jigokulogs | June 2022 Event

June 2022 Event

1. SWIMSUIT TROUBLES (1 POINT)

As the city goes through its daily motions, the heat bears down harder and harder while bringing out some increasingly overheated behavior from the local population. Summer is here and the natives are flocking to the shopping district: both as a respite from the scorching temperatures and to stock up on the needed supplies to beat the heat.

That means one noticeable problem: the bathing suits left on the racks aren’t the most fashionable at this point! Suits are scarce and what is left over are the skimpy, the oddly-patterned, a size too small, or all of the above. Then again, you are probably just feeling lucky you aren’t in the Shuten Clan, who have been provided their own precious supply of freshly laundered tiger stripe bikinis. And nothing else.

You may be able to borrow around within your own faction, where the pickings might not be so slim, but are still unlikely to match your personal style. Better hope you ran out to buy something nice when the Daitengu first announced the party.

2. BEACH GAMES (1 POINT)

The indoor beach facility that the Alliance has provided is extraordinary. It’s massive! It seems to extend to the size of an entire soccer field. With the combinations of Kappa tech and Tengu magic, the experience has been made as close to a natural one as anyone could ask for. The heat of the beach feels true to the real world, the sand is white and pure, and the waves rolling in and out are just like the mortal realm. Even the palm trees and beach scrub seem entirely authentic. The vibe is immaculate.

Each faction has their own area set up for meeting and mingling but everyone is welcome to let loose and interact among all the groups.

SHUTEN CLAN

The Shuten Clan has set up their beach fort with food and drinks. The drinks on offer are a particularly strong Oni beer and a few spirits (especially sake). These drinks have been mixed so that anyone who imbibes them will feel a heightened sense of competition and the need to prove themselves!

There are plenty of opportunities to show off:
Learning surfing with a few knowledgeable Oni.
Volleyball matches.
Shoulder chicken tournaments.
Beer pong.
Drinking contests that never seem to stop.
And friendly scuffles with some of the Shuten who are feeling more rowdy than usual.
In particular, the volleyball matches appear to be the Shuten Clan’s sport of choice. They’re taking these matches deathly serious. With all powers allowed in play, the game is truly deadly with how powerful, how fast, and how fierce those spikes and volleys are. Hold nothing back and leave it all in the ring!

Toraguma himself is here in his tiger striped best! He’s observing the games and taking note of which Shutens do well and which ones shame the clan with their defeat. He’ll give out rewards to those he thinks are exemplifying the pride of the clan. Don’t worry though, if you’re not up to snuff you won’t be punished; except with Toraguma’s obvious disappointment.

TAMAMO CLAN

The Tamamo Clan doesn't disappoint either. Their tiki bar is set up with a far greater variety in stock than the Shutens. Every drink seems to be made to that Lost Soul’s exact tastes. Watch out, this may compel you to pound them back more quickly than normal. The drinks will make you feel much closer to those around you — either in camaraderie, or something more intimate. The Tamamos have arranged a number of floats, inner tubes, and water wings lounging in the water. Enjoy your time together!

When you aren’t relaxing, the Tamamo Clan has also arranged huge buckets of water balloons and have filled their water guns. The instructions are clear: whether sniping from afar or going in on a full assault, go nuts. Especially against the Shutens. Lady Tenkohime herself has a high-caliber, sniper-grade water rifle with her at her lounge chair. She will occasionally pick some unlucky soul to fire off devastating rounds against. She is not soaking them in just water, of course. This is the Tamamo clan’s patented ‘perfume’, which inspires the most amorous feelings.

Finally, the Tamamo have also inspired a spicy wet t-shirt contest. It’s essentially a sexy beauty contest, but given the variety of bodies and hidden ‘talents’ tucked away under everyone’s clothes, it should prove interesting! Tenkohime has described the simple rules:
One must wear the provided white shirt and only that shirt.
The crowd will soak them down.
And the crowd will judge how well they pull it off.

SUTOKU CLAN

The Sutoku Clan has been given free reign on a fleet of jet skis and paddle boats; perfect for two. There are boogie boards and larger inner tubes ready to be attached to different jet skis. Just be careful, ok?

A large snack bar has been provided with cheerful yokai behind the counter ready and willing to serve up your heart’s desire. There are some strange candies towards the end of the bar, they taste a bit funny but once you eat one you’re compelled to have a few more. These sweets will give you the power to breathe underwater. What is the meaning of this power? Well, you’re in the Alliance, after all, you figure out what’s under the waves.

