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

Lea | Post-KH3, God

[doestheickyjobs]

Physical Training - R&R

Work, work, work! Come on, after that lecture the last thing I need is to tire myself out more.

[Everybody else can go train if they want: Lea, though, is going to be sprawling out on one of the benches outside the training dojo, with one foot up while he pulls his best poor-me face.]

I'm half asleep as it is. Hey!

[Oh look, someone's walking by. Useful!]

What's going on around here, really?


[ooc: note -- Lea was here a few years ago but is not keeping in-game memories, as I'm not sure I remember them well enough. Feel free to confuse him, though.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

[This is very strange. It's not the first time that Ayumu's met this man. She recalls this man all too vividly: the spiky red hair, the vivid green eyes, the tall, lanky body. In another life here, she'd know him quite well, indeed. She'd trusted him with her life and something far more delicate once.

The teardrop marks on his cheeks are gone, however, and she recalls in that strange parallel memory that he hadn't recognized her.

After a few minutes of bewildered staring, Ayumu finally approaches him. She's not really at her most presentable right now, with her bare feet, kitty pajamas, and disheveled hair. Ayumu doesn't even have an eyepatch on, her disfigured brow and bad eye obvious to see. Nervously, she rubs her crooked left wrist somewhat self-consciously as she calls out in a soft, unusually tentative voice.]

...Axel? Are you Axel?

[doestheickyjobs]

That's a complicated question.

[And he definitely doesn't know this woman: though, kitty pajamas at a formal event? He's got to admire her sense of style. That's a fuck-you to the establishment even if it's just what she happened to pop into existence wearing.]

But sure, how about we go with Axel for now? I answer to Lea, too.

And I'm drawing a blank on your name.

[He offers a hand, gaze drawn down to her wrist for a moment to follow the movement of her hand. Looks like it broke and didn't get set right; the rubbing must be a nervous habit, he decides, and looks back up to meet her gaze with an attempt at an easy grin.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

I can call you Lea. It's fine.

[In a way, that strange disconnect from those old memories she's never quite been able to fit into her present life is helpful. The Ayumu currently standing here now had never known Axel personally, as confusing as those vivid recollections the feelings they'd incited have been. Returning as a goddess with memories of her time as a shinki who'd turned into an ayakashi would have been shocking by itself. The addition of an entirely different life as a goddess, with shinki she'd lost one by one, followed by a close friend, and her own slaughter by an ayakashi who'd once been a partner and lover had simply been too much for her mind to process.

Really, it's no wonder she'd bungled things with Lavi, Hakkai, Chikusa, and the others so badly when she'd returned.

That easy grin is somehow familiar though, even a little comforting so she smiles back, reaching out to shake his hand.]

My name is Ayumu. I used to be a goddess here. You reminded me of someone I knew back then. I think.

[She laughs a little bit. At this point in her life, she has to. Her life has just gotten so damn bizarre.]

And it's all right. I understand complicated.

[doestheickyjobs]

[He blows his breath out, hand closing around hers and holding it a moment after the handshake is done.] More than just reminded. You had my name right, in a... complicated way.

[Ugh, this is worse than he'd thought. Has he lost his memory again? Are there more missing friends he can expect to run into here? But Ayumu's face-- he scans it carefully-- doesn't spark any uncertainty, no shadows of recollection at all.

So maybe whatever fucked with his memories in this world was better at it than Namine.

And-- right. He lets her hand go hastily, with an embarrassed grimace.]

Ayumu. I'll remember it this time. So, "used to be": does that mean you just got back?

[kagenonadeshiko]

[In its own way, the total lack of recollection is a relief. Ayumu's changed from the woman he'd once known. She's seen too much, stained her hands red, and acquired too many ugly scars since then. The goddess who'd fallen in love with her exemplar and experienced such heartbreak was gone now, however, strong an echo of her might remain.

Even so, she feels just a fraction colder somehow when he pulls his hand away. For a brief moment, her smile's bittersweet before smoothing out into something more normal and relaxed.]

Yes, I have. This isn't my first time coming here. I believe this is... my third time? Or maybe it's been four times now? I've lost track.

[Death is utterly meaningless in this place, isn't it? She just keeps dying and coming back so much that's become a pain trying to keep up with it anymore.]

If you're here for very long, you'll quickly learn that the Far Shore is a very strange place. Some of the residents here can have a rather odd and unstable existence sometimes.

[doestheickyjobs]

Yeah, it sounds like it's not my first time here either. Not unless you met me somewhere else.

[There's no recognition in the sharp glance he shoots at her, but there is a wary uncertainty.]

How many worlds have you been to?

[Because, really, being to the same world four times? Not a big deal. It's a much bigger deal if it's against her will, or if her memory's being fucked with the way his is. It's also a much bigger deal if she's not someone who travels between the worlds.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

Aside from where I came from, just this one. Coming here wasn't exactly my idea. At least, the first time it wasn't. The second time was after I'd died in my world.

