jigokulogs | July 2022 Mini Event

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July 2022 Mini Event

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Tanabata is on the horizon, and the city seems to be recovering well from last month. But there's work to be done, and it's time to get to it...

1. SHUTEN CLAN - THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

With construction wrapping up, the new Shuten Clan casino will be opening soon. The casino has a number of new staff positions opening. It is a golden opportunity for anyone looking for a cash rich position. The money promised upon assignment to the underground casino is bound to be life-changing. Given the potentials in clientele, Toraguma is expecting the very best. Shutens are to report to the above ground Celestial Phoenix casino for their training.

They will be taught all the traditional casino fare, both Japanese and abroad. This includes being taught how to cheat at these games as well. For example:
Blackjack dealers will learn card count, and how to catch others doing the same.
Roulette attendants will learn both how and when to discreetly adjust the wheel.
Craps and Cee-lo dealers will learn how to feel for loaded dice and how to switch in the house's dice without notice.
Cee-lo dealers are also taught a specific way to line the dice tray to cause more lost throws.
Cho-Han dealers will learn how to distract players as they adjust the dice.
That's not all the Shutens will be learning. The clan needs skilled bouncers as well: people who can handle rowdy customers or haughty celestials. The more tenured Shutens will take up the roles of rude customers and challenge the trainees in how to handle them.

While not everyone will receive employment in the casino, they are all expected to participate in training. Shuten officers are expected to guide and oversee their juniors.

2. TAMAMO CLAN - CHARM SCHOOL

The Tamamo Clan also has preparations to make in anticipation of the underground's opening. The clan is opening their own brothel and cabaret, as well as providing food and drink services to the new Shuten casino.

All Tamamo Clan members must report for training at Mizukume. The lesson of the day is to use one's charisma to secure a huge payout. For example:
Hosts and hostesses will learn the art of schmoozing away clients' money.
Performers will learn more provocative means of soliciting large tips.
Oiran are taught the erotic arts; the perfect balance to both please a client, and how to leave them begging (and paying) for more. There's no technique Tenkohime finds too shameful. Money is power, and power is freedom.
Food service workers are provided master classes in mixology, plating, and how to serve high-profile clients without breaking a sweat.
Each role comes with its own set of pressures, but also the promise of great reward. Everyone is going to get rich, if everyone plays their part well.

Tenured Tamamo are asked to roleplay as clients for the benefit of those Lost Souls new to the work. While not everyone will be selected to work in the Underground, everyone is expected to train for it.

3. SUTOKU ALLIANCE - BLACK MARKETS AND BACK ALLEYS

After months of meetings, it's finally time for some real action. Sutoku Lieutenant Ryouma Sakamoto has made some pretty big commitments on the Alliance's behalf. His temerity comes from his earnest belief in the other Sutoku Lost Souls! No pressure, though!

To succeed, the Alliance must determine who is behind the current black market operation. Ryouma is relying on the Alliance's extensive information network and the hard work of the Lost Souls to make it happen.

This is the work that Ryouma mentioned when he welcomed the new arrivals recently.

This assignment is all about what you know. The Sutoku need to learn more about the competition, through any means necessary. The Alliance wants to know everything about what goods are moving around the city and who is moving it. Time to follow the money. You might even discover an unfulfilled niche in the market through your investigations.

The current influx of Stardust in the city is a great opportunity to investigate the existing dealers and supply lines. The Alliance is gathering Stardust just like everyone else, but it is becoming increasingly scarce as the factions vie for it. The value of this commodity is shooting up every day. Take some cash or other compelling bartering tools with you to grease the palms of a few shady dealers. Try to convince them to be more honest about their supply lines, beyond just the sparkly stuff. Stick the landing, and you might just be closing in on the heart of those shipping loopholes.

This is no easy undertaking. Creativity and tenacity will determine just how far you can go. Be careful not to be too obvious, the threat of unwanted attention will cause your sources to clam up.

4. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENMA - CRACK DOWNS

The Stardust's street presence has shifted naturally over the past few weeks: from an easy resource to simply scoop up in garbage bags overnight to a hot commodity. The street value of the material has increased considerably, and that means that the unaffiliated street gangs are greedy to get in on the action.

