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Recruitment/OOC chatter thread Original photos by Yuki Shimazu, Luke Zeme,ORAZ studios, Terence T.S. Tam, and Tamura Shogundo Change rode on the crest of the tsunami. Kiyoshi Inagawa, the boss of the Inagawa-kai, was not too pleased with any of it. Two months ago, in February, he had decisively settled the issue of who would succeed his late adoptive father. Then he learned that the Yamaguchi syndicate had taken advantage of the power vacuum presented by the Inagawa succession matter and moved in on Inagawa turf in Tokyo. It was not just a case of them courting a gang away, as the Yamaguchi had done with the disloyal Patriotic Society. The Yamaguchi were deploying their own men, Soga men, and cutting into the bottom line for smuggled goods. And worst of all, the Yamaguchi syndicate godfather, the man known as the Hidden Leader, was getting out of prison. With him running things directly, it could be assumed the Yamaguchi families and associates would be much harder to displace. In Kiyoshi's own words, “The only bright spot is the tsunami made it possible to quickly raise extra operating capital. But that is a silver lining, since now there is much greater scrutiny on things than before. What is done with that money will determine the fate of the Inagawa clan. We will do what we must before the Yamaguchi godfather can take it as a personal affront.” ========================================================================================= Noboru's computer finished playing back Kiyoshi Inagawa's recorded conversation. It was luck, pure and simple, that one of Inagawa's lieutenants had gotten their boss talking about his worries and that his smartphone had been infected by Noboru's monitoring program. Unfortunately, even with his own lieutenants, the Inagawa boss tended to not spell out the details more than necessary. What he planned to do with that money, besides somehow use it to get Soga out of Tokyo, wasn't known. It was enough to convince Miyoshi Soga, the boss of the Soga clan and Noboru's and Katashi's adoptive father to boot, to shuffle resources around. The business that Inagawa was worried about was an excuse for Soga to even be in Tokyo, but it was critical it be maintained. Without the Soga's help, it was very likely that Patriotic Society's troubles would tear that gang apart. Which was exactly what the Yamaguchi syndicate did not want. Boss Soga looked unamused, and said, “Since it would be very unfortunate for our special project to fall apart right before the Hidden Leader's return to civil society, I am giving you boys extra help.” “Thank you, boss.” “I can spare Tanaka-” a prospect that both gladdened and worried the two Soga lieutenants, given the hitman's fearsome reputation, “- and can tell Saito to be at your disposal. He may be able to learn what the Inagawa intend to spend their money on.” Katashi replied, “That's good. No telling what Saito might learn from his gamblers.” Noboru asked, “Mr. Saito is one of our pachinko hall operators, then?” “Yes, and a competent soldier. Go and pay him a visit tonight to plan your strategy. Tanaka will be there. And anyone else Mr. Saito thinks may be useful.” ========================================================================================= Neither the topic of the missing highschool student Norie Gensai, nor of the evidence of the Patriotic Society's dysfunctional boss murdering one of his own whores, had come up during the meeting with Miyoshi. Neither matter obviously related to the issue of Inagawa deciding to make a move on Soga's Tokyo branch, and with a little luck the issue of what to do about the Patriotic Society could be resolved without fuss. Gwak Min Seong, the debtor who stole from one of the fishing boat captains Soga collects money from, didn't even rate as a potential issue to bring up with the clan head. But he is still out there, somewhere. =========================================================================================  Photo by Michael Dunn Welcome to Compact Enforcement Region 7. With the scene set, the game proper can begin. I'll ask that the following conventions be observed: put your character name in bold at the top of your post, and any skills or abilities relevant to your character's actions at the bottom of your post, in italics. Underline uses of limited use abilities like Luck, Serendipity, or Gizmo. The Luck advantage runs on game-world time instead of on real-world time, per the option in GURPS Powers. Hours can pass between posts and I've never found pegging a certain number of pages of progress to Luck resets to be satisfactory. If you want to perform actions which the other players may not know about, you can either hide the information in spoiler tags (trusting to the honor system that no one will act on the information there) or you can just contact me through private message, email, or IRC. Dramatis Personae: Katashi Soga, a ranking lieutenant of the Soga crime family. He took his boss's surname when he was formally adopted into the family. He's a solid generalist in the ways of Yakuza with a moderate talent for business. Has a wife and daughter. Originally from Kobe. Noboru Soga, a trusted second lieutenant of the Soga crime family, and a social climber rapidly rising up the ladder. He's the family's computer expert, and is currently attached to Katashi. He and Katashi are personal friends. No children, no wife. Taka Jō, a tattoo artist. Thanks to his misspent his youth as a hoodlum, he knows many of the local Yakuza and has a reputation as being willing to run small time smuggling, forgery, and other side jobs. Does good work with inks, both on flesh and on paper. Doesn't talk about his personal life to clients. Ichiro Tanaka, Yakuza hitman/enforcer. He's a cold sort of man, which is fitting for the son of a sushi chef (a good sushi chef needs cold hands, or so the saying goes). He is unquestionably loyal to the point where Boss Soga would have adopted him into the family, except for his drinking problem regularly interfering with his work. One wife, no kids. Melissa Mayfield, a struggling actress from America. She was not very lucky when it came to finding a reputable talent manager, and besides her legitimate work she found herself being drawn into the criminal underworld. So far she's only been involved in small things: helping run interference as an obvious distraction, putting on show fights where she was the predetermined loser, the softer side of criminality. No family in Japan. Naomi Aoshima, a castaway from another world. Destitute and alone after being ripped from her homeworld, the first people to actually help Naomi were the Yakuza. Her world-spanning travels imparted the artist with an ability that her rescuers realized they could capitalize on: when she wills it, she can turn into a giant. In exchange for financial support and the means to live life as a legal non-entity, Naomi helps do the rounds frightening and intimidating reluctant debtors. Life has been hard for her, and her new home seems to be full of no end of strange things. Kenichi Saito, a pachinko parlor operator who lives and breathes Tokyo. Thousands pass through his gaming parlor's halls, and he always seems to know the right guy for whatever you need done. He's a sharp businessman, but he's bought into the propaganda about his heritage meaning he's less of a man than "pure blooded" Japanese. Has a sister he supports. