The Far Shore Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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thenearshore2018-07-17 12:14 am
godsoffortune) wrote in thenearshore2018-07-17 12:14 am
Entry tags:
- !intro log,
- chikusa kakimoto | katekyo hitman reborn,
- d2 | alive,
- ebisu | noragami,
- edge | final fantasy iv,
- garry | ib,
- ginia | original character,
- kairi | kingdom hearts,
- keith | voltron,
- minako aino | sailor moon,
- nia | xenoblade chronicles 2,
- obi | akagami no shirayukihime,
- princess celestia | my little pony,
- romeo | romeo's blue skies,
- suzaku kururugi | code geass,
- ω add | elsword,
- ω anduin wrynn | world of warcraft,
- ω data-roxas | kingdom hearts,
- ω jakob | fire emblem fates,
- ω mirei minami | pripara,
- ω nephenee | fire emblem radiant dawn,
- ω rasu | countdown 7 days,
- ω roxas | kingdom hearts,
- ω son goku | saiyuki,
- ω toshizou hijikata | peace maker kuro
July Training
Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: December 22nd
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 more experienced god and shinki volunteers.
Meeting Hall
God Training
Shinki Training
Physical Training
Rest and Refreshments
In Summary:
What: Information and Training
When: December 22nd
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 more experienced god and shinki volunteers.
God Training
- Newly arrived gods are escorted into a small meeting room, with tatami floors and a stage 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. Paper and pens are provided to all the attendees as an unsubtle suggestion to take notes on the information they're given.
The speaker delivers his welcome speech in a rather bored tone, occasionally stumbling and checking his own notecards. He particularly dwells, towards the end of the speech, on the fact that an unauthorized god has recently tried to access the Heavens, and any contact from other gods asking to access the Heavens through their temples should be immediately reported. 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.
A variety of weapons are available in the dojo for shinki and their gods to practice with, and a row of straw targets are set up along one wall. Outside, in an area carefully roped off with red ribbons, are six animated training dummies, also made of straw and dressed in plain cotton jackets and trousers. They will immediately engage anyone who enters the area marked with the ribbon, but will not pursue opponents outside it. A white-robed shinki nearby keeps a sharp eye on the animated dummies, and will intervene if anyone tries to destroy one.
Physical Training
- A race track has been laid out, winding through the gardens to a towering pole, 9 meters in height, planted in the center of a pond with a cluster of pretty ribbons tied at the top. White-robed shinki are standing by with stopwatches: anyone who wants can race their friends along the path, with the first one to return to the starting point with a ribbon winning the challenge, or solitary racers can recruit a shinki to time them and try to beat their own speed. But be careful not to fall off the pole! The pond isn't dangerously deep, but the bottom is very muddy, and in late December, it's also very, very cold.
On the lawn near the dojo, a wide circle has been marked out in white paint, and big baskets set around the circle are filled with sachets full of chalk dust in a rainbow of colors. Pick your color, grab a handful of sachets, and join the fray! Anyone inside the circle is a fair target to have one of the sachets thrown at them, and on impact, they splash out enough brightly colored dust to mark the spot they strike. Head or torso hits are an automatic out, leg hits mean the target isn't allowed to move from their position, and arm hits mean they can't use that arm. Borderlines -- and any other magic -- are allowed, and the game can get intense.
Rest and Refreshments
- The weather outside, although not freezing, is quite chilly, and in the middle of the afternoon, the shinki will invite everyone into a prepared banquet hall for food and to warm back up. Charcoal braziers set in the center of square tables radiate warmth, and are covered by grates; other shinki bring trays of fresh ingredients, both meat and vegetable, that can be grilled over the hot coals.
After the meal is finished, one of the white-robed shinki, a middle-aged woman with her hair cut in a fashionable modern bob, enters the room with an expression of great, if restrained, delight, pushing a cart with a portable karaoke machine and speaker on it. She sets up the karaoke machine at one end of the room, and begins encouraging others -- both her fellow shinki and the newcomer guests -- to join in with a song. Whenever there's a break, she puts in music selections of her own; she has a trained, jazzy voice and a great fondness for midcentury enka.
