(post-mingle) text; un: UEHARA

[metafictions]

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! ✌️)

Comments

[metafictions]

[Funnily enough, Dante is the first person on this post to have introduced himself by name, rather than sticking to his username. He'll take the Shuten straightforwardness in stride.]

Then you can call me Kamui if you like.

That sounds [WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT A DEMON TREE.] distinctive, so it's good to know that there are large discrepancies even between Earths. Is the tree eating people?

[demonrebel]

Nice to meetcha, Kamui. Too bad it's like this...whatever the fuck "this" is even supposed to be.

[Team Shuten, ftw! But in all seriousness, Dante is as straightforward as they come.]

It's having a great big Sunday dinner on humanity right now, which is why I volunteered to become a lumberjack as of late.

[He marched right into hell with his sword at hand to uproot this overgrown weed. Dante had his brother's help, of course. It's a two-man job, after all.]

It's called the "Qliphoth Tree" and it's as nasty as it sounds with over a million or so tendrils climbing up from Hell itself.

[metafictions]

Likewise. I hope we can meet again somewhere else, of our own volition.

[So it's not just the red coat, and running headfirst into a scrap, then. Dante talks so much like Travis he can almost read the messages in his voice...]

So you're familiar with your own world's hell, then. I haven't seen any demonic trees eating people-- yet-- so I guess it's been pretty different here, hasn't it?

[demonrebel]

That would be nice since kidnapping is not my kink.

[All jokes aside, Dante is a little ticked off that he got kidnapped like this to some magical demon-infested city. It hurts his pride, okay?]

Yeah, the Hell I know isn't half as pretty or as nice. If the demons from my world were here, nearly everyone would've been dead by now. The same would happen if the Qliphoth was here too.

I'm not sure how Jigokucho intersects with the human world but this place is a paradise in comparison.

[That is until you mention the youkai, of course.]

So what's your deal? Trying to find a way out this place, right?

[metafictions]

[Please don't tell him about your kinks, Dante.] Even if it were, I think this is a little extreme.

[BUT BACK TO THE MATTER AT HAND.]

So, this is definitely a separate hell, then. Or maybe not even a hell at all...

And that's exactly right. I'm not convinced that I'm dead. [And if he is-- he wouldn't have gone to hell, he'd have repeated the timeline all over again.] So, if the powers that be have a way to pay us for our contracts, they must have a way to release us from this world, too.

[demonrebel]

[Don't worry, he won't! Dante has more decorum than that, thankfully.]

Bingo! The hell described in the Good Book looks nothing like this place. Just trust me on that, okay?

You don't want to visit there.

[First of all, hell stinks a lot worse than this spooky little town. Also, there are no hostess bars in hell.]

Well, duh! That's a given but how do we convince these idiots to let us a go without having to follow through with those stupid contracts?

That's the real question here.

[metafictions]

I'll take your word for it, Dante.

[Somebody is enterprising here. Kamui was intending to work his debt all the way off to get home. Not to mention that he's dedicated to achieving his end goal at the end of the road.]

Do you think abandoning those terms is even possible? These contracts did seem binding. Maybe supernaturally so.

[demonrebel]

As much I like to skirt around the rules, I don't think it's possible without some convincing.

[A major bummer in his opinion but maybe there's a chance the youkai here will make their end of the bargain and save his world. That would be nice.]

Even so, there might be a hefty fine for breaking one of these supernatural contracts and I'm not too eager to find out what that might be.

[metafictions]

So I guess that means we'll be hard at work for the Shuten Clan, won't we? [The straightforward path might not be the easiest, but if it winds up working, well... no harm, no foul, right?] I'll do what I can to help back you up.

I have to admit that I'm curious, though, even if I'm not about to bend the rules myself. What punishment could be worse than already being in hell?

[Is there a WORSE hell than this?]

[demonrebel]

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, Kamui.

It's as simple as that.

[Despite what others might say about Dante, he's absolutely a team player. He used to fly solo back in the days but he honestly prefers working in a team. It took him a while to get used to it but now he likes it. It's a little jarring for him to be out on his own again. He definitely misses Nero and the others.]

No idea but if this place really is hell, I suspect the punishment might have something to do with condemning our immortal souls.

[metafictions]

[Condemning his immortal soul, huh? There's a lot on his plate to consider, in that case. However...]

So, we'd lose all the amenities of this nice, habitable hell, do you think?

[It all feels almost too good to be true: hell, he got a frappucino earlier.]

That's not a threat to sneeze at. I suppose we'll have to tread carefully while we're stuck here.

[demonrebel]

Totally. I think Jigokucho isn't really "hell" but rather like the first layer of it. Kinda like a wannabe purgatory or something.

[This is just a theory at best but how else can someone explain what’s happening here?]

The nail that sticks out gets hammered the most. This shit isn’t going to end well.

[metafictions]

I wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be right about a lot of things here. You do have more experience than most of us, after all.

[He makes a mental note to keep in touch. Dante'll definitely be a valuable ally for the future.]

Thank you for your help. We'll just have to wait and see for everything else.