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 05:48 on Apr 17, 2014 |
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Apr 1, 2014 02:58
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office Sometimes helping people is its own reward, and sometimes having them feel like they owe you enough that they'll show up to a late night meeting with a couple of scary men was the reward. Teinosuke Minobe is obligated to be present, of course. He is Saito's assistant manager, competent at running operations when Saito wasn't present. He had to be involved in this meeting. He was the very definition of a forgettable man- average build, average face, average looking suit, graying hair. He could have been a salaryman getting ready to retire from any company in the city. The two Soga specialists, Katashi and Noboru, were the whole reason the meeting had been called. They and the hitman assigned to them, Tanaka, oozed serious business. The other people... well, presumably Minobe had a good reason for calling them in. He usually plays things cautiously, but he'd been the one to get the call from Boss Soga about the meeting, and he had arranged things for Saito during the day shift. Everyone, with the exception of the women, knows Taka Jō if only by reputation. He is Minobe's cousin, and while technically not a part of the Yamaguchi syndicate is quite friendly with them. The bosses more or less overlook that he is not formally a part of any family, in light of his generally good reputation and the small scale of his involvement in the Yakuza way of life. Saito recognizes the two women at the meeting as well. One was the illegal immigrant who Minobe had taken charge of and taught how to make herself useful enough to justify keeping in food and shelter. The other was the actress Saito had pointed to an entertainment industry associate of his. Why Minobe had called her up was anyone's guess; Saito had implied he might call on her for a favor or two someday, but what she can do to help the Soga tonight is not clear. Maybe Minobe is finally going senile. There are seats for everyone, though the office is a bit crowded with eight people. From Naomi's perspective, her immediate boss simply demanded she show up at the office tonight. So, she did. When Mr. Minobe wants something done, or even worse if his boss Mr. Saito wants something done, it has to happen. They were very clear about how quickly the help she was getting could go away. Melissa is in much the same boat as Naomi, though from her perspective this is all very irregular and weird. She's an actress, and these men are clearly not producers or directors. Maybe Mr. Minobe was mistaken in calling her? No. No, the older businessman doesn't make that sort of mistake. For Tanaka, the matter is extremely clear. Boss Soga said to help Katashi Soga however he wants. So that is what is going to happen, until either Mr. Soga or Boss Soga say otherwise. This is everyone's chance to describe their characters, and have their characters introduce themselves. You can question each other, or Minobe, as much as you want. If your character isn't the sort to introduce himself or herself, Minobe will do it. Katashi has rank within the Soga equal to Saito's, but has greater status thanks to being formally adopted into the clan. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Apr 1, 2014 |
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Apr 1, 2014 02:59
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office If Mr. Soga is confused or angry enough to be so straightforward and blunt, then placating him is the unspoken priority of everyone in the room. He is the man in charge here, after all. Minobe plasters on a smile, grinning and bearing the very direct question. "Sir, I was told that if we had anyone with any special talents I should have them available. These three, Mr. Jō, Miss Aoshima, and Miss Mayfield- well, I believe they fit that description. Mr. Jō's talented with his hands, and has a wide variety of skills that may be helpful. Miss Aoshima is, as you said, a fighter, and is not what our opponents may expect. A surprising woman." The way he worded that suggests that he believes other organizations to not expect Soga to be using a female fighter. "And Miss Mayfield is an actress. Her talent, her job, is getting people to pay attention to her and believe whatever she's trying to convey. A distraction apparently unconnected to us can be very helpful." He pauses, and then says, "And as you said sir, we must only resist for a week. If we can learn what the Inagawa have planned, then we can use our enemy's strength against them. Like in judo."
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Apr 2, 2014 23:45
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office Did a drop of sweat just roll down Minobe's brow? The older man says, "I was only told to get our special associates, if we had any, ready to be briefed and made available to Mr. Soga."
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Apr 3, 2014 00:31
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office Katashi rubs his temple, feeling a headache coming on. These people have no idea what they're getting into. But, if they're all Minobe can get, they'll have to be put to some kind of use. He says, "It can't be helped. If any of you have ideas on how your skills could be used, or on what Inagawa will try, say something." Seven-and-ten wrote most of that, and in the interest of moving the game along a little I'm just posting it and having Katashi issue an invitation to brainstorm here.
