#submitted inquiries

[fukukenjaku]

Hello! I would like to ask, what is the upkeep on your stitches is like? To occupy a host for longer periods of time, there must be some health risks.

Finally, a curious mind; my first question here, and it's essentially a medical inquiry. How very utilitarian of you, though I can appreciate the pragmatism when forming a base of understanding around something as complex as my cursed technique. Color me surprised.

As for the sutures themselves, they are not ordinary surgical scars, as you may have guessed. The seam is the result of a binding vow tied directly to the execution of my technique; a permanent condition that prevents the scar from ever healing in full. As for what the binding vow entails... If I told you now, I’d be robbing you of the gift of anticipation, hmm? Some secrets are better kept.

However, during the first few weeks of occupying a new vessel, the fresh sutures itch incessantly, and moving the eyebrows often pulls at the thread. While I can't simply heal the wound away with reverse cursed technique like I would other inconveniences, I'm not so lazy as to neglect it entirely. Typical wound care is adequate enough, a sterile solution to prevent infection and careful hands.

This is only needed for a short while after opening the initial wound. Eventually the threads themselves are unnecessary as the skin closes and leaves the permanent scar; unless it's opened again, of course.

A disappointingly mundane answer, perhaps. Even so, it would be rather humiliating if a thousand years of planning were undone by an infected forehead, no? Tempting though it may be, I can't recommend letting the brain play peekaboo any longer than what's necessary.

[fukukenjaku]

I made dark chocolate brownies, would you like any? If so, center or edge piece?

Oh? An offering for me? And confections, at that. Hospitality is becoming a recurring theme here.

...I'll take one of each. For the sake of comparison.

I find the center and the corners equally worthwhile. Texture, like people, becomes considerably less interesting when it's predictable and uniform. This era even devised a pan solely to maximize the number of edge pieces. I remember seeing an advertisement for it.

...Edible. Dark chocolate is the only choice for brownies. Might I suggest replacing the oil content with Greek yogurt for more richness and tang? Not to mention ease on the arteries.

A generous glass of milk would not go unappreciated.

OOC: The monstrosity pan in question:

[fukukenjaku]

Puts this here and skitters away

I made this for you Kenjaku, I hope you like it.

​The ancient sorcerer steps forward, deliberately making a subtle show of grace, their eyes lingering on your retreating form before drifting down to the offering left at the vessel’s feet.

​"Now, now... what reason could you possibly have to run from me? I’m hardly Sukuna. I have no desire to tear something so earnest apart without reason. I'm much more... resourceful."

​A cock of their head, dark amber eyes passing over the offering. The vessel’s hands emerge from where they'd been tucked into the long sleeves of their robes, before kneeling down to inspect the gift left behind.

​​ "It really is funny, isn't it? Poor Suguru Geto labored for a decade, trying to earn the false adoration of the non-sorcerers he hated to fund his so called cult, yet here you are. Little things like you, flocking to my feet to leave gifts, practically trembling with the desire to please me."

​Their ego has been stroked; a dangerous thing. They lift the portrait with a hum, their thumb smoothing over the surface as if to caress the paper.

"A very cohesive design, mostly. I appreciate the use of purple as the predominant color choice; did you know purple has been long regarded to be the color of royalty? In ancient cultures, namely Tyre, the material needed to manufacture the pigment was exceedingly rare and labor intensive..."

Their voice trails on for another five minutes despite the fact that no one is left to listen.

[fukukenjaku]

Master Kenjaku,

I find myself unable to fully confine my devotion into words, as my love for you has grown too heavy to be kept within my chest, too heavy to even utter.

Everything about your existence captivates me. Your chosen hosts look like sacred, hollow vessels; your brilliant mind is a labyrinth I gladly lose myself in; and your very brain is the most exquisite poetry written in the deepest shadows. You possess a ghostly, ethereal beauty that transcends everything. You are a gorgeous specter, and I wouldn't mind being haunted by your presence until the end of time.

Every time I look upon you, my soul is reminded of why I am so irrevocably infatuated with your darkness. You are my midnight moon and my eternal obsession.

With love, from Sunnie 🖤🌕.

​ ​My, my. Such passionate, flowery lines. Again, humans possess an extraordinary talent for wrapping unadulterated projection in the most exquisite velveteen language, all to utter such praise to a being they hardly really know. Though, let’s not pretend you’re the first to offer up such an earnest proclamation of affection to me.

