25 - Troubled Waters

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Alleviating the troubles caused by conflict in Heaven
When: October 10
Where: Orihime's meadows in the Far Shore, as well as various places in Japan, China and Ireland
Summary: Orihime has been tasked by the Heavens with resolving the conflict caused in the mortal world by the new gods' struggles against one another. Several gods have been killed recently, and their violent deaths have led to dangerous corruption being released in the mortal world. Help Orihime expunge the corruption and return the human world to a peaceful existence.







Orihime's Meadows

Before traveling to the Far Shore, gods and shinki can meet and make plans near Orihime's modest home at the edge of the Southeastern District. Her dwelling is too small to accommodate even one team of gods and shinki arranging something as serious as this, let alone several. It is obvious she thought about this fact, and has crafted four cloth tents out in the meadows surrounding her home. The sounds of the milky way river are now joined by rustling fabric in the wind, for each tent has a flag mounted atop it and standing in front of it:

• The blue tent belongs to the team for Ksitigarbha. It has a sigil in black on the flag.
  
• The green tent belongs to the team for Li Tieguai. On its flag, a mortar and pestle in white, but the visible part of the pestle resembles a staff crook.
  
• The red tent belongs to the team for Cu Chulainn, with an impressive reproduction of a two-headed dog celtic knot in shining silver.
  
• The brown tent belongs to the team for Loki. Its flag bears a two-headed snake in gold.
All four tents are spread out in cardinal directions. Near each tent, she has a few stacks of wooden prayer tablets related to each of the problems, as well as maps and supplies for those who might need them.

In the center of all four tents is a simple chair and table where Orihime herself is generally sitting, talking to others nearby, or writing notes based on those conversations. She does a lot of listening when people ask her for new supplies she hadn't thought of previously, but has only been supplied with four shinki runners to get those supplies, one per group. Additionally, she cannot teleport down to the Near Shore herself, nor can anyone use her home to teleport down to where each of the troubles are; that is a problem for each group to solve on their own, with Orihime only able to mediate and provide suggestions.

Child's Play

Kshitigarbha, protector of children and of hell beings, is one of the recent casualties. Without his protection, it seems that babies' fears are giving rise to new and awful ayakashi throughout the city of Xi'an. Shadows on the wall above the crib, oversized stuffed animals, monsters hiding in the closet or rattling the windows at night -- all the fears of earliest childhood are taking real, malicious form. Babies are panicking, parents are exhausted, and all this stress is pulling in even more ayakashi! Someone needs to lure out these nursery nightmares and defeat them before the situation gets worse.

As gods and shinki work to rend the ayakashi tormenting children, they may notice a strange shadow passing by in the street outside, or scratching noises at the nursery window. Something more seems to be waiting outside....

Flu Season

With sky-high living costs and limited space, Tokyo has a large homeless population. Li Tieguai, protector of the poor and patron of medicine, was another recent death: now, winter's coming, and without his protection it seems like everyone's getting sick at once. They're suffering from everything ranging from plain old head colds and 'flu to more serious things like pneumonia or infections. Help pass out tea, soup and blankets, make sure they get the right medications, and get the sickest people to the hospital.

Carrion crows crowd close around the sick and croak, watching the gods and shinki helping them.

Wild Hounds

As if honoring the fall of the Hound of Chulainn, stray dogs have begun to form into large, dangerous packs in rural and suburban areas of Ireland, and even well-trained housepets have started breaking their leashes and joining them. They're starting to chase and bite humans, and it's only a matter of time before someone gets killed. Gods need to defeat the ayakashi possessing the "leaders of the pack," and get the pets back to their worried owners.

The groves of trees where the dogs are lairing seem unusually dark and shadowy, and footsteps seem to echo those of the gods and shinki tracking them down.

