Unfortunately, asking about such issues can be very sensitive so we can't ask her aunt, whose name we haven't even gotten, yet.

"When Catherine goes sneaking off I can only do things about that with the information I have. She seems to know much more about me than the other way around though, which I find challenging and maybe a bit intimidating.
"Speaking of a bit intimidating, hello stranger that knows so much about me, my name is Jasper. It's good to meet you, and thank you for your morning and your wisdom. If that question about Saturday was an invitation I had already made tentative plans to visit the Susonov shrine for meditation class but I'd like to: When would it be, how would I dress, what would I bring and what should I be prepared for?"

Planning is in flux, we still have half a day apparently but there may be unforeseen complications here. Depending on how formal/elaborate/unusual Saturday dinner might be that may not even be enough time for you to finish preparing for it; do you have any formal-appropriate dress? If it's not a problem then visiting the rats sounds like a great idea I could support even if it weren't already on the agenda.

Mental note: We should consider investing in a day-planner and a journal or diary. The meditative exercise of planning out what to do and recording what happened is good for keeping these things under control, with a bonus feature of helping to find important questions and concerns you would otherwise overlook.

>[Catherine] seems to know much more about me than the other way around though, which I find challenging and maybe a bit intimidating
Actually, I think the easiest way to handle that is also the simpliest way to keep things from getting out of hand the first time she inevitably sneaks out. We divert whatever she wad planning to conversation. Make it about talking, getting to know each other, getting her to tell us about herself. She knows a us a lot better than we know her, after all.

>>566236
We're not there yet, and we won't know why she was sneaking out to see us until she does. Apparently she knows an awful lot about us from visions and/or the traces of fate; without knowing where else that information may have come from I suspect we will end up sending much of it ourself, if not all. Don't discount the possibility we will afterwards give her a more important agenda than what we can imagine now (or at the time) for that meeting. Apparently we tried to do similarly with fate in the deprecated timeline where we attempted to prevent us from kissing Catherine, and are on the hook (at some point) for fating ourself to have kissed the day we met her because of the discontinuity, unless I misunderstand that.

*grumble* I don't like paradoxical infinite-causal-regression time travel loops much: Information that has no origin is something I find inherently suspect. Pragmatically I can imagine them being useful however, which is annoying.

> Accept the invitation, and reassure her you'll be careful if Catherine does sneak out. 
"I would be honored. And I will be careful even if Catherine sneaks out, Ms. Kichi?" I say unsure if I am addressing her right, but I must have figured it out because she nodded.
(OOC this is difficult because my personal dialect of English is extremely light on honorifics. Like the last time I used one I was Catherine's age.)
"How formal is the dinner? I have one nicer dress, but I don't remember if it's fixed up.."
"Oh.." she blinks, "No, what you have on now would be fine. Overly fancy clothes can throw off the inner balance needed to use the pools. Though I don't think it will quite work like that for Catherine. I guess some of that will be up to you?" She says frowning in thought.
> knows so much about me, my name is Jasper. It's good to meet you, and thank you for your morning and your wisdom. If that question about Saturday was an invitation I had already made tentative plans to visit the Susonov shrine for meditation class but I'd like to: When would it be, how would I dress, what would I bring and what should I be prepared for?" 
Err..I think we met her last week and she might even have told me her name. I just got distracted by seeing a naked male person for the first time. I wish Ma'am Bentenmaru was back from her expedition. I should ask about the time though. "When will the Saturday dinner be? I was going to go to the Susonov temple for meditation class. ."
"Oh long after that. We don't finish the trek back from the pools until.." She hesitates here calculating in her head "7? We can walk you back to wherever your staying." Huh, I could eat dinner at the house and help clean and still make it to the Kichi 's before they start eating.
She looks up at the pools and sighs. "Anyway I really do need to get going. Tell Catherine that she has one hour before her father comes and gets her. When you see her I mean. When she sneaks out. " She says bowing goodbye.
Jasper bows back, a little confused.
> visiting the rats.
So apparently if I want to talk to the rats I should find a bakery and get on the roof.
That's where they have their lunch parties.

And sure enough. There's a whole teeming mass of them. Like 50 of them, but maybe teeming mass are the wrong words. They are gathered in little groups of 3 to 8, talking excitedly to each other. Almost all of them have swords and most of them have hats. Other clothing or tools make scattered appearances. That rat has pants, this one lace bloomers and a sextant, that one a green vest.
The nearest group makes space for Jasper, standing to introduce themselves.
"Your Highness, we are graced by your presence. This is Sir Robin, Dame Catamorphism, Dame Graceland, Sir Gregori, and I am George-Washington."
"Jasper Irinka." She replies curtseying.
Technically I'm an Imperial Highness, or maybe Imperial Majesty, but it's rude to point that out.
The rats almost immediately begin talking again, apparently Dame Graceland and Sir Gregori went on an adventure against King Death, while Robin is trying to decide on what challenge to ask his suitors on.

>I guess some of that will be up to you?
Hmm. I don't think we need to consciously try and change the way that works for her. I guess we'll see what happens?

>tell her she'll have an hour when she sneaks out
Heheh. You'll get to be the one warning her about the future, for once.

>highness
The cat really is out of the bag, isn't it. Good thing we're not worried about staying hidden, anymore. But you're right, there's no reason to correct anyone. Generally, I don't think it's going to be to your advantage to make a big deal about your rank or stuff like that.

>rats
...they're adorable. The hats, the courtly attitude, the naming conventions. (Not that I think they'd appreciate that observation, but).

>what do
Well, join in the conversation, I suppose. We sort of came to gossip anyways, so why not participate? After adventure stories (is King Death another Imperator?) and challenges (maybe if we hear what kinds of things have been done in the past you can suggest something) you can bring up your own interest in trying to find a suitable swords teacher, and see what they have to say.

You're talking to adventurers, seriously. The quickest way to get included in the conversation is mention that you're facing terrible odds against a world of Imperators and Excrusians who all seem to know too much about you and be more powerful than you on top of that. You're here to talk with folks who think odds like that are exciting, make a few friends, and hopefully learn a few things about courage and the tactics which could help you win.

Establish your presence as an opportunity to be the rat who taught the sun how to (X) and they'll be competing with each other to do the best job of it just for the bragging rights. After a while what they think they can teach you just by talking will exhaust itself and they'll come up with a more involved idea too I figure.

listen in and see if you can find an appropriate opportunity to see if we can ask them to help us with self-defense. I mean the whole reason we came to these guys was to learn how to fight right?

PowderedLight 2014/03/20(Thu)21:34 No. 567174 ID: 941c32
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> Hmm. I don't think we need to consciously try and change the way that works for her. I guess we'll see what happens?

sounds like a plan.

> Heheh. You'll get to be the one warning her about the future, for once.

Yeah. Might be fun to tease her.

>The cat really is out of the bag, isn't it. Good thing we're not worried about staying hidden, anymore. But you're right, there's no reason to correct anyone. Generally, I don't think it's going to be to your advantage to make a big deal about your rank or stuff like that.

Yeah. The only people I think it might help with are the Entropy's. Not sure why I say that.

> plans.

Okay I'll try.

(The action post post coming tomorrow.)

Finding a sword PowderedLight 2014/04/21(Mon)09:49 No. 571827 ID: 908033
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The rats are still talking about challenges:

Dame Catamorphism says "Well maybe finding Visible Air?"

"The sword?, You mean? Hmm." replies Sir Grigori "Well wasn't the original a woman's sword?"

"Why would that matter?" asks Sir Robin.

"It wouldn't really, but the symbolism is a little strange. A sword that can’t be seen? As a dowry?” Dame Graceland adds. “Maybe ask for one of the less famous blades lost in that expedition? Didn't it have almost all of Lord Lawnmower's best work?"

