synflux | Shrine On

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Shrine On

WHO: Jessica, Open To All
WHAT: The fact that there are multiple gods here that have no shrine of their own personally offends Jessica, so while she's going about setting up a place to worship her goddess from home, she's decided YOU get a shrine, and YOU get a shrine. ALL YOU GODS GET A SHRINE.
WHERE: Neo Tokyo, mainly near the outskirts of town, but some prompts in the city.
WHEN: Throughout September
WARNINGS: Mentions of minor self harm, blood sacrifice.

1. Preparations

[In the days leading up to the official debut of the Shrine of Outsider Gods, Jessica can be seen coming and going at all hours. There's so much to do: working odd jobs to get funds, shopping for the things she needs for the various altars, cleaning out the repurposed shrine building, and physically setting things up at the shrine.

One thing she definitely needs help with is transporting a large statue from her room to the shrine. It's too heavy for one person to carry on their own, and Jessica is not willing to take chances with it getting damaged. She regained it from home, and it's special (more on that below).

She will also be in the kitchens at some point, attempting to cook some simple dishes as offerings, to disastrous effect. Rice shouldn't be hard, and yet....

Feel free to come help with (or distract from) one of her tasks!

2. Getting It Done

[It's going to be a cold opening for her shrine, because after a disastrous power swap at the mysterious altar in Mexico, she's just... not telling the gods that she's worshiping them. She's still not clear on who is down with polytheism and who isn't, and it's way easier to just... do the thing and not tell any of them. That way, they can't be mad!

So once she's gotten all of the altars in place, the shrine opens without fanfare. The doors open up, and Jessica can be found inside, doing basic upkeep within when she isn't greeting passersby or performing the rituals she's pieced together for each entity represented within.

Still, this project is probably one of the worst kept secrets around, and she's asked plenty of people for help during the whole process, so Outsiders can wander in or purposefully come by to see the progress. The Shrine of Outsider Gods is officially open for worship!

Feel free to observe, worship, heckle, or otherwise interact with the various altars.

Information on the various shrines below.

3. A Job Well Done (probably)

[Jessica has promised a few concerned people that she'd take a break once she's finished with shrine work, so here we are. Taking a break.

She had commandeered the Recreation Room for an evening, and is holding a movie night. Not trusting her culinary skills to make anything complicated, there are bowls of only-slightly-burned popcorn and some vending machine snacks. She's picked up some lotions and a rainbow of nail polishes if anyone wants to give each other mani-pedis.

What movie is on? Probably some super-sappy rom-com to start. Jessica was going to put on one of Godzilla's movies, but when she was browsing, she didn't see any cover art with a familiar pink-haired movie star berserker (just a big lizard, for some reason. Weird!).

She'll put out a call on the network for the rest of the Outsiders to join in... or go and physically drag people to the Rec Room if needed. Come hang out and relax.]

Outsider Contributions
Fill out the form on the comment below to declare if you will be contributing something to the shrine. This can be a positive contribution or a negative one.

The Shrines

The Shrine of Outsider Gods has been set up within a single, repurposed building on the outskirts of the city. Each shrine consists of a wooden butsudan altar, constructed by Muramasa.

The Shrine of Althena

The altar has been arranged with moon iconography, and the main feature is behind the altar itself: a large statue of the goddess herself, cradling a crescent moon in her arms. When the statue is touched, it will leave people who touch it with the sensation of resolve towards their troubles, and good feelings for a time afterward.

The plaque reads:
“Althena, Goddess of Love and Creation. Worship her with a song or a prayer, or by being kind to others and seeing the beauty of her creations in all things. Touch her statue to be relieved of your burdens for a time.”

Each day, Jessica touches the statue and says a prayer for the safety and happiness of her loved ones back home, and for the blessing of Althena to be able to offer healing to those in need on this world.

The Shrine of Ereshkigal

The altar has been arranged with white flowers (fresh Amarcrinum when available, and Shoto's metal flowers otherwise), and on it there are strips of paper, pens, and a candle.

The plaque reads:
“Ereshkigal, Goddess of Death and Love. Worship her by writing a regret on a strip of paper and burning it, so that you don’t carry it with you any longer, or by fostering love wherever it can grow.”

Each day, Jessica writes down and burns a regret, and says a prayer for those who are yet burdened by them.

