nexus_sages | There's weird and then there's WEIRD.

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There's weird and then there's WEIRD.

There's a dog in the Nexus.

It's small, a breed of toy poodle by the looks of it, and is nosing around various garbage bins, sometimes overturning them to paw through the contents. It looks pretty lean and is probably hungry!

One might be tempted to approach it and check it for tags or offer some scraps. Right up until it turns around and you get a look at its face. Its clearly human, likely middle-aged man's face. Y I K E S. It's even wearing glasses.

Still, the thing acts as skittish and furtive as any stray dog would. And there's no denying that it's clearly malnourished, going on how thin it looks. After another bin is tipped over and yields no edibles, it looks towards the forum with trepidation. He won't compromise his presumed safety of staying near an alleyway in the event he needs a quick escape, but asks:

"Does anyone have any food?"

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A little dog? A little man? A little DOG-MAN? A creature after Harrow's heart! And as it happens, he's got some food with him. He's got an entire pumpkin pie with him that he must have been on his way to deliver somewhere. He doesn't even hesitate to crouch down a few feet from the bizarre little critter and set the pie on the ground.

"Do you... want, uh... a fork?" Okay, asking that is when things start to feel weird. Can he even use a for? This little dude has paws, but he's got a man's face. A sad, unfortunate man's face, but a man's face all the same.

Everything's bound to be weird when yokai are involved. Maybe just some make a little weirder than others. Like this one, who looks like an acid trip gone south.

Said yokai sneaks closer one slow step at a time, looking furtively between Harrowheart and the pie. When he's about in reach of the food...he nabs it in his teeth and scampers away with it to hide behind that overturned garbage bin. Two bites are scarfed hastily (no paws required) before the dog-man-creature peeks towards the pale guy again. The plan had been to just grab, run, munch, then run some more with the assumption the human would be hot on his trail.

"Hey!" Harrow grunts. He didn't expect the thing to run off with the WHOLE PIE. He sidesteps slowly so that he can get a look at Mandogbeast again. When he's in better view he takes care to situate himself so that the creature doesn't feel cornered, and then he sloooowly lowers himself to a crouch.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, little buddy," he says quietly, careful not to make too much eye contact. He doesn't want to scare this gross little thing off, for better or worse. "I'm here to be your friend!"

And for his next trick he gets down on his knees and pats the ground with his hands in excited little slaps. He moves his ~~forepaws~~ hands side to side like a playful dog while he smiles at the yokai. He's good! He's good and he wants fun! It doesn't occur to him that this is going to be a terribly embarrassing thing to do if this monster is more man than animal, but when has that ever stopped Harrowheart?

Regardless of the thing being more man or more dog, the body language translates. It may even be a little surprising that a human(? Harrow smells weird) is so deft with it. His little green pouf of a tail isn't so low anymore, though his expression is still one of suspicion.

"You're not scared?" Most humans by now would be hollering, throwing things or taking pictures with their phones. That last one is the worst, because that means he has to find another district to move to. Supernatural-hunting nerds are the pits.

"Scared?" Oh no, this poor thing. Any shred of sympathy it didn't have before it has now. This little spirit is kindred. Harrow shakes his head and smiles without showing any teeth.

"I'm not scared. I'm like you. I got a human face, but I got a dog's body. Sometimes. Not right now."

He shifts so that he's laying on his side with one arm propping up his head and the other on his hip. Being on the dirty ground is a Cool and Good Thing.

"So what's your name? What world do you come from?"

"Like me? I don't know what that means. Dog body?" He looks Harrow up and down, uncertain of that claim. He looks pretty human to him. But...

"You DO smell sorta like a dog." And skunk weed or something. Smoke and plants. But still! Dog! "I'm, uh. I'm Manjimutt. I don't know what you mean by world? I come from the Yokai World. But I live mainly in the human world." It's more familiar.

"Yokai world, huh? And there's other folks there like you?" This sounds like a good (if slightly unsettling) world.

"And yeah! Dog body! When I want. When I'm here in the Nexus, I use my human body. The hands are more convenient. I can bake pies with 'em. Did... Did you like the pie? Tell me if it's good? If you like it, I could always make more! Or... If you don't... I could try harder next time?"

