[ open ] all hands on deck

[kaientai]

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.

Comments

[worldbent]

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.

[laughitoff]

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.]

[worldbent]

[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.

[laughitoff]

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.

[worldbent]

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?

[laughitoff]

[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.

[worldbent]

[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)]

[laughitoff]

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!))