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

[handsome_genius]

Rest and Refreshments
[Yoon is definitely not in the mood for training. Yona's been asleep for awhile and it's starting to worry him. The only reason he's even here - he tells himself - is to make sure there's no shinki that might have gotten assigned to her even while she slept. As a result, they wouldn't know where to go with her asleep.

... Then there's the fact that he hasn't left her temple much lately. So he's restless, even if he won't admit it.

That's why Yoon spends so much of his time around the Refreshments area, trying to blend in as one of Amaterasu's shinki and just busy himself refilling drinks and snacks. He justifies this as well that any wandering shinki without a god may eventually land near the refreshments and gripe loudly enough about it for him to hear.]

God/Shinki Training
[If you have a compelling argument, you can drag Yoon away from his mother-henning to get some actual training in. Some characters may even be able to physically drag him away, since he's pretty small. That may not convince him to spar, but he's tentatively been working on his first shinki spell between other lessons (at Hakkai's school to bring him up to speed on current knowledge), teaching cooking not just being good at it (for Goten), and Sign Language (with Lav).]

R&R

[yousaytron]

[It's while taking a break from training to grab a nice, cool drink that Keith spots Yoon looking... honestly pretty stressed, all things considered.]

Hey. You look like you could use a break.

[But, a break from what? Yoon's not really the fighting type, so there's gotta be something on his mind wearing him down, right?]

Re: R&R

[handsome_genius]

[Yoon is barely paying attention to other people talking to him, since he's mostly been focusing on the cleaning. It's several words into what Keith is saying before he notices that Keith isn't talking to someone else, literally anyone who is doing normal shinki stuff by comparison to himself.]

Hm? What?

[Oh, Keith-]

Did you need something?

[yousaytron]

[Uh huh.]

Not particularly, I'm just resting for a bit. [You know, rest. Maybe give it a shot, Yoon.] What's on your mind?

[Not even asking if something's on his mind, because it's pretty obvious by that reaction alone.]

[handsome_genius]

Nothing.

[That's his initial reaction. Except his shoulders are still tense and he's immediately distracted out the side of his eyes by some trash he missed on his last pass through this area and--

He stares back at Keith.

His shoulders slump.]

... Yona. She's been asleep for days.

[yousaytron]

That... doesn't sound normal.

[Outside of being a kind of alarming circumstance under typical conditions, he'll go ahead and guess that it isn't something specific to Yona's particular god if it's keeping Yoon so preoccupied.]

Did something happen to her?

[handsome_genius]

I didn't think it sounded normal either, but we don't know what happened to her right before falling asleep - neither of us were around, Shizuo or I.

[And as far as Yoon knew, she didn't have any additional noras that might have known anything. She fell asleep at her own temple after all, not out on some prayer, and if it had been attack... he would've found some wounds, surely.]

R&R

[welcome_home]

Yoon!

[ Considering she hasn't left her own temple in some time, either, Nanako might have missed the fact that he hasn't been around much. But she looks happy to see him as she slips over, one hand lifted in a little wave of greeting. ]

Hi! Are you working here today? I thought just the old gods' shinki did that?

Re: R&R

[handsome_genius]

Ah, Nanako!

[ He pauses what he's doing and smiles over at her, bowing his head in greeting since he can't let go of what he's holding in both hands. ]

I'm just picking up some of their slack is all.

[ And he doesn't seem to notice or care that some of the other white-robed shinki might be able to hear him. ]

[welcome_home]

[ She blinks up at him with wide eyes for a moment before giving him a warm smile. ]

Do you need help?

[handsome_genius]

Well I don't need any help since this isn't my job, but...

[ He grins at her while ducking down to rest on his heels. ]

They seem to need all the help they can get, so you can join me for a bit if you want?

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako glances over at the nearest white-robed shinki who seemed to be pointedly ignoring Yoon, at least. She gives a soft giggle, glancing back to him and sharing a conspiratorial smile. ]

Okay! What can I do?

[handsome_genius]

[ Yoon picks up a small trash bag and gestures to a bench where people were clearly eating and drinking during breaks. ]

See how there's some trash under the wooden table here? Could you get underneath of there and pick up the bits that blew around in the breeze?

rest and refreshments;

[handle]

[ Sorey's taken notice that this person - this stranger - looks fairly out of it. while he doesn't know him, he can at least offer a helping hand. Maybe he could use a break? Or maybe something else is bothering him. He won't poke his nose into business that he doesn't belong to, but he can at least offer something that might help. ]

Hey, do you want some help?

Re: rest and refreshments;

[handsome_genius]

I'm not really the right person to ask.

[He says despite clearly cleaning up. He didn't ask, he simply barged his way in and starting picking up the slack.]

I'm not one of the shinki in charge or anything.

[handle]

Is there some kind of rule that we have to ask to help?

[ He's really just volunteering to do it. ]

[handsome_genius]

[Yoon shrugs.]

I don't know of one. Suit yourself. You just asked me a question I don't feel like answering.

[He's also not in the best of moods, so he didn't catch that there was an offer in that. It sounded to him like can he, like is he actually allowed.]

[handle]

... Here, you don't have to answer. [ He'll step beside him then, starting to do what he offered to do. ] Why don't you take a break instead?

[handsome_genius]

[ That gets Yoon clenching his fists tight, overly emotional for nothing that Sorey personally did. ]

... Because this is me taking a break.

[ When he does look up at Sorey, he can't hide that fact. ]

You don't even know me or my goddess, so what this to you?

[ Ah. Maybe he shouldn't have brought Yona up on his own, but she was on his mind of course. ]

rnr

[kokuyoyo]

[It's as Chikusa is picking through the food, as usual, that he spots a distantly familiar face, and he pauses, blinking at Yoon.]

...Did you become one of her shinki or something while no one was looking...

[He means Amaterasu, of course.]

1/2

[handsome_genius]

[Yoon spins on his heels to verbally assault a perceived slight against either Yona or himself, maybe both.]

Of course I'm her shinki, just because I'm not back at her temple right now--

2/2

[handsome_genius]

... You're not talking about Yona. Are you.

[He has to wonder now if Yona and Chikusa are even acquainted aside from him having crashed her party looking for food.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Honestly, a good question no matter who he knows. Chikusa quirks up an eyebrow.]

....No.

[handsome_genius]

Then whose shinki do you think I am?

[He asks while still holding some garbage in a bag and heading to throw it away.]

[kokuyoyo]

...Probably... belonging with the ones doing all the work.

[What a waste of perfectly good deadpan. Darnit, Yoon.]