39 - Where Do We Stand?

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens investigate what remains of the cult and their compound
When: May 2
Where: A converted farm on the rural edge of the Tokyo metro area
Summary: Characters can discuss what they know about the cult, choose how much or how little they tell the Heavens' representative Suijin, and help make decisions about where to go from here.






This place was once a farm, then rebuilt into a compound with a big central building, heavy concrete walls and plenty of outdoor spaces for ritual magic. Now, the rooftop has caved in, and the main floor has collapsed as well, leaving a basement open to the skies above. All around, police tape from a local Near Shore department has quarantined off the area. Amaterasu's shinki, in cooperation with those from Suijin, Fuujin, and Raijin have managed to take shifts warning miscreants and the police away from the area, but left the tape to help with those efforts. Just beyond the tape, they've now put up Borderlines to safely guard against ayakashi for the duration of this meeting, but they're pretty far out of earshot and very focused.

Letter of Invitation

Everyone should have seen the digital letter that Amaterasu sent out, but just in case, later that day each temple receives a single letter, with a wax seal on it with Amaterasu's chrysanthemum as the emblem. It is a reproduction of the same digital letter that Amaterasu crafted the day before; it's not printed out, but rather handwritten with painstaking accuracy. The shinki could be from Amaterasu, Suijin, Raijin, or Fuujin, and they will not force anyone to take the letter, in particular if they're told that the god/dess already saw the message on their phone earlier.

Early Arrival

There's a set time that Suijin will arrive - Noon - but as everyone is encouraged to come early, it is possible you are one of the first or last to arrive among the "early" crowd. How did you get there? Was it by stealth or impossible to miss, even by any Near Shore people in the area?

Topics of Discussion

Now is your chance to discuss with your fellows what you know, don't know, wish you knew, etc. about the cult or their compound. Do your characters think they are still being spied on by Heavens and want to hold back, or are they reasonably confident speaking out with the protecting shinki so far away? At the very least, none of the shinki are making very obvious attempts to return to the compound itself. For the very paranoid, there are little alcoves out of visual range or a small room that still has a door on it, albeit not a ceiling.

Suijin's Arrival

Suijin arrives at the appointed time, stepping onto the compound's front drive and under the police tape at precisely Noon. She comes in the capacity of official counselor for Amaterasu. OOCly, this thread will be free-form individual threading.

After her arrival, we will have mirrored top-level comments with Suijin supplying a piece of information as a jumping off point for discussions about each topic. From that point, it will be individual threading, or multi-character threads if you would like. All of these threads will still be addressed to the group at large, loud enough for them to hear and jump in if players would like.

Redacted April 7th via OOC post: We will run this similar to how we ran the Compound's Second Fight: there will be an opportunity for Suijin and/or her shinki to speak, then characters will be given free reign to respond to her and amongst themselves for a period of time. Then, another "round" will begin with Suijin and/or her shinki's responses to the characters. This structure allows for characters to still react with late comments or reactions to anything being said, or jump in whenever they feel comfortable speaking up.

In Summary:

• Talk amongst yourselves before Suijin arrives
• Check out the damage inflicted on the Compound
• Discuss next steps with Suijin, if you would like
• Have fun~

Comments

[onedrinkwithme]

Considering nearly over a moon ago, Saburo's wife had argued with him over working excessively and taking frequent business trips, we can assume she is not part of the cult's activities nor she is aware of them.

[If that were Aymeric, Leo would have no issues dragging his overworked ass to bed and maybe cast a Gravity spell for good measure.]

As for how Lady Suijin knew about the incident in Australia, she had shown me an article in a newspaper explaining the phenomenon. Although it was more...sensational than most, it did point out the sigils which were true.

[abgrund]

[ Ain does not have any information to supply, so he's just nodding along as the two converse. ]

Suijin should be coming. It can be brought up to her.

[unlucky7]

[So the rest of the family is in the dark. Ginia wonders how Saburo explains the black hooded cloak. Some kind of weekend roleplay outing? It's not as if she wishes harm on the cult - only a stop to their activities - but she hopes the family remains safe.]

This is true, I could ask her, though I'll see if it remains relevant.

Aymeric, you've obviously met Suijin, but how about you, Ain? Or have either of you met any of Amaterasu's other retainers?

[onedrinkwithme]

[His kids and wife deserve all the good let's be real.]

The only time I have seen any of Lady Amaterasu's retainers were during important gatherings.

[And the meeting naturally.]

[abgrund]

I am relatively new here, so I have not.

[ His general dislike of old-fashioned divinities might be setting him back here (see, being a little rude to Suijin later), but he's also a little too rooted in his perception to care about that. ]

What do you think of them?

[onedrinkwithme]

I would not underestimate them. Obviously they have skills enough to serve the ruler of the Heavens.

[And probably dangerous.]

[unlucky7]

Do you think Suijin is more likely to listen to us than Amaterasu?

[Sure, maybe Shun's bluntness put Amaterasu on the defensive, but there was no denying how unwilling she was to consider anything other than what she believed or was told. If Suijin is the same way, there might be any chance to discuss things.]

[onedrinkwithme]

If given enough evidence, tis possible. Not just testimony but physical evidence that exists. It is when presented with these matters that someone can show their true colors; expressions and gestures can differ from spoken words.