March Training / Fourth Wall Event

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Information and Training and... Fourth Wall Event Kickoff!
When: April 22nd 2017 (Kickoff) but Fourth Wall lasts through April 26th
Where: The Far Shore (to start); All Locations here and Map here
Summary: Unexpected visitors arrive in The Far Shore for a little while.





Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are brought into small one-on-one meeting rooms as they appear, with a white-robed shinki offering them an explanation of their current role, the name of the god they will represent or the god they will serve, and directions to the temple that will be their new home.

They are cordially invited to a training session beginning in midafternoon, once they've had the chance to return to their homes, meet their new partners, and have their questions answered.

Gods and Shinki: The Real McCoys

New gods and shinki - the real ones, the ones that were expected - are being packed off to their new temples for the morning to settle in and meet their partners -- this is also a good time to visit with new neighbors or explore the area! What does your new temple look like? Are you headed straight there, or taking the scenic route to get a better sense of your new surroundings?

The Heavens are going about their usual business preparing for the new gods and shinki that they were actually expecting, when unexpected visitors appear out of thin air, as if having teleported in on their own power. They are scooped up along with the new gods and shinki and, initially, treated no differently. "Gods" are new arrivals who have strong memories of who they are, while "shinki" are experiencing various states of memory loss.

4th Wall Gods: A House is not a Home

New gods are normally shown their new temples in the morning and introduced to their new partners. The characters who arrived for the event and experienced no memory loss seem like they should be "Gods" and so white-robed escorts with chrsyanthemum logos on their backs take them to where they think their temples should be - in the Western District, where the other "New and Obscure Gods' Temples" always are. Despite many cleanup attempts, the Western District is still scarred from the aftereffects of a volcanic eruption and earthquake only 3 months ago, with fissures in some of the roads and burn scars in the wild landscape. Along the way, the escort can answer questions as provided on the God 101 page.

When they arrive, the escort is surprised to discover a set of ruins instead. This happens, they explain, but usually when a god leaves The Far Shore, not when they arrive. While the escort starts to rifle through some paperwork to figure out what's going on, the "God" is welcome to explore the ruins and - to the shock of both - the ruins transform.

How it transforms is up to the 4th wall player! It should not be very large, no bigger than a one-room building or, if more natural, a small garden or lake complex. Alternately, the ruins can not transform at all, or simply get cleared away into something more clean-slate like a rock garden plot. Get creative!

Afterwards, the "Gods" are encouraged to show up at the afternoon Training session to better understand their circumstances. Before the escort leaves, the "God" will be provided a phone with which they can access the Heavens' BBS system; their display name will be a warped version of their real name, such as "Bob Smith" appearing as "bOBsMITH" or something else that looks like a glitch.

4th Wall Shinki: And you may ask yourself

New "shinki" will wake by the Meeting Hall in a set of white robes from laying down on a tatami mat with a small box wrapped up and set at their feet. (The box can contain a few belongings of the character's from their canon, provided it can fit. Due to the memory loss, it can include things the character wouldn't recognize.) From the way that the bustling people around the area are talking, this is not a common occurrence.

At some point, a person in white robes with a big chrsyanthemum logo on the back will come to interview the person. "We are working on assigning you to a god and temple, but some things have come up," they try to explain, and will then be able to answer other questions as outlined on the Shinki 101. The "shinki" are encouraged to get dressed and explore the Far Shore if they would like, because eventually they will be assigned to one of the temples out there anyway. At this point, the shinki are also handed a phone in order to connect with the Heavens' BBS system; their display name will be a warped version of their real name, such as "Bob Smith" appearing as "bOBsMITH" or something else that looks like a glitch.

God Training: New and 4th Wall Both

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a small meeting room, with tatami floors and a stage at the front of the room where the speaker stands. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. Paper and pens are provided to all the attendees as an unsubtle suggestion to take notes on the information they're given. Newly arrived gods are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately. They are allowed to remain in the room as long as they wish, should they want to discuss questions with each other or with more experienced gods who are here to help out. The speaker delivers her welcome speech in the monotone of someone who's practiced it far too often. Hopefully no one's feeling sleepy!

