April Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: November 6th
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 rear of 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 a much nicer room than the warehouse where the last set of new gods got their informational speech. It's a smaller meeting room, with tatami floors and a small dais at the front of the room where the speaker stands. 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.

Butterfly spirits are swarming the flower garden to one side of the dojo, fluttering across bright pink late-blooming cosmos. Shinki who want to practice more precise borderline aim can try using them to gently herd the butterflies one way or another, or, if their borderlines aren't quite that good yet, they can try to catch one with a net. Just be careful! It would be a shame to hurt them.

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.

The animated training dummies are missing this week, although the mundane ones are still intact on their stakes; the white-robed shinki who has previously been seen looking after them is wandering among the mundane training dummies, muttering, making notes to himself and swearing under his breath. Anyone who stares at him for too long, god or shinki, newcomer or established, is going to find him marching over and assigning them a task. Measure the air temperature in each square foot of the dojo, determine the exact height of each dummy and the location where it's most likely to be hit by opponents of different heights, hook an accelerometer to someone's sleeve while they smack a dummy around -- there seem to be hundreds of little, fiddly measurements he needs, and he's not taking no for an answer.

Rest and Refreshments

There are casks of fresh, cold water near the dojo to make sure no one gets dehydrated, and a fresh autumn-themed lunch will be served a little after noon. Rice with mushrooms, salt-grilled fish, roasted sweet potatoes and fresh fruit are on the menu; the shinki will try to accommodate any special dietary requests, and both the new arrivals and more experienced volunteers are welcome to partake.

One of the white-robed shinki has a whole pack of half-grown puppies that she seems to be trying to train. A few have mastered sitting, a few have figured out how to fetch, and all of them are young and excited enough that they're dashing off in all directions at the least provocation. Watch out! Dog incoming! Maybe she needs some help with that?

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
• Play with the dogs
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

[kokuyoyo]

[It only sounds weird when one doesn't have the context of looking directly at those strange blank kind of shinki. Leaning back on his hands, still somehow slumping at the same time, Chikusa makes a faint noise of agreement. Oh, wait, words, right.]

At least a part of it, apparently....They rarely have much to them.

[rockthemonkey]

I thought he looked hungry...

[But maybe he's just empty. Huh. He seems way creepier now. Goku slumps forwards, resting on his elbows.]

I don't get any of this stuff... I didn't even wanna come here, I was gonna go west.

[kokuyoyo]

Deal with it.

[ w e l p ]

No one was asked to be brought here.... It just happened. Apparently.

[rockthemonkey]

[Honestly the complete lack of sympathy is about what Goku expects for his whining. He takes a breath and straightens up.]

Yeah, yeah, alright. I guess I gotta deal with it then.

[kokuyoyo]

....By finding Hakkai.... or something...

[Since he was yelling all those names, after all.]

[rockthemonkey]

Mm, yeah, I gotta start by finding Hakkai an' the others. Do you know where they are?

[Chikusa knows Hakkai and where Hakkai is, Gojyo and Sanzo surely will be too!]

[kokuyoyo]

....By the others.... You mean...

[He knows what one of those names is going to be, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.]

[rockthemonkey]

Sanzo n' Gojyo! Hakkai'll know where they are.

[Well. He's half right.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Half right in that Cho Hakkai sure does fucking know where that jackass Gojyo is. Oh so faintly, Chikusa's upper lip curls.]

...Gojyo.... is also living with us... I guess.

[He is just jumping for joy over here at this fact.]

[Oh, right, but there's something more important to say. It's pretty plainly obvious that Goku is a god, after all, so...]

....But you won't want to say anything to him.

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku assesses that lip curl, Chiuksa's tone of voice and his actual words and... Comes to a conclusion that isn't strictly accurate, but probably isn't wrong either.]

Aw, Gojyo's not so bad. He's just annoyin' and a pervert and he smells weird sometimes. I'm used to him, don't worry!

