March Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: October 25th
Where: Outside the 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 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 what looks like an old, large warehouse behind the Meeting Hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior. Several chairs have been moved in, but they're squeezed together between packed shelves and boxes of old ritual clothing, scrolls and rusty or chipped household goods. 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.

Back copies of the "From Ama" magazine, including puff pieces about new or rising gods or successful shinki, advice columns for resolving problems between gods and shinki, temple photographs and other articles of interest to gods and shinki, have been brought out in boxes and piled up next to a table holding a few remaining copies of the shinki questionnaire for any new shinki who want to keep one around until they can answer the included questions.


What is your name?

What is your god's name?

How do you see your duties as a shinki?

What is your favorite part of life with your god?

What is your least favorite part of life with your god?

What advice would you like to give your god?

Do you wish to be assigned to a different god? []Y []N

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 white-robed shinki are still busy cleaning and preparing the Meeting Hall for the big annual meeting of the gods. They'll recruit anyone who looks as though they're not too busy in order to help scrub floors, weed, sweep paths and walkways, and shoo away any unwelcome little spirits that are hiding away in dark corners of the hall. Heavy lifting is good exercise... right?

Rest and Refreshments

There are casks of fresh, cold water near the dojo to make sure no one gets dehydrated, but for those who've finished working, hot tea and enough seasonal treats are available to make it look as though the Heavens bought out an entire sweet shop. They're being distributed by a few shinki in indigo-blue and plain brown robes with the sleeves tied back, who aren't above teasing the newcomers a bit.

Young shinki are playing in the nicely manicured garden, trying to catch crayfish at the lake edge, dashing around playing tag and hide-and-seek. Just be careful you don't get caught in the middle of a game of "Kagome"! If you do, you'll really be stuck until you guess someone's name.

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
• Enjoy a traditional tea
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

wildcard, post-ii

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi hears the ongoing game but doesn't want to interrupt. She's been around god and shinki both that are so young it's painful to think about, but the way he's entertaining them is so sweet that she just wants to observe for a bit. By the time they're done, she knows that this can't be Dust, but she definitely noticed the ears and tail.

So she starts with a small wave.]

Hi there - are you one of the spirits here in the Far Shore?

[She knows there are animals... and with her recent memory of two-legged animals, she's suddenly very curious about him.]

Physical Training

[pure_radiantics]

Not bad, not bad at all!

[ Kairi comes over to the woman with the staff, smile on her face. ]

I haven't seen you around before, though! My name's Kairi and I could be your next opponent. Are you a goddess or a shinki?

[subtract]

[He's a little surprised when Ain gives a positive answer. He really did see him? ... then again, Ain's always been the type to hang back and watch everyone else, so it's not overly surprising that he took notice of someone who'd stand out.

After all this time, he'll finally be able to see Roxas again...]

... Good. Thanks. [he means it, really, even if he's already looking troubled again.] Stay out of trouble, alright? I'll find you again when we're all ready to leave.

[And if he summons an eye or two to check up on him every now and then... well, he doesn't think this Ain will mind. For now he only lingers briefly before turning to the east, heading towards the direction Ain gave him.]

[declamando]

That's right. [Something about this girl's tic is definitely familiar, and now that she's confirmed herself to be a god with knowledge of her past life, Maria feels like it might be more comfortable to look into that later on. For now, though, she looks pleased enough to have more musicians here.]

I used to run an idol group, but sadly most of the members vanished a little while ago, so I had to just go back to running it as a talent agency. I still get occasional chances to perform, though.

[purr_ince]

[Adrien nods. He might casually be grabbing a broom of his own so that way he's not just standing around.]

Well, roles here in the Heavens are divided into God and Shinki. I'm a Shinki so I can explain that to you better than the role of god. We get assigned a god or goddess and as a Shinki we fight for them, together we fight the ayakashi. If you're a shinki your god gives you a name.

[As he speaks he's moving closer turning his arm so the inside of his right wrist is exposed. There there are two characters that stand out clear and proud - Adrien unlike some makes no effort to hide them :
光希.]

And when they give you this name or call it you become something they can use in some way. Sometimes a weapon, sometimes an animal, sometimes an item they can wear. [He's pausing to make sure that the other is following him so far.]

[unlucky7]

[Her movements with her knife are precise, efficient, working as deftly as if the tool was an extension of her fingers. She pays attention as she cuts, but at times she watches the birds, blade stopping precisely where it needs to be without cutting into. The memories are gone, but the muscle memory remains.

She wipes off her knife on the knee of her pants and rests it on her thigh.]

Do you always feel hungry?

[It's something she's noticed over the last few days; no matter how much she eats, there's always a bit of hunger gnawing at her.]

[tadaishi]

Right, that makes enough sense.

[Nice to know they aren't expecting anything from him just yet.]

Good to know I haven't missed handing any homework in when I've just arrived.

[So is this kid a god or a shinki? It would probably be rude to ask outright.]

I guess you've been here a while?

[tadaishi]

[He's too nice, he wouldn't do anything violent anyway. But since Chikusa's decided to stay in his tree, he'll just scowl at him...after turning away to jab the dummy in the chest with one end of the staff.]

I'm more prepared for them, now. Are they just programmed to go after anyone who gets within a certain range of them?

