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

Thanks.

[it comes out as thankff, as he reaches for his cup before fully swallowing the mouthful.]

No need.

[Lan Wangji hands it over just as carefully as he pours it and returns his hands to his lap, watching Wei Wuxian with a sober, soft expression. his food-stuffed hamster face and his talking with his mouth full are so stupid. Lan Wangji could cry about it.]

Edited 2022-04-18 04:28 (UTC)

[he nearly spittakes, when he looks up from the cup and accidentally locks eyes with Lan Wangji. jerks his gaze away again.]

What?

[he'll tilt his head in confusion...? he was just waiting for Wei Wuxian to finish. while slightly choked up by how much he loves him, but that's his own business.]

Wei Ying?

You're staring.

[SORRY HE'S LIKE THIS.]

[oh shit. he probably was. he'll blink once (it's not quite a flinch) and glance aside abruptly at the drifting blossoms instead, hands tensing slightly in his lap before relaxing again. now Wei Wuxian can look at his sharp profile instead.]

...

My apologies.

[was that what you wanted, Wei Wuxian? have you accomplished your goal here?]

Edited 2022-04-18 04:54 (UTC)

[who's got a thought-through goal here, after casting frantically about for one the whole time he was eating? absolutely not this guy!]

...forget it.

[he is going to subtly* run his hand over his face in case there was anything on it, though.

*nope]

[Lan Wangji got the message, at any rate; food or not, sitting around being glad to be able to look at Wei Wuxian's face is not a privilege he gets to do anything more than steal a sliver of, here and there. which is not really a new idea for him...

and theft is forbidden.

for now, he doesn't look again. he'll take a deep breath and let it out, staring fixedly at the tree trunks in front of his line of sight.]

...

Wei Ying.

Have you finished your meal?

[are you still willing to speak, if you're done?]

Edited 2022-04-18 05:06 (UTC)

I--suppose?

[find a safe topic! a neutral topic! a topic that won't lead to you screaming in fifteen seconds about how nothing makes sense! there has to be at least one!]

How's...

[waves a hand towards the cherry tree, where Lan Wangji was playing earlier.]

[Lan Wangji's eyes follow his gesture. does Wei Wuxian mean the ghosts in general, or the one that sent the message...?]

The spirits have calmed.

That's to be expected, with the great Hanguang-Jun playing for them.

[it doesn't come out sarcastic, for once, just in a long, tired sigh.

he checks his sleeve and finds the return message, handing it over. as confusing as the emotional dynamics between them are, the errand itself hadn't been that complicated, as far as ghost-tasks go.]

Ah...she asked for it to be kept private, but I think if we bury it near the tree, that'll be fine.

Mm.

[Lan Wangji takes the message easily, still not looking at Wei Wuxian. he feels the weight and the crinkle in his hand, the strange too-smooth texture of this world's paper under his fingertips. there's this much that he was able to do today, at least. it's something.

he likes to be able to help.]

Am glad she could receive it.

...her wife was nice. You should visit, too, sometime. I mentioned I wasn't the one who spoke to the ghost originally.

[the longer they talk about this, the longer they can stay off whatever it is Lan Wangji wants to really discuss with him.]

Did she issue an invitation?

[he'll slowly tuck the letter into his sleeve... he'll bury it later, he thinks, with another flower.]

I would not impose.

No, but she was pretty surprised...I'll impose and ask her for you, if you want.

She seemed like she liked having unexpected company.

[Lan Wangji will nod again, thinking of going to speak to the lively ghost's wife... there isn't going to be much time left for further conversation, of course. he has the feeling that the ghosts will return to whatever else they were doing, as soon as the Night Parade is over -- if some of the speculation is right and they'll be nearly out of energy by the time the spectral blossom display is nearing its end, he'll send them back to sleep himself, to avoid any damage to their spirits. but before then, he has the feeling that the ghost he spoke to won't squander the small remaining window of time for messages of care.]

Would return with a reply.

Your assistance is appreciated.

[he's looking at Wei Wuxian again, given the excuse to do so; straightforward and sincere.]

[Wei Wuxian, being Wei Wuxian, misinterprets this.]

I can't exactly assist you with getting a reply? They may have chosen to give you back some of your abilities, but they seem a little more cautious of returning mine, ha. You'll have to do the work; I'll just pass the message.

[that passing a message back to the living is work appears to have escaped his notice.]

Yes. I appreciate this.

[this, at least, is easy to clarify. Lan Wangji is still watching him, steady.]

[waves it away...]

It's nothing. I'll let you know.

...

Other than this. Have you been well?

[he asks, knowing that it's not going to get a good reaction. but he wants to know, from Wei Wuxian's own mouth, and how many more times is he going to get the chance to do so? Wei Wuxian opened the door for it, with this forced-light conversation he's insisted on so far. it's not that Lan Wangji minds it; he's just waiting for the other shoe to drop.]

[drop the shoe does, though not so explosively as it would have a couple of weeks before; Wei Wuxian only looks at him narrow-eyed, the casual mask slipping as easily as he donned it.]

As well as someone anticipating an unpleasant conversation might be; and yourself?

[honestly, it's neither unfair nor inaccurate as a description of Lan Wangji's current life experience. he breathes through it easily enough, the blow not as bad as he'd expected.]

...

Wished to offer what events you might desire to know of, after your death.

[there's a finality to it: Wei Wuxian already knows his time only extends past Wei Wuxian's for three months, by his own admission. but it's three months of the life of his brother and anyone else in the cultivation world he might still care for that as far as Lan Wangji knows, Wei Wuxian knows nothing about.]

[his hands clench in the edges of his sleeves, his mouth thinning. is Lan Wangji mocking him? is this belated remorse for participating in the murder of Wei Wuxian and the Wens, this odd kindness? he's not having it.]

If I really want details of such things, I'll ask Nie Huaisang.

Edited 2022-04-21 17:51 (UTC)

[it's telling that Wei Wuxian reaches so easily for an explanation that assumes Lan Wangji's ill intentions towards him. based on what he's seen today, he could just as easily describe this as Lan Wangji's impulse to take pity on a ghost.

for now, his hands tense in his lap, his own mouth tamping flatter in turn. he can't help it.]

Will you.

Edited 2022-04-21 18:30 (UTC)

Why shouldn't I? At least I know he didn't participate. At least I know he thinks it shouldn't have happened--hell if I know if he'd have said that to my face if he wasn't so much older, but at least he said it.

[that Lan Wangji also said as much in their first conversation here simply does not cross his mind; that's how thoroughly he's written it off as a lie.]

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