41 - Cultist Arc Finale

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
When: June 2nd 2017
Where: Mostly the Near Shore
What: Tracking down cultists to remove them as threats to Heaven, erase as much of their presence from the Near Shore as possible, and consequences of such







With it being made clear that the cult's influence was scattered throughout not just Japan but spread far and wide, the gods of the Far Shore have been asked to assemble in the same place where Conclaves normally happen. Bishamonten is assigned the task of rallying the old gods, while Orihime is given the same duty for the new gods. Essentially, the old gods will be working in Japan and the new gods elsewhere. Both Bishamonten and Orihime have a long list of individuals and their last known locations with vague descriptions, collected by those who went out hunting them on Heavens' behalf when everyone was last gathered. ("A Different Sort of Hunt")

Orihime gathers the new gods at her home along the river. Outside her small abode, there are several soulless shinki pulled from their temple. Ostensibly, they are to help any new gods who don't have a shinki available to create the Cutting ties or Rend effects, but no one is there to stop a shinki from commanding them as well.

Orihime will direct the gods to many places in the Scandinavian countries of Europe, south as far as Italy, west to the United Kingdom, and east as far as Belarus and Ukraine. Meanwhile, another contingent is sent to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the South Pacific / Oceania islands around there. There's even some scattered across the Americas - north in Alaska and the Yukon as far south as Chile and Argentia. Getting to any region requires the permission of a Near Shore god with a local shrine there to teleport, or a much more mundane plane trip.

Since this is all taking place over an extended period of time - roughly 48 hours - new gods are welcome to jump around the regions at their own choosing, not restricted to just one place.

Cutting Ties

Tracking down the cultists won't be easy. Some of their last known locations just confirmed their home addresses, work addresses, school addresses, etc. It's not like there's a GPS on them! However, with the address being specific to a city and country, along with a description of the person involved, it's possible to track down the rank-and-file cultists in these places beyond Japan. Many of them you won't even need to speak to, just find them and use a shinki to cut the string of fate that binds them to their cult activities, spell knowledge, and awareness of Heaven.

It's possible to run into other gods and shinki, though! Especially in major hubs of regular human activity, the cult was able to thus recruit more people to their causes. Maybe you can team up, swap information based on who you're looking for, that sort of thing.

Blight Circles

Where the human cultist recruits favored larger cities, their blight circles are much farther into countrysides - where they were less likely to be disturbed while the cultists crafted them. These circles are fairly simple in their lasting impressions: spellwork in a large circle on the ground, dead or dying flora for double the diameter of such a circle, and powerful ayakashi drawn to their vicinity. Strike down the ayakashi gathering there, purify the area if you can with magic or holy water, and physically break the circle's symbols. Particularly large blight circles might have been crafted near a Vent, increasing the likelihood of powerful ayakashi being there.

The larger and more powerful an ayakashi, the more Rend attacks it will take to bring them down. Maybe you can survive a long battle with one, or maybe you work together as a team with another god / soulless-wield shinki? The choice is up to you!

Cult Hubs

In the true cultural capitals of the world, there is a single Cult Hub - a physical building that was under the governance of a higher cultist official, where spellwork training and other informational sessions took place. Note that these hubs are not always the capitals of their countries, as with New York City or Los Angeles, Toronto or Munich, Sydney or Quezon City. The physical structures where cultists met have a wealth of inventory to look through and either dispose of or use in future efforts for the Heavens. It might not be glamorous work, but it could offer surprising rewards.

Event Bonus:
A thread of 10+ comments earns a character a random item that would have been stored at the cult hub. As with other missions involving "random item" rewards, players can give the mods 3 choices for review and we'll reply with a comment about any choice which might be too powerful / not suitable, or players can ask for the mods to give them 2-3 random items and pick only one as their reward.

