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jigokufever2022-02-22 06:06 pm
jigokumods) wrote in jigokufever2022-02-22 06:06 pm
Entry tags:
February 2022 Test Drive
MAIN NAVIGATION
1. ENTRY
It feels like a dream as you wake up in what appears to be a government office. It is remarkably mundane: white walls, small screens with the number that is being served and at what desk, chairs along the perimeter of the room, and pleasant music playing from unseen speakers. There's nothing out of the ordinary, right?
Then you take a look at the inhabitants in the office: Lost Souls and youkai alike make up the ranks of a never-ending line in front of a desk manned by an akaname in a suit. However, another youkai, a hyakume, is your first contact in this world. You're instructed to take a number and stand in the queue. Take a seat if you want– but you're reminded to be quick when your number is called or you'll be passed by.
Congratulations: you're in Hell.
If you're lucky, you're in line behind a fellow Lost Soul. If you're less lucky, you're stuck behind any number of youkai that may be disturbing to look at or ones that may actively try to harm you. The ones with long arms may even try to steal your ticket from further back in the line.
Make small talk, try not to freak out, and keep your ticket safe (or maybe try to steal a better one) as you make your way up in the line.
2. THE CITY
Once you've been processed through the line, you're given your assignment to one of the four possible clans with directions to their respective clan offices. The city itself looks remarkably similar to a modern Japanese city, complete with narrow alleyways connecting wider streets. Glaring neon signs advertising various businesses compete for your attention, even the most mundane businesses.
Once you tear your attention away from the myriad distractions, your task is to find your way to the office. The akaname didn't exactly give you clear directions, just a piece of paper with an address printed on it. You’re on your own to find your way there.Ask your fellow Lost Souls for directions or stubbornly find your way to the office all on your own. No matter how you get there, once you've made your way to the office you're given your lodgings (for rookies, it’s always the cheapest inn or apartment block in the area) and told to go out and get a feel for the city.
- Those assigned to the Shuten Clan are directed to the gambling district.
- The Tamamo Clan members are directed to the red light district.
- New members of the Sutoku Alliance are pointed to the entertainment district.
- Those assigned to The Department of the Enma are sent to the administrative district.
3. STREET FIGHT - SHUTEN TERRITORY
Scuffles break out all the time in Jigokucho, especially in the district dominated by the Shuten Clan. Whether it's a rival clan posturing over someone being on the wrong turf, shakedowns of all sorts, or just someone with a chip on their shoulder picking a fight: it always draws a crowd of onlookers.
No matter what street you're going down or what you're on your way to do, there always seems to be a fight to block the way. Take a look, take bets, or maybe you're the one caught in the brawl. Maybe someone decided they didn't like the way you looked at them or maybe they're trying to catch you in a petty scam. You may also feel the need to step in when fights are looking particularly one-sided.
Get used to this happening.
4. STICKY PAWS - SUTOKU TERRITORY
One of the more adorable features in the city is a cat cafe. Located within Sutoku territory, it always draws a steady crowd. If you're lured in by the adorable cats in the window, you're welcomed into a pleasant, cat-friendly environment with cats of every shape, color, and size lounging on various surfaces while being doted on by patrons. Of course not everything is as it seems: these are no ordinary cats. They're bakeneko in disguise and this cafe is a clever way to spirit away a few more coins for the Sutoku Alliance's coffers.
You may notice your wallet is a few (thousand) bills lighter at some point during your visit or your wallet may be missing entirely. Maybe it was one of your fellow patrons helping themselves while you were playing with a cat or maybe it was one of the cats. Who's to say? You quickly realize this place is not on the up and up; you have to do something about it.
Chase down one of the cats, confront your fellow patrons, or maybe try to shake down the owner for information. The latter won't get you very far, but maybe it'll make you feel better about losing your cash to a cute scam.
5. HELP WANTED - TAMAMO TERRITORY
CW: potentially NSFW, optional aphro
If you find yourself in the red light district, you might find yourself pulled into something else entirely. A scout in front of one of the numerous clubs drags you in off the street, assuming you're from the Tamamo Clan. It doesn't matter if you are or not, the scout is not listening to your protests. They say something about staffing shortages as you're shoved into the employee area of the club. The club manager then pushes some clothes at you and tells you to get out onto the floor once you're dressed. It might be a host club, it might be a bikini or banana bar, or maybe something even more salacious – whatever it is, you're working there for the night.
There are also barkers aggressively recruiting clients for these clubs, promising a good time for anyone who wants it. Whether it be the company of a pretty host or hostess, the lurid appeal of a strip show, or perhaps even other pleasures of the flesh: there's plenty to tempt even the most resistant.
Work at a club for the night or partake in the pleasures. Drinks flow like water, some with a little something extra to help things along. Everything is transactional here. As you have the money, you're bound to find something that tickles your fancy.
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2!
Kim doesn't know why. He is by all means the least interesting person in this entire damn city. He's a middle-aged man with a very sore lower back from all that accursed sitting he'd been forced to do, with absolutely no supernatural features and nothing to easily distinguish him from any other person, save for perhaps a mildly eclectic fashion sense. He also does not believe that he looks particularly rife for pickpocketing, but he cannot think of any reason why someone would be following him except for the thought that they could steal from him.
At first, he just tries to escape the shadowy figure, stomping moodily through the streets, both as though he owns them and as though they've greatly offended him, like some moody cat he only technically owns, but when that doesn't work, his patience finally reaches its limit. He finally turns around, scowling. ]
I do not know what you expect to gain from me, [ he says, exasperated. ] I have nothing for you to steal, and no connections you could possibly exploit.
no subject
As the barest courtesy, however, he steps out of the shadows so the person he's been progressively irritating over the past half an hour can see him properly. ]
I was practicing, [ he says, as if that justifies it. He seems a bit irritable, though, but to his...dubious...credit...it seems more aimed at himself. ] Clearly I am worse off than I thought.
no subject
I see, [ he says neutrally, non-commital. ] You were practicing. And I was just unlucky, is that it?
no subject
Or lucky, from another perspective. [ Kimmuriel's tone is just as neutral; he's explaining things logically, you see... ] You could have been followed by someone or something with worse intentions.
[ There are certainly plenty of those around. ]
no subject
[ As though if he weren't being followed by some benign force, he would be followed by a malevolent one? That makes no sense. But following someone around for practice doesn't make sense either. He sighs as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, ignoring the throbbing headache that's been rapidly growing behind his eyes for the duration of his stay here. ]
And what were you practicing for, exactly? [ He considers this. ] And why choose me? Surely there are others who appeared to pose greater challenges.
[ Kim is, in fact, a very perceptive man, and jumpy enough to notice when people are following him. He's probably more difficult to tail than the average man. But he knows how he appears to others and sees no reason to dissaude them of their preconceived notions. ]
no subject
I? I practice for survival. [ He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world. ] And I chose you because you were more observant than most. [ It's about the CR rating...or something like that. ] If I could avoid your notice, I could avoid others.
[ And then he shrugs again.] But you see how that ended up.
no subject
[ If he even believes that. He's not sure if he really does, but he doesn't have the energy to contest it. Any other possibility - that this man is tailing him to rob or assault him, that he simply wants to scare him, that he's a spy from some other faction even though Kim has no idea what the hell his own faction really is - is too exhausting to even entertain. Around them, the crowd thrums with energy, moving hurriedly past them from one destination to the next, as happy to ignore them as they are in any other large city. Kim pinches the bridge of his nose where there are two small indents from where his glasses sit. ]
And what makes you believe that, in this place, the ability to tail someone is necessary for survival? It's a big city. Keeping your head down may well be enough to escape notice.