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, sing and barbecue
- Have fun~
Rest and Refreshments - tagging real quick on my lunch break, lmk if I need to edit!
[How many young men has he seen Tetsunosuke in, over the months he’s been in the heavens? He can scarcely venture to guess. He never went out looking for someone like him in life, but since leaving him behind, it’s often seemed impossible not to look for him everywhere, seeking him and finding him in other smiles, other hearts, other bright and shining flames of life.]
[Even so, there’s no mistaking him for anyone else. He feels the ache of having missed the boy, which he’s worked so hard at ignoring since the cherry blossoms were in bloom, close suddenly like a fist around his heart.]
[He downs his cup of sake, pours two more, and comes over to sit beside the rowdy young man. Time to see if he remembers him or not.]
You seem like you’re enjoying yourself.
[He slides the second cup across the table to sit in front of Ichimura. Memory or not, he’s suffered like a man, so he’s old enough to relax like one now, too.]
ALL THE FEELS. Hijikata is such a good dad. 😭
I guess so! They’re not very good, but they’re trying hard. I admire that.
[Without even realizing it, Tetsu begins filling Hijikata’s bowl with (slightly burnt) meat and vegetables. When his sake cup is empty, Tetsu will refill it.]
He missed his son ok 😭
[It’s kinder this way, he tells himself, unsure if he believes it or not. There are a lot of memories that it’s probably kinder to spare the boy from, no matter how selfishly he craves the closeness of the hard-won connection they shared before.]
[And yet even without that recognition, the boy falls immediately into habit, filling his bowl and his cup without a moment’s hesitation. It reminds him of how easily Souji found himself walking one step behind him and nagging after him like a housewife — somehow, it’s comforting in almost exactly the same way. There’s only so much of them that he has to do without, even if that means biting his tongue to protect them from his own memories of them.]
[He takes a sip from his cup, glancing at the stage with an unimpressed raise of his eyebrows.]
There’s something to be said for realistic evaluation of your skills, too.
[He may just be a hypocrite. Certainly, he’s pretty sure Souji’s said something pretty close to exactly like what Tetsu just did about admiring the singers’ effort, except about his poetry... probably in the past week, frankly.]
Feels. So many feels. 😭😭😭
Maybe, but I’m not going to be the one to tell them that. Look how happy they are with that...stick they’re holding up!
[The dynamics of karaoke are are utterly mystifying to a nineteenth century samurai, but it’s the fun that counts.
He turns back to the stranger:]
Do you happen to know why they’re singing, by the way? Are they entertainers?
no subject
[The only way they're entertaining anyone is by enthusiastically humiliating themselves in public. But seriously, he actually knows the answer to this one!]
It's a sort of party game people play nowadays. The machine the "stick" is attached to can play most popular songs, and the stick is a sort of device for making your voice louder. Not that that's the part they need help with...
no subject
[Tetsu looks at the machine with what may or may not be newfound respect.]
This really must be heaven if they've got such unusual things here! Have you used the machine before?
no subject
No.
[His tone says absolutely not, so don’t even think it.”]
no subject
[And here’s Souji, sitting down opposite to them both with his own plate, which is predictably piled high with mostly sweeets. There’s some food in there too! ...it’s mainly sweet potatoes, but still.]
I see that you’ve met my excellent sparring partner already, Hijikata-san. And you’ve met my god, Tetsu-kun. [Thats a pretty familiar way to address someone you’ve just met, and he’s honestly a bit old for the spontaneous -kun, but that’s what slips out without Souji even thinking about it, and he’s not about to be embarrassed about it now.]
no subject
[Tetsu brightens when he sees his sparring partner. He doesn't really notice when Okita calls him Tetsu-kun; it feels very fitting and right (and Tetsu is generally kind of oblivious anyway.
He peers at the tall stranger with renewed interest. He switches to more formal language than he'd been using before.]
So you're Hachiman-sama? Okita-san was telling me about you.
[He bows.]
My name is Ichimura Tetsunosuke. Please accept my regards.
no subject
[Usually, it's just the -sama that he objects to, but hearing anything but "Hijikata-san" from Tetsunosuke just feels off. He sets his sake cup down, reaching instead for the tin of hand-rolled cigarettes tucked into his breast pocket.]