"Um." Jasper clears her throat "Speaking of swords? I need one to practice with. And a teacher?"

“Oh! Yes that is an important thing for a young lady, especially a royal lady, to learn.” Dame catamorphism comments. “We can show you forms, but you'll need someone bigger than you to practice against."

Sir Robin, whose blond fur contrasted against his red cap, speaks up. "I practice some with a vampire who lives near by, his form is atrocious, but he is wicked fast. You can come with me and ask him where to get a practice sword."

"Err.. you sure that's a good idea?" Sir George-washington says.

"Oh he wouldn't hurt a fly. Drinks enough pillow teeth tea to make a fort with. You've met him. Always sewing something? "

"Oh, it's not that. It's more..um.." George- Washington says grabbing his ear and looking away from me. "You know. She 's Jade 's daughter."

"Oh, uh..right yeah, maybe I should talk to him alone " Sir Robin replies, scampering off.

It's not long after that Jasper is being lead onto the route that the rats use to get to Horizon. Apparently it's not what they mean by the Far Roofs. The rats try to point out what direction those are, but Jasper finds herself having trouble turning that into a position in terms of m fortitude neighborhoods.

The transition into Horizon is creepy. It snuck up on Jasper. The mountains seem to loom behind her now, and the peaceful rhythms of Fortitude are replaced with a wary hurry.

Bats feast on clouds of mosquitos, as crows argue over scraps of meat. Fortitude had buildings, but nothing like the sprawling manors of carmine and scarlet that lay in the valley before her. Similarly the occasional motor scooter or pickup truck that graced Fortitude's streets might be similar in purpose to the carriages pulled by steam powered horses, or crawling lizards the experience of haVing one pass you differed somewhat.

The rats lead her to a building near the grand campus that forms the centerpiece of the Region. A sigel of a coal black hand dripping a red stain becomes more and more prominent as they near, and Jasper can smell sweet evil on the air. It makes her hungry.

Once they get to the dojo, they find an sign lazily hung that announces that it does not open until 5th period. So somewhat nervously they wait on its stoop.

The rat's conversation picks up again, and then drops away into long periods where no-one seems to be paying attention. It's almost like time itself is gathered into quick bunches of triple events then fades into indeterminate langure.

Finally a group of students approach, lead by the most beautiful person Jasper has ever seen. Until that moment she had thought her mother embodied beauty. But in seeing this teens smile she knows that something precious was stolen and given in the same moment, and that he would never, could never, maybe must never understand.

A sign raised behind him proclaims him "Soun Shonen : #1 Idol". Jasper finds herself rambling about a sword, looking in on her actions as if possessed. A subtle change in his grin as he perfectly mixes politeness and relaxed informality compels one of his followers to run in and fetch a wooden sword for Jasper. Jasper blushes at him dOing something for -her-. She should be serving him!

>

>Visible Air
>A sword that can’t be seen
Oooh, I like the sound of that. If reacting to and responding to your enemy is a crucial part of swordplay, a blade that can't be seen is certainly an advantage. And thematically, invisibility fits right in with your connection to light, and air is certainly associated with the sun.

If rats don't follow up on that, that's a quest hook we may wish to follow ourselves some day.

>A vampire training the daughter of the sun
>you sure that's a good idea?
Hmm. Yes, that certainly has the potential to go wrong, doesn't it.

>looking in on her actions as if possessed.
>She should be serving him!
Jasper, I think you're under some form of mental influence. That you're affected by a vampiric glamor or mesmerization. You're not acting like you're in control of yourself.

It's one thing to show the proper respect for another in their domain. But remember who you are. What you are. You are Jasper Irinka, Imperator and her Imperial Highness, Goddess and heir both to the Sun and the forces Outside that stand in Opposition.

You will show your host the respect he deserves in his own domain, and as an instructor or sparing partner, should you accept him in those roles. But the Sun does not serves a creature of darkness. A God does not serve a demon. And one sired by the forces Outside the light of creation itself does not bow to a lesser creature, hiding from the light of Sun in its own domain.

Break free. If the fire and fury of indignation is not enough- try going cold. Emotions don't touch you there, and those are what he is toying with.

You are a goddess Jasper, what is this 'serve him' business? Where did this idea come from? I'm pretty sure it isn't your idea. The cold certainty of fatalism is better than this fevered, sycophantic surrender if you can't otherwise resist this attack.
Becoming angry with him would be nearly as much of a loss as being a sniveling asskisser though: Thank him, and ask him who he would suggest as a teacher and for practicing with.

Clearly we need to do more work on your mental defenses--triply so if something less than a god or goddess can do this to you.

PowderedLight 2014/04/21(Mon)19:12 No. 571879 ID: 00b2db
File 139813277974.jpg - (2.75KB , 300x300 , stars-in-the-dark.jpg )

But so..he's so pretty.

No your right. I am more then this, more then a servant of the beautiful. I serve Heaven. I serve Beauty, and Justice. I am a child of the void beyond, and no Idol, no false thing of the world will sway my will.

Jasper feels her heart grow cold, empty, a silvery reflection.

She looks down at the sword he is presenting to her. "Thank you. I appreciate the help getting closer to <i>my mother</i>"

(more to come)

>But so..he's so pretty.
You're free to experience or appreciate beauty, without being controlled by it.

>Becoming angry with him would be nearly as much of a loss as being a sniveling asskisser though
Agreed. He tested us- tried to see if there was an opportunity on his part to exploit. He's failed, and we know he tried, and he will know we know. That's what's important here- winning the game of control.

>>571896
>He tested us- tried to see if there was an opportunity on his part to exploit.

Your assessment presumes conscious, and discretionary, intentionality. We do not know if such is the case: Most glamours I am familiar with are either (or both of) indiscriminate, and inherent instead of intentional acts. This makes it no less an attack but perhaps the term, "Collateral damage," is relevant here?

Jasper grabs the sword and turns. Starting to walk away.
"Come on, don't be cold now. Spreading the art is part of why this Club exists. At least join Us for Our warm up?" Shounen says. “Shounen” is a kind of odd name. “Boy” would be the english. Not that far from being called “hey you.”
I try to do my exercises right though its hard to care about them with Shounen right there doing most of them better than I can. Though he isn’t as good as Dad, not even close. The club is fairly eclectic, one girl is 6 feet tall and really strong, another boy has fox ears and a tail, and they seem to be using different weapons and styles. All swords or long daggers though.
Pretty soon I am turning his offer to escort me out of Horison down and heading back home. As soon as he is gone I let my heart heal, and try to relax. It doesn’t really work until I get back to Fortitude. I keep working myself up worrying about something corrupting me, or watching me. Its unpleasant.
Anything I should do before seeing Mother McCormick tomorrow?

Huh. I wonder if we overreacted. Was that a girlish crush in the face of supernatural beauty we treated as a hostile mind control attempt? I want to say no ("She should be serving him!" is really telling), but Shounen's reaction didn't seem proportional at all. Maybe >>571902 was right, and he wasn't doing it intentionally or consciously?

I suppose we'll need more interaction to see. Possibly he won't have the same effect on you again, now that you're aware of it.

>I try to do my exercises right though its hard to care about them with Shounen right there doing most of them better than I can.
That reaction almost seems out of character for you. You seemed to me like someone who would strive for excellence, no matter the context. A side of effect of being cold? I suppose we don't know that you as well.

Or maybe when you practice your father's art it's harder to care about something connected to your mother. Have you ever noticed a disconnect like that before? Had you ever tried to overlap their teachings before?

>Anything I should do before seeing Mother McCormick tomorrow?
Spend time with those who make your heart warm. Get away from the thoughts of unpleasantness and paranioa. Hang with Ashley and your adoptive family.

