READY AS I'LL EVER BE && rebuilding shrine + ghost.

[miss ririchiyo]

LUCERYS VELARYON // M, 20 M/O // SUNHAVEN

lucerys had found the shrine, soaked with dried blood from the past crimes that monsters had done on it. it wasn't huge, but it looked big enough to fit a family of four or five with no more room for more. it was japanese, as he noticed the inari statues outside of it, golden eyes focusing on the form of the water hole not too far away. it was beautiful, with the repairs it needed it could be even more so with some work.

eyes holding the entire world of gold in them searched as he got to work on fixing the roof of the shrine, large wings carrying himself with ease as he laid down new materials for the roof that he had purchased, before moving onto his next objective. the walls had also been damaged, and the griffon had spent all morning fixing the walls of the shrine, laying down some tatami mats once again.

the smell of an ancient caught the griffon's nose, and he could smell her. the scent of pomegranate heavy in the air, smoke and the deceased. turning his head, only the sound of his talons tapping against the stone stairs of the shrine could be heard as he searched for the source of the sound.

golden eyes focused on the source: a doe, with marvelous blue eyes and soft pink fur. maybe even a shade of red to it, it was quite beautiful- she was beautiful. "you fixed it.." she whispered, the soft greek accent catching lucerys off-guard for a moment. "who are you?" the griffon asked, his gaze softening as the ghost seemed to penetrate through the walls of the shrine before returning.

"persephone.. i died here, this is.. my home." the greek goddess stated softly, her voice a mere hushed whisper as she began to fade. "you're a ghost of the past? why- why are you visiting me, then? do you want me to leave?" lucy asked, dipping his head to the woman patiently. the doe shook her head slowly, a kind, gentle smile on her pretty features. "no, you're free to stay. have your family stay here with you. it's a good family home." she murmured, turning her head to the door for a moment.

lucerys didn't know what to say. he was shocked. she was letting him stay here? but this place belonged to her! the next thing he knew, he was daydreaming and the deer had walked past him, outside, and with a large heave of breath, she disappeared into dust, the wind blowing it away.

WHY SHOULD I PLAY THIS GAME OF PRETEND?

[Aelios S.]

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On the accont of shrines, and religious partaking, Fin was indifferent and not exactly willing to do so, but for the sake of their open minded nature, the feline came to respect other's pratices and religions as long as whomever respected theirs. Sounds simple enough,  now this shrine was beautiful, even Fin wasn't stupid enough to realize that.  Beautiful and haunting at the same time.

The vampire felt out of place in such a beautiful place like this, settling themselves on one of the many mossy spotches feeling the spongy material under their paws, this place was peaceful, and they hoped they weren't disturbing the peace. Now if they were told to scram, they would just had to be told, or yelled at either or they would. 

© MADI

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[calliope]

♥♡ All she really wanted was to be at peace, to relax and be unburdened by the constant stress and anxiety that she constantly drowned herself in. Really, she just needed a way to relax, and a way to minimize her stress as much as possible. Most of the time, she found that enjoying the scenery, or finding a small, tedious activity helped soothe her nerves. So, when the girl would feel especially nervous, it wasn't uncommon to find her organizing piles of anything she could get her paws on, or staring off at the pretty sights of Sunhaven's lands.

The girl had had exactly one of those moments. A few thoughts led into a tiny episode, and her nervous pacing was combated by attempting to look at something pretty and nice. Although, it really wasn't enough. She needed to get out of her usual space, away from her nervous energy, and away from any of the crowds. The shrine seemed like a perfect candidate, and while she held no spiritual connection to it, there was some air of peace around it. Mira headed up to the shrine slowly, finding a place to stand. She still unknowingly shifted weight between her different paws while just standing there, practically radiating nervous energy. Still, a sense of peace washed over the girl, enveloping her and making her feel a tiny bit safer.

"It's lovely here," she mumbled to nobody in particular. The girl had no idea what events had occurred before she arrived, but they currently didn't matter. Oddly enough, she didn't feel uncomfortable despite there being two other people located at the shrine. She doubted that the other two would mind her presence, despite her usual uncertainty about everything. For once, she actually felt relaxed.