It's a pleasure, Ichimura. Souji didn't go too hard on you, did he?
[He probably did, he figures, but Ichimura probably doesn't mind. That's just how they are.]
no subject
[Souji winks, only slightly muffling a small giggle with his hand, before starting to nibble on the end of a piece of grilled sweet potato.]
And I went pretty hard on him, but as good as he is, that was really the only way I was going to beat him.
[There is something there for a moment that strangely feels like... pride? He’s not sure exactly why, but the feeling warms him nonetheless.]
no subject
[He takes a small drink of sake and then goes back to attacking his lunch with gusto. In between mouthfuls, he describes the fight:.]
I thought I almost had Okita-san beat, but then he fought right back and got me with a stomach hit. He's a great teacher.
[That feels so right. He grins happily at Okita, glad to give the praise.
All of this really does feel familiar, even the smell of Hijikata's tobacco. He feels comfortable and safe. And strangely happier than he's been in a very long time, even though he can't remember why.]
crying forever
He isn't someone to count out too easily. I expect you'll be more careful next time.
[It's not an admonishment, in spite of how critical it could sound. On the contrary, there's a faint current of amusement in his voice.]
what a fambly
I’m glad that you said that, because I had been planning to invite Tetsu-kun over to the temple. And unless there’s someone around here right now that he’s supposed to serve, he might need somewhere to stay for the night too, right?
[He’s not being subtle at all, especially for someone who has already adopted so many animals to the temple... but does he need to be?]
All the tears for the Gumis
I definitely learned that. I'll need to be more careful the next time we spar.
[Once again, he fills Hijikata's cup and makes sure he has enough food. He doesn't even consciously realize he's doing it at this point; it's just habit.
When Okita mentions Tetsu staying the night he looks over as if that hadn't occurred to him.]
You're right! If I don't find my god I won't have anywhere to stay.
They're good boys, Brent
[More amazing still, this time around he's got absolutely no resistance in him to the whole "he followed me, can we keep him?" act. The last thing Tetsunosuke says does give him slight pause, though... He leans back a little, puffing thoughtfully at his cigarette and giving Tetsunosuke a considering look.]
Did the Heavens tell you to be looking for anyone specific?
[If he's actually been assigned to someone else, he's going to have some arguing to do. With Amaterasu herself, if necessary, as much as he's always liked her on a personal level... After the most recent debacle with Ayumu, he's as far as he's ever been from open to the idea of leaving any of his people in some otber god's care, and Tetsunosuke is nearly as high as Souji on the list of people he wouldn't have allowed that for in the first place, anyway.]
protect them
Souji leans his cheek in his hand, absently nibbling on a piece of grilled fruit.]
You’re of course welcome to stay as long as you want, regardless.
no subject
I don’t remember. They gave me a very confusing pamphlet and then I went to the dojo and met Okita-san.
[He grins around a mouthful of beef. Beef! This really is Heaven if they can have such huge quantities of such an expensive food.]
Thank you!
Sorry about the late tag, work happened and I was tired a lot???
[The easiest way to manage that balance for now, he thinks, is to lean on Souji's more obvious affection -- and his own well-known and documented soft spot for Souji. He hums thoughtfully, sipping from his sake cup a bit.]
He does seem to have taken a liking to you already.
Do you think he's someone you might work well with?
no subject
He easily avoids thinking about how he and Hijikata used to know each other, and maybe his immidiate affection for Tetsu means he reminds him of something too. Souji was always really good at not thinking about things that might bother or hurt him, even when he was alive.
He gestured offhandedly at Hijikata, winking at Tetsu.]
He’s being cagey about it, but I think you know what he’s asking already, right?
That's okay. Work plus con plus sick meant I've been on hiatus, so no big deal!
Thankfully, Okita speaks up before Tetsu has to. He grins at the older man and then gets out of his chair and kneels on the ground in front of Hijikata. He bows formally.]
I would be honored if you would name me as your shinki.
no subject
It won't be an easy path. I'll expect you to take your duties seriously.
no subject
Still, somehow this feels right. This is meant to happen. He’s sure of it.]
;A; so beautiful
I will, Hachiman-sama.