jigokulogs | May 2022 IC Mingle

May 2022 IC Mingle

1. WELCOMING COMMITTEE

The influx of fresh Lost Souls means the factions need to have a little welcoming party for them. The leaders realize things have been chaotic in the city. So some recreational activities are in order. All Lost Souls will receive a message from their respective faction leaders with orders to go have some fun.

The Shuten Clan are given an advance on their first paycheck and told to go to the Celestial Phoenix Casino. A big sign on the half boarded up door proudly proclaims UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. What happened to the old management? It doesn't matter and stop asking questions! The important part is that all games and machines are half-price and there are special prizes available in exchange for your chips and tokens. Games range from the traditional Western style (poker, roulette, slots) to Japanese favorites (cee-lo, koi koi, cho-han).

As for prizes, they have a selection of designer goods, including some particularly nice bracelets, necklaces, and watches!

The Tamamo Clan are given a considerable number of drink vouchers for Crimson Moon Karaoke, where they can sing their hearts out and while absolutely smashed. Private rooms are cheap to rent and they even offer a special discount for groups of two or more. The karaoke machines have any songs you could possibly want, which is a little suspicious, but don't question it! Just get drunk and have fun. By all means, extend your time as you wish and drink up to get in the proper mood. This is an important bonding opportunity.

Oh yeah, as an important note: the rooms are soundproof. You can get as loud as you like, be it with singing or... something else. Don’t do anything Tenko-hime wouldn’t do!

Members of The Sutoku Alliance are given tickets to Fiance of the Funeral Procession at the Pluto Theatre and Cafe. The tickets include free food at the cafe, including beer. Sure, the star may not be a Sutoku member but that doesn't matter too much: getting butts into seats at Sutoku-owned theaters is what’s important. The Daitengu rented the theater out for the day, so there is plenty of time to mill around both before and after the show.

Make a day, or night, of it!

A funeral-based romantic comedy melodrama as the viewing fare is probably a tasteless joke on the Daitengu's part. But hey, y'all aren't still mad that they crashed their own funeral and then took off laughing, right?

Right?

The Department of the Enma members are told that they're going to be doing a team-building exercise. What exactly does that mean? That's right, it's community cleanup time! You get to clean up cans and trash in the street! You get the honor of using a department-issued bike with an attached cart to wheel around the city and pick up trash! How exciting! Teamwork is encouraged, of course. Teams that collect enough garbage will get one (1) voucher for mini-golf.

Please be aware of the local homeless population as you work, they won’t be happy to see you. They normally collect the cans in the mornings as a meager source of income that you’ll be dipping into. They're probably just not happy with Enma officials in general though. Sorry!

2. IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING...

By the time you're done with your faction-sponsored fun, the sky has decided to open up. Hope you brought your umbrella! The rain is bad enough that walking home might not be an option right now. So take refuge in one of the many nearby nightlife spots.

Not in your faction's home territory? Doesn't matter! Make some friends outside your group or maybe get into a fight and cause some trouble. There's always the third option of ignoring everyone and drinking yourself silly instead! The rain has to let up eventually… right?

Hopefully you aren't caught near one of the cursed Haniwa figures that have been popping up around town. Their aura really dampens the mood and may even start to cause some dramatic and frightening hallucinations if you and your rain-stranded friends stay near them for too long. But remember! Do not break the figurine. Just try to move it somewhere else? And hopefully not get drenched in the process.

Welcome to the IC mingle!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tamamori probably had to double all the way back to the Theatre and Cafe to catch Ydris standing out beneath the front awning with a cigarette. The downpour had started seemingly the moment the came out and lit up. The evening at the theatre had already wrapped up and most had left already, but here they are, now stuck... until someone can rustle up a spare umbrella for them.

Their illusion grits teeth on the cigarette in their mouth into a cringe as Tamamori rushes over, partly soaked. Ydris lifts a hand out to gesture "stop" and a ghostly version is left in the place as they snap their main arm away from the man. They speak without their mouth moving, because that would be a hassle-]

I'll help, I'll help- Stop splashing around, hand me the phone. [the floating hand turns over, outstretched to take the device if presented]

Oh-oh, okay, here- [ He's sort of on autopilot, passing the phone over; it's just as partly drenched as he is, which has only made his efforts of punching in minaklm even harder. The poor phone doesn't know what to make of the name- Do you mean Mina KLM? -but to be fair, he's ended up on the phone's search engine in his panic, rather than the contacts app. ]

I-I'm sorry- [ Tamamori has enough sense to know he must seem erratic, wound up with color blooming behind his eyes, making the rain even more stark and the neon lights twice as bright, blurring together in to a mess. But he's keeping it contained, and trying to chill out, pulling his wet bangs back and trying to look less like a shaggy, wet dog. ] -this is, this is stupid, I know it's stupid- [ The light of the cigarette is oddly easier to focus on, a little beacon to zone in on. ] -but I'm trying to call someone. Before he realizes it's raining too.

