July Training

[unlucky7]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: June 22nd, 2017
Where: Ebisu’s temple, Nagashima Resort on the Near Shore
Summary: A chance for gods and shinki to put their skills to the test… at a water park?



The morning of training, a mass message is sent out to everyone on the contact list.

Training will be conducted on the Near Shore today. Please meet at Ebisu's temple for an overview and directions.

Please see the following list for what to bring.

The list of what to bring is a short one: a container to carry blessed water, sunscreen, a swimsuit and towel, a bag for an outing, comfortable shoes and clothes for moving in... the list sounds like something suited for a to a beach or an amusement park.

(Spoilers: It is.)

A map with directions to Ebisu’s temple is also included.



Introductions

Everyone is led to a large conference room in the temple. There's a long table set up with food and drinks: assorted rice balls, bread, pastries, simple assorted bento boxes, tea, coffee, water, fresh juice. There is also a table with shinki pamphlets and maps to the area if anyone wants one. There are chairs set up facing a projection screen.

Once it seems like there are no further arrivals and everyone has had a chance to mingle and get any refreshments they want, some of Ebisu's shinki encourage people to find a seat. The lights dim slightly as Ginia, dressed in a sharp black suit with a dark green tie, steps in front to address the crowd in sign language, another shinki interpreting for her.

"Thank you all for gathering. Today's training format will have a different approach. As we all know, ayakashi are a common problem on the Near Shore. While reports of larger ayakashi have dwindled, small and some medium-sized ayakashi remain. They are drawn to areas with a high population of humans and where negativity or strife can brew.

Everyone, today we're putting our skills to the test and hunting ayakashi. "

Ginia pulls a remote from her pocket and displays a map of a sprawling entertainment complex with an amusement park, onsen resort, water park, shopping center, and hotels on the screen.

"This is Nagashima Resort, one of the most popular vacation and entertainment destinations in Japan. With an amusement park, shopping centers, a water park, botanical garden, and onsen resort, it's a destination for all ages year-round. Because of that, it’s ripe for ayakashi causing trouble.

"The first part of training is reaching the amusement park. You'll teleport to the Near Shore to one of Ebisu's shrines. From there, four paths in increasing difficulty are marked out with ribbons and flags: white, yellow, red, and orange. If you wish to bypass the course entirely, you're welcome to reach the location through public transportation or other means, the choice is yours.

"Once at the site, you'll want to keep an eye out for ayakashi. Flushing them out with borderlines and blessed water is an option, as is seeking out areas problems might occur. Keep in mind the large number of children around means our actions will be noticed, so take a subtle approach or pull the fight to where it won’t be noticed. Also please keep property damage to a minimum.

"After you've had your fill of hunting ayakashi, please enjoy the location's facilities. Full admission and ride vouchers will be provided for everyone as well as a stipend for food and souvenirs."

Ginia grins and gives a thumbs up.

"Do your best and have fun!"

God and Shinki Training

With no new arrivals, gods and shinki are encouraged to work with their temple or other temples to figure out strategies. Or make plans for how to spend the day, there’s no judgment at all. Ebisu, Tsubasa, and Chris are around to provide support and information for gods. Any shinki that want last minute borderline practice or a refresher on light moving can talk to Ginia or Ebisu's shinki.

Physical Training

Beginning at the entrance of Ebisu's shrine, the four routes are clearly laid out. All four take advantage of the lightness all shinki and gods can tap into to jump higher and longer distances and stand on just about anything. The easiest route, white, is a longer route that’s more street-level, but requires using some leaps across the road or use of lamp posts to cut across areas.

Yellow is entirely crossed with lamp posts and electrical poles can be managed without ever touching the ground. It's a pretty direct route and easy for someone focused on lightness the entire time.

Red moves higher, mixing up lamp posts and signs to bound off, as well as a few rooftop runs. It requires a few tricky jumps that can be easier with borderline bridges or teleporting, but still entirely possible with the right planning. Like the yellow route, traversing means never touching the ground until reaching the entertainment complex.

Orange is the most physical of the courses, requiring precise jumps or teleports along rooftops, vertical wall jumps, and a few blind drops or teleports downward to get to the next section. A shinki who can make bridges with their borderline can test their skills with bridging some of the larger jumps, while a god can test out flying in tighter areas or teleporting.

Race other people, help out someone struggling on a route, or skip this portion entirely, the choice is yours.

Ayakashi Attacks

While there are no large ayakashi to fight on top of a roller coaster, the amount of ayakashi around is still plentiful. Crying children, stressed parents, dates going poorly, there are plenty of reasons for negativity to brew and ayakashi to latch onto or encourage the behavior. Common are small ayakashi; tick ayakashi irritating people, coin purse ayakashi making people spend more, bird ayakashi enhancing bad moods, all sorts causing minor mishap. Medium ayakashi, such as slender shadows unnerving children or ayakashi latching onto mirrors and showing one’s worst self, are less common but still lurking about.

