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

[letteropener]

Have you not noticed? Things are disastrous!

[As calm as she always sounds, there's a growing harried note in her voice that betrays how very much IS going on that she is trying to counteract.]

[cleansingstrike]

'Tis far from ideal, aye, but nothing that cannot be sorted.

[So far, though she does find it unusual to find so much misfortune.]

Would there be aught that I could aid with? I remain ever at the ready, Celestia.

[letteropener]

Take a moment and something will come up, it seems.

[She takes a wild guess that Agrias doesn't know how to sew.]

Can you help keep people where they should be? Some of them seem to be wandering off or confused.

[cleansingstrike]

Aye, but of course.

[A god's work is never done, it seems.]

Would there be anything else I could assist with? You need only to ask.

[letteropener]

I barely know. It seems when I handle one thing, two more dissolve into crisis.

[Celestia pauses in her hurry to take a deep breath, something she needs. More on-edge than she cares to admit, she has to calm down and handle things sensibly and professionally. Princessly.]

I've no doubt more will come up, but two heads are better than one in a situation like this. Any support you have to offer, I'll take gladly.

[cleansingstrike]

But of course, I would be honored in assisting you, Celestia.

[Perhaps she could help with the more... dexterous tasks. Agrias had never dared to mention it out in the open. The fact that she was.

Well.

No sense in pointing out the obvious.]

Ah, yet another torn banner, it seems.

[letteropener]

[Luckily, telekinesis seems to cover for a lot of that -- though Agrias might be surprised to hear that ponykind had built a perfectly functional civilization with hooves and mouths alone.]

Oh, whereabouts? [Even a second set of eyes helps immensely, as Celestia cranes her neck to look for it.]

[cleansingstrike]

[She points towards the item question, being well within walking distance.

Agrias approaches and inspects the banner.]

'Tis a long tear... How could this have come to pass?

[letteropener]

Things like this have been happening all day. [Celestia breathes a sigh, then looks over to the banner.] Can you hold the sides together? That would help.

[cleansingstrike]

Surely. [It would only take her a moment, as she walked on over to the banner. Holding out her arms, she grabbed each end with one hand.]

What else would you have me do?

[letteropener]

Just move them slowly together as I work... [Which she immediately begins, stitching the fabric back together to a seamless whole with a line of light that crawls slowly up it like a zipper.]

[cleansingstrike]

["Simple enough," Agrias thinks to herself, doing as instructions. She watches on as the beam of light does the rest of work.]

An impressive ability! Surely it must have many a use.

[letteropener]

[Celestia smiles, but demurs the praise almost immediately.] Oh, magic is useful, to be sure, but hardly necessary. It offers a way of doing things that is sometimes better than the alternative, is all.

[cleansingstrike]

So long as it is put to good use, 'tis all I would see myself concerned with. Far too often have I seen power used for personal gain.

[letteropener]

Any power can be put to good use or bad, but the good uses are always the strongest. Even something as simple as having a hoof can be used to slap somepony else, or reach out to them in aid.