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]

[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.

[dredefulchilde]

Done and done.

[Not that it’s much of a photo. The camera had been at the bottom of a drop and the gravity that had tried to fling Joss bodily out of his seat at the top of the hill also served to push him flat into it. Not even the top of his head is visible—just a tuft of brown hair on top and a little torso mostly hidden under the shoulder harness and Ginia’s protective arm. Ginia herself does not look particularly pleased.

He lights right up when she mentions paracord.]

Let’s do it! I think there’s a coaster in here that goes even faster than that one.

[He consults his map, then pauses.]

Only if you are willing, of course...

[unlucky7]

[Not much a photo, but a photo all the same. Ginia buys a handful of carabiners better served for holding keys or keychains, but they'll do the job. Her backpack is stored at a nearby coin locker. As Joscelin consults the map, she pulls out a coil of paracord.

She leaves over to look at the ride he's looking at and also size him up.]

Let's test things out on a slower coaster first. Let's move over here and I'll get you fitted.

[There's enough paracord and Joscelin is small enough for Ginia to rig up a rudimentary harness. Two clips at the chest and one at each shoulder he can clip onto the safety bar. Any rides where they're dangling or horizontal are out of the question, but it should work well enough.

This is precisely why they're running a test on one of the wood roller coasters first. Hold on, Joscelin, because Ginia won't unless she absolutely has to.]