[That tone might just a tad bit too relaxed and upbeat for a woman talking about her own demise. Then again, it had happened quite a while ago and she's not thinking about it in detail too much now. Besides, she'd died against since then. That one's a little fresher in her mind still.

What even is Ayumu's life anymore.]

As for you, I've met you twice before, I think. You called yourself Axel then and you had these teardrop marks right here.

[Ayumu demonstrates by pointing to her own cheeks. In hindsight, she's not quite sure how her other self had managed to kiss him. Then again, she'd managed somehow with Lavi when he was around even though she'd only managed to reach his chin.]

[doestheickyjobs]

Yeah, they came off. Death, right? [He waves a hand.] It does all kinds of things. Especially if it doesn't stick.

[He sits up, letting his feet fall to the ground, and gestures to the other side of his bench.] Here, sit down.

So, when you knew me... let's see. I didn't kill any of your friends, right? Or you? No major betrayals? Just checking.

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Ayumu sits down, hands folded demurely in her lap.]

No, no, I don't think so. Well, there was this one incident where I died - I think - but I'm positive that it wasn't actually you anymore. You turned into something and it killed me.

[That particular nightmare had been one of the more vivid recollections Ayumu had inherited from her previous self. There'd been others, too, but thankfully, those had been much more pleasant memories. She steals a quick, sidelong glance at him. Very pleasant, indeed.]

Death changes a person, especially when it happens more than once. It's a lot to process.

[Especially when one's on their own and doesn't fully understand what they're going through. There's little point in asking Lea about matters he doesn't remember though. All of that was in the past and both she and her inner ghosts have to move on now.]

[doestheickyjobs]

[Lea freezes briefly, eyes going wide enough to show white all around the green.]

Okaaaay, I was joking, but glad to know I didn't mean to.

[He runs a hand through his hair, setting the spikes in disarray, and gives her a sidelong glance. She's throwing around that "death changes you" line a lot, and he doesn't know if she's trying to make excuses for whatever's changed in her or for all the things that've changed in him.

He wonders what he'd turned into.]

I take it you're still-- [he spins a finger.] -- processing?

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Humor doesn't come as easily to her these days, at least, not the way it used to. Or maybe it's just that her sense of humor that's changed. It's become a tad darker, a little more bitter. A side effect of the company she's kept since arriving as a shinki, too, maybe.

At his question, she simply nods.]

Yes, though I think after meeting you as myself, I've managed to sort out a few things.

[Considering how complicated her life has become since arriving at the Far Shore, it can only be a good thing. Her old goddess self had experienced piece very briefly and for some reason, Ayumu's starting to think that maybe she can find it, too, somehow.]

Anyway, it's nice to meet you properly outside a memory, Lea-san.

[kokuyoyo]

[Useful, maybe, until that person freezes up and stares at Lea with the kind of shell-shocked expression of someone who's been tazed in the side by a loved one. That's almost what it feels like to Chikusa, anyway, as he just stands there staring at Lea.]

[This is probably not the first time Lea has had to deal with this kind of reaction today.]

[Still, after a moment, Chikusa forces himself to move, legs propelling him forward a little jerkily.]

...Are you real this time?

[The last time he'd dealt with Axel... It was in the form of a hallucination he'd done his best to bury down while he'd comforted Ken and watched after Hakkai.]

[doestheickyjobs]

Uh, yes? One hundred percent the real deal here. Unmistakable. So who are you?

[That's a hell of a look the kid's giving him, but Lea doesn't think he's ever seen him before. They're almost the same height, almost the same scrawniness, but where Lea's just living the scrawny life, this kid has the unmistakable beanpole look of someone who hasn't caught up to his growth spurt yet. A couple years older than Roxas and Xion, maybe.

Lea really hopes he's not five seconds from finding out about more horrible holes in his memory, but he knows that shell-shocked look, intimately. He's pretty sure his hopes will be dashed.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Defying the very odds of physics and how the human body generally works, Chikusa's expression manages to no change very much at all while emoting a crushing sort of disappointment. It might be the little things, honestly. Little things that are made just a little more obvious with how caught off guard he is from this whole thing. An already atrocious slump surrenders to some more weight, for example, or the way his gaze drifts down to the ground in a way that's too lagging to really be called a "flicker".]

...Chikusa Kakimoto. You...

[And that's where he pauses, uncertain even if it doesn't show so much in his voice. Should he even say anything? Would any of it even be the same, after so long, after everything that's happened? He has no idea what to do, or, frankly, what he even wants.]

[doestheickyjobs]

[Is he okay? That quarter-speed speech is just weird, and then there's the way he's sagging like he's taking a slow-motion avalanche to the back of the head....]

I'm Lea. And--

[Fuck, might as well get it out of the way. He blows out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck.]

