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]

[His head immediately turns to locate her position immediately, and he slips through the crowd to speak with her easier. No comment on the teleporting; he supposes it’s simply one of those things he’ll have to get used to.]

...I was trying to understand why you did that.

[A belated explanation, as if she didn’t pull that little trick just now.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

Do what? Teleport? I couldn't keep standing there, could I?

[Is she playing dumb? Or does she truly not follow his train of thought? Who knows. Ayumu takes another bite.]

[kokuyoyo]

[This is not a pout.]

[It is merely the most unimpressed stare in the whole universe.]

...Not that.

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Ayumu just returns it, unfazed. After spending so much time with the Shinsengumi, one teenage boy looking completely unimpressed with her doesn't bother her much.]

Then what?

[Whether she knows what he's getting at or not, she's making him say it.]

[kokuyoyo]

Why did you let me take it first?

[A barely noticeable nod of his head down wards the stick he's still holding in his hand.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

Oh, that. Well, you were hungry, weren't you? And I didn't mind waiting a bit longer... So why not let you take it?

[He does look awfully skinny and like he could use a little fattening up.]

So what do you think of it?

[She gestures to his skewer with her own.]

Do you like it?

[kokuyoyo]

...Just that?

[Do people really just go along with that kind of thing? Well... Maybe he could see it. He knows he might just pull back out of no desire to start a squable with someone, especially when there's so many other opportunities.]

[Her other questions make him blink, and he glances back down to his food.][Something he's noticed, but simply chalked it up to be deceased.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Hmm. Well, that wasn't supposed to be a stumper. Ayumu simply takes note of his reaction.]

I didn't mind letting you have it. No offense but you looked like you could use it more than me.

[Rationally, she knows that the residents of the Far Shore don't have to eat but after living as a cook for so long, it's hard to break her habit of feeding people.]

Is something wrong with your skewer?

[kokuyoyo]

[A shake of his head, but then he looks down on himself. This isn't the first time someone has pointedly looked at his skinny ass frame, although she's the first one to point it out.]

...It's that bad?

[He sort of knows it is, but he hadn't expected other people to pick up on it for some reason.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Leave it to Ayumu to go where others fear to tread.]

Well... You don't look like you're starving but a few big meals probably wouldn't hurt you much.

[At least, she's trying to be tactful.]

[kokuyoyo]

Can someone who's dead gain weight?

[It's a genuine question. He wouldn't have said the dead could eat to begin with, but, well, here they are.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

I don't know. Someone told me we don't need to eat but who knows for sure? Almost all of us are figuring this out as we go.

[Ayumu shrugs and takes another bite of her skewer, chewing thoughtfully. After a moment, she swallows and speaks.]

What's your name? God or shinki?

[kokuyoyo]

[Well, that's troublesome... But, if his lack of memory is something normal, maybe that's to be expected? Perhaps it's something he should ask... Finally remembering to nibble at his own skewer, he glances up at her again.]

...Kakimoto Chikusa. [He does not sound remotely Japanese enough to have that kind of name, Italian accent still present around it.] Shinki to Hestia.

[kagenonadeshiko]

Hestia?

[Well, that's a name she doesn't recognize. That's not too surprising though with how many people come and go in this place. Ayumu doesn't pay nearly as much attention to some of the newcomers as she probably should. At least, lately she hasn't been.]

I don't believe I've met Hestia yet.

[She does take note of his foreign accent, though she doesn't recognize it as anything but Western. It's her job to pay attention to such details.]

Well, it's nice to meet you, Kakimoto-kun. I'm Yumi. I fill in for Vesta around here.

[kokuyoyo]

Someone said that before as well...

[The not meeting Hestia part, anyway. It's making him wonder just how old his god is. Is Axel still relatively young as well? He supposes that would make sense, if Chikusa is his first shinki...]

[But then, would Hakkai have recognized Axel's name if he was new? Hm.]

[He tugs off another piece of meat off of his skewer, considering the information she gives him.]

That's... the Roman counterpart, isn't it? To Hestia.

[He's not entirely sure, but that feels correct.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

Is she? I'm afraid I don't know much about Western gods. But at least, I know she's a goddess of the hearth and fire.

[And after flubbing the pronunciation many, many times, Ayumu's finally learned how to pronounce the name correctly.]

Hmm... I wonder if Hestia's new. New arrivals come fairly regularly.

[Far too many for Ayumu to personally keep track of them all more often than not.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Even as she says it, he's already shaking his head slowly.]

I was told I'm his first... Axel-sama said he couldn't do anything before me.

[kagenonadeshiko]

[To her credit, Ayumu's composure remains mostly intact. With very deliberate care, she bites delicately into her skewer, her mind racing. Of course, it could be a completely different Axel. It's just one of many weird Western names to her ears and she has no idea of how common of a name it is. Not that it really matters with how many different worlds and eras the residents of the Far Shore. Really, what are the odds that the same Axel she knew just happened to be the replacement for a counterpart to the one she replaced? Pretty slim.

The -sama bugs her a little but she says nothing about it. The Axel she'd known had never been big on formalities like that. After a moment, once she's sure she can keep her voice casual and even, she speaks again.]

Your god's name is Axel? Did he say how long he's been around?

[From what she'd heard from Toshi, he hadn't come back. Just her.]

[kokuyoyo]

[It's good acting. Combined with Chikusa not being the most socially adept, particularly with strangers, and he doesn't notice much off at all, preoccupied with picking off the pieces of his skewer.]

No... Not yet.

[A minuscule shrug.]

There's been more important things.

[Such as living in a very nice house, or learning about shrines, or having low grade panic attacks over his ability to be used. You know.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

I imagine so. Is this your first day?

[Is it that time again? Before Ayumu hadn't remembered the things she does now and she's been pretty preoccupied herself since yesterday. And well, sympathy for new shinki is familiar, too. She's always had a tendency to look out for them a little whether they were hers or someone else's.

It's also a convenient distraction from her own troubles.]

[kokuyoyo]

[A pause before he nods. His own ignorance will out him one way or another, he's found, so lying is impossible even if he felt it were necessary.]

[kagenonadeshiko]

[Ayumu's expression softens.]

The first day can be kind of rough around here sometimes. You haven't run into any trouble, have you?

[So far no one's died today that she knows of but it's still early. When one's been around this place as long as Ayumu has, it's hard not to notice patterns.]

[kokuyoyo]

[With that, he has to pause. What kind of trouble usually happens with things like this? He can't say he's sure, although...]

There's been troublesome things...

[A small sigh, tinged with exasperation.]

I still don't know how to serve Axel-sama.... And someone was annoying about me getting food not long ago...

[kagenonadeshiko]

Has he said anything to you?

[The other part's not too surprising. She'd balked a little when Axel first suggested they steal food, too.]

Do you know what a shinki is, Kakimoto-kun? What they're supposed to do?

[Maybe it's not really her place to educate him on his duties but... well, his god can correct her on whatever he feels needs correcting. If it is the same Axel, it wouldn't be the first time.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Carefully, he nudges his glasses back with the heel of his palm.]

Axel-sama said I'm his partner and weapon, to destroy ayakashi. He mentioned prayers as well.... and missions from the heavens.

[There's a pause, and he shifts in place as if movement will help him voice something that's been bothering him.]

He said... since it was my first day, he didn't want to demonstrate what that means, exactly.