013 | How To Save A Life

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Investigating suicides
When: Afternoon June 16
Where: The Near Shore (Tokyo)
Summary: Investigation and reporting
Warnings: Talk of suicide/suicide ideation.



There has been a very sudden, very disturbing increase in the number of suicides committed in Tokyo recently. While this sometimes happens for naturally occurring reasons, the Heavens have a suspicion that something is wrong here. So they are enlisting the help of any gods and shinki that are willing to give their time, including newly arrived gods and shinki who will be informed of their situation before being directed anywhere.

It's up to you whether you are interested in helping the Heavens out, they only want those who are willing to lend a hand. Though if your god/shinki forces you along with them, that should be fine too.



Briefing

The briefing of the situation will be happening at the Meeting Hall of the gods, orders coming directly from Suijin herself. After the explanation is given, gods and shinki will be given supplies to help them, including books on how to help people in bad situations, water bottles, and some light snacks to take with them. This could go all night, so make sure you stock up on what you need before you take off.

The Streets

Streets that are usually bustling and loud are somber and awkward now. Many of the people seem to be down in the dumps and those who aren't are so put off by the situation that they are keeping mostly quiet. When approached, the ones who are obviously depressed will talk only of how life isn't worth it and how they wish it was all over. Others will comment on how confusing this all is coming from the people that are depressed. NPC interaction with mods will be available, but you are welcome to control your own NPCs as well.

Ayakashi

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who spend enough time talking to the people in Tokyo will suddenly realize that there are a number of ayakashi attaching themselves to each of the affected people. That's right, multiple ayakashi connected to each person. They will have to be destroyed to free the person from their depressing thoughts, but there sure are a lot of them around. And, to make matters worse, a very aggressive, noisy kind of ayakashi will show up randomly to interfere with everything. They require teamwork to defeat and are hell-bent on attacking gods and shinki rather than humans.

Reporting In

Reports about what you have seen and who you have saved and what you have destroyed can be taken back to the Meeting Hall where Suijin will be waiting to be briefed. Those who bring her information are likely to be rewarded, though they might not realize just what kinds of rewards they are receiving.

In Summary:

• Get informed
• Go do some fieldwork
• Find and defeat some ayakashi
• Save some lives
• Report back in to Suijin
• Have fun~

Comments

[maidhem]

I nope not...

[Felicia replied absently, already sucking on one of the candies she had packed up in her own collection of care packages to give out to any victims she encountered on the Near Shore. Her brows furrowed in concern at everything she had heard-- and the orders to 'investigate' left her feeling very...

Helpless.]

If someone is so sad that they'd rather die than see another sunrise, then I hope we can at least help them find a way to smile a little and rethink things. It's just...

It's just terrible.

[declamando]

[In a way, it's reassuring for Maria to know she's not the only one concerned about how little it seems they can do. With a slight attempt at a smile towards the girl who made the comment, Maria closes up the book that she's having trouble really paying attention anyway to turn her attention more fully to Felicia.]

It is, but if we can do something about it, it'll improve things for a lot of people. I just hope we can make that change before too many of them decide they can't hold out any longer.

[There's a grave, sad note to Maria's voice as she says that, even if she is trying to see the positives of their intervention as well.]

[maidhem]

I know,

[She replied, managing a small, bittersweet smile in the face of those words. So long as they worked together with this, they should be able to find a solution before there were any more casualties to this madness.]

...I hope we can, too. Everyone's life is important, even if they don't realize it right now.

[declamando]

[At least everyone here seems just as worried about the fate of the people falling victim to this. Maria knows well enough that there are people in these Heavens who don't care for the welfare of others, but wherever they are, they don't appear to have volunteered for this work. So much the better, and a smile more like a mark of solidarity makes it onto Maria's face.]

You're exactly right. Making that kind of decision under the influence of something supernatural...it's not right for so many people to have that happen to them.

[maidhem]

[Such solidarity, amongst the two strawberry blond ladies that Hibiki has dubbed 'geniuses'-- unbeknownst to the both of them. Felicia looked up with earnest at those words, glad to have found a like-minded comrade on this mission.]

Yes! And that's exactly why I agreed to this. It's too sad to think about otherwise, and all these people deserve a happier life while they still have one.

[declamando]

[For the moment, Maria just considers it to be the solidarity of two people who've found themselves partly responsible for a delicate situation. Hopefully their shared sentiment goes some way towards helping things come good in the end.]

Hopefully we can save all of them...or at least a good number of them. If we all work together, we should be able to find and stop whatever's causing this before the night is out.

[maidhem]

I hope so,

[Felicia said, gladdened to have found a like-minded individual in this mess.]

It'd be terrible if this continued. It's more than just the people people directly affected who are being hurt by all of this.

[Individuals had families, after all, and families were a small part of a larger society. The city in it's entirety would be affected if they didn't act fast, and Felicia wanted to protect the shine that Tokyo had to the best of her abilities.]

[declamando]

[That's a phenomenon Maria is all too experienced with, and she nods rather gravely in response to the statement. It may even mean more to her to stop this than some others, as much as she doesn't want to make an assumption like that.]

As someone who's lost family before, I can say that it's not limited to just the ones that are lost. That pain spreads...which might even be the intent of this.

[It's not a pleasant thought, but as soon as it hits Maria, she has trouble getting rid of it.]

[maidhem]

[In one possible timeline of a lifetime she doesn't remember, someone close to her ended up doing the same.

...It's a good thing memories of that lifetime are lost; there would be a very different person speaking here.]

...If Ayakashi are involved, I wouldn't really be surprised. They seem to like making everyone feel as terrible as they must feel.

[It was a sad state of affairs truly. Even Felicia wasn't her normal bubbly self in light of everything.]

[declamando]

[Knowing that shinki can become ayakashi just by knowing their pasts puts a strange spin on that comment for Maria, and she mulls on the thought of how ayakashi must feel with a bit of a morose look. Having to put down sad creatures because of their intent to bring others down with them...it's really not an enjoyable thought, but it is necessary.]

I suppose. It might not be ayakashi, but I suppose we'll only see by investigating the situation and finding the source of it all for ourselves.