You Wouldn't Pirate a Renaissance

Dec 13 10:50:09 <Aori_Radidjiu> Let's go back in time a few days.  Lesieli and Melanie have decided to visit Hermit's local shrine...a rather large place, actually, as it's an institution with priests and ascetics from a variety of religions.  There's a variety of holy symbols even outside the pagoda-esque building, like a tree bound with seals, a torii, a few idols of minor gods and good luck charms, and even an
Dec 13 10:50:09 <Aori_Radidjiu> offertory box.  The building has some large double doors with knockers, the doors and knockers adorned with a more gothic style like what you'd expect from western religions
Dec 13 10:51:58 <Lesieli> "Oh boy, been awhile since I've been here.  No idea how . . . warm they're reception's gonna be, but I can deal with that.  This is *the* place to start if we wanna get this revolution formally organized."
Dec 13 10:53:00 <Ululane> "Is it now? Do you think they would be...receptive to the idea?"
Dec 13 10:54:32 <Lesieli> "They will if I have anything to say about it."
Dec 13 10:55:04 <Lesieli> "Look at it this way - they're priests, it's their job to obey gods.  Not that I intend to let it come to that~"
Dec 13 10:55:35 <Ululane> "...I...do not think that is quite how it works."
Dec 13 10:56:47 * Lesieli pats her on the shoulder "I know I know, you're pretty new to this religion thing, being from up north and all, but that's ok.  We'll work it all out"
Dec 13 10:58:00 <Ululane> An eyebrow raises, but Lulu ceremoniously motions for Lesieli to lead the way.
Dec 13 10:58:16 <Lesieli> "Well then, let's try this out."  Nobody blocking the path to the door this time?  Fantastic!
Dec 13 10:58:56 * Lesieli opens them big boys right up
Dec 13 10:59:07 * Lesieli Does that sentence even make sense?  Whatever
Dec 13 10:59:18 <Ululane> ...lewd?
Dec 13 10:59:52 <Lesieli> Only if you've got a fetish for gothic doorways
Dec 13 10:59:59 <Lesieli> . . . but hey, I ain't gonna judge
Dec 13 11:03:15 <Aori_Radidjiu> HRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNGH, it's a heavy door, but it opens!  Inside is a rather large open areak, mostly empty, with floor made from some kind of woven plants.  At the other end of the room is an altar, with some kind of incense burning, a few idols upon it, and a man in a priestly gown praying on it.  To the left is a western knobbed door with solid wood walls, to the right is a sliding
Dec 13 11:03:15 <Aori_Radidjiu> door with the old slightly see-through traditional kantonese walls, and there is also, further up a little before the altar, a hallway going left and right.
Dec 13 11:04:54 <Lesieli> Is priest guy the head priest guy, or just a generic priest?  Presumably I'd know who the head guy is.
Dec 13 11:09:06 <Aori_Radidjiu> You say that like there's just one head.  Since there's representation from a variety of religions, there are 'heads' from each of those religions.  This man here, who's in his late 40s, is, if you recall correctly, the head of the Shinto practice here. He finishes his prayer and gets up. He's in a kimono with a brown hakama over it.  He looks over at you and walks over, giving you
Dec 13 11:09:06 <Aori_Radidjiu> a nod.  "If it isn't Lesieli?  Have you come to speak with the Wakinese priests again?"
Dec 13 11:09:34 <Lesieli> Ah, that's right, I knew all that.
Dec 13 11:09:45 <Aori_Radidjiu> He's smiling, and comes off as generally pretty laid back.
Dec 13 11:11:44 <Lesieli> "Yup, and this time I've got a real treat for 'em."
Dec 13 11:12:32 <Ululane> This...surely can't end well.
Dec 13 11:13:15 <Lesieli> Can't be worse than last time.  Or the dozen times before that.
Dec 13 11:15:35 <Aori_Radidjiu> He chuckles.  "Well, they're up the stairs in the right hallway as always.  I don't believe they're particularly busy right now.  Be polite, as usual.  As always, you're welcome to use the baths here if you want afterwards~."  He walks off, opening the sliding door and going into the area behind it, where a few other people are visible (some male priests like him, of varying ages,
Dec 13 11:15:35 <Aori_Radidjiu> as well as some Miko of varying ages as well)
Dec 13 11:16:26 <Lesieli> "Ok, let's do this"  Les leads the way!
