March 2022 Mini Event

[jigokumods]

MAIN NAVIGATION


The Night Parade is fast-approaching and each faction will be busy with their own preparations.

1. SHUTEN CLAN

The Celestial Phoenix Casino, a fairly popular casino in the Shuten territory, is overdue on its protection money. This money is sorely needed for parade preparations. Unfortunately, the casino has decided it doesn't need to pay up because they've hired some new unaffiliated muscle. Neither the manager nor their new muscle are the type to listen to reason, so be prepared to exert some intimidation and force to convince these new bodyguards to take their business elsewhere.

The brute squad working for the Celestial Phoenix seems to be made up of several different youkai. Some of them are more human looking than others, but you'll notice no Oni. Even independent Oni wouldn't dare turn against the Shuten Clan. Even lacking in Oni, these thugs are armed to the teeth, swinging several deadly weapons and even a few firearms. This could get rough, so be prepared for the worst. Take the gangsters protecting the Celestial Phoenix out or convince them it’s not worth it.

Once inside, you'll discover that the owner, in a panic, has locked himself inside the casino's value with the protection money owed. This might take some doing to get open...

2. SUTOKU ALLIANCE

The Kappa want to be left alone and the Daitengu has asked Sutoku Alliance members to assure their wishes are respected. Members are tasked with convincing people to stay away from the Kappa's riverside facilities by whatever means necessary. Of course, you may want to take a look for yourself to see what they’re being so secretive about. That’s not recommended, if you don’t want to get into trouble.

It’s not just strangers who are nosy, though. Retinues from both the Shuten and Tamamo clans are making an appearance and asking why the inspections are taking so long. Why are the Kappa dragging their feet? The Alliance prefers to avoid direct violence, so it's up to you to talk to these clan captains in a way that convinces them to leave the Kappa alone.

If you're curious enough to dive deeper into the Kappa's business, however, even your Alliance membership isn't going to keep you safe. The Kappa themselves seem to disappear from sight the further into the sewers you go, as if invisible. Preventing yourself from being spotted by a security camera or a patrolling Kappa is almost impossible. Cover your faces, stick to the shadows, and you might just notice that... they’re building something down there.

Something for the Parade? Who knows? But it’s definitely not decorations or a float...

3. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENMA

The parade route for the Night Parade needs to be "cleaned up". The Department is tasked with getting the low level street gangs and squatters to clear out. The homeless population will resist and may not be so easily persuaded to give up their spots. Your best bet is to offer them food, booze, or shelter for the night. The street gangs will assuredly fight back. Use your strength or your wits to get the job done.

The gangs will not typically be that tough, most don’t want to step up to the Department's goon squad too heavily lest they wind up in a cell for the rest of their lives. Still, some might be hopped up on encouraging substances and try to escalate. Don’t worry, though. You have the authority of the Enma on your side! Don’t think they will get away with waving a weapon in your face.

The homeless, though, lack strength or weapons. They are more fueled by desperation to keep their spots. Winter hasn't been kind to them, after all, and they don’t have much respect for the Enma's authority. Their belligerent behavior is loud, and often violent despite their absence of means to properly defend themselves. At worst, they’ll probably try to use biological warfare. Don’t ask what's in those bottles...

4. TAMAMO CLAN

Parade costumes need to be designed, crafted, modeled, and then likely mended knowing the rough and tumble yokai. The textile shops and tailors of the area need Tamamo Clan members to help them out. Costumes vary from extremely ornate to extremely sexy. These costumes need to merge form and function, for the Tamamo clan parade marchers that means they need to be able to sell their specific wares while wearing them. (wink wonk)

None of the costumes are floor ready and the shop bosses urge you that these cannot be seen by the public until they are ready. This won’t stop some peeping toms and tammies from trying to scope out the goods. Most of the voyeurs are spying for perverted reasons, but some are from shops outside of Tamamo’s influence trying to copy the designs for themselves. Either way, Tamamo Clan members aren't expected to be just pretty faces. So rough’em up.

5. TASTE TEST (ALL FACTIONS)

For those less interested in their faction's work, the restaurants in the Tamamo territory also need help finalizing their menu offerings for the Night Parade. Taste testers and creative cooks wanted! These aren’t just any dishes though and may have some interesting effects. One may be so spicy that everything burns, your face turns red, and you need to cool yourself off. Or maybe your dish is so good that you need to take a nap – it doesn't matter where you are, you'll just fall asleep right on the spot. Another possibility is a dish that gives you unstoppable energy – literally. It will make you want to get up and go and never stop moving. If you stop moving, it may cause a bigger problem.

