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

[hypomeneo]

...

[Judar, why the hell are you in here? Waver quickly opens and scans the pamphlet when it's delivered and keeps Judar in the corner of his vision. GOOD JOB MAA-TTENDANT! This pamphlet is a delightful explanation of the Shikyoin Hibiki History Exhibit! ... also there's the separate god pamphlet, which Waver tucks out of view while Judar still has his eyes elsewhere.]

It glitters with how ridiculous it is already.

[A wave at the paper. You've never seen so much Hibiki-ness stuffed in one brochure.]

I rolled out of bed the day after we last talked with more than a serious case of bedhead.

This is supposed to be my first day of training... so. Pamphlets, weapons practice, teleportation lessons, something. Instead the tea is just tea.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ When he rolls a shoulder into a shrug, it was admitting that Waver was right without actually saying the words themselves. This whole thing was glitter in its own special way, and even more obnoxiously in your face. You couldn't escape it.

Ah, but, he's still confused about some things. ]

Of... Bedhead. You've been to training before. What's that got to do with you having another first day? Obviously your memories are still there.

[ You remember talking to him, after all. Something just wasn't really lining up, and after all these long hours working on a secret personal project (which just ended,) Judar was in a position of needing things explained to him. ]

[hypomeneo]

[... this is the God portion of training, Judar. But fine, nobody tried to throw him out (that Iskandar would have likely brought him in would have been a clue to the rest, probably) and clearly nobody is really caring if Judar is here.]

All my memories are still here. [And he drops the other shoe.] I also remember everything from before, and you know what that implies.

Which brings us to this rather divine headache.

[Oh, secret personal projects... he's going to be really continuing his now.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Those long hours have him out of it enough that he can't tell at this point, and no one really stopped him from going in. Honestly, he couldn't tell if there was supposed to be a different between the god and shinki training in this weird show site.

So yes, he required those things to be said before it clicked. ]

Oh... Huh. Well, congrats on the memory upgrade, I guess. They probably jumped at the chance to give you a shinki or something, too. You get to be in those shoes now.

[hypomeneo]

[There's a fine frisson of disgust that goes up his spine at the word give. Heaven gave him to Iskandar (despite Iskandar asking for his consent), and they would give him to anyone else if Iskandar was gone. And now that he doesn't have to be worried about being traded around like chattel and falling from a Name, Heaven's going perhaps give him another person.

(He's done with being a toy for Reines.)

Hello, you escaped death, here's your prize.]

They can save the gymnastics, really.

I have a partner.

[Waver's... displeasure at shinki being passed around like toys at the proverbial sandbox as the players change is present in his tone. Those shoes indeed.

Eirene's a soulless and can't? won't say no given her nature. That's its own can of worms and one Waver's thought deeply of since Naming her.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Waver certainly isn't alone in his disgust. Then again, Judar had been passed onto someone, picked up by another due to circumstance, and just abandoned to do what he could. He hated being nothing but a tool in this place, but if he wasn't assigned to anyone, there was this giant vulnerability that he couldn't ignore.

Save for the part where he's been ignoring it since Cu's disappeared. Either that or he removed the name and ran off to be free of this whole thing. ]

Well aren't you lucky. You've got everything you could want, and the headache this place brings as well.

[ At least that's how it sounds. Also Judar's very good at flinging stuff and making it sound mean or malicious. It was meant with only a little sarcasm, really. He's just been alone for almost a month by this point, with his dumb magic genius brain and a secret project for company. ]

[hypomeneo]

Yeah. Won the motherfucking lottery.

[There's not as much sarcastic bite as there should be. Because that's true. And the price of that comes complete with a banquet of ethical dilemmas as Waver's staring all the aspects of godhood in the face. And the example of what getting wrapped up in your own issues and righteousness to the point where it blinds out everything else haunting him in the ghost of Saber.

And he refuses to be Saber.

The perfect King had been anything but perfect.]

What about you? What's winning the lottery look like to you these days?

[He's genuinely curious. And concerned. Because he 100% supports Judar's desire to go unnamed, but there is that gun to every shinki's head that can't be ignored.

If he's to be a leader... a God... then he feels like it's his duty to remove that gun. To be able to break his people's chains and elevate them. Not keep them trapped in places that cause misery. There's nothing wrong with service. He serves the greatest King he's ever known. But it can't be coerced. It has to be chosen and given freely, with full knowing consent. Loyalty is far too precious on both sides to be treated like it here.]

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ It'd be incredibly different if his unnamed time was from some kind of choice or desire. Instead he faces that question with a half-hearted shrug before resting his hands behind his head. ]

It looks unattainable and impossible for me.

[ It's embarrassing to say, but there's an instinct deep inside to find people with a particular kind of potential; to push them into that role better to continue serving them. That was an instinct that was at harsh odds against something darker swirling inside, with a violent anger, that wanted to destroy it all. The darker stuff had eased up considerably as a side effect to the ablution, but if he didn't have that distraction for so long, the intrusive thoughts would've been far worse and more destructive.

Ah, but just saying impossible would be a cop out, huh? ]

I guess a dry enough place to keep all my things, where I can actually rest for a while. Even at that place you mentioned, it's only temporary. After a while, being there attracts those smaller ayakashi. Even if I do get named, or find a place to get comfortable at, the place'll probably just disappear.

[ He's got some really bad luck, if you couldn't tell. Great skill and potential, but some of the shittiest luck around. Much like his Arabian Nights' namesake. ]

[hypomeneo]

[There's an incredibly bitter smile at that. He knows that feeling. He lived striving for improving his magecraft, and it was unattainable and impossible and yet he kept pushing forward and what had that brou...

... back to Iskandar.

Back to Iskandar.]

Sometimes what you get when reaching's enough. Sometimes not. You should reach regardless.

[... is he really going to suggest this? But Judar will be treated well there and there's no danger of being left in the dirt.]

Have you considered turning to Lord Ebisu? There is no danger of that there.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ ... For some reason, despite not expecting anything, Judar's mood fell just the smallest bit. Pawned to another in suggestions, huh? Well, that seemed right. No one would want-

No, getting stuck on that thinking wouldn't do. ]

Y'know there's a bunch of different records out in the library, not just on what happened, but partially blacked out history records. Delving too far into some subjects can get a god to be executed. All it really does is reset them to a childlike age to grow up into being more in line with what the Heavens want.

[ Except this certainly seems out of nowhere, right? There's a thread, and Judar's leading up to it. ]

Even if I thought about it, with what I can see and the type of things I've been looking into, I don't think the chibi's shinki will appreciate me putting him on the fast track to repeat history.

[ He had definitely thought about it. ]

[hypomeneo]

I know. I'm in that Temple a lot and I've been told why. They didn't just execute him but a good deal of his shinki as well. I don't want to see that happen again.

[Fast track or finally get it through to Ebisu not to repeat history... or do it in a way that doesn't bring the rest of the Temple down with him.]

... but, alright, that doesn't work for you.

I know you mentioned before that our Temple holds no interest for you, and that's why I thought of Lord Ebisu first, but...

[Not wanting him. There's a mutual assumption.]

Would you like a name from me?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Yeah, for all the reasons, excuses, and some lies he gives, Judar cares a bit about the way things could go. Caster's former god had quite a bit of appeal towards him. The true aura of a king hit something in his instincts, and it was... Kind of scary. He didn't know how to feel about it, or what it meant. Even without that, the guy didn't seem comfortable with their last interactions together.

Waver didn't hit those instincts, which was a relief, and had already proven to indulge in some of his curiosities with magic. The previous Caster was relaxed in a way that allowed him space, or violence, as needed, but that guy was very much going off of a single lesson or idea with magic.

But there's that twice-burned question of 'what if he disappears.' ]

Maybe...

[ It's a 'maybe' of someone that didn't indulge on the idea of what they'd like for a potentially long run. It was easy to think of reasons why it'd be a bad idea, or why the god might regret it. That is, if his own memory from life was anything to go by. ]

I can't say you'll want to keep me named, depending on what you see.

