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

Re: shinki training

[trustheart]

Hrm. [Chris studies him for a moment, tilting her head a few times as she looks him over.] You're pretty wiry. You look kind of agile. I'd guess you either move around a lot or are experienced in keeping your balance.

[She turns towards the weapon racks, and picks up a quarterstaff.]

Try spinning this around a few times.

[stormaccess]

[He frowns faintly at her analysis – she isn't wrong probably, but well… he hasn't moved around enough yet to make any judgment about his actual capabilities. Some practice with those weapons will probably be good in order to test his stamina and ability to hold his own in a fight.

He takes the staff from Chris, spinning it somewhat clumsily.

Between that and the lack of calluses on his palms, he's pretty sure this kind of weapon isn't quite for him – strangely enough there seem to be some at the tips of his fingers… though Yusaku has no idea what he might have handled for that kind of calluses.

But anyway, he dutifully does his best with the staff and asks:]

Like this?

[trustheart]

... Yeah, you're clearly not a staff guy.

[Chris's quick dismissal of it makes it sound like an idea that she wasn't very invested in. She does get a look at his hands, though, as he takes it, and makes notice of the ones on the tips of his fingers.]

Maybe you use throwing weapons. Would you be willing to try that out?

[stormaccess]

[Yusaku nods and hands the staff back to her… then takes a few seconds to think over the idea of throwing weapons while glancing down at the tips of his fingers.]

…Sure. Let's try that.

[It can't be much worse than the staff anyway.]

[trustheart]

[Chris nods and walks over to the weapon racks, and picks up several throwing knives.]

Try these? There's some targets over there.

[stormaccess]

[Yusaku tries through the throwing knives – outright dismissing the larger, heavier ones – before settling on one of the smallest. He weights it in his hand, turning the knife carefully to make sure he doesn't injure himself, muttering:]

The balance feels off, somehow.

[Still, he takes this knife over to the target and tries to throw it… and while he doesn't hit the center, the knife does hit the target in one of the inner rings. Huh.]

[trustheart]

Hm. It doesn't look like they were your specialty, but it seems like something you could adapt to.

[She touched her chin, thinking.]

Do you wanna keep working with them or try something else?

[stormaccess]

[Yusaku looks down at the knife, balancing it between his fingers. It still feels wrong… but he is pretty sure that they won't find any that's lighter than this one.]

I don't think we'll find anything that fits me better than this… at least not easily. It'll be better to keep practicing with something that I seem to have some competence in.

[trustheart]

Well, there are other things you can try. Thinner blades, like kunai. A ninja I know taught me about them.

[She just says that casually.]

And also throwing stars, caltrops... You don't have to feel stuck to one kind of weapon. In fact, it'd be better if you kept your repertoire broad.

[stormaccess]

[Hmm, she is right of course. Better to keep his options open on what he ends up throwing… and maybe he'll even find the thing with the right balance that way.]

You seem to know a lot about these things.

[trustheart]

Eh, firearms are more my thing. And bows, and crossbows.

[She shrugs.] Again, I just know someone who works with this kind of weapon. You absorb some stuff through association.

[stormaccess]

[Yusaku glances down at the knives he's tried out. If she knows someone that specializes in this sort of thing…]

Perhaps you could introduce me sometimes.

[It seems to make sense to go to someone with experience in the area, right?]

[trustheart]

Well, I would, but he's not here.

[A thought.] But one of his students is. Kazanari Tsubasa. She just arrived.

[stormaccess]

I see. I'll keep her name in mind.

[If she's just arrived, then she'll probably have other worries than to teach a Shinki with hardly any skills at all.]

[trustheart]

Good. I'm sure she'd be happy to help you out.

... anyway, you wanna see some of those other weapons?

[stormaccess]

[Yusaku frowns for a second, then nods.]

I guess, it can't hurt to see what else there is.

[trustheart]

[She nods, and moves to pick out a few of them. Throwing stars, and a set of caltrops.]

The first of these two things aren't too much different from the knives. They're just smaller and lighter. The others aren't meant to be thrown with precision, they're just meant to impede the opponent's movement.

[stormaccess]

[He takes the caltrops first, but puts them back down with a shake of his head – they are definitely way heavier than whatever he is used to. The throwing stars though…]

…These might be a fit.

[He takes them over to the targets, taking aim before he throws the star. …Huh, he's definitely closer to center this time.]

[trustheart]

[Chris nods, and watches as he throws them at the target. She sees the results, and smirks.]

Not bad. I think you can actually hit the bullseye with a bit more practice.