thenearshore | 011 | Black Parade

Entry tags:

011 | Black Parade

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

In Summary:

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Kairi catches sight of the young man and a few others exiting the Meeting Hall before and after him. That's not where she started her journey, but it does seem rather interesting to have a small group leaving together. So she approaches.]

Hi there. I was curious what was going on in the Meeting Hall today? My name's Kairi - I'm a shinki here.

[Being approached seems to startle him lightly, shoulders rising a little bit as he blinks at her in apparent confusion. Nothing really makes sense right now, and he has to admit that he's simply drifting along after others as if they might lead to answers.]

...Is that where this is...?

[She points to the building.]

That's what this place is, yes, but the whole place -

[She gestures around them.]

Is called the Far Shore.

[She's trying to keep her voice gentle.]

[Keeping her tone soft like that might be for the best. The lack of any edges to it keeps him feeling still adrift without any direction, and thus more open to random conversations with strangers.]

[Although, he guesses, everyone is a stranger when he can’t remember anything.]

...Far compared to where?

[She giggles a bit.]

That's funny - I haven't heard anyone ask that yet!

[But she quiets her voice again.]

The other place is called the Near Shore. It's where the living are.

[Right, the living… because he’s dead. Chikusa glances down at himself again, as if taking it all in once more.]

...Is there somewhere I’m supposed to go? If I’m dead…

[Well. He’s not sure where he should be, but he supposes there must be somewhere.]

...I don’t know if I belong in Heaven or Hell, if those are things…

[Kairi gives him a broad smile, hopeful even, and looks like she's really close to hugging him.]

You belong here, in the Far Shore.

[Ah what the heck, she reaches out to try hugging him. Answering his other question can wait.]

[He’s about to say that doesn’t explain anything when- ]

[wh]

[what is this]

[what’s happening]

[help]

[Chikusa freezes up completely and utterly in Kairi’s grip- not tense but frozen, to the point that if not for his breathing he might be thought of as dead (again). He has no idea what he’s supposed to do about this, but it feels… foreign. More than he can verbalize, and certainly more than he knows how to deal with.]

[She doesn't let him go at first. She gives him a tighter hug, realizing that he's not used to it and she thinks that's sad.

But after a bit longer, she does step back.]

Listen, you're a shinki like me, so let's be friends and support each other.

[This is normal for her.]

[This is absolutely not normal for him.]

[But… He’s lost. More than in the sense that he doesn’t know where he is, too. He doesn’t know who he is, or what he should do, and there’s just… the feeling of something not right. Guidance he wants to look to, but he doesn’t know where that could possibly be, or who it could be from.]

[So even if the immediate offer of friendship has him furrow his brows, uncertain if friendship should come so quickly, well… he’s desperate, in a bone deep way, for anything. So there’s a minuscule nod.]

What are shinki, then?

We're allies to our Gods. We help them answer prayers and requests that they get from their followers.

[And she's proud of that.]

But we're still our own people too. You're allowed to make new friends and try new hobbies and all kinds of things like that. My God lets me wander and explore and go on adventures of my own, it's great! And then I come home to my two shinki friends and my god's partner and his shinki - one big family.

[It may not sound idyllic to everyone, but she loves it.]

[Oh. He stirs uneasily. That… sounds like a lot of people to deal with. That sounds exhausting, in fact. Not the part about answering prayers, or assisting their gods- that sounds doable. Familiar and focused, giving him a purpose when just seconds before he had nothing.]

[But all that choice? It’s just… too much. Too much, too soon.]

Do all shinki live that way, then…? With that many people?

[She can see the hesitation, but doesn't know why, so she just tries to shake her head reassuringly.]

No, definitely not. I think we're the odd ones out, even though I'm happy about it. Most gods only have one shinki, I think? That's what Yukine told me was a bit more common.

[She didn't want to get into 'New Gods' vs. 'Old Gods' and how Lady Bishamon was like their big happy family, but since she was an Old God it wasn't as weird to Yukine, apparently.]

Instead there's just a lot more visiting people that way, I think, and helping teach one another what we find out while on prayers.

[Subtly, his shoulders slump.]

Good… I’m not sure how I feel about that many people in the same space…

[Too much to deal with, especially when everything is so- confusing. To put it lightly.]

How… do I find a god?

Well... I'm not 100% sure since I was assigned mine and we got along so well, but I think after meeting other people who chose their gods...

[She pats one shoulder gently.]

Keep an eye open for a god you like and can work well with. Most gods expect us to help them answer prayers, so if you can't get along with them, then asking to switch is better for both of you. If you can't find one by tonight, I can probably ask my god to let you stay at our temple for the night.

Someone I work with well…

[It sounds easy, when she says it like that. Of course that would make the most effective pair. If your style matches another’s, then it’s only common sense. At the same time… How is he supposed to know? All he has is a name and strange things in his pockets that tell nothing about himself. Not really.]

How were you assigned yours?

Yeah! Like, tonight a bunch of us are going to a festival. If you talk to gods there, about how you might answer prayers or how they like to keep their temple or how many shinki they think they want to have, those kinds of things could help you figure out if you'd work well together.

[Kind of like dating, actually, but she doesn't want to point that out to him and make things more awkward.]

My god found me, actually. His name's Roxas, but his temple is Artemis.

A festival…

[Sounds loud. And busy. And filled with way too many damn people. But if gods and other shinki will be going to it, maybe that’s enough reason for him to deal with it all. There’s a good chance he might learn something decent, after all, and for this… It feels important to know more, just for himself if nothing else.]

...If my god finds me like yours did... I'll ask him, then...

[She nods.]

Alright. Well, good luck - oh wait, did they give you a phone?

[She pulls out her own, holding it up.]

I can give you my number to contact me directly - that way if you don't find your god, you can find our temple to sleep one night and I can help you look in the morning.

Ah....

[Right, they had, when he was still wandering haplessly around, and he'd accepted it from sheer bewilderment, unable to say much more while he was still feeling so lost. He tugs it out from his pocket, holding it out.]

....Alright...

[Before she accepts his, she holds out her own in exchange.]

There you go - plug yours in while I'm entering mine.

[Which she does quickly in his phone, then holds his up for when he's done with her phone.]

Now you're all set with my number. I hope things go well for you with your god, Chikusa.

[Just as obediently as he’d given her his phone, he inputs his number as well before handing it back. It’s almost robotic, honestly, but that’s how he feels in the moment- blank and obedient. Beneath it all, of course, there’s fear, uncertainty, confusion…. But hopefully that will change.]

[Hopefully his god will make that change.]

...We’ll see. Then- I’ll see you another time.

[But even that he doesn’t sound entirely sure about.]

[She holds up a finger to gesture at him when she's got her phone back.]

But if you don't see me-

[Pulling her finger back, she smiles.]

Then you can always call or text. Okay?

Edited 2017-02-04 06:59 (UTC)

Alright.

[That sounds easy enough, and he keeps his phone close for a moment.]

If there’s a problem then…

[He’ll be sure to call. ...Probably.]

[She shakes her head no.]

There doesn't have to be 'a problem,' Chikusa - it could just be to talk.

[Mostly because she doesn't want him assuming what counts as a problem and that it's instead an open invitation.]

(no subject)

kokuyoyo - 2017-02-10 06:11 (UTC) - Expand

That's a wrap for me~

pure_radiantics - 2017-02-11 18:32 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only