APRIL 2022 EVENT

[jigokumods]

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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.

Comments

[apathie]

How can a tree have a neck... [perhaps hizen shouldn't have told him that, really. now nehan is deep into nerd mode, wondering about such things.]

If the trunk were to be the body, that would make the branches the arms? Or perhaps the neck... That would give the tree multiple necks.

[unless nehan were to go off of the rumors, and...]

Unless you're hearing the voices of the corpses underneath the trees.

[harimaya]

How am I supposed to know? It's not like I'm a woodcutter.

(Nerd out all you want, Nehan. Hizen might have access to a brain cell but he refuses to use it. He's the sword of an assassin, not an ax to cut trees.)

They should make like real corpses and stay quiet.

[apathie]

[nehan has to shake his head. what does an erune have to do to get an intellectual conversation here...]

Why don't you go to a tree and tell them to shut up.

[harimaya]

(Hizen is bad at thinking, Nehan. He might protect the brain cell and have access to it but he sure doesn't like using it.)

Do you know how stupid I'd look?

(Because he did it and everyone looked at him and he felt stupid, Nehan.)

[apathie]

[nehan raises an eyebrow at him, pinching his cigarette between his lips, before he moves it to the corner of his mouth to be able to speak without holding the stick.]

I thought you didn't care about appearances.

[harimaya]

No one wants to look stupid.

(He doesn't care. Except for when he does.)

[apathie]

[but he already looks stupid...

nehan has to use so much of his self-control to not look hizen up and down as if to say exactly that, just without words. it's so difficult. but he gives himself a mental pat on the bare back when the only thing he musters is a raised eyebrow.]

Then ignore them. Go find something to eat-- there's a lot of free food and drink around.

[harimaya]

(Say it to his face, Nehan. Don't be a coward.)

What d'ya think I'm doing?

(Eating! And drinking! And admittedly, it's all put him in a much better mood.)

Wouldn't even be out here if there wasn't anything to eat or drink.

(He didn't come here for any games. Or anyone.)

[apathie]

Of course. [because nehan knows hizen well by now.]

Get some sake for me as well, please.

[harimaya]

...

(Freezes,)

Treating me like your secretary or something...

[apathie]

I like to think it's reciprocation. [he inhales a drag of his cigarette.]

I bought you sake and food twice, after all.

[harimaya]

...

(A fair point and he takes his last bite of dango before tossing the stick back into the container. He gets back up on his feet, standing up straight and stretching his back)

The line's pretty long.

(He might be gone for a while.)

You gonna stick around?

[apathie]

I may go for some dango to satiate my appetite... But there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

[and there are so many people selling dango that nehan has no worry for lines, just for their spot being taken.]

[harimaya]

Hm.

(Just a plain hum in acknowledgement. Maybe even... in approval? Dango is good.)

I'm not looking for you if you wander off.

(Which is Hizen speak for stay here because once he's finished stretching he's going to gather up some of his trash and head off to the lines! He's gone for awhile which is expected with so many stalls and the lines being so long at some of them. When he returns... it's with two trays of dango in one hand and a paper cup in the other.

He holds out the cup to Nehan. It's filled with sake-- the real stuff from one of the legit stands selling sake from their own bottles instead of the ones selling little convenient pre-packaged drinks of cheaper, mass-produced stuff. They even went through the trouble of placing some cherry blossom petals in the drink for #aesthetic.)

[apathie]

[nehan is a spiteful beast, and already considers leaving, even before hizen goes to fetch the sake. but ultimately he decides against it, because hizen really hasn't done anything to earn his intense spite, and everything he does just to ruin and humiliate people. or just spite, really.

he does break away for a bit to quickly snag some taiyaki that catches his attention, before returning to "their" spot.

he's already gotten a few bites into the first one, savoring it, when hizen comes back. and he raises an eyebrow. dango, as well? he was listening was he? in turn, he offers the second taiyaki, though... they don't have enough arms for all of this.]