He definitely noticed that I resisted. I Don't know what that means.

>Huh. I wonder if we overreacted. Was that a girlish crush in the face of supernatural beauty we treated as a hostile mind control attempt?

Even if it wasn't I think getting into the habit of letting Jasper's will be compelled like that is a bad idea: She will be dealing with HATE amongst others. Becoming sociopathic and lacking in empathy is one problem to worry about, but having sufficient strength of focus and will to resist being subjugated by the wills and agendas of others is likely at least as serious a worry.

>Or maybe when you practice your father's art it's harder to care about something connected to your mother. Have you ever noticed a disconnect like that before?

I suspect there wasn't much need to use this ability while living mother. If you do know more about this we could use the information to help guide you better though Jasper.

>He definitely noticed that I resisted. I Don't know what that means.

It means that he knew about this power and has some understanding of what it does. That doesn't by itself give us information about how intentional or discriminatory it is or how it works though.

We also need to develop a stronger sense of self if just *being* in Horizon is a serious personality-corruption issue. You tell us whether that's best done by enjoying time with your adoptive family, meditation or otherwise.

>We also need to develop a stronger sense of self if just *being* in Horizon is a serious personality-corruption issue. You tell us whether that's best done by enjoying time with your adoptive family, meditation or otherwise.
I am not sure that is avoidable. Everyone seemed different there. It reminded me of the couple of times when I visited Earth with Mom. Things were detailed and dead, Heaven distant and hidden, perception clouded but also insightful. I think I can almost see how such a world could have causality and math instead of karma. It's funny a quick look makes town seem like Earth... but I don't think Science would work here.

But what I mean is I think its not that Horizon changed my personality, as much as being worried is natural in Horizon. It is Lord Entropy's home after all. A place for monsters and exams and forgotten homework and bullies.
A place where you have to go a little over the top to stay sane.

>>572213
Well, it could mean several things. Maybe he's surprised that he could not control you, and still wishes to find some advantage? Maybe he's interested because he can't control you? (If it's involuntary on his part, I can certainly see why he'd take an interest in someone who doesn't get swept up in his aura just being around him).

Although we don't know him or his motivations nearly well enough to guess anything right now.

>>572329
>Everyone seemed different there.
It's literally a different world, I suppose. You'll need to learn how to cope there.

>A place where you have to go a little over the top to stay sane.
Almost seems to me like you need an attitude that would be more in line with classical mythology when you're there. A hero or god isn't made great so much by what they believe or stand for, but because they have the power to do great things (and this, in many instances, is the moral justification for the same actions). It's kind of a self-justifying ethos (that veers into the outright sociopathic if you look too close), but that kind of self-assured confidence and justification in the rightness of your actions by the ability to execute them seems kind of the appropriate way to carry yourself in the land of fear and monsters.

The old-school approach. Be terrible and awesome to behold.

Specifics aside, I think you'll need to visit again, later. Learning how to function there will be important- especially if you accept Entropy's 'invitation' to attend his school. The fencing club does provide a potential lower stakes proving ground.

I find this phenomenon interesting then, if a world's specifics truly make so much of a difference that your divinity may mean nearly nothing in different places. If you have the power to make (or take) a world of your own, with attributes selected to your advantage, that seems like it could be important for any Imperator.

My colleague's advice on the 'big personality' concept of monsters and heroes is roughly what I'd suggest for Horizon.

Additional ideas:
Invite Entropy Junior for coffee here in Fortitude, and ask him about the different cliques in Horizon and what his life is like there. We could certainly use him as a friend, or at least an associate, and I have just the slightest feeling that he might need some less-monstrous company himself.

> Invite Entropy Junior for coffee here in Fortitude, and ask him about the different cliques in Horizon and what his life is like there. We could certainly use him as a friend, or at least an associate, and I have just the slightest feeling that he might need some less-monstrous company himself.

Yeah that sounds fun. Someone I can talk too about being an Imperator.

PowderedLight 2014/04/29(Tue)14:06 No. 572694 ID: 9ec4ad
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The ride to the island and the hike to the temple are pretty much the same. Maybe a few more sheep?
It's not until I can see the white of mom's statue that I realize I have no idea what I am going to say.
>

The simplest thing to start with would be, "Hello, how are you today?" which would be appropriate to finding out just how busy the people at that temple are. I have no idea what a temple for a dead imperator is good for or what they would do there, but mom's death may have made them either more or less busy.

Another thing to try is, "Sorry for running off on you last time but you can probably guess why I did that. Do you have any more questions for me?" That, or something like it would be an invitation for Mother McCormick to talk to you about who mother was to you, and that mey be more helpful for grief, acceptance and understanding than her perspective. You also did mention something about mother to her the last time that she didn't know and she likely has follow-up questions she's dying to ask if you can handle that.

You might also find that just meditating there is helpful, since it was, and perhaps still is, one of the places connected to your mother.

Well, you can probably afford to be less circumspect with your identity, since Mother McCormick likely made you last time, and secrecy is much less a concern than it once was.

That said, I don't think you necessarily want to be open either. The god child come to her mother's shrine, trumpet trumpet trumpet, hello worshipers, one side. That would get in the way of what you're trying to do here. Those close enough to the temple will know who the girl who visits this place is, and that's enough. (Is there irony in the sun keeping a low profile? I suppose one does get used to it, and tends not to notice it).

One though that strikes me is it would be wrong to try and claim this place, even if you can. It's a temple to Jade, not to the sun. To what she stood for, not to the role you've assumed. And too much of what you stand for is still shaped by her, or yet undefined, for you to establish your own places in the world, much less replace hers. You're here to learn, not to lead. Jade may be gone, but there are at least some who still need her. (An argument we may have to present to Mother McCormick if she does anything silly like offering us the temple, although I don't expect that of her).

More specifically, as to what you should do- if there's no one at the door, or between you and the statue, I would take a moment to commune. Pay your respects. Mother McCormick will probably find you, if she's around. (She's potentially a useful source of information, but being too direct about it now would almost seem disrespectful. And it's hard to know what questions to ask. There are fundamental things you still need to learn about yourself, and your role. Maybe we could open with something along the lines of, "I'm not sure what to do with myself." Or "I was looking for guidance").

From an emotional point of view, I'd think it's healthy for you just to be here. To keep her in your life, and honor her in tending to this place. More metaphysically, nurturing a connection with your mother will hopefully help you understand your own role and powers better. Although exactly how we achieve that isn't clear. Meditation might be a way to attune with what's here, possibly.

> [...]Is there irony in the sun keeping a low profile?[...]

Forgive me but I must tell this joke: What there is in the sun keeping a low profile isn't irony so much as it is either a season or a time of day, namely winter and twilight--or perhaps night--respectively.

Sorry, bad joke finished and we can now carry on with the grief rituals and other purposes of visiting mom's temple.

