32 - Blow Your Top

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: A volcano eruption threatens the Western District
When: Jan 14 - 16
Where: The Western District of the Heavens
Summary: The Western District volcano is erupting again, endangering nearby temples and sending ash sprinkling down across the Heavens. Is it natural, or another attack? Those who dare climb the volcano can find out.






Earthquake Warning

On the morning of the 14th, an earthquake rattles windows throughout the Heavens. It's not strong enough to knock down buildings -- unless they're about to fall down anyway, like some of the older abandoned temples -- but it's strong enough to knock things off shelves and startle any late sleepers out of bed.

After the earthquake, strange sights abound around the Heavens. The poetic koi are swimming in organized schools in all of the canals, heading upstream towards the east. Springs of pure water burst out in some areas, and in others, normal springs or fountains have gone temporarily dry. Blue and green lights bob and weave across the landscape.

Falling Rock

The volcano begins erupting with a roar and a bright scarlet glow on the horizon. Ash and bits of rock fall across the Western district, and may even reach into the Southwest, Northwest and southern Central districts. Volcanic glass fibers that look like golden hair collect on trees, fences and buildings.

Trails and fountains of lava are also erupting from freshly opened fissures and wending down the sides of the volcano. Gods and shinki who live in the Western District are going to need some help clearing ash and glass from their roofs, trying to re-route lava flows (the good news is, if you cool one side down enough, you can turn them! the bad news is, that takes a lot of work) or just offering them a spare room to stay until things calm down.

Swamp Gas

It's not just lava and springwater erupting from mysterious new crevasses -- and it's not just mundane volcanic gases, either. Divine volcanic vents are blowing mind-altering fumes all over the Heavens. Anywhere across the Far Shore, but especially as characters get closer to the volcano, they may experience one or more of the following effects:

• Confusion
• Intense emotions
• Anger and irritability
• Impulsive behavior, loss of emotional control
• Hallucinations
• Unusually clear insight into other people and situations
• Coughing, eye and throat irritation, difficulty breathing
• Irresistible impulses to speak in poetry

Most symptoms will clear up after a few hours in fresh air, and all of them will be gone within 48 hours of the last volcano gas exposure.

Mountain Climbing

Natural disasters don't just happen like this in the Heavens... do they? Amaterasu's white-robed shinki are convinced that something is wrong, and they're organizing into search parties to go up the mountain and seek out the cause of this eruption. New and old gods and shinki are welcome to join them, or form their own groups. All of the hazards -- tremors, lava, ash, and volcanic gas -- will get worse as characters ascend the volcano. Strange little spirit flames, in shades of red and blue, dance on the rocks, dazzling, confusing and threatening to singe interlopers.

And there's someone up here, too. A mysterious figure with glowing red eyes is keeping watch on the intruders and vanishing behind boulders whenever someone turns his way. He won't let anyone traveling with one of the white-robed shinki get too close, but solitary gods or shinki might manage to lure him into conversation, if they try....

OOC: Please comment to the 'NPC REQUEST' thread below in order to talk to the mysterious figure on the volcano.

Those climbing the volcano will have a chance to battle the mysterious figure should their characters choose to do so. If you're interested in a fight, please comment to the 'NPC FIGHT' thread below before the top-level is posted. A top-level for the fight will go up on IC Jan 16/OOC Sept 4.

In Summary:

• Don't get rattled
• Help out the Western District with their volcano problem
• Watch out for volcanic gases
• Find out who's behind the eruption
• Have fun~

Comments

[erogappa]

"Nobody kicked me out, brat." Straightening his pant leg, Gojyo leans back and gives his back a stretch. At least Votelli had offered him a chair! "These three're my friends. I asked 'em to name me."

Which is more or less the truth. Two-thirds true, anyway.

"Oh, but you're a new god, huh?" Newly made, like Votelli, maybe also by a human... fuck but he wishes somebody smarter were here with him! "So maybe you don't know about all the newcomers."

