APRIL 2022 EVENT

[jigokumods]

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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.

Comments

[givehead]

(Goddamn. Look at that face. Dirk's grinning a bit wider. He's half tempted to call out the blush, but ers on the side of mercy.)

Aw. That was my favorite part last time.

(He shifts around a little closer to Robin. Half to be closer, half because he's curious as to what the hell he's going on about. Something under the tree? He stares intently at the tree only to glance back at Robin. He has seen enough weird shit in his life to never put his guard down around anything.)

Probably for the best you can't. (Especially if it was spooky. There had been something unsettling about walking around the trees - no matter how pretty they looked. Hmm...)

Why don't you take a walk with me instead? I ain't never seen so many trees in one place before. (It felt like a safer alternative than looking for disembodied voices???)

[sweetsong]

[ tilting his head slightly to the side, he lowers his hands, revealing a lopsided grin. ]

Really? Well, I guess it was pretty gentlemanly of you!

[ it is pretty difficult for him to ignore the growing uneasiness from being near all of these trees. they did practically appear over night, and there is an unnaturalness to them that makes robin's skin crawl. his expression fades, and he does his best not to hem and haw for too long. ]

Um... sure! That's more fun than digging through the dirt.

[ especially without a shovel. he reaches out to grab dirk's hand. ]

Here! It's just as good as what you did before, right?

[givehead]

Gentlemanly, huh? That's about the sweetest most inaccurate descriptor I've ever heard of myself.

(He's an absolute dog and Robin was an angel for thinking otherwise.)

I'm only nice to you 'cause you're cute, man. Lookit that face. (See? Dog. Granted, he actually probably wouldn't be mean to Robin if he were ugly, but he also wouldn't be stopping out of his way to get his attention either.

He's still grateful to get Robin away from the trees though. He preferred trusting his gut on that kind of thing. He tips his head down when his hand is grabbed and he smiles. Totally worth approaching potentially possessed trees.)

Just about, yeah. Slightly better since you're kinda more coherent this time. Did you ever figure out what the fuck was up with you back then? (This place definitely had a knack for screwing with people's heads, he's discovered. Not that he's really let it stop him from taking advantage of that, but whatever.)

[sweetsong]

[ at the very least, he's being honest with robin right now. would it stop dirk from lying in the future? probably not--- robin's not so naïve to believe that dirk is all nice words all the time. but at the same time, how could he not take that compliment and run with it a little?

he giggles again, gently rubbing his cheek with his other hand. ]

I'm not that cute...

[ never hurts to try to be a little modest. ]

Oh! Yeah, it was a side effect of some medicine I was offered to test. The youkai gave me some money after I told her how I reacted to it.

[ as they walk away from the trees and toward a livelier part of the area, where it seems several booths are lined up with various treats: ]

I guess I owe you, don't I?

[givehead]

Oh, kitten, I assure you, you absolutely are. You're a heartbreaker in the making. (Lookit that damn face, that rubbing. Who wouldn't be swooning over the guy? He makes a mental note to put a move on the guy ASAP.)

No long-term side effects? 'Cause if someone fucked with you...(He grins and while it sounds playful, there's still something distinctly genuine about the unspoken threat. Robin was technically on his side and Dirk was a team player if anything.

He slips his fingers through Robin's because he's fairly certain he can get away with doing that right about now. He smirks down at him, sunglasses catching a glint of light.)

Guess you do. (Dirk...He tips his head back, rubbing his chin with his other hand, humming.)

Whatever could I ask for...Hmmm. (He looks down at Robin again.) Why don't I get you something to eat and we can mull over what you're willing to do.

[sweetsong]

[ the blushing intensifies. a heartbreaker? a kitten? he's used to compliments, sure, but not like these. he's never really been flirted with before. no one would ever do that to the classical performer, even after trading his tuxedo for a uniform sporting the blues and whites of his band. ]

No, not at all.

[ he can feel the aggression behind those words. the grin certainly feels cold; even if they weren't aligned with tamamo together, he's pretty sure that dirk wouldn't be against fucking someone up for fucking with robin.

and he totally gets away with lacing fingers. dog or not. ]

Oh! Yeah, sure. [ there are quite a few places to grab snacks from. easy way to judge dirk's character from what he might find tasty...! ]

I'm kinda curious about what you might want me to do!