thenearshore | 001 | The Welcoming Feast

Who: Everyone!
What: A little bit of explanation, thank goodness.
When: Early morning. (February 15, 2016)
Where: The Heavens. Specifically in the Meeting Hall.
Warnings: Exposition is coming your way, sit back and enjoy the show!

The Heavens have summoned you. And there is no way to turn down a summons from the Heavens. Of course, some of you know where you are and what you are probably doing here, but most of you might be completely confused as to what is going on. All gods have been ushered into the meeting hall, where every person suddenly becomes anonymous and obscured, while every shinki has been gathered up outside in the hallway, both sets to listen to the same message sent by Amaterasu herself. And while you cannot see her properly or really figure out what her voice sounds like, you definitely know that it's her speaking:

'Welcome, one and all, to Takamagahara. There are many new gods and shinki here today, and I hope you all find your stay pleasant. I wish that I could explain to you exactly why you find yourselves here now, but I am unsure of the details myself. Please make use of the shinki dedicated to our services in order to make yourself more acquainted with your new position. You can find them by looking for my golden insignia.

As compensation for the trouble you are all being put through, I have had a wonderful feast prepared. I only hope that it is to your liking. Feel free to eat and drink as much as you would like, though please do not leave before the clock chimes midnight, for that is when your homes will be prepared.

I ask that all pre-existing gods please help those new to our ways. Let them know what is and is not acceptable and what duties will be expected of them. I am counting on your all to support the Heavens in this confusing time as we attempt to sort things out.

Thank you all for your time. And I am truly sorry that you have found yourselves in this situation.

With that, the figure that is Amaterasu bows deeply and disappears from their sights. The gods are released from their chamber and the shinki are allowed to roam. All exits are manned by a white-clad shinki, bearing a golden, embroidered Chrysanthemum on their chests. So, technically, there is no way out. You can't even seem to teleport out by any means.

All that's really left to do is enjoy the food and hope that you'll actually be able to leave after the clock chimes midnight. Though the clock doesn't seem to work on a minute-by-minute basis either...

Banquet Hall

There is food from literally every culture and walk of life here. Everything is prepared gorgeously and deliciously, no expenses spared. There are shinki bearing the Chrysanthemum carrying out new platters of everything as it's eaten up and nothing seems to go hot or cold as time passes - it always at the perfect temperature for eating and it never tastes anything but delicious. Maybe there's a little magic making it taste so good...

On top of the delectable dinner, there are plenty of desserts and every kind of alcohol available and constantly being refilled. The liquor is being offered to gods and shinki alike, no matter how old they are/look. Let's hope that you can hold your alcohol.

Counselling

In the main hallway, there is an innocuous door with a small, nicely written sign that reads "Gentle Counselling". Inside the door is a small room with a few sweetly smiling shinki inside who are willing to listen to your problems and answer any questions you might have. They are also here to help out any gods that are having a hard time dealing with knowing about how their shinki died and also any shinki that is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are dead.

Did Someone Say Games?

A large room connected to the back of the banquet hall has a wide variety of games set up for everyone to enjoy. There are old-fashioned board games (like chess and Othello) as well as newer ones (like Candy Land and Sorry!). On top of that, there is every kind of console available with every video game ever made - and plenty of handheld devices for everyone to be able to play. The devices don't seem to work outside of this room, though, so you'll have to stay there if you want to keep playing. Gaming is, after all, a great way to get to know new people!

After Midnight

Finally, the clock starts to chime. It seems like it's been days and yet only minutes at the same time. Time seems to work so strangely here in Takamagahara and it's hard to keep up with what's going on. But now that the shinki guarding the doors have left their posts, you are more than welcome to leave. In fact, the Heavens seem to want you to leave because all of the food has disappeared, none of the games work anymore (including the board games, which keep flipping over when you try to play...), and the friendly shinki are smiling as they usher you out the doors.

You are welcome to start wandering around Takamagahara, but it's an ambiguous sort of place and might just take you straight home anyway. Feel free to go home and start bonding with your partner. Or sneak home with someone else because your partner is a meanie-pants. It's up to you!

In Summary:

Amaterasu says you're stuck here and she doesn't know why. Sorry!
There's lots of food to eat, though! Eat your fill.
Oh, and there's booze too. Try not to get TOO drunk.
Guidance/Grief counselling is available, if you need it.
Use gaming to get close to others!
Try to start bonding with your god/shinki. Or just form new friendships. Whatever you feel best doing!
Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Okay, I'll give it a try!

[Although that frown doesn't quite disappear yet. On his recommendation, she goes for a level fifteen song, body lax as she waits for it to start up.

