Heaven's BBS | Text

[godsoffortune]

From: Amaterasu
Date: June 27, 2016

-----

I would first like to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone for the troubles that I have caused. You do not deserve to suffer for my sake, but I have unknowingly put you all through so much despite that. I am very sorry to have worried you all and I promise that I will be kept very safe, so please put your minds at ease.

With that said, I find myself in a position of making a hard choice. As the Queen of the Heavens, it is up to me to ultimately decide our choices from this point forward. I feel that it is important to acknowledge what has happened here and try to fix the underlying problems that have caused the most recent fuss.

Before I make any decisions, though, I want to hear from all of you. You all fall under my jurisdiction as much as any of the Old Gods and I would hate to leave you out of my reasoning and choices. I fear that we have done that for too long already.

Please feel free to offer me your opinions and thoughts on how the insurgents should be sought out and handled and I will do my best to reply to you all. Again, I am sorry for what has transpired. I know my apologies mean little, but they are the most important things I can offer right now.

And thank you all. Especially to those who came to my aid in my time of need. I owe you all a huge debt of gratitude.

☼ Amaterasu ☼

Comments

[subtract]

If you want to fix the underlying problem, you can start by explaining what you've done to cause all of this.

Rebellions don't just happen for no reason. Aside from the obvious incompetence of your security, I've yet to see any reasons given for why this group would want to overthrow you in the first place. What's your explanation for all of this?

[godsoffortune]

I am sorry to say that I don't know what I might have done to cause this. I do not remember hurting anyone or doing anything nefarious to make people want to kill me.

I'm very sorry that I can't offer you anything more than that. Perhaps it is something that my previous incarnation did? But if that's so, no one has told me what happened.

[very_goodman]

What're you apologizin' for, Ammy? You're the one whose temple got burned down!

[godsoffortune]

Thank you very much for your defense, but I can't help but feel I'm somehow responsible for all of this. :(

[revolutionfalcon]

Normally I'd advocate just crushing them, but acting before we know their reasoning for this could just make the situation worse. I've been on the other side of this problem before, and if you come down on them mercilessly then it'll just make you look even worse to their side and raise more rebellion against you.

If your advisors know more about this than you do, ask them, because you do need to figure out the root of this rebellion to deal with it effectively.

[godsoffortune]

I can understand that. I would hate to have to be merciless in any case. It just feels wrong to me.

Thank you. I will definitely be conversing with them and attempting to find out what might have caused this.

[toremainbehind]

Figuring out on how to handle this rebellion would be best to figure out the root of it - especially since it's not the first.

There is anger directed towards you for whatever reason; asking your advisors or any of the Older gods may be a good start to getting to the root of what transpired such anger.

[godsoffortune]

I wish there were more older gods around that I could ask.

I do not mean to say that I resent you all being here. I actually am very happy with the company I'm allowed to keep nowadays, but it would certainly make this easier to figure out.

[moonfang]

I think the first and most important question is -- who did you piss off?

[godsoffortune]

I honestly don't know. I really wish that I did. They seem to be gods and possibly shinki, though.

[reformedsinner]

I can't help but think that, rather than being under your jurisdiction, we are as much a symptom of this problem as yesterday's blaze.

I hope all of your injured shinki are recovering?

[godsoffortune]

That might be the case, but I still feel that I should be protecting you all. It is my job.

They are, thank you for your concern. I'm very cross that I wasn't able to help them myself...

Anon

[kokuyoyo]

You're asking us to give input on something we have little information on ourselves. Giving us this option without giving us more information makes our words worthless.

You say you hate leaving us out of your reasoning and choices, but this is just as bad as it.

[godsoffortune]

I'm so sorry. I have as much information as you all do, so I was hoping to get some fresh perspectives on the situation.

I wish that I could fill you in further...

[bussounoshima]

I am glad to hear that you are safe, Amaterasu.

Let me say that I don't think all of us see ourselves as under your "jurisdiction". We are here in your land unwillingly and though we might respect your position, we are not your subjects. However, that does not mean we are not allies. If you wish for our help, you only have to ask.

As far as the current problem goes, it is difficult for us to contribute in a meaningful way without knowing what information you have already. Have you identified the insurgents? Are they connected with any other groups? Are they responsible just for this incident, or for others as well?

[godsoffortune]

I'm very sorry if I implied that I thought of you all as beholden to me, that was not my intent. I just mean to say that I feel responsible for all of you, as you are in my lands.

It seems likely that they were responsible for the incident at the flower viewing as well. Everything seems to have happened in the same way - with a magically created fire rather than a naturally made one. I do not know who they might be, though.

[fullcowl]

[It's not your fault you keep getting attacked-- no, but it actually might be. The newer gods know so incredibly little about what transpired before their arrival that it's entirely plausible that it is somehow her fault. Even as much as he hates to blame the victim here, it's not as though the Heavens have been especially transparent.]

