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

5/5

[unlucky7]

[WHAT HAPPENED AFTER DEATH THEN?!?!?!

Okay. Deep breath. Back track a little. Just... break it down bit by bit.]

So if you were in a gacha game, you'd be a limited SSR introducing a new mechanic into the system.

[hypomeneo]

One most players would be reaching for the bottle and groaning... 'what?! how do you even?! at first blush.

...

...

That's life. The human involved gains most of the abilities of the Spirit combined with them, but that doesn't actually change the human into one in that case. They're performing a role. Being a Pseudo-Servant is meant to be temporary, and usually death of the combined entity just results in a split; the Heroic Spirit returning to the Throne and the Throne resurrecting the human without recording them and making them a Spirit themselves

Due to those circumstances and other outside factors, my death seems like it was like one of exceptions as it could meet the criteria. I feel different... the state of me like him. So Heroic Spirit. But there was an incomplete split, maybe. Zhuge Liang isn't here. But everything that made him up came with me.

Sorry. There's no way to make that anything but confusing as fuck.

[unlucky7]

[The continued explanation helps a little, but that's still a hell of a complicated system to think about. There are so many more questions that come up too. Ever curious, Ginia wants to know more, but it still feels dangerous knowing too much.

It also feels like a complicated mess. Her brow furrows a little as she tries to piece it all together.]

No hard feelings if I continue calling you Waver and leave it at that?

[hypomeneo]

Waver works just fine. I'm proud of Caster... but... It'd be the least confusing for everyone... and easiest on my own sanity too.

[He has to accept he is Waver Velvet. This place won't let him be anything else and the whole point it to let go...

It's time to accept himself, as painful as that is.]

[unlucky7]

[Yeah, sorry, Ginia is never going to call him Caster. He'll always be Waver to her, unless he wants another name.]

Do Heroic Spirits all know each other? Or know of each other?

[The question feels silly to ask, but it feels harmless enough. The person she's wondering about is gone and at this point, Ginia doesn't expect anyone to return.]

[hypomeneo]

Generally yes, once we hear each other's True Names. Things get around on the Throne or so I hear.

[unlucky7]

[Tap. Tap. Tap. Ginia's click against her case as she considers the next question. It's easy to type, but she still hesitates over pressing play. Is it closure or something else she's looking for?]

Did you know Lancer Diarmuid?

[hypomeneo]

I have the great honor of knowing Diarmuid Ua Duibhne of the Lancer class, the First Spear of the Fianna.

[Waver's eyes close as he thinks back.]

Of all of them I met, you'd be hard pressed to find a man finer. We fought together side by side. It was a privilege.

[unlucky7]

[There's a flash of an unguarded smile, a sight missing since they began talking. Ginia suspected she could have learned more about Lancer, but that always felt like a betrayal of him, an act too dangerous. Even after he left, she decided against searching his name.

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, the First Spear of the Fianna. The title means nothing to her, but it was his.]

He was my friend. The one who thought kindly of me.

[Would he think so kind of her now if he knew she was an assassin?]

Was he happy?

[hypomeneo]

He gained what he was looking for. I saw to it. We parted company with him smiling and at peace.

[He doesn't think he can touch the pain of the Singularity of the Fourth War right now, but he can guarantee Lancer left there content.

A Mage pays his debts and he felt he owed it to Lancer to try to advert his tragic fate, even if he knew it would be undone with the Singularity's end.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia doesn't need to know more. She doesn't need to know about a Lancer that died betrayed, robbed of his honor, dying cursing everyone around him. She doesn't need to know about his life, forced to make impossible choices for one so honorable.

Lancer is at peace. That is all she needs to know.]

I'm glad to hear that. I think he was happy here. At least he always seemed so.

[hypomeneo]

Good. I'd want nothing less for him.

[Soft and smiling.]

[unlucky7]

[Lancer was happy to serve and happy to train and if he had any complaints, she never heard them. Ginia fully admit he was a better fit for Caster than she was. He was a noble warrior.

But Lancer isn't here anymore and she'll likely never see him again. On the other hand, Waver is here.]

If you leave here, what happens?