Welcome to the mini event!

• If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
• If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

Comments

Ydris | Original | OTA

[enterthe]

I. Sutoku Alliance
Open to all factions

[Ydris has seen fit to really avoid whatever the Kappa are doing. At least, out in the open. They want absolutely nobody to suspect anything of concern is going on, just the same silly preparations as the other factions are doing. They plan to make a show of wealth and resources. It couldn't possibly be a power grab.

And if it is, Ydris is too new here to know if it's a justified one or not. They don't particularly want to be at the mercy of a bunch of water based demons, but for now it's best to play nice and obedient to the whims of their ""superiors"". They float at the entrance for a bridge, one that doesn't have a lot of traffic. People who want to cross are getting told to take a detour, most don't complain more than a grumble of two.

Thing is, the bridge isn't what's important. There's a remote, open sewer entrance just beneath it. This is all a distraction to keep it guarded while not putting someone right out front of it or needing to take time away to create a barricade up it.]

Bridge is up, festival shipments coming up the river soon. Find another way around.

II. Taste Test
OTA & NSFW for hentai brain reasons

[So, some of these foods have various... effects. People are bustling around to taste test and get a feel for how, well, effective certain things are. Ydris is at one such stand, looking especially challenging out at a, now, sizeable crowd that has gathered to gawk.

Juice That Makes You Come Super Hard.

That's what the sign reads! And laid out on the cart are very cutesy, little juice boxes with dinky bendy straws. They all have bold text proclaiming ADULT ONLY across them. There is a very intrigued crowd formed, but nobody appears willing to test if they do what they say they do. It must just be a joke, right? A novelty item-? Ydris is giving not indication, maybe they work and maybe they don't.

Ydris is also actively haggling the crowd, their tone exceedingly dry and unimpressed. Someone yells a snarky question that Ydris echoes back before answering]

What flavor are they-? Fuck you, that's what. Try one and find out. Be a legend.

[Feel free to talk to Ydris without taking one, but like... what fun is that?]

II

[moondregs]

[ Junpei had been trying to make his way through the area when the crowd forming around a specific stand slows down his progression. It’s annoying and he’s trying his best to maneuver around it when he hears a familiar voice.

Oh no.

Now a little concerned he wiggles through a few breaks in the group until he’s in front of the booth, looking at the product Ydris is peddling with a mix of disbelief and discomfort. Why is this place like this? Also did they just cuss? ]

Ydris ... what the hell ...

[enterthe]

Ahoy, loser. [Ydris' favorite greeting, reserved for people they're kind of comfortable with talking to like that]

I'm getting paid. [that's what's important here. Also, judging from the smug smile they're wearing, it's a pretty fun gig to them. Being confrontational is perfectly in their wheelhouse, the crowd is loving it in equal measure to their discomfort]

[moondregs]

[ Being called a ‘loser’ earns a sour face from Junpei. He hasn’t had the best couple of days and isn’t really used to getting playful insults. The insults he gets are usually totally sincere, and ‘loser’ has most definitely been among them.

As such, he gives an unimpressed huff and eyes the crowd of gawkers. ]

I don’t see anyone buying. Just standing around and blocking the street.

[enterthe]

[Ydris is just insensitive to that one, bud, sorry. Full steam ahead, barely noticing Junpei going cold to their comment]

They aren't really for sale. Not yet. These are the free samples. [they make a crackling kind of... laugh? Is that what noise their laugh is? It sounds like something breaking over a fire]

Nobody is bold enough to try them. But... they're bringing a crowd, so that means attention for the nearby vendors. That's what I'm actually doing. [which Ydris thinks is quite clever. The actual success of this product doesn't matter, it may just be test marketing.

But nobody is quite willing to call the bluff just yet. The risk it isn't just a goof is too embarrassing to prove in public]

[moondregs]

[ Junpei rolls his eyes at the explanation. So beneath him, so juvenile. ]

That’s ridiculous. Why not just make something that’s actually good? You’re doing this for the same group that snuck that weird stuff in the drinks at the nightclub the other night, aren’t you?

