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

R & R

[deathmetalist]

Excuse me!

[A girl appears! Carrying a large plate of food and trying to balance it while she lifts her other hand up. It's kind of crowded in this area but she wants a good view of the performances and music. His appearance doesn't really intimidate her as she peers down at him and asks-]

Hey, do you mind if I sit over there?

[bass_instincts]

[Shin smiles warmly at her, gesturing to the spot next to him.] Go ahead.

[She was kinda cute, even though she looks a bit younger than him. Without his piercings it's a bit more obvious that he's still in his early- to mid-teens.

He keeps smiling,] Are you a music fan, too?

[He isn't sure why he said 'too', but it felt natural. He had been drawn right to the front to appreciate the live performance.]

[deathmetalist]

Thanks!

[She's hungry! Actually- this is her third plate. For some reason, she doesn't really feel like she's eaten much though. Which is weird. Continuing to think on the subject isn't of interest to her though and she moves along to the topic at hand as she sits down and makes herself comfortable.]

I'm enjoying the music, so it must mean I am. [She doesn't really know if she liked it when she was alive, but it's the present that's important. With a grin, she turns to the boy-- maybe just a bit older than her, but he looks pretty cool! He has a unique style.] I like the songs with a faster beat! Though I don't know all of the instruments up there right now. It's nice getting to relax and listen.

[bass_instincts]

[Shin laughs,] I guess it's the same here.

[He looks over the instruments and starts naming them as he points them out. He's not sure why he knows what they're called, but he's not to worried about it. He could already read some kanji, and his name definitely sounded Japanese, so he figures it must just be because he is from Japan.] I like the ones that sound really harsh and loud, as well as faster.

[deathmetalist]

[She nods, paying attention as he lists them off. Wow, he really is musically inclined.]

I knew the shamisen... though not really that one-- [She points] the koto [Is what he called it, she thinks. Though that one was especially interesting, too.]

Do you mean something like a guitar? Or maybe drums? [The names come easily. She can't really remember what music she might have listened to but of course, she's familiar with the instruments and various genres associated with them.]

[bass_instincts]

Both, but I think the sound of a bass must be my favourite. [He leans back against the table and a little bit towards Yui,] I'm impressed with all the kinds of sounds they're able to coax out of their instruments. It makes me want to try.

[deathmetalist]

Right!? A bass has a rich sound and can totally bring a song together!

[She's animated, excited to talk about music for whatever the reason. It's something she's familiar with, to some extent, apparently.]

I think the guitar is my favorite. But I might be biased. It's also my vessel from. [Although it isn't like she can play exactly while in such a state. But-- still!]

Maybe they'd let us check them out after they're done playing? If we promise to be careful.

[bass_instincts]

[Shin brightens up, looking at her with wide, sparkling eyes.] Really? Mine's a bass!

My god probably won't mind us staying a little late.

[deathmetalist]

[ Sparkling, she lights right up in unison ]

WOW! Really? Now I really want to hear you play! [Again-- they'd have to find instruments that aren't themselves, but details...!]

If they have the performers here like this then I'll bet there are bands here in the Far Shore too! I wonder how frequent concerts are? Or maybe they're usually done in the Near Shore... [She hasn't been here long enough to really understand everything quite yet. She's still learning.]

I don't think my god would mind either. We're probably about the same age, so I'll just make sure to send her a message.

[bass_instincts]

[Shin laughs a little,] I don't know if I even know how to play!

[He could just be a big fan. Maybe he made guitars? He didn't know.]

Can't people on the Near Shore not really see us? How would a concert really work? [He doesn't even realize that he's focusing on the side of playing in the concert rather than watching.]

[deathmetalist]

[Yeah... she heard that too. That kind of causes a problem if they wanted to do something for a larger audience.]

Well- it's not that they can't see us, right? Just something about cracks? [Uh. Maybe she should have read through things better.] But if we put on a really big performance we're bound to get noticed, right? Big! Like with a bang!!

