jigokulogs | [ open ] all hands on deck

Entry tags:

[ open ] all hands on deck

Who ⬤ sakamoto ryouma (rider) + other sutoku alliance lost souls
What ⬤ post-event emergency meeting
When ⬤ several hours after the assassination
Where ⬤ konoha — vip area
Content Warnings ⬤ none right now but will update as needed!

[ once the dust (steam?) has settled, an sms goes out to fellow sutoku alliance contacts. some might recognise the username rider more than others and know the man it's attached to but in any case, everyone who shows up will know him soon enough anyway. ]

Hello!

There's a lot of confusion right now, but what's important is to stay calm and not do anything hasty. I'll be organising a meeting tonight at Konoha. Let's exchange what we know and discuss next steps. You're going to have to pay for your own refreshments though, sorry! Space is on me though! (*_ _)人

Don't be discouraged! We're only getting started. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

If you think there are any other Sutoku who haven't gotten this, pass the message along, ok?

— Rider

[ ~~someone has to keep the spirit of the daitengu alive, okay??~~ the message also comes attached with a calendar invite. ]

[ later, anyone arriving for the meeting will be directed to the club's VIP area and encouraged to place food and drink orders as desired. this has definitely set ryouma back, but under the present circumstances, there's no better time than this to spare no expense, right? ]

☆ ooc; this is a mingle in addition to a general sort of information sharing prompt so feel free to throw your own top levels up and thread amongst yourselves! i give everyone free rein to threadjack as you see fit — just check with other individual players if you have any questions!
☆ i left the exact time of the meeting sort of open, but assume it's sometime within the next half-day or so after the assassination to account for people needing to finish up investigations, potentially heal up a little after fighting, time for him to book the club, etc. feel free to have characters wander in late too!
☆ i also provided the option for characters to phone in (since it was mentioned to me on the ooc post), so if they can't make it in person they can still be in the loop!
☆ any non-Sutoku tag-a-longs are assumed to be showing up late so as not to be sitting in on private discussions earlier in the night.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes, more or less. In fact, you could say that the "death" of ayakashi is my area of expertise- I am an exorcist.

[He has seen a lot of youkai perish, by his own hand and otherwise, in his life. He has seen tengu perish, even if they may have been a lesser sort. He knows what it looks like. Does he think everything seemed as it should? ....Well. A lot of things here were certainly different from what he was used to, but....]

I agree that there is a need to consider the motivations from within before turning our sights to the outside... But, unnecessary finger pointing should be avoided. [Matoba's eye flicks to the side, thoughtfully. If this had happened to him...] Preserving the clan's position and unity while investigations are conducted... That should be the highest priority.

Edited (hate using the same icon twice lol) 2022-04-03 20:41 (UTC)

Another one? There's quite a few different kinds of exorcist here--though from that wording, I guess you focus on elimination instead of suppression or appeasement. You might find him-- [a nod to Lan Wangji in the back] interesting to talk to, or young master Chongyun in Tamamo.

[he doesn't volunteer himself; while he too fits the definition of 'exorcist,' he knows his version of shop talk is likely to be a lot less accessible to others.]

That's going to be a tall order, ah? There's, what, twenty-something of us, still all at the lowest rung, and Sutoku's already rather shot itself in the foot by making one of its own clans obvious targets. Unless the Kappa are a greater threat to the Alliance than outward pressure is--

[he actively stops himself from speculating here, since they could do that all day]

--well, we don't know the politics. But it seems like we don't have too many courses of action? Further investigation on the ground; a focus on helping or further questioning the Kappa wokers ourselves; seeing if we can get people higher up to listen; checking on the other factions' responses. Am I missing anything...?

There certainly are, aren't there...? [Normally, that would have Matoba chuckling, maybe even making a little prodding joke; he's not in the mood to get flippant. It does get a wry smirk from him, though, when Wei Wuxian gestures towards Lan Wangji and his silo of neutrality in the back. 'Talk to him', huh? Matoba glances across the way, unable to suppress his amusement at that much. He doesn't say, "I've tried". Instead,] We are acquainted. As am I with young Chongyun.