Enma officers are called upon to round up any black market dealers of Stardust and confiscate as much of their supply as they can find. This might just bring them into some direct conflict with the Sutoku Alliance members hoping to connect with market insiders. That's just how things boil out sometimes, though.

It is more important to the Department to get Stardust out of the hands of the black marketeers… and into their own lockers.

Officers are given permission to use any amount of force against individual actors, and members of the Law and Records Department are expected to draft up warrants (no matter how doctored) to obtain access to buildings they otherwise would never be allowed into; even Mizukume and the Arena. The Department's orders are clear: if it's not an approved market, shut it down.

This is in the name of maintaining Order, so get out there. Move at least in pairs, or you're likely to meet some serious resistance, and keep an eye out for the newbies.

5. ALL FACTIONS - LUNAR RABBIT RETURNS

It isn't just the factions, dealers, and petty gangs who are interested in the Stardust now that it's a premium item.

A familiar face has resurfaced: the mysterious gyokuto medicine woman and her army of white rabbits. While her little kin have managed to gather a healthy amount of Stardust for her "research", she still needs more. She is willing to pay a huge premium to those who retrieve more materials for her.

She understands that this will require you to either pilfer from one of the factions, or potentially someone even more dangerous. She will be providing samples of one of her drugs, which can grant temporary invisibility in moonlight. Use it for whatever hijinks you want, but she really would prefer if you brought her the goods in the end.

If invisibility doesn't cut if for you, she can provide another sample that provides 10 times your normal strength. While you can KO anyone who gets in your way, it wears off within 5 to 10 seconds. She is very clear that you should not take more than 3 doses of this, or you will very possibly die. Probably. Maybe? It will be unpleasant. So use it only when you need to.

The reward for getting her some Stardust, depending on the amount, can easily pay all a character's expenses for a month, if not longer. The temptation is great, but do you trust this strange rabbit woman?

Welcome to the mini event!

If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
Looking for a partner for your prompt? Post here!
FOR THE PURPOSES OF REWARDS, since all of these prompts tie into the main plot in some way, we will count all qualified threads in this post as 2 point threads!
If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

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Yeah, that works for me! And my backlog's fine, so no worries! :3

[Over the course of the lessons, comes the opportunity to make drinks for a paying customer, which is where this blue-haired idiot came in. She wasn't even trying to be difficult. She was naturally a pain in the rear as a rule, so ordering a drink that should be simple could become well... Anna was about to witness it first hand.

Tenshi sidled up to the bar, looking at the offerings.]

No. No. I want a long island iced tea, but I want it to be blue. You can make it blue right? [She pointed at the blue curacao.] there, use that instead of the orange flavored stuff. It makes my teeth ache. And I don't really like those caramelized sodas. Blech. You can do a lighter citrusy thing right? Yeah, the fizzy clear stuff.

Oh, and I want you to garnish it with an orange wedge instead of a lemon because I still want some orange in there somewhere.

[... God damnit, ok. So she wanted a Boston Tea Party instead of a Long Island ... why didn't she just say that? And seriously? What kind of bastard makes a long island iced tea more complicated?]

Exactly. Here is Soo Won's open log. Let me know if you would prefer me to write a starter for you.

Hi, mods. Now that I've had time to process this log properly (thank you weekend), I have more questions!

Megumi with his shadow powers will also be snooping around and listening in on conversations between dealers (on top of stealing shit u_u). Will he be able to hear anything about the stardust supply line/shipping route?

And if he can't get anything from simply listening in, he might try to negotiate for information. What are the sorts of (potentially shady?) things they might ask him to do in return? Or do they mostly want cash money for any information?

So, Stardust itself seems to originate within Jigokucho, so he'd mostly hear about where it's shipped out to, and we'll be upfront; that's not useful information to anyone, at this point in the game. It's an export, not an import.

He appreciates it, Ydris!! And tbh Kim is very much the same, he's just got an itchier trigger finger out of a fear-based impulse he really wishes he didn't have. Anyway, I'm down to either play this out or handwave it, whatever you'd like to do!!

