jigokulogs | (open) you're the best, i love you the most

[ Totoko's been hiding out in this store for the last thirty minutes now. After hearing the rumors, generally believing that they were full of shit since nobody could be that lust-filled unless they were one of the sextuplets, she felt a small obligation to investigate. Just in case it was one of them, so she could rip their dick off and feed it to a crow.

Instead, as she peeked out a couple times, it was this gross-ass old man who, really, she's not going anywhere near that.

She can be heard mumbling to herself. ]

The hell do I do...

I should go out there and uppercut him in the junk, but he'd probably like that. Ugh...

[ Of course she's collecting stardust, and of course she's not selling it off. Honestly, she's been eagerly picking up any that she can find, placing them in plastic bags to hoard for later! They're just too beautiful, she could really do something good with them. Maybe add some to her idol costume?

Problem being of course, that she's grabbing enough of the stuff without thinking about it that it's hard to not get exposed to it. Which is leaving her literally skipping around town, searching every alleyway and looking through every nook and cranny to get her hands on some.

So don't be surprised if you've located a cluster of them and Totoko arrives to cheerfully snatch it up. ]

[ Sigh.

At a certain bar in the Sutoku Alliance's territory, Totoko sits and, yet again, sighs. She's been doing that for quite a while now, in between taking a sip of semi-cheap beer. She's been in town for a little bit now, and something's bothering her.

Siiiiiiigh.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

...

She's idly keeping an eye on whoever's around, either tending the bar or visiting as if to say "yes, please ask me what's wrong." She'll even through out a quiet "What should I do?" if need be. ]

[Of course she'd be on duty while she's here. Of course.

But hey, at least she's cooled off a bit and is a bit more willing to talk now, especially to her customers. Helps to keep things familiar, as much as she can.

So, yes, she'll take the bait.]

What's wrong? You've been doing that for a while.

Edited 2022-07-14 04:21 (UTC)

Mm? Oh, nothing--

[ The liar looks up from hanging her head and... oh. Oh! She hadn't even noticed. ]

You're the bartender, huh?

[ Without skipping a beat-- ] Anyway, hear me out?

Yeah. It's about all I know how to do, so... here I am.

[She could keep herself out of trouble, though it somehow always seemed to find her...]

Sure, what's up? I'll try to help, if I can.

[ Wow, she actually agreed to it. No protesting or anything. ]

...hey. How old do you think I am? I won't get mad.

Hearing you say that you won't get mad makes me think that you're definitely going to be mad.

[This is how it would usually go.]

Anyways, you can't be much older than me, and I'm 27.

[ ...........

She's mad.

But, she'll show that by just. Picking up, chugging, and slamming down her glass. ]

...28.

[Called it. Also please don't slam the glass and break it.]

Wasn't too far off.

And just so you know, I had you pegged as younger than me.

You look young for 28.

I know, I know. I've heard that a lot, and I'm happy about it, but...

[ ........ ]

Another draft, please?

[One refill for the cute, if insufferable, client.]

But what? Is something about that bothering you?

[ With a grimace, she... instantly starts on taking another gulp. ]

...everyone thinks I look like a kid.

I can understand why they would. Still, I never really thought that about you.

Even if I hadn't met you before, I can tell that you're old enough to even be in here. Didn't even need to ask for your ID.

[Hold up.]

Are there even IDs here?

I don't think so. Even if there were, it'd probably be easy to fake if we asked.

[ Not that there's really much of a reason to do so? She's not a teenager anymore, so that wasn't really an issue... ]

I don't hate looking young. I mean, others think I'm really cute, and I like hearing that. In fact, I basically live off of being complimented. The problem's when others look at my baby face and just think that I haven't been grown up for a while. I'm a grown woman, I just like living comfortably...

[ She's babbling, right into her drink. ]

Nothing wrong with that. If you got the means, I say go for it. Hell, you're in a better position than me. I practically lived paycheck to paycheck. Any sort unexpected bill or expense was enough to throw everything off and send me into a panic.

What would be your ideal situation?

For anyone to look at you and just automatically assume you've been an adult for longer?

Hmmm. I don't really know what that's like. Being paycheck to paycheck, I mean. I was in trouble for a second, but bills weren't a problem.

[ Unspoken: because she was still living at home and her parents paid the bills? Also they were pretty well off, so she never had to worry much about that. ]

My ideal situation...

[ She finishes glass number two, hoping that by the time she got to the bottom of it that she'd be able to quickly come up with the answer. ]

Being a cute girl that still manages to come off as mature, I think. I want to be taken seriously.

[ because totoko's thirst can't be satiated in one post ]

[ from here ]

My, such a gentleman...!

[ Taking his hand, she's very careful-- sheesh, it's even warm to be near. Whew! ]

That bike must've been expensive!