The Shrine of Tezcatlipoca

The altar has been arranged with a little black cat figurine that could be a panther if you squint (a prize from a Tanabata festival game), and an obsidian knife from Mexico City. On opening day, a monster heart is placed upon the alter- neatly cleaned, contained in a bowl, with a cloth draped over top of it in an attempt to make it the least gross it can be. On other days, in place of the bowl will be paper hearts, a box, and a box of bandaids.

The plaque reads:
“Tezcatlipoca, God of Death and Renewal. Not for the faint of heart. To worship, offer blood onto a paper heart, a reminder of the sacrifices of warriors long past.”

Once a month or so (she's still trying to gauge the cadence here), Jessica will bring in a fresh monster heart, to be disposed of the next day. On other days, part of the shrine maintenance is giving herself a little prick with a needle, putting a drop of blood on a paper heart, and saying a prayer for the fallen warriors of Lunar and of Synflux. The previous days' paper hearts are then burned, because ewww, gross, she's really trying to keep this blood shrine as hygienic as it can be.

The Shrine of Yato

The altar has been arranged with plushie capybaras, cherry blossoms (some fresh, some metal), and some of the coin bracelets that have recently been trending. Beneath the altar is a cat bed that could maybe be a capybara bed, if Jessica ever figures out the logistics of getting a live one to live at the shrine.

The plaque reads:
“Yato, God of Fortune and Happiness. Wishes granted for 5 kryptos!”

Jessica's daily maintenance of this shrine mostly involves placing food and water out in dishes for the stray cats that live in the area. Look, Yato's got a shrine of his own, so hers is just a bonus one.

The Shrine of Godzilla

The altar has been arranged with scales, seeds, and some slightly mushy home-cooked rice. A potted plant has been placed on either side of the altar.

The plaque reads:
“Godzilla, the King of Titans 👑 🦖. Pray to him 🙏 for protection from danger. Make an offering of rice 🍚 or fish 🐟 prepared by your own hands 👐, or seeds 🌰, eggshells 🐣, or other representations of your care for the natural world 🍃🌏. Live in harmony with nature, and he will lend you his courage and protection 💪 in your times of need.”

Jessica will attempt to cook rice to leave as an offering each day and will also tend to the plants as part of her upkeep of this shrine.

The Shrine of Tsurumaru

The altar has been arranged with candies and paper cranes, as well as a stack of paper and a few pens for composing poetry or folding your own crane.

The plaque reads:
Tsurumaru, Spirit of the Sword. Bring offerings of sweets or tales of treasures and adventures. Or, if you are so inspired, compose a poem to leave for the spirit to enjoy.

Jessica will attempt to make sweets to leave as offerings on a regular basis. Without assistance from other Outsiders, the results... will not be pretty. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Once Autumn sets in, she'll add fall leaves to the decorations in the altar, since Aki said that Tsurumaru is fond of autumn.

The Shrine of Yzak

The altar has been arranged with a picture of a winged whale with a scale balanced upon its back, paper banners with the words "EVER SHINING" and "GREAT JUSTICE", and smooth gray rocks. A squeaky rubber chicken toy also rests upon the altar.

The plaque reads:
"Yzak, God of Judgement. Worshipers should pray in silence, and can offer up orderly, balanced gifts, or unbalanced or noisy things as a sacrifice to be destroyed.

The most devout of his order will style their hair after his in a silver bob. See Head Priestess Amagawa Shigure to further explore devotion to this deity.

Jessica is relatively sure this 'deity' is a prank, so she's leaving the maintenance up to Priestess Kaga.

The Shrine of Exandrian Gods

The altar has been arranged with a platinum colored shield with a dragon design and a carving of a winged woman.

The plaque reads:
"Bahamut, God of Justice, and Saranrae, Goddess of Redemption. Worshipers can offer up prayers to their chosen god. Warriors can devote themselves to their service and take up their cause.

Jessica isn't clear on what sort of worship they require, so each day she makes sure the altar is tidy and offers up a quick prayer to be polite.

Memorial Shrine

The altar has been arranged with candles and incense holds, with a lighter and sticks of incense available for use.

The plaque reads:
"In memory of those we have lost. Light a candle or burn incense, and offer up a prayer for your loved ones. They will never be forgotten.

