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

[nopixiedust]

A - Morning

[Hibiki is already out for the day, being a menace to everyone with good sense as is the normal, but Wendy has already decided that's not her problem today. After all, today is usually the day when new people show up, and she's not going to both socialize and rein in Hibiki.]

[So she's just spending her morning relaxing... or, well, taking some time to do some much needed training for the local goat population. Hibiki's temple is a magnificent glittery castle that seems more like a daydream than anything sensible, but it does have a lawn, and that lawn is where what looks like one little girl surrounded by half a dozen goats.]

Alright, all of you! I know there's been a lot of weird flowers sprouting up, but I don't want to any one of you eating them, alright? We don't know what sort of weirdness-

[Oh, wait. Someone is passing by. Wendy makes direct eye contact, not seeming to care at all the kind of scene that she's in.]

...Can I help you?

B - Training

[It hasn't taken long at all for Wendy to realize there's something missing here, and that missing is the sight of some familiar papers. So now, dressed in such cute winter lolita wear that she doesn't look like she belongs at all, she's storming through the Meeting Hall and all its training grounds looking quietly furious.]

[Maybe it's cute, coming from someone that looks like a child, but she'll likely destroy someone's kneecaps if they voice that right now. Instead, she points at whoever catches her attention first.]

Hey! Have you seen anyone passing around some pamphlets, or even teaching the new people how to use borderlines!?

C - R&R

[After a day of goat herding and interrogation, Wendy is more exhausted than she feels she has any right to be. So she's crabbed herself a cup of warm tea, something to soothe her over while she wanders around looking at all the different faces and games that are around. It's a pretty quiet and sedate setting, she has to admit. Curiously, she wanders over to one of the more 'classy' boardgames- chess or go or something- and hums.]

These things always look weirdly complicated...

B - Training

[holygrailed]

[Oh? Irisviel pauses as she's passing by and looks at the child addressing her. Her mouth forms into a tiny circle and she shakes her head.]

No, I have not. There were shinki providing directions to the temples though.

[nopixiedust]

They should have given you a pamphlet, especially if someone is the type who doesn't know how phone works!

[Says the person who arrived not knowing how phones work. That, and all the other information within, are why the pamphlets are so valuable. Especially since... Crossing her arms, she scowls.]

There should have been directions to my Sanctuary, too... I run a place where shinki can go to if they're having trouble with their gods, or have lost one.

[holygrailed]

[That sounds far, far better than what today offered. Not that it was shabby by any means, but certainly sparse.]

Do you have a copy of the pamphlet? And can you tell me more about the Sanctuary?

[nopixiedust]

I imagine they should still have some copies lying around... [Sighing, she turns on her heel and gestures for the other girl to follow after her.] This way.

Anyway, it's a temple that's on the Near Shore where I keep some things stocked. If a shinki is left on their own without a god, then ayakashi are more attracted to them. You need a name to be able to defend yourself with a borderline, after all. If you don't have that, then you're left all on your own.

[holygrailed]

Borderlines? What are those?

[With only just returning to the are, Irisviel hadn't quite made it to any of the actual training. It's quite clear whatever onboarding there was in the morning, it was quite minimal.]

It's very kind you're looking after nameless shinki. Are there many?

[nopixiedust]

...I'm going to kill them.

[She's going to break their kneecaps, bring them down to her level, and choke everyone involved in this fiasco.]

[Still, it's not this girl's fault,and Wendy sighs while placing one hand delicately upon her head.]

Anyway, it's a spell shinki can use to defend themselves, both as a shield and as an attack. It's one of the first things they should tell you... And you can only use it if you have a name from a god.

[Thus why the Sanctuary is important.]

Anyway, most people tend to find new gods pretty quickly, but you never know when someone might need a little more time or don't know many gods, right?

[holygrailed]

[Oh my. It's a shocking declaration and Irisviel isn't sure if it's hyperbole or serious. (That Irisviel considers it a possibly serious statement is a strange realization onto itself too.)]

Yes, that makes sense. It's not a decision to make lightly.

[Even if they're assigned at the start without any say. Is there a shinki that's refused their first god on arrival?]

Do you think you should show me a borderline?

[nopixiedust]

Oh, sure. I can make it happen even as we're walking.

[Lightly, she gestures to the side, but while keeping her hand into the proper shape for casting. Might as well let the new girl see what she needs to, after all. With that done, as she's skipping along, she slices her hand along through the air-]

Line!

[And there's a bright and fairly sturdy borderline up alongside them, on the right side.]

It looks simple, but some people seem to find it tricky. So I guess it depends!

C

[priforprince]

Naturally. A simple game is too easily grasped.

[ Though, in the case of Go, the rules are simple. It's the play itself that requires genius.

In any case, Hibiki seems to have survived her long day of menacing everyone with good sense. She has also found the tea, because of course she has. ]

Did you want to learn?