Talking PowderedLight 2014/05/02(Fri)09:21 No. 572884 ID: 908033
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I sit near the base of the statue looking up at its face.
It's not quite right, the nose is too high and the hair is sort of too fancy and not fancy enough at the same time. Though maybe she dressed up to visit the island? That would explain why she is wearing something closer to what her ministers usually dressed in then her battle clothes or her court uniform.
Still the way the morning light catches on the white stone and the firm but kind smile on her face remind me of her .. certainty. She knew what was right, and loved that justice until it glowed from her.
Everything was so simple when she was there. Sure sometimes I wanted something and she didn't give it to me but was right about those things, in the end. She knew what was right, what was wrong.
I see Mother McCormick approaching as she sweeps off the steps of the temple. She looks up at Mom's statue. "Hmm. I must admit I don't know the proper way to address you. Or exactly who you are. I was warned to expect someone. . but you aren't them, even if the resemblance is striking. 'Angels have peers/sisters but no masters/parents'" She quotes speaking the true tongue of Heaven.
I blink, both at her words and her speaking the true tongue. I had thought it was forbidden to humans by the curse of the Tower.
"Sorry. It's our job to be confusing sometimes, and us priests can forget to stop doing it sometimes. If you want to talk or listen or be in silence, all three are welcome here."
I open my mouth, but even with your help it's hard to organize what I want to say. There is just so much I want to say and am afraid of saying. Somehow it feels like if I just don't talk about Mother maybe she will still be okay.
I shake my head and smile slightly. "It's no problem. I am not sure why I am here exactly. I want to remember who she was. Maybe see some sides of her I couldn't back.." my throat almost seizes as a sob crushes my words. "Back..back. . When she was.." I close my eyes and force it out. "..she was alive."
(More coming but feel free to ask/say things)

>It's not quite right
Hmm. That's the thing about art- any representation is going to be imperfect. Even ignoring limitations of the medium or human skill, it'll be influenced by how the artist perceived her, and what they tried to convey. Naturally, what she meant to them wouldn't be exactly the same as what she meant to you.

>I had thought it was forbidden to humans by the curse of the Tower.
What's that? Forbidden like they aren't supposed to, or forbidden like they can't? In the later case, that might imply she's not exactly human. Or that this curse no longer applies or holds weight (or is being enforced) after what happened to the world.

>I must admit I don't know the proper way to address you. Or exactly who you are.
That's really the problem you're having, and part of the reason you're here. You don't exactly know who you're supposed to be, now, or how to be it. (We do have some ideas, but they're still kind of big and non-specific).

A more literal response- you're Jasper. (I don't see the point in insisting on formal titles, here. Unless she actually asks for them, and you can indulge in the full litany of court titles).

PowderedLight 2014/05/02(Fri)13:22 No. 572904 ID: 00b2db
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> Hmm. That's the thing about art- any representation is going to be imperfect. Even ignoring limitations of the medium or human skill, it'll be influenced by how the artist perceived her, and what they tried to convey. Naturally, what she meant to them wouldn't be exactly the same as what she meant to you.

That makes sense.

> What's that? Forbidden like they aren't supposed to, or forbidden like they can't? In the later case, that might imply she's not exactly human. Or that this curse no longer applies or holds weight (or is being enforced) after what happened to the world.

One of the fights between the Light and the Dark if am remembering right. I think an agent of Heaven got involved too, but mom didn't really explain, just that humanity is normally fairly protected, so even though Science is dangerous to the "ontological inte..integrity" of the prosaic world they are allowed to do it, but some humans were trying to get into heaven but would have just broken the sky which was what the dark wanted and almost tricked us into making happen? The Light was able to twist the falling of the tower into a diaspora, each level becoming a different tribe of people with its own history and language hopefully keeping humanity from coordinating enough to do projects that would risk the survival of the species. Which also mollify the Angels who were worried about security after Lucifer's Insurrection.

Mom did warn me to be careful dealing with humans, as a lot of Imperators with think of me as weak if I am nice to them, and the Light will hate me if I am mean.

This all me quoting stories I only half understand though. I was more interested in hearing Mom talk about flying to Mars to see my uncle.

Oh. The tower of Babel. Yes, if Celestial was the tongue humanity lost then, it is kind of odd she knows it.

I wonder if the universe's contraction countetacted some of the scattering?

Probably not a problem we need to worry about (it may not even be a problem), but interesting.

>I blink, both at her words and her speaking the true tongue. I had thought it was forbidden to humans by the curse of the Tower.

It's the sort of question we should be forwarding in mail to heaven, when we start clearing out some of the accumulated to-do list items (which we haven't compiled into a single list yet). Risking the wrong decision from ignorance is a more foolish idea than asking the people who would know I'd figure.

Introducing yourself as Jasper does seem quite appropriate, along with a warning not to ask for the rest of it because you don't want to take all day. Implying she shouldn't dig too deep ought to work unless you want to have a conversation about those deeper topics. However, we do need some guidance on what to expect here from Heaven apparently, so let's stick to topics you're sure humans should know about for now unless McCormick isn't human.

Here's an idea: Ask about normal grieving rituals and practices. This is something she should know a fair bit about and have useful experience with.

Should I tell her I am Jade's daughter. And who my father is? She seems to know I am related, but..

>>572961
Oh, right. The obvious decision.

Well, practically, if you plan on using this place to help your connection to your mother and to help you understand your own abilities / nature as the apparent sun, honesty would probably help. If you've got a wall up, it'll be in the way.

Of course, there are potential drawbacks to openness. For instance, there's the possibility she gets all worship-y, or tries to turn the temple to you (third paragraph here >>572754 would be my advice to try and talk sense out of that outcome), or sort of closes off as a helpful person to you if your relationship fundamentally changes. Revealing Dad also has obvious risks of alienation.

...overall, I'd still lean towards honesty. Hiding now seems like second guessing why we came here. And hiding the truth doesn't feel right in this place.

I'd tell her.

> Should I tell her I am Jade's daughter. And who my father is? She seems to know I am related, but..

I wouldn't bring it up, and what to tell her would depend on what she's asking for I'd say.

Mou! Well I guess, what's the point of multiple advisers if they always agreed.

>[...]Well I guess, what's the point of multiple advisers if they always agreed.

I could back up my proposal to avoid declaring ourself Jasper Irinka, heir to Jade:
-We don't know the full stance of what is and isn't permitted with respect to subjects you know may be sensitive like the language of heaven, and we need to find out the party line before we make a mistake that would get held against us
-Who or what Ms McCormick herself is happens to be something you know little about
-What she has already said could indicate your mother was playing fast and loose with some of heaven's rules for reasons we don't know and you don't want to get caught in a major political problem
-You don't know her loyalties and affiliations, or even exactly what she has to do here now that mother is gone

I would stay away from discussing politically-sensitive topics. Since you don't even know what the full list of those is we have to be careful to avoid everything that could be one of them. We should avoid directly talking about who we are and who your family was, and name yourself as, 'Jasper, just Jasper for now.' If she knew your mother had a daughter and what that daughter's name was that should very strongly imply that you are avoiding politically sensitive discussion. Even if she didn't know about your name it should imply it, without requiring you to lie about who you are.

Well, I already mostly made my arguments. But I'll add:

>what to tell her would depend on what she's asking for
I'd think her casual statement of ignorance as to who we are to be a kind of compromise- a way of saying I'd like to know, but I'm not asking per se in case I'm not supposed to know or you don't wish to answer.

>toe the party line / subjects permissible
>political stuff
>playing fast and loose with some of heaven's rules
If Jade keeping Jasper a secret even from her peers (and her priestess?) is any indication, the worst fuax pas we could offend heaven with is likely our very existence (we're the product of her sleeping with the enemy). Followed or superseded by our association with her death.

Fundamentally, I'd think there's a good chance they'd see us as Jade's mistake, and hold that against us. I doubt we can do much wrong in this conversation that will make their current bias towards us any worse than it may already be. Mistakes of our own would have to be of a certain magnitude to contribute significantly to the tally.

I'll also note that most of those concerns seem kind of long term to me. Our relationship to the forces of heaven is a problem for the future- learning how to be what we are, and establishing a relationship with someone who can help us with that, is a problem for now. Secrecy seems an impediment.

At least some of the concerns you list can be addressed right now, though. We could ask about her use of the tongue of heaven, or what she sees her role as, or the temple's role as, now. Before making (or deciding to make) the reveal, or not, even. There's an advantage in trying to get her to see us as a person before we risk dehumanizing ourself by deifying ourself.

