[kennadryl]

name:
Paz

gender:
Female

favorite god or goddess:
Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, or more simply Uzume, Japanese goddess of mirth and revelry — A deity best known for her role in the story of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the cave Ama-no-Iwato.
The story, as many myths are, is not entirely consistent, but goes more or less like this: Amaterasu and her brother, Susano-o, god of storms, had a rivalry of sorts, which was... not always friendly, to put it one way. This rivalry escalated when one day the storm god went on a rampage, destroying crops and fields and ultimately culminating in the desecration of his sister’s temple and the destruction of her looms and the fabrics she was weaving. Some variants of the story describe the death of one of her attendants in the violence, where still others say that Amaterasu herself was injured in the incident. Stories vary on the cause of Susano-o’s fit of rage as well, with some claiming jealousy towards his sister, others describing it as anger in having been bested by her in a challenge, and some simply offering no reasoning at all. Regardless, Amaterasu was understandably upset by her brother’s actions. Furious and saddened, the sun goddess hid herself away in a cave, taking her light with her.
Without the sun, no plants could grow, and the world became cold and dark — And though the other deities tried, none could convince Amaterasu to come out again. But eventually, they settled on a plan; and this is where Uzume comes in. The deities placed a large mirror outside the cave, and Uzume overturned a tub near the cave entrance. Using it as a makeshift stage, the goddess began to dance wildly upon it, eventually even stripping naked as she performed, much to the amusement of the other deities. Their uproarious laughter and revelry drew the attention of Amaterasu, who, curious as to the cause of the uproar, finally emerged from the cave. Dazzled and distracted by the spectacle and her own reflection in the mirror placed before the cave’s mouth, she paused outside long enough to give the other deities a chance to seal the entrance, bringing Amaterasu and her light to the world once more. It’s said that this myth and Uzume’s performance is now the basis of a form of theatrical dance called kagura.
Paz discovered Uzume and Amaterasu’s story through a song, which was featured in a playlist sent to her by a now-ex girlfriend, and after looking more into the story behind it, Paz came to view Uzume as an inspiration of sorts. Though Uzume’s methods are... unorthodox, and perhaps a bit much for Paz, the Vaiki somewhat idolizes the goddess and her tale, and dreams of one day being able to bring others the same joy and merriment Uzume did, even briefly.

winner!!
HM to kittdippity, I loved how you used the prompt to your advantage!

[Goddess Sword]

Ahhhh, thank you! I had a lot of fun with this :’0 Mythology and folklore was always a favorite subject of mine in school, and I was always disappointed that we didn’t discuss them more; we were only ever really taught in circles about Greco-Roman mythology with occasional light touches on Egyptian, which is a shame, because there’s such a wide variety of cultures out there beyond those few we focused on, all with interesting stories of their own! It was nice to have an opportunity to show one of them off here~

Anyway, rambling aside, I’ll take good care of Paz! I’ve already got some ideas for her, and I can’t wait to put them into use!