Dec 13 11:16:32 <Ululane> "...that...was a strange thing for him to close with." Lulu follows.
Dec 13 11:17:27 <Aori_Radidjiu> Les knows offhand that this place has one of the very very few hot spring baths on this island, so they get a lot of visitors just for that.
Dec 13 11:17:59 * Lesieli pats Ulu on the shoulder again, and gives her a concerned, but friendly 'it's ok, we'll work through this' look
Dec 13 11:19:13 <Ululane> The other eyebrow raises, though more with a look of amusement.
Dec 13 11:28:35 <Aori_Radidjiu> Upstairs, you enter into an area adorned with a variety of trinkets in cases (kind of like a museum), along with a few really old carved idols of various gods and goddesses.  Among other things, there are shark bones, specially carved sticks and stones, along with hula garments.  There's an altar, where an offering of feathers and bones can be found.  There's a few doors this way
Dec 13 11:28:35 <Aori_Radidjiu> and that, Lesieli knows that the office of the head priest is just past the altar.
Dec 13 11:31:28 <Lesieli> "Ah yeah, everything's here nice and neat, just like always.  Looks like no permanent damage done.  This way~"
Dec 13 11:31:43 <Ululane> "...permanent...damage...?"
Dec 13 11:32:37 * Lesieli continues on as if she didn't hear anything
Dec 13 11:37:00 <Aori_Radidjiu> Opening the door, there's a burning smell, and a man facing a window, looking at a small burner and the smoke rising from it.  He's dressed pretty normally, though formally, in a long-sleeved button-up shirt and fancy pants, and looks to be in his 50s.  He's definitely native Wakinese.  He speaks without turning around.  "I hadn't had this happen in a while, but I can always tell
Dec 13 11:37:00 <Aori_Radidjiu> it's you, Lesieli, because you never knock.  Could you wait a moment, I'm doing a smoke reading."
Dec 13 11:37:24 <Ululane> Damn fancypants.
Dec 13 11:38:05 <Lesieli> How rude, I was actually going to knock this time.  Though I wasn't going to wait for him to answer before heading on in.
Dec 13 11:38:37 <Lesieli> "No problem, we can wait, but boy do I have news for you~"
Dec 13 11:39:07 <Ululane> Lulu focuses more on the smoke.
Dec 13 11:39:54 <Aori_Radidjiu> It curls in shapes, to and fro...roll me occult after I get my bot up
Dec 13 11:40:07 * PsychoRoll (~PsychoRol@Rizon-C3D8A9DA.cl.ri.cox.net) has joined
Dec 13 11:40:36 <Ululane> (Does this count for ritual magic?)
Dec 13 11:41:10 <Aori_Radidjiu> It's not meant to invoke an effect, so I'd say no.
Dec 13 11:41:19 <Ululane> 6d6+4
Dec 13 11:41:20 <PsychoRoll> Ululane, 6d6+4: 22 [6d6=2,3,3,4,2,4]
Dec 13 11:41:32 <Lesieli> 6d6+6
Dec 13 11:41:32 <PsychoRoll> Lesieli, 6d6+6: 29 [6d6=4,1,6,6,3,3]
Dec 13 11:45:44 <Aori_Radidjiu> Melanie knows it's smoke reading, a method of looking into the future.  It's a rather varied tradition, with different traditions giving different interpretations for the same thing, although they usually burn different things, so it's hard to get anything concrete.  Les knows that the kahuna here usually burns feathers, and usually does this to try to read into futures for the
Dec 13 11:45:44 <Aori_Radidjiu> country as a whole, and looking at it, it seems to be...positive?  Some of the twisting shapes are those that usually indicate positive change, and others seem to be indicating hardship.  Pretty typical thing, having a trial come your way and then becoming better for having gone through it.
