jigokulogs | August 2022 Event

August 2022 Event

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Toraguma and Tenkohime were not exaggerating when they said that Sai no Kawara was bound to attract extraordinarily deep pockets. The Celestials are already familiar to the Lost Souls, but among the crowds of customers are humans and yokai of wealth that can only be calculated in the billions, and even trillions. Powerful executives have come out to play, the sort of power brokers that almost exist beyond faction politics, the tier who makes the most money out of the city's dealings.

The event has an air of class that is far beyond what the average Lost Soul will have ever imagined…

1. GAMBLING PROBLEM (1 POINT)

The main event comes in the form of the games. This is where the Shuten Clan shines, as they offer up a plethora of gambling opportunities for the rich and powerful to partake in. There might be a Lost Soul or two at the tables, if they're feeling particularly lucky. Buy-in to a game isn't cheap, but if you're low on cash, you can substitute a handful of stellar Stardust to the pot.

Western games like Poker, Blackjack, and Roulette share space with Eastern standards like Cee-lo and Cho-han. Shuten Clan dealers have been training hard for this moment. They have learned to cheat on behalf of the House to scrape as much from these high rollers as they can. Those Shuten attendants who win big for the House will be duly compensated for their fine efforts.

If you're very clever, or very lucky, you might just be able to secure quite a payout for yourself as a player too. Just don't get caught pulling any funny business. The Shuten Clan bouncers have also been training quite thoroughly for this event. If you're not one of the fabulously wealthy tycoons, the bouncers have little incentive to play nice with you.

Should fighting break out, there is an arena onsite. Bets are flying there, too. Are you willing to wager your own pretty face?

2. PLEASURE PALACE (1 POINT)

Tenkohime wasn't exaggerating when she called her turf in the newly renovated underground a palace. The attendants at the Palace of Sai greet their wealthy clientele warmly, and they have a host of wondrous and rare delights to offer. As a rare treat, the Lost Souls are encouraged to indulge in this decadence. If the prices make you choke, remember that a little bit of Stardust will go a long way this season.

Food and drinks are of the highest quality. Delicacies from across Japan and the world abroad have been prepared, including many dishes not even of the Earth as you might know it. Particular favorites from the drinks menu are:
Side Cars that have been made with cognac from a 300,000 yen bottle.
Platinum Passions that have been made with L’esprit de Courvoisier; 800,000 yen per bottle.
Eightfold Blessing is a captivating and aromatic mix considered to be Tenkohime's very own specialty. It grants the vigor to fulfill any desire; 1,000,000 yen a glass.
The pricey and fabulous drinks are just an encouragement. The Tamamo's best trained consorts are ready to offer their private services, usually in pairs. They have some Tanabata wishes of their own, and want to make them come true through their talents and skills. Not every encounter is sexual, some consorts simply wish to spend time with their clients and make them feel like the most important person in the world today. With the big price tags on their hours, the customer might very well be.

In addition to expensive meals, sex, and company, the Tamamo Clan also offers theater and performances. They have contracted with the highest caliber performers in the city, even those on loan from other factions. Dancers, musicians, and entertainers of all varieties are waiting in the wings to put on a show.

3. GOSSIP (1 POINT)

One of the performances gracing the stage in the Palace of Sai may seem familiar! The band Moonday played at the food truck festival last month. As it turns out, the lead singer -- a wolf girl named Ringo-chan -- is the daughter of one of the wealthiest executives within the Alliance's network of finance kings; Kaberou. She's run away from her restrictive life to rough it with her band. Big money is riding on convincing her to come home. There's another rumor floating around that the pirates attacking the supply lines have been putting pressure on Kaberou. Is he securing buyers for these pirated goods?

Rumors are flying: the kind of rumors that can bring riches or ruin. The Daitengu has commanded their people to keep their ears open. Do they happen upon a juicy lead? Do they find a way to reconnect Kaberou with his estranged daughter? Do they discover more about the pirates? Do tell, do tell!

