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jigokumods ([personal profile] jigokumods) wrote in [community profile] jigokulogs2022-04-01 04:20 pm

APRIL 2022 EVENT





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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!
everblooms: (𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑓)

[personal profile] everblooms 2022-04-09 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
Sure I won't! [ A little laugh leaves her as she scoots them a little closer. Just a tiny bit more! ] But I haven't been stabbed.

[ A key difference, she thinks cheekily. ]

Bet we'll be friends before you know it, Grumpypants. You look like you need at least one. [ A bottle with a rolled up slip of paper rolls before them. The end is lit, and Aerith acts quickly by stomping on it and continuing on. It barely takes more than a second. ]

Phew. I'm gonna need some new shoes. [ The strappy heels are doing nothing for her right now.

... She looks down at his feet. ]


Wanna trade?
littleshield: (24)

[personal profile] littleshield 2022-04-09 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
It's not that bad of a wound!

[ ...Unbelievable. He's being called Grumpypants. If anything, that just makes him look grumpier, because really! It is not an inaccurate nickname but here we are. ]

Also, I'm not here to make friends.

[ He wonders idly if anyone is, for that matter, because he doubts people would want to go to Hell to make friends. And then there is one of those accursed bottles again, and he's already about to try to do something, but Aerith acts swiftly, so at the least he doesn't have to be concerned with that brand of nonsense. ]

...You've got to be joking. I obviously don't wear heels and I'll kick at you if you try to forcibly switch our footwear. Don't think I won't.

Just go and buy yourself new boots or shoes after this.
everblooms: (𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖π‘₯ β„Žπ‘’π‘–π‘‘)

[personal profile] everblooms 2022-04-09 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
We'll let the doctors be the judge of that, won't we? [ He's so insistent, and truth be told, she can't stop him. If it were up to her, Aerith would just heal his wound so they could both get to working again, but...

She huffs out a little laugh. ]


You really aren't doing that bad, I guess. [ There's an open door as a woman with a lanyard marking her as medical staff ushers them into a restaurant. In her hands is a clipboard and a pen—

"Thank you, Aerith," she says in a cool, collected voice with a flat affect, sweat beading down her forehead. "Name?," she turns to Felix— ]


Grumpypants.

[ "Actual name," the woman says, letting the door swing closed after they've entered. The building is nearly full already, tables and booths turned into makeshift gurneys and operating tables as doctors and nurses make quick, life-saving work of patients. Actual name, the woman asks, but she still jots down "Grumpypants."

Aerith looks towards Felix, and then moves back so as to lower him into a seat offered to them by a kind by-stander. ]
littleshield: (41)

[personal profile] littleshield 2022-04-09 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Felix grumbles when she says that. Actually all of what she says.

He even shoots one of his patented glares when she states his name is Grumpypants. He gets distracted by some of the people working, though, taking a moment to take in those who need work right away, as well as the architecture of the building. ]


I've a proper name, you know.

Felix Hugo Fraldarius.

[ He says this, covering a wince when he's lowered into a seat, and he just...nods at the stranger before directing his attention back to Aerith. ]

I can't believe you just let her write that stupid nickname down. What's wrong with you?

[ The comparison between him and a hissing wounded cat would not be wrong right about now. ]
everblooms: (π‘ π‘œπ‘–π‘₯π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘π‘’ π‘žπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’)

[personal profile] everblooms 2022-04-09 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Does he want the abridged version? It's at least the size of a college thesis. ]

Well, Felix. [ Settling in next to him, she tries to avoid taking up too much room. Aerith gives him a soft, sympathetic smile— the woman jots down his information and then pens it all down on a piece of tape that's quickly slapped onto his chest. You know, just in case. ]

I'd say we get along just fine. [ Doctors are crowding him to inspect the wound, and it's ultimately decided that he was right: It's not too serious. They're deliberating on who should take some time to handle it, when Aerith looks between the gaggle of then. ] If you're up for it, I can patch you up myself.

[ They look at her, then Felix, as if wanting to hear his own opinion. ]

It's not the gnarliest wound I've seen today.
littleshield: (31)

[personal profile] littleshield 2022-04-10 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Felix blinks when she gives him that smile, looking a little confused, and then before shaking his head, letting out a sigh. She really does remind him of a certain someone; though there are definitely noticeable differences between them. ]

I don't know why you're convinced of that.