Surprisingly? Not at all. If you know where to look, you can find a lot of otherwise good bikes that just need some TLC to get back into running shape, and they're dirt cheap.

[ It was how he got buy in his own time, before he learned to build his own with his flame constructs. It wasn't like money came easily to a burnish runaway... ]

So there's a ton of bars in this district. I figure you could roll the die and pick whichever has a sign you like most.

Wow, dashing and frugal!

[ It fooled her! You have to treat every penny as if it's a dollar, even though she'd rather be spending 20s as if they're nickels. Duality. ]

Hmmm... oh, this one?

[ There's one with a more flowery and pink sign, it looks run of the mill otherwise? ]

It might be cute.

"Hell Angel"... Sounds like it could be rough, despite the cute font.

[ He had no clue. ]

Just stick with me if it looks rough, alright?

[ He was the first to open the door and... found himself immediately realizing something as he stepped in.

The bartender, the "mama", was... The hostess was, too. The few other customers... ]

Ah. We'll probably be fine, actually.

[ ...huh?

Totoko had already decided to latch onto Lio's waist before she got her own glance at the bar itself. Looking from all of the patrons to those working... ]

Wow.

[ A moment passes... and she lets go. ]

It's a... lot more different than I thought it'd be. [ A small pause... ] Oh, not that it's bad?

"Lesbians?" [ The hostess murmured, quickly corrected by the mama. ]

"The blonde is obviously a guy, honey, don't be rude. Come on in, honeys, what can I getcha?"

[ Lio made his way to the bar, sliding into a seat and feeling just a bit out of his element. He'd... never actually been in a bar like this. It was interesting, to say the least. ]

Wild turkey, on the rocks.

And I'll pay for whatever she's having.

[ "Lesbians", she says! Maybe that's just evidence of how cute her date for the night is. Though Mama's correct in this case...

This really was her chance to order something she'd never had before, and will probably never have again... he was paying, so she could ask for anything, right?

... ]

Kinkuro, please.

[ Maybe next time. ]

[ Lio fortunately didn't know enouch about sochu to know just what she'd ordered. The Mama, of course, only barely chuckled before just nodding and turning to get their drinks ready. Saved by one's ignorance and another's discretion, Totoko. ]

So tell me a bit about yourself. You said you're with the Alliance, right?

[ Phew. He didn't comment on it-- so far, so good. Sighing, she lightly swirls her finger at the counter. ]

Mm. I don't really get it, but it sounds like I'm supposed to just listen in on everyone. Which is fine, but I don't know what's super important right now to listen for. I didn't do anything like this back home, I was just a cute girl trying to make it in the world.

The Alliance, as far as I know, holds their position not through strength or cunning, but just playing good tactics.

[ The Mama, serving their drinks, nods in agreement. ]

"Back when this was a Shuten Bar, we had better protection, but the business wasn't growing. An Alliance officer helped us get into flyers for the local queer community."

[ Lio took his drink, humming as he had a sip. ]

I may be with the Shuten Clan, but even I'll admit our methods are more of a blunt instrument than anything with precision, like that...

Oh, that makes sense! I mean... you could muscle in on other bars to shut them down, but then that'd just cause a lot of problems.

[ Which is truthfully, a tactic she'd have used. Screw them, crush everyone in your way to get your way... but, it wasn't that simple with gangs. Totoko glances down at her drink before taking a sip--

...not bad! ]

Mm, and since this bar's kind of niche... flyers and word of mouth would've been the way to go. The problem with something small's that if no one knows that it's there, then no one'll go to see it, right?

[ ...okay, so that second sip may be a bit longer than the first. ]

[ Yeah, he definitely didn't miss the way she put that... ]

You have experience, with running small businesses?

Hm? Oh, no no, nothing like that... I uh... work in entertainment. I'm an underground idol.

[ Very, very, underground. ]

[ The host, the Mama, and Lio all leaned in at that, curious look on all of their faces. ]

What's an underground idol?

[ Totoko freezes for a second with an "eh?"

...this was way too much power for her to wield. ]

Oh, so... there are idols who are signed to major labels and get to be a part of the corporate idol scene, right? Like, they're put in a band or a unit and have to travel around and everything?

An underground idol is kind of like that, but not signed yet. They're trying to make it by getting noticed! So that's where I am right now, haha...

[ Close, but she doesn't need to bring up the fact that she's... wildly unpopular. ]

"An independent idol, huh?"

[ The mama let out a thoughtful hum, rubbing at their chin. Lio, of course, was completely sincere in what he said next... ]

That must mean you have to work a lot harder, without all of the usual support networks in place...

Yeah... sometimes, way too hard.

