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

[doodlebuginette]

God Training

[Well this was definitely... new. For the first time in her short life, Marinette's world had been turned upside down. Only this time, instead of being told that she'd been chosen to become a superhero, she was, apparently, chosen to be a god?]

I must be dreaming... there's just no way.

[She could just hear Alya now.]

Oh well... I guess there's nothing I can do for now. Might as well make the best of it.


Physical Training

Oh.

[None of these weapons seemed right. Then again, she'd really had no formal training aside from the experience she had with her yo-yo, but she was doubting that would count for much now. For that matter, she couldn't even see any yo-yos. It was all swords and things, as far as she could tell.]

Chat would probably be right at home here. [She was muttering to herself now, more than anything. But she'd never been one to back down from a challenge, and she wasn't going to start now.]

I'll keep looking! There has to be something here that I can use without killing myself...


Rest and Refreshments

[She was just going to ... stick with the bottled water for now.]

I'm not hungry anyway!

[Which was probably code for 'I don't know what most of these things are, so I don't trust them'. All she needed was a kitchen, and she could make herself something. In the meantime, she was cracking open the water and taking a long drink.]


Choose Your Own Adventure
[Throw something else entirely at me, lovelies~ <3]

A Fateful Meeting

[purr_ince]

[While Marinette is looking over the weapons if she looks long enough she might see a familiar face. Why yes, that's Adrien Agreste holding a staff testing the balance, twirling it. Then he's frowning moving to a smaller one repeating his previous actions from the first one with an ease and grace of someone who clearly is used to holding a staff or in his case a baton.

His free hand runs through his hair, scratching gently at his scalp. She gets a chance to register who he is before she's going to get a series of images at first she may not remember. Adrien hiding rather poorly behind a tree and yes there's Ladybug, who he seems to be listening to intently. As she leaves to chase after an Akumatized Alix, Adrien heaves a soft sigh peering under his white over shirt at a black cat-like creature with vivid green eyes.

"Time to transform. Plagg, Claws out!"

And Adrien is washed over with magic; she may even feel the tingle of it dancing along her skin fleetingly, leaving the familiar figure of Chat Noir in the model's place.

The scene skips and she's treated to a much more familiar scene. Ladybug on the ground, Alix - Timebreaker - looming over her.

'No! No, Ladybug. I can't let her - Merde.'

There's a rush of sound that follows the crash of dread that comes iwth those thoughts. It's Chat's boots hitting the ground and then then there's Chat winding his arms around her, tight and protective as the villain's hand presses against his leather clad back. There's a spark of pain and a feeling of losing warmth then - nothing.

Then it's back to Adrien - Adrien looking rather pleased with himself as he twirls and spins the pole he'd found but then he's glancing to her as if she'd been looking at him this whole time, staring at him. His brows arch a smile settling on his face. He's moving toward her with the wooden weapon resting comfortably against his shoulder.]

You alright?

Re: A Fateful Meeting

[doodlebuginette]

[By this point she was tempted to accept defeat, at least for the time being. Just as that thought crossed her mind, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned in time to spot a familiar face. That... was unexpected.

But before she could even open her mouth, or wave, the scene changes and she's looking at... Adrien again? What?

And then Ladybug is there momentarily, before she's running off after Alix.

Then he's peeking into his shirt at a tiny cat-like creature that reminds her of Tikki. Her heart aches just thinking about her kwami, and it doesn't occur to her to wonder why Adrien would also have one until she's feeling the magic of Chat Noir's transformation washing over her.

There's no time to even attempt to process that before the scene shifts again. This time it's something she instantly recognizes. Only now she's seeing it all from the wrong angle. This time, she has to watch as Chat does what he always does. He's basically throwing himself between her and certain death again. And as always, she's powerless to stop him. The vision - or whatever the hell it was - waited until he had faded away before it shifted again.

When it switched back to Adrien - alive and well Adrien?? - she's just staring. She watches him approach, uncharacteristically quiet, and doesn't even notice the tears slipping down her cheeks.]

I-... yea?

[No. No she's not, thank you very much.]

[purr_ince]

[He's frowning seeing her tears. That makes him cross the space a bit faster dropping the wooden weapon to the side once he reaches her. One of his hands resting on her shoulder lightly, the other brushing at the tears on her cheek. Concern etched on his features worry in his eyes.]

