May 2022 Mini Event

[jigokumods]

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As the Haniwa continue to pop up in the city and the turf war rages on, life goes on in the city.

1. SHUTEN CLAN

Remember the Isonade? Yeah, those guys. The surly shark-dudes who were no doubt involved in some black market smuggling along the banks of the Sanzu. They were too tough to fight off in order to figure out what they were up to, last time.

Well, Toraguma has caught wind of them now. Despite the ongoing turf war, he’s not about to lose out on an opportunity here! He wants his Shuten Clan operatives to scour the river looking for these guys. They will be a lot harder to find without the rabbits’ help, though. If you find them, you are to “inform them” that the Shuten Clan will be taking over their operation. If they have problems with that, well… you know what to do.

Don’t forget that they’re quite strong and that they aren’t too keen on giving up the information on their supply line without a fight. You’ll need to use teamwork to get what you need out of them.

Should you manage your way to their warehouse, you’ll find a fresh shipment of their products: specialized herbs, mineral-rich clay, and rarefied ore. None of these products can be found in the city naturally. The Isonade won’t dare name their primary buyer but they will let slip that all of this is being smuggled into the city from the outer Wastelands.

The Shuten Clan will demand their cut out of this operation, but you may get the impression that this is only one small piece of a much larger shadow creeping over the city…

Art by Alejandro Gonzalez Agudelo

2. SUTOKU ALLIANCE

The death and subsequent “rebirth” of the Daitengu has caused a considerable amount of chaos. Many of the subsidiary tribes have struggled under the weight of uncertainty during this debacle. The Daitengu has decided that an apology tour is owed. It’s good for the sake of the Alliance, after all.

Oh, but they’re not going to be doing it themselves. You, the Sutoku Lost Souls, will be fully responsible for it. ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

Sutoku Souls are tasked with going to various businesses and tribe centers with an offering of gifts and deference to any and every group within the Alliance who will agree to meet with you. The gifts have been provided by the Daitengu, and are mainly snacks and coupons. Which will not be enough to please everyone. Some clans will demand more and some, in their rage, will try to take their anger out on you. You are an (lowly) ambassador right now, better to turn the other cheek.

This all boils down to be less of an apology tour and more of a bribe tour. What the Daitengu has provided won’t cover everything and you’re going to have to go out of pocket to truly placate the other clans. If you don’t have enough cash on hand, you may be asked to do various unpaid tasks and labors: washing dishes, scrubbing floors, cleaning windows, taking out the trash, serving kids’ birthday parties; any amount of the lowest work you can imagine.

It’s rough! But somebody’s gotta do it

3. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENMA

The chaos of the Night Parade has caused a resurgence of unaffiliated gangs popping up around Jigokucho. They can usually be found identifying themselves through the use of basic colors and mascots. They are made up almost entirely of violent youths with uncertain futures, who are lashing out at an uncaring world. The antics of the Daitengu, the accusations against the Enma, and the squabbling between Shuten and Tamamo is not inspiring their confidence nor loyalty.

In addition to this problem, the retrieval of the Haniwa is going poorly. Most residents are too uncomfortable to even touch the statues and their appearances don’t seem to be slowing down. There are too many for the Department to collect.

With an abundance of cursed objects in town, the petty gangs have decided this is an ample resource for them. They are using the Haniwa to harass the general public and against one another. They have weaponized the excess Haniwa and are using them as “curse bombs”, hurling them at both each other and the residents they want to intimidate. It’s getting nasty.

It’s the Department’s job to keep the Haniwa figures from falling into the wrong hands and to keep some semblance of order. The official orders from the Office of the Enma are directing all hands to converge against the youth gangs. Use any force necessary and retrieve those figurines.

4. TAMAMO CLAN

How inconvenient! In addition to the complications of the turf war, an extremely important time of the year has arrived for the Tamamo Clan.

It is time for the yearly visit of one of the clan’s greatest benefactors: the Tennin. These Celestial Immortals descend from the Heavenly Realms to spend time (and incredible amounts of money) in Hell’s Playground, Jigokucho. Hell simply offers the sort of delights you just can’t get in Heaven. Due to Tenkohime’s connections with them, the Celestials have had her host them for several years in a row now. She emphasizes how incredibly important it is to keep them happy.

The Celestials want entertainment and delights of every variety. It’s up to the Tamamo Clan’s Lost Souls to entertain them. Your entertainments can take many forms: keeping the Celestials company, putting on a performance, showing off your cooking and skills, tea ceremonies, and other exhibitions. Should you choose the carnal and kinky route for entertainments, know that you won’t be laying down with any Celestials themselves. Oh, no no no, they’re Heavenly, after all! This is still performance, so you may need a partner to help you out.

Keep in mind that the legends are true! The Celestials are deeply deeply fond of peaches. Both literal and metaphorical. 🍑

The Celestials love to chat and gossip, so keeping them entertained is also an excellent way to hear some interesting information. Tamamo artisans will likely learn that many Celestials openly trade with Tenkohime. In fact, the aphrodisiac goods that the Tamamos so famously deal in come, in large part, from the Celestials. Tamamo isn’t the only clan they do business with either. They also have connections within the Sutoku Alliance and are the land owners of several Alliance properties. They are considered one of the primary sources of capital in the real estate market.

Why would the Celestials want properties in a world they literally can’t live in? Doesn’t that just reek of capitalism.

5. TURF WAR (ALL FACTIONS)

The turf war between the Shuten and Tamamo clans is at a simmer right now. Which doesn’t mean that it’s over – not even close. Minor magical traps, similar to those found in the sewer, have been found in Shuten territory. Frustrated Shuten enforcers have been taking out their anger on anyone that so much as looks at them funny. Bars in both districts are regularly getting smashed up. Knife fights are breaking out in the streets. Cars known to belong to members of both clans turn up with slashed tires. There’s even rumors of hits being taken out on higher ranking members.

