jigokulogs | March 2022 Mini Event

March 2022 Mini Event

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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.

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(He literally cannot understand how someone can be so... optimistic? No, that's a lie. It feels very much like him to just take things in stride. One doesn't become a revolutionary if they aren't ready and willing to adapt, he supposes.

There are a lot of questions Hizen could ask right now. Ryouma is... dead, right? And he's really Ryouma? Why would someone summon him? Does he have a master? But asking those questions really just invites Ryouma to ask those questions in turn and..

He looks down at his cup, completely empty of castella.)

Aren't you worried? (He doesn't know what Ryouma can usually do but...) You're weak.

(Strength is everything. If you don't have strength, you can't do anything. If you're weak, no one even cares if you die.)

[ whatever it is that's in the castella is effective but can't cancel out the thoughts that pop into his head. rider may be an especially weak heroic spirit, but he's better than nothing. ]

Well, you aren't wrong. A Servant without a Noble Phantasm isn't much of anything at all.

[ which he realises after he's said it probably means nothing to hizen at all. he takes another few seconds to munch on the food a little more and tries to string his thoughts together into something that makes sense. ]

It's hard to explain what a Noble Phantasm is since it can be a lot of things, but mostly it's something no one else possesses that's so unique that seeing it in action probably reveals their True Name. With a few exceptions. Mages in my world summon Servants because their power is drawn from humanity's imagination! They're powerful because they're worshipped by humanity as legends. Which I think is pretty amazing, don't you think?

[ notably, unlike the other times, he speaks as if he's intentionally excluding himself from the description — because he is. he was no one when he died, which is perhaps why the world ultimately chose him to make a pact with. in ryouma's mind, he's nothing like the others, even if he used to talk about the things heroes ought to do. ]

Oda Nobunaga said the same thing to me once and she wasn't wrong either. I'm only a third-rate Heroic Spirit, but it's the job I have to do until they find someone better, I suppose.

("We take the shape of the heart bestowed on us. Sometimes that heart is shaped from facts. Sometimes it is tied to anecdotes. And sometimes it is modeled around false rumors. The emotions poured into us objects are our source of life. Stories make us stronger."

A quiet inn in Tosa. A man pours everyone a drink. He's only human but when he speaks, every spirit listens. Even Hizen, standing to the side can't help but be taken in by those words again. He speaks of his dreams that haven't come true yet but they all know the story he's telling. Every beat matches what Hizen remembers though from his recollection, it was a different man who cried out for that exact same dream in his final moments.

Everyone in the room is silent, completely captured. For a moment, they believe the dream will come true not because they already know how the story will unfold but simply because that man had told them it would be so.

And this guy calls himself third-rate? He keeps himself down? If Hizen was himself, he'd yell. He'd snap at Ryouma right now. Instead, his eyes shoot right for the sword at Ryouma's side. This is supposed to be that guy's master? He looks back at Ryouma, confused. )

What the hell are you talking about? (A hundred things well up inside him. There's so much he could say and his mouth hangs open for a half second before he quickly shuts it, biting it all down. No, even like this... even like this he has to think about his own mission. His own secrets. He can't just tell this guy everything.) Knock it off.

You're-- (A hero. The samurai that pushed a nation into a new era. The pride of Tosa.) Are you trying to be humble or something?

I said you were weak not sorry.

(He's terrible at encouraging people.)

[ ryouma sits up a little at hizen's words. if anything, he thought hizen might be happier to not hear him speak highly of things. it's not like that's the reason he's said what he's said — it's just the truth. ryouma eats another bite of castella because he can pretend the sweetness helps. maybe it does, a little, since he would probably be a lot worse off trying to talk about this if not for the lightness in his head that seems to dull it all, at the very least. ]

I wonder that myself sometimes. If I had to say so, everything's different from how it used to be...

[ he folds his hands on the counter in front of him and it looks like a very neat and orderly sort of gesture, but then he's practised these little things because no one would have ever called him neat or orderly once. he really has buried a lot over time, hasn't he? we are rider, he'd say because together they were one. it always comes back to oryou. she's the only reason he can even wonder if it's possible to live in any other way again, or else he would have lost himself completely a long time ago.

he doesn't even know if hizen wants to hear this, but now that he's gotten ryouma talking it's difficult not to at least explain and he's not sure why. maybe because hizen reminds him so much of izō but without all the personal complications..? if he was ever going to explain this to anyone else, it probably would have been him anyway. in either case, ryouma honestly isn't sure if he'd prefer understanding or judgement. ]

The day I died, I made a contract with the World to become a Servant. I thought "I can save a lot of people like this all the time! I can use that power and create a world where everyone can live happily!" But in reality, it didn't turn out that way at all. Reality is always crueler than hopes and dreams, isn't it?