[hypomeneo]

[The sheer relief that floods through Waver that Judar will know that he's seeing his memories is staggering, and lifts a weight from his chest. Memory transfer is normal... but to do it without the other party's knowledge and consent is...]

I don't throw people away. I know the things I could see could be terrible, but honestly? I've done terrible things myself - including start a war in which I was fully prepared to destroy a city to win. I'm no saint.

The person I love most has spilled countless peoples' blood in the name of conquest. It does not make me love him any less. He's more than his crimes.

So are you.

I wouldn't offer unless I was willing to accept all of you, Judar.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ It made sense, if not through context of the gods he's been with, then through all the books he's read through in the library. There's quite a bit he had to pick up and learn about the bond.

And with starting a war, it's something that hits too close to the truth of what Judar remembered about himself. He started a war, destroyed a city/country and destabilized another, without caring about winning. He didn't care because it 'wasn't his choice.' Did it really matter how old he was in that time?

In some ways, it was funny. Waver was more ready to accept all of him than Judar's even managed to do with what little he had. ]

Well, if you end up seeing a more recent memory, it just seemed like a better choice to not involve either of you again.

[ Talk about being vague, Judar. ]

[hypomeneo]

We only see memories from your time in mortality, Judar. [Which always includes the transition from. The admission comes with the feeling of a vice ready to squeeze on his throat.] Your time here is your own.

[The vagueness makes him wonder, especially given it pertains to both him and Iskandar. Again? Did they forget something?

Is Judar trying to protect them from whatever it was?]

Ah. It's one of those things, huh?

[Given how Heaven is... it might be better not to know.]

Listen, one thing I do is respect the fact that any shinki of mine are allowed their secrets as much as I am. I'm not going to poke if you think it will harm us by letting us know. Or mention this to Iskandar.

The only time I will seriously get my nose into it or any other secret of yours is if I feel there's significant danger to me, Iskandar, or you by keeping it. The one thing I need to know right now is are you safe and are you going to be okay going forward keeping it? That's it.

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Well, that was a bit of a relief. There was quite a bit that's happened in his time as a shinki that he didn't want an extra set of eyes on. That's because he's completely unaware of the time that he regularly helped himself to the servants in the castle regularly, because they'd let him, without argument or anything. Without recollection, sometimes history repeats itself. Just with followers instead of servants.

Why did this feel like the only time someone both respected his choices but also put concern for his safety? To such a way that he was being asked, instead of having it decided? ]

Y-yeah, everyone's safe. I've recently brought the Crystal back to Amaterasu's security, so it'd be fine at this point anyway.

[ He wasn't going to push or detail what it was about the crystal, though. It was just easier to let both of them stay ignorant, or remember, with their own time. ]

[hypomeneo]

[There's enough he can remember about the crystal that Waver can guess from that night at the compound, and from those words, can take a stab at what may have happened. And given the recent mention of Ebisu's execution... no, ignorance for both is better. Safer.]

Then let's leave that where it should be, in the past.

[What else? Ah...

He touches the red jade ring on his left hand.]

It's important that you know that Iskandar is my king as well as my lover. We knew each other in my life, and I am sworn to him as his retainer. So you'll probably be seeing a lot of him. We're always in each other's Temples. [Mostly Iskandar's.] If you become my shinki, I ask that you respect him as you do me because of that and if he's giving you issues, to immediately let me know.

[There are responsibilities and loyalties to balance, regardless of love and trust. Duty to king and duty as God. Duty as God demands that Judar know exactly what the deal is with everyone before he jumps into things so he can properly decide for himself.]

That respect also needs to extend to every member of our household, including our soulless. In return, they must respect you. Sounds fair?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Despite how Judar may act at times, he's got some understanding of how politics could go. Also he'd rather shoulder the whole secret thing instead of watching a potential god hold it and hide it from their king. That'd just make him feel guilty- guiltier than he'd initially expect, especially if it were any other kind of relationship. For some reason, king had a deeper importance than lover. Not that he would, or could, think about why that was.

Respect, though... While it might not seem like it, Judar gives more of it than people would expect. Sometimes he got it back, maybe? He couldn't tell if it was that or people humoring him. ]

Yeah, sounds fair.

