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Melissa Mayfield "In the spirit of this team-building exercise, I say that we give it a go Joe," Melissa quips sardonically, "Considering all I know how to do is to take a fall, distract the eyes of your countrymen when they see a dumb blonde in a bottle, and other stuff, sure. I might has well see what I got in me." "Remember, in America, there is no I in team but there is in teamkiller. Anyway, lead your way since we are your dates for the night."
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May 23, 2014 03:38
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Ichiro Tanaka "Alright, then I'll see you later." Ichiro says as he leaves the two Soga men for his home. -Tanaka Residence- It's late when Ichiro gets home. He knows his wife is already asleep, so he goes to the liquor cabinet for a nightcap.
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May 25, 2014 17:59
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Taka Jō Taka nods and glances at Naomi san to see if she has any objections. "Alright then, follow me." With that Taka turns on heel and walks them out of the area, careful to watch for rowdy drunks and other undesirables. They may be in yakuza territory, but it wouldn't do to cause a scene...even if Naomi could perhaps literally wipe the floor with them. He leads them to the train station, stopping briefly by a convenience store to pick up a box of cigarettes and some emergency stationary before boarding the train. It's a brief slice of peace, but he takes the time to meditate on the options presented in the meeting...yes it would have to be those three. In short order he is opening the door to his shop. The bottom floor is a two room tattoo parlor with a tiny lobby and money counter and very little in terms of seating, and a spacious back room containing tattoo chair itself and a small stool. A poster of an inked tiger in traditional style shares space on the wall with numerous photographs and drawings of good tattoos Taka has collected over the years. The back room is clean and tidy, equipment and supplies put up in lockboxes and cupboards. "Welcome, to my shop. Walk carefully please and try not to knock anything over" Taka locks the door as they enter and then beckons the women follow him as he walks briskly through the store and up the stairs at the back. The upstairs rooms look considerably more lived in. Just past the entry, where Taka pulls his shoes off, a well worn couch covered in slightly worn clothing sits before a small tv-radio. Various books and articles of casual wear litter the living room. Taka curses silently under his breath and hurries inside to tidy up the living area, grabbing up clothes and books as he heads to another room. "Sorry about the mess. I've been busy in the shop lately, haven't had time to clean up. Please, make yourselves at home" he says pointing to the now clothes-free couch. "Ah Naomi-san, whenever you're ready, the desk is over there." Taka points to the only section of the room kept as neat and tidy as the shop below. A straight edged, glass topped desk sits near a corner in the back, UV and normal lamps and a few small rulers, dividers, brushes, small silkscreens, and other tools sit neatly on top of it or stacked in a pocket at the side. A shelf of photosensitive inks and chemical washes sits over a camping sink installed next to the light box. "There's a switch on the back that turns on the inner light if you want it. I'll be back in a moment." Intuition
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May 26, 2014 00:38
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Naomi Aoshima - Taka's Pad The city was full to bursting with the alien. Everything here was strange, unusual, foreign--the sort of foreignness that was just similar enough to be familiar, and just familiar enough for the foreign floruishes to stand out like sharp knives. At least when she could throw herself into art, into creating, Naomi could put that all aside. Without a place to escape to, she'd have been lost. "Certainly a lived-in spot," Naomi said. It was clear Taka didn't give much thought to putting up false facades, to impressing people by his surroundings. That was a viewpoint she could agree with; a man who carefully assembled a fiction of a life often had little of value hiding beneath it. "Let me see..." She walked to the desk that Taka had indicated, piled high with tools. At least she could work with these; no matter where she might go, a ruler would still be a ruler. Forgery/TL8-11 to judge the utility of Taka's tools with her skills.
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May 27, 2014 17:44
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Taka's Pad The forgery tools are solid examples of the previous era of graphic design, from before when computing power became ubiquitous and cheap. For altering original documents without a high fidelity printer, a setup like Taka's is exactly what you'd want. This setup isn't capable of making holographic security seals, but silkscreening can produce good results for copying guilloché pattern material, and is passable for duplicating intaglio printed and microprinted work. One thing these tools will not do is save time. Since it's all manual, you have to do everything the hard way, or modify originals. The more official looking something needs to be, the longer it's going to take to do well. In game mechanics terms, the kit counts as basic equipment for doing forgery, and there's no familiarity penalty to overcome since the basic equipment is the same no matter where you go. If you guys ever get a high quality printer and computer workstation, or plates for pressing currency, or anything else higher tech and more specialized then familiarity penalties will start to apply.
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May 27, 2014 23:11
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Melissa Mayfield "What is all this stuff and what do you do with it again? Print fifty-dollar bills?"