...Only to tense in an instant once the bubbles start flying, her hands quickly moving to keep up. There's a few misses here and there, but she's laughing now, obviously delighted.

Her score isn't much better this round - with everything moving much more quickly, there were times when she got the button sequence wrong, and others when she simply missed it entirely - but she clearly had a better time of it this round.]

Hahaha, yesss! That's what I'm talking about!

[High scores are awesome but it looks like this thing doesn't even keep track of 'em like one from a... normal arcade would? Neku thinks, anyway. He really wishes there was some way to look up and confirm all this stuff he keeps having a hunch he knows. But yeah. No one's keeping score, so as long as you don't fail out then it's all about having fun.]

[Strikes him as kinda tritely idealistic but he doesn't think it's important enough to knock it, either. Instead, he's watching along as she plays with raised eyebrows of interest.] Looks like you're pretty much a natural, yourself.

Hm? Oh, I guess so.

[It's a pretty nonchalant reaction overall.]

Mmm, how to explain it... I guess, as long as you can react quickly, you can already do pretty well, right? Plus, there's the song to tell you exactly when. So all you need to do is know where the buttons are.

[That's the part that tripped her up, out of anything. She's not at all familiar with the layout yet.]

[He nods. That's exactly it, really.] Yeah. If you trust yourself to know the beat instead of focusing on getting to each button when it hits the line, one at a time... Way easier.

It actually helps me to look in the middle of the screen instead of the bottom so I have more time to process what's coming up, so then it just kind of falls right into place.

[Music games are serious fucking business, okay. It's not silly at all to be putting this much thought into it! Really!]

[She snaps her fingers as she nods.]

That way you're looking at the big picture, right?

[Yeah, she gets it!]

...I think you're better at listening to the music than I am, though. It looks like my reflexes are good, but I don't know if I could get through stages the way you do!

[She'd need waaaaaaaay more practice, that's for sure!]

I really just--... [Damn it he doesn't know how to take compliments all that well, and shit but his ears are starting to burn.] It must just be my thing, I guess. It's like... I don't really know much about music theory but it's kind of like phrases? Or something like that. I hear part of it and have a good idea how the rest of the bit's gonna sound.

[God does he sound lame though. What's a humble way to say "it clicks for me and my ridiculous sense of intuition and love of catchy music" without sounding like a total tool? Uh.]

You can tell that kind of stuff?

[Congrats Neku, she just sounds even more impressed.]

Does that mean you really like music? I don't know the first thing about it.

I guess it does, since I've got a feel for it. I at least must've listened to stuff a lot. [Not that he can remember, etc, that's getting to be a dead horse about now. It still hasn't stopped making him frown, though.]

[Boy, does she know that feeling.]

Kind of weird to have to figure this out for ourselves, huh?

[Her reflexes are definitely... something. She's sort of wondering if there's a story behind all of that.]

[...At the same time though, she gets the sense she shouldn't really be thinking about that. Shaking her head, she puts on another smile.]

Hey, I wonder what kind of music there'll be once we're out of here? I bet you could find all kinds of cool new music!

[Yuuki's enthusiasm is still pretty daunting, but he... might be starting to get used to it? A little?]

I mean, I heard in the other room we can still go where living people are so I figure record stores aren't off the table...

I know!

[If you thought she was enthusiastic before, you're in for a surprise now.]

I want to see just where we are! What if it's a whole new city out there? I mean, it's got to be, right? What are the chances of all of us being from around here?

[Pretty low, is her guess. And, well, even if they were, it's not like they'd remember it. It's sure to be an adventure either way!]

W-well, uh-- [Holy crap yeah settle down what the hell even just her initial outburst is almost making him jump out of his skin.] I mean, wherever this is and the gods live's gotta be new, but just going off of everyone I talked to, I think we're in Japan? Somewhere in Japan, anyway. [He's got assorted knowledge about places and cities... kind of? Some of it's vague, like he read it in a book instead of being there himself, but his name's Japanese and the shinki all have kanji he can read as their names so it only makes sense...]

Oooh... That would make sense, huh?

[Yes, this girl with the pointy ears and the weird JRPG outfit knows what Japan is. Don't think about it too hard.]

It doesn't look like everyone here's Japanese, though.

[He'll eventually wonder about it, of course, but hey. She's speaking the language just fine, right? Uh.] When they let us out of here I guess we'll just need to scope things out and whoever's got helpful info will just have to spread it around.

[Nodding!]

It looks like there aren't too many people here who know what's going on... we should try to help each other out!

[They're all in the same boat - it makes sense to have each others' backs.]

001 | The Welcoming Feast

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