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

[doestheickyjobs]

Thanks. Let's just say I knew she was in a pinch, but dead? That's a shock.

[Impatience is buzzing in his bones, to go somewhere, do something, tell someone-- but who? He's stuck in this world until he works out why he's not getting any traction with the dark corridors, and it's not like he's got a working gummi phone in his pocket to call home.

His fingers beat out a quick, nervous tattoo on his knee, and he leans forward, clasping his hands together.]

Have you dealt with something like that before? Knowing somebody who turned up dead?

[kagenonadeshiko]

Yes, I have. I know that it's very difficult, especially when it happens so suddenly. It can leave you stunned and confused, not knowing what to do or where or who to turn to. And it can hurt.

[Her expression continues to grow more sympathetic; she always did have a soft spot for him. It seems that circumstance, time, and several bouts of memory tampering hasn't been able to erase that completely.]

Though in Kairi-san's case, she's done very well for herself in the afterlife, I think. I know it's not the same but please take comfort in that she seems pretty happy, all things considered. She's a strong girl.

[doestheickyjobs]

Uh, right.

[That's not very comforting, but, Lea guesses, he might as well take it in the spirit it's meant. Which seems to be... some kind of fucked up "being dead and amnesiac is fine as long as you can cope with it," which is.

Well.

At least it's better than dead and gone.]

I was wondering if you had any advice. For avoiding giving her any clues I shouldn't, or whatever.

[kagenonadeshiko]

[After experiencing death and different degrees of memory loss as often as Ayumu has, she just doesn't perceive things the same way she once did. At his words, she considers, tilting her head a moment.]

Listen to your feelings and listen to her feelings. All of us - god and shinki alike - get this feeling when we're trying to uncover or expose forbidden knowledge of the past. Listen to that - don't ignore it, don't fight it, accept it as is. If you talk to her and get a terrible feeling that something bad will happen, pay attention. If she says she has a feeling like that, that there's something she can't or shouldn't know - pay attention to that, too. They're important.

[Look, she's not good at giving this sort of advice, okay? But at least, she tried.]

[doestheickyjobs]

Don't push it if I've got a bad feeling. Right. Okay, thanks.

[Lie to her if she gets too close to asking about anything that'll get her killed if she knows it?

It's not like he doesn't have experience with that bullshit. It hadn't turned out for the best last time around, but Kairi's no Roxas. She's a lot quieter, for one thing. A lot more prone to think before she talks.

Maybe that's the Xion in her. He just has to hope she's not going to do the Xion thing and fly off the handle without any questions to warn him first.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

You're welcome. I hope it helps.

[Ayumu sighs, looking a little more tired and careworn than she had at the start of this conversation. It really has been a long day but the company's nice. She doesn't mind just sitting and letting him process things a little bit.]

So have you had a chance to see your temple yet?

[doestheickyjobs]

Can't hurt. And no, I haven't. That guy in the white seemed like he got the wrong directions or something. I swear we spent hours wandering around the back roads this morning before I gave up and came back.

[He casts her a grin.]

You? Did they manage to find yours?

[kagenonadeshiko]

I found the vacant lot where it was supposed to be.

[Ayumu chuckles, grinning back just a bit. At this point, she just has to have a sense of humor about how terrible her luck can be, otherwise she'd go mad.]

It's been quite a day. But at least, I've managed to work out some clothing and shelter until this mess gets sorted out in the meantime.

[doestheickyjobs]

Sucks for both of us, huh. [He snorts, and leans back against the back of the bench.]

I'll manage if I can't find the place before bedtime. There's plenty of park benches around, right?

[kagenonadeshiko]

Well, there are but I doubt that'd be very comfortable. There's a lot of abandoned temples in the Western District. Before a friend of mine offered me a room, I planned to camp out in one.

[It's honestly a shame her own temple's gone. Otherwise, Ayumu would've offered him a place to stay for a little while.]

It's not really my place to invite you but I'm sure Ebisu-sama has room for one more. He's offered shelter to others before. If need be, I don't mind sharing a room.