jigokucho | text | UN: meirenyu

In my experience, whether someone actually has the nature to commit an act or not matters much less than how much their enemies dislike them, when it comes to an accusation.

In a few more weeks we’ll find out if such mysteries are an exception or the rule.

What is “supposed to be” happening just isn’t in reality, it seems.

Causing a fuss is the last thing you want to do, but you are still willing to do it if you run out of other options, right?

Yeah!

I mean- I won't be doing it because I like the idea of being rude to people and stuff. I'm not cool with stepping on toes and all - especially if we're new and we're supposed to make a nice impression on everyone and all - but the parade is important to everyone who lives here in the city. A lot are going to be part of it or partake in it.

We have to make sure it goes off without a hitch and no funny stuff happens. >:T It's my job especially as part of the Enma group!! [ he seems to be taking his role seriously enough. maybe. he's at least earnest. ]

Of course. Reasons are reasons and actions are actions. I trust that you'll be acting in good faith since you do seem like a good person.

[That's not a lie! Even though he's pretending to come to this conclusion now, since he doesn't want to reveal that he's already acquainted with Daylight. Anonymity and all.]

I say this because um, you might have to. If there was peaceful a way to convince the kappa to be forthcoming, someone would've found it by now, and no one has. It's kind of worrying.

Nope, I'm in Shuten like the rest of the bad boys.

[Honestly, he's meant more people in Shuten than anything else. It seems easier to run into guys from that clan rather than the others. However, he has met a few of the Tamamo guys and gals as well.]

So not even the Enma folks can get a sneak peek behind the barricade? Talk about interesting. It's starting to sound like my hunch is panning out.

[He still needs more evidence but so far so good.]

Who knows really? There's a whole big culture out there that we haven't begun to comprehend.

[Thank the heavens they finally have someone knowledgable in the discussion!]

Right, I see. That makes a lot of sense.

Is there any way we can find out if there’s a curse for sure? Can you sense it, or is there a physical source that could be found?

I guess we've just got to wait and see on both counts, don't we?

At any rate, I appreciate you opening the topic up. Maybe someone will have something interesting to share after all.

[In the wise words of the sages：我的中文太差了，请假装这里有一个合适的熟语。

Or in the words of his father- why bother with someone who hasn’t proven that they’re a worthy investment? He wasn’t going to get any proof of value waffling around on the network. Might as well half-ass something and see what Mr. Black Sheep brings to the table. They’re agreed on one point, at the very least: if it all falls through, it’s no big loss.

Yizhi bows his head politely at the other man’s approach.]

Yes- a nice meal and an admirable view of the river, I can almost forget this is Hell! [It’s a repeat of the phrasing he’d used in text- I'll go admire the river.] Someone mentioned cucumbers to me the other day and I had a craving for it.

So what brings you here, sir?

(ooc: the "chinese proverb" reads Listen, my Chinese is Not Great, please just pretend this is a cool proverb/idiom because all the ones I know are probably at the 5-yo reading level)

(ooc: no worries, my Chinese is far below 5-yo level, i just have a dictionary and am not afraid to abuse it for any and all puns, whether they work or not ー(￣～￣)ξ this is my only motivation for learning languages)

[That's close enough to convince Dazai he's probably got the right man, and clumsy enough that he's not too worried about this being a trap of some sort. (Not that there's any reason to assume a trap anyway, but you never know.)]

Just exploring the neighborhood a little. Nothing baaaad, I promise~

[~~OMG somebody stop him, please...~~ Why yes, that was a hint at his username, after a mention of their plans. Such a subtle hint, too. Truly, he is every bit the tactical genius people keep saying he is. (Listen, it's hard to keep life interesting when you're intelligent! Sometimes you need to dumb it up on purpose.)

Dazai takes a seat next to Yizhi, because standing around is only going to attract more attention.]

Cucumbers are indeed a fine food. They're a particular kappa favorite, you know.

