的場静司 | Matoba Seiji (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
worldbent) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jigokulogs2022-05-18 10:18 pm
worldbent) wrote in jigokulogs2022-05-18 10:18 pm
OPEN ➸ May Catchall
Who ⬤ Matoba and you!
What ⬤ Curses. So very many curses- eye attack, haniwa, and... the arcade?
When ⬤ Throughout May
Where ⬤ Around the city, but mostly Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Possible light violence from the attack prompt?
1 ➸ Fight Fire With Fire (Substory 4/May Eyeakashi Attack)
[ooc; please read this info/permissions post before replying to this prompt (and feel free to ping me with questions!)]
[A]
[Whatever you happen to be doing when the low, rumbling groan begins to sound from the sky overhead of you, the crowds around you uneasily stop and glance around. Its source is unclear, and others on the street seem equally puzzled-- all but one, a man, who withdraws the paper parasol tucked into his obi and opens it with a smile. Matoba bends over, and deposits something on the ground from a bundle he is carrying- if your eye is sharp, you'll see that they're those haniwa that have been popping up around the city, the ones the Enma specifically said not to mess with. His parasol is left to shade them, like a little house.]
[Are you going to ask what he's up to?]
--
[B]
[If not, he begins to walk away from his little dioarama- directly towards you, it so happens.]
[A mass of black sludge suddenly rockets out of the sky and smashes into the sidewalk moments later, leaving a small crater where the man had been; instead of him, the haniwa are devoured in an instant, absorbing a seismic flash of cursed energy that anyone with spiritual senses is sure to feel. The parasol is left crunching into its formless, toothy mouth before it realizes it has been tricked, and stares into the crowd- directly at Matoba.]
[And you.] OooouuGGGHHhhhhh.... EYE..
2 ➸ Cursoid (Substory 4)
[The trouble with cursed objects was that they seemed innocuous to those that needed to avoid them the most. As more and more of the little haniwa figurines began to appear throughout the city, Matoba had reluctantly taken it upon himself to do what he could to seal and remove them from public spaces, either delivering them to Department of Enma stations or whisking them away to less populated spaces. Those in Enma may find themselves tasked with a sudden delivery, wrapped in strange paper spells as Matoba gives you a skeptical once-over.] ...Are you sure you can handle this?
--
[Those outside the Enma- those who can't leave well enough alone on the streets- get even less benefit of the doubt.]
I'd appreciate if you could avoid touching that. [His tone is more exhausted than sharp, at this point; you might get the sense that he's tired of repeating himself, but with people kidnapping them to dress them in cutesy little costumes and all manner of other absurdities, he's really over it. Maybe he should just let you all get cursed.]
3 ➸ SHMUP is just fun to say (arcade)
[Some time ago, Matoba made the Daitengu a promise. For a while there, it seemed as if that promise would be a fruitless endeavor... After all, why compete against a dead body? Fortunately, news of the Daitengu's demise was highly exaggerated, and so Matoba can be found in the arcades from time to time, his single uncovered eye narrowed in focus.]
[...He is, as Daitengu said, 'in the zone'.]
[Bright lights and colors flash across the screen as explosions and bullets fly across the screen, Matoba's movements precise and automatic. It was pretty different from the old 90's games he'd played growing up in the rural arcades back home- flashier, extra mechanics- but the basic idea was the same, right?]
[Alas, after a tough late-stage boss battle, his ship explodes. Matoba lets out a soft 'tch', finally detaching from the machine to reach into his coinpurse for more yen... When he finally notices you hovering nearby with a slow blink. Forgive his strained eye, it needs to refocus.]
...My apologies, were you waiting for this machine?
----
[Hit me at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
kitsoru or via PM for plotting or questions!]
What ⬤ Curses. So very many curses- eye attack, haniwa, and... the arcade?
When ⬤ Throughout May
Where ⬤ Around the city, but mostly Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Possible light violence from the attack prompt?