[chibisu]

"I can work with that." It will give everyone time to get their affairs in order, and for Heaven to find other gods or shinki who will be better suited to dealing with the intense heat and all the other inherent dangers of an active volcano. "But then, how are you going to do restrict the volcano in that matter? I need to make sure I write it down."

He's already deleting what he'd asked for, hoping to coax the other god into working with him. For such an uneasy setting to be working out a business deal, with tensions high, it's better to play things safe for the while... It'll be one foot in the door for future negotiations, after all.

[veiledflame]

"Maybe she doesn't," Sotero admits, making a face. "Is she new too?"

[chibisu]

"They have none, don't worry." In fact, it's with Kunimi's skill that he can position himself a little ways away on top of a more solid looking rock, just in case. It's always hard to tell what a shinki will turn into, after all, so it's a good plan to give her a little space. Takami, after all, had turned into a horse, and Ebisu can only imagine how that worked out for whichever of his past incarnations named him. Taking a breath, he extends his hand.

This might be his first time, but he knows the words. He always has.

"My name is Ebisu. Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, Ginia. The vessel, Ritsu. Come, Ritsuki!"

The name burns in the air, brilliant and just, before the light aligned with it forms over Ginia's body as well to transform her. Ebisu closes his eyes, taking in the information that flows into his mind even as he reaches up a hand to rest on the clothing that's coming to flow into being around his neck.

Meanwhile, for Ginia, she'll find herself not only in her vessel form, but in the unique space shared amongst all transformed shinki to the same god. It's like being in two places at once, somehow, and even as she can feel Ebisu's hand lightly touching upon a scarf, she'll be able to feel Kunimi's large hand settle onto a shoulder.

"I look forward to working alongside you."

Kimi isn't so gentle, laughing exuberantly even as he smacks a hand to her back. "I had a feeling things would turn out this way ever since you visited!"

[incinerators]

[ ah. she's very enthusiastic, and pyrrha's not going to argue against that. she's curious to know what's going on as well, so she nods towards nia and falls to her side. ]

I'll follow you. I'd like to know what's going on, too.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Oh, hey, have you heard about this whole 'forest' thing and all? [Nia glances sidelong at Pyrrha as she returns to the climb, long and plodding thought it might be.]

CW: mentions of human experimentation, abuse, violence

[unlucky7]

She's heard the words before, even signed them herself to name a shinki, and even with her casual attitude she recognizes the seriousness of the ceremony. It's a sign of trust naming a shinki just as it's a sign of trust asking a god to name them. An oath, a promise, and Ginia recognizes the irony of recognizing the sanctity of the situation as she breaks her promise to Caster.

Her head bows to Ebisu as he finishes speaking and she looks at him through though the light flooding out her vision, unware of what Ebisu is seeing in the second that passes.

Her life flits through his mind on fast forward, visions of a world not unlike the present one and yet so far in the future. Nanotechnology is commonplace, integrated in so many people to improve quality of life or assist with day to day tasks. Ginia is no exception, though she's a child when she's taken in by the government, identity reduced down to letters and name, a subject in training as day after day there are injections and blood sampling, crying, pain, sickness as they test again and again.

And when she survives, she's tempered and molded with rigorous training and cruelty, minor infractions punished with punches and kicks. She leans to lie, to steal, to kill all in the name of the greater good. She is a sniper, she's a murderer, and she's barely a teen named Ginia.

But even the most conditioned can break and in the face of cruealty and injustice thrown on her and her team again and again, it's a matter of time before she rebels, escaping with half her team with a wake of bodies behind them. Alone, lost in a city unfamiliar to her, she uses her skills to survive, first on her own, than on the kindness of strangers. And in turn, she pays their kindness back by protecting, defending them from the the injustices present in their life the only way how - with violence. She's a protector, a vengeful guardian, and eventually it catches up to her as her old team find her, gunning her down in a warehouse.

Thank you, Ginia says as she bleeds out from three bullet wounds.