Even the staff of the Enma Department will find lips much looser than usual around them. When you're this rich, you think you're above the standards of the law. There's plenty of conversation that might be of interest to the Department. In particular, one name does keep coming up...

It comes up when discussing Kaberou's dealings with these pirates, and how much of a wrench his daughter's negligence to the life has been for his business. It's spoken of in hushed tones, even by the Celestials. It is an ominous name: "Iron Bear"

4. TANABATA (2 POINTS)

The grand opening of the underground is the centerpiece of an otherwise familiar Tanabata celebration. Using the accumulated Stardust, the Tamamo Clan's onmyouji have collaborated with Kappa engineers and the Shuten Clan's resident blacksmith to create a truly wonderful spectacle for the festival.

Despite Sai no Kawara existing underground, the overhead sky is full of brilliant stars on display. It is a one-to-one recreation of the cosmic tapestry of the Milky Way streaking through the sky like the astral river from the Tanabata legend.

The stars Vega and Altair, also known as Orihime and Hikoboshi, are highlighted in the tapestry. They take form and dance together above everyone, they encourage the feelings of love to fill the air. Romantic love, platonic love, familial love: it doesn't matter. This is the product of peace, hard work, and cooperation. This is the dream of the Daitengu and their lieutenants. Dance to the music. Drink your fill. This is a celebration of love, and there's so much love here, for everyone.

Attendees are encouraged to write their wishes on the colorful talismans distributed. Bamboo trees decorate the central square, waiting to be draped with wishes. Even if you are not familiar with Tanabata, it will be easy to pick up on the ritual. The magic in the air tonight is incredibly strong, these wishes might even come true.

5. "WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE" (2 POINTS)

Late into the evening, the Daitengu takes to the stage. They welcome everyone and hope that they have had a good night. Toraguma and Tenkohime flank them, and each says a few words to the crowd. Then, Sutoku lieutenant Sakamoto is called up to the stage for the moment of truth.

Toraguma, regretfully, announces that Sakamoto has made good on his promises. The holes in their supply lines have been uncovered found, the black market is becoming less of a bleed on their finances, and the road to finding out who -- or what -- is causing the disruption is becoming clearer. The great oni will always honor a promise kept, and reaches out his hand to shake Sakamoto's in a gesture of gratitude.

The timing, as usual, is a little dramatic.

A group of shadowy figures wearing rough-spun gear storm the stage. Several of them snatch Ringo-chan from where she is waiting to perform and drag her away. Another lunges at Sakamoto with a make-shift sword of crude metal. Just before the blade can cut Sakamoto, the would-be assassin is stopped by Toraguma. With their wrist snatched and broken, the assassin screams out:

"We come on behalf of the Iron Bear, and we know who you are!"

In his rage and fury, Toraguma breaks the assassin's neck, slamming him down to the stage. He dies within moments, while the rest of the attackers flee. They've kidnapped Ringo-chan.

Sai no Kawara is quickly flooded with armed and armored officers of the Enma Department. They instruct everyone to remain calm. No one panic. The Enma himself has arrived, and he is going to start questioning everyone about what just happened. Who is the Iron Bear? What in hell do they want? It's time for some answers.

Well… As far as parties in Jigoku-cho go… this one could have been worse, yeah?

Welcome to the August event!

Art in the final prompt by Yang Tuo
If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
Each prompt is labeled for it's value in terms of qualifying threads for Rewards.
If your character is in the Shuten Clan and cheating on behalf of the house, find out how well they pulled it off by posting here! Those that do well will get a special bonus from Toraguma.
If your character is trying any of the games of chance, find out how they paid out here!
If your character put on a performance at the Palace of Sai's stage, find out how the crowd reacted here! Regardless of clan affiliation, those that do well will be rewarded by Tenkohime!
For results on the gossip floating around the festival, post here!
For Department members, if your character is going to interrogate NPC festival goers, let us know here and we can post some more specific results!
TANABATA WISHES! POST THEM HERE!
If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

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[When he starts to crouch down, she almost feels disappointment, but something about that face, that smile, those horrible eyes keeps her on edge, prepared for violence.