[| ICHIGO KUROSAKI |]

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ICHIGO KUROSAKI

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i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

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It was almost ironic that he had never really been the religious type. The same went for his family. They didn't worship any god from what he could remember, and instead mostly focused on traditions than the likes of religion. It was perfectly fine with Ichigo at that young age because he didn't really know anything all that much about the place. It was when he grew older and was pushed into the aspect of what the afterlife consisted of, that he realized that he had been wrong. Growing up however, he knew how important was to take care of shrines and the dead. Treat them with the respect that they deserved to be treated just like when they were alive. Souls and spirits were drawn to certain aspects of the living world, but eventually they would all pass on like they should. If they didn't, then that was when the problems happened. Ichigo was accustomed to leaving shrines on the likes of graves or memorials. He wasn't completely cold-hearted when it came to the aspect of the dead. Ichigo didn't believe in gods or goddesses however, and instead the Shinigami simply believed in life and death. When someone died they returned to soul society where they could continue living for the majority of their life. There were no such things as gods to them, although there were some instances that certain beings could be called gods from their power but could be killed just the same. Ichigo was a Death God, but he wasn't a God. He knew that it was confusing, but most believed that gods couldn't be killed. Ichigo on the other hand wasn't a complete Death God, and was actually part mortal.

But the idea that a Death God/ Grim Reaper couldn't be killed was false. Ichigo had the experience to prove that he had watched his fellow Shinigami comrades die and never come back. It was a horrible sight, but he knew it did happen. He didn't like it though and would do everything in his power to protect his friends. Ichigo was brought up with certain Japanese traditions and those that he didn't know he read on. The group of clans that he had come from his travels and the one that he had led up to a point also had a shrine. It was a small shrine made of just a simple archway and no building. There was always something sinister about the shrine, and one day one of his clanmates had gotten close to the shrine only to end up being attacked by a corrupted spirit. Corrupted spirits were usually tracking Ichigo down thanks to the spiritual energy he commonly gave off. It was almost like a curse to the Death God, but he was attentive to know when something bad was about to happen spiritually. His clanmate had been lucky to get out alive when the thing had left, and Ichigo was there to hopefully calm her down even if it was just a little bit. It was his job, after all, to deal with souls and spirits that refused to let go of the world of the living and safely pass on. One thing about moving to a new group of clans was the fact that he didn't really know anything. This was slightly annoying, but he knew that he would get the hang of it eventually. The over-sized cougar had been patrolling a lot to make sure that anyone near the border would remain safe to whatever was happening.

Ichigo was still confused as he still didn't have enough knowledge to know which side to pick or which side to protect. It was frustrating, and with the lack of sleep he knew that his hallucinations would start getting the better of him if he wasn't careful. The Shinigami let a sigh escape his jaws as he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going until he saw a building off in the distance. He stopped for a second and observed a building off at a distance. He tilted his head slightly as he recognized certain decore and symbols that were spread across the building. Was that... a shrine? This immediately took his interest as spirits and ghosts took refuge near these areas. Ichigo heard voices not too far away from where the shrine seemed to be, and Ichigo seemed to stop and bow his head slightly before he entered the sacred grown that covered the area. Some shrines could be pathways marked to go back to Soul Society, and if he wanted to try to go back he could try and get information if this was one of the places. He rounded the area until he found the door. Two familiar faces and one quite not familiar. Of course, he only knew the name of Infirmaryward and that was around it. He stopped at the threshold of the door closing his eyes and obviously saying something in his head, slightly bowing his head before walking in. "Well this is a familiar site." Ichigo said with a tired grin spread across his facial features. "How long has this shrine been here?' Ichigo questioned to no one particular. It reminded him of the houses and shrines that were in Soul Society. All the rooms sectioned off with paneled walls and mats. [color=crimson]"I don't like it here.". A familiar voice rang out into Ichigo's head, causing one of his ears to flick to the side. "Of course you don't like it here. But you would think that you would get used to it by now considering how many years its been." Ichigo replied with a snarky comment, and that definitely shut the corrupted spirit inside of him up.

/god this entire post is a mess my apologies

[miss ririchiyo]

LUCERYS VELARYON // M, 20 M/O // SUNHAVEN

a resting place for those who were long dead, it seemed. while the japanese did have multiple gods in their mythology, a lot of them didn't really believe in those gods. lucerys wasn't japanese, but he still loved the shapes and curves of the shrine he would now call home. with the arrival of three people, lucerys began to think of the shrine as one that brought people together, a peaceful place to rest when one was tired.

a gentle smile graced his features as he laid down on the tatami mats inside of the shrine, his long, lion-like back legs stretching out tensely. he could stretch now, he could rest. peacefully. "i agree. this place.. gives off a calming feeling." he chirped in return at mira's statement, his tail swishing around on the ground lightly, the golden rings on the edge of his tail fluff giving a slight jingle.

then, he heard ichigo speak, his ear twitching in curiosity. "when i found it, it was pretty wrecked and beaten up. fixed it. it's probably over a hundred years old, the interiors are old, and the material on the roof was out-dated. someone.. someone died here, it was their home. her home." lucerys chittered, his beak snapping shut as he listened for the familiar creak of bamboo under his sharp talons. "your name is japanese.. you're familiar with shrines, right? mind giving me some information about them? this one.. it's got inari statues outside of it."

