February Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: October 15th
Where: Meeting Hall, 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 the Meeting Hall, 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 traditional reception room within the Meeting Hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. 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 in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold 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 explanation 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.

A training game has been set up through a section of the Meeting Hall gardens, with little cut-outs of ayakashi hidden in the landscaping, tucked into bushes or taped under bridges. Prize ribbons are being offered for every ten "ayakashi" a shinki (or team) discovers.

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. Several magically animated straw-stuffed training dummies, many of which have been carefully mended and patched with neat black stitching, are set up on the lawn with a white-robed shinki hovering nearby to watch over them. They make good training partners, although anyone who comes too close risks being targeted for a sparring match whether they wanted one or not.

The pond behind the dojo has had dozens wooden poles sunk in it, spaced a few feet apart, with a bunch of brightly colored ribbons tied around the pole in the very center. Some of the white-robed shinki are practicing scaling the poles and leaping from one to the next, until they get close enough that they can snatch a ribbon from the center pole, and several have fallen in and are being teased by their fellows.

Rest and Refreshments

Instead of snacks being served at the training session, this week, white-robed shinki with little flags are conducting groups of newcomers and volunteers down to the Tokyo Daijingu shrine and into a street festival currently being held in Tokyo. Traditional dance troupes are performing on street corners, and vendors have every kind of fall street foods, from barbecue to takoyaki, chocolate-dipped bananas and red-bean pancakes. New arrivals will get a white-and-gold envelope with spending money for the fair, although gods and shinki who have had some time to settle in will have to handle their own lunch expenses.

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
• Go to a festival
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Expecting to be largely left to his own devices after being handed the required reading material for this place, Shinji startles a little when he realizes he's being spoken too.]

Ah! Y-yes, I'm fine.

[That is, probably, not the most convincing answer, but he's trying.]

Just... trying to make sure I get all of this.

[sanzohoshi]

[Sanzang nods sympathetically and moves unceremoniously to sit next to him]

Don't worry, everyone's a little overwhelmed at first! But it seems you've come in at a pretty tame time, so you're pretty lucky!

I'm not a shinki [Which, since they're at the shinki training, she's assuming he IS] but I can help you out if you've got any questions or anything! Or, well, I can try!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Overwhelming is definitely one way to put it - he's really not sure how others might be able to just take to this situation so naturally.

At least it seems like there are plenty of people around who are willing to be helpful and friendly, that much can put his mind at ease even a little bit. He still hesitates at her offer, but after a moment of deliberation, figures it wouldn't be such a bad idea to ask something that's on his mind through all this.]

Um, well, I was wondering... I'm supposed to be working with someone, right? [Quickly, he double-checks the pamphlet to make sure that was right.] How am I supposed to know who that is, exactly...?

[sanzohoshi]

[Aww, he's adorable. The way he keeps checking the pamphlet makes her smile and she has to resist the urge to reach out and start patting him on the head or something. Probably, she thinks, he'd find it a little condescending.]

Yep! Every shinki is assigned a god partner. Usually they'll find you-- Some of the gods are told right when they arrive who to look out for, but I think generally it's just...a feeling. Like, your god partner will look at you and just know!

I've never seen a new shinki go unclaimed, so don't worry! That's when the real fun begins.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Her consideration would be highly appreciated, for certain. Even then, leaving something that sounds awfully important to 'just a feeling' comes off as a little... unreliable, and that thought reflects slightly in his expression. He's yet to experience it, of course, and maybe it's not as shaky of a method as it sounds, so he keeps that particular concern to himself for now.]

Is that so. [He has no problem exercising patience, and it doesn't really sound like he has another choice anyway, so that's that.] What do you mean by 'real fun', exactly?

[sanzohoshi]

[She laughs a little] I'm sorry, I don't really have a better way of describing it! It's likely your god was told about you by one of Amaterasu's shinki, and will come looking for ou based on that. But it's like... 'Love at first sight'? [Another laugh.] Well, maybe not exactly.

[OH right, real fun] You'll get your shinki name and find out what you'll turn into for your god--That's fun and exciting, right? And you'll have something special--a power--only you can do to help them out that you'll get to discover...

And then you and your partner can start taking on prayers, fighting ayakashi... Things like that!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

['Love at first sight' sounds like just as abstract of a concept! He'll take her word for it that someone will show up for him sooner or later, and there's some degree of implicit knowledge involved, but putting it into terms like that... he just doesn't get it.

More importantly, all of that sounds a little more 'overwhelming' than 'fun'.]

That... is an awful lot to take in. [To say the least.] I'm honestly not sure how useful I'd be in a fight, either.

[sanzohoshi]

Oh, don't worry about that! Every shinki is useful! [She's quick to reassure him, smiling encouragingly]

And if your god says otherwise, than they're not a very good god. It's our job to bring out you full potential, you know? A god who can't do that is no god at all!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[It's something a little past what he might be capable of, and more of a gut feeling that his presence in a battle might cause it to go poorly...

He can't put his finger on it farther than that, however, and he feels like articulating it might be just as difficult, so best to leave it as an unspoken suspicion. There's no reason to try and drag the conversation down any further, after all.]

E-either way, fighting's just for ayakashi, though, right? What about 'prayers'?

[That sounds a little more doable, just by name alone, though how much divine intervention is really expected of everyone?]

[sanzohoshi]

Weelll... [The way she drags out the word can't mean anything good.] You can fight against regular humans and stuff too! Prayers sometimes involves ayakashi fights, but usually they're simple things, helping out humans in their world.

Finding lost animals, or helping out in shops, advertising, babysitting... Haha, it sounds like a lot of boring stuff sometimes, but it can be really fun! And offers you time to bond with your partner.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Yeah, he doesn't look any more thrilled about the idea of fighting other humans, but the other types of helping out sound a lot more reasonable.]

I can do those kinds of things. [At least, they sound simple enough tasks to pick up as he goes.] Really, they don't sound that boring at all.