video @bodaiju

[gurge]

[ there's a monk. a buddhist monk, dressed nape to ankle in ceremonial robes, bare feet on hard tile floors. the penthouse behind him is classy and tasteful, but a jarring modern contrast to his clothing. it doesn't take much movement to realize his right sleeve, however, is completely empty. cheerful and chipper, he smiles and waves at the camera. ]

Hi hi~! Oh. I've been here since the first of us and not properly introduced myself on the network. My apologies, I'm a bit shy. [ yeah right. ] I'm Getou Suguru — [ the bow of his head is just deep enough to not be impolite. ] — a shaman from Japan. Back home, I specialized in hauntings and strange phenomena, as well as karmic work and even some chakra alignment. If you're suffering from strange aches and recurring nightmares, compulsive thoughts or stranger whispers, unprecedented cravings...

[ he's extremely animated through each of these symptoms even though he rattles them off like a medication commercial: acting out an ache in his nonexistent arm, a hand over his eyes for the nightmares, holding his head for thoughts and whispers, and... something a little more devious for cravings as he winks. ]

Please don't hesitate to visit.

[ a map link identifies his location. he's not very worried about stranger danger, is he? there's a long beat where he just smiles, and it seems like the feed might end, but then he acts on another thought that's been rolling around in that silly head of his: ]

Ah, and... Satoru.

[ to throw himself at the mercy of the public image is... a lot. he must know it, this man who values his pristine image. is it apology enough then, to make himself look like such a fool? he slides onto his knees mid-screen, clapping his hands together in prayer. are there tears? there might be tears. ]

Can't you please finally forgive meeeee?

[ what an embarrassing note to end on. ]



[ note: this character is a villain who hates humans so please check the journal for content warnings! i caught covid in the middle of sept so sorry for the abrupt hiatus; i'm working my way through backtags soon. no worries if anything's too old! cheers ]

Comments

[hairsprayed]

[ There's a loooong pause on Steve's end while he tries to parse... anything that Getou just said. ]

Attached? So... a curse is a real thing that you can get rid of? It's not just, like, a feeling or something? [ Another thoughtful pause. ] How do you cure it?

[gurge]

A little of column a, a little of column b. Curses that are put on places or are situational, like hauntings in a home, is a different set of issues. Curse spirits, vengeful curses, things like that... those feed off of [ curse energy ] human suffering and often attach to a person to make them suffer more.

[ simple! right? — oh, fantastic next question! ]

Shamans have different means of exorcising curses and spirits, but personally, I eat them.

[ ...good luck parsing that. ]

[hairsprayed]

So you're saying that curses like spells are real, but there's also some other kind of... things? Like living things?

[ There's a sound like an exhale as Steve shivers. He wonders if this is something that only exists in Getou's world, or if it might explain things in his own back home, too. ]

You... what? Like cook them up and eat them for breakfast? [ His disbelief should be easy to hear across the phone. At least he doesn't know how truly disgusting life is for Getou. ]

[gurge]

I suppose that depends on your definition of "life". It's all just energy, in the end. You know a star gives off energy and is made of matter — is it, therefore, alive?

[ a philosophical question with which Steve will need to wrestle on his own. his 'best guess' gives Getou a chuckle, though; at least he was generous in his guess of cooking them. ]

I use my energy to compress theirs into something small enough to swallow. I'd give you a demonstration, but it doesn't sound like you'd be able to see it anyway.