​ Rose colored glasses are standard issue for anyone desperate to feel seen and loved, even if searched for in someone as unattainable as myself. You want to believe there’s a grander significance to looking up at me, as if reciting the right poetry buys you a front row seat to my attention. But let's be entirely pragmatic; flattery is cheap currency. It amuses me for precisely as long as it takes to hear it, and not much longer.

​ If you expect a reward, or some special exemption from my nature, you misunderstand where my interest lies. A lab mouse is still a subject regardless of how well it completes the maze for the scientist.

​ So, keep the prose if it entertains you. And don't mistake my apathy for disregard; the effort is seen. Just don't mistake a stroked ego for reciprocity.

[fukukenjaku]

Hello Kenjaku-Sama! I wanted to ask you some questions, is that okay? Like: what is your favourite hobby? 🌞 Your favourite food? How can you manage to be so cool???

How polite. Three questions in one inquiry? Ambitious.

I have a fondness for observation. Watching people reveals much, though most find it boring, especially you young ones. Beyond that? I quite enjoy mastering the everyday skills of whatever vessel I inhabit. I’ve spent centuries refining tea ceremonies, calligraphy, and even household cooking. There is an understated charm in perfecting the mundane habits of life amidst plotting something monumental.

​As for food, taste is bound to the biological palate of my host body, so it changes every few decades. Though I will say, inheriting Suguru Geto’s technique means periodically swallowing cursed spirits that taste like filth soaked rags, so my appreciation for actual food has grown immensely. This vessel has a penchant for zaru soba, but I find myself fiending for unadon often. That, and I've found an odd enjoyment in more confections than I have previously these days, namely from you lot offering them to me. This vessel may or may not have gained a slight few pounds because of it, not that I mind.

What you perceive as "coolness" is a complete immunity to panic. Most are easily flustered because their lifespans are brief and your existences are fragile, not to mention the plethora of overthought anxieties humans are so prone to having. When you've lived as long as I have, witnessed what I have, and inhabited dozens of lives, human risks have less urgency, and I utterly lack care regarding my perception. It takes much to shake me. Confidence is a simple thing when you're nearly always the most intelligent and dangerous person in a room.

Though, your choice of moniker makes it rather easy to tell that your opinion is already heavily biased in my favor.

[fukukenjaku]

hello! i was thinking, do you have any favourite texts you would be willing to share with us? i imagine it must be somewhat hard to keep track of what you've read throughout your expanded lifetime, so any excerpts or titles that seem memorable would be great already. many thanks <3

A loaded question, though many come to mind. I've witnessed the trends in literature ebb and flow in my lifetime, as all trends do. Inevitably, some works remain more memorable than others when you're as vastly read as I am. The difficulty comes in choosing what to suggest to you. There are certain works every person should be familiar with to establish a well rounded basis; classics. Then, there are those that are more guilty pleasures of mine. I'll supply you with a bit of each.

The Tale of Genji; The quintessential Japanese classic must read, written by Murasaki Shikibu, a noblewoman who lived in Heian-kyo, at the start of the 11th century. Her diary was also a popular read. The Tale of Genji is considered the world's first novel. Court politics have always struck me as mostly petty dramas, vanity, jealousy, affection, ambitions... the setting changes, the subjects rarely do. Lady Shikibu however, had a keen understanding of human behavior in her world, and it translates well to the page.

Kojiki (composed by Ō no Yasumaro) and Nihon Shoki (editorial supervisor Prince Toneri, alongside Ō no Yasumaro); Read them together. History, genealogy, mythology, hymns, traditions, debated historical accounts. The two eldest books to originate from Japan. They are considered foundational texts of Shinto.

The Tale of the Heike; From the Kamakura era. Compiled from oral traditions mostly, but the name most heavily accredited to the work is that of Shinano no Zenji Yukinaga, a blind monk. A respectable account, though I found living through portions of it more immersive and significantly less exaggerated.

The Pillow Book, or Makura no Sōshi; written by Sei Shōnagon during the Heian era. We shared the same habit of reducing people to observations of their character. We got on very well, she was quite witty.