1 ➸ Fight Fire With Fire (Substory 4/May Eyeakashi Attack)
[ooc; please read this info/permissions post before replying to this prompt (and feel free to ping me with questions!)]
[A]
[Whatever you happen to be doing when the low, rumbling groan begins to sound from the sky overhead of you, the crowds around you uneasily stop and glance around. Its source is unclear, and others on the street seem equally puzzled-- all but one, a man, who withdraws the paper parasol tucked into his obi and opens it with a smile. Matoba bends over, and deposits something on the ground from a bundle he is carrying- if your eye is sharp, you'll see that they're those haniwa that have been popping up around the city, the ones the Enma specifically said not to mess with. His parasol is left to shade them, like a little house.]
[Are you going to ask what he's up to?]
--
[B]
[If not, he begins to walk away from his little dioarama- directly towards you, it so happens.]
[A mass of black sludge suddenly rockets out of the sky and smashes into the sidewalk moments later, leaving a small crater where the man had been; instead of him, the haniwa are devoured in an instant, absorbing a seismic flash of cursed energy that anyone with spiritual senses is sure to feel. The parasol is left crunching into its formless, toothy mouth before it realizes it has been tricked, and stares into the crowd- directly at Matoba.]
[And you.] OooouuGGGHHhhhhh.... EYE..
2 ➸ Cursoid (Substory 4)
[The trouble with cursed objects was that they seemed innocuous to those that needed to avoid them the most. As more and more of the little haniwa figurines began to appear throughout the city, Matoba had reluctantly taken it upon himself to do what he could to seal and remove them from public spaces, either delivering them to Department of Enma stations or whisking them away to less populated spaces. Those in Enma may find themselves tasked with a sudden delivery, wrapped in strange paper spells as Matoba gives you a skeptical once-over.] ...Are you sure you can handle this?
--
[Those outside the Enma- those who can't leave well enough alone on the streets- get even less benefit of the doubt.]
I'd appreciate if you could avoid touching that. [His tone is more exhausted than sharp, at this point; you might get the sense that he's tired of repeating himself, but with people kidnapping them to dress them in cutesy little costumes and all manner of other absurdities, he's really over it. Maybe he should just let you all get cursed.]
3 ➸ SHMUP is just fun to say (arcade)
[Some time ago, Matoba made the Daitengu a promise. For a while there, it seemed as if that promise would be a fruitless endeavor... After all, why compete against a dead body? Fortunately, news of the Daitengu's demise was highly exaggerated, and so Matoba can be found in the arcades from time to time, his single uncovered eye narrowed in focus.]
[...He is, as Daitengu said, 'in the zone'.]
[Bright lights and colors flash across the screen as explosions and bullets fly across the screen, Matoba's movements precise and automatic. It was pretty different from the old 90's games he'd played growing up in the rural arcades back home- flashier, extra mechanics- but the basic idea was the same, right?]
[Alas, after a tough late-stage boss battle, his ship explodes. Matoba lets out a soft 'tch', finally detaching from the machine to reach into his coinpurse for more yen... When he finally notices you hovering nearby with a slow blink. Forgive his strained eye, it needs to refocus.]
...My apologies, were you waiting for this machine?
----
[Hit me at
3
He sighs, having lost once more. He's gotten good enough to pick up one of the prizes but the damn claw keeps dropping it before it reaches the deposit square. All the rabbits stare back at him with their button eyes pleading: win us, take us home, you know he's going to think we're the cutest if you give one of us to him!
Because, naturally, it's not himself that he's even trying to win one for.
Having run out of coins, Chongyun wanders over to the machine that breaks bills into coins so you can continue playing—and spies a familiar figure. Someone he ... really hadn't expected to find in here. Which is why he ends up staring for a while like a creep, long enough to actually end up caught. Oops. ]
Master Matoba—no, sorry. I was just surprised to see you.
no subject
[A small smile. Matoba does try to put on a particular affect, so it isn't like Chongyun's surprise isn't warranted. He drops his hands away from the arcade machine and turns towards his junior instead, leaning against the machine's controls.] I enjoy a game, from time to time. When I was around your age, I would sometimes sneak out of class and go to the arcade for a few hours, trying to rack up scores that no one else could beat... I was quite the rascal.