Edited 2022-05-10 04:19 (UTC)

[Ydris' extra, ghostly floating hand takes the slightly soggy phone, wiping it off on their outer most cloak. That's an actual piece of fabric, not an illusion, though Ydris is very disappointedly currently it lacked for the full abilities it back home. Being able to absorb liquid was a quality it once had... that would make this situation along easier for them if it was still the case.]

You found your friend, I take it? Minakami... [Ydris easily remembers the name, having an immortal kind of memory means such things snap back to them swiftly. Also pretty easy to put that together with the mistyped name currently in place. They reenter it, hit call, then hand the device back to him]

Here, let him know what you need to.

[ He only thinks to nod rapidly at the name, before the cellphone becomes all of his world again. Despite, or maybe because of his panic, Tamamori doesn't linger long on the phonecall- it's a strange little conversation, though, one he doesn't have the sense to try and muffle or obscure from Ydris. Something about the rain, being safe, are you safe, and a promise to stay put...followed by some fumbling around of trying to get the phone's locational tracker to ping his whereabouts. For all he's unfamiliar with technology, he's seemingly adapting at a pretty rapid pace.

It's only after he reluctantly hangs up the little telephone that Tama looks back up, and finally recognizes Ydris for who they are. The being that told him about how useful phones were, helping him out like this- if he were in a writing mood, it might be poetic happenstance. But, as Tamamori is not in a good mood, it just feels strange, embarrassing, and maybe relieving. ] I...really owe you a lot. Thank you... [ He sort of slumps back further in to cover, avoiding the rain like it's toxic. ] Rain in hell...it's like a sick joke.

[Ydris casually eavesdrops because why not, they're literally right there and it's vaguely interesting to them. They don't manage to catch much even with trying, though. Their hearing isn't all that great and the rain is mostly drowning out Tamamori's words into the phone. The dragon wait for them to finish up and finishes up their cigarette, burning it away completely at their lips, filter and all. The ash on their lips gets rolled into their mouth thoughtlessly.

As Tamamori finishes that call and slumps back, Ydris produces the pack they have on them and offers the man a cigarette]

Curious, what does a human have to fear from the rain-? Catch cold terribly easy?

[ He looks at the cigarette with some sort of muted curiosity, taking it reflexively and just holding it for a minute. It sort of smells like the brand Kawase smokes, and that alone is comforting...he's never really tried it himself. ]

Well, actually, I do that too... [ He'd got a fever tw, twice? Even if he's typically pretty good with remembering things, the looping is sort of difficult to sort through. ] ...the rain is cursed, where I come from. Or, I'm cursed, I guess. [ He points off at one of the random puddles forming with the unlit cigarette. ] I don't know what would happen if I stepped in even something that shallow. Even if this is hell... [ It's just the uncertainty that's scary. Tama could try it. Just see if the toe of his shoe disappears under the puddle, sliding in to that ever-present "world b". But it's too risky. His eyes are still blue in hell; even more vibrantly blue now that it's raining. Absently, he tries putting the cigarette in his mouth, but he just feels childish, and moves to hold it again instead. ] ...it probably sounds really embarrassing, being scared of a little storm.

[Once the man takes a cigarette, Ydris takes another out for themself. A puff of a sigh produces enough fire to catch it at the end, before it returns to their lips.]

If it eases your mind, most seem to lose their powers and their curses, in coming here. [Ydris could mention that happened to them, but they leave it unsaid. No need to call their second, now destroyed, body a curse. More drama than it deserves, it was simply useless...

They make a short, incredulous laugh of a noise at Tamamori's last comment]

Not too embarrassing, no. [they'd probably just fucking die if they went out into it? So?? It's not outrageous to Ydris of all people...] What used to happen with your curse, anyways?

