enterthe: (17)
[Ydris] ([personal profile] enterthe) wrote in [community profile] jigokucho2022-07-07 06:32 pm

EMBER 2.0 - A Social App for Lost Souls! [July Substory]



UPDATE 7.17.2022
EMBER 2.1 (OVERFLOW)

⬦ ⬦ ⬦
The EMBER Application icon flashes alive on the homescreen of all the Lost Soul devices across Jigoku-cho. Not a surprise if your character has been using it since launch, but perhaps unsettling to newbies or those who deleted it previously. It pops open on it's own, welcoming the user and telling them that all Lost Souls need to update to the newest version!

It doesn't specify by whose order, or if it actually is mandatory, but why think too hard about it? A lengthy and extremely technically worded Terms of Service appears, even if it's been gone through before, it has some updates. Again, why scroll up to read all that? There's a large ACCEPT button front and center! (There doesn't seem to be a Decline button. Closing out of the App is the only way to not agree... Might want to just delete the App to be safe.)

Accepting moves users forward to App Permissions! A Helpful Window says "Accept All and your profile will be quickly updated or auto-generated for you! Great for speeding set up along! (Recommended)". If that doesn't sway, then each Permission question can be prompted individually. The subsequent windows ask for a variety of totally standard and absolutely above board access prompts. Location Data, Photo/Video Access, etc etc etc- Yes or No! REMINDER: The app will function better if all access is granted!

It doesn't seem to matter what is pressed- all, some, or nothing- the App moves forward for users regardless.
Have fun connecting with your fellow Lost Souls!
⬦ ⬦ ⬦
WELCOME to EMBER 2.0
A Social Network for Lost Souls!

⬦ ⬦ ⬦

EXAMPLE PROFILE

YDRIS (Immortal)
SUTOKU ALLIANCE
☆☆☆☆☆ Creator
       
FUCK | FIGHT

STAR RANK
For "who even knows why" reasons, users on Ember now have ☆'s denoting... something. The only clarity is that they come with a Title besides them. These are not, as it might first seem, faction star rankings. They're just something new! The example profile has the highest rank to be found, 5 stars and the title of Creator.

Everybody else gets between 1 and 4 stars with what seems like an algorithmically generated title. These could be anything from ☆ Stink Man up to more illustrious ☆☆☆☆ Faction Hero.

(These cannot be edited or changed ICly by a character and are fully an OOC choice of rank and title! Characters who know Ydris will find themselves with more curated titles, though not necessarily nicer ones.)

Higher star ranks seem to be weighted in favor of getting Green Checkmarks via the algorithm. Hmm.

SWIPE 1

Swipe Left or Right, accepting the green or red... proposals? Is that what they are? The App immediately starts a Live Chat between the two parties, complete with recommendations for either highly rated Love Hotels or... discreet alleyways with nearby emergency clinics. (These might get presented to the wrong matches from time to time, coding is hard).

ALGORITHM
Stalling on the profile for more than a few seconds results in a loading graphic of a little dancing fire. **Calculating!** it says;

Ding! The In App Algorithm has decided for you! How convenient. The person whose profile was being looked at automatically gets sent a FUCK ✓ or FIGHT ✕, complete with that same live chat initiation mentioned above.

Rarely, there's a third option, essentially an algorithm fail state called CHILL, which still initiates the live chat. That means the system didn't find either of the other two options appropriate. Bummer. It generates completely random suggestions on where to meet, doesn't the DMV sounds like a great place to hang?

