thenearshore | 013 | Down To Business

Entry tags:

013 | Down To Business

Who: Everyone!
What: Training
When: Morning June 16
Where: Bishamon's temple
Summary: Training sessions for everyone to learn more about their abilities and jobs!

Many people have been wanting to know more about their abilities and what they are required to do here in the Far Shore. So, in conjunction with Bishamonten, the Heavens have seen fit to offer an open training session for everyone to participate in. Here you will be able to learn anything and everything about what you should be able to do and what is expected of you in your new positions.

Bishamon's temple is sweeping and gorgeous, having previously been home to hundreds of shinki. She has graciously offered to hold this training session and will be available to help anyone who needs it.

Equipment

Various kinds of mannequins and dummies have been provided for practice, as well as targets that are either stationary or move, depending on your will. Punching bags, jumping blocks, and a large pool area have also been provided for your use, so that you can find a tool for pretty much anything that you might need to practice. Plenty of practice weapons of various weights, sizes, and shapes are also available upon request from any of the many white-clad shinki that are also attending today.

God Training

Bishamon herself will be the foremost source of information regarding being a god and what is expected of you. It is also encouraged that gods group up together to practice what they've learned and discuss their ideologies. Random groupings can be provided by the mods or you may come up with your own groupings together.

Shinki Training

Various shinki are available to help with shinki training, including Kazuma and all of Bishamon's shinki. Additionally, the white-clad shinki will be more than happy to train you on using the borderline and some of the basics of what is expected of a shinki. It is also encouraged that shinki group up together to practice what they've learned and discuss their ideologies. Random groupings can be provided by the mods or you may come up with your own groupings together.

Refreshments

There is a refreshments table provided. It is covered with light snacks and various kinds of hydrating drinks. There is a little sitting area set up for people to relax in after they have finished their training or if they're even just taking a quick break to cool down. The Heavens want you to stay in good condition!

In Summary:

Use the state of the art equipment
Learn about your job
Form groups to practice
Don't get dehydrated
Spectate if you want
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Welp, that's do it. Ren jumps and leans back from the snapping fingers, staring down his nose at them for a moment and then up at Shun like he has no idea why he just felt the need to do that. Okay, so maybe he shouldn't just be standing there spacing out...but still.]

Why would there be something wrong?

[Of course, even if something was wrong, he's pretty much taking a break already...]

[There we go. Once he reacts and gives Shun that look, the one Shun gives him back is more of a raised-brow one than anything, to make the point that not knowing why Shun did that is, to him, the more unusual notion here.]

You were either staring at me for minutes at a time or completely inattentive, or both. Am I supposed to assume something other than you having something on your mind?

[So, in other words, there being something wrong (or at least, that's how Shun would consider "having something on his mind"). In his experience, Ren can get a bit like that when there's something troubling him.]

[...Had he really been that bad...?

Well, yes, probably. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. He really didn't mean to worry Shun, though, so he shakes his head and smiles a little as he plops his chin in one of his hands.]

The only thing on my mind is how much I want to be able to do some of that.

[Well, maybe not the only thing, but it's the one that come to mind first.]

[After another moment of eying Ren off, Shun moves from the crouching position to sitting on the side of the jumping block for the moment. If he stays crouching too long, it's going to impede him, and this conversation could go on for a little while.]

It'd be a process, and painful even if I know you don't care about that. Not everyone starts with the flexibility you need to do things like that, especially not if they haven't had any kind of longstanding, active hobby or whatever else.

[And given what he saw of Ren trying to copy one of his acrobatic moments at that picnic, he hasn't had any hobby that's required him to be particularly aware of his own body.]

[Ah, if Shun is settling down, then he's probably planning on this taking a little while. So Ren feels safe in going ahead and settling on the ground in front of him.]

I was just admiring how flexible you are~!

