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

[giftedistheterm]

Simon caught on quickly as Schuldig demonstrated for him. Teleporting was how he'd arrived at the parade grounds to begin with as things had started going wrong, though he hadn't been in control of it that first time. Heaven had sent him. Easy to forget, then, that it was something he could also do now. Still, Simon felt a bit sheepish at not remembering on his own. Even as far off from his comfort zone as he was, Simon didn't want to fall short of expectations. The doctor did his best to keep that frustration with himself off his face, though he didn't know he was dealing with another mind reader at the moment, probably making his efforts pointless.

Simon listened politely, turning quickly to follow Schuldig as he popped up behind him and...smirking ever so faintly. It seemed to him that 'Skylar' as he knew him was showing off a bit.

"I understand," Simon answered, stance relaxing again. Was the posing necessary? Simon sort of hoped not, but he did shift his weight and plant his feet before giving it a try all the same. "Here's hoping I don't end up in a wall..."

As before Simon focused on the voice he'd heard, picking up the 'pull' he'd felt before a little more quickly. Instead of letting go after that first brief tug Simon kept hold, closing his eyes and brow furrowing, arms held awkwardly at his sides. Was it supposed to take this long? Schuldig had pulled it off in an instant...Simon's brow twitched, his doubts getting in the way of his concentration, and gave it another try with a soft breath. This time the pull felt stronger, spreading from that first little tug at the back of his mind down his back until it wasn't just a pull any more. Simon saw the flash of light behind his eyelids and a rush of air as he moved--it was hard to say which direction he'd gone, but when he opened his eyes again he'd definitely gone quite a distance.

He was still outside, still at night, standing on a much cleaner sidewalk in a city's downtown area. Just in front of him and a bit to the right was a bench at a bus stop, a woman in a long coat sitting quietly with her head slightly bowed. Simon's mouth twisted slightly and took a step but paused, thinking it best if he waited for Schuldig to join him.

[volksdaemon]

Schuldig had to laugh just a bit at Simon thinking the posing was necessary. He just talked with his hands, that was all. Oh well. He'd clarify that in a minute. For now, he didn't want to interrupt Simon as he focused on where this person actually was. Not three seconds later, Schuldig teleported near Simon. "Good job, you found her." And in this state he was glad this new god was able to catch on quick enough. "Real quick-" He tapped Simon on the shoulder again. "No need to stand like I did in order to teleport. Just focus on where you're going and you won't end up in a wall or anything like that."

But back to the matter of this woman. Schuldig shoved his hands in his pockets and inclined his head towards her. "So, what's the deal... something about bills and her mother in the hospital, was that it?" He had the tone as if he was recalling what he'd also heard - and that much was true, even if he'd heard it in Simon's head. "Tough stuff. No wonder she took a few minutes to come out here and sit by herself. Probably been surrounded by family members and all that pressure for awhile now if it's the... fourth time? Lately, anyway."

He then turned back to Simon after musing his way through all that. "Do you have a plan to get her attention? You know they ignore us normally, right? All of us Far Shore folks."

[giftedistheterm]

"Stand normally, understood..." Simon turned slightly red at the gentle correction, but thankfully Schuldig wasn't actually making fun of him. That made it easy to let the mild embarrassment go and focus on the task, the 'prayer' at hand. The woman hadn't noticed their conversation, which was odd. Schuldig wasn't being terribly quiet. But quickly enough he explained why that was.

"The people I helped at the parade didn't seem to be," Simon answered, lips thinning at this new development. "But then, each one hadn't been more than a little desperate for help when I found them."

Or maybe it was all those dead souls doing...something. Simon wasn't an expert on magic or the divine or anything of the sort, so he supposed it didn't matter. What he did know however, was hospitals. The doctor turned god shifted his focus back on the woman. She was worried about the bills...

"Most hospitals offer financial aid of some sort," Simon answered. "At the very least there could be a payment plan she could get on. The trouble is they're not always very good at offering it right away. If we could get the paperwork for her..."

Simon looked around them as he trailed off, checking the buildings and sure enough, across the street was a large hospital.

"...maybe we don't even need to get her attention." It was a sound plan to Simon, but then, he was the new guy at this. He looked over his shoulder to Schuldig, looking for approval or any suggestions the more experienced god might have.

[volksdaemon]

Schuldig was genuinely impressed. "There's some smart thinking." He even chuckled again. "There's ways we can get them to notice us, but they'll always forget us eventually. Something like this though..." He whistles low. "Since we'd only need to get her the paperwork and not even suggest what it's for - it'll be there on the paperwork - then it'll stick better." Of that much he could be very certain.

So he started off by reaching out telepathically to the people in the hospital, figuring out which floor and room contained such paperwork for the financial aid. Naturally, they had a specific drawer set aside for such things in a mid-level manager's office. He didn't plan on telling Simon that, but he did give the young doctor a knowing smile. "Alright - told you I'm a people person, right? Leave this part to me."

He teleported himself alone into the corridor outside of the manager's office and suggested to the guy it was time to take a coffee break. Of course, the manager took it, and added that he would stop at the bathroom first. Schuldig wasn't about to complain. After that, he slipped easily into the manager's office with none of the attendants outside noticing him thanks to normal Far Shore being dismissiveness. Schuldig located the stapled blank copy of the paperwork easily, snatched a pen off the man's desk, and teleported out just as easily.

'Skylar' handed the paperwork over to Simon not three minutes later. "There, look it over for me to make sure it's the right papers."

[giftedistheterm]

So it was a good plan. Simon allowed himself to look ever so slightly pleased at that, though he would do his best not to let it get to his head.

"I used to work at hospital," Simon offered to explain where the idea had come from. "This is just a lucky fit for my first prayer, that's all."

A hospital five hundred years into the future, on another planet...but some things were still very much the same. At least he wasn't using his inside knowledge to plan a robbing one this time. Helping a lone woman find ways to pay her bills was much more in line with Simon's usual moral compass. He was ready to offer 'Skylar' suggestions where to look for the papers when the other god was telling him not to worry...and then teleporting away before Simon could say anything more.

Well, Schuldig had done nothing to give Simon reason to doubt him now, so he decided to make himself productive while waiting. He approached the woman who seemed to be trying to pull herself back together to head back inside. Hopefully Schuldig wouldn't take too long... There were long pockets in her coat, perhaps Simon could slip the papers in there when he returned with them? Would she notice that?

Just as Simon was starting to ponder, 'Skylar' returned. Simon left the woman's side and took quick strides back to check.

"These look right," Simon said thoughtfully, taking the papers and looking them over. "...yes, these are perfect. There's even provisions here for long term care, this is exactly what she needs."

'She' in question was getting up from the bench, tugging her coat straight and preparing to head back inside. They'd have to be quick.

"Ah--miss? Miss!" Simon called, folding the papers around the pen and hurrying after her, hoping to get her attention. "You dropped these...!"

[volksdaemon]

That certainly boosted his satisfaction with working so quickly to implement Simon's suggestion. He knew that he didn't do this sort of thing before today, but had a kind of dissonance to it thanks to Rin's power working over him. He could just kind of feel like... it didn't occur to him before that he could use his telepathy to figure out what prayers other gods needed answered and help them get it done, at least the ones that didn't need to kill ayakashi for.

Now, as far as he's concerned, the most important thing he can do is proceed to another god who had only just arrived in The Far Shore. He teleported to the other side of the woman so that he could give Simon a little wave. "Congrats. I'll leave her in your capable hands." After all, Simon knows how to teleport now, so he can figure out how to get home. "Seeya round."

With that he teleports away, back to his temple in the Far Shore.