Maybe I'm wrong but I've never known any one to cry for no reason. Especially if they're okay. Do you need to go sit down?

[His head tilts to the side and lightly his hand moves from her shoulder to gently curl his fingers around her wrist, gently moving to guide her away from the weapons and training area. He knows he saw some chairs or something set up so that's where Adrien will take her if she'll follow.]

Can you tell me what's wrong? Are you homesick maybe?

R&R

[yoshinocherry]

[The spread of weird energy and snack bars is probably a little intimidating, but having managed to peel herself away from the shinki attempting to hawk just about every ware available on the table, Yuna herself has scored herself some that are honestly pretty tasty. As a connoisseur of food both fine and junk, she feels confident that she's gotten a pretty good selection to munch on while resting up!

But the declaration from one of the newcomers doesn't go unnoticed, and is definitely a little concerning.]

It's important to eat after working hard. You'll need to get your strength back up, after all! [Skipping meals is no good! With a disarming smile, she offers up one of the more harmless looking bars, a simple fruit and granola blend.] These ones are pretty tasty, if you want to try it.

Re: R&R

[doodlebuginette]

[As determined as she was to skip out on the various assorted energy bars and meal bars, she was actually a little hungry. But none of this appealed to her. So when the sound of a feminine voice caught her attention, Marinette turned to the source in time to spot a girl holding out one of the aforementioned bars.]

Ah... thanks. I'm not really used to eating this kind of thing. [Was that weird? It as probably a little weird.]

But if you say they're okay, I feel like I should trust you.

[With that, she reached out to take the offered bar] Thank you for sharing with me.

[yoshinocherry]

[Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, Yuna's not one to judge either way, and the comment about being able to trust her seems to boost up her spirits.]

You're welcome! [One snack bar, handed over with a smile.]

Are you new here? [She's pretty sure she hasn't seen her around before, not that she's familiar with everyone around here just yet.]

Physical Training

[freezetheheavens]

Not quite a weapons' fanatic?

[Hello there.

Hope you don't think twice about this tiny white-haired god who has been hanging around the training area for a while and...has possibly caused a few of the stray, possessed weapons to break apart.]

Re: Physical Training

[doodlebuginette]

You could say that.

[She's just going to take it in stride, turning slowly to try and figure out who's speaking to her.]

I haven't really had any training with most of these, so... I have a friend who fences, though? Not that that counts~

[freezetheheavens]

[You're going to be greeted by a small white-haired swordsman.

He arches an eyebrow.]

No, not particularly. What kind of weapon are you used to using?

God Training

[all_seeing_eye]

I know, right? I wish they'd waited a little longer to bring me here, but at least I got assigned a cool god. Who'd you get?

[Thank goodness for all that socialization training with her friends. A few months ago, Futaba would never just strike up a conversation like this.]

Re: God Training

[doodlebuginette]

Sorry. It's just a little odd. The last thing I remember was... well, that's not important I guess. [She really didn't want to talk about that, to be honest.]

Anyway, hi! I got Fortuna. What about you?

[At this point, she's turning to look at the girl, mainly curious about whether or not she'll see anyone she recognizes here.]

I'm Marinette, by the way!

Re: God Training

[all_seeing_eye]

[Futaba puffs up a bit before making her introduction, using the best loud and impressive voice she can. It's still overall more cute than intimidating, though, considering she has kind of a high voice and stands all of 4'11" tall.]

Yog-Sothoth! Lurker at the threshold, the key and the gate, opener of the way, one-in-all and all-in one!

[There's a small grin and a 'fu fu fu' sort of laugh as she dips her head to dramatically push up her glasses. And when she looks back at Marinette, it's with a friendly smile.]

But you can just call me Futaba.

Physical Training

[pure_radiantics]

[Just about any young female teen her age catches Kairi's attention as she looks to make friends. The fact that she's looking around for different kinds of weapons also makes sense to Kairi.]

Hi there! Nice to meet you - my name is Kairi.

[She extends a hand to shake with a smile.]

Re: Physical Training

[doodlebuginette]

Oh hi! It's nice to meet you, Kairi. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

[She's grinning as she reaches out to shake the other girl's hand. If nothing else, people had been friendly enough since she'd been here. That was something, right?]

I suppose it's too much to ask to know why we're here?