Each day, Jessica will clear away any ash or wax residue, set out fresh candles, and light one while she says a prayer for her mom.

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Note your contributions to the shrines here (there's a form you can use above).

Preparations

[As the sole Exandrian on this planet, Taryon takes on the responsibility of helping Jessica prepare the shrines. Mostly with arranging the display items and making slight corrections to Bahamut's silhouette based on his memories of the temple in Deastock.

Doty is doing all the hard word of actually carrying the altars across the compound and lifting any heavy art pieces, but Taryon will count that as his own contribution. He's the artistic eye needed to counterbalance the automaton's brutish movements. Usually he's found standing beside Doty and guiding him down the hallway without even helping to lift the damn piece of furniture.]

Shrine of the Exandrian Gods
[He's gone to the local temple plenty of times, but not that he's alone, he's not sure how to properly maintain a shrine to Bahamut. He walked in, prayed, talked to a priest if one was around, and went home. He attended festivals, but he's not intimately familiar with his teachings.

For now, he stands before the display, hands clasped before him, nodding at both the symbols of Bahamut and Sarenrae.] I'll get a scroll about each of you. I'll be your expert on your teachings until we get someone serious here.

Preparations
Shoto has no clue what goes on in a shrine, not for the life of him aside his general knowledge and so he's too afraid to be worrying about what is or isn't involved aside what needs to be moved, cleaned out or heavy lifting. Anyone can find him doing any of the above or tasks like them. The setting up he'll leave to more versed people, the last thing he feels like he wants to do is piss off some god or goddess.

The Shrine of Ereshkigal
What Shoto writes is his own at one point, but if Jessica believes in this, then maybe it's real. If gods are real here, why couldn't it help to write anything on a paper and then maybe some of the guilt he's carrying, not just from home, could be alleviated. He doesn't take too long, but he does offer the pen to the next person there. Even if they're there just out of curiosity.

Memorial Shrine (Spoilers under the cut)
This is where Shoto can be found the most, he can light his own candle and doesn't use the temple's matches, brings candles in excess for anyone else who needs them as well so there is no shortage. It's not something he wants to happen even if he's sure Jessica wouldn't let it come near to happening. If he's using it, he'll help out.

Spoiler

The silent prayers sent out are for his brother, losing him has been a weight. Finding out about him being gone and that it involved him weighs heavily on him. He knows, ultimately, it would've been someone else if it weren't he and his brother in that battle, but would he have lived if it were someone else? Either way, guilt aside, he will gladly remember the brother he wishes he had more time with, and that it wasn't under the circumstances of which he had it. He had it at all, and that's something thankful, but his reflection is quiet before using his own fingers to douse the candle after a respectful prayer.

If anyone could teach him the ins and outs that he didn't know about shrine things, it's the one who continues to take care of the shrines. Since they talked about eating first, Shoto remembers her favourite food: Everything. So instead of taking her from her shrines, he takes a few things with him. Mainly just food that would've counted as convenience store food. A couple bars of things, things she can set away to snack on if she needed them. He's already set the candles and matches into the donation box.

With the small bag in his hand, he waits respectfully to make sure whatever she's doing isn't interrupted per se until she seems undistracted. "Good afternoon." He states, "Are you busy?" If she is, he can come back later.

[Jessica has been running back and forth getting the various shrines set up, but when Taryon and Doty show up to work on the Exandrian altar, she makes sure to check in with them. She gives Doty a pat on his metal arm when he puts down his load. She knows who's really doing all the work.]

So, what do you think? Is anything missing?

[It's hard to know how to really serve a pair of gods she's never met, but with Tary's input, she's going to make her best attempt.]

⛩️ 1. Shrine of Yato, Of Course

[Naturally, Yato's come to admire the fact he now has three - read 'em and weep! that's three! - whole shrines to himself, including the mini shrine by his bed. That's three more than he was certain he'd ever have, so seeing someone else make one for him does as it did before with his first-- it makes him well up with tears in his eyes and snot running down his face as he gazes up the cute altar festooned with everything he treasures. His heart soars in his chest and he sways back and forth, hands clasped before him like he's praying to himself?? No-- He's just so moved that he has to do something with them. Happiness aggression or something.]

