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

[nopixiedust]

I wonder if we can really convince them into doing it... I mean, it does sound like common sense, but it's funny how rare that sort of thing can be, huh?

[Oh, unless... Wendy immediately perks up.]

Oh, maybe we can bully them into doing it! A little peer pressure to tighten the screws. Or I can just cry at them until they feel so guilty, or get tired of the noise. I mean, when you put your mind to it, there's no end of possibilities, right?

[No end of possibilities to making Amaterasu's shinkis' afterlives even worse... Listen. Wendy has no sympathy to others, not when it comes to getting what she wants.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia huffs lightly at Wendy's suggestion of pressure and guilt-tripping them. Normally, she'd lean toward kindness and diplomacy, but her charitable feelings toward Amaterasu's shinki are generally lower these days.]

Let's bring it up with the adults. It has to be easier for them directing everyone to a table or two than passing out flyers and hoping they catch everyone.

[She looks over the contents of the table.]

Is there anything else that would be useful for a new shinki or god?

[nopixiedust]

[She's just an innocent girl, here to make people's afterlives a living hell. What's so wrong with that? It's for a good cause! In the meanwhile, Wendy glances over at what they've got lined up so far.]

I think we might want to cover something on phones... A lot of the pamphlets say to call someone in particular, but there's no guarantee any of us will always be around, right? [Through regular disappearances or, well, murder.] We might want to write a small guide for people who aren't used to them at all. I think I could probably write something fairly decent... They were a new thing to me as well when I first arrived.

[And now here she is, using pink text and emojis.]

[unlucky7]

[It's a good point. Calling someone in the first place also requires, well, knowing how to call someone.]

That's a real good point. If you want to write something, I'm happy to read over it for you. I can't imagine Kairi will mind having an add on too.

[Ginia picks up the pamphlet and glances over it again.]

It needs an edit anyway since Ayumu is no longer here and it doesn't mention the shinki shelter.

[nopixiedust]

Yeah, that's the problem, isn't it...?

[Sighing, she braces her elbows against the table.]

We can't really say "go to this person in particular if you need help", since so many of us can disappear at the drop of a hat. Passing down information is a real pain when it's put like that... and there's no guarantee that people will keep spreading this stuff around when we're gone. But the more permanent gods are all kind of dumb...

[Well meaning, a lot of them, she's sure... but dumb. With on idea what they're going through.]

We need something more permanent...

[unlucky7]

[How do you make something permanent when permanence is the thing they're lacking? There's always looking for new volunteers, but it's a stop-gap, not a solution. Ginia's fingers drum against the table as she considers their options.

The only old god that will give them any kind of attention is Ebisu, but she knows well enough how busy the temple is. They're also not on the best terms with Heaven as a whole. But he is reliable.

There's Amaterasu's continued support, but as things show, the priority of guiding the newcomers is not a priority.]

Ebisu might be willing to help, I could talk to him. But ultimately, maybe all we can do is fill vacancies as they appear and do our best to pass out information. Maybe it's time to ask on the network for more volunteers?

[nopixiedust]

Maybe.... I suppose it is due time that I bother more people on there to remember about things like this. I wonder if I could use some of Hibiki's money to make one of those huge colorful signs in lights and have that be a fixture here..

[Certainly it would be eye catching enough, right?]

Ugh. Well, there's no use just complaining over it.

[unlucky7]

[Throwing money at things doesn't always work, but sometimes it can motivate people or get things going. An eye-catch could be good, though it'll likely be more of an eye-catch for Hibiki.

...Hm.]

I can try some recruiting on my end. Shun tends to lurk around, I bet it wouldn't be hard recruiting him. I talked to Hakkai about a brochure for gods so I bet we could count on him too.

[And with both of them Gods of Fortune, there's some degree of longevity there.]

[nopixiedust]

Yeah, Shun can always be pretty reliable, so that's not a bad choice... But, you know, I don't think I've ever really talked to this Hakkai guy a lot, even though I go to the school.

[After all, how else is she going to get a handle on reading the more intricate parts of Japanese? But talking to him a whole lot outside of the school isn't something she's really considered doing much. No reason. It just hasn't happened.]

What's he like? I only heard he died once.

[unlucky7]

I heard that too, though it was before I showed up.

[It's kinda interesting what you end up learning piecemeal over time. Also that he's a self-proclaimed murderer and all around horrible person by his own confession. Questionable, but maybe no more different than the majority of people here. Ginia can only theorize her own past probably isn't great.]

I don't know him well, but he's nice, measured. I think he's someone reliable and is someone that will do the right thing [For whatever the 'right thing' may end up being.] and I'd hate to get on his bad side.

[nopixiedust]

So he's the still waters run deep kind of guy, huh?

[Somehow, she's not surprised.]

It's always the quiet ones. [A beat.] No offense.