jigokulogs | APRIL 2022 EVENT

APRIL 2022 EVENT

1. HANAMI

The week of the Night Parade is marked by the traditional symbols of Spring in Japan. Somehow, several city blocks have been turned into cherry blossom groves as a show of goodwill by the Sutoku Alliance. These cherry trees don't feel normal. They are more like spectral manifestations. Rumor has it they grew so quickly because they're planted on top of a graveyard. That's just a rumor, though. Don't pay it any mind! Don't listen to any whispers you might hear if you walk through the rows of trees alone and certainly don't dig under them for proof of their provenance.

Accompanying the hanami are copious amounts of food and drink. Such as dango, specialized bento, sake, and festive drinks. They are all available to purchase from stalls near the spectral grove. The refreshments may have a little something special added to them:
Ingredients that promote peace (calming any angry or upset feelings)
Ingredients that promote romance (gives soft, warm feelings towards the first person you see).
These effects are mild and only last as long as you're in the boundary of the grove. Eat, drink, and be merry with your fellow lost souls.

2. KANAMARA MATSURI (NSFW IMAGERY)

In addition to the simple joys of flower viewing and the cherry blossoms blooming, new festivals pop everywhere. They are inspired by various regional festivals from all over Japan. Some of these are benign and feature your normal festival fair. Others are a little more unusual, such as the Kanamara matsuri-inspired treats. You can thank the Tamamo Clan for this. Don't mind the giant phallus being carried down the street or the wooden phalluses you can ride on or the interesting mascots walking down the sidewalk, or the suggestive vegetable carvings.

Surprisingly, none of these foods are spiked, at least not more than the experimental recipes had been during the parade preparations. The spirit of the thing is more just the amusement of genital-based foods rather than anything meant to entice a sexy sort of good time. That will come as the parade rounds out onto the bath district...

3. HADAKA MATSURI

cw: nonsexual nudity

If that cheeky festival isn't your kind of fun, maybe the hadaka matsuri is more your speed. The Department of the Enma are probably the most stressed out faction in the entire city, so the Enma has allowed them to put on a festival to blow off some steam! It's a bit different from the traditional celebration: it's not contained to just men and it's not contained to a shrine.

This event is a mobile mob of nearly naked people and youkai running after a cart with a masked person throwing out small sticks. They represent good luck for the people who manage to nab them. There are far fewer sticks than there are people present and everyone will do a lot to get one of the coveted prizes. Try not to get in their way!

Or you can get caught up in it all and try to snag one yourself to see what your fortune holds. (No, the Enma isn't participating. Too dirty, for his tastes.)

4. FESTIVE FUN

A. SUMO
Some other festivities you might come across are miniature sumo tournaments put on by the Shuten Clan. Raised dirt circles with chalk rings on the outer perimeter pop up seemingly everywhere. Two people are allowed in the ring at one time and there are strict rules to be followed. If you disobey the rules, you may find yourself suddenly ejected from the ring with magical or physical means, and at the mercy of a Shuten enforcer.

Play by the rules to beat your opponent and victors will find themselves rewarded with a strong bottle of booze. The winners of each bout are handed out a commendation by Toraguma himself, which comes in the form of a commemorative sake gourd. This is probably the kind of prize you'd expect from an Oni at a festival like this.

B. FOOD RUNNERS WANTED
If you're in the mood to pad your pockets, maybe you want to help the Tamamo Clan out by running food delivery. This opportunity is available to anyone regardless of affiliation. Runners will be fitted with a contraption to carry the food orders on their person and may proceed either on foot or on a small motorbike. Be careful and make sure not to drop anything! Any ruined or undelivered orders will come directly out of your pay.

It's harder than it looks not to drop the food with all the excitement going on and your delivery recipient may be similarly hard to locate.

C. HOT BATHS (NSFW + cw: optional aphro)
The Tamamo Clan has set up a sanctioned orgy in one of their larger brothels. Rooms are available for whatever your heart desires, including one with exposed windows if you like being watched or if you want to watch in kind. Baths and pools are available for all your indulgent fantasies. Everything you could need is at your disposal: toys, restraints, costumes, lubricants, condoms, aphrodisiacs in many forms. It's a proper bacchanal celebration!

