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

Was your injury from one of those guns? [they believe that was what they are called, unfamiliar weapons to Ydris, but nothing that couldn't be picked up on from context-

Also, well]

I absorbed two shots into my temple, during the chaos. Do they hurt terribly for humans? They were very loud. [so "loud" in their thumping into Ydris' wax head that one seems to have left a curiously defined indentation right there above an eye. They can't much notice, pain doesn't strike their physical body and unless a distortion is large, they aren't likely to care about investigating nor repairing it themselves]

Edited (two shits right to the temple lmao) 2022-04-08 02:22 (UTC)

Mm. The shots.

[he doesn't elaborate on that -- he isn't familiar with guns either, but at the least, he is now pretty familiar with the idea that being hit with bullets from them does indeed hurt humans. luckily, between his spiritual energy and his natural pain tolerance the sting isn't too bad, and it wasn't more than a heavy graze in the first place. he intends to continue ignoring it.

the idea that Ydris doesn't feel pain is still strange to him, and is part of why he frowns at hearing that they were shot as well. he narrows his eyes at their temple, trying to track that absorption. there's definitely a mark... does not being able to feel it mean that Ydris might ignore being harmed in a way that would actually leave ill effects behind?]

Was there no damage?

No, my wax wouldn't sustain lasting damage from something like that. If it appears distorted, then that is only temporary. A mark left from impact.

[they don't notice the indent or the etching pressed into their wax one bit, just blissfully unaware!

They do notice if Lan Wangji leans especially into their space, but won't lean away really. Their head floats vaguely in place above their main body, almost like a balloon on a string tethered to their core wick.]

[he examines the dented spot, brows creasing slowly...

there's something left there.]

...

One moment.

[he's taking a piece of paper from his sleeve, absently leaving a couple of faint bloody fingerprints on it as he holds it up to the light next to Ydris's head.]

[Ydris' head does give off a fair amount of light, by their very nature. The symbol isn't recognizable as anything character in particular, but it sure is distinct enough to recreate based off the indent it left]

What-? Why? Is there something on my face?

[yeah, that's a way to put it, Ydris]

There is. A marking.

[he's going to carefully copy the lines of the mark with a brush pen that he retrieves from his sleeve as well. he's used to accuracy, hours upon hours with a calligraphy brush; this is no great challenge.]

...

I would say, a character.

That metal stamped something into me? Charming...

[they'll stay still and cooperate for Lan Wangji to get it recorded accurately. Their wax would have melted and deformed by morning time, so it was a good thing it was caught before it was gone. Irritating and absurd as it might be, the strangeness of their body could come in handy in unforeseen ways. That's worth something.]

[Lan Wangji finishes noting the character down and steps back politely from Ydris's personal space. he stares at first the drawn character, then Ydris's head to make sure -- but no, he got the marking adorning their temple down correctly.

what's odd is that it's still unfamiliar to him, even with the strange knowledge that the city put into his head of Dōngyíng's speech. he'll hold it up for Ydris to examine.]

...

Do you recognize it?

[The illusion around Ydris reforms and give it a scrutinizing look. Their knowledge can be encyclopedic, able to be called up at a whim, but the symbol is entirely unknown to them. The translation magic does nothing to make sense of what it could mean.]

No, it might well be nonsense.

[a beat for thought. They pull out their phone.

And just take a picture of the picture that Lan Wangji so delicately transcribed. So much easier.]

[...it certainly was easier. he doesn't regret transcribing it properly -- the sensation of getting it transcribed is what really told him that this was writing, as the familiar strokes of a character flowed from his pen to the paper -- but that's a use of phones too, isn't it. how interesting. there's a noticeable beat of his own in reaction as Lan Wangji incorporates this move into his worldview, and then he'll take his own phone out. he'll add a proper picture of Ydris's temple and text it to them the next time their illusion flickers.]

Expedient.

...

I do not think it nonsense.

[They flicked back deliberately to allow the photo, making a little gesture at Lan Wangji to send them that photo they took so they can also have a good one of their head and the original imprint...]

It likely means something to someone. Finding that someone is the tricky part.

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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