🌼 2. Shrine of Ereshkigal

[Of course, how could Yato come here and not pay his respects to Eresh as well? That would be blasphemy and a real jerk move! So he's brought along a bouquet (boy, she's getting a lot of them lately) of black and white roses, punctuated with daffodils for a hint of color. He's also placing a couple friendship bracelets he made - the woven kind with bead letters bearing their names that kids make in elementary school - on the altar.

And he decides to write a regret on the slip of paper, debating for a while before going with:

"I regret not acting sooner."

Vague, but it covers a lot of regrets he has.]

🃏 3. WILDCARD

[Feel free to come at me with whatever or hit me up at lombardia!]

Jessica looks up when she hears his voice.

"Shoto!" She calls out, lighting up like one of the candles at the altar.

Does she have things to do? Yes. Is she putting them all to the side so she can show Shoto around? Also yes.

"Nothing that can't wait a bit. I promised you a tour!"

[Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! Jessica has never actually been in charge of running a shrine before, and she's certainly never had to deal with the pressure of a deity walking around and seeing her handiwork. She sees Yato's very wet face as he cries over the altar, and her knee jerk reaction is panic.]

D-did I mess something up? I can take it down! Please don't be upset!

[Sorry, Jess, this is (one of) your resident crybaby god(s), so tears are part and parcel of the experience with him. It's understandable that she misinterprets them for ones of despair rather than joy, though he hurries to clarify by shaking his head vehemently, hastily wiping at his face with an arm before turning to address her properly.]

N-No way...! It's not that at all! I'm just-- so very... touuuuuuched! It's beautiful--! WAAAAAAAAH!

[Maybe they should add tissues to the altar, just in case, huh...]

Oh?

[Wait, he likes it? Really?? She sighs in relief, then on autopilot, snaps out:]

DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!

[She stomps off to a storage closet to grab a cloth for him to use as a handkerchief. Tissues are going on the shopping list for sure.]

Eh?

[At first he doesn't quite grasp the reason for her ire - he's happy, after all! - but given a few moments, he manages to put two and two together to make sense of it. Sheepishly, he sniffs a bit and almost manages a smile.]

O-Oh, sorry... It's just... I've only ever had one follower, you know. So two is like, double that!

[Good job, Yato, you've figured out basic math. Though when she returns with the cloth, he dabs at his face, drying his tears in between the occasional hiccup.]

[She bites her lip.]

...I guess your following has increased exponentially.

[Her shrine really isn't much compared to the one Yato got married in front of, but she's glad he likes it.]

LILITH installed a donation box, too. Once more people find out about us, I'm sure you'll get more followers AND more kryptos, too.

Right?? This is thrilling! I'm on my way to the big time, hehe!

[Uh huh, sure... Though to be fair, the one he held their wedding in was repurposed from a local god, so he can hardly claim to have done more than clean it up. This is something done entirely with Jessica's own hands, which makes it even more special!]

Oh wow! That's so cool! I mean, it's not really about the money so much as the faith, yeah? Each krypto is a token of appreciation from someone, so I treasure every one. It was the same way back home with my five yen coins.

[ There is something strange happening at the shrine Jessica made for Ereshkigal. The altar is crying. B-But altars can't cry, surely? And it is most certainly not shedding tears! So why can it be heard sobbing?

More importantly, why is the sobbing so familiar to those who have heard Ereshkigal cry before - which may very well be every single Outsiders by this point? Is it haunted?! No, nothing of the sort, surely... So what could it be?

Why, it's because the goddess the shrine is dedicated to is hiding behind the altar! on her knees and face buried in her hands, she is sobbing as quietly as she possibly can. S-She can't allow for anyone to see her like that, but she also can't keep those emotions contained. I-It's probably the first shrine that was ever made for her. Not a single Temple to her name was ever built in her homeland, in spite of all her efforts.

So she's crying. But happy tears this time. ]

I think it's fine. We need incense or food, whatever offerings you got, and they should be happy if they can hear us. Doty, a little to the left.

[Doty lifts the slab of wood with a carving of Bahamut and sets it closer to the center of the altar.]

I suppose we could put up a scroll with something along the lines of... [He holds his arms out as if to give a speech to a congregation.] "Come, ye weary, and pray for the strength to enact justice!" or "Bahamut, Lord of Dragons, blesses those with a pure heart!" Something to sell his domain.