All that matters is your consent and enthusiasm.

5. NIGHT PARADE

One of the primary highlights of the Night Parade are the fantastical floats depicting scenes of legendary events. Keen-eyed observers may note that the humans are portrayed as the bad guys in most of them. While a few of these are mounted on motorized vehicles, most of them are carried by people. That means you'll probably be called on to help carry one along the parade route. It's a fun job, if exhausting.

If you're not the type to wear yourself out carrying a float, ride on one instead! There's plenty of things to toss out into the crowd along the street; candies and trinkets. Dress up in a fitting costume and walk around the float. Have fun scaring bystanders or just have fun hamming it up and celebrate the peaceful night.

5. FIREWORKS

The parade's central stop is the festival square in the heart of the city, just under the shadow of the Kaigo no Bou Tower. There is a stage set up here where the four faction leaders and their personal entourages have assembled. All of them are giving pretty typical speeches. The Enma has declined to give one, having no patience for unnecessary oration. Tenkohime gives praise to the unifying factors of love in the city, while Toraguma rallies the crowd like a sports hero; encouraging them to get stronger and do better in the coming year.

The Daitengu is the last to speak and they also seem to have the largest entourage. The entourage is quite conspicuous: White Wolf Tengu, each standing well-taller than the Daitengu themselves. They are carrying massive broadswords strapped to their backs and hunting about the area for anything suspicious with keen eyes that seem to see right through the crowd and the heat of night.

The Daitengu's speech is also pretty typical, although much more humble than their fellows. Mostly, they just wants to hurry up and get to the fireworks. Just as they finish speaking, the sky lights up.
There are a few peaceful moments beneath this spectacle as the crowd enjoys the display of unity and phantasmal wonder that this unique and strange world has created.

But the explosions aren't just in the sky. One particularly loud boom seems to rattle the very earth beneath the crowd. That is the only warning anyone gets before...

6. A NIGHT PARADE TO REMEMBER

Every manhole cover on the street bursts open, injuring anyone that was standing nearby. Far worse is the deluge of steam that rushes out from the underground. Pillars of hot, blinding steam spill into the air, quickly filling the streets. The luminescence of the festival lamps and city lights are diffused and blurred into singular blobs of color, obscuring all vision and making it impossible to see what's going on. The panicked cries of the crowd also make it impossible to hear. Everything happens so suddenly, so violently, that ascertaining what's going on takes time.

Too much time.

In the chaos, gunshots are heard. They seem to come from several directions. Fighting is breaking out. It's difficult to tell from where and who is in the brawl. Previously unseen figures in full-body black coverings appear from nowhere, rushing the stage. They zoom past any Lost Souls nearby, ignoring their presence. They are focused on a singular goal. The barking of the White Wolf Tengu further indicates the goal of the attack.

Struggle in the steam, help others get to safety, get caught up in fighting the other factions, try to protect the Faction leaders, or try to keep up with the black-suited youkai rushing the stage; do as much as you can.

When the steam finally begins to clear, however, there will at least be one thing that is certain: the Daitengu has been killed.

Welcome to the April event!

If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
We also have OOC top levels for Shuten Sumo Results, Tamamo Partner Cards, and Hadaka Luck Draws!
If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I will. [ a nod, ] We don't need thaumaturgy to deal with these opponents.

[ Martial skills should be enough—with their spiritual powers dwindled to basically nothing beneath Hell's suppression, it's better not to even waste the time. A group like this isn't something he's worried about, having come across plenty of hordes while traversing Liyue.

Chongyun turns to their attackers once more, end of his club pointed at the middle-most member in challenge. ]

Submit for judgement.

[ The weight of the club is comparable enough to his claymore; he steps forward with another hard overhead swing, quickly changing his footing turning his body the other way to rapidly slam the club back when the crowd dips away from the first strike. His hands slide down the handle of the weapon towards its end, the rough calluses that rim the top of his palms squeezing down as he gives a full spin of the makeshift weapon.

