godsoffortune: (city)
The Far Shore Mods ([personal profile] godsoffortune) wrote in [community profile] thenearshore2017-02-16 06:59 pm

013 | How To Save A Life

Who: Everyone!
What: Investigating suicides
When: Afternoon June 16
Where: The Near Shore (Tokyo)
Summary: Investigation and reporting
Warnings: Talk of suicide/suicide ideation.



There has been a very sudden, very disturbing increase in the number of suicides committed in Tokyo recently. While this sometimes happens for naturally occurring reasons, the Heavens have a suspicion that something is wrong here. So they are enlisting the help of any gods and shinki that are willing to give their time, including newly arrived gods and shinki who will be informed of their situation before being directed anywhere.

It's up to you whether you are interested in helping the Heavens out, they only want those who are willing to lend a hand. Though if your god/shinki forces you along with them, that should be fine too.



Briefing

    The briefing of the situation will be happening at the Meeting Hall of the gods, orders coming directly from Suijin herself. After the explanation is given, gods and shinki will be given supplies to help them, including books on how to help people in bad situations, water bottles, and some light snacks to take with them. This could go all night, so make sure you stock up on what you need before you take off.


The Streets

    Streets that are usually bustling and loud are somber and awkward now. Many of the people seem to be down in the dumps and those who aren't are so put off by the situation that they are keeping mostly quiet. When approached, the ones who are obviously depressed will talk only of how life isn't worth it and how they wish it was all over. Others will comment on how confusing this all is coming from the people that are depressed. NPC interaction with mods will be available, but you are welcome to control your own NPCs as well.


Ayakashi

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, those who spend enough time talking to the people in Tokyo will suddenly realize that there are a number of ayakashi attaching themselves to each of the affected people. That's right, multiple ayakashi connected to each person. They will have to be destroyed to free the person from their depressing thoughts, but there sure are a lot of them around. And, to make matters worse, a very aggressive, noisy kind of ayakashi will show up randomly to interfere with everything. They require teamwork to defeat and are hell-bent on attacking gods and shinki rather than humans.


Reporting In

    Reports about what you have seen and who you have saved and what you have destroyed can be taken back to the Meeting Hall where Suijin will be waiting to be briefed. Those who bring her information are likely to be rewarded, though they might not realize just what kinds of rewards they are receiving.




In Summary:
  • Get informed
  • Go do some fieldwork
  • Find and defeat some ayakashi
  • Save some lives
  • Report back in to Suijin
  • Have fun~
reformedsinner: (inner debate)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-23 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
No, I didn't. How terrible.

[He frowns, exuding as much sympathy as he can muster, and leans in for a confidential and curious murmur.]

Where was the alley? Was that in the news?
adventurology: (Hooded)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-23 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, just a couple blocks down, man.

[Lara looms a little interested in this. Extremely so...]

It wasn't much in the news, just the local scuttlebutt. Looked like some kids playing Russian Roulette, from what I heard. Just head down that street...it'll be two alleys down. If you're looking for weird shit, that is.
reformedsinner: (reserving comment)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-23 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you.

[Hakkai half-bows, mimicking human polite manners, and casts Lara a significant glance. If it was a few days ago, and if things haven't been the same since, then those first few suicides might have been the beginning of what's happening now.]

-- Shall we? It's only two alleys down, after all.
adventurology: (Snowfall)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-24 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Lara nods both at the man, and then to Hakkai. She understands exactly what he's getting at.]

Absolutely. You lead, and I'll watch our backside, in case something's taken note of us that isn't a human.
reformedsinner: (fear the smile)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-24 02:48 am (UTC)(link)
Not that there's anything wrong with not being human, of course.

[Hakkai's wearing his limiters, the better to blend in with the humans around them, but that doesn't stop him from casting a teasing glance Lara's way. The humor drains swiftly from his face, though, as he watches their guide's expression slacken back into glumness as the young man turns back towards the street corner.

The sooner they handle all of this, the better.