"Yeah, some other mutts like me. There's all kinds of Yokai? Yokai are spirits and those come in all kinds of shapes. Big, small, even bigger, all kinds of animals and objects and people. It's a pretty broad population down there in our world." A pause. "I don't spend a lot of time there."

"And yeah, the pie was great." He paws at the now-empty tin, his little dog claws rattling against it. "You did a good job, don't worry about it." Manjimutt 's the opposite of sorry that he ate the whole thing.

"Spirits! We talkin' ghosts of the departed kinda spirits? Tell me everything!" Could Manjimutt truly be this similar to Harrow? His, dare I say... Spirit animal? He army crawls a little closer, rolls over onto his stomach, and puts his chin in his hands. He is so super ready to listen.

"Oh, yeah. Some of us are departed spirits of humans or animals. Some of us are spirits who manifested cuz something existed long enough to earn one. And others are just kinda...always been there. There's all kinda rules about what makes a yokai."

This probably means he has to explain where he came from. A hind leg kicks at one ear nervously for a few moments. "I used to be a human, but there was an accident. A car accident. And I turned into what I am now. Apparently, that happens when someone dies on the road like that. Like I said: rules."

"Car accident," Harrow repeats quietly, thoughtfully. He hadn't considered how deadly cars could be. Those pictures of New York that Verity showed him, they were full of cars! Living on Earth cities must be a deadly game. He nods sympathetically for Manjimutt.

"So if there's rules for what makes a yokai, then... Do you exist for a reason? Sometimes spirits on my world have business they have to finish before they move on. Is that what a yokai is like? Or is this the new you, forever, and it's just another way to be?"

The world is full of spirits. Like, mad full. The large and the small, the legendary and the obscure, the kickin' rad and the just kind of sad. They're out there, boys and girls. Some, like certain emotionally distressing man-faced poodles we might mention, you can see coming, while others lurk just out of reach of the mortal eye. One of the latter, a small dark creature roughly the height of a human child, has spent most of the day hovering around various beings playing chess, checkers and other games in less noisy parts of the Nexus. No, not hovering - inspiring! To victory! And okay maybe the victory kept getting inspired in the other guy instead ~~every~~ sometimes, but Lady Luck will totally smile in the next round, right? Right?

The little fellow plodding wearily through the crowd blinks a pair of large yellow eyes on catching sight of said poodle, straightening at once. That's another yokai! No slouching like a loser, Chansin! You are an awesome samurai and you've had an awesome day of being awesome! And here is some poor soul in need of your awesome, awesome help. It's the right and honorable thing to do.

"Hail, fellow spirit!" His voice is strong and proud as he emerges from the crowd, most of whom tower over him and nearly all of whom pay him no mind at all. He is unseen, unheard. He is the wind! "I will gladly aid you in this strange land!"

Edited 2015-11-24 01:51 (UTC)

If Chansin would have hoped the dog would have been less skittish around kin, he's gonna be in for even more disappointment. The world of yokai is not without its own bullying and a spirit as timid and bedraggled as this is probably low on every pecking order imaginable. The mutt flinches and spins around, keeping his hindquarters low and tail lower as he faces the approaching Chansin.

"I don't want any trouble!" he yelps. "If this is your turf, I'll leave! I'll leave right away!"

What! Can he not even succeed at a heroic entrance? He didn't even tempt fate by posing dramatically in high places ~~this time~~. Lady Luck, thou art truly unkind. But no, this is no time for despair. Later, perhaps. But not now. No, now he must stand strong, for clearly there has been bullying and dishonor afoot. It absolutely rubs him the wrong way...he won't stand for it! Such a challenge must be met!

"Worry not, friend! I have no quarrel with you; I am but a wanderer." A lone, mysterious wanderer. Super mysterious. Just look at this hat! "The only trouble I seek is tests of my skill, and I say again I will use that skill to aid you, if you will have my help."

Lone, mysterious and helping the downtrodden! This is it!

