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

[badassfreakingoverlord]

If you're not someone's shinki, you're unnamed and defenseless against the ayakashi. That sounds like a bad deal to me. And I don't try to murder my potential subjects, that's bad Overlording. [Now Zetta is just irritated over being prejudged. What kind of sad, pathetic despot does this kid think he is? He's a freaking Overlord!]

[shiitan]

I'm good at escaping from ayakashi. [He kind of had to be by this point, admittedly. During that time though, he was becoming more and more aware of the weather. It was only going to get colder as the year went on.]

But I need a warm place to stay. If you can give me that, I'll let you give me a name.

[It was the only bargaining chip he had.

...And yes, he did just totally ignore Zetta's irritation.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Hmph. Kid, let me make this clear: I treat my vassals and subordinates well. [Zetta prides himself on competent Overlording. Usually, that runs headlong into his recklessness and stupidity, but nonetheless, he knows well enough that strong supports make for a strong Netherworld.] And my temple's pretty comfortable.

[shiitan]

["Kid"? He raised an eyebrow at that despite not remembering his age in the first place.]

Then I'll wait until I can see that for myself. [Not only was he not in a hurry to trust gods, but as far as he was concerned, talk was cheap.

Schuldig had really done a number on him.]

I want to see how comfortable your temple is.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

All right. I can do the teleport thing, so if you just grab on I'll take you there.

[It's a fair concern, he supposes. Normally, a proper demon who didn't need to resort to desperate sycophancy would be skeptical of even a great and powerful Overlord's claims.]

[shiitan]

Grab on? Alright.

[So of course he was going to do that by taking Zetta and holding him under his arm like a regular book.

No, he wasn't ever going to let that whole book thing go.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[The Sacred Tome is surprisingly heavy, but never so heavy as to make carrying it a burden.]

[A long pause results from this.]

Look... I have no idea what will happen if I try to pull off a teleport while the only thought in my head is, "Don't smell the armpit", but it probably isn't good for either of us.

[shiitan]

[Pfft. Still worth it. He let go without a whole lot of fuss.]

So you can't teleport if you're distracted?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

I'm just saying, do you really want me to try? That's how you get Brundleflies, you know.

[shiitan]

[Unfortunately, Zetta would just get a blank stare in return for his reference. He could roll with this, though.]

Let's see... Is that better or worse than being a shinki...?

[badassfreakingoverlord]

...Okay, seriously. What's with the attitude? [This has crept past the point of 'wacky comedy' into 'insolence', and Zetta is starting to get the impression more lies beneath this acting-out behavior than just his own status as cosmic punching bag.]

[shiitan]

[Well, he wasn't wrong about there being more behind Ross' behaviour. But on the other hand--]

I'm just waiting to see how much I can get away with before you give me a name.

[...Yeah. "Insolent" was just a way of being for him, unfortunately. Just be glad you're not Alba, Zetta.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Hey, you said the condition for that was if my temple was okay! [And apparently Zetta had taken him at his word, the fool!]

[shiitan]

I changed my mind! [He...he was a little too proud of that statement. Or at least he looked it.]

Am I not allowed to change my mind, book boss? [First "fox boss", then "boss lady", and now "book boss"...]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

You could TELL me when you do! I need a shinki, not a wife!

[Zetta: somewhat skewed in his expectations of marriage by pop culture.]

[shiitan]

I can be your shinki, but I can't be your wife. Sorry. It's not you, it's me.

[He could have tried to correct those expectations, but...nah.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

You're damn right it's you, I don't make dudes my wife.

...I don't make anyone my wife, but if I did, it wouldn't be a dude.

Anyway, are we freaking teleporting or what now?

[...Look, this could be going worse, let's just focus on the positive here.]

[shiitan]

[But he was having so much fun getting sidetracked! It had been a while since he'd had the chance to bother someone.

Actually, it wasn't that long at all, but it sure felt long.]

Okay, okay... [He sighed as if Zetta was being the unreasonable one here and grabbed on.] Oh, by the way. If you told me where the place was, I could have teleported myself.

[...ROSS.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

You want to teleport to places you've never been? That seems like a recipe for a telefrag to me.

[Anyway: teleporting! The two whisk away in an instant, deposited a moment later in front of the massive shrine to Angra Mainyu: a castle in the highest and starkest of Gothic styling, grim and foreboding, meant to impress the viewer with their puny insignificance.]

[shiitan]

[He stared at the temple once they arrived. Gintoki and Ayumu's temples had been a lot more homey, for lack of a better word, and it seemed he was getting farther and farther away from that as time went on. Granted, it was still an improvement over the last temple he lived in.]

You're an old-fashioned guy, aren't you.

[He let go of Zetta and began wandering toward the door with his hands in his pockets.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Appearances are important! The Overlord's Castle is a traditional part of Overlording.

[From an undefined point up in the sky, a minion crashed down with a power and fury that looks like it ought to spatter her on the street, but doesn't. Said minion scoops up the book, then, following behind Ross.]

[shiitan]

[The rush of air from the minion's landing washed over him, but the only real reaction he had was his already not terribly neat hair getting messed up a little more. Another shinki? He glanced at her in case her mark was somewhere obvious, but he didn't see anything.

All in all, having a book as a god was still weirder than what he had just seen.]

It's so traditional that I'm expecting a hero to come knocking on the door any minute.

[Haha. Ha. He had no idea how right he was as he opened the door of the temple and walked in. He was fully expecting the interior to be just as dark and foreboding. Maybe there was an ominous sounding organ or two as well.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

That's how you know it has the right effect.

[The interior is not dark; quite the contrary, light fills the tall and foreboding entrance hall, which seeks to impress and overwhelm the visitor with its size and leave them feeling insignificant. Zetta ignores all this, of course, his minion carrying him down the hall as if it's all nothing.]

[shiitan]

[Even in his previous life he'd never seen an entrance like this, though it wouldn't have helped him much in his current state. He was rather out of place in the midst of something this impressive, but Ross only responded to it by following a good handful of steps behind and studying his new surroundings.]

Where are we going?

[His voice echoed louder than he thought it would.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Hey, you wanted to see if the temple was nice, right? [The Overlord twists slightly to glance back at Ross.] So we're going to the actual livable parts.

[If this portion of the temple is anything, 'livable' is not that thing. Zetta breezes through the immense double doors at the end of the entrance hall and into the throne room, which is all built on the same principles of intimidation and power. But he pays no attention to it, just turning to head towards a smaller door that leads deeper in.]