[ That they get along, exactly!! But Felix scowls as the doctors come to inspect him, clearly the picture of absolute happiness (no) about all of this.

Though, when Aerith says that, and now they're all looking at him, he'll scoff. ]


If you know what you're doing, then fine.

Otherwise, you'd better not even bother daring to try.

[ So definitely a yes. He does already feel a little more comfortable with her than these strangers, though that's not something he's going to say either. ]
Edited 2022-04-10 02:59 (UTC)
everblooms: (𝑠𝑒𝑖𝑧𝑒)

[personal profile] everblooms 2022-04-11 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Aerith takes handle of the little tray with tools that wheels it's way over, seemingly pushed there by no one. ] Thank you!

[ ...A tentacle slithers back under a table, waving.

Turning back to Felix, she holds up a pair of forceps, her fingers looped into the handle already. ]


Are you sure you wan to say that to someone trying to help you... with access to tools?

[ Just wondering. It's the most lighthearted sounding threat anyone has ever uttered, but she's admittedly not above pinching somewhere a bit painful. Though this hasn't happened yet, Aerith thinks it's a possible outcome for the two of them. Humming, she leans forward before him to pull back the fabric of his clothing, and peek into the wound. ]

Pretty clean, all things considered. For a street fight. [ Antiseptic is applied generously to be sure, the soaked cotton ball quickly dying itself bright red. Power through, Felix! ] Was the guy attacking someone else or you?
littleshield: (36)

[personal profile] littleshield 2022-04-12 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Felix's eyes widen at the thing. He still hasn't gotten used to some of the appearances of the different...youkai, in this place. But anyway the expression doesn't last very long as he's turning his attention back to Aerith. ]

What's that supposed to mean? You better not try anything funny.

[ Yet it appears he doesn't actually seem unsettled. It isn't his first rodeo being around healers and mouthing off, apparently.

Anyway, he allows her to take a peek at it, holding back a little wince when she applies the antiseptic to it. ]


...The man was attacking someone else. He thought he could score an easy target, and I just so happened to prove him wrong. An imbecile to the end.
Edited 2022-04-12 20:31 (UTC)
everblooms: (Default)

[personal profile] everblooms 2022-04-14 09:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There had been no doubt in Aerith's mind that Felix had been a rescuer. A real knight in shining armor, she muses as she cleans his wound. From the corner of her eye, she thinks she sees the smallest reaction possible from him, but says nothing of it. ]

You did the right thing. [ She nods, satisfied with his answer. ]

...So I know you'll do it again. [ Removing her gaze from the wound to look back at Felix, she gives him a stern, but sympathetic look. She understands. ] Guys like that always travel in packs. Do you really think you can head out alone?
littleshield: (18)

[personal profile] littleshield 2022-04-18 11:29 am (UTC)(link)
[ A small 'hmph' leaves him when she states that he did the right thing, but ultimately it's clear he does think the same, so despite the fact Felix has a tendency towards being frustratingly contrarian, he feels no need to be so in this instance.

Though when she states that she knows he'd do it again... ]


I'll teach idiots like that a lesson as many times as it takes.

[ So yeah, agreeing on that. ]

What, you think that I'm going to get targeted?

[ ...Not exactly impossible. But it's clear Felix isn't thinking of thatβ€”specifically the possibility of a reprisal. What he did was in a public space, after all. ]

If anyone tries, I'll make them wish they hadn't.
everblooms: (lay me down;)

[personal profile] everblooms 2022-04-19 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
You just might. [ A little huff of a laugh leaves her. He's a handful and then some, grumpy as all can be, but there's a good heart beneath it all. She's reminded of a number of men she's known in her life and childhood; amazing protectors primarily, but a little bit clumsy on a personal level. ]

You're a real knight in shining armor, huh? But you can't protect people if you're wounded yourself. When a teapot is empty, can you get any tea from it? Even when it's made for that purpose, you'll have to help fill it.

[ There's no need for stitching, though she's concerned about him opening up the wound. She looks at him, then. ]

You don't need stitches, I think. But if you can't make sure that the tape won't come off, I'll have to sew it up for you, Mr. Rambunctious. So, tell me honestly: Can you handle watching yourself?