乙巳 004: 大寒

[singlemilletgrain]

[video broadcast]
Greetings again, Corsairs.

[As usual, following a bow, Shu addresses the video feed with perfect poise and elegance.]

After the... challenging events of the New Year's mission, I wish to call for some levity. In Yan, as the year changes, we visit the temples to have our fortunes told for the coming year. It is just for fun, of course. In Dahuang, I keep a place of worship to... [a faint pause] a Xian of agriculture, Shennong, and occasionally run the festivities.

Please come by. There will be traditional New Year's food, of course.

[If anyone has learned anything about Yan at this point, it is that they have Too Many Holiday Traditions and Too Much Food.]

[option 1: just for fun]
[Shu's doorway is vibrantly decorated in red and gold, and when she ushers you in, the most immediate sight is the table filled with plates and plates of food. Mostly dumplings, for dumplings are easiest for visitors, but also whole fish, noodle dishes, and sticky rice.

To the side, there is a little chest with two sets of burning incense at either side. Fortune seekers are invited to kneel, burn incense if they wish, pray for luck from whatever deity or the general karmic wheel of the universe, and then reach out for a container of what look like sticks. There is a little sign explaining this is the tradition of 'qiu qian,' beseeching insight from the gods.

One must ask a clear question, shake the container a few times, and pull out a stick.]

[option 2: the real thing]
[Shu sits at her 'priest's seat' and laughs lightly at the interpretation of the fortune received. Perhaps she sees something more ponderous in your eyes, for after a moment or two, she clasps her hands together and exhales lightly, bowing her head.

Her red pupils have constricted to tiny dots when she raises her head once more.]

...I could give you a better fortune, if you wish.

((If you pick option 2, Shu will either tell you in very vague prophetic terms something that may or may not happen in the future of your canon, something that happened in the past of your canon, or give you a random item that might be useful to you this year. If you pick option 1, it will be total nonsense.))

Comments

2: The Real thing

[bearsperminute]

[Call Kanna superstitious; she won't deny it. Call Kanna a follower of the old gods, and you'd be right.]

[Call her ether a well, or more accurately, a geyser, and you'd not only be correct, you'd know why she's done what she does.]

[So of course it's only natural that she shows up, and that her reading... Has her dwelling on the circumstances of leaving the Flower Division, and if they'll show up to haunt her, later; not only that, but on how they're doing in finding and keeping the Undead down.]

[She insists, mostly to protect them as still stuck in the Imperial Army, that the truth of the rumors about her and Sumire having been in a relationship were immaterial-- the suspicion was enough to force her hand before the entire division were declared traitors.]

[Does she doubt it's necessity? Regret its necessity? Regardless--]

By all means, tell me more.

[singlemilletgrain]

[It is the warrior who piloted the armor who saved them. Shu smiles warmly in invitation as she gestures for Kanna to sit across from her.]

Kanna, isn't it? Thank you for your assistance that day. I was afraid we would not make it intact with all the townspeople.

May I have your hand?

[bearsperminute]

Wow, you remembered my voice, huh? Yeah, that was me.

[She laughs, easy-going, and pulls off her glove to extend her hand.]

Sure.

[singlemilletgrain]

[It was hard to forget the excited shouting.]

Not exactly. I wanted to know who to thank, so I looked up your information later with the other Corsairs on board the escape ship. You have my deepest gratitude.

[She takes the hand between her own and turns it palm up. Unsurprisingly, it is calloused and hard, the hands of a warrior. Shu's hands, dyed ochre-green, are cool and light as a spring breeze upon Kanna's finger tips.

Her initial words are characteristic of fortunes, vague enough to apply to almost anything.]

...A heart of blazing fire pulses strong. With every beat it seeks to quell its foe. A new companion, doubt, has settled close. Your choice has sunder'd all that you once knew.

starting with 1

[purplexing]

[Let's be real; he's here for the food. And at least he knows that when Shu's around, food's never in short supply, and he won't have to be fighting anyone for the last dumpling.

