June Training

[priforprince]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: June 7th, 2017
Where: Apollo's Temple, The Far Shore
Summary: FIRST-CLASS ENTERTAINME---er, training for extant gods and shinki



Determining which temple to visit for today's training is not difficult. For one thing, Apollo's Temple is setting off fireworks periodically to entice newcomers through its high, Hibiki-statue-flanked doors. For another, anyone leaving their own temples will find themselves immediately confronted with an adorable purple goat robot wearing sunglasses and a bow tie. The goat has a silver platform suspended above it, atop which has been set a single purple rose and a brief note:

I shall be maa-ttending you today. Follow me.

Said goat will continue to follow your character until they give in and do as the note suggests. In fact, even once they do, the goat shall accompany them for the duration of today's log, seeing to their every need. Ask the goat to fetch something, and it shall be fetched. Ask the goat for directions within Hibiki's castle - "Where is the god training?", "Isn't there an amusement park in here?" - and guidance shall be provided maa-ccordingly.

It seems, today, everyone will receive a full Celebrity Maa-xperience.



Introductions

Incidentally, Hibiki's temple does indeed contain an amusement park. Everyone shall be directed there first, to enjoy the roller coasters, spinny teacups, and merry-go-round to their hearts' content until all the TVs in the area switch on at once. (Should your character not be positioned by one of the many televisions scattered throughout the area, have no fear. Your maa-ttendant has just rolled away and come back with one.)

"CelePara Prince Hour!"

Hibiki's face appears on the screen. She's a decent amount of space back from the screen, for once, and seated upon her throne. There's a brilliant sun motif on the wall behind her - or is it a crown? It's both, perhaps.

"Everyone, it's been a while. Shikyoin Hibiki here. Have your hearts been astonished by the peerless excellence I've delivered to you today?"

The maa-ttendants all nod. Which is hard for robots without neck joints to do, so they rock in place on their wheeled platforms instead. Clatter, clatter. Hibiki, for her part, nods back as if she's witnessed this occurrance.

"Splendid. The three characteristics of divinity are - Majestic. Unparalleled. And...Possessing great love." A smirk. "It's as if the position exists just for me. But those of you tasked with a duty you're currently incapable of fulfilling need not despair. I've arranged a variety of beneficial exercises for gods and shinki alike. Engaging in them is best, so we can create it."

She raises an arm, as if showing everyone ascending from her beneficial guidance. "Together with me - the ultimate puniverse!"

The TVs switch off. Those closest to gods display, on a map, where the god training is. Those closest to shinki display the shinki training. All indicate the physical training and the refreshments. The refreshments seem to be.....outside? With a time marked for dinner?

Pay that no mind. It's probably fine.

God Training

Hibiki isn't at the god training, either, which is taking place in a banquet hall. And which appears to be, ah....a swanky tea party. With a sign indicating there's a sauna next door. She does, however, appear on a large TV a bevy of spygoats push into position once any new gods have entered the room. Behold!

"So-called gods, glad you could make it. Yours is the tremendous task of assisting me, the God of Fortune Apollo, to bring radiance to the scrap-heap puniverse known as the Near Shore. As satisfying your followers with anything less than a Top-Class showing is insufficient, I'll give this chance to steep in a celebrity atmosphere to you. The chosen deities require no throat-drying or sweat-inducing hardship. Open the new celeb world."

And, with that, the tea party begins. Those not wishing to enjoy the top-class light sweets or delicious first flush teas may rid themselves of their average-person cares in Hibiki's special detoxing sauna. Those seeking an example to follow may take in a movie (in a theater featuring opulent reclining seats) starring Shikyoin Hibiki, or enjoy that the Shikyoin Hibiki History Exhibit has returned for a limited time only to this wing of the temple. Learn all about her many accomplishments, and be inspired!

If you're looking for Hibiki, however.....Well. Your maa-ttendant is willing to show you the way, especially if you're a shinki or a god seeking suggestions for a matchup. But there are two obstacles to reaching her. First, you have to successfully kick a soccer ball past a spygoat goalie. Second, you have to read from a college history textbook provided by a spygoat in a pasteboard hat - and get all the kanji right.

Or you could force your way through, or raise a fuss until Hibiki emerges, but who'd conceive of that?! Clearly everything will go as Hibiki intends!