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May 29, 2014 03:36
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Katashi Soga - Outside Saito's Pachinko Parlour As they get to the car, Katashi drops the butt of his cigarette in the street and crushes it with his toe. He looks over the roof of the car to Noburo. "Try not to kill me with your driving. I have a call to make." He pulls out his cell phone and gets in.
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May 29, 2014 15:42
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Taka Jō Taka emerges from his room, now wearing a clean white T shirt and a pair of old jeans, his suit carefully hung up with the rest of his 'good clothes'. "Ah, no nothing quite on that level Mayfield-san. Bills are very difficult to replicate and nowadays use special inks and identifiers that make it even more difficult." Taka glances at Naomi studying his tools and then turns to stride into the kitchen "This equipment can be used for producing fine quality documents and stamps. The idea is to produce the letters we will be sending to the Inagawa men. Can I interest you ladies in some tea?" Taka asks as he plugs in an electric kettle "Cold and hot are avaliable"
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May 29, 2014 20:36
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Noboru's Car Katashi's phone call is fairly short, and certainly to the point. Noboru gets to hear Katashi's side of it. As soon as the call connects and Katashi starts speaking, it's obvious he's on the horn with the Soga boss. "Sir, we've had a bit of a problem here. A Yamada problem, if you catch my meaning. One of the freelancers Saito's associate brought on. When she was prompted for her usefulness, she - I apologise in advance, I'm sure this will sound ridiculous - she grew four and a half feet." There's a pause while the Boss asks a question. Katashi responds, "I don't know the specifics, but she's definitely a foreigner. Judging by her appearance, he may very well have found her living on the streets." A longer pause while the Boss comments and asks something else. Katashi answers, "Aoshima. Naomi Aoshima. As far as Minobe goes, he professed ignorance about the whole thing when I asked him about it, but I don't trust him. It may not have been maliciousness on his part, but if he's incompetent enough to not be vetting the people he's bringing in..." Katashi sighs. "I'm speaking out of place, I apologise." The boss asks another pointed question. "Yes, but she was enough for all of them. The others are... not what I would prefer, but I'll make use of them." There's a long pause while Boss Soga relays information. Noboru catches part of a phone number. "Thank you, sir. If I have your permission, I think I'll try to keep her around. She'll be very useful." Apparently the Boss agreed, but the usually taciturn man went on for a moment more. Katashi looks puzzled, and asks, "Sir, did I hear you correctly? Spells?" A short pause, likely a correction. "I... No, I suppose not, sir. Goodnight." Katashi hangs up the phone, and Noboru pulls into the parking spot for their apartment house.
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May 30, 2014 03:18
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Naomi Aoshima - Taka's Pad "Fine quality, assuming you have steady enough hands and a keen eye," Naomi said as she turned away from the equipment. Not basic, not really, just outmoded--the sort of things a beginner might use because she couldn't get anything better, and sweat and pray that her skills would paper over any deficiencies in her tools. "Letters, certainly--don't ask me to reproduce anything a government makes with equipment like this, though. Better for us to come in from a direction they won't expect... and I will take some tea, thank you."
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May 30, 2014 15:11
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Noboru Soga Noboru pauses "Spells?" Katashi looks down at his phone, then up at Noboru. "That's what the boss said. I've been instructed to meet with a Yamada family representative, and he's going to... cast spells on Aoshima and Minobe." "Spells..." Noboru repeats the word to himself. "When?" "I have some leeway in the timing, since I have yet to arrange the meeting. Soon enough to avoid complications with all of the Inagawa business, hopefully." "Am I to accompany you, Elder Brother?" "Of course." As the nature of what is being implied dawns on him he starts "But things like this don't happen, a woman turned into a giant today. No puff of smoke, no elaborate holograms, nothing, she just grew. Is this the way things actually are?" "With all that's happening, I just don't know." Noboru puts his face in his hands before saying "I think I might go to church tomorrow morning, if no one has need of me." "Feel free. I'm going to bed. Good night." He follows Katashi indoors, taking off his shoes and leaving his blazer on the coat rack. While Katashi sleeps, he will have work to do, he navigates his way through the darkness of their home, not bothering to flick a switch until he reaches his office. At the threshold he cracks his knuckles and sets into work. Listening devices, bugs, he's well familiar with them. Someone always needs one, whether it be to catch a cheating spouse or blackmail an enemy. The motions are familiar, well practiced, soothing. By the end of the night he has five and surprisingly sleep finds him.