[Clearly not, otherwise Yizhi wouldn't be eating their bribe, but it's worth dropping that hint that Dazai is indeed the person from the network, as well as (somewhat belatedly) pointing out why he mentioned cucumbers in the first place. For what it's worth: Dazai doesn't seem too worried about the (temporary) failure of their plan. He's just lounging around, looking out over the river.]

Huh! Not even others like us who are part of the group the Kappa are in? I know that the kappa must be in a group or faction. :? [ it seems to be the case for everyone in this city, part of or affiliated with a core group of factions. which day doesn't mind - it's something he saw back on the lornful light, after all.

but what has him worried is increasingly apparent divide/lines the groups have with each other. he wonders if this could be considered a nicer way of icing them from something or hiding things from them now. ]

Either way- Yeah! I'll do what I can to get a peek in or at least some more information from them besides, 'Scram, you're not allowed here.' They have to give us something to work if they're going to ask this much from us. >:T

I definitely haven't tried sneaking in. There's no way they wouldn't notice me trying to scuttle around their area. [ the curses of still being noticeably bigger than others in the city. and being robotic and very, very shiny with red and gold coloring.

(seriously, genetics, why did you do this to him?) ]

At least we're in this together at least! :P Glad to know I'm not the only one who isn't allowed in the Cool Kappas Club and it's probably a case of the culture that you mentioned. Hopefully we can learn more of it while we're here and not have this be a regular thing. It'll seriously be a bother for my job.

Oh! I didn't introduce myself, right? I'm Daylight vis Lornlit. Call my Day! :D

[If there's one thing Dante knows, it's demons. Yokai might be a different kind of a demon but it's still a demon.]

That depends on the curse. Your "Average Joe" isn't going to notice there's something dark and nasty in the corner there.

I'll admit that I'm not exactly human myself, so spotting them might be easier for me.

I could give it a shot but something tells me I won't fair much better.

[He's not even half as massive as this walking tank over here but without all his abilities right now, Dante might not be able to get past the security. Not easily, at least.]

Daylight, huh? That sounds more like an alias than a name but I'm not one to judge.

The name's Dante and I, for one, am glad to not be in the Cool Kappas Club. Have you heard the folktales about those monsters? They like to dig in people's asses, literally.

[ day was going to explain that, yes, it is his real name but the last bit of dante's message gets his notice because.

what. ]

What. [ seriously. what. ]

You've got to be making that up, right? Right? There's no way they'd do that. Why? How? What's the point of wanting to be up someone's butt? [ literally. this is sending day reeling a little bit. just a little bit. ]

[It's a good thing Day can't hear him laughing. Dante is chuckling his ass off right now. It seems no one told the big guy about those nasty wannabe sea turtles.]

If I'm lying, I'm crying and so far I don't have any tears.

Just ask the locals! The kappa are known to be the bonafide "ass lovers" of the yokai world. Don't ask why, though. I'm not sure I want to go down that rabbit hole.

There's also rumors about kappa being the spirits of discarded babies, so who knows what they are.

Everyone is going to be there. If they want to make a statement, that is a good time to do it.

Why would they want to do that, though? What would they gain from their statement after hecking off everyone else?

[ it's not that day finds it impossible to believe their motivation could be sending a message- he already experienced that back on the lornful light, his very first big adventure.

he just wanders what could the statement be, to make this sort of high-risk action they're possibly taking worth it. ] I guess you're not in with the Kappa too, huh?

Any plans to try?

[Yizhi also sends a second question, this time as a private message:]

On another topic: you’re from Shuten? I’m looking for an escort through that territory. I’ve got a face people like beating up. Would you be interested in anything from Tamamo that I can hook you up with as a trade?

It wasn't much trouble. I had the same question as you... though I doubt anyone has the answer at this point.

See you around in a couple of weeks when this thing blows up, maybe.

Edited 2022-03-19 08:22 (UTC)

(ooc: HAHA you’re braver than i am, to pun in a foreign language. i’m happy to say it worked on someone who speaks chinese as a second language! *emphasis on speak, i’m basically illiterate…)

[Dude WHAT is coming out of your mouth right now, mister

Yizhi just stares, furrowing his brows slightly. The subtle hint at Dazai’s username is mostly lost in the flamboyance of its delivery. But he doesn’t really care if this isn’t the “right” guy, because co-conspirators at this point are all interchangeable. He’s already decided to work with whoever talks him up first, as long as the person seems reliable. Which… this man’s reliability is a bit suspect. Hopefully it will improve with time.