[harimaya]

(They do not have enough hands for this and if he knew Nehan better he'd just bite the taiyaki and take it that way but??? He does not know him so he will behave and not make this weird.

The dango is in a little plastic container tray so he'll just tuck it under his arm a little awkwardly and take the taiyaki with his now free hand. Why do humans only have 2 arms when there is so much food in the world to hold......... )

[apathie]

[in exchange for the taiyaki being liberated from his hand, nehan takes the sake cup-- though he doesn't drink just yet, in favor of the taiyaki. the one in his hand has matcha and custard, though the one he gave up to hizen is definitely just red bean.

it's too good for him to just scarf down to make way for the dango.]

[harimaya]

(Honestly, he prefers red bean to matcha and custard so this is fine with him.

He's going to go ahead and take a seat on the ground. It's! Hanami! Why stand around and limit yourself when you can sit and picnic and have a good time. He can set his dango tray down and even dig through the front pocket of his hoodie for...

A glass cup of sake and a little paper bag of baby castella all rolled up to keep any from spilling out. He's also just going to go through the taiyaki like he didn't just eat you know... a bunch of other stuff before? No matter how much he eats, he always seems to still have room for more. He's definitely better at eating than talking if anything.)

[apathie]

[nehan is so used to hizen's bottomless pit by now that this doesn't even faze him. though the erune is not about to sit down because this is a nice kimono and washing it would be a nightmare-- especially when he spent so much just to have it altered, too. look, finding someone to make them backless is an adventure and a half, much more who can actually make it look good as it does.

there are no erune tailors in hell, go figure.]

Did you really get all that while you were buying food? [the paper bag, he means.]

[harimaya]

The takoyaki line was too long.

(In comparison, the line for the baby castella was much shorter. Probably because you can make plenty ahead of time and keep them out a bit without compromising the flavor or texture. Sure, they get a little cold but it's just bread.)

And the dango's already made unless you're getting something special.

(Grilled or covered in fresh glaze. It's a spring festival though. The most popular dango are the tricolored hanami dango that don't need any special preparation. )

Only thing I had to wait for was the sake. (He's got his food pickups down to a science. It's the most effort he's put into any plan in awhile. He knows how to get the most food as quickly and cheaply as possible,) Bunch of oni were in front of me...

(And kept cutting... and not paying attention to the fact the line was moving.)

[apathie]

[nehan makes a soft noise at the mention of oni in the queue for sake-- of course. the addition of oni into something that requires patience? with sake at the end no less? of course it would be annoying.]

Surprising a fight didn't break out then, with them hanging around. [and hizen's temper.]

You did well, in any case. [even if he's currently busy with his taiyaki. he hasn't had many chances to eat for the simple pleasure of eating, so he's savoring the flavor.]

[harimaya]

Everyone's in a good mood.

(It's a festival and they all worked hard in one way or another for it to be a success. Maybe the oni just want to have a good time instead of a fight-y time. Even Hizen finds himself in a better mood tonight.)

Even the oni worked hard. They'll probably go do more sumo if they wanna fight.

(Because Toraguma told them to.)

[apathie]

[nehan nods, to concede the point.]

That is true. [or maybe they're smoking the good stuff. ever cynical, nehan knows that some people just refuse to abide by things such as holidays, festivals, and parties... and when there's alcohol involved, there may just be a fight. or three.]

Might as well visit the sumo ring later, and see them in action.

[people with potentially big rippling muscles tossing each other around? entertainment in more ways than one.]

[harimaya]

I'm good.

(No thanks. After getting thrown into the ring and then tossed right back out? He's good. He's embarrassed and eating and drinking to cope, thank you very much. He's also going to move onto the castella now that he's finished with his taiyaki.)

Don't wanna get shoved back into the ring again.

(Being part of the Shuten clan and all. If they need people to join the ring, they're just going to grab whatever Shuten looks free.)

[apathie]

But did you win? [because that was the important question right here.]

Did you win so your boss can give you a bonus?