Dec 13 11:46:37 <Aori_Radidjiu> After the smoke's done rising, he puts out the burner and spins around to face you two.  "Ah, you have a guest.  I hope this doesn't mean double the trouble."
Dec 13 11:47:59 <Ululane> Grin. "I had not planned on it, but it is almost insulting to assume I could not cause more trouble than our common friend here."
Dec 13 11:49:15 <Aori_Radidjiu> "You certainly seem like trouble, I'll give you that."  He sighs, resting his chin on his palm, elbow on his desk.
Dec 13 11:50:21 <Ululane> Lulu waits patiently for Lesieli to formally introduce them...most likely in vain.
Dec 13 11:50:23 <Lesieli> "Don't worry, no trouble this time.    Today we bring great tidings!"
Dec 13 11:51:29 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I don't like the sound of that coming from you."  Siiiigh.
Dec 13 11:51:52 <Ululane> Good gods, Lesieli, what have you done to this poor man?
Dec 13 11:52:43 <Lesieli> "I apotheosized!  And Lulu here, she's gonna be a new god!  And together, we're gonna restore the faith here in Wakino back to where it should be.  A Revival, you could say, or even a Rebirth!"
Dec 13 11:53:12 <Lesieli> "And that's why we're here, to get some help organizing this whole thing, working it out formally, that sorta thing.
Dec 13 11:53:23 <Aori_Radidjiu> "You what."
Dec 13 11:53:50 <Lesieli> "We already met Kaane, and he completely approves, by the way"
Dec 13 11:53:59 <Ululane> "...it might be easier for you to show him."
Dec 13 11:54:25 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Oh wonderful."  He leans back a bit, looking at the ceiling.
Dec 13 11:56:40 <Lesieli> Uh, yeah that sounds good, Divine Power, Make Up Go?
Dec 13 11:59:33 <Aori_Radidjiu> In a shower of sparkles, you transition to your fancy dress version, your hair becoming perfect despite the minimal care you gave it this morning...you come out looking FABULOUS, and Mr. Kahuna sits up in his chair now and looks at you straight.  "Oh.  Oh boy."
Dec 13 12:00:06 <Ululane> "I would change too but...I don't think the floor would hold."
Dec 13 12:00:41 <Lesieli> "Don't you have a more human form?  Though I guess that might not be quite appropriate for a place of worship"
Dec 13 12:01:09 <Ululane> "...still...pretty heavy." Frown.
Dec 13 12:01:52 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I knew it'd happen eventually, but I was expecting it to happen when you were older..."  He rubs his eyes.
Dec 13 12:02:03 <Lesieli> "Oh, didn't realize that"  She holds back the cliche fat joke
Dec 13 12:02:25 <Ululane> "I uh...I might have had something to do with that."
Dec 13 12:03:04 <Lesieli> "Ah, so you DID know.  I knew it!"
Dec 13 12:03:14 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Yes, that's why I tolerated your antics."
Dec 13 12:03:26 <Lesieli> "But yeah, we've had a lot of. . . interesting adventures lately"
Dec 13 12:03:36 <Lesieli> And here I thought it was just my natural charm~
Dec 13 12:05:01 <Aori_Radidjiu> "We'd known here all along, but we wanted you to develop as a person before spurring that sort of thing along...it seems your circumstances forced you to awaken, probably out of necessity."
Dec 13 12:05:46 * Lesieli thinks back to the mermaid cave, her expression darkening a bit "Yeah, I suppose you could say that"
Dec 13 12:09:25 <Aori_Radidjiu> "A human shouldn't ascend to godhood without acheiving some kind of enlightenment and being capable of handling the responsibility of gods...but it seems like you two have managed, through some circumstances, to do that before reaching any true sense of enlightenment..."  He sighes.  "Well, not all gods are perfect, after all, there's all the stories of their quarrels, but the gods
Dec 13 12:09:25 <Aori_Radidjiu> having a quarrel usually affects humans negatively in some shape or another."
Dec 13 12:09:57 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I'm sure you've both heard of what happened when local deities were awakened in Sinnoh and Hoenn, yes?"