[ She goes right ahead and... finishes her glass. Sighing. ]

Actually, recently... I formed a unit with a f... rival of mine. She's a little younger than me, but she's already further ahead than I am. I've been trying to catch up to her for a little bit, but then I wound up here... so, I guess I have to work harder here too.

"Oh honey, don't I know all about that. Here, consider your drink on the house."

[ But not Lio's. He was pretty, but not near pitiful enough. Just his luck, but it was fine. Honestly, he was smiling, giving Totoko a gentle pat on the back. ]

Hey, willingness to work with a rival just shows you're resiliant. You'll do fine here, I'm sure. And you'll catch up to them once your contract's up.

Mm. Thank you.

[ If she can milk it, she will... even if it's closer to the truth than she'd care to admit. The patting was nice though... leading to her to lean on him just slightly. ]

If I can't, I don't know what I'll do. Will I have to work for this Alliance forever?

The Alliance has a lot of music clubs and theatres, right? Maybe you could get work as a performer. That way you won't lose step with what you intend to do back home.

[ That made sense to Lio, at least. In truth, it all seemed so much smaller than what he was facing back home, but he couldn't let himself get stuck on just that. Maybe it was small to him, but it was obvious from Totoko's tone, her posture, that her success as an idol meant the world to her.

At least that's what it seemed like. ]

...Do they even let humans on stage around here?

[ Ah, she bows her head. ]

Sorry, I mean... is it common for humans to be on stage here?

[ Probably shouldn't say "they" as if there weren't youkai in earshot. ]

[ The Mama chuckled, shaking their head. ]

"Honey, trust me, in the Alliance, eve humans have a place. I dated a human, ages back."

[ Huh... Humans besides Lost Souls existed in the city, then? Lio had to admit, he'd largely been assuming things on his part. But since visually not all youkai looked any different from humans, that assumption felt a bit silly on his part, in retrospect... ]

I guess that answers that... in the Shuten Clan, we humans have to work a little harder to get respect...

Hmmm... that doesn't seem fair. Is that because humans aren't as strong as oni? They seem like they really like strong folks.

[ But, that's rare? Totoko could probably punch a demon, but that's more context sensitive than anything. ]

Well, you can have mine. I'm not a bigwig yet... but when I make it big, I'll be sure to remember you!

[ Having started to work a bit, annoyingly not as a high class lounge singer, able to make moves on hot guys whenever she felt like... but at a local grocers. It was what made the most sense for her, not necessarily to her. Well, the Yowais were good at handling fish, after all.

It was a front anyway. Most of the time she spent keeping her eyes peeled and her ears open for any news going on, be it about stardust or anything else that's particularly juicy. In one case though, she had heard a couple talking about the arcade, and how everything seems to have gotten cleaned up.

...ugh, she doesn't like doing this, but given her needing connections and... well, she was nice enough to help her out before, Totoko arrives at the certain izakaya and, ensuring that Jill was working behind the corner, just walked up to the counter and places down a bit of coin. ]

I can't stay too long, so give me a shot.

[ ...along with a slip of paper. ]

Edited 2022-07-22 14:54 (UTC)

[Her again, huh? It's not like she minds, and if their last time speaking showed anything, is that that Jill could have a perfectly normal conversation with her.

Which was nice.]

Coming right up.

[Prepped and served in a matter of moments, which then has her noticing and (discreetly) opening the piece of paper.]

Um...?

[ If her home was any indication, she didn't have an issue with making one spot her go-to. Sure, this was a new city to her and she could do much fancier, but right now, she came to deliver her message!

But first, taking her shot of... well, it didn't matter. ]

Thanks. See you later.

[ Well, that was quick. Granted, anything else she had to say was answered by the note Totoko left.

"Thanks for listening to me. I have a gift for you.

Swing by my place later to grab it and maybe hang out?"

Followed by an address/apartment number. And, a phone number too. It seems pretty self-explanatory, except... Totoko might have messed up a bit. If Jill looks closely, she may be able to see something on the paper sparkling a bit.

She might have. Spilled a small valuable substance onto the paper as she was writing it, but she was sure she cleaned it all up and put it back in a bag? Anyway.

Invitation! ]

[The sparkles catch her eye, though she doesn't think too much of it. Honestly she just figured it was Totoko wanting to embellish something as simple as a note.

She wouldn't have put it past her.

Jill may be the type to prefer heading home right after work, but having this to look forward to wasn't bad every now and again.

Besides, it wasn't that far from her place.]

Hey.

[... She starts off with that. Of course she would.]

Got your note, thanks for the, uh, invitation. I brought some beer with me.

(open) you're the best, i love you the most

(open) substory #2

(open) substory #4 (cw: drug ref?)

(open) totoko's panic [jigokucho edition]

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ember overflow

@ganashara

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(closed) a bit of gratitude [will mmmmmmaybe get nsfw?]

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