Ginia lowers the mask and gives an embarrassed smile, bowing to her new compatriots as she processes her new form. A scarf? Ebisu's hand is small and warm and her emotions are shyly fond, focusing as Kunimi touches her shoulder and Kimi slaps her back.

"I look forward to working alongside you too." In the strange shared vessel space, she has a voice, mental more than anything else. It's not too dissimilar to the voice from her phone though smoother, without the stilted inflection of the digitized voice.

She looks at Kimi and raises a brow. "Please don't tell me there was a betting pool."

[futhark]

[ Caster keeps pretty much a deadpan, blank face- If this was a Grail War, they'd be up for some intense showdown, truly. Nice backdrop for three-way battle too. But they're allies, and the masks are dumb. ]

Gentlemen, you look stupid. [ Caster lets a snicker under the hood. Yeah, yeah, he knows, marvels of the modern technology. They are quite smart to use that. Also, the Crazy-Prepared Archer did not escape his notice, but might as well comment on it later.

Wonder how long his Exemplar was on his trail. Probably as soon as he left the temple. That's both slightly endearing and also incredibly annoying, but he really shouldn't be saying anything, he'd do basically the same. ]

Rider, how's with your resistance to fire? [ He knows Archer probably still holds onto the spell on the runestone, but he doesn't remember meeting Iskandar and granting him the spell. He might have his own trick up the sleeve, though ]

[ ooc: I'm going to check in with mods if we can still request the NPC for a meet/fight thread orz. Sorry for the slowness. In any case, if this works out, I'd suggest keeping the tagging flexible, like if someone fails to respond in 24h, next person can jump in? ]

[chibisu]

"No, but I should have started one. I would have made a lot of money that I don't need." Another laugh, even as Kunimi rolls his eyes fondly. "But it was pretty obvious to see when you reacted to the young master so strongly. Right, young master?"

There's no immediate answer. Ebisu's eyes are still closed, face quietly somber beneath his gas mask. After a moment, his breath slips through his mask and he opens his eyes. "Mm," is all he says before smiling again. There's still something quietly serious about it. "We'll look after you whenever you need us, okay?"

[unlucky7]

Ginia rolls her eyes at Kimi's words, but it's also hard to deny. She can't even pretend she didn't consider what it would like to serve Ebisu in that moment after the god's impassioned speech, but it was easy to dismiss as a flickering thought. Now, here, in this shared space and so welcomed, it feels right, much in the same way it felt the first time she went on a hunt with Archer and Caster.

Ah. Her hand comes up to her right shoulder, covering the name hidden under her clothes. Her happiness fades into sadness for a moment, the realization that she has closed one door in opening another. And at Ebisu's somberness, it's hard not to think it's her doing.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'll be okay." Ginia swallows, trying to temper her emotions to not bother her gods. "You asked about living arrangements earlier. I would not mind staying at the temple, if you'll have me. I offered to help anyway so I'll do my best to pull my weight."

[futhark]

[ Flying..? High and long jumps are his things, but to be 100% in the air? On one hand, he can warp within his line of sight pretty easy, when it comes to jumping from temple to temple. But aerial view would give them a good look which temples are in the most danger. ]

Think my weight isn't going to hinder your flight?

[ That's his way of asking "are you sure?" He's a pragmatist at heart, not going to say no to such offer. ]

[lookingforhead]

[Celty takes a cautious step back at Ventus' shout. She knows some people are having some problems right now, many seeing or hearing things that aren't there. She doesn't want to do anything to hurt or scare him, but she doesn't want to abandon anyone in trouble either.

Unfortunately for her, the hallucination of Vanitas hovering where she's standing translates her step into settling into a combat pose.]

[thevanguard]

[ Yata immediately jerks up out of Saru's lap at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, his head jerking around as he narrows his eyes on the short figure in a hoodie. Just chilling on the side of a volcano, nbd. ]

Who's this kid now? [ Yata jabs a finger in his direction. ] Hey you! Did you do all this?

