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

[killsthebuddha]

[ It’s criticizing him, thanks. He’ s not that helpful. He is, however, increasingly aggravated.

Offering Gojyo a dead-eyed glare, he forces himself up to his feet. ] Shut the hell up already, before I...

[ The threat trails off oddly, but at least he didn’t need that dumbass’s help. Well, right up until his vision grays out and he goes down hard, this time falling more like deadweight. ]

[erogappa]

Oh shit.

[ Blondie goes down in a heap, and Gojyo's just not fast enough -- or armed enough -- to catch him. He's a breathing heap, though, as Gojyo determines a moment later. Breathing and heart beating and all his vitals more or less inside his body.

Gojyo sits back on the curb next to Genjo's unconscious body, and swears long and fluidly up at the sky. ]

Now I have to haul your ass back into heaven, don't I?

[ The sky doesn't answer. The sky is pretty fucking useless. ]

God dammit.

[priforprince]

You haven't even met?!

[ This appalled face is completely out of place on someone who panicked upon meeting her first shinki.

It's also rapidly replaced by a headache, complete with pinching the bridge of her nose. ]

This system has completely deteriorated....

[killsthebuddha]

We’re going to need notes on it, too. [ For all the good that notes might do them. ]

We discovered her memory can’t be trusted either. [ His brow furrows as he narrows his eyes at Hakkai, suddenly suspicious. ] She didn’t remember our fight with Nataku.

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai stares at him. Several seconds drag by in silence before, carefully, he suggests:]

Are you sure she's the one whose memory isn't reliable?

[Here he is, having apparently forgotten months of his life, but.]

I don't remember that either.

[light_of_willpower]

[Trunks isn't going to disagree--that's part of why he's been trying to relearn his skills and practice before he has to 'need' them. Since he doesn't remember what he does or doesn't know.]

The last few months...woah.

[That brings a startled blink, and he hmms to himself.]

Well, for starters I arrived with my Goddess-both of us new, about 2 months ago. I'm Trunks, shinki to Caireen, Goddess of Children. She goes by Mai. You've been helpful in offering advice, and tips, as I've been trying to relearn skills I am sure I had in life, but don't remember. For one, you helped me figure out I can use chi. From what training I've been doing, and sparring with him, I seem to be similar to Goten in a lot of ways.

We've had a fairly good relationship though, Hakkai, and I've enjoyed working with you. Also value your advice and open-ness, as you warned me not everyone here has our best interests all the time. You've been trying to help educate newer shinki, since we're especially at a disadvantage.

[That should be the general overview...]

[nopixiedust]

You know.... I'm not sure. [Huffing, Wendy leans back with her arms crossed.] He said he'd talk to the other gods of fortune or whatever.... but we all owe him a favor just for that, I guess.

His exemplar is pretty nice, at least.

[killsthebuddha]

[ For a moment, Sanzo looks entirely pale and washed out, and the drink in his hand hits the ground. Hakkai doesn’t remember either? That hadn’t been some kind of fever dream. He’s certain it had been real.

But, then, Sharak had also told him that he’d been a shinki. Who the hell knew for certain? ] That’s bullshit.

[ It’s really more an “I don’t want to accept that” than a “you’re a goddamn liar” bullshit. ]

[light_of_willpower]

[Trunks chuckles in amusement.]

Maybe we can save the video or board games for another time. I think we'd need more people for tag or dodgeball...

[But he is thinking, about it, before eyeing the Jenga.]

How about that one? Test of balance as well as looks like fun.

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi shakes her head.]

It's not something that starts with our gods, not really. I've only ever heard of it happening in one of two ways - transferring from one person to another, or from touching an ayakashi. That's one way. Another is feeling bad about things and hiding it, without washing it off.

[She gestures to the back of her hand by way of explaining, even though nothing's there.]

A little blight... that kind of thing can happen. One time, one of my friends got hurt and I felt like it was my fault. A little blight cropped up and my god could feel it. It was bad, but it wasn't incurable. I had to wash the area as soon as possible so I didn't transfer it to someone else.

[That story used to make her feel the guilt crop up again. Now she's dealt with it a little better.]

The important thing is to not cover it up or ignore it, especially to your god or goddess since they can feel it anyway. For all we know, the blight could be on our backs where it's harder to see, so we shouldn't be ashamed of washing in holy water just to be safe sometimes.

[Then she shifts her tone.]

But you're right, ayakashi are something we have to fight sometimes. We just have to be careful when we do. We don't actually have to get up close most of the time to use our Rend spell, at least not until the last second. The longer we stay away from the ayakashi, the less likely it is we'll accidentally touch them and catch the blight that way.

Re: Physical Training

[pure_radiantics]

Well... sometimes gods do lose their memories. [She wraps her hands around her shoulders.]

For example, there was a shinki I lived with. We both didn't remember where we came from, but we made new memories together. Then, one day, he came back as a god... so you'd think that he'd remember everything about where he came from and all of us here - at the temples where he lived.

[She shakes her head.] But he didn't remember me. And no, shinki don't disappear if their gods do. Same in reverse - gods don't disappear if their shinki do. As for the weapon...

