jigokulogs | [OPEN] only god can see what i've become.

⬤ Andy @ the CR Meme ⬤
⬤ Permissions Post ⬤

Who ⬤ Andromache of Scythia (now of Enma) & YOU!
What ⬤ The bastard woman drinks and brawls her way through May substories
When ⬤ Throughout the month of May
Where ⬤ A bar, a backlot, and a bloody arena
Content Warnings ⬤ Profanity, violence, substance use, sex, etc. To be updated as needed!

A | MOON MEDICINE / SUBSTORY #1

[ This might be the most alive she's felt since arriving in hell. Whatever the fuck was in that medicinal mochi — it's like being high on cocaine and bloodlust at the same time. It feeds into that part of her that has always loved a fight. That up-close and personal shit where you can practically smell your opponent's breath. That's what she was raised on, seven thousand years ago on the Eurasian steppe — heir of the warrior-queen, bare and bloody on the battlefield, her mother's axe in her right hand.

No axe now. No battlefield either. Just the dirty alley out behind some dive bar. But that look in her eye is the same now as it was back then, wild and bright as she slams her fist into the unrecognizable pulp that was formerly the face of the yokai who had gotten fresh with her inside. Her knuckles are split open, but she doesn't seem to notice. Tunnel vision, everything else utterly irrelevant while her opponent is still standing — and he is, just barely. Just enough to take another clumsy swing at her, a move so obvious and slow that, in her violent fervor, she barks out a mean laugh, teeth bared. Bracing herself, she lets gravity do most of the work as she catches her victim by the clothes and flings him out of the alley towards street —

Right into anyone unfortunate enough to be passing by. ]

B | VEND ME A DREAM / SUBSTORY #2

[ Normally, on a day like this, Andy would have found some way to drink herself into oblivion by now. But she's spent most of her time in hell hungover, and somewhere between the constant headaches and violent nausea, she figured her newly mortal body was probably begging her for a break from the bottle. But being both idle and sober lends itself too readily towards her tendency to wallow uselessly in her own misery, so when the shirime approaches her with its winking butthole and a request for item A5, well...

Fuck it. It's not as if she has anything better to do.

That's how she winds up in that backlot, leaning up against a porno vending machine with a dwindling cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth as she flips through Juicy Peaches. The look on her face is one of stoic apathy, but either she's bored or the asses within are just that compelling, because she's still turning pages. This page in particular has her head turning slightly one way, then the other as she considers it. Out loud, to nobody in particular: ]

...That's a fucking fish.

[ Given the context, she might mean that literally. Only one way to find out. ]

C | BRUISED & BLOODY / SHUTEN TERRITORY ARENA

[ She'd been beating up people for free in bars this whole time, so it seemed only practical to at least get paid for that shit. The booze and cigarettes don't pay for themselves — and gods forbid that Andy hold a regular nine-to-five. She'd rather have her bones broken. Besides, she makes for a good underdog bet. Compared to some of the monstrous yokai that have stood opposite her in the ring, Andy looks decidedly ordinary. A woman who is neither particularly tall or strong. Nothing to betray the centuries she's spent mastering different ways of using her body to cause others pain. Except maybe that certain look in her eye. Something sharp. Something a little mean.

On one of the nights that she fights, she might find herself facing off against another Lost Soul in her next match. Or maybe afterward, with her left arm hanging loosely from its socket, she might be looking for someone to lend her hand — hopefully someone who isn't too squeamish to shove a shoulder back in. Otherwise, after the fighting is done, she makes a habit of smoking a cigarette right outside the arena, usually more interested in indulging that bad habit than patching herself up. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He wasn't small nor physically weak, but it still hurt like hell when a grown person tripped and landed on top of you. He made a sword of pained grunt, curling in on himself to try and protect the haniwa from getting crushed and make this worse. That maybe has resulted in the lady accidentally kicking him in the head, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

The dust settled and he also began to extricate himself while holding the doll up in the air where it wouldn't be hit by stray limbs.]

Is this-[he coughs]-Is this what you're looking for?

[ None of this is dignified. She's almost seven thousand years old — a person might think her capable of handling a situation with a bit more grace, maybe a little less profanity. But here she is, half on top of a stranger who she may or may not have inadvertently kicked in the head, and it's a small miracle that the haniwa isn't cracked open and spilling cursed energy all over the crowded street.

Silver linings. ]

Rotting gods. [ A softer curse, this time, and that might be a bit of relief under the exasperation. Maybe now she can spare her victim a little consideration. She seems to become more aware of what she's done to him, finally hauling herself to her feet and offering him a hand up. Dryly: ] Hope you feel more like handing that over to me than the yokai did.

[Oh. Well, she at least was offering him a hand up so she couldn't be that bad. Or maybe at least a little apologetic. He took it and pulled himself up, though he could feel through both of their grips that they were solid fighters.