Watch your step if you’re out and about in either territory. Faction affiliation doesn’t matter when tensions are running high. What’s more, rumors are flying all over about which of the two warring clans is going to be the one to escalate the violence further.

Will tensions boil over at any moment? At what point does the Department of the Enma have to step in? Why haven’t they already?

It’s all getting too much to handle…

6. CURSED OBJECTS (ALL FACTIONS)

The presence of the Haniwa is having increasingly frightening effects. There are whispers about blood coming out of the walls and the floors in apartments, about black ooze pouring from faucets and coming up from storm drains. There are even whispers of terrible household hauntings.

These aren’t just rumors though. Bars are having to close early due to the presence of wailing ghosts inhabiting the toilet or blood pouring from the taps. People run screaming out of alleyways pursued by ghostly hands.

These curses and hauntings seem to be fairly localized; kept to one building or one block at a time. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason as to when these accursed sightings will take effect.

Be careful out there! Who knows what could happen with so much terrible energy running rampant.

Welcome to the mini event!

• If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
• FOR THE PURPOSES OF REWARDS, since all of these prompts tie into the main plot in some way, we will count all qualified threads in this post as 2 point threads!
• If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

Comments

[tonguecutter]

[ She huffs a sigh, not at Ibaraki but at the situation. ]

You're not wrong about that...I've tried my best to keep the damage at a minimum, though.

[ And speaking of damage, the universe seems to have an uncanny sense of timing, with the horror movie-esque logic of ghostly hands picking what would seem to be just the right moment to grasp at the far more yellow oni. Thanks to the angle she's at, she's able to spot it coming from behind Ibaraki, leading her to draw her sword from its sheath— ]

Slow!

[ —and the sparrow oni slices at it with all the precision of a trained swordswoman, a clean cut before it reaches either of them. With their Servant senses dulled a bit, and Ibaraki more trained in fisticuffs than weaponry, it stands to reason that she got hit harder by whatever depowering happened to them upon arrival, meaning that Beni-Enma probably has to keep an eye on the other for more reasons than one. ]

[bananaoni]

[The sudden move gets Ibaraki to dive off and away on instinct. The heck are you doing, crimson, sparrow oni!? She scowled before blinking and looking a little flustered, how could she have missed that? Once the hand disappates she stands up, looking around and swiftly grabbing hold of her club.

Nope, didn't lose her cool there at all!

But Beni is right, she doesn't have her strength anymore, doesn't have access to her flames, ability to morph, her durability is certainly gone, as is her ability to be immune to curses. She doesn't even have her beloved sword!

All she really has left are her natural senses, some semblance of her former strength and endurance, and her claws. Not an ideal situation at all.]

...thanks, I guess.

[Said in a low, embarrassed tone of voice. They should probably leave before anymore surprises manifest.]

[tonguecutter]

[ To be honest, it doesn't feel bad to get some gratitude every now and then, especially coming from one of the more infamously bratty reckless oni, but she doesn't let that show. Instead, she simply tries to maintain her composure.

She clears her throat (not that she needs to), sheathing her sword once more, and gestures at Ibaraki with her hand, a "come here" motion beneath her cloak to take their leave together. Beni isn't entirely sure where to go next that would be less crowded of these ghostly hands, but lingering here isn't the answer. ]

You can thank me by passing the favor on in a way you see fit, chirp.

[ There's little point in directly telling an oni like Ibaraki or Shuten to restrain themselves, for they would likely act out even more in response, so she's trying another route to keep her and others out of trouble while not hurting her pride (too much). ]

[bananaoni]

Ha!? Like I would do something like that.

[She would, but for how she sees fit is rather open for interpretation. And for Ibaraki, an oni and creature that enjoys tricking others and generally having fun all around. What she sees fit may, or may not, be all that great at the end of the day.

But yeah, with the threat officially dealt with, Ibaraki shoulders her heavy club and starts to walk away from the scene with Beni.]

The curse has spread through a majority of this city by now. You know that? This is not the hell you know of.

[The haniwa, she means. Whatever was haunting them, and whoever decided to pull this stunt, had surely spread their influence to a good chunk of the streets.

This was also punctuated by a loud growl from the oni's stomach. The banana requires fuel.]

[tonguecutter]

[ Always a toss-up when it comes to dealing with either of the infamous oni around. The most she can do is hope on the yellow oni's behalf, or take things into her own hands/blade should it come to that.

Ibaraki's thoughts aren't the only thing that her stomach growl manages to punctuate; Beni herself was about to respond with a firm assertion that yes, she is aware that of course this isn't the hell she knows and grew up in. The lack of familiar faces and territory conveyed that much. Instead, she simply sighs, a tad exasperated. But the way of the proprietress is carved into her soul. She knows what she must do. Procure food. ]

...That's incarnation for you, chirp. It sounds like we'll have to stop for a meal soon.

[ And the sparrow oni is feeling kind of peckish (pun not intended) herself. All the swordplay and running around means that she also needs refueling more often than usual. ]

[bananaoni]

[Hopefully sooner rather than later, given the force of that tummy growl.

Through it all the oni just shrugs. Just as long as she doesn't have to deal with anything else bothersome for today, she was fine. At least with the danger gone the ripe banana pulled out her phone without the fear of potentially losing it, or being caught unawares (that moment just now didn't happen okay?).]

What do you want?

[She may as well treat the sparrow as a way of recompense.] This place has most of everything you can think of. From more traditional stuff, to some really weird crap.

[Almost all of which doesn't have poison in it!]