Are you alright, Amaterasu? A lot happened that night.

Do you know who might have something against you? A group or a single person? They seem to have quite the reach considering where the flyers were found.

[godsoffortune]

I am doing as well as I can be. I am unharmed. Thank you for your concern.

I wish that I knew. But any who might have something against me are likely from the time of my predecessor. I have not had enough interactions with the Far Shore to have garnered this level enmity. At least, I don't think I have...

[cuteshit]

I know I just got here, but I want to know why the hell people are pissed at us to begin with. The hell did the Heavens do?

[godsoffortune]

I am not sure, though I suspect it must have been something grievous.

I'm sorry I cannot give you more information. It is something that I am in the dark on as well.

[drops_acid]

First let me say that I am glad you're well and I hope that your shinki are alright. But I do have one question.

I don't mean to be rude but I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say we're under your jurisdiction. Since I arrived I've seen no evidence whatsoever that myself or any other god is actually beholden to a specific code of conduct. Or that there were even any expectations regarding our behavior. In fact I was under the impression that we were all free agents.

Are there expectations that you have of us? Are there things we should expect of you?

[godsoffortune]

Thank you very much. It pleases me to know that you are thinking of us.

It is true that you are all free to come and go as you please and do as you please, so long as it does not harm others of the Far Shore. But it is also true that you are living here by my grace and my orders. Much has been provided for you to make you all feel more comfortable here, as I feel bad that you are being ripped from your homes.

You mostly certainly should expect things of me. I am the Queen here and I should be held to certain standards, expected to lead my people when needed and protect them. I feel I have failed in these tasks of late, and for that I am deeply sorry.

I am so sorry mods

[brynwieldr]

You must stop expecting us to behave like the Old Gods. None of us came here willingly and most of us were humans before coming here. We will do things as humans do them. We will become angry when we are told "this is how things are" without a reason. We will distrust when we are brought here with little explanation about what our roles are or how to handle amnesia or how to handle our amnesiac friends and family. There was a question the other day about how to determine who is a god and who is a shinki without asking them and risking turning them into an ayakashi when a god acknowledges a shinki as someone they knew from home and there was not safe way to do that.

Perhaps unfortunately, I do not think the new gods consider you a leader or someone who's will must be obeyed. At best, you are an ally with an unfortunate political situation. At worst, you are incompetent and not to be trusted. As for myself, I do not think you, yourself, are personally responsible for whatever grief these arsonists have with you--but you must start being more transparent with us.

What does being Queen of the Heavens mean? Are you responsible for bringing us here? What happened to the gods whose roles we now fill? Do you even know? Why are gods who are not Japanese now living in a Japanese heaven when we now know that there are other homes of the gods with gods living there? What is this choice you must make? Do you have an idea of who is behind the flyers and attacks? And do you honestly, truly expect a group of humans wrenched from their homes and thrust into roles they may not have ever wanted to agree with any choice you make without fighting it? Regardless of your decision, Lady Amateratsu, there will be people who will not willingly follow your lead. I sincerely hope you are prepared for that.

[godsoffortune]

I do understand that you are not like the Old Gods. And, to an extent, I understand your human-like behavior and how you all operate. I'm very sorry if I came across as not understanding this difference.

I appreciate your bluntness, Odin. I will try to be as transparent as I can be, for all of our sakes.

Being the Queen of Heaven means that I am in charge of all that happens here on the Far Shore. While I do not have a direct hand in bringing you here, I am responsible for you and your well-being while you are here. Gods whose roles you have taken appear to have died, though I cannot say why. I do not know why non-Japanese deities are now here with us, but I can only assume that whatever is happening centers around Japan.

The choice I must make is what actions to take - should I declare war on these individuals or simply take higher security measures? Should I suspect the newly arrived or those who have been with us for eternity? I do not know what it going on any more than any of you do, unless you somehow have happened upon information I do not have.

I do not expect that any choice I make will go uncontested. I seek counsel and discussion, so that I may make the best choice possible for my people - that includes all of you.

[fixed_destiny]

You are queen of Japan's heavens, why do you assume authority over all pantheons, including ones from cultures older than Japan's? When and how did Zeus, or Odin, or Ra or the countless other Kings and Queens of the Heavens cede control to you?

If you wish us to offer our opinions we must know more about these 'decisions' and how they will inevitably affect us, god or shinki. I have not heard any ill spoken of you yet save through these flyers, but it seems that there are those indeed who have grievances against you. Are they legitimate?

[godsoffortune]

Please forgive me, but when a god resides in my domain, they fall under my jurisdiction. If you lived elsewhere, you would fall into that domain instead.