Edited 2022-05-14 16:02 (UTC)

[ Most is...hopeful, something he can optimistically cling to like a rock in a storm, but not enough to entirely bring his mood up. He'll have to try it, which is intimidating, but. He needs Minakami for that. He can't test it alone, or he might... ]

You fall through the rainwater, and end up when the rain first fell. [ He'd thoughtlessly brought up traveling time before, in a fit of pique, but he's quickly had to come to terms with taking this place, this hell, more seriously than he had then. ] Over and over again. It's not impossible to avoid the water, but...deaths tend to come with the rain. And I couldn't allow them to happen. [ He drags the heel of his palm up his face for a moment, his other hand still fiddling with the cigarette. ] I'm not very smart, so I...I don't want to go back to that. It probably can't happen here, but it's too much to risk it. [ He looks up at Ydris, weakly trying to smile. ] That movie was impressive, but I don't want to relive this evening on repeat even still.

I see. [peculiar rules, but Ydris can see something bizarre as that occurring in Myddvai. Sounds like the kind of nonsense that would crop up inside an Order Blight, which is not the kind they are suited to dispelling.

They don't doubt, though. The man seems upset enough that it doesn't seem like a drunken fable or delusion.]

Well, the rain only just started. The worst you might need do is return to this conversation, so. Why not test it out? Then you'll be sure if it still afflicts you. [they burn their cigarette down a bit more, shrugging]

Better to know than continue on living in needless caution.

It's... [ He focuses back on the cigarette, somewhat out of embarrassment. It's comforting that this isn't being chalked up to delusion, because that's what he's most used to hearing from people- but it's a whole different situation when he's talking to a celestial-adjacent being in some modern hell. ] The time I would be leaving- um, this one -would still continue. I would...be leaving a friend without 'me' existing in this world anymore. And, I would be replacing another 'me' in the other time, if I could even track myself down... [ He sighs, and looks back up, albeit reluctantly. ] It causes too many problems, and the result would still lead to deaths. I can't be that selfish.

[ It is needless caution, he knows that. And it's silly to assume that his hashihime is stronger than the forces keeping them in hell, too. But misery is stronger than sense, and he finds himself putting the cigarette near to his mouth again. ] ...talking about it is helping. I never could before, because people would just say I was crazy. Or that I was making things up like always. I keep forgetting, I can be more honest here than I can back home. [ A pause, and he almost, a little, kinda snickers. ] ...I can't imagine what about this might have reminded you of vampires before, but I suppose all our worlds are weird, aren't they?

[Ydris plucks their own cigarette from their mouth and presses the lit end to help light the man's. He's mostly just been waving it around, after all. Actually taking a drag might calm him down some]

The Vampires of Myddvai control chaos, which means they can freely manipulate time. Your predicament is more strange than theirs. [sorry if that's not very comforting, whoops]

Anyways, you're preaching to the choir on avoiding rain. I'd immediately lose conscious out there. [taking their cigarette back to their mouth, casually]

Or just die. I'm also not going to fuck around and find out.

[ He's never smoked really- he's kissed Kawase after he's smoked, and assumes it would be the same thing. Instead, Tama ends up coughing instantly on even the slightest inward puff, holding the cigarette out for a moment so it doesn't go tumbling to the ground. He's used to them being an expensive habit, so he's going to get back to it, but also that burned worse than whiskey. ]

More strange than a vampire, nyaha...yeah, we do all come from weird worlds. [ If he tried to pronounce 'Myddvai' he would probably break his tongue. Maybe the absurdity of the situation is the actual comforting part? Though, he looks up with more concern at the 'lose consciousness' part, even if some part of his brain wants to startle around the use of the word 'fuck'. He's still a weenie, but he's not going to flail at Ydris a second time. ] Ah...is it because you glow? [ He immediately scowls, trying to take another breath in from the cigarette, coming away with minimal coughing this time. ] Not like, literally, I don't think. I can't...really tell. But you seem like you should. [ His hallucinations haven't been as strong since he's arrived, but he still has a sense of certain things. Ydris has some sort of warmth that Tama can't explain, and the cigarette looks right with them. ]

[Considering it sounds audibly like "myth-vie", saying Myddvai somewhat correctly is easier than reading it out for most people.]

Glow-? No? It's because I am a candle. [simple enough!

A pause. A sigh.]

Right, you probably didn't know that, I'm wearing this illusion most of the time. [they point at him, commanding and deadpan]

Don't scream. It hurts my feelings. [and with that, fwoosh! The illusion burns away like the end of their cigarette, which burns away completely at their lips. Their candle form is beneath it, an odd sight but-

Yeah, definitely makes since why a creature composed of four open flames might not want to go out into the pouring rain.]

