3

[stubboarn]

Who ⬤ ENMA + whoever’s unfortunate enough to get swept in this + whoever wants to help!
What ⬤ September substory #4: bounty-hunting!
When ⬤ [ hand gestures ]
Where ⬤ [ … hand gestures ]
Content Warnings ⬤ blanket tag for violence, will update as other things come up.




RELEVANT OOC LINKS

Dimitri post
Link in the Faction page
Update link in Dimitri’s OOC CR/planning post
September substory page

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OOC

This is the LOG for the bounty-hunting substory in September! There are several threads in which this log is divided in. Here’s an explainer – each one is identified as to whether it’s ENMA-specific or OTA. The descriptors are vague by design: I'm leaving it up to players to figure out the nuts and bolts of how they wish their thread will go, and whether or not their characters will team up with officers or pull in friends from other factions to help out, etc. They're really just more of a guide as to what you can expect from the log!

1. ENMA // OFFICE WORK – is your character more the office type? There’s a need for several warrants to be written up for all the poor unfortunate souls who’re going to be detained. This is for you! Feel free to specify your own location where it works for you/your thread partners; in general, I’ll put the default as Kaigo-no-bou.

2. ENMA + OTA // EASY MODE – if your character is more inclined to go the diplomatic route, this is the option for you. NPCs here only need some intimidation and a bit of force in order to get them to comply. Locations can be anywhere, up to you/your thread partner/s where you want to detain people and meet your quota (there is none, but you know) for it!

3. ENMA + OTA // HARD MODE – if your character is more the violent type, this one is for you! NPCs here are more likely to be aggressive or desperate, motivated by money, greed, or petty grievances against something or another. Locations can be anywhere and is up to you and your thread partner/s. NOTE If your character wants to escalate it to flat-out murder, that’s your choice!

4. OTA // CHILL OUT DUDE – This one is just a meet-and-greet, before and/or after the job! Swap stories, meet people, scold your coworkers – sky’s the limit. As with all things, unless you want it set elsewhere, the default is some cafeteria in Kaigo-no-Bou for the setting, just specify in the thread subject where you want it to be!

5. OTA // MISTAKEN IDENTITY – are you from another faction and would like to be arrested by our illustrious department? Now’s your chance to experience this grief first hand! DISCLAIMER Dimitri is not responsible for your ass getting arrested. Go bail yourself out.

As well, there will be a HANDWAVE thread. This is for anyone busy who needs to close off a plot – just give us a small writeup as to what happened if you feel this needs to be noted for everyone. I’ll leave this up to your discretion as to what needs to go here!

Dimitri himself will be going back and forth doing detaining/entrapment, and office work. If anyone wants to meet him / harass him, here’s your chance to do so. If you want something substory-related with Dimitri that's more of a private interaction, hmu on the WILDCARD thread.

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LINKS FOR RP

ENMA // OFFICE WORK
ENMA + OTA // EASY MODE
ENMA + OTA // HARD MODE
OTA // CHILL OUT DUDE
OTA // MISTAKEN IDENTITY
OOC // HANDWAVE
WILDCARD //


For anything else, you can contact me via PMs to this account or over at discord – whether in the game chat, journal PMs, or discord (wrryypugnant #6666).

Comments

ENMA // OFFICE WORK

[stubboarn]

[saintclaire]

It's been a very long day, and the end isn't really in sight, but Kim takes to it like a fish to water. On hour twelve, she's just as neatly arranged as she was at the start, her ponytail in one immaculate curl, her dark-eyed make-up uncreased, and her tall stilettos still on her feet. If she has some complaint, she hasn't voiced it. The only indication of the passage of time is the emptiness of her coffee cup, dutifully refilled every few hours.

The work is easy, though time consuming. Kim has two stacks of paper in front of her, straddling her computer screen and keyboard, and one is gradually narrowing as the other grows. She is meticulous, sometimes at the cost of time spent fussing over the minor details of some warrant. Several times she stops to consult one of the books on her desk, all on Japanese law.