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May 30, 2014 19:09
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Kenichi Saito "Yeah, I think," he responded. "Something very strange happened today." He went to his room, and booted up the computer. He searched. "Giants". "Parallel worlds". "Transformation". Left to the GM's discretion what this should fall under.
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Jun 1, 2014 18:27
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Taka Jō Taka nods and pours two cups of steaming hot oolong, content that Melissa will ask if she wants anything. He joins the ladies in the living room, setting one cup before Naomi before sipping on his own. "I was thinking we could focus on Yasujirou for the first target as our skills are well used on him. Naomi-san and I can prepare gas, water and electricity bills tonight and have them delivered tomorrow morning. Melissa-san, I was thinking that we could put your acting skills to use by calling him in the morning as a bank agent. Something about foreclosing on his property or freezing of his assets due to fraud or something" Taka gestures vaguely, and grabs his own spread of bills for reference with a sigh "Something that will require him to visit the bank in person at least. In any case, I'll go first." With that Taka takes a seat with his tools and began to work. Forgery 11+High manual Dexterity 2 + Single minded(3) + Attentive(1)
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Jun 4, 2014 01:58
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Melissa Mayfield "I'll take what you are having," Melissa sways back and forth, a bit tired from today's events. "You tell me what to do and I'll make sure that he buys it hook, line, and sinker."
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Jun 6, 2014 20:08
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Naomi Aoshima - Taka's Pad "The finest tools are the ones that ask the most of the user's skill," Naomi said. "You must know more about the specifics than I do. I'll just do all that I can." Forgery/TL8-11 - strictly practice, of course.
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Jun 7, 2014 22:51
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Ichiro Tanaka - The Tanaka residence - Ichiro browses an app on his phone for about an half hour while having his night cap (a double whiskey, tullamore dew). Disapointed with the results, he deletes it from his phone for what is clearly not the first time. Then he performs the evening hygiene ceremonies of brushing, floshing and showering, before joining his wife in bed.
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Jun 11, 2014 22:08
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The Tanaka Residence The loyal retainer of the Soga family has an uneventful night, and awakes well rested early the next morning; his wife already has breakfast ready. All is well, and the day holds promise for the work the two favored sons of Soga may have for him. The Saito Residence Kenichi spends his evening on the computer wading through the strange search engine results. Most of what he finds are science fiction stories, a couple of books about cosmology (referring to giant stars and how they transform during their stellar life cycles), and some dodgy sites that cater to perverts. More in-depth searching brings up results like sports team results, books about culture jamming, and finally a database of mythical creatures, the Kaii-Yōkai Denshō Database, maintained by a folklorist with the International Research Center for Japanese Stuides. Yōkai are ghost stories for kids, basically, and the database is largely built from historical records by regional Japanese governments and old stories. There are a few specific types of yōkai that sound surprisingly close to what Naomi did. There are stories of taka-onna, the tall women, who usually look like homely human women but who have the power to grow several meters in height by elongating their bodies. The literature on them says they tend to wander red light districts, spying on people in the brothels. They have a fondness for harassing and terrifying people, but rarely engage in physical conflict. According to the stories, taka-onna gain their powers by being too unattractive to marry or even find work in a brothel, and are twisted by their jealousy into monsters. That last bit didn't really match Naomi though; she didn't look ugly. Just normal. The mythical shapeshifting animal-type yōkai like the tanuki and kitsune, magic raccoon-dogs and foxes, have stories where they assume human form to trick people to amuse themselves or to prey on people, including a couple of stories where individuals assumed giant forms. Then there are ō-nyūdō, the giants. While the word for them literally means “giant priest”, in the stories few of them have any connection to religion, and fewer still are actually clergy. They vary greatly from account to account, some being able to grow to the size of mountains, and others only being able to grow to be slightly larger than normal people. Their habits in the stories vary too: some intervene to help people, while others actively prey on them. Many of the stories about giants suggest they often have bad tempers, even the helpful ones. Kenichi eventually hits the hay. When he wakes in the morning, he finds he received a text from Minobe informing him that he's arranged for a meeting room at another location for the special event tomorrow night. Keiko cleaned up the kitchen a bit before she went to bed at least, but there's no breakfast waiting for Kenichi. The Soga Apartment Noboru works until just after midnight, soldering and testing the simple bug design he favors. By the time he's putting his things away and clearing the kitchen countertop he was working on, he's quite satisfied that the five bugs he's made will work as expected. He sleeps easy that night. Katashi hits the hay before Noboru, his mind on the weird things Boss Soga warned him about. When he wakes, he feels certain he'll have a full day