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

[myblueskies]

Oh. There could be bad humans. Like the ones in the cult. Romeo nodded, it was trickier to know humans names than it was to know the names of other shinki and bad ayakashi didn't have names at all...

"They don't got names at all... I think it's still a good spell miss, because it is good to stop a bad human if they are working with bad people to hurt us!"

[unlucky7]

Bad humans, bad shinki, it's all relative. Someone could just as easily cast bind on Romeo, not because he's bad, but because someone needs him out of the way. Ginia knows she'd cast it on him if it'd keep him safe.

But that's why she taught him Umbra too.

"Let me teach you something else. If someone tries to cast a spell on you you don't want, you can block it with a borderline."

[myblueskies]

"You can?" Romeo blinked up at her, with a borderline?

But how could you stop something you couldn't see? He brought his hand up in a halberd, he has gotten quite good at borderlines and he is always excited to learn something new.

"How do you do it, miss?"

[unlucky7]

"You want to focus the borderline on blocking the spell instead of a person or ayakashi."

But that in itself is still a little abstract to think about. Ginia taps her phone against her chin before an idea strikes her. She pulls a folder out of her backpack and fans it at Romeo, creating a breeze that ruffles his hair.

"Try to stop the wind from touching you with a borderline." Ginia types and plays before she begins fanning Romeo again.

[myblueskies]

He laughs softly as the breeze ruffles his hair but then puts on his serious face when Ginia tells him what he has to try and do. Try to stop the wind.

"Line!" He makes sure the line isn't too close to Ginia, he doesn't want to hurt her! He still feels the wind ruffling his hair though, too slow! It's tricky.

But he's ready to try again, he lets the borderline drop.

[unlucky7]

A borderline can block anything a shinki wants. Ayakashi, humans, other shinki or gods, even natural elements. It takes focus and will, the strength to make the borderline a solid wall and not only one of light.

Ginia pauses her fanning in order to type.

"You can't see the wind, but you can feel it and know what direction it'll come to. Focus on making your borderline a solid wall, something that can block the wind."

Right now it's wind. Tomorrow it might be a wind attack or even flood or fire. Ginia picks up the folder and fans it at Romeo again.

[myblueskies]

"Yes miss Ginia!" He will try again, make a big strong wall borderline and stop that wind!

"Line!" His hand swipes across and this time the wall is stronger, sturdier. But still too slow, wind ruffles in his hair.

He sighs, disheartened for a moment. But it doesn't last as he realises something!

"It's just like volleyball!"

Like mister Waver had taught him, if he tried to watch for the wind he would be too late, so he had to watch miss Ginia and see what her hands were doing, just like he had watched for the arc of the ball, to know where to run even before it got there!

"Try again, miss! I'll get it this time!"

[unlucky7]

Ginia is about to ask whether he knows about sustaining borderlines or changing them on the fly when inspiration seems to strike him. Volleyball? The specifics are lost on her, but he seems motivated again.

She resumes fanning her folder at him, keeping the same pace as the last two times.

[myblueskies]

"Alright!" The biggest breath a small child could ever take as he watches her, ready for her to start to fan and...

"LINE!" He bellows, as if shouting would make his borderline stronger. His arm swiped the air he practcally jumped up in his determination to stop that wind! His borderline went up, a solid wall just in time and the air didn't hit him!

He grinned, triumphantly. "I did it!" He had really done it!

[unlucky7]

The borderline springs into place, his hair remains unruffled. Ginia grins at his triumph and stops fanning. She gives him a thumbs up as she sets the folder aside and trades it for her phone.

"Now imagine if the wind was a spell someone was casting on you. You'd do the same thing to block the spell. But remember, you need to be superior and stronger than the person casting the spell."

[myblueskies]

"Superior and stronger?" Romeo frowned, he could do that. He had been able to do it when he had learned how to use Umbra so he could do it for this as well!

"So I got to be stronger and make a borderline that's stronger than their spell and is also really fast!"

It was tricky... But he was determined to try his best!

[unlucky7]

Ginia nods. She supposes he could always counter with a spell; bind for her, silence for most people, bakufu too (though she doesn't know that one). A borderline is the best way though, especially if he doesn't know someone's name.

"All shinki spells work on the same principle. Strength, confidence, superiority. Believe in yourself, believe in Elfnein."

[myblueskies]

"I do believe in Elfnein! And me! We are a good team!" They both work hard to make sure that even though they are smaller than many in the heavens they are still strong and can still do all the work they need to! They are getting better at fighting Ayakashi!

"Strength, confidence and superiority!" Believe in himself! He could do that!

[unlucky7]

Such is the power of the optimism of the young. Ginia smiles fondly and looks toward where shinki training is happening.

"Good, keep that in mind. If you want to practice more, I'm sure some of Amaterasu's shinki will work with you."

Not that she's unwilling to work further with him, but Ginia is confident in her power and in herself.

[myblueskies]

"I bet if I find Gachmei he will practice spells with me!" He hasn't seen his friend in a while actually so he had been meaning to speak him out today!

He grinned. "Thank you for showing me, miss Ginia!"

[unlucky7]

Ah, so he's well-acquainted with one of Amaterasu's shinki already. That's good. There are certainly plenty of kid shinki he could get along with.

"You're welcome. Have a good day," Ginia signs, gently waving him off.

[myblueskies]

"You have a good day too, miss Ginia!" He waved at her with another big grin and rushed off into the crowd to go and find Gachimei. There were a lot of people here today!