Sutoku games include things like kan jam and frisbees, but Sutoku Souls are also very much encouraged to participate in the Shuten Clan’s volleyball tournament. Much to Toraguma’s frustration, the Alliance has planted a Tengu referee who seems to really favor the Alliance players over his own. Use your powers liberally.

The Daitengu is in attendance with sunscreen marks on their mask, for some reason. They’re being a total busybody, as usual. They’re really taking the time to chat up Tenkohime and Toraguma, even if the two want to rip each other’s throats out. Could a resolution to the turf war be on the way? One can only hope!

ENMA DEPARTMENT

The Enma is instructing the members of the Department to volunteer (aka voluntold) for lifeguard duty. The shifts are short — it is ultimately a party — and participation will net you both free food and drink from any of the vendors, as well as license to let loose for the rest of the party! The fare provided by the Enma vendors is pretty staid, but it does fill you with the odd need to run down the beach shallows in slow motion. Not sure what that’s about.

There is one further task that is expected of the Enma Department: suikawari. It is a big deal and to be taken seriously! This is the Enma’s favorite beach activity and the only diversion that he cares about. Your guess is as good as anyone’s, but it’s probably because the game resembles a form of execution. Regardless! Every officer is expected to do at least one round of the game as a form of initiation to the Department itself. Captain Shiki hosts the game in the absence of the Enma. Someone should tell her to chill out with that whistle, though.

3. BONFIRE (1 POINT)

As the hosts of the event, the Sutoku Alliance has set up a massive bonfire as the sun begins to set and stars light up the magical sky. There’s a romantic feeling in the air. Things seem as chill as they ever could be, there are no Haniwa in sight! Things feel peaceful for the first time in a while.

A final happy hour is declared, with free libations for everyone to close out the night. It’s time to finish this party in style. For anyone particularly watchful, they may spy the extraordinary sight of Toraguma and Tenkohime together. Off in the shadows while the party rages on, they are sitting together and watching the waves roll in. What could they be discussing? It will remain a mystery, getting any closer to them would be a deadly mistake.

The evening closes without any major incidents. Nothing seems like it could spoil the mood. It almost feels too good to be true.

4. AND THEN... (2 POINTS)

As all the party goers change back into their clothes and exit the facility, there is a rumble of thunder over Jigokucho. The stars are quickly swallowed by a darkening sky and the ground shakes. A minor earthquake? That’s not unheard of but the sky above is looking threatening. Evil. Darkness washes out over the entire city, none of its many bright lights able to cut through. Something is wrong. Something is happening.

A warm rain begins to fall, spattering across you and your surroundings. It becomes quickly apparent that you are not doused with water, but with blood.

The silence is shattered suddenly when a scream cuts across the whole of Jigokucho. An accursed miasma pours out from every direction. Then you see them: the Haniwa. They are everywhere, gazing from every direction, pressing in. Something has gone terribly wrong.

Captain Shiki is the first to act. She makes a call to Kaigo no Bou, but what she hears is enough to freeze her in her tracks.

The containment center deep beneath the tower where the Haniwa were being stored has been compromised. All of the cursed energy that was stored there has leaked out into the city from below. The guards below are dead. No one is answering their radio. It is not just the containment center that has been compromised, but all of Kaigo no Bou.

Captain Shiki struggles to remain calm as she gives out orders. Her entire command structure has been decimated, but she has to keep these people safe. She urges everyone to seek shelter, immediately. Everyone needs to partner up and stick together.

None of the faction leaders present arguments and they enforce this ruling with their Souls. They direct everyone to make their way back to their home base. Shuten to the Arena, Tamamo to Mizukume, and Sutoku to Konoha. There, their faction leaders can protect them.

As for the Enma officers: they are on rescue duty. You will be heading out into the city to rescue as many people as possible from the nightmarish effects of the cursed energy on the city. Captain Shiki will act as their point of command at the indoor beach.

Good luck, everyone.

5. IN THE CURSED NIGHT (2 POINTS)

A rain of blood is sprinkling all around you. It pings off sign posts and garbage bins, it splatters wetly onto the concrete and your face. The scent is pungent and thick; spoiling. It is soaking in to your hair, your clothes, your skin. It is driving you mad: your pulse spinning, breathing short.

There are noises in the impenetrable darkness. Fox feet on the pavement, crow wings shifting on a perch, a stranger's cruel laughter. The dark energy that has swallowed you is bemused by your smallness, is lurking at the edges and waiting for the moment to strike. Hold tight to your fellows, lest in the darkness another hand be placed in yours. Do you know who you walk with? What you walk with?