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Apr 6, 2014 03:50
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office It is like something out of television, or a bad comic book; a little unreal moment was demanding its place in reality. One moment, the woman had been sitting in her chair at attention. The next, she was kneeling by the door, her head nearly touching the ceiling. Naomi’s change into a giant had only taken a second. Her clothes had been chosen or designed to be able to take their owner suddenly going from a size 15 to a size 40T (not that anyone makes ready to wear stuff that large). Her baggy pants had stretched into capri leggings. Her running shoes were made of some sort of stretchy material- they had enough give that she could probably get around in them. Panels on the back of her overly long windbreaker had unfolded to allow the garment to still fit, though its hemline was now midriff, and the t-shirt she was wearing underneath exposed. Minobe is the only person in the room who didn’t look surprised at Naomi’s special ability. He wears a neutral expression when Katashi asks another pointed question, and replies, “Yes, Mr. Soga. She needed help when she came to Japan, and we have employed her with simple tasks while she learns how to properly help us. Mr. Saito was aware of her, though not of her special talent.” Minobe’s a second lieutenant, roughly the same as Noboru, but he’s been relatively ambitionless. Most people would probably classify him as a good worker, a solid and conservative pair of hands to keep daily operations going while his supervisors are busy with other things, and no more. If such a man thought an implausible event would upset or trouble his supervisor, he might try to hide it instead of address it. Taka and Saito both know, with certainty, that doing so would be relatively normal for Minobe. Not that there’s really anything normal about this woman who talks with a weird accent and can turn herself huge in an instant.
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Apr 8, 2014 02:33
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office When Katashi dresses Minobe down for not passing information up the chain of command properly, the pit boss takes it stoically, only once wiping the sweat from his forehead when the topic of yubitsume is mentioned. As soon as Katashi was done speaking, he hops to his feet to bow deeply and apologize profusely. The repeated babble of "I apologize for my mistake, Mr. Soga" fills the air- until Katashi starts speaking again to the others. Apparently satisfied at not being paid further attention to, Minobe takes his seat again. He waits while Katashi gives assignments to the others. When the Soga son comes back to him, he voices no objections, though he does ask, "Am I to bring them to this establishment, or to another location?" Ichiro searches his memory, and finds he recalls a couple of drug dealers who were pushing club drugs in Inagawa territory. Mr. Kahaya, who was working the Parallels Club selling amphetamines mostly, and Sanjuro Tsuda from the bar near Ebisu Station. Tsuda implied he has a line on harder drugs the last time you saw him. Weapons dealers specifically associated with the Inagawa are harder- weapon dealers tend to be more cautious and discerning about their clients.
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Apr 15, 2014 05:25
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Saito's Pachinko Parlor, the Manager's Office Minobe gets up after everyone’s placed their orders. Saito didn’t own his own bar, per se, but there was one in the same building which often served gamblers and salarymen alike. Minobe and Saito were both known there. Noboru glances back at his smartphone and swipes through the results of his search. He’s got some moderately up-to-date data on the Inagawa, but they’ve always been better than most of the other organizations at information security. There’s a definite firewall between the higher-ups and the lower ranks. Still, there’s room for slip-ups, and the lieutenant who Noboru had bugged to begin with, Yukinaga Yasujiro, had gotten another message telling him who to work with. It arrived literally moments ago when Noboru was delivering his lecture. The content of the message was pretty brief, just a reminder to coordinate with Mr. Hotate and Mr. Wakai. But the two names were part of another e-mail that was intercepted and recorded a little earlier, a mass message about a cherry blossom viewing that some of the Inagawa members and their families plan to take part in this week. Whoever sent that e-mail added a number of addresses by hand, and put them in the carbon copy field, instead of the blind carbon copy field. Most of the addresses had no cross entries in the database, which meant they were new data- not new addresses, but addresses previously unknown to Noboru. Some of the addresses had family names incorporated into them, making picking out specific relations of Inagawa gangsters easier. Unkei Hotate seems a likely bet for the Mr. Hotate mentioned in the reminder. It’s trivial to hunt down physical address information on his parents, and his interest in fine teacups could be exploited with public information alone probably. The other likely name is Sanjuro Wakai. His wife seems to be the center of his home life, and by all appearances he spoils her. His parents and brothers in Hida could be a potential vector for social manipulation as well. All three men have connections that could be used according to the general plans, and specifics about them that could be exploited more carefully. By this time Minobe’s returned with the drinks on a platter. He apologizes briefly to Melissa, stating that the bar didn’t have the exact drink she wanted, but that they did have chocolate milk. Tanaka finds himself nursing his drink, being careful to make it stretch out instead of risking getting a quick buzz. For the sake of keeping things rolling, please assume that only Minobe's out of the loop about the discovered information. All the information in the dossier files are things Noboru could answer questions about while Minobe was off getting the drinks. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 03:51
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Saito’s Pachinko Parlor With no questions forthcoming, the strange little meeting draws to a close. Minobe takes the empty glasses and scurries off with them, presumably to return them to the bar. The women and Taka take advantage of the implicit dismissal and take their leave as well, leaving just the dedicated Yakuza members in the office with their drinks. Katashi and Noboru have their own apartment they’re renting specifically for their Tokyo operation, and Noboru’s car is parked outside. Saito has his own place as well, which he shares with his sister. She’s probably wide awake, she doesn’t maintain normal hours at all. Ichiro has a nice little house in the residential district of Tokyo. His wife knows he’s out on business, and thus won’t be too concerned if he’s out very late. The world’s wide open at this point, just say what you want to do or who you’re going to call. If you’re going to do something like spend the night with a soldering iron and a workbench full of electronics, remember to list the skill. Outside Saito’s Pachinko Parlor Taka, Naomi, and Melissa all make their way through the pit floor, the jingling cacophony of Pachinko machines being played by gamblers preventing any sort of discrete communication until they’re well away from the office. The night life of the city confronts them in the lobby of the building with people hurrying by to conduct errands, or to try to sell things, or find a restaurant, or simply enjoy the sights and sounds of the street. Taka’s equipment for doing forgery is all at his tattoo parlor- or more specifically, in the living space over the parlor. As long as he keeps up with his lease, he’s got more than enough space to be able to afford to keep one of his rooms dedicated to being a workshop. It’s a quick train ride away. Naomi’s got a tiny room of her own in a small but well kept apartment in Kabukicho, the entertainment district of Tokyo. Her housemate, Miss Mimasuya, is the lease holder of record for the apartment. She’s an older lady who owns a flower shop, and was willing to let a room out to someone Mr. Minobe vouched for. It’s within walking distance. Melissa has her own single bedroom apartment on the edge of Kabukicho. It’s not a luxurious place, but it serves all the requirements she had: quiet neighbors, enough space for her and her things, and a reasonably secure building. It’s also within walking distance. There are numerous cafes, bars, clubs, and restaurants around. Going to one is a simple matter. Getting a reasonable amount of privacy in a booth or table in the back is a matter of being polite and ordering a meal. The Inagawa building is in the Minato district of Tokyo, in an office building directly across from the Ritz-Carlton hotel. It’s no secret that the Inagawa are the primary tenants of the building, since they openly advertise as Inagawa Industries. Taka’s had no occasion to go into the building itself, though he has been treated to lunch at the Ritz-Carlton’s restaurant before by clients who were very happy with their tattoos. If you’ve got questions for me, or you’re not sure what you want your character to do, or what they can do, hit me up in IRC or in the ooc thread.