WHY SHOULD I PLAY THIS GAME OF PRETEND?

[| ICHIGO KUROSAKI |]

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ICHIGO KUROSAKI

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i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

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Ichigo knew a good amount of Japanese culture. But that didn't mean he practiced everything either. He remembered his family giving bedtime stories about some of the mythological aspects of their culture and how Ichigo found them interesting. That time was short lived however and he didn't really remember anything that was said. It was when he finally established himself into aclan and actually had a library that had different books in them that he was able to do a little bit more research on his culture. It certainly opened his mind quite a lot since it had been such a long time since he had practiced any of the traditions. Maybe it was because he hadn't been around his family albiet for about a couple months before all of them had disappeared and he was on his own. The Shinigami did know what it meant to others when they were allowed to be shown respect. Respect went a long way when it came to those that one was working with. There were times as a Shinigami he was shown respect, while others raised their noses in disgust and anger that he was part of a corrupted spirit, the type of corrupted spirits that they hunted on a daily basis. Some of the Shinigami didn't even try to listen to him at the end either, and Ichigo knew where they were coming from and for the most part actually ignored it. The issue with Ichigo though when it came to certain things and terms was that he wasn't the smartest. From the clans that he came from, more words were common than others to use when describing something.

So far he hadn't run into any issues when describing something in a place like this. The wildcat was glad for that as he didn't want to be taken like he was some sort of idoit either. Ichigo allowed himself to sit down to the right of the doorway and allowed himself to inhale the familiar scents. Most shrines had the same scent to them, at least to the Shinigami. The voices in his head were chatting away to one another like they usually did, and Ichigo, as usual, ignored them so that he wouldn't have to deal with their nagging. Or at least one of them would nag he doubted the other voice actually cared at all. The first impression had told Ichigo that he probably wouldn't like the griffon all that much. Especially after how he had reacted to the corpses that had been on the border. But listening to the other having fixed the shrine changed his opinion on the griffon. Not entirely, but to the point where he didn't mind being around the other and wasn't immediately aggressive about something. Ichigo nodded his head in understanding the larger male, and it made sense that someone died around the shrine. Sometimes graves were put near shrines as hope that the shrines would act as a gateway to the afterlife and they would have an easier chance of finding their way there. "That was nice of you to do that. I can help you keep it up to date if you wanted." Ichigo offered with a subtle shrug of his shoulders. Considering how the other felt about this place, the griffon might feel better having it all to himself. Although Ichigo would visit from time to time to look to see if there were any spirits that were hanging around for far too long.

The Shinigami was caught a little bit by surprise that the other realized that he was Japanese. He hadn't expected that to happen, but the griffon wanted to learn more about the shrines and what they were. It had been a long time since the last time someone wanted to be remotely educated by him. At the mention of Inari, Ichigo's attention seemed to be caught and he nodded his head as he gathered the majority of the information that he knew of. "There are usually different types of shrines. Sometimes there are certain shrines that are dedicated to certain deities. Since there are Inari statues, this place is most definitely for the deity Inari. Its said that they are the god of rice and usually bring good fortune to merchants and farmers if offerings are given. The fox statues you see outside symbolize Inari's messengers, which are kitsune from what I remember. Inari definitely seems fitting for a place like this which are mostly traders and merchants." Ichigo stated calmly, not really looking at the griffon and seemed to almost staring at the roof as he tried to remember everything. Easier said than done considering he hadn't thought of the information for a long time. "The most common shrines I know about are Shinto shrines. They're used to pray to Kami, god, and pray for good fortune. They usually have a sacred or spiritual item that is also kept in them. Sometimes there's something called a Torii, which is a large archway type structure that is said to separate the real world to the next. It's common for spirits or souls to gather around shrines as it can become easier for them to cross over." Ichigo explained although he didn't go into great detail of the knowledge he had about souls as not to draw suspicion to himself. Each shrine was different but usually consisted of the same stuff. Most were for worship, but there could be other shrines around that could mean others things. However, no matter what kind of shrine it was it deserved to be respected as it was a means for some mortals to practice their religion.