An illusion? [ Tama simply sits there, almost passively curious at the pointing, but sure enough...the full form doesn't illicit nearly as dire of a reaction in him as the tendrils did. If anything, it looks more like something's clicked for him, and he sits up a little straighter. ]

You...really are a candle. [ He can accept that pretty readily; it's the temptation to want to reach out and see if the flames are hot that he has to keep under control. Thankfully he's gotten better about those impulses, but he's also painfully intrigued. ] Does it feel strange? I...guess actually, that kind of question wouldn't make sense to someone used to being a candle...but is it hot? [ He gestures to the actual lines of wax. ] I know about todaiki, but not much...so there's at least something equivocal in stories I'm familiar with. I'd be a pretty poor writer if I screamed over everything.

Truly, I am the fire that is contained in this candle, much like the human body contains a soul. The wax and metal are just the shell which my consciousness occupies. I'm no yokai, as I believe I told, I am a dragon. The... Dragon of Fire, that is. [there is only one Fire Dragon, though Ydris is not the first, they won't get into that. Such messy history need not be recounted.

They float closer, this form more obvious in how it levitated off the ground, each piece of their body held in place by unseen, magnetic force. It is like standing by an particularly welcoming hearth. There's a faint magic to them that is very inviting and protective, magic that Humans possess back home, granted by their inherent inner warmth.

They currently smell quite a bit like tobacco, from the cigarettes, but there's a bold note of cinnamon and tart without the illusion in place.]

The flames themselves are hot and will burn you. Avoiding those, the wax is fine to touch, if you're so curious. I cannot feel through any of it. It does not have nerves. [if Tama is curious enough to do as invited, the wax is about the temperature of a feverish human, not melted enough to be moved about at a simple touch or stick to fingers. He might like standing close to help dry off... or he might immediately hate the humidity, up to him!]

Of course you're not a literal yokai, but the candle yokai is all I have as frame of reference. I don't...think there's any gods of candles...

[ But, of course, there is always a deity- or dragon, in this case -of fire. He'd normally wax poetic about that, but he's not in enough of a high or a low to do so, thus Ydris is spared the writer's babbling for the moment. ]

...it's really okay? [ He looks up as if asking for more confirmation, before reaching out to very delicately touch his fingertips to the wax. Sure enough, it feels like a normal candle- but the scent is finally hitting him, and it's relaxing, more than the cigarette. He has a memory- another him's memory -of a 'woman' surrounded by five candles, and it rises up to the top of his thoughts, but the scent and warmth is stronger. It's strange, realizing the panic has bled out of his system like that, and he takes his hand back to ash the cigarette he's still gripping, and moves maybe a little closer. His hair's eager to curl and frizz, but he really can't say he minds. ]

I've not believed in...dragons, or gods, or even really yokai before coming here. But it's nice knowing so many things exist out there. [ More experiences than that 'him' could ever understand. For a moment, he almost feels sorry for his other self, but instead he puffs on the cigarette again, gradually getting the hang of it. This'll probably be the only one he ever smokes, so he might as well make it count. ] Even if humans are too self-absorbed to realize, there's still a lot looking out for them. Including other humans, of course, but...

[please do not make a pun about waxing poetic around Ydris, they'll throw the closest heavy object through the nearest window.

For now, though, they don't see to react at all to the probing touches. They invited the curiosity, they get that they're an odd being. Having been extremely out of place even upon Myddvai, they're used to it]

There's that word again, believed. I've heard another say similar of gods. It is strange to me that other worlds feel that towards their deities. We Dragons of Myddvai are alive; flesh and bone, speech and thought. We live upon the same world as those we look after. [some might doubt their right to rule, but that's not denying reality, only questioning authority.]

There is no belief, only the reality of our power.

...you'd be surprised how much a human can refuse reality. [ Tama almost sighs the comment out, taking another puff of the cigarette. He's more than easy proof of that truth, isn't he? ] Sometimes, the more certain a thing is, or the stronger it is, the harder it is to swallow. [ He gestures with the cigarette, gesturing up and down his throat. ] Our throats are small, so we have to break things down in to easier chunks. And we forget things, and lose track of our thoughts so easily, that even the world right in front of us can confuse our senses and scramble the truth around. So we forget to swallow, forget to break things down, and just choke.

[ It's only after his whole semi-literal allusions to eating that he looks up, making a strained face. ] I...hope you know what swallowing is, or this is all a moot point of comparison.

Not swallowing is an insult where I'm from.

[... why would you walk into this kind of a comment again, Tama?]

I've shoved tentacles down enough throats to understand what you're saying, yes.

[is this better or worse from Ydris when their expression is locked into a blank expression? No little smirk, this time.]