[Perhaps a surprisingly childish thing to admit, from the dignified head of Matoba- but everyone was a kid once, right? He smiles, reminiscing with a tilt of his head towards his shoulder, then fixes his curious gaze on the boy.] Are you a fan of arcade games, too, Chongyun-kun? Or is this your first time?
no subject
No, it's not my first time ... but it's only been a few. Just since I've come here. Never back in Liyue. [ he nods toward the row of UFO catchers, ] More than the games, I've been playing on those. Winning a prize is surprisingly difficult. Frustrating, even. I want to quit, but I can't seem to get it out of my system.
[ He sighs. It's just another kind of gambling, wasting all of his money on something so frivolous, but those rabbits ... he hadn't seen anything like them for sale in the regular stores. Prize-only. ]
no subject
[Matoba brightens- speaking of childishness- in what could certainly be interpreted as excitement. There was always a spritely mischief even to what seemed his moments of joy, where nothing could quite be trusted as a genuine emotional reaction.]
That is... you could say, my forté. Perhaps I could give you some pointers?
[He is, after all, Chongyun's senpai- what good a master would he be if he couldn't teach him a few new tricks? He waves Chongyun along as he comes to the rows of crane machines and settles at the one Chongyun had gestured to. Rabbits, huh...] This is the one, hm? Hm, hm... [He glances around the machine, as if inspecting it for something before settling in front of the controls.] I see. Let's give it a go, shall we?
no subject
He nods again when they approach the machine he had been laboring over. The rabbits stare back at him, still taunting, and Chongyun's brow furrow with his narrowing gaze. Soon, you little bastards ... soon. Thankfully Matoba seems to be looking around the machine while Chongyun has a standoff with some stuffed animals.
He inserts a few yen and the machine springs to life with happy music. Standing beside the older man, Chongyun nods, looking on eagerly. ]
Yes, please. I must know what I've been doing wrong.
[ It had seemed so simple on the surface. ]
no subject
[Matoba inspects the layout of the machine... Bunnies piled upon bunnies, some stuck out at odd angles from his past, failed attempts. What would be the closest prey, the weakest of the pack...? Matoba's hunter instinct takes over as he surveys the machine, opening his purse to take out a coin.] On its surface, these games are very simple, aren't they? But you are at the mercy of a machine's whims. And the machines, like any pachinko or slot, are designed to bring you as close to winning as possible before dashing it, keeping your hope alive that the next time, you'll be successful.
It isn't a game of pure technical skill, as with those racing or rhythm games, over there. [He pushes the 100 yen coin into the machine and the cheery lights and music come to life. Laying his hands on the controls, he keeps his eye on a particular brown-patched rabbit haphazardly sticking its leggy in the air.] It is calculation. It is about predicting the programming of your sly, robotic opponent, and using it against them.
[Or maybe Matoba is just insane, but whatever, he's going to get you a stuffed rabbit.]
no subject
Anyone watching would just think them an absolutely ridiculous duo. They would be right. ]
I see ... the machine is not to be trusted. That was my first mistake. How foolish.
[ To think, he had thought it was a matter of skill and patience. He hadn't calculated because it had seemed so straightforward a task. Scoop up a toy. Obviously some would be impossible to get, but even the ones that seemed like they would be good picks had proven to be devious. ]
How do you use the machine's programming against it?
[ His attention is rapt, paying attention to even the way Matoba places his hands on the button panel. ]
no subject
[Matoba, who thinks this all is a perfectly normal interaction, grips the joystick with the seriousness of his bow, and trains his eye on the movement of the claw as he begins to move it over the rabbit.] It will take many tries to learn the quirks of each machine. [Hmmm.. This position should work. Matoba's eye narrows, glancing up and down from claw to rabbit as he lines up the position, and then taps the button for the claw to drop.]