Or maybe, she acknowledges, she just intends to hurt him even if he does surrender.

But it doesn't matter, because his words put any doubt out of her mind. He means to make a fight of this. At first she contemplates that he might attack like an animal- crouched low to charge, or perhaps to leap- but instead, he reaches down, grabs something, and pulls.

The line of the chain behind her is enough for her to guess what's coming. She'd seen them coming in, after all.

Despite her manic state, her movements are incredibly fast, precise, efficient. The dodge is only fractional- just enough to move her out of the path of the oncoming trap, close enough for the wind of it to tug at her loose bang as she ducks aside.

But there's more.

One hand snaps out, and there's the briefest flash of bright, bright blue as she strikes out her hand at the trap, batting it into the ground, where the pressure snaps at the still-glowing metal and warps it.

She pulls back into her stance again, not saying anything, merely fixing him with that hungry, half-crazed stare, waiting for him to come to her.]

[She's agile, that's good. A bird needs to be! He doesn't waste time admiring her, his other hand moving to his bag and pulling free that cleaver. It's thrown with the speed and strength he'd expected of her in the cart. Seems to be imprecise, though, going wide and lodging into the well pruned tree beside her. All the landscaping was decorative, though sparse this far out, at the edge of the property Mother Fox called her domain.

The knife lodges into place and cuts a disguised rope, setting a cluster of three more traps falling down from overtop her. Their jaws are open but they fall at such chaotic angles and speeds that dodging wide is likely the only option to not get caught by any of them. Even then, they might just land on their sides and roll away without snapping shut, becoming further hinderances to keep track of. He has this place prepared well, she should guess as much.

He pulls another knife out of his bag, just in case, but seems content to not rush towards her just yet]

[She prepares to dodge the knife, but- she doesn't have to. It's thrown wide.

He throws it far too confidently, too accurately, for that to be a mistake. He'd challenged her to a knife toss before, surely he wasn't that incompetent. Which means that was deliberate.

And that's when she sees the dark, bloody rope, barely visible against the equally spattered tree until it snaps free of its moorings.

She'd thought he was a mindless animal, barely knowing enough to hunt. Clearly, that was a mistake.

She's fast enough to dodge the traps, but she certainly doesn't have time to disable three of them, not with her firebending as limited as it is. And the ground was already potentially a pit of danger.

She thinks it's time she got some elevation. That tree has just been rather decisively cleared, so she leaps into the air, grabs the dangling cut rope, and gracefully hauls herself to the top of the tree. It wavers slightly, a frail thing, but her balance is impeccable, and she perches up there with surprising steadiness.

It won't keep him at bay for long, but hopefully it will at least force him closer.]

[Up she goes, practically flying up the tree. A bird was right, he could understand that about her immediately. She hunted him as one and he does not make mistakes in recognizing a predator. He is, likewise, battling to be at the top of this food chain.

Leshy straightens his posture, looks up at her. He stands so tall he appears as a tree himself, though she has managed to soar higher than him for now. He walks slow and calculated, circling the tree like a panther, eyes trained on her.

Another songbird whistle, taunting her to come down and face him. He spins and tosses and catches the knife with skillful flourish. Coy and unbothered.

Come down from the nest, little bird... he's only so patient,]

[Nah, she's good up here for the moment, thanks.

She knew he was immense, but it was a very different thing seeing him stretched to his full height as he prowled around her tree, slowly and methodically. And carefully. The patience is frustrating. It means he hasn't left her an opening, and she's not tipping her hand about what firebending can do until she knows it will have the most effect.