-- it looks like I ought to remember you, but I don't. I don't remember ever being stuck in this world before. Sorry.

[kokuyoyo]

[He's never okay, Lea, but thanks for caring. The words aren't a surprise, and all he can do is let his head bob in the weakest attempt at a bob.]

...I know. That happens. But even so...

[Another moment of internal struggle before he finally reaches up to loosely cross his arms in a way that's more of a hug than anything else.]

...I was yours.

[Chikusa please remember to be more clear with your words-]

[doestheickyjobs]

[Whoa whoa wait what the fuck.]

In what way exactly are we talking here?

[kokuyoyo]

[A slow blink.]

Your shinki. And... exemplar.

[So, uh, good news, Lea]

[doestheickyjobs]

[Okay, that is good news. In its way. It's a hell of a lot easier to swallow than other ways in which the kid might've meant those words, but "shinki and exemplar"? It's also meaningless.

He's heard those words from the Heavens, sure. But he doesn't know how to wrap his mind around the way that the kid clearly feels them, with an intensity that makes Lea want to manufacture some easy brush-off and flee.

He doesn't, of course. Having a heart again isn't all fun and games. Some of it is staring at a skinny teenager slumping in front of him and feeling like he'd be the world's biggest asshole if he skipped out on this conversation.]

Okay. So we worked together.

Look, I-- [Aggravated, he rubs his neck again, and tries to come up with words that mean anything at all.] I don't know if I get this whole "shinki, god" thing yet. Anybody who thinks I ought to be worshipped has a screw loose, you know what I mean? But it meant something to you. Means something, whatever. Right?

[He sucks at this. He sucks so much.]

[kokuyoyo]

...Most people say that.

[That they aren't fit to be worshipped, to be exact. Chikusa is pretty sure the people who believe wholeheartedly that they deserve to be worshipped are restricted to one Hibiki Shikyoin, he's pretty sure.]

...A shinki is a... [Wait, Axel hadn't liked the term 'tool'. Chikusa pauses before remembering the word that had been first used.] Partner. A weapon.

...Can I sit down...?

[doestheickyjobs]

So we were partners.

[He sits up, straightens his legs, makes some room on the other end of the bench for Chikusa and waves a hand towards it.

You were my weapon, he doesn't say, wouldn't say in a million years. He can't help thinking of his Keyblade, superimposing the image of a vivid curl of flame and the old red-silver chakram handle over Chikusa's face for a moment to see how he feels about the comparison. What would his Keyblade say to him if it showed up in human form?

He'd fucked up summoning it a thousand times, some of them actually in combat. He'd gotten it broken. Axel -- Lea -- he's not good with his weapons.

He hopes he'd been better with this kid. But he'd been shitty with his friendships and his partnerships, too. The history's not so great here.]

Yeah, sit down. Take a load off. Look, I-- you've got someone else now, right? A different partner?

Very belated hello

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi watches the tall redhead mill about asking people his questions, getting increasingly wide-eyed until at last she gets a look at him from the front. That's definitely him! Eventually, she walks up and taps him on the shoulder or arm, wherever she can reach. ]

You're... Axel, aren't you? I'm... I'm a shinki, but I was hoping... that maybe you weren't.

[ It was vague and she knew that, but she also knew that she couldn't ask any other more specific questions until she knew whether he was a god or shinki. ]

[doestheickyjobs]

Shit, you-- uh. You recognize me?

[He's freezing for several seconds before he takes an awkward step back and rubs a hand across the back of his neck, eyeing her nervously.]

I'm not a shinki. And it's... [No, never mind the Axel versus Lea thing. It's been weird with her, regardless, and while he might know why now (having Xion around has been enlightening) he doesn't know if it's safe to get into any details of his life.

Most of them don't have anything to do with her, but he's told her a lot of those stories.]

Whatever. Axel. Yeah. I, uh, I hear I was here before? Did you meet me then or something?

[Smooth. Real smooth. Fuck.]

[pure_radiantics]

[ She nods, relaxing a little. ]

At least if you're not a shinki then I can talk to you a bit more freely. Since you were Roxas's friend, back then I wanted to get to know you better. I tried, but it never quite seemed to work out. Roxas was my god here, and later on I found out that he and Sora and... [ She starts counting on her fingers. ] Naminé and Riku and Brandon were all from the same place, then a memory with Sora and Roxas and Naminé and I sealed the deal to include me in that bunch too. I found out... I can do this too.

[ She summons her keyblade out in front of herself for him. ]

I know this is a keyblade... and I know a few things about how it works... and I started to learn some spells with Ventus too.

[ She knows she just talked a lot but she says one more thing: ]

... and I heard something about me being a Princess in a memory too. So I guess I just wondered if... that was why some of them didn't want me to fight, even though I have a keyblade like Sora and Roxas and Riku. If you don't know... I guess that's okay too. I just wanted to ask... someone who knew Roxas so well.