Now, we watch.
[With the intensity of, perhaps, a surgeon undertaking a difficult operation, Matoba watches as the crane lowers, closes securely over the rabbit's leg, and then loosens back open slightly as it lifts up, allowing it to slip away in a heartbreaking fashion. Ahhh, so this was the sort of evil they were dealing with.]
...So it's like that... [Matoba is already pushing in the next coin.]
no subject
[ Chongyun murmurs out loud as the older man works, nodding again and adding more and more notes to his book. So many notes that he already has a page filled. It's important to glean every single detail, lest he forget something. Master Matoba is kind enough to offer a lesson so he's intent on absorbing every single scrap he can. This is normal.
But he stops taking his diligent notes as the claw descends. Leaning in, Chongyun watches while holding in a breath, as though a single exhale could ruin all of their hard work. For a moment it looks like they might have it—Chongyun raises his hands up together, fisted, looking eager—but the rabbit makes a fool of him once again.
He turns his big baby blues onto Matoba, disappointed, but it looks like they're going again. ]
Ah, Master Matoba! I should pay. You're playing for me, after all. [ he holds up his hands, which are filled with yen coins. ] Let's not stop until we have defeated this machine!
[ It's a matter of exorcist pride now. ]
no subject
[It's gambling. It's all gambling, just for big cute fwuffy rabbits instead of money- bypassing that little law quite neatly.]
[Chongyun's disappointment is palpable, but Matoba is undeterred. Luckily, neither is Chongyun, who is even sweetening the deal by subsidizing his obsession. Who is he to say no to that?] Oh, thank you, Chongyun-kun. [He reaches to take one of the coins, and deposits it into the machine without hesitation. After all, it is only fair compensation, right?]
Alright, this time... Let us pay attention to the timing of how the claw closes, shall we?
[He chooses a differently positioned rabbit, this time. Instead of a daintily kicked leg, this one has its snout positioned upward, so he goes for that, instead. He has a feeling that the claw will not grasp on, this time, and so he's going to have to strategize.....]
Chongyun-kun, have you ever noticed that the prizes in the machine are not evenly spaced out?
no subject
The claw descends. Chongyun watches as though his life depends upon this very thing, leaning in to press his face against glass that probably has not been sanitized in some time. He isn't thinking about how many fat faces have been pressed up heavy breathing against the machine, however, when he's too busy doing it himself. ]
I have. [ he's studied the rabbits from head to tail (lol) by this point, ] Though I suspected that it was laziness on the part of the employees who fill the machine. Was I also wrong about that too....? How foolish.
[ Three times!! Three times the fool! ]
no subject
[Matoba is already reaching over, expectantly, for another coin from Chongyun.]
There is a certain strategy in which you purposely allow the claw to deposit the items just short of the prize-drop, building up a... slow pyramid of objects, you see, until you can use the moving claw to tip them into the chute without fail.
It takes some time and money, but it is a good way to take advantage with prizes of certain types, such as plush. [He pushes in the next coin. Let's see... This time, he would take a rabbit hiding towards the back, and build up the other side of the chute...] Shall we try that?
no subject
Strategy, of course ... so one must take a loss on money for the sake of the win. One shot just won't do. He rubs his chin and nods, understanding, suddenly looking at the UFO catching in a whole new light. Who knew something that looked so fun and harmless was, in fact, filled with lies? A strategy where one doesn't even use the claw to grab—who created these games? Truly an evil mastermind. ]
Yes, let's try. I would like to see it in action. [ his hands jingle with yen coins—#makingitrainnnnn ] If we pile enough, perhaps we can even win more than one prize.
[ He's not even planning on keeping this prize and yet he's getting excited about it. Slay!! Purge!! Defeat this machine!! ]
Maybe more than two prizes.
