June Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: December 7th
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.

Once they've had a chance to have things explained, they'll have the chance to relax and enjoy an afternoon party.




Meeting Hall

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.

The speaker delivers her welcome speech with the intonation of someone who's practiced it many times. Newly arrived gods 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. They are allowed to remain in the room as long as they wish, should they want to discuss questions with each other or with more experienced gods who are here to help out.

Shinki Training

Various shinki in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold are stationed around the dojo, passing out informational pamphlets that have been freshly printed. They will be happy to answer any questions or instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline. They also accompany their answers, or lessons, with 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.

The dojo is back to its old, fully functional self; a set of motionless straw targets line one wall, to be used by people practicing with any of the weapons spread out on tables or hanging in racks on the walls. Outside, six animated straw targets wait in an area marked off with red ribbons and warning signs. Anyone entering the marked area may find themselves in combat with one (or more) of the magical training dummies. Those who leave the marked area, though, won't be chased.

Physical Training

Beyond the dojo, a scavenger hunt has been set up throughout the grounds of the Meeting Hall. Brightly colored plastic balls are hidden in shrubbery, tucked into support beams, floating among reeds in the ponds, and lurking in even cleverer hiding places. When a god or shinki gets their hand on one of them, they will burst open to reveal a hidden prize, such as candy, small toys, or accessories. How many can you find?

As well as the scavenger hunt, the white-robed shinki are engaging in more serious physical training and will be happy to let new gods or shinki join them. Sparring matches with practice weapons from the dojo, jogging laps around the hall, sit-ups, push-ups... or, for the younger shinki, competing to see who's the fastest to climb a tree.

Rest and Refreshments

Midafternoon, once the last of the scavenger-hunt prizes have been found, the white-robed shinki will turn their hands to clearing away the training equipment and laying out a lovely buffet table. Bright lanterns are hung from the trees, and a few shinki even take up a station on one side of the training area and begin playing shamisen, koto, wooden flute and drum. Although their instruments are traditional, their music selection ranges from some very classic Japanese tunes to others that sound surprisingly modern. The koto player can really rock!

Old and new gods and shinki alike are welcome to circulate, socialize with their friends, partake of the buffet food and enjoy the music. There's even room for those who feel inspired to dance, and plenty of privacy offered by the extensive garden for those who would rather retreat with their new partners to have a serious conversation.

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
• Relax at a party
• Have fun~

Comments

Physical Training

[irishfriskey]

Mmm?

[Lancer pauses to look at the weapon this man was picking up. He was ready to fight with his spears again, so he did not even look at the weapons. When he did, and he noticed that they were nun-chuks.]

I'm not certain... do you have an interest in using them?

[cuddle_battery]

[Cue dramatic eye roll]

I can't just tell you! Then none of it would be surprising. You have to get to know me.

[And speaking of...]

Hey, you never answered my question before. Are you Kamui?

[thirdbeauty]

N-Not really armor, no...

[Everything she needs to explain to answer Alisaie all kind of ties together, so she might as well go into full detail.]

It doesn't really work like that, either! Maybe for some shinki. But the things you can do by yourself aren't always like what a god can use you for.

[And here comes the full explanation.]

Like... for Maria-sama, I'm actually... a dance outfit. There's all these loose veils and stuff and when she dances, we can move them however we want.

But I have been armor before, too! For my first god. I made her stronger and faster when she wore me, I think.

[Yeah, it never doesn't feel strange talking about people wearing her. But Alisaie started it in this conversation, and there's no better way to describe it.]

[hellishrabbit]

Maybe I want to keep that a surprise?

[thirdbeauty]

[WELL. YEAH. SHE IS. BUT...]

Sh-She's just wearing me!!!

[It's an important distinction, okay?!]

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku just nodded and began to turn back towards the practice dummies, sensing he was about to be dismissed. But he paused and looked back at Shun.]

Would you be interested in a spar?

[purr_ince]

Ah, well that might be because I'm something like a cat myself. [ He extends his other hand to him with a smile ] I'm Bast, god of cats pretty much - But I'd prefer it if you called me Adrien.

[purr_ince]

It would be yes. Absolutely. But I don't know if they feel the same way exactly. [ He sighed and shook his head. ] I don't want to push or anything like rush them so... I'm giving them some time.

[doodlebuginette]

Ooh?

[She could understand feeling confident, though, so she didn't think too much of Hibiki's response.]

How's that going for you? [If nothing else, she's glad to see the other god in a better mood than she'd been in before.]

Are you having fun?

Re: Scavenger hunt~

[doodlebuginette]

[She just chuckles as he rushes over, and finds herself questioning how he managed to do so without dropping any of the things he was holding. Clearly he was luckier than she was.]

It's amazing! I did. I even managed to find a few, but I haven't gotten a chance to dig through them yet.

[Mostly because Tikki was napping with them for now and she didn't want to bother the little bug.]

Did you get anything really good? [There's a pause, in which she's watching him bounce around, and then-]

How long have you been here? And have you eaten anything that isn't candy?

[bass_instincts]

It doesn't sound like you even got close to messing up.

[He leans aside and in a little again, offering Adrien a sympathetic smile,] So don't act like they already rejected you. You seem like the kind of person that would have friends that wouldn't get too hung up on things like that.

[abgrund]

So you're not telling me?

