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.

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(What a strange lizard... some sort of tattoo? He can't figure it out.)

The truth hurts or something.

(It's not his fault he speaks the truth and people can't handle it!!! Some how, it being the same guy explains the paper bag. He'd been afraid to eat food at the previous party too which reminds him-- )

I'm not sharing.

(Any of his food. It's all his. He still has another stick of dango and some karaage. Of course, as soon as he says that he asks after a moment,)

... Still avoiding food?

[For a moment, Natori legitimately thinks Hizen is saying that he's not sharing... his space under the trees? Which is fair, but sort of abrupt. Then he realizes what Hizen is actually saying.]

Only food that isn't up for offer. [Mom.] I already finished my hanami bento, so you don't have to worry. I'm not ravenous enough to barge in and demand someone else's food like that.

[He carefully folds the paper bag mask, looking up at the flower petals as he does so.]

Also, in case you were curious, I ended up sneaking away to a convenience store not long after we spoke, so I never avoided it for that long anyway.

(He shows minimal compassion to a stranger and they mock him in brackets. He'll never be kind to anyone ever again without being fed.

Chewing on his stick at the corner of his mouth, he watches Natori put away his mask,)

I wasn't. (Curious, that is. He doesn't care!! ) Not my problem if you starve.

(Except he wouldn't wish that on anyone? Except maybe his enemies. Fuck his enemies. Natori hasn't quite made it to that level, though.)

But humans got enough going against them here without going hungry.

[Natori Shuuichi: not an enemy despite his action bracket shenanigans. Score.

There's something familiar about Hizen's mother hen attitude-- not Natori's actual human mother, because she died too young to have gotten much affectionate nagging in, but his ayakashi partners. Hizen just radiates shiki energy.] Haha, you sound like my shiki. My familiars. [And also sound distinctly nonhuman, but Natori knows he's in the minority here even among the Lost Souls.] But I'm giving you permission not to worry about my welfare here. There are other humans who aren't used to being in the ayakashi realm, and they're the ones that we need to keep an eye on.

(...)

I got enough contracts.

(Because of course, he interprets this as someone else wanting him to form a contract or deal with them again. If he had a sense of humor, he'd laugh at how this keeps happening to him but since he doesn't have a funny bone in his body, he's just exhausted.

Hizen Tadahiro... assuming the worst in others at all times.)

And I don't need your permission to do anything. You aren't my master.

(Or anything like that?)

Edited (my html) 2022-04-11 13:10 (UTC)

[He runs a hand through his hair in faux exasperation (it's really to deal with the hat hair. Bag hair. The lizard "tattoo" inches further down his arm with a wet slurp.] Sheesh. Is that how other people open negotiations for that sort of thing? Not even a hello?

[The sad thing is that he knows that is how other exorcists do things. Not everyone goes out here offering contracts to spirits who have nothing else left; some don't even bother offering, they just use underhanded tricks to force their hand.]

I've got my hands full with contracts myself, and honestly wouldn't be able to hold up my end right now regardless. All I'm saying is that my shiki tell me to eat and brush my teeth more often than I'd like.

It's not negotiating.

(It's an absolute! He's got enough contracts and he's not picking up anymore. He also isn't here to make friends because that's the kind of edgelord he is.)

They'd probably stop if you took care of yourself.

(Not that he really cares. He leans back on the ground, bracing himself with one palm and reaching for his drink with his free hand,)

... So, what're you? (He watches Natori,) Another sage? Or a really weird guy?

Edited 2022-04-11 14:09 (UTC)

[Natori just raises an eyebrow because Hizen, he knows. He only takes suicidal monster girls anyway! But Hizen wants to be very firm on that matter, so he holds his hands up in a placating gesture.]

I know. Not a negotiation. I'm just trying to make small talk.

[See, this is why he does the stupid kirakira act, because otherwise he can't say anything without sounding shady.]

We already decided I'm another weirdo. But on top of that, I'm also an exorcist. [translator's note he uses 祓い屋.] I do work in the Shinto tradition, but my family weren't priests or onmyouji, if that's what you mean.

(They don't deserve to deal with each other but here they are.)

...

(Oh, he's heard this before and now it's his turn to raise a brow. He wonders if this guy knows the guy with the weird eye...)

... That's why you're careful. (Yes, he suspected something last time when he mentioned not wanting to eat the food in this world because it was being offered by youkai. The mask had been another clue. Don't eat the food in the youkai realm, don't show your face, and don't offer your name or any other important information.) You're in a pretty bad place.

(An exorcist in hell..... that's like a cop in a prison. A worm in a koi pond.)

[Keep wondering, Hizen. But Natori looks pretty cheerfully accepting about that assessment.]

Haha, right? And on top of all that, my abilities are sealed too. So I'm taking precautions when I can.

[After a brief pause, the rustling whispers of the trees around them start up again all at once, as if once the spirits realized that Natori couldn't make good on his threat they had to make up for lost time.]

...Ah, well. It was quiet while it lasted. Sorry for ruining your picnic spot for nothing.

Not like they can do anything either.

(The trees. They're loud and annoying but an exorcist that can't exorcise versus a bunch of trees that are only good for prattling away?)

Exorcising them'd be a waste.