Thud thud thud. Body weight thrown into a full 360 swing with knees bent at first before he knocks up, the move sends two of the slower assassins flying into the air. While they're knocked off their feet, he jerks the club back to hit the man trying to creep up behind him with the narrow "pommel", swiftly following it up with a solid kick to the guy's gut to throw him off balance.

He prefers to be swift and merciful, but a blunt club doesn't really lend itself to much other than a straight up beating... so that's what these guys are getting instead. Off balance from getting literally bludgeoned by a shortie with surprising strength, the openings in their guard begin to pile up. ]

I'm glad to hear that.

[And so Matoba slides back into stance, watching as Chongyun meets the assailants head-on, which leaves them scrambling to the sides and right into the path of waiting arrows.]

[The downside to his arrows not carrying the charge of banishment was that, for now, they were just that- arrows, which meant that for the ethereal figments that were ayakashi, they may or may not strike. With no way of knowing the true identities of his opponents, Matoba can only guess at whether they will have an effect, but another strikes true in an armor gap at a knee, causing a stumble.] That one, Chongyun-kun.

[Seems their colleagues didn't like that. Matoba narrowly leaps out of a spray of gunfire, loosing another couple arrows to scatter the pair of opponents that had regrouped. Firearms, of all things.... This was more akin to fighting humans than ayakashi, and without the advantages he normally had. He dislikes it.]

En.

[ —they're more like Fatui agents than anything else.

Because of that, the crack of gunfire isn't unfamiliar to him; it rings in his ears, but pausing for even a moment can give them an opening he doesn't want them to have.

Chongyun moves as directed, striking under the guidance of the elder exorcist. More gunfire; a heavy sting slaps his shoulder. He had also dodged, but ended up just grazed with a bullet due to close proximity, the spray more aggressive with the assassin's hiking frustration. He winces, a twitch of eyebrow and steeling of jaw, but pushes through and ignores the staining of blood ruining the new haori he had purchased for the festivities. It hardly matters.

With an arrow already piercing Matoba's earlier target's knee, Chongyun takes the low road and swings the club right over where it's lodged and hammers, like a ball-peen meeting a protruding nail. That one finally crumbles for good, falling back and melting into shadow to escape.

Prepared, he's ready to take advantage of where the arrows land next. ]

[The gunfire is becoming an increasing threat again as the surprise of Chongyun's attack begins to wear off, and the assailants regroup and adapt to fighting the two exorcists in tandem. Matoba's eye darts across the rooftop's terrain to take in the cover-- a pair of chimneys in one corner; there was some fenced-in generators towards the center.]

[At least they have driven off one of the attackers. Matoba decides that cover is the better option rather than allow the boy to get hit again and scatters, sending one more arrow sailing past Chongyun to deter another attacker pursuing him as he motions for the boy to fall back- just in time for a fresh spray of bullets to be coming their way.]

[Matoba grunts softly as he feels the sharp pierce at his left upper arm just before he makes it behind the fencing; he clutches his bow tightly, raising it in a test and letting out another soft hiss.] Firearms are not something ayakashi should have access to, [He murmurs, eye narrowing as he forces down any further reaction to the pain.] Chongyun-kun, your injuries?

[ Chongyun understands the gesture and acts accordingly, giving one final sweep to knock the group back and dislodge a few guns before retreating. The club is workable but not as effective as a sword—he would have cut these assailants down by now if he had a blade—but there is little point in ruminating over what he can’t change.

The chimney provides cover; bullets ping off the column and roof tiles. Sliding back, he glances at the older man, concern stitched between his eyebrows as he watches him roll his shoulder. ]

But a scratch. [ his own wound a steady throb, but he’s taken much worse damage in the past. nothing he can’t shake off until later. ] And yours? Are you still able to shoot?

