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

[chibisu]

Accepting the head pat readily, Ebisu tilts his head back a little to smile at her. "Then I'll be in your guidance," he says, apparently happy enough with that idea being forever. As long as his temple is together and healthy, it's all he could ever ask for.

"I'll do my best for the humans as I can. However, they can do more than even I can, I think."

[unlucky7]

Oh, look at that cute smile. Is this what being a parent is like? Taking care of someone and making sure they go on the right path so when they're old enough, they can be responsible and make decisions? Happy because they're happy and safe? Sad when they aren't? He's better off in the hands of his older and more responsible shinki, but she has to try to do her best while she's here.

"Humans are smart and adaptable. They're capable of great things."

But the traits that can bring them toward greatness are the same ones that can bring them toward disaster. Confidence, pride. Compassion, distrust. Generosity, greed. Humans are the greatest dangers to themselves even without ayakashi.

It's why they're here, aren't they?

"They're still fortunate to have you watching over them."

[chibisu]

This is absolutely what being a parent is like, so Ginia can probably understand so much of the feelings in her temple. Ebisu even seems to glow a little bit with the praise, and he turns his attention back to all the hustle and bustle going on.

"I hope so. It's the only thing a god can hope, isn't it? So, even when it's difficult, I'll keep working for as long as they'll believe in my existence."

[unlucky7]

Will there ever be a day when humans no longer believe in Ebisu's existence? It's hard to believe, but if that day comes, it is because humans can finally stand on their own? Would Ebisu be happy if that day comes?

"May it be a long and happy existence."

[chibisu]

"So all of my shinki say!" Every single one of them, for as long as he can remember with his current incarnation. His fingers curl in against one another as he remembers who else has said such a thing. "And my past incarnation as well."

One of the few things he was allowed to be directly told from his own mouth.

[unlucky7]

Oh.

Ginia knows why his other shinki wish for such a thing. Had she seen him die a slow blight-induced death or seen him executed by Heaven, her feelings would lean in a similarly strong direction. But in his many lives and deaths, did he ever want his next reincarnation to live a life free of ayakashi experiments?

Or did he accept it as an inevitable truth about himself? That he would always eventually continue the experiments because there were aspects of himself that were inescapable? That Ebisu would always love humans?

Lacking a meaningful response, Ginia drapes an arm around his small shoulders and pulls him in for a hug.

[chibisu]

"Oh!" Somehow, the hug comes as a complete surprise, and Ebisu wiggles in her grasp a little to look up at her face. He feels fine, himself. After all, his many past incarnations had always been fine with the cycle of rebirth, hadn't they? So, he, too, should be. It just makes sense.

But... "Are you alright, Jitsumi?"

[unlucky7]

Ginia smiles and nods. Her hold loosens a little, he could pull away if he wanted to. A god like him will come back again and again. Even without memories, some parts of him will never change.

Aren't those memories important too? They still shaped him, they must have mattered. Even if he comes back, he's not the same as the person who lived before him. He is himself, same and different.

So live. Don't die again, don't forget everything, have a happy and long life.

She'll die for him if that's what it takes for it to happen.

[chibisu]

Her feelings aren't so intense as to reach them through their bond, but Ebisu can still tell something is strange as he blinks up at her. Yet if it's not causing a problem and she's not talking about it, he's not sure if he should either. Instead, he reaches for the chocolates again, digging through until he can offer one to her.

They could all use a little of this.