ahead. They have to be fairly agile if they want to out-maneuver the Inagawa. Taka's Pad All through the night Taka works with Naomi, diligently making copies of his bills with silkscreens and editing them by hand with brushes and a careful, steady, hand. It takes most of the night, since it demands a great deal of concentration and Taka elects to take his time. Melissa spends a little time observing them as they work, and a lot more time on the couch writing out scripts and testing out various turns of phrase. Taka's ear is useful for this, and he helps her spot potential pitfalls in her script for pretending to be a customer service representative for the utilities companies. She's done well before Taka and Naomi are, but well after the train systems have stopped for the night. She ends up crashing out the couch, sleeping while Taka and Naomi work. By the time morning rolls around, Taka and Naomi have both been up all night, working with the windows open so that the photochemicals they've been working with didn't poison them. The documents look pretty drat good. Without a doubt it was fine work. Both Taka and Naomi lost 2 FP for having stayed up late. They'll get the FP back when they catch up on their rest. Seven-and-ten and PythagoreanCup did some of their roleplaying in IRC and that's totally cool, as long as I'm kept in the loop. For quick conversations it's pretty convenient. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Jun 12, 2014 |
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Jun 12, 2014 04:33
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Naomi Aoshima - Taka's Pad She was no stranger to long nights, hunched over the table with imperfect tools in her imperfect hands, making just the right stroke here and the proper flourish there to elevate a work from mediocrity to mere passability. By the time the sun came up again, throwing harsh light across what she'd pulled from the darkness, her body ached but her mind was fired with accomplishment. "Worth the exertion, I think," Naomi said to Taka as she went over the documents with as sharp and critical an eye as she could manage. "Presentable, perhaps--but it's not for us to decide if they're good enough to be used. We're too close. We should show the others. What do you think?"
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Jun 19, 2014 17:50
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Taka Jō Taka rises and stretches, excercizing muscles that had been in the same position for far too long. "Hrm, no. We've done good work here and this is too time sensitive a matter to waste moments gathering for a meeting." Taka flexes his fingers, slowly bringing them back to full range of motion as he walks over to the kitchen to set prepare hot water for tea. He glances over at Melissa, sleeping like a babe...hmm. He would wake her in time for her peformance at latest if she doesn't rise on her own. "Besides they brought us in for our expertise; if it fails, we'll just have to take responsibility."
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Jun 19, 2014 22:07
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Melissa Mayfield Melissa's eyes slowly lift up to greet the sun, wondering for a moment where she is till remembering where she spent the night. Scowling, she stands up from the couch seeing Taka. "Morning already? Great, a few more minutes till I have to justify myself to the 'respected people' I'm working for in Japan," she grouses, not really looking forward to making her illegal bread but well, fame and fortune in this rice-eating country. "Got any tea or coffee? I need something to perk me up but not too much so I won't sound easily flustered when telling your mark the bearer of bad news."
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Jun 20, 2014 03:00
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The Soga Apartment There's a moment's confusion for Katashi and Noboru as they're both woken by urgent sounding chimes and klaxons. It's the apartment complex's fire alarm going off, the digital voice repeating in both Japanese and English, "There is a fire, there is a fire! On the ground floor! A fire has started! Please evacuate in an orderly fashion!" Noboru glances out the window and sees a haze of diffuse smoke blowing around. This is not a prank, then. Taka's Pad Taka has tea in his kitchen, and it's not long before the kettle is merrily whistling away and everyone who wants any has a cup. Melissa's right, facing the tasks for the day is easier after breakfast tea. The task of delivering the notices is probably best done by the regular mailmen for each of the targets, but if the forgeries are to arrive today the mailmen will need to be given the letters soon. And not via a normal letter box either; that would take a couple of days.
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Jun 20, 2014 21:02
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Noboru Soga How troublesome. Noboru hustles to his feet and slides into his bathrobe. There is no question this is the Inagawa's doing, none at all. But there is no time to contemplate, he can only cover as many angles as possible and hope for the best. "Katashi!" he shouts his voice desperately trying to rise over the klaxon. "Kitchen?!" He scours the room for what can be salvaged in case the fire really does reach their apartment. His rosary, keys, cell phone, datapad all disappear into his pockets. The guns can't be left behind, a fireman could stumble across them-or worse, an Inagawa thug. No one will have time to suspect them, so he hastily hides both of his pistols in a suitcase of clothes. His smaller tool belts go in next, filling the suitcase snuggly. Finally, he pops open his desktop computer's case and removes the hard drive. Nobody is getting their grubby hands on his hardware. Stepping through the treshhold to the kitchen, suitcase in hand, he calls out again to Katashi. "Fire escape? This..." he motions to the suitcase "...needs to go in the trunk and the fire is on the ground level." he awaits his elders go ahead.