If you'll forgive Kim momentarily freaking out about the giant robot - he's a big techhead and will think Soundwave is the coolest thing he's ever seen LMAO - I'd be thrilled for them to team up! Is this something you'd like to play out/if so would you want to do it at first meeting or start it off in media res while they're still on the look out?

[Her name. Of course.]

--Asogi Kazuma.

[There's a brief, perhaps conspicuous pause before he says it. It still feels strange to say. The name isn't unfamiliar to him--in fact the thought of it does strike a chord--but he lacks the instinctive, thoughtless self-assurance that comes with knowing a name is his, that will let him say it without having to remind himself what it is in the first place.

He wonders if that will ever come back.]

Well, I suppose this makes things easier, Okumura-san. Have you had any luck since we corresponded? [Like it was a letter............]

Sheliak is very stubborn.

Do you have a toplevel or log I can tag into? I could make a small catch all for Sheliak if you prefer that.

[ The pause doesn't go unnoticed; it's a little too unusual when it exists at all in a place where there should be room for nothing but confidence. Is it perhaps not his real name?

... No, she doesn't think that's it, either. But she can't quite place the reason for the pause and Haru isn't about to ask. He doesn't look much older than her - maybe even also a university student - but that doesn't mean she feels any braver about possibly being rude. ]

I'm afraid not, Asogi-san. I was commended for my ability to grab a bird out of the air when my frustration got the better of me, but that isn't quite what... well.

[ She's a little embarrassed. ]

At any rate, nothing in the realm of sword lessons.

LMAO I M SO SORRY i responded to this half asleep in my bed

here you are!

[ Honestly, the man was sexy enough he could get away with almost anything and still have clients paying out of the nose just to be around him. He had that going for him. But in terms of charisma... it just felt.

Off. All of it. But Musashi had been prepared for this! Mostly because of the vibe he'd given off since she first met him. ]

So... not a bad question. But there's something in the way you word it, it sounds... challenging. Not like you're getting them to talk about themselves, but more like you're daring them to show you something. That can intimidate people, and shut down the session.

[ Oh great Kannon bless her soul he was even cuter in person. Honestly, did this guy really need training? Already he seemed like the sort who could get people slapping down big cash just from a wink. But, she supposed he was new, still. Best to evaluate just how strong those talents of his were...

... And maybe indulge herself a little. Maybe. Just a little. ]

Well well, don't I have a cute kohai~! It's great to finally meet you in person!

[ Maybe a lot. ]

Well, best to start from the beginning, right?

Let's assume you get assigned to a client, since a newbie isn't going to be requested. You see them at the table, and you need to introduce yourself. Show me what you'd do, in that situation.

[ Jack had the looks, to be sure, to draw out some loose purses, but looks could only carry someone so far. The art was less in the appearance and more in the skill of hosting, itself. She'd seen old grannies steal away big spenders on charm alone, so it definitely spoke to the value of the intangibles. ]

[This makes Nero and Sholmes both ill equipped for the stations that have been set up for them. If Nero had it his way, he'd be in the back and far, far away from actually having to deal with any customer service at all. But somebody out there decided he was far too pretty to be wasted on a backroom.]

Of course. The very best for our esteemed customer. And for your meal? The seared steak is a true treasure.

[He'll send a waitress off to go get the most expensive and the highest alcohol content. The sooner the customer is drunk, the faster he can start robbing them.]

You don't think I need to?

[Billy himself wasn't so certain on that front at times. He could be charming, able to talk his way out of trouble and into the hearts of others. But that wasn't where his strengths solely lay. But hearing Musashi question it did bring about a small flutter in his stomach.

The smile doesn't fade away.]

It's a good idea to retrain yourself over the basics every now an' then.

That... is commendable.

[Which is a sincere statement; it's an indication of good reflexes. Kazuma's not sure he could pull that off if he tried it. ...He probably could.

