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

[cutcloud]

[ Nope. This baby isn’t quite perceptive enough to read Lan Wangji’s small tells—to his eye, the man looks to still be in decent shape despite running around like a demon. What a strong person, even when he’s oozing fresh blood like that … it has the younger exorcist chide himself—if Master Lan can do so much and much more, so can I.

As the heir to an exorcist family, he needs to get stronger.

Still. Even as unflappable as Master Lan seems, Chongyun isn’t certain that carrying a man flat between them is a good idea when both of their arms are injured. So, he pauses, glancing between the man and the makeshift medic station. They might be stubborn, but are they so thick of face that they’ll risk teetering someone who really can’t be teetered?

Chongyun takes out his last resort—a bottle of water. One won’t be enough, though. Uncapping it, he spills the water in a thick line on the pavement toward the medical tent, ]

Master Lan, do you have any water? I have one charm left that I can use.

[ He had almost used it during battle, but it ended up being saved by the grace of another elder. ]

[strikingchords]

[already internalizing the bad example of a man who's too stubborn for his own good -- truly, Chongyun is a good representative of his world's version of the Lan Sect!

in fairness to Lan Wangji and Chongyun both, it's not that Lan Wangji's determination to be as strong and righteous as possible has led him astray in his life. he's kept at it for just this reason, to have the resources to help and protect when he needs them.]

Mm.

[for now, he'll nod slightly and remove a water bottle from his own sleeve to pass to Chongyun. aside from that small noise of acknowledgement, he doesn't speak. if whatever Chongyun means to try doesn't work, they can always try to create some kind of makeshift stretcher, but his experience is that he's steady and dependable, and Lan Wangji will trust his judgment and see what he has in mind for now.]

[cutcloud]

Thank you.

[ It’s enough to finish the damp path between the injured man and the medics. The young exorcist returns promptly, crouching down where the damp streak begins. Exhausted as he is, it takes him a moment to gather himself. ]

We just need …

[ He makes three hand signals—slow, precise, because he can’t afford to make an error when this is all of the energy he has left. Soft blue wisps, an extremely faint sheen around his fingers, before he extends his hand and presses the index and middle to the starting point of wet sidewalk. ]

… a touch of frost.

[ A thin layer of ice quickly patches down the damp pathway, a satin sheen over concrete. Thin, but extremely smooth and slippery. If someone stepped on it, they would no doubt slide and land on their ass in a second.

Chongyun looks back up to the elder exorcist. The blue-purple beneath his eyes is more pronounced. ]

We can move him onto a board, and carefully push him to the medics. The ice will hold that long.

[ But time is of the essence. Ignoring the vertigo, the young exorcist moves to assist in sliding the man onto the earlier prepared board. ]

[strikingchords]

[it's a good enough plan, and it saves both of their battered, injured bodies more problems. Lan Wangji would have just soldiered through and carried the man -- he's done worse before -- but he's glad for this idea as well.

he'll note down Chongyun's association with ice, too, for future thought. it's not a Lan Sect ability, per se, but his sword Bichen can lend an icy cast to his own qi when he has more access to his own abilities. perhaps he can learn a trick or two here, if Chongyun is willing to teach.

that's a priority for another day, though, when both of them have far more spiritual energy and far less blood loss. in the meantime, they make their careful way through the wreckage and settle their groaning patient into the medic's station. the medic promptly starts checking over the hapless man's leg, then turns to scold both of them for attempting to move someone while still dealing with their own bullet wounds. Lan Wangji glares back but doesn't actually argue, because it would be unfair. the medic isn't wrong.]

...

We will rest shortly.

[cutcloud]

We will.

[ Chongyun readily agrees, stepping back to give the medic room to work on the poor man's leg. The medic isn't wrong; he can only imagine the scolding if they had dragged themselves in here after carrying him, plopping down onto the ground beside him because of aggravated shoulders. The ache that's built up in his arm and shoulderblade has only reenforced the lesson.

There's nothing more for them to do inside. The nurses and medics bustle, so the young exorcist retreats to the sidewalk. The scene outside has grown desolate, with most of the wounded brought inside and most of the fighters having found somewhere to lick their wounds. ]

Master Lan. [ he turns his head to glance up at the other man, ] What do you think will happen to the Alliance now?

[strikingchords]

[they can move slowly away from the medic's covered area, feet once more finding the dusty and soot-stained street; the civilians haven't emerged from their shelter to start helping pick up yet, so the area seems lifeless, barren and desolate. it's a far cry from the raucous good cheer of the festival, and the silence casts a pall on the very memory of the bright, loud exuberance of the fireworks that had begun before the explosion.

Lan Wangji takes a moment to breathe before meeting Chongyun's eyes soberly. he doesn't know what kind of experiences are in Chongyun's personal history. he hopes there aren't many like this.]

...

The other factions have been given excuse.

[the passive phrasing means it hasn't been stated outright that Lan Wangji believes an excuse was the goal in the first place; he doesn't know enough to say, and he's too precise to make unsubstantiated claims. but it seems likely, doesn't it?]

[cutcloud]

[ The youth doesn't look too haggard by the experience—emotionally, at least. There's a resigned sort of quiet that comes with being experienced with combat and danger, but he's still young enough that it all just—hits. It isn't sadness, or at least much sadness, as much as it's indignation for these innocent people. Under the cool surface he's a spitfire, and right now it's a furnace beneath his ribcage.

But he can even his breathing and remain tempered. ]

Right—... and inside the alliance? [ he rubs his neck over over his wounded shoulder, ] Master Lan, can I make a selfish request?

[strikingchords]

[Lan Wangji nods once, keeping his oblique, sidelong gaze on Chongyun's face. he seems to be bearing up well, but a son of the Lans knows better than anyone that keeping your cool in a crisis doesn't have anything to do with the depth of your feelings about it. his own unruffled exterior and stiff voice are hardly the whole story -- he's more numb to the reality of such scenes after years of war, but that has not reconciled him to seeing yet more of them enacted on a populated city street. what a despicable trick, to use a celebration as a pretext for this cruel damage...

he is not a vengeful man, but he would like the opportunity to show those responsible the value of better conduct, to say the least.

he doesn't immediately answer the "inside the Alliance" question. he's not sure he can, and he wants to hear the selfish request first.]

Speak.

[cutcloud]

[ There's a moment silence before he does speak again, ]

Will you look out for someone? [ arm relaxing to his side, the young exorcist rests his eyes for a moment with a sigh. ] He's also in the Alliance. Since I'm in Tamamo—there's a line between us now. If something happens [ read: a big, terrible, very bad thing ] internally within your clan, I can't do ... I probably wouldn't even know. Not right away, at least.

[ Forget doing anything about it. That's something that's bothered him since day one, that barrier. But now, it seems more than just bothersome; with the upheaval of the alliance who knows what might happen? Power grabs, further attacks, takeovers, outright destruction? This wasn't an end. The broken chunks sidewalk and slapdash medic stations feel like only the beginning. ]

His name is Xingqiu. [ opening his eyes, Chongyun crosses his arms, ] Please don't misunderstand, he's perfectly capable. Very skillful and clever. It's just...

[ He trails off there, almost sighing again. It's really a very selfish request. Doubly-selfish. Still, he really can't help but worry. ]