Rend them and keep the day lively and fun for everyone, but don’t get caught by any children in the area. If you do, better come up with a story fast. Some kinds are as persistent as ayakashi when it comes to getting an answer.

Rest and Refreshments

Before leaving Ebisu's temple, everyone is given vouchers to exchange for tickets for the parks and 10,000 yen in spending money. There’s plenty to do at Nagashima Spa Land. The water park with its multiple slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and swimming pools is the perfect way to beat the heat and the main attraction. However, for those who want to stay drier, there's also a full amusement park with rides for all ages and excitement levels. From merry-go-rounds to haunted houses, a giant ferris wheel to thrilling roller coasters, the 40 rides across the park should be the trick

For those who want something a little more relaxing, there's a botanical garden to stroll through with beautiful illuminations at night. There is also a large onsen resort with multiple pools for a nice long soak. There’s also a large shopping center nearby and plenty of food options across the entertainment complex.

In Summary:

• Try racing against others through the city
  
• Put the skills you’ve learned to the test against ayakashi
  
• Enjoy a day at a water/amusement/spa park
  
• Have fun~

Comments

[unlucky7]

Shinki Training
Any shinki looking for some pointers on borderline can follow Ginia to the courtyard surrounding Ebisu's skyscraper temple. There are some crates stacked on each other, placed ten feet apart from each other.

"It's not often shared you can resist yourself with a borderline." Ginia signs. Anyone standing within ten feet and watching her signs will find they understand what she's signing as if they always knew sign language. "This is useful for building bridges or creating platforms."

Ginia draws a line horizontally between the two crates. Focusing on resisting herself, she leaps onto the borderline and walks effortlessly on it. Letting the resistance drop, she falls through and lands on the ground.

"You'll have to keep up focus the whole time so this can be tough if you aren't used to holding borderlines for more than a minute or so. Feel free to give it a try."

Ayakashi Attacks
Changed into more casual attire--shorts and a t-shirt, a woven bracelet around her wrist and a backpack on her back--Ginia saunters through the parks. She's carrying a water bottle and occasionally pours water into her hand to sprinkle into a bush or around a garbage can. Any flushed out ayakashi will get more water splashed their way and a few light borderline slashes as she drives them away.

However, not all small ayakashi flee so easily. A few streamer-like ayakashi band together like some strange jellyfish clump and lash back at Ginia. With a group of schoolchildren passing nearby, Ginia throws her backpack over the ayakashi and does her best to physically contain it. Ribbons of blight cross her arms as the ayakashi grab on; she whistles tersely for the nearest person as she grits her teeth.

Rest and Refreshments
Wouldn't be right to go to a park and not have some fun. In between chasing ayakashi and helping with minor prayer requests, Ginia enjoys the roller coasters and thrill rides at the amusement park and tries just about every single sweet snack and drink she can get her hands on. Need help deciding what to eat or what souvenir to buy? Ginia definitely has opinions.

Wildcard
((ooc: Want to do something that isn't listed here? Hit me up over PM or at cordially!))

R and R

[dredefulchilde]

[Joscelin is not tall enough for this roller coaster. By a considerable margin. But part of being a shinki is not being very noticeable, and he manages to hop into the car alongside Ginia without a fuss.

He’s supposed to be taking it easy after his recent brush with death. And this counts, right? They’re at a spa land after all.]

I’m going to trust you to help keep me in my seat during the upside down bits.

[unlucky7]

[Why do you do this to your sister, Joss? Why? There's some very clear arithmetic going on in Ginia's mind as she stares at the shorter shinki. The safety bar goes down and yes, there's some worrying wiggle room.]

You are going to grip the bar and not. Let. Go.

[dredefulchilde]

Oh, I have no doubt that I’ll be able to—woah!

[The park employees have completed their safety check, blithely passing over their car as if it were empty, and a button is pressed. They shoot out of the ride lobby and start cranking up the first hill. Joscelin is barely visible under the shoulder bars: just a bit of brown hair and two skinny little arms clinging to hand-holds that are almost beyond their reach.]

This is brilliant! Look how high we are!

[unlucky7]

[Ginia leans over and hooks her arm around Joscelin's torso. The slow roll up keeps him back against the seat and she can lift him a little. Well, at least someone is enjoying himself. For her part, Ginia looks a bit stressed at the thought of him slipping out.]

[dredefulchilde]

[Oh, he is enjoying himself. Especially as they round the top, and...