Her focus now is on the knife. With no room left for traps, she suspects the knife will be his next avenue of attack. It was clearly not balanced for throwing- despite his obvious skill, the choice of weapon is lacking. She's not certain if it's a lack of knowledge, a lack of skill, a lack of patience, a lack of resources- or simply the same preference for improvisation that marked his other work.

Either way, she's certainly not counting on it to save her. She'd seen for herself just how deadly an unbalanced knife could be, and even if she did suspect she could deflect it, the distraction might provide him with an opening as well.

She just had to hope his patience wore out before hers.]

I'll be very disappointed if all it took to best you was a ladder.

[... The first time she's spoken since she delivered the final warning, and it's obvious the voice is very different without the mask in place, far more wild and uncontrolled. Eager. She sounds like she's on the edge of laughter.]

Edited (Missed a few words there) 2022-08-10 17:36 (UTC)

No need to go up... I can get you to come down.

[he stalks back to his bag and from it he pulls another item. Leshy can always see the means to an end, he plans his strategies turns in advance if possible. This is more a move of convenience.

He pulls a handheld blow torch, clicks it on, and rises back to his feet. A toss of it and it lands at the base of the tree.

Lighting the spilled oil which trailed down it from traps he set earlier. He doesn't know she can bend fire, but he knows that birds don't stay long in trees that are ablaze. She has some time before it goes up completely, but the oil is quick to trail fire up through the cracks in the bark. All while Leshy stands at a distance, watching it go up with something of glee at what her move will be.

He's having fun, clearly.]

[That, admittedly, she hadn't seen coming.

It was a good plan. Also a mildly ironic one. Already she feels the heat rising- though she's more than comfortable enough with heat, of course, it represents a threat. An admittedly novel one. She hasn't fought many other firebenders- just Zuko, and his focused aggression was very different from a wild chemical incendiary. Nobody ever used those against the Fire Nation.

Of course, it occurs to her that there's a reason for that.

This wasn't another Firebender. This was just fire. A lot of fire. A fire with plenty of fuel. A fire that was already, just from the propellant soaking the tree, far larger than what she could summon herself in her impaired state.

But what she could summon and what she could control are two wildly different things.

She takes a deep breath, and she feels the heat of the fire, the power of the fire. Feels it enter her. She takes another breath.

Mine.

She lets the second breath out with a small laugh, as slowly the fire begins to take on a bluish glow. And with each breath, the blue claims more and more of the flame and her laughter gets wilder and louder, until, with an acrobatic leap, she plummets gracefully to the ground, rolls neatly to one knee, and thrusts out her hand, still cackling maniacally.

And the blue pyre leaps from the tree and washes over her head, sweeping toward Leshy with a swift roar.]

[Leshy watches the display with something like... appreciation? It's not quite awe, but there is a shine of interest in his expression. A worthy opponent, someone who cares for the drama- yes.

This is what he wished for.

He throws the knife at her as she's falling, but she was right, it was not balanced for throwing. If it was, he'd surely have gotten her in an eye. Instead, it grazes past the outer corner of one eyelid, only grazing the delicate skin there.

Leshy can't really understand what manner of control she is exerting. The control of heat, of fire, isn't common to him. Fire is something one lights and snuffs out. It's not to be thrown around- So, he doesn't really expect the pillar of flame to shift and rocket towards him. His reactive dodge to one side is late and incomplete, it washed over him at one side, burning at his plant-like attributes.

He screams, a terrible howl of a wounded animal. There's an immediate panic, a scramble that drops all pretense of a fight being had. He crumples into the dirt, bends himself in half, making him seem for once small. Massive hands reach out in desperation and fire clings to him. Palms bunch up sand and blood soaked mud, tossing them over himself in clumps. The flames do get suffocated with the dirt, but his bark-like skin is left charred, rapidly blistering and bubbling. His voice crackles in pain and rage, but he seems for the moment... beaten by this. Not able to stand up to her after such a blow.