[ He glances out toward the group, lips thinning. They’re approaching, slowly, still cautious despite the advantage of guns. Whoever they are, they aren’t completely brainless either. It doesn’t suit lesser, weaker spirits. ]

We must take them out at once. [ he looks back, ] I have enough energy for one simple charm. Would you be able to strike at their feet?

[He's sure the both of them are downplaying their wounds, stubborn exorcists used to showing no weakness before ayakashi as they were. But the difference here was that Chongyun was a minor and not yet the head of a clan, and thus, Matoba felt some responsibility to keep him intact. After all, he must inherit.]

[Good talent was a shame to lose in any case. Matoba raises his arm slightly, and as soon as the bicep moved a sharp pain shot through him that he once again suppressed with a hard clench of his jaw and a harsh breath.] Unwise, [Is what he finally outs with when his voice can steady. No sense damaging his arm further; he would like to be able to shoot again, after today.]

[He takes his bow over his right shoulder and slides that hand into his kimono slowly, thoughtfully. He had made ofuda since arriving; of course he had, even though they would not work to dispel anything without power. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and besides...]

[Blood was freely available.] Yes, I should be able to cast one, [Matoba brings his right hand to his wound, pressing his palm to it with another slow breath; when he draws away, there is blood enough. His thumbs write the signs on the thin slips, unrecognizable characters, some eye-like, dragged out in darkening red. Even for something cast desperately in the midst of an assassination, blood such as his should be potent enough--]

Strike with this, and I will chant the words. [He holds it out between two fingers to Chongyun, hand still smeared in his own blood.] And if there is an opportunity- take it.

[ That crease of worry between Chongyun's brows deepens at the length of pause in response, and then at the single word the elder exorcist utters. Despite the concern, he doesn't try to step forward and check the state of the older man's wounds—they're likely of the same mind. This needs to end before they can think of addressing anything else.

Crimson characters he doesn't know, and he's rarely ever seen blood utilized in talismans—so many questions but he doesn't have the luxury of asking any of them. Wordlessly, Chongyun takes the charm as directed and regrips the handle of his club. Given that it's just a prop and not an actual weapon, it won't last much longer either. He glances at Matoba once more with a nod, blue eyes bright even in the shadow of the chimney. There's not even a breath wasted on questioning what this charm does. ]

Understood.

[ They haven't known each other very long, and he really doesn't know much about the man's character, but the young exorcist doesn't hesitate to put his trust in Matoba's hands. It isn't out of naïveté—no, it's a very decisive choice. A respect for their shared profession, their similar roles, and the personal like he has for the man.

There's no more time. Chongyun kicks a roof tile around one side of the chimney and then darts around they other—the tile distracts them, draws the assailants' eyes and the barrels of their guns when the boy surges forth with the club from the other way.

Lion-hearted, he strikes with those thin slips, and already preparing to take advantage of whatever opportunity may crack open before him. ]

[It isn't normally a technique that Matoba would go for, especially in this situation- but desperate times called for desperate measures, and he needs something that can be done quickly, without the power normally available to him.]

[...He's already in hell, right? So if this "killed" him...]

[There isn't time to worry. Matoba draws a steadying breath and claps his hands together, eye focused on Chongyun's movements and the moment he strikes the assassins with the charms, producing on contact a flash and a sizzle of a banishing jutsu, the remaining amount of energy Matoba has and Chongyun's combining in order to activate it--]

Gathered shadows
Uninvited to this realm
With fire bound, I send thee whenst you came

Reclaim that which was promised
O, sinking earth,
Take these unwashed and leave the gates unfettered

[For a moment, the shadows paralyzed in place, it almost seems as if the spell is going to work- there's the clean scent of purification in the air surrounding the energy, interacting with the fog, and the shrieking of the spirits that had gone into it--]

[Before suddenly, it evaporates. Matoba staggers as a sharp sensation goes through him, opening his mouth to say something- to shout a warning to Chongyun, perhaps- before he feels the vision in his eye swim, and then grow dark.]