Dec 13 12:10:16 <Lesieli> "Quarrels?  But we're best of friends, right?"  She grabs Lulu around the shoulder in a tight shoulder hug
Dec 13 12:10:34 <Ululane> "...well you're tolerable at the veary least."
Dec 13 12:10:39 <Lesieli> "See?"
Dec 13 12:12:00 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I wasn't talking about between you two, although that's a possibility.  No, the thing I'm worried about is a quarrel between humans becoming a quarrel between humans and gods."
Dec 13 12:12:41 <Ululane> "...he doesn't know anything about Aether, I take it?"
Dec 13 12:13:07 <Aori_Radidjiu> "More like I do and I'm worried you might use your domains recklessly."
Dec 13 12:13:13 <Lesieli> "Well, unless Aether manages to make an artificial god or something, I don't see. . ."  She then pauses, and takes a moment to realize what she just said
Dec 13 12:13:37 <Aori_Radidjiu> "..."  His expression intensifies.
Dec 13 12:15:03 <Ululane> "...how much DO you know?"
Dec 13 12:15:17 <Lesieli> "But hey, these guys are the ones who started it!  They're the ones messing with local powers and deities and things, before we even came along."
Dec 13 12:16:07 <Lesieli> "We're just trying to stop the damage they're already doing"
Dec 13 12:16:09 <Aori_Radidjiu> "The local gym leaders informed me of some of the reasons behind the PIRATES initiative."
Dec 13 12:16:28 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I understand your reasons, and I'm not saying you're wrong in what you're doing."
Dec 13 12:17:23 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I'm saying that you have to take care in how you do it.  A god's power comes from manifesting their domains, and doing so can have spillover effects on the local populace."
Dec 13 12:19:26 * Lesieli ponders that for a minute  "Well, I mean, that can't really be too bad, can it?  Unless your domains like death or chaos or something"
Dec 13 12:19:31 <Lesieli> ". . ."
Dec 13 12:22:10 <Ululane> "...I don't believe this is quite why we stopped by in the first place, right Mele?"
Dec 13 12:22:29 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Divine beings derive their power from the collective desires, hopes, and feelings of humans, manifest in the dream world.  Prayer, the most common form of worship, is a method of focusing desires and whatnot into that.  Pulling power from other people is going to influence those other people.  The Gods are generally thought of as manifestors of what humanity desires, but they can
Dec 13 12:22:29 <Aori_Radidjiu> also feedback into humanity and have humanity bring about their domains...which leads me to asking, Miss."  He turns to Melanie.  "What are you, exactly?"
Dec 13 12:23:31 <Ululane> "A glitch, mostly."
Dec 13 12:24:02 <Aori_Radidjiu> "A glitch, hmmm...hard to say how that can affect things..."
Dec 13 12:24:18 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Anyway, you two wished for support, yes?"
Dec 13 12:24:59 <Ululane> She gives him a serious look but waits for Lesieli to take over.
Dec 13 12:29:35 <Lesieli> "Yeah, it's like you said, the divine draws its powers from the people.  And the people of Modern Wakino have been, far as I can see, been dwindling in their support of the Divine.  SO what we wanna do is create a revival, maybe even a sort of religious renaissance."
Dec 13 12:29:37 <Lesieli> "Lulu here's spreading the word in a sort of grassroots thing, chatting with the kids, the underground, that sort of thing.  My goal is to bring together the shrines and things, make things more organized so we can all work together and spread cultural awareness and whatnot."
Dec 13 12:30:03 <Lesieli> "Or something like that.  To be honest, I don't really know much about this sort of thing. . ."  She looks a bit sheepish as she finishes
Dec 13 12:31:52 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Hmmmm...well, I have to say, I haven't visited the other kahuna around Wakino in a long time.  It might be good to meet up with them."  He nods
Dec 13 12:33:35 <Lesieli> "I just thought, with this being one of the biggest shrines in the islands, it'd be a good place to start.  Plus it's my home turf and all."
