November Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: February 21st, 2017
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 brought into small one-on-one meeting rooms as they appear, with a white-robed shinki offering them an explanation of their current role, the name of the god they will represent or the god they will serve, and directions to the temple that will be their new home.

They are cordially invited to a training session beginning in early afternoon, after they've had the chance to return to their homes, meet their new partners, and have their questions answered.



Morning/On the Road

New gods and shinki are being packed off to their new temples for the morning to settle in and meet their partners -- this is also a good time to visit with new neighbors or explore the area! What does your new temple look like? Are you headed straight there, or taking the scenic route to get a better sense of your new surroundings? The Western District is still scarred from the aftereffects of a recent volcanic eruption and earthquake, with fissures in some of the roads and burn scars in the wild landscape. The volcanic ash, though, seems to be serving as fertilizer for vast swaths of unfamiliar and colorful wildflowers that line the roads despite the fact that the weather is late-February chilly.

Shinki Training

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice their physical or magical arts. Outside, there are two impromptu target practice areas: one is for long-range weapons, with targets set up against hay bales at the other side of a wide, grassy area and a line drawn for the weapons' wielders to stand behind. The other is for borderlines, and a number of young children wearing short coats marked with Amaterasu's golden chrysanthemum on white are dashing around practicing their own borderlines against scary paper masks tied onto bushes or other haybales. The game seems to require a cutting borderline that will cut the mask without damaging the gardeners' hard work on the bushes.

Inside the dojo, there's room for several pairs to spar, and weapons are set up all along one wall, everything from polearms to rifles, chakrams to broadswords. They're all meant for practice, with edges dulled or padded to avoid any accidental deaths, but sparring partners will still have to be careful to avoid injury. Although there are many fewer white-robed shinki here than usual, except for the children, there is one adult shinki keeping an eye on things inside the dojo and one keeping an eye on things in the yard. They are willing to answer questions, help with borderlines or teach shinki new spells on request. Comment to the NPC REQUEST form to request a thread with one of them or if you have questions about handwaving an interaction.

Physical Training

The last vestiges of winter have melted away from most of the Heavens, but one section of the Meeting Hall grounds appears not to have gotten the message. Snow is piled waist or even shoulder high, the trees and bushes show no sign of fresh leaves, and an ornamental pool is frozen as hard as a rock, with the drifting shadows of koi barely visible under the thick ice. It's the perfect opportunity to play in the snow, and many of the shinki children are already taking advantage of it, sliding on the ice or throwing snowballs.

For those who brave the heavy snow, they may discover an an old woman in the center of the frozen area. She's wearing heavy white makeup and a straw coat, and humming cheerfully as she pounds rice into mochi. Anyone who finds her will be offered freshly made mochi and a cup of warm sake to fortify them for the snowball fights!

Rest and Refreshments

Gods and shinki who are finished with their training can step into a large room in the Meeting Hall that has been set up with comfortable cushions and low tables. Tea, liquor and a wide variety of savory dishes are available, with the drinks already set out on the tables and the savory dishes set up in chafing dishes on a buffet table along one wall. Guests can help themselves, settle in, chat, and make new friends. There's even a dessert table, well-stocked with plenty of chocolate, most of which seems to be mysteriously heart-shaped.

After eating, there are a variety of board and card games available for guests to play. From classic games like shogi, go and mahjong to more modern ones like Trivial Pursuit or Pictionary -- or Cards Against Humanity -- there's something for everyone.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Practice sparring or shinki magic
• Enjoy a buffet dinner and party games
• Have fun~

Comments

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Thinly,] I'm not sure I'd say that. [For as much work as he's been putting into his shinki duties, progress doesn't always make itself very obvious.]

I've only been here since October. If you're looking for someone skilled with spells and such, I'm sure you could find someone with a lot more experience easily.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[Okay! He's convinced...!]

Alright... [Ready, and,] Roxas, Sui! [With the required halberd hand shape, he makes a cutting motion in Roxas' direction, though with no visual indicator of anything (as well as a missing component in casting the spell itself), it's difficult to tell if it worked. He pauses for a second, before asking,]

Did you feel anything happening...?

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Thank you. [For agreeing to play with him...! Let's go ahead and get the board set-up, then.]

Agrias Oaks, [He repeats her name to make sure he's got it right before offering his own.] Mine's Shinji Ikari, it's nice to meet you as well.

[oathkeeper]

I dunno! [Sora shrugs a bit.] I just thought that would be really cute to see!

Should we head to your- ... head home?

[trustheart]

They're happy. [Chris's reply comes with the utmost severity and seriousness.] The little monsters think this is a game. But it isn't. It's war.

[If Shinji was worried about going too far, then maybe now's the time. Chris is going all out as she emerges from behind the tree fully, going into full combat mode as she lobs snowballs at two more of the kids.]

[kokuyoyo]

[It's good that he's not trying, because Chikusa doesn't need a concentrated effort to fuck up his hat when the day is already so annoying. Easily enough, he uses his borderline to deter them before going right back to trying to hit Judar again.]

[The whole thing seems like a rather stupid complaint... although maybe he can say that so easily because his own god was one of domestic affairs. At least, that's what Hestia was supposed to be. Who knows what Axel himself thought of it. While a strange life, Chikusa can't say it was a bad one.]

[What makes this even more stupid, however, is...]

So you probably haven't told him that at all.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora seems to glow at the praise. It feels good to get a compliment. Someday he wants to fight and prove that he's a great shinki too.]

