July Training

[godsoffortune]

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

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~

Comments

[lightninglobster]

[ Ryoma nods, giving a sidelong glance to the shinki still eyeing them--he's not paying as close of attention to them, since they're not hassling the dummies, but the Dummy Guardian must be respected. Ryoma doesn't like breaking what he can't fix.

He starts to open his mouth as if to respond, and then pauses because Shun doesn't appears to be... done? with his train of thought, and that's rude to jump in the middle all willy-nilly. Ryoma frowns as Shun comes to his realization, immediately closing his eyes as he thinks because they have to have done names.

Ryoma has manners, even if Shun doesn't.

... and Ryoma's manners have failed him, because they didn't trade names. He rubs his forehead with a sheepish little grin, stifling a chuckle. ]

Either we've never introduced ourselves or I've forgotten what you said, so I'm going to go with the former. I am Ryoma.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun doesn't usually forget things like that, so he's fine to go with the former assumption as well even if he looks much less bothered by it.] Kurosaki Shun. Nekhbet when I have to be.

[They did speak on the network once under those names, but it's somewhat difficult to attach identities to names on text posts if you don't already know the person. Shun's been somewhat reluctant to offer up his god name of late, though, considering the whole "God of Fortune" situation.]

I suppose I'm used to people insisting on bringing it up halfway through a first exchange. It's useful to know for later reference, but I'm not usually the one to ask.

[Unless someone knows his name and he doesn't have theirs, or he plans to contact them again by a means that isn't just face-to-face.]

[lightninglobster]

[ Somebody has to be polite enough to keep the group from getting arrested when the inevitable day of reckoning comes calling. You can't use giant deathbirds to solve every problem, even if you can use them to solve most problems. ] Well. It's good to have a name with the face, Kurosaki Shun.

[ Oh yeah, that happened, didn't it? Thankfully Ryoma is approximately sixty years old on his internal timeline, and therefore has no idea how to like or thumbs-up a status. He's also not much of one for commenting because he's still wary of the whole... communication device. Thing. Damn kids these days. ]

I'm usually of a better head about asking these things, so I suppose I'm one of those annoying types who want to know. [ A bemused smile; the kingly bearing is ground into his bones, even if the crown was metaphorically sold for parts. ] So, with that out of the way, shall we come back to the important things?

[ Ryoma, Shun, swordfighting... not like that, Shun's married on the astral plain... ] Were you interested in a bout, or something more specific?

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun is more than happy to get to the part of the conversation he considers important, though he has to consider how exactly he's going to phrase it first. He's always a bit cagey about asking for help using those words in that order.]

I've been learning how to fight with a sword since about a month after I got here. I've had a few more experienced swordspeople to work with in that time, and obviously I can train on my own, but I'm thinking I'm not going to learn anything new if I don't find more people more familiar with it than me to pick the skills up from. And you seem capable with it.

[Granted, the types of sword they use differ significantly in things like length and reach, but it's still useful to have general ideas for combating that. Shun kind of had to accept when he decided he wanted to use a sword barely longer than a dagger that he was sacrificing reach in favour of stealth.]

[lightninglobster]

[ Ryoma understands priorities, at least. He folds his arms over his chest out of habit as he listens, attentively, a small smile twitching on his lips. Capable's a word for it, certainly. ]

You've chosen a wise path. One only truly gains master of a weapon when they're willing to try themselves against a multitude of opponents, and learn the differing techniques that each person has to offer. I'd be happy to work with you.

[ There's also a difference in bodytype; Ryoma studies Shun with a thoughtful expression, brow furrowed as he takes the man in. Ryoma's built for power and speed, with a bonus of having a magic sword that's attuned to him. Shun's challenges will, obviously, be different than Ryoma's own--but it's always about working smarter, not harder. ]

What work have you done so far?

[revolutionfalcon]

There's no point in training if you're not prepared to challenge yourself to improve. [Shun says it very directly, in the manner of one of those things that you can tell someone truly believes. There aren't a lot of things about Shun that have remained consistent from prior to before the war, but the idea that challenging oneself, hard work, failing and picking yourself up to continue forward despite that are the keys to succeeding is one of them.]

Bishamon - the war god - showed me the basics initially, and I spent a while sparring with a death god who obviously had a hell of a lot more training than most humans can manage, but he disappeared a few months ago. I picked up a lot off him, considering how experienced he was, but other than that I haven't had any consistent opponents who are already experienced. I've just been picking out people here to spar when I can and keeping what I know in line.

[He does spar Ren routinely, but Ren is slightly less experienced than him, so it's not quite what he's looking for here. The fact that he doesn't want them both to stagnate is part of the reason he's asking about this.]