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jigokufever2022-06-24 11:00 am
jigokumods) wrote in jigokufever2022-06-24 11:00 am
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June 2022 Test Drive
MAIN NAVIGATION
1. CLEAN UP
The curse has broken, finally banishing the oppressive air around the city and the many sightless eyes of the accursed haniwa. Life will have to return to normal now but first there is lingering clean-up that must be attended to:SHUTEN CLAN
The Shuten Clan is out in force to rebuild damaged storefronts. Eager oni appear in their festival happi, singing oni working tunes. You can pick up the words easily enough, join in and help out. The mood starts bright, but after a number of unlucky accidents there is less singing and more grumbling. The cursed energy left behind has made all of you much more prone to workplace accidents but the storefronts need to be scrubbed, broken glass needs sweeping, new furniture needs construction. There are any number of thumbs smashed by hammers, hands cut on saws, heads hit with falling debris or that board of wood you didn’t see someone carrying towards you. It’s a cursed day to be out on the job.
Rewards will come in the form of free drinks for a week from specific bars and a generous amount of chips for the casinos. If you aren’t of age to drink or gamble? Well… they’ll look the other way this time. Have fun.
It should be noted that the uniform -- a happi, a hachimaki, and fundoshi -- is required. The Shuten Clan is very traditional, after all.TAMAMO CLAN
The bathhouses in Tamamo clan territory remain full of bloodied water. They need to be drained and scrubbed to make them new again. However, reaching the drains is a tricky business. You can’t simply reach in to pull out the plug, you will have to wade into the water to twist it free. Easy enough, right?
Unfortunately, residual curse energy has made this a very dangerous task. Phantasmal hands will reach out and try to drag you under as you get too close to the drain. The phantasms can be distracted, so you’ll need some teamwork to succeed. Your reward is a significant amount of free bath coupons. Some of the advertised baths even have “special” properties. Take the chance to relax, you probably need it.
Those that are rejuvenated in the newly purified baths will find themselves with seemingly limitless vigor. That vigor may sometimes manifest in the form of desperately needing to fuck the first thing willing to do so. Which might turn out somewhat embarrassing...SUTOKU CLAN
The residual cursed energy in the Sutoku Alliance territory has congregated in their many arcades. The prizes in the UFO catcher machines seem off and they keep shifting around. If you happen to win a prize, the prize slot snaps shut on your hand with amazing force: the machine out for blood. To clear the curse, the prizes need to be removed from the machines and purified with the help of a local shrine maiden. Unfortunately, the key ring to open the machines has been stolen by some of the unruly prizes. You will need to use your UFO catcher skills to fish it back out.
Try not to lose any fingers.
Other machines are shooting tokens out of their coin slots at astonishingly painful speeds. A strange phenomenon, as even the machines that take swipe cards are doing it. Where are those tokens even coming from? You will have to get the machines open and give them a deep cleaning to get all the residual blood off the coins and mechanisms. You need the same keys that are stuck inside the UFO catcher…. Better hope you can fish out the one you need.
For your troubles, you will be given unlimited free plays for a month. Perfect for winning a totally-not-cursed prize for your sweetie.ENMA DEPARTMENT
It’s the Department of the Enma’s turn to go begging for good will. They are considered to be mostly responsible for the way the cursed haniwa were handled in the first place. Enma souls should get out on the streets and see what the people need: Food, clean water, housing repairs and maintenance, as well as exorcisms. They’re all high on people’s priority lists and most people want it done pronto. Try not to get snappy with the angry people, the department’s reputation is on the line.
The Enma is slated to give a press conference at some point. It's up to the rest of the Department to assure that there will be reception to his words. They are likely to be of grave importance to the rest of the city.
A hard day’s work is its own reward, but you’ll also get a day pass to a theme park on the edge of the city – in the name of community outreach, of course.
2. GHOST SHARKS
The very streets themselves are treacherous with residual curses. The isonades may have been intimidated out of town for the moment but the anger of their ancestors lingers in the bloody puddles that still glisten in the streets. Come too close to these puddles and spectral sharks will lunge from beneath the surface: Blood for blood! Lives for lives!
While spectral in nature, the teeth on these sharks can still do real harm to anyone they lash out at. They don’t seem to take damage in kind, but will pop and disperse for a moment when struck. The ghostly sharks are being populated by a magic totem that has been partially buried in the dirt of a local park. Destroy it and the sharks will disappear.
Unfortunately, a pack of snotty local children have taken a shine to this magic totem. They are not keen to let you take it from them, nor break it. It’s theirs. It’s special. If you’re feeling brutish or cruel, you can fight the children or deceive them, but your boss would probably suggest you try to bargain with them for appearance’s sake. They’re entirely unreasonable though, as children can be, and it will be quite a chore to get them to agree to your terms.
3. CURSED CORNERS
There are certain corners and alleyways which are simply predisposed to gather cursed energy. These areas are still haunted enough to affect the reality around you. You may experience hallucinations or visions of lost loved ones, past regrets, personal failings. These visions are played out in the area for all to see. You will remain frozen in place until your moment is done, or someone brave comes to pull you out.
