May Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: July 15
Where: Bishamon's temple, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods (although there's none this time) and shinki



The product of many meetings and recommendations, at last it has taken shape. On this day, in anticipation of the new arrivals who appear in a recognized pattern, Heaven has partnered with the new gods and shinki to organize a very helpful informational reception.

The shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided kindly towards Bishamon's temple. And in that vast complex they are brought to a traditional-style dojo.
Here the newly arrived gods are gathered, so finding their partner is more simple. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the aspects of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki, or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.




God Training

Bishamon herself, as well as Amaterasu's ever-present shinki and any volunteering gods, will be the foremost source of information regarding being a god and what is expected of them, such as prayers. It is encouraged that gods group up together to practice what they've learned and discuss their ideologies.
Newly arrived gods are still expected to communicate to their shinki the information* they themselves get oriented with when they arrive.

Shinki Training

Various volunteers are stationed around the building, passing out helpful informational pamphlets. There are many shinki, including Bishamon's and Amaterasu's, who will be more than happy to train in using the borderline and some of the basics of what is expected of a shinki. It is encouraged that shinki group up together to practice what they've learned and discuss their ideologies.
Bishamon's lead shinki Kazuma offers a lecture to new arrivals that will thoroughly cover some essential points about teamwork with both shinki and other gods.

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern. There are volunteers here as well, willing to assist in basic training. (Or even more advanced sparring, depending on the volunteer.) Essential for gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes.
Also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki.

Rest and Refreshments

There is a garden off the dojo that is free to be used for rest and conversation.
Should anyone wander outside the designated area, some shinki of Bishamon's will attach themselves to them and not leave them be until they return to the dojo.

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 just taking a quick break to cool down. Even hand towels are provided by Bishamon's helpful shinki. The Heavens wants everyone to stay in good condition!

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training
• Don't get dehydrated
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[thethunderbeast]

[He doesn't say anything in response, only giving her a raised eyebrow that should do most of the talking for him. He holds it long enough to make sure that she sees it before plucking his towel off the ground and dropping it onto his face.

He'll be here when you get back.]

i thought you were made of love

[sonofson]

Uh...I donno. Aymeric got a new shinki recently but she was from that shinki temple and is super quiet. But it's better you look after your god first. We can always look for ayakashis anytime!

[Goten gives a shrug, floating around and over Shizuo to settle on his shoulder. Similar to how he does Izumo sometimes. Now he can be tall and not have to fly for it]

[reformedsinner]

Do you become a different person when you die? I suppose it's possible.

[But, if so, he's that different person now. The death Sharak had told him she'd seen had been less than final, in reality; it's in his past.

After a moment, he shakes his head firmly.]

I'm not your god. If you want to stand on ceremony --

[-- and this is definitely a teasing glint in his eye as he continues:]

"Sensei" will do. But you're right. [There's something in the air today, despite the pleasant weather; it's not exactly youki, but it raises the hairs on Hakkai's neck in a similar way.] Soon would be best. It is, believe it or not, good to see you again, Neji.

[thethunderbeast]

[The face he makes when he's hit is probably not his most flattering one, but at the first chance he gets, he backs off and wipes the sheen of sweat that's coating his brow with the back of his hand.]

Not bad for a second time.

[Look, he can respect someone who can fight and who knows that they can. A competitive side of him is screaming at Hak to punch the other man back to get even, but he also knows when he's evenly matched. Innocently, he strides over to his spear and kicks it up high enough that he's able to grab it, and he rests it on his shoulder.]

You a god, then?

[thethunderbeast]

You going to share with the rest of us?

[He'll play for a little while longer. At least he's not bored anymore?

Hak doesn't hold back anymore. His spear comes down in another mighty swing, this time over his shoulder but it's nowhere near Jae-Ha... not yet, at least. It serves more as a warning to prepare himself for the next swing that comes, completely telegraphed and obvious.]

[shadowrevenger]

Oh, that wouldn't be too bad if he did it upstairs...

[Still, he's not going to worry about it until it happens, especially if Hakkai doesn't think he needs to. Doesn't mean he can't joke about needing to be worried a little more, though.]

Maybe you should come by a little more often just to make sure. I'm still working through some of the coffee I got in Iraq, and there were some really good cookies in the gift baskets too.

[reformedsinner]

Just make sure that if he tries any uppercuts, he does it outside!

[Hakkai chuckles a little. It's a pleasant memory: Goku kicking a youkai kidnapper through the roof of an animal byre. His embarrassed oops, Sanzo's scolding...

... it feels like only this morning he was with them, but he suddenly misses that camaraderie fiercely.]

