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

So this isn't a crime spree, it's a would-be revolution.

How did they make the announcement?

[Please let it be something stupid, like a long handwritten manifesto?

Although if it's someone who's avoided leaving obvious clues so far, she supposes, it's one of those annoyingly clever types that takes extra effort to track down. And shinki can't just walk into forensic labs and start tossing requests around.

(Why does she think first of forensic labs? -- Her mind shies away from the question, and she blinks, briefly disoriented, before looking back at Shun.)]

You're probably right to assume they're linked. It's a place to start, at least.

Exactly. And they declared it by setting a forest on fire and dropping notes in the middle of it.

[One half of that is reasonably stupid, but the other isn't nearly so much. Shun would almost remark on the fact that there are a lot of people who probably wouldn't pay attention to the notes at all in that situation, if he wasn't fully aware at least one person almost got themselves caught in the fire for paying too much attention to them.

She seems to have caught his general reasoning for focusing on one potential party for now, though, and Shun inclines his head a little.]

We've barely got that as is, so I'll wait until we have a handle on one enemy before we start trying to pursue others that might or might not exist.

[One of Scully's eyebrows inches up.]

That sounds like overkill. Did anyone keep a note?

[It's not a handwritten manifesto, but it's something that might carry evidence. Typology hints. Paper source. Something.]

... Anyway, it makes sense to look for more information on the one we know about before ruling them in or out for other parts of -- [She waves a hand, frustrated.]

All of this.

I don't know. If anyone did, I doubt they got any information out of it.

[Because, unfortunately, there'd only been about two lines of straightforward text on each. There's only so much you can get out of that, and Shun looks a little annoyed at the fact.

Inclining his head in agreement with Scully's observation, Shun looks over the rest of the training area and the gods and shinki milling within it.]

Especially when so little of all of this makes sense. Other than bringing in periods of disarray, I still haven't figured out what an enemy would gain from bringing new forces to the Heavens.

They can't be planning on using us as allies, or they'd have had a better interview process.

[She looks around: the variation is immense, and none of them seem to have any better idea of why they're here or what they're doing than Scully has found so far on her own.]

Maybe the disarray is the point.

[Distraction? It seems like too small of a reason to go to the trouble of kidnapping and brainwashing dozens upon dozens, but then, magic is real here. She doesn't know how much trouble it might have been, and if it turns out not to have been difficult at all, it might be worth it. To someone.

If someone wanted to work against the government without being discovered, a regular, high-visibility, chaotic distraction could be worth a lot, Scully supposes.]

There are probably some here who'd try turning to whoever's doing this as allies, but I doubt they'd value them any longer than they were useful for. [On both sides. The potential enemy seems to want all of the Heavens brought down, and the ones that willing to change sides here wouldn't be the type to carry deep loyalties.

At Scully's suggestion, Shun nods slightly with the air of someone who's thought about this rather a lot.]

That's a point I've come back to a few times myself. When there's so little they could be doing with this, the disarray has to have some value to them, but I have my doubts it's just the disarray they're going for.

You're right, it doesn't seem like enough to justify all this effort.

[She wrinkles her nose, deep in thought. When she speaks again, it sounds almost as though she's talking to herself rather than asking a question.]

Is there anything else us being here does? Anything other than the distraction of dealing with us?

Exactly. Not to mention that once the disarray passes, all it looks like is giving the Heavens more to work with.

[There's a level of suspicion in Shun's voice that makes it abundantly clear he can't believe it would be something that straightforward. If it looks like they're getting an advantage, it's more than likely they're getting a disadvantage instead.]

Hell if I know. They're mixing up pantheons into one place and making it more likely people will screw things up from inexperience and lose followers, but neither of those things seem like they'd be damaging enough to go to all this trouble for.

No. And we can't tell if there's something important about us when half of us don't remember anything to begin with.

[So that's a dead end. If the point is kidnapping them and keeping them out of wherever they're supposed to be, they're not going to be able to find out why, or identify any useful similarities. Or, at least, Scully won't be able to safely.

She chews on her lower lip. So it's not the kidnapping. The disarray isn't enough, unless there's some bigger effect it's going to have, and the newcomers losing followers shouldn't matter to anyone.]

Maybe it's political and the point is to make Amaterasu look weak. She can't stop this, after all. And it's hard to sweep under the rug with this many of us here and more showing up every week.

That too. People keep asking about patterns, but it's impossible to pick one out when half of the people here don't remember anything about themselves or their circumstances anyway.

[Again, there's a grit to Shun's tone that says these are trains of thought he's walked down more than once before this. It's infuriating to him, thinking on it again and again but never having any more answers to speak of, but he also can't just leave things be. It's not the kind of person he is.

Given Shun's seen Amaterasu and he's fairly sure he's not the only one who has, he tries to find a way to answer that which doesn't entirely give away the fact that she's a child in form.]

If they're familiar with Amaterasu, I don't think that would be their focus. It could be political, but it also wouldn't be something that simple.

Why do you say that? If they're really trying to depose her, discouraging her supporters seems like an important step.

[And making her look weak is something that would peel away any self-interested support.]

That implies the majority here support her. They're not actively against her, but most people here are ambivalent towards her. She doesn't get directly involved with things here very often. If they were trying to rally us against Amaterasu, they failed as soon as they declared open warfare on her.

[And while Shun knows one of the reasons Amaterasu doesn't get involved with things much, with her being a child and apparently subject to occasional grounding by her advisors, it's also information he told Amaterasu he'd try to keep close to his chest if he could. Her current state isn't the kind of thing that needs to be spread.]

I'd think it would be easier to convince people who are ambivalent than people who support her.

[Scully's sounding more and more dubious, but it's true that she doesn't know the situation. What Shun's saying, though, sounds more like propaganda -- or positive thinking -- than a real analysis.

She can believe that people aren't lining up to fight Amaterasu any more than they are to support her, though. With so little information to go on, and if she really doesn't get that involved, it's hard to make it a flash point.]

... I don't know what side I'd</> come down on. I just want to know why we're really here.

Then, like I said, they should've done that before declaring war. By doing that, they gave even the people who haven't met Amaterasu more reason to side with her when it would've been easier to sway them beforehand.

[It does sound like something Shun's put consideration to - not least because the flyers from that fire had always seemed so minimal to him. Suspiciously so. It legitimately didn't seem like their enemy was trying to sway opinions against Amaterasu so much as make themselves visible.

Scully's final point there is something he can definitely relate to, though, and he lets out a long breath.]

I think we all do. It doesn't look like those are answers we're getting anytime soon.

No. It doesn't.

[The corner of her mouth twists, and she sighs, too, before giving Shun a direct and serious look.]

But thank you for clearing up a few things for me. I appreciate it.

I expect we'll see each other around.

[Shun's not one to extend a conversation any longer than it needs to go, so when Scully seems content to wrap things up, he inclines his head slightly.]

The more people know what's going on, the less ignorance I have to contend with later. [His tone isn't outright dismissive, but there's definitely an air of him trying to accentuate it being self-serving more than anything.]

Most likely. [And with that, he turns away, still watching her over his shoulder.] Until then.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

013 | Down To Business

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