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

Re: [ Closed ] Mission M05 Training

[pure_radiantics]

Hm?

[ She turns at the sound of a voice she hasn't heard in awhile. ]

Oh, hey Yata! What's up?

[ She's got her keyblade in hand and was in the middle of sparring with a dummy but no big deal. She lets it fall from a ready position but doesn't send it away just yet. Maybe he wants to spar, after all. ]

[thevanguard]

[ It has been a while, but she's always seemed pretty helpful, so he hopes what he heard was right. His hands still shoved deep in his pockets, he gives her a rueful smile, looking a little self-conscious. ]

Uhh. Someone said you sometimes teach other shinki the more advanced spells and that you were the person to talk to if I wanted to learn some of them.

[pure_radiantics]

[ That makes her shoulders straighten and her expression break into a big smile. ]

Ah-? Yeah, absolutely! I've done that loads of times now!

[ She relaxes a little as she steps a little bit closer, trying to lower her voice again to stave off his anxious mood. ]

Did you have a particular spell in mind...? Or maybe you can just tell me what you've learned.

[thevanguard]

[ He makes a face. ] None of them. It took me long enough just to figure out a Borderline, but I didn't have a god long enough at the beginning to get much practice at it. I can throw it now, at least. But I don't know any of the other ones. I don't even know what my options are.

Except the Silence one, one of my god's asshole shinki's been using it on me for practice.

[ Yeah, he looks real thrilled about that. ]

[pure_radiantics]

Well that's not very nice!

[ She's sympathetic to his plight at least. ]

Maybe we can also try teaching you how to defend against it, so that he can't keep doing that to you as much.

[ Because seriously. At least level the playing field. ]

At least I can tell you what I've learned... some of the easier spells to teach others are Silence, Bind, Truth, and Umbra. There's some others, but we should focus on these first. You tell me what you'd like to learn first, or focus on defending against.

[thevanguard]

[ He blinks at her words, straightening up in curiosity. ]

Wait, you can defend against them, too?

[pure_radiantics]

Uhm...

[ Kairi flattens her lip. ]

Yes.

[ Sorry Yata. ]

[thevanguard]

[ He actually just looks really relieved. ]

Okay, I want to learn how to defend against them. As for the others... uhh. I'm guessing they do what they sound like? Silence, Bind, Truth... What is Umbra?

[pure_radiantics]

[ She nods. ]

Silence makes the other person unable to create sound, Bind makes them unable to move, Truth makes them unable to lie but they also don't have to say anything at all. Umbra makes a person invisible, so it's the only one you use on yourself. I've combined Silence and Umbra before, but Umbra's much harder to practice and get right since you don't know if it worked without someone else around to tell you.

Being able to defend against spells isn't... well it's not easy either, but being better at defending against any one spell makes you better at resisting any of the others I think, since it's just a thing you do without thinking about it too hard. A subconscious reaction sort of thing.

[thevanguard]

Do you have to know the spell to be able to defend against it, or doesn't that matter?

[ He asks, as he thinks over for a moment, wondering which would be the most useful. ]

Do these only work against other shinki, or anyone?

[pure_radiantics]

They only work against other shinki.

[ She gestures vaguely in his direction. ]

But at least the other guy casting it on you already must be a shinki, so you can defend against it. The way you protect yourself is partly with confidence - the willpower to withstand another shinki's spell, for most people, comes down to which shinki is stronger. I think knowing the spell certainly helps with that, because you'll be familiar with how it works already.

Oh- and!

[ She taps her left hip instinctively. ]

You have to know their Shinki Name. So mine's changed since we last sparred. I also found out that a shinki who loses their god - and has no name - can't have a spell cast on them... and a nora shinki you have to say all of their names for it to work.

[ And she knows that's a lot of information, but she thinks Yata is bright enough to catch on quick since this is clearly important to him. ]

[thevanguard]

[ He's also been Named and unNamed and passed around enough to understand how that arrangement works - and why it would work. So there's only a moment where he purses his lips to absorb that before nodding. ]

That makes sense, since we can't even Borderline without a Name.

Okay, if that's the case, let's start with Silence. But I think I would like to learn the rest of them too, at some point. If you're willing to keep teaching me them?

[ He hopes he doesn't have as hard a time doing this as he had when he needed to learn Borderlines, but at least now he could feel the difference in what was his fire abilities and what was his shinki power. ]

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi smiles back - fondly. She misses spending time with friends doing stuff like this. It's practice for her as well, and she knows she can get better. ]

Of course I'm willing to keep teaching you, Yata. I think it's great that you want to start with Silence.

[ She would've recommended it for the defense aspect as well, but she still wanted it to be his call. An eager student learns faster after all. ]

My shinki name is Souki now.