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Jun 22, 2014 06:17
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Ichiro Tanaka - Outside the Tanaka Residence Ichiro Leaves his home, refreshed after a good nights sleep and a well made breakfast courtesy of Mariko, his wife. He fishes his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dials Noboru's phone. While selecting the number and waiting for his superior to pick up the phone, Noboru does a preliminary check on his Lexus to see whether it's been tampered with while he slept. Cut brake cables, listening devices or bombs are all expected threats in his line of work. Perception 10 (+3 for smells) Driving 13
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Jun 27, 2014 00:34
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Outside the Tanaka Residence Mariko sees her husband off after breakfast, cheerfully saying, "Have a good day at work Ichiro!" As soon as the front door is closed, she hurries over to the kitchen again, doing the dishes and watching through the window overlooking the tiny driveway where the Lexus is parked as Tanaka goes through his usual routine of checking his car. Ichiro is aware of this. She finds some excuse to be in the kitchen practically every time he checks the car over. The car seems okay, today. Nothing loose, nothing cut, nothing leaking, no strange devices hidden on it, and no bombs. As he climbs into the car, the phone is still ringing, waiting for Noboru to pick up. Success on the Perception check, Ichiro is as sure as he can be (short of a 21 point inspection by a trained mechanic) that the car is safe.
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Jun 30, 2014 10:54
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Ichiro Tanaka - In his vehicle - outside the Tanaka residence Ichiro gives his wife a little wave and smile. Seeing Mariko watching his security check every morning is a nice reminder that someone genuinely cares about him before he resumes his role as a another tool for his masters. The steady, drawn out beeps of an unanswered call cause Ichiro some concern. He checks his watch. Strange, I did not read Noboru to be the type who would separate from his phone. Noboru puts in a bluetooth earpiece, switches it on, turns the key in the ignition and starts out of his driveway towards the Soga apartment.
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Jun 30, 2014 23:06
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Katashi Soga - The Soga Apartment Katashi, bleary eyed, calls out that Noburo should go on ahead and get the car. He struggles into his pants, straps on his holsters and shrugs his jacket on. On his way out, he sends off a text to Yanasaki. "arson at apartment. organise a safe house and have the men meet there." He rushes to follow Noburo.
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Jul 2, 2014 15:39
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Kenichi Saito Saito unearths a cup of instant ramen from the pantry and prepares it. He spends a good half-hour lost in thought, wondering what the noodles are like on parallel worlds. (There's certainly more than two, mind you. Can't just abandon parsimony for discovering a weird monster person. Probably more than one of her, too. Reminds him of, what was it, the Fermi paradox. Interdimensional travel is possible. Why aren't they part of a multiworld political entity? Simplest answer, timecops are already here.) He almost forgets that he's part of some job coming up. Almost. He texts Minobe: "Any news I should know about?"
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Jul 3, 2014 13:16
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Outside The Soga Apartment Noboru is a blur of activity, grabbing essentials and hurrying to remove anything incriminating. As he snaps his suitcase closed and hefts it, he hears the clatter of his upstairs neighbors climbing down the fire escape outside. They're already fumbling with the ladder that drops down to ground level, so Noboru waits for them to finish. Noboru and Katashi knew, intellectually, that they had upstairs neighbors. They'd existed on the periphery though, anonymous and faceless, men who were asleep by the time the two Yakuza were back home after a night out and gone to work by the time Noboru usually woke. They're a pair of younger men, possibly college students whose parents are paying their rent, or salarymen who didn't have work today. They're wearing casual clothes. One of them is busy cranking the ladder down while the other has his back to the window. Katashi just finishes sending his text message to Gaho Yanasaki, one of his soldiers, when Noboru opens the window and starts to climb out. The sleeves of his bathrobe slide a bit, revealing his tattoos as he hauls himself out the window. The neighbor not cranking the ladder seems a little surprised when he sees Noboru and mumbles, "Good morning," to him. The one working the ladder, his back to them, asks, "Anyone else in the apartment?" Katashi, standing by the window, replies, "Just me." There's a clunk as the ladder hits the ground, and the neighbors descend first. As soon as they're out of the way, Noboru slings the suitcase's carry strap over his shoulder and negotiates his way down the ladder. Katashi follows