011 | Black Parade

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Parade of the dead
When: All day May 26
Where: Shinjuku
Summary: The Near Shore needs a little protecting from the dead



The last few days have been filled with festival food, high energy, and lots and lots of parades. Near Shore residents really know how to enjoy their holidays, stopping up traffic for hours on end as floats and palanquins go by and filling the streets and courtyards in the area with food stands and festival treats. Many Far Shore residents may have found themselves drawn to this particular festival, as it is being held in honor of a shrine.

When an unexpected parade starts up, the people gather round to watch the impromptu spectacle. It's a little strange, yes, but nothing too terribly off-putting. That is until the parade reaches the shrine itself, at which point all hell breaks loose as the members of the parade start attacking anything and anyone in their way.

The Heavens will then call upon all the gods and shinki who are available to help, because these attackers are not normal at all - they are, in fact, the undead.



Let the Festivities Continue

The festival is a large, booming one. There are dozens upon dozens of food stalls set up all over the place with so many different kinds of foods that it could make your eyes go buggy, most of them fried in some way. On top of that, there is live entertainment walking around, stalls with souvenirs, and lots of excellent company nearby. Surely you'll be able to enjoy the festival to its fullest.

The Walking Dead

It is not immediately evident that the parade is being manned by corpses, but keen observers would be able to pick out the noticeable rotting elements of the dead. Anyone with a soul-sensing ability might even realize that they're not soulless, just lifeless. When the parade reaches the shrine, every god and shinki will be needed in order to protect the Near Shore from this menace. Corpses must either be exorcised or completely mutilated to the point where they can no longer move in order to release the soul.

Not Rootbeer Floats

On top of the mass of dead bodies being possessed by stray souls, some of the floats on wheels in the parade seem to have been taken over as well. They are moving slowly and with purpose towards anyone that crosses their path. At first, it may seem like the float is just veering a little off course, but it will soon become evident that it's headed towards you. They may be slow, but they're very large as well, meaning there's a lot more than needs to be destroyed to release the soul.

Souls, Souls, and More Souls

As souls are released from the objects they've taken control of, the air will become thick with a hazy fog of souls rushing away, into the air, and out of sight. This may make the continued fighting a little more difficult, but it means that the job is getting done.

Through some innate sixth sense, some of the dead people may seem familiar to certain gods (or shinki with specific memories). They can recognize some of the souls as friends or compatriots from their home world that had died. And these souls will recognize them as well.

Any characters not currently in the game that have actually died in their canon are free to be used for this part of the event and played out as NPCs by you and whatever partner you are playing with. All of these individuals will react in a similar way, though - they will beg to be released because it hurts them so horribly to be here right now and, of course, they can only be released in the same way that all the other souls are being released: exorcism or total destruction.

In Summary:

• Enjoy the festival
• Help save Near Shore residents
• Take down the dead bodies
• Try not to cry
• Cry lots
• Have fun~

Comments

[anecdaughter]

[rude???]

Oh! Yeah. Izabel's supposed to sleep in my soul.

[churchbelle]

[no??? she's like 6]

Oh. [Speaking of, that sounds fake but okay. The irony here is thick.] I've never heard of, uh—sharin' like that.

[anecdaughter]

[his face is like 6]

Yeah. My dad was dying and Izabel knew the way, but she wanted to come with us so she asked Mom if she could share my soul before she would tell her the whole way.

[ghost extortion]

She takes care of me. Or she did... She's gone.

[churchbelle]

[no,

Also, what is she talking about? This still doesn't sound less fake, but he puts on a face like it makes perfect sense to him anyway.

He understands what it's like to be missing someone close, or to lose them entirely, at least—so he's taking this maybe-imaginary friend thing seriously, now.]

Alright, alright, don't dwell. I'll look for her, honest. In the meantime, you've got a whole lot of new things to get used to. Didja find your shinki yet?

[that won't be traumatic at all]

[anecdaughter]

[you're right it's more like a 3]

I have to find them? I thought they would just be mine.

[Don't let kids be gods, folks. But hey, she's properly mollified by other Hazel's promise.]

[churchbelle]

[excuse you]

Well, sure, that's more or less the way... But they're not gonna know you're the one until ya find 'em first. The system's a lil broken.

[anecdaughter]

Oh. That's stupid.

[Ugh, this is significantly less exciting than it had been when that messenger dude had been telling her about it. Maybe she should have paid more attention.]

Why didn't they just send my shinki instead of the other one when they gave me that letter?

[churchbelle]

[This little kid logic... makes the most sense he's heard all day, amazing.]

I reckon it's on account of they don't know what they're doin'. When I first got here, I didn't even have a shinki for a week or two.

[anecdaughter]

[Her eyes widen again, but this time the excitement isn't there.]

But they're supposed to keep me safe! What if that happens to me?

[SHE'S JUST A KID]

[churchbelle]

[Oh—ugh, he really can't afford to start picking up strays, but a 6-year-old wandering around alone in this place? With zombies and ayakashi and generally horrific people??]

If ya can't find 'em anywhere, just come find me, alright? I can look after ya for a while, until your shinki comes along.

[anecdaughter]

[The stares at him a long moment, trying to determine how much she could trust his words (now she worries, okay hazel), but eventually she gives a slow nod.]

Okay.

[You take whatever help you can get in this world, after all. Her eyes slide over to the tennis racket again.]

Is that your shinki?

[churchbelle]

[She can trust him because they're both Hazels, duh. It makes sense.]

This thing? Heavens, no, this thing's just a toy. My shinki's around here somewhere—he'll be the tall one kickin' at things. That way.

[He points to where Jae-Ha is nearby but teetering on out of earshot, the green smudge kicking zombies. Aw, look at him.] Ain't he just a sight to behold?

[anecdaughter]

[Sound logic, tbh. And, uh, wow, that sure is a guy kicking zombies.]

Yes?

[She's definitely beholding a sight of some sort.]

It's okay that you guys aren't fighting together?

[churchbelle]

Against these things, sure. They're not the kinda monsters that require some teamwork.

[Although Hazel and his tennis racket will be needed eventually...] We're workin' together in a manner of speakin'.

[anecdaughter]

[Hazel thinks on this, then nods. It's like when she worked with Izabel -- Izabel would do the talking and tricking, and Hazel would sneak around and complete the objective. She thinks she gets it. If only this whole thing could be as innocuous as that...]

...How come you're using a toy to stick souls in?

[churchbelle]

[Yes, Jae-Ha knocks them down and Hazel rips out their souls. Very good partnership.]

'Cause my other toy broke a while back. [duh]

[anecdaughter]

[OKAY, BUT... HAZEL...]

I'm pretty sure Izabel would tell you that sticking souls in stuff shouldn't be a game with toys.

[Probably not helping the imaginary friend assumption there, but she's trying!! to be more aware of her missing moral compass!!!]

[churchbelle]

[listen here short stuff]

Nobody said it was a game. I'll let Izabel tell me that herself when we find her, alright?

[anecdaughter]

[WHAT ELSE ARE TOYS FOR... She gives Hazel another skeptical look, but then she nods. Yessir, nametwin. Mostly because now she is completely confident in her right to throw a truly magnificent tantrum in the event that she sees him slashing off on the soul search thing.]