There’s no time to think after that. Suddenly they’re whooshing down towards the ground and he can feel himself being lifted bodily out of his seat. The shoulder bars aren’t helping very much at all. It’s only a combination of his lap belt, Ginia’s arm, and his own vampire strength that keeps him from flying out of his seat entirely as they hit the first corkscrew. Not that he minds. He’s laughing maniacally the whole time.]

Look! The camera! Make a stupid face.

[unlucky7]

[It's the longest minute of Ginia's life. Her heart drops into her gut as they plummet over the edge and as gravity does its best to pull Joscelin out of the ride. It's a thrilling roller coaster, but her focus is entirely on making sure he doesn't fly out of the ride.

Her expression is a mix of terse stress as the camera takes their picture on the last drop, the car gradually stopping as it rolls back in. Her white-knuckle grip loosens as her arm falls down. She pinches the bridge of her nose as the safety bar unlocks.

Give her a moment, Joscelin.]

[dredefulchilde]

[Either Joss doesn’t notice how little Ginia had enjoyed the ride, or he doesn’t care. He’s grinning from ear to ear once he emerges from the shoulder bars and climbs out of the car.]

That was brilliant. Much better than the ones at Capybara-whatsit. Shall we do another?

[unlucky7]

[Fear fading, anger begins to take its place. Ginia tempers it with a low hiss as she leaves the car. Pulling Joscelin aside, she looks sternly down at him.]

Do you not realize how dangerous that was?

[dredefulchilde]

[There he goes, setting her off again. He shuffles awkwardly, looking away from her.]

I do. But I trusted you, and I trusted myself to be able to hold on. We don’t have to do another. I don’t think I realized how different it would be from the ones at Capybaland.

[unlucky7]

[Unfortunate for him, he needs to look back as Ginia snaps to get his attention and resumes signing.]

Your trust is appreciated, but you didn't see if I was okay with this. I've never been on that ride and didn't know what to expect. What if you had fallen or hurt yourself in another way? You can't do things just because you want to when you're putting yourself and others at risk.

[Her signs are hard and it's clear she's upset, though her anger is controlled.]

What would I have told Ayumu if you were hurt?

[dredefulchilde]

[He hangs his head.]

I’m sorry, Ginia.

[There it is. A genuine apology with genuine contrition. No snarky comments or self-righteous justification. Just a ten year old boy who realizes he’s messed up and wants to make it better.]

[unlucky7]

[He's learning that at least.]

I accept your apology. You're going to make it up by buying me the souvenir photo.

[After all, they survived. There's time to ride it later or coming back on another day. She does study him a little, tapping her chin.]

I think I have paracord in my backpack. I could make you a harness I can attach to the safety bar.

Ayakashi attacks

[hypomeneo]

Come, Genki!

[Footsteps race up as the beginnings of an incantation are heard.]

You who desecrate this Land of the Rising Sun!

[Guess who? That's right. Waver, snapping out words as he draws back an arrow on a bow that could have only belonged to Odysseus in another life. He's going to have to get in very close for this. Ready, Ginia? He's trusting you to get clear enough so he can get the heart of the thing, because Eirene doesn't turn into something that can really tear any ayakashi away.]

With my advent, I, Zhuge Liang, lay waste with the Genki and expel thy vast defilement!

[Now.

He'll fire when you jerk back enough to get a clear shot.]

Rend!

[unlucky7]

[The assist is appreciated. Ginia leaps away and throws down a borderline behind the bag. The ayakashi pops out of the bag like a jack-in-the-box, but hangs in the air like a writing mass of ribbons as it tries to figure out it's next move. It's an open target and the rend strikes true, leavig it crumbling away into black dust.]

Nice shot. Thanks for your help.

[Ginia signs, a woven bracelet around one wrist. It's no surprise he can understand her signing if he's visited her in the last two weeks. The joy of magical items.

She drops the borderline and digs through her bag for blessed water. Pain is pain but it doesn't mean it's any less excruciating; she sighs as the blight washes away with the water.]

Is the bow someone I know?

[hypomeneo]

[The joy of magical items. There's a leather bracelet of his own he's never taking off because it's been blessing him with restful sleep for the most part. The nightmares are nearly gone, with only the worst nights troubling him now.

He's been almost too exhausted to dream lately. Iskandar has been working him hard to get him combat ready.]

I don't think you've met Eirene yet. She's one of my shinki. Judar is the other.

[Bearing multiple shinki is an experience. He's not sure yet if he's strong enough to bear another if it comes to it... two is probably his limit until he gets more followers.]

Return, Eirene.

[The bow reforms into a delicate woman with hair down to her ankles, and a pleasant if vacant expression. She blinks before aiming a sunny, near childish smile at Ginia.

A pure, innocent soul(less). Completely unlike the woman she looks like back home, Waver knows. Then she chirps:]

"Hello."