suit. Above, other neighbors are working their way down the fire escapes. It's all very orderly. No one is in hysterics; most people are dressed for the day, either in their weekend clothes or in work outfits. The timing of the fire means that a lot of the apartments would already be empty, their occupants already gone to work and school. It's not unusual for normal people to be busy with Saturday session classes, or extra work at mandatory meeting. Noboru's not the only person to escape in his pajamas, though. There are a few people who hurried out as soon as the alarm started who are in their sleepwear or bathrobes. Everyone's milling around, checking with each other about who was in which apartment. The apartment manager, a harried looking older woman, arrives shortly before the fire department does. She had to be at the corner liquor store picking something up, judging by the plastic bag she's toting around; she starts doing a headcount. While they wait, Katashi gets a text back acknowledging the message and saying: Got it. Sending a driver for you now. Wailing sirens announce the imminent arrival of a pair of fire trucks, and not a moment too soon. Smoke is spewing from two apartment units on the ground floor and rolling out the front doors to the complex. As the firemen hop off their trucks and start directing people further back from the apartment complex, the apartment manager reports to the firemen that no one is left inside, and they start smashing windows and spraying fire suppressant into the burning units. Minutes later Tanaka pulls up in his Lexus ES 350. It seems like the fire department has things under control as Katashi and Noboru get in. Tanaka's Lexus Tanaka is already on his way to the Soga apartment when he gets a call from Yanasaki. Yanasaki had always seemed a solid fellow, a little older than Tanaka and inclined to keep his cool during trouble. Unlike many people, Yanasaki wasn't the sort to be on edge around Tanaka. "Tanaka, we have a problem. The bosses' place is on fire; Mr. Soga thinks it was arson. He wants us all to meet up somewhere safe. I already got a man getting that arranged." Tanaka explains he's already on his way to the apartment, and Yanasaki says, "Good. You can pick the bosses up then. We'll meet up in the fish market, one of the offices there should be fine for an emergency meeting." Minutes later Tanaka pulls up in his Lexus ES 350. It seems like the fire department has things under control as Katashi and Noboru get in. Noboru is wearing a bath robe, but has a suitcase with him. Katashi is dressed in the same suit he had on yesterday. The Saito Residence Kenichi enjoys his breakfast; while it's not a very traditional breakfast, it's certainly better than doing his own cooking. Or putting on a face and pretending to enjoy what Keiko makes when she tries to cook. The Saito household usually eats a lot of take-out and delivery. Kenichi's slurping down the dregs of his ramen when his phone chirrups, announcing a text message from Minobe. It's to the point: Arson attempt on the Soga's apartment building. Mr. Soga's called a meeting, get to the fish market. There's an address for one of the office buildings adjacent to the market. Taka's Pad Naomi's practically asleep on the couch, while Taka and Melissa enjoy a cup of tea in the kitchenette. Few words are exchanged until they both receive a text message from Minobe: Arson attempt on the Soga's apartment building. Mr. Soga's called a meeting, get to the fish market. There's an address for one of the office buildings adjacent to the market. Seven-and-ten and PythagoreanCup, if you have anything you wanted to do while your guys waited for your ride, let me know.
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Jul 7, 2014 13:54
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Naomi Aoshima - Taka's Pad zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Jul 9, 2014 15:11
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Taka Jō Taka considers their possible courses of action as he sips on his tea. He could simply hire a courier to deliver the letters but that might attract undue attention due to the unusual delivery, hmm, he'd have to bribe the normal mail carrier. Melissa could easily pass as a dumb foreigner asking unusual questions at the post office, with her skill it should be easy to find out who was in charge of that route and the path he took. If they moved now the team might even catch him today- Takas thoughts are interrupted by the vibration of his cell in his pocket, strangely at the same time as Melissa and Naomi's phones. Is it a coincidence or... He pulls the phone out of his pants and checks the message, the expression of curiousity on his face quickly turning to one of concern and anger. "This isn't good. Melissa san, please wake Naomi while I secure the bills." Taka quickly rises from his small dining table and moves over to the the drawing desk where the forgeries stood open yo get a bit of extra time to dry. He carefully takes them up and takes them to his room where he puts them in a manila folder to keep them safe and clean. In short order he's dressed and out the door, a handful of convenience store breads in hand. "Looks like the Inagawa are more prompt with this than I expected. Lets get to this meeting quickly, who knows if we'll even have the same tasks after this" Taka hails a taxi to go to the fish market and hands out the bread to any of the others that want some before biting into one himself. The taxi would be a bit pricier than he's used to for transportation spending, but the situation required it. sorry for the long time between posts. I'll try and keep to a quick pace from now on