Thank the gods he didn't have to explain his affliction. Still, as he studied her, he was a bit hesitant to hand it over. Perhaps she had a good reason to be chasing the yokai, but...]

Ah sorry, could you tell me who you are first? I've been down here for the Enma trying to catch these people who keep using them for weapons.

[Maybe he had a cut on his forehead that was bleeding a little but its fine. It's cool.]

[ Truthfully, she's not that apologetic. And not really a nice person either. But at least she seems willing to parley over the haniwa — and less pissed off about the whole situation than she was a minute ago. Probably helps when he mentions being one of the Department's. Makes things much more simple, where she's concerned. ]

So you're one of us. [ Wryly: ] Guess I knocked you over for no fucking reason then.

I'm Andy. [ She nods in his direction. ] And you're bleeding.

[Cain had low standards for nice. And she met them with flying colors. He was also relieved to find out she was a fellow Enma, though he's realizing he should get to know some of the others more so this didn't happen.]

It's fine. I couldn't see you coming, and oh?

[He reached out a gloved hand to his forehead and sure enough, he was bleeding. Ouch. Well, he didn't seem to concerned about it, only pressing his free hand to it to stop the bleeding.]

Sorry for having to meet you like this, haha. I've been wanting to talk with all the other officers at some point. Did you want to take this guy back, or should I?

[He gestured with the haniwa that was thankfully sat safely in his hand-and then a thought struck him as he looked around.]

Wait, where did that thief go??

Be my guest. Makes no fucking difference to me.

[ Her interest in climbing the ladder with the Department isn't a matter of true ambition. Truthfully, she'd prefer to avoid the scrutiny and restrictions of a higher position — and if it weren't for the fact that she has people here to look after, she wouldn't likely bother. Likely would have drank herself to death instead.

At Cain's question, she glances around for that thieving little trash demon — but the yokai is long gone by now, vanished into the ground while they were struggling to untangle themselves. ]

Wouldn't bother chasing him. We got what we needed. [ She nods lightly in Cain's direction. ] You going to be okay? Don't need you passing out in the street with that damn doll in your pocket or anything.

[Well, Cain didn't feel great about letting the culprit get away, but he supposed the lady was right. It wasn't like they could do much more other than question him, and the haniwa was safe.]

Huh? Nah, I've had way worse. This doesnt even hurt.

[Normally he'd be able to at least heal a little cut like this, but he did not know he had any magic as of right now.]

But if you're that worried, we can walk it back together. I'd like to get to know my fellow Enma partners better.

I wouldn't call it worry. [ Dryly: ] Let's not get carried away. We're barely on a first name basis.

[ Still, that's not exactly a no either. And despite having settled stewardship of the troublesome little haniwa between the two of them, she hasn't turned to leave without him, instead standing there with one hand expectantly on her hip. ]

Come on. We should head back before that fucking doll finds a way to escape again.

Yeah, but how else are you supposed to make friends?

[She seemed brusque and rather rude with her wording, but it didn't really seem out of anger. Rather, that was just the type of person she was. That was perfectly fine by him, anyway!

He gave a slight bow again and hastened to walk beside her as they returned.]

I thought this was a statue, though. Can it really move on it's own? Though I suppose if it is possessed by a strong spell it can do that. I've seen that before.

[ She gives him a wry look over her shoulder as he comes to catch up with her, but it's not unfriendly. Maybe a little amused. ]

I didn't mean it literally. Though I wouldn't be surprised if that little fucker did magically wander off on its own.

[ Who the hell even knows with the haniwa. Those things are entirely more trouble than they're worth — and today's chase could have ended up plenty worse if the damn doll had fallen into the wrong hands. ]

Is that what you're doing out here? Trying to make friends?

There was one time a clock tower in a town back where I'm from suddenly vanished. Turned out it turned into some sort of ghost.

[Look, just don't ask. Cain clearly didn't think that was any more unusual than this stuff.]

And yeah. I mean it's not like we can do this job on our own, is it? I've always been real good at teamwork. Not sure the Enma really knows what it is, though.

[ Andy, for her part, has enough common decency left inside her not to comment on how absolutely ridiculous the idea of a vanishing ghost-tower sounds to her. Instead, she answers a bit dryly: ]

I was doing fine on my own until we ran into each other. [ Literally. And somewhat painfully, though maybe more so for him than for her. ] And besides, it's not like we have to be friends to work together. Hell, we don't even have to like each other.

[Oh, so it was one of those types of conversations...well, Cain couldn't deny that what Andy said made sense. He as a wizard didn't usually like being tied down to one place and being told to do something he disagreed with. But at the same time, he didn't like to be alone.]

I know you don't have to be. Believe me, I have some...well, interesting comrades back home. I didn't always agree or get along with them at first either. But eventually as we lived together and found out more, we found common ground.

Like, I guess I can see where you're coming from. But even so, there are things I can't do solely on my own. And I can't protect the ones I care about like that either.

[OPEN] only god can see what i've become.

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