jigokulogs | closed | call me snoopy 'cause i'm putting my nose where it don't belong

[ as always, ryouma is eager to check out new things and his number one priority (for now) is to check out the waterworks for a few reasons that he's still keeping close to his chest because all of his ideas right now are very much in the early planning stages.

his knowledge of machinery isn't very precise since, for ryouma, it's always been more of a passion than any amount of real learning or expertise. but he knows his way around enough to get a general idea of what does what. he also has his little notebook again and a penlight because the lighting down here leaves a lot to be desired, which he's not ashamed to hold in his teeth while he jots something down. it's not like they have google street view down here. ]

It's pretty great, huh?

[ this could be a great river of raw sewage and he'd be just as fascinated. ]

I always wondered what it would take to run a big city like this!

[ like ryouma, shylock also has his reasons why he wanted to visit the waterworks for himself. not sure how much the sutoku knows about the upcoming shuten/tamamo clash, though, but he'll keep that under wraps for now. his reasons are a bit more personal anyway.

so yes, here they are. it absolutely reeks, and if shylock had his pipe back he could've smoked out the rank smell away. but alas. ]

It is impressive, objectively. However...

[ is his clan really going to die on a hill for this place? shylock can only make a face. ]

Let's take a look around. I don't doubt that the Department would've cleaned this place spick-and-span, but you never know with another clan's pair of eyes.

[ maybe it's a good thing there's someone around to help keep him on task because ryouma is very prone to distraction in situations like these. ]

That's what I'm thinking. I don't think I'm too far off the mark to say that the Enma's people are probably a little more narrow-minded than most. Easy to overlook something when it's like that.

[ he's also curious to see what, if anything, particularly catches his companion's interest. not just for sneaky, strategic reasons!! it's also just interesting to know people. ]

Well, you're certainly not wrong about that. I do wish to get along with each faction as much as I can, but the Enma can be rather... uptight for my taste, so to speak. There may be some standouts who did not want to play the judge, jury, and executor during the kappa roundup, but overall I don't see myself having a lot of peers from the Department anytime soon.

[ he thrives on chaos on mayhem, despite his calm and collected demeanor. it's a western thing. ]

Anyway, the reason why I came along to begin with was to scope out this area in particular. [ he cants his head at ryouma. does he dare ask? he may as well. ] Have you heard of certain rumors regarding the underground as of late, Mr. Rider?

Edited 2022-04-21 08:19 (UTC)

The standouts I'd be interested in meeting with; there's value in knowing people who might have an insider's view. The tricky part is motivation. I can see an easier way to negotiate with the clans but what the Enma wants is more difficult, but I'm sure the people themselves are a lot easier to motivate, at least.

[ ryouma accepted his own complicated relationship with order and authority a long time ago. ]

I make it my business to keep on top of these things, so I've heard plenty of rumours about this place. Which one caught your attention in particular?

[ between the rumblings about an oncoming turf war, the suspicious circumstances around the kappa leadership, and whatever strange presence(?) ryouma had gotten a sense of last time he was down here, there are a lot of potential moving pieces to consider. ryouma doesn't want to lend undue credibility to any of them by naming one ahead of the others, which is why he asks. ]

Right you are. Just because they fall under a clan that prioritizes law and order does not mean that all of them can no longer think for themselves. In fact, there are others who did not want to round up the kappa for interrogation in the first place, but I imagine that it'd be hard to go against the Enma due to their respective contracts.

[ so yeah, he gets it! he totally does. doesn't mean he's going to like it, but he is rather relieved to meet guys like six who aren't keen on doing that task in the first place.

he stops in his tracks, letting the distant sounds of sewer water trickling down from high places onto the disgusting pools below fill the minute silence between them. ]

Other factions would want this area of the underground themselves. [ he smiles. ] Aren't you so worried that I'm down here right now with you?

I'm planning on arranging an event next month sometime, perhaps. It would be a good time, I think, to engage with our counterparts working for the Department and see where they stand.

