36 - Dragon Dance

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens cover for a missing goddess at her temple festival.
When: March 18
Where: Near the Sensou-ji temple in Asakusa
Summary: After Kannon's disappearance last year, the Heavens are concerned that things might go wrong at her temple's March 18 omikoshi festival. They've asked new gods and shinki to attend the festival and keep an eye out for trouble. Meanwhile, trusted newcomers and older gods and shinki alike are watching over the cultists that have been identified.






The Festival

Shrine-carriers, musicians and dancers congregate early in the morning in their matching outfits to get organized into their parade. Luckily, all of the parade participants this time are alive and well. There aren't even any troublesome ayakashi hanging around... so why is everyone having such bad luck?! Laces are breaking, costumes tearing, small children are getting sick from nerves, and even the drums seem to have gone out of tune. It looks like this parade is going to need a whole lot of help to prevent disaster.

For those who aren't busy with the parade preparations, food and souvenir booths throng the area in front of the temple. There's traveling games, too, and plenty of people showing up early with their families to find a good spot to watch the parade. This is one of Tokyo's most popular temples, so it's quite a crowd!

The Stakeouts

Any gods or shinki who were told about the cult problem by Amaterasu -- or anyone who might have heard from friends and allies about the plans -- can help Amaterasu's shinki keep a tight watch on all of the known cult members. Her shinki are looking for any sign of the young gods who she believes are behind all of this trouble, but are there other clues that might be found by a keen observer? Join in on staking out a cult member, and see what you can see.

Current cult members that the shinki are watching include:

• Mitsui Ryou - lives alone in a medium-sized apartment, appears to work a 9 - 5 schedule with occasional late nights.
• Imai Takeru - lives in a small two-story house by himself, has an unpredictable schedule.
• Shimoda Tsuki - lives alone in a small apartment with a lot of plants, works retail with varying shifts.
• Oota Saburo- lives in a medium-sized apartment with his wife and two young children, works a 9 - 5 schedule with frequent work trips.
• Maeda Shinnosuke - lives alone in a small, messy apartment, works construction (early mornings, long days.)
If your character is taking part in the surveillance of any of these people, please feel free to comment to the Cult Clues thread below with the name of the character they're watching, and the times that they're watching that character, in order to learn what they might see. (Note: surveillance doesn't have to take place only on the 18th. Characters can take part in watching the cult members at any time after Amaterasu's announcement on March 8.)

The Parade

At noon, the parade begins. Misfortune is still dogging the participants and the crowds around them, but it looks as though everything will go all right up until the final turn as the heavy, gilded shrine turns back towards the main temple building, tips, and slowly falls over sideways, straight for the crowd.

What's worse, when the shrine hits the ground, it cracks open -- and a huge, jellyfish-like ayakashi wearing a giant white mask with a single black eye inscribed on it heaves its way out and begins lashing its tentacles in every direction. People stung by the tentacles are driven into a furious frenzy, and fights are breaking out everywhere. Stop the humans from fighting, take care of the injured, and destroy the ayakashi before the situation gets any worse.

The Pursuit

In the middle of the fighting crowd, two white-robed shinki are chasing after a very average-looking salaryman in a tan coat. He doesn't seem to know that the shinki are chasing him, but he is moving fast, and they're in danger of losing track of him. They're calling out to any Far Shore denizen close enough to hear, shinki or god:

"Don't let that guy get away! He knows what happened!"

Anyone who has met or spent time staking out Mitsui Ryou will recognize him as the escaping salaryman. If your character takes part in the pursuit, please comment to the Cult Clues thread with a link to your thread - the character who successfully catches Mitsui will be determined by RNG on January 6, 2019.

In Summary:

• Attend the Sensou-ji festival
• Enjoy food and games
• Help Amaterasu's shinki stake out the cult
• Fight a masked ayakashi
• Have fun~

Comments

festival III

[dredefulchilde]

Fox, definitely.