Prank War

Teenage pranks are turning unusually cruel and dangerous lately: with Loki gone, a few groups of bored kids have coalesced into more serious gangs in Chiba, and they've been seen setting fires, tormenting animals, vandalizing businesses and intimidating or robbing people walking alone at night. Someone needs to stop them from causing trouble, put them on a better path, or turn them in to the police before someone gets badly hurt.

Even as they're working to stop the teenagers' mischief, something seems to whisper to them and encourage them to join in and cause a little trouble. After all, it's just some fun....

Boss Battles

Those who helped to resolve the problems caused by the gods' deaths have one final enemy to face. Four dangerous ayakashi are behind these conflicts. Each character can participate in one boss battle, but it's fine for characters to form multiple different groups (i.e. multiple threads under one boss's comment.) To ensure that the NPC knows when to respond to your characters, please indicate which characters will be in a thread in your first comment.

Kshitigarbha - Child's Play

Li Tieguai - Flu Season

Cu Chulainn - Wild Hounds

Loki - Prank War

In Summary:

• Check in with Orihime and your new teams
• Save scared children
• Help the sick
• Tame stray dogs
• Stop pranks from going too far
• Watch out~

Comments

[nopixiedust]

Well, that's a little less pessimistic.... although I guess it really depends on what happens afterwards.

[revolutionfalcon]

It's not the kind of thing we'll know until we see it happen.

[The circumstances of how they leave here are going to make a great deal of difference to how well or badly things go afterwards.]

[nopixiedust]

Mm, guess so.

Anyway, I'm going to head off, alright? Make sure to take care of yourself!

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun shrugs slightly at that, turning his attention back to the supply tents.]

I've got plenty of things to be taking care of anyway. [Mostly the problems going on, and a very different sense of "taking care of", but oh well.]

[doodlebuginette]

[Sorry for the delay on this. Also, just a heads up, I'm gonna be NPCing Adrien while his mun is on hiatus. <3]

[Marinette smiles down at the little girl and decides to keep an eye out while she's looking around. She couldn't help but wonder how long this was going to take.]

Don't worry! We'll find it soon.

[Adrien decided to hang back a little, falling into step with Zoro. He was still close if Marinette needed him, but not so close to be tripping over the girls.

When Zoro speaks up, he's turning to look around, too.]

Is something wrong?

[wadoichimonji]

Yeah... It feels like it would drag down anyone that stay in it for too long.

[He feels like he's felt this before, somewhere deep in his mind.]

I think I have too. You're a warrior queen then?

[wadoichimonji]

((OOC: I'm on hiatus too lmao so sorry if this takes long.))

[Zoro looks at the little girl, whispering to Adrien, so that the little one couldn't hear.]

It feels like we're being watched.

[letteropener]

I have had an occasional battle, though I would not describe myself as a warrior by any means. I have met true warriors, and I know I do not compare to them.

[doodlebuginette]

[Hah, no worries. You're fine! And I thiink Adrien-mun is coming off hiatus on the 14th, so there's that?]

[Marinette was more than happy to go ahead with their young guest while Adrien hung back.

He hadn't really noticed anything quite like that before, but he's looking around now, trying to figure out what might be watching them.]

It's-... yea? I haven't noticed anything though.

[In the meantime, the girls are still playing 'Let's see who can find the house first~', though they don't seem to be having much luck with it.]

[wadoichimonji]

[Zoro frowns, not able to see where the thing watching them is, but the hairs at the back of his neck stand up, and he knows they're being watched.]

Don't let her turn this way.

[He whispers those words to Marinette, drawing one of his two swords, walking with it in hand.]

[wadoichimonji]

[Zoro laughs, and shakes his head.]

You're pretty badass anyway, even if you're not a warrior by name.

[purr_ince]

[A worried frown tugs at Adrien's lips and he tills glancing back behind them. He's shooting a look to his goddess before motioning them on a head. He's worrying at the inside of his lip holding tightly to the staff that had become his weapon of choice.

He felt a chill slide down his spine and shuddered.]

Right that's ... something.

[birdstheword]

Hajime + Kairi with 10+ comments on a thread.

