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

[he can catch Wei Wuxian's nod and noise of affirmation anyway; he's already turning to scan the assassins' movements, gauging the moment that'll create the best chance for both of them. a little more, to get them away from the fire escape--a little more--]

Now!

[he's off in another rush of energetic movement, to engage them just enough to get their attention and keep it, before he slides away from this pocket of the conflict himself. how good he is at that is--well, it's another story, but it's also not Matoba's problem. his is getting down, now.]

[Matoba doesn't turn back to look if the other made it or not- with his shout, the exorcist is dashing for the fire escape in front of him with as much expedience as possible. Matoba wasn't exactly in tip-top fitness, and he was no martial fighter, but he was athletic enough- he dives himself onto the steps to the fire escape, making a leap down to the first landing with a grunt and then rushing downward.]

[He listens for the sound and vibration of shuddering metal, of a pursuit- but it doesn't come. It seems the attackers have chosen not to go for a retreating annoyance, but he can hear them instead regrouping to go after the leaping, frenzied Wei Wuxian, instead. Once Matoba makes it to ground level, he's hurrying around the side of the building again just in time to see a shadowed figure dart through the fog, readying his bow to shoot--]

[And lowering it again when the men are again face to face.] --Did they pursue you? [He hardly has time to ask before he is raising his bow again towards the shadows flying downward. At least they were on solid ground, now.]

They--

[ah, damn it. he'd taken some blows up there, and he'd hoped his reckless jump would get them a little more time, but these guys really brought their A-game to this assassination mission. they're really testing the limits of his stamina here, though! every couple of weeks it's like this!

instead of trying to bring them down by brute force again he's going to do his best to slide past them and break for the stage. he parries a couple of close-up blows again as he passes, taking hits in order to keep them from properly aiming their guns. this makes it briefly harder for Matoba to aim at them in turn, but he can also see a packet of something appear in Wei Wuxian's hand in the whirl of movement. it gets flung in one assassin's face in the next moment, sending them yelling and choking back; the opening is there now, to use as he will.]

[Ah yes, the ancient art of pocket sand, perhaps....? The crowd was thronging and chaotic, not at all a good place to try and shoot a bow of more than 2 meters' length. A distraction like that was tried and true, though, and the opening allows Matoba to swiftly dart through, following Wei Wuxian through the break in the crowd.]

[One advantage of the fog was that it made it equally as difficult for their pursuers to follow them as it made the assassins themselves. The main problem now was fighting through panicked crowds of low-level youkai, desperate to escape the fighting and fleeing for their lives. Matoba, who had little empathy towards them to begin with, shoulderchecks and roughs his way through, eye focused on the sounds of howls and clashing ahead of them. Tsk. If only he had his proper arrows and spells, he could banish a path straight through these weaklings...]

Did they--!?

[Matoba is cut short by a sharp pain in his arm and bites down the sound that threatened to escape through his shouted words, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to continue on. Their pursuers were dead-set on not allowing them through to the stage, it seemed; he clutches his arm, feeling the warmth of blood, pressing on single-mindedly.] --Where is the Daitengu?

[it was pocket chili powder he picked up somewhere in the festival, actually. press f for that particular assassin's eyes and sinuses, if nothing else.

Wei Wuxian does his part to help push through the crowds, not as rough as Matoba but still brusque -- no matter their individual feelings about youkai, neither of them can afford to get trampled in the panic right now. he glances back towards him for a second when his sentence cuts off, eyes widening, but Matoba's still on his feet and they can hear the confused, wary White Wolves shouting nearby in the chaos]

There! Not far now--

[another flurry of gunshots rings out as though on cue, and he too staggers as one catches him; it's not the worst injury he's ever taken, but he's never felt anything like the blow of a bullet before.]

[Matoba, despite his familiarity with firearms, can't exactly say he's been shot by one before, either- but getting shot with a bow was probably rather similar, so in a way he imagines this must be karma- he is in Hell, after all. Oh well.]

[The bigger worry than the injury itself was that it would lead to more trouble, in youkai smelling an opportunity for a meal and taking it, but luckily most of them seem too terrified by the scuffle on the stage to worry about it. If things were bad ahead, maybe he could even use it to his advantage... But as they get closer, it seems as if things might not get to that point.]

[With another mournful howl, all of a sudden, the pursuing shadows stop in place, and then vanish into retreat. The sounds of clashing battle up ahead cease.]

[To Matoba, that was an even worse sign.]

[He rushes ahead to catch up to Wei Wuxian, and by the time both men reach the stage, the fallen forms are coming into view.]

