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

[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.]

[yousaytron]

[That's super fishy...]

Has anyone else taken a look at her? I've never heard of anything like that happening before, but maybe someone else has.

[Or would at least have some kind of idea on what might be the problem.]

[handsome_genius]

Shizuo apparently isn't worried - not super-worried, I mean. We're trying to make sure nothing happens while she's asleep like this, but he seems to think she'll wake up. Like this is just a thing that happens to gods sometimes.

I've never seen it though.

[Hence his own concern.]

I read up afterwards... a few people mentioned it on the BBS, but that's all. Nothing about why it happens.

[yousaytron]

[Well, as long as it isn't something potentially going to be totally disastrous for them, then he can see why Yoon would even think to leave the temple for even a little bit. Still, that's... really weird.]

Any idea on when it'll wear off, then? That's gotta be hard on the both of you.

[Gods disappearing is one thing, having them suddenly fall into a weird limbo state like that is totally different.]

[handsome_genius]

[Yoon shakes his head no.]

I haven't read anything about that - or if it's a spell a shinki can cast or something that just HAPPENS or... I don't know.

[For someone who can usually find the answers to things in a book or on the BBS if he looks long enough, he's incredibly frustrated.]

[yousaytron]

[He can only imagine - and for someone like Yoon, who always struck him as the kind of person who liked having a handle on as much as he can in any situation, something so totally mysterious has to be doubly frustrating.

Keith himself doesn't have any answers for something like this, though. But, as long as someone is watching over Yona, it's good that Yoon is at least trying to get out, right...?]

Hopefully it'll pass soon. [Surely it can't be a permanent thing.] You out here to try and keep your mind off it for a while?

1/2

[handsome_genius]

[ Yoon flinches and then just turns to stare at Keith because really man, how dare you call him out like this. ]

2/2

[handsome_genius]

... W-well Yona might have a new shinki assigned to her and she wouldn't be around to receive them to her temple, so-!!

[So he's here trying to keep his mind off of it. Exactly as Keith said. While that part was also true, it wasn't the primary reason.]

[yousaytron]

[Look, any attempt from Keith at mincing words would probably just be embarrassing for both of them, so really, this was for the best.]

That's probably a pretty smart idea. [Even if it kind of sounds a little bit like an excuse to force himself to get out. He has half a mind to ask if it's panning out but, obviously, Yoon hasn't run into anyone particularly important.] Are you headed right back to the temple after this, then?

[handsome_genius]

Yes, I am. Shizuo and I are switching off and this is his shift to look after her, so I'll need to go back and let him do anything he needs to do for awhile.

[ Which Yoon doesn't mind. He's much more of a homebody than Shizuo is. ]

[yousaytron]

That sounds like it'll be kind of lonely, honestly.

[Not to put it tactfully or anything. Either way, he gets the feeling that trying to convince Yoon to take a little extra time to himself if it's possible would fall flat, so maybe a different direction would be better...?]

If you want an extra person around to help you out with anything, I'm usually not very busy.

[Not with anything that can't easily be put on hold, anyway.]

[handsome_genius]

... Really?

[ Yoon is surprised, sure, but his tone isn't aghast at being offered help, or because it's Keith. More than anything though, right now he's just stressed, and Keith's right... it's getting kind of lonely after how much hustle and bustle used to be around the temple with the number of people there.

So is tone is hopeful. Like if Keith is willing to follow up on that, really do it, Yoon would willingly take him up on the offer. ]

I thought you didn't like coming by Yona's temple...

[ For fear that Yoon would feed him, giving him a gift over and over again, as far as Yoon remembers. ]

[yousaytron]

It's not that I don't like dropping by.

[Just that relying on the hospitality of someone he didn't and still doesn't know very well feels... awkward. Taking advantage of a meal offer at a third party's residence multiple times and helping out of his own volition are two totally different scenarios.]

I know that you're a hardworking person, and I can imagine that having all of this on your mind is making everything that much more stressful. If you think I can help out in someway or another, then... I want you to have that offer.

[handsome_genius]

Then... yes, I'd appreciate any time you spent at the temple.

[ Whether Keith ends up being able to genuinely 'help' with something or not, Yoon will appreciate the company. The temple used to be so full, and now it's not, but the empty feeling got even worse with Yona asleep. ]

[yousaytron]

[If nothing else, you can always put him up to doing housework. Even someone like Keith is capable of something simple like sweeping.]