Now that the worst of it is over, some of the more morbid and voyeuristic members of the public may be lurking around these haunted areas, waiting to see what horrors will be unveiled. They have out their phones and their cameras to record the show.
The cruelest of the spectators provide commentary to their social media followings as they observe. Anything for that monetization!
The biggest of the streams is a kerakera onna who goes by her channel name: Lipsticki. She leans in over the rooftops to cackle loudly at people’s misfortunes and give petty, scathing commentary about their misdeeds and failings.
4. THE ENMA SPEAKS (PLOT RELEVANT)
Outside the hospital where the Enma was being treated, there is a huge press gathering. The judge arbiter has been deemed fit enough to release. Hungry for word, journalists from every publication swarm the area. Most press-outlets in the city are controlled by the Sutoku Alliance, who have a vested interested in interrogating the Enma.
A number of other onlookers have tacked on as well, including Lost Souls both old and new. Lost Souls may even find themselves ordered to attend the statement by their faction.
It is assumed that the Enma must have something of grave importance to say, after all.
The Enma approaches the podium. He is dressed in his usual suit, his crown, and his stern expression; it puts a hush over the crowd through its tremendous pressure alone. No questions have been asked, yet, but a statement has been prepared. He clears his throat:
"The cause of the curse, the enemy of Jigokucho, is... Haniyasu. The Department's focus will be shifting to determining our next action in regards to this entity. That is all."
Just like, the Enma's secretary and a retinue of armored shinigami move to flank the Enma and guide them to a waiting limo down the steps. The press yells their questions over one another, but are pushed back. The Enma doesn't even seem to perceive them, simply focusing on getting into the car.
Unfortunately, if you're a representative for one of the factions -- especially the Department of the Enma -- that makes you fair game to hound for questioning too. Do you stand your ground or try to run away?
[[banner art by s-tokimura]]
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no subject
That you would be sent in alone and unarmed in such dangerous conditions speaks to the quality of the leadership here... it seems either callous or disorganized. [He shakes his head in disdain, before also looking back over the bloody bath.]
Did you at least get an idea of how deep the pool goes? Perhaps if we go in tandem, we can reach the drain...
no subject
...
He sighs. )
It's only four feet or so. ( Rolling his pants up was a little useless, but you know, he had to at least try.
At least he no longer seems on edge about worrying about a threat. This guy, though he's probably a human, has been helpful and informative. So Shealtiel moves so that he can stand, grabbing the front of his shirt and bunching it up to wring it out. )
But it seems impossibly deep when you get pulled under. I bet it's some sort of demonic ability. ( Even if... ghost hands are a new thing. He stares at the bath, clearly not wanting to go back in, but: )
Can you distract the hands?
no subject
A distraction...? I may be able to. Let me try something. [He takes a bloodstained bathing ladle hanging from a hook on the side of the room, walking past Shealtiel towards the opposite edge, and... starts tapping on certain plates of his armor. Different tones ring out, the plates tuned like a xylophone, and he's carefully watching the surface of the blood to see if the noise is enough to assuade the phantom hands.]
Try moving slowly-- if you feel yourself grabbed, shout and I will pull you back out!
no subject
( He's not one to trust others. Not one who could usually rely on others even if he wanted to. But this guy did save him, and he has no reason to betray him in this moment. If he was siding with the weird hands, he could have just left him to die, right?
So, even if he makes a face like he'd much rather go sulk about this whole thing, he steps back into the bath, eyes focused on where he already knows the drain is. )
It didn't try anything until I got closer, last time.
( He does pause though, giving another flat look back at Beat. Okay, he didn't want to ask, but: )
You think serenading it is really going to help?
no subject
If he says that he only got grabbed when he got closer, though, then maybe being on the edge of the pool isn't going to be that much of a help... maybe the vibrations will travel better through the blood? Worth a shot.
While still playing, Beat crouches down and slips in, momentarily noting that cleaning everything under the armor is going to be an ordeal and a half. But even Shealtiel can feel the noise reverberating off of the armor plates as it ripples through the liquid... and some of the ghostly hands trying to reach from the drain area towards the knight's corner.]
no subject
Slow steps forward. One, then another, focused on how the knight is keeping the hands preoccupied while also being mindful of the space in front of himself. The plug. If he can get the plug, it will make this creature lose its strength, or... something along those lines, is what he's hoping.
His scarred left hand reaches out, barely skimming the top of the water closer to the drain. This is about where he'd been ambushed last time, but for now, it seems like the thing is focused on Beat. Shealtiel shoots him a look, trying to judge if it's still safe. )
no subject
As he plays, he starts to instinctively hum along with his tune, singing wordlessly to entice the ghostly hands. Most of them appear to be going for him, which is good, but a few aren't quite that impressed.
Without skipping a beat in his performance, he calls out:] ♫ Move quickly, ♬ behind you!
no subject
There's a splash, but this time it's willing. A leap seemed the best way to get close to the drain, and even if the hands are forming near his feet and grabbing at him now, his scarred fingers pry at the drain plug until finally it gives, and the water begins to drain.
The plug is thrown out from the water and to the side of the bath, and the bloody-water drains slowly, causing the hands closer to the drain itself to be pulled along with it.
Shealtiel sits up with a gasp, eyes darting over to Beat to make sure he's survived the attack. )