It's around this time that the 4th Wall "Gods" might realize that, for as weird as everything's been, their experiences with their temples this morning are not the same as most new Gods. Additionally, they do not possess the power to teleport to and from the Near Shore; they might need a buddy to help them with that part! The 4th Wall Gods can't hear any prayers whispered on the winds either. They can't name shinki, whether those shinki were in the Far Shore before today, or only arrived through the 4th Wall situation. (There is one other kind of shinki that might still respond to their commands though...)

Shinki Training: New and 4th Wall Both

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice the physical or magical arts. Outside, there are two impromptu target practice areas: one is for long-range weapons, with targets set up against hay bales at the other side of a wide, grassy area and a line drawn for the weapons' wielders to stand behind. The other is for borderlines.

What are borderlines? The 4th Wall shinki can't do them, no matter how hard they try. If they had previous magical powers, those still work though! Existing gods can name these "shinki" but 4th walled gods can't. The 4th Wall shinki have no death memories to convey to the god and no shinki vessel power, but they can still be used to Rend an ayakashi.

Inside the dojo, there's room for several pairs to spar, and weapons are set up all along one wall, everything from polearms to rifles, chakrams to broadswords. They're all meant for practice, with edges dulled or padded to avoid any accidental deaths, but sparring partners will still have to be careful to avoid injury. There are stacks of informational pamphlets sitting out on tables around the dojo.

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern, to offer some practice opportunity to gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes. It's also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki.

Several magically animated straw-stuffed training dummies, many of which have been carefully mended and patched with neat black stitching, are set up on the lawn with a white-robed shinki hovering nearby to watch over them. They make good training partners, although anyone who comes too close risks being targeted for a sparring match whether they wanted one or not. The supervising white-robed shinki has a nametag which reads HELLO, MY NAME IS SABIMEI. (To interact with Sabimei, please comment on the "NPC REQUEST" thread below! If you prefer, you may also handwave his assistance or advice with your character learning spells.)

Rest and Refreshments

There are casks of fresh, cold water near the dojo to make sure no one gets dehydrated, but for those who've finished working, hot tea and enough seasonal treats are available to make it look as though the Heavens bought out an entire sweet shop. They're being distributed by a few shinki in indigo-blue and plain brown robes with the sleeves tied back, who aren't above teasing the newcomers a bit.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Mingle with the 4th Wall "Gods" and "Shinki"
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training
• Have fun~
• OOC Event Information Post - ask us questions if you need to!

Comments

[galrarm]

[ wow!!! ]

What, don't most men in their mid-twenties have completely white hair?

[burninglight]

Honestly, I've met at least one that did. Acted like he was permanently in a mid-life crisis, though.

[sorry ravus.]

[galrarm]

I can understand that. I've had plenty of crises in my life.

[ dying, being shoved into a robotic lion, being replaced by a clone.... normal stuff, ]

Still, the white hair is... relatively new. It used to be completely black.

[burninglight]

No shit, mine used to be red.

[Shrugging again, he twisted the end of a violet braid around his fingers.]

Kind of halfway to black, I think. It was a long while ago.

[galrarm]

Hopefully my hair doesn't undergo that many changes.

[ He runs a hand through it. ]

I've gotten pretty attached to the white. I don't need any more transformations, after all.

[burninglight]

I've had a long while to get used to this, myself. I like to think I made it work well enough.

[galrarm]

It looks pretty alright to me, [ he says, voice just at the edge of teasing. ] Can't imagine you with black hair, honestly.

Even if we've only just met.

[burninglight]

Oh, in comparison I probably looked terribly boring--dark hair, blue eyes, doesn't suit me one bit. I prefer sticking out a bit more than that.

[no shit, ardyn]

White's not a terrible look for you, either.

[galrarm]

Hah, I wouldn't say dark hair and blue eyes is a bad look.

[ He tugs at his floof a little, then grins. ]

Glad to hear at least someone does.

[burninglight]

Not at all--I've a nephew of sorts that wears the look well, but it's not quite for me.

