December Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: September 25th
Where: Bishamon's temple, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided to Bishamon's temple, where a reception area and a traditionally styled dojo and training ground have been made available for the day. 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 Western-styled reception hall within Bishamon's temple 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 shinki volunteers, both in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's shinki and in Bishamon's red-piped black uniforms, are stationed around the dojo, passing out helpful informational pamphlets. They will be happy to instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline as well as offering an explanantion 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.

Someone has brought two overflowing boxes of back issues of From Ama, the Heavenly magazine, which includes profiles of successful shinki and gods, historical tidbits, and the occasional magazine quiz to help shinki determine how well they're currently working with their god or what their greatest strength might be.

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.

This month, a clever shinki magician has created a dozen straw-stuffed training dummies, some with sword-length sticks and some with polearm-length sticks, that have been enchanted to really fight back. Unfortunately, the spell isn't perfect yet! They're good training partners, but sometimes they might go a little haywire and try to smack passersby.

Rest and Refreshments

Along with bottled water, there are several large boxes of energy drinks and vitamin drinks in small amber glass bottles, and an array of protein bars and meal bars. One particular shinki in white, a bespectacled twentysomething man, is explaining the health benefits of everything on the table (even the water!) with great enthusiasm to any guest who looks even a little confused. It takes great tact to discourage him.

Party games have been set up on the lawn near the refreshments table: Twister, Kubb, lawn Jenga, and more.

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
• Play some games
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[moonlitknight]

It's faster.

[ He tells him as he starts picking up the training equipment and putting it away. ]

[sing_for_me]

.....Hang on...you mean Tem? You don’t want to eat..with him?

[It was a direct answer for once, but it confused her more than cleared things up.]

[moonlitknight]

You still need some work.

[ Did you expect a compliment? ]

[sonofson]

[His eyes widen at the mention of magic. Something about this is just amazing. He's seen fire powers, ice powers, chi related things and freakish durability and strength but never magic!!]

So do whatever feels natural! Think about how you dont wanna be on the ground any more and use your magic to shoot up!

[Goten floats higher, doing a flip as he grins down at him]

I figured out how to do it just from jumping high.

[lionhearrt]

[ That's not what he said. And he's not going to repeat himself so he keeps on walking. ]

[killsthebuddha]

I’m not interested in considering something so half-assed ‘death.’ [ He’d had a conversation with Sharak already. It’s a challenge to not operate with some preconceived notions, but based on what he’s been told so far. ]

For that matter, whether it sticks or not... from what I’ve heard, I’d need better proof than a body at this point.

[sing_for_me]

[How was she supposed to figure anything out from him just saying 'he's not my shinki'?

Alex followed after him.]

He doesn't have to be your shinki for you to hang out with him does he?

[It can't be that.]

I'm pretty sure Tem wouldn't mind it.

[redmare]

Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it.

[She's aware she's a beginner. Chinatsu won't deny her skill level. But she knows she did well all things considered, so she doesn't need any praise from him.]

Any idea what went wrong or did you just piss them off?

[killsthebuddha]

[ If it weren’t for the fact that Sharak’s been using teleportation magic in the time she’s been here, he might have balked. Still, it makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Using said magic is entirely uneventful, doing just what it was advertised, but that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable with it. He pats himself down, checking the sutra he’d rolled and tucked away— a temporary measure he’d taken to avoid any of Sharak Sanzo’s fan club. The ones that had attached themselves to her here were apparently not Kouten Brigade quality. ] I’m already tired of this bullshit magic.

