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

[ no self-preservation as usual, because he just points. ]

Ahah! Ya did it again!

[ it's cute! he's not dumb enough to point that out, at least. that's just for him. ~~for now.~~ ]

Shut up! Ya ain't seen nothin'!

[ Izō shouldn't reward this behavior with a kiss, but it's the best way he's found to shut him up.

So Ryouma gets another kiss. ]

[ once again, it's super effective. only this time, he's not so willing to let izō escape and gets a hand on the front of his jacket... just for a little longer. at least ryouma's thoughtful enough to smooth the wrinkle out of it when he lets go. ]

Gonna keep shuttin' me up like that, huh?

[ it's sort of rewarding him for running his mouth, after all, and he's not sorry. ]

[ Calm or not, Izō has had enough. He knows what Ryouma's doing and it's not going to work! He glares at Ryouma as he gets up in a huff. ]

Nah. Yer on yer own now.

[ But not before Izō snatches his drink out of his hand and chugs the rest of it before tossing the empty cup back at Ryouma. ]

Aw, don't be like that...

[ he stays sitting where he is, looking up at izō with a perfectly innocent expression (it's not). that blush hasn't faded much either, but it's fine. ]

Now I'll have to buy another drink, so if you're leaving I'll just end up following you out anyway.

[ so thanks for the excuse to keep hanging around being annoying, izō! ]

Ya'd follow me anyway! Can't get rid of ya, yer like a fuckin' rash!

[ Yes, he's just fussing loudly as he stomps off towards one of the main streets. It's still a ways out of the grove, so the display is rather funny for how long it goes on. ]

[ unphased by izō's fussiness (as usual), he follows right along with his arm tucked casually into the front of his kimono like he always does. ]

Can't help it that I like spending time with you, Izō.

[ because!! they're having so much fun??? ]

I thought I made it clear I was done hangin' out with ya!

[ Even though that's usually up to Ryouma to decide and Izō isn't actually going to make Ryouma leave him alone. ]

Ain't ya got anythin' better t' do?!

Honestly..? Not really, no.

[ it's hard to tell if he's smiling because of the magic at work here or because he's used to doing it regardless of how he might actually be feeling. but it is the truth; he doesn't exactly have anything else he could be doing that wouldn't end up with him being by himself and that's what he's trying to avoid. it's hard to get close to people being overly guarded about everything and now that he feels like he doesn't need to be... that's a whole other issue. the one upside to the whole guardian business was not needing to think about any of this... ]

Sorry, Izō. If you have somewhere to be, you know I wouldn't really keep ya.

...Nah, I ain't got shit t' do. If yer that desperate for company, I guess ya can ahng around.

[ Izō is being a jerk, yes, but it's his way of saying he wants Ryouma arounmd. ]

Better be buyin' me a drink for th' trouble.

Don't I always?

[ relieved to be allowed to stay, he... potentially makes izō regret his decision by throwing an arm around his shoulders and laughing. isn't this supposed to be fun?? ]

'Course I'd buy ya a drink if y' gotta put up with me!

[ If looks could kill, Ryouma would be underneath one of the cherry trees right now. He swats at Ryouma's hand and tries to stomp ahead of him. ]

Put up with ya is right! Yer lucky I don't jus' toss ya in th' river myself!

Ah, but it makes things interesting, y' know? That's what I really appreciate about ya, Izō.

[ never a dull moment when they're together, which is just how ryouma likes. they eventually come upon a little drink stand that's selling everything from the usual cheap sake to more expensive selections but also beer and plum wine and whatever else. ]

Order whatever ya like, it's on me. What ya finished off earlier was umeshu, in case yer wonderin'.

[ because he wonders if izō even tasted it, he'd drank it down so quickly. ]

[ Booze is the perfect distraction to keep Izō from fussing further. ]

Yeah, gimme more'a that. So long as it gets me drunker t' deal with ya, I don't care what it is.

[ Or maybe he'll fuss just as much. ]

[ ryouma just chuckles to himself quietly and orders two more drinks. ]

I appreciate y' stickin' around in any case. It's nice to relax for a little while. Pretty sure all I've done is work since I've been here.

[ he doesn't really know any other way to be, especially now. it's too hard to sit still when there's so much that could be done. it's always an impossible dream. ]

Yer getting along okay, right? At least tell me what ya do around here...

[ he pays for the drinks and then offers izō's to him. he knows it's going to take more to loosen izō up, but he's prepared for that. there's more to him now than the izō he knew before or ever encountered at any point, servant business being what it is, so naturally he wants to know more. ]

[ He snatches the cup from Ryouma and takes a drink before even giving a hint of a reply. ]

Whatever I gotta do to get by. [ He shrugs. ] Ain't pretty but...I gotta prove what I'm worth.

[ Cryptic. ]

[ it's not an answer that surprises ryouma, but even so, he's not thrilled to hear it either. that really could be anything and given izō's description as it not being "pretty", he can probably guess at the quality of work that it is. ]

Yeah? I guess the good thing about working your way up from the bottom is getting to choose what you want to do after a while, so I bet you'll manage that in no time.

[ ryouma isn't judging now any more than he ever has either. if anything, he's more motivated to find ways to help — even if that's probably easier said than done given that they're not working for the same people. ]

So long as th' boss trusts me t' get shit done, that's all that matters.

[ Are things starting to repeat themselves? Maybe. ]

Mm. That makes sense...

[ ryouma is usually better at this but that realisation that it definitely feels like things are repeating themselves is an uncomfortable sinking feeling. ]

If you could do more than that though, why not give it a try?

[ it's not like it used to be, is what he wants to say. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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