(The trees grow louder,)

's probably better to just cut them down. Anyone can do that.

(And they go quiet suddenly for a moment.)

[He snorts quietly. Just two guys bullying trees.]

Mm, that's true! It'd be a shame to dull your sword on something like that, but I suppose it can't be helped if they keep acting up.

[He tucks his hands into the opposite sleeves of his kimono, looking up at the leaves and idly musing ("idly" "musing")]

Maybe it's best for everyone involved to stay quiet and enjoy the flowers together?

(The little comment about his sword makes him glance over in Natori's direction from over his food. The last exorcist he'd met had been able to figure out what he was pretty easily so he wonders if Natori is trying to make some passive point about the same thing or if he's just speaking generally.

... Hm.)

If they aren't going to do anything then they might as well be quiet and look pretty or whatever.

(That's what beautiful things do, right? If they aren't useful, they just look beautiful.)

[Natori didn't mean anything in particular about it, but he does notice Hizen's reaction. He turns his head back towards Hizen in response to Hizen glancing over at him, but it's more with the air of someone politely waiting for him to chime in with whatever caught his attention than the smug look some exorcists might have upon uncovering some secret. Once it becomes clear that there's nothing serious to discuss, he. starts sparkling. I'm sorry.]

It's true. [He presses one hand against his chest and the other on his forehead, as if swooning.] Sitting quietly and beautifully to inspire other people... we have that in common, Sakura-tachi. I'd be happy to teach you some pointers.

[ S I L E N C E. aside from the bgm track.]

(Natori waits and Hizen gives nothing.

And then Natori starts to sparkle and Hizen just looks? Confused? Like, what the hell?)

... You really are a weirdo.

Haha, did you doubt it even after I confirmed it?

[This certainly doesn't put a damper on his kirakira in any way.]

But it can't be helped. In addition to working as an exorcist, I'm also a romance actor. It's simply in my nature.

A romance... actor...

(SKEPTICAL and yet...)

You can be something else?

(That seems to surprise Hizen considering he's used to saniwa just being saniwa where he's from. There's no time for other jobs when you're managing a war full time.)

[Okay, at least this one gets him to cut out the sparkling. Not Hizen's initial flat response (because, really. Look at him, Hizen. Of course he's a romance actor) but the follow up question.]

Haha, well. I suppose it depends on who you ask. It's certainly annoyed a good number of the exorcist community. [Even moreso than having a member of the Natori family return to the business in the first place.] But I manage my schedule somehow. With a little help from my shiki reminding me to care for myself after a double shift, of course.

(Romance is dead.

But yes, this checks out. He can imagine some of the official bodies being annoyed at a saniwa managing a second job, especially one that would make them known to everyone. It's one thing to be something boring like a writer or accountant on the side. It's something else entirely to be a celebrity. ANd really, it's that whole being known part that makes Hizen forget his food for a second and focus on just how weird of a concept this is to him,)

Won't spirits recognize you if you're famous?

(Isn't that dangerous?)

Well, most of them don't watch movies, but... [He slips the folded mask back out to wave it briefly in demonstration.] It's not my first time wearing something like this.

[It's a simplified explantation; easier than getting into how many of them know him anyway, knew him for what he was before he'd ever met another human who could see them, based on the smell of his blood and the paper he carries. Easier than explaining that the reason the rest of the exorcists are annoyed isn't because of the difficulty balancing the two jobs, but because he's making a fool of himself in public as well as in their own community. Easier than explaining the door it opened for him to pursue what he wanted to do, even if it meant shining a spotlight.]

Honestly, other humans are a problem too. I guess some of them start to second guess things when they realize the exorcist they hired was also in Kirameki Revolution.

....

(He won't really argue it but there are other disadvantages to being in the spotlight even without them seeing movies. If a vengeful spirit was to come after him, they'd be able to find him easily if they wanted to-- movies, rumors, all sorts of ways... Is Natori just... confident in his abilities? Is he......... strong.....?

... Hm. )

Never heard of it. (Kirameki Revolution that is and he follows up with,) How old is it?

Hmm, let's see. Filming wrapped around September, so... [Specifically, that project is inextricably tied to that nonsense with the moon-splitting festival, and seeing Natsume dressed up like a god on a palanquin getting carried off to combat. He hides the little sliver of distaste that comes to mind at the thought.] Ah, but I guess time is all relative here, huh? I suppose saying "a few months" doesn't really mean anything. It's 2005 as far as I'm concerned, if that helps any.

...

(That sure is 200 years in the past and Hizen stays quiet)

... Not like I like movies anyway.

(He won't comment on the age.)

Haha, but you were thinking of checking it out anyway? Normally I'd offer to give you a ticket to my latest release, but I lost all of them when I arrived here.

[The sad part is that he is not just trolling. He normally does carry tickets to his movies on him.]

Do you think the clan leaders confiscated them for themselves? Ah well. If any of my movies come here, I'll let you know so you can properly ignore it.

I told you, you aren't special.

(Why would the clean leaders take his lame tickets? And he's just going to take a drink now,)

... People lost a lot of things when they came here though.

(His strength, his ability to sense evil spirits, and so on........ it's a good thing he hasn't had to rely on those. Yet.)

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paperpusher - 2022-04-24 13:48 (UTC) - Expand

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