[ She pats her left hip again. ]

Why don't you try casting it on me a few times so you can see me defend against it? There won't be much visually, but I think you can feel that resistance of it not working, unlike a successful Borderline.

[thevanguard]

What, just like that? Do I have to say any fancy words? Do weird gestures or whatever?

[ Everything in this place seemed to have one or the other. Or both. It occasionally felt worse than freaking Harry Potter. ]

[pure_radiantics]

Well that part of it easy enough. The gesture is the same as making a borderline - aiming it at someone's name makes me focus the best. But like I said I may still be able to defend against you.

[ She smiles and puts her hands behind her back. No offense to Yata, but this is his first spell and first time casting it, so 'may' was her being polite. ]

[thevanguard]

[ He sees that smile, Kairi. It just has his gaze narrowing in determination. At least that's something he's never lacking in. It's sometimes his control that's questionable, but the strength behind things he does manage to cast is often impressive - channeling it is just tricky for him. His use of his aura has given him an expansive well of power from, so he's used to just exploding outwards everywhere at once - things that require more careful handling is something he doesn't have as much experience with, so he ends up being more of a wilfdire than a controlled blaze.

But he plants his feet and holds up his hand to make the Borderline gesture, like she'd said, except this time he aims it at her, his expression set into one of intense focus. ]

Silence, Souki!

18/20 woo!

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi returns the intense gaze, her friendly smile disappearing as soon as he plants his feet. She steps out in a mirrored stance, hands coming up close by her sides and her fists balled. She doesn't want to counter with a borderline or a different spell, like something that would make him freeze up and not finish casting. That would be in a few minutes.

Right now she just wants to focus on his determination and show that her experience is greater. She's not an exemplar or a hafuri, but she knows what casting this feels like. She knows what he wants to happen, and she's determined to make his glare end at the tip of her nose.

So she stares back with a fierceness borne of her kindness, pretending that she's defending her god or goddess behind her, and meets his gaze head-on: ]

NO!

[thevanguard]

[ His determination doesn't waver as he casts, sending the spell out with all of the stubbornness he can muster.

But then she does that and he blinks, startled out of his concentration as he flails for a moment in utter disbelief. ]

No?! What do you mean 'no'? You can just say no?!?!

[pure_radiantics]

Yata!

[ She puts both hands around her stomach and laughs riotously for a second or two. ]

I... I could have said anything! I was trying to pretend, in my head, like I was protecting Hajime, and so I was stopping my opponent!

[ She laughs some more. ]

It's all about confidence! I had to be confident there was no way you could affect me!

[thevanguard]

[ That.... at least has his annoyed bewilderment fading somewhat as he just huffs out a breath and lets her laugh at him. Crossing his arms over his chest, he thinks about what she said for a moment. ]

So it really doesn't have anything to do with fancy handwaving and shit? You could literally just say anything and believe it won't work for it.... not to work? I coulda just been stubborn and said 'fuck you' to Judar and it woulda failed?

[pure_radiantics]

Judar did that to you?

[ Kairi is both astonished and frustrated on her friend's behalf. ]

Oh... no wonder it was that much harder for you to resist him... That really wasn't fair of him at all, Yata, I'm sorry. He already knows magic from his previous life, so he's bound to be that much more confident trying out shinki spells too.

[thevanguard]

[ Yata just snorts and waves that off. ] Yeah, yeah, it's just how he is. He was trying to get even. It was annoying but not as dangerous as if an enemy tried it on me first. I've had enough of that happen already that I'd rather not be vulnerable again if another god or shinki comes after me with it.

[ Although at least in Silence's case, he can still set them on fire. When they're not Judar, anyway. ]

[pure_radiantics]

[ She looks sympathetic to his plight. ]

If that's the kind of thing you're worried about... honestly, the next spell I should teach you is Umbra. That works on gods and shinki both, as far as I know. It would keep you safe when you're... vulnerable.

[ She can't remember what exactly he might be talking about, if he told her, but she doesn't need to ask right now. She just wants to reassure him. ]

We can practice this one for a few weeks and then you'll be skilled enough to do Umbra I bet!

[thevanguard]

Yeah, but that's sorta like running away, isn't it? If you just go invisible? [ Guess who isn't very good about that? ] Does Bind work on gods too, or just shinki?

[pure_radiantics]

That's only if you do run away.

[ She smiles. ]

You could just use it to give yourself a moment to breathe and get your bearings, then try again. Or to sneak in somewhere. Or hide a friend.

Unfortunately Bind and these other spells we can cast only work on shinki, though. You need a vessel name to cast it and a vessel name to use it on. So only shinki have that.