Despite Jigoku-cho's eccentricities, it has to be by the book.

She pauses now and again to pick up her phone, during which she taps out a quick message, usually with the same placid concentration she applies to her work, occasionally with a breakthrough smile. Other times, she gets up to refresh her coffee even though she's already wired. Sometimes she has a question, or shows up at someone's desk for a status update.

And around dinner time, while most others are out getting food or ordering in, Kim steps out behind the Kaigo no Bou to have a cigarette, leant up against the building's side. She exhales long and slow, smoke trailing from her lips, her exhausted gaze meandering into the middle distance.

[stubboarn]

[ sometime in the evening, after heading in and out of the office doing work and making sure to plan the mission, dimitri goes to pay kim a visit. ]

Hello. I'm just checking in - how is the work going?

[ he's brought coffee, if nothing else; one for himself, and one for her. it'd be something she prefers; he'd asked around. ]

[saintclaire]

[There's a small measure of surprise on her face; she's had paralegals and administrative assistants, but she's never once asked them for coffee, and she can count on one hand the amount of times a colleague has simply shown up with it. (Jimmy aside, of course.) Dimitri's gesture feels immediately noteworthy.]

Good. I think with another [she glances at her watch] ten, twelve hours, I should be through it.

[Long hours, but she'll do them.]

How are things going on your end?

ENMA

[anuglybloom]

[ Carla is watching the scene out on the field on a set of monitors. There's no movement yet so her drone is sitting on a ledge. While she waits for something more interesting to happen, she has poured out a bag of fruit-colored candy onto the desk and is sorting them lazily by color and amount as she occasionally eats one. She has chosen the music, which sucks for you because she's like this. ]

ENMA + OTA // EASY MODE

[stubboarn]

ENMA + OTA // EASY MODE

[sisterlyshield]

[Although Kisara has not been particularly shy or reserved about expressing who she is or what she did back in Viscint, she's also been just as forward about stating that in some situations, she would like to not resort to violence or force. If it can be helped. Some circumstances do not allow for that, but what information she's managed to glean from Eula seems to indicate that it may be possible to solve this situation without getting too entangled in combat.

Or maybe Kisara just wants that badly enough that she's willing to make herself believe it. She's spent more time trying to get information than anything else. The Wasteland seems like the ideal place one ought to go to do some sort of investigation, but everything she's heard has amounted to the idea that no one's ever come back. Is it all rumour? Coincidence? Maybe no one's ever returned because they've never wanted to. There are a lot of unanswered questions and Kisara is on the hunt to track down some answers.

But the problem is that it seems all of the information she gets from the locals is the same.

"Wouldn't go out there if I was you."

Kisara's left with a hand atop her hip, still at square one.]

At this rate, I might as well just go myself and see how bad it really is.

[It can't be that bad, can it?]

apologies for slow!!!!!! i'm here now!

[stubboarn]

[ he's pointed to this direction as well by different sources, different clues. following such leads led him to find another enma officer talking to a local, no doubt for the same mission, and dimitri is delighted; he'd been running around doing work for the office and now is back on the city streets; having company to do the work is important. there is safety in numbers. ]

Hello. Don't think we've met before, but I'm Dimitri.

Would you care for some company tonight?

No worries! Take your time~

[sisterlyshield]

[He's actually almost so quick that Kisara has to take a moment to realise that he's actually speaking to her and not necessarily the local she's just allowed to go on their way. Amber eyes scan over him and after a moment, it occurs to her that she's seen him before. In video, that is, though she hadn't actually addressed him.]

Dimitri—

[For just a moment she pauses and then she smiles.]

You talked about wanting to stop the bounty hunters who were working independently. I remember. I didn't weigh in at the time, but it was nice to hear someone making some sense.

[Instead of... trying to profit off of what was happening. In her opinion, that's not how anyone in the Enma ought to be behaving, but... It's wiser to keep that kind of thing unsaid, lest she wants to make a bunch of enemies out of people she'll likely have to work closely with.

