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

[ while not one for stories, six can understand the need for them. ]

You don't inspire confidence and awe without the involvement of dramatics, I suppose. [ a beat passes. ] Are you familiar with these stories?

[ it seemed like it, given the man's first comment. ]

Haha, maybe if you are a poor storyteller... Or a poor leader.

[Wow, better hope none of the clanheads heard Mister Critic over here. He doesn't seem worried about it by his flippant tone, though.]

[His head inclines in a nod.] I am familiar with most of what has been displayed thus far. They seem to be in most part the founding stories of each clan... No doubt, each wishes to glorify their particular namesake in front of everyone.

A poor leader, huh...

[ not that he has much to say in that regard. he barely has any opinion regarding the faction leaders, other than the shuten guy being loud and easily angered. ]

It does seem like the crowd is enjoying the stories they're telling at least. They have that going for them.

[Another soft chuckle from the man. He glances around at the crowds they're surrounded by- hooting and cheerful ayakashi of all sorts, from imps to tsukumogami to spritely bakeneko, all hopping in joy over the celebrations.]

Easy to please an eager crowd by playing to their sense of identity. Ah, but that is what this "Night Parade" is all about, is it not? At least, according to what was said...

[Something the Daitengu had said about celebrating that they were all youkai. Matoba truly found that to be quaint.]

Here they are, away from the world of humans, and they still feel the need to posture.

[ when six follows the man's gaze, he can't help but compare the crowd to the one that populated hakagemachi's own night parade. the atmosphere is so vastly different, but he supposes that's what happens when your existence isn't always on the verge of being erased. ]

It is a bit much, [ the posturing, at least ] but they have the luxury to do so.

... The last Night Parade I witnessed, they mostly celebrated it because they were still alive.

[ a throwaway comment, one that would be difficult to expand on if asked. he shakes his head slowly. ]

Is that right?

[He had wondered if this one was an ayakashi or not- from how he spoke, it seemed as if he considered himself apart from the rest of the spirits here. Despite the obvious beast ears, there were a great many different beings besides youkai that were among the Lost Souls. Matoba had a difficult time discerning, in this place, which were "part" of the city.]

[As far as the celebrations of ayakashi were concerned... The last such parade he knew of had nearly resulted in devastation for the surrounding humans, so he didn't think very much of one being the light in the suffering of some ayakashi.]

And do you find yourself enjoying this one more? Or is the taste of survival more satisfying?

[ that— makes him think for a moment. when he compares this night parade to the last one hakagemachi ever had, which one left more of an impact on him? ]

It's hard to say. [ when he begins his answer, his voice remains careful, neutral. ] That last place doesn't exist anymore, [ probably ] so it almost feels unfair to compare the experience.

[ all around them, there are signs of life and the mundane day-to-day. today may be a celebration of inspiring origin stories but six can't help but focus on the simpler things: a couple of young oni mimicking the shuten leader's antics, a family of amabie trying to get a better view of the parade, and honest tanuki regaling some passers-by with what they're making fresh on the grill.

moments in time that he doesn't think the youkai from the lost city is ever going to experience, but he supposes there's no point in worrying about that now. ]

It doesn't really matter what I think.

[An ephemeral space, a place lost to the sands of time? Ayakashi spaces crumbled ever more over the years, the same as the dilapidated shrines and temples they attached themselves to. Matoba feels that he has heard some mumblings similar to this- of a crumbling ayakashi place- before, but he can't place exactly where the conversation was.]

[Hm. Something to tuck away for later.]

Well, I did ask, [Matoba chuckles to himself at the deflection. Hitting too close to the chest, perhaps? He doesn't hide his amusement at the avoidant answer in his voice.] So then, you drifted here from the place that has ceased to be? I suppose you are truly a "Lost Soul", as they say.

A "Lost Soul"... I guess so.

[ the deflection just makes it easier to stop dwelling on what he can no longer change. despite their best efforts, it wasn't enough to save that city in the end, but what can they do about it now? ]

But isn't that just what they call anyone who doesn't belong here? Since we've all lost our ways.

I'm not certain one can lose their way to a place they knew they were headed, but if the implication is that I don't mean to be here yet, then I can certainly agree with that.

[Matoba raises a thoughtful hand to the edge of his mask. Would he be surprised that Hell was his final destination? Certainly not, but in order to get here logic follows that one must lose their corporeal form- either through death, or through some manner of spiriting away. The latter, in his case, was definitely more likely in the circumstances he had been in, but that didn't mean a sudden death was that shocking for him.]

[He just wishes he remembered it.] But you are not the first "Lost Soul" I have met who actually belonged here. Perhaps there is some deeper meaning to what exactly is lost.

[ the circumstances of how they all wound up here are things six had elected to not think about. whether it's by death or by some other way, he knows that any answer he manages to unearth will be hard to confirm, so he figures it's just easier to let it be. maybe one of these days he'll have to confront it, but for now... ]

Maybe. And only time will tell if we'll ever find our way back.

[ he glances at the parade, realizing that most of it has already passed where they are. ]

... We missed the rest of their story. [ ah, well. ]

I suppose that is so. However, uncertainty will not deter me from trying.

[It's said confidently, in a tone that might perhaps warn Six from attempting to dissuade the man, if he had any mind to do so.]

[Matoba glances back at the street and sees the tail-end of the Shuten floats with their bright lights and colors slowly trundling down the street ahead of them.] Ah, so we have. If you're that curious, I can tell you the ending; I'm sure they left out the important part, anyway.

[He thinks he would have noticed the float with the gory, decapitated head of Shuten-douji.]

[ at least that makes two of them. six isn't going to be the one to stop this person even if he wants to try without any strong leads. ]

... It's fine. I don't really care how it ends.

[ if that headless float is anything to go by, he can fill in the blanks. ]

Good luck with your attempts to escape this place.

[ that's the better ending, anyway. ]

Not one for happy endings?

[Matoba is grinning under his mask. So then, this one wasn't an ayakashi, or was one of those that didn't count themself as kin to them. It's probably safe to say that he doesn't much care for the fate of any of the clan namesakes that were being lauded in the floats.]

If luck was all one needed for such a feat, I'm sure Hell would have souls escaping left and right. [...Which he wasn't entirely convinced wasn't the case, given his professional history, but.] Now, if you hear anything useful towards that end, I'd be listening.

Not everyone deserves one.

[ he says with a half-shrug, but at this point, he doesn't have much to add. someone like him would never know what to do with happy endings so he'll leave that to those who deserve them. ]

I'll be sure to let you know if I hear anything. [ a beat. ] My name is Six. How shall I address you?

[An interesting response. For a moment, Matoba allows that thought to bandy about his head as he considers the other man, his response, and his name.]

[He had agreed to cooperation rather easily, so....]

[Pushing his mask aside, Matoba shows his face, and inclines his head in a proper, casually polite greeting. He looks human enough- aside from that strange, spelltag-covered eye of his- but there were plenty of human-enough looking youkai about this town.]

I am Matoba. I look forward to it- if there is anything to tell, of course.

[ even with the grand reveal of matoba's face, six doesn't have much to say, nor does he react much to the what's covering the man's eye. it makes him curious, yes, but it's not really any of his business. it also has nothing to do with the topic at hand. ]

... Matoba. Got it. I wouldn't hold your breath, but you'll hear from me if there's anything.

[ he turns away, only to pause for a second to say this— ]

Enjoy the rest of the festival.

[ —and then he walks away. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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