jigokulogs | May 2022 Mini Event

Entry tags:

May 2022 Mini Event

MAIN NAVIGATION

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lalli stares down at the puddle for a moment too. It's annoyingly loud and he's finding himself missing his magic again, because normally he would be able to put an end to this nonsense.]

It's bothersome.

[So not directly bothering him specifically, just being a bother in general. Or so he's claiming. He might just be trying to make it general to avoid setting off Karasu, since that's who he's actually wary of.]

How long have you been here like this?

A couple hours. It wasn't here when I got here.

[ It was a quite place to sit until the screaming puddle happened. Karasu doesn't seem to be in the mood to be too mean, at least for the moment. He shifts so he's perching on the bench. ]

Why? Worried about Izō?

[Perching like a bird. Lalli is suddenly remembering a previous conversation with Izo about his humanity and it's making his chest ache.]

Yes.

[They're friends, of course he's worried! He'll probably always worry about Izo, the guy constantly makes choices that put him into danger.]

He's strong in fights but not good about stuff like this. He's panicking in there, isn't he?

[Even if it's Karasu on the outside, that doesn't mean Izo is necessarily unaware of what is going on. Which means lingering here with the screaming blood puddles isn't good for his mental health.]

I stopped listening to him. If I cared enough, I'd put him to sleep. He's done too much lately for me to care that much.

[ There comes the cruelty. ]

Once he calms down, I'll let him take over. Might be awhile. Nice to stretch my legs, curses and all.

[Oh, he dislikes that intensely. A streak of cruelty like that isn't uncommon in tengu- or most youkai, honestly- but Lalli knows he lacks the strength to challenge Karasu on it. So instead, he's going to try something else:]

If you're stretching your legs then you should be running, not sitting. Play a game of tag or something.

You don't get metaphors, do you?

[ Still, he stands up on the bench and flutters over the howling puddle to land on a handrail near the edge of the park. ]

You offering to "play" with me right now?

[He really doesn't get metaphors, but he's not going to waste his time answering that. Instead, he focuses on the second question. Lalli is pretty sure that any game Karasu has in mind will be fighting or chasing or something violent in some way, and already Kissa is warning him to be cautious. But this is for Izo's sake, and Lalli can't back down when he thinks that distracting Karasu and leading him away from the things triggering Izo's panic will help Izo calm down.]

Sure, okay. Let's play.

You don't want me chasing you, do you? A bird chasing a cat...How funny.

[ Karasu cocks his head. ]

Well, go on, then. If you want me to chase you, I'll give you a head start.

[It's not the chase he's worried about, it's Karasu's sharp talons and how this chase is going to end. As long as he keeps all of his fingers and toes he should be alright, he thinks.]

Birds can't keep up with cats.

[He might be saying that to prod Karasu into keeping up.

He does start to run away though. And by 'run' I mean he does a sort of quick-step motion while looking back every few seconds to see if Karasu is following him or not. The moment Karasu starts to run or fly after him is when he'll start running for real.]

[ He waits. He knows Lalli's capabilities. His arrogance doesn't help, either.

10...9...8...

Forget the whole 10 seconds he'd planned on. Karasu leaps to his feet, then takes to the air. There's a gap between them, one that's rapidly shrinking. ]

[ofuck

Yeah Lalli is off running for real now. This is instinctual running too, he's definitely using his hands to propel him over low hurdles and to help him turn corners faster. His goal is to get out of the park and to the narrow alleys nearby, if only to limit how much of an advantage Karasu's flight gives him. But that's dependent on him being fast enough to get there first, he has to go at least two city blocks before he gets out of the park and down an alley. His speed might keep him ahead of Karasu for now, but the gap is shrinking and there's no time for mistakes.

He's diving under a food cart along the way though, trying to see if Karasu will crash into it or pull up to go over it. Either way, Lalli thinks it will buy him a few more seconds.]

[ He pulls up because colliding with it is a worse option. It does buy Lalli a precious few seconds, but only a few. Karasu is determined to end this chase as quickly as he can, flying up just high enough so he can dive bomb Lalli. His intent is to graze and frighten, not necessarily catch him. ]

[And graze it does! Lalli is wearing his cloak so that's likely what Karasu will be able to get his claws on, but even grabbing that is enough to startle Lalli and trip him up for a moment. He trips up and nearly stumbles over another youkai who is trying to get out of the way, but he catches himself with his hands and keeps going on hands and feet for a few steps before turning a corner and darting down an alley. The commotion of the chase is enough to stir the youkai population on the street, and it even earns a few jeers of 'that guy's definitely gonna die' and 'at least have the decency not to make a scene!' Not encouraging to Lalli at all.

There isn't really anywhere to hide here though, so Lalli pauses for a moment and looks up, trying to see where Karasu went. His breathing is rapid and his eyes are wide from both the fear and adrenaline running through him. Kissa is scratching at the back of his mind, telling him to let her take over, but he's telling her 'not yet'. This is just a game, he can handle a game. Even if it's a terrifying game.]

[ He stays on the edge of a rooftop, out of sight but not far enough away he can't see Lalli. Karasu waits for a minute before diving down silently, wanting to either pin him to the ground or drive him further against the wall. ]

[For a moment, Lalli stops to breathe. Maybe Karasu didn't see him go this way? But no, it's just that Karasu's movements are too silent for Lalli to pick up on, and he doesn't think to look up again after checking the sky once.

Within the blink of an eye Lalli finds himself knocked to the ground with Karasu over him. He gasps in surprise, and he's quick to bring his hands up to try and push Karasu off. But the body he shares with Izo is much stronger than Lalli's, so Lalli gets pinned easily. Any struggle he makes isn't quite enough to throw Karasu off.]

Okay, you win!

[ Karasu grins viciously before he relents and stands up. ]

You're right...That was fun. I think I'll go find someone else to chase, someone who can put up a better fight.

[ Before Lalli can say anything, he takes off again. His plan may have backfired a little bit... ]

[Oh no.

What if Lalli just. Grabs Karasu's feet as he goes to fly off.

What happens then?]

[ Then Lalli gets kicked at as he tries to climb higher. It's not like he can't fly with the extra weight, just that it's a pain in the ass. ]

Let go and give it up already!

We're not done here!

[He's kicked at, and he hisses in pain as his grip slips off of one foot. But he grabs onto the other more tightly and tries to pull Karasu back down with him.]

I'm catching you now!

[ If that's what Lalli wants, he'll get it. Karasu gives up trying to fly off and, instead, falls into him. ]

Is that what you want? I'll tear you apart, little cat.

[And then they're falling. This was a bad idea.

Lalli is at least trying to get a better hold on Karasu so he can flip them and land on top when they crash into the rooftop below. The fall probably won't kill them regardless, but cats have an instinct to land on their feet. Or their friends, in this case.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

May 2022 Mini Event

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject