ukan | IC CONTACT

"You can," Lark agrees, and wonders if he should warn Kiryu that just because he wants to learn other methods doesn't mean he'll regret using the one he knows. He might be stubborn, but he can make himself be adaptable, though; he nods for Kiryu to continue and commits to listening.

One of Kiryu's best friends has been a yakuza patriarch pretty much since they met one another and Majima Goro most certainly doesn't do things the way that Kiryu would. He wouldn't be able to function if he couldn't live and let live, but he'll argue his points when they're raised for discussion.

But the question demands an answer; Kiryu's a firm believer that you can't dismiss a solution if you don't have one yourself. He'd been thinking on it since Lark had explained himself in the first place.

"My first step would be to speak to my inmate. Specifically, I would ask them if they would be willing to participate in the change I was trying to accomplish. Lead from the front."

Lark can agree easily to that much. "I've done the same, with a few inmates," he admits.

They need to be involved. They need to head it, wherever they can; this is about empowering them. Not protecting them, at least not from harsh lessons. Not guiding them like children.

"Once I knew how my inmate felt, I would seek out other inmate and warden pairings privately. I would see if any permanent pairing would allow me to present my ideas to them both and ask for their participation, if they're willing to go along with it."

He looks to the tea and, after a moment, pours himself a small cup and takes a sip.

"I would prioritize cooperative pairings over uncooperative, but I wouldn't disqualify any pairing willing to listen. If a pairing refused, either before or after, I would leave them alone after that point."

"So far I agree completely. I've been doing very much that," he murmurs, though of course he's referring to one angle out of many. He has so many goals in mind, it takes a delicate touch here and an irreverent shove there.

He nods, though he does find it curious that Lark hadn’t mentioned anything like that to him as he’d thought they were in line. He was a paired warden, after all. And Lark didn’t know (wouldn’t know) that he had no intention of wardening Rags other than acting as his protector and helping him as a friend and someone who loves him. Rags has no intention or desire to graduate and Kiryu’s intent is to help him be here for as long as he possibly can because that is what Rags wants.

Of course, what’s actually happening is something else but such is life.

“Then discussion with the unpaired. More awkward to work with, but they are a sizable part of the population here.”

“At that point, I would enact my plans... but only for and with those who agreed to the plan and explain this accordingly publically. The purpose to this is threefold: it shows respect for those who refused, as people are loathe to agree with and work with those whom they believe hold them in contempt. It provides an active contrast between what was and what could be that shows the advantages of my ideas to those who have agreed as well as those who were skeptical.” He glances up. “I believe, in this case, it would cause discomfort and friction which would be helpful as well. Plant seeds of doubt and disagreement.” He’s not opposed to discomfort, but he feels that a chosen discomfort is more useful than one forced on someone. “And last, it enacts the changes you believe in as a group, multiple people, which muddies the water when it comes to concerns around motivations and intent, and unites a part of the community towards a purpose.”

Edited 2021-06-02 12:50 (UTC)

Lark prefers not to work publicly. It puts so many things at risk, not the least of which is the vulnerability of the unpaired. But he pushes down the way the idea chafes and listens.

He smiles in very quiet appreciation, though, at Kiryu's acknowledgment of the usefulness of friction. "I like this. All of this. I think there are obvious points where our methods are at odds, but I don't believe one is better than the other. And I think there are ways they can work in harmony, even if it's not obvious to me right now. By and large, our ideas are the same, with the same result. I shouldn't be surprised that yours is a softer approach, or that I hadn't thought of it."

“In truth,” he admits with a dip of his head, “this is not unlike the plan enacted by my surrogate son, Daigo.” A distant look; there’s a lot of feelings around Daigo he’s still working through, even after his letter. “He is a better diplomat than I could ever be and an excellent leader, despite his age. He used this method to unite a large number of the families across Japan to work towards common concerns. Seeing each pairing as a small ‘family’, different groupings as clans and alliances that need to be approached and worked with diplomatically is a framework that helps me conceptualize this place.”

He glances to Lark.

“I don’t think it’s entirely incorrect either. Strength, cunning, and personal allegiances have a lot to do with how effective one can be in this place, just as they are there.”

Now they just need some sort of social contract, or general code of ethics. Whether it’s followed or not, and Kiryu’s more realistic about that than most people think, it still exists among the yakuza. And the rules exist for the harmony and benefit of all. Isn’t that what they’re doing here?

Lark is relaxed now, tea cup in both hands, warming them. His smile is like it has been in the past: pleased, a little admiring. Companionable.