Oh my, are the cookies still good? I'll have to visit soon, then, won't I?

I may have some tea you'd like, if it's still at Yuri's temple. I'll have to check.

[solaris9]

[ Good enough for him! He thinks it smells very good too, though he's not sure if it's heavenly, having never been to heaven before (as far as he's aware, anyway!) Nectar he does know though, if he means fruit nectar. He breaks off a piece (very squishy) and pops it into his mouth. His eyes widen. ]

Oooooh.

[ Okay, so maybe not fruit nectar, but definitely just as good! ]

Yum!!

[solaris9]

Haha. I guess I didn't know how it was supposed to look. Yours knocked mine away.

[ Walls or daggers? Hmmm. It said something about halberds, but nothing about daggers. ]

What do you mean daggers?

[solaris9]

[ The line comes out looking a lot more solid than Goku's. And more colorful, too. ]

Haha. That's really cool! I didn't know they came in colors. Looser, huh? Uh....

[ He tries it again, swiping through the air with his arm like the guy says, loose. ]

Line!

[ Something forms in the direction of his hand swipe. Somewhat brighter than before, though still just a white color. He grins. ]

How's that?

[solaris9]

[ He's won so many he's lost track. Goku is very impressed. He thinks he's really lucked out, to have such a strong team leader. ]

What about here? Have you won lots of battles?

[ How many battles do they go on here? He knows they're supposed to kill ayakashi, but how many of them are out there? ]

[revolutionfalcon]

I didn't think you would, but avoiding it is going to be worse in the long run. [Not wanting to talk about an unpleasant and painful subject is more than familiar to Shun given his history, but for something like this, he feels it's the better idea than keeping a lid on it any further. Especially if it's something that's creating more problems the longer it lies.

Shun listens silently to the explanation, even if his mouth does edge into its usual grimace at the mention of Hibari. He may still hate the guy despite never having met him, but he can understand how frustrating being in that position must have been for both of them, and he nods slightly in acceptance of the reasoning.]

So you used it to help someone else that time, even if it was a little bit for yourself as well. And you managed to keep your distance from it. [It's the kind of answer he was hoping he'd hear, actually, because it brings him to another thought on why that might have been the case.] Does the intent you use the power with have anything to do with how dangerous it is?

[Largely in terms of it being dangerous to Ren's current personality, though it could probably apply to the people who get caught up in it as well.]

[solaris9]

Yumi? Hmm, I guess not. [ Though there's a few folks he talked to whose names he didn't get... ]

A pond sounds nice. [ Goku hasn't seen the temple yet, but he's already liking the sound of it. ]

You should visit again. Hehe. Unless you've got a pond, too?

[onerous]

[Yuri turns her head away as she lowers her hand, trying and failing to hide her smile.] That depends on if the threat is going to work or not. Ah, but I suppose that won't stop Jeep from leaving on his own to get to you...

I'll have to find something else to use as leverage. [Just. Casual blackmail talk, this is fine and normal.

The funny thing being that it IS normal, for a given value of the word. It feels nice to fall into the back and forth again, like nothing much has changed, and she can feel the rest of her doubts and tension unravel]

[nibelungvalesti]

These are divine weapons, materialized for your use -- not to be compared with mortal armor. [She may sound like she's lecturing, but she is simply naturally imperious, as he may have learned by now.] The ether coating will prevent them from breaking.

Thank me by using them in service of your duty.

[shadowrevenger]

[Oh, he'd much rather keep talking about all the battles he won at home, because his track record here has been a lot more depressing.]

A few of them. When I first got here, we were all sent out to deal with some kind of explosion of ayakashi, and I managed to take down a few of them. But I didn't have that shinki for very long, and the one I had after that didn't want to fight with me, so we only fought together a couple times. I've been focusing a lot more on learning lately, so I haven't done a lot with the one I have now either--

[Wait, that is a thing he should probably mention, and would have eventually, but it would seem that eventually is now.]

Oh, right. I was going to tell you that eventually...I already have another shinki, so it'll be three of us instead of just the two of us.

[shadowrevenger]

[Ren sighs a little, but with a somewhat fond smile. That's the kind of thing Tetsu would say too, and he's not wrong. It's just...hard. It's so much easier to avoid it and pretend nothing is wrong.

Of course, Shun manages to put a positive spin on using it that time. It's pretty obvious positive spin, but it still makes him feel a little better and helps push back some of the self-loathing that's threatening to come bubbling up for being so tempted by that power this time, when it isn't to help anyone but himself...

Nope. He's going to make himself think about that question. This isn't the time to fall into that.]

I don't know. I don't think so...I used it outside of fights plenty of times, just to spend time there. I didn't get any less awful when I did that. And later...

