September 2022 Mingle!

[jigokumods]

MAIN NAVIGATION


The influx of fresh Lost Souls means the factions need to have a little welcoming party for them. 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.

Shuten - WEENIES ON PARADE

Shuten Clan newbies will be summoned to the Arena, which has been set up with a very different kind of fight than usual. The members of the Shuten Clan do nothing by half-measures. Partying, drinking, and eating are all encouraged to excess. This time they're inviting new recruits to test their mettle in various eating contests. You'll need nerves of steel and a stomach of iron to succeed. Hot dogs, marshmallows, pizza, lobster rolls, breakfast cereals, rice, and more are all on offer.

See how much you can eat and try not to get sick! Competitive eating is a messy, disgusting affair, regardless of the emergency buckets stationed strategically throughout the building.

If you're feeling especially ballsy, you can take on the biggest onis and other youkai by teaming up with your fellow Shutens. They're all confident enough to take that bet.

Glory, prize money, and antacids to the winners. Shame to the losers – they'll be run through town in weenie costumes.

Better eat up 🙂

Tamamo - ALL NIGHT LONG

The newest Tamamo recruits are summoned to a local gymnasium. Strangely, rather than sports equipment laid out on the court, there are a number of light futons, blankets, and pillows. Everyone will be sorted into one of two yukata patterns – one purple and one blue – and sent to their respective sides of the court to lie down in bed and pull up the covers.

It is then that the referee will explain the rules of competitive pillow fighting. When the whistle blows, jump up and grab one of the authorized pillows at the center of the court. It's a game much like dodgeball, but the goal is to hit the opposing team's king with a pillow from your half of the court. Team members use blankets and sometimes their bodies to protect their king.

There will be a few rounds, and you can rotate who is king at your discretion. Protect them with your life! Or whatever. Star players will receive a bonus and a coupon to one of the best Tamamo spas.

When the competitive stuff is done, the sleepover proper will begin. There will be liquor, sodas, and light snacks for everyone while movies are projected onto a screen late into the morning. The movies range from classic dramas and romances to outrageous yokai comedies.

Sutoku - GROSSERY GANG

The Alliance has found themselves in the possession of an entire truckload's worth of reject children's toys. Ever the opportunist, the Daitengu has assigned the project of inventorying and trashing the particularly offensive ones to the new guys.

Of course, you're expected to play with a few of them as well. Maybe one of them is decently fun, and they could sell the rest, you know? Many of these toys are gross out bathroom humor in nature, and spit water randomly at anyone who loses their round. The Daitengu has thoughtfully provided a selection of alcohol to make this game a little more adult friendly. Toys that lack the appropriate spitting mechanism can still be played over shots, really, go nuts.

While you 'work', there will be plenty of motivating music piped into the warehouse. The sound quality is not great, but they tried?

Everyone who sorts through a decent amount of toys will get a little extra pay, although who is really paying that much attention to who's doing what here?

Credit where it's due: We turned kids toys into drinking games

Enma - BREAKING THE ICE

Welcome to the Department of the Enma. New Lost Soul recruits will be summoned to a large conference room in Kaigo no Bou, which has been outfitted with a variety of buffet table offerings and tables which seat between 5 - 6 people comfortably. You are invited to fill your plates at your discretion, the craft services people are used to feeding bottomless yokai stomachs and the food will not run out.

Clipboards with a variety of icebreaker questions have been provided at each table. The pens have assuredly been firmly affixed to the clipboard. Please return them together.

Every 30 minutes Captain Shiki will blow her whistle to signal that you are to migrate to another table with fresh companions. You are, indeed, being forced to get to know your coworkers, lucky you. This isn't tedious at all.

Pick a few of the questions below to answer, and get chatting. Or Captain Shiki may come over to stare at you with intense disapproval. You can't get away with just zoning out to that sweet smooth jazz playing overhead!

1. If you had a time machine that would work only once, what point in the future or in history would you visit? 2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? 3. If your house was burning down, what three objects would you try and save? 4. If you could talk to any one person now dead or alive, who would it be and why? 5. If you HAD to give up one of your senses (hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, tasting) which would it be and why? 6. If you were an animal, what would you be and why? 7. Do you have a pet? If not, what sort of pet would you like? 8. Name a gift you will never forget? 9. Name one thing you really like about yourself. 10. What's your favorite thing to do in the summer? 11. Who's your favorite cartoon character, and why? 12. Does your name have a special meaning and/or were you named after someone special? 13. What is the hardest thing you have ever done? 14. If you are at a friend's or relative's house for dinner and you find a dead insect in your salad, what would you do? 15. What was the best thing that happened to you this past week? 16. If you had this week over again, what would you do differently? 17. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about 'God'? 18. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? 19. If you could change one problem in the world today, what would you like to change? 20. What book, movie or video have you seen/read recently you would recommend? Why?

