jigokulogs | 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

[What's a matter, fancy? Never seen a demonic sword before? Dante can't help but scoff the man for gawking. After all, this isn't the gawking occasion. Not while they have a whole slew of stupid assassins trying to make mince meat out of the alleged heads of state. While Dante doesn't particularly give a damn about the state of affairs in Jigoku-cho he would rather not have everything go tits up.]

If you keep gawking at me, I'm going to shoot you myself!

[He grumbles in aggravation before attempting to hack and slash his way to victory against one of the would-be assassins. These guys not only look like ninjas but they move like one as well. It's a little alarming, especially since Dante is having a tough time against one them. While he's pretty nimble, Dante sometimes lack in speed. This one particular ninja keeps managing to dodge his sword with every strike.]

You want me to leave this dude alive?!

[He asks in disbelief after getting kicked right in the chest by this annoying cuss. The ninja is question quickly puts some distance between them, opting to follow their cohorts who were retreating back into the mist.]

You gotta be kidding me--[Dante's patience is at all time low but he does as he's told and gives chase.]

[ Van Zieks is glad that they don't have to argue about this for long, despite the man's obvious displeasure with his priorities. When both the assassin and this unfamiliar gunman make off, he sets out after them - getting to question one of the perpetrators of this crime is the best outcome they could still hope for tonight. Not that van Zieks has much hope for doing so - these seem to be trained assassins, who doubtlessly know to keep their mouth shut even in less-than-gentle interrogation.

Van Zieks does not keep up with the chase for very long, though it is not for a lack of speed and stamina. It is just that at the roadside, one of the many scuffles that have broken out among the festival attendees is threatening to involve a tanuki who is almost getting crushed underfoot of some quarreling oni.

Making a split second decision, van Zieks comes to a halt in his dash and draws his sword again to go in between, even if it means temporarily losing sight of Dante and the assassin.

Above everything, he's been ordered to work towards public safety today, and allowing for death in the crowds would be the greatest failure to that duty one could imagine.

He only heads back in the direction Dante left into when the tanuki is on road to safety... let's see if he can still find them... ]

[Dante managed to keep up with the assassin for a time but eventually the devil hunter loses the perp during all the chaos. It's all too difficult for Dante to discern friend from foe, especially since many of the youkai in question look as fiendish as your average demon. He was tempted to take a potshots at another rogue assassin who was trying to slip into the shadows but he didn't feel confident enough to take the shot. So instead he hangs back for now.]

Can someone please get these idiots under control! [He shouts towards some of the younger Shuten guys who were just meandering around.] C'mon! Hop to it!

It's starting to look like a stampede.

[A frustrated sigh escapes Dante as he pinches the bridge of his nose. In less than twenty-four hours, things have gone from bad to worse. He can only pray that Toraguma didn't have anything to do with the assassination because if this falls back on their clan, they're completely screwed.]

I'm getting real sick of the politics around here.

[He laments quietly when the fancy looking guy from earlier approaches.]

Well, you're about to be disappointed. I lost the dude.

[ Van Zieks should not have expected that these expert assassins would be easy to catch, especially not in a mass panic of this magnitude. And still, he is frustrated beyond belief. ]

Curses!!

[ The anger is not really directed at Dante so much as the situation at large. ]

Who taught the ruffians in this town how to behave in case of emergency?! This is madness! It's like they don't want this incident resolved.

[ Okay, deep breath... There, that's better. The angry outburst is replaced by a tired sigh. ]

Your attempt is appreciated.

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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/my apologies for the delay!

... and now I am also delayed, APOLOGIES ALL AROUND