thenearshore | 002 | Tokyo In Trouble

002 | Tokyo In Trouble

Who: Everyone!
What: Surprise! There's a disaster on the Near Shore.
When: Late at night (February 24, 2016) into mid-afternoon (February 25, 2016)
Where: The Meeting Hall of the Heavens AND various places around Tokyo
Summary: A nice little greeting for the new guests and an unpleasant surprise for the older ones~

A sudden, loud blast of noise persists throughout the entirety of the Heavens. It sounds much like a war horn of ancient times being played at a decibel that is meant to shake the very core of every being within its range. No matter how much you might try to block out the noise, it remains ringing in your ears deafeningly, and somehow you find yourself compelled towards the Meeting Hall - the place where you were first introduced to the Heavens and what you have gotten wrapped up in.

Anyone checking their phones will notice a large, bright red alert flashing at them - 'EMERGENCY! REPORT IMMEDIATELY!' It seems that the Heavens have taken to using modern technology for their messages as well.

Once you have reached the Meeting Hall, you will find that every wall has turned into a sort of television screen, displaying various streets and buildings in Tokyo, everyone one literally crawling with ayakashi both big and small. A voice that you recognize as Amaterasu's - though you would never be able to describe it properly - rings throughout the halls.

"We need your help, brave gods, loyal shinki. A rift the likes of which we have never dealt with has opened on the Near Shore. We must end the ayakashi who are harming our dear followers. Please come to our aid in this time of need."

Meeting Hall

The once garishly decorated Meeting Hall looks very much like the base of operations for an army at war. There are gods gearing up with shinki and man-made gear as well and plenty of gods and shinki saying prayers before they head out to battle. Everything you might need to make yourself feel safe during a fight has been provided, including every type of weaponry. But, of course, only shinki wielded by a god can actually destroy an ayakashi.

Counselling

In the main hallway, there is an innocuous door with a small, nicely written sign that reads "Gentle Counselling". Inside the door is a small room with a few sweetly smiling shinki inside who are willing to listen to your problems and answer any questions you might have. They are also here to help out any gods that are having a hard time dealing with knowing about how their shinki died and any shinki that is having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they are dead.

February 24

The rift that has opened is so vast that there is literally nowhere in Tokyo that you can go without encountering a rampaging group of ayakashi. Everything is utter chaos and there are creatures everywhere for you to fight. Let's just hope that you can get out of this dangerous battlefront mostly unscathed.

February 25

Towards the middle of the day, it will seem that the ayakashi are becoming fewer and further between. Things seem to be calming down a lot, though they are nowhere near normal yet, especially since the rift is taking longer to close than the Heavens would like. Fortunately, no new ayakashi have escaped into the Near Shore from the rift since this morning, due to a barrier that has been placed around it. Still, the ayakashi seem to be really hell-bent on getting away from you all now rather than fighting...

In Summary:

There are a ton of ayakashi on the Near Shore that need to be destroyed.
The newbies are getting one hell of a welcome as a result.
Seek counselling if you need it!
Go kick some evil ass.
Comment to the first thread to get a randomly generated number of ayakashi to face.
Mods will gladly play out any ayakashi interactions where requested.
Try not to get killed~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey, why get rid of something that works?

[Here's another unfamiliar guy. Tsuzuki's guessing god, both from the fact that he recognized the magic immediately and from the quiet young man following him around like an old-fashioned retainer. Now that guy looks old school.]

I haven't seen you around before! Are you new?

[ The shinki was due a wardrobe upgrade. Sho would get him into some less absurd looking threads later on after a trip to Shibuya. That'd be later, after he stretched his legs and got a feel for his situation. For now, he shrugs in easy acquiescence to the point made. A known solution space had its benefits. ]

I'm the real deal, unlike some of the zeroes around here. [ His grin is positively feral. ] This is just a slight deviation from my original vector.

[ He's not being deceptive here, either. He'd been shooting for divinity as he surpassed the role of a reaper by going taboo, should have had it right in his grasp, so like hell would he count himself among the newbies. He'd put his time in, so it didn't matter. ]

Vector?

[Tsuzuki blinks at him, not understanding, but -- well, "I'm the real deal" was clear enough. So he must've been here for a while, then. He had the swagger to be a real long-term deity, that's for sure.]

Anyway, it's good meeting another of the old guard! I've just been here a couple weeks, myself, so I don't know most of you yet. I took over for Tajimamori.

[He grins cheerfully, back on solid ground.] I'm Tsuzuki, Asato Tsuzuki. Who're you?

Susano'o. Don't forget the name.

[ As if the name were forgettable, and there's a thrill to saying it. It's a role that Minamimoto thinks he's going to enjoy making all his own, overshadowing his predecessor as he defines it for himself. It's easy to think of it this way. If he'd factored out the Composer to take his place, he damn had intended everyone to call him by the title.

Now there's a thought. Maybe he'd see if he could pay a visit to Shibuya's UG. ]

Big sis- [ He waves vaguely above his head to indicate Amaterasu, casually disrespectful. ] -is pulling out all the stops. Think someone inverted her matrix?

Susano'o? You don't look like I expe--

[And he'd thought Bishamon was a big name. Tsuzuki goes a little pale, and clears his throat, sitting up more properly on his heels.]

Uh, it's an honor to meet you, sir.

[That whole last sentence doesn't make any sense, either, and Tsuzuki is starting to wish he had Watari here with him. Watari's much better at rolling with nonsense, and half the time, it's because he knows a lot more about the subject than Tsuzuki does.]