I cannot say what grievances they might have, let alone whether they are legitimate or not. But I would be concerned to know that my previous incarnation ever did anything to warrant something this horrifying.

[untodeath]

Find one of these so-called insurgents, and hold them for questioning, of course!

I sincerely doubt that they will respond to any efforts at a peaceful resolve, all considered. It would be ideal that you simply gather what information you can, and ultimately establish yourself as formidable against your opposition!

I would be pleased to assist with such a thing♥. After all, if I can't do something so simple, I'd be failing my purpose as the Morrígan-- and I can't stand for brutal intentions against young women!

How are you faring, by the way?

[godsoffortune]

Questioning might be a solid option, though I am uncertain how we would go about finding one.

Establish myself as formidable? How would I do that?

I am doing very well, all things considered. Again, thank you for your assistance yesterday. I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you would leap into the fire to save me. I owe you a huge debt of gratitude.

[priforprince]

Your welfare is the top priority, Little Shining Princess. Hearing you're unharmed clears away the gathered stormclouds in my heart.

[ and makes the tea with honey she's all but mainlining worth it. She inhaled smoke for you. What if she'd lost her voice??? ]

That said, there's no need to take popular opinion into account. Anyone unable to accept the verdict their monarch believes is wisest would likely fail to have anything of import to contribute to the conversation anyway.

[ the fact that hibiki herself never listens to anybody and does what she wants all the time does not seem to be a factor here ]

If anything, I'd look into the god and shinki selection process. The system appears somewhat buggy.

[godsoffortune]

I greatly appreciate your concern. I'm so sorry to have made you worry, even for a short while.

I'm not sure how I feel about just doing what I think is best. I am honestly uncertain of whether I have the experience necessary to make an educated decision...

[dominatriarch]

I'm glad you're alright.

As for the insurgents, they need to be brought before the conclave to pay for their crimes. If you have any leads or if your shinki know anything, please let me know. My shinki and I will do what we can to seek them out.

[godsoffortune]

I agree that they need to be brought before the conclave. I will see what my shinki have to say. They may have caught a glimpse of who was responsible for this.

[welcome_home]

[ There's a lot of big words and talk about things she didn't understand in there - she'd shown this to Souji to have him read it to her and it had made him frown, even though he had done his best to explain it to her anyway. What was really important to her was that it was from Ammy and she was okay! Mostly. ]

Ammy, Ammy! Are you alright? Were you hurt? I was so worried!

[ She'll leave the complicated conversations to the people who know more about them. What she wants to know is how her friend is. ]

[godsoffortune]

[OH NO SMALL FRIEND!]

I'm alright, I promise! I'm sorry that I worried you. :( I hope you were far, far away from the fire!! :o

[rev13_3]

Your shinki should never have allowed this to happen. Kill them, and be more cautious about who you permit to serve you in the future.

[godsoffortune]

That is way too drastic! It is not their fault that this happened and it's wrong to punish them for it!

[justclaws]

I cannot understand any of this. What is going on?

[godsoffortune]

I'm sorry if this is confusing. I was attacked last night, my home set ablaze. I am just hoping for advice on how to try and handle the situation.

[slantedcross]

Oh, there is a jurisdiction here? I'm not the only one who feels like we've been left to run around blind, so that's reassuring.

[It's a fine line; Youji is lazy, unambitious, and irresponsible-- but he's smart enough that he can recognize it in himself, so he feels entitled to ignore it when getting his opinion out.

Still, he hates to be harsh to a girl, so he follows up the sarcasm with an actual suggestion.]

How about you tell us what your choices are? That might help us sharpen our opinions and judge better.

[godsoffortune]

That is not a wrong observation and I'm very sorry that I have not been more of a presence. I will try to remedy that in the future.

My choices are to punish or try, firstly. I can't figure out if these people would deserve immediate punishment or a trial of their crimes...

From: Hebe | private

[eternalshield]

As sovereign lady of this land, Your Ladyship needs to accept that your safety can never be guaranteed. The best leaders, divine and mortal alike, do not solely rely on the protection vouchsafed for them by heaven.

[Of course, he means Hiryuu and Yona.]

Their own bravery compels them to be leaders in truth as well as title. Of course your loyal shinki will always be at your call, and of course they will do their best to never let you be vulnerable, but given you were already vulnerable today, you must know that they will sometimes fail. That lack of preparation, lack of something to fall back on, makes people wonder if you are capable of making the correct decisions in other instances. It calls Your Ladyship's judgment into question, and makes everyone wonder if these so-called insurgents might not have a point in opposing you.

Having served gods and kings for more than a lifetime, Zeno wishes for Your Ladyship's continued prosperity and is relieved to hear of your safety. Zeno would like to see Your Ladyship be a queen worthy to serve, but as it stands, there is not enough information available to me to make that judgment, and what is available paints Your Ladyship as a pleasant person, but a weak leader.