[Somewhere along the line, Joscelin ended up with a festive hapi coat over his usual old-fashioned clothes. He’s spent most of the festival stuffing his face with (mostly stolen) sugary treats, trying to get as much energy as he can with Hakkai out of commission. He gestures to the fox mask with a custard-filled taiyaki.]

You don’t strike me as a cat. You’re cleverer than that.

[Looks like someone is a dog person.]

[unlucky7]

[Someone is clearly a dog person. Ginia huffs, holding back a comment about the fact she used to be a snow leopard. Sometimes she misses that form, but maybe it's more the freedom of it.

And being able to take amazing naps. If only everyone could have a cat spine.]

Thanks, but this isn't for me.

[dredefulchilde]

For whom, then?

[Joscelin peers at the fox mask. He still likes it better.]

[unlucky7]

A friend.

[A few possibilities, when it comes down to it. She looks at the fox mask and holds it up to Joscelin's face. It's a bit big for him, but there are ones sized for kids too.]

Want one?

[dredefulchilde]

Anyone I know?

[He's going to be a nosy brat about it, as per usual. Nothing Ginia hasn't dealt with before.]

Hm, not really.

[The hapi coat is Joscelin's one concession to the festival atmosphere, and looks a bit out of place with his usual oversized woolen scarf. Still, he's making an effort. He stuffs the last of the custard taiyaki in his mouth. It doesn't seem to be doing much for him, with Hakkai comatose and all. Maybe that's why he felt the need for such warm clothes on a relatively nice spring day.]

Once you're done buying that thing, let's get some more food. You may have the honor of buying me candyfloss.

[unlucky7]

One of my coworkers.

[Ginia knows exactly how nosy he can be and this is the safest answer. She debates a little longer before putting the masks back. There's plenty of time to get one.]

I'm hungry, let's eat. Lead the way.

[She gives his hair a fond ruffle. With plenty of money to spare, she doesn't mind spoiling him some. Unlike him, she's skipped festive attire in favor of her usual attire, the only difference being she's wearing a lighter jacket to fit the season.]

[dredefulchilde]

[He watches her put the mask away curiously. After all that, she's decided not to get it? Ah well, there are more important things to attend to.

He tries to duck his head out of the way of her hand, but he's too late. His hair is ruffled anyway. She's the only one who's earned this right, who he trusts enough to allow to touch him. Still, he wishes she wouldn't do it quite so often.]

What are you in the mood for?

[He's still holding out for his candyfloss at some point today, but there's a yakisoba stand nearby and the smell is very tempting.]

[unlucky7]

[Physical affection is the way of showing she cares, though Ginia's yet to realize it's annoying him. He's a child and not; she remembers that but can't help treating him like a kid brother while she still can.]

You want candyfloss, right? We'll start there.

[But even if they dodn't need food in the same way as a human, one cannot run on sugar alone. Yakisoba smells real good and she knows there's takoyaki around too. Off they go for food.]

Having fun?

[dredefulchilde]

[Don't judge, Ginia. One cannot run on sugar alone, but all those empty calories help boost his stamina while Hakkai is apparently dead to the world. He's worried about his god, mostly because not having Hakkai around means he isn't eating, but also because he will grudgingly admit to liking and respecting Hakkai when prompted. It's a different relationship from his relationship with his previous two gods, but it's not a bad one. Nari had been rather hands off and live and let live. Ayumu had been nurturing, like a surrogate parent. Living with Hakkai is almost like living with a teacher in an extremely bizarre boarding school, but it's fun.

The candyfloss disappears in under five minutes, and Joscelin starts examining the savory offerings. That yakisoba still smells really good.]

Mm, I suppose. The humans certainly seem to be, and the food is quite tolerable. Plus, you look like you're enjoying yourself.