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Jul 9, 2014 17:22
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Noboru Soga The bathrobe, warm and plush as it may be, was an inadequate choice. Noboru adjusts the sleeves of the robe and dusts the white fabric down with his hands when they reach solid ground. As his bare feet touch the ground he draws his gaze to the young man who saw more than was required of him and meets his eyes. An act of wordless acknowledgement: I know who you are, I know what you know, I know where you live. The implicit threat communicated, Noboru's eyes draw across the crowd and back around him towards the building. There must be something to be learned here. Smooth plastic graces his hand and he pulls out his phone from his pockets, seeing a text message from Tanaka. Emergency, fire at home. Come ASAP. Fingers fire a message through like a cannon as Noboru swipes and begins taking pictures quietly and discreetly with the camera application, determined not to miss anything of value. One picture for every position on the clock. Then he remembers and sends another message to Tanaka. Send technician to my vehicle, may be trapped. "What a wonderful way to spend the morning." he looks to Katashi "It looks like we'll need a new place to live..." Observation 14
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Jul 10, 2014 06:19
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Kenichi Saito poo poo. poo poo. poo poo! Best case, this was entirely a coincidence. Yeah right. Second best case, the Inagawa. Familiar territory, at least. Worst case, there was going to be a bullet in his and Keiko's head in a few minutes from who or whatever was keeping the parallel worlds nice and separate. He sends a quick text to his sister: "We're in danger, possibly business-related. Find somewhere to hide for the next two days. Use an alias, take as much money as you need. Contact me when you feel safe, but tell no-one where you are." "Taxi!"
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Jul 10, 2014 15:32
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Ichiro Tanaka - Ichiro's Lexus When Ichiro rolls up to the apartment building he feels shock at first. None of the Inigawas he knows would risk bystanders like this. He shakes the shock of quickly, realising almost immediately that this was either a warning or a distraction, an apartment building fire is too easily escaped and unfocused to be a legitimate attempt at murder. The moment Ichiro spots his two superiors, he can't help but chortle at a superior standing in the middle of the road in just a bathrobe. He quickly stifles the laugh and pulls the car over, steps out. He waves the Sogas over to the car. "Quickly, let's get out of here before the chaos is used against us."
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Jul 10, 2014 18:39
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Naomi Aoshima - Taka's Pad Naomi couldn't remember going to sleep. Once the letters had been finished--hard work, but hardly the first time she'd watched the first fingers of sun creep through the window--she'd meant to sit down, rest her eyes for just a moment... it was like she'd become disconnected from the world for a second time, about to be cast into another one. She stirred at the noise of sharp movement and the click of a door. Taka was gone, but at least the European was still around. "I... apologize," she said. "My skills are not always welcome to practice. What did I miss?"
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Jul 11, 2014 17:17
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As I understood it, Taka intended to bring Naomi and Melissa along, but if you don't want to go that's okay too. Outside The Soga Apartment As Noboru tries to wordlessly intimidate his neighbor into not making an issue of things, the neighbor's face hardens for a moment. Resentment and anger pass over the man's face, and then he very deliberately turns his back to Noboru. There are a number of passersby on the street who are pausing to watch the proceedings, but none seem especially remarkable. Some people are holding cell phones aloft to record the fire, so there's nothing out of place about Noboru taking his own photos. It occurs to Noboru as he takes his pictures that, according to the layout of the ground floor, one of the apartments that is burning is apartment 12. Noboru and Katashi are on the other side of the building, in apartment 21. Intimidation can be carried out with just body language alone. This was a straight contest of Noboru's Intimidation skill vs the neighbor's Will. Noboru had a +1 to effective skill for being known as a yakuza, and so rolled against a total of 12. The neighbor, being an NPC of no special note, rolled against a Will of 10. Noboru got an 11 on his roll, a success by 1, while the neighbor got a 4, a success by 6, and thus was not intimidated.