The Haniwa are watching you from every surface; crowded together as one with their empty eye sockets and open mouths. Their dark eyes turn to follow where you go as you stumble through your nightmares and your delusions. They breathe in your suffering on the air.

Beware the onibi, they will lead you astray.
Beware the grasping hands in the trees.
Beware the whispers in the distance.
Beware the slope to the river.
Beware. Beware.

Welcome to the June event!

Art by astrono77153462
Special shoutout to vandalisto for coming up with the meat of this event; the beach party. They approached us with this as a player plot, and it was good enough that we made it into the full event for the month. Excellent work, Vandal!
If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
If your character participated in the volleyball games, see here! If they participated in the wet t-shirt contest, see here!
If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Tamamori is usually doing something odd enough to catch his attention, and this is no exception. Bag of books on his arm and umbrella firmly in hand to ward off the sun, he drifts over to see what the hell is even happening. ]

And what is...this supposed to be. [ He makes a sort of Gesture at everything; the kite kits and...blades? ] Are you going to make them fight one another?

[ Tama is smack dab in the middle of finishing up his own kite, taping the last two blade tips to the topmost corner of the frame when he looks up, duct tape bit in his teeth to rip it off instead of...using any of the sharp implements at hand. As a result of this genius play, it takes him a moment or two to keep from taping himself, the blade tips, or the kite in to any arrangement other than the intended orientation, but he manages it with a huff of dubiously-earned pride. ]

I can't fight kites by myself. It's a two-person game! [ He sets his prized Battle Kite down on the sand, the tape roll keeping it pinned so it doesn't spiral away. ] Ydris gave me the idea to use sharp parts to really make it a battle, but I figured I would bring along some more in case others wanted to try their hand at it.

I take it these are not supposed to be objects you care much about preserving. [ The addition of blades has pretty much ensured these kites are going to be shortlived, not that there aren't plenty of other reasons why they'd be shortlived... ]

So the goal of this game is simply to crash the kites into one another until one emerges intact, I take it? [ He's

already putting down his book bag and taking a kite kit because he's going just the smallest bit stir-crazy not being able to work on projects to keep himself occupied. Oh boy here we go. ]

I like to keep them even if they get torn up or wrecked. It's like battle scars, or war banners. [ That said, the blades would certainly ensure that the wreckage he salvaged from these battles would be particularly, uh, wrecked. They'd still end up dutifully stuck to his walls regardless of that, though. ]

The way I'm used to playing, you just need to knock the opponent out of the air- apparently people got a lot more creative in the years after me, though, and started using glass-coated strings to try and cut each other's ties and send them crashing down that way. I don't want to risk cutting someone's neck open- [ Tama grimaces, the sort of wince one does when they actually have a visual to associate with an injury, which...might be a little weird but he is a writer. ] -so the knife blades are at least a, like...you can count them and know where they are. It feels less risky!

Keeping the casualties? How generous of you.

[ The very specific reaction to that is interesting, but Kimmuriel is again Not Going To Ask. ] Humans certainly come up with many ways to hurt themselves by proxy, when it comes to entertainment.

[ Not that drow were better about this but the development of things that could hurt you were usually done on purpose, their culture being what it was.

He sits gingerly on the sand and begins to paint his kite with brisk efficiency. He overwhelmingly favours bold contrasts; it doesn't seem to matter what the colours are as long as they stand out next to one another. It does have the side-effect of making his kite look terribly colourful in an extremely clashy way, even if the thing taken as a whole is turning out strangely harmonious somehow, but he doesn't seem to care.

The patterns he's drawing are simple ones, things he's mimicking from what he's seen around the city. He doesn't care enough about his own culture's patterns to try and mimic them himself. ]

Edited 2022-06-12 01:01 (UTC)

I like to hang up my spoils of war in my room, if possible. [ He's only able to say it so cheerily because he's not thinking too hard about his words. Tama would balk otherwise. ] And recklessness is next to...humanness, I guess. We're amazingly good at dying! [ ...that one he's able to say cheerfully because he's Tamamori. ]

Oh- [ Though, you would have to count him surprised, as he all but sits over Kimm's shoulder (listen this is one of the few people he can do that to-) and watches him paint away. It's much quicker than Tama's own kite took, and just as jarring as the Aizu-styled kites he'd also been making in his downtime...in a weird way, he's almost envious. ] You're surprisingly good at art, Kimmuriel! [ The color clash is...well, he's understandably fond of it. But maybe he shouldn't say why. ] I never did ask what you did in your own world, did I? You always seem so serious, I had assumed you might be some sort of business-type, but...