#001: What

[ Nobody in the history of ever has a man been so flabbergasted as Yzak is as he looks upon his shrine. Because seriously, what the fuck? Who the fuck? How the fuck? Why the fuck? ]

What the hell is going on!?

#002: WHAT

[ Yzak was planning to completely ignore this buffoonery, but the people had other ideas. Oddly enough, his shrine gets a lot of traction and he finds himself suddenly a lot more popular than usual?

(his ego loves it)

People are happy to see him, the occasional child has their own little rubber chicken that they carry around with them, delighted by the noises it makes. Whales are pretty popular, too, though it's harder to find winged ones, specifically. Some savvy folks turn to crafting to sew on little wings on a whale plush to make their own. And there's a few more people than usual that now rock a bob-cut - that part is REALLY weird.

Some of them even mention Kaga specifically, though in the context of "She always had that hairstyle, huh? She must have been a fan of his wayyyy before us!" "Nobody can quite pull it off like he can, though." "But at least that means she's got pretty good taste."

People will run into Yzak heading somewhere after running into some "followers" looking ... a little frazzled! ]

I can't believe this...

They didn't ask you anything weird, did they?

[ Because those same "followers" also likely bumped into YOUR character who they've seen hang out with Yzak before, and bombarded them with questions about him. ]

[Raidou is attending in support of everyone, dressed in his shrine clothes and ready to help out with a purification if needed. When he hears Yzak's voice above the crowd, he walks over and... is as flabbergasted as he is, albeit in a much more Raidou-like fashion.]

... Um. Did you... What is this?

[Jessica smiles, imagining the jubilation Yato will feel when he inevitably climbs to a third follower. Even if none of the other gods end up appreciating their shrines, it would be worth it for just this.]

If you don't care about the money, I could always put it towards feeding the cats. I've been putting food out in your honor, and they seem to really like it.

[ Yzak's shrine is every bit as ridiculously egocentric as Kaga hoped for. She should be pleased with this elaborate bit of kitsune fuckery.

She isn't. She's spent the whole day watching baffled as people buy into it, swinging rapidly to blindingly angry the more people try to talk to her about it.

Yzak bumps into her as she's up ending her flask and drinking it dry. She barely even looks in his direction, she's glaring at the world right now. ]

Of course they did. They're weird, stupid little insects... [ She spends the flask again, shakes it. Nothing. If she had her ears visible they'd surely be pinned back right about now. ] I can't believe this shit. I never thought humans were this dumb.

Edited 2025-09-17 12:06 (UTC)

[Oh boy, this is why Jessica didn't tell any of the gods that the shrines were opening. Now she's upset Ereshkigal, great.

She steps behind the altar and folds her arms as she looks down at the crying goddess.]

Come out. If something's wrong with it, you have to speak up so I can fix it.

[Because Jessica tried her best, but she's just working off of guesswork on what Eresh would want in an shrine.]

[Oh, now he mentions what offerings his gods like! She'll have to add those suggestions to the plaque.]

Ok, do you know where they sell scrolls around here? [The locals do everything in digital form, so she's had to go around to a special shop for real paper. She can't remember if they sold blank scrolls there.] I'm leaving the wording up to you. I can help with the handwriting if you need.

[Oh boy, the 'god' himself has arrived. And from his reaction, it seems Jessica's suspicions about this being a prank on Kaga's part was correct.]

Don't freak out! I can explain.

I didn't do anything!

[ He's not THAT full of himself! ]

I have no idea where this came from!!

Can you?

[ He turns to her - he knows she went on the network asking about this stuff ... but who the hell suggested this to her!? It certainly wasn't on that post... ]

Go ahead, then.

N-No, I-- Yeah it wouldn't make sense.

[He looks around, mostly for Jessica, who's nowhere to be seen at the moment. Probably busy with a lot, here.]

This, um. Either someone was tricked, or Jessica-san's in on a joke.

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Shrine On

Contributions

Taryon Darrington | Critical Role | Redemption

Memorial has Manga spoilers the Anime hasn't touched yet.

Closed to Jessica

Preparations

Yato | Noragami | Everlight

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Ereshkigal || Fate/Grand Order || Redemption

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Yzak Jule | Gundam SEED | Revelation

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