[unlucky7]

[Were it anyone else, she'd them about being popular with two shinki already. But it's Waver and the joke feels a bit more delicate. At least someone is watching out for him. At least he's watching out for someone.

Ginia returns Eirene's smile with a friendly wave.]

Nice to meet you, Eirene. Please take care of my friend.

[Not that soulless shinki can do otherwise, but Ginia belieces they can still want to do things out of their own will.]

Enjoying the day so far? What do you think about the place?

[hypomeneo]

[Judar knows about the existence of the God's Greatest Secret, and while that's incredibly dangerous if he's ever named by a god from his world, it's an incredible comfort as well. Even if he can never tell Judar what he saw, there's an honesty and totality of consent present that both of them need, as used and abused as both of them were during their lives.

It's always a delicate matter for a shinki turned God to take shinki in turn, just by the nature of what they've lived through. For Waver, given the nature of the Mage world with its many abuses and broken systems too similar to the ones here... it's even more delicate. But he prayed for this in Hawaii, even if godhood was not his desire, and just a simple release was. He has to take the lessons learned and guide in turn.

He does wish Hakkai was still here, though. There's a lot he would love to talk about.]

"Of course!"

[Her god is her utmost priority! Second is his Temple and Iskandar! Third is hugging every cute animal she sees!

(Hibiki's spygoats are a favorite)]

I am, even if I feel a bit like a parent at times. [Eirene has that hugging cute animals thing, and it's a challenge to guide that sometimes to appropriate expressions without killing the impulse dead. All spontaneity and self desire in a soulless needs to be nurtured at every step.] I really like the gardens and onsen. Iskandar is more thrilled with the more active amusements... [Guess who's been dragged into fun? Absolutely right.] It's all good.

[Someone is in a suspiciously good mood. And it isn't just the better sleep.]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia picks up her backpack as she listens, splashing a little blessed water inside for safety.]

Glad to hear. I figured there was enough here to suit everyone's tastes and not mind clearing out some ayakashi.

[And helping out the businesses, though with the heavy traffic Nagashima Resort already sees, the financial gain through a bunch of god and shinki isn't that noticeable. The greater boon is clearing out ayakashi. But pragmatic as Ginia is, she wants everyone to have a good time too.]

You're looking chipper. Good to see.

[hypomeneo]

Well... ah...

[He twists his ring.]

I'm engaged. Iskandar proposed two days ago in Hawaii.

[unlucky7]

You mean engaged again, because I'm pretty sure the first one still counts.

[But if Iskandar proposed again (and in Hawaii of all places), then this one must be a formal proposal in the eyes of common and modern culture. Ginia moves for a hug, stopping to make sure she didn't miss any blight on her arms and hands, then closes the distance in a tight hug. Don't worry, she's mindful of the hair.

She's grinning when she pulls away.]

You know Natsumi and Terumi will kill you if you don't let them dress you for the wedding.

[hypomeneo]

Killing me is the least of what they'll do!

[Like not help him navigate Gion's traditional culture, where he's unexpectedly started growing in popularity. Waver has no idea why a Taoist god is taking off there of all places, even if he's popular among the progressive inhabitants only.

Excuse him as he hugs back just as tightly (but not too tight, because E ranked strength is still something.

(thank you about the hair. Summer's making it take a beating. All the extra work he needs to put into it now... arrrgh.)]

Trust me, I need all the help I can get. I'd never turn them down. They helped me get Iskandar's ring in the first place!

[Even if that was initially meant as only a present because he got it when he was shinki.]

And... ah... It does. Call this the official engagement.

[unlucky7]

Now I understand why Natsumi looked so pleased.

[Like a cat in a sunbeam that one, more so than usual. No doubt they'll offer up all their services. At a slight fee of helping out with prayers because staying afloat is the way of Ebisu's temple, but they'd help out of love too.]

Let me say again congratulations and know how very happy I am for the both of you. Where in Hawaii did he propose?

[hypomeneo]

[She's always right and always wins. The big sister Waver never had and never knew he needed until he met her.

But of course, such is the way of things. Iskandar and him are very pleased to help out.]

Mauna Kea Observatories! [Which sounds like an awfully strange place for a proposal, doesn't it?] I knew he was up to something when he showed up at my Temple in a tie [Somewhere there is a dramatic gasp. Oh, it's just those tourists over there looking at something on their phone.] but I thought he was just going to take me to somewhere fancy.

[Iskandar in tie almost never happens, okay? Waver tends to wear the suits between them.]

[unlucky7]

[A romantic spot differs to each person. The significance is something for them and them alone.

From the way Ginia's brow crinkles, she's having a hard time picturing Iskandar wearing a tie. It's not an impossible image; he would certainly look good in a suit. Merely a difficult image to imagine.]

Getting whisked away to Hawaii is pretty fancy if you ask most people.