Between Scenes / Afterward

As everyone returns to the Far Shore between their major efforts on the Near Shore, recovering from the battles, enlisting backup, or simply looking for another assignment from Orihime, you might still bump into one another, particularly around Orihime's home or down the river in either direction. Feel free to use this as a kind of catchall space or a place to look for healing, food, and sleep with your fellows from the Far Shore.

Alternatively, this could all happen when the last assignments have been handed out and people start to disperse back to their own temples.

Event Bonus: Gift Baskets!

For Gods and Shinki alike, Orihime will provide a gift basket to each and every character, customized as much as possible. This will include, among other things, an article of clothing with a wondrous power unlike any she's made before. Players can request what these items are OOCly, kind of like book requests in the library, but we hope it can to be something you as a player truly feel like is a reward to your character for having come this far.

To claim this reward, simply reply to the Orihime OOC comment below with your desired item and its ability to begin the discussion. Remember: Orihime would avoid granting items that help in battle; rather they're meant to enhance the character's everyday life, make their hobbies easier or more fun, that sort of thing. Example abilities might include: hover-style flight, lite elemental resistance, green-thumb plant growth boost, etc. - they're just tied to the item.

An IC week after the event, gift baskets will be delivered, along with an Epilogue announcement on the BBS.

Event Bonus (all prompts):
A thread of 10+ comments will gain 150 followers / 15 exp per thread.



In Summary:

• Travel the world
• Hunt down the last vestiges of the cult's influences
• Get goodies
• Await the epilogue announcement
• Have fun~

Comments

Questions?

[godsoffortune]

Re: Questions?

[towards_okeanos]

Is there a list of cult hubs or blight circle locations somewhere?

I was always kind of on the fringes of the cultist plot so I actually can't name any previously found.

EDIT:
Ahem, I'll have another one if I may. Is Africa free of cultists? I'm mainly interested in Egypt and Nigeria.

Event Bonus Turn-in!

[listsoffortune]

Submit your threads for event bonuses here!

[unlucky7]

Ginia has the following threads:

Clearing a sigil/blighted area with Nesir.
Severing a link with Shun.
Acquiring Fujisaki company with Hibiki.

I also have pending event turn-ins on the last log here.

[onedrinkwithme]

~Celestia and Aymeric go smashing a circle
~Leo and Aymeric go to use a lake to turn it into blessed water and splash a blighted circle. (or at least leading up to it)

[dredefulchilde]

Joss and Nesir are beginning the process of ransacking the London hub. Can I have a mod decide what Joss finds?

Gift Baskets OOC Discussion!

[starfestival]

Remember to request the kind of (wearable) item that you'd like to be in the gift basket, its ability, and any other special (mundane) attributes to the Gift Basket you'd like to see included, such as fruit, ribbons, flowers, etc.!

[unlucky7]

For the wearable item, can I get a kumihimo bracelet that translates languages in an AoE field? Everyone in the field (ten feet?) would understand all languages in the field, this knowledge is not retained when out of the field (though prior knowledge is not lost either). Mainly, I'm looking for an item that would let Ginia communicate through sign language on a more regular basis instead of typing, further language translation would help with her job in tourism/media.

For mundane items, can I also get nice origami paper? Everything else is up to the mods. Thank you!

[dredefulchilde]

For the wearable item, can Joscelin get a scarf that keeps his body temperature cooler, so he can continue to wear too many layers into the summer months?

His gift basket could also include various Cadbury chocolates and some British tea.

[priforprince]

Could Hibiki's wearable item be a crown (probably involving laurels, because Apollo) that helps stave off headaches? She is also, in other regards, fond of Fancy Useless Items...and tea. Always tea.

Provided it is good tea.

[onedrinkwithme]

For the wearable item, maybe a choker that within ten feet (?), can have the wearer understand what animals are saying? It would be helpful in his life since he has quite a few animals at his temple and he can warn others about Mandragora

As for mundane items, he enjoys sweets and tea. Anything else I leave to the mods~

[hypomeneo]

For the wearable item, is it possible to get a leather bracelet that helps suppress the wearer's nightmares (but affects nothing else, like what comes over the god-shinki bond)?