"I don't want your help. I just want food." He manages a small grump even while his tail is still between his legs and said legs are shaking. Even though giving help can certainly mean giving food? He's totally assuming this mysterious stranger just wants to encourage the dog to be more self-reliant and self-assured, but Manjimutt would prefer to be fed.

"Wow, and I thought Orthrus were ugly, myaa." There's an extremely bored looking Nekomata perched along a railing of a high wall, peering down at the man-faced dog. She doesn't get down yet---you dont' live long as a youkai without treating everything as a potential enemy, but she does toss him a wrapped fast food hamburger.

Since the wrapper is covered in Eldritch runes, it's best not to ask where she got this from or what kind of meat it is.

Seems the dog shares the mentality of distrust, especially with a spirit who is much bigger than you and a cat besides. She was clearly some manner of Jibanyan, going on the ears and the twin tails? But not like any he'd ever seen before. Which bodes poorly for him in terms of how much stronger this yokai is than him.

He sidles cautiously and slowly towards the offered burger, never taking his eyes off the cat lady in doing so. If she makes so much as a twitch, he's gonna bolt.

No worry Man-doggie, Nekomata doesn't want to get dog breath anywhere near her. She's fine lounging in a high place, well out of reach of her ~~employer~~ potential enemies.

"Ohmyaigawd it's not made of human, just eat it. I'm practicing making wrapping paper for Trademarked named holiday that is coming up, and the stupid no-violence filed makes it kinda hard to get fresh meat, yanno."

"I-...I didn't think it was made of human. Why would you even say that!?" She really must be a bad news bear; who talks so casually about eating humans like that!

Regardless of her reassurances, Manjimutt's still going to sniff it. And then stare at her for a long, unblinking moment, face still hovering near the burger.

Then he snatches it in his teeth and scampers to a safer distance to devour. It's gone in roughly seven seconds.

Bliiiiink. Blink. Blink.

C'taqa has seen worse, but still, that's...a little strange.

It takes him a moment to remind himself it's not polite to stare, and another moment to parse the request. Food, huh? Well, he can do that. Now where did he put that little box...

After a few moments of rummaging, he produces a wrapped bowl that smells like some sort of delicious stew, unwrapping it and gently setting it down, taking a few steps back so he won't seem threatening to the...dog? Man? Dogman? Mandog. He doesn't even know.

"...Hope this is good enough."

Eergh, another cat. There's a low, distinctly canine growl as he crouches further down behind the trashbin he overturned. However, the smell of the stew is plenty tempting. After a few moments of concern and deliberation, the ugly dogthing creeps out, belly slow and eyes darting between the cat person (grr!) and the stew.

After the bowl gets a sniff, it gets a lick. Then another! It's not long before he's lapping it up eagerly.

"I eat garbage on a regular basis," he mutters once he takes a moment to pause, licking his lips. "This is great."

C'taqa will just stay back, letting dogthing have at the stew as he wishes.

"Garbage?" That gets a shocked eyebrow raise. And he may possibly be thinking of how to sneak more food in to this poor little dogthing. "...Well, I'm glad you like it. I can make more, too."

"You stick to the alleys when you're a yokai like me. Move at night mostly. But that's when all the restaurants put out their trash so it's kind of a win-win, right?"

Right. He resumes eating and it's not long before the stew is completely gone and the mutt is licking the rest of it clean.

A yo-what? ...Well, at least C'taqa now has a name for the dogthing's species.

"I guess you could look at it that way."

Manners are probably prudent now. The cat, despite being a cat, gave him something nice to eat.

"...Thanks," he finally ventures with a wary smile. "What kind of yokai are you?" Probably an important one, being so human-shaped. That's always how it goes.

C'taqa smiles a bit. "You're welcome."

Pause. "I'm not a...whatever that is. I'm a Miqo'te. From Eorzea."

"Mickoteh? Huh. Never heard of that one before." He's certain this guy is still a yokai; maybe just one from a different continent! Maybe this Eorzea is somewhere in South America?

"Do you normally just carry bowls of soup around and give them out to strays?" God, it's hard to be polite. This is why you have no friends, Manjimutt.

Thankfully, C'taqa didn't find that rude. He actually considers it a fairly good, if odd question.