[godsoffortune]

Congratulations!

Hajime has earned 100 followers.
Kairi has earned 10 exp.

Belated Event Rewards

[pure_radiantics]

Kairi + Davesprite + Hajime for the investigation thread, heading into boss battle.

[godsoffortune]

Congratulations!

Kairi has earned 10 exp.
Hajime has earned 100 followers.
Davesprite has earned 10 exp.

Hajime + Davesprite + Kairi

[birdstheword]

[It doesn't take them long at all to come across the 'mother' of the ayakashi. Haijime comes to a stop a good distance away from the creature. She knows both her shinki have been asking for her to call them but she wanted to get just a little closer to the source. She likes having her shinki out and with her. While they're always a team regardless of what form they're in, it just feels right to hold off until she really needs to use them as their vessel forms. It might be good to have them in vessel form but she knows both Davesprite and Kairi are strong on their own as well. With many smaller targets and it just felt right to have them out and able to use their borderlines rather than being the one wielding them.

But now that they're here at what she would guess is the source, the time is now! And fast!

She smiles to them both despite the large ayakashi just ahead of them.]

Sorry, sorry! Better late than never though, right? We are a team and always will be so---soooooooo You both ready? Davesprite, Kairi? Let's do our best!

[She does like to make sure they're ready before calling their vessel names. She waits for an answer be it verbal or a quick nod before holding out her hands and winking to them.]

Yuiki! Souki!

[birdstheword]

Moving along Heeeereeeeeee

Re: Hajime + Davesprite + Kairi

[pure_radiantics]

[OOC: previous thread ]

Finally! Don't scare us like that, Hajime!

[ She was so relieved that Hajime wasn't going to just summon her armor and try to rebuff the thing out on her own. It was how Kairi and Hajime had worked a couple of times, before Kairi was her shinki, to just push the ayakashi back or drive it off somehow so that they could help with Hajime's prayers. Now they don't have to do that!

So Kairi skids to a halt a few feet back from Hajime when her name gets called, dispersing into that white light as shinki do. When the moment passes, she'll be in her long polearm weapon form at Hajime's side, ready to be grasped before the weapon falls over. The pincers make a noise as they shut, completing Kairi's transformation. ]

[redotiertwo]

[It's been a pretty long time since Davesprite was called into vessel form, so he's still not that used to the feeling. Still, he vanishes into that white light just the same, reforming into a pair of turntables resting atop floating red gears.

In this form, with full-circle vision, it's hard to miss what Kairi just turned into, and Davesprite kind of wishes he still had eyes in this form to give a sidelong, pointed look into the camera with.]

No offense meant to anyone's vessel forms, but I can tell you right now that timetables don't work one-handed. [He actually remembers what this form is now, having regained a memory containing it, so he has at least the general gist of how it's supposed to work.]

[creeping_spirit]

[ooc: Note -- the ayakashi has already been defeated by other teams; this team will be able to get a few tags worth of battle before they witness its defeat or it escapes.]


S̭̗̃ͩ̑́̍ͥͫ͘m͋͂͋̎͑ë͎̩̖̲́̌ͨ͢ͅl̝̿̉ͧ̃ͯ̓͒ͅl̮̺̯͇ͬ̈ͮ͛͌̋s͇̲̓ͮͨͩͩ̈ ̸̜̥̺̤͆̈́̉ͬ̉̉ń̲̬͚i̲̼͙̠̼͉̽͂͂i̗̯͎̳̺̳ͤ̽͆ĩ̈̇̒̀ͥͣ͏͓c̮e̙̫͍̹̼̻̦ͦ̍̄̕.̷̖̬̩͓.ͥ̏͗ͤ.̛̤͐̏.̶̙͍̙̣͇̎̒̽̒̄̀͊ͅ
ͭ̈́̈ͨ̃̚͜

[The sound is a shuddering whisper as the creature turns towards them, long legs unfolding as it pulls the heavy central body closer. It raises a dozen hands, big and small, long-fingered or petite, and red-gold eyes blink at them from each palm.]

