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

[kokuyoyo]

[People keep being relatively nice to him and, frankly, it never fails to throw him off balance. For a second, all he can do is blink at her, as if taking long to comprehend it.]

Why?

[papas_bunnydoll]

Because we're supposed to help people.

[Some poor soul had to explain all of this god and shinki business to her and broke it down into very small words - help people, kill monsters. Both are things she understands. The killing things comes easier, but she's getting better at the helping people bit.]

Besides, Tot hasn't eaten yet and that way we can share.

[kokuyoyo]

[Really, Chikusa has only gotten the bare basics himself, and is well aware he’s still missing a few things, but the emphasis from his point of view is more on serving his god as a shinki. Other people being helped by this is, as far as he’s concerned, just a side effect.]

[But wanting to split something makes a bit more sense to him, and he gives a more sturdy nod.]

Alright… [He lets himself drift closer.] It looks like you can decide what to put it in it.

[papas_bunnydoll]

[But helping people helps his god! It's how a shinki and god get stronger and are able to beat stronger ayakashi. See how it works.

She has no problem wiggling her way through the crowd and making sure they both get close enough to see all the options.]

Since you're Tot's guest, you can pick what to use.

[Otherwise, she's likely to choose everything.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Taking the lead is the best way to get Chikusa to follow, perfectly content for someone else to grab the reins up until they’re handed over to him again. Carefully, he looks over the whole range of option. It’s…. A bit much… But then, he supposes it’s staying true to its name.]

Then… Shrimp, squid, octopus… and pork.

[He’s not sure why he leans towards seafood, but, well, why not?]

[papas_bunnydoll]

Sounds good.

[Give her a moment, and she'll repeat the list to the person who is cooking things. It doesn't take too long for the okonomiyaki to be done. She takes it and turns to leave before quickly stopping.]

Oops! Almost forgot.

[Reaching into a pocket, she pulls out some money to pay the vendor.]

Now we can eat.

[kokuyoyo]

[At least one of them is trying to remember to be a contributing member of society, or at least one that pays for things instead of running off with stolen food. Chikusa waits for her patiently before straightening up, actually quite tall when he’s not slouching, just to take a look around before nodding his head in one direction.]

There are benches that way… It’ll be easier to eat that while sitting down.

[papas_bunnydoll]

[She only makes the effort since it seems to be what she's supposed to do. Then again, she never had to worry about it before as someone else took care of that for her.

Tot follows him to sit down, setting the food down on the table. It's already cut into pieces so it will be easier to eat.]

Go ahead, you first.

[kokuyoyo]

[He’s getting a lot of politeness directed his way, isn’t he? He’s not going to complain, starting to gather some for himself, but he does glance at her over his glasses.]

You paid for it, so are you sure…