[ She is in a good mood. She has definitely found the tea. ]

[nopixiedust]

[Wendy is pretty sure that a simple game means you have more people to play with, but, whatever. She's expecting nothing more from Hibiki, although it's good to sea they both managed to find the tea. It's too bloody cold for anything else to be chosen.]

[But now that raises the question... Wendy sips her tea thoughtfully. Learn or not? Well...]

I guess it couldn't hurt, as long as it's not too complicated, or else we might be here for a while, right?

[priforprince]

Then, let's begin with the top classic.

[ Hibiki begins setting up a chessboard. What? The rules are straightforward, even if the strategy isn't. ]

Each shape of piece has different capabilities, but they're easily grasped.

[nopixiedust]

[Oh no, she can already tell this is going to be a pain. Also, where did Hibiki grab that chessboard.... Either way, Wendy leans in.]

I think I know a little about this, although not much. I think one of the pieces with a crown is really important?

[priforprince]

Correct. This is the king.

[ She hands Wendy the white king piece, continuing to set up the rest of the pieces. ]

He can only move one square at a time, but when he's unable to escape the enemy, the game ends.

The other pieces, naturally, exist solely to protect their sovereign.

[ This is going to be the most reliable explanation of chess ever. ]

[nopixiedust]

Sounds like a pain...

[And also how useful real kings seem to be in her opinion. But, hey, whatever. Wendy looks over all the other pieces, and tries to figure out how many there are.]

So can others move more than just the one space?

[priforprince]

These can.

[ Hibiki splits her pieces into two piles: an assortment of larger, differently-shaped pieces, and then a bunch of little tiny ones. She pushes the first pile towards Wendy. She has hit upon a brilliant way to combine setting up the chessboard with ensuring Wendy remembers each piece! ] You may hand them over upon request.

Knight.

[ Which of these might be a knight, from the looks of them? ]

[nopixiedust]

[...Did she or did she not just say she doesn't really know anything about this whole game? Wendy flicks an unimpressed stare over to Hibiki before going back to looking at the pieces. So, a knight, huh? She can't really say that any of these look like a knight. They just... look like shapes. Well, one is a horse, and the other seems to have a little crown, but, other than that, nothing.]

[Alright, fine... Maybe she has to think a little bit outside the box. The one with the crown doesn't seem like it has anything to do with knights. Neither do the two taller ones, or that oddball with a pointy bit. That means, then... Well, knights ride horses, right?]

[So, cautiously, she picks up the horse piece]

This one?

A

[trustheart]

[Chris was just passing by while trying to get a lay of the land, before she got distracted by the giant, glittering castle... and then goats. And the girl ordering the goats around like they're people. By the time Wendy notices her, she's been staring for a while.] Oh, sorry! I... I just got distracted! Your temple, it's kind of- [Blinding.] Impressive.

[nopixiedust]

Mm, Hibiki likes gaudy things like this.

[That might be a rich people think? Wendy isn't entirely sure, but that sounds right. All of this- from the rollercoaster and downwards- is completely unnecessary, but, well, it makes up the temple anyway. Easing up, Wendy brushes some of her hair from her face.]

I'm just a shinki who lives here.

[trustheart]

... Hibiki. [She shakes her head.] People with that name are troublesome. [Chris puts her hands on her hips.] No one's just anything. My name's Chris. You got one?

[nopixiedust]

[Okay, okay- that has her sputter out a laugh, hiding it behind one hand with perhaps minimal effort.]

That's the first I've heard of that. [Although that would explain a lot.] Then again, there are a lot of names here that are weird to me. Yours is one that sounds more familiar to me.

[Being western style instead of Japanese.]

I'm Wendy, and that's really cute of you to say.

[trustheart]

Cute? What the heck do you mean by that?! [She grits her teeth, looking nervously to the side.] I just. I know someone named Hibiki back home. She's troublesome too. And yeah, I imagine you learn a lot of different things that seem strange when you get exposed to other worlds...

[nopixiedust]

What do you think I mean? Cute is cute.

[She's not explaining anything, but Wendy's grin says she clearly knows it. What? Sometimes you have to tease people a little.]

If you get flustered at just that, then you'll definitely want to be careful around Hibiki. I mean, it seems like you're a little new here, right? I've never seen you before.

[trustheart]

M-moving on...!

[Chris knows from experience with her Hibiki that protesting will just dig herself deeper...]

... And yeah, I'm new. I just got here today. Wattaya mean about being careful, though? She's not one of those people who hugs you out of nowhere, is she?

[Because that'd be her luck...]

[nopixiedust]

Oh, no, that would be beneath her.

[Wendy says it like it's a joke. Because it kind of is. Hibiki's whole everything is practically a joke a lot of the time. Idly, she reaches down to pet a goat between the horns.]

But she might kiss your hand or offer your flowers.