It seems we are too late. [He stops since there was no point in pressing further anyway, and because the remaining bodyguards were likely too panicked to view them as anything but further trouble at the moment. He turns to glance to Wei Wuxian, feeling the consequences of the sight wash over them both.]

[Wei Wuxian appears to be going to pieces less than most of the screaming crowd. he has, frankly, seen too much shit and too much combat in his lifetime to lose his head over the death of a stranger, even such a shocking and sudden death.

still, his eyes are wide and his fists are clenched at his sides. he doesn't feel great about it, either, even if he's feeling more frustration than fear or grief. his voice sounds a little distant even in his ears.]

I don't suppose they'd let us try to help if we ask nicely, ah?

[he doesn't see how much they can do, but better to confirm that up close.]

[Despite the chaos and noise around them, the moment felt quiet as they both stood there, seeing the motionless form of the Daitengu's body beyond the bustle of the White Wolves. Indeed, what could they do, two Lost Souls ranked so low in the clan that they barely rated as worth acknowledging in the best of times? Matoba lets out a slow breath through his nose and weighs the merits of paying respects against the worth of keeping out of the way like a good footsoldier, and takes a step forward.]

If there is anything we can do for what is left of our clan, perhaps, [He replies, nodding his head towards the other man.]

[As expected, the bodyguards hardly noticed them until they were close enough that the fog was barely a pale wisp over them all, and Matoba cautiously raises his open hands in a rare show towards an ayakashi.] ...What orders should we pass on to the others? [Since the one fit to give them no longer could.]

[a couple of the White Wolves confer hastily--even if they've noticed, they don't have a lot of time to spare for a couple of underlings, not when they're shellshocked and in disarray, some of them spattered by their leader's blood. Wei Wuxian waits quietly next to Matoba and offers a small bow towards the Daitengu: regret if they can still be saved, and respects if they can't be, in the end.

"Just get things under control," they're finally told, the guard's voice brusque with the seriousness of the situation. "Get people to shelter, make sure anyone injured is taken care of, keep anyone else from running amok." reasonable orders for two people on, essentially, the grunt level.

they can also get a glimpse of the Daitengu's body from this angle before it's covered up or borne away, probably.]

[Matoba's eye draws downward, towards the body of the Daitengu sheltered behind the White Wolves, for as long as he can get away with before they were spoken to. It draws back up quickly, and he inclines his head with the appearance of respect, at least, towards his superiors.]

[And in that motion, moves his eye towards the Daitengu's form again, to confirm what he had caught at a glance.]

[When he and Wei Wuxian have descended from the stage again, he waits until they're out of earshot of the White Wolves (well enough for wolves, anyway) to comment under his breath.] "Daitengu", huh....

[The small comment, whatever it is, he seems to brush aside. Instead, with the priority concern now... No longer applicable, Matoba lets out a breath he's been holding since their rush towards the front of the stage, and finally has the time to acknowledge the piercing pain in the side of his arm. His teeth grit as he tries to suppress it again, and steady his tone.] ...Given what has happened, I have my concerns about Sutoku territory. What do you intend to do? I will start to head back and check on things.

[...And find some sort of medical treatment, even if he isn't saying so out loud.]

[whatever Wei Wuxian caught was probably unclear in the moment, but Matoba's able to partly confirm it by making that hushed remark, because it makes him snort under his breath. for one reason or another, Wei Wuxian's suspicious that wasn't their real leader, too, though they won't discuss the reasons why until later at the meeting.

they...are both in rough shape, though, which complicates their orders a little. he's got a point.]

You go, I'll cover your back and redirect anyone who tries to interrupt.

[it means he'll take longer to get some aid himself, but whatever, he's used to ignoring his own wounds for a little while.]

[For the time being, it was certainly best to keep their suspicions to themselves. Whatever they may feel about what has happened, for practicality's sake if nothing else, their orders took precedence.]

[Matoba turns to glance at Wei Wuxian. The type to balk at any form of assistance, he's about to insist that he had no need for protection if he was retreating back to clan territory. It would be a waste of energy, especially with both as equally worse for wear--]

[But, well. It would be equally a waste of energy to argue right now, wouldn't it? Matoba gives a nod and incline of his head before parting.] I'll spread word that way, then, and leave you to here.

...Your aid is appreciated. [The Matoba's reputation may not be known here, but he still feels it important to give credit where it is due before departing off into fog.]

Yours, too.

[he doesn't have any sect or clan affiliation to put weight behind that anymore, but it's sincere; Matoba may catch a glimpse of his smile before they part ways.

they'll talk again later, after some of the dust has settled.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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