antunderwood · September 30, 2025 18:33
diff --git a/gistfile1.txt b/gistfile1.txt
 The Tokyo Cascade is not the tallest building in Tokyo, but it's the tallest in its district, which is a densely-populated mixed neighborhood. Closer to the Cascade, one finds corporate offices, gated communities, and plush tourist attractions securely separated from the poorer residential buildings and low-cost coffin hotels further out. Standing far above the rooftops, the two towers of gleaming bronze, each eighty stories high, overshadow the busy Cascade Plaza. The Zen Garden Skybridge connects the two towers on the 71st floor (noting that in Japan the fourth floor is labeled fifth, so technically the skybridge is on the 70th). A massive holographic waterfall is projected as falling from the Skybridge using camouflaged emitters on the bridge and down the sides of the East and West Towers.

 The buildings host several companies, all part of the same zaibatsu, and all on good terms with the Bureau of Onmyō, who has offices here (to secretly oversee their House of Zen). There are helipads on the top, and the underground levels are divided into parking, warehouses, and further retail space, and connect to other nearby buildings via subterranean pedestrian tunnels.

 ATTACK IN CASCADE PLAZA

 Cascade Plaza is always crowded with tourists, from other parts of Tokyo or from abroad, who delight in walking through the holographic waterfall. The waterfall projection is sometimes modified with cinematic ads or installations, and permits are issued to street vendors and food trucks around the square. The plaza is expansive and surrounded by squat commerce centers. There are no other skyscrapers within a two-block radius.

 The Bureau has hidden an extraordinary defense measure beneath the plaza, a demonicly-infused heavy-ordnance-carrying Asura-Powered Tank. They consider it an ace up their sleeve, but the Yatagarasu is aware of its existence. Using Amatsukami-class magic she is capable of connecting with the asura, at great effort.

 When the crew approaches the Tokyo Cascade, the group who opposes them activates the tank as a last line of defense, to try and take down the crew at all costs. The damage to vehicles, buildings and civilians is going to be severe; use it to show how far the opposition is ready to go to prevent the Junjō from being released or sealed.

 The paved floor of Cascade Plaza breaks and tears apart, revealing a hidden opening beneath, growing wider as tourists scramble to safety and underground electrical cables break with a shower of sparks. A huge shape rises from the opening: it's a full-on tank, and its powerful chassis is topped by the upper body of a shining, red, multi-armed and multi-faced figure. The three faces chant in Sanskrit, then one of them stares at you as all three voices speak simultaneously. "Access to this location is denied."

 Wide holographic displays serve as a surprisingly tasteful embellishment around the huge wall-spanning windows of the skybridge, giving a breathtaking (and somewhat disconcerting) view of the district. In the hands of an unimaginative custodian, the skybridge could have been just a long tube, but the owner has instead filled it with a stunning array of plants and statues, in a design that is pleasing to the eye and seems to even soothe the soul. No wonder, as the Bureau of Onmyō must maintain a perfect feng-shui balance in this hidden prison of theirs.

 Normally there would be tourists milling around but the fighting outside has led to a building-wide evacuation. All that's left is soothing music that seems to be playing to no one. In the emptiness, it's possible to feel the air crackle with an uncomfortable energy.

 The Zen Garden Skybridge is a grand, tubular walkway/exhibition that connects the East and West Towers of the Tokyo Cascade. It is also a secret House of Zen of the Bureau of Onmyō's, where yōkai and other mythical threats are sealed into statues and kept in plain sight.

 The Skybridge is a popular tourist attraction with an entrance fee, and two express public elevators in the East Tower go from the ground floor to its level. In the West Tower, the Bureau controls two staff-only access elevators. Stairwells are protected by emergency doors rigged to an alarm system, which are also locked from the stairwell side. The Skybridge walkway has no entrances from the outside, and much of it is made of reinforced windows that give visitors a grand view of the urban landscape.

 The walkway hides holographic projection systems as well as secret assets of the Bureau. Various defensive charms and spells have been cast on the House of Zen, preventing anyone from magically transporting themselves to any space within three floors above and below the Skybridge with a spell against teleportation. Several hidden sigils are disrupting the flow of all spells except for those used by the onmyōji, creating Bureau-magical interference-2.