1 [ DISCLAIMER: At the insistence of one Kim Kitsuragi, there is a link to an additional Terms and Conditions document for which the tl;dr is to "All Ember users engaging in matters of passion and/or violence are encouraged to practice such activities in a manner which remains safe, sane, and consensual.
Any injuries resulting from following through on an EMBER suggestion are not the responsibility of the application.
]

NEW FEATURES - JULY

So, what is in the Update to EMBER? Plenty! And much of it unseen to Lost Souls. Ydris has spent most of their time creating a splinter branch of the app denoted as "EMBER Premium" and it is for Celestials only. It is a pay to access service with a delightful little thing called microtransactions. Seems those Dragon Coins from answering Profile Questions do have some purpose! While Lost Souls cannot interact with the Celestials via the app, the Celestials have some functionality, namely they can donate Dragon Coins to their favorite Lost Souls.

Dragon Coins can be cashed out through the app for a small cash bonus- some extra spending money, nothing too crazy. By what rate compared to what they're being purchases at is unclear... Oh well. It's a little extra pay! Why not side hustle from your phone? There's even a leader board!

How does one become one of the favored souls, anyways-?

ONLYFANS CELESTIALS

-MORE PHOTOS: Simple enough, the Celestials are very visual! They're more likely to donate if a Lost Soul has appealing photos on their profile.

-PLAYLISTS: Some curious Celestials like to see what music tastes are had among the Lost Souls. List a few songs you character is fond of or just selected at random to fill the missing profile element for a Dragon Coin bonus.

-QUEST NOTIFICATION: Some Celestials like to be a little more involved, so they spend to create a Quest. These can be sent to individual Souls or picked up from a virtual Bulletin Board. They are experiences or tasks to do around town and document! The app provides a location map should it require going to a certain place. These are largely benign requests such as "Take a photo drinking the new boba tea at this shop!" or "Share a story about your homeworld" or "Post video performing your favorite karaoke number!" Sometimes, they are requests to do good deeds or participate in local volunteer efforts.

Very occasionally, they are more saucy requests for lewd photos. Those requests cannot be sent to individuals! The Celestials get what they get when asking for those on the bulletin board!

Whether it's a rare moment of Ydris' coding filtering correctly or just the Celestials having collectively better judgement than those in Hell; no illegal, harassing, nor dangerous requests can be posted.

-LEADER BOARD: OOC OPT IN/OUT here to have your character added to/kept off of the HEAVENLY HOTNESS LEADERBOARD. This will be a purely RNG'd list of characters the Celestial's favor most. It will be updated every 1-2 weeks for the next (2) months, as I have time! Watch the rise and fall as a variety of results play out.

The Current Leader Board is linked here!

-PRIVATE PROFILE: Don't want the attention of these strange beings? Profiles can be set to Private! This doesn't actually block off from other Lost Souls, but it's an easy way to opt-out of any of this funny business. The cost is "all Dragon Coins" currently on account. If you're not playing, they why bother with those?

(Due to some obtuse design choices, it might be difficult to find this option... Your character would be forgiven for not even realizing it's there!)



PROFILE HTML
(Use squared Image for best profile template fit!)

FUCK ✓ / FIGHT ✕ / CHILL O HTML
O

-EMBER is a separate app on a character's phone which functions using the main network.
-This is fully canon to the game! Threads on this post or using the prompts above for Log Posts of your own both count as a SUBSTORY thread. Per mods, these can be used for rewards!
-Post a profile below, engage with other Lost Souls or Only Celestials prompts, and/or tag around to other characters using the SWIPE, ALGORITHM, or just start a chat! Blame as much as you like on Ydris' at times shoddy programing! Have fun!
-FOR CHARACTERS NEW TO THE GAME please post a link to your TL in the New Users header below! This is so new people aren't so easily lost in the shuffle. Keep in mind this post is active from July to end of August, the next EMBER goes up in September!
-Feel free to repost the Profile HTML provided for IC inboxes if you like, but please do not take these out of this post and make individual EMBER profiles on the Network, as that would clutter up the main network very fast.
-Check out Ydris' OPT-IN if you want them to have access to your character's information through this app. This is NOT required to play around with this. The ToS basically just applies normal network rules to this post, messages are public unless explicitly marked [private] in the header. (Ydris will not have access to Private Messages unless the player Opts-In!)
worldbent: (Keep my glass full until morning light)

have you ever known him to operate that way

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-09 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
Of course not. Why would I start a fight with a valued clan member?