[Clearly Chikusa is just trying to warn him off!]

[kokuyoyo]

He's stupider than should be possible...

[Chikusa isn't biased. But, more importantly-]

And a shinki, as well.

[Quietly, he sets to taking in what Goku's reaction to that will be.]

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku's reaction is to go still, staring blankly at Chikusa for a few seconds.]

... No, he's not. Gojyo's not dead.

[He caught at least that much of the explanation he was given earlier.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Yeah.... That's about right. Chikusa's head lolls to the side, cheek against shoulder.]

He's a shinki.

[He won't repeat himself a third time.]

[rockthemonkey]

But...

[Shinki are meant to be dead. Gojyo's not dead. Gojyo's a shinki. So shinki are...

Goku might need to think about this for a while. Either way, he's still certain that Gojyo isn't dead.]

I'll talk to Hakkai about it.

[kokuyoyo]

He'll tell you the same thing I did....

[Or he might. While Chikusa isn't particularly aware of it, Hakkai has his own thoughts on just what's going on here. Either way, Chikusa doesn't push it and just yawns.]

Anyway.... Don't say anything to that guy.... or else he'll end up an ayakashi.

[rockthemonkey]

Mm, I'll be careful. Just in case.

[He doesn't want to hurt Gojyo, even if it's not as serious as everyone makes it sound after all. Just the thought of saying something that would give Gojyo blight makes his chest hurt (for some mysterious reason).]

But you don't have to worry about Gojyo. He's a cockroach.

[So he'll survive anything.]

[kokuyoyo]

Ugh.

[Truly the sound of someone who has gotten to know Gojyo and surely had a good time of it!]

Isn't that unfortunately true....

[rockthemonkey]

[That's a similar tone and face to what Sanzo has when he talks about Gojyo. Surely this means that Chikusa and Gojyo are actually really good friends! Goku smiles a little.]

I know, he's a real pain. Sorry you had to put up with him.

[kokuyoyo]

[Goku, you pure soul.... Chikusa huffs a little bit under his breath.]

Hakkai is the one who needs to hear that... considering what a pain Gojyo has been to him.... but they're both stupid.

[Which means Chikusa knows both of them really well.]

[rockthemonkey]

Hakkai's really smart! [Most of the time. Goku feels like he needs to leap to his defence anyway.] He knows all kinds of stuff!

And you don't gotta worry about Hakkai and Gojyo either. They're friends, you know.

[So it's okay for Gojyo to be a pain?? Look, Goku doesn't know how bad he's gotten.]

[kokuyoyo]

Yeah. But he's still stupid sometimes.

[Chikusa will die by this.]

And anyway.... They're not friends right now. [A pause, and Chikusa's nose twitches.] I don't know what they're doing right...

[It's such a clusterfuck...]

[rockthemonkey]

Well, yeah.

[Sometimes Hakkai is stupid and if he were here he'd probably agree. Everyone's stupid sometimes, Goku thinks.]

Of course they're friends. Even if they're fightin' about something dumb that doesn't mean they're not friends anymore.

[kokuyoyo]

....I think you've already forgotten something important about Gojyo I told you...

[ s i g h ]

It's not a friendship if one doesn't remember the other.... so he does things like... [Hm. Should he spill that..? He doesn't know what's up with Hakkai's friends.] Try to spill to other people about how Hakkai become a yokai...

[rockthemonkey]

You don't need to remember someone to still be friends with them!

[Goku would know. Or, well, he wouldn't. Memory loss and all that. Still, he tenses up at the next bit.]

He- Gojyo did that? [Oh, shit, that is serious.]

[kokuyoyo]

[On one hand, Chikusa agrees, but on the other hand-]

Yeah.... He tried to tell me to turn Hakkai against me, I think... And I know he told one other person, at least.

[That reaction shows that Goku certainly knows the story, however.]

He had to tell people on the BBS before Gojyo could keep spilling it...