[Interesting. So these two knew each other? He would keep that in the back of his mind for nosing around, later.... Only once had he been directly inquiried about his relationship to Natori, so far; but that there were a number of practitioners who seemed to have prior connections to one another was good to know.] I have made a point to acquaint myself with as many fellow practitioners as possible. For precisely reasons such as the challenge we are facing now: infighting between ayakashi is something that we should be ready to address with a united power. If this unrest spills out of the underworld, there is no telling what sort of trouble it could cause.

But yes- you are correct in your assumption, regarding my specialty.

[Wei Wuxian is, of course, correct regarding their available actions. Matoba himself was of two minds as to whether they should even interfere. If the Alliance officials saw giving the Kappa up as scapegoats a fair trade for peace within the rest of their clan, he couldn't disagree with it. Sacrifice for the benefit of the majority was his own philosophy in clan leadership, as well.]

[The question was in whether that action would further disrupt the clan's strength. None of them knew enough to make that prediction one way or the other.]

...What we are doing is already enough for our station. Gaining further insight into the situation is what we should pursue, and until we learn something to tell us otherwise, we should assume that those at the top have done the math already. Information... That is the key, isn't it? I seem to recall the Daitengu saying as much themselves.

Ah, good, good. We seem to be a bit of a care in this city, don't we? But all with different origins, different specialties in how we handle these things. I wonder if there's a pattern to be found there, at a less urgent time?

[takes another gulp of alcohol, draining his glass, and wanders on]

For now--so we mingle and get friendly. Well, at least that's easy enough, unless we start getting told off for being too nosy or something. But hey, sometimes persistence works out. I think it's at least worth talking to the Kappa some more...maybe the tengu. Our inter-faction contacts.

[wryly]

We're definitely not going to avoid unrest and infighting, though. If this wasn't designed to create it in a city like this, it sure feels like it was.

Yes, [Matoba agrees easily, tapping his chin.] I have been trying to determine whether there is some connection- contact with a certain spirit, perhaps a shinigami or another spirit which belongs to Hell, [Matoba certainly could say that he had not come into contact with any such spirits recently, to his knowledge. Who could say what other things lingered in Homura district, though....]

But thus far the only connection seems to be that we are in a similar trade. Given that there are so many Sightless humans amongst Lost Souls, as well as various manner of spirits, it's difficult to say that it's more than a coincidence that we have also been brought here.

It may truly be something that to us, seems 'random'. [More likely, he thought, some kind of twisted logic that made sense only to the ayakashi, that only they could understand- in the way that ayakashi could perceive many things humans could not. Their eyes would never see the same world.]

[Matoba mulls over the rest of the reply, nodding vaguely in agreement. At last he adds,] Lost Souls throughout the clans have formed cross-alliances which will now be tested. Before these bonds can be cut, we should gather as much information as we can.

[No doubt, Tamamo and Shuten's ambitions would rear their heads. To say nothing of the Enma's intentions, now in control of the sewers....]

It could just be that they pull in souls who have needs strong enough that they can only be satisfied by the contracts? You're right that nothing in our origins seems to consistently hold up so far. A lot of people were brought here when they weren't even dead yet.

[clicks his tongue, pouring himself another drink, and gesturing at Matoba in a 'do you want some?' way. he doesn't know about him, but he's got a headache trying to sort this out already. it's like a night-hunt for a demon with ninety percent of the information on its origins hidden, and no good way to tease it out...yet.]

I don't suppose you have any convenient cross-alliances to leverage? I have a few, but most of them are on a month's acquaintance, at best. I don't know how that holds up against the incentives their factions offer them.

[Matoba holds up a hand at the offer, the universal sign for 'no thanks'; he'd had a cup or two of sake earlier in the festival, a rare indulgence, and look what had happened later that night. He wasn't exactly going to be nursing a hangover from two cups, but fighting, inhaling that strange spiritual fog, and bloodloss on top of that wasn't going to make more alcohol any more enticing for the time being.]

[There is a thoughtful pause to Wei Wuxian's question- cross-alliances of his own, hm? Internally he has to allow himself some amusement; he had warned the man, hadn't he? Matoba wonders whether he will be so naive as to think he wasn't serious, if this results in their clans being at odds.]