For mundane items, can I also get some nice ink? Everything else is up to the mods.

[brynwieldr]

I'm thinking a bracelet or something that helps with Leo's tendency to be a klutz. He doesn't know his own strength and always over-compensates

Also books. He always needs books.

[towards_okeanos]

For the wearable item, a scarf or a shawl that could instantly calm the wearer no matter how agitated they are.
On the topic of more mundane items: books and wine are always appreciated. Iskandar reads too fast for his own good.

[myblueskies]

For a wearable item could Romeo get some glasses or goggles that translate kanji into kana for him? Preferably ones that kept the kanji there and showed the word written out in kana below it.

He loves reading and is learning kanji but they would allow him to read more complicated books and learn more!

Other things for his basket could include books! Recipe books and maybe some cooking equipment for making fancier things. Any craft things, colouring materials etc would also be loved by Romeo.

[thetopofthefoodchain]

Perhaps a charm to go on his collar/necklace that allows him to speak with animals. He's quite sad about not being able to speak cat and also it would allow him greater mastery of the animals at Shen Wei's temple.

Other things for his basket could include fish, more fish, comic books and more fish.

[kokuyoyo]

Please make Chikusa's gift basket nothing but beanies

Orihime should understand what he's about. Also snacks would be preferred over flowers or ribbons, because. listen. he's a teenager and he has priorities, especially while depressed.

(As for power for his one Special beanie... the power, while he's wearing it, to figure out the recipe for any food he eats? listen....)

--

Garry would talk to Orihime at length about his problem with Komaeda- to be exact, that his god is worried that his bad luck powers might harm Garry one day. So, something like luck resistance or balance or something that can help him live for a nice long time with his god.

--

Wendy would love a pair of shoes which can do light effects. Glitter, sparkles, glow in the dark... Listen they'll be good for acts, and also standing out alongside Hibiki.

[revolutionfalcon]

slides in here late

For the wearable, a heavy fabric bracer/gauntlet (essentially something for the forearm that a bird of prey could sit on without ripping it apart) that absorbs light, so in darkness it glows brightly enough to illuminate a range of maybe 10 or 15 feet around Shun.

Other stuff for the basket could definitely include fruit, coffee beans or herbal tea.

REGION: North America (Canada & US)

[godsoffortune]

Blight Circle - Iao Valley State Park, Hawaii - OTA

[unlucky7]

Deep in Iao Valley State Park on the island of Maui, well off the hiking trails, a blight circle leaves a patch of decay among the lush foliage. Ginia put out a call for help to anyone who has a moment to spare. Getting there isn't too hard for a god or shinki; Ebisu has a shrine not too far from the state park. Once in the park, white ribbons guide the way toward the blight circle. The growing presence of ayakashi once off the path and a handful of Ebisu's suited shinki guiding people toward the blight circle marks the rest of the path.

Closer to the circle itself, Ginia is fighting off ayakashi. There's a Winchester rifle in her hands and when she shoots or hammers smaller ayakashi with it, they disappear into black dust. She still has her borderlines too, dropping them in front of ayakashi to hold them back and slashing at them weakening them. But for all her efforts holding off ayakashi, she's still only one person. Ginia nods at anyone that comes to her aid, nodding her head appreciatively before buying a few seconds to talk with a borderline barrier.

"Have blessed water on you?" Busy holding off ayakashi, there hasn't been a chance to begin breaking up the magic circle scorched into the ground.

((ooc: Multiple threads fine, threadjacking also welcome, will match format.))

REGION: Central & South America

[godsoffortune]

[myblueskies]

Cutting Ties. For Elfnein

Romeo was staring wide eyed at everything around them. Even though they were on a really important job it was still amazing that they were in a whole new place! But he had to concentrate, they had a last known address of one of the cultists who needed his ties cut with the heavens. First they had to find him though and that could be tricky! What if he had moved house?

