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

Welcome to the IC mingle!

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Comments

WHO CAN IT BE NOW

[mechspeed]

[His claws dig into the floor as he pushes himself up, internally frustrated something very embarrassing just happened. At least nobody really paid much attention beyond a passing glance.

..................

Okay looks like one person afforded it more than a passing glance. As Metal spots Donnie, he just stares at him for an uncomfortable amount of time before he breaks his silence.]

It's you again. [Couldn't forget a turtle like that.] Are you chasing that bird?

[semilethal]

The bird? [what] No. [who cares about fkn birds]

You were trying to catch it, I assume? What happened?

[mechspeed]

My functionality is severely limited in this place. My jet is inoperational.

[And it is EXTREMELY frustrating. If Sonic could see him now he'd never live it down.

Maybe he'd lose his super speed too though?

Well, not worth thinking about it for the moment.]

Were I operating at full capacity I could have caught it before it knew what happened.

[semilethal]

Wellllll, I'm something of a mechanical genius. I could take a quick look, see if there's something I can do? [PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE]

[mechspeed]

[It's frustrating. He'd like to hold off on letting anyone get access to his body since, y'know...it's a very personal thing, doubly so for a machine. Especially given self proclaimed mechanical geniuses tend to be the annoying, inquistive type. He'd rather wait until he found someone he was sure wouldn't mess him up, say another member of the Enma.

But...he really does want his jet back god please

So.]

If you do anything you shouldn't, there will be consequences.

[He points a finger as he says it, but given his fingers are clawed it's also like being threatened with a knife! Fun.]

[semilethal]

Of course, of course. However to be clear, you should define what actions fall under "shouldn't." [because like that is subjective and also donnie will just do whatever he wants without any clear guidelines.]

[mechspeed]

Do not break anything.

[Most obvious one, probably.]

Do not toy with anything.

[Kinda vague but it gets the message across.]

You are to inspect my propulsion system for errors that could be mended. That is it.

[semilethal]

Parameters acknowledged, [Donnie twists one of his lenses and gets low to peer right into that turbine like he's not afraid of Metal grabbing the back of his head and shoving his face into the blades,] but I would like to point out that fixing things is how I play, so. Also subjective.

[produces a screwdriver- oh, how nice, he wraps it in a rag so he doesn't accidentally scratch the paint job. conscientious. he pokes a bit at the turbine, turning the blades very slowly, and uses his phone flashlight to illuminate the hollows casing.]

[mechspeed]

[Given the problem isn't a matter of disrepair or (technological) malfunction, his poking around won't really find anything substantial. The turbine spins smooth as butter as it's turned and everything around it is hooked up fine.........at least fine in the completely unorthodox way Metal is built, anyway.

He's fully functional and can do some amazing things for a machine, no doubting Eggman is a genius - but as Tails once said, Eggman tech is really weird, something likely more apparent to someone like Donnie with the skills to appreciate it.]

[semilethal]

[truthfully, you can't put a whole lot of bells and whistles on a turbine so they generally tend to look the same; similar components, similar function. when a visual examination doesn't yield any obvious issues (mechanical failure, debris jamming the mechanisms), donnie sits back on his heels and rubs his chin.]

You were able to engage it, although briefly. [the way the damn thing is set up is so weird though. making the turbine metal's entire torso is bizarre, though oddly inspired. don't need to worry about balance as much that way; all other components can be kept elsewhere, people just assume that bipedal machines need to be organized the same way as bipedal organics. it's awesome and donnie is already taking mental notes.] Is it a power issue? Was the power source interrupted?

[mechspeed]

It turned off abruptly. [Is the easiest way to describe it.] An internal diagnostic found no issues with its power source.

It was simply a case of the engine failing to maintain itself beyond that split second.

[semilethal]

Hm. [disappointing. donnie would have to straight up dismantle sonic to know more, and somehow he thinks that won't go over very well. that's the end of his fun.] Well, it's nothing obvious. I didn't see evidence of wear or tear, no obstructions, and no other obvious reasons for malfunction.

[reluctantly slides his goggles up, putting away that rag and screw driver.] Got anyone else here who handles your more intensive repairs?

[mechspeed]

The majority of the people brought here struggle with the concept of a robot to begin with.

[...is that a little bit of condescension? He doesn't sound all that emotive when he talks but it might just be a brief bit of condescension.

Either way it's a resounding "no".]

The most I have managed to find is a blacksmith who can repair external damage.

[semilethal]

[haha, ZING]

Well, I [flourish, hand proudly upon his chest,] have experience with extremely advanced robotic components. If you run across something that can't be self-repaired, I'd be more than happy to lend a tool or twelve.

[mechspeed]

Are you a member of the Enma?

[Maybe he might have expected this, but Metal really is this kind of person.]

[semilethal]

Enma- oh, that other faction? No, no. [lmao like it's all fake mafia game stuff anyway right]

[mechspeed]

Then you cannot be relied on. Our differing factions may one day put us at odds; I cannot risk growing complacent lest you one day feel the need to sabotage my body.

[Because even as someone convince he's too advanced for a lot of things, sabotaging is something you don't need technical know how to do. In fact, it's probably easier without it, so it isn't a bias against Donnie. It's a bias against everyone.]

[semilethal]

Diff- You'd can me over a faction issue? [donnie you are not hired, tho? cannot be canned if you are not an employee] That stuff is fake.

[mechspeed]

What do you mean fake?

[semilethal]

I mean it's not important? Barely a factor? A group of wannabe mob bosses scoop up kidnapped nobodies and induct them into their super cool youkai gang, and they expect us to all just play along nicely? C'mon. I'm not gonna swear life and limb to some bozos I just met. [besides, he's already a card carrying member of the Mad Dogs. raph would be so hurt if don just went somewhere else, even temporarily]

[mechspeed]

I see. [A pause. Not a beat, it's a pause.] I understand.

[Makes sense. Some people seem to have a lot of reservations about the whole setup and it's not like he doesn't get it.]

But as for me, whether the head of the Enma is acting deceitfully or not, the prospect of the promised contract is too valuable. Just as you would not take the risk given how laughable you find this situation to be, I cannot aford not to take it.

[semilethal]

[radiating only the HEAVIEST doubt, arms folded.] Mm...all right. Not like I kidnap you and...forcibly perform maintenance on you... [kinda sounds like he's seriously considering it] But if you don't have a choice, look me up.

[mechspeed]

I will...

[...........]

...consider it. Unfortunately, I was mostly referring to fellow members of the department when I referred to individuals incapable of grasping robotic life forms. I may have no choice.

Best to leave it to you, given your general indifference to this entire situation.

[semilethal]

If I was any more indifferent, I could be a Yale admissions officer. [HA! because their standards are "money" and "legacy", get it

...he's not laughing] Annnyway, good luck with getting that turbine operational.

1/2

[mechspeed]

[what the fuck is a yale]