Shinki Training

The good news for the shinki in attendance- or any gods who ran away from Hibiki’s tea party to see what else is happening- is that they don’t have to further deal with Hibiki. Or being proper. Instead, everyone’s maa-tendants will guide them to a large indoor space that has been purposefully, uh, repurposed for today. As there are a lot of big extravagant rooms in Hibiki’s castle, it wasn’t very hard to change it into what is essentially the inside of an acrobatic circus. Wendy will already be waiting for everyone to arrive, seated happily on top of some push up bars. “That’s everyone, isn’t it? Alright then!”

Since there are no newcomers as far as Wendy can tell, she gladly skips over “how to shinki” issues and instead offers some quick explanations and instructions to everyone in attendance. People are more than welcome to do the usual borderline practicing, of course, and Wendy will give a quick instruction for those who somehow missed that particular lesson. But that’s the boring way, and she didn’t set up all of this to be boring. In fact, there’s a particular shinki trait that she feels not a lot of people have really utilized: the strange shared trait that they’re all extremely light and can do things like leap ridiculous distances.

So everyone will be encouraged to use the various pieces of equipment that are around. People who are unsure of themselves can use basic things such as monkey bars, low balancing beams, and the other sorts of things that they’ve seen Heaven use in their training sessions such as jumping from stump-like platforms to another. There are even some trampolines for those who want to see how high a shinki can go before their head cracks into the very high ceiling. (And an almost extravagantly large bouncy castle for the kids and kids-at-heart.) But they’re really encouraged to use things that are a little more… high skill. Such as the tightrope extended high above the ground, or the swinging trapeze set. For those who want a bit of a challenge, Wendy even has a route set up where they have to go through just about everything that’s set up in the space… while she has another person practicing throwing borderlines at them to either dodge or deflect. Also the goats might get in the way. Is that part of the training, or is that just how the goats how?

Any random god that comes in will hardly get a blink besides Wendy ushering them in with an off-handed, “Sick of the tea, huh?”

Self-Improvement Training

Those looking for something less...extreme...than Wendy's contribution will find it in Hibiki's gaming arcade, which has been newly restocked with a row of PriPara arcade machines. These machines encourage you to create a customizable character and dress them up, then perform a rhythm game with the character dancing in the background. Successful completion earns you a ticket with more clothes that can be used on your character. It seems that a sense of rhythm improves intuition, which is useful for gods and shinki alike.

Also of use to all: the ability to ad-lib with a partner in an unusual environment! Which is what anyone who ventures into this concert hall will find. It looks like there's an improv contest going on. Grab a partner and be assigned a random scenario. You now have to act out that scenario in hopes of getting perfect 10s from a row of extremely Judge-Looking spygoats (they are wearing berets and glasses, to look Artsy, except for one who got the kind of judge wrong and showed up in a powdered wig instead.)

Now, pick your chosen field of battle! No sparring prompt is required to hone one's competitive urges and divine might.

Rest and Refreshments

Anyone desiring a change of scenery, as well as everyone once the sun begins to set, will be guided out the back of the temple by their maa-ttendant. A splendid dinner table has been set out upon the pirate ship in Hibiki's backyard, and everyone has a place reserved just for them. Why, their favorite drink is already awaiting them in their glass!

Food is available from a variety of sources. For those who prefer self service, a buffet table has been laid out next to one railing, arranged with a variety of high-class, gourmet foods. Filet mignon? Caviar? Lobster? Fugu? Vegetable delicacies? All are available (though none come with instructions - do have fun with the lobster). The maa-tendants are also happy to double as waiters and fetch food, for those who prefer the full service celebrity treatment.

Those seeking a more low-key, though no less eclectic, dining experience can find it along the other side of the deck, set up on a nice table with a tablecloth and some flowers for decoration. It seems one of Hibiki's shinki has decided to grace everyone with a bountiful spread! Poke, acai bowls, salad, malasalada, chocolate macademia, strawberry mochi, and manapua are all available, with placards indicating what each dish is and any potential allergens. This entire temple devotes itself to hospitality.

Still missing, however: the host, though there's a throne awaiting her at the head of the table, a cup of tea already in place. Music is also being provided by goats in the corners, who seem to have full stereo systems hooked up where the maa-ttendants have trays. Baroque classical music recordings softly waft over the diners, lending the entire experience a distinctly elegant air.

This aura of peaceful refinement shall remain until everyone who seems inclined to go aboard has done so (the goats do seem to maa-ccomend you board, but it is not enforced - sit this out, if you wish). At that point, all goats will roll up to their gods or shinki, carrying another sign - Please take care. The music dies down. So do the lights.