Yes. I figured it would be rather important, so I began networking across clan lines as soon as I found myself here- searching for other practitioners and surveying their thoughts on our situation. I believe there will be some willing to form partnerships, but indeed, we all have only just come to know one another. It's difficult to say whether there will be stronger loyalty towards our common ground than towards our masters.

...As you say, our contracts will weigh heavily.

Edited 2022-04-17 23:00 (UTC)

Mmhm. I don't mind telling you I'm not much for masters, as a general thing, but they really know what they're doing, making those deals.

[his mouth curls for a moment, a show of teeth rather than a smile, and he pours himself another drink to knock back instead. Sutoku's all right, as these things go--it certainly reminds him of home in its structure, far moreso than the other factions. but he doesn't know or trust its leadership, didn't grow up under their wings, so he feels like a beast leashed, not a member of something greater than himself.

he has, historically, done poorly with leashes.]

How real do you think the contracts are?

Is that so? Nor I.... Are you what they call a 'freelancer'? [He seems rather amused by that; he can relate to the sentiment, but not nearly for the same reasons.]

[Matoba's eye slides thoughtfully to the side at that question, one he hasn't quite been asked yet in his many conversations with other Lost Souls. In the end, they were all moved by it- those seemingly impossible promises. It should probably be given much more weight.]

I think that we are the playthings of a few very powerful ayakashi, and I also think that not even the Enma himself has the power or authority to grant anything that isn't in his domain, [He says after a time,] Which is to say it depends on the contract and the Master.

[Matoba's contract was simply a matter of the Alliance keeping a promise. Suffice to say- he had made it with a great deal of dark humor and little expectation. But why waste an opportunity when he had no choice in the matter, anyway?]

I'm a rogue, an unaffiliated cultivator, not a part of a sect. I think it amounts to the same thing, just different vocabulary.

[it absolutely does not amount to the same thing, since there's a vast gulf between 'an unaffiliated cultivator' and 'someone who broke away deliberately for reasons and then fucked up so much the sects ganged up to kill him,' but the first one just goes down so much easier in conversations without being a full lie.

he laughs.]

You're probably not wrong. But who knows? One might get lucky even if they made outlandish wishes. And I've got the time to waste, if it turns out to be a waste.

Yes, it would seem that even amongst different communities we all have the same sorts hanging about, don't we?

[Yikes well at least the Natori never fucked up THAT badly. Matoba wouldn't exactly call Natori or the Natori clan rogue, though; they were their own affiliation, which effectively died out and then revived. It just so happened that the current head of Natori had... different ways, perhaps, than those clans that had survived and persisted around him.]

I think there is an amount of healthy cynicism particular to our clan, [The corner of Matoba's mouth curls in a bit of sarcastic amusement.] But I wonder if those under the Enma, or in the clan of the Oni tribe, share our sentiment?

[Given the Tamamo he knew so far, those cunning beasts probably had more in common with them than either side would like to admit.]

Well, it's not like the Enma or the Shuten recruited them all because they match their ideals exactly, either. You can have a cynical honorable brawler or a sly officer of the court, can't you?

When it comes down to it...this may change over time, but we're all outsiders. Suspicions aside, I think most of us have the expectation of doing a job for however long, and then leaving. We'd all do better for helping each other towards that end, instead of letting lines that were drawn before we ever came along determine everything we do and who we work with.

...is the reasoning I'd use, if I were trying to convince someone, anyway.

Surely not, but you must admit that there are certain common factors amongst the clans? The Tamamo and Shuten are ....obvious enough, [The corner of his mouth twitches] And I find that most Department officers I've met seem to suit the Enma's function quite well. [That is to say; as the judge, jury and executioner.]

You don't think that we all have something in common, too?

[Matoba remembers what the Daitengu had said in some of the comments, in their fateful first and only post. If information was the uniting power, then it meant they were all the sort who kept things close to the chest; Matoba did not consider himself a cynic, but he did think that it applied to many he had met in the clan. Others might call him that, too; properly, he was simply a pragmatist.]

But what I mean by that is: We may all be driven by the desires outlined in our contracts, but some of us may believe in those contracts more than others. And that may dictate the lengths to which we are willing to go to fulfill them.

