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

[ittenbari]

[Sakon shakes his head vehemently.]

Nope! Nope nope nope! Not at all!

[He remembers what it was like when these things were moving and he doesn't want to go through that again.]

It was creepy! Like they were out to get you! They can stand still forever and that would be just fine by me. If I wanna find someone who'll fight back, I'll find a real person!

[replicatedform]

[He blinks at him, and again. Oh, that kind of creepy.]

Is that it? They're just doing what they're made for. [As targets for practicing fighting. Just with the bonus of moving around!] It's not like you're forced to use them.

[ittenbari]

Well, yeah, but everyone kinda hangs out here around this time and it'd be weird to just stand around with nothing to do.

[He'd probably be just fine talking everyone's ears off, but this is a little more productive.]

If I wasn't here, I'd probably be hitting the refreshment table and I kinda eat too much when I do that, so this is probably a better idea.

[replicatedform]

So you just want something to do?

[Well, fair enough.]

... Normally, I'd be training and I want to check on those moving dummies. [Obviously, that didn't pan out.] In this case, I don't mind helping out if it's not too annoying.

[ittenbari]

A guy's gotta keep busy, right? And anyway, you run into people here that you might not run into otherwise because everyone's got their own stuff going on most of the time. I'd try to get a card game started or something, but the atmosphere's kinda serious, you know? And there are all those fancy shinki keeping an eye on us and stuff.

[It's hard to figure out exactly where that train of thought was going, but apparently this doesn't faze Sakon in the slightest.]

[replicatedform]

[He can follow what he's saying, kinda of. He nods, glancing over at the closest white robed shinki in the dojo.]

Why not start a game? It'd make people feel better if they join in. [Yamanbagiri knows relaxing for a moment do help a lot, even if it's a temporary relief from... whatever's weighing on people.] And they're doing their job, but it does feel... tense?

[Close enough.]

At least until something changes.