[He Came Here To Laugh At You(r Profile)]

But I have been pondering the possibility, since that day in the rains.

Do you often fight fellow humans?
mahoraga: (270)

but the hardcore parkour...

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-09 08:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ mildly disappointed ... he's grumpy today and wanted to burn off steam. then again it wouldn't be a very fair fight given that matoba is not really a hand-to-hand combatant.

of course matoba is using the app to glean information off others though. of course. ]


If they give me a reason to. Anyone who delivers bad karma can expect it to come around.

[ though he beats up non-sorcerers less now. maybe. ]
worldbent: (pic#15523714)

will have to be for another day...!

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-09 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Haha, I see. Such a violent temperament. 😸

I find other methods to be more effective deterrents, but it's true that direct confrontation is always a possible necessity.
mahoraga: (26)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-09 03:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[ the kitty emoji is so like him. also sometimes violence IS the answer, even if he's better about that now. gone are the days of sitting on rowdy boys after breaking their bones. ]

Other methods such as ...? [ he's seen matoba use a ward and seal, but that won't be very effective against humans. ]
worldbent: (To keep it all inside)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-09 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[(such as?) ...Ah, so naive. He will spare Megumi the gruesome details for the time being, he thinks.]

There is more than one way to skin a cat, as the saying goes. [Not that Matoba ever would!!] Those who may be threatening in one manner can often be quelled in another. You understand?
mahoraga: (111)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-09 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
You're always happy to ask about me but you never go into detail about yourself. [ wow he wanted specifics. ]

What do you use then? A hex? Poison? [ blackmail??? ]
worldbent: (Can't feel anything)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-10 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
Whatever is effective.

[All of the above! Megumi there is a whole world of coercion open to you.........]
mahoraga: (322)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-10 12:08 am (UTC)(link)
[ wow ....... but he is ok with underhanded means if the situation calls for it. ]

Do you often have to fight other humans as well?
worldbent: (I push it down push it down)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-10 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
Not often. And besides, open combat is not very common at all.

[They had their underhanded manners, and shiki besides, for that. His world was one of subterfuge and political handling, and their magic was meant for ayakashi, not humans. Against one another, it would be far too brash to make such moves. It would involve civilian authorities.]

Humans squabbling amongst one another is foolish and self-destructive. We are already dying out as it is. Our focus as exorcists should be on combating ayakashi threats to humans.

Do you disagree, Fushiguro-kun?
mahoraga: (228)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-11 02:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course not.

Would be nice if it were that simple. But even among those without cursed energy, there will always be people trampling on the dignity of others without consideration.

I don't know why 'don't bother other people' is so difficult to live by ...
worldbent: (pic#15684351)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-11 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[Consideration… not exactly his aim, but Megumi seems to agree as a form of altruism. When Matoba says it, it’s a proclamation of how others should operate.]

[Were they compatible viewpoints? Somehow, Matoba doubts they would agree on how the same principle should be achieved.]


There are a number of short-sighted individuals in the world.

Spiritual ability or not does not change that, but those without power really can’t afford to be so flippant. And yet they are the ones who so often try to bluster and build themselves up, only to go running and crying for help.

They would be better off understanding their own limits.
mahoraga: (265)

your tags make me think too hard ....

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-17 08:38 am (UTC)(link)
They never seem to learn, though.

Did you protect the non-sorcerers back home as well?
[ Or was Matoba's efforts extended only to his clan? ]
worldbent: (pic#15600499)

LMAO SORRY............

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-17 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Exorcists would be for naught if it were only to protect themselves.

My clan was founded in feudal times to raise our bows to ayakashi attacks against human villages. In those days, low-class samurai were disparate. We were and still are a mercenary clan.