[ For a moment he thought about whether or not he should extend the offer he had at Cu's temple. It'd probably be better to go towards both Waver and his King. Two should be easy enough, right...? ]

If you need mana, or energy, lemme know. I guess that'd go to your king, too. As long as I know, I can handle the drain.

[ It's a position of vulnerability for himself, but... Eh, may as well try this trust thing, right? ]

[hypomeneo]

[It always bears saying regardless. Both the need for it and the assurance that any disrespect towards Judar would not go unanswered. Everyone is responsible for taking care of maintaining the emotional health of a Temple, that's what Waver has learnt, and it's important to state the ground rules out loud for everyone's sake.

There's a flash of sheer gratitude across Waver's face at Judar's offer. Clearly... it's been a bit of an issue, based on the mana collection array Waver had been setting up last time. Casters tend to be more efficient in their mana use than Riders in general, but Waver had been bearing the burdens of warding all the shrines of Iskandar and now his on the Near Shore as well as other spellcasting. It's generally left him on the hungrier side.]

We will. Thank you.

Anything else you want to ask me, boundaries I need to know and follow, that sort of thing?

[He figures Judar by now knows the general Heroic Spirit position on Nora and if he plans to do so, it's better to ask than not, especially given Waver's own position of serving Iskandar. It's a position Waver has debated himself upon ascension, and while there would be absolutely no problem with him taking a name from Iskandar (no loyalty conflict there), anyone else aside from a temporary name given if circumstances truly demand would require a discussion.

There's some excellent reasons to Nora. There's some excellent reasons not to. There's loyalty conflicts Waver wishes to avoid, loyalty to him is a deathly serious matter, and yet the needs of the God-shinki relationship is not quite the same as between ruler and vassal, so Waver also understands that there needs to be some amount of flexibility as well.]

If not, all that needs to be decided on is the Name. Do you have any ideas?

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ Having been around two servants for a little while, Judar at least got a bit of an idea of the strain that was going on, and how often they could need a refill. It'd obviously be different from servant to servant, but it gave him a bit of an idea. The initial question confuses him, and there might be a hint of that with the teen's response. ]

What, with kinks or something? I guess it's fine being passed back and forth with you and your king, but gimme a heads up before any threesomes?

[ Judar, you're giving a very bad impression on what happened at Cu's temple. Though it was usually just kissing for the energy, at the least- Well, it proved well enough that the magi was a pretty open person for that kind of thing. ]

Just nothing stupid, or funny. It took me a bit to figure out, but Izumo's name meant peaches- Dumb, right? Fucking Cu's meant stuff like dark, depressed and ill-boding or whatever. Who names their shinki something that could mean 'hopeless'?

[ Someone that had a bad sense of humor. ]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver's eyebrows shoot up. Cu, okay, it's legendary... but, Archer? Wow. Though given he and Iskandar go at it like rabbits, perhaps it's pot kettle black on his side.]

Huh. Caster had a wilder temple than I ever could have imagined. [What were you imagining, Waver?] Iskandar and I are pretty vanilla outside each other, though. [Judar doesn't want hear about your sex life, Waver. Probably. Iskandar's really been rubbing off on you for lack of shame.] Mana transfers through hand holding pretty much.

We will give heads up before things get that spicy, though. Speaking of him...

[There's a quick text or two and he waves his hand. Back to the subject.]

No... I meant positions on nora-ing or naming soulless or anything like that or things that gods have done before that you don't want me to do.

[Waver's nose wrinkles.]

Okay, that's blacker than mine was. The name Shinobu, the vessel Nin. Endurance... as endure under suffering, spying, deception.

[But he also has that sort of dark, bleak humor and it was fitting.]

Give me a moment.

Peaches. Christ. Nothing like that, I promise.

[kuroi_taiyo]

I mean, I'm fine with kissing. It's not like either of you are ugly. How it's transferred is up to you two.

[ He's just the power bank, and all that, giving some wild and crazy impressions of his previous temple. Archer had a weird humor and only rarely used him for mana. Cu was just his own category altogether. Which may be why the magi wasn't making any corrections about how Waver seems to have interpreted things. ]

Noras have a tactical advantage for a lot of things, and soulless have a purpose. Just go with whatever you choose with conviction.

