Kim Kitsuragi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aceslow) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jigokulogs2022-05-08 02:03 am
aceslow) wrote in jigokulogs2022-05-08 02:03 am
[ OPEN ] scaring at the sky
Who⬤ Kim & YOU
What ⬤ Kim takes on shifts at the local 7-11, fields an attempted robbery at aforementioned 7-11, visits a gay bar, finds a skeleton woman's bones (substory 2), contemplates haunted dolls (substory 4), and goes about his daily life.
When ⬤ Throughout May (and probably into June as a catch-all!)
Where ⬤ Throughout Jigokucho
Content Warnings ⬤ None anticipated; will edit as needed
a. 7-11 shifts.
i. a normal day in hell.
[ A lifelong policeman, Kim had quickly come to realize both that his skills as a detective aren’t exactly transferable here, and that the paltry salary that their clan leaders have given them is not enough to live off of. The only solution to that is to get a job and, much to Kim’s chagrin, the most convenient place to pick up a paycheck happened to be one of Jigokucho’s many convenience stores. A temporary position, Kim had told himself, but a position nonetheless.
Which is why Kim finds himself here, perched behind the counter of a 7-11 in some awful polyester uniform, sporadically working day and night shifts alike and feeling bored out of his skull. Is your character here to pick up their daily slushie? Have they been living off of convenience store foods for the past week? Or do they want a chat as they’re picking up lottery tickets and cigarettes? Whatever the case, Kim is here, seeing exactly what everyone’s daily routine looks like.
When he’s not restocking shelves or tidying up or looking terribly bored, he can be found reading a book underneath the counter or scribbling away in that omnipresent blue notebook of his. But feel free to interrupt him – that’s his job, after all. ]
ii. a normal day in hell: robbery edition!
[ Though late one evening, Kim’s stupor is interrupted by a young humanoid yokai slamming down his haul - slushies, saran wrapped pastries, ice cream and candy; somebody’s got a sweet tooth! - and jabbing the stubbiest looking switchblade Kim has ever seen in his direction. ]
This is a robbery! Give me everything in your register, now!
[ If you’re particularly good at reading expressions, Kim looks almost… glad for the excitement? He raises his brows at the young man, reaching underneath the counter. ]
You’re... robbing me? With that?
[ Do you want to intervene in the world’s most pathetic robbery? Or did you see that there could be more dangerous accomplices around the corner? Or maybe you just feel like watching the show? Take your pick! ]
b. the homo-sexual underground (it’s a gay bar).
[ With how busy his job kept him back home it’s not as though Kim had the time or energy to frequent gay bars, but with more time on his hands and a lack of community at his disposal, he’s slowly come to realize precisely what it is that he’s missing: a tether to the homo-sexual underground or, as it may be here, the homo-sexual overground. For how little he’d frequented the bars back home in the past few years, it’s a place that’s always welcomed him and a place he always knew he could go back to. He’d cut his teeth in those dingy, secretive bars even before he had been old enough to drink after all, and he decides it’s about time he gets acquainted with what Jigukocho has to offer.
With that in mind, Kim dons appropriate attire - a black leather jacket, white undershirt, dark wash trousers and some good, solid boots; there’s no point in messing with the classics - and heads to the Tamamo District to scope out the scene. It’s less a matter of asking around, and more of being able to spot his own. Once he sees exactly who is streaming into one of the bars, he slips in himself, looking comfortable and at ease, though in truth, he’s trying to get a lay of the land. He’s only ever been in the gay scene in one city, and to acquaint himself with another’s language seems like quite the task.
He winds up sitting at the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish chatting with another customer to place his order and looking far more approachable than he usually does. He’s in no hurry to get his drink, though – whether you’re here on purpose or stumbled into the gay bar by accident, why not say hello? ]
c. substory 2: vend me a dream.
[ If Kim had known just how long this satellite investigation was going to go, he wouldn’t have signed up for it in the first place, he thinks. But now that he’s invested, he’s come face to face with someone that he would probably feel obligated to help regardless of what comes at the end of this whole jaunt: skeleton clad in a beautiful, intricate dress, pooling on the filthy streets of Jigokucho. If you happen to listen in, you may hear Kim say, perplexed: ] You say they… took your bones, Madam?
My bones! They stole my bones! [ The woman’s jaw crackles and pops as she speaks, the entire effect a rather eerie one, though Kim tries his damnedest to keep a straight face. ] How will I get anywhere without my legs?
