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

[hashira]

[ Everything the creature does, every action taken, every word spoken, all seem to lead towards ever-growing displeasure. Not to imply he ever experienced contentment when accompanied by the curse, an ever-constant shadow, reprieve that he thought could only be found while on the job was denied to him today. His gaze affixed on Sukuna does not stray away to follow the motion of sharpened curves, there would be no admiring the scenery by him.

A prompt answer is not delivered, evasive in the fact they are both aware of the truth. Beckoned to follow, there is no immediate move to trail after the lead. Seconds elapsed, not long enough to be particularly noticeable, but it is time enough to come to a decision. He relents. It's the knowledge that Sukuna holds that entirely sways his choice, something else they share awareness of. The following request, however, doesn't need words or action to be denied, pretense is pointless when the longing for his belongings to be returned is being so thoroughly exploited. An obvious, yet calculated move, if he had taken precautions perhaps they would not be here now.

But how was he to know the degree of shamelessness this creature held? It's one thing to speak to him in an odd fashion and make bold moves within his presence, it's an entirely different matter to sneak about at the time people were most vulnerable. His clothes vanished as he bathed.

The warning comes late, yakisoba is thrust in his direction, he doesn't bother to evade and soon finds a half-finished meal within his grasp. A second decision is made for him, his brief distraction leaves little time for him to stop Sukuna from attempting to wrangle some fish. For him specifically, he is not entirely too sure what the creature expects him to do with one, or several goldfish. Giyu is not a man for pets.

The invitation to feast upon the remains causes him to direct his attention to the noodles, half-bitten pieces, clear teeth mark upon them, that alone doesn't lead to rejecting the offer but it does cause a hint of distaste to cross his features. He doesn't plan to share a meal with a demon. Disapproval has become a constant in his gaze when involving Sukuna which is further marked by the sharp words used despite them being directed at a youkai, a seemingly inoffensive creature only here to do a job.

But they are left to be. Sukuna granted his wish and Giyu becomes a witness to countless failed attempts to capture but a single fish, he is not impressed. If the fish is captured, then all this would come to an end? He doesn't bother returning Sukuna's glance, instead, he goes off to request a net. Upon his return, the yakisoba is thrust back towards the curse and then he goes on the hunt for a goldfish.

Slow, steady, as not to alert the swimming fish but also to give himself choice. It's not really surprising he manages to capture one. ]

It's done.

[ He doesn't mean the success of the game, rather, whatever is happening now has come to an end. With this Sukuna must reveal the location of his clothing. ]

[thousand]

[ HOW DID HE DO THAT............

The curse looks between Giyu and the fish, watching as the youkai that mans the store puts the wriggling little creature into a plastic bag, cinching the thing shut and handing it over to the hashira. Sukuna— drips a bit, and then shakes his head in a way that's more canine than anything; landing both the store owner, and his companion with a volley of water. He reaches, takes the caught goldfish and its packet gently out of Giyu's hands to give it a look over, peering into the bag, one eye enlarged against the bulbous shape; blown out of proportion at the water. ]

Ah, see? You have a way with the creatures of this world. [ He hands it back, brows flattening in defeat— fine, fine. He'll take it like a man. The yakisoba's cold by now, and he tosses it in the nearby trashcan, turning on Giyu at last, clawed hands resting in his own sleeves, still looking somewhat damp from his aquatic adventure (read: his aquatic failure... in front of Giyu and also the entirety of Jigokucho's cherry blossom viewers). The fish, as if it knows exactly who he is, swims closer to Giyu in its tiny container.

Sukuna clicks his tongue at it. ]

Look at that, it likes you. You ought to give the little beast a name. Call it particular, if you call it anything. [ The fact that he sounds a bit put out about the whole endeavour is probably more amusing than anything else; he's a good head and shoulders above Giyu in this form; and certainly more muscular. That a fish thwarted him is— embarrassing.

He stands at the hashira's side, nose wrinkled. ] Let's go eat. I'm starving.

[ Giving giyu a sidelong glance of eyes; all four of them: ]

And fine, I'll pay. Your clothing is on the balcony, you may castrate me now at your own leisure, I wanted to see you in a yukata.

[ It was— worthwhile.

The boy looks fine enough in it; collar bones crest the hem; and the sleeves reveal narrow wrists. He's seen him in various states of undress over the passing weeks, of course— he finds him lovely to look at, finds a certain quietude around him. It had been in jest, but that even a creature like a goldfish might trust him, well. There's sense in it— his breath crests and hums— a steady inhale and exhale; like a sea breeze, like a tide. Sukuna's not immune either. He gravitates closer. ]

[hashira]

[ IT'S PURE WITCHCRAFT!!!

...stemming from a steady hand, a resolute gaze, and a patient mind. He has to endure Sukuna's presence daily, the curse should comprehend that catching a fish while showing restraint in the task is an easy matter compared to the tolerance he must demonstrate within their shared quarters. Attention now not fully on the curse, but instead on the fish as it is neatly packaged for transport, he still has no idea what he would do with the aquatic lifeform. Pets are not something that are a part of his life, there simply is no time.

That explains why he looks completely put off once the bagged goldfish is within his hold, palm up, swimming fish in a cinched plastic bubble. His new pet is kept at a distance. He paints a picture of pure misery as he stands there in dampened clothes, unlike the youkai, Giyu had done nothing to shade himself from the barrage of water that Sukuna shook off himself.

That explains why the goldfish can be easily taken from him, for a moment it seems he might reach out to prevent it from being confiscated but he ultimately stops himself. He still does not see why they went through all this, well, why Sukuna wanted a fish for him. He knew he only obtained the poor scaled thing to get an answer.

Not recognizing attempts to flatter him, or his skill, his gaze only follows the fish swimming in alarm within its (temporary) container. ]

It appears disturbed. [ More than disturbed, and it's not mere appearance. It is instinctive to sense when danger is near so fear is evident in the goldfish's erratic movements until it settles as far away as it possibly can from Sukuna within the bag. Once it is bag within his grasp, the mention of settling on a name only cements the fact that he is meant to keep it for himself. To care for it, he understands that the fish is meant to be his pet. He isn't ready for this, it's sudden, but if he recalls correctly Kocho has kept a goldfish for some time. He would have to go to her for advice.

...following his own line of thought he realizes dejectedly he has come to a decision.

He really has to settle on a name then.

Ready to follow Sukuna in search of a meal, the revelation of where his clothes might be found cause him to pause in his steps. Really, this should have been foreseen that the moment Giyu became aware of where he could find his uniform (and more importantly the haori that is always worn) he would be ready to bolt to retrieve his belongings. It's quick, but with goldfish in hand he turns and the direction he intends to head is obvious. Catch him before he is outta here... ]