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

[concasse]

[Flattery, eh? Much as Sanji would rather just ignore the man (though damn right that was a splendid kick), someone sounds like he's been around long enough to know the pecking order, and Sanji's working with little to no knowledge of his current circumstances.

His own fault for running off without so much as a "thanks for nothing" to his God, but too late for excuses. He sends Jae-Ha a glare, far gentler than the look he's been giving the zombies.]

So what's that make you? You get brought back, too?

[Shinki, he thinks is the term -- and then there's no time for much else thought because easy targets or no, the zombies have numbers on their side. Only Sanji's body remembers battle; not the mind. Being pissed is a substitute for anxiety, and he steels himself for another wave of them coming at both himself and his newest companion]

[razzledazzles]

[He's used to grumpy reactions like that, so it doesn't even phase him. With a smirk, he waits on answering that to kick off with his right leg and go soaring. Really, it does look like he's flying with how high he ends up in the air, flipping and throwing out a few throwing knives before he drops down, kicking off one of the corpses and flipping with a spin kick into another.

In other words, he's very flashy about it, winking back at Sanji once he's finished.]

The shinki who soars through the skies. [He made that name up, don't call him that.] But you can just call me Jae-Ha. There are too many walking corpses to be fighting on our own, I think.

[concasse]

Shithead, relax, there aren't any ladies here to impress.

[Said deadpan while this Jae-Ha dude prances around like a hedgehog with wings - but Sanji is watching, carefully, though any intrigue at the man's impressive skill set is hidden away for the time being.

... Also not gonna admit that title sounds kinda cool.]

Fine; just watch where you throw those knives of yours. [With that he turns, showing Jae-Ha his back and giving him permission to keep it free of the undead if he so pleases; just as long as he doesn't expect Sanji to keep still.]

[razzledazzles]

Now, don't be so cross. With shinki like myself, any item could be a lady, you know.

[You have to be at your coolest at all times...!! Jae-Ha thinks it's a little funny that Sanji is so on edge, though, so he folds his arms behind his back and kicks a little more.] I usually only use my knives from the skies, don't worry. I know exactly where I'm throwing them.

[They can fight back to back. That's a cool way to handle zombies.]

[concasse]

[The other man earns a grunt for his troubles. It's Sanji unwilling first day on the job, right after he'd told his assigned God to fuck off. All in all, not the type of situation that breeds trust.

But if it's between a team-up and zombies chewing on his cape, fuck it - he'll play.

Have fun keeping up, Jae-Ha, not that it'll be a struggle. Sanji hasn't a clue how own power-set works besides if he kicks things, they go away. Usually in pieces. There's a lack of grace and more a sense of experimentation, with the man starting and stopping, pausing to see how far a zombie goes after he roundhouse kicks it in the gut.]

Bastards keep getting up. [Muttering irritably] Oi, help me take out their legs or something!

[razzledazzles]

Right!

[Cheerily, Jae-Ha goes along with that request for help. They can even kick one of the zombies together or something cool, wouldn't that be great? Well, kicking out kneecaps aside, Jae-Ha will speak up again eventually.]

I happen to have someone working with me who will come along and deal with the souls, so as long as we slow or stop their movement, they'll be taken care of.

[concasse]

... Souls?

[Stopping completely in the middle of battle, with a faint sheen of sweat at his temples. The zombies are slow, if a relentless bunch - there's time to ask a question before another wave comes for the duo, and Sanji looks at Jae-Ha with uncertainty.]

You mean they're not-- they're still alive?

[razzledazzles]

[A brief break between rounds one and two. Jae-Ha's posture doesn't change any since he's been standing pretty relaxed this whole time, but that cheery smile of his does fade a bit at the question.]

No. They're certainly dead. ...Dead souls, sort of like ourselves, I suppose. But they seem misplaced.

[concasse]

[Not a comparison that sits well in Sanji's gut, and his mouth thins into an immediate scowl. He doesn't need the reminder that he's dead - or that he died, and somehow was granted a chance at forced servitude.

But that's better than what these guys got, eh? Souls attached to corpses with no will or conscience, just bodies to mow down.]

... Your friend - just how are they gonna deal with the souls?

[razzledazzles]

He has a tool. Their souls are out of place and begging to be freed, so he can pull them out and release them together.

[It seems the cleanest way to do this, really.]

[concasse]

[A grunt; not a happy one, but Sanji doesn't ask another question. It seems he'll accept the answer Jae-Ha has given him.]

What a messy job this is.

[razzledazzles]

It's ugly, isn't it? These souls, lost and in pain, trapped in bodies that may not be theirs.

[Jae-Ha's hands curl to fists at his sides, and he sends another one flying with a kick, watching sadly as it crashes into the wall of a building.] I want to find the person responsible for this and tear them to shreds myself.

Until then, this is what we have to do.

[concasse]

[No, Sanji thinks to himself, he doesn't have to do anything.

That's been his rallying cry for the last 24 hours, a constant reminder to all gods that this is their penance for knocking on his grave and expecting compliance. Fuck them all for bossing around a dead man, and it's been to his great displeasure that most of his fellow shinki don't see what the problem is.

But this -- it's a sick sight, for one, blood plastered up to the knees of his slacks and chunks of human decay underneath the soles of his shoes. They'd been bodies before, a way to loosen his frustration, except Sanji can't hold his grudge up as an excuse to ignore the cries of the innocent. It's turned into a personal offense.

He grumbles a few swear words under his breath]

If you find 'em, break their spine in half for me.

[razzledazzles]

I'll kick them so hard they won't have any bones left in their body.

[He probably could manage to shatter every bone with one kick. And the dark look in his eyes says he's prepared to. Despite all of his mercy and sorrow towards these zombie-things now, facing someone like that... He doesn't have a problem with it at all.

Lightening up from that, though:]

What was your name? I've gone and told you mine, after all. I think we could get along.

[concasse]

Eh? ... Oh, right.

[Well, seeing as this asshole has managed the impossible and left Sanji with a good first impression, Sanji's feeling benevolent.]

It's Sanji.

[razzledazzles]

It was nice to meet you, Sanji. I trust if I leave you here, you'll manage fine on your own?

[He has to get back to his god and check on things there.] Let's find time and share a drink later.

[concasse]

Shithead, I didn't need your help in the first place.

[He makes a vague shooing motion.]

But I'll hold you to that drink.

[razzledazzles]

[Snickering, Jae-Ha offers a wink as he wiggles his fingers. Bye-bye...]

Until next time.

[And then, he jumps... and just soars over some skyscrapers like that. There he go.]