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

Then you're all idiots. [a growl.] Stand up and let me check you for injuries.

I'm not interested in excuses as to why you cant even protect yourself.

[ then he won't offer any excuses. he has none. there's an obvious line of demarcation between their life experiences and their worlds, and fighting nehan about that...

feels pointless.

as he stands, his left arm hangs somewhat limp against his side. he doesn't want to move it; it aches and stings too much from the joint down to his wrist. robin looks at it, gingerly raising it for nehan's triage. ]

[at least he has the sense to be quiet and not test nehan's temper even more.

the erune feels the arm from the shoulder down, pressing down with two fingers every few inches until he reaches all the way to his hand, the tips of his fingers. he has to be thorough to be able to tell just what the problem is-- doesn't seem broken, perhaps strained, perhaps injured. but the problem is definitely between the elbow and the wrist.]

Tell me what it feels like.

S-sore... like you're trying to stretch it too far. And it feels like there's something sharp in there, too. Not like bone.

[ his bottom lip firms before quivering. just slightly. it's painful and he hates it; hates that he can't get help from beth, hates that his brother isn't here. at least there doesn't seem be a shortage of doctors.

but he allows nehan to complete his exam, especially while they're safe.

it's certainly some kind of hyperextension of some kind. ]

You overextended this limb. No extruding bone, so you're lucky. Nothing seems to be embedded in it, unless...

[he leans in, checking the skin more closely.]

Splinters. You have splinters. This is one of the reasons why you don't hide in a box-- it explodes into too many things to skewer you with. Now, stay still. [because he's going to start pulling them out one by one. with his gloved hand no less-- no sense in getting splinters in his own fingers.]

[ nothing broken. that's a good thing. he can't possibly work with a completely unusable arm, though he's surprised by the amount of splinters that have found their way into his forearm.

those... those don't seem to hurt as much. he doesn't flinch as he watches nehan pluck each one out. ]

You're a doctor?

Yes. [deadpan. but then again, he doesn't advertise it as much because he doesn't want people knocking on his door, asking to be cured. that's not the sort of thing he wants to do in this place-- a doctor is invaluable, yes, but that wont make him wholly secure.]

Don't go spreading it around.

[and he yanks out another splinter and waves the little thing before the boy's face.] I don't care to do this for others.

I won't.

[ he will keep his word. it's one of the few things he has, right? whatever integrity that he can hold close to his heart, he will. after all--- robin is a good boy.

the size of the splinter is bigger than he would think... it's almost a shard. as he looks at where nehan must've pulled it from, the wounds are already starting to mend. maybe not as quickly as they would back home, but... ]

Then why me?

Because I need to know if you saw something that could be used as a clue. I know nothing of what just happened.

[and because robin is of the clan.

he yanks out another splinter, before drawing a bare finger over skin to check for more.]

[ if he saw anything that could've been used as a clue? ]

When everything went crazy, the manhole covers flew off the street like they were being pushed up by a geyser! Like, a really powerful fountain made of steam...

[ which being near one is the reason why his arm feels the way it does. ]

Why do that when someone could have smoke bombs, like in the movies? Did it have to come from underground?

[ with the splinters gone, he is certainly in better shape. his clothes might not be, but that's easy to deal with. ]

Hmmn. [nehan's brow furrows as he thinks, while groping for a cloth laying to the side so he can make a makeshift sling out of it.] The only way to walk fully undetected and unhindered during the Night Parade is to go through the sewers...

[then his ears stand straight up.]

This has been planned for a long time, and they knew exactly where the procession would end, and which clan head would be where at any given time. Using the underground system was deliberate.

Edited 2022-04-21 02:20 (UTC)

You really think so...?

[ planned from the start. to take advantage of the parade, take advantage of the lost souls, and act as terrorists? it makes robin's stomach ache, thinking any group of people would do such a thing. ]

I guess it makes sense. Even though I hate it. How cruel!

[nehan sneers visibly.]

There you go again, with such inane comments. It's not enough that you never learned anything in your world, how to survive like a person-- you just refuse to learn, don't you?

[and he's pretty disgusted by that.]

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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