[ Extravagance is lost on him. ]

[abgrund]

[ She speaks with complex words, but these are things he can understand. He's heard the same sentiment from many people that he's come to know and respect.

So, with a nod: ]

The people here who are given the label of gods, also do the same thing.

[ So she'll... well, get along with them. Might fit in. He's not sure about the latter, since he doesn't have experience. ]

The helping matters more than the label.

[reloves]

[ At least she's not going to point out that his whole snake talking act is slipping a little. Not while the topic is so important. ]

Hmm.. Well, then let's figure out what kind it is! [ New and kind of overwhelmed in a strange place? Clearly the first thing Minako ought to do is give love advice to random strangers. ] What do you feel when you see her?

[revolutionfalcon]

The difference is that mine isn't completely useless. [Shun never said he wasn't some level of hypocrite, but he does still consider it two different things in this scenario.] If I explained what's in the pamphlet in more detail, then it'd probably have just as much bad news added anyway. The things written in there are mostly what we had to learn ourselves about newcomer shinki in the time this has been going on.

[Izuku had been the one to initially write it, a god himself, so Shun knows it's still slightly more from a god's perspective even if he did ask for help from shinki. Usually he's relatively open to explaining things, but her attitude is starting to grate a bit.]

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun pauses in turning his attention away, glancing back towards Suzaku. His gaze is somehow sharper now, more calculating, as if he's weighing up the person standing across from him.]

If you're prepared for one. [He assumes he wouldn't be offering if he wasn't, but some people seem to like to recover themselves between bouts.]

[yoshinocherry]

Oh- Whoa!

[Honestly, this should have been a pretty predictable outcome, but at least Yuna's there to break his fall? A short topple isn't going to hurt either of them too badly, outside of a bruise or two perhaps, and she doesn't seem to be too upset over it.]

Are you okay?

[onehandsomeslickninja]

[Hey! Just how little strength does she actually give him credit for?!]

[Okay, endurance is not his strong point in relative terms, but Edge has been to the depths of the Lunar Subterrane and back -- not that he remembers it -- and has endured worse than an earth spell in the course. Of course, somewhere in the middle of being battered by stone he has to wonder if it's just that she can't hold back on these spells, or if she isn't choosing to, because ow.]

[Much the worse for wear, Edge comes out the other side of the spell with his own trick: a swift gesture with one hand that seems to have no effect. The effect is in fact behind her, as a dagger coalesces out of nothing to stab for the center of her shadow. This, then, is the ninja art of paralysis, Shadowbind.]

[Honestly, he considers this a pretty cheap shot for a spar, but may he repeat, ow.]

[priforprince]

[ ...she's getting that impression. And yet he still managed to be sufficiently in awe to demand a picture! So she will not be deterred. ]

That would ruin the surprise.

[priforprince]

I could be.

[ Hibiki smirks. An opening to lead the scene exactly as she desires it!!

She's got this. ]

If you demonstrated powerful enough abilities.

[onehandsomeslickninja]

Okay, but just so you know, if you smudge that number and can't read it to send me a message later, you are going to break my heart as I sit waiting, clutching my phone and checking it a hundred times and wondering if you even remember me.

[Edge puts a hand over his heart, bows his head, and affects a look of extreme solemn worry, which he promptly spoils with his own playful wink right back.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Don't get me wrong, it's legitimately possible to cheat people as a bookie. But that risks a lot, especially if the people you cheat can make your life hell, or end it. Now, as an Overlord, I would feel obligated to cheat and extort and generally make lives hell if I were doing this as part of my duties, but... eh, it's just for fun. Also, I'm trying to foster solidarity among the people of the Far Shore for the purpose of defeating whoever's at war with it, so that kind of behavior would be counterproductive.

[Zetta puts a lot of thought into being as stupid as he is.]

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku smiled at that, he was glad that Kotetsu was settling fine and was getting along with the other kittens and the snakes.] He is good, I'm glad that he's getting along okay. [He gave a small smile.]

I should let you go, I am sure there's still a lot for you to sort out.

[sageprincess]

[The smile falls from Minako's face and Zelda thinks, surely, the third time must be the charm. Twice over she has given this speech, twice over the shinki on the other side has accepted it, and twice over she has awoken to find the connection suddenly severed and all evidence of their presence in the Heavens gone. But this time will be different; Minako will decide she does not wish to serve a transient princess, and ask to be released, as any reasonable person would. Zelda tries to ignore the gnawing emptiness she feels at that thought, and grits her teeth in preparation for the answer she knows is coming.

Except... that's not what happens at all. Minako smiles again, gently, kindly, and says she understands. And Zelda stares at her with no small amount of surprise as she laughs and jokes and tries to make things lighter despite all the reasons saying she shouldn't.

Besides, it must suck so much to be here all by yourself without a partner! she says, irreverently, and suddenly Zelda's vision goes a bit blurry. She hastily wipes at her eyes before her tears can do more than threaten to fall, and finally offers Minako a watery smile of her own.]

I-- I do not know about "cute," exactly, but I can say I would appreciate your company for however long I am permitted to have it.

[She takes a steadying breath, her sudden upswell of emotion gradually receding.]

Thank you, Minako. Your words are kind, and I am grateful for your understanding. I know all this must hardly be what you were expecting.

[letteropener]

Then believe in them fully. Including their friendship with you. Whatever you may think, you cannot imagine they would be your friends for absolutely no reason. And as surely as they are your friends, you are their friend.