"What do you think the next step is? The one we do in the next month."

“Work out the logistics required to ensure the safety of those most vulnerable in this process,” he says plainly, “and establish, with the group, the level of dedication expected. And the willingness to tolerate failure.”

He’s an idealist at heart, but he’s had enough mistakes, failures, and difficulties to know that expectations need to be understood. And managed.

“Taking care of, and providing benefit to, those who’ve sworn to your cause is the most important part of maintaining an alliance like this. And, I should think, the ultimate purpose of this, yes?”

"It is. But we should also anticipate that anyone who doesn't want to join us will attempt to sabotage it." People who come to the Barge are not known for sitting idly by. "What would you do with them?"

“As I said: protect the most vulnerable.” But to be more specific. “Coordinate with your strongest members and utilize what skills are at your disposal to keep an ear to the ground. Provide tailored incentives to neutral parties and offer conditional benefits for their assistance to endear them to your side.” Conditional because full benefits should only be for those willing to stand beside them. And to coax them towards joining. “Take a defensive stance and make any attempts at sabotage common knowledge; standing strong through an onslaught and keeping to the high road will only make it more clear to those opposed that their options are to accept this or to join it. It will also prove that your methods are not weak, nor are those who choose to employ them. But most importantly, it will show that what you have built will stand.”

He dips his head towards Lark as he finishes the tea in his cup.

“You don’t have to remove opposition. You only need make their point of view irrelevant.”

All of this has been at turns very much like what Lark is doing, and at others intriguing for the new angles.

But that last comment, Kiryu. That last comment is what brings a certain amber glint to Lark's eyes, what makes his teeth seem just a little bit sharper than they should be.

"Oh, you have me now," he promises smoothly. With a statement like that, make their point of view irrelevant, one that speaks to every preferred tactic Lark has, how could he not?

Edited 2021-06-03 15:41 (UTC)

“The important thing is to build something that will support itself: new people will see the value of your ideas in practice... or they won’t. But the consequences will be obvious after a point.” He puts his tea cup down. “And those who benefit from it will maintain and safeguard the institution.”

And he doesn’t need to say it, but once something is an institution...

"Oh, I know...that's the most difficult part about all of this. I don't know that Alec will let me stay here as long as I really want to be," he sighs faintly. "So I want to make it as stable as I can while I can."

He looks over at Lark.

“Which is why you’re seeking my input.”

Not just because he appreciates his thoughts. But also because Lark knows he intends to be here as long as he possibly can. And has no one and nothing to pull him away from it.

There’s no anger or even annoyance in his tone as he says it. But he isn’t going to pretend that his buy in doesn’t have other advantages with it.

He regards Kiryu evenly. "If I planned to be here a hundred years, I'd still want your input. I'm sure you've noticed how easy it is for people to launch into screaming fits around here about how right they are. You are someone who has just told me where I'm mistaken, and I respect you more for it."

He leans back, arms crossed loosely over his chest. "A dozen other people have shoved their interpretations of me in my face, and if I tried to clarify, they insisted I was lying. We need someone like you here, Kiryu. You said you look to me as a mentor; I'm here to be that. But I'm also here to be reminded that there's a middle ground, and that I've seen you find it."

He looks back at him with a faint curl at the corner of his lip.

“If I thought it was the only reason, I wouldn’t have taken the time.”

He’s yakuza, even if he no longer has a family. He can appreciate practicality and strategy, even ruthlessness, and he doesn’t find any of it to be a bad thing or anything objectionable on its own. Some things can be given no quarter.

But he nods in appreciation for the compliment. Lark’s respect is something he values.

“Thank you for being willing to explain to me. Especially after others have been unwilling to listen.” He does appreciate that as something that can be difficult in and of itself. And it speaks, honestly, to Lark believing in him and his judgement, something he’s glad to see after their discussion earlier.

"We'll keep looking. We'll find people who are willing to hear you out." And at this point it is 'you', not 'we'--their ideas are extremely similar, but Lark has positioned himself as an adversary to many of the other wardens. It's strategic but that doesn't mean there aren't downsides.

The only indication that he’s picked up on that choice is a raise of an eyebrow. But the twist in his lip says that he appreciates it. That’s something he can understand: dividing up and conquering, different parts of a team playing different roles.

His urge to ask him for a fight hasn’t flagged one bit.

“Should I make more tea?”

Because they can keep talking. ~~Off or on screen!~~

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