[He laughs a little as he says it, but by the time he's fully settled, he's looking a lot more pensive. Not for the first time, he wishes he'd actually tried to train with Tetsu or Asaka, because they could probably keep up with Shun--and actually, Kyou and Suiko probably could too--but he definitely can't.]

I know it's something that'll take a lot of work and it won't be instantaneous, and I don't want to be either. But I still kind of wish it could be.

[By Shun's standards, that was actually a relatively low-impact bit of training, and he shrugs a little at the joking comment.]

That wasn't really a big deal. Nothing needed me to hold any positions.

[The shift in mood is rather obvious, though, and Shun waits for the inevitable follow-up to it. All things considered, it's less of an issue than he was expecting, and even if he hasn't had that feeling himself, he understands it somewhat, giving a brief nod.]

A lot of people probably do. Especially in the most painful parts, and when you feel like you haven't learnt anything. But you're still here. [So it's no question of whether he's willing to put in the work.]

Mmm, that's a familiar feeling. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to feel like that again.

[But...he is still here, and if anything, he just seems wistful rather than being really unhappy about it in any way. Of course, he doesn't like feeling like that, but he's never given up on something just because it was hard.

Being reminded that it isn't just him, it's lot of people, certain didn't hurt either.

That was also a very distracting thing Shun just said and it's hard to go on being serious when he's buey trying not to think too much about it, so he eventually just gives up on that not trying thing.]

What kinds of positions?

It's not the kind of thing that's so easy to dispel. But experiencing it before means you know it's only a matter of time.

[If Ren doesn't actually sound displeased about it, though, he figures it's not that much of a problem. He seems to know what he's gotten himself into, annoying feelings and such things included.

When Ren asks about positions, Shun blinks at him for a moment like he wasn't expecting the question, but eventually sighs and glances to one side, where there's a narrow beam for balance practice very close to his block. Shun had moved them closer together on the hope that it'd make things less troublesome moving from one to the other for practice.

Stepping from the block to the beam, he walks to the middle, and, facing Ren, lowers himself into the kind of leg-split most regularly seen on gymnasts or dancers, both of them flat to the beam. Without more than a moment to adjust to that, he drops his torso backwards over the beam, curving his spine so he's looking at Ren again - conveniently enough, at about eye-level with the beam's height - with his head poking out under the beam, arms behind his back as if to prove he's not using anything to support himself.]

Things that make sure I stay flexible enough to use it in combat.

Edited 2017-02-24 12:33 (UTC)

[...So maybe he'd said that in the hopes that Shun might demonstrate something, but he hadn't really been expecting it, so he is a little surprised when Shun starts moving. And then it doesn't matter how surprised or not he was, because once Shun gets into position, Ren's mouth goes a bit dry and it's hard not to just stare at him the way he had been before.

He's not sure even Asaka could do that...or that he'd be quite as entranced if she did, actually. Of course, Asaka was always very impressive, but this is not quite the same somehow.

...Well, maybe it's not too hard not to just zone out and stare, because after a few moments, he looks absolutely delighted instead.]

Eeeeh, that's really amazing! How long can you stay like that?

[It's probably somewhat of a suggestion in itself that Shun demonstrates no sign of moving out of the position even in the few moments it takes Ren to react, even if he partially just seems to be waiting for said reaction so he can consider his demonstration over. To him, it's not really anything more than another training move, and accordingly mundane even if it is a bit of an extreme one.

So while Ren's delight in seeing it isn't entirely unexpected given how Shun considers him to "overreact" to a lot of things regarding him, it does, for whatever reason, make him rethink letting the position drop. His immediate assumption of himself is that it's a proof of his skill, not that he really needs to give Ren that at this point, but somewhere in the mix there's an emotion he doesn't remember having felt in the last few years, and accordingly can't put a name to right now.

Dropping his arms from behind his back to cross them in front of him instead, Shun shrugs slightly.]

A while. I don't usually just do this sort of thing to see how long I can, but if I can hold myself at the roof of a room long enough for an ambush, this shouldn't be that much of a problem.