 Someone is waiting here: the leader of the opposition: either the Chief Inspector Ishikawa Rin (page 155), or the Yatagarasu (page 308), finally appearing in the flesh

 It's time to finish the job. Depending on the crew's earlier decisions they will be trying to either release the Junjō compound or seal it away. They will have to complete the following Challenge, with their opponent trying to prevent this from happening.

 Whichever the opposition is, they are accompanied by a Scale 2 group of minions: Onmyōji Inspectors (page 156) or Crow Tengu Murder (page 312). Neither woman will fight to the death of her entire side, and neither is interested in seeing the skybridge itself destroyed. They both know the greater battle is yet to be won. If it seems like they're about to lose, the opponent will say some final words ("This isn't over.") and escape on black wings or in a flying car.

 When the scene begins, the opposition has just finished releasing the spear from its statue form. They have Amenonuhoko ("The Heavenly Jeweled Spear"), while the crew probably has the briefcase. Either side needs to put their hands on both these items in order to advance their plans, meaning there will be plenty of back-and-forth while the two opposing sides snatch them from each other.

 When it comes to advancing their side's plan, the crew's contact – Chief Inspector Ishikawa or the Yatagarasu – will provide all the guidance needed. Even if they are not present, they will guide the PCs through the ritual via AR, earpieces, or any other remote communication device. Direct help, such as from an Onmyōji Inspectors team, might be invaluable in certain parts, like when creating the warding circle needed to reseal the Spear (see below).

 The ritual is represented with the spread/seal:4 polar Limit. As the statuses stack up, describe the rituals going through their steps. When tiers are removed from the Limit, describe the other side disrupting it, forcing the step to be repeated in order to complete the ritual.

 Spreading the Junjō: To spread the Junjō, first the Jeweled Spear's head needs to be thoroughly coated with the substance, and then it needs to be thrown through the reinforced windows as powerful prayers are said over it. The spear then circles in the air, dancing as if led by an invisible hand while the Yatagarasu chants, and begins raining a mist of Junjō on the district, a process that takes several minutes. The Jeweled Spear can't be broken, but its magic could be suppressed, it could be captured, or the Yatagarasu could be stopped in order to stop the spread midway.

 Sealing the Junjō: To seal the Junjō, the Amenonuhoko's head needs to be coated with some of it, and then placed in a warding circle, empowered with powerful mantras or by stamping ofuda talismans, in order to reseal it into a stone statue. It's enough for a sample of the substance to be sealed along with the spear, and the rest will lose its magical power and become inert.

 If the Junjō was successfully sealed away, the Amatsukami take a step back. Clearly humanity was not ready for their gift. Or perhaps some other force intervened? The gods of heaven will send some of their loyal servants to spy on the crew for several months, to see if they are perhaps under some corrupting influence. They might turn to Great King Enma (page 168) and ask him to test the crew. The Chief Inspector, meanwhile, is probably impressed enough with the crew to turn to them again with future delicate matters, and perhaps offer some of them a job in the Bureau. Whenever the crew face injustice and the corruption of mankind, remind them of the choice they made to shun enlightenment.

 If the Junjō was released from the skybridge, tens of thousands in the district will be transformed like the techs in the Maikubi-kai labs, with the entire district being quarantined by the Nano-butai. Even more dramatically, an invisible, permanent bridge will open from the Tokyo Cascade into the spirit realm, with many curious kami emerging from it. Yōkai problems are about to get a lot worse in the district and around it. Further in the future, the Amatsukami will begin to act against the Nano-butai in an attempt to open the quarantine zone, which becomes a celestially-advanced model of an enlightened society, but nevertheless contends with appropriately spiritual problems.

