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

[deadtective]

Something about me's gotta be tough.

[it certainly wasn't her demeanor, at least not tonight. it was strange for her to be so at peace, especially surrounded by the cognizant dead as she was now, but for once she'd chosen not to think too deeply on it. the tranquility wasn't urging her to do much more than have a halfway decent conversation for once, so why fight it? from a philosophical sort of perspective this wasn't any more different than loosening up at a party.

she watches Kim admire the tree for a time, her own thoughts wandering during the companionable pause. this was the kind of scene that would be a vision to paint, all spectral pastels lit up against a backdrop of neon night. tomorrow or the next day she'd really have to see about finding some art supplies for sale.]

If it makes you feel any better I spent like, eighteen years thinking there wasn't anything supernatural in my own world.

[she rolls her eyes. shows what she knew, eh?]

Shit like this is sort of my job now...though it's usually not so calm. Makes for a good intro if you're new, though.

[aceslow]

Well... you do look about eighteen.

[ Hazel's not the first person to suggest to Kim that his world contains the supranatural, and he's simply too stuck in his ways or too ordinary to have seen it, but even after everything he's seen here, Kim's in staunch denial. Even if he doesn't have a good grasp on what reality is here, he can at least hold onto the idea that he knew what the world held for him back home. At any rate, he's got fourty-three years of a blissfully ordinary life to her eighteen. ]

What do you mean, your job? [ He glances around them. ] To... deal with the supranatural in some way? Or with the dead?

[ The first thing that pops into his head is exorcism; he's met at least one exorcist in his time here, and it seems to be a necessary job for those from worlds that call for it. There's also paranormal investigations, he supposes, but even from their brief conversation, Hazel doesn't seem to be the type. ]

[deadtective]

[excuse you Kim, she is nineteen. that extra year means everything! she gives a bit of a huff instead of arguing the subject, too amused to engage seriously. it's the kind of thing her own father might have said back in the day and that makes her a little nostalgic.]

A little of both. [she inclines her head slightly to indicate the trees nearby...or rather, what was buried underneath them.] Apparently there's something about me that really agitates the dead; if their spirits are lingering somewhere on earth odds used to be good they'd pop up and give me shit.

[she doesn't know if that aspect of herself has been repressed along with the rest of her abilities or if the dead of this world simply held a different perspective on such matters. Hazel knows very well what that 'something' about her is that enrages the spirits of the departed, and she's never understood how even a ghost could look upon her and feel jealousy.]

Was a real pain in the ass when you're trying to do something else, but it wasn't the worst ever. Kind of felt good putting them to rest and all that shit.

[aceslow]

That sounds... complicated.

[ Months ago, he would have humoured her and quietly looked her over for any indication that she's on drugs. Here? Well, the trees are whispering to him, so he doesn't exactly have any room to judge. He tilts his head, considering her words. ]

Even more complicated by being here. [ He regards the trees, their limbs waving gently in the breeze. ] It's difficult to know what the proper state of things should be. But what would you call your job, exactly? The way you're describing it is too gentle to be described as exorcism.

[ He's also curious about what it is about her that provokes the dead, but he'll get there in time. If the supranatural did exist where Kim came from, he would hate to be in her position; he gets spooked easily enough as it is, though he'll never admit as such. ]