Lastly, it seems silly to me to hide this from someone in a position to be as useful as she can, unless we pin down a real risk in the reveal (like it would radically change her behavior or our relationship for the worse). Especially when so many others seem to know already.

>If Jade keeping Jasper a secret even from her peers (and her priestess?) is any indication[...]

There is still a sun even after Jade's death. There's no way that heaven missed that, the mortals all know. Right now they can't afford to be too harsh with us because the Imperator side of the Excrusian-Imperator conflict lost so badly that they can't afford to waste possible recruits/muscle. Even if whoever is higher in the hierarchy is wary or temperamental about dealing with us directly then talking to Eclipse should be fine, and is a good first step to making friends and allies affiliated with Heaven.
On the flip side to that, they also can't afford mavericks who screw up the team plan. If we're demonstrably bad at playing nice with the overall plans we would just be a problem to be marginalized instead of a prospect to be recruited and supported. Don't give up on getting in Heaven's good books just because we know mom was keeping us sheltered, we don't even know who she was hiding from what there aside from vague guesses that she was hiding evidence of her involvement with an Excrusian: If that was the case the cat's already out of the bag now so there's only prejudice to worry about. For all we know she may have been trying to protect them from Jasper, heir to one of the most threatening Excrusians.

But we should really work on specifics of what to talk about to see if we can satisfy both perspectives, or at least identify which set of goals is more important here and now: I was figuring on talking to Mother McCormick about grieving, and who mother was to her priests and believers. I was hoping that would be useful to talk about and wouldn't risk political problems. What were you hoping to discuss that does require us to declare our identity and status?

>can't miss, can't afford
Oh, I agree. They know there's a sun, and if creation needs one, they aren't in a position to do anything about us. That, and there are forces protecting this place, from them as much as anyone else.

Although that doesn't mean they have to like it.

>Don't give up on getting in Heaven's good books
Oh, I think that's definitely possible (although if our quest for justice means we have to work towards a full understanding of what happened, that likely means we'll have to get closer to our Excrusian side than they'd be happy with. We're likely going to be marginalized for a bit if we insist on pursuing that).

But at the same time, I don't feel a protocol error, or breaking an unknown code of conduct in one conversation is going to count much against us, either. It's a recoverable error, if in fact we make an error at all.

>What were you hoping to discuss that does require us to declare our identity and status?
We've had a lot of questions about, well, what it means to be a god, or the sun. Our very nature, our abilities, our capabilities. I don't expect Mother McCormick can answer all those directly, or even teach us all of that, but if she knows who we are and what we're trying to do, she might be able to help us. If we conceal who and what we are, we lose that. Basically, this temple has the potential to be our sun-school, if you will. We need to decide on what terms we're going to make that work.

I think the big question is how the person in front of us will react to being told, or not told, and how that influences how we interact with her, and how we can operate, here and now. That's the light I think we should be considering this in. It will likely be years before we interact directly with heaven, and we have plenty of time to establish a more favorable reputation (or earn their disgust) though our behavior. I feel like giving to much weight to what heaven might think ignores person for politics- and worse, politics we know next to nothing about.

(I apologize for the verboseness. I'm not trying to shout you down with a wall of words, but I can't seem to manage to express myself concisely).

>We've had a lot of questions about, well, what it means to be a god, or the sun. Our very nature, our abilities, our capabilities.

Ah, well, we're going at this from different ends then. I was assuming that she is not an Imperator and therefore wouldn't have a lot of directly useful advice at that level. I was also assuming that she knows, as a priestess, about comforting the grieving and what her believer-facing version of who mom was and what she did, and that we should limit ourselves to talking about those things until we have established a connection to Heaven and learned what their rulebook says.

That contains two assumptions of course, which I am not qualified to test.

Suggestion 2014/05/05(Mon)15:26 No. 573276 ID: 961d2e
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"So who. . Who was she to you? What did this place mean to her?" I ask, drying my eyes.
"That's a complicated question, she was many things to us. She made this place, as a haven. A place to hold onto the illumination of Heaven and the grace of Light.
"She gave us our rituals and our prayers. Told us to keep our lives holy and pure, and told us that our struggles mattered.
"And the echo of her voice still lays over the land, echoing our deeds."
"She changed Town and brought us here. Saying to the humans there that they should rule, but to be kind and careful in that rule.
"She brought this island to Town and asked my grandmother to listen to all who came, and my mother and then me continue that task.
"We saw her each day, an invulnerable shield against the nothingness. And when she fell we -knew- that our last day had dawned.
"And yet. . Maybe she was more. . Tricky then we knew. Because I am here talking to you, in the light of a new Sun, seeing her image glow with her love." Mother McCormick pauses here.
>

Okay, she knows. Well, she doesn't know, but she sure as hell suspects, and is waiting to see if we'll tell her.

...she was my mother.

What makes you say that?

>>573320
...huh. Not who I was expecting argument from.

Maybe I'm seeing what I want to see. I'm going to go bed, and take another look at this in the morning.

"I don't really have the vaguest idea what she was thinking or planning as far as that goes, and I probably need to find out. I was there when it happened but I barely have more than suspicions about all the immediate and deeper reasons why things happened that way.
"One thing I do know is that what you said earlier, (translate this part) 'Angels have peers/sisters but no masters/parents' surprises me. Are you an angel? If you aren't then knowing that might be dangerous, or perhaps I'm misinformed and it isn't. Either way, there's too much I don't know about that and all the rest of what... Jade was, and what she did."

>>573320
Okay, putting my thoughts in order: she knows there's a new sun, she describes it slash it's relation to Jade with in terms of love (which would suggest a familial bond), and she can see your resemblance.

Unless she's completely married to that gods not having children quotation, the idea should have at least occurred to her. At the very least, she recognizes your connection, and that you know something she does not.

Regardless of what she knows or suspects though, she's noticeably asking a question without asking (she's done that more than once, now). I suppose that's a skill you master in her role.

>What do/say
The matter of Jade's role does leave a possible natural segue to your own questions and uncertainty about your role / abilities. (...You don't exactly know who you're supposed to be, now, or how to be it). That's something this temple can likely help you explore, whether or not you reveal your identity.

>Angels have peers/sisters but no masters/parents
>Are you an angel
Well, if the quotation is meant to be taken literally, I would think not, as she admitted to having a mother and grandmother. That said, if you examine her worlds carefully, there's no exact grouping of herself with humanity. "The humans" not "we humans", and the we-s and us-es used are applied to the people of the temple.

It might be worth exploring what she meant by that. Aren't there all kinds of myths of their having children? Even the sun. You heard one about a pine needle just the other day.

>temple's grieving rituals
Didn't comment on this before since we got caught up arguing about other things, but not a bad idea.

(Any of these three could naturally lead to a place where it would be appropriate to reveal ourself, if we decide to do o, but I suppose I'll hold off on lobbying that till we've had our questions answered. Perhaps the subtlest and most understated reveal- if we engage in a ritual, and she asks who we're grieving for (I'm assuming who it's for influences the ritual), we simply say "a mother". It doesn't directly admit to anything, but it's an answer without answering for her question without asking).

