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

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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!
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WELCOME to EMBER 2.0
A Social Network for Lost Souls!
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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-?

ONLY~~FANS~~ 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!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That's what friends are for. This is what you do on hookup apps right?]

You're welcome, Midoriya. Have a good day.

Ah, you too! I still think you should try putting your hair up in a bun like a classic samurai more often.

You want me to cosplay?

Edited 2022-07-09 15:32 (UTC)

Alright. It will give me something to look for today while I'm out. There has to be something here.

[~~No Shoto he said your hair.~~]

[Wait, no. He said-

......

You know what................]

Yeah, Todoroki-kun. I think I want to see that.

If you'll give me a little bit, there's a shop around here that deals in cosplay. I haven't seen any convention notices that they may be at, but I remember the location.

[This isn't Halloween, but let's let him live in the thought that Tamamo isn't just selling sex costumes.]

Do you have the time for me to go? You could help me pick it out, I'll send you pictures to avoid any dangerous travel.

[Oh, wow. Shoto is really taking this to heart! Sugoi!]

Luckily I think some cosplay stores are open for things all year long... In Japan, anyway. It must be about the same here.

I can try to help you pick one out, anytime...!

I find a lot of things are. I don't know if that's specifically because of the lore it seems to be a part of or if it's something else. I've still got small suspicions and I have too many things to do to follow them up.

Ah good.
Please give me a bit, I will text you right back.

The people here are very nice. The woman said they would help me take a few pictures of different costumes. They seemed excited. I thought it was fun. I don't think many people tell them they mind trying on the costumes.

[Or someone should tell Shoto that he just got duped into being in various poses and outfits. Or not.]

This one is my favourite. I'm not sure about something this visual. I wasn't sure of the safety where this picture was involved, but they assured me and I was careful.

Also, I saw something familiar. I've owned this before. I wonder if some of these worlds are connected.

Alternately they said that these styles of clothing were also popular in the area. The stockings were a mystery until they showed me how to keep them up. However, I like some of the other options.

Which one do you think?

[At first Izuku puts his phone done and gets caught up with some other stuff so he figures that maybe Shoto forgot or got distracted?

... But then the photos come. And Izuku picks up his phone and spits cold tea all over the wall.]

tofdodfsjoki kun

[That's it, that's the first reply back.]

[Since it's the last one that he had on, Shoto is waiting around in the dress while the women in the shop fuss about what they may be able to get him in next. He's not sure if that's supposed to be his name but he has a lot of similar letters.]

Yes? Do you think none of them, maybe?

One moment. I'm being asked to try something on. I think they're very helpful here if you ever want the address. They've been picking out outfits.

[After a few minutes, becuase adjustments need to be made, Shoto sends another picture. This one is clearly not taken by him, either, and he doesn't look all too much like he actually thinks this could be samurai-ish. They did say 'a fresh approach' so he's listening. This time he was able to do the stockings all on his own at least.]

I don't think I like this one either, but they insist I include it in the possibilities.

Edited (sshhhhhh) 2022-07-13 00:43 (UTC)

[SHOTTTTOOOOOOOOOO?????????? PLEASE STOP TYPING????

No, who is he kidding? Please keep typing and attaching pictures he's saving all of them... No one will ever know.]

I

I think the first one is my favourite too, Todoroki-kun.

But the one with you holding a bow is very reminiscent of the Yayoi period in ancient Japan and that looks great on you.

The one with a fox tail and ears, I'm assuming? You look like a kitsune youkai and I'm not surprised! You'll fit right in with the rest of your clan.

The other pictures you're dressing up as ... dressing dressed up.

[Izuku???]

I MEAN THEY ARE ALL VEYR NICE

[This is why Izuku will never be rid of him. He is a supportive friend that Shoto will walk to the literal gates of Hell with through any fire or flame just because Izuku indicated he might.]

I like it too. I do like the archery outfit and maybe I will see if there's an actual archery place. It would be fun to learn that skill, too since I can't practice to my full capacity here.

It will be a hard choice.

I explained a little more about how we know each other through school, but I'm starting to think that maybe they don't understand I'm a man. I think for now this will be the last option and I'll explain to them that I'm a boy. They're having fun so I feel badly, but just in case they don't know.

[And now Izuku can go to his grave having seen this outfit.]

They have one with a red tie. I don't think it looks very much like ours, but I don't mind. I'm going to go explain to them now.

[Saved. Saved.......... He swears if anyone finds his phone he's going to jump off a cliff.]

I THINK THATS TH E BEST HING TO DO TODOROKI KUN
YES PLEASE I THINK YOU GOT ENOUGH REFERNENCE PHGTOS NOW

[... Sorry he lost his ability to think coherently for a second.]

[Like if Shoto ever found it?]

Alright. I think the first one, and the archery one. I may buy the uniform and find pants for it elsewhere. Is your size still the same as your hero suit?

[Don't ask him how he knows that.]

[He might be buying the uniform???????????]

Are you sure, Todoroki-kun? I mean, everything looks amazing on you. But maybe one or two are okay or ... something....

My size hasn't changed from my hero suit.

Wait, why???

[He's definitely bought the uniform, now all he needs is proper pants for it. Totally.]

I'm taking your decisions into consideration. Some of these may even be good if we ever need to slip into crowds unnoticed again, too.

You seemed so enthusiastic, I bought you one too.

[He's in tears....................?????????]

No, you're right, Todoroki-kun... That's clever thinking.

Thanks!?

[Thanks??? Who is he kidding he's totally going to try it on-]

We've got to be prepared. The owner said if we'd like they can take our picture one day in them as long as they can put it on a small photo board they keep for what I'm assuming is exposure of the item being used.

You're very welcome.

[Shoto has no idea what hell he's put his friend through...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

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2/2 - I'm sorry, I had to.

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2/2 - You gave me this power. It's my power.

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