Old habits die hard with Kisara and she crosses an arm over her chest before she bends at the waist in a half-bow motion.]

I'm Kisara. It's nice to meet you, face-to-face. I can't say I have any leads, honestly. I was debating making my own way out to the Wastelands to see if I could get some information. I've heard the stories and the concerns, but I'm having a difficult time trusting much of what I'm hearing otherwise. You're still welcome to come along, though. Could probably use the company, honestly.

ENMA + OTA // HARD MODE

[stubboarn]

ENMA + OTA // HARD MODE

[sharpestsword]

[ Julieta waits patiently in the spot she chose to catch some bounty hunters. By the time anyone realizes who she is it will be too late and she's got backup to thwart any escape attempt. If her sources are accurate then there should be someone showing up right about now. She's got her gun and her sword at her side if it comes to that. It would be easier for everyone if they just go quietly but her expectations are not high. ]

[getting_better]

Inspector Juris.

[ An officer meekly, wearily, approached her. They're pale in the face despite their yokai heritage and behind him some paces was another officer who had a familiar face in cuffs. The other officer was also pale and perspiring nervously while Bishop just stared at her with a heavy glare. ]

W-We arrested the guy you asked for, and I know you said to bring him to the station until you return but...

[ He looks back at his partner who enthusiastically nodded for him to continue. ]

Can we leave him with you now, inspector? He keeps sayings these really cryptic things whenever we move, he said it's all the parts of our bodies that's vulnerable that he can exploit to cause pain.

A lot of pain, ma'am!

A lot of pain. H-He's putting us on edge cause he doesn't seem to be joking and he's been oddly cooperative, which doesn't fit anything we've been told about him, ma'am.

[ Bishop meanwhile muttered something as the other officer wiped his brow only to twitch and reel from their annoyed captive. ]

[sharpestsword]

Very well. Just go.

[ She waves them off. She'll be fine on her own and will make sure they're compensated for the trouble later. From the sounds of it he was troublesome as she expected, just not in the way she expected. She looks him over with her hands behind her back wondering what it is he's up to this time. Maybe he's just being weird. ]

Since you're here you're going to help.

ota

[mechspeed]

[It's not so much that he's chosen the difficult option as he has chosen his preferred option; if someone folds the moment they're confronted with the department, then they're not stubborn enough to warrant Metal's attention. He clearly avoids situations where bounty hunters can be talked down instead of put down.

It's why once he does so happen to come upon anyone who needs some roughing up he goes all in. Even with almost everything that makes him dangerous stripped from his body, he's still proficient in hand to hand combat, he's got his claws and he's got his wits about him.

He will kill if necessary, but surprisingly he doesn't just wantonly murder targets either. The "if necessary" part must be stressed, if only because he's decided this is the most efficient way to assist the department. He's seen a lot of talk about order and justice, so he can pretend to care about it.]

for Andy, future bff and/or nemesis

[rank1]

Toraguma says to sabotage the crap outta the other guys so there's fewer people headed for the prize. Okay, said Travis. I can bust some heads. It's shitty work, but it's work he's used to. It pays the bills, and gets the blood pumping, too. Who can complain?

The problem is that Travis isn't much of a detective. He's had some good misadventures with slick people, sure, and he's a fucking pro at hunting down obscure video game titles and retired hardware, but people are different. Without a lead, he's fucking useless, twiddling his thumbs, waiting for someone to drop into his lap and point him in the right direction. This is the kind of shit he has Sylvia for, really, but now he's a dimension away from her. Again. Fuck.

Today, posters will have to do. The posters are a great lead. It gives him some pretty fantastic mental images too: busting into this event and finding one hundred would-be bounty hunters, putting them all on the ground with the strength of his body, with the swing of a bat. It doesn't go quite like that –– there's not one hundred fucking bounty hunters at this meeting, are you insane? –– but it is satisfying to knock a half dozen of them around anyway. Thwack, thwack, thwack. They won't be going into the Wasteland on busted up limbs. Job well done, Travis. For the first time, he even feels cool in the Shuten uniform.