[birdstheword]

Uwahhhh~! You both look so cool!

[Hajime reaches out, grabbing the pole arm with her right hand. With her left she lets her fingers brush against one of the floating turntables. She strokes moves the disc as if testing it thoughtfully. As she considers their options. They need to do this as team. But if she needs two hands to use him then he raises a good point...]

Don't worry Davesprite, we'll make this work! If I gotta use both my hands for you and hold Kairi between my legs then I will! But lets give this a whirl first!

[Luckily the turntables float otherwise she might offer to do the same to him. If she can't use him with one hand then maybe---

In that next moment a second Hajime appears to the side of them, a second set of turntables floating around her. She gives the group a two finger salute.]

Gatcha! I'm here to lend a hand. You use Kairi and I got Davesprite and we'll beat this thing!

[There's another of her, Hajime's eyes go wide---thats so cool! Davesprite's powers are a little complicated but it's still so cool to see it in action! When they get close enough to eachother, the two goddesses bounce up and high-five each other giddily. Hajime (Prime) grips the pole arm letting Davesprite float there for now.]

Alright! Let's go!!

[The two Hajimes charge in each with one vessel in their hands. If the issue was each weapon needed two hands to use then she just needed an extra set of hands! The Hajime with Kairi's vessel jumps and strikes at the various hands and limbs of the ayakashi while the other Hajime with turn tables tries to strike at the bulk of ayakashi]

[pure_radiantics]

[ When the second Hajime shows up with Davesprite's turntables in tow, Kairi is absolutely stunned. How did that even...

But when Hajime #2 explains that she's there to lend a hand, it clicks in Kairi's mind. Davesprite's power is time magic, Hajime had told her that once long ago, possibly even before she became Hajime's shinki. So somehow she made a copy of herself? It's powerful, for sure.

And for Kairi, she's able to focus on one thing - together they're a team. She has one surge of energy that crashes like a wave up to give Kairi confidence and Hajime Prime a boost, but then a second surge helps all three - er, four - of the combatants. It's Kairi's vessel power, literally the power of friendship, and more friends = more power. At least now Hajime prime can use Kairi's Pincer Yari with more force since she has both hands available. Kairi can even activate the pincer if they have the chance. ]

I'm with you!

[ Kairi says it within her vessel form, unsure if Davesprite Beta can hear her, but glad that her vessel power gives everyone involved a boost regardless. ]

Remember I can Rend with a grab through the pincers too!

[redotiertwo]

[Thank however many gods that Hajime has the kind of weird thought process that seems to be required to make powers from Davesprite's world function ideally. On the other hand, Davesprite doesn't really have much to do while he's in this form except listen in on the conversation. He can still hear Kairi like this, it seems.]

Been a while since I dealt with this fuckery. [Davesprite is happy to leave the Rending to Kairi since she has a more suitable form for it, he's just lamenting the return to dicking around with time when he still has that feeling it's better left alone.] You can loop back more than once if you want to weaken it easily, just make sure nobody dies like a chump or you'll fuck up the timeline, probably.

[He doesn't actually know that his vessel form restricts looping into a situation that would cause their death, but hey, it's a legitimate warning when you're dealing with Freaky Time Shit^TM.]

[creeping_spirit]

[The ayakashi roars, hands slapping and punching out at the Hajime holding Kairi's vessel form. The remaining hands, the ones unoccupied by trying to swat away the tiny, annoying goddess, bunch up defensively between the other Hajime and its soft, bulbous body. It's clearly protective of that abdomen, and for reasons that are just as clear: there's no armor, and it looks as though a few good kicks could leave the ayakashi as squashed as a very, very big spider.

It's not about to let anyone through so easily, though. With another atonal roar, it grabs out at both Hajimes simultaneously, its fingers curved into bony arcs that won't be easy to escape once they get a solid grip.]