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May 20, 2014 00:46
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The Saito Residence Keiko's sneakers are stashed neatly to one side of the mud room when Kenichi arrives home. He pulls his wingtips off and enters, passing a half-empty pizza carton on the coffee table, and a television that's been left tuned to a late-night anime channel. Padding his way down the hall to his half-sister's room, Kenichi can see she's left most of the lights on in the house. When he arrives at the door to her bedroom he notes that she's dressed in the same pair of sweats she wore yesterday and is browsing the web, reading some message board by the looks of it. She probably hasn't left the house all day. He asks his question without preamble. She doesn't bother looking up from her computer as she asks, "Isn't that one of those things that Wikileaks use?"
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May 23, 2014 02:37
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Haruo and Tailor Mr. Haruo keeps a very nice little shop, and he greets Tanaka quite cordially. He also doesn’t blink an eye at Noboru’s state of dress- he politely pretends it’s totally normal for a man in a bathrobe to show up looking for something to wear. Once Noboru makes it clear speed is important, Mr. Haruo focuses his efforts on helping pick out something that’s a pretty good fit instead of something that can be altered quickly. PythagoreanCup deduct $300 from your cash and add another status 1 outfit to your inventory. Tokyo Fish Market Offices Eniwa nods at Kenichi. “Yes, we got a similar text about it from Mr. Soga. I heard of the Inagawa using fire before, to commit insurance fraud, but against an occupied residential building? There’s no honor in doing something like that. If their new boss really did authorize it, it bodes ill.“ Kenichi’s phone chirps. Another text from Keiko: Fine. Going to visit a friend. In Hakodate. Which means she’s taking the train. Cardinal Ximenez, deduct $500 from your cash funds. Keiko helped herself to that much to buy a train card and load it. ========================================================================================= Yanasaki’s phone buzzes, and he glances at it. He barks out a quick order, “Ariwara, there’s a roof access ladder through the closet back there, get up there and keep an eye out for trouble. Call if you see anything unusual.” Ariwara nods and hurries off. No one says anything about Melissa being in the room; in fact it seemed like they all pretended she wasn’t there, once Taka and Minobe made it clear she was supposed to be along. They were polite enough, but they weren’t going out of their way to make introductions. ========================================================================================= A few minutes later Katashi and Noboru arrive and enter the conference room, flanked by Tanaka and Ogai. The soldiers all stand and bow to the Soga underbosses before taking a seat again. All eyes are on Katashi Soga, waiting to see what he has to say. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Jul 25, 2014 |
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Jul 24, 2014 17:50
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Tokyo Fish Market Offices Katashi nods at his subordinates and associates, and says, "Good morning everyone. This has not been-" He gasps and clutches his chest, a look of pure agony on his face as he collapses. There's confusion, someone yelling to call a doctor, Noboru at his friend's side trying to help him. Katashi convulses on the floor, breathing raggedly for a few seconds, and then not at all. Minobe says, "Is he carrying? Get his gun off before the ambulance arrives." Eniwa is already pulling the senior yakuza's holster off. He says, "Someone help me with CPR. Yanasaki, do compressions!" Yanasaki complies, apparently he knows first aid. He and Eniwa do their best for the few minutes it takes for the paramedics to arrive and take over. Soon enough they've put Katashi's body, his skin blue from lack of oxygen, on a stretcher and have hauled him away to the hospital. Fifteen minutes after the meeting was originally called to order, the chaos has settled a bit. The few curious office workers who watched the little drama unfold have returned to their work, and the yakuza members are all seated around the table again, jumpy and anxious from the unexpected tragedy. Seven-and-ten, you're a cool player, but you've been out of touch well past your estimated time to get back to us for days now. The game's been at a standstill and I have to keep it moving. Talk to me on IRC when you get a chance and we'll figure out what to do about your character.