Dazai is interesting, Yizhi’ll give him that.]

Do you think if we got some from the markets we could loosen their tongues?

[He nods in the direction of the kappa barricade. Might as well start talking business and see what they come up with.]

Probably. That is if I can escape the guys long enough to try.

[Dante made a bit too much of a splash since he arrived here. To tell the truth, he has plenty of OPPS watching him right now, some of which are from his clan. Let's just say the yokai don't like the thought of a bonafide "devil hunter" being here. He has more enemies than allies right now.]

That I am and I wouldn't mind helping you out. Besides, I need a break from these Shuten assholes. Everyone and their dog have been trying to tick me off.

As for the offer, I wouldn't be opposed to getting some more information about the Tamamo and their operations.

(OOC: Braver or stupider? That is the question. But bad puns are like 90% of my reason to learn languages, so I'm pleased it worked. 💛)

[How dare you impugn his honor, Sir?!?! Dazai is extremely reliable! He can always be counted on to let you down.

But not, admittedly, when it comes to things that matter, and preventing a potentially dangerous situation definitely counts as one of those. If there aren't all that many more things that matter, well... you can't blame the man for having his priorities straight.

Dazai looks over at Yizhi, smiling conspiratorially. Quick(ish) on the uptake! He likes that.]

It couldn't hurt. At the very least, it should hold their attention for a while.

[And then Dazai can sneak in and take a look around, hopefully. It's worth a shot! But there are still ways to improve even such a simple plan a little, he thinks. Looking out over the river again, his expression is kind of blank, but in spite of the impression that that may give, his brain is working.]

Say there are three kappas, and we bring only two cucumbers to give them...

That should lead to some interesting conversations, shouldn't it?

[Yes, Dazai is absolutely hoping they'll fight among themselves instead of just, you know, cutting the damn cucumbers. Is that realistic? Possibly! He doesn't really know kappas beyond their legends, but if they're anything like humans, that is absolutely what would happen.]

[On the public board:]

Sounds like you’ve got a lot of problems over there. Take care, trickshot.

[That should wrap things up nicely without seeming like he's encouraging crime. The guy sounds like he'd be better off laying low anyway, not that Yizhi wants to play consultant with the amount of information he has.

Now for the PMs:]

That does sound annoying. How about this, then - you show me around the areas you’re free to go around in Shuten, and I’ll do the same for you in Tamamo. See what info we can find. Does that sound fair?

When are you free?

[He'll also give Dante his contract number.]

[Dante couldn't help but squint a little at that previous message. Were they really about to run off now? Apparently, not judging from the private DM that comes only seconds later. Clever. Keeping up public appearances matters, especially since this conversation is probably being monitored now.]

That sounds like a good deal to me. Besides, I wouldn’t mind playing tour guide for a little while.

[This definitely sounds like a better evening than just shooting the shit with the Oni dudes.]

I'm free all evening after 6:00. Time is a little funky here but at least it's similar enough to the real world.

Nope. Unless you’ve heard something I haven’t, the only thing I’ve seen Lost Souls from Sutoku say is to leave the kappa alone.

Will you let us know if you find out anything? I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding. Once someone comes out with reassurance that nothing weird is going on, everything should clear up.

[He’s, um. Lying. He fully believes the kappa are up to something. But he’d much rather humor the impression Daylight has of the world, because not only is it easier, there is a nonzero chance Daylight could break the deadlock if he inspires the mechanoid to action. So why not take the chance, since that’s a result both of them wants?

Daylight is in Enma. Daylight can take care of himself. Yizhi isn’t sending him into trouble.]

text | UN: meirenyu

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omg that pun is so funny

it's terrible but so am i so i will roll around in it like a dog in something suspicious tbh

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[private | text]

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