>on the other stuff we arguing about
It almost sounds like this is something Jade set up by herself. In which case, there may not even be relevant celestial rules / protocol to worry about (that, or she already broke them, acting alone).

part 1 : Gold, Bronze, and marble. PowderedLight 2014/05/06(Tue)11:15 No. 573373 ID: 94d694
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> Unless she's completely married to that gods not having children quotation, the idea should have at least occurred to her. 
That's not quite what what the quotation is saying. It's saying Angels don't have parents. Otherwise I would be a counter example. Also there are lots of gods only a few of whom are Angels or even Imperators. Having a cult is dangerous because others can steal it and use it to twist or channel your power. Probobly that's why Mom's temple is here and not Earth or home. This place feels hidden away.
"I don't know what she was planning." Ibarely frowning, "I was there when it happened but I barely have more than suspicions about how and why. Angles aren't supposed to die. It's not possible except Da..Fa..his bow it's.. dangerous." I continue, "And they were talking, and she did something, and then he was angry, and I was falling." And I have to close my eyes and calm down. I can feel the mirror of Father's anger in my heart. It burns, colder then the dark.
Mother McCormick reaches out and I let her hug me until I can calm a little, until I can forget some of that anger.
I start again. "One thing I do know is that what you said earlier, (translate this part) 'Angels have peers/sisters but no masters/parents' surprises me. I've heard it before, but a human shouldn't be able to speak it. Knowing the True Tongue of Heaven is dangerous for humans. Are you an angel? If you aren't then knowing that might be dangerous, or perhaps I'm misinformed Either way, there's too much I don't know about that and all the rest of what... Jade was, and what she did."
Mother McCormick smiles sadly, "I'm human, but Town, even before little Island came to it, escaped the Curse of the Tower. Or so was explained to me. I must admit the idea of not understanding a language confuses me. I mean how can you think in a language you don't know." She pauses here thinking deeply. "Why don't I show you The One to Come, also called the Grey Lady, or the Practical Teacher."
[More coming, da..dum..da..dum]

PowderedLight 2014/05/07(Wed)20:57 No. 573568 ID: 961d2e
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Once inside the temple, she leads me to an archway flanked by two carved figures I recognize as the Ministers of Sunrise and Sunset. Between them is a fresco depicting a pair of doors opening into the lower level of Celestia.
Mother McCormick reaches behind the ear of the carving of the Minister of Sunrise. "Now.." She pauses, and then leans against the right half of the fresco. It clicks and then tilts inward revealing a short dark passage. she pulls Jasper with her into the darkness, and then they are in a grey room, lit only dimly. One wall is filled with a charcoal drawing: A woman, skin pale, in black clothing, and carrying an umbrella, a sad smile on her face, showing her pity for the world, but it is her eyes that most grab Jaspers vision, they are her father’s eyes, holes into a far and Sunless land.
They fill her vision, and her mind. She is at the edge of the universe, looking up to the stars that shone before the Tree, a wind blows out the flame that lights her self, and the stars fall, one by one until the light and the dark are one.
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art.
What the hammer?
what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
(&) When the stars threw down their spears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Jasper finds herself standing outside the doorway, in the sun-drenched temple once more, crying. It takes her a while to realize she is being held by Mother McCormick. “She knew..Mother knew!” she sobs into the Priestess’s arms.
>

>“She knew..Mother knew!” she sobs into the Priestess’s arms
...well, that's one decision we won;t have to debate, then.

>what do
This is one time where you emotions and vulnerabilities are not something you need to lock up to protect yourself. You never had a chance to mourn, and this is as an appropriate place as you could ever find. Let your rain fall.

Continue and compose yourself when you're ready.

I'm not sure what you saw... did they make a Mimic out of your mother?

>>573597
If I'm reading this right... Senko's title is the one to come. Which would imply she wasn't before. I think Senko is Jade. Or... was Jade. That the Grey was born from the fire going out. (Possibly supported by one of the ambiguous lines in father's letter). Jasper is the sun's spark- a flame split off, now independent. Senko is the sun's ashes.

The fact that Jade knew raises all kinds of questions, though. Why didn't she do anything to prevent this? What was her real objective? Father, in his letter, tried to make it sound as if he had no choice, that she had some terrible plan to win the war that forced his hand. But that can't be the case if she saw this coming- if she truly sought to win above all else, she would not have accepted her destruction.

Unless her death is part of a longer plan that serves that victory- if she was her own sacrificial queen to reach a later mate.

Or was she motivated by something else? Did she chose the path where her daughter(s?) would survive? Did she allow everything to skirt so close to complete destruction in order to put an end to the conflict? (So her supposed plan to win at terrible cost was just a bluff to manipulate father?). Did she realize it was inevitable, and simply accept it and prepare what contingencies she could?

...this also makes the question of justice all the much harder. If she knew this would happen, if she allowed this to happen, does that make her responsible for the damage caused by her death? And more than that- to what extent does that mean He is still responsible for her death?

I spend a long while crying. Mother McCormick's robe-vest-thing is soaked with my tears, and smeared with snot. I'm crying but I'm also so angry.
How could She? How could She ever kiss him with Her death in his eyes? How could she make me if she knew she would leave me? How could she go through with whatever she did that set him off?
Didn't she care about me?
Or was I just a mistake, a .. a trial run. She told Mother McCormick about Ms. Senko, she put her picture in the holy of holies, but didn't tell her about me?
I hate them all. I want to tear down this whole darned temple! And ..
And I .. I
I still want to be a good girl. I hate her so much but I still want her to be proud.
"I'll eat all my metals, and play nice with nursy, and take my baths. . And.. And. .I just want to see her again."
I just keep crying for a long long time.
It's not until it's almost noon that I calm down a little.
Mother McCormick invites me to lunch, she has a simple meal, I only eat tiny bits while she explains where each part of the meal was grown.
It's nice to just let the words wash over me.

>

>anger, bargaining, blame
It's not wrong to feel that way.

>How could she make me if she knew she would leave me?
Nearly every parent expects to leave their child behind one day, unless the worst happens and their children die first. Creating life despite the certainty of death... that's a kind of hope, or faith. It's what keeps life going.

>How could She ever kiss him with Her death in his eyes?
That's... complicated, and hard to say. Did she fall in love before she knew what he would do, or after? When did she know? ...and even if we assume she didn't know to start, they were always enemies, generals on opposite sides of a nearly incomprehensible war. It was something powerful that overcame that.

Much of it depends on what she was really trying to do, and the answers to the questions I brought up before. Was she driven by love, and willing to accept what happiness she could have while she could, despite how things would end? Did she do it for her children, thinking it was worth it to bring you into the world? Was it for a duty; all a grand sacrificial play, allowing herself to be seduced and slain by the enemy for a later victory we as of yet do not understand? Was it for a peace- was her death, this renewal, a fundamental change in reality, the alternative to an endless war she saw for her family? Some combination of these, or factors we haven't considered?

It's entirely too complicated, and depends on information we do not have. Earlier, we considered that you would one day have to understand your father to understand what would be just. Apparently, you will need to understand your mother as well. I'm not sure what avenues will lead us there, but I suspect when you are grown, and we are involved in this investigation in earnest, that you will need to approach the celestial. Find those who knew her as we did not.

...I know one story, of a village where people knew their deaths. Their deaths were people- they grew with them, and spent their lives beside them. They didn't fear death, for their deaths were familiar, old friends. It's a strange idea, but there can be a comfort in that certainty, I suppose. If one accepts that, love in a similar circumstances doesn't feel so impossible.

Love isn't very reasonable, anyways. You feel how you feel, regardless of the sense of it.

>Didn't she care about me?
I think you know the answer to that, already. She didn't fake the love you saw, or felt.

>Or was I just a mistake, a .. a trial run.
I very much doubt that.

>She told Mother McCormick about Ms. Senko, she put her picture in the holy of holies, but didn't tell her about me?
My guess was she told her- that she left that image in that secret room- for you to find. If she knew what was to happen, she knew where you would end up. That there was a good chance you'd see this place out. It's a message- for you.

The real question is what it's meant to say. Obviously, for the moment, it's given us a good deal more questions than answers. But they are questions you would have never thought to ask, otherwise. I think it's meant to help you.

>what do
If you're up to it, and since the cat is out of the bag anyways, now might be the time to ask about how the temple deals with mourning or grief. Or to come back to the problem of yourself- and your uncertainty of your role- how to be what you are, or what you're supposed to be, now.