[ That moment is all he needs. The string of trepidation goes taut as the spell teeters on the edge; Chongyun digs his heel into the ground and throws his weight into a spinning swing, slamming into the mens' sides while they can't twitch their trigger fingers. Air crackles like wood on the fire. He can taste copper of the spell on his tongue, feel it sizzle across his flesh... but all of that power ends up breaking away. Like water escaping between fingers, it's wasted down the drain and dissipates.

But it had been enough for an opportunity. The club had finally snapped on that last swing, sending black-clad bodies tumbling away like toppled dominoes. Before they can regroup, Chongyun snaps back, checking Matoba for signs of recoil—panic tightens in his throat when he thinks it has bounced back when the elder exorcist goes slack. ]

...!

[ He doesn't wait to see if those assailants are trying to get back up—they aren't, they're rolling away and using their spells to camouflage and escape, not finding it worth spending more effort to kill these two annoying distractions when their main mission has been met (pour one out for the Daitengu). Darting forward, it's sheer stubborn will that has the young exorcist catching Matoba despite the exhaustion that numbs his limbs.

Moving quick, Chongyun just allows the most natural position to happen: if someone were to pass by right this instant, they would think that Matoba swooned and landed in Chongyun's awaiting arms bridal-style, like a delicate maiden.

With a grunt, he exhales, steels his core, and tightens the bar of his arms behind Matoba's back and knees to complete the carry. ]

I have you.

[ Honestly, Master Matoba ... that was a reckless move. Chongyun's going to have to scold him a little bit later for that one, as cool as it would have been had it actually worked. But, in that moment, he was able to sense just how powerful the other man might actually be under normal circumstances—and that had just been a taste. ]

[For a short moment, Matoba thinks he actually blacked out- because when he comes back to his senses, disoriented, he's staring up at the night sky, clouded in dissipating steam.]

[Like this... he thinks he can occasionally see the faces of the tortured souls of the Sanzu in the wisps, just barely. He has to strain his eye to see it at all. Doing so sends another sharp pain through him. Let's stop doing that.]

[If only he had his full power... He thinks he would be able to see each and every twisted face clearly.]

Chongyun. [Matoba mutters in disorientation, blinking his bleary eye once, and then realizing why he was staring up. Oh.] ...I'm fine.

[He's not fine, but also this is horrifically embarrassing; he'll take death, first.] The assassins?

[ Blue eyes stare down at him, cat-like pupils steady beneath the worried scrunch of eyebrows. It's a relief when the man speaks; Chongyun sighs, releasing a breath he didn't realize he was holding. His face doesn't look good with that pallor ... but consciousness is enough to ease the concern of spell backlash.

Despite whatever personal wishes for death the elder exorcist may have, Chongyun's grip tightens around Matoba as he begins to move. Carefully, as not to jostle too much, making his way down the slanted roof toward its bottom-most point. Hopefully it'll be close enough to something like a crate, so he can get them both on solid ground again. ]

Gone. I think they didn't want to risk more attacks like that. [ so, even though it had failed as an attack, it had succeeded as a bluff. ] They vanished—I couldn't sense how.

[ But, to be fair, his attention hadn't been on them at that point. ]

Edited (a word! AND THEN ANOTHER) 2022-04-07 02:45 (UTC)

[Oh. Well, they're going somewhere, now. Matoba's (single) brow furrows as he is not put down, and instead hugged closer to Chongyun's body and transported further down the roof. Sigh.]

Wise, [He musters in reply to the assassins' retreat. Not that he thinks he actually could muster even the slightest spark after that.]

[But, the way they had vanished... Matoba had heard of something like that, of in the sewers. His brow furrows this time in concentration as he tries to recall the circumstances, and instead finds his head blaring.] I see.

... Chongyun-kun, please consider your shoulder. It isn't necessary to carry me any further. [Maybe this angle will end his suffering??]

Don’t worry, Master Matoba. Liyue is very mountainous. I won’t drop you.

[ Good try buddy, but different angles don’t work on the earnestly straightforward type.

