jigokulogs | 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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The fear in Soo Won's eyes wavered as he looked from Kim's jacket to his own bloody clothes. A slight shiver passed through him at the blood clearly staining his robes and he hastily looked back at Kim.]

So it's just a hallucination this time?

[Soo Won cautiously started to relax. It would hardly be the first time one of his regrets was turned into a waking nightmare. But what if he was wrong? His regret felt like a noose, keeping him trapped in the nightmarish memories from when the blood rain was real. He struggled to push back it and hesitantly called out to Miyako, too shaken to hide the conversation in his mind.]

Yin?

[Miyako answered with a faint note from her gottan that echoed in Soo Won's and Kim's mind. She wasn't sure what was real either and it was hard to think with Soo Won's distress but one thing was different. She wasn't being controlled this time so maybe Kim was telling the truth? She hoped he was. The blood rain wasn't a good memory for either of them and she stubbornly managed a tired chord to prove she was still herself, not mad with the blood's memories of revenge like last time.]

Yes. Just a hallucination.

[ Now that Kim's not worried that Soo Won is going to attack him - though he hopes that that fear is reasonably abated and he won't get assaulted the moment he turns his back - he bends down to carefully scoop the Haniwa up. There's not much he can do with it beyond relocating it on a ledge where it will be visible and nobody will be in danger of trodding on it, but it's better than where it was, terrorizing innocent people just looking to get out of the rain. ]

It's all fine, see? The doll is out of the way too. [ He looks deeper into Soo Won's expression this time, trying to spot any sign of drug or alcohol use; enlargement of the pupils, yellow eyes, sallow skin. ]

I don't know who you may be mistaking me for, but... my name is Kim Kitsuragi. [ He says it firmly, politely, trying to coerce them into some sense of normalcy through sheer etiquette alone. ] What is yours?

[Soo Won sagged with relief when Miyako answered him, his body felt heavy as his tension slowly left him and he leaned against the wall for support. His gaze sharpened with suspicion as he watched Kim move the doll but luckily nothing happened. He would have to come up with a more permanent solution if the doll really was responsible for the hallucination but for now it was fine. Nothing bad happened. Soo Won repeated that fragile comfort in his mind, adding Kim's reassuring words to help ground him.

There were no signs of drug or alcohol in Soo Won's eyes and he pushed his fading fear and awful memories behind a polite smile.]

Soo Won and the music you hear is Yin. She's who I was talking to. It's complicated.

[He added with a weak chuckle. His relationship with the yokai inside him, who possessed him against his will in order to survive was not the easiest thing to explain.]

May 2022 IC Mingle

sorry I'm late

no worries!!

sorry this is got lost