Dec 13 12:34:15 <Ululane> "The younger generations view the religious customs as outdated and imaginary, things only stupid people would follow. At the same time, many practicioners seem to have a hard time accepting the idea of change. I thought we might consider updating shrines and temples. Wouldn't necessarily have to replace them outright, but modernization could begin to attract substantially more people."
Dec 13 12:35:34 <Aori_Radidjiu> He brings out his hands in a bit of a shrug.  "Well, I'm not wearing traditional clothing or anything.  I could certainly see about opening this place up a bit, although don't ask me to pretend to be 'hip' because everyone knows that'd just be cringe-inducing."
Dec 13 12:36:52 <Lesieli> "And festivals! They're always fun and good to draw lots of people~"
Dec 13 12:37:51 <Lesieli> ". . . yeah, she's probably better than me at these idea things.  Though she is gunning for a Rebirth domain, right?"
Dec 13 12:37:57 <Ululane> "Could even start working more with the museums, maybe merging with them in some capacity, the kind of thing to give people more reasons to visit a shrine...yes, like festivals. Could even have a damn arcade with religion-themed video games. Kids would find that badass."
Dec 13 12:38:09 <Aori_Radidjiu> "...I know some people I could ask about festivals..."
Dec 13 12:38:40 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Religious video games...I don't know much about video games, but I get the feeling that few people want to play them..."
Dec 13 12:39:19 <Ululane> "Not the preachy kind."
Dec 13 12:39:47 <Ululane> "More focused on...historic culture, I suppose."
Dec 13 12:40:37 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Hmmmm, maybe, I guess I'd have to get acquainted with the sort of people who make that kind of thing..."
Dec 13 12:40:50 <Ululane> "Like this one game series where you mostly manage a civilization, but you also have a deity that needs to be appeased to get its help and make it stronger, or you can focus more on the people themselves."
Dec 13 12:41:12 <Lesieli> "You sure know a lot about that sort of thing huh?"
Dec 13 12:42:16 <Ululane> "Twenty years spent mostly alone grants entirely too much time to think."
Dec 13 12:42:16 <Aori_Radidjiu> He scratches his head.  "It sounds like you know more about how to do that sort of thing than I do."
Dec 13 12:43:22 <Ululane> "Only at a conceptual level, the programming is...arcane to me." She chuckles a bit. "Just get in touch with someone that makes 'em."
Dec 13 12:44:16 <Aori_Radidjiu> "I'll see what I can do, I think that kind of thing is biggest over in Zebra, maybe I'll ask around when I visit my friends there."
Dec 13 12:44:27 <Lesieli> "Fantastic!  We'll leave it to you then, alright~?"
Dec 13 12:44:38 <Ululane> "Oh, speaking of video games, art is another big aspect by which we might catch people's attention, so...yeah, add that to the list."
Dec 13 12:45:06 <Lesieli> "Though we're headed over to Conch soon, so I hope to talk to the priests over there.  They're the other big group I figure can help get things underway"
Dec 13 12:47:45 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Don't worry about it yourselves, I think I can handle it.  Trying to get a bit more involved in communities and young people is something we've all been wanting to do, but have been putting off."
Dec 13 12:48:32 <Ululane> Lulu claps her hands together in excitement. "Good! I'm glad we could reach a peaceful resolution."
Dec 13 12:49:53 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Good, then I'll go about that...anything else either of you two want, Lesieli and Miss...?"
Dec 13 12:50:33 <Ululane> "Ululane."
Dec 13 12:51:54 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Ululane...I see."
Dec 13 12:54:14 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Well, if that's all you two want, I think I can see about visiting the other priests and whatnot.  Art and video games will be a consideration, as well as festivals."
Dec 13 12:54:39 <Lesieli> That sounds about it.  You know, this may have been the nicest conversation we've ever had~  See ya around!"
Dec 13 12:57:34 <Aori_Radidjiu> "Maybe they'll get into Lomilomi massages...ah well, who knows.  Bye."
Dec 13 13:01:03 <Ululane> Lulu nods and follows Lesieli out.
Dec 13 13:01:24 <Lesieli> Which reminds me, we could always take a pit stop at the baths on the way out~
Dec 13 13:03:07 <Aori_Radidjiu> </mini>