[ It’s just a grumble, mostly to himself. He’s going to be a big baby about this and no one can stop him. ]

[killsthebuddha]

[ He’ll connect it together, if somewhat slowly. It’s a matter of working through from start to finish, but he knows this situation is probably feasible for all that his magical education was lacking in several key areas. (Briefly, it occurs to him that this might be a chance to do some real research since someone has apparently made time mean jack shit here.) ]

A gourd with some kind of eye. It could reach out with vines- [ Tentacles, really. It’s a memory that makes his skin crawl. ] -and Gojyo broke the damn thing before I could inspect it. That said, it was a tool used by someone that considered himself a protégé of Ukoku Sanzo’s. [ More or less. That kid that had been manipulated by Kami-sama didn’t need to be brought up. ] If whoever brought us here goes for three out of three on Sanzo priests, you could always ask him.

[ It’s not an entirely facetious suggestion. ]

[erogappa]

[ The earth-side temple is a small, run-down place (gosh, what a shocker) on a quiet back alley in a part of town that used to thrum with industry. The privacy is as much of a perk as the proximity to his bar, and...

...Hold everything, he checked what now?

He'd been willing to give the robes a pass -- so many people wore robes, Amaterasu's shinki wore robes, people in movies wore robes, robes were common -- but that thing in Blondie's hand? That wasn't common. That was a goddamn sanzo sutra.

His whole demeanor shifts and he takes a step back, into the (empty, patchily lit) street. ]

Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me.

[killsthebuddha]

[ He levels a glare over at Gojyo on reflex, offended before he even catches up to what the implications were.

Shit hadn’t gone down well with Sharak. Right. He gives nothing away at that unfortunate recollection. It’s not like he’s going to pretend to be someone he’s not just to get one of his idiots under control. ]

You got a problem? [ He commits to the course of action without hesitation. It’s an easy reflex to unroll the sutra with a quick motion of his wrist, the scripture settling around his shoulders like a mantle as if it might have come alive at his touch. It’s a comfortable weight, and there’s something reassuring about the fact that Magen remains a constant even while he’s stuck dealing with all the magic bullshit Heaven wanted to throw at him. ]

[trapperkeeper]

[Good. No harm done. Lann relaxes and smiles.]

I almost had it that time.

[No. No he didn't.]

These line things are tough, huh?

[trapperkeeper]

Then why did you say we should take it inside?

Re: Shinki Training

[trapperkeeper]

Oh...

[He turns back to the dummies and raises a hand.]

Line!

[This time it destroys the dummy he'd been originally trying to block with his line.]

Hey! It worked! Alright!

[Sure, in a 'this is not what you were trying to do in the first place' kind of way. But he's happy. That's what counts.

Also he has his hand raised for a high five.]

[purr_ince]

I try?

[He rubs at the back off his neck offering a shy smile. The boy isn't good at knowing how to handle compliments.]

I'm sure my goddess or god will be a good person, too! That way we get along and work together really well. I mean how could the assign me to someone I wouldn't be able to get along with? Seems kind of a bad idea to me.

[He's glancing down at his hands toying with the silver ring on his right ring finger.]

They're all just cared and unsure. I'm sure once they settle in it will be better for them. Their mindset will have changed.

[He gestures to the pamphlet.]

It says guilt and those monster things - the ayakashi? - make it happen. But I'm not sure what it is exactly? What does it look like? How would I know if my god or goddess had it?

[Adrien shakes his head.] I didn't get that far.

[purr_ince]

It's just a lot so maybe like if you wanted to you could ask someone who's been here a while questions? I mean that makes more sense right? That way they can give you experienced answers. Especially the people who came here like us. They would understand things the original people wouldn't.

[Adrien smiled with a little laugh shaking his head at her apology. He's holding a hand up and waving off the gesture slightly.]

Don't apologize you didn't do anything wrong. I just want to be sure that it's something I feel like I could stand for and support to the fullest.

[And that smile widens.] Now that's something I can get behind wholeheartedly. And sure people make their own paths in live but sometimes the need an extra little nudge you know? I guess that'd be where you come in. You're that gentle nudge of good stuff that tells them they're making the right choices.

[He gives a little shrug.] That's all good luck is anyway right? Something good happening, going your way. That's helping people - at the very least it cheers them up for a while. [He's considering for a long moment before giving a decisive nod of his head.] So - I'm your Shinki. You need to name me. Did they tell you how in your lecture?

