December Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: March 8, 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 midafternoon, once 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, which are spreading out even further with the onset of Spring. Strangely, there are many fewer flowering trees than might be expected.

Shinki Training

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice the 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 what look like old clothes and sheets rescued from the rag pile and hung from trees or stuffed with straw to serve as targets. Some of the children are trapping their straw-stuffed targets by dancing in circles around them, hands held as they sing the Kagome song; others are using cutting borderlines to bring sheets fluttering down.

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 interact with one of them or if you have any questions about handwaving an interaction.

Physical Training

The cherry blossoms that had begun to bloom across the Meeting Hall grounds seem to have experienced a mysterious mishap. Buds and half-opened blossoms alike have rained down from the branches, carpeting the fresh spring grass below with soggy brown and black rot. Several gardener shinki, with their sleeves tied back and sensible heavy aprons to protect their white uniforms, are raking up the fallen blossoms and trying to coax the trees back to health with powders and straw wraps to protect the trees' trunks from nightly chill. They need help: climb the trees and sprinkle the knots along the branches with invigorating powders to encourage fresh buds, or help the gardeners hold the straw in place around the tree trunks while it's wrapped with cloth, or just help rake up the dead flowers.

Besides the cherry problems, the gardens are beautiful and just beginning to burst into spring bloom. Tulips, crocuses and daffodils are sprouting everywhere, and once the borderline game is done, the child shinki are quickly organizing a garden-wide game of hide-and-go-seek. Find the best hiding spot you can, and make a break for home base as soon as you're sure the seeker is too far away to catch you! But don't run into anyone on the way.

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. A fresh springtime menu is available: lightly flower-scented teas, plum wine, and a variety of little savory or sweet snacks to nibble on while waiting for dinner. Dinner turns out to be okonomiyaki: bowls with mixed batter and a plate full of tasty add-ins are brought out, and griddles at the center of the table heated to let every guest set out their own favorite add-ins, pour batter over, and make a savory pancake. It's a little tricky to flip with the tiny spatulas provided, but it should only take a few pancake disasters to get the hang of it, probably!

After eating, a few doves will flutter into the room, dropping off scrolls to certain people, and the frazzled-looking adult shinki from the earlier training session dashes to the front of the room to try to keep everyone occupied. He's reading from a handful of printouts with corporate icebreaker ideas: pin a secret card to the back of everyone's shirt and ask whoever you meet for clues to figure out what it says! Fill out a bingo card with different skills or experiences your fellow gods and shinki have! Figure out how to stack every piece of furniture in the room onto just one table... play a game where you're only allowed to reply with questions... switch tables every five minutes and see how well you can get to know the other person there before your five minutes are up. Wait, isn't that speed dating? He seems to be running out of ideas.

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 some icebreakers
• Have fun~

Comments

C

[blahblahblah]

Then it's not normally like this? Good, I was getting a little worried. [A mild frown.] Not sure it's worth overthrowing anything for, but certainly not particularly entertaining.

[priforprince]

No, substandard entertainment is perfectly rational grounds for rebellion.

[ This is said with casual surety - or as casual as one can be when one has swallowed a dictionary. ]

These are the beings tasked with illuminating humanity. To think they can't produce even the merest flicker of radiance....

[ Ugh, she's making her headache worse. Hibiki presses a finger to her brow. ] Impermissible.

[blahblahblah]

Okay, you lost me there. I understand putting on a better show - this guy isn't keeping up, seriously - but how does that produce light? And why would rebellion make it better?

-actually, come to think. Should I even be asking that question? Am I going to end up on some kind of watchlist?

[priforprince]

The only "watching" necessary for you is to behold my show when the time comes.

[ Preferably without talking. You are not helping the headache. ]

No solace here, either...

[blahblahblah]

Show, huh... Sounds like a good time. Let me know and I'll consider it.

[Solace... What, running from something? Or. Getting away from people being loud?

-oh. She drops her tone a bit, not sure if she's right but testing a theory. Just because she's socially inept doesn't means she can't take a hint when presented. ]

Too many people in there?

[priforprince]

A celebrity constitution is ill-suited for absurdity.

[ Correction! It is not that there are too many people, in and of itself!

There are too many STUPID people!

Now you see her terrible plight! ]

[blahblahblah]

Oh, too many crazies. I get that, for sure.

[Rita lets out a soft sigh, before going quiet for a second, looking out into the sky. Part of it is wanting an excuse to keep herself quiet, but she really does need a second after everything today.]

[priforprince]

[ ...She's quiet, but she's not leaving. Hrmph.

Well, so be it. The respite suffices for Hibiki to square her shoulders, sigh, and feel more superhuman again. (One never merely feels human, when one is Shikyoin Hibiki. That would lower oneself.) ]

...All right. [ Here comes tea, carried on a tray attached to a platform moving because there is a.....stuffed animal goat robot....also affixed to it. But the absurd people are inside. Yep.

Hibiki picks up the teacup, enjoys simply posing like this, sips. ] The toxins have dissipated. All will be well.

[blahblahblah]

[...somehow she hadn't been expecting things to get weirder. But weirder they become; is that a goat? A stuffed goat? Moving? Huh. But it could be worse, she supposes. At least the other girl seems more calm now.]