And beneath everyone, the Starship PriPirates's...rocket engines...rumble to life. And a triumphant peal of laughter, high above everyone - rings out!

In Summary:

• Delight in your precious new robot BFF (maa-ttendants are OK to NPC & adopt!)
  
• Learn absolutely nothing from anybody actually charged with hosting this informational session
  
• Engage in various "training" activities with no ulterior motives behind them whatsoever
  
• Be kidnapped by pirates?????
  
• Have fun~

Comments

[artificialrose]

I've yet to see location changes at all, honestly. Which is almost impressive, I suppose.

[Less on anything for him, or Heaven, but rather from what Komaeda has told him about his whole... thing. That seems like just asking for all sorts of wild changes.]

Well, I suppose it must be a slow process, don't you think? [He brushes some hair out of his more visible eye from the winds, glancing down as they pass over a few more traditional Japanese temples.] It must reflect really huge changes, or very slow ones. Maybe the kinds of things that only take decades.

I can only guess right now.

[unlucky7]

I've only seen one location change myself. It's a strange thing teleporting back to a temple and realizing the room is different.

[Discovering the other changes had come quickly too. It was a happy day then, though Ginia tries not to dwell on the memory. Now there's nothing but an empty lot she supposes. It's not something she's gone to look for herself.]

It's a good guess. I imagine if a god had a lot of shinki and more joined, the temple would find ways to accommodate everyone. But where a year also feels long to us, it's barely any time to others. It's not like time is of any concern to the old.

[artificialrose]

It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Being alive that long, I mean.

[Every day can feel so long for him... To imagine that meaning little to nothing in the long run? Unbelievable. Although... He rubs the back of his neck and straightens up a little bit.]

I wonder if that's hard to think when we've died so young as well... but that leads down a rather depressing train of thought.

[unlucky7]

I'll be happy if I ever make it a year. It feels like it'll be a miracle if anyone from our generation makes it to two.

But I think it'd be amazing seeing changes over decades or centuries.

[Some of the stories from the shinki named in earlier eras are pretty impressive, but even shinki named in recent eras have their share of stories. Japan is always moving and changing as is the rest of the world.]

I think if I had to guess, I'm on the older end of ages here.

[At least among the new. Ginia guesses she's a good ten years older than the majority here. It makes being among other adults in Ebisu's temple nice, even if she's gently teased as the youngest there.]

[artificialrose]

[A miracle indeed... That's almost as depressing as anything about the average shinki existence. Garry let out a slow breath, focusing on the lights and passing lands underneath them.]

A miracle indeed... Maybe that makes us closer to living human beings than other shinki, huh? Because... for the average human life, there's always that fascination with mortality, isn't there? The average person is well aware of how one day, their life will come to an end, and they have to cope with that. Some ignore it until it becomes so near to them that they can't, while others turn to religion, and others make their peace long before it ever happens...

For the average shinki around here, who aren't us, they already know that they'll essentially live forever so long as they don't do anything so dangerous that it will injure them fatally. In contrast, we're right there with the mortals in not knowing what will happen to us even in the next day. For them, it's war, or illness, or even just a simple terrible accident. For us... It's a mystery, only that we won't be here, as we know it.

[Suddenly he shakes his head, and turns to look at Ginia apologetically with one hand on the railing.]

Oh, I do apologize. I went a little off topic for a second there, didn't I?

[unlucky7]

Don't apologize at all, it's very interesting to hear from someone else. I think our generation is definitely closer to living humans than divinity. With a few exceptions, I don't know if any of the gods consider themselves the actual gods they are. As shinki, we accept we're here because we died, but it's not as if we're all from this world either.

[Even if some of them came from an Earth, it's clear the Earths they know are not the one they see when they visit the Near Shore. And with how easily they can shift between roles, it even raises the question of are they, shinki, truly dead in the world they're from?]

There's also the fact the possibility of regaining memories puts us far closer to living humans than the old shinki can ever be. I wonder if it's possible for a shinki of our generation to remember everything?

[A matter of time? A matter of luck? Who knows what the triggering factor is. The fact she gained memories around the same time Joscelin did certainly makes for a strange coincidence.]

I wonder if it's even possible for our generation to coexist with the old for any longer than we have.

[artificialrose]

I haven't really remembered anything yet... Sometimes I wonder if that's for the better or worse. Either way, I don't have any insight onto the whole... mystery of it all.