...and most likely even with his plate piled high and an overflow one besides, he figures Shu probably would still think it not enough.

Donnie doesn't really believe in fortunes so for the time being he's content to simply watch people try to gain insight from a random stick while he stuffs his face.

[singlemilletgrain]

[Hope Donnie's got a good grip on his overflow plate for when an entire fried flounder lands on top of his already ample stack.]

Try this.

Fresh out of the fryer. It will not taste so good if even 5 minutes have passed.

[Obviously, he has lost weight from his ordeal and needs to eat up. (Actually, he probably gained weight from Shu making him three meals a day for a while.)]

[purplexing]

[At least his reflexes are better. He still has to shift the angle so it doesn't upset the plate completely. ]

Gah! Warn a guy before you inflict fried fish on them! What if I snapped my wrist!

[Well now he has to put his plates down so he can actually eat, not that he believes the deterioration of flavor after five minutes but it looks really good and might not last that long anyway.]

2

[freearcadia]

[Once he decided he had slept enough, he had decided to see what Shu was doing - and well, there is the food, that was always a good incentive. The pirate had taken some dumplings, and while he wasn't one for fortune telling as a rule - perhaps curiosity, or maybe nostalgia for a different kind of new years fortune-telling had hit him particularly hard.]

[Perhaps being in a different world with different laws had made pensive - asking after Mayu's well-being, pondering his relationship to his godchild and to an extent her parents - Tochiro and Emeraldas - long gone.]

I suppose fortune telling and fate are two different things then?

[singlemilletgrain]

Phantom Harlock.

[She smiles, though there is a bit of a curtness that is not usually there in her tone.]

Fate is preordained. Fortune telling merely shows the many paths that are available to you. Have you heard of the metaphor that time is like a winding stream?

[freearcadia]

[He detected the curtness, giving an apologetic nod of his head]

Let's see... that it constantly flows and changes directions... and it can't flow back on itself?

[Harlock isn't sure if the last part is part of the metaphor or he is mixing it up with something else]

Apologies, I had not mean to offend.

1 + 2 (because why not both?)

[newmemorywhodis]

It's not a statue of Hylia, so it feels a little strange to pray before the burning incense. Sure, lighting incense for Hylia would make perfect sense, but...there should be a statue.

Except there aren't any statues of Hylia in this world. So he prays anyway. There's no question of what he wants to ask - when will he be able to go home? When will he see Zelda again?

He takes a stick. What does it say?

[singlemilletgrain]

As is custom, the qian sticks just have a number on them. This one says #67. When Link opens the divination book next to the shrine to look up the fortune, he will read:

Consider the bumblebee. Alone, he is worth nothing. But with his fellow bees, they create a swarm and make bountiful honey.

...

[newmemorywhodis]

...What.

There's a moment, where Link just stands there, starting blankly, at this utterly nonsensical fortune. It's not even a fortune! It's just a random note about bees. Zelda's not a bee!

But then he turns, slowly, and shifts his flat stare to Shu.

1 & 2

[testygirl]

[ Aira isn't against fortunetelling on principle, but she is dubious. She decides to run a little "test" and does the whole Mirror, Mirror thing, asking Is Aira Shiratori The Most Gorgeous Badass Of Them All? Then she pulls a stick and, naturally, gets the exact opposite result she was looking for.

Boo. She's about to get rid of the fortune by yeeting it over her shoulder, but she stops halfway when she meets Shu's eye. Pulling something like that right in front of the host is a bit rude, ever for her. Her eyes shift, and she awkwardly lowers the stick towards her pocket instead.

Right, well. As for the offer... ]

Yeah? Pretty low bar. What exactly makes it "better," anyway?

[ We have a distrustful one on our hands, here. ]

[singlemilletgrain]

[Aira pulled #35. When consulting the book of prophecy, she reads, Look into the mirror and realize that what you see is all you will ever be and you shall be at peace.

At Aira's response, Shu gives a light laugh.]

It will probably be somewhat less random than the result you got.