[what brother]

It looked fine on Ravus too, but he ruined the whole thing with a miserably annoyed expression. Shame, that.

[galrarm]

A couple of my friends do, too.

[ Ah... he finds himself missing Lance, again. ]

I try not to look too annoyed. I have enough wrinkles in my future, if home and here are any indication.

[burninglight]

You already don't look irritated by the fact that things exist in your general vicinity, so you've the advantage over him.

[galrarm]

Ah, that bad?

[ He laughs softly. ]

I try not to, at least. Life's too precious, but I'm sure he had his reasons.

[burninglight]

Circumstances dealt him something of a poor hand.

[ardyn didn't help]

But you're right. Life certainly is something.

[galrarm]

[ ah, mood, ravus. ]

It gets better for some of us, at least. I'm lucky in that regard.

[burninglight]

Hm...yeah.

[Ardyn smiled faintly, leaning back against the wall and restlessly twisting the ring he wore.]

I was lucky, at a time I didn't remotely deserve to be. I used to be...someone very, very different. Then I met some new people and was able to find a new perspective on...well, people in general.

[He shook his head with a small laugh, looking distantly to the black and blue ring before shrugging and putting his hands in his pockets.]

...So I figured life was worth protecting rather than destroying. I wish I could say that was something I hadn't forgotten in the first place, but so it goes.

[galrarm]

[ Shiro is quiet as he listens. Leaning against the same wall, he crosses his arms.

I used to be someone very, very different.

He can't say he can relate completely; he's just met the man, after all. But Shiro thinks back to his time as a Galra prisoner, how he'd torn himself up from the inside to survive. How he'd nearly lost himself, and how later on in the Black Lion he'd nearly gone out of his mind with loneliness.

He thinks about seeing memories from another set of eyes, and how he wakes up sometimes in a cold sweat still, shuddering and remembering, vividly, all of the things he'd suffered through. ]

Sometimes, all we need is a reminder. [ He smiles slightly, flexes his metal hand once, twice. ] Sounds like we both went through a lot of re-learning how to be human.

[burninglight]

Wasn't easy. I had a lot of time to...well, let's just say I've been around much longer than you might think to look at me. Hard to unlearn a mindset one's been trapped in for long enough.

[Ardyn looked to Shiro out of the corner of those yellow eyes, still with the slight but honest smile.]

...But it's worth the effort. Don't you think?

[galrarm]

Appearances are deceiving.

[ A quiet laugh, sincere and open. ]

It is. In my experience, the things that take the most time and hard work usually have the sweetest outcomes.

[burninglight]

I also look astoundingly good for my age, so it's quite an easy mistake to make.

[Ardyn laughed lightly, again shrugging his shoulders.]

You know, if someone had told me that a long time ago, I'd probably have killed them on the spot. It's...kind of nice to actually be able to believe such a sentiment.

[galrarm]

Hopefully I'll age as well as you have.

[ shiro, ]

I know how that goes. [ He pauses. ] Not so much the killing, but finally believing something that seemed impossible before.

[burninglight]

Don't worry, I gave up on that a long while ago.

[you gotta be casual about awful shit, apparently.]

I'm starting to think believing impossible things are just a matter of finding people impossible enough to prove them.

[galrarm]

[ just like joking about the velocity at which you fall to a nearby planet in a giant mechanical lion, right ]

Hah, I agree. My teammates-- my friends, they've always been too stubborn to give up on the people they care about.

[ There's... a moment in which his expression flickers a little. Even when he-- the other Shiro-- had attacked the people who trusted him most, they'd been there with him.

And Keith... He can't even talk to Keith about it, because it's an unapproachable subject. Shiro won't put him in danger for his own selfish desires.

He makes a soft sound, something in between a thoughtful hum and a laugh, but there's something in his eyes. ]

We're pretty lucky.

[ Sometimes, he thinks, luckier than he deserves. ]

[burninglight]

Life's a difficult thing at the best of times. And I've found the hardest lesson to learn is that one can't get through it on their own, or without just a bit of luck in some cases.

[galrarm]

Or, in our cases, without a bit of space.