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Fair enough. I tried to keep what I am quiet for a while, but I gave up after my fans at Dreamercon were a little too eager to talk about it.

[Not that he'd been all that great at keeping it a secret in the first place. After a moment's thought, Ebisu folds his hands on the table in front of him.]

Before we start... you're Japanese, aren't you? Do you know who I am?

Figures this place won't let us keep secrets for too long. I'm really sorry about that.

[He might be open about who he is, but that doesn't mean everyone should be!]

I am Japanese, but...it's complicated. Only my human identity is, so I'm afraid I don't know much about Japanese gods and the like.

[How is he supposed to explain to Ebisu that he used to be a mere force of nature until he was implanted into a Japanese child and developed an ego as a result?]

Oh, it's not that much of a bother. This place is ran by a god, and we aren't the only Dreamer deities here.

[That was a strange thing for Ryoji to say, but Ebisu has also seen plenty of strange things regarding other gods, so he can't say that's entirely unusual. He has no idea what Ryoji's world is like, after all.]

As Ebisu, I'm one of the seven gods of fortune. I'm a god of luck and prosperity, particularly for business and fishing. I'm sure you've seen my statue outside stores before, though I don't look much like my classic depiction these days.

[So yeah, he was kind of a big deal.]

I also used to teach at a school for the gods, before I was temporarily transferred.

[His eyes grow pretty wide, absorbing all of this information in. Yeah, Ebisu sounds like he's a big deal! He does remember statues sometimes being shown in and out of stores at Iwatodai - would that be Ebisu?]

That would make you the third sensei I've met in this place! There's a lot of teachers and doctors around here, huh.

[His face turns wistful.]

I'd much rather be a god of luck and fortune. At least you're bringing forth happiness to others.

A chunk of them might be from my world. There's a handful of people here from the school I'm currently working at.

[And most of them were people Ebisu hadn't wanted to see, but at least his cute little brother was here with the rest of them.]

It's true that I'm in a privileged position. I'm who humans come to when they need good luck, so they don't blame me when they have bad luck in the first place. But luck ebbs and flows, and your fortune can be another's misfortune. If you find 10 yen on the sidewalk, that means someone else dropped it, right?

Oh, but I shouldn't ramble on. I'd like to know about your situation.

Isn't that a good thing, then - having people you know from your home world. I know a couple of people here myself, and I know I would be pretty lonely without them.

[He scratches the back of his head, chuckling all the way.]

To be honest, I'd say I'm one of the opposite possibilities to being lucky. One of my names is Thanatos, you see - the god of death. As the name implies, it's my duty to provide a proper send-off to departed souls and to look after those who no longer live.

I...don't think there's statues of me? Not in Japan, at least. But it's clear that a lot of people see misfortune in death, regardless of where one lives.

It's a good thing for maybe one or two of them, but the rest were probably better off at home.

[Hearing what Ryoji had to say next makes Ebisu's eyebrows shoot up, a brief look of complete surprise crossing over his face. Thanatos? Wandering around Japan? That could be seen as a bad omen, sure, but the Japanese gods themselves might not be too happy about it either.]

There's a reason you won't find statues in Japan. You're a Greek god. Do you have any idea what you're doing so far from your original home?

[That is something he can easily answer:]

You could say I was summoned here - by scientists, that is. They are the reason why I manifested in this plane in the first place. I could have been summoned anywhere, it just happened that it was in Japan.

Human scientists?

[Well, they weren't likely to be anything else, were they? To think that science could do what only the most powerful onmyoji could... well, that was just frightening. People with that sort of power belonged firmly in the past, as far as he was concerned.]

That it's even possible is very disturbing. I don't know why they did something so audacious, but I hope you were able to escape whatever they had planned for you.

[Ryoji nods, eyes turning grim. Ebisu is right to be so disturbed.]

Humans, yes. Those who wanted to witness the end of everything, and those who flew too close to the sun. I did escape their clutches, in a sense, but that's because they could never control a god in the first place.

[Not that it changed much. They already succeeded in their goals the moment he came into being.]

If they could, we'd all be in serious trouble. The ability to bind a god is something I've only heard of the most powerful onmyoji being able to do - and that magic is already a rare art in the modern day.

[And that sort of power had been rare in ancient times too, as frightening as it was. But just the idea that science could somehow replicate what magic once could do ... that was a tidbit he'd very much like to pass to Takamagahara. Just in case it might be possible in his world.]

Well, at least we aren't alone. There's at least a couple of gods here other than us, and this place is ruled by one, too. It seems like it's not completely unusual for beings like us to end up here.

A being that could trap gods though, isn't that just as concerning?

[Not that they're being treated like prisoners here, but that means whoever is responsible is just that powerful.]

I guess as long as we don't know the reason behind our arrivals here, it's hard to tell.

Oh, it's extremely concerning. Are we at the mercy of a stronger power, or did we get caught up in someone's trap?... Either way, until we have answers and a way to get out of here, we're in the same boat as everyone else is.

[It was definitely frustrating, but Ebisu had already asked around some and found out that several Dreamers had been here for years, with no luck finding a way home so far. Any answers that remained to be found wouldn't be uncovered that easily.]

Well, it's nothing we should dwell on. Let's see what sort of drinks they have on the menu here.

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we can probably wrap this soon too!

wrapping then!