That's... good, right? Sorry, I'm having a little trouble getting past the goat.

[priforprince]

It's support staff. Pay it no mind.

[ Hibiki sips more deeply, demonstrating. The goat tries its best to look innocent and non-intrusive. If it had a voice box instead of stuffing, it might be whistling.

Instead it just ends up looking extremely cute. ]

[blahblahblah]

Support staff...

[Rita is failing to pay it no mind. It's just so weird... Rather than finding it cute, she finds it extremely suspicious... and somewhat curious. Something to investigate later when she has more free time and doesn't feel quite so overwhelmed with everything.

...Not that it stops her from staring at it every so often.]

You must be used to this place if you can relax like that.

[priforprince]

Don't mistake luxurious elegance for acceptance of a preposterous situation.

[ This is a matter-of-fact statement. Indeed, no one is less accepting of the Far Shore than Shikyoin Hibiki! Has she not sworn REVOLUTION?

...But. The revolution still does enjoy a good cup of tea, when it is to be found. ]

[blahblahblah]

Ah. So making the best of what you have, then. I guess that makes sense, too.

[...support staff bringing tea, though... Rita is suddenly concerned for the kinds of people she's going to meet here.]

[priforprince]

Hmph.

[ Should she give this girl a teaser that she intends to change everything, or let that be a surprise.....?

Hibiki sips her tea while considering this extremely important matter.

The tea tray-bearing goat, however, rolls over to say hi to Rita. Its job is done, so it is free to engage in its other job: being curious. So it circles her as best it can.

Hello! Hello! ]

[blahblahblah]

[Something bothers her about this girl... Well, nothing for it. Rita can be annoyed at the lack of useful information all she likes, but she can't exactly demand answers. Instead she lets herself focus on the goat again for a second, and despite herself she smiles at it.]

Eager, huh? Hi there.

[...poke, poke. Huh, it really is stuffed. Maybe it isn't dangerous after all.]

[priforprince]

[ The goat is even devoid of anything that might be a sharp or dangerous edge. Not actually existing in the canon whence its god derives does not stop it from being safe to sell in specialty shops to children.

Hibiki isn't doing that, though. All her goats work for her. (In theory.)

In any case, the goat takes the pokes as a sign of friendliness, and whirs back and forth in a playful motion. Hibiki watches it, an unreadable expression on her face.

She'd programmed them for curiosity, and she supposes this...counts... ]

[blahblahblah]

[Clearly it's gathering information, that's of benefit, isn't it? Rita's smile grows a bit more genuine, though she carefully doesn't laugh, or make particularly appreciative sounds. Just a smile, but even that would be out of place to anyone that knows her... most of the time.]

It seems well-made. Did you get these from somewhere? Or did you make them?

[She calls it without looking initially, though she glances over to Hibiki after a moment.]

[priforprince]

Everything I own is bespoke.

[ These she made, though. For which the goat is grateful.

It's also grateful for Rita's smile, deciding to hang out with her instead for a while. Maa-ster doesn't seem to think that's a bad idea, after all! ]

[blahblahblah]

Everything just so, is it? [That's a little annoying; the idea of having a personal brand clashes a bit with what little she could piece together from what she arrived with. But then, that brand includes goats, so she'll give it a pass for now.]

Whose name will this revolution be in?

[She blinks once; apparently she got caught up in speech patterns that aren't even hers. Still, she waits for an answer, glancing back to the goat for only a moment before reaching a hand out to it. Do plush goats respond to petting...?]

[priforprince]

[ Ah, introductions? Coy. ] Apollo.

[ A hair's breadth pause, for effect. ] Better known as Shikyoin Hibiki.

[ that's not backwards. somehow ]

[blahblahblah]

[A god like Tsubasa, then. Apollo... she's really gonna have to see if she can find information on some of these. They can't be a coincidence. For now, though, she smiles. She got the introduction without too much added flair; that's enough for now.]

Rita Mordio. In the service of Susanoo, Kazanari Tsubasa. Pleased to meet you.

[priforprince]

[ Rita has said the magic words that automatically make her of interest to Hibiki. Indeed, Hibiki will even turn so she is slightly facing the other girl!

Be awed. ] Queen Tsubasa's shinki? That is an honor.

Do try to live up to that tremendous blessing.

[ someone may be a fan of musical competence

maybe ]

[blahblahblah]

[The total shift in attitude catches Rita off guard. What the hell, didn't Tsubasa just get here today too?]

Queen-? Well, I'm glad you like her, I guess?

[priforprince]

Like a songbird sings to greet the dawn, her voice shall summon hearts to revolution.

[ Even if Tsubasa doesn't remember the last time she was here. And if she technically hasn't said "yes" to joining Hibiki's talent agency yet.

There is no way she will not, so that's as good as it having already happened. Correct? ]

[blahblahblah]

[It's flowery, but she can get a hint of something useful out of that... maybe she needs to ask Tsubasa about some of that. Or maybe warn her. Hard to say.]

I haven't heard her sing yet... I'll look forward to that, I guess? Now I'm really going to have to keep an eye out.