October Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: September 4th
Where: Meeting Hall, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



In anticipation of the latest round of new arrivals, Heaven has partnered with the new gods and shinki to organize a very helpful informational reception.

It seems Bishamon's temple is unavailable this week due to business, although she has generously allowed a number of her shinki to go on with their usual tasks of passing out pamphlets and assisting the newcomers to settle in.

Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided kindly towards a traditional-style dojo and banquet hall towards the back of the meeting hall itself. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.




God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a banquet hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior, although the minor deity conducting the meeting is in too much of a rush to take questions afterwards. They are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately.

Shinki Training

Various volunteers are stationed around the dojo, 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 as well as offering a lecture on the basics of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods. Shinki are encouraged to work together to practice what they've learned and discuss their perspectives.

The garden is available for borderline practice, and a few of the last training's slightly tattered crayon-drawn borderline targets have been brought back out and pinned to bales of straw to make a practice area. One of Amaterasu's shinki is drawing replacements with a large inked calligraphy brush. His targets are simple but elegant, but somehow, before they make it over to the target bales, they're ending up crayon-scribbled into much brighter colors. Maybe it's the child shinki who are in charge of putting them up? They do seem to be giggling a lot, and Amaterasu's artist shinki is looking more and more annoyed...

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern, to offer some practice opportunity to gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes. It's also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki.

There's an additional task that the hosts are more than willing to ask for help with. The Meeting Hall seems to be suffering an invasion of cute soot sprites. Although they're harmless little spirits, they leave smears of ash and soot wherever they go, and the shinki are running themselves ragged trying to keep the hardwood floors and white walls clean! They're handing out cleaning rags and flyswatters to squash the soot sprites flat and scrub the resulting smears away -- and, for the softhearted, butterfly nets: although they implore anyone with a net to be sure they let the soot sprites out again far, far away.

Rest and Refreshments

The meeting hall's facilities are less modernized than Bishamon's: there are rainwater barrels set out by the dojo with fresh towels for hardworking gods and shinki to wash their face and hands. The water is ice cold, so it's very refreshing, too-- brr!

By lunchtime, the banquet hall where the gods' informational session was held has been cleaned out and re-set with cushions to sit on around long, low tables. Gods and shinki who come inside for lunch will be served a plain but hearty meal, with soup, rice, fish and pickled vegetables to refresh them for the afternoon's training.

The hall will stay open even after the lunches and tables have been cleared away, so that those who want a quieter space to talk with their new partners can find somewhere in the room. Hopefully the occasional stampede of soot sprites won't be too distracting.

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
• Help catch soot sprite pests
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Okay, that's another thing. Why am I assigned a god, and who assigns these gods? It's just more questions one after the other!

[light_of_willpower]

I couldn't tell you who assigns them. But as for why you need a god, it's dangerous to be an un-named shinki. It's laid out in the pamphlet, although I suspect you'll just have more questions from that too.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

No no, that's not what I meant. It's not 'why do I need a god', it's 'why am I assigned a god'? It's convenient, I guess, but what if it's some jerk I can't stand? What if they want a cute girl instead of me? Why doesn't anyone have a say in the matter?

[light_of_willpower]

If it's some Jerk, it also says in the pamphlet you can talk to other shinki, like Amaterasu's shinki. Although really that's in the event you get named against your will.

As for why no one has a say in the matter? That is a very good question, and I'm sure you're not the only one who'd like answers.

[It's definitely an interesting one, and given some of what Trunks has heard intimated before, he's keeping his ears open.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

I'm not sure what I thought the afterlife would be like, but I'm pretty sure this isn't it. All sorts of crazy rules and weird bureaucracy... [Edge shakes his head, then lets out a low sigh.] Did I do wrong in life?

[light_of_willpower]

[That makes Trunks chuckle slightly.]

For that, I have no answer. I'm still pretty new myself, so I'm sorry I'm not more help.

[If nothing else, at least he'd let the other vent.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Guess there's no help for it, though. [Venting doesn't last long; he's more interested in action.] We have to deal with what's here in front of us.