[Ren bites his lip before going on. Frankly, it's what happened later that bothers him the most, because he isn't sure what to think of it other than being disappointed in himself and how tempting it makes it.]

Later, when Takuto gave it back to us and I didn't remember ever having it, I used it as much as before but it didn't seem to affect me at all. I guess I was thinking more about having fun and helping Cray than needing power, though...

[1wing]

Yes, it's me, Kazanari Tsubasa.

[ Genius singer, apparently, and fledgling ninja, also apparently. There's a lot she's still figuring out. ]

It's dangerous here. Everyone's trying to figure out how to fight. You ought to be careful.

[ Careful, or people might stab you in the shadow and not even realise what that means. ]

[eternalshield]

Zeno's taken anyway.

[Happily so. It's not that kind of cute he means... but Jae-Ha doesn't need to know that.]

But you'd still let Zeno be friends, right?

[He feels that old familiar yearning for the connection between the ancient dragon brothers. Wonders if Jae-Ha has paid it any mind. He's so pleased. Since Jae-Ha left before... getting more time to spend with him, this is like a second second chance! More precious than gold!]

You need those when you're new, yeah?

[kagenonadeshiko]

I don't know!

[Ayumu doesn't sound the least bit bothered by this. Whether she'd been a fan of stories in life, she doesn't know. Nor does she have an inkling of what she might like. It's a little exhiliarating somehow - this feeling of starting over anew. Maybe it's a little odd for her to look at all of this as a bit of an adventure but she does.]

I suppose that's something else I'll have to learn, too. I really don't know what I might like or dislike but those sound fun.

[Maybe. At least, they sound like something to explore.]

[eternalshield]

[This is his domain, right? Youth and serving the heaven-dwellers. Maybe that's why he was brought to this heaven, to have that connection...?]

Nothing else to say about that, hmm? [He scans the rest of the spread.]

Zeno needs to find something tastier. Something that will produce actual words...

[eternalshield]

No, sadly!

[He's willing to bet the farm his god is Yona. In reality, he'll bet himself something small stakes like whether or not he goes looking for crepes in the Near Shore.]

It's not the actual learning. It's all in the wanting! Wanting to be the best, or if not the best, your best.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Well, it doesn't surprise Shun that using it differently didn't make him less awful when he'd already been there, but he notes the information anyway. It's definitely new to hear that Ren had forgotten ever having it, though - he remembers a passing mention of forgetting, but Ren had cut himself off before he got that far, so this is the first Shun's really hearing of it.

He looks rather thoughtful at that himself, because if that's the case, then in theory it can't just be using the power that's the issue. They don't have clear enough information on it to know that it would be safe using it now, but it definitely gives Shun a broader idea of it than he'd had just knowing of the damage it had done to Ren while using it before, and considering what ignoring it seems to be doing, it opens the potential that not ignoring it may not necessarily be a bad thing.]

Then maybe it is connected in some way, even if better intent didn't bring you back when you'd already succumbed to it. [It's Ren's power, and one Shun will give him as much time as he might need to think about if he chooses to do so instead of ignoring it again, but Shun feels he should at least say one last thing, and he moves to tilt his chin back up a bit to ensure he's actually looking at Shun's face, which has a somewhat soft and very genuine sort of expression.]

I don't know if you trust yourself to think more deeply about it. But I trust you to. [For all the problem is drawing out his darkness, in Shun's experience, he's possibly the most aware person Shun's ever met when it comes to the presence and risks of that. Despite his request to Shun when they started training more intensely, he's never gotten the impression of a backslide in personality out of him. It's probably telling enough that the admission of trust comes so easily still, with the kind of person Shun is about that sort of thing.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

It's the most practical way of going about it, really. I don't think gods would get very far without cooperative shinki.

[They're supposed to be their arms, aren't they? It'd be hard to succeed in battle without a functioning weapon. In a way, it's important for shinki to look after themselves, too. It wouldn't do for them to break at a crucial moment.]

But I'm not sure I understand how negativity and blight work exactly.

[She laughs a little.]

Those papers have so much information to take in on top of everything else. It's all a little overwhelming for the first day.

[It's not meant to be a complaint. She truly is grateful to have it.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Ayumu nods and takes a seat on the grass. This does seem like a nice spot. Not too far to be isolated but far enough to give a little privacy.]

I - I suppose I am.

[In her confused state, escape and survival had been at the forefront of her mind but now, she supposes waiting for her god is the right course of action. Ayumu should meet them first, at least.]

But I don't know anything about them. Just that I'm their servant.

[And she'd been too out of sorts to ask for a name or description.]