"I make...a lot of food." He'll just. Put it that way. If Manjimutt had been around for the elaborate spread he'd put on a while back, that would also probably make more sense. "I'm just glad it's going to good use."

"I dunno if I count as 'good use' but...thanks anyway." He picks up the bowl in his teeth and trots closer to drop it at C'taqa's feet. Just returning what belongs to him. He even wags his tail about twice.

"It is good use. Feeding someone is never bad use."

C'taqa smiles, and even resists the urge to pat Manjimutt, as it'd probably scare him. He just retrieves the bowl and puts it away. "Don't worry about it, alright? I like helping out."

With your luck, you're better off trying to buy food nya~

CAT.

CAT YOKAI.

WHY DOES THIS PLACE HAVE SO MANY CATS.

He barks at Jibanyan, trying to appear way more aggressive than he actually is.

[Jibanyan responds appropriately...by calmly yawning and licking his front paw

Normally barking would make his fur stand up backwards, but c'mon Manjimutt you really think he's intimidated by you? On his 'Yokai he'd rather not meet in a dark alleyway' list, you're probably in the bottom five]

Okay, this isn't working. Jibanyan making a show of being unimpressed is so typical cat. Ugh. Why are cats so terrible? Granted, the other ones that have approached thus far were more people-shaped and were bearing food.

"G-Go away! I found this place first!" He can at try and least bluff on that. Manjimutt fully believed that Chansin was the one in charge until proven otherwise, but he can't believe a little cat could hold more than an intersection as turf. Right?

[Did you just tell him to "go away". Aw hell naw, dem's fightin' words doggy boy...but Jibanyan's too lazy to actually fight right now, so he'll do the next best thing...sass.]

Technically lots of people found this place before you nya~

"Yeah, but are they yokai people? There's gotta be one that's claimed this place as their turf or providence. I saw a pretty big Jibanyan earlier. She was even human-shaped." And you know what that means. They ones that look like humans are always ~~S Rank~~ very powerful.

[His oh so very great ancestor is a legendary yokai, he's no stranger to powerful spirits. But that's not what catches his attention...]

...Was she cute? nya~

Edited 2015-11-30 22:00 (UTC)

"Eh. She had a mask on." He give a little doggy shrug. "Nice hair, though. Yellow eyes? Pretty tall."

What kind of mask?

[Details like this are important.]

The Terminator stops to look down at the man-faced dog. He shakes his head no; he has no food.

Edited 2015-11-29 22:24 (UTC)

O-Oh. This guy is in uniform. He might be police! Police are almost as bad as supernatural hunters! They show up when there's too many reports of stray dogs or creepy dogs and try to flush him out.

Also, he smells weird. That little green tail lowers between Manjimutt's legs.

"You d-don't have to cage me. I'll just go away! Like I was never here!"

He has no opinion about whether Manjimutt stays or goes, and his face is unreadable as a result. However, might as well sample this weird creature's molecular structure while we're at it; the good Officer Steve takes a moment to squat down to pet the creature...

Ohhh no! No no no. The man's palm brushes that puffy brown fur before the creature whines and scurries away. And shoves himself underneath a nearby armchair for safety. His glasses get dislodged in the process and a fruitless pawing at them proves that they are out of range of his little doggy limbs. So he just lets them sit.

Maybe the man will go away eventually.

Officer Stevarino completes his dastardly mission, synthetic eyes tracing the canine-sapien's egress, and miiiiight just step on the dog-guy's glasses like an asshole before departing.

Oh...

Oh nooooo.

Once the man is gone, he crawls out and inspects the damage, sniffing at and then pawing the glasses back onto his face. One lens is cracked right in the middle in a big distracting spiderweb.

Manjimutt sags and sighs. Typical luck.

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There's weird and then there's WEIRD.

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What an amazing icon

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She totally wrapped it herself.

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just stopping by to say 'lawl manjimutt I GET IT'

Yokai Watch is rife with sick pun names!

i'm not 'bout that yokai rife

Definitely morph into a manjimutt sometime in the future.

sad middle-aged-man-faced dog T-1000 is scheduled to coincide with national f-ing hilarious day

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