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Aug 14, 2014 17:02
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Tokyo Fish Market Offices With both Noboru and Ichiro taking things back in hand, the soldiers settle down. There is a general atmosphere of agreement when Noboru speaks about putting the Inagawa in their place; lots of nods and approving expressions from most of the soldiers. Minobe volunteers, "I have arranged to borrow an office in a building that is going through renovation. It should give us enough privacy for the plan to ambush the Inagawa men we lure there. It's not far from here. As long as everyone is ready, I can do my part tonight." Eniwa adds, "It's not related to the Inagawa, but everyone's taken care of all the customers you assigned us, Mr. Soga. They've all agreed to pay up, and some have already gotten their payments in." The customers being the blackmail victims picked out at the general meeting yesterday, of course. Noboru got a good result from his little speech. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Aug 16, 2014 |
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Aug 16, 2014 00:26
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Tokyo Fish Market Offices Eniwa looks a little bewildered. "The captain's debtor? Who was in charge of that one?" Yanasaki stands briefly. "Mr. Soga asked myself and Nakadai to look for Gwak Min Seong. We asked around at the docks, and learned he likes to gamble quite a bit. He has some associates, sailors mostly, who claimed he'd said he was skipping town. I think he lied to them; if we were to check the mahjong rooms the Patriotic Society and the Inagawa run, we might catch him." The men seem generally bewildered at the mention of Norie Gensai. Ogai whispers to Nitta, "Who is she supposed to be?" Nitta hisses back, "Missing girl, don't you watch television?" Eniwa at least seems to understand who you're talking about, and says, "I'll look into her myself, sir."
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Aug 26, 2014 02:12
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Tokyo Fish Market Offices Taka has a short conversation with Minobe and learns that he knows an electrician, one of the regulars at the pachinko parlor, who would probably be willing to do a little moonlighting in exchange for pachinko credits. He figures ¥40,000 would cover it; so long as Taka can either cover that or convince Noboru that it was a necessary expense so he'll cover it, there's no problem. If you pay for it out of pocket, deduct $400 from your sheet.
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Aug 30, 2014 01:29
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Tokyo Fish Market Offices As the soldiers are filing out to get started on their assigned tasks, some of them overhear Melissa's comment and laugh politely.
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Sep 3, 2014 11:44
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Post Office The familiar herald of the post office, a "T" with a bar over it, is stenciled on the window of the building Melissa enters. The front is mostly for customers; self-serve postage stamp machines, scales, package deposit points, and a small service desk staffed by an attentive employee. As luck would have it, it's not very busy today. The employee isn't occupied with anyone else. As she approaches the counter, the employee asks, "How can I help you ma'am?"
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Sep 5, 2014 04:10
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Post Office The employee explains that the postal office has a corporate slogan that is multifaceted, with the words being interpretable in multiple ways to mean, "We intend to demonstrate the creation of new value services by providing peace of mind through constantly changing with the times, even after privatization of our organization is complete." Melissa asks, "New value services? I can commend my postal carrier personally face to face for the wonderful service that he is doing?" Melissa blushes shyly, lowering her head slightly to whisper loudly, "I have to admit my interest is all due to Kevin Costner. You know, The Postman, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham and oh wow, so much more. It is all silly but who is the postman who delivers to my district and the route they take so I can take back memories of my time in Japan back to America and tell everyone how the Japanese post office is much more amazing that the United States Post Office?" She lays it on well enough that the employee believes her. He smiles, and decides to help her out. Melissa gives him the information for the general block the target lives on, and the employee comments, "Oh that's a nice neighborhood. Yes, I know which carrier delivers there- but keep in mind he's a married man, miss." Was he teasing her for the last bit? The body language is right. With a little more small talk Melissa has the post man's name and likely route, as well as when he usually arrives back at the office, ostensibly so that she can "coincidentally" bump into him. Melissa made her second acting roll with ease there, and succeeded at a body language roll to realize when the employee made up his mind that she was harmless and probably easy enough to help. The subsequent reaction roll was good enough for him to give her the information. We ended up doing this little scene on IRC, mostly.
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Sep 5, 2014 05:08
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Tokyo Taka has no trouble guessing where the postman is on his route, and manages to intercept the man politely. He explains he has some letters he forgot to put in the post, and that it's important they get to the right addresses today. No trouble at all. There'd even be a tip for the extra work. The mailman looks dubiously at the envelopes Taka has in hand. His gaze flicks to Taka's breast pocket, and then back to Taka's face. "I can take them but I have to put them through the post system like any other parcel, sir. It'd be a day at least, maybe two." It occurs to Taka that the man is probably hoping to get a glance at the money envelope containing the bribe before committing to this. BuBuBear I'd hoped to catch you on IRC to clear it up, but how much are you putting toward that bribe? Cardinal Ximenez how is Kenichi going to go about carrying out his orders? If he does, that is. You could always defy Noboru and do something else. I don't care. He might. Tokyo Fish Market Offices Steady soldiers are one thing. All the men that had been under Katashi direct command had seen some sort of violence before and been involved in rough stuff. Any of them would be useful in this ambush that Katashi had planned. But killers, men who had that right combination of duty, skill, and battle hardened nerves to take a life and not get caught- they're always in shorter supply. Ha Joon Gye, one of the men in the room, had it. He was intelligent, cool in a bad situation, and had worked with