[bass_instincts]

[Shin laughs cheerfully. Honestly, the sound of a stage sounds fantastic.] Play loud and hard, and someone will notice, right?

[deathmetalist]

You got it!

[She accepts the fact that she's dead. Or rather, she doesn't have much of a choice right now. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't do something if they want to and it doesn't hurt anyone. Besides! What's the harm if they get noticed. The publicity might even help their gods.]

I'm going to ask Mirei if anyone else has done something like that before.

[bass_instincts]

[The only worry Shin has with that is if he gets recognized, even if that seemed unlikely. Though the idea of bringing more followers to Adrien was pretty exciting.]

Is Mirei your god? I know Adrien's new to being a God, so I doubt he would know.

[deathmetalist]

Yeah! She wears glasses and has brown hair and eyes. Or maybe she has blonde hair with blue eyes...? [ Uh. . . ] I'm not sure which is the default yet. . .

But anyway! I'm not sure how long she's been here for. She seems to know a lot though. Maybe she can help out Adrien, too?

[bass_instincts]

She has two appearances? [Shin smiles widely,] Adrien can turn into this black-cat superhero outfit.

I think he'd probably appreciate the offer, at least!

[deathmetalist]

We have a lot in common.

[It's sort of weird but kind of fun, too. He's easy to talk with.]

She has an idol form. I guess it's how she likes to present herself in the music world versus how she presents herself ordinarily. That's really cool though! A superhero!? Like a real one? Aha it sounds like something out of a comic!

[bass_instincts]

Right?

[He shows his wrists, which are covered in some gauze] When I showed up I was stuck in these handcuffs that had my hands like this on a belt, [he puts one wrist in front of him and the other behind him,] and he was having a hard time getting it off, so he transformed into this cat hero and used a power to make it just turn to dust, just like some manga hero!

[He's actually a little surprised at just how easy he's finding it to talk with her as well. A part of him wonders if they had been friends or something before.]

[deathmetalist]

[ Hancuffs... whoa-! That's pretty intense. For them to have left a mark meant they had to have been on pretty tight though, huh.]

Wow! I wanna see a power like that! I'm not even sure what my own abilities are yet, beyond my vessel form. Just doing the borderlines is a lot of work.

[bass_instincts]

It was pretty awesome to see. I haven't found out what I can do in my vessel form either. I wasn't in it for very long, since it seemed a bit overwhelming for Adrien. I'm his first shinki. [There's an edge of anxiety to his voice. He wasn't sure what exactly had happened still, but Adrien had insisted that he was just overwhelmed by his first naming. He wondered if Yui's god had gotten like that too or not.]

[deathmetalist]

Mirei was like that too.

[Her eyes watered up and she cried. The other girl had told her she was fine, but. . . ]

I'm her first shinki too, so maybe it's just a connection thing? The whole sensation of changing was weird, but nothing bad. I wonder if it's different for gods.

[She hopes it's not a bad experience.]

[bass_instincts]

[Shin looks down,] It must be different for them. Why else would it seem to hurt them so much?

[And they put up with it despite not even knowing who they were naming.] I wonder if they knew what they were getting into.

[He's just really hoping that Adrien didn't regret giving him a name. Not that he'd really blame him if he did.]

[deathmetalist]

[She glances at him for a moment, quiet-- before roughly smacking him in the back. Yosh...!]

Don't worry about it so much! If he said he's fine, I'm sure it's okay!

[There's no need to over think it! While Mirei seemed upset after the naming ceremony, she was happy after. It can't be all bad, otherwise, they'd just release them, right?]

If anything, I'm sure they're super touched to get two incredibly awesome instruments! If they don't already know how to play, I bet they're already signing up for classes now!

[bass_instincts]

[Shin grins at the reassurance and Yui's bright smile.] You're probably right. Maybe we can get them to practice together some time.

[deathmetalist]

Right!? Wouldn't that be great?

[The idea as her excited. Watching everyone on stage has her pumped up now.]

Ahh-- I want to try singing and performing now. We should check things out.