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

2005? That makes me a bit nostalgic...

It sounds like we're from a similar place, Uehara. But it was 2018 when I left.

Interesting. Everyone from an Earth like mine seems to be a bit further along than I am. If your phones are anything like the one I'm using here, they've gotten a lot nicer...

[Privately, he's wondering whether the last point in time he'd jumped to is related to this pattern, too-- just before finding himself here, he'd been in the late 2010's, too. But it's way too soon to say anything for sure.]

Offtheclock, are you Japanese, too? Or just from Earth?

Edited 2022-03-06 06:37 (UTC)

I am. Tokyo as well, in fact. And, to be honest, I miss the days of using a simpler phone than this one.

I can't say it occurred to me much to question where people came from as much as it did how they got here, so the idea that not everyone is from the same time, let alone the same place, is interesting. And perhaps a little unsettling.

( Not that physics is necessarily his strong suit, but a revelation like this explains a little more about why not everyone he's spoken to so far remembers dying, or likely being near death, before waking up in that waiting room. )

It does raise many, many more questions, yes. But it does lend some weight to the idea that Jigoku-cho-- whether or not it's truly a hell-- might not be linear to any of the worlds that any of us originated from.

I know I couldn't tell you how I got here, because I definitely don't remember dying.

( Another one for his relatively unbalanced list. )

I can't say I remember dying precisely, but I remember accepting death, which feels close enough.

I'm not sure then whether this place being linear to or some sort of funnel for an untold multiverse is comforting or not.

( More souls means more faces to sift through to find familiar ones, but it also seems like it implies that Hell truly is a waiting room more than a destination. And he isn't sure if that's something to be grateful for either. )

Have you met anyone familiar yet? Do you expect to?

[Kamui smiles down at his phone a little.] The opposite, for me. I realized I was going to live when I'd expected otherwise.

As for the multiverse-- [well, it's already his reality, isn't it? He doesn't have many words for the thought, however, because it is, after all, only a thought. In spite of his insistence, this could be a real hell at the end of the day.] It's just an idea, at any rate. We'll just have to wait to learn more.

And no, I haven't met anyone I know here. But... I wouldn't be surprised if someone did appear. I have a pair of colleagues who are always getting into strange situations. [A beat. He adds, maybe hoping to speak it into existence:] And a friend who's always getting in trouble, too.

I've run into someone who likewise finds more trouble than he should. It's a little difficult to refrain from trying to guide him here, too, since he doesn't seem to want it.

For his sake, at least, I hope that this place proves to be more of a landing pad than a destination. I could accept this for myself, but he isn't the only one who I think wouldn't deserve a fate like this.

I'm inclined to hope for now, I think, particularly if you're meant to live.

You sound like a good friend. I hope, for their sake and for your own, that we're all able to leave here with our lives.

I promised that troublemaking friend I'd try my best to live, anyway. I can't let him down so easily, can I?

Calling 2005 nostalgic is going to put some people in a crisis
I am people 😔
Sounds like we're around the same time period though offtheclock!

No crisis needed. Unless 2005 was as tumultuous for you as it was for me.

It looks like there are more than few of us from the same decade. Are you also from Tokyo, or somewhere else?

I'm American and California born and raised!
We did have visitors from Tokyo at the cafe I worked at.
It was definitely one of those places I would have liked to visit c:

Most of my travel happened within Japan, unfortunately. Even now, it seems. Tokyo isn't...dissimilar to this place, in my experience, although there are places there that are a little less chaotic.

California has always seemed much more relaxing than Tokyo. Except for the tales I've heard about the airports. A cafe is always calming, though, even in an airport. Did you bake things in-house there?

Oh, the place I worked at was a little more out of the way than the airport. I wouldn't want to be in LAX even on a good day, to be honest.

[Though she could talk about the supernatural aspect of the Grind and has with other people already, it feels like it can be saved for another day.]

But you did guess right. All of our baked goods and other food items were made in-house.
The co-owner is probably one of the best bakers and overall cooks I've ever met.

[What else can you ask from a detail oriented and meticulous golem?]

That seems to be the consensus about LAX.

( For what it's worth, he does softly laugh aloud, though he doesn't type it. )

That's good to hear. I tried not to make it a habit to frequent cafes that outsourced half of their inventory. I'm not so sure that's as much of a concern around here, ironically, considering I feel like I have more time than ever to visit them.

( For now, anyway, between the settling in and the set-up for a parade he wants so...very little to do with for so many reasons. )

If there's one thing I've noticed
It's that a large majority of us aren't too shellshocked by our sudden appearance here.
That's good, right?
And as far as I can tell, the whole of the area we are seeing does function like a normally seedy city
But there is the leadership to worry about I suppose.

Interesting... I've experienced the opposite with those I've encountered. I'm one of the few who doesn't seem to be experiencing as much cognitive dissonance or distress. But then this isn't so different from my daily life before... I am a bit concerned if anyone unaccustomed to this is accepting it at face value.

Have you heard anything more about leadership other than their vague promises to meet with us soon?

Related, are you perhaps also part of the Sutoku Alliance?

Not much on the leadership front I'm afraid.
As for me, I believe I have been folded into the Tamamo Clan.
Sounds like they've been picking and choosing, but on what criteria, one can only guess.

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