[ He’s not giving himself away by just stating that, he reasons. He knows for a fact he wasn’t the only one effected and surely word had gotten out about the aphrodisiacs by now. ]

[enterthe]

You're exactly right, I was curious about their methods. Others seem to know better than to think the promised advertising completely meritless. [hence all the hesitation. This is clearly something cooked up by the Tamamo Clan. Ydris is just doing market research on how it performs, that's more the wheelhouse of the Sutoku Alliance, after all.]

I presume you drank something I full well warned you about. [Ydris doesn't actually sound critical over this, more bemused. Clearly, Junpei got out... or off... alive.]

The hickey speaks volumes. Good for you.

[moondregs]

[ He’s instantly pale, a hand going to slap over the telltale mark on his neck as if it’s not too late to attempt and cover it up now. In his preoccupation with seeing what Ydris was up to he’d totally forgotten it was on full display. ]

It looked like a normal drink! It wasn’t alcoholic or anything! After I’d eaten food and nothing —-

[ The fact he’s being overly defensive occurs to him, and he has to tell himself to dial it back. Regain his composure.

He continues, quieter. ]

Don’t congratulate me on that. It’s nothing to be happy about. It’s embarrassing.

[enterthe]

Doth protest too much. [yeah, that's about as defensive as Ydris would get over being embarrassed. So naturally, they'll seize the chance to make fun of Junpei for it.]

If you had a pleasurable time, then shame is pointless. Embarrassing yourself is just apart of being your age. [. . .]

... I cannot tell how old you are, Junpei. Still within your teen age years, aren't you? [luckily nobody can tell how old Ydris is, because they'd be much more critical of their high and mighty attitude if so]

[moondregs]

Seventeen.

[ So practically an adult, his tone of voice says. What’s one more year? He was already miles more mature than his peers as far as he was concerned. Definitely not the sort prone to doing things like making out in a nightclub.

He follows up the information with a low hiss. ]

Don’t just say things like ‘pleasurable’ in front of other people. It’s gross.

1. (Sukotu Alliance)

[strikingchords]

[from his position just in front of the bridge, Lan Wangji frowns at Ydris. his eyes rest for a moment on the waters below before returning to Ydris's face; he's aware that the Kappa want this location out of the public eye, though he hasn't yet been told why. he was told to come here to either help, or relieve Ydris from their duties, but he's not sure he'll follow through with that direction before he knows exactly what it is he's guarding.

he doesn't like that Ydris is lying, but he has to admit it's not a bad way to ward people off the area...]

...

Is that so?

[enterthe]

It's what I was told. [not a lie, in fact, it might even be true... eventually. It's certainly not anything immediate, just a reason to give so the bridge being up isn't worth questioning.]

You could take a long walk up the river to double check. [a big long waste of time, most likely]

[strikingchords]

Hm.

[Lan Wangji's eyes rest on the water. he seems very serene about the whole thing.]

Was told to wait for it.

[this is also not a lie, and should let on that they are part of the same faction. he waits for Ydris's reaction before he decides what his next move will be.]

[enterthe]

You're also Sutoku, yes? [Ydris can recall Lan Wangji from either the orientation or some info passed around so Sutoku could recognize their own. The whole culture of their faction is information, it should be known to them.

If they're wrong somehow, that's embarrassing]

We can drop the pretense, there's no fucking boat. What are you actually here for?

[strikingchords]

Mm.

[he'll incline his head gracefully in response to the question about being a member of the Alliance. it's true that they're likely expected to be at least trying to identify and share affiliations for the Lost Souls they've met by now, as far as the new arrivals to Jigoku-cho have revealed themselves.]

...

As I said. Was told to wait for activity.

[he does not lie. though a boat wasn't strictly mentioned.]

Have any tried to investigate?

[he's not sure himself whether this is a change in shift or additional guard for some reason unbeknownst to them, but either way, he needs to know if there's been trouble.]

[enterthe]

From other factions? No. Not that I've seen. Our own batch of Lost Souls appear the most interested in this particular secret.

[Ydris already hates this faction. Not necessarily the people in it, but everything already feels like everything is a test. A test that is complete guesswork over what the correct response is.]

If we're supposed to be the information gatherers, immediately withholding information from us is one way to make us all antsy. [it's mostly Ydris, they're the antsy one, even if they're maintaining a relatively stony demeanor]

[strikingchords]

Hm.

[Lan Wangji nods slightly. he wouldn't describe himself as antsy, but it isn't as if he doesn't also want to know what's down there. if part of the faction he's joined is preparing for something that really goes sideways, he doesn't particularly want to be surprised by it either -- or be forced to decide on limited time and less information whether to act against his own faction's interests or not.]

