Post by barney on Nov 27, 2022 4:59:18 GMT
“This is a mad land for we three. Every time we step on this these islands we are stranded by failure. I do believe it may be a cursed land. No matter how prepared we are we always fall here. It’s all that condescension in the air. You see it every time we walk down the street…”
Chester Roosevelt leads Luna Baby and Royston Popplewell down a neon-covered street in Tokyo glaring at anyone that gawks at the trio. Chester is deliberately walking in a straight line, not caring who he bumps out of the way, Luna is in her full clown regalia, and Royston is her polar opposite as the mime.
“Even more than usual. So then I have a solution. I found the answers in the annals of history.”
Luna starts to crack up but holds in as his glare turns to her. He composes himself.
“History tells us that in order to break into this land we need to intimidate and conquer. I have a big job ahead of me and I will break through this hex riding on black sails and plant my flag right in the middle of the imperial castle.”
Luna runs up to catch pace with him.
“Hey! I might know of a way we can get some help lifting this little curse of yours. That is if you might become more open-minded that is.”
Chester looks at her sternly and she offers up an innocent smile, batting her lashes and all. He shakes his head.
“I am a man of God. The only things I open my mind to are the light and my job. That is how I receive all of His gifts.”
Luna steps in front of him to stop him and hops up and down.
“Your job being the art of the grift? That is exactly what I want to help with! Don’t you always say that your god helps those that help themselves? So all you have to do is one little ritual and we can destroy this place from the inside. Open our minds and swallow it whole.”
She breaks down laughing and Royston comes up behind Chester and motions at a dark alleyway. Chester considers both of them with a scowl for a moment then turns into the alley.
“All right, but I want you to know that I’ve been blessed since I left home so it might not work.”
Luna runs ahead of them and leads the way. They wind down narrow alleys and dark pathways through tiny bars and side streets. Along the way, Chester spots some of the seedier elements of Japan that the people sweep under the rug. Stone-faced obasans block the way to secret bars. Weary geisha howl at them from windows. Drunk salarymen lie sleeping in the gutters. Chester turns his nose up higher and higher the more he sees. Finally, they stop at a temple that seems to have been discarded in time. Luna and Royston bow at an old Shinto priest in the entryway and Luna gives him an offering of something that Chester doesn’t see. The priest hands each of them a small knife. Luna takes hers delicately and walks into the temple through a courtyard. The temple is separated into open spaces with tatami mats on the bottom. Luna walks up to an altar at the end of the room. It is on a desk with a mound of dark sand in front of a painting. The painting is in the nihonga style and depicts a woman with a smile on her face. All around her are faint images of different kinds of angry oni and other creatures. Luna examines the desk.
“Damn I didn’t bring the incense. Hmm…” She reaches into Chester’s pockets and pulls out his cigarette case. She lights a cigarette and blows smoke on the altar. She coughs and hands the cigarette to Royston who moves it at Chester. Chester sighs and takes the cigarette to continue dragging from the cigarette and blowing smoke at the altar. Luna snatches the cigarette from his mouth and places it upwards on the sand in front of the altar. She opens a drawer and picks up three ningyo dolls. “Now cut your hand and let the blood fall on the dolls.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“It’s all part of the ritual. Aren’t you Christians in love with rituals?”
“Not blood rituals, damn you. We are not heathens.”
Luna grins at him.
“Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, eh?”
Chester grumbles and cuts his hand. Luna places it over the doll in the middle to let the blood fall on it. Royston starts to cut his hand but Luna dashes over to him and cuts it herself. She focuses on his discomfort with a smile but he barely reacts. She frowns and goes to stab his hand more but Chester stops her. She sulks back to her side and cuts her hand then they both let their blood cover the doll.
“Hmph. Now take your doll into a room at the back with this candle. This is important. Never leave the light of your candle. If you do you are done for. If we did this right you are going to see a manifestation of what challenges you most now. You can ask it some questions if you want. Be polite. If the light goes out or even flickers at any moment just back away from the room and leave the temple. Don’t turn around, just walk back. Bury the doll somewhere far away from you and preferably across flowing water like a river or something. If it works then when you are done tell the thing that the conversation is over and that it should leave. Do this before the candle goes down all the way. If you are finished before it is done then wait for it to be done but make sure you make it leave you before then. Leave, bury the doll and… that’s it!”
Chester scoffs.
“What kind of ritual is this?”
Luna thinks for a moment.
“It’s more of a game. I found it on the internet!”