[She puts her hand out in front of her, away from Marinette.] It's called a keyblade. [And hers appears right away.]

[doodlebuginette]

[By this point, most people would probably either be laughing at her or shaking their head at her enthusiasm. When this lady did neither of those things, she couldn't help feeling relieved.

She was curious, however, when the other woman started laughing at her. Or at least she was going to assume that was happening, because there was no actual laughter?

Before she could think too much about that, she was leaning in to stare curiously at a phone.]

You're close enough.

[She's laughing a little at that, though it's not unkind.]

It's nice to meet you, Celty. Sorry about that. I get a little ... over-excited sometimes.

[It never even occurred to her to wonder too much about why Celty wasn't speaking to her, though she'd be lying if she claimed she wasn't just a little curious.]

But yea. Liked your outfit. Decided to follow you all the way out here. Because that's not weird at all, right~?

[doodlebuginette]

[Well, that was disappointing.]

Oh.

[It hadn't even occurred to her that he wouldn't know. But she's shrugging it off.

And then he's pulling out a second yoyo. She's about to ask how many he's currently smuggling, but her mouth snaps shut again as she watches the other yoyo slice through the leaves on a tree.]

Neat.

[Her yoyo couldn't do that. As far as she knew.]

You're a shinki, aren't you?

[She really had no idea, but based on the non-answer he'd given her previous question, she supposed it was safe to assume. In the meantime, she's back to twirling the yoyo in her hand, and then she's lashing out too. Mostly she's just curious to see if she can hit the same branch he'd hit.]

Re: God Training

[doodlebuginette]

Oh my gosh. It's so much fun! Words can't really do it justice. You'd have to experience the magic for yourself~

[To say that she's feeling more comfortable with the direction of the conversation was an understatement. She's practically buzzing with excitement.]

Hmm... anything you can give me, I think.

[Her main experience was with UMS3, but she was willing to branch out into other stuff, particularly if she knew she'd have someone to play with.]

RPGs are always fun.

Re: Physical Training

[doodlebuginette]

[That thought was a little frightening. It seemed bad enough that shinki would lose their memories when they came here.]

Oh.

[She's not really sure what to say to that. What could she say?]

I'm sorry he didn't remember you after all that. I can't even imagine what that would be like. [Marinette is tilting her head curiously.] So they're just... on their own if their gods disappear? [And now she's frowning. That thought doesn't sit well with her, and she's not afraid to show it.] Wouldn't being separated like that be hard?

[Fortunately, the subject shifts easily enough to weapons, and she's watching with wide eyes as Kairi holds out her hand and produces her own aforementioned weapon.] Whoa! I kinda want to see the lock that goes to.

[projectsilvergaze]

Why are you so bothered? You're here, you're not in danger.

[She almost says that he's alive, but... he isn't.]

[declamando]

I see. Though there is only a limited number of them, so that would narrow down the possibility a bit.

[She's only counted a dozen herself, and a few of them have sustained very obvious injuries. A few others might have even been destroyed by now, the way people have been going.]

[diehardreaper]

Least it'll get it to the proper authorities! They're a bit more buisnesslike compared to you lot but they're reliable.

[ Well... he hasn't really complained about them before. ]

[diehardreaper]

You could say that... but you'd think it wouldn't help to give us a hand more often when it comes to finding the poor sod we're meant to work with, eh?

[ Oh hey, he made a hand pun... ]

S'that what you've been doing around here? Waiting?

[priforprince]

The wheels of change turn slowly.

[ Hibiki considers this. There's a poetic beauty to the Tanabata story, but if Wendy feels strongly enough on Orihime's behalf - and Hibiki also wishes for Princesses to smile... ] After the revolution, I'll assist.

[ Wendy's steed is getting a bit too close for comfort. Hibiki props up a shield so they can keep talking. ]

[papillonprincess]

I take it you know a thing or two about cooking?

[ She does pause as she pulls the scrunchie from her ponytail, letting her hair loose with a shake of her head. Man, these training sessions never get any easier. ]

Wait until you're invited to your first party. They have quite the spread.

[recipeh]

Teleportation must be convenient.

However, if walking is the most convenient method, then that makes it a lot easier for me.

[He can trust his other senses to guide him around and map out where he is. If vehicles were the method of transportation, well, he would have had a harder time.]

...The setting doesn't shift too often, does it?

[recipeh]

[He takes hold of her hoof as strange as the feeling of it all is and shakes it.]

And I yours, Princess Celestia.

[There is a sort of smile there. It softens his face quite a bit from the set in frown and the scars on his face.]

[recipeh]

That would have been far more useful.

[He doesn't even know he's missing an arm.]

Gathering as much information as I can about my current situation, trying to find my god, and yes, waiting.

[recipeh]

[It's a good thing he kept it. As useless as it was to him, he wasn't one to throw away information. He dug into his coat pocket and pulled it out. He held it up so that the other man could see it for himself.]

This is the one, correct? Perhaps my god could read it out for me later.

[He didn't want the other man to have to go out of his way for him. It was frustrating, but he would handle it.]