[hypomeneo]

There's no telling. I could resurrect and reunite or not reunite with Zhuge Liang and go to the Throne later. I could go straight to the Throne, and be summoned anew later.

[He could be wrong... but it doesn't FEEL like it.]

It's just... that situation I won't talk of here? I'm extremely unlikely to leave it alive regardless, so this might not be my only death even if I come back to life.

I accept that.

Besides... it feels like time. I'm just not scared. Is that crazy?

[unlucky7]

[There's a tiny cock of her head. No, she wouldn't say it's crazy. It's probably better not being scared of death or at least having a sense of peace with it. Maybe it's better knowing when your time is up.

Ginia can't really say. Her last memory is of planning an escape that feels all but impossible. For all she knows, she died attempting it.

Better dying there than spending the rest of her life caged up though.]

I think it takes courage and a strong will to know what's coming and facing it with calm. I won't pry about your circumstances any more.

[If he wants to share, it's on his terms.]

If you leave, I hope you and Iskandar go together.

[hypomeneo]

One day. Maybe...

[Not yet. Maybe not ever. Who would even understand it?

But that last part.]

Yes. I do too.

[For both their sakes.]

[unlucky7]

[Heaven help whoever is around if one disappears without the other. Especially if it's Waver that goes.

But that's a hypothetical situation right now, an inevitability ultimately. Ginia is resigned to the idea it's more likely they'll all disappear in the end instead of staying. And of the people who would want to stay here, she's likely the only one.

Well, maybe Ayumu and Joscelin will be around too.

Ginia pushes the sad topic ahead and nods her head up higher.]

Want to go up a few more feet or is this good as it gets for now?

[hypomeneo]

I'm going up to where the high wire is eventually, so why not a few more feet.

It's a good day for facing fears.

[unlucky7]

[Ginia uses the obstacle course to move herself up several more feet, this time increasing the gap. Another borderline is set down for herself to use as a platform to sit on.]

No judgment, but I'm surprised you're afraid of height. Don't know why I'm surprised either.

[hypomeneo]

I'm afraid of snakes too. Kind of. Don't like them definitely.

[Just throwing that out there as he begins to slowly rise up.]

I'm afraid of a lot of things really. Little things, big things... I've just learned I need to face them down in order to move on from them. Maybe it takes a lifetime, maybe getting through them is fucking messy, but I don't want to be chained by them, so face them I will.

[unlucky7]

Braver than I am.

[Though she's trying. Working through her feeling, her memories, learning to trust in people and to rely on them to cover her weaknesses. It's messy and unpleasant but she's trying.

Still hard.]

I'm afraid of ghosts.

[hypomeneo]

Maybe. There's all sorts of ways to be brave.

It's something you come into with time too. I was such a tearful [Bra-- stop, Velvet.] boy when I was younger. I had no idea where to even start. I had to be shown the way.

[Waver's lips tug up. Ghosts, huh?]

... so's my daugh-- apprentice. We met some real nasty ones in our time. Pretty reasonable thing to be wary of.

[unlucky7]

[There are a lot of things Ginia could comment on, but hold on. Hold on, that slip is not getting away.]

I'm sorry, did you say daughter?

[hypomeneo]

[GAH.]

... her name is Gray.

I was a Lord. Part of my duties include teaching. I had many students throughout the years. Two more that were... very close. Like... sons.

[He's having trouble spitting it out. Even though he's dead... even though he has to face the facts of his life.

Like sons. Were sons in Waver-ese. He their legal guardian.]

But I had only one apprentice. She was... a lot of things over the years. Bodyguard. Servant. ... caretaker.

[There's a wince about some of that.]

Heir to my magecraft.

[Something only reserved for a child, usually. The family secrets of top importance.]

...

...

...

... so yes, she was.

[unlucky7]

[It's a cruel thing memory loss. Forgetting the ones you love, your family. She'd ask if any of them were here, but Gray was never a name she saw and now Waver can keep an eye on any of his family that may appear here.

May they be gods, if they must. Ginia's not sure how Waver would see any of them as shinki. He'd probably tear the system apart to help them.

But can he see them again in any other way?]

Please tell me they all inherited their old man's sense of snark and fashion.