[May.] I think, in the end, we are in agreement.

Oh, I don't doubt that they picked us for our best suitability. I don't even doubt that they might have summoned us with that in mind, as best as they could. But humans never fit the mold perfectly, is all.

[raises a glass to Matoba; not quite a toast, but certainly an acknowledgement]

I do agree we're all nosy and determined folk here in Sutoku, though, and Sutoku's requirements are a little looser to begin with, considering. But certainly I've no complaints working with the people in this room, so far...that's reassuring.

I do wonder about that.... [About summoning them, that is. The Department office-dwellers certainly didn't make it seem as though their arrivals and processing were predetermined, but that was also a narrative that made the Enma seem innocent of any meddling. Matoba wasn't sure, at this point, if he really believed that was the case. The Enma was a 「function」. Like a curse or a doll or even like the spirit of a tool, he was a god created by higher gods for a specific purpose, and to deviate from that would be highly irregular. But if it was the case, that might have been even more concerning.]

[Matoba glances around the room to consider if he agrees with Wei Wuxian's statement. After a pause, he says,] Anyone can be useful under the right circumstances.

[Which might sound like a damning assessment, but really, the context of what was useful here was too different from back home to properly judge what may or may not be needed, yet.]

[Viewing their comrades puts another thought to Matoba's mind, instead.] I wonder who will take control, in the next hours ahead.

That's fair.

[Wei Wuxian doesn't seem offended by the pronouncement; he's nothing if not practiced himself at making use of the elements at hand. granted, that tends to have to do more with the resources and environment than with people, and if it has to do with people, they tend to be dead, their desires making them less flexible than living people in the first place.]

...do you mean control of Sutoku, or of the rest of the city?

[both are worryingly up in the air right now, to some degree.]

[A short puff of bitter amusement escapes Matoba.] The former might lead into the latter at this juncture, wouldn't you say?

[If the assassins were targeting specifically the Daitengu, that was one thing. But if they were part of a larger plan to destabilize the clans, if they meant to go for the other leaders next..... Who could say who would be left to take control in the aftermath?]

And if there is someone to swoop in and take control for the Daitengu immediately, perhaps that will answer at least one of our questions.

A strategic deposition versus general instability, eh? And here I never thought I'd get into anything like sect politics again.

[he stretches out in the cushy club seat, huffing as the wounds and bruises from the fight pull under his bandages]

At least we've all got threads to chase now. Though I wonder if they really meant to make our first big assignment be potentially investigating our own faction, in the end.

You found yourself adopted by an underground organization and thought you were going to escape politics? I have bad news for you, [Matoba smiles meanly, but they're both in on the joke, right?]

[He goes mum on Wei Wuxian's musing, refolding his arms into his sleeves with a look of contemplation that was half amused, and half displeased.]

...Perhaps that is the intent, [He says quietly.] If they really wanted to test what we are capable of as new recruits, what better way than to see what we could pry from the cold, dead hands of the Daitengu?

[the grin he gets back is equally cynical.]

What can I say? I'm an eternal optimist.

[that was probably a lie.]

Bit of a harsh strategy for new recruits--you wouldn't catch me dealing with new disciplies this way--but then, I suppose we are in Hell.

[He doesn't believe that for a second, Wei Wuxian-san, because you are in Sutoku!]

I can't say I wouldn't, [His mean smile flashes again,] But I don't yet know what exactly the lesson is that we're meant to learn, so I suppose I'll save my judgment for hindsight.

[(And judge he will)]

Won't we all. I'll join you in that when things resolve themselves, shall I?

[they may personally fall to odds at some point, with their different approaches towards the spirits in this city and how to deal with them. but in this, in judging the infrastructure of this organization they've joined, as the shape is revealed to them? they can certainly feel united.]

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

[the suspense continuing to hang overhead for tonight seems fine, though. outside it's growing late, and the night streets are less busy than usual with the city's mood so uneasy. in here the drinks are starting to run low, and they're all feeling the long day.]

((i'm happy to keep going if Matoba has more to cover, but otherwise this seems like a good ending point!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ open ] all hands on deck

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