She smiles at him and he shakes his head.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
Luna lights their candles with the cigarette and hands them their doll and candle. Chester watches Luna skip to the leftmost room and slide the door closed behind her. Royston walks serenely to the room on the right and slides the door shut. Chester considers turning around to wait for them outside but he would never hear the end of it. He walks over into the center room and plops down on the floor. He bandages the cut on his hand with a handkerchief and grumbles.
“Well, come on out you blasphemous whatever." He crosses his arms and takes in the atmosphere. The room looks old like vines on a brick wall. He gets really bored as time passes. He practices holding his hand over the flame closer and closer to see how much he can take. As a hard man, it is a very long time. Suddenly he hears a cackling to his left. Letting his curiosity get the better of him he pokes a hole through the screen of the door and peeks through. Luna is bowling over laughing at something in front of her that is invisible to him. She whispers leans in and covers her mouth like she is whispering something in someone’s ear. Then she laughs and laughs again. Chester shakes his head. He looks over to the room on the right and walks over to take a snoop on Royston. The flame on Royston’s candle is blazing. He is looking up at something and then he takes on a fighting stance. He rushes to the middle of the room and gets into a test of strength with his invisible opponent with both arms outstretched and clutching hands. Royston backs up with a nod. He plops down again in front of his candle.
“Well get on with it, then. I don’t have all day.”
His eyes go wide as his flame starts to sway. It flickers and dances around as if there is a growing wind inside the room. He takes his doll with haste and gets up. He then throws the doll behind him and sits back down on the ground. Two entities come out from the darkness in front of him into the light of the flame. The creatures are hunched over with long limbs. The one with the red skin has hair the color and consistency of straw. His green eyes are serene. His yellow teeth resemble a series of tusks and he has a horn jutting out of the middle of his forehead. The one with blue skin has long black hair like silk. His yellow eyes glow with anger over a long nose and deep frown. They approach him on long feet with gnarled nails. Chester doesn’t seem surprised but he breathes heavily.
“I should have known it would be you two. Do you really think that you are a challenge to me? I mean, it is an easy thing to believe on the surface. It’s all in the numbers, innit? And you two are masters of the greatest resource in these modern times. We are in an attention economy after all. Any dope can get in front of a camera or keyboard and… flex.” That word leaves his mouth like poison. “That seems to be enough to be a man of substance nowadays. You grab people's eyes and they give you worth. All you have to do is cause some sort of reaction before they have a chance to swipe away from you. With those tattoos and silver tongues of yours, you can slither your way into hearts and minds. I got to admit that it does bring opportunity. That is why you are in front of me now, yeah? Your plan worked. You are in the big time now, hoping to take gold from me and mine, whilst the odds are ever in your favor. Now the big question is if you are going to do anything with all that has been handed to you. And I say handed specifically because you have definitely not taken it by force. But I am an admirer of the art of the grift. So I commend you for that much but will you see it through? There is one problem with this thing of ours when it comes to the way you do things. It doesn’t really prepare you for the delivery.”
The two monsters get close and scream in Chester’s face. Their jaws seem to unhinge from their skulls and their black tongues flop out flicking Chester’s cheeks. He doesn’t budge and spits to the side when they finish. They seem smaller now. The bumps on their skin smooth over and their spiky bits blunter.
“My lot has been in this game for a long time. I am a connoisseur of the ballyhoo. We get the eyes and keep the eyes. It is the actions that dictate our worth. My worth is going to be shown and you two will be my instruments. Once you two use up your attention and it comes time to perform it will be more of the same. I beat you two sticks in the ground and put another stamp of supremacy to our name. It’s all pressure and I’ve been under pressure my whole life. You lot try to paint yourselves as dangerous and belonging to a culture you do not own. Wrestling is a carny business. It is MY culture. I will not allow a couple of idiots with designer prison tattoos and urban brand names all over their clothes to diminish it. You ride the wave of attention all you want but when it comes time to perform you crash into a wall. While you are taking pictures for the socials, demeaning women above your league, and poisoning your bodies for reputation, I am honing my craft. That job, right now, is making sure people like you stay away. Now get away. I am done talking with you. You have my attention. Now you get the consequences of your actions.”
By the time he is finished talking the monsters are small and smooth as babies. They crawl away into the darkness. Chester looks at the candle and blows it out and waits. After some time the lights in the other rooms also go out. Luna and Royston step out of their rooms and join him. Luna inspects his candle.
“Wait. You didn’t-”
“I played the game, I did. Now I need to find the only decent place in this godforsaken land. I need a drink.”
Luna makes sure they back away outside and then gathers their dolls. Chester goes off to the side to take a piss and then takes them from her and throws them on the other side. She starts to get angry but he manifests a lollipop from her ear.
“Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet, doll. It’s bound to be rubbish anyway.”
As they leave the temple two pairs of eyes can be seen watching them.
Chester Roosevelt leads Luna Baby and Royston Popplewell down a neon-covered street in Tokyo glaring at anyone that gawks at the trio. Chester is deliberately walking in a straight line, not caring who he bumps out of the way, Luna is in her full clown regalia, and Royston is her polar opposite as the mime.
“Even more than usual. So then I have a solution. I found the answers in the annals of history.”
Luna starts to crack up but holds in as his glare turns to her. He composes himself.
“History tells us that in order to break into this land we need to intimidate and conquer. I have a big job ahead of me and I will break through this hex riding on black sails and plant my flag right in the middle of the imperial castle.”
Luna runs up to catch pace with him.
“Hey! I might know of a way we can get some help lifting this little curse of yours. That is if you might become more open-minded that is.”
Chester looks at her sternly and she offers up an innocent smile, batting her lashes and all. He shakes his head.
“I am a man of God. The only things I open my mind to are the light and my job. That is how I receive all of His gifts.”
Luna steps in front of him to stop him and hops up and down.
“Your job being the art of the grift? That is exactly what I want to help with! Don’t you always say that your god helps those that help themselves? So all you have to do is one little ritual and we can destroy this place from the inside. Open our minds and swallow it whole.”
She breaks down laughing and Royston comes up behind Chester and motions at a dark alleyway. Chester considers both of them with a scowl for a moment then turns into the alley.
“All right, but I want you to know that I’ve been blessed since I left home so it might not work.”
Luna runs ahead of them and leads the way. They wind down narrow alleys and dark pathways through tiny bars and side streets. Along the way, Chester spots some of the seedier elements of Japan that the people sweep under the rug. Stone-faced obasans block the way to secret bars. Weary geisha howl at them from windows. Drunk salarymen lie sleeping in the gutters. Chester turns his nose up higher and higher the more he sees. Finally, they stop at a temple that seems to have been discarded in time. Luna and Royston bow at an old Shinto priest in the entryway and Luna gives him an offering of something that Chester doesn’t see. The priest hands each of them a small knife. Luna takes hers delicately and walks into the temple through a courtyard. The temple is separated into open spaces with tatami mats on the bottom. Luna walks up to an altar at the end of the room. It is on a desk with a mound of dark sand in front of a painting. The painting is in the nihonga style and depicts a woman with a smile on her face. All around her are faint images of different kinds of angry oni and other creatures. Luna examines the desk.
“Damn I didn’t bring the incense. Hmm…” She reaches into Chester’s pockets and pulls out his cigarette case. She lights a cigarette and blows smoke on the altar. She coughs and hands the cigarette to Royston who moves it at Chester. Chester sighs and takes the cigarette to continue dragging from the cigarette and blowing smoke at the altar. Luna snatches the cigarette from his mouth and places it upwards on the sand in front of the altar. She opens a drawer and picks up three ningyo dolls. “Now cut your hand and let the blood fall on the dolls.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“It’s all part of the ritual. Aren’t you Christians in love with rituals?”
“Not blood rituals, damn you. We are not heathens.”
Luna grins at him.
“Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, eh?”
Chester grumbles and cuts his hand. Luna places it over the doll in the middle to let the blood fall on it. Royston starts to cut his hand but Luna dashes over to him and cuts it herself. She focuses on his discomfort with a smile but he barely reacts. She frowns and goes to stab his hand more but Chester stops her. She sulks back to her side and cuts her hand then they both let their blood cover the doll.
“Hmph. Now take your doll into a room at the back with this candle. This is important. Never leave the light of your candle. If you do you are done for. If we did this right you are going to see a manifestation of what challenges you most now. You can ask it some questions if you want. Be polite. If the light goes out or even flickers at any moment just back away from the room and leave the temple. Don’t turn around, just walk back. Bury the doll somewhere far away from you and preferably across flowing water like a river or something. If it works then when you are done tell the thing that the conversation is over and that it should leave. Do this before the candle goes down all the way. If you are finished before it is done then wait for it to be done but make sure you make it leave you before then. Leave, bury the doll and… that’s it!”
Chester scoffs.
“What kind of ritual is this?”
Luna thinks for a moment.
“It’s more of a game. I found it on the internet!”
She smiles at him and he shakes his head.
“Let’s just get this over with.”
Luna lights their candles with the cigarette and hands them their doll and candle. Chester watches Luna skip to the leftmost room and slide the door closed behind her. Royston walks serenely to the room on the right and slides the door shut. Chester considers turning around to wait for them outside but he would never hear the end of it. He walks over into the center room and plops down on the floor. He bandages the cut on his hand with a handkerchief and grumbles.