Now you're getting it. Expectations are garbage. [ Sho chuckles unpleasantly, relaxing into the conversation as he's finally shown due deference. It almost makes up for the fact that the guy is blanking on half the things he says.

Really, most people were just too stupid to understand the truth and beauty in his words. He's used to it. ]

Even the head of the lollipop guild oughta know that. It's trivial.

[ Minamimoto's arrogance has always been classed on par with a major god, but he's been this way all his existence. In contrast, his shinki hasn't moved from where he'd stopped, a few paces behind Sho and slightly off to the right. His gaze strays from where it'd been fixed on the floor, a faint smile touching an otherwise blank face while his god enjoys himself. ]

[Tsuzuki leans to the side, glancing at the weirdly quiet and polite shinki with a worried frown. He lowers his voice.] Is he okay?

[Maybe that's how Susano'o likes his shinki to act in public, but they're supposed to be the gods' partners, aren't they? Guides, even, from what Bishamon had told him.

... And what's with the head of the lollipop guild comment? He's not short.]

[ He comes up short in brains. It makes sense to Sho, anyway, which means it's a perfectly legitimate statement.

But he's visibly thrown off by the question. Is who okay? It takes a second for him to follow Tsuzuki's gaze, his eyebrows raising in a vaguely incredulous way. That's a new variable, he hadn't seen that look on the boy's face yet. ]

Huh? Picowatt over there? [ Casually, he snaps at the shinki like one might get a dog's attention. That odd smile still hadn't fallen off Picowatt's face when he comes a few steps closer. For all that he had a name, the one Sho's chosen to use is clearly better. ] He's not too bright. [ Then, to the shinki: ] Zetta dim, aren't you?

[ There's a shy nod in response. ]

Whoa, whoa.

[... The way the guy is reacting, Tsuzuki's not completely sure Susano'o is wrong about his intelligence, but that doesn't make it okay. He clears his throat.]

Shouldn't you be a little nicer? Is he your-- [What was it that Bishamon had called her head shinki?] Guidepost?

[Why would anyone choose a main shinki like that? This is Susano'o. He must have more than one.]

Lackey. [ It's an important distinction, one that comes out with a faint growl beneath it. ]

I define my own path. A guidepost? [ He scoffs. ] Crunch, I'll add it to the heap.

[ Given the dangerous shift in his demeanor, he certainly looks like he could use one. Something about that phrase had set him off, suggesting an infringement on his fundamentally independent nature. It's a disproportionate response, but Sho isn't nearly self-aware enough to recognize that.

But then he's grinning again, baring his teeth in a feline smile. ]

[That's not the reaction Tsuzuki had expected. Okay, so maybe not every god thinks of their shinki the way Bishamon thinks of hers. Maybe guys like Susano'o just think of them as weapons.

It seems wrong to do that to people, though. Especially people with no memory, who're totally dependent on you -- he sneaks another glance at the shy shinki standing behind the other god.]

What heap?

[He's remembering Bishamon cautioning him not to do anything that seems rebellious, now. Picking a fight with a big shot sounds way more like rebellion than trying to solve a mystery that has the big shots confused, too: if he might get into trouble for the latter, he's not about to push his luck with the former.

So he won't. Not right now. Changing the subject seems safer.]

The garbage heap! [ What heap, he says, like it isn't entirely clear. ]

Zetta obviously, you harebrained hectopascal. [ While he's launching into a proper rant, the threatening stance he'd taken eases slightly. Art is an enjoyable topic, after all. ] The world is garbage, but once it's been crunched? Apply the right formula, and all you're left with will be beauty.

[ Congratulations on meeting a mad god, Tsuzuki. This might just be the single best argument for the whole guiding shinki thing. ]

[At least Susano'o looks a lot less like he's going to bite Tsuzuki's face off now. On the other hand, he's cheering up about the idea of destroying the entire world and remaking it into something more beautiful.

Yeah, Bishamon's warning to be careful about who he talks to is definitely accurate.]

Uh, okay.

So... are you going to be fighting the ayakashi down there?

[ It's not like there's anything wrong with having persistent, obsessive fantasies about remaking the world in a way that complies with one's own aesthetic. To his credit, Sho would have accepted doing so to Shibuya alone until he'd gotten this particular upgrade. ]

Someone's gotta attenuate the noise, and Sis asked so nicely. [ The diminutive for Amaterasu is going to stick around, it seems. He idly cracks his knuckles. ] Looks fun, doesn't it?

Yeah, I guess.

[Fun isn't the word Tsuzuki would've used. On the other hand, he's starting to get really nervous about the prospect of arguing with this guy.]

So we might see each other down there! Good luck.

Shibuya's my turf, but my domain's unbounded. Maybe I'll look you up. [ He's being almost friendly now, if one measured him on a scale for feral alley cats. He tucks his thumbs in his belt loops as he steps back. ]

You can show me how your arts and crafts project goes.

[ And Sho would get a chance to show off how utterly superior he was in front of an audience. Win/win. ]

[Somehow, Tsuzuki would feel way more comfortable about this guy if his domain did have boundaries. Nice, safe ones. With guards.]

Y-yeah, sure! I'll, uh, I'll keep an eye out for you.

[ With that, Sho vanishes in a strange static blip without a goodbye.

Minamimoto's shinki finally gains a little more liveliness, but only to look around for his master. Only when he sees where Sho had reappeared does he turn to Tsuzuki and wave, murmuring a too-quiet, "Have a safe trip."

And then the ignominiously nicknamed Picowatt darts off, because it's t-minus five seconds before his god's going to get angry that he didn't keep up. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

002 | Tokyo In Trouble

... these two will either hit it off or try to kill each other and I don't know which

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject