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

[royaltyloyalty]

God Training: Minus a few months of memories (Add's Plot)
[Dokugakuji doesn't remember nearly all of his life in the Far Shore prior to his death. He has one memory, an argument with Gojyo, so he does know that something was going on, leading him towards Add's temple... and then a blank. It doesn't sit well with him at all, the longer he's had to think about it over the last 10 days since returning. He's hoping that jogging his memory by listening to these God Training messages again, by training with his shinki, that sort of thing will help him remember what happened.

He's a bit over-serious today, glancing this way and that for anything that will be a clue to this mystery - including other people talking about the recent events that sound like the foes he was attacking in his single memory. He also hasn't spent any time looking at his phone, since he's back to not being accustomed to technology of that sort. He classifies it alongside Ni Jienyi, the doctor who did atrocious things to his prince.]

Physical Training: Back to basics
[This one's easy for someone like Dokugakuji. It's just like being back at Kougaiji's castle, he thinks. His over-six-foot frame towers over others and he is strangely unworried about concealing his youkai identity. Everyone so far has just assumed it's something that came along with him being a god. Doku meanwhile blames that on the new scar he's sporting on one arm that, near as he can figure, loosely resembles some flames but nothing more.

Meanwhile, he can brawl with you hand-to-hand, or he can pick up a practice sword to go against you. If you're feeling frisky, he can even use one of his Soulless Shinki that turns into a sword: he's a tall man with one eye sealed shut, over which is his shinki name.]

Physical Training

[irishfriskey]

[Lancer is always trying to practice more. After all, it's no good if he can't keep up. Archer and Caster are good to practice against, but it means nothing if he can't get additional practice.

Spinning his two spears around as he moves in front of him.]

Are you interested in training?

Re: Physical Training

[royaltyloyalty]

[He puts a smile on. Focus on the task at hand.]

Always.

[He spins a practice sword in response.]

Since it's training, I'll stick to this one.

[Unless the other man insists.]

[irishfriskey]

Sounds fine to me.

[He begins to get into position, spinning his spear.]

Ready?

[royaltyloyalty]

[He's not sure that he's spent as much time as he would like around someone with two weapons, one in each hand, but he squeezes the hilt with both hands and prepares to put his strength into each swing.

... Starting with a forward rush. Asking if he's ready meant that guy's ready, right? He keeps the weapon low, but still with both hands on it. He's preparing to swing it high and slam it down, maybe snap that spear in two if it's used for a block.]

[irishfriskey]

[Lancer immediately nods and rushes back, swinging his first spear up to knock the blade down, but swinging his other one into Doku's side.

The spear is strong and well prepared to knock him down, and certainly doesn't snap when it gets hit.

These are specialty spears.]

Training

[bussounoshima]

Well, look who decided to show his face.

[In a neat reversal, this time it's Sharak walking up behind Dokugakuji to address him while he tries to focus on something else. Nice, isn't it? She waves aside a white-robed shinki trying to encourage her to help clean up and keeps her eyes fixed on the youkai before her instead. That soulless shinki of his is still nearby, which should mean...]

You've got some nerve.

[By Sanzo standards, this is a friendly greeting between friends.]

Re: Training

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Last he knew, Sharak was an opponent, so he whirls around and jumps back to try and put some distance between them. Because when she's talking about nerve, he assumes she means the attempted murder on her person. ]

You're here too?

[ He only remembers Gojyo and the strange ayakashi. ]

What the hell is going on...

[ Maybe that ruthless kid killed her? Too? They kept insisting it was the shinki who were dead not the gods, but then how to explain the gap in his memories... ]

[bussounoshima]

Oho? So you do recognise me by my face.

[She will stop making veiled complaints about being nearly stabbed in the back when it stops being funny to her. But all right, he clearly doesn't remember the Far Shore. That makes sense, knowing that he died.

Time to have some fun. Sharak slowly walks toward Dokugakuji, closing the gap he's tried to make between them.]

I wasn't sure you would. You sound a little less brave, now I'm looking you in the eye.

[Don't want to fight a woman face-to-face, Doku?]

[royaltyloyalty]

Bravery's not the problem.

[Maybe she won't accept that as an answer, but it's the truth to him. Facing an opponent he tried to kill before and has come back with a vengeance? Meh.

Having nearly gotten to the point of killing a woman once before and being literally faced with her again? Thaaat's the exact opposite of fun to him. He'd do anything for his prince, but he apparently couldn't do that.

So he's backing up, despite what he's claiming about bravery.]

I had to know what you looked like, after all... to make sure it was the right person hanging around a temple in robes.

[bussounoshima]

[Sharak watches Dokugakuji back up for a moment before continuing to follow him. She's just going to keep closing this gap for as long as it's amusing to her, which will likely be a while.]

Well, that evening would have been more confusing than others in that regard. [Two Sanzos for the price of one and all that.] Unfortunate that you didn't pay more attention to the other people around.

[Hassan fucked Doku up and sent him running and despite all other factors, that's the version of the story Sharak likes best.]

Wanna go for round two? I'm all alone now.

God Training

[futhark]

[ Caster is generally lurking around the training grounds but then he notices a familiar face he hasn't seen for a while. That one guy who tried to catch Zelda- then him because of his magic trick.

Once Dokugakuji it's out of the hall he drops from the roof or tree, or other high perch that happens to be around. ]

Hey! Long time no see. Anything interesting happened during that lecture?

[ Let's start it casual, to see how it goes. ]

Re: God Training

[royaltyloyalty]

[ He appraises the man in front of him, eventually deeming him not to be an immediate threat. Still, his expression is hardly friendly. ]

You may find this hard to believe, but I don't recognize you.

[ Maybe he'll take that invitation to explain himself. ]

[futhark]

Huh. [ Caster's first thought is "yeah, we haven't really talked much", but then what he heard clicks- how people were surprised he remembered. How they expected him to forget. And the fact, that he indeed didn't remember anything for a short time, but initially assumed it was just from the shock of coming back. ]

Sure. That's okay. [ a beat ] So it's your first day here?

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Doku balks a little. ]

Not even gonna introduce yourself, huh? Why do you care if it's my first day here?

[Even though it's not.]

[futhark]

It's a day when new blood arrives. [ Duh ] Just trying to be welcoming else. Do I really look like someone with ulterior movies?

[ His smile is friendly, tone easy-going, but yeah, the hood that casts a shadow of his face probably doesn't make into a most trustworthy figure. The introduction tho is spot on issue ]

I am Cú Chulainn, most of the people here call me Caster though.

God Training

[reformedsinner]

Ah, I didn't expect to see you here.

[Hakkai's tone, as he steps up beside the older youkai, is almost too mild. Dokugakuji had been killed, after all. He's been missing for an unusually long time, too.

What does he remember-- if anything?]

How are you feeling?

Re: God Training

[royaltyloyalty]

[ He's had his 'chat' with Sharak by now and met up with Lancer and Caster, but that still doesn't fully prepare him for Hakkai sounding concerned about him.]

Uh, yeah... I'm... Still not sure what to make of all of this yet.

[ But his two Soulless are on hand, so it might seem obvious he didn't reincarnate as a shinki. Yay? ]

[reformedsinner]

[He recognizes Hakkai, and that's enough proof that he's not a shinki. The two soulless are merely supporting evidence.

Hakkai tilts his head, just a little, to the side, and adds:]

I did hear you'd been killed.

[Well, "hear." A big silken tent dedicated to dealing with the effects of Dokugakuji's murder counts as publicizing the information, Hakkai supposes.]

What do you remember?

[royaltyloyalty]

[He frowns at 'been killed.' Seemed like that was going to be a recurring theme for him - thinking he'd died back there against the insanely powerful kid, and now here finding out he hadn't just mysteriously vanished like some gods, oh no. He'd straight up been killed.

So in answer to Hakkai's question, he responds rather glibly.]

Not enough to know why you care.

[His argument with Gojyo in that lone memory didn't reveal anything about them being on good terms, so he assumes Hakkai is in the same boat.]

[reformedsinner]

I see it was true. [He smiles, innocently enough that it almost looks malicious, and adopts a sympathetic tone.]

Confusing, isn't it? The same thing happened to me a few months ago, although you seem to have taken an unusually long time to return.

[-- and, all right, that's enough taunting Gojyo's brother. His expression falls back to neutrality, and his voice goes brisk.]

Both your goals and mine require being back in the correct world to achieve. There's no point in acting as if we're enemies, and I don't have anything personal against you.

Quite the contrary.

[They might not know each other well -- they hadn't known each other well before Dokugakuji's death damaged his memories, either -- but he'd saved Gojyo's life once.

Hakkai owes him for that.]

let's get physical (physical)

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa didn't really intend to get some practicing in... but at the same time, he guesses it's been a while. Best to get up to shape with a knife before he loses track of himself.]

[so here he is, standing in front of someone he knows was once able to distract Hibari, and he blinks dully at the man while turning a knife in his hand.]

....Ready, then?

I almost used that, but it's Doku lol

[royaltyloyalty]

[Dokugakuji doesn't recognize Chikusa, but he recognizes a knife in hand.]

I'm always ready. If it's gonna be blades...

[He holds the practice sword out at his side.]

live a little doku

[kokuyoyo]

...It's what's worth practicing the most...

[Still, he'll start to lazily shuffle in a circle about the other fighter, sizing him up carefully and still constantly turning the knife.]

sure thing ;)

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Dokugakuji doesn't twirl his in response. That's flashy stuff he doesn't need for a kid. ]

Not gonna go easy on you just because you're a kid.

[ He clenches the handle with both hands, ready to throw powerful strikes Chikusa's way. He runs forward in a seemingly straightforward attack, prepared to bowl the lanky teen over on sheer force. ]