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

[ perhaps that's exactly why six is a bundle of nervous energy the closer the parade gets to the central square. it's because he knows what lies beneath it, waiting like a slumbering beast, uncaring of just how many would become collateral damage if their worst fears about what it is turn out to be true. he wanders along a narrow path down at the sewers, coming across lan wangji since the both of them appeared to have the same idea in mind.

not that they have long to compare notes when the whistling noise begins to spell out a disaster in the making. the ground rumbles, but this is hardly the time to panic. six does his best to recount the exit points he memorized before coming down here the first time around. ]

This way—

[ he doesn't have the time to explain that he knows a way out, simply praying that the other man will listen and follow after him. it's not long after he starts running down the direction he pointed out that the first explosion comes.

... that can't be good. ]

[the way that Six leads their flight isn't the way that Lan Wangji had mentally earmarked as his own path out from under the streets, but he follows Six's lead without complaint in any case -- if he's right, it will give Lan Wangji yet one more idea of the layout of these passageways, and maybe a glimpse of something more. if he's wrong -- well. Lan Wangji still might have a trick or two up his sleeve.

as the ground rocks beneath them, Lan Wangji adjusts without thinking about it, rests his hand on the grip of his sword for just a moment... but no. not yet.]

Where will this emerge?

[he asks tensely, catching up with Six. a half-constructed barricade is in their path; he shoves it aside without a thought rather than waste time navigating it more soberly.]

[ —that barricade wasn't there when he and the group came over to snoop around. no matter. it looks rushed, most likely shoddily built, which means it'll be easy enough to dismantle if you apply enough force. six is nothing but good at resorting to brute strength. he may not be as strong as he usually is, but he can handle kicking down a barricade.

it's going to take him a bit but it'll give way soon enough. ]

Tamamo territory, near the residential district.

[ shoddy or not, why did someone think it was a good idea to barricade this route... this is taking him a bit, and time isn't something they have a whole lot of right now. ]

... If this path is still blocked up ahead, I know another route.

[Lan Wangji can feel the continuing tremble of the ground underneath them, more than motivating him to apply his strength alongside Six's. the first barricade went down without a thought in front of him -- the second one, that Six is working on, he'll put his shoulder into right next to him. with that extra force, the simple plywood barrier will luckily give away before both of them without much more argument.

there's another whistling noise.]

No time.

[he'll calculate in his head, quickly-- he roughly knows how far they are from Tamamo territory, even underground. can they make it? he does have one more trick up his sleeve. his sword hums in its sheath, echoing the call of the slowly overloading boilers.]

Which way?

—over here.

[ when lan wangji tells him that there's no time, six doesn't waste another second and continues to head down their chosen path. he gestures for the other man to follow him as he turns the next corner, coming face to face with yet another barricade. frustrated, six is quick to slam his body against it.

it gives way after a few tries, but not entirely. he's going to need help. ]

If there are more up ahead...

[ their window to escape is gradually shrinking. ]

Mm. Hurry.

[Lan Wangji has been moving to bash the barriers aside just as assiduously as Six from the beginning, but if the two of them together aren't enough to get through them quickly, this will be slow going. applying twice as much force doesn't speed up the task proportionately -- they'll need another approach.

luckily, the rough assemblages of wood and metal don't go all the way up to the ceiling... there are still a couple of options Lan Wangji has in mind, one of which he's saving for if they really reach emergency status.

the ground rocks under them again, a steam-engine noise echoing eerily from far, far down the hall.

when they reach the next barricade, Lan Wangji makes a step with his linked hands and knee, glancing to Six alertly. he has enough sense of Six's arm strength now -- if he tosses him to the top, Six can return the favor and give him a hand up in turn.]

Climb.

[ at least someone is thinking outside of the box. six looks up and understands exactly what lan wangji is trying to do. he wastes no time in vaulting himself from the pseudo-step the man makes with his hands, grabbing hold of the ledge before pulling himself up. it's a pretty tight fit but he manages to make space by dislodging some of the loose wood and metal.

once he's stable, he returns the favour: he offers his hand to pull lan wangji up. ]

I've got you.

[ the ground rumbles once more, threatening to make the barricade fall apart underneath their weight. six goes completely still and doesn't move an inch until the tremors stop. ]

APRIL 2022 EVENT

2a.

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