He starts for the alleyway the man had mentioned at a brisk walk, glancing up at the rooftops and windowsills to hunt for signs of ayakashi as he goes.]
adventurology: (Skulking)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-24 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Lara focuses herself as they walk, almost missing the man's look, and the nearer the get to the alley the more intense her look becomes. Once they reach the mouth of it, she stops and presses herself against a building, edging along to peer into the gloom.

And it's there that she spots something. A girl, maybe in her early twenties? Not much younger than Lara. She's just sitting there, but there's definitely something else there. Moving just outside of sight, a faint humming sound, like bumblebees, audible only to the two of them. And it's...yeah.]


There we go. We've found our monster. Or...part of it? I feel more than one.
reformedsinner: (implacable)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-25 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Hakkai's expression chills further, and he lifts a hand, ready to strike with a borderline as he steps forward. The girl's expression is dull, and he can hear an ayakashi's whispers under the humming sound. It's impossible to make out the exact words.

Nothing good, he supposes. It rarely is.]


Or a strong one, at least.

[The sense of wrongness that he's learned to associate with ayakashi energy is setting his teeth on edge, but without a target visible, he can't strike. He steps closer, and closer still, waiting for the moment when his own presence -- a shinki in his vulnerable normal form -- will lure it out of hiding.]
adventurology: (Shotgun)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-25 07:16 am (UTC)(link)
[Lara reaches into her backpack and removes two things. The first is a longaxe, covered in runes and sigils, and it thrums with power. It's very obvious that this is the Soulless Shinki she'd been assigned to work with at first. The antisocial battlemaniac. That gets hung on a leather thong at her waist.

The second thing is a bit more modern. A shotgun.

Pumping around into the chamber...she slips back out of the way, as the buzzing grows louder. His presence has attracted a handful of the monsters, about the same size as flying cats. And there's a definite sense of malice in them, the girl forgotten as they decide to pursue a lone shinki.]


Hakkai, can you put a Borderline between the girl and us? And then get down. I'll give them a little something to think twice about.
reformedsinner: (inner debate)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-25 08:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Is that shotgun a shinki?

[It's hard to mistake the ax for anything but what it is (although Hakkai admits he's a little startled that she was keeping him in a backpack) but the gun isn't as ornately ornamented at all.]

-- You may want to go straight to using your shinki, if not.

[But he can feel the malice hanging more strongly in the air, and the few ayakashi visible are undulating towards him. He holds out one breath, then two, as they increase the distance between themselves and the girl who had been their prey, and then whips his hand down, casting a borderline behind the approaching monsters.]

Line!

[It's bright and powerful, glowing with the strength of months of obsessive practice at the only weapon that reliably protects him from the hunger of ayakashi, and as it firms, Hakkai dives to the ground and rolls, away from the monsters and below the likely track of Lara's gunfire.]
adventurology: (The Apex Predator)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-25 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
It is not. It's to stun the damn things so I don't have to worry as much about getting hurt as much.

[The fact of the matter was that Ingrid was an odd one, and she didn't seem too interested in wandering around with people. So Lara more or less accepted that and opted to keep her close at hand. That thought stops as she starts moving forward and into view the instant Hakkai's borderline springs up. The gun roars as she fires at the monsters. Two shots, one blast at each segment of the monstrous group, the line and Lara's aim keeping the girl out of the line of fire.

The spread tears into the ayakashi, knocking them back. It can't kill them but the shrieks of pain certainly indicate it hurts. And really, it's the physics of the thing she's counting on.

The creatures are solid, and whizzing bits of metal coming in at high velocity send send them bouncing backwards at top speed. Right into the borderline, jouncing them and giving Lara the time she needs. Dropping the gun, she rushes in with her shinki partner, Rending at any that are within reach.]
reformedsinner: (lost temper)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-25 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's an interesting strategy, and it's working: the borderline deflects the pellets that don't hit the ayakashi, sending them back out to scatter across the ground. As she drops the gun, Hakkai rolls back up to his feet. He can't drop the borderline, or the human girl behind it will be in danger. Instead, he summons a small ball of energy in his palm, half-sized to match the cat-sized ayakashi, and blasts the nearest. It spins backwards in a splash of purplish ectoplasm, helpless and in Lara's range.]