Great. [And, genuinely, he seems pretty pleased that Yoon has taken his offer.] I’ll be good to go whenever you think you’re finished here.

Flash forward in time, or end thread?

[handsome_genius]

I'll call out to you, for sure!

[ He's all smiles now, his mood much improved by the prospect of Keith coming by more often, even if it's for a sad reason like Yona being asleep.

It's also a huge incentive to go complete the rest of his plans, confirm Yona has no new shinki for him to escort, and then look around for Keith again. ]

[yousaytron]

[It's enough time to let Keith cool down from the day's training, and Yoon can easily find him loitering not too far away.]

Everything good? [Doesn't look like he has any other shinki in tow, but... that probably wasn't really the most realistic expectation for the day. Anything to get out of the temple for a few hours, though.]


[[OOC: I'm game to fast forward for this and keep going for maximum hijinks, but if you want to use this as an opportunity to trim your thread count, we can wrap it up here. c:]]

[handsome_genius]

... Keith!

[ Yoon is genuinely surprised to see Keith approaching him instead. He wouldn't have even put it past Keith to forget and head back to his lion. Things happen, not just forgetting, but needing to do something else at the last minute. So when Keith catches his attention before Yoon can catch his, Yoon is just smiling more than he has in over a week. ]

Yeah, I'm ready!

[ He starts to lead Keith towards Yona's temple, which is impossible to miss with how huge the place is. ]

I can hardly believe I'm going to go from cleaning at one temple to cleaning at another, and I'm excited about it.

[ OOC: I like Keith and Yoon too much >_> /keeps this ]

[yousaytron]

[He did say he wasn't busy...! The enthusiasm catches him a little off guard, but it's a pleasant sort of surprise that gets a small chuckle out of him.]

Right, let's get going.

[Helping to keep the grounds of a temple as massive as Yona's isn't really Keith's idea of a fun time, so he can't quite get on the same wavelength as Yoon, but the idea of wanting some company in a big and otherwise quiet space... that he can understand.]

Gotta take the excitement when you can find it, huh? [You really needed something like this, didn't you, Yoon?]

[handsome_genius]

Of course! I mean... what's the point of a place that big if no one is living there anymore? Or- or all the food that Yona receives? I can't justify using all of that up, it would be wasteful! But if I don't, the food may spoil anyway...

[ He sighs thoughtfully. ]

I feel like I could survive on my own like you do, like I know how, it's just seeing a place that big go to waste that I hate more.

[yousaytron]

[Keith's more than happy to let Yoon take the lead in talking - if it really is so quiet at his temple, then he could probably use the outlet. He's content to just listen and nod along for a bit.]

I think there's a difference between living on your own and being in a place where you know you shouldn't be on your own. [Spending a couple of weeks alone in Red sounds completely different from having to spend time keeping up a large and effectively empty temple.] Especially if it's still running like there should be more people in there, managing for yourself isn't the same as managing for several absent people.

[handsome_genius]

Well not like dozens of absent people...

[ Yoon's feeling pretty down because of Yona, sure, and the fact that they used to have Hak and Jae-ha as shinki there as well as himself and Shizuo. ]

More like... if a place that big has to exist, then it might as well be... I don't know... another temple that stray shinki and soulless could stay at. It's big enough to handle it. Meanwhile, if I was going to live on my own, I wouldn't need nearly so much.

[yousaytron]

[There has to be some kind of inherent loneliness in up-keeping a large, empty temple, but he gets where Yoon's coming from with the practical standpoint, too. So much unused space is a waste.]

Right, if it's just one person, you really don't need a lot of space to live off of. [Just as long as you get your essentials down, anything past that really only depends on habits and hobbies... managing for only one person, or even just two, shouldn't take up so much space.] Had Yona ever mentioned doing anything like that? Opening the temple up as a general place for shinki who might need a place to stay for a while?

[Just curious, he'd imagine it's an idea with its own set of benefits and drawbacks.]

[handsome_genius]

I don't think she's ever pretended otherwise, but... it might be something she'd be okay with making public again. So many new shinki may not realize they have options when their god goes missing.

[ When because he knows it will continue to happen to plenty of shinki. ]

If they haven't made the connections to stay with a friend, or can find the Soulless Shinki temple, or for any reason may not be comfortable stay in either of those places. I think it would be okay for most anyone to ask Yona about it.