All Factions - THE GIFT OF SONG

Did you all enjoy having some of your wishes granted? Well, so did a flock of those annoying magpie! They asked for the gift of music. These feathered nuisances, however, have fallen in love with an old school metal band. That is all they will be singing for the foreseeable future! Different members of the flock have taken up different instrumentals and vocals for the track, spread out across electrical wires and rooftops, singing their favorite rockin' tune to the skies!

Lost Souls have been asked to please catch them and get them to knock it off, they are truly annoying everyone, across all factions.

Should you catch these musical magpies, and not one of the other clans, they will tell you their sorry tale! They love this band, but the group broke up years ago. All the magpie want is for their favorite old dudes to be reunited to jam with them, one more time!

The old dudes are out there in the city, but who knows why they broke up and if they can even be convinced out of retirement. Good luck, if you succeed your boss will give you a favorable bonus, which would be a great boon to a newbie just getting settled.

In the meantime:

Shabadabadia
Shabadabadia
Babababa
Babababa
Babababa

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Comments

nazuna nanakusa | call of the night | tamamo

[nightcalling]

bene[a]th the sheets
[all night long]

[ well... it's not like she didn't expect this. she just sort of figured it wouldn't be a sponsored thing in front of everyone else. this place really takes the red light thing seriously, huh?

well, whatever. she heads to the futon closest to the center, lying down and pulling the covers up. she kicks one leg up, of course - no sense in doing this without showing off a little!

and then a referee starts to explain the rules, and nazuna realizes that this is something very different than she expected. ]

Eh? Wait, for real?

[ the whistle blows. the time to think is over; the time to fight has begun. and yet nazuna doesn't rush, standing leisurely and hoisting one pillow over her shoulder. just how much weaker is she like this...?

welp. time to find out. heads up, blue, you're getting a pillow hurled at you with roughly the strength of a grown-ass man behind it. she's not even bothering to aim for the king. good job, nazuna. you did it. ]

[b]ad romance
[all night long]

[ the sleepover's been a crazy hit. movies, liquor, snacks - it's all you could ask for. a sit-in experience for everyone to share.

and then there's nazuna, sitting on a futon with unspeakable hatred in her eyes. one eyelid is twitching; her jaw is set. her claws are dug into the ground near her, tearing straight through the futon and only barely stopping before the gym floor. even the empty beer mug next to her, thrice refilled, isn't enough to get her through her worst nightmare:

a romantic movie. a sweet romantic movie, with kindness and caring and tender love throughout. ]

Hey. [ she sounds like she's considering murder. possibly the person next to her. possibly you. possibly herself. ] Do people really watch this shit?

[ there's a prominent vein beginning to pulse in her neck. she might have a heart attack. ]

kara[c]rowke bar
[the gift of song]

[ okay. look. she needs to be helping these little guys out. she knows that. everyone's pissed, and they've been doing this for hours, and they're showing absolutely no signs of stopping. she's even managed to talk to a crow, so she knows exactly what she needs to do!

which is... precisely what she is not doing right now. instead, she's perched on a lamppost, singing right back at the crows with her hands around her mouth. ]

Shabadabadia!! Shabadabadia!!

[ well. at least her voice isn't half bad? ]

B

[reifies]

[ Oh lord, if looks could kill people, Sen would say Nazuna is well on her way there. He's not familiar with movies himself, but he can answer one thing. ]

I mean... we are, aren't we?

[ Do they suddenly not count as people. ]

[nightcalling]

Are we?

[ nazuna turns to stare sen directly in the eye. that look of concentrated pain, of a distilled agony, is entirely set to bear on him. ]

Because what I've been doing for the last forty minutes is clenching my face muscles and hoping for an early aneurysm.

[ this is torture, man. finally, she understands why people would call this place hell. ]

[reifies]

[ Sen doesn't know what an aneurysm is, but it sounds like she wants to knock herself out. Yeah, that's it. ]

Is that why you're looking scary right now?

[ He holds out a small chocolate bar, reminiscent of a snickers. Grab a snickers, Nazuna. ]

[nightcalling]

How could you tell?

[ the words are strained and rough. making it through this... it's a tough one. she doesn't have earplugs, so even if she looks away the sound will just filter in. the oohs and ahs... the sweet talk... the miscommunications that resolve themselves when the main characters learn to simply trust one another.

god. she's starting to shake in place. she reaches forward, snatching the bar from sen's hand and immediately unwrapping and dumping it whole into her mouth.

at least she has something to chew on now. she's not herself when she's hungry, after all. ]

B

[hiryugaeshi]

[ Kojirou wasn't actually particularly enjoying the movie either, but he also wasn't having a conniption. Servant Assassin had, until now, been content to simply ignore the screen, swapping between meditation, people watching, and simply enjoying the array of snacks before him.