But it was as good a place to start as any and so they were making their way over there. "When we find him... Do you know how to cut a tie?"

Maybe he should have asked this earlier, but he is sure that he and Elfnein can work it out together! They were a really strong team!

REGION: Europe

[godsoffortune]

Cult Hubs/maybe Cutting Ties ♔ Pr?...eece...

[priforprince]

Tch. Even here?

[ Mixed into a gathering of vendors selling Ancient Greek souvenirs to tourists looking for ancient ruins, there's an unobtrusive shop where people...tend to come in and out of the back rather frequently. Hibiki sighs. ]

I've more important business in Japan, and everything...

[ But it's not like she can turn down dismantling this hub. Not with dozens of ghosts around her - all in various states of swoon.

"Lord Apollo!"

"Lord Apollo has come to save us!"

"She foresaw the danger and rushed to our aid, in the chariot of the Sun!"

This will likely not, for those with spiritual sight, be a subtle infiltration. ]

REGION: Australia & the South Pacific / Oceania islands

[godsoffortune]

Australia: Sydney cult hub

[swordofzero]

[It felt good that they were on the last stretch of this. The cult had been an ever present danger since Suzaku had first arrived in the heavens and now they were at the stage of taking down the last strongholds.

He was stood outside of a building, a known cult hub. The task was to search it and take any thing that was connected to the heavens. Different to fighting ayakashi or cutting ties but still important.

For now he was studying the building, taking note of the entrances, the windows, the people. Looking around for any other Far Shore residents, if there were others here it was best they coordinated plans, rather than accidentally working against each other.]

Shun Kurosaki | OTA

[revolutionfalcon]

[A: Cutting Ties (various locations)]

[While Shun had been comfortable enough with the idea of just killing the higher-ups in the cult, he prefers this kind of method for the people who just got caught up in the hive mind of it all. As such, he can be found in a great number of the locations people have been directed to search, usually wielding a bird-headed war hammer with a nasty crack down its handle in one hand and a long golden poleaxe in the other. The bigger concern isn't actually cutting the tie so much as tracking down the relevant cultist first, though, so when Shun happens to cross paths with anyone searching the same area, he won't hesitate to approach, weapons held towards his back.]

Are you looking for another one of the cultists as well? Might as well share information if it gets this done quicker.

--

[B: Afterwards]

[Shun isn't quite what one would describe as "at ease" once it's all been dealt with, but he does, at least, look somewhat satisfied with their work. Hopefully it'll quell one of the biggest problems they've had since arriving here, and though there's still plenty of internal problems to be dealt with, that's something they can concern themselves with more when it comes up. No point guessing at what might cause rifts in the Heavens next.

For now, he's more in the moment, watching people return and start to disperse while scrutinising for injuries and similar. If anyone approaches him, he'll at least give them a nod of the head in greeting.]

Didn't run into anything that troublesome, then?

--

[C: Hubs and Blight Circles (Wildcard)]

[[Shun will be investigating the blight circle he previously discovered on the Langanes Peninsula of Iceland, as well as certain cultist hubs, particularly the one in Sydney. If you are interested in plotting for one of these (or a different cultist hub), feel free to hit me up here or at reviseleviathan and I can write a more specific starter!]]

A

[unlucky7]

[It's a good thing people rarely notice them because those are not subtle weapons at all. Ginia is loitering outside a convenience store when she spots Shun. She whistles for his attention and raises a hand in greeting. There's a large bag slung over her shoulder not unlike an archery bag.]

One of the employees here is a cultist, her shift is in twenty minutes. Couldn't get her home address so I figure I'd wait here. You?

Hibiki Shikyoin ♔ Going Rogue In The Far Shore And Japan ♔ Open-ish

[priforprince]

[ A Genius's Five Seconds And The Common Man's Five Seconds Are Different ]

[ Were you assigned to work with Hibiki? That is a true tragedy. Because she's, ah, late showing up to wherever on the planet she's supposed to be. So late, that it likely behooves you to go looking for her.