[Adrien laughs.] Thought so. So that means you'll have to forgive me while I re-learn things. Maybe you can teach me some of the more important things?

Absolutely. It's just no good. I mean I don't think it would be. [Reaching out he's taking her hand in his.] Okay, Marinette.

[purr_ince]

[Adrien is glancing over to watch Hibiki go. Yes, he's making note of those little droplets, a brow arching slightly.

Technically, she brought it on herself. But he's going to have to keep an eye one her.]

She seems to be the kind to attract trouble. Why do I have a feeling I'm going to have to help her out?

[That or he's going to want to seriously smack his head on a table when she's around. One or the two. Maybe both. Who is Adrien kidding? It's gonna be both.]

[declamando]

You could always make an effort to change. [Maria's tone is a little dry, as if he doesn't expect him to take her up on that suggestion, but at least she said it. Though as an idol, she's had some experience with faking something for long enough that it starts to become real.]

But for the moment, if all you're going to do is cause trouble for this shinki, just move away from the table.

[revolutionfalcon]

[While Shun knows well enough that going directly against someone with Mikoto's level of raw power is a bad idea, he's also not the sort to turn down a challenge. And maybe he can get some use out of his training with Hitsugaya in combat with people who have supernatural abilities.

Shun darts forward, looking for all the world like he's about to run a straightforward charge into Mikoto. But within about a foot of him, he disappears.

The slight sound of moving fabric should be audible when Shun reappears in the air just behind Mikoto instead, driving a flying roundhouse kick towards the side of his head.]

[revolutionfalcon]

It's a general introduction to things shinki need to know. Things like the relationship with your god, who to go to if your god is malicious, where to learn spells and the fact that pursuing memories of your life turns you into an ayakashi. I'd need to read it myself to know the exact contents.

[He's skimmed over them before, but not enough to actually memorise the information in them. Other than the main important points that he feels are necessary to remember, the rest he feels can be let go.]

[bussounoshima]

[Research is one of the few things they can do, though how "real" it is, Sharak's not sure. Every time she goes to the library it feels like she may as well be picking out books at random. Still, there's a stack of them off to the side somewhere.

Sharak listens quietly until Ukoku is mentioned, making her lip curl briefly in disgust.] If they bring that bastard back I might have to throw caution to the wind and just kill him.

[Except he'd probably get off on that, so she won't. Also. Surprise, Genjo, guess who's been around.]

He never mentioned having anything like that before.

[That fucker. To be fair, the idea that they were all shikigami hadn't been fully developed yet so it hadn't really come up in conversation but still. That fucker.]

[killsthebuddha]

[ It takes him just a fraction of a second too long to react.

And then he’s sitting up a little more abruptly than he should. Ow. There are more important things to focus on. ]

Back-? That crow fucker was here? [ Yes, she’d just said that, but it’s taking him a moment to process. Ukoku is a special sort of sore spot for him. ]

[bussounoshima]

[See, now that's an appropriate reaction to Ukoku Sanzo, Sharak thinks. Much better than deciding he was an appropriate tutor on philosophy, accepting a vessel name from him and spending nights hanging out on his front porch. Well done, Genjo.]

I thought it was "that crow bastard". [It's important that they get their terminology right.] Yeah, he was here. He vanished a while ago, for whatever that's worth.

[He probably vanished to the same place as everyone else, unless he unnamed his shinki without them noticing and demolished his temple on his own, only to disappear for several weeks. Which she's not completely dismissing as a possibility, though she's not sure how likely it is. She feels like he'd at least have left some flowers on her front step or something.]

[killsthebuddha]

[ Crow bastard, crow fucker, a shitty crow is a shitty crow. Genjo grunts under his breath, expression dire.

Ukoku makes for a far more real existential threat than this nebulous god situation. ] Even if people vanish around here, I don’t know how much that’s worth.