[ he just needs to wait and see because ryouma gives (surprisingly) careful consideration to what's going on around him before he makes a move. he likes to think it's something he picked up during naval training, where he was trained to take careful note of the winds and the currents and the tide. if you don't pay attention to things like that, you can lose everything and it's a lesson he learned very well first-hand.

as to the rumours, that's what ryouma figured shylock was getting at and having confirmation changes... not much at all. he just smiles and tucks his hands in his pockets. ]

Nope! If I have my way, the Tamamo will join hands with the Sutoku Alliance and the Shuten anyway. The only thing I'm worried about is when the Kappa can get back to living and working in their home.

[ a chuckle. ] Cute of you to presume that the Tamamo will readily cooperate with the Alliance, especially if the Shuten will be involved. I may not be fond of infighting, but you're going to need a nice dealbreaker that'll leave my clan satisfied.

[ most of them are a bunch of hedonists, you know? so it might be easy to please them anyway... probably. ]

But you are right about the kappa. Which makes the whole investigation that was held by the Enma all the more baffling -- why interrogate only the kappa when there are other youkai in their Alliance who could have done it?

Mm. I assumed as much. I don't expect anyone to do anything just because a stranger asks nicely, after all, even a trustworthy stranger. But, I have found one thing that can bring people together regardless of things like politics and old feuds, it's just a matter of coming up with a plan of action.

[ what that thing is he deliberately omits, mostly because he likes to see how other people think.

everything ryouma ever accomplished in his life he managed to do in an extremely short amount of time but he had more at his disposal then too, in a way. he knew his country and the people and could understand the shifts in politics and war and trade. not so much around here, so it's going to take no small amount of effort to play catch up. ]

Well, I have a theory about all of that but it can get a little long. I imagine it has to do with the higher ranking Kappa and their access to lower levels. Whoever is behind all this knew where to apply pressure and if the other clans are getting ready for a fight they're playing right along.

[ now, here's a man with initiative. but that does make shylock wonder if it is even possible to strive for peace in such a lawless land -- enma rule notwithstanding. guess he still has a lot to learn about this realm and its culture. ]

So they're waiting for the outcome of the upcoming showdown, then. [ closes his eyes. ] I still can't fathom the appeal of this area by the two groups, to be honest. So there might be something here that both groups want for themselves, not just the location.

[ so let's look for it! ]

( Well, while Ryouma goes off and does all of that......

Sure, ghost adventures, why not, seems fun and Chongyun is cute enough about it that it really tugs on his "gotta take it seriously for his too-earnest junior's sake" heartstrings. Ritsu's only experiences with the supernatural technically are him and then, like, he guesses Yumenosaki has a handful of school urban legends, but most high schools have those; he's never cared enough to really check them out, either. He's not easy to scare, and he doesn't really believe in ghosts, either...

Halloween is one of his favorite holidays, though. So, okay, ghost hunting. How do you even talk to ghosts... It takes a few minutes of messing around on his phone, but he's got it recording. )

...If there's any ghosts or spirits or whatever around here that wanna tell us stuff, mic's open. ( . . . ) Mmm... Does this kind of stuff actually work? You see it in all the movies and stuff, but that's all make-believe.

[Lan Wangji will follow up on the physical elements of the waterworks situation in just a moment himself, but he pauses before heading deeper in to investigate the machinery further, because that was a whole lot of terms he's not used to mixed in with a topic where he's very familiar. he's not quite sure what Ritsu is doing with his phone -- the idea of using it as a recording tool, much less the idea that spirits might be able to interfere with soundwaves or photography and leave traces of themselves accordingly, would be new to him as well. he's very used to ghosts using sounds to communicate, but that's in quite different circumstances.

he's vaguely aware of movies at this point in his "living in a modern city" journey, though he's never actually seen one. do they have instructional pieces for night hunting? maybe he should investigate.]

"Work?"

[he's frowning, a more severe expression than he really intends... his face just looks like that.]

You intend speech with ghosts?