The Kama Sutra; written by Vatsyayana Mallanga in the Gupta period, India. Most remember it for the illustrations of various sexual positions, unsurprisingly. They tend to overlook that it is, first and foremost, a study of human behavior, though in a more banal sense. I could critize the concept of kama and its lack of ambition, but I'll spare you. Humans always seem to use their desires to find more comfort rather than as a catalyst for something bigger than themselves.

I'm beginning to ramble; occupational hazard, I suppose. A millennium affords one the opportunity to become opinionated And quite lonesome. Rather than testing your patience with a lecture on every worthwhile volume of all I've encountered, allow me to leave you with several broader recommendations.

For poetry, I'd begin with The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Afterwards, the work of Matsuo Bashō, the work of Minamoto no Yorimasa (a favorite of Sukuna’s), and the work of Saigyō. Individuals much more skilled at brevity than I.

Regarding science and medicine: Huangdi Neijing, Compendium of Materia Medica, De Humani corporis fabrica, On the Origin of Species (a very insightful work, though Darwin was constrained by a lack of exposure and knowledge of cursed energy)

The angles of religion, traditions, and myth: The Lotus Sutra, Heart Sutra, Tao Te Ching, Konjaku Monogatarishū.

Now, some more likely recognizable titles for you. Rappacini’s Daughter, by Hawthorne. In a similar vein thematically, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (even if it tends to drag in pacing); an interesting angle of what happens when one fails to consider the consequences of curiousity. The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, and to really challenge your critical thinking, Nabokov’s Lolita. Read it carefully. Too many mistake the narrator's confidence for the author’s own honesty. Nabokov expected better from his readers, and I share in this.

Somewhere along the way, this became less of an answer and more of a syllabus. I expect annotations and thoughtful discussion by next week.

[fukukenjaku]

Opinions on Okkotsu Yuuta?

Ah. Okkotsu. Him. Fraudwatch bushcamp

What is there to say? A copy technique. It certainly has its advantages, and the boy's cursed energy is abundant and immense, despite his efficiency not quite being on the level of his dear mentor. Though I find the lack of originality within the technique a bore. Rika is the far more interesting phenomena.

If I may be so painfully blunt, I spent a thousand years perfecting the art of changing bodies, only for a boy with a particularly hungry dead fiancée to turn around and make a rather crude imitation of my work. Suffice to say, I'm still a tad salty, as you kids say. But, he earns points for his quick thinking under pressure if nothing else. What a way to 'get ahead'.

He would prove much more interesting if his personality and motivation exceeded the cliché 'my friends are my power' shtick, biased as I may be. The boy is dreadfully gloomy looking, akin to a Tim Burton caricature.

As for the elephant in the room... I suppose imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery. My method is cleaner. My sutures are neater. You cannot outdo the doer.

[fukukenjaku]

KENITA! :3 do you wear any fragrances? if so, what type of notes do you like? i imagine you smell like sandalwood and vetiver, maybe ink or something as well. does it depend on how you want your vessel to be perceived? like woody notes commonly being considered more “masculine” or florals being “feminine” and whatnot.

Kenita. The creative nicknames people come up with never fail to amuse me. I suppose after a thousand years, I've been called far worse. Is this perhaps a reference to a relationship with my youngest son?

My scent across vessels largely depends on how important upkeeping the facade of the orginal soul is. Left entirely to my own devices... you've guessed correctly, sandalwood has remained a favorite for centuries. Genuine sandalwood oil, not the aggressively synthetic interpretations modern perfumers insist upon bottling. It's uncomplicated and calming, but refined. It lingers well.

I don't concern myself much with whether a fragrance is considered masculine or feminine. Those distinctions change every few generations anyway. Sandalwood has been worn by monks, nobles, merchants, and courtesans alike. Humans enjoy assigning gender to such trivial things.

This vessel lends itself to incense rather naturally. Living among monks and devotees, residing within a monastery where incense is frequently burned... sandalwood was already commonplace long before I arrived, much to my appreciation.

For my preference wearing female vessels; white musk has its place. Jasmine as well, particularly in lighter concentrations. They're pleasant enough when the vessel suits them, but it's also important to note the chemistry of perfumery. Every body's skin reacts to oils and scents differently depending on PH. If it's important for me to keep up appearances and act as the person I'm inhabiting, I find it much simpler to just wear whatever signature fragrance they claimed in life.

There's a reason a familiar fragrance can resurrect decades old memories in an instant. The brain ties scent to memory extremely quicky, much moreso than the other senses. Efficient, isn't it?