Eyes spin haphazardly, something only one, then only the other, wide and unblinking, crazed and unfocused from shock. She will surely feel the swell of victory, even as he reels back somewhat, lifts his chin to the sky, and seems to swallow his own scream.

There is always... a backup plan. It won't be apparent to her, she can believe she's won.]

[In her mad rush of excitement, she doesn't even notice the light graze of the knife against her temple until after she pauses to admire her handiwork.

A few drops of blood. It hardly matters. She's won. She's won.

The cackling continues. Manic. Uncontrolled. She tosses a few more bursts of fire at him- the paltry puffs of flame she summons are feeble and tiny in comparison to the inferno she'd had to steal, now spent and lost from her. Normally, the comparative weakness would sting, but right now, she doesn't care.

She just gets closer, still laughing all the while, tossing a few more haphazard bursts of blue flame more toward him than at him, her posture limp and erratic, not even trying to control her form as she comes to stand over his body.]

The Department thanks you for your cooperation!

[She follows up the sarcastic gloating with another manic laugh as she swipes out with her off-hand at those horrible eyes, calling another burst of flame with a mind to destroy that hideous, hypnotic stare forever.]

[The pill from the Lunar Rabbit slips down his throat, having been tucked into one cheek all the while. He's almost spit it out during his screaming, but it stuck to his jagged teeth. It dissolves and then rushes through his system, burning within him. The sheer intoxication of it's power lets him forget the pain fire searing him, pain he'd not yet felt. True pain, no longer simulation, he doesn't miss it when it fades from his mind.

She gets close and when her arm swings forward, he snaps at her with the surprise swiftness of a crocodile. His teeth sink into the crook of her elbow, tearing through clothing and into flesh, puncturing to spill blood into his mouth. He pulls her to the ground with a sickening pop of her shoulder pulling clean, beneath her skin and muscle, of the socket. If he kept pulling, he might tear her arm clean at the bend, but he has other ideas.

This fire needs to be extinguished. A candle snuffed out-

A massive hand grabs the back of her neck. He holds her by it like scruff on a mutt. With terrifying strength he lifts them both up, getting to his hooves and holding her aloft from the dirt. There's ease to his overwhelming, if temporary strength granted by the drug. Before there's much time to realize just what is happening, he's carried her to the bank of the river and shoved her face first into the water.

He holds her there, just beneath the surface, holding tight to her neck. The bloody pool is difficult to see through, but if she lashes her hands out, she'll feel other body parts, chopped up and discarded, hidden below all the red. He's intent to drown her, but the strength only lasts ten seconds, he's only got about five left before she can actually fight back,]

Shhhh shhhh.

[She'd considered the possibility of life left in his limbs when she first approached- but by the time she was making ready to burn out his eyes, the possibility had been lost from her.

Still, if his hands had moved, she might still have seen, might still have pulled aside.

Nothing had even prepared her to consider that he might lash out with his teeth. There was the beast she had first expected.

She tries to pull her hand back, but too slow, far too slow. She feels teeth biting into her elbow, rending flesh. And as the weight of him pulls her unrelentingly to the ground, she feels something in her shoulder give, and the pain of that washes through her, sharp and electric- but before she can scream in pain, the impact against the ground drives all the air from her body in a silent wheeze.

Apparently, her brain supplies, through her dim and detached haze, he's resilient.]

Edited (Missed some words again.) 2022-08-10 19:39 (UTC)

[Stupid, Azula. Very stupid, to get so close, to drop your guard. The snow peasant all over again.

If she wasn't still struggling to suck in air, the comparison between Katara and Leshy would have made her laugh.

As his grip shifts to the back of her neck, she feels herself scooped up effortlessly, and it only dimly registers that there's something bad about that- and then her focus starts to come back. He has her. He has her and he's taking her somewhere.

As she struggles to grit through the pain, to force her lungs to draw breath, to make her muscles start moving again, she feels herself forced to her knees.