So it's not like he's surprised at Nazuna losing it, he simply hadn't bothered to call attention to it. ]

Evidently. This is not my idea of romance, but it seems the others are enjoying the tawdry affair.

[ Kojirou flicks a piece of dried squid at Nazuna's mouth, as though to suggest that she should shut up and let others enjoy themselves, although he's not particularly hopeful about that happening. ]

[nightcalling]

This ain't just tawdry, man. It's torture. That's Hell we're walking into.

[ that line's a little less impactful when they're literally in hell already, but. y'know. details. the dried squid hits her mouth; slowly, with painstaking movements, she reaches up and pops it into her mouth.

look. she's trying not to make a bad impression. but it's kind of hard when a load of kryptonite's just been dropped on your head like an anvil. ]

How much longer you think we've got in this one?

[hiryugaeshi]

[ Kojirou glances at the screen, then at the clock on the wall. ]

This movie has been going on for about half an hour, so probably another hour or so.

[ However much hell she has endured, here's to twice as much. ]

But if it offends your sensibilities that much, have you tried doing something else?

[nightcalling]

An hour?

[ head in her hands, she flops over onto her futon, howling in agony. or rather, very gently hissing. listen. she might be a dumb asshole, but she's not going to ruin a movie for everyone else... on her first week in the faction, at least. ]

It's inescapable. [ her voice is hollow. haunted. this is the voice of a woman who has seen true misery. ] Snackies won't make it go away. Drinkies won't make it go away. Killing the projector guy...

[ slowly, nazuna's head swivels. she stares directly up at the box the movies are being projected from, and she thinks real fucking hard. finally, a palpable few seconds later, she sighs heavily. ]

...is probably not cool. [ she turns back to kojirou, not bothering to push herself back up to a sitting position. ] What other options are there?

c

[fibrillate]

[leviathan looks up when they hear not just an ostensibly human voice but a voice familiar enough to them to realize that it's not a human. they're walking around with a tightly-meshed net same as they did last time there was a magpie attack, but this time they've taken care not to have any shiny things on them. that means they've left their casual jacket at home with their belt, so they have a bit more of an obvious shape to their body this time in a lighter and slightly clingier black shirt and jeans with dull studs. but it would be impossible to mistake those glasses, that hair, those eyes for anyone else, they would think.]

Are you trying to communicate with them? [at least they sound amused.] Because we do have a job to do, Nazuna.

[nightcalling]

[ well, if it isn't her favorite deep sea creature in hell! nazuna waves down enthusiastically, not even swaying a little from her impromptu perch. it's... kind of impressive how unshakeable her balance appears to be, honestly. ]

Huh? No way, person, this is just some impromptu karaoke. [ she mimics the guitar line for a second. a magpie cheerfully mimics it in sync with her. ] See? These little guys know what's up!

[ she finishes the riff, laughing and giving the magpies a thumbs-up. BABA-BA-BAAA, one yells back at her. this is amazing. she adores this. she hops down, landing a few feet away from leviathan on all fours and dusting herself off. looks like she's coming along with you, levi. ]

Hey, Leviathan, can I ask a question? [ and then, with hardly any hesitation- ] You're not a girl, yeah? I get that. So does that make it weird if I say your tits are lookin' good?

[fibrillate]

[so much happens all at once. levi is honestly pretty impressed that nazuna is making so many good friends, even if they are... birds. but what else should they be expecting? besides. it's a good little tune. they wait for nazuna to land, looking a little like a beast all her own, and close the distance between the two of them—which is when the question hits.]

[they stop in their tracks, and a smile cracks their lips.]

It's not just women who have breasts, Nazuna. [they twist their mouth a little; it feels too formal to say it like that. under their breath, they try,] Boobs? [and then shake their head. it doesn't matter that much.] Anyway, thank you. I think if you'd asked me a week ago, it might have landed a little differently, but... let's say some things have changed. For the better.

[nightcalling]

Honkers! [ oh, christ, levi. you've got her started. ] Bazongas!!

[ but that's just a stupid joke for a friend. she snickers under her breath, wiping her hands off on her coat before straightening up. ]

Hoooh? Decided to join the night after all, huh? [ and then, a moment later- ] -wait, I'm not gonna turn you! Even if you ask nicely, okay?!

b

[nmc0204]

[ If it's any consolation, Nazuna's not the only one who appears to be in real, physical pain over... well, all this. Ryoko's sort of puddled herself under a futon with a pillow to prop her up, shamefully worn out from the evening's activities so far considering it was a pillow fight and nothing more. But she's got a look on her face like she's just got a whiff of a bad smell that just gets more and more pronounced as the movie drags on. ]

Apparently. [ She's polite enough to keep her complaints to a murmur, at least. ] I know romance movies are popular but I really can't stand these sorts of stories.