Those who don't have a choice are different from the ones who should know better.


[He ain't like the curse users in your world Megumi, don't worry.]
mahoraga: (76)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-19 01:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Our roles back in our worlds aren't too different, then.

Even though I told you I was the head, I don't actually consider myself a part of a clan.
[ Actually sharing about himself? Maybe they have gotten somewhat closer. ]
worldbent: (Sun is up I'm a mess)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-19 02:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Bad blood between clans and clanmembers isn't as uncommon as you might think.

[This hits a little personal. Good thing it's over text.]

May I ask why you left?
mahoraga: (216)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-21 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ From the text, that first statement sounds knowing, like there's background behind it and it isn't just a statement made from observation. He knows that to be true, anyway. Bad blood seemed to be the only kinds of relationships between clanmembers, as far as he's seen. ]

It's not so much that I left ... I was never a part of it to begin with. They just decided on a whim to name me as head because of my technique. [ He was born with the coveted inherited technique, and in those clans, the quality of your inherited technique is the measure of your value. ]
worldbent: (pic#15700899)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-22 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
It is customary to name the most powerful member of the clan as the next head, so that does make some sense. Unorthodox, if you were already split off, but not unheard of.

Then, your ancestors made the split?


[Father, grandfather- however far back it might have been, he was sure the clan must have been aware that their bloodline's power could pass down, and that they would have been watched at least from afar. He's sure Megumi's circumstances must be quite complicated.]

[...He thinks again of Natori, and his family's various complications.]
mahoraga: (168)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-25 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
My father, apparently. I don't have any details on that.

The less I hear about him, the better. He's probably off doing whatever he wants right now.
[ There was no need to add that last line, but the fact that he did very clearly speaks of bitterness. In fact, the bitterness is practically dripping off the text. There's also some distance there, like he doesn't quite know this father of his. ]
worldbent: (pic#15509359)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-26 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh]

[The threads of the web that entangled Megumi into clan politics are much more clearly defined all of a sudden. Given everything else the boy has told him, Matoba can now see the path of an estranged heir, or- as the case may be- an estranged not heir.]

[It's enough to make him laugh to himself, in the privacy of this text conversation. He wonders what would happen. If children were born to her of greater power.... He would not discard the option, no.]


I see.

I suppose it does not matter. You are the one with power, and not him- or so I am to presume, but that is only a guess from my own standpoint.

There isn't any need to assign arbitrary worth to someone who has not earned it from you.


[Not for family, not for anyone. In a way- it was telling him that he understood what he meant- and that he didn't disagree.]
mahoraga: (47)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-30 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Somehow, with vague clues he had given, Matoba seems to have read between the lines and pieced things together. Megumi ... doesn't like that. He feels quite seen right now. ]

Who's assigning worth ... I don't give a crap about that guy. I don't care if I never meet him. [ The rare swear word from the usually polite and reserved boy. People who claim to not care about things usually care much more than they would like to admit. ]

This is annoying now. Let's talk about something else.
worldbent: (pic#15553100)

[personal profile] worldbent 2022-07-30 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
[What a nerve that's been struck. Matoba feels satisfied enough with what he's learned, though- no need to push any further. He values his junior too much for that.]

Is that so? My apologies, I didn't mean to offend.

Then, shall we leave it at that? Let's have another fruitful chat at a later date. I enjoy our little conversations. It is interesting to listen to the situations of other exorcists, is it not?


[Even someone like Matoba, in his stilted and distant way, likes having others to relate to.]
mahoraga: (375)

[personal profile] mahoraga 2022-07-30 12:39 am (UTC)(link)
I guess so ... [ He's noting that the problems seem similar across the board, anyway. Then again, as his teacher likes to say, you have to be a bit crazy to be a sorcerer. ]

I'll talk to you later then.

[ and because we are handwaving that they have fed stray animals together i assume??? ]

Don't feed only the cats. [ the dogs too!!!!!! ]