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Jul 12, 2014 02:00
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Tokyo Fish Market Offices As Kenichi's cab drops him off at the office building one of Mr. Soga's men, Ogai Yuasa, meets him and directs him to an upstairs conference room, adding that, "Your man Minobe is upstairs already. It'll be a few minutes before the bosses arrive." Taka Jō (and anyone who came with him) is likewise directed to the right room by Mr. Yuasa. The office building is shared by several different firms, all related to the fish market; some are wholesalers, some are co-ops, and one is an insurance office. Other parts of the building are shared use by all the tenants, and it is in one of those rooms that the meeting is taking place. A couple of offices have a skeleton crew of office workers milling around on the lower floor, each dealing with his own tasks (and fastidiously ignoring that a collection of tough looking men are passing through the building on their way to the common conference room). It's not a big surprise to see that some of the people at this general meeting are dozing. Not all the soldiers working for Mr. Soga would have gotten a full night's sleep. Minobe is among the sleepers, actually, since he worked a full night shift at the Parlour while Kenichi slept. Genichi Eniwa, another soldier of Mr. Soga's, recognizes Kenichi and says, "Hey, Mr. Teriyaki-san, how's business?" As Mr. Eniwa addresses Kenichi, his cell phone chirrups. Another text, this one from Keiko: What kind of danger?! What happened? Are you going to be okay? Seven-and-ten talk to me on IRC when you get a chance. Setting Background Information There's a culture of work ethic which makes it common to see salarymen working themselves to death and not being all that productive. It stems from the idea that a worker should not leave for home until his boss has for the day, an attitude which goes all the way up to the very top of chain in companies. A worker might arrive a few minutes late to work, pay for the missed time with an hour of his vacation leave, accomplish four hours of work spread out over seven, and have nothing to do for the three hours of unpaid overtime he puts in until his manager decides to go home. On the way out of the office, it's possible his manager might decide to invite him and some of the other office workers out to a bar. Refusing would be unthinkable, so the salaryman puts in another two hours drinking and socializing until the last train home provides him with a socially acceptable excuse he can use to get away at 11 pm. Just before he leaves, his manager tells him he needs to be in at work early tomorrow morning for a meeting. It's unspoken that this is unpaid overtime too. They're good salarymen, this is life for them. He gets home at midnight, sleeps five hours, and leaves for work early so he isn't late again. He makes it to work, finds a spot at the conference table, and promptly falls asleep. No one cares, since he made it to the meeting like he was told to. He gets notes on what was said from one of the office ladies later. This is normal. This is something everyone grows up knowing about. It's not as bad in other sectors- but it's a part of life. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 02:22 on Jul 12, 2014 |
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Jul 12, 2014 02:20
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Katashi Soga - Outside the Soga Apartment Katashi's gaze wanders across the scene as he lights a cigarette and takes a puff. Safe from the fire, he contemplates its purpose. It's a good tactic, albeit one harbouring the danger of attracting official attention. Even without the distant possibility of killing him or Noboru in the blaze, it disrupts their sleep and forces them out of their familiar surroundings. More importantly, it's intimidation; the Inagawa are telling him they can get to him if they have to. Fortunately, Katashi doesn't scare easily. ----- Katashi hits Noboru on the arm with the back of his hand. "Maybe so, but that doesn't mean you have to rile up our current neighbours."
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Jul 12, 2014 10:00
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"Ouch." Noboru shakes his arm in pain. "I apologize elder brother, it seemed prudent to make sure he said nothing. I did not anticipate he would be so resistant." and then he bows in deference. --- In the car Noboru hefts his suitcase up with a shake. "At the very least if they were after anything incriminating they won't find it. It has to be a threat, they couldn't possibly think we'd leave anything of value behind. You don't think...this could be a distraction?" he contemplates the unpleasant possibility before continuing. He runs his hands through his hair nervously. "Ichiro, do you know where I can purchase a suit and fast? Showing up to church in a bathrobe would be improper, let alone to a meeting." PythagoreanCup fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Jul 16, 2014 |
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Jul 16, 2014 09:13
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There are plenty of department stores along the way if you guys want to just get something off the rack. Just follow the rules for pricing on pg 266 of GURPS Characters and adjust your inventory and cash.
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Jul 16, 2014 09:31
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 04:21 |
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Ichiro Tanaka - Ichiro's car "There's a good, small place around the corner. Haruo and Tailor. They have a loan with us, so they won't call anyone who could be connected to the fire." Ichiro says and turns off the main road down a side street. He takes a couple of turns and then halts in front of small store with a wood and glass front and the name Haruo & Tailor painted on the windows and set in metal over the door in a plain typeface. This is where Ichiro goes when he needs a new tie, trousers, shirt or suit. The shop offers both prêt-a-porter and a bespoke service. He's quite familiar with the owner, Haruo Ueki, who's one of the new school of Japanese tailors who studied under traditionalists in Italy before coming home and adapting their methods to the Japanese aesthetic of perfectionism. Haruo had gotten a small loan from the Sogas last year to purchase a larger amount of cloth and equipment than he could actually afford. --------------- "I have to say, that in my mind this attack was most likely an attempt to move us from familiar ground to a safe space with more opportunities for ambush and fewer witnesses. An apartment building is no place for a hit, but this sort of attack tends to send people running to more isolated spaces." Ekkerates fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 16, 2014 19:44
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