"'[...] when I come I will show you that hope is pointless, and dreams are worse than Lies.' I suppose she would consider herself a 'Grey Lady' or a 'Practical Teacher.' If you didn't know already I guess you've figured out my relation to mom now. What I'm wondering is what she told you about me before I got here, and what her plans for this part are."

Mother McCormick replies "Well.. It's hard to say. Mostly she gave us duties or tasks, and then, sometimes, later we would understand why. She told us that we would need to care for the people of this island, and to show visitors what was beautiful about this life. And that in the face of power and destruction that would serve us best.

"We were told to expect strange allies and foes. I think she was worried about you, but confidant in your power. She gave us instructions for dealing with the young Entropy, or at least so I thought at the time. Now. . Now I think some of it was about you.

"81 years ago she asked my mother to get sunspot records from the Observatory, and encouraged my aunt's interest in Midwifery. And then all the sunspot records mysteriously burned, and aunts books yellowed and cracked as if they had been left in the Sun for years.

"I think you and your sister show up in what one wears to a funeral" She leans forward and inspects the earring I picked up talking to the glass blower. "Yeah, it's exactly that earring. Though this temple isn't the right place for most of that ceremony. Little Island changes slowly. I am not sure how much of putting on a proper wake for your Mother we can do without telling people who you are. But my help is yours."

>

>stuff about entropy
Oh, interesting. I don't think it's time to pry about that right now, though.

>Sunspot records destroyed
>midwifery books borrowed
Huh. I wonder if that pertains to your own birth, or your siblings. (Jasper isn't 80, but time doesn't necessarily move at the same right for gods and mortals, or in different places).

>I think you and your sister show up in what one wears to a funeral
>with that earring
...I don't understand what's being said there. Is she saying she's seen that the two of you will attend her funeral, dressed as you are? Or that there's an image or depiction of it somewhere? Or is that just an odd way of saying you're dressed appropriately?

>proper wake, tell people who you are.
I'm not afraid of letting people know who I am, when I should. But... announcing it to the world doesn't seem right, either. I'm still figuring out who I am. I don't want to have to be something else to people, yet.

Maybe something... smaller?

>But my help is yours.
Thank you.

"It's worth wondering who doesn't know who I am. I'm not sure how I got to Fortitude after falling, and I got a letter from Entropy before I even knew what and where he was. The Kichi family in particular had been preparing for my arrival for years before I visited them for the first time I think. Anybody powerful or well-informed enough to know that keeping track of what seers say and do is a useful source of information would likely know from that, if nothing else.
"Can you think of any people I wouldn't want to know about my identity and location who don't already know at least as much as my attendance at a funeral would tell them? Dad knows, little sister Senko--Practical Teacher--knows, and I'm really not sure who there is left to keep it secret from."

>>573736
I can make educated guesses about some of these.

>(Jasper isn't 80, but time doesn't necessarily move at the same right for gods and mortals, or in different places).
Don't count on it. One of these days we're going to have to get her to look herself over in a mirror so that we know what we're dealing with better. Do keep in mind that most deities mature but never grow old except as a reflection of their self-image or if their power wanes and they are dying. Combine this notion with the fact that some human people look teenaged while in their thirties, or even older. Putting that together leads me to wonder if Jasper is actually a lot more than she thinks she is because being socially sheltered and overshadowed by her mother left her with an immature self-image.

>...I don't understand what's being said there. Is she saying she's seen that the two of you will attend her funeral, dressed as you are?
The light of the sun reveals, I suspect it was revealing in this case. You didn't think the Kichi were the only seers around, did you?

>[...] I'm still figuring out who I am. I don't want to have to be something else to people, yet.
We are Jasper Irinka the Sun reborn, daughter of Jade Irinka the former Sun, and one of the few forces powerful enough to kill the Sun. A seer spent most of her life preparing for us to stop by for a casual meet and greet introduction, sister Senko thinks us important enough to make plans of multiple years duration to influence us, and multiple diety-tier beings have invited us to be their pupil. We already are someone to a lot of people, they see our naked self in the sky every day and feel our warmth.

>deities age / self-image
>is Jasper sheltered / older than she thinks?
The question is kind of meaningless as you present it. If, as you assume, a god's age is defined by how they see themself, or their power or their experience, then Jasper is still a child. Since she clearly thinks like one, and is largely inexperienced with much of her full potential, and has much learning and growing to do.

You can't argue she'd be immature or behind either, since her level of maturity would be self defining and relative. It would be a completely internalized metric.

>You didn't think the Kichi were the only seers around, did you?
No, but we haven't had any prior information that indicated they did any of that here, and even if we accept the meaning as describing a vision, the wording is still odd. Which leaves me unsatisfied making that assumption.

>We are Jasper Irinka the Sun reborn [...]
...that's kind of literal response that doesn't really address what I'm trying to discuss here.

Jasper has a problem of identity. Yes, she has a lot of heritage, and many roles, and titles. Things outside her that define who she is. But within that general mold, there are still a lot of ways she can chose to grow, or define herself (what kind of god are we, how we fulfill our role, even what we decide our role or responsibilities may be, how we use our power, how our power and abilities and domain develop... etc etc).

We have some long term goals (mostly understanding and justice) but there's still a lot of room for interpretation and different ways to try and get there.

tl;dr- One of the things our mother's temple should be able to help us with is learning how to be what we are (and decide what that means). Addressing out own uncertainty is something that feels appropriate to me.

>loads of people know who we are, already.
>is there any advantage to keeping quiet?
There's a big difference to who and what we are being know to other power players, and to everyone. We can't avoid that fact that some people know, and that they have agendas, and we will have to deal with that.

But there are a lot of potential complications that could arise from elevating our status from an open secret to common knowledge.

More than that, though, I think there's a fundamental advantage to having some kind of normality in her life. Regular people she can interact with who don't regard her as a god to be feared, worshiped, exploited, asked favor of, etc. It could provide a grounding her growing up might otherwise lack, and a relief valve where she can be Jasper without having to bear the burden of being anything / anyone else.

>>573793
Sorry for being indirect, but I was suggesting that Jasper use a moment, and take a discrete, sizable step towards growing up here. A normal part of growing up for socialized, intelligent beings is self-assertion. Accordingly, hanging in the sky everywhere, every day, is a pretty huge assertion on its own which we should really rationalize within our self-perception and risk-assessment better. Compared to that I'm not even sure what additional risks there are for her to attend her mother's funeral. I'm unconvinced that it's an overtly political statement since it's her mother's funeral. Is that really comparable to showing up at an embassy function, or making a grand entrance into a contested territory? I'm not sure, so therefore I propose we ask someone that *might* know about some of these risks, if they exist.

If it does turn out there are tangible risks besides having to possibly face little sister while she has not yet fully manifested that's a discussion to have on the basis of weighing the nature, probability and severity of those risks. Before we get there we also should also pass through one question whose answer should be obvious: Are we going to let anyone take your mother's funeral away from you, Jasper?

>>573807
Huh. We're talking at cross purposes, again. I'm thinking about setting up the conditions where she can grow up, you're worrying about stepping up now.

But if we're being direct, I'll put my concerns self-assertion as simply as we can:
* I think Jasper needs to learn a lot more about what it means to be the sun, and how to be a god, before she takes the step of walking around openly as both. (Ie, we're not prepared).
* I think it's an advantage for her to have the chance to grow up in an enviroment where everyone doesn't know. (It's healthy to have a somewhat 'normal' enviroment, and a good perspective for being of her power. Humility / grounding / understanding, etc).

>political risks
Not really what I was concerned about (or even think really might be a problem).