Although that makes me wonder who has remembered the most out of all of us... Whether they're here any longer or not. That sort of thing would make a lot of things change, wouldn't it?

Either way, in the end... All we can do is move forward. Time doesn't really stop, no matter what happens.

[unlucky7]

It's a double-edged wish. Memories can answer questions and raise just as many. If you feel happy and content without memories, you're maybe better off.

[There's no rolling back her memories. As much as she wishes she could, maybe the lack of context would have pulled her down eventually.]

I wonder if that shinki would become a god if they stuck around? Or maybe move on in other ways.

[Who can tell. Ginia tries to think which shinki have been around the longest. Chikusa and Kairi are the ones she thinks of, but she's not sure what they know. At the very least, Chikusa knows Ken. Maybe vice-versa too.]

So true. It's one of the hardest lessons I've had here, learning to move forward.

[artificialrose]

I can only imagine...

[What are some of the questions he's had about his own life? Garry can't imagine too many, standing where he is with lights shining distantly below them and the moon reflecting along bodies of water. He has no special powers besides being a shinki, and there's nothing so peculiar about his body that he has a problem with. Maybe if he knew what he thought of his gender and such as a living person- that would certainly be a handy shortcut if he'd made a decision before he lost all his memories.]

[But for now... Garry shakes his head. Maybe it's fine as it is.]

It's certainly easier for some than others. What everyone gets up to can only help so much, right?

[unlucky7]

I envy the chill personalities around.

[There's a bit of a self-deprecating smile with that typed statement. Ginia can look chill, but she's anything but chill with how much she overthinks everything. But it's not just the ones with a calmer sense, but the kinder ones.

It's not that they haven't been through traumatic events, but if they did, they've weathered it better. Far better than whatever she went through.]

But maybe time is all people need too.

[artificialrose]

I have to say, I'm the same!

[Garry gives a small laugh at himself as well. It's not that he has a temper or anything like that- okay well he has something of a temper. But it's more that he's well aware of his own panicking rabbit heart.]

At least we have all the time in the world, if we're able to stay around, right...?

[unlucky7]

It's what I'm hoping for. Staying around, that is.

[It's harder holding onto that hope, but she's doing her best. Has to. Ginia knows most of her friends, the gods especially, are all ready to go. If shinki had the choice, no doubt a few would go home with their gods or other friends. Most others don't have the connection she has.]

If I get pulled away, I'll fight my way back here.

[artificialrose]

Fight your way back... It sounds really heroic and romantic, just thinking about it. For me... I wonder how much I would genuinely be able to do, you know?

Of course I'd want to stay by Komaeda's side. He... Well. I don't want to say he needs me, that's a little presumptuous, but...

[He huffs out a short and quick breath, bangs fluttering.]

I worry about him.

[unlucky7]

[Heroic and romantic. So it does. Ginia huffs in wonder and cracks a smile. Easy to say, harder to do. Maybe there's only the void of nothingness waiting. How do you come back from that?

Ginia looks at Garry and tilts her head slightly.]

Worry is so often the feeling shinki have for gods, isn't it.

[At least it's a base for her feelings toward her gods. Love born of worry follows.]

Ebisu has so many shinki I know he doesn't need me specifically, but I'm still his shinki. I have friends there I'd hate to disappear on. It wouldn't be fair to disappear on my boyfriend too.

If we get pulled from here and find each other floating in the void, let's work together to come back.

[artificialrose]

Well, I think for me and Komaeda.... It would probably be the same no matter what. Our situation simply made it easier for us to know one another.

[And maybe it's made it easier to deal with him, instead of whatever Komaeda has done in his own world where he was living before all of this. All of it is horrifying and worrying, from what Garry has heard, but he has to admit that he has the benefit of distance from it all. All Komaeda has been with him has been mostly kind and considerate.]

[And. You know. Sometimes a little unstable. And starts up fights just because his way of thinking can really throw people off or get them aggravated. Garry's been learning how to steer him away from that, however. Even if sometimes that means just sitting on him, sometimes.]

[It's fine.]

[Her own worries are something he listens to patiently, nodding along with her words.]

Even if there are a lot of people... It still feels like you have a place there, don't you? People who care about you. So even if he might not need you in general as a shinki, I like to imagine that he'd still be worried about you as a person.

Komaeda probably cares about me in both ways... [Garry smiles.] So I definitely agree with you on making our way back somehow, some way. He's too important for me to just give up on so easily!