 If the Junjō was opened, but not fully released, a few hundred people around the towers are transformed and the bridge fails to materialize. The Amatsukami realize the people are too distracted to be able to elevate themselves above the Noise, and begin to devise a more physical ascension. They start investing in construction companies, aiming to build a space elevator anchored on top of Mount Fuji, with its other end reaching into the heavens. The Yatagarasu will offer the crew to become their permanent employer, while the Chief Inspector keeps a close eye on them.
	The Tokyo Cascade is not the tallest building in Tokyo, but it's the tallest in its district, which is a densely-populated mixed neighborhood. Closer to the Cascade, one finds corporate offices, gated communities, and plush tourist attractions securely separated from the poorer residential buildings and low-cost coffin hotels further out. Standing far above the rooftops, the two towers of gleaming bronze, each eighty stories high, overshadow the busy Cascade Plaza. The Zen Garden Skybridge connects the two towers on the 71st floor (noting that in Japan the fourth floor is labeled fifth, so technically the skybridge is on the 70th). A massive holographic waterfall is projected as falling from the Skybridge using camouflaged emitters on the bridge and down the sides of the East and West Towers.

	The buildings host several companies, all part of the same zaibatsu, and all on good terms with the Bureau of Onmyō, who has offices here (to secretly oversee their House of Zen). There are helipads on the top, and the underground levels are divided into parking, warehouses, and further retail space, and connect to other nearby buildings via subterranean pedestrian tunnels.

	ATTACK IN CASCADE PLAZA

	Cascade Plaza is always crowded with tourists, from other parts of Tokyo or from abroad, who delight in walking through the holographic waterfall. The waterfall projection is sometimes modified with cinematic ads or installations, and permits are issued to street vendors and food trucks around the square. The plaza is expansive and surrounded by squat commerce centers. There are no other skyscrapers within a two-block radius.

	The Bureau has hidden an extraordinary defense measure beneath the plaza, a demonicly-infused heavy-ordnance-carrying Asura-Powered Tank. They consider it an ace up their sleeve, but the Yatagarasu is aware of its existence. Using Amatsukami-class magic she is capable of connecting with the asura, at great effort.

	When the crew approaches the Tokyo Cascade, the group who opposes them activates the tank as a last line of defense, to try and take down the crew at all costs. The damage to vehicles, buildings and civilians is going to be severe; use it to show how far the opposition is ready to go to prevent the Junjō from being released or sealed.

	The paved floor of Cascade Plaza breaks and tears apart, revealing a hidden opening beneath, growing wider as tourists scramble to safety and underground electrical cables break with a shower of sparks. A huge shape rises from the opening: it's a full-on tank, and its powerful chassis is topped by the upper body of a shining, red, multi-armed and multi-faced figure. The three faces chant in Sanskrit, then one of them stares at you as all three voices speak simultaneously. "Access to this location is denied."

	Wide holographic displays serve as a surprisingly tasteful embellishment around the huge wall-spanning windows of the skybridge, giving a breathtaking (and somewhat disconcerting) view of the district. In the hands of an unimaginative custodian, the skybridge could have been just a long tube, but the owner has instead filled it with a stunning array of plants and statues, in a design that is pleasing to the eye and seems to even soothe the soul. No wonder, as the Bureau of Onmyō must maintain a perfect feng-shui balance in this hidden prison of theirs.

	Normally there would be tourists milling around but the fighting outside has led to a building-wide evacuation. All that's left is soothing music that seems to be playing to no one. In the emptiness, it's possible to feel the air crackle with an uncomfortable energy.

	The Zen Garden Skybridge is a grand, tubular walkway/exhibition that connects the East and West Towers of the Tokyo Cascade. It is also a secret House of Zen of the Bureau of Onmyō's, where yōkai and other mythical threats are sealed into statues and kept in plain sight.

	The Skybridge is a popular tourist attraction with an entrance fee, and two express public elevators in the East Tower go from the ground floor to its level. In the West Tower, the Bureau controls two staff-only access elevators. Stairwells are protected by emergency doors rigged to an alarm system, which are also locked from the stairwell side. The Skybridge walkway has no entrances from the outside, and much of it is made of reinforced windows that give visitors a grand view of the urban landscape.

	The walkway hides holographic projection systems as well as secret assets of the Bureau. Various defensive charms and spells have been cast on the House of Zen, preventing anyone from magically transporting themselves to any space within three floors above and below the Skybridge with a spell against teleportation. Several hidden sigils are disrupting the flow of all spells except for those used by the onmyōji, creating Bureau-magical interference-2.