with Ichiro before. One incident in particular comes to mind: Gye had been willing to help dispose of a man who had needed to disappear, a newspaper writer who had been causing a great deal of grief and would not take polite hints to let the matter of who was renting the overpriced vacation homes in the Kitano region of Kobe owned by suspected Yakuza rest. While normally such an annoyance wouldn't merit an assassination, the rentals were being used to funnel blackmail money into the Soga coffers legally. If the names of the people renting them had become public, it would have been embarrassing and could have led to potential legal problems for both the people being blackmailed and for the Soga clan. Ichiro and Gye abducted the writer one night, several years ago. Gye sneaked up on the man and used a taser, and Ichiro manhandled the victim. They bundled him into the trunk of Ichiro's car and took him out into the countryside. Gye held the terrified man down in a deserted meadow while Ichiro made the cuts. Clean. Quick. They spent the rest of the night butchering the body and burying it in several locations. Ichiro had been impressed with Gye's unflinching stoicism in the face of dismembering and destroying a corpse. Not many people can do that. Ichiro was pretty sure the man would be an asset in any situation involving bloodshed. Later Gye was asked to help Katashi. By the time Noboru came aboard, Gye had been working for Katashi far more than for Boss Soga. Some of the other soldiers who had been under Katashi seemed okay. Ichiro had not personally worked with them on cleaning jobs, but several of them were older men and lifelong soldiers like Gye. That meant they'd keep their mouths shut, if nothing else. Another man comes to mind, Hoshino. He'd been an invaluable helper for several cleaning trips Ichiro had been assigned; perhaps in another life he would have been Ichiro's deputy, but past events had convinced Boss Soga to keep Ichiro close and to let Hoshino have more room to grow as a leader. That didn't stop them from working together on delicate matters, though. Hoshino was probably tied up with work in Kobe right now. But, Boss Soga might be willing to lend him out for a night. Or he could be willing to come up to Tokyo on his own, if the request was couched correctly. He was a solid guy to have at your side in a fight, that was for certain. Gye's the best on hand, and some of the other men are probably not liabilities if you have to get grisly. Hoshino is in Kobe but could be in Tokyo in the evening, if you call for him now. John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 08:48 on Sep 11, 2014 |
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Sep 11, 2014 07:37
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Tokyo ¥60,000 isn't a small sum of money. It's not a gigantic sum either, but it's considerable. ¥60,000 in ¥5,000 bills makes for a noticeably fat money envelope. The mailman isn't so crass as to open the envelope in front of Taka, but he nods as he slides it into his coat's breast pocket. "Ah, well, in that case I will give you special consideration. You're right, it's not too far out of the way. You can trust me to make sure these letters make it. Well, if that's all, I should take care of this right away!" He's not quite giddy, but everyone can tell he's happy with the tip. He heads off, back along his route. Between the large bribe, a good reaction roll, and Taka's fashion sense, the mailman is quite happy to help.
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Sep 12, 2014 23:38
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Tokyo Ritz Taka and Melissa spend several hours on a stakeout of the Inagawa-kai's building, eating lunch and lingering over tea while they chat and watch the traffic. None of the restaurant staff seem to mind them occupying a table as long as they keep buying food and drink periodically. There was some amount of foot traffic in and out, mostly couriers and men in business suits. Nothing remarkable happened until nearly noon, when Melissa noticed a man dressed in a white loose-fitting outfit and a conical straw hat leaving the building. He escaped Taka's notice until Melissa pointed him out. Taka recognized the man as wearing the traditional pilgrim's garments, including a sugegasa hat. The pilgrim hailed a taxi, and was gone before either of them could do more than get the serial number for the cab: 673. Besides the pilgrim's clothes, there was nothing especially remarkable about him. Just another Japanese man with a plain face and olive skin. Taka stifles a yawn as he checks the time on his phone. They've been at this awhile, and only gotten the one item of note out of their stakeout. They leave the restaurant and part ways, Melissa heading home to prepare for her appointment this evening, and Taka going to the tattoo parlor to get some sleep. Deduct $30 each for your meal bills. If there's anything special you guys wanted to get done before the visit to the temple, say so now. Fishmarket Offices Gye glances around the room at the other soldiers, most of whom are on their way out of the room to deal with their own assignments. He nods. "I'll get a few of the guys together. We'll be present." It takes a couple of calls, but Noboru and Ichiro arrange for Hoshino to be freed up for Sunday evening. Their colleague is, as usual, terse. He promises to be at the meeting without complaint or comment. Boss Soga is a little bemused that Noboru's calling him back so soon, but agrees that Hoshino can be spared from his usual duties for a day. If there's anything special you guys wanted to get done before the visit to the temple, say so now. Saito's Pachinko Parlor Despite all the weirdness of the morning, and the assignment liaise with the Patriotic Society from Katashi being reaffirmed by Noboru, Kenichi falls back to familiar habits. Perhaps he was just too unsettled by Katashi dying to feel confident about pursuing his standing orders. As evening draws close, Kenichi becomes keenly aware that the weekend is the best time of day to meet up with Patriotic Society members to party or talk shop. Many of them are regular merchants who have sidelines that are mildly to utterly illegal, and the leadership is all in the business of using merriment to part fools from their money. He's considering which people to talk to when he gets a phone call from an unfamiliar number. It's a girl's voice, not Keiko's. She introduces herself as Aya Higoshi, and says, "You are Keiko's brother, right? I've been expecting her since this afternoon but she didn't show up. Did she change her plans?" Ball's in your court here. Naomi's Apartment When Naomi arrives home her roommate/landlady Miss Mimasuya is still out. She's almost certainly at her lower shop. The weekends are usually decent business-wise for her, from what Naomi knows of her affairs. Naomi goes to her little room, unrolls her futon, and gets some sleep. Streamers of neon light from a shop across the street paint the walls as she wakes to Miss Mimasuya shaking her shoulder. When Naomi's eyes open, Miss Mimasuya says, "Good morning! Or good evening now. Maybe I should be saying good night?" She seems genuinely puzzled by the conundrum of which greeting is most appropriate, but before Naomi can weigh in, Miss Mimasuya abruptly says, "Mr. Minobe gave me a call when he couldn't reach you on your phone. He said you should not be late to your appointment tonight. I'll let you get ready now." As she leaves the room, Naomi can smell fried fish. Her stomach grumbles- and apparently Miss Mimausya heard it, since she calls through the door, "I picked up fish sandwiches, you can take one for your supper if you want." If there's anything else you want to do before going to the temple, or to prepare, say so. Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin As the appointed hour draws close, those who have business assemble by the torii gate. While Melissa and Naomi are ignorant of just who Raihōshin are, anyone else would know it refers to visiting kami in general, instead of any specific Shinto god. This is a place for visiting deities to rest and be received, and to hear prayers from those who would seek their help. That said, it's still a Shinto shrine. Beyond the torii gate is a water fountain with wooden dippers, where visitors are expected to perform a purification ritual by washing their hands and mouths. Lurking by the basin is a very short man, nearly a midget really, dressed in the robes of a junior Shinto priest. He beckons to the group. Upon passing the torii threshold, the hum of the city fades. Tall trees all around the perimeter of the shrine help screen the sound and block a lot of the ambient light from the street, making the sacred ground seem somber and desolate. The priest looks at you each in turn, and then asks, "Is this everyone?" John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 08:40 on Oct 4, 2014 |
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Oct 4, 2014 08:30
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin The junior priest nods. "Yes. I was instructed to receive your party." He glances at the basin beside him and says, almost as an aside, "Today you are excused from washing before entering. We will purify the shrine after your visit is concluded." Regardless of how you may choose to take that, he carries on. "Please follow me, gentlemen and ladies." He detours past the sacred hall proper, the building where the kami and other special objects are housed, and leads the group to a side building. "This serves as the worship hall, when such is required." It's almost like a small theater. The room is divided between a tatami mat covered area where an audience can sit in the traditional fashion, and a smaller area where the priests can perform ceremonies and ritual dances. In that part of the room several people sit, waiting for the party to remove their shoes before entering. There's a stern looking man in the pale yellow and white robes of a senior Shinto priest, a well muscled man dressed in a western style suit who carries himself with confidence, and a large man wearing the distinctive garb of a Yamabushi (a gold tunic over a loose shirt and pants, with a set of decorations on bandoleers). Taka and Noboru both recognize the man in the suit as one of the Yamada lieutenants, Daiki "Baki" Yamada, nicknamed Baki after the manga character "Baki the Grappler" for his ability at martial arts. The senior priest says, "Hebo, you're excused," as soon as the small man has finished helping the party put their shoes into storage cubbies by the door. The junior priest, Hebo, bows and leaves the room. Yamada's eyes flit over the group, and then he stands and bows politely. He says, "I am Daiki Yamada. My associate to my left is Gekido Kaji, and we are all the guests of Priest Nemoto." As he indicates each man, they stand and also bow politely. "We understand you all have seen something impossible. Or done something impossible. Nemoto will check each of you in turn, starting with Mr. Minobe. While he is doing that, Gekido and myself will be willing to answer any questions you may have." The high priest takes Minobe aside from the party and starts shaking a wooden wand with numerous streamers while pacing around the yakuza and softly chanting. Yamada and Gekido ignore them. Say hello to the new player, TheBeardiestBob John_A_Tallon fucked around with this message at 07:04 on Oct 10, 2014 |
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Oct 10, 2014 05:27
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin The Yamada man nods at Noboru, and then says to Gekido, "He has taken responsibility. The rest couldn't be helped." He then addresses the group, "Gekido is a master of the taihojutsu style, and has returned from a period of introspection in the wilds," as though that is enough to explain the man's critical manner. Perhaps it is. The stern martial arts master is almost a cliché, but this guy is the real deal. Ichiro has met Daiki before, at a funeral for an older soldier from another family. The Yamada group typically didn't have much to do with the Soga family, though perhaps that is changing now that the Soga are looking to expand operations. Daiki Yamada, apparently assuming that Tanaka is present as a guard, says, "Tanaka, you are looking well. You may step forward and join us properly. This place was chosen for many reasons- others are providing security." He turns to Noboru and says, "Still, it is commendable to be cautious. After Minobe has been checked by Nemoto, let him perform the same for you. You will then be able to enter the sacred hall; there is something there you should see. Tanaka as well." He looks at the priest, who has just wrapped up his ritual with Minobe. The priest nods, and says, "This one is normal," and he looks at Noboru and confirms, "You, then Tanaka." While the priest prepares to repeat his ritual, Daiki says to Naomi, "We have a report from the late Mr. Soga about your ability, but we know little about you. It's not unheard of for someone to be utterly off the radar, and I assume you have your reasons for it." GTD Aquitaine add the Zeroed advantage to Naomi's sheet
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Oct 12, 2014 01:15
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin Daiki says, "I won't pry about your reasons for leaving, but I am curious about your motives for picking the Soga family instead of arranging a position with a group more accustomed to night people. There are many, and they are not hard to find if you follow the right leads; I know your homeland is practically lousy with would-be giant slayers and recruiters for the mortal realm."
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Oct 12, 2014 06:16
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin The yakuza keeps his face impassive as Naomi leans in. He says, "I assumed you were from one of the established giant clans, somewhere beyond the Brob Din Grag. But I see I made a mistake. You were once a normal woman then?" He seems utterly serious about this.