Thanks. I'm glad I ran into you today, Ren.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora visibly winces! Even a few tears start to prick his eyes!]

But I thought-! Someone who nags means they're worried, right? ...!

[kokuyoyo]

There's two.

[So, you know. Or, now that he thinks about it...]

Actually... Maybe three... At least here in Japan. In this country... On Valentines Day, girls give chocolates to boys, and have a chance to confess. On White Day... Boys have to give back gifts to anyone who gave them chocolate. And then they just use Christmas as a generally romantic holiday... It's not like this is a Christian country or anything.

[The state of the gods should say that much, after all.]

[myblueskies]

It is? Why is it yours miss Hibiki? [She never explained that bit! He looks at the yellow gold person curiously and then back up to Hibiki.]

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar didn't expect Waver to have such a strong grip and for it to be so ... reassuring. He nods with a smile.]

It is. Let's go then.

[Sorry you had to see the rage monster. He just can't seem to do anything right today, does he?

Then, in an instant, the world around them changes. Where there was only snow now stretches a well-kept orchard. Gnarly olive trees grow in neat rows surrounded by the sea of flowers. The gentle breeze carries the salty, slightly metallic smell of the sea and the sun-scorched sand. Waver can feel the warmth radiating from the stone stairs they are sitting on.
It might have been a lot less inviting - and a lot more creepy - when he was here last time.

Iskandar lets go of Waver's hand only to stand up.]

Now, come. Let me give you a proper welcome to my temple.

[towards_okeanos]

[Think fast Minako, he knows you're stalling. He just doesn't mind because you're saying interesting things.]

North? Macedonia is to the north of most of the Greek cities, yes, but I know nothing about this place you call the North Pole. Nor did I ever see ice drifting in the water.

Though, I believe it must be a sight.

[phantomtrick]

Probably. We still have a long way to go. [ Ren places his hand over his face and mulls over it for a bit. ]

Maybe I should talk to you again when I find something interesting. Is that alright?

[phantomtrick]

Same here. It's been fun.

[ Sora's a good guy. He'll do just fine and Ren isn't so worried about him. ]

I think they have refreshments over to the side. I'm beat.

[priforprince]

These [ Hibiki holds up another person (her tongue might catch fire if she, a Celebrity, said "meeple") to indicate what is meant ] are placed on locations of strategic importance. It stakes our claim over those resources.

I have just demonstrated this for you.

[ yeah her cheating by not telling you the rules ahead of time was totally doing you a favor

that's how

this works ]

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar laughs. Oh, he can credit himself for many things. Being kind is not very often on that list. He wouldn't reject a compliment though. That would be rude.]

Their loss then. They don't get to sit and chat with a beautiful lady.

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar nods.]

I'm glad that you like it. Until our next meeting then.

[He would wait until she leaves and only then go inside to put away the book. Then it's his time to leave.]

[kokuyoyo]

[If Chikusa is honest, he'd say that Heaven is most like the mafia that he knows: detached from the real world, violent against anything which might be more powerful than them, arrogant on their own power without any consideration for where that power comes from...]

[Unlike his partner Ken, however, Chikusa isn't one to just blurt out everything about his background at the slightest nudge to complete strangers. Instead, he falls silent for a moment while staring up at the sky.]

...Arrogant. Oblivious. Self-righteous. Obstinate and unwilling to budge from their own notions of how things should be, even as the rest of the world upheaves itself from right under them...

'Heaven is always right' is what they'll say... In the face of all that, of course someone will eventually have a complaint. But if they refuse to listen even as things change and worsen...

...Well... This is the same Heaven that refused to do anything, as far as anyone could tell, when a serial killer was running around in the Far Shore.

[chibisu]

Oh, it's no trouble at all. If you ever need anymore assistance, or a part time job, please feel free to drop by my temple again. It won't require any naming, unless you want it to!

[He wouldn't mind, of course, but he's not out to take everyone's shinki! If it happens, it happens.]

And please feel no need to bow or curtsy, especially to another god besides your own. Although I suppose I'm not certain how that would work for other pantheons...

[Perhaps something to research when he has the time.]

[vaporlike]

[He bows again. Well, sort of.]

Should you ever require my service, you need only call on me. I would be honored to aid you in this most important endeavor.

[pure_radiantics]

[ She tilts her head a little as she hums to herself, making sure she doesn't say something out of turn. ]

You're right about that much. Seems like you have the right kind of attitude for a shinki. When our gods are alone, some of them can't do much to protect themselves. On the other hand...

[ She pulls one of her hands up from the side of her leg towards her chest, between her Sora where he can see her hand position: the one for a Borderline. ]

Even when we're alone, a shinki can do a few things to get themselves out of danger. We can't totally fight back, but we can make it back to our gods. We're strongest as a team. This hand gesture is what you need to make to form a Borderline; that's the spell to protects us.

[vaporlike]

No opinions? My, what a terrible thought! What can a person be without their opinions?

[It's a little bit of a cruel thing to say, but it's not like that has ever stopped him before if he thinks something he wants to put out there is particularly insightful by his own standards.]

[fauxcalibur]

It was! Are you interested in that sort of thing? Do you want to hear about it?

[In his enthusiasm, he waves his arm a bit too much and accidentally decapitates one of his snow knights.]

Ah! Oh no, Sir Agravain...

[myblueskies]

So I can put them where I think is important?

[He looks at the board and where she had put her person. So when he put down a tile if he thought it was important he could put the person down.] I think I understand miss!

[alchemists]

That was just using research that was already there and alchemist knowledge though.