[ It's what he expects of someone he's serving, to have that kind of strength. But man, Waver. At least yours had something endearing, for as black as it was. Judar's was just depressing, as the other was dumb. ]

If it's nowhere near as bad as those, then you'll already be a step above the others.

[Should he also warn Waver? Well, it'd be dumb to do, because there's no confirmation or proof, so much as a feeling based off of other things that have gone on, and the internal shift after that ablution. Even more, saying that he thought something was wrong with him sounded dumb, because he didn't know what kind of wrong in the first place. Waver already declared that he was ready to accept everything, so maybe it didn't matter as much. ]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver's eyebrows raise a little higher. Sorry Archer. Sorry Caster. Judar has just cemented the entertaining notion that your Temple was the set of Servants Gone Wild even if the insistence on kissing is starting to paint a different picture.]

Neither are you. Kissing's good? Okay, we'll work it out when it comes to it.

[Fair enough, though. There's Judar's stance on the subject (and decision making in general), as briefly stated as it is. Good to know to factor into future decisions.]

I don't mind you nora-ing to Iskandar should it prove necessary to have those advantages. As my king, there's no conflicted loyalties. [And they all know how the chain of command goes there.] Aside from that, unless the circumstances are dire and require a temporary name, don't.

As for soulless, no.

[... he runs along the same lines as Iskandar and Caster on that one, even if on the question of nora he's more flexible and marrying old values with modern pragmatism.

As for the name, Waver suddenly glances to the phone as it beeps and he puts it away.] Hm. Okay. [Before continuing.]

... it'll be a bit better than fluff and despair.

[Though by just a step. The kanji for balance that godly instinct insisted on has some meanings that are particularly pointed for a shinki.

Waver offers his hand, crushing the first tendrils of anxiety starting to spin in his gut. He doesn't need that now.]

Let's get out of here. My temple is a better place for this.

[kuroi_taiyo]

Never nora'd before, or really thought about it for myself. So if it does come up, it'd have to be from the big guy.

[ Similar to how he never accepted suggestions of who to go to, he wasn't going to be bound to someone that didn't want it to begin with. It couldn't be their choice if people were suggesting it for them, and if it was, then they didn't have the spine that Judar wanted his god to have.

Which is why he doesn't push anything, or distract Waver from his phone. It was either to check for names, or to talk to his King, so he just waited around until the suggestion to go elsewhere came up. ]

Sure. You got the hang of teleporting for it?

[ He knows that there's some limitations to that ability, but why not use a handy thing like it? He does, with its flashy spell, all the time. Which is why he goes over by Waver's side, offering his hand if that's the choice, but ready to walk if that was still too new to the former shinki. ]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver nods. Becoming nora was inconceivable to him, aside from the fact he'd fall if named again.]

Speaking of him, he's at my temple now. [So the latter there.] He'll be meeting up with us.

[Anxiety still spins low in his gut as Waver begins to brace mentally and construct his psychic armor so he doesn't have a reaction that gives anything away to Judar. It doesn't show on his face or in his body language - he's relaxed as he stands and takes Judar's hand - but it's doubly important now that he knows Judar knows.

He can't allow a clue to slip past of what he's seeing.]

Teleporting's fine. I enjoy it.

[For how damn useful it is.]

Flying, though... now there's something I'm working on...

[The scenery shifts and suddenly they're in a garden filled with peach trees with ripening fruit and wildflowers among the grass. It's quiet and peaceful except for the call of a crane occasionally. He has a small flock of them hanging around the grounds, and while they leave Iskandar and himself alone, some of Amaterasu's shinki have not been so lucky.

Beyond the garden is a small traditional Chinese villa nestled up next to a fairly large pond with blue lotus and rock formations rising from it. The temple's blessed water source... and as Waver has found, a fairly decent place to cool off when it's stinking hot.

Iskandar is nearby, by one of the stone lanterns with the Argead Star at its base. Waver raises a hand in greeting.]

Hey.