I'll keep them from escaping!
adventurology: (Dangerous)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-26 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
[And bullets ricocheting around only helps put more holes in the little monsters. It's really win-win, especially with Hakkai there to help out. Lara Rends right through the one he's hit and pinned down, destroying it with a satisfying pop.

Another within reach meets a similar fate, and now the creatures are starting to realize that maybe this isn't the greatest place to be. Some start to shake off the effects of the gunshots and start scrabbling to get around Lara, who's rapidly turning the alley into some sort of whack-a-mole game.]



Thanks! But be careful, if any get by me they might come at you.
Edited 2017-02-26 00:48 (UTC)
reformedsinner: (ready to go)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-26 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
Of course. Don't worry.

[The ayakashi are scattering, afraid of Lara and the ax in her hand. Hakkai calls to the young woman they've just separated from her parasites.]

-- Run!

[And he lets the barrier in front of her fall, slashing out instead in a complex series of short-lived borderlines that block the escaping ayakashi one by one.]
adventurology: (Petulant)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-26 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[The girl, already panicked because of the shotgun blasts, wastes no time in fleeing further down the alley. She doesn't scream at least, just obeys, confused and frightened.]

Nice!

[She'll have to make sure Felicia practices those kinds of borderlines sometime, but for now, each time he stops one, she finishes it off. One, two, three. It doesn't take much, not now that they've scattered. Each attack is more and more vicious, a kind of brutality to her motions that might betray some rage beneath the surface, but it's still efficient.

After the whole of the swarm seems to be dealt with, Lara's left there, breathing heavily and looking down at the vanishing corpses.]


I think...that's the last of them.
reformedsinner: (mister manners)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-27 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
Well done, Lara.

[Hakkai straightens up, catching his breath. Timing his borderlines precisely enough to stop -- or even more precisely to injure -- ayakashi is a trick he still finds challenging: perhaps if he spends enough time here he'll become as skilled a master of borderlines as Yukine, or even the older shinki.

What a terrible thought, he reflects, and smiles at Lara.]


And that's one set gone. Shall we see if there are any more in the alley?

[If it's a source of ayakashi somehow, it shouldn't just have one little swarm. On the other hand, if it's a coincidence that some of the early deaths had happened here, that might have been all there were: and it'll be useful to find out which it is.]
adventurology: (Dangerous)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-27 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. We should. And if nothing else, make sure the girl got away alright.

[Carefully she starts cleaning the blood off her weapon, wiping it down with a heavy cloth, not wanting to risk stains or damage to anything related to poor Ingrid. She can imagine just how...troubling...it must be to have your head smashed against monsters, after all. And how gross.]

Though, are you alright? That didn't take too much out of you, did it?

[Because while she's seen him fight, she hasn't seen him using borderlines, so best to check in her mind.]
reformedsinner: (oh myyy)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-02-27 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmm? Oh, no, not at all.

[He brushes his hands off, and glances after the escaped mortal. Yes, they should check on her, too.]

It doesn't require much energy, only concentration. I'll look for more ayakashi if you make sure the girl escaped safely?

[Lara can strike ayakashi down, but with her shinki in vessel form she doesn't have the borderlines Hakkai can summon. He'd be better equipped to confine or protect himself from ayakashi if he finds them after all.]
adventurology: (Sneaking)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-02-28 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Lara nods and starts moving.]

Right. Be careful. Shout very, very loudly if you find anything.

[And she starts off down the alley after collecting her gun. Because that laying around in the street is probably bad. Right?]
reformedsinner: (closer look)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-03-01 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
[And a little illegal... although Hakkai's still not certain how easy it is for mortals to notice anything that's been moved or placed by the gods. Easy enough that her shotgun may wind up stolen, at least.