And then the door opens. He pivots on the spot to look, bat leant on his shoulder, a spray of blood up his face. A droplet slides down one lens of his aviators.

"Hey," he calls. "You want in on this, too?"

He has no idea who he's talking to.

[killtime]

Andy isn't much of a detective either. She isn't even much of a cop. Her reputation within the Department is probably mixed at best, despite her seniority, and the woman hasn't done much to correct it. But the Enma still has uses for her. Most of those uses involve sending her out with a weapon in one hand, and today's operation is hardly an exception. One trick pony, this one. But she does it well enough.

Shame the job is mostly done by the time she shows up.

Truthfully, Andy doesn't even have the energy to be truly annoyed by it. It takes her a second to understand the messy scene in front of her, but as the realization settles in, she exhales with resignation. Shuten uniform, bloody bat, bodies on the floor. Doesn't take much to put two and two together. Too bad. She'd actually bothered to bring her labrys with her this time — her constant companion these last seven thousand years, a hefty battle axe with twin bits, gleaming hungrily in the light as she rests it casually against her shoulder. That thing probably says more about her than the Department insignia and lieutenant's badge pinned to her long jacket.

"This is what I get for stopping to take a smoke break." There it is, her habitual wryness — a tone for all situations, apparently. "Toraguma send you?"

ENMA

[anuglybloom]

[ The drones make an electronic buzzing noise as they hover above the scene. Carla leans in to her microphone, ]

Officer, at your six. Suspect is fleeing down... [ Reading as the text hovers. ] Nishiiko.

OTA // CHILL OUT

[stubboarn]

OTA // MISTAKEN IDENTITY

[stubboarn]

OTA TO ENMA

[hundredpower]

[The orders from Tenkohime had been simple enough: sabotage the other bounty hunters and narrow down the competition. Barnaby didn't have the stomach for that, however. After all, didn't they all share the same goal? He might not be a hero here, but that heroic streak in him worried for the fate of the kidnapped daughter. No parent should ever have to lose a child, or vice versa, and the gravity of that outweighs any financial interest in a bounty.

So his sabotage is more of an intelligence gathering operation, tailing any bounty hunters he's able to locate to glean any useful information. He'd heard about a meetup at a bar in Shuten territory to swap information, so he decides to stake the place out, he himself trying to give off the impression he's waiting for someone outside before he goes in. It's raining, and he has a hood pulled low over his face, both to better hide his identity but -- mainly, really -- to keep the drizzle off his glasses.

What he doesn't yet realise is that in following the bounty hunters so closely, he might have inadvertently made himself a target. When someone approaches to speak to him, he frowns and gives them a cursory look.]

Yes? [Maybe they were going to ask if he had a light, or for directions...]

[sharpestsword]

[ Julieta wasn't messing around out here. She meant to get what she came here for and then leave as quickly as possible. Ideally she'd find and bring in anyone who showed up to respond to the notice but it was not always so easy to tell. They could sort that out at the station. She approached the suspect calmly. ]

Were you waiting for someone?

OTA Enma

[heretic_blade]

[ It's easy to mistake Izō for your average street thug when he isn't in the typical Shuten dresscode. Scruffy, unkempt, probably drunk, with his scarf pulled up to cover the lower half of his face. He's also willing to pick a fight with anyone for any reason.

Which is probably the reason he's in the situation he is now. He pulls his scarf down with a scowl. ]

What? Fuckin' say somethin' already or I'm goin'.

[stubboarn]

[ the description he'd gotten from a lead that's normally reliable fit the description of this man, but the scarf makes it difficult to verify the face. the temperament also makes it that he has to be careful; dimitri puts on his most diplomatic smile and tone as he approaches him. ]

I'm here on behalf of the Enma. If you could kindly reveal your face and state your purpose here, I'd appreciate it.

OOC // HANDWAVE

[stubboarn]

WILDCARD //

[stubboarn]