[Even though it was strangely apt.]

The threads of the future are not too hard to see. You reap what you sow. This is the simplest truth there is - all consequences stem from their cause.

[testygirl]

Hopefully. What, am I supposed to give up on making myself stronger and cuter? I think I'd rather just die.

[ One might assume that's a joke, but she sounds pretty serious. It's not the kind of philosophy that rings true when you're overly stubborn, spiteful, and—worst of all—a teenager. ]

... Can you tell how a certain relationship is gonna turn out?

[ Aira still looks and sounds skeptical, but there's some nervousness mixed in now. She wants to know, but she also sort of doesn't? ]

1 at first

[spacetogrow]

[Ilphyl does believe that things like like and divination exist, but they are hear for the food. They won't turn down a good omen.]

[After they eat. Ilphyl may be well past any adolescent growth, but they lead an active life, so are building an impressive plate of dumplings]

Hello. I'm leaving some for other people, don't worry.

[singlemilletgrain]

Ilphyl!

[Shu welcomes them in warmly.]

Please. You must take as much as you wish. I have not seen you in many months.

[They were Mine Slave Buddies together. That was important.]

You must try the noodles before they are gone. I'll tell you a secret - the first batch is hand-made, but I did not enough time to make too much. The rest of the noodles are store-purchased.

[spacetogrow]

[IF Ilphyl's hands weren't full, they would offer a hug. Someone greeting you that warmly falls into hugs]

I will, I promise. I've been pretty busy in Flotsam during the hunt. What about you? What have you been doing?

2

[relentless_sentinel]

[There's no such thing as too much food, and after grabbing a certain basket and verifying with Shu that her timing was alright, Nephenee raced over to see the goddess.

What? Food is good, and so are friends. Friend + really good food = the best thing ever.

It's not long after that the Sentinel knocks at the door, careful to not disturb the pretty ornaments too much. She's not even inside yet and she can sense Shu's warm hospitality already!]

[singlemilletgrain]

Nephenee! Please, come in.

[The stream of visitors has somewhat ebbed in the afternoon when Nephenee appears, which means Shu has more individual attention to pay her guest. She ushers the girl inside with a smile.]

I hope you have been finding auspicious blessings in the new year thus far.

[relentless_sentinel]

[Oh good, less people means less Neph nerves. She can't help but laugh a little as Shu all but shoves her in, more so when Shu greets her with that.]

Ah, uh, ain't right sure what all ya jus' said, but Ah'm guessin' you're sayin' you're hopin' Ah'm havin' a good new year so far?

[She's a simple country girl, and that goes double for when the fancy words are in another language.]

2

[upupatomway]

[ Atom draws a stick, commenting about his past experiences going to shrines and drawing a fortune back home. He asks about his family at home, and seems to get an affirmative that everything is as he left it- or at least a vague positive answer that might suggest it.

Shu offers a better fortune, and Atom raises his head, wondering what she's doing. His magic studies provide a likely answer. ]

You have fortune telling magic?

[ He hadn't spoken to Shu about any powers she possessed, now that he thinks about it. ]

[singlemilletgrain]

[Atom receives #89.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Trite, but perhaps interpretable in a positive fashion. As Atom raises his query, Shu shakes her head slightly.]

It is not magic. At least, not what is practiced here through ether channeling. It is a mere matter of causality.

[upupatomway]

Causality...? [ Atom gives a curious hum. If it's not magic, some other power? Something residing inside Shu or a natural talent for seeing something others cannot? ]

It sounds like a power that should be used with care. But it must be very helpful!

[ He recalls their earlier conversations. How Shu seemed to understand the weight of being different. The mixed feelings that come with expectations, both victories and failures.

Another question comes to mind about his creator, one that had been weighing on him since their last meeting- if it can be called a meeting at all, the way Tenma had disappeared again just as Atom was starting to wake from a near death, but he hesitates to look for answers.

How much can Shu see? He wonders. Can she read others more than he realized? Had she gone through similar experiences to his? Or both? ]