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

[redmare]

....Twister?

[That was definitely a change from sparring.]

Never played it before?

[kuroi_taiyo]

More that no one else was.

[ And what kind of fun is there supposed to be in playing a game all by yourself? He did a few test spins, sure, but it wasn't very fun or satisfying without having someone else struggle. ]

[redmare]

[That almost sounded a little sad. Still, simply playing sounded boring.]

What do I get from this?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Oh, that's cute. Was she offering to come play with him? ]

I don't have anything to give. Best I can do is turn the game into a wager and up the stakes to decide the winner.

[redmare]

[Wasn't that what he was asking for? A playmate?

The wager does pique her interest.]

Oh yeah? Like what?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ All he said was that there was no one playing the game last time. ]

Whatever the other wants? Sex, a fighting partner, to put a hit out on someone. Something like that. Nothing really long term, but still worth something.

[redmare]

[Chinatsu almost lost balance. Sputtering in response]

W-what the hell kind of options are those?!

[Two of them sounded a little too extreme for just a game of twister.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Don't lose balance in this kind of game, Chinatsu. Not when those were the options he gave. ]

A few examples? Nothing I wouldn't be willing to put myself into.

[redmare]

[Good thing they hadn't started. But really? He'd wager that for twister?]

You're either really confident or just don't care whether you win or not..

[The guy was becoming more questionable the longer she stayed around him.]

I don't want any of those..except maybe the sparring partner. I need more of that.

[kuroi_taiyo]

That's... Really boring, though. What else would you want? Something I didn't use as an example.

[ He's only going to get more questionable as things continue, Chinatsu. ]

[redmare]

[Bo--]

That isn't boring!

[Nothing's more fun than moving your body!]

Tch...fine. Then... [She thinks about it for a moment.]

...There's a cake I want to try. But it's hard to get because the lines are always so long.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Moving your body, sure. Just sparring, however... ]

A cake? Okay then. If that's what counts for going big.

[ Well, now he's going to have to tone down what she'd have to do when he won, because all of that is really tame. ]

[redmare]

[He sure seemed underwhelmed. That comment of his didn't sit well with her either.]

Fine, let's see you do better. What's yours?

[kuroi_taiyo]

I can tone things down to match yours if I need to. It's fine.

[ Because that'll make Chinatsu feel better. ]

[redmare]

Don't you dare!

[The hell was she going to let him tone anything down.]

Otherwise it's not worth it. Don't patronize me.

[kuroi_taiyo]

What if I said the wager is your body? You sure you don't want me to tone it down?

[ It might not have been, but with her reaction before and how she's acting now, he's curious. ]

[redmare]

[What if I shoved the game down your throat?.

Or so the imaginary conversation went. She couldn't say that anymore. Not after she told him not to hold back. She smiles confidently, although the corner of her eye is twitching. Her hands are crossed over her chest otherwise she might be tempted to smack him.]

Pft. So what? I don't plan on losing anyway.

[kuroi_taiyo]

People don't usually plan for that kind of thing. You can always up the ante and make what you'd get more extreme before we start.

[ A final chance to even the odds. ]

Oh, and what I'd get is your shinki name. Not just knowing it, but depending on circumstances, I might tell you to get it revoked from your god someday in the future.

[ Not that he knows who the god is, and this is an unlikely scenario, but it's general power over her shinki name. ]

[redmare]

[What the hell? Was this guy for real? Why on earth would he ever have her revoke her name? He had to be messing around..]

Fine. Then I want your name. And you need to chop your hair off.

[She brings her fingers up to the base of her neck.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ You never know when you find your gods on opposite sides. Oh, but he wasn't expecting the whole hair thing. ]

Do you have any idea of how long it probably took to grow it this long?

[ Not that he knew why, actually. Despite knowing that he wouldn't lose, there's both a spike of anxiety and understanding that he's not actually all that attached to it. So he really wasn't so attached that he'd fight for that wager to be changed. ]

... But fine. If I lose, you can get my name and my hair.

[redmare]

I'm assuming a long ass time.

[True to his story, there really wasn't anyone else playing, so it was easy enough to find a vacant game.

She starts tying her hair into a bun, not wanting it to get in the way. It was too late for regrets now. Backing out didn't sit well with Chinatsu.]

You ready?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ In contrast, Judar seemed ready to leave his hair down, in its long braid. ]

Yeah. I'll do the first spin.

[ And at least slide his shoes off, so he's only playing in his socks. Which would seem like he's making it harder on himself. Then again, with muscles like that, he should have some kind of ability to control and balance to keep himself from sliding everywhere. After a spin... He hands it over after reading out the result. ]

Right foot blue.

[redmare]

[She gets her own shoes off, but does take off her socks as well. She refrained form commenting on his.

Taking her turn, she spins the arrow.]

Left hand green.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ She has to win to get the information that's on his bare feet, okay? Especially after what the beanie-wearing brat did on his first day here. Crouching down to put his hand on the nearby green dot, he reaches over to give it a spin. ]

Left foot red.

[ Which would be easy enough to do with keeping on one side, but no. He's reaching that foot out further down towards Chinatsu's end. ]

[redmare]

[She's about to put her foot down when a socked one suddenly cuts her off.]

What the hell! There's more on your side!