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

[starshepard]

[ She waits until he gives the ready, hoping he can tough out the situation long enough to get the bullet out. Again, this isn't something she has experience in. But she's true to her word on making the whole thing quick.

Once he's ready she goes in after the bullet with the metal contraption she conjured into existence. It might take a few tries but she managed to get a hold of the bullet and pull it free. Once it's out she's quick to weave a bit of magic to heal him up. A bright soothing white-blue light that dulls the pain as flesh knits itself back together. It's not a perfect cast of Cure, not like she was capable before arriving here. But it's enough to seal up the gaping wound.

When done, she lets out a sigh, shoulders sagging a bit as if that spell alone took a lot out of her. ]

You should be good now. Though it's probably going to be a little tender. Couldn't heal it completely with the limits this place has put on me.

[ She's disappointed in that. As there will definitely be a scar and some pain left behind until it's fully healed on its own. Back home, she could have healed him up as if nothing had ever happened. ]

Y'should take it easy for a bit.

[pathofsacrifice]

[ His mouth hangs open as he lets out wordless cries; he breathes in sharp and almost sounds like he is choking. But the bullet is pulled free and the wound is closed -- well closed as good as it could be, which honestly is better than what he could have done.

The color drains out of his face and it looks for a second that he is going to faint. It is a mixture of the pain and blood loss that threatens the fainting spell. He takes a sharp breath in before he drops his head in a harsh nod. ]

You did more than could be asked. [ He reaches to take her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. ] The magic you have is -- I've heard of it before. A girl said that God blessed her with the means to heal. I didn't believe in it yet she claimed she healed hundreds. [ Artemy isn't sure what he is saying, but feels like he has had a religious experience in this moment, and can't put those feelings into words. ]

I can't rest until their heads are mounted on the wall. [ And the warm, humbled words are replaced with sharply spoken vows of vengeance. ]

[starshepard]

[ Azem wishes there was more she could do for him. If she had magic at its fullest he wouldn't look as if he was about to pass out. He wouldn't look as rough as he does. This situation might be the first time she's truly cursing this place for how weak it's made her. The magic she can do now is that of what would expect of a child back home. Parlor trick.

She sighs, offering a little smile as he takes her hand, though it gives way to a questioning look. ] A god? My magic doesn't come from some fantastical creation, it is something that everyone possesses where I'm from.

[ To a varying degree, of course.

And then she frowns at him. ] You're in no shape to be running off after any of them right now.

[pathofsacrifice]

Then, you all are more blessed than you realize.

[ For everyone to be able to heal, that is something of a feat in and of itself. A dozen -- no, millions -- of question eat away at his mind then but he has to rise to continue his journey of vengeance. ]

If we let them go, how will we be able to face our parent in our failure?

[ He holds his hand out to her; the blood is already starting to dry a little, but still quite sticky. ] Cousin, I am in your debt and will not forget this kindness.

[starshepard]

[ Azem frowns a little at that. Saying her people are blessed is a little silly in her opinion. Her people might be born with an affinity for magic but they have to work at it to do anything with it. Sure, even a child can cast a spell or create something, but it's rudimentary in comparison to what they'd be able to do years down the line.

But rather than argue the point she lets it go. Perhaps another time she can properly explain things, right now it seems chasing after those that did this is more important to him. ]

Then, if you wish to go allow me to go with you. And don't worry overmuch about repaying me. It is better I heal those I can than let them die.

[pathofsacrifice]

Sister... I did say "we", but -- I did not mean for you to join me.

[ He calls to her and muses over what it is that he wants to say. Honestly, he thinks it would be best if she stayed to help others than let herself be soaked in the hatred and anger he feels festering inside of him. ]

Yet I feel if I tell you to stay, I will make an enemy. [ Artemy's tone is light, and almost teasing, like this is a situation to offer teasing comments about. ] But if I begged you, would you stay out of harm's way?

[ He'll talk later on repayment, but later, much later, for now... he must do what he can to save her from his own revenge. ]

[starshepard]

[ There's only so much Azem can do right now with her singular Cure spell. Not to mention, she can only use it so many times before she wears herself out. In the end, she can only be so much help on the medical front.

Fighting, however, is where Azem excels. Ever have they been more adept at combat than healing, only picking up the latter for those emergency situations.

Being told to stay out of harm's way is not only met with a scowl as those blue eyes burn brighter. ]

Do you take me for some helpless maiden? [ She stands and wipes her hands down the front of her oversized sweater. ] This place may have weakened me but I can still fight.

[ And to prove that the previously conjured items are picked up and shimmer, shifting their shape into a pair of sharp knives. They aren't exactly what she'd prefer to fight with, the weight is all wrong and these blades seem much too flimsy. But they'll do. ]

[pathofsacrifice]

No.

[ His tone is firm. Those that are among the dying and the sick are not helpless. Those that can rest their hands on others and heal them could not be considered so. He knows that is not her meaning, but it takes a certain person to be able to wander through the death and still reach out their hands to help more. ]

It is not about fighting, sister. It is about revenge and hatred. The harm that will come to you is not from these, but from the evil that comes from it.

[ Yet even so, he will walk forward to let himself kill. These people harmed his family -- their parent that offered protection; death is a kindness that he is willing to give them ... for sometimes living is much worse. ]

[starshepard]

[ Where Azem is from only children are kept from conflict, not that conflict is commonplace. Etheirys is a paradise as much also as its governing body has managed to make it so, in any case. Needless to say, the thought that a woman can't fight doesn't exist. That's only something she's run into since arriving in this place.

She's glad to see he doesn't hold such a ridiculous notion. However, the rest worries her. ]

And yet you are willing to take such harm upon yourself? Will giving in to such things make you feel any better? [ She would think not. ]

[pathofsacrifice]

Yes.

[ He answers the first question without hesitation, but the second leaves him pause. ]

It will not make me feel better, sister. It will leave a stain on me like anything else. [ Artemy rests a hand where his injury was; he turns to look through the chaos surrounding them, and attempts to see if he can find any trail of those that caused this destruction. ]

But that is not the point of it. The point is that my family was harmed and what has been done will be answered for. [ A beat. ] I have seen someone be wrapped up in vengeance once to where she could no longer see herself; she could not see the danger that her life was in or a life past her revenge. There was no reason left in her.

[ So. ] I do not wish that for you, sister. Let me carry this for you, and that will be my repayment for allowing me to live another day.

[starshepard]

[ Azem frowns. Emotions like hate and the desire for revenge are difficult for her to understand. Such things have no place in her world and she's not sure she's ever felt such things. Anger? Sure. But she's not sure that holds a candle to something like hate.

She doesn't like the idea of letting him run off, not when she knows her healing spell has only done so much to heal him. He still needs to rest but he seems adamant to do this and doing it alone.

She's quiet for a moment before she lets out a sigh and dismisses the conjured knives, letting them dissipate into sparkling aether. ]

Very well. Just... try not to die. [ What even happens when one dies in this place that is supposed to be an underworld? ] And if you need any help, please seek me out.