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Oct 12, 2014 07:01
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin Daiki glances at Gekido, and then asks Naomi, "How long has it been since you were changed? What were you doing before it happened?"
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Oct 13, 2014 02:13
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin Daiki nods and says, "You look like you are still in good health. If it were a poorly made curse you would have health complaints and possibly would have already died. That you are here, and healthy enough to work, and can control your power, means the power has integrated with you well. Perhaps not without future complication, but well enough to be worrying." After Gekido has asked his questions, Daiki adds, "Tracking down and securing dangerous items is something we do, in cooperation with other groups who also do not want to see magic items hurt normal people." As the shinto priest, Nemoto, finishes up with Noboru he quietly asks him, "Mr. Soga, are you an earnest follower of a western religion?" For Gekido: Gekido recalls hearing of a couple of special exhibits in December, and one in March. They wouldn't have been open to the general public, and didn't (as far as he can recall) have any art that would have granted someone size-changing powers. As it has been "a few months" since the event, doing research might bear fruit once you have some details to pursue. As to the Hidden Lore results: Magic violins, malicious paintings, Egyptian funerary statuettes, and other things can act as a vector for a curse or possession. Usually such things have a clear origin with a divine or demonic creator who then lost control of the item to a thief, or simply gave it away to cause someone else grief. Such cursed artifacts rarely grant outright transformations like what Naomi reportedly has, though. Other beings of power can, and do, build weird artifacts and grant mortals powers for inscrutable reasons. People being turned into giants in particular is rare. Most giants would be displeased by someone bestowing powers like that on random mortals, and few people who could make something like that would go out of their way to ignite a feud with all the giants. In summary: it's possible, but it'd be a rare thing indeed. Gekido can't tell if Noboru's hearing this for the first time or not. It doesn't help that the priest is doing a ritual on him at the moment. Even if Taka didn't initially want to play the part of student, it seems he's willing to pay attention for now. For Taka Jō: Taka Jō has the feeling that Daiki's the guy in control in this room, and he knows it. Taka's got a hunch that Daiki is actually testing Gekido as much as he's here to evaluate Naomi and the other issues Noboru has brought to him. Gekido seems genuine in his abuse. That is, he's not being abusive for the sake of being abusive, he's trying to be a "tough coach" type of teacher to people he thinks need that approach. And it's very clear he thinks he is here to instruct. As far as Taka can tell, everyone seems to be truthful.
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Oct 21, 2014 01:16
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin Noboru pays close attention to the ritual- the strange morphemes and archaic words the priest chants, the elaborate way he glides around his subject, the precise and measured movements of his paper-strung staff, and even the way that the priest is facing for each part of the ceremony. He'd be hard pressed to recall the exact words to the chant, but there should be a few more opportunities to see it tonight. The priest quietly says to Noboru, "Someone has blessed you in a manner favored by the western religions. Since you are Catholic, there is no problem. It is not unexpected for the faithful to be blessed." The Shinto priest then says, much more loudly, "Mr. Soga is clear; your turn now," and he beckons to Ichiro. As far as Noboru can tell, Gekido and Daiki seem to believe what they're saying.
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Oct 23, 2014 06:11
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin The smell of incense, burned less than an hour ago, clings to the Shinto priest and the room in general. Ichiro inhales, letting the aroma of the temple tickle his memory. It's a little different from the incense he remembers from visits to other temples; there's a sweeter smell to it, a richness of overtones that is similar but more interesting than what he had encountered before. There are other smells too, but they likely came with the other occupants in the room. Someone probably ate fried white fish recently, and there's also the smell of peanut butter. The priest proceeds repeating the ritual on Ichiro, the motions the same as what he did previously for Minobe and Noboru. He spends a couple of minutes of chanting syllables that seem like very old words or nonsense, making very precise and measured movements that are almost like a dance, and finally finishes. The priest quietly says to Ichiro, "I believe there's no problem. That ring of yours, I recognize the make- it shouldn't be an issue, but don't use it on these grounds please."
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Oct 31, 2014 00:42
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin Nemoto doesn't seem too surprised. "Ah, is that so? I have seen two other rings of that kind before; they are potent, and bear the same spiritual signature as yours." He quickly adds, as if in response to an inevitable question, "The two I've seen can perform remote manipulation of items: telekinesis. We can discuss this later, or you may ask Mr. Yamada or his associate." He announces, "Mr. Tanaka is clear," and then beckons to Taka Jō, "Your turn, sir."
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Oct 31, 2014 02:04
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 15:36 |
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Shinto Shrine to the Raihōshin The priest bows back politely, and says, "You didn't know, so it's fine. Forget about it." He wipes his brow and starts performing the same ritual on Taka. Those of you who are paying attention are certain the motions and words are the same as before. The only difference is that the priest is visibly starting to look tired from all the activity. That's a bit odd since the dancing isn't particularly strenuous and the man isn't out of shape in the least. As the priest repeats the ritual on Taka, Noboru's phone buzzes in his pocket. He's received a text. At the same time, Minobe reaches for his own breast pocket, where he keeps his phone. He then pauses, thinking twice about pulling the phone out in the middle of this meeting. When the ritual is done, the priest announces, "This young man is clear, who is next? You, then?" and he beckons to Naomi. Noboru, and only if he decides to check his message: It's from Saito, explaining that he can't finish his assignment tonight and possibly in the future, since his sister has gone missing and he's looking for her himself. Cardinal Ximenez I don't know what you're doing, so your character gets to be an NPC for now.
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Nov 6, 2014 23:04
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