[nightcalling]

It's all anyone ever talks about. What's up with that? Don't they have anything more fun to be doing than talking about this lovey-dovey crap?

[ congratulations, ryoko: nazuna might still make fun of you, but you're definitely cemented as one of the few people in this place with taste. ]

...glad some humans don't put up with this garbage, at least.

[nmc0204]

[ She gives a little huff. ]

I just don't see the point. Having to endure somebody's relationship drama is bad enough in real life. I can't imagine going out of your way to watch a movie about it.

[ That's her excuse, anyway. Literally nobody – least of all Nazuna – needs to hear exactly why her stomach is curdling right now. ]

It's just unfortunate for us that we seem to have dumped in with a group of people who have nothing else on their minds.

[nightcalling]

Right? Right?! You get it, girl! [ she fumbles around at her side, grabbing the bottle of beer that still has a bit left and pounding it back before continuing. ] It's always love talk this, love talk that! Isn't that kind of a private thing!? Why should I have to say any of this? They're not- they're not my parents!

[ sorry, ryoko. nazuna is a bit drunk, and a LOT bitter about things at home. it's fine. don't worry about that. ]

These guys, the Tamomomo, they're- they're fine! Tamamo's not the problem! I don't care if they want to get their freak on, or get frisky in a bathtub! But if they're gonna put this- this mushy stuff, they should at least warn the audience!

[ your priorities are completely fucked, nazuna. ]

c

[neonleon]

[Leonardo's not really thought much about the birds if he's honest. If they wanna sing and have ...whatever it is they're needing to have, why should he stop that?

But he hears a somewhat familiar voice and ninjas himself over. Incredibly quiet as always until he's not.]

Nice voice. Could make a good lead in a band.

[nightcalling]

Hm?

[ a part of her's taken by surprise. usually, people don't approach without her noticing. then again, she was just singing her heart out - and besides, it's not like she's usually on the lookout for turtles. ]

Hey, look who it is. The guy from the bar, right? [ she calls back out to the ravens one more time, mimicking a guitar riff with her mouth - a guitar riff the magpies are all too happy to hear, given the way they parrot the vocals back. she hops down, landing a few meters away from leo on all fours before straightening up. ] Yo! How's life treating you?

[neonleon]

[He's crouching almost slav-squat style, elbows on his knees as he watches her.]

Oh, y'know. Getting to know the people and places around me, found a great sewer, my brother's hanging around somewhere. The usual.

[He sounds almost encouraging:] Sounds like you got some backup singers though, eehh?

[nightcalling]

Oh, same here. Mostly. [ a beat. ] Wait, why the sewer?

[ but it's not that important. they can talk about her backup singers all they want! ]

Right?! They're pretty cool, yeah? They sing the fun stuff, too! [ she pauses for a moment, looking back up to the magpies. ] Ah, hey, since you're here - do you know the band? These guys are all looking for them.

c

[socute]

[ After her first month, she's realized she hates birds. She might not be the cat themed idol here, but she's going to eat the next one she sees. Which, okay, is an empty threat. Crows probably taste awful.

She's not going to find those old bastards, especially while the birds are pissing her off. There's an exceedingly loud bird up on the lamppost here that's--

...

Oh for fucks sake-- ]

Shut the fuck up!

[ Aaaand, she kicks the lamppost. ]

[nightcalling]

BABA-BAA-BAAAA!

[ her senses might not be truly supernatural - especially not in this strange new world they call hell. but even so, she can still hear totoko's mighty roar, still feel the truly tremendous kick that vibrates up the lamppost, shaking her little perch bit by tiny bit. she looks down quizzically, trying to find just who would throw such a petty little useless fit-

oh, of course! that makes sense. ]

Whassup, Totoko-chan? [ she calls back down with a loud and proud grin. ] Aren't these little dudes the coolest?

[socute]

[ Nazuna's so obnoxious. Totoko huffs, folding her arms... all of her fits are useless and petty, but that's just part of her charm. ]

Hmph! If my boss didn't like them so much, I'd bake them into a pie. [ Which gets one flying right onto her head, and nestling right back into the top of her hair. ] What do you think you're doing? Don't encourage them!

[nightcalling]

A pie, huh? That sounds like a pretty bad idea, but...

[ she watches the magpie divebomb totoko without intervening. hey, not her problem. totoko's the one running her mouth. ]

Huh? I'm just singing along with them. They're pretty sweet when you get to know them, y'know? [ she points to a seemingly random magpie. ] Like... Take Abe-chan over here. She told me the story of why they're all singing in the first place. And Hakaku showed me the photo of the band. It's a real sad story, you know? Makes you wanna sing a requiem, or something.

[ that's a lie. she is ENTIRELY doing this because she feels like it. ]