[Mari's mostly joking, but she can't deny that she's curious about it. But what were the odds of someone being able to just tell her?]

Re: Physical Training

[pure_radiantics]

You're very lucky, Marinette! What a big name.

[Reminders her of Maria. But Kairi shrugs a little.]

It's a little different for gods and shinki. Even then, I've had some friends that were shinki come back as gods, so it's... complicated.

[Understatement for sure, but she also doesn't know which one Marinette is. For Kairi, it just means she doesn't really buy into things like 'Shinki are dead' and the repercussions of that. She has a boyfriend who's a god for that reason.]

RnR

[papillonprincess]

You sound frustrated.

[ Just an observation from someone who overheard the sudden outburst. But she does offer a smile back before holding out a granola bar. ]

Here. If you've been training, you should keep your strength up.

Re: RnR

[doodlebuginette]

A little, maybe?

[It was surprisingly easy to admit that, and she's smiling when she turns to see who'd approached her.]

I think it's more to do with the fact that I'm used to making my own food though. But in the spirit of trying to get along, I suppose I can give one of these a try.

[And so she reaches out to take the offered granola bar. Maybe it wouldn't even be too terrible.]

Thank you.

[papillonprincess]

It happens to all of us.

[ yeah, she totally understands. Everything has been frustration this past month or so... but at least Mari has the right attitude. ]

I take it you just arrived? Believe me when I tell you the food is usually much better than this. They just set out what's appropriate given the circumstances.

physical training (weaponized yoyo buddies??)

[kokuyoyo]

[Marinette won't have to worry long. Even as she's looking, there's the shuffle of someone coming to join her looking over the weapons. It's a teenager that's way too damn tall, a black beanie with a pom perched snuggly on his head... and a bright red yoyo rolling up and down from palm to the ground where it just barely doesn't touch.]

Staff.

[It's a muttered answer, one that shows his brain isn't really focusing on the conversation on hand. The yoyo 'string' shines a little too brightly.]

Yoyo envy is real, yo.

[doodlebuginette]

[As had become habit during her time as Ladybug, she glanced over out of the corner of her eye as someone approached. She'd almost been expecting Chat. Disappointment flooded through her when she realized how dumb she was being.]

Maybe.

[But it wasn't his height, or his hair color, or even the adorable hat atop his head that had drawn her attention. No, it was the bright red yoyo he was oh-so-casually wielding.]

... Where'd you find that?

everyone wants them

[kokuyoyo]

[It takes him a second to realize just what she's referring to, and Chikusa blinks his way back into focus as he snaps the yoyo back into his hand.]

Mine. I came with it.

[Well, two, debatably four, but he only has the one out right now.]

Why?

R&R + Choose your own

[lookingforhead]

[Marinette wasn't the only one passing on the food offerings. Celty had quite the workout with the renegade dummies but she held her own and even managed to keep some other folks safe. Between her black biker outfit, her flashy yellow helmet, or the scythe and shadows she was throwing around with ease she might have caught the new god's eye.

But afterwards she wasn't even bothering to hydrate! She waited as everyone else drifted off to refresh themselves but then she wandered off in another direction.

If Marinette followed the trail would take her down the steps to the entrance. Right outside the temple grounds, respectfully parked as such, was a black motorcycle. The helmeted woman was mounting up, ready to ride off.]

Re: R&R + Choose your own

[doodlebuginette]

[As it happened, Marinette had spotted the black clad, brightly-helmeted figure shortly after she'd arrived. In the excitement, she'd gotten distracted before she could go over and say hello, but as she'd spotted her again she decided to just go for it before she could be distracted again.

To that end, she was drinking her water on the move as she followed the figure down the path. It didn't take her long to catch up, and she hurried to close the remaining distance when she realized that the figure was in the process of actually trying to leave.]

Hey, wait!

[She was running now, determined to get there before she lost another opportunity to say hello, and flailing her arms in an attempt to get the figure's attention.]

Re: R&R + Choose your own

[lookingforhead]

[In truth Celty hadn't fully decided if she was leaving so much as she was just going out for a ride. There wasn't really a plan beyond wanting to refresh herself in her own way.

Fortunately she hadn't started the engine yet so she was able to hear just fine as Marinette called out to her. She looked up and gently pointed at herself, trying to verify she was the one that was being so enthusiastically addressed.]