[ he looks up again and smiles, but in that way where it never quite reaches his eyes. ]

I think I've been taught that lesson a few times now, but I never seem to learn it, so maybe that's the proof that I am still who I say I am?

(Oh thank god Ryouma is dead. Hizen was beginning to wonder if maybe this was a version of Ryouma that hadn't lived to the end and just didn't know anything. The somberness doesn't make sense to him. It doesn't fit with the stories he's heard. Maybe that guy would know better than him considering how much closer he was to him but the part of this story that he'd inherited through Izo doesn't match this serious mood at all.

(That guy stands tall in the face of darkness, immune to the weight of history bearing down on them. In all of the chaos, he sees a clear path and in this desperate, abandoned world, he hopefully believes in everyone still. "It's all a shame but he accomplished plenty. The country he desired is already coming into view. That dream will come true.")

He takes that paper cup in his hand

and throws it at Ryouma.)

I don't know who the hell you are... if that guy was here, he'd probably know.

(Because he'd been with Ryouma longer than him. He'd been with him until the very end. He'd inherited Ryouma's entire story and all of the memories about him. His eyes keep going to that sword Ryouma carries as if expecting him to manifest and say all of the right things again but nothing happens.

Fuck everything.)

I don't get this servant stuff. (He's not smart. There are things he can kind of understand by relating it to his own experience but he's sure there's more to it than that.) I dunno if that makes you better than before or not... but even as a human...

(He clenches his fists and tenses. He should hate admitting this. It's not something he ever wants to admit out loud. But in his mind, he knows it to be fact and in his heart, he still feels that sense of... pride? Is that it? Not just as a spirit from Tosa but as someone fighting for the future of Japan.)

All of your dreams come true.

(And as soon as he says that, he feels uncomfortable. He looks away. He looks everywhere except at Ryouma and)

(Balls one hand into a fist and punches him. In the shoulder or something. Hard. He yells.)

Gaaah! Stupid! Idiot! (He punches him again.) You're killing my mood!

(HE'S TRYING TO BE IN A GOOD MOOD. HELLO? )

[ ryouma doesn't try to move out of the way or anything, so he just stares at hizen after the paper cup bounces off his head and falls to the ground. he's... not sure how he's supposed to take that? he opens his mouth and then closes it again as he changes his mind a few times and there are no mixed feelings here, he's just straight-up confused. that's also why he sees hizen looking at his sword and doesn't connect the dots (again) right away. ]

That guy...? Oh, you mean—...

[ he's thought about the sort of person that guy might be a few times since he's known hizen is someone who exists, so would he really have the answers? if the sword he carries right now were to suddenly become like hizen, what would that person think? it's hizen speaking up again that shakes him out of those thoughts and he peers at him curiously to see if he was going to add anything else.

... and as a matter of fact, he does. only it's a punch to the shoulder. when will he learn to anticipate further violence? judging by his track record with the people he goes out of his way to surround himself with... never? ryouma holds his hands up as a sign of surrender after the second hit, but he just laughs and puts on his best pleading face. ]

Sorry, sorry! But, I have to ask—... you really believe that?

[ he ducks down a little and holds his hands up again because he anticipates it this time because he's already been struck twice. ]

That probably sounds stupid, doesn't it? From my perspective, I've never really... stopped? I thought that's what I've been doing, trying to finish what I started.

[ so imagine his surprise. he knows what people call him — hero of the restoration — but it's like someone's pinned a badge to his chest. he knows it's there but he doesn't really feel it. it's not as if he's experienced time in a linear fashion or anything, so if what hizen says is true he has a lot to think about and no idea where to start.

... so he decides he might as well start with what's right in front of him, and so ryouma gets a fresh toothpick and spears one of the castella still in his cup, offering it out to hizen. ]

To make it up to you. I'll get you another order for all the trouble if you want.

That's 'cause it never fucking ends, ya idiot!

(HE PUNCHES AGAIN and misses this time which just pisses him off more.)

A whole country where even in a hundred years, everyone gets to be free like they wanna be! And another hundred and another hundred 'cause that's the future ya made! Everything keeps going!

(He's losing it. It feels dizzy. Holy fuck its like his whole spirit has left this mortal body and gone up into the atmosphere. He wishes the ground would just swallow him up right now.)

I'm not out here busting my ass for Tosa or Satsuma or any of those places! I'm out here working for Japan--

(AND HE SNATCHES THAT CASTELLA PIECE AND SHOVES IT IN HIS MOUTH ANGRILY.)

[ he gets a faraway look in his eyes and seems to be letting this all sink in. ryouma has seen this piece and that other piece and lost the whole big picture somewhere along the way. it would have been hard not to, living the way he's had to. always showing up at turning points. endings. it's all just paperwork. never saving anyone, only arriving like a bad storm on the horizon.

know that the power to determine whether the world lives or dies lies within you.

when he'd written that a long time ago, he'd never imagined it might ever become so literal. he'd felt a little hopeful when he had turned up in chaldea because chaldea's master had impressed him, but then ryouma came here — to hell — and found himself alone.

he has limits like anyone else. ]

Everything keeps going..?