[ ( ⓛ ω ⓛ ) my prettiesssss..... ]
no subject
....Hmmm.. This one, [Matoba nods to himself, and this time he concentrates with seriousness. The claw draws towards one of the rabbits that had been built up along the edge, and he picks that one for the claw to descend over. It open, and closes over the edge of its snout, only to let it loose from the grip on the movement over--]
[--Just enough force to push its neighbor over, and into the prize drop. The machine lights up and plays a cheery sound, indicating a winner. You did it!]
Victory at last, hm, Chongyun-kun? [Matoba smiles at his kouhai and gestures for him to go ahead and take the bunny from the slot at the bottom of the machine.]
[Let the power flow through you.] I wonder how many we might be able to win. [Matoba puts his hands on the controls again, and idly adds,] What do you intend to do with all of these, by the way?
no subject
[ The boy’s eyes brighten as the rabbit teeters, the machine finally succumbing to the might of the exorcists. It falls and the music rings out—Chongyun clutches his fists agains, delighted, before following the gesture to remove their hard won prize from the bottom slot.
It’s soft in his hands, a round treasure with bead eyes, pure white aside from a black dot on its back. He holds it between his palms, giving it a little squish. The high of games is … truly something. Maybe too much of an indulgence—the excitement has rushed right to his head, which is why he chooses his next words carelessly, ]
Rabbits make Xingqiu smile, so I would like to gift him as many as possible.
[ But as soon as he hears himself say it, Chongyun’s face flares red—his feelings for the other boy are still confusing and difficult to navigate, but he’s gotten … more of a clue in the past few weeks. That doesn’t mean he wants anyone else to know about his Boy Feelings, though. Do not perceive him. Do not. ]
I—I—I mean, that is, he would like them fine. I just wanted to play the game. I don’t need toys.
[ Phew. He gives himself a mental pat on the back for that extremely swift save. Matoba will surely be none the wiser about his confused boy intentions. ]
… Shall we play again?
[ He inserts another coin into the machine. ]
no subject
...I see, [Matoba replies with his obvious, knowing smile, and turns back towards the machine again. He puts his hands on the controls as Chongyun inserts the coin, but for a moment he doesn't move the claw.]
Chongyun-kun. You recall that I warned you, after last month's events, about allowing yourself to be swept away in fanciful pursuits. [He operates the claw, now that he's put that out there, before continuing,] Now, I want to be clearer about what I mean by that.
[The claw drops, hovering over a second bunny with brown ears and spots, and the claw grips onto it, dragging it over towards the edge of the prize chute. It falls out of the claw, half-dangling over the spout. Annoying. One more coin for that one, then.]
Ayakashi do not have senses rooted only in the physical world the same as us humans, or even those of us born with power. As our shadows, when they look at us and see our complete human souls, they see everything that is reflected in them- surface thoughts and dearly-kept memories, the connections to other souls that have been forged in our hearts.
...But do not misunderstand perception for understanding. [He inserts the next coin and takes the controls again, this time snapping up the bunny's tail just enough to knock it into the prize chute. Phew, there we go. Which prey shall he aim for next...] For ayakashi- who have only loose connections to the physical world, whose existences are incomplete- human bonds may throw them into a jealous rage, or ignite the forgotten sorrows and anger that a spirit has forgotten it was attached to in a previous life. Ayakashi, who are ageless beings that cannot simply perish with time alone, cannot understand the preciousness of life... or the loss of it.
[Another coin, and he's on the prowl.] As an exorcist- as one who has accepted the task of making ayakashi your enemy- you cannot risk what will happen if the wrong ayakashi reads what is in your heart, and uses it against you. [He tilts the joystick, stopping over a grey bunny that had tumbled off the pile before, to reposition it.] That is why it is better, for your own sake, and for the sake of those you seek to protect- if you open your heart, you can never close it again. If you allow even the smallest gap....
