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

Y-yeah ... I guess I’d better.

[ He scratches the back of his head, rising up to his feet as he sheepishly looks in the direction of the restaurant. ]

I was thinking of getting a job at one of the Sutoku theaters. I at least know my way around one of those. Even if I’ve never had a job before, I know what an usher does. I’d be better suited to that than this.

[ his eyes follow where junpei is looking. okay, if that's where they need to go... then that's where they'll go. robin curls one arm around his friend's waist, mostly to anchor himself so that they won't get separated from each other. ]

You should! I haven't really had the time to visit most of the other faction's places... the Tamamo clan's members have been keeping me busy.

[ robin's smile is a little shaky. a little forced, and maybe he clings onto junpei a little tighter just mentioning his clan, but... ]

Maybe you could be an usher at a theater that only shows movies you like!

[ Even if it’s just meant to keep them together, the hand around his waist does cause Junpei to pause for a second. His eyes dart down to look at it, a faint pink blush coming to his cheeks. He’d forgotten how casual Robin was about touching, but ... he doesn’t dislike it, so he doesn’t mention it as he starts to walk back toward the restaurant.

Then he notices the way Robin speaks about what he’s been doing, and there’s a sharp pain in his gut. He stops just as quickly as he’d started and gently guides the other into an alley that will at least give them some privacy.

Once he’s sure they’re alone he looks Robin in the eye, expression intense. ]

Are they ... are they hurting you?

[ concern lines his face once junpei leads them both into a somewhat familiar looking alleyway. it's one that he's actually taken a few times in the past--- mostly to avoid crowds, but sometimes? he has to slink around and avoid some of the more intimidating youkai. the ones that he's had to hold services from, the ones that the tamamo ladies tell to avoid. violence when 'performing' isn't the cup of tea of many of the kitsune.

but robin is quick to place his other hand on junpei's chest and look him right back in the eye. ]

No. They're not hurting me... I think they just want me to be successful.

[ he can feel the sudden sharpness coming from nowhere? or perhaps it's been buried inside of him? either way, robin's glad it's not specifically aimed at him. ]

[ The response doesn’t seem to really alleviate Junpei’s concern. He bites his bottom lip as he gives Robin a once over, as if he’s looking for some clue to the truth.

Finally he pulls back slightly, letting out a deep, shuddering sigh. ]

That night .... at the club ... I was all over you because I’d been drugged. I don’t want you to think that’s what I want from you.

[ It’s been eating away at him all this time. Even more than anything that had happened to him. Had Robin just been doing his job? Accommodating him? His expression shifts, guilt taking over fully. ]

If you’re hurting ... if you’re unhappy ... you can tell me. A-And I won’t touch you like that again, or try and do those things with you. That wasn’t me.

[ He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself as much as he is Robin. ]

You’re not just ... that, to me. You’re worth more than that.

[ ah. it all makes sense. robin had been feeling guilty himself, but as he has come to realize? that is how the tamamo operate: freedom and pleasure, though at the cost of other things. to have junpei as he is... it tugs at robin's heart. someone earnest and thoughtful, someone more worried about another than himself...

he's happy to be surrounded by caring people, that's for sure.

robin's quick to lean back in, pull junpei back into a hug. not let him go, not for a second. ]

Junpei... like I said before: whatever makes you happy will make me happy! It's because you're my friend.

[ and then he buries his face into the other boy's shoulder. ]

I'm afraid I'll forget who I am. Being with you reminds me of home, and I don't want to forget that either. So you're special to me because of that. Okay?

[ The hug is unexpected, and when it’s followed up with the very emotionally charged words and Robin placing his face on his shoulder it throws Junpei off even more.

After a moment he recovers, gently bringing a hand up to rub slow circles on the other’s back to try and reassure him. It’s not that he dislikes what Robin is saying, he just hadn’t been prepared to be hit so squarely in the heart.

How does he respond to that? ]

Home ... if home is happy for you, then I’m glad. I’ll be around as much as you need me. Being around you brings me comfort too.

[ Not the same kind. Robin is better than home. That is to say, once his mother was killed home could never be a source of comfort again. ]

[ he's not afraid of sharing what he feels; a vampire cannot lie about that in their songs and he's never felt like lying has done anything good for anyone ever. with junpei, it feels as easy as ever to show all of his cards and leave them face up on the table.

his giggle is soft and muffled. he gives junpei one more squeeze before pulling back slightly. ]

I'm glad too... and I figure, once Tenko-hime gets to know me better, she'll be more supportive of my endeavors! That way, the people who I sing for won't be so mean and rude.

[ or handsy. or crude. ]

I want to protect you too.

[ Junpei frowns, the very idea of anyone giving this kind person a hard time bothering him deeply. It was just proof the world was needlessly cruel and unfair. ]

They’re idiots.

[ As much as he looks timid and soft, Junpei has a dark side borne from what he endured back home. He doesn’t care how powerful the Tamomo leader is or any youkai are, they don’t impress him if they can’t appreciate someone like Robin. ]

You deserve better. If I could take you out of that situation ... if I wasn’t so weak ...

[ and now robin is a little worried. it's not like he hasn't been around people that call others idiots before! still. ]

You don't have to worry about me that much. We'll both get stronger together, okay?

[ it's only now that robin realizes that... weren't they on their way to do something? heading towards a restaurant but not going on a date. right? right. ]

Ah! The delivery! [ robin rubs his forehead. ] Maybe... maybe you can say you got robbed by a random youkai...?

[ Junpei wasn’t quite ready to let that conversation thread drop, but Robin reminds him there’s something that needs to be addressed sooner rather that later.

He furrows his brow, thinking over the excuse. ]

I guess ... do you think it’s a bad choice to tell them the truth? I wonder if they’d still pay me if I used your idea ... I really need the money ...

[ He looks back at the entry to the alley, considering another option. ]

I wonder what would happen if I just never went back to the restaurant? Would they come looking for me over a single order?

I don't know... some of those youkai can be really scary. They might think of it as an unpaid debt or something.

[ which honestly, if robin's really scared of anything? it's that. owing someone around here seems to be way worse, way less forgiving, and he's seen some of those shuten clan members. they're angry and loud and aren't afraid to swing around a weapon like there's no tomorrow!

but they do like his songs... so. at least, the more brutish ones. ]

I don't want you to get in trouble, Junpei.

[ and he reaches out to touch the other's shoulder, patting him a few times. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

APRIL 2022 EVENT

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