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

[trustheart]

Don't blame yourself. [Chris tilts her head away, just in time to avoid a snowball aimed at her.] Just try to make as many as you can before they realize they can flank us. [Chris picks up one of Shinji's snowballs, and then quickly pops out again, lobbing it as hard as she can. It hits one of the kids smack dab in the middle of the chest.] Bullseye!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[A shriek of delight can be heard from the rest of the children as their companion topples backwards with a loud 'Oof!', lays prone for a moment, then scrambles back to the shelter of their own tiny snow fort.]

Are they okay? [He doesn't want to spare the time to stop his task and look, fearing getting another snowball to the face would be the only result. Certainly there's no real fairness in kids involving innocent bystanders in their game, but going all out on them doesn't really seem like the answer either. But, you know, maybe he's overthinking this...]

[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.]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[This is ?? Not a game ???]

Wh-what? [It's really hard to tell if she's just getting into the, uh, spirit of things a little too enthusiastically or actually taking this seriously, and that's leaving him pretty Concerned.

The kids don't seem to mind too terribly for a moment - yeah! It's war! A snowball war! They manage to lob a couple of their own snowballs at Chris, though there's some measure of surprise in her enthusiasm that throws their aim off, meaning none of their hits land, instead whizzing right past her. Her throws, on the other hand, fell their targets with little real resistance, the shinki falling straight into the snow with audible 'paff's.]

Um-! [That should be plenty, right??] If they're down, we can probably run before they get back up? [Please.]

[trustheart]

No way! I'm taking their territory!

[Chris grabs an arm full of snowballs and just... makes a bold charge, lobbing snowballs left and right. She won't stop until everyone is down!]

No running! No surrender! Come on, skinny guy! We're winning this fight!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[This has gotten.... far too intense for Shinji's liking. He watches as she charges into the fray and hesitates for a second before taking advantage of her diverted attention and hollering kids and just

make an attempt to

sneak away.]

[trustheart]

[Chris is certainly in no place to notice him sneaking away. But what's this?! The shinki kids turn the tables! They secretly had more numbers! Chris is being pelted mercilessly!

What are you going to do Shinji?]

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[On one hand, that's kind of what she signed up for when she decided to go full throttle, isn't it?

On the other hand, he starts feeling pretty uneasy about his own decision pretty quickly. He sighs softly in frustration, but grabs a handful of snow regardless and lobs it in the direction of the kids.]

Hey! Knock it off already.

[trustheart]

[Chris is winded, but as the kids are taken surprise by Shinji's counterattack, she sees an opening. She gets back up, gathers snow, and begins chucking snowballs alongside him.

After a while... Chris gets too tired, and falls to her knees. To her surprise, she ends up laughing, as do the kids, with one of them walking up to Shinji with a smile on her face.]

Thanks for playing with us!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

[For all of his reluctance before, Shinji is... well, he's still not totally pleased about this outcome, but once it's clear that both Chris and the children are having a good time and not like... an all-out, totally serious war, he's at least not as tense about it as before.

He's still pretty unhappy about all the snow and snow-throwing, but, things could be Worse.]

Y-yeah... [And he can't really bring himself to scold the kids over dragging involved people into their games.] Enjoy the rest of the snow while it lasts, okay?

[Someone should, anyway!]

[trustheart]

[The kids beam at him. They will, and they let him know as much!

As they run off, Chris approaches him.]

Hey... thanks for being such a good sport about all that. Is there anything I can do to make up for dragging you through it?