When you say things like that, I almost feel as if I am at home. [ His tone is like, one notch drier than usual. ]

[ Kimmuriel doesn't seem to mind being peered over; he handles it with his usual impassive air, in a way that possibly indicates familiarity with the situation. Or maybe he's just that unshakeable. It's admittedly hard to tell.

His hands keep moving as he talks; he doesn't even look up. ] I have done a great deal in my life, including managing mercantile interests. [ So Tama's impression is semi-correct. ] But my partner's greatest vice is the continued acquisition and use of magical items, which he cannot seem to keep his hands away from. One of my continued tasks is to create such artifacts in line with his exacting specifications - which often includes tailoring them to his aesthetic tastes.

[ The movement of the brush pauses a little. ] It is not an uninteresting pursuit, [ he says, a totally unprompted admittance. ] Of all the challenges he has presented me with over the centuries, I find making what he desires the least objectionable.

[ It also means he's not getting handsy with something else much more dangerous and weird, which is a constant worry with Jarlaxle. ]

Edited 2022-06-13 13:28 (UTC)

Partner... [ There's that 'aibou' again- but unlike his gobsmacked awe with Kim, Tama is quicker to remind himself that it doesn't consistently carry the familiar sentiment. Though seriously he'd never heard any officer refer to any of their fellow cops as 'partner' what the heck was going on in other parts of the world- ] Ah, wait, centuries? You've known someone that long-?

[ Maybe it wasn't that insane to imagine- yokai certainly didn't age the same way that humans did, though maybe he would keep that correlation to himself given Kimm's irritation before. The though of being with someone- even platonically!! -that long, however...it tickles the back of his mind in a way that he doesn't quite understand. His question sort of ends up automatic, as a result. ] Can you really know someone that long without driving them away?

We are co-leaders. [ His delivery of this statement is factual, not flustered. Whether that means that he considers Jarlaxle his partner in multiple meanings of the word or he simply doesn't care about it is unclear. ] There are plenty of other things I could call him, however. [ Most of them not terribly flattering.

He continues to move his brush. Almost done, he thinks. ]

If you find each other's company to be worth more than simply killing each other, it is not so difficult. [ Whether that's just his way of joking or not is difficult to tell. (He's certainly attempted to kill Jarlaxle before, all the way from contemplating the idea to actually going through with it.) ] Little habits and quirks become somewhat more tolerable as time passes, even if they are still irritating.

[ They'd settled into a comfortable routine. One he misses, if he thinks about it, but he supposes there's nothing to be done about that. ]

Edited 2022-06-14 01:55 (UTC)

[ Co...leaders...and so bluntly stated... ] You're a really collected kind of person...I can't tell if I envy that or not. [ A-anyway, he's going to focus on the kite instead of trying to work out how to interpret this sort of stuff. He's too dumb for that. ]

I've known my two best friends since we were four. We honestly haven't been apart from one another since then, not for very long anyway. And, I really can't live without either of them. [ That should be embarrassing to say to someone, but...he really can't feel all that upset over it. Maybe because of the whole, uh, feelings. Stuff. ] ...I don't know if they feel the same, though. Humans don't live for even one century, but I still hope they never realize they're fed up with me.

[ The weird feeling that gives him to admit- the uncomfortable sensation of airing a grievance much deeper than he would like to -makes Tama start a little, stepping back to actually take in the kite and gesture at it, like he hadn't just said any of that. ] I still never would have expected you to make something so bright when you avoid wearing much color, even if it's from your partner's influences. I guess that's the, 'even apart, people are close at heart' sort of idea at work.

[ He just kinda shrugs. He's used to people being opinionated on his composure. He seems to have settled on the idea that they can feel as they wish about it and he doesn't care enough to say otherwise. ]

If you have been able to stay together that long, I would think that indicates some sort of lasting bond. [ Now, whether that bond is good or healthy....hard to say. But that's not his business either, is it? Bonds are bonds, no matter if it's twisted around or broken in some fundamental way...he knows that bitterly well. ]

I would not attribute all of this to my partner's colour choices, though I cannot deny it has some influence. [ He could easily just not say that though. ] My home city, and others like it, were constructed with the drow's unique traits in mind. My kind is capable of seeing in complete darkness, though such vision lacks the ability to perceive colour, and so we use little conventional light in our cities.

It is far easier for me to work in values, rather than to concentrate on the colour itself. That part is something of a novelty. [ Being able to see the actual colours of what you're working on, unless vitally necessary, is still odd to him. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

June 2022 Event

BATTLE KITES

extremely asmr meme voice: `battle kites for war`

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