[...Now there's something Ren wishes he could see. Too bad this isn't really the place for that kind of demonstration. But, if possible, he looks even more delighted and awed at the idea all the same.]

You're like a ninja! [Murakumo or Nubatama wouldn't even be the worst fit for him...] How did you learn to do things like that?

[That's a question Shun was hoping he could get away from this conversation without having to address, thought the only indication of it before the answer comes is a slight, sharp breath and closing his eyes.]

I had plenty of time to work on creative ways to stay alive in the two years before I came here, and opportunity to use it when my life counted on it. [So really, more than anything, it was constant, repeated practice with lack of anything else to do and plenty of opportunity and motivation to use it. He did plenty of dueling, obviously, but there were raids where they'd had little other choice but to hide, or ambushes where their success depended on how well they could conceal themselves.]

[Oh. That had been a mistake. In his excitement, he'd just asked the first thing that came to mind, but of course that would be the answer and of course it was something Shun didn't want to think about. At least that also answered his next question, which was how long it had taken him, and he won't have to ask that too.

Ren is quiet just long enough to make it clear that he'd noticed Shun's reaction and realized his misstep, and then he smiles again, still chipper but much less so than he'd been a moment ago.]

Can you show me another one? Or maybe you could show me where to start? Since I guess we shouldn't goof off all afternoon...

[The recognition of it is enough, and there's the very slightest motion of Shun inclining his head in appreciation of it. Most of the time, the people who knew his past didn't care enough to be delicate or actively rubbed it in his face unless they'd experienced it themselves, and if there's one thing he's thankful for here, it's that Ren knows when he's overstepped that line.

By way of answer to Ren's question, Shun lets out and draws a quiet breath before swinging his torso back up in one quick, smooth motion so he's sitting properly on the beam again. Still with his legs split, but that doesn't seem enough of a concern for him to change if he might be about to get off the beam anyway.]

To know where you'd need to start, I'd need to know how flexible you are as well. Some people have it naturally, but others need to work on that as they learn. [He's pretty sure he knows which of those Ren is just from their training, but it's worth asking.]

[That's not quite as impressive a move as before, but that doesn't mean it isn't impressive at all and Ren can't help looking him over for a long moment. It must not hurt if he's content sitting like that but it sure looks like it would...and maybe what's most impressive is how he can stay balanced like that...]

Well, I definitely can't do that. [He smiles a little as he says it, but it has an edge to it that wasn't there a minute ago. He's already slipping back into the hyper-focused, single-minded mindset Shun's been seeing lately just at the idea of starting to work on something.

Although, he has to admit, it's slightly more difficult than usual right now.]

Do you want me to show you?

[This time, Shun seems to notice the lengthy look a little more, and his brow furrows slightly in confusion. He doesn't understand what the reason behind it is, because it's not something wrong, and if he wanted a demonstration then him just sitting like this isn't much of one, comparatively. The consideration turns up the word interest in his mind, but he can't for the life of him figure out what in.

Ren's shift in attitude takes his atention off that, though, and answers Shun's lingering question of whether Ren wanted to begin on this right now. Bringing his legs back together neatly, he slides off the beam to stand in front of Ren with an expectant air.]

I did ask to know. The best way for me to get an idea of what I'm working with here is for you to show me.

[He did ask, and Ren could have just told him too. But he's probably right that it would be best if he could see it (although Ren has a hard time believing he doesn't already have a good idea from their other training).

So without any further ado, Ren nods and also gets to his feet, and then decides he might as well start with where Shun just left off. He takes a couple steps so he has more than enough space and then spreads his legs as far as they want to go. Which is...definitely not as far as Shun, he is definitely triangular shaped, but had can at least press his palms flat to the ground if he leans over.]

[As Ren arranges himself into that position, Shun walks in a half circle around him, inspecting it rather critically. He's definitely going to need work if he's still triangular in the legs, but it's a start, he supposes.]

Being able to get into the position at all is better than nothing, because being able to repeat it is going to improve it. This is the kind of thing you're going to have to do every day to develop yourself, but it's just stretches, so it shouldn't be much trouble or take too long.

[Even as he's saying that, though, he moves to stand behind Ren and put a hand on each shoulder, pushing him down a little more and seeing how much give his legs have beyond the point Ren can push them out to. If it doesn't hurt too much, it could be something to add to it during their training sessions.]

I'll just add it to the other things I do every day.

[It's probably something he should have already been doing, frankly, if not since Shun started teaching him than definitely since he added jogging to his daily routine a couple weeks ago.

When Shun presses down on his shoulders, his feet do slide apart another inch or so, but then Ren hisses a little because that's definitely where it's starting to hurt too much to stay quiet. That is, however, his only bit of protest, other than--]

If you push me far down, I won't be able to stand back up by myself.

[In fact, he's more likely to just fall over because balancing like this is not the easiest thing in the world...]

That's the most sensible way to do it. [Not that Shun takes much consideration of how sensible some things might be outside training, but he can have this one thing.

As soon as Ren expresses that sign of being in pain, Shun lets up, because pushing it further than that is likely to be more dangerous than helpful. Much as Ren, in his experience, has anywhere from a high tolerance to general enjoyment of pain, there's no point if it's not doing anything for him.]

If it hurts already, I'm not pushing it further. But if you need help getting up you can just ask.

[It's put by Shun as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, rather than an offer out of any level of him being nice about this.]

[Wow, Shun, the pain he's okay with and this pain are completely different, thank you very much.

...Okay, actually, this isn't so bad. But he is glad that Shun isn't going to push it further because then it would be. And he definitely agree that it should be accomplishing something other than just hurting him.]

I'll keep that in mind. [Of course, if Shun's willing to help him up during their lessons, it shouldn't be so surprising that he is here too.] How long do you want me to stay like this?

[At the question, Shun considers for a moment, weighing how much he thinks Ren can probably handle along with what comes out to a relatively convenient round if he takes it in repetitions.]

Try thirty seconds, then ten without using your hands to balance. That should make it easy to adapt it to however many minutes you want to work with in practice.

[Forty total is a flexible number, since three sets comes to two minutes and he can go from there if he wants.]

There's other basic things you'll want to do with it as well - reaching to your toes for the spine, holding your legs up to your back, basically normal stretches except you'll need to focus on them rather than using them as a prelude to something.

[Ren would nod if he didn't think it would make it harder to balance, so he hums a little in agreement instead. He'll probably have to write that down later...and the rest of it too, probably...]

Touching my toes isn't too bad... [He can actually do that, for one thing, if only barely.] What do you mean by holding you leg up to your back?

[Since any way he could describe that particular stretch could probably be misinterpreted quite a bit, Shun instead elects to show Ren what he means. Except it's pretty obvious that as soon as he lifts his leg back far enough that his foot is higher than his head, even if he is holding it firmly with one hand stretched back, and his back is curved with the motion almost as sharply as it had been on the beam earlier, this isn't a stretch that Ren is going to be able to do immediately either. It looks very much like a dance stretch, but it also looks very much like Shun absolutely does not give a damn as long as it works.]

Obviously it won't be this high for you from the start, but since you have to hold the leg with your hand anyway, it's not that hard to practice.

[To be honest, he probably could have figured that out on his own eventually, but if asking meant getting Shun to show off a little more, then he sure is glad he asked. It's a shame he didn't learn all this for fun; he's really quite beautiful...]

--Can you stay like that for a few more seconds?

[Suddenly struck by inspiration--and not a moment too soon because he's starting to get tired of standing like this--Ren falls backward onto his butt and quickly starts digs out his phone. Then he lies back in the grass to get the best view of Shun that he can from the ground and starts lining up the camera.]

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