[foxrightsactivist]

[The sudden appearance of the boy makes Kaden visibly startle, tail lashing behind him and ears flattening down for just a moment. Being surprised doesn't sit well with him, not when his senses are so muddled. He's quick to bring the handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, but his eyes are narrowing over the top of it.

His vision is going a little blurry, but the form of the boy is jittering back and forth like he's rapidly moving from one place to another and back again before Kaden can even register it. What is up with this volcano?]

Something weird is going on. This doesn't feel right.

[It's said as a quiet aside to Alex, muffled behind the cloth. To the boy, he speaks up louder, lowering the cloth a little with his ears twitching wildly.]

This isn't really a place for kids. Is there someone you can go back to?

[thevanguard]

I have no idea, do I look like an ayakashi expert to you? Just this place is really fucking weird, okay? And you're freaking me out a little, so.... maybe we should go somewhere safer? Somewhere that's maybe not a really fucking big volcano?

[thevanguard]

Something's wrong. [ He's on high alert and he feels exposed and vulnerable out here, like someone's looking at them with murderous intent. It's creeping him out. Which is why he moves towards Izumo, hands outstretched as he tries to push his god away from this place. ] ...We shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be here.

[thevanguard]

[ He just jabs a finger at the asshole book, still trying to wrap his head around this craziness. ]

You don't have feet, you're not kicking anything anyway.

[ It's a book, for fuck's sake. ]

[sing_for_me]

[ The child surprises her too. How long had he been there?

She glances back at Kaden when he voices his concern. Everything felt off though due to the condition of the air, but she didn’t want to discount his thoughts. Still, they couldn’t just leave the boy either. ]

Are you hurt? [ Alex approaches cautiously, both because of Kaden’s warning but also not to scare the child, to get a better look. His clothes were dirty, but there were’t any visible injuries either. ]

I can teleport you back to your home.

[thevanguard]

[ There is a startled sort of shriek as Yata is suddenly dropped without warning and then he's falling, only for that shrieking to get choked off and garbled as he hits the water and goes under.

He's back up a moment later, arms flailing as he shakes a fist at the damn bird. ]

That's it! Fried chicken, you fucker!

[thevanguard]

[ Yata's panting a little from the race to get close enough in time - this volcano really sucks when he can't use his skateboard on it easily - but he rests his hands on his knees in relief as he catches his breath and gives the other shinki a once-over in concern. ]

You okay? You didn't get hit by anything, did you?

[thevanguard]

[ Yata just eyes the birds back with a warning glare of don't even try it, Big Bird.

But at least Shun's words finally snap him into action, because he knows people with temples down there. ]

The Western District? Shit. We've gotta get them out of there.

[ Which is why he turns to hastily head back into his apartment to throw on clothes and grab his skateboard. Which surprisingly only takes a minute or so at most. ]

[futhark]

Earth mutters and shakes often before explosion like that, yes? We all should have felt it before. [ Caster follows him, using the staff as a walking stick. They've got a long trek up, and he keeps glancing around to see if there is something unusual-

More unusual than just a volcano of course, he never was on one anyway ]

There used to be a god here, one that could make his own temple spontaneously explode. That's something that could be much harder to trace. [ Divine intervention is on a completely different level than just magic ]

[futhark]

Sorry for getting back here so late. Thank you for the answer. We actually have a thread going in which he wanted to invite an NPC - if that's not too late, of course. Probably more of chatting to fighting kind, though who knows

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Ooh, hello person with red eyes. He's guessing that the glow is from something being active. It's just totally a coincidence that the volcano's active at the same time, right? But hey, that's just a theory he'll go and assume.

Let him just float the carpet down, to be closer and easier for the kid to see who's on the massive carpet. ]

One substitute god and his three asshole shinki. Having fun up here?

[veiledflame]

"I know a little about you guys," Sotero says, cautiously. "I heard you were pretty much on the Heavens' side, though. Aren't you?"