In any case, he does have a sword now, though he didn't bring it with him here--it wouldn't exactly be conducive to what Majima is trying to teach them, after all. (He doesn't like going without it; he hasn't had it for long but he still feels bereft when he leaves it behind, like it's filling a void he hadn't realized was there.) So now he has no reason not to try and teach Haru like he'd offered, except that he doesn't actually know if he can deliver: it's one thing to access muscle memory himself, it's another to translate it into a technique for someone else to learn from. He really shouldn't have even offered, but he can't explain the problem now without admitting to his memory problems.

And he can't possibly just do that. Maybe instead he can gently dissuade her.]

Well, like I said, I'm not sure how much I should really promise you. I don't know if I've ever taught anyone before.

give me a good day and i could probably crank one out, if that's fine!

[ Haru dips her head in polite gratitude at the compliment, even though it's never really not going to be embarrassing when she thinks about it. She should probably have more restraint than that? Probably!

But then she lifts her eyes to his face, maybe a little concerned by his wording (he doesn't know if he's ever taught someone?) but still debating a way to respond without putting him on the spot or making him uncomfortable. Best to ignore that part, perhaps. ]

If you're not certain, we could perhaps conduct a trial run? See if it feels natural or strange to try to guide someone else and if I prove to be too insufficient or lacking in some way as a student, or if you're not comfortable at all, we don't have to continue.

Sure that's fine with me! There's no rush.

[It's... a worthy compromise. He does have the skills and she wants the lessons; as long as she's aware of the potential risks, he really has no good reason to argue with her.

Though she won't be truly aware unless he tells her of his amnesia, but forgive him for hoping he can put off that conversation for a little longer. Or forever.]

It's not you I'm worried about... but all right. If you're really sure, I can try to teach you some of what I know.

Though... not here. [They're in the middle of a casino.]

[ This Confidant is still new, it's okay to not have any clue that she's dealing with an amnesiac until she's ready to die for him.

I mean. What.

But Haru's entire demeanor, previously a little clouded from uncertainty (of the stubborn variety, though), brightens in delighted surprise almost immediately and her nod remains polite but there's a note of eagerness to it. ]

Yes, of course! Thank you, Asogi-san! Perhaps after training has concluded? Or, ah, if that's too soon, we could begin tomorrow?

Please, Miss Musashi~ The pleasure's all mine, to have you of all people teach me! You're even more beautiful face-to-face ♡

[His eyes flit over her form for a second or two, mouth wavering in an appreciative little grin that shows one (1) snagglefang, before meeting her gaze proper.] Hey, hey, can I ask a stupid question? I'll look a little silly, but I like the word, so I want to use it right...

'Kohai' means underling, right? And is there something I should be calling you, as my superior? I hope it's a really cute word so I can feel like I get to use a pet name and be special in Miss Musashi's eyes ♡

Monika was pretty sure her "teacher" wasn't entirely at ease. Deep breathes, the way she patted her own cheeks- Those were telltale signs of anxiety. She could tell, she was a specialist herself! And really, it would be surprising if any of them had any experience with this before coming to this world...

Thankfully, Monika was very eager to learn and had absolutely no desire to make things any more stressful than they already were. She did have a few questions, but she opted not to ask them. It'd make things easier for the other girl, right? And she would probably get her answers naturally through the upcoming practice anyway.

"Mhm... No, no question." She smiled brightly. "I just hope I'll be good enough for this."

[ if mort has no intention of utilizing technology outside of obligatory texts and calls via smartphone, he'd be happy to know that shylock's bar outright bans the use of it in the premises. figured that there are more people like them who have no need for them for the most part.

but while this is the dragon's first time to be acquainted at a place and person like this, shylock, as usual, takes it in stride. he takes his place behind the counter as if he's always belonged there, flashing the other man with his perfected customer-service smile. ]

There's always a first time for everything for mortals and even immortals alike. Isn't that exciting? [ shylock is no immortal, but he has lived for quite a long time. ] Feel free to call me whatever you like. You can even call me "mine".

[ GROSS. ]

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July 2022 Mini Event

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Lessons (Oh she just hopes it's the least aggravating option, hah)

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Charm School

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