jigokucho | (post-mingle) text; un: UEHARA

Good morning, everyone. I hope you're well.

[read: he hopes that you're not too hungover and that none of you died out there last night.]

Despite the different clans to which we've been assigned, we all find ourselves in strange territory in Jigoku-cho. It may look close to what several of us recognize as Japan, but as you might've already discovered, familiarity does not guarantee similarity. The other day, I met a man who could have easily been from my world, perhaps even my continent or country-- only to discover he hailed from a completely different planet.

So, I'd like to begin gathering information. [He's no Sutoku, but this is important to all of them, and-- as he's been taught-- there are no shortcuts when it comes to investigation.] The more that we know about our fellow lost souls, the more we will have to work from as we learn more about this place and why we're here. We can start with something simple. If you would like, please share where, and when, you are from.

I'll start. I am from Tokyo's 25th Ward, in Japan, on Earth, in the year 2005.

(ooc: feel free to threadjack around! ✌️)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For one, the only reason one might have to lie would be for their own privacy. It's already clear that several of us are fish out of water, so there's no significant loss, especially when only a few replies have actually given me their real names.

At the same time, people don't really need a reason to lie or omit information. Unfortunately, it's a risk I have to take. The alternative is doing nothing and learning nothing. Somewhere here, there is truth.

Fair enough.

Got a better question than everyone's calendar pages, though I dunno if it's really got an answer yet - anybody else mention just randomly fucking picking up another language when they got here? Because I sure as fuck never took Japanese but nobody's got any problems understanding me.

[he's embarrassed to realize........ he never thought about it......]

Wait. You're not writing in Japanese? Because I'm definitely reading Japanese.

...I'm going to try something.

[Hang on, he's fiddling with the settings. Stupid smartphone. When Kamui starts up again, it's an audio reply: in spite of all the "talking" he's been doing, his real voice actually sounds a little softer, more subdued.

In English, with a faint Japanese accent:] Can you understand me?

Nnnope. One hundred percent English this entire time; even the keyboard matches.

[Hazel doesn't need any help switching her own device out to audio output, but there's a small pause between Kamui's reply and her own all the same. mostly she's just debating with herself if it's safe to do so - or rather, if there are enough people in this city that a few snippets of her voice won't matter when it comes to being recognized later.

...nah. it must be fine, right? there's so many fucking youkai out there.]

Yeah, crystal clear. [she hesitates, and then asks the obvious:] Are you speaking English on purpose?

Yes. Japanese is my first language, but I'm bilingual. I'd been in America for several weeks before waking up here, actually.

[And he switches back to Japanese, though it's probably not apparent, given the auto-translate and all.]

I guess normal logic doesn't really apply to a place like this, especially when whatever forces at work can bring us together from so many places... but that's still really surprising.

Oh, yeah? Hope it wasn't any of the really shitty parts.

[it sure is not...rip to Hazel, feeling comfortable that the strange linguistic shenanigans are at least temporarily put on hold for the duration of this conversation.]

It just feels...kind of weird that they'd focus on that? Like what's the fucking point? If they can get in our heads and fucking install a google translate or whatever, why not cram something more useful to them in there too?

[unless...but she doesn't know if she's ready to think about that right now.]

I was here and there, and I liked most of it. I would have liked to stay in California longer, though.

[Santa Destroy-- home of burnouts, assassins, and burnout assassins-- is a distant cry from the glamor of Hollywood and the culture of San Francisco.]

You could extend that question to... everything here, really. Why promise a final reward to a mess of captives, much less pay them a salary? [Kamui don't say that on the network or the powers might dock everybody's pay.] I don't know what this all adds up to yet, but I wish I did.

[ah, the west coast...one of the few parts of the country that she hadn't made her way to before getting yanked into literal hell. it makes her wonder briefly, not for the first time, if all that chatter about Hollywood vampires was more literal than most people realized.]

That one I can at least answer...or half-answer, assuming that shit works kind of the same way it did back home. A lot of creatures like this are fuckoff strong, right? But they've got rules they need to follow, or else they can't do jack shit.

[bureaucracy truly was an infernal creation, if you think about it the right way.]

Like, I'm not gonna be a completely cynical bitch and say that they're not planning on paying up when it comes time to spit out the reward...but it wouldn't surprise me if the contracts opened up a hole for them to actually use us for whatever the fuck it is they need.

[at least for Kamui, it's pretty literal-- even if Travis was the one who got to meet Dracula, not him.]

Someone else suggested to us that we were just being used for our labor, too. Think about the population of lost souls that we've seen so far: the oldest person I've met, at least judging by his appearance, wasn't even 50 years old.

Whether or not they're going to make good on their promises, you do make a very good point.

[she makes a thoughtful noise, digesting the information. the demographics were an interesting point, as was the seeming glut of Japanese natives - all the easier for people like that to integrate here long term, right?]

I've been on the bad end of deals too much not to be kind of suspicious, especially from fucking demons. Dunno how much we can do until we know more, though - digging in your heels now just makes you a big goddamn target.

We don't have literal demons in my world, but a bad deal's a bad deal wherever you go, isn't it? It's not ideal, but you're right. We're just going to have to bide our time and wait to get our bearings.

[At least he can be patient. Maybe not the rest of his clan, knowing some of the hot-headed Shutens...]

Thank you for weighing in, Stitches. You have a good head on your shoulders.

Thanks. Think it's supposed to make up for my shitty attitude or something like that.

[speaking of which...she may not be Shuten, but she can relate to impatience. it's only the personal issues this world's power dampening has saddled her with that've kept her from diving into something stupid and rash right away.]

Here's hoping I don't see you posting in a couple months asking for anything more serious than everybody's zodiac sign.

[because that would mean things have gotten serious and, much as she doesn't believe they won't, she can't help hoping.]

Going off the response so far, I'd probably just find out that no one's months have the same names. Or number of days, for that matter.

[Good thing he doesn't need to investigate anyone's birth charts.]

Anyway, I hope so, too. At least this is a good start.

[It's given him more questions than answers, sure, but it's much better than being totally in the dark.]

(post-mingle) text; un: UEHARA

no subject

no subject

text > audio;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

the thinky icon combo is cracking me up j;lksrg

sometimes you gotta bust out the BIG THONK

8|a !!!