“Well, come on out you blasphemous whatever." He crosses his arms and takes in the atmosphere. The room looks old like vines on a brick wall. He gets really bored as time passes. He practices holding his hand over the flame closer and closer to see how much he can take. As a hard man, it is a very long time. Suddenly he hears a cackling to his left. Letting his curiosity get the better of him he pokes a hole through the screen of the door and peeks through. Luna is bowling over laughing at something in front of her that is invisible to him. She whispers leans in and covers her mouth like she is whispering something in someone’s ear. Then she laughs and laughs again. Chester shakes his head. He looks over to the room on the right and walks over to take a snoop on Royston. The flame on Royston’s candle is blazing. He is looking up at something and then he takes on a fighting stance. He rushes to the middle of the room and gets into a test of strength with his invisible opponent with both arms outstretched and clutching hands. Royston backs up with a nod. He plops down again in front of his candle.
“Well get on with it, then. I don’t have all day.”
His eyes go wide as his flame starts to sway. It flickers and dances around as if there is a growing wind inside the room. He takes his doll with haste and gets up. He then throws the doll behind him and sits back down on the ground. Two entities come out from the darkness in front of him into the light of the flame. The creatures are hunched over with long limbs. The one with the red skin has hair the color and consistency of straw. His green eyes are serene. His yellow teeth resemble a series of tusks and he has a horn jutting out of the middle of his forehead. The one with blue skin has long black hair like silk. His yellow eyes glow with anger over a long nose and deep frown. They approach him on long feet with gnarled nails. Chester doesn’t seem surprised but he breathes heavily.
“I should have known it would be you two. Do you really think that you are a challenge to me? I mean, it is an easy thing to believe on the surface. It’s all in the numbers, innit? And you two are masters of the greatest resource in these modern times. We are in an attention economy after all. Any dope can get in front of a camera or keyboard and… flex.” That word leaves his mouth like poison. “That seems to be enough to be a man of substance nowadays. You grab people's eyes and they give you worth. All you have to do is cause some sort of reaction before they have a chance to swipe away from you. With those tattoos and silver tongues of yours, you can slither your way into hearts and minds. I got to admit that it does bring opportunity. That is why you are in front of me now, yeah? Your plan worked. You are in the big time now, hoping to take gold from me and mine, whilst the odds are ever in your favor. Now the big question is if you are going to do anything with all that has been handed to you. And I say handed specifically because you have definitely not taken it by force. But I am an admirer of the art of the grift. So I commend you for that much but will you see it through? There is one problem with this thing of ours when it comes to the way you do things. It doesn’t really prepare you for the delivery.”
The two monsters get close and scream in Chester’s face. Their jaws seem to unhinge from their skulls and their black tongues flop out flicking Chester’s cheeks. He doesn’t budge and spits to the side when they finish. They seem smaller now. The bumps on their skin smooth over and their spiky bits blunter.
“My lot has been in this game for a long time. I am a connoisseur of the ballyhoo. We get the eyes and keep the eyes. It is the actions that dictate our worth. My worth is going to be shown and you two will be my instruments. Once you two use up your attention and it comes time to perform it will be more of the same. I beat you two sticks in the ground and put another stamp of supremacy to our name. It’s all pressure and I’ve been under pressure my whole life. You lot try to paint yourselves as dangerous and belonging to a culture you do not own. Wrestling is a carny business. It is MY culture. I will not allow a couple of idiots with designer prison tattoos and urban brand names all over their clothes to diminish it. You ride the wave of attention all you want but when it comes time to perform you crash into a wall. While you are taking pictures for the socials, demeaning women above your league, and poisoning your bodies for reputation, I am honing my craft. That job, right now, is making sure people like you stay away. Now get away. I am done talking with you. You have my attention. Now you get the consequences of your actions.”
By the time he is finished talking the monsters are small and smooth as babies. They crawl away into the darkness. Chester looks at the candle and blows it out and waits. After some time the lights in the other rooms also go out. Luna and Royston step out of their rooms and join him. Luna inspects his candle.
“Wait. You didn’t-”
“I played the game, I did. Now I need to find the only decent place in this godforsaken land. I need a drink.”
Luna makes sure they back away outside and then gathers their dolls. Chester goes off to the side to take a piss and then takes them from her and throws them on the other side. She starts to get angry but he manifests a lollipop from her ear.
“Don’t believe everything you hear on the internet, doll. It’s bound to be rubbish anyway.”
As they leave the temple two pairs of eyes can be seen watching them.
