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

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Odds are pretty simple to understand -- they represent the value that will get people to bet on unlikely shots. For example, suppose you've got an ultimate cyborg guy with skin of steel and a pair of .45s he can actually legitimately dual-wield without dislocating his shoulders, and it's not some Hollywood crap. And his opponent's a naked teenager. The only way anyone would bet on the teen is if they win a hell of a lot more than they bet, so it feels like the long shot could really pay off for them.

[Zetta is thoroughly Zetta, but he knows some things. His massive stupidity is a reflection on Wisdom, not Intelligence, after all.]

[ittenbari]

I mean...sure, but it really depends on the guy, doesn't it? Like, where do the numbers even come from??

[1 - Sakon is bad at math. 2 - Sakon, even though he doesn't remember it, comes from a place where logic is basically nonexistent, especially when it comes to who can beat the crap out of who.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

[Ah, but in Zetta's world, logic exists much in the same way as parental responsibility does: everpresent right up until it becomes inconvenient.]

That's the skill of a good bookie to determine, of course. After all, the bookie needs to encourage as much play as possible while at the same time making as much profit as possible.

[ittenbari]

Profit for who...?

[Maybe he should stick to card games. And dice. And things that don't require this much thinking.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Well, the bookie of course. You gotta make a living, right? Oddsmongering isn't something anyone does for free!

[Sheesh, he makes it sound so self-centered!]

[ittenbari]

Why not? I mean...

[He frowns. This is sounding less and less fun by the minute.]

It's all a game, right? For fun? That just sounds like someone out to cheat people.

[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.]

[ittenbari]

So you'd usually cheat everybody...but you're not doing that right now...?

[He's skeptical, but also dumb enough to not be skeptical enough.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

If I was doing this as a job or part of my duties, absolutely! But this is just a hobby while these guys train. [He tips slightly towards the pugilism in question to indicate it.]