....It's not hard. She's in her temple. Typing...something....on her laptop.

With such urgency that she has not noticed you yet. You might have to make a scene. ]

[ Cutting Ties - actual cutting locked to Wendy and/or D2; ota for being caught in the act ]

Hm.

[ Beneath this tree, an unsuspecting person ambles by, checking something on their cell phone. Hiding behind the tree - a spygoat, watching.

Several trees back - a shadow dotted with the brilliant red of casablanca lilies. Who has just nodded and pressed a button on their tablet.

The spygoat, nervous but mostly maa-xcited to be part of a Great Heist, begins rolling towards the person. The goat is carrying a small piece of cardstock atop a silver platter, suspended above themselves.

Except....well, there is this tree. Spygoats and tree roots don't mix.

The goat goes tail over horns! The card goes flying!

Right, perhaps, towards, someone else.... ]

[ Bonus: Now Then, Promise That You'll Always Heed Me ]

[ The location: the headquarters of the Fujisaki corporation. The mood: confusion. A few of the higher-ups, upon whom people depend for instruction, don't appear to be their usual selves. They're discombobulated. There's only one person left who seems to know what's going on, and they've sequestered themselves in their office as they try to figure all this out.

Into the building strides: a young businessprince in a suit that cost more than the entire reception desk. With a companion. (That's you!)

They approach the receptionist with a bright smile. ] Hey. You're working hard today.

[ "Ah! Yes, ah...sir...?....do you have an appointment....?" ]



Naturally. With destiny. And you.

[ A purple rose is produced from within that suit, offered to the young woman. She takes it, too surprised by the gesture to notice the businessprince unclipping her ID card from her front pocket.

A very special smile is smiled. ] Take it in celebration. For the dawning of a glorious, never-setting sun.

Five seconds

[unlucky7]

[At least when it comes to all people assigned to work with Hibiki, Ginia takes it all in stride. When she doesn't spot Hibiki at Orihime's home, she texts the god asking for her location. When Hibiki fails to respond, Ginia goes with the most logical location and heads toward the temple.

Standing behind Hibiki, Ginia leans over to see what has her so focused. Not her fault if Hibiki didn't notice or hear her come in. She knocked, she swears.]

Dust: Various

[mithrarin]

Cutting Ties (various)

[Kairi had told him the secret, that soulless shinki could be wielded by shinki themselves. Today he doesn't hesitate to make use of that, and so bandages wrap around the hand that grips Ahrah, glowing faintly as power streams from them. In his cloak and hat, with purpose swirling around him, Dust would be an awesome sight like an avenging angel... if he weren't stopped on the sidewalk, peering at a piece of paper in his other hand.]

I don't see this street name anywhere! Why are the signs so terrible here?

Blight Circles

[A tree offers ample cover for Dust to peer at the circle from a distance, assessing the strength of the gathered ayakashi and the blight leached into the land.]

[Not even too long ago, he'd have just charged in, attacking to clear the place even without being able to rend those dark spirits. Had he learned patience and maturity, or did he just not care any more? Some days he felt like he's just going through the motions...]

[Well, whatever. Keeping to his safe vantage point, Dust keeps a close watch for other shinki or gods who might come to investigate. This circle is large and nasty enough to attract attention now that everyone is out looking... and also large and nasty enough that more warriors from Heaven would definitely be better.]

Cutting ties

[hypomeneo]

They aren't putting much into keeping this area up. This one's pretty much rusted thorough.

[... which makes it attractive recruiting ground for the cult, really. Waver grew up in an area just like this one; he knows how easily it was for young men to fall into another sort of crowd during the Troubles.

Eirene is in hand as his bow. Waver won't comment on the soulless in Dust's hand as he himself had been shinki until recently.]

There's one on the side of the building, though.