jigokulogs | [ open ] i'm paid to smile

[ people regarded ryouma as a tall guy in his own time, but around here he's sorta average when you're rubbing elbows with oni and such. otegine is what tall really looks like and ryouma is suitably impressed, for whatever that's worth.

mostly he's just gawking like an idiot. ]

Well, if I had any doubts 'bout ya bein' the real deal, now I'm sure of it! I think I'm startin' t' figure some of this stuff out.

[ he's observed that a small sword is small and a spear is tall. very scientific. ]

Hehe, anyway, that's right! Sakamoto Ryouma, at your service!

[ he could sit at his desk like a normal person, but he just sits on it instead. no need to make this any more formal than it needs to be. ]

[why are you on your desk, sir... Ah well.

The Touken leads with his weapon by default, making sure it clears the door before ducking through himself. 192cm usually wasn't too bad to handle in comparison, but people always tended to make things just too small indoors.]

...Ah... hah, I don't really get what y--

[Except he misjudges coming back out from the other side of the door, clocking the back of his skull. There's a wince and a muttered ow as he tiredly glares back at the doorway.]

Never mind. [He sighs, rubbing the new bruise on his head and depositing his weapon against one of the walls to keep it out of the way.] You sure are dedicated about this idea, huh?

[...]

...You really are Sakamoto Ryouma, then. Or-- [Another glance is given over the smaller man, more visibly conflicted than cautious.] -- An echo of him, maybe.

Sorry. I wasn't given much detail on your situation.

Edited 2022-09-15 13:16 (UTC)

[ ryouma winces a little in sympathy because that had to hurt. ]

Ya drink? Oughta take ya over to the bars in Shuten territory someday, you'll feel right at home.

[ and people should be comfortable!! ]

And, heh, sorry if it seems a little pushy. Do ya know Hizen Tadahiro? Or Ichimonji Norimune? I've gotta little experience dealin' with 'em.

[ as to what ryouma is..? that's a little more complicated these days than it used to be. ]

I'm a Servant, so this physical form is magical, but in all the ways that matter I'm me! "Echo" is somethin' I haven't heard yet though.

Mn. Not as much as others, maybe... heh, but I can't say no to topping off warmed sake until we've all had our fill.

[There's a smile to the statement, even if it slips a bit as he rests his hands against his hips, worrying at his bottom lip for a moment.]

...Yeah, I've met them both. Though, uh... we're not really all that familiar yet. This is the first I've spoken to either of them. [Yes, perhaps they all might have been contemporaries - he isn't sure. But Norimune was far too old to comprehend, and he didn't even know of Hizen's existence until about two weeks ago.]

Still... They seemed to be familiar with yourself and a couple others, outside the normal sense. I don't know if I can really pretend to understand -- that's not really my forte or anything. But I guess it seems like we're in similar positions. [Existing, both physically and conceptually, in ways that wouldn't be remotely normal without a mage's help.]

Right?

I'll keep that in mind! I'm over in that part of town plenty. They've got the best gun ranges, in my opinion.

[ that's beside the point, but the way otegine responds tells him a little about the guy too. he doesn't seem as hard to figure out as norimune and the easy smile is distinctly un-hizen-like. ryouma finds it interesting, seeing as servants have an obvious blueprint for the way they are. ]

It's pretty similar, yeah. The short version is that before I got here I usually got sent t' deal with existential threats to humanity survivin'. Sent, in my case, by the World itself. Human mages can summon Servants to, after all, but I never had a Master.

[God. Guns. It gets a nervous laugh from him, but nothing that lingers long. No wonder Hizen did a full-blown Mutsu impression while talking about this guy.

Still, when the conversation slides into something more serious, Ryouma has Otegine's attention, the Touken folding his arms against his chest. His expression stays pretty openly confused, up until the last few words where he visibly starts.]

...Eh?

It can work like that??

[As far as he knows, in his context, it is swords and their mage... well, and more recently, knowing there are OTHER mages with OTHER swords somewhere out there. Anything beyond that... would be a trick of their enemy, wouldn't it?]

Wouldn't that be dangerous, though? Letting things like us go around without rules would just make the problems worse, wouldn't it?

Well, there's rules. Someone like me only ever appears in response to an existential threat to humanity.

[ it might sound lofty, but he doesn't say it with the sort of glowing pride one would expect in knowing their intervention saved the world, maybe a few times. ]

And there are any number of reasons that could happen.

And... the world itself can detect when that's gonna happen?

[Was... it like Kebishii, maybe? He hopes not. Kebishii are horrifying even if they are just doing their jobs.]

Mn, that's weird to think about. I'd always thought humanity were the ones that drove everything like that.

Heh, it's a lot more complicated than I can ever hope t' understand, so I'm not even gonna try and explain it. Pretty sure the way it works, there were gods and wizards and that sorta thing before there were ever humans. Or—... I dunno! But humans ain't the most powerful thing the world's ever seen. That's why ya got some Servants who might as well be actual gods next t' third-rate Servants like me.

[ ryouma is really selling himself short, especially since he's gained more power lately, but he's still not sure how he's supposed to feel about that. it's an ongoing existential crisis. ]

None of that matters much here, though. Around here, you and I have a will of our own.

Hah, I didn't figure there were, but... still, humanity seems to always be in the center of it no matter what, right? Even with all their flaws and everything, and even if they have all these other spirits and gods and whatever other powers overtop of them... they're still kind of what matters the most.

[Other than that? He has zero ability to keep up with this topic. He might be as minor of a kami as possible, but even they had limits!]

Does that not bother you at all? I mean, uh --maybe I should word that different-- a-are you used to that kind of thing from where you came before? If you didn't have a master over you, are you used to having freedom anyway?

Yeah, I think you're right about that. Humans are pretty amazin', huh?

[ no matter where he is or what ryouma becomes, his love for humanity and fascination with their progress has never changed.

the next question alters his expression a little. his smile remains, but doesn't reach his eyes. ]

Oh, sure. To a point. The job needs to get done one way or another, so you could say there's freedom in the method.

[ ryouma draws a breath and lets it out slowly. he knows he's not telling the full truth.

does that not bother you at all?

he's no liar and otegine is asking him an honest question, so he figures it deserves an honest answer. ]

We never had control over when we'd show up. If ya get there early enough in the game, maybe y' figure out how to get the pendulum to swing the other way, y' know? Maybe ya avert disaster by never gettin' too close to the edge in the first place.

[ he's bitter about this in the way one only gets to be when they realise they got bait-and-switch'd ~~by the World itself~~. ]

But I used t' be human so maybe I still think too much like one. Point is, we usually got sent in too late, so there wasn't much anyone could do. Left with the worst, last ditch option usually meant it was nastier than it needed t' be. In the end, it's all just paperwork.

[ maybe not literally, but conveying the same sense of meaningless effort as filing endless reports. ]

That's why it's so different here. It doesn't feel... pointless.

[ open ] i'm paid to smile

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