[ Chongyun is just as perplexed as Lan Wangji. He's standing beside Ritsu, watching him take out his phone with a mix of confusion and interest, little stitch creasing between brows as he observes. He had taken out his phone so seriously, without even thinking about it, the exorcist has to wonder if this is a method of communing with spirits that's common where Ritsu is from. Maybe these phones have even more uses than he originally thought?

He looks up at the older exorcist's question and answers with a nod. ]

Yes. Don't you get a sense that something is off here? [ is this an actual sense or just wishful thinking? we just don't know. but the underground undeniably has a vibe, and what if that gleam in the photo he took isn't just a trick of one light? ] I can't put my finger on it ... so it would be remiss of us to not investigate, right? If there are any ghosts, they could give us an account of what's happened down here.

[ Somewhere out there, the mods are looking at this log going, "Why did I let such dumb characters in my game?" But we're in now, you can't kick us out, and we're HUNTIN' GHOSTS that aren't here. ]

Would you like to join us, Master Lan?

( Ritsu just can't say no to Chongyun, that's all... A good boy. Don't abuse that. )

I don't mind if you do, Lan-san. ( Just putting that out there. He stops the recording and replays it.... there's nothing but their conversation, so he deletes it. Hmm. ) Maybe we need to go further... C'mon.

( Down one of the hallways he starts....... Shylock and Ryouma can take care of themselves, it's fine— )

Mm. It is strange.

[Lan Wangji replies directly to Chongyun's vibe commentary with a sober nod, and he'll turn to follow Ritsu with the same sincere attention in response to the invite, at least for now. oddly enough, instead of taking out his phone to try to record static and invite ghosts to beatbox with him like any self-respecting modern ghost hunter, he reaches instead to loosen the ties on the guqin he carries on his back as he walks. this is clearly the time for some musical entertainment, right?]

Spiritual energy has been affected since the explosion. May be stronger here.

[he speaks confidently, as if he takes it for granted that what he's saying is perfectly straightforward even if they haven't sensed it themselves.]

[ Ryoulock, y'all will be fine doing what you're doing. There are ghosts waiting somewhere out there. Gooodbyeeeeee.

The hallway they've chosen to go down is darker because a few of the lights having been broken at some point. During the assassination chaos or otherwise? Unclear. Either way, it certainly lends itself to the atmosphere as the three wander deeper into the Underground. The musky scent grows, as does the humidity. ]

Right ... of course. [ he nods—anywhere that's had sudden violence is always a bit charged with energy, isn't it? a kind of ghost on its own. ] Ritsu, did you know? Master Lan plays the guqin.

[ Don't mind him pointing out the obvious, sounding like a mom at her son's first piano recital. He glances to the instrument, equally as curious as he had when Ritsu had whipped out the phone. Where he's from, he can just ... talk to a ghost, like they're talking now (when they aren't busy fleeing from him, anyway). Tools aren't usually necessary. ]

Do they like music?

( Oh, is that what that is? A guqin... It looks kind of unwieldy if he's honest, but he keeps his mouth shut on that comment. )

If it's music, then I can just sing... I know a couple haunting dirges. ( More ballads, though. Knights loves their ballads. ) Heheh, or maybe he's hoping to call 'em out with a couple of ghost notes...

( ...

IT'S A MUSICAL TERM, HE THINKS HE'S FUNNY, he's smiling for a moment before he continues. )

A ton of people probably got hurt or died down here, so it's not that surprisin' the spiritual energy's higher... Mmm, though I can't feel that kinda thing, so I'm just trustin' you two. ( Chongyun the exorcist, Lan Wangji the... .... ..... actually he doesn't know what Lan-san does, maybe he's an exorcist too, they kind of got that similar color scheme going on. ) Since you two know more about ghosts and all... You can take the lead. I'll keep an eye out for anyone skulking about ♪ I've got pretty good eyesight in the dark.

( Does he? ...Well, maybe slightly better than average. )

closed | call me snoopy 'cause i'm putting my nose where it don't belong

WATERWORKS

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