[He's distracting himself. Which rabbit next... The black one, perhaps. What shows of his face is blank, and the paper eyepatch covering his right eye is hiding his expression. Only in the reflection of the glass tank around the machine can Chongyun see the bitter distance in the gaze of his left eye.] ...The day will come that you regret it.
no subject
The young exorcist stays quiet as his senior speaks and works. Fingers tap the directional buttons for the claw; it moves, rabbits tumble, and though Chongyun keeps his eyes steadily on the game his thoughts are on the man's words. What he says is true: spirits can and will take advantage of whatever they can. That, as the heir to an exorcist clan that's protected Liyue for generations, the weight on his shoulders is much greater than the average person. That there is no room to be careless and unguarded when they're at their most vulnerable.
Discipline is everything. Unbridled passion can have disastrous consequences.
Chongyun's hands tighten over the rabbit. He's always known he has to keep himself in check—he's had to since birth due to his condition and position—and he has done it fairly well over the years. But it's getting harder as new feelings grow; what were once buds are beginning to bloom. He's so restless. What's he supposed to do with all of these feelings? One of the main symptoms of congenital positivity is excess passion, and that's not even taking into account being a young man in the prime of youth.
These are unchartered waters. New territory. Eating yin foods and wearing light clothes, indulging no tempers and taking no quarrels, isolating himself, eating only cold foods ... these are all things he can do and does do to keep his spirit's condition in check. But what is he supposed to do when it's a condition of the heart?
He watches Matoba's reflection in the glass. Wonders as the man speaks of regrets and, despite how it's almost certainly overstepping, Chongyun asks: ]
Have you ever ... had feelings for someone?
no subject
[He admits it quietly, but calmly. For just a moment, he tears his gaze away from where it has been glued to the game, dissociating from his own words, and in that movement he manages to tamp down what was in his eye and repress it back to a controlled and neutral smile. Still, it manages some of the teasing mischief that he's had in dealing with Chongyun in the past; it was something he reserved for those he was genuinely fond of.]
[He was often accused of being made of stone, or of being more unfeeling and cruel than the very ayakashi he loathed and hunted. For the head of Matoba, rumors and remarks like those were a far safer thing to earn, and so there was need to shun them. He had cultivated his image carefully, even from his younger years- in the public eye, he had been the Matoba's young prince, their promising new power; and in inheriting he had immediately proven himself a force to be reckoned with and not one to be crossed. You were either with him, or you were out of his way.]
[But that was 'Matoba'. Before that, he had been Seiji, little as that identity as his own person had been. And in those days, there had only ever been one person who had treated him as his own person, seen him as separate from the image of the Matoba he projected then, and had indulged him in his fanciful and desperate tastes for freedom, before he lost it forever.]
[...Now, perhaps, that had changed... But even if -he- no longer saw him as anything but Matoba, he still had his treasured memories of before buried down and locked away as they were.]
Shall we go for a full set of colors? [He nods to Chongyun's growing collection. They were missing the pure white rabbit, still.]
no subject
But none of them actually manage to fall. The young exorcist swallows scattered words back as he glances up to meet the elder man's eye for that unspoken moment. Of course Matoba is human—but with the difference in age and experience between them, he had always felt just beyond reach. Even with the sweets at cafes, games in arcades, and similar backgrounds.
Right now ... he doesn't feel so far after all.
Chongyun will think about it later on. Maybe when he's home with his rabbits and figuring out how to deliver them to Xingqiu's room, he'll imagine what kind of person Matoba might have once wanted to entrust his heart to (some demure raven-haired beauty, full of elegance and grace?) and what happened to them (tragically eaten by spirits, parting them forever?!). For now, he is content to leave things as is. His path and how to walk it is his own to figure out. Confusing as it may be, it's something he must do for himself.
Expression softening, the boy smiles. ]
Yes. Let's. I still have plenty of yen to spare.