She doesn't have time to fight back. It's all she can do to desperately pull a lungful of air before she's suddenly being shoved into the filthy water.

It brings her back to reality. That grip is strong. It's oppressive. She can't escape it, can barely even move in that tight, strangling grip. Her left arm is utterly useless now, even if it wasn't screaming in agony. Her breath is already nearly spent by the time she hits the water, so harshly had she been winded before. She needs to get leverage. She needs to get-

After seconds that feel like an eternity, she feels something in his grip finally go slack.

Was he distracted? Weakened? Whatever. It didn't matter. She suddenly strains- not upward, against the restraining hand, but downward, deeper into the water, the same direction that he's already applying pressure, pulling her forward into... something solid, with too much give. Spirits knew what. She didn't have time to think about it even if she cared to.

And the motion pulls her legs forward enough for her to kick- more of a flail, really- twin bursts of blue flame at the mass of the enormous beast above her.]

[Leshy isn't thinking beyond the immediate, the present, the absolute now. Unlike him, really, he is always planning ahead, always setting up for a big move. He's not so far out in the future, like a certain other Scrybe, but survival often takes planning.

This time, it takes ferocity. He doesn't want to let her go for anything, presumes he won't have to. She's extinguished in blood and water. She'll drown and he'll mourn the loss of a fine challenger... if only for a moment. Perhaps, he'll take a picture of her body floating face first down the bloody river way. A memento-

Just that bit of pull from his focus, of seeing himself the winner too soon, lets her escape. His strength wanes with the passing of the short lived drug. Her last ditch effort to sink and then kick at him works. The flames cause him to take flight, rather than keep fighting. His grip releases and he ducks himself down into the water. Submerged only a moment to put out any fire caught to his leaves, he cannot see her in the foggy redness.

Popping back up, his puffs water out from his nose. Find her. Finish her off. Devour her if you must-

Distant shouts and the sound of men approaching. No, it's time to take flee. This is not to be won. He takes the long steps required to get out of the water, rushes to his backpack, and slings it over his unburnt shoulder. Adrenaline and the urge to live another day make him quick, despite any exhaustion from the fleeting power.

Leshy escapes out along the edge of the property, careful to follow his trail of traps. Any who dared follow would get caught in one of them, couldn't possibly dodge them all in a blind rush to catch him. He's too swift and too smart to be prey tonight. Even if he is half-cooked.]

[She hauls herself backwards out of the water the moment she's free, gasping desperately for air, trying to purge all thought of what was in there with her.

Besides. It's not important. He dies. He dies. She leaps to her feet, muscles aching, left arm screaming at the movement- and then she sees him.

Down the river. Fleeing.

She hears voices behind her- security. But she doesn't care. He dies now. She snarls in fury, swiping with her one good arm, sending an arc of fire at him- too small, too weak. The frustration clenches inside her.

She rushes after him, throwing stray bursts of vivid blue fire, lighting the trees behind him, but he's too far ahead.

No. No, he's not going to outrun her. He dies. He dies now. At her hands. Screaming in flames. She runs along the river after him, steps on another hidden chain. A trap snaps closed.

No. Fine. Not the ground. The trees, then. She lunges for one, grasps with her good arm, feels rope. Ducks aside as more traps fall above her. She dodges them, but stumbles. Her dislocated arm screams at her again, and she grits her teeth against the pain.

No. Not like this. She won't let it end like this. He dies. He dies. He dies he dies he dies he dies-

Focus. Focus. She can't chase him. She can't. There are too many traps, she can't begin to pick her way through them if she's to catch him- and he's too fast, despite his injuries, and if she had just had her full power, he would never-

She shrieks in her impotence and fury, venting her rage into the sky after him, and the smoldering tree behind her erupts into blue flames.

Fine. Then she'll have to make up for the wait with interest when she does kill him.

She lets out a ragged gasp of pain, then turns and starts slowly making her way back toward the Enma guards.]

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August 2022 Event

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