[unlucky7]

[Every god brings something different. Ginia's five gods in five months is a lot, but she appreciates them all for whatever time she's had with them. Nona was a lesson in listening, Caster in how to relax. From Alex, she's learned compassion, from Ebisu, teamwork and diligence. Chris is new, but already it's helping her sense of duty. It has not been easy; the situation is all of her own making. But survive and adapt was what she was made to do.

Ginia orders them each a serving of yakisoba, adding extra picked ginger and sauce to hers. All the standing tables are taken, but a shinki can sit wherever they want with their movement. A low-hanging roof makes the perfect perch to eat at.]

I like festivals. There was one on my first day.

[It makes festivals a little sentimental in that regard. A pity they can't all be as calm as the first one.]

Though I wish my coworkers weren't so busy.

[dredefulchilde]

[Joscelin slurps down his noodles with obvious pleasure. He's getting better at using chopsticks, and hasn't needed to ask for a fork for more than a month now. Life with a Japanese god and then a Chinese one has certainly helped.]

I keep meaning to ask: how long have you actually been here? [He's asking around a mouthful of yakisoba. For one so committed to being tidy, he can have appalling table manners at times.]

At Ebisu's?

[unlucky7]

[No judgment about a lack of manners. Ginia's certainly wolfing her food down, swallowing her current mouthful as she begins to sign. There's still mouth movements for grammar, can't have food falling out.]

Since the volcano.

[So mid-January.]

[dredefulchilde]

No, I meant here, here. How long have you been a shinki? You met me on my first day, but you were around before that, weren't you? Which festival was it?

[He's curious].

At the Doll's Festival, Hakkai said that most don't make it more than a year.

[He doesn't want to lose you, Ginia. Though he'll never admit it out loud.]

[unlucky7]

Sorry, misunderstood. October.

[Coming up with on five months. It feels like it's a sign she'll stick around, yet Hakkai isn't wrong. It's likely a small handful that's been around for a year. There's no guarantee she'll make it next month, as much as she like to.]

I envy the other shinki at Ebisu's. There's no risk of them disappearing.

[But dying...]

[dredefulchilde]

"So only a few weeks before me. I'm surprised; you seem like you've been here longer than that." Or maybe it's just the fact that she is aggressively competent at everything she seems to do that made her seem so much more senior than he at first.

He frowns down at his food. "I don't want to disappear. There's a lot I don't like, but I'd rather be here, angry at Heaven, then...wherever it is that the others go. And! Don't you think about joining them, Ginia. I'll pull you back if I have to."

[unlucky7]

It's a surprising amount of honesty from him, one she doesn't expect to hear. Ginia is a little stunned and looks out at the crowd below them. There are a lot of problems with the system. It's certainly one that favors gods. The treatment of nora is unfair too. That's not even getting into Heaven's views on what is just and right.

But the people make it worthwhile and an easier system to work in, both of the Near and Far. Helping people matters. Fighting ayakashi matters. It's something she can live with.

Ginia gives Joscelin's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"If they try to take me, I'll fight back. I like it here. I want to stay. There are a lot of people I like and I'd miss them."

[dredefulchilde]

Joscelin himself hadn't intended to be this honest, but he's lost too many people. Nari's recent disappearance hit him hard; he still feels guilty about the way his relationship with his first god had gone. So much had gone unsaid, and now he'll never get a chance to say it.

He gives her a pale smile. "I'm not joking, you know. If you disappear without a fight, then I will go in after you and take you back and beat you bloody for leaving me alone."

It's an endearment, coming from him.

[unlucky7]

There have been a lot of departures lately. In light of the dolls, it's even more concerning. Some manage to leave behind letters or presents, a few get mentioned on the network, but so many are just... gone.

Ginia doesn't want to leave, but maybe it's best to prepare some letters. Just in case.

She gives Joss a light nudge with her shoulder. The endearment is felt.

"Not too bloody though. There aren't many healers and I don't want Kimi to have to use his vessel ability on me."