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]

[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!

[kuroi_taiyo]

If we stayed on our own sides, then the game would never find an end.

[ Well, it'd become a game of stamina more than anything else. This makes it interesting. ]

[redmare]

[So that's how he was gonna play it? Fine.

She reaches over to twist the board.]

Right hand yellow.

[This time, she reaches under him to tap one of the yellow circles on his side of the mat.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ See? There ya go. He knows where his hand would go, but first there's that spinner to deal with. He gives it a flick before setting the hand down. ]

Left hand red. Guess it's going to get a little interesting now.

[ If only because, for both their sides, that was a little bit of a stretch and twist. At least he'll keep this one closer to his side. ]

[redmare]

[Chinatsu turned to face the side, reaching over to touch the right dot closer to her. Oh, but now she had to turn spin the arrow.]

This... would be a lot easier with a third person. Hey, it won't count if I let go to spin the arrow, right?

[kuroi_taiyo]

I spun before putting my hand down, so letting go to spin should be fine.

[ He's not going to turn it into something that'd also be harder on him as well. Even if he had something to give him an edge. ]

[redmare]

[With that she reaches over and spins it, returning her hand to the red circle.]

Left hand green.

[Ah geez, and she'd just put her hand down too. Pushing off the mat, she moves her the green circle. Carefully, she turns her feet so she can face the other direction.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Yeah, that's another adjustment that's had to be made for him as well, as he had just gotten into a position. Of course, this was only the beginning. It was the next few opportune moves that has him encroaching upon her side far more, and not in the most comfortable of positions.

It's almost hard to believe that he's keeping up on his own. ]

Are you sure you don't want to just give up now? I can do this all day.

[redmare]

[ It wasn't so much the keeping balance or the positions that gave her a hard time, but trying to do that while avoiding contact with him. Which really, ended up being quite impossible. ]

Like hell I do. We're just getting started!

[ Her limbs were starting to tremble though, one of her hands supporting her just by the tips of her fingers. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

Yeah?

[ He really was taking this with too much ease. While it was entirely possible to support his own weight with this contortion, he definitely wasn't feeling the stress. Not like Chinatsu obviously was. ]

Well, it's your spin at this point. Go on.

[redmare]

I know.

[ Except reaching for the spinner meant reaching across from him, and doing so would have her face much too close to his.

But it wasn't a big deal, nope. Just had to not think about it. Focus on balancing, because she definitely needed it with the way she had to strain with her fingers. She leaned in closer, stretching her arm as far as she could to flick the arrow while also trying to turn her face away from his. ]

Al..most...

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ That spinner was just in such a way that they were both supposed to be able to reach it. Which meant getting uncomfortably close to Judar as he didn't seem to be flustered by any of this. ]

You just gotta lean over a little bit more...

[ If he's leaning his face just a little closer, that's totally Chinatsu's imagination. At least the spinner wasn't being moved to a different location. Just another centimeter or two to get that arrow. ]

[redmare]

...Can't you look elsewhere!!

[ The alarms in her head were blaring. Chinatsu didn't have that a big an issue with personal space, but somehow he just had her more conscious about it. It was probably that damn smirk on his face. ]

[kuroi_taiyo]

One of us needs to see where the arrow lands.

[ And she seemed so ready to keep her head turned away. He's just being considerate! ]

[redmare]

[ Fine! Screw this. She reaches in close enough to finally spin the damn thing, giving him a triumphant 'ha'! Because..that was such an accomplishment wasn't it? ]

Got it!

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ To her it is, that's for sure. However it's only one part of the battle. She reached it, but how about... ]

Well? What'd it land on?

[ That certainly requires a different angle and having to actually look in that direction. ]

[redmare]

Wha-- You said you'd look at it!

[ Why was he having her do it this time? It was way more convenient for him to do so! ]