jigokulogs | March 2022 IC Mingle

1. WELCOMING COMMITTEE

cw: optional aphro in Tamamo Clan prompt

The influx of Lost Souls means the factions need to have a little welcoming party of sorts. The leaders of each faction each send a message to their new recruits, telling them to meet at their respective headquarters.

The Shuten Clan directs their new recruits to the Arena. There’s plenty of food and booze to go along with the exhibition matches from the toughest fighters they’ve got. Enjoy the view or get involved in an arena fight, if you’re feeling spicy. If bloodsport isn’t your cup of tea, there’s a number of gambling games to partake in, too – don’t worry, your money isn’t at stake here, unless you want it to be.

The Tamamo Clan recruits are sent to the brothel Mizukume. Hosts of all sorts are there to fill your every need. If you’re not one to be doted on, there’s also exotic dancers in every state of undress for you to look at. You may be tasked with being a host or a dancer yourself. If you’re not in the mood for that, there’s plenty of food from Tamamo-controlled restaurants to eat and seemingly endless drinks. The drinks may or may not have a little something extra in them, so check the labels carefully.

The Sutoku Alliance meets at the nightclub Konoha. It’s truly a celebration with an enormous amount of fast food from every joint in their district and an equal amount of cheap drinks. Sing your heart out with live band karaoke – don’t worry about them not knowing your song, they seem to have a depth of knowledge beyond this world. Once that settles down, there’s plenty of dancing to do or you can be a wallflower, whatever suits your mood.

The Department of the Enma meets at a meeting room on the top floor of Kaigo no Bou. The room is uncomfortably opulent and wouldn’t be out of place in a Heian imperial court. Fine silk tapestries cover the walls, richly lacquered wood is inlaid with gold, and it all feels like it was decorated by someone with more money than taste. There’s fine food and even finer drink available. Various multi-armed youkai play in a jazz band, playing their instruments in a much more complicated manner than strictly necessary. Stretch your legs and dance. Take a peek out the window for a bird’s eye view of the city. If the interior is too stuffy for you, escape to the roof for some fresh air – just be careful not to fall off.

2. PARTY TIME

CW: optional aphro

After everyone’s had their fill of food, drink, and entertainment: the party isn’t over. They’re told to make their way to Konoha with the instruction to show their faction’s pride. That’s a careful way to tell them to raise hell. Upon arrival, all recruits are provided with an advance on their pay by The Enma. Food is provided by the Shuten Clan, a variety of all sorts of meaty foods. Drinks are provided by the Tamamo Clan, but be wary because some may have that special Tamamo kick to them (read: aphro). It’s technically a neutral meeting place, but there’s almost certain to be a fight sooner or later. Entertain yourself, meet the other factions, and raise some Hell.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He raises his eyebrows at her, then closes his eyes. Something shifts. He presses a hand to his heart dramatically, and when he opens his eyes it's as if he's brought the full energy of a cheesy romance movie actor to the forefront purely because she suggested he not do that. Voice hearty and earnest, he says]

Well, I owe it to everyone here to show them who they're working with, don't I? If we're going to be colleagues from now on. [And then he smiles and whatever it was just. stops. and he goes back to being a normal human being again.] We are at a work function, after all.

[ Azem's brows go up before letting out a laugh and clapping. ] That was quite the performance!

[ The idea of a work function doesn't really exist in Azem's mind. Such things back home were typically rather dull affairs that still somehow involved working. The endless talk of Concepts and laws. There was never any escaping it. It was never anything as grand or raucous as this. ] Are you an actor where you're from?

Haha, I am, actually! My latest film was just released in theaters, so if you get a chance, please support us if you can!

[He lets that sit for half a second before granting] ...Or at least, that's what I would normally say. Somehow I'm starting to suspect that most people here will see me act in something entirely different, rather than watching my detective romance film.

Film? [ She blinks cluelessly at him. ]

A detective romance, hmm? I'm not sure what that is but it sounds neat!

Ah, sorry. [Right, the eyes. He should have guessed.] Like a recorded play, I suppose. The audience is presented with a mystery, and I solve it for them over the course of the story.

A recorded play? How interesting. [ What would the people back home think of such a thing? ]

Ah, I do love a good mystery.

I won't spoil it for you! I promise if there's ever a chance to see it, you'll be the first person I tell.

[...he says, with full awareness that he doesn't know who he's talking to at all.]

I'm Natori, by the way.

I look forward to the chance, then.

[ She smiles at that. ]

Ah, you may call me Azem. It is a pleasure to meet you, Natori.

You too. [He can't help but notice the phrasing-- "you can call me." That's the sort of situation he's used to when working with youkai; never using the youkai's true name, but creating a contract based on a pseudonym instead. He wonders idly if the clans let their members get away with that here, and figures if everything else he's seen is any indication, the answer is probably no.

Not that he knows for sure that the same rules he's used to back home still apply here. A lot of things work differently.] Are you used to... this sort of mixed company? Humans and ayakashi together. You don't seem to be finding it strange.

[ She doesn't know how it comes off when she says it that way. He's not wrong. It's not her name, it's merely a title that she technically has no right to anymore. But no one here knows that. But it is was once as good as being her name back home as that was what she was known by the public. All records of who a Convocation member is prior to joining is essentially made useless. Only those that knew them before (or those they choose to tell) know their true name. ]

Not at all. [ She laughs. ] Back home it's mankind and our creations, familiar or other creatures. But I have ever been one to go with the flow, as they say.

Ah, I see. ["Our" creations?] Your creations being... like shiki? Spirit familiars?

I'm not sure what shiki is. But our familiars are a bit more than just spirits.

[ She hums thoughtfully for a moment on how to best explain how her society just creates things for the sake of improving the world. Or, in her case, simply because she wanted to. ]

Where I'm from, everyone is capable of creation magicks. From something as small and simple as a child's toy to something more complicated like a living breathing creature.

We have a system in place when it comes to creating creatures. They must go through rigorous testing and be approved by the Bureau of the Architect before we can simply allow them into the wider world. We need to ensure they won't wreak havoc on the environment among other things, first.

Oh. [Wow. Very different from what he was picturing.] So you can all create living things, and then... they're approved by someone to... join the rest of the world?

[Where he's from, trying to create a soul is a forbidden technique; one that more often than not needs to be shut down without mercy by the exorcist community whenever they find someone responsible. But what she's describing sounds like... if not the opposite, a much more institutionalized version of that, with the oversight to prevent the sort of destruction that he'd expect.]

What do you do with the ones that aren't approved? [He doesn't say it judgmentally; he's assuming the answer is 'destroy it,' like it would be back home. It's the only way he can think to make sense of it.]

Yup. [ She bobs her head in a nod.

She never mentioned anything about a soul. Creating something with a soul is very rare. ]

They're unmade and their aether returns to the star. [ Said very matter-of-factly. ] From there the concept is reworked and tried again in hopes that whatever problem occurred does not occur again. Though I suppose some concepts merely aren't meant to exist.

[ A pause before she adds in an amused tone, ] Like sharks with six arms.

March 2022 IC Mingle

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