[godsoffortune]

I am fully aware that I can never be fully safe. My concern is mostly for those who are under my protection, my shinki and all of you among them.

I can see how my inexperience and obvious shortcomings could make people question whether I am a worthy leader. I had not thought of how I might come across in that respect. I will have to think more carefully about how to keep everything under control.

For your blunt honesty, I thank you. There is much that I still need to learn about my role and I am very displeased with myself for waiting so long to start calling my position into question. I hope that you will continue to keep me informed on my worthiness as a sovereign.

From: Kairi; Text

[pure_radiantics]

I think we should know why they were so angry in the first place, right? I'm really sorry this happened to you, honest! I just don't want you to have to go through it again.

If we know why they're angry, we can try to fix that first, right?

[godsoffortune]

That would be a huge help. I am working on trying to figure out what it is that they hate so much about me. I'm not sure why I would think the new gods and shinki would have any answers, but I am just desperate to figure this out.

[shadowrevenger]

It's good to hear from you, Amaterasu-san! I'm glad you made it out okay. Are all your shinki okay too? ~( ´•︵•` )~

I'm also glad you want to trust us a little more, although I'm not sure any of us really has enough information to help. Whatever grievance this person or people have against you had to have happened before any of us were brought here, and we only rarely have the chance to talk to you or anyone close to you after all.

That said, I would like to help, and I do have some experience with similar incidents--at least, they seem similar from where I'm standing right now. But I don't really want to talk about them on a public forum. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Sure, he could have just gone for a private reply right away, but he wanted to have at least one public comment in here.]

[godsoffortune]

My shinki are doing very well, all things considered. They will all recover, thank goodness. And thank you for your concern.

It seems that my distance is becoming more and more of a problem. I assure you that I am going to make my best efforts to be more open and forthright with all of you. I think that you deserve that much at least.

If you would like to speak with me privately, I more than welcome private messaging. I would greatly appreciate any insight you could offer me into this situation.

Anon

[noli_oblivisci]

It's not your fault. It's the fault of those who did it in the first place.

I don't know who you have looking for the insurgents but it sounds like there's a few things worth keeping in mind. First, the fact those fliers were popping up in more than just Japan, which means they're trying to spread their influence beyond just here and have the resources to do it. Second, they're flashy and can apparently get around well enough flashiness isn't an issue to them doing what they want. Since this is the second time they've caused a huge fire and an open attack.

Private/Unanon

[noli_oblivisci]

It's good to know you're safe, though.

And I mean it. You don't have to apologize for what other people do.

Hachiman, Private

[koukai_kirai]

I'm glad to know you're safe.

While I'm willing to work to ensure that continues to be the case, though, I'm going to reiterate something I've spoken with one of your advisers about in the past:

It's dangerous to allow the new gods and shinki to remain too ignorant of our situation.

Gestures of goodwill are important, and I've seen some improvements in transparency since I arrived. I believe that your intentions are good. But if those of us without preexisting loyalties or understanding of this world are given reason to suspect that things are being hidden from us, that suspicion falls naturally on those currently in power. It leaves us vulnerable to the words of your enemies, and you in turn vulnerable to those who are slower to trust you than them.

To put it simply, there are always going to be people who will assume the worst that fits with the information that they have, especially when thrown unexpectedly into an unfamiliar, dangerous situation. With someone out to discredit you and turn us against you, you can't afford to leave any more doubt than necessary in us for those enemies to work with. Even if there are things it's difficult to let us know about, think very seriously about whether they're worse than the worst we could imagine if we don't know. If you know anything about why we're here, or about who might be acting against you and why, it might be wiser to tell us than to keep it hidden, however good your reasons for hiding it might be.

[He's getting a little sense of deja vu. "I'm on your side and trust you personally, but if you're hiding anything, it's not doing your public image that many favors at this point" is a position he's had to hold towards his superiors before, after all. (He's not all that eager to be on the losing side of another coup so soon, so the similarities are more than a little uncomfortable for him...)]

If you want advice or assistance in the matter of hunting down the insurgents, I have some experience in that area. You know where my shrine is, I'm sure, and you're welcome there at any time.

Be well.

-Hachiman

[godsoffortune]

I am very grateful for your words, Hachiman. I can completely understand where you are coming from and please believe me that I am doing my best to be as transparent as I can be.

It is becoming more and more clear to me that I am not as well informed about the situation as I would like to be either. I believe this might be causing some of the problem. I wish to keep you all aware of what is happening, but I am not aware of it at all myself. It is possible that I will have to step up and take charge, as it were, from my counselors who seem bent on protecting me from everything.

As far as advice goes, I am always willing to listen to it coming from someone as knowledgeable as you. I might take you up on your invitation sometime in the near future, once things have settled from this disaster.