[ he pauses again, looking very much like he's not sure if he wants to laugh or cry or some combination of the two. it solves nothing on its own, but ryouma has felt like he's been barely treading water in this place, throwing everything he has at the wall to see what'll stick and for the most part coming up with nothing to show for any of it. hizen may not have handled this in a particularly graceful way, but then it's especially moving because he can tell it isn't easy for hizen to say.

he pulls a bit of wadded up money out of his pocket and makes some attempt to smooth it out before he holds it up and waves it because it's an easy way to get quick service, ordering more of the castella like he promised. ]

Consider it thanks for the trouble of setting me straight, like I said. And for working hard for Japan!

[ ryouma is doing his best but he's a bad liar about these kinds of things, so it's hard for him to disguise the fact that he's barely containing himself right now. consider: the news hizen has just delivered. to ryouma. to the person that he still is under all the extra stuff that's been piled on. he might as well be vibrating a little trying not to react ~~because hizen might just murder him if he does~~. ]

(He's going to wipe that look right of Ryouma's face but he still needs to chew. Of course, when you have things to say and things to do, it takes the longest time to get something down. All the more time to read into those words the wrong way. As soon as his mouth is free, he snaps,)

You think the whole world moving 'cause you're not around to keep moving it along?

(Of course this gets misinterpreted. Holy hell, he never thought of Ryouma as an arrogant guy but it takes some nerve to think the world stops turning just because you're not there anymore. He's been on enough missions to know that no one is that important. Not Ryouma, not Nobunaga, or Tokugawa.

What the hell is with that look? It makes him uncomfortable and hes' ready to grab him by his fancy suit and throw him. Can he in his current state? He doesn't know but there's only one way to find out. He's going to start a bar fight with Mr. Hero man here and--)

...

(Fine. After he orders. He sits back down in his chair and watches the money exchange hands.)

Wipe that look off your face. It's pissing me off.

(His fists are still ready to go. He's uncomfortable. He's still vibrating in this dang body of his. He can't explain it but he feels like he needs to go scream at the ocean. Kick some sand. Maybe get into a fight.)

Huh?

[ he almost laughs for about two seconds until he remembers every other way hizen and izō are alike and now is not when he should find out if hizen has his same aversion to laughter — even when it's not directed at him. ]

No, of course not! It's the opposite, actually. Who am I anyway? From what you're saying, the world did just fine on its own, didn't it? But I made that contract thinking it was the only way. I couldn't just lay down and die and let everyone's dreams die too.

[ despite the unsteadiness of his emotions right now, this he manages to state firmly. ever since the first precious person lost their life to the chaos of the times to the last, ryouma had promised that he would carry their dreams for them. his own goals were almost too much for one person, let alone the mountain of responsibility he volunteered himself to bear, but he'd taken it all on anyway — for kameyata and izō and takechi and chōjirō. all of them. ]

I didn't think I ever succeeded. The World only summons someone like me when humanity is on the brink of its own destruction and needs someone to step in and fix it. I didn't think it all couldn't go on without me, only that there was something I was still meant to do and hadn't figured it out yet.

[ it isn't like he feels free of duty, because as long as he exists, ryouma will feel like there's something more he could be doing. if anything, he feels more motivated than he did before. this might all click into place for real later on when he's alone, but for now, it's debatable if his expression is better or worse (for hizen), seeing as he's just beaming at him. ~~this is what hizen wanted right?~~ ]

What look? This look? Shouldn't I be happy? Nothing's changed, but plenty feels different! You're lucky I don't hug you right now.

(He better not laugh or else it's all over.

Maybe someday, when his mood is better, he'll ask more about these contracts and Ryouma's nature. From the pieces he's catching now, it's kind of freaky how much matches up with their own situation; with his own. It's something he feels like he needs to talk about with Norimune who is definitely smarter than he is and will probably have a better understanding of things. Yeah, definitely.

Until then, all he can really do is watch Ryouma. Watch Ryouma who is wearing that stupid face he hates so much. He's uncomfortable with himself, unsure of what to say or do in this situation anymore. He doesn't know the right words to speak or the right actions to take. He just... isn't smart enough for this? All he knows is how to react, react, react.

So he leans back and away, eyes narrowing at Ryouma and holding his arm out in front of him. Any sudden movements and he's going to knock Ryouma on his ass.)

Don't touch me.

I know, I know! But you really helped me out again, you know? And you're a good listener too.

