September 2022 Mingle!

[jigokumods]

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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

[chevaliered]

[ sometimes you cannot fight the birds. sometimes they must be allowed to shriek Japanese rock into the night. crow will shift slightly to allow more room on the designated perch for kojirou. ]

Maybe not, but singing’s what they do. Impressive that they’ve picked up an actual song instead of just the usual cooing and chirping but…

[ he shrugs, watching as another magpie flutters down to join its friends in their song. it’s really quite loud now. and maybe getting a little grating. ]

I can’t mimic a bird’s song, so they’re one up on me.

[hiryugaeshi]

[ Nature must be allowed to run its course sometimes. A wise man builds a house that can resist storms, a smart man knows not to do it while the storm is raging. Kojirou already tried to convince them to sing a different song, but this is the one they like, so he's mostly given up. ]

I think I prefer the usual birdcalls. They are, if nothing else, sincere.

[ Even if it's sincerely saying "yo u wan sum fuk?" to other single birds in the area. You can put some real feeling into that. In fact, one might argue it's the single most popular genre of song across all cultures. ]

You might not be able to hit the same notes as a bird, but I'm sure there's a song that fits you better.

[ A different way to ask if u wan sum fuk. ]

[chevaliered]

[ the birds have spoken. or sung, in this case. there is only the billing and cooing of heavy metal now. ]

If it's what you're more used to, then yeah. Maybe we just need several hundred more hours of incessant birdcalling to get used to it.

[ crow just leans to look at the little bird chorus as they yell and flap their wings. rock and rollin'. ]

Backing guitar, maybe. But singing miiiight not be my forté. Not like that at least.

[hiryugaeshi]

Haha, that might be a bit much.

[ Metal isn't really to his tastes in the first place, and even if it were it's probably best in small bursts. ]

Perhaps we should at least take away their instruments?

[ The song might be somewhat easier on the ears if it were acapella. Who is even making guitar that can be played by tiny magpie wings? They are both clearly a master and in possession of too much time.

Kojirou can respect that. ]

[chevaliered]

We could twine their beaks shut. That might work too.

[ it’s not to the point of driving him up the wall yet, buuuut. improvements could be made. ]

[hiryugaeshi]

That's a rather delicate surgery to do on that many birds, but perhaps if we gummed them shut mochi we might get some reprieve for an hour or two?

[ No need to catch them all one by one and string their mouths together when you can get them to volunteer to each a bunch of sticky food.

Actually that seems like a pretty good idea to Kojirou. ]

[chevaliered]

And how're you gonna gum their beaks shut?

[ it does actually make more sense but ... also... where would they find something to gum this many crow's beaks shut with in the first place? ]

I made so many typos and dropped so many words I'm dying

[hiryugaeshi]

I was considering some particularly sticky food. Extra glutinous mochi, or perhaps some peanut butter? In the worst case we could simply find somebody who knows magic and enchant it.

[ Oh no, he's attached to the plan now. ]

sometimes words are the worst

[chevaliered]

There are people around here than have beak gumming spells?

[ no ]

... I'm trying to think of a peanut butter than's ever been that tacky, and I'm coming up short.

[hiryugaeshi]

I am not a mage, but the ones I did know would not have much a problem reinforcing particular attributes of an object.

[ Could Medea turn peanut butter into the consistency of quick drying cement? Kojirou says yes. But as far as he knows Medea isn't here, so... ]

But if magic is out of the question, then a particularly sticky dessert should at least keep them busy for a while.

[chevaliered]

Huh. Like manipulation of an object or something?

[ ... hmmm. ]

Any suggestions? Toffee or something?

[hiryugaeshi]

I was thinking glutinous rice, but of course a sticky candy would also work. It depends on what these magpies are hungry for.

[ And what's available, and if it even works. ]