[Because clearly they're mechanical.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[That's about what Shun was expecting based on how she handled it that first time, though he still keeps an eye on it between using his own. From the ease with which his cuts, it's clearly meticulously sharp despite its relatively small size, just the same as it had been with the flowers - he hones it about as often as possible without damaging it.

When she starts signing, he looks up again to read them before shaking his head a little.]

I don't, but I've heard it's a problem for shinki. I don't know if it's to do with being one or something else about being spirits.

[Presumably there'd be some gods with the same problem if it was just based on them being dead.]

[tadaishi]

Exactly.

[Thank you Hakkai, you are much appreciated as his eyes.

He sidesteps that swipe--thank goodness he has decent reflexes.]

Will they keep attacking if I move far enough away or are they designed to pursue their opponents?

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku found he agreed with that. Not everyone should fight if it was not in their nature. And those that did not or could not fight should not be harmed, they should be protected. It was good that this god had someone as capable as Ginia to protect her.]

I am sure I will [It strikes him as it doesn't really matter, he can do his duty even if he and his god don't get along for whatever reason.] It is our job to protect them after all.

[swordofzero]

[He looked sadly at the child. Because yes, from the sound of the leaflet he had been given they were here to fight. But this was a child and it occurred to him that children should not be in battle, they should be protected.]

What have they told you so far?

[swordofzero]

[He says it so casually, like it is nothing to worry about. But if there was a center for homeless shinki it probably meant it was quite common.

He isn't sure how to feel about that, he hasn't even met his god yet. But if they were someone he was meant to protect, then surely them disappearing would mean he had failed them. He wasn't sure he would describe it as scary, he didn't know how to describe it. He didn't like the idea though.]

Where do they go?

[purr_ince]

You'll be just fine. It's always kind of hard for Shinki at first.

[The blond laughs softly behind his hand.]

The only thing you really need to do is wait for your God to find you, then work on training and borderlines. Until then you can read that little booklet there or as a fellow Shinki about things. [He presses a hand to his own chest when he says this.] I may not explain things as well as Kairi but if you need I can try.

[Adrien shrugs at that.]

Depends on how you define a while. I've been here a month.

[swordofzero]

I'm not sure. I just arrived [He knows literally nothing about himself. But he knew he was quite fast, he had held his own when he had fought Ginia with borderlines. He made the assumption he could use the gun he had arrived with. He figures the quickest way to discover what he can do is try.] If you don't mind. Or I can go and find one somewhere.

[abgrund]

[ This question gets a swift answer, at least ]

He told me to not get in trouble when he looks for someone else.

[ More or less, he's quoting the exact words. But it's an order that's vague, all the same. ]

[abgrund]

But they are not for me....?

[ do you get it, young lady... ]

[abgrund]

Try?

[ He's able to recognize that the light Roxas summoned is of an opposite type to his own. Something about opposites having full coverage.... ]

[unlucky7]

So it is.

[Even with some misgivings about the compatibility of her current partnership, Ginia agrees with his words. Shinki have their roles set out for them and should carry them out. But in also with talking to various shinki and gods, Ginia realizes it's not that simple either.]

What do you think is more important; loyalty or personal happiness?

[It's an abrupt change, but it's a question that's been on her mind and as it stands, sometimes it's easier talking to complete strangers than acquaintances.]

[abgrund]

[ Choosing a god would entail finding out information about them, and he isn't sure if he will have the energy for it. Best to just let fate choose for him, for he's already given in to darkness and it likely wouldn't matter anyway.

At least, he has the impression that things like him are not welcome ]

I was asked to give them out...

[ It's something to do, at least? ]

[purr_ince]

I know that look.

[Adrien frowns a bit before sighing.]

It's not a shinki's fault if their god vanishes. It's just whatever brought them here likely sent them back where they came from. It's not something that we can control - neither can they. It's upsetting and frightening but it's nothing in our hands - kind of like arriving here in the first place.

[The blond rubs at his shoulder.] No one really knows but hopefully back home to their normal lives before they came to the heavens.

[abgrund]

[ Staying out of trouble means not using his powers, something easy to understand. He thinks he can do it. ]

Okay.

[ Probably time to go back to sweeping, while Add goes about his business. Everything is fine. ]

[revolutionfalcon]

[That's a very straightforward answer, and Shun has to wonder if that's really all there is to it. There's something off about this guy's mannerisms, beyond his bizarre form, that makes him think it could be, but he doesn't think it's worth just leaving it there.]

Is that the only reason you're doing it? [As a shinki, doing something just because they're told to isn't really an advantage, as he sees it. Especially considering his god isn't the most responsible person around, so having someone he can just walk over with an order isn't a good prospect.]

[swordofzero]

[A connection. Yes the leaflet had said gods could feel negative emotion from their shinki. But it did not say it could be used to track them. It was useful then.]

It only works one way?

[He doesn't feel anything anyways. Nothing out of the usual. He's not sure how he feels about that, that his god can tell what he is feeling and where he is but he has no way of doing the same.]

[revolutionfalcon]

Right. I think they just expect shinki to observe, and know their god's behaviour. It's the kind of thing they do here. [There's something bitter about how Shun says that - the disparity between the expectations on gods and shinki has always been ridiculous to him, especially considering how little regard some hold shinki in.]

The role of a shinki is supposed to be as a guide as well as to fight with. Don't be afraid to challenge your god if you don't agree with what they're doing.