[ but so is izō, so it doesn't surprise him that he would arrive at the same conclusion. this is probably because neither of them wants to hear it, but when he has a captive audience (see: further bribery), he'll talk as long as they'll let him. the fact that they let him is why ryouma thinks they're good at it. if he needs real guidance, he can go looking for that. sometimes the best answers are the simplest ones anyway. ]

'Course you could always tell me something next time and then I wouldn't have to talk about this annoying guy.

[ ryouma realises he probably has incredibly low odds of that happening, but he says it anyway. for hizen's consideration~ at least his fresh castella will be here shortly to make it all feel better? ]

Edited 2022-03-24 10:25 (UTC)

...?

(He's confused. He's so confused. He has no idea what Ryouma is talking about because he feels like he just had an out of body experience. He wasn't in control of his body. He isn't responsible for whatever he said. He still feels like he's coming down from whatever frenzy he was just in and

What is this guy talking about????

What did he say... what did he do....)

I've got nothing to say.

(To you. But because he's in a good mood, he omits that last part. For now. At least the castella comes out and he's already shooting his hand out to take it and help himself. It might be a good time to ask him any pressing questions before he inhales this cup, too.)

Hmmm... is that true? You had plenty to say a minute ago and now I have a lot to think about later.

[ he mostly just watches hizen eat the castella pleasantly. there are all kinds of things he'd like to ask, but he knows he can't just blindly charge ahead with them. ~~because it hurts when he steps on a mine.~~ so he thinks a little. ]

What about where you came from? There are others like you, right? [ hizen shooting dirty looks at his sword aside, how can he not be curious about the whole thing?? ] You didn't seem surprised when I said I met Nobunaga before either, so that kind of thing is possible for you too, I bet.

(Shuuuuuut uuuuuup. He doesn't know what he saaaaaaaaaid.

He doesn't answer right away, too busy with his snack to respond.)

's not like I'm the only sword in the country.

(So yes, there are, in fact, others like him. Plenty of swords greater than him, even. Hell, there are even other versions of him but the details don't matter, do they... As for Nobunaga?)

No one likes him anyway.

(Him. Because he definitely misheard that earlier? But actually

...)

(Why the hell is Oda Nobunaga talking to Sakamoto Ryouma?

Wait

He doesn't pretend to be a particularly smart person. He can only focus on one thing at a time. He misses a lot of things if he thinks they aren't important. But hoLD ON JUST A MINUTE

he turns his head slowly to look at Ryouma.)

Ya met...

Aw, Nobu isn't so bad most of the time...

[ because by now they know each other well enough that he can refer to her that way. ryouma smiles when hizen looks at him, still just leaning on his hand like he has been for a few minutes now. ]

But maybe you wouldn't expect us to get along? That's what's so nice about Chaldea and its Master. They were able to bring all kinds of people together, so they're really something special!

(Hizen, whispering,)

What the fuck.

(That's it. This is the tag.)

Is that very surprising?

[ good thing hizen doesn't also know that there are multiple versions of nobunaga, including one who only seems to exist to be wearing a swimsuit. he doesn't ask questions about these things, he just lives there. ]

Aren't the other swords you know from different times too?

That's different. We...

(On one hand, there's no polite way to really say this. On the other, he's never been the most civil sword,)

We don't die.

(It's natural for them to overlap with each other.)

So you're saying you all have always been this way?

[ it's not like the mention of dying bothers him. he died. everyone he knows has died. sometimes all of those dead people collectively go on vacations in america. there are a lot of reasons why aside from personal ones, ryouma hasn't actually thought much about this place since things have been so much weirder before. ]

I must've been imagining it wrong then. Heroic Spirits don't have physical forms until they're given one, but I hadn't thought of how that might work if your physical form already exists...

That's not what I meant. (Oh, no. He shifts slightly, looking away and focusing more on his snacks for a moment.) ... I dunno how much I can say. Gotta ask first.

(Which sounds like he isn't going to say much at all but after some thinking. It also implies... there's someone else here like him! Good luck finding them, Ryouma.)

... Ya probably see 'em running around. All the umbrellas and lanterns and stuff. (The ones that are spirits,) The way it works is.... a long time ago they were just ordinary things before but they got old and got a soul.

Usually, it doesn't change how they look that much and back then, we were all just normal things. (Swords. They were normal swords.) But if someone's strong enough, they can draw us out and... we're like this.

There were already a bunch of us before I showed up. A bunch of Awataguchi and Kotetsu. Some of them are real fancy and you got a bunch of famous ones like Masamune and Muramasa. Ya even got the Shinsengumi and that guy too. (He continues to avoid using his name.) But we're not like humans who all have their own times and stuff. We're just a bunch of swords from a collection.

(Some of them older than others but still existing at the same time.)

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kaientai - 2022-03-27 02:56 (UTC) - Expand

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March 2022 Mini Event

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2/3 im a liar

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