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

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.]

[royaltyloyalty]

That's pretty magnanimous of you...

[He's not wholly convinced yet, but he also recalls that group's penchant for being straightforward until their backs were up against a wall in a fight. That time in the woods, for instance, when they'd been separated from Goku and he'd been separated from Kou along with Yaone. That hadn't turned out badly for any fault with the Sanzo Party - it was all that Dr. Ni's fault.]

But I'm not sure how long is common for a 'return' around here, considering I've been hanging around roughly 10 days and only just now seen you and that other Sanzo. So forgive me for being a little suspicious this is all coming up suddenly.

[reformedsinner]

Did you expect me to bring it up before I saw you for the first time? -- If you've been back for ten days, though, your absence was not nearly so long as I thought it was.

[He shrugs easily.]

We haven't been working together all that closely. Ah... though I should tell you. Gojyo's here, and a shinki. He remembers a few things from his life, but not much, and he's been upset lately. Be cautious what you say to him.

[royaltyloyalty]

Gojyo? But as a...

[He thinks back to that memory of his. Upset or more upset? Because last he remembers...]

Losing your arm will do that to a guy.

[He's had some time to deal with that, but still not thrilled.]

Unless this really is Heaven and he got that miracle'd back somehow?

[reformedsinner]

... have you seen him since you returned?

[Not recently, not if Dokugakuji still thinks Gojyo's missing an arm, but not too long ago, either.]

It wasn't restored by magic; it was restored by surgery, to the best of my knowledge.

[royaltyloyalty]

Ah, no, I hadn't...

[He looks very perplexed by surgery since that sounds dangerously like something a Dr. Ni type would do.]

That must'a been an intense surgery if everything's... working right again.

[Prosthetic or no. Then he rubs at his neck because this is awkward to explain to Hakkai, but here the guy is claiming to not be an enemy for now, so maybe...]

... He honestly sounded pretty mad at me last he saw me. Which is weird if you're telling me he's a shinki now. Still sounds like he's better off without me in his life.

[Just like before.]

[reformedsinner]

[Ah, and there's the moment where this conversation goes incredibly awkward, because there's no way to tell a man Hakkai barely knows that his brother has spilled all of their mutual worst childhood secrets in late-night fits and starts.

Hakkai had told his first, but Kanan is dead, and if she turns up here regardless he'll gladly let her punch him out for that indiscretion.

Slowly, he lets his breath trickle out as he thinks, and then glances at Dokugakuji's face, and chooses his words with care.]

I believe he's angry with all of us at the moment, but you-- he only remembered a fragment about you. From what I heard, it was a misleading one.

[royaltyloyalty]

[ Dokugakuji looks confused as he tries to consider that, then nods as if reconciling what he knows with what Hakkai is telling him. ]

Well... at least that makes my one memory make a little bit more sense.

[ Both Gojyo being angry at all of them and one misleading fragment of a memory prompting the argument that he remembered. ]

It's all I remember, actually.

[ Then he puts one hand over the other in thought, rubbing it up his arm to his shoulder as he considers. ]

Angry at me is one thing - I'd be more surprised if he wasn't - but angry at all of you... so he's back to facing things alone.

[ Which is a pretty depressing thought for him because he'd thought, last he saw Gojyo in their world, that for all his hardships Gojyo at least had some allies supporting him. Now... Now he wonders if he should even still be there. Surely his presence is just another complication at this point. With his prince, at least he'd been out of Gojyo's life and unable to fuck it up even more. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Dokugakuji rubs his arm, as though trying to quell an ache, his expression growing distant and reserved. Hakkai watches him for a moment before glancing away.

Is that tendency to self-blame genetic, he wonders, or learned? He could really buy either.]

Not entirely. He does have other friends, you know: there are two shinki who work with him at his bar.

[After a moment, he shakes his head, briskly dismissing the statement. It's only a little too late to be convincing. He's worried about the same thing; Gojyo doesn't do well alone. He hadn't before Hakkai wound up in the road on his way home; he hadn't when Hakkai was away at the temple. He doesn't want to, when he remembers. Now? Well. Now, it seems he's decided it's for the best.]

I'm hoping they'll help him.

[royaltyloyalty]

[ It does surprise him to hear that Gojyo has two other friends working at his bar, but half of it is due to 'his bar' and the other half is the friends working there. After that, he nods. ]

I'll hope for that too.

[ Then, he crosses his arms across his chest and sighs audibly in thought. ]

Guess I'll stay away a bit longer. I can keep busy trying to figure out about this memory loss thing I've got going on, even though I thought that was only supposed to affect shinki.

[ And he takes a step backward, assuming that he's saying goodbye to Hakkai and that the man wouldn't want anything to do with him unless it was Gojyo-related. Even with a truce, surely that would be the situation. ]

[reformedsinner]

[Hakkai blinks, not because Dokugakuji's stepping backwards -- it's relatively true, after all, that Hakkai doesn't know him well and has met him mostly in situations of conflict -- but at the comment about memory loss.]

Ah. That? You mean, having been here for a while, but not remembering any of it?

That comes of dying.