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

[razzledazzles]

[Jae-Ha looks surprised for a moment longer. He remembered that? And he did that on his own? It must be that he's eager himself, or something...]

Really? What lead did you get, exactly? The exact person to investigate, or something else?

[volksdaemon]

[He shakes his head no.]

Not the exact person just yet, but I've narrowed the candidates, anyway. I confirmed part of what I already knew - when it comes to the four at the top, there's no getting through there, but if you follow the chain down... the walls start to get shorter, less difficult to get through.

[So he looks hopeful, at least, that he'll have a better answer soon. His very demeanor is one of a casual conversation, rather than the usual calculations crossing back and forth across his face.]

[razzledazzles]

[Oh, that is good news. Even if it's a little unusual to see Schuldig so hyped about it, too... Maybe he also has personal interest in this issue? Everyone should. Jae-Ha raises a hand to his own bruised face, curling fingers lightly at his chin.]

I'm still very much interested in this, but do you know if you're going to deal with any repercussion? I heard that gods can do no wrong, but there was a god who lost control, wasn't there? I want to be sure that you and my own god would both be left unharmed if anything went wrong.

[volksdaemon]

[Schuldig nods, a bit of that smugness returning.]

Hazel, right? Met him once in a forest.

[But he crosses his arms confidently.]

Gods don't lose control the way Shinki do. Either way, I've been at this sort of thing my whole life, so if you can trust one thing, it's that I enjoy being 'unharmed' at the end of... missions. Enough to get to the next one, and the next after that. I'll be careful.

[Not even gonna tease Jae-Ha for the sentimentality.]

[razzledazzles]

[Jae-Ha blinks at Schuldig knowing Hazel's name and having met him, as if he's not sure what to think about that. (He's nervous, he's definitely nervous.) But the rest... is fine, he supposes. Schuldig's acting a little strange, but not in such a bad way.]

I hope so. Hazel, yes... More than anything else, I don't want to harm him in any way, either, which means keeping myself safe as well. I'm counting on you.

[volksdaemon]

[The closest emotion that Schuldig can feel right now with how Jae-Ha thinks about Hazel is nostalgia. There was a time he might have thought that about the team he was going to be assigned, as if they might be different from the scientists coaching him on how to use his Talent better, a port in the storm of dry academia and detached morality. That feeling was soundly beaten out of him at a tender age.]

Now there's a phrase I don't get to hear anymore, let alone with such genuine feeling behind it.

[Like this, he's willing to volunteer the information.]

So I won't let you down, Jae-Ha.

[razzledazzles]

[At that, he simply smiles.]

Then I'll wait for a call or some sort of update. I need to be going, or Hazel will begin to worry. [He was only supposed to break away for a second. He has to get back and ice his face some more...] Take care.

[volksdaemon]

[He actually chuckles cordially.]

And we wouldn't want that.

[Then Schuldig gives a casual flick of his fingers in a salute and teleports back to his own temple too.]