[light_of_willpower]

That's pretty much what most of us are doing. So, have you found your god yet? Anything, besides the big things, in the pamphlet that you're curious about?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

I just got here. No gods, just questions! But I think I'm starting to get the big picture here.

[Not... necessarily LIKE the big picture, but getting it, yeah.]

[light_of_willpower]

Then I'd stick around this building, or ask Amaterasu' shinki for help. Your god should be finding you soon.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Not like I know where else to go. Seems like all the answers are here. [Edge waves off the whole situation, vaguely irritated by his own lack of agency but not quite able to articulate that.]

[light_of_willpower]

Unfortunately, for now, yes. But a lot of us are willing to help where we can.

[Indeed, Trunks actually bows his head slightly in apology that he can't help more.]

Once you do get a bit more settled, there is a network of some kind we can all use to communicate. Ask questions, talk with each other. Or you could just seek people out. I'm sorry I wasn't more help really.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Oh, an information network, huh? Do the gods know about it? [He's thinking, like, a spy network. The other kind is beyond even his amnesiac understanding.]

[light_of_willpower]

Yes, they do. It's more like a bullitin board, only connected via these phones.

[Not that Trunks remembers how that kind of thing works, but it makes sense to him. Holding up the phone so Edge can see.]

The gods are part of it, as are the other shinki.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Wait -- it's not much of a network if everyone's involved, it's just us. [Definite technology and culture gap here, adding in the unfamiliarity of the phones.]

[light_of_willpower]

[An eyebrow raises, but mostly because Trunks has clued in that the other might not understand.]

Well, it is...in that it's an easy way to communicate with everyone at once. There are probably ways to lock it only to certain people, much as there are ways to post anonymously to it as well.

Are you familiar with this kind of technology?

[Still holding up his phone, as an example, so Edge can see.]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[His blank, puzzled look ought to be all the answer Trunks needs.]

Not that I know, but I don't remember things!

[light_of_willpower]

[Good thing he's fairly calm most of the time then. Moving closer, and bringing up the network to show on the other on his phone.]

I don't remember most things either, but I think I must've been familiar with this in life given how I learned it. So, if you want, I can try and help you with this at least.

[A half-smile.]

I'm Trunks by the way. Shinki to Caireen, although she goes by Mai most of the time.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

The name's Edge. [And, being the melodramatic sort, he tosses one arm back to make his cape snap behind him as he says this.]

[And then he goes back to looking at the phone, curiously.] I'm lost on this thing. Nothing at all comes to mind.

[light_of_willpower]

[That dramatic side is kind of useless on Trunks. He's...not really one to react to it. But he does give a small half-bow.]

It's nice to meet you, Edge.

[Then moving only close enough to start explaining the phone.]

Okay, so, I'll try and keep this simple. Let me know if I have to explain anything in depth and I'll try. This is known as a phone, particularly a 'smart' phone. It's used for...

[Trailing off into explanations...]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Luckily, Edge is a quicker study than one would expect. He doesn't remember a history of tinkering with gadgets from the Tower of Babil, nor learning engineering to master airship captaincy... but the skills stick with him nonetheless, and the explanations are enough to guide him in learning.]

[light_of_willpower]

[Quick studies are good; Trunks is one himself, and has acclimatized Edge to the basics of the phone as much as he can.]

It's easy enough to get one of these. Either through your God, or I think any of the senior shinki, like Amaterasu's, helping out. There are ways to lock and encrypt your messages, more like the 'spy' network you're thinking of, but really it's meant just as an easy way for us all to keep in touch.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

'Network' seems way overdone to describe it, but I didn't name it. [Edge shrugs, putting the thought aside.] Being dead is a pretty wild trip, I see.

[light_of_willpower]

I'm not entirely sure what I expected, but at least it's been relatively easy to adapt to. Not having any memories too, although that can be annoying. But I've found people to be pretty helpful about it, for the most part, so I'm trying to do the same.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

United we stand, divided we fall, huh? If we really are in a constantly battle against dark forces for the sake of humanity, then that's the only smart way to be.