[ BECAUSE HE'S A STUPID PRUDE, YDRIS. Tama balks, the cigarette only staying in his hands because he instinctively squeezes it to not drop it, but uh, it's pretty well ruined. Not like he hasn't already been taking so long on it that it's almost spent anyway, but still. Ydris told him not to scream earlier, so he's trying to maintain that throughout, even if he desperately wants to. ]

See, that sort of thing- saying things like that! Even that's hard to- you know! [ He tries desperately to gesture, but it's just making things worse. ] Maybe your charges are better at handling this than I am, or maybe the freedom of this 'modern hell' is still a bit out of reach for me. But that is difficult to handle for someone like me, despite how easy it is for you to be so cavalier.

-Swallow? Difficult for you to swallow-? [sorry, they parrot it just to tease him, a crackling fire of a chuckle going along with it. They're just mean, sometimes, even if they mean it in a cute way.]

You'll get used to it. Sorry if that's terrifying, it is how it is. The month or so before you got here we had a cock parade and a bath house orgy all on the same night.

[a pause]

And also a presumably faked public murder. The Daitengu is a pointless figurehead so that didn't ultimately matter, though. [as opposed to the other two events, which were at least fun!]

I'm not trying to make it worse-! [ He's just going to put half his face in his one completely free hand, before his reddening face gets brighter than the flames. This is worse than Kawase. This is worse than seventy Kawases. ]

Ah...well, the parade isn't so strange at least... [ Even if he admits that dryly, there's almost something fond about that. He's trying very hard to not say anything salacious in return, but he can still think about the fundoshi runs to the shrines back home, before Tama was banned from participating for nearly dying of pneumonia every year.

More importantly, he drops his hand away from his face, curious again about the whole Daitengu mention. Tama's really not sure what to make of the situation, so...maybe this is actually a good opportunity. But also, he has to be sarcastic. ] 'Pointless figurehead' is quite a way to express your affection for our dear leader.

Our so-called Leader does little to lead, you'll discover. Far as I can tell, there's been no resolution to their- [Ydris' four disembodied hands that can manifest can do, like, so many air quotes] -""""murder"""" aside from their reappearance to joke over it. Meanwhile, the Alliance suffers and has no answers to why.

[one hand plucks free their box of cigarettes from a pocket in their coat and just... flicks a whole one into their center flame, burning it up instantly. Ydris seems to get something out of that, at least, sighing with more quiet distain.]

I have little respect for such games. My suggestion would be to not ever trust or rely on the yokai of this faction, they'll sell their own out for simple amusement.

I still don't even understand what happened. There was a funeral, and the mess was because of the parade where they got 'killed'? [ It's impossible to know when airquotes were invented, but since Ydris did it multiple times over right there, Tama can now do it right back. ~~bless that because ive had to erase airquoting in my tags like six times dshgfks~~ ] I guess for someone like you, who's honest about their power, such sneaky treatment of others isn't very appealing to deal with.

[ He's still not sure where he stands- anyone who can promise to protect Kaoru from, well, Tama himself, has his eternal gratitude. But also, it's not as if it was really a meeting with the Daitengu, or if he's been able to get anything about them from the network, because he's not realized you can scroll completely back yet. ] Yokai are just like that, in my experience. They're self-absorbed and use humans as little more than sources of amusement or means to an end. Or as something to take their frustrations out on. But...there are some good ones, who protect people. [ Tama huffs a sigh. ] I'd hoped this would be one of those rare 'good one' situations, but I guess not.

[Sorry Tama, you're getting a full Previous On-]

The Kappa of the Alliance were building a secret machine before the Night Parade. Supposedly, it was a generator. All it really did was explode steam cover, beneath which the Daitengu was shot by mysterious assailants and supposedly assassinated.

[supposedly is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this]

It shouldn't have mattered, given the Daitengu is an anonymous figure in a costume, but the Alliance floundered all the same. First losing the Underground to Enma and then to the ongoing turf war. Ah, and the Alliance suffered the additional loss of many top Kappa officials, who where suspected for causing the incident. When the Daitengu did finally reappear, no explanation was offered beyond some vague joking over getting the Enma's attention.

[does Tama want to also learn the gesture jazz hands-? Because that's what Ydris does next, enjoy]

In short, the Alliance has been suffering significantly and the response from on high is that it's all one big joke.

May 2022 IC Mingle

It's raining, it's pouring...

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gently goes back to this halfwritten tag like lmao

"lol" said the scorpion "lmao"

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1/2

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