>Are we going to let anyone take your mother's funeral away from you, Jasper?
Not what I was arguing for, either. It'll happen, it's just a matter of when and how.

>[...] I think it's an advantage for her to have the chance to grow up in an environment where everyone doesn't know. [...]

I guess I'm questioning the assumptions behind this:
-Is living like a human desirable training for being an imperator?
-Is trying to pretend to be humbly near-human even effectively possible?

It occurs to me that these are untested assumptions. I further assert that they seem awfully shaky when you realize that everybody already knows Jasper to some degree. We are an important part of the life of most, if not all, people. What's left to hide from whom besides the fact that we really need to get better at acting incognito?
If nothing else we need to show up at the funeral openly in case there's any question of the disposition of mother's remains: I'm pretty sure we don't want a mimic made out of her. I think this, by itself, may set our course here.

>Is living like a human desirable training for being an imperator?
Unknowable, or at least unknown. We have no way of knowing what's good for imperators in particular, or not (although future conversations with Entropy jr may be helpful, if we can separate out what information is skewed by his own perspective or agenda, or his father's).

I think it's much more useful to think in terms of what would be desirable for her as a person. Raising your princess well when she's been put in an ivory tower is considerably harder.

>Is trying to pretend to be humbly near-human even effectively possible?
To an extent, yes. Jasper's had reasonably normal interactionss of one kind or another with many people.

>I am not sure how much of putting on a proper wake for your Mother we can do without telling people who you are. But my help is yours.
I also think we may have missed a point she made, here. She never said we could not do something without telling people who we are. Just that it changes what we can do.

Also, it occurs to me that a full service may not be happening soon, if we're not supposed to meet Senko till we go to school in a few years, but we're both supposed to be there, at the funeral. (Unless we break one or more vision?).

>>573854
>Also, it occurs to me that a full service may not be happening soon, if we're not supposed to meet Senko till we go to school in a few years, but we're both supposed to be there, at the funeral.[...]

That's easy, Senko apparently doesn't really exist or isn't manifest yet, so she only conditionally/partially shows up. Specific possibilities for this include being a projection, an apparition, and using some kind of an avatar. So therefore both can be true without this funeral being years in the future. This was a significant part of my perspective for recommending that we do attend mom's funeral openly (and soon).

You guys are being a little confusing..but I think you maybe want me to ask about the Funeral thing?
Anything else I should before going home..to Ashley's I mean.

>

>>574055
Sorry, kind of lost track of the moment there, for our own thing.

You could respond to her comment on the funeral that while you aren't sure you want everyone to know who who you, you aren't afraid to let people know when you should. And wouldn't the types of people who would show up to that kind of event mostly be people who already know, or in a position to know?

You could bring up the uncertainty of your own role, or you could leave that for another day. (We're kind of loaded down with heavy issues, piling on existential ones may not be best).

And a thank you of one kind or another would be appropriate. And if there's time enough before you leave, you could do some of the simple helping around the temple stuff like you did last time. You might find it calming or helpful after all the emotional stuff (and/or it might provide you time to think).

Sorry, we were spilling out into the probability space of what can happen depending on different possibilities for when, where, and how your mom's funeral proceeds and what your involvement--open or otherwise--in it is. We really do need more information on what she was even talking about though.

PowderedLight 2014/05/13(Tue)08:43 No. 574232 ID: b43a87
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"So uh, what do you mean when you say my sister and I show up? Like you had a vision or something?" Jasper asks, tasting a bit of cheese.

"Oh, no. Back when this temple was founded, generations ago, Our Lady gave us our rituals, to mark the seasons of our crops and our lives: to welcome newborns, to remember sins, to bind families, to thank the rain and the Sun, to bless new buildings, to punish transgressions, to mark sorrows. And each of those have their proper dress, and you are wearing one of the options for those close to the deceased at a funeral.

[Strike] I don't actually remember the differences among a funeral a wake etc, so am using them interchangeably. [/strike]

"Off white, with one earring of colors, long dress or pants, no gloves, lotus petals but no full blossoms or bulbs. Or off black, full gloves, geometric straight lines, hat or scarf, something on the face in silver or red, in a star or falling star motif.

"It's clear now, they represent you and your sister. She knew we could draw strength from each other's strength. You helping us, we helping you" she smiles slightly, almost but not teasing, instead it seems to say "I will help."

Huh. So you instinctively took on a dress of mourning, or she defined them so they would suit you. (Foreknowledge gets kind of funny).

Still, it feels kind of right that you took a step towards acknowledging or dealing with your grief, even if you did so unintentionally.

>I don't actually remember the differences among a funeral a wake etc
A funeral is a formal ceremony, usually with someone officiating, individuals speaking in turn to an audience, that kind of thing. The wake is usually... less formal. More of a gathering than a presentation. Food, people talking together, remembering. Of course there are different practices in different cultures and faiths, and I have no idea how precisely either ceremony would be handled in Jade Irinka's sun-temple religion, much less how a ceremony for a god (their god) would differ. (Although part of me thinks it would be appropriate not to treat her death as any different from that of any other mother).

>I will help
Thank you.

I don't really have any more questions that feel right for you to ask, in the moment. As for what we do before heading back to Ashley's, I think the last paragraph of this >>574059 still holds (unless Mother McCormick brings up anything else).

"That's interesting and helpful, thank you. I'm still not entirely sure how to handle a service for mother though, or where her remains currently are. It's probably something I should talk to heaven about, but if you've got more advice I could use it."

And yes, just hanging out in mom's temple and being busy should be good for helping to settle your raw emotions and for connecting with your mother's past.

PowderedLight 2014/05/15(Thu)08:57 No. 574539 ID: b43a87
File 140016943715.jpg - (101.14KB , 1432x892 , RelaxingSunsetLake.jpg )

She nods and accepts my thanks with a " It's why I'm here."

It doesn't take long for Mother McCormick to finish her lunch, and start continuing her daily maintenance of the temple. It's a lot of work for one person, and it feels like we are only three quarters done when she notes that I better get
going if I want to catch the ferry.

It feels good to help out at the temple. Like Mom approves. Even though my arms hurt and I didn't do everything right. (I kind of lit the paint thinner on fire because I wanted to see what it tasted like. I should really stop doing that.)

I could have spent the ferry ride thinking about things, but I didn't. Instead I just kind of soaked in the smells and sights, listening to the gulls.

The sun slowly sets over the horizon, and Jasper's eyes set with it, the gentle rocking of the boat carrying her to sleep.

>could have spent the time thinking, but I didn't
It's alright, there's no need to figure all of everything out in one go.

Goodnight, Jasper.

Hold up, we've gotta get home, and then we might be getting a visit from our most devoted follower when we get there.

>>574626
We'll get home. And I'm pretty sure our seer won't show up on a night when we're already worn out and asleep. An advantage or seer-ing.

PowderedLight 2014/05/16(Fri)15:11 No. 574732 ID: 00b2db
File 140027830707.jpg - (5.63KB , 320x158 , elipsis.jpg )

Saturday I sleep in a bit, and hang out around the house at Ashley's, cleaning and helping out with laundry and cutting up fish.

Not much really happened, though I did practice my Meditation a bit.

At least not much happened during the day.

The night was another story.

>

Saturday? Ah, tonight's the night you were going to go to the Kichi for dinner.

Correct attitude to bring, I think, is polite respect and earnest honesty. Even in the face of possible anger or hostility. They're her family, and it's only natural they be upset about the risk you pose to her, and what you're taking from them, even unintentionally. All we can give in return is our understanding, and our best to improve the situation.

I expect an awful lot of fear actually, the gods aren't supposed to come to supper and take their daughter away. If that's the case I'd normally expect the best course is trying to be disarmingly charming, earnest, and to make some non-threatening jokes if you can.