	Someone is waiting here: the leader of the opposition: either the Chief Inspector Ishikawa Rin (page 155), or the Yatagarasu (page 308), finally appearing in the flesh

	It's time to finish the job. Depending on the crew's earlier decisions they will be trying to either release the Junjō compound or seal it away. They will have to complete the following Challenge, with their opponent trying to prevent this from happening.

	Whichever the opposition is, they are accompanied by a Scale 2 group of minions: Onmyōji Inspectors (page 156) or Crow Tengu Murder (page 312). Neither woman will fight to the death of her entire side, and neither is interested in seeing the skybridge itself destroyed. They both know the greater battle is yet to be won. If it seems like they're about to lose, the opponent will say some final words ("This isn't over.") and escape on black wings or in a flying car.

	When the scene begins, the opposition has just finished releasing the spear from its statue form. They have Amenonuhoko ("The Heavenly Jeweled Spear"), while the crew probably has the briefcase. Either side needs to put their hands on both these items in order to advance their plans, meaning there will be plenty of back-and-forth while the two opposing sides snatch them from each other.

	When it comes to advancing their side's plan, the crew's contact – Chief Inspector Ishikawa or the Yatagarasu – will provide all the guidance needed. Even if they are not present, they will guide the PCs through the ritual via AR, earpieces, or any other remote communication device. Direct help, such as from an Onmyōji Inspectors team, might be invaluable in certain parts, like when creating the warding circle needed to reseal the Spear (see below).

	The ritual is represented with the spread/seal:4 polar Limit. As the statuses stack up, describe the rituals going through their steps. When tiers are removed from the Limit, describe the other side disrupting it, forcing the step to be repeated in order to complete the ritual.

	Spreading the Junjō: To spread the Junjō, first the Jeweled Spear's head needs to be thoroughly coated with the substance, and then it needs to be thrown through the reinforced windows as powerful prayers are said over it. The spear then circles in the air, dancing as if led by an invisible hand while the Yatagarasu chants, and begins raining a mist of Junjō on the district, a process that takes several minutes. The Jeweled Spear can't be broken, but its magic could be suppressed, it could be captured, or the Yatagarasu could be stopped in order to stop the spread midway.

	Sealing the Junjō: To seal the Junjō, the Amenonuhoko's head needs to be coated with some of it, and then placed in a warding circle, empowered with powerful mantras or by stamping ofuda talismans, in order to reseal it into a stone statue. It's enough for a sample of the substance to be sealed along with the spear, and the rest will lose its magical power and become inert.

	If the Junjō was successfully sealed away, the Amatsukami take a step back. Clearly humanity was not ready for their gift. Or perhaps some other force intervened? The gods of heaven will send some of their loyal servants to spy on the crew for several months, to see if they are perhaps under some corrupting influence. They might turn to Great King Enma (page 168) and ask him to test the crew. The Chief Inspector, meanwhile, is probably impressed enough with the crew to turn to them again with future delicate matters, and perhaps offer some of them a job in the Bureau. Whenever the crew face injustice and the corruption of mankind, remind them of the choice they made to shun enlightenment.

	If the Junjō was released from the skybridge, tens of thousands in the district will be transformed like the techs in the Maikubi-kai labs, with the entire district being quarantined by the Nano-butai. Even more dramatically, an invisible, permanent bridge will open from the Tokyo Cascade into the spirit realm, with many curious kami emerging from it. Yōkai problems are about to get a lot worse in the district and around it. Further in the future, the Amatsukami will begin to act against the Nano-butai in an attempt to open the quarantine zone, which becomes a celestially-advanced model of an enlightened society, but nevertheless contends with appropriately spiritual problems.

	If the Junjō was opened, but not fully released, a few hundred people around the towers are transformed and the bridge fails to materialize. The Amatsukami realize the people are too distracted to be able to elevate themselves above the Noise, and begin to devise a more physical ascension. They start investing in construction companies, aiming to build a space elevator anchored on top of Mount Fuji, with its other end reaching into the heavens. The Yatagarasu will offer the crew to become their permanent employer, while the Chief Inspector keeps a close eye on them.
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