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

[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.

Chikusa

[starfestival]

Your gift basket contents could be...!!

Throwing out the template for Chikusa, because he'll get a tower of 3 gifts in descending size.

First, he gets a small gift... a beanie baby dog.

Second, his next gift is two flat boxes (thin cardboard like from the grocery store) each with a variety of very beany snacks. Two of each of the 8 flavors.

Third, a large hatbox, stuffed full of several (knit/crocheted/sewn) beanies... in the shape of food:

1. pizza
   
2. bacon & eggs
   
3. a tomato
   
4. a cheeseburger
   
5. a pineapple
   
6. an ice-cream cone
   
7. And Orihime's personal favorite, on the top of the pile to one side: a cooked turkey

To the other side, his special beanie with the power to figure out the key ingredients, herbs/spices, approximate portions, and cooking/baking styles that created the food he's eating.

If you would like to ask for corrections or modifications to any of the above, please respond here and we can continue to discuss it!

Wendy

[starfestival]

Your gift basket contents could be...!!

Your selections
Wearable special item: A pair of very cool boots that also happen to have interchangeable heels. (Thumbnail #4 is the pair of boots) Wendy gets 4 heels to start, each with a power style: glitter trail where she walks/kicks, light trail doing the same, glow in the dark, one that emits a theatre fog. Later, upon request, Orihime could make her more heels with different powers.

Mod selections
Dry goods / packets: Senbei wafers/crackers and Jagariko flavored potato sticks
Fresh goods / fruits / chocolates: a variety box of mochi flavors and styles
Bottles / jars / cans: 3 flavors of Gogo no Koucha Milk Tea and a pudding shake
Small utensil / tool: a cute set of chopsticks
Final presentation / Packaging / decoration: each element is individually wrapped in Furoshiki style

If you would like to ask for corrections or modifications to any of the above, please respond here and we can continue to discuss it!

Garry

[starfestival]

Your gift basket contents could be...!!

Your selections
Wearable special item: Given Garry's concerns, Orihime would recommend Protection omamori, which can be worn as a charm on a necklace, tucked into a breast pocket where a napkin might go, pinned inside of a vest/jacket, or simply tucked into a pants pocket/bag. She recommends keeping it as visible as possible, though. It would be a craft that she'd try to get him to learn how to make, though she'd "teach" him through approximately 10-12 of them over a few days. Each one should be white with the expensive fabric normally reserved for kimono, hand sewn shut, then turned right side out. Inside of the omamori, writing his shinki name given to him by his god is her recommendation, or something of Komaeda's such as a lock of hair, etc. Something to symbolize their connection. The charm will enhance their connection, roughly half the amount of the improved shinki connection regain, which could still stack with the omamori. She can't give each omamori bag any one power that will fix his luck problem, but she is sure that the white color will darken as its power is used up to create the balance between god and shinki fates. Once it is a darker grey/tan, he should swap to a new, pristine white charm.

The one thing that Orihime can do for his charms is embroider the outside with the gold thread, the 3 magatama, and the Japanese kanji characters. She just wants him to cut the fabric first, then she won't touch the fabric itself - just thread it in the air with her sewing-specific telekinetic power - so that he and his god should be the only beings 'attached' to the charms.

Since Garry would have to craft the omamori going forward, she will use his "special item" slot for a thin bracelet with a power to help steady his hands / elevate his crafting skill.
Mundane items: White cord to help create the charms, fabric scissors, and a bolt of the white fabric too.

Mod selections
Dry goods / packets: A box of Taralli snack crackers and a small pack of Pomodori Secchi Fritti
Fresh goods / fruits / chocolates: Kinder Bueno White Chocolate 4-pack and italian party balls 4-pack
Bottles / jars / cans: Miele Oil, Vinegar, Salt and Pepper Set
Small utensil / tool: A small sewing kit with white thread and a needle.
Final presentation / Packaging / decoration: Traditional furoshiki wrapping

If you would like to ask for corrections or modifications to any of the above, please respond here and we can continue to discuss it!