He starts down the alley in the opposite direction, senses on high alert. He's learned that it's easier to sense ayakashi energy than to see them, in most cases: they come with a chilling, nauseating air that's as clear to Hakkai's senses as youkai energy, or as a spell. And they're startlingly good at hiding from view.

The alley is chilly, but he's not sensing ayakashi. There's something else, though. Something...

... A short screech echoes above him, and he leaps back, one hand coming up to be ready with a borderline as he seeks its source. It doesn't take long to see: there's a dragon above him, easily the size of a car, and balancing on long, spike-patterned wings as it plunges down after him.

It's not a normal ayakashi. It's one of Susano'o's: he's certain of it. And that means he won't be able to fight it on his own.

Hakkai whirls, breaking into a sprint back towards Lara at the other end of the alley.]


There's a little problem!
adventurology: (Shit!)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-03-01 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Lara had nominal success tracking the girl, catching sight of her disappearing around the next corner and accepting that as the end of it. She wasn't caught and no more bugs, so that just left Hakkai.

His pounding footsteps were difficult to miss...just like his warning. Whirling, she looked around wildly until she spotted the creature. Eyes going wide, she ducked down beside a dumpster.]


Shit! Get clear! [Something that big couldn't maneuver well in this alley, she figured, and that meant it was time for a surprise. Reaching into her bag she pulls out another clip and jams it into the shotgun, replacing the standard one.]

How tough is it's belly do you think?
reformedsinner: (ready to go)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-03-01 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[She raises the shotgun, and Hakkai dives sideways, tucking into a neat roll and coming up in a crouch in front of the dumpster Lara's using for shelter. He waves at her to wait, keeping his gaze on the dragon as it swoops down to land a dozen paces from them in the center of the alley.]

Not tougher than a sword. But it has to be hit by multiple blows at once, or it shrugs off the injuries.

[He holds his palms together. Light begins to glitter redly between his fingers, and grows as he gently pulls his hands apart into a sphere of energy the size of a soccer ball.]

I've seen these before.

[It's zeroing in on him, lured by the bright light. Hakkai darts to the left as the dragon's head arrows down towards him, jaws wide.][He hurls the sphere of energy down the creature's throat. Its neck and flank should be bared to Lara's gunfire. With any luck....]
adventurology: (Shotgun)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-03-02 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
Good thing about this then.

[Lara lines up a shot as his energy flies towards the monster and the gun roars. The shell explodes in midair, a flechettes round designed to shred flesh and bone alike. It was a nasty thing, and with the creature's belly exposed it tears through the skin.

The energy does much the same, boiling inside and giving it a very...bad...day...and sending it crashing to the ground in a confused heap. It's not dead by any means, but wow.]


Tough! But not unbeatable.
reformedsinner: (unlimited)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-03-03 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
No, thankfully not.

[Hakkai lifts his hand, ready this time to cast a borderline through the creature's body, and darts a glance at Lara. He'd meant to practice the technique Yukine had used on him earlier -- a borderline where he chose what to cut and what to leave unharmed -- before trying it in combat. But what better time than now?

The ayakashi's body fills most of the alley's width, its crumpled wings trailing up both adjoining buildings. Avoiding damaging anything physical will be a good challenge to start with.]


I'll slash it while you and your shinki rend it -- are you ready?
adventurology: (Preparing to Fight)

[personal profile] adventurology 2017-03-03 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
I am.

[Setting aside the shotgun, Lara hefted her ax two handed, reading herself for a charge. This was going to be a new one for her. Charging down a dragon just like a knight? If only Jonah were here...]

On your mark!
reformedsinner: (upping the score)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2017-03-03 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
And go.

[Hakkai hesitates for just a second after the cue, giving Lara time to rush forward before he sweeps his hand down and aims a borderline to bisect the dragon at the center of its body, wingtip to wingtip.

It is a dramatic attack. Worthy of a hero of old. He's just glad he'd left Jeep at home today. He's killed quite a few dragon-ayakashi, and the little dragon might start taking it personally.]

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