After seriously offering his credentials as to why Matoba is safe in his arms while hopping down from the rooftops, Chongyun’s heels meet the edge of the building. Sliding to a stop, he hops down off the ledge, keeping Matoba tight to his chest as he takes advantage of some stacked sake barrels. One, two, three, and they’re back onto street level. It looks like shit down here, with broken pieces of sidewalk and smears of rusting crimson smeared across concrete.

It’s only then that the young exorcist relaxes his arms, tipping his elder’s feet down toward the earth. Slowly... because he’s not sure Matoba’s exactly recovered… ]

Here.

[No.... please.... drop him..........]

[Matoba sighs and resigns himself to this worst of fates, coddled further to the teen's chest as he makes the leaps down to the ground. On the rooftops, Matoba had still gotten the rise of the steam eventually, but on the ground the air was truly thick with it. He wonders if it isn't unhealthy to be breathing in vaporized souls.]

[He uses that thought to distract himself from the mortal terror of being bridal carried by his kouhai until at last he's being tipped down to his feet. Steeling himself to make as much effort as possible to show that he's fine, he plants his feet steadily and straightens his back, ignoring how his head swims again and remaining upright through sheer determination. The sounds of chaos are still all around them; howls sounding from the stage pull his attention.]

[Now that he's tilted upright, his nose is bleeding.]

...Thank you, [He manages to utter after a moment to regain his bearings and the shreds of his dignity, smearing the blood away in a careless, mannish gesture with his right hand. Moving his left sends searing pain through him and he isn't trying to look any more helpless than he has already.] I am going to make my way to the stage. That was the call of a white-wolf Tengu.... [He has a bad feeling about this, and thus far, Matoba's gut feelings have proven disastrous. Several youkai flee past them, shrieking something about the Daitengu.] Are you coming?

[ Is he really in any shape to do that? Chongyun wonders quietly to himself, pale eyes falling to the smear of blood across Matoba's upper lip. There is no doubt that Master Matoba is an exceedingly strong exorcist, but ... he's wounded and power-stymied. He should seek medical attention at once.

... but it isn't Chongyun's place to say so. Not only is he junior in age, Matoba isn't someone who falls under the umbrella of the Tianheng—Chongyun's family. Asking him not to go or offering to protect him would end up sounding disrespectful. It's very frustrating, and the young exorcist's lips thin before he exhales slowly. ]

No. There are still people that need help the other way. [ he casts a glance at the rush of bodies that bob in and out of clouds of steam; some flee away from the platform, some run toward it, ] It's the lowest rungs that are most vulnerable right now.

[ The strong need to protect the weak, even though it does sound like something's happened to the Daitengu from those shrieks and cries. With the eyes of the Sutoku pointed toward their leader, Chongyun can't help but turn the other way to clean up the mess. It's instinctive, part of the job of an exorcist and heir both.

.... yet, he pauses on following the cries of those still fighting off black-clad assassins, finally unable to keep from lightly scolding— ]

Please don't do anything else so reckless. And please see a medic as soon as you can.

[In all truth, it's through sheer willpower and a refusal to appear weakened that Matoba insists on continuing. Appearances were equally as important as the reality in the world he came from- for political reasons, for practical reasons. Ayakashi that sensed blood (physical or metaphorical) would be on it in a moment. And fellow exorcists were no different.]

[Even if Chongyun has shown no inclination towards the dark, political corners of that world, it's habit.]

[His impassive face shows none of his suffering. Matoba sets his sight on the stage and the clashing taking place there, and then glances back towards Chongyun.] I see. That suits you. [The corner of his mouth curls up in an unreadable way.] The problems of the Sutoku clan are none of your concern, and you have your own business to care for, yes? Then this is where we will part.

[He raises the fingers of his right hand before him in a parting prayer.] Please do see to yourself as well, Chongyun-kun. I, too, would hate for these circumstances to be our last meeting.

[Technically, he didn't really promise to do either of those things, but he's already swiftly darting his way through the crowd, and vanishing into the fog.]

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APRIL 2022 EVENT

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