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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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clean up - sutoku
Still, he's been diligently cleaning out the UFO games to the best of his abilities, though not without an issue or two, one of which he sees some poor man has fallen prey to already. He clucks his tongue in sympathy. ]
Yes, that's been happening lately. Here, I've got it. You've just got to...
[ Kim has sturdy boots that are meant for more than walking, it seems. Instead, he gives the machine a swift kick, thick soles thudding loudly against its side, and with a wheezing cry of pain, the UFO machine lets up.
Now freed, Jon may see that Kim currently has a pair of cheap kitchen tongs hanging from his belt loop. They are not the most fashionable accessory, but he's gotten a surprising amount of use out of them, if not only to spare his own hands. ]
There we go. You got lucky. This sent someone to the hospital not so long ago.
[ Something about severed ligaments. Kim tried not to look too closely. ]
no subject
(The poor love-worn leather jacket is still recovering from its trek in the muck, the mud, the blood splatters of murder(s), the deep trenches of war; it has seen a lifetime of pain. And now this indignity, a deep crease in the sleeve by the door forced closed onto it saving its wearer from further injury at its own painful detriment..)]
Ah...haa... [He pulls his hand out pretty quickly, stretching his fingers and rubbing at his wrist with his scarred hand. He looks up from where he'd sat on the floor and sees a splash of orange and a darker color before him.]
Um. Thank you, I ah. It proved quicker than me in this instance.
no subject
He leans over, offering Jon his hand to help haul him up. ] And you've got a war injury to show for it, [ he says dryly. ] Proof enough that you gave this your best effort, should our superiors ask for it.
no subject
And then goes tense again, feeling something coming toward him, eyes trying to focus before he can make out the hand once it's close enough. He tries to cover the tensing in his shoulders with a little smile, a shake of the head before using the corners of the machine to pull himself up on his own. (Too long on the floor, too long kneeling, the wound eventually healed physically on the surface when he took his position sure, but-)]
Thank you. Hopefully they don't, but... yes. I suppose that is a positive side to this.
no subject
[ Kim had expected to be micromanaged into oblivion, to be taken apart, scrutinized, pushed to do this and that. Instead, he's been largely left to his own devices, save for orders coming down the chain here and there. Even more surprising to him is the fact that he has felt obliged to comply with the orders, not only to keep his superiors happy - though seeing how they react when crossed, that's a part of it - but because he largely agrees with their actions. Sutoku's role has been to keep the peace, and that's always what Kim has prioritized too.
And sometimes keeping the peace means knowing when to call it quits. He squints around their surroundings, the deafening noise, the blinding lights, the relative darkness in the rest of the arcade, the pitter-patter of coins as they invariably filled buckets and shot themselves out at innocent guests, and makes up his mind almost immediately. Orders or no, he's taking a break. Whoever this fellow is clearly needs one too. He seems stunned, ill at ease, for reasons he thinks must go beyond getting his hand chomped by a particularly nasty arcade machine.
He retracts his hand as though he had never offered it at all. ]
Let's step out of here for a moment, shall we?
no subject
Jon wishes he could stop the twinging in his leg as he follows the orange blur in front of him. Every part of him not able to Know has his paranoia starting to spiral; he shouldn't trust whomever this is, it's a trap somehow, somehow this being knows what he is and what he's done. They all intuitively, instinctively know whether they'd met him or not. And it doesn't matter if he's depressingly, unfortunately very human now. If they all see him favoring his left leg, well, that's Jon's own fault for not realizing it giving them a clear opening.]
Thank you. It's, ah. A-a bit loud in there. Still trying to get my bearings.
[Stunned and ill at ease for someone brand new in the city. Once out of the flashing, colorful lights, Jon's blinking trying to get a better picture here.]
Not that I mind helping, just. Um. A couple hours to acclimate might have been nice first.
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[ It's the only thing Kim can promise. In truth, he has mixed feelings about being boosted in rank. It's a small, frivolous thing at best; he does not feel he holds a significant amount of authority or power, save for over the newcomers, and he did not want the promotion, but...
Well. No point in lingering on any of that. ]
Come on, let's go.
[ Stepping outside is like stepping into a different world entirely. Everything is suddenly too bright, too quiet, a ringing lingering in Kim's ears in place of the incessant chiming and buzzing of the arcade within, the roar of the crowd now a dim murmur behind soundproof doors, and Kim lets out a soft sigh of relief as he turns to look at Jon properly, only to see... ]
Ah. You weren't taken from the best of circumstances, were you, Mr...?
no subject
Lighter thoughts away from the lights and noise, the cursed machines trying to get the better of him, and the crowd inside making it all a bit worse. No, outside is better. Easier.
He blinks at the man, almost confused before he realizes he's being asked his name and not simply who he is.]
S-Sims. Jonathan Sims, the Archivist.
[This many years and the habit can't die with him.]
And thank you. Honestly, I'm not sure I would've found my way out of there after all that mess.