May I examine what we guard?

[it's a blunt request. exploring the area is one thing, but what is he even meant to keep people away from?]

[enterthe]

It's not interesting, just a drainage pipe beneath the bridge. Might lead somewhere important, but it's so out of the way it seems low priority to blockade.

[so Ydris is up here pretending the bridge is the true priority, not the passage beneath it. It's rather effective, people are focused on getting across the river or what is coming through it by boat, not so much the sewer channels beneath them]

Wouldn't advise going down there yourself, if only to avoid for the foul smell that will cling to your everything.

[strikingchords]

[Lan Wangji frowns. "it's so out of the way that it's low priority" doesn't quite square up in his mind with the Kappa deliberately instructing them to watch over this area.]

I will look.

[he does intend to avoid the foul smell, though. no cultivator who deals with the dead every day is afraid to get his hands dirty, but also, no one loves eating shit.

he'll drop lightly off the side of the bridge, after one more quick look to see if anyone is watching. then he does one more visual check to orient himself to Ydris's position on watch before at least briefly ducking down the tunnel. Ydris can hear that he's not going very far in; he'll likely return quickly.]

Taste Test?

[gentlygently]

[Now Ophelia hasn't been trying any of the strange foods, primarily because her systems for food and drink are only mimics of a human's and do not affect the operation of her android body. But this is a very large crowd and the language declaring what the juice does is curious and she certainly counts as an adult. Even if the juice won't do anything, the person hawking it is more than interesting enough for her to attempt to engage.]

Why would drinking such a thing make me a legend?

[It's a mild inquiry as she steps up to the table and picks up one of the juice-boxes. She examines it without drinking it, her expression open and not at all like she has any real concept of what she's supposedly holding in her hand.]

[OOC: Hopefully you don't mind a clueless AI tackling the prompt?]

assume most of my tags will have some nsfw foolery

[enterthe]

[ooc: always delighted to tag other OCs!! <3]

[Ydris was mostly just running their mouth to make a scene, so now that the preciseness of their wording is being questioned, they pause.

Then promptly over explain the joke with utmost frankness]

Most people would find it humiliatingly irregular to orgasm in public.

[nailed it]

Given there is a large crowd gathered, the number of witnesses would likely result in a highly repeatable story to friends and colleagues.

[gentlygently]

[ooc: :D!]

Oh, I see. 'Humiliatingly irregular.' Both odd, and attached to a negative emotion.

[Ophelia repeats the terms she is given just to make sure she can be corrected if she's wrong, then carefully files that away under 'emotional responses (pending).' She then asks her very necessary follow-up questions.]

So this be uncomfortable for either the individual or the audience? I do not see what would be so bad about being information that others convey to one another.

[She considers her drink in her hand, very calm about the prospect of drinking it in the middle of a crowd.]

[enterthe]

[anybody who listened to this conversation would certainly think it was two computers trying to communicate. Ydris is just detacted enough from social norms that they can easily hone in on Ophelia's manner of overly logical thought processing.

Because, like, mood.]

Most are covetous of maintaining a respectable social reputation. It would be considered shameful to become well known for a publicly indecent display of pleasure, especially one witnessed by a large number of people.

[gentlygently]

[Ophelia makes sure to offer all of the little nonverbal markers of listening that she has been banking since she awoke: nods and small affirmative noises, mostly. These are bigger concepts than her basic database could even think to encapsulate. Of course, the sounds don't make the 'two computers speaking' any less computery. Her timing is a bit off, still, alas.]

Would I be expected to feel this shame as something sourced internally? Or is this something imposed via social consensus?

[Because at this point, she takes a sip from the drink in her hand. Of course, it does nothing, because her digestive system isn't and nothing about it is connected to her other internal structures. She is also a little disappointed that she has no idea how to interpret 'taste,' either.

Very casually, she follows this up with:]

Is a respectable social reputation valuable? Could I use a social reputation to acquire information?

[Because, really, that's all she'd want one for.]

[enterthe]

The sensation of shame is an involuntary one, I believe. Most people are taught what they should be ashamed of and when they fail to meet a certain standard of conduct, then shame is the natural emotional response.

[they're really trying their best to answer these questions forthright, but they have their own to interject back at her before any more indulging in answers]

I take it you aren't human, if this all needs explaining to you. What might you be, then?