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

[harimaya]

I know.

(He speaks plainly. He knows he did what he had to. He always does. But he won't dwell on it. As always, he moves on and focuses on the task at hand.

He waits for Minato to do whatever it is he's doing on his phone and-- ah. That's helpful.)

We'll see what's over there and report to the boss.

(He isn't really looking forward to getting into anymore fights, especially with Minato. Hizen thinks he's competent in a fight but well... he seems inexperienced with this sort of thing. It's best to keep his partner safe.)

[watermemory]

[He's not sure what to say to that-- nothing, he supposes, besides a nod. He doesn't know how to read Hizen, besides the palpable menace he'd shown in the heat of battle. Most of the people he's met here, he's had some idea what life they might have come from, but he can't here.]

[(The intrusive thought creeps in of rolling the bodies into the Sanzu to cover their tracks, but-- no. Too close to looking like drowned corpses, and the idea of hauling them around makes him sick. Too many murder mysteries on the brain.)]

[He turns his back on the bodies. Minato uses his knife to lever open one of the big crates stacked near the meeting zone, and it's... full of disassembled shipping container parts, with no labels. A second crate contains stacks of cardboard boxes printed with local business labels, ready to be folded and assembled. A couple smears of clay where something tore or leaked, but he doesn't know what to make of that.]

[Alright, if he does have mysteries on the brain, put that to work, instead, if he can't hold his own in a fight here.]

If I had to guess... they're transferring the cargo from their original containers into those boxes, so if someone catches them transporting, it just looks like goods made in the city... And they must be renting the warehouse, if they were squatting someone would have caught them faster, right? [He looks over at Hizen.] You've been in Shuten longer than I have. Does anyone have any idea who their boss is?

[harimaya]

(He doesn't bother with the crates, at least, not at first. With no one else around, it's fine to let Minato take the lead here while Hizen keeps watch a while longer to make sure no one heard the fighting earlier. So far, nothing, and after a moment or two, he comes over to see.

He isn't sure what he's looking at until it's explained to him. Is that it? He supposes it makes sense but--)

I don't usually bother with stuff like this.

(He keeps to himself. He does more offensive assignments. He shakes people down for money and intimidates others into staying in line. He rus into fights and if he has to, he'll kill. Stuff like this... it feels above him. He's never been very smart. He doesn't pretend to be.

(But he's much smarter than he thinks. More reliable in other ways. And he frows, racking his brain for any sort of detail or clue he might have gleaned in all of his time just watching and waiting.))

Heard... there are things from outside the city getting in. (He speaks carefully, as if he isn't really sure if what he's saying is right or not. ) And there're things people showing up that people haven't seen in a while...

(He looks at the smudges of clay and frowns. Things that ordinary people don't really know about. Things that people haven't seen or don't want near them.)

Let's go to the address. I'll explain on the way.

(And no, he won't leave this to discussion or anything. He's already heading out the way they came from.)

[watermemory]

...That's fair.

[He listens, not wanting to discourage Hizen from his line of thought by interrupting, as he tamps the crates shut again without touching their contents. Not that keeping their activities here hidden is going to matter by the end of the day, one way or another. If it buys the two of them a little more time in case they get jumped from the back, then that's all to the good.]

But why?...

[Whatever thought he has, he trails off as Hizen makes to leave.]

R-right. I'm coming. [With one last glance down the Sanzu, stretching away to wherever the smugglers have been coming from, he leaves the meeting place behind.]

[harimaya]

Don't ask me.

(Because he doesn't know why,)

You've seen the haniwa, right? The dolls with the creepy eyes? Been popping up everywhere? (He assumes yes. It better be yes or else he's working with someone truly foolish.) Some people've been saying the clay they're made from came from outside the city.

(No, Hizen will not slow down his pace either. He more or less knows the general area of where they need to go? But he'll rely on Minato for the specifics once they actually get there.)

Before that... someone tried to kill the chicken-- I mean, the Daitengu.

(And it's here that he glances back to see how much Minato might know about this. He's... one of the newer recruits so he wouldn't be surprised if he's just heard the basics.)