And who were these miscreants, exactly?
A dog.
A dog, ma'am?
A dog, a dog!
A dog took both of your legs?
[ The skeleton woman shrugs. Her bones crackle. ] A dog took one of my legs.
I see. [ Kim very carefully does not sigh. The absence of a sigh is somehow even louder than if he had. He turns to anyone nearby - that’s you! - and says, ] Pardon me. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a dog with a bone around here, have you? It would be a very large bone.
d. substory 4: haniwhat?
[ While his aren't as bad as some, Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi is no stranger to nightmares, especially at times of unrest. When he bolts awake in the morning with a shout - perhaps audible to other residents of Sutoku housing - he expects that it's nothing more than an overactive subconscious up until the point he sees an eerie looking doll staring back at him from across the room, perched precariously on the chair he habitually hangs his jacket on. Voice croaky from sleep, he rasps, ] What the fuck?
[ He doesn't do more than get himself looking baseline presentable before taking action, grabbing a pair of tongs from the kitchen to transfer the strange figurine from a chair to an old grocery bag. He carries it out of his apartment and sets it down as gently he can out on the sidewalk, using the tongs again to unwrap it from the bag and peer suspiciously at it, more than a little spooked. Usually he wouldn't want to be seen like this, in a loose tank top and sweatpants, hair mussed instead of being slicked back with a prodigious amount of hair gel and face unshaven, but he feels inclined to get to the bottom of this. Experimentally, he pokes it. ]
If you're alive, [ he tells it sternly, ] You should say so. And you certainly shouldn't be breaking into people's homes.
[ It stares emptily back at him, silent as the grave. Perhaps you've seen one of these too and can enlighten him as to what's going on -- or where to dispose of it. ]
e. daily life.
[ Otherwise, you can find Kim going about his regular business. If you live in Sutoku housing, you may have him for a neighbour and run into him as he takes out the trash, or perhaps figure out his schedule by the fact that he stands out on the communal porch of Sutoku's building for his daily cigarette, breathing chestnut-scented smoke into the light-saturated nighttime of the city of the dead that never sleeps. He's largely a polite, conscientious neighbour, though he sticks to himself and never appears to welcome any visitors.
Otherwise, he can be found doing his weekly grocery shopping, hitting up thrift stores for clothing and household goods, peering into the windows of Sutoku's many arcades (he seems particularly interested in those racing games), eating at one of Jigokucho's many cheap dining establishments, or even studying the advertisement in the window of a gym. Wherever you can reasonably expect someone to visit while going about their day, you can find Kim! ]
f. wildcard!
[ hit me with a wildcard – or if you’d like to plot/would like me to write you a custom starter, I’m more than happy to do so! Comment to me on the cr meme or on plurk and we can work something out! ]
What ⬤ Kim takes on shifts at the local 7-11, fields an attempted robbery at aforementioned 7-11, visits a gay bar, finds a skeleton woman's bones (substory 2), contemplates haunted dolls (substory 4), and goes about his daily life.
When ⬤ Throughout May (and probably into June as a catch-all!)
Where ⬤ Throughout Jigokucho
Content Warnings ⬤ None anticipated; will edit as needed
a. 7-11 shifts.
i. a normal day in hell.
[ A lifelong policeman, Kim had quickly come to realize both that his skills as a detective aren’t exactly transferable here, and that the paltry salary that their clan leaders have given them is not enough to live off of. The only solution to that is to get a job and, much to Kim’s chagrin, the most convenient place to pick up a paycheck happened to be one of Jigokucho’s many convenience stores. A temporary position, Kim had told himself, but a position nonetheless.
Which is why Kim finds himself here, perched behind the counter of a 7-11 in some awful polyester uniform, sporadically working day and night shifts alike and feeling bored out of his skull. Is your character here to pick up their daily slushie? Have they been living off of convenience store foods for the past week? Or do they want a chat as they’re picking up lottery tickets and cigarettes? Whatever the case, Kim is here, seeing exactly what everyone’s daily routine looks like.
When he’s not restocking shelves or tidying up or looking terribly bored, he can be found reading a book underneath the counter or scribbling away in that omnipresent blue notebook of his. But feel free to interrupt him – that’s his job, after all. ]
ii. a normal day in hell: robbery edition!
[ Though late one evening, Kim’s stupor is interrupted by a young humanoid yokai slamming down his haul - slushies, saran wrapped pastries, ice cream and candy; somebody’s got a sweet tooth! - and jabbing the stubbiest looking switchblade Kim has ever seen in his direction. ]
This is a robbery! Give me everything in your register, now!
[ If you’re particularly good at reading expressions, Kim looks almost… glad for the excitement? He raises his brows at the young man, reaching underneath the counter. ]
You’re... robbing me? With that?
[ Do you want to intervene in the world’s most pathetic robbery? Or did you see that there could be more dangerous accomplices around the corner? Or maybe you just feel like watching the show? Take your pick! ]
b. the homo-sexual underground (it’s a gay bar).
[ With how busy his job kept him back home it’s not as though Kim had the time or energy to frequent gay bars, but with more time on his hands and a lack of community at his disposal, he’s slowly come to realize precisely what it is that he’s missing: a tether to the homo-sexual underground or, as it may be here, the homo-sexual overground. For how little he’d frequented the bars back home in the past few years, it’s a place that’s always welcomed him and a place he always knew he could go back to. He’d cut his teeth in those dingy, secretive bars even before he had been old enough to drink after all, and he decides it’s about time he gets acquainted with what Jigukocho has to offer.
With that in mind, Kim dons appropriate attire - a black leather jacket, white undershirt, dark wash trousers and some good, solid boots; there’s no point in messing with the classics - and heads to the Tamamo District to scope out the scene. It’s less a matter of asking around, and more of being able to spot his own. Once he sees exactly who is streaming into one of the bars, he slips in himself, looking comfortable and at ease, though in truth, he’s trying to get a lay of the land. He’s only ever been in the gay scene in one city, and to acquaint himself with another’s language seems like quite the task.
He winds up sitting at the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish chatting with another customer to place his order and looking far more approachable than he usually does. He’s in no hurry to get his drink, though – whether you’re here on purpose or stumbled into the gay bar by accident, why not say hello? ]
c. substory 2: vend me a dream.
[ If Kim had known just how long this satellite investigation was going to go, he wouldn’t have signed up for it in the first place, he thinks. But now that he’s invested, he’s come face to face with someone that he would probably feel obligated to help regardless of what comes at the end of this whole jaunt: skeleton clad in a beautiful, intricate dress, pooling on the filthy streets of Jigokucho. If you happen to listen in, you may hear Kim say, perplexed: ] You say they… took your bones, Madam?
My bones! They stole my bones! [ The woman’s jaw crackles and pops as she speaks, the entire effect a rather eerie one, though Kim tries his damnedest to keep a straight face. ] How will I get anywhere without my legs?
And who were these miscreants, exactly?
A dog.
A dog, ma'am?
A dog, a dog!
A dog took both of your legs?
[ The skeleton woman shrugs. Her bones crackle. ] A dog took one of my legs.
I see. [ Kim very carefully does not sigh. The absence of a sigh is somehow even louder than if he had. He turns to anyone nearby - that’s you! - and says, ] Pardon me. I don’t suppose you’ve seen a dog with a bone around here, have you? It would be a very large bone.
d. substory 4: haniwhat?
[ While his aren't as bad as some, Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi is no stranger to nightmares, especially at times of unrest. When he bolts awake in the morning with a shout - perhaps audible to other residents of Sutoku housing - he expects that it's nothing more than an overactive subconscious up until the point he sees an eerie looking doll staring back at him from across the room, perched precariously on the chair he habitually hangs his jacket on. Voice croaky from sleep, he rasps, ] What the fuck?
[ He doesn't do more than get himself looking baseline presentable before taking action, grabbing a pair of tongs from the kitchen to transfer the strange figurine from a chair to an old grocery bag. He carries it out of his apartment and sets it down as gently he can out on the sidewalk, using the tongs again to unwrap it from the bag and peer suspiciously at it, more than a little spooked. Usually he wouldn't want to be seen like this, in a loose tank top and sweatpants, hair mussed instead of being slicked back with a prodigious amount of hair gel and face unshaven, but he feels inclined to get to the bottom of this. Experimentally, he pokes it. ]
If you're alive, [ he tells it sternly, ] You should say so. And you certainly shouldn't be breaking into people's homes.
[ It stares emptily back at him, silent as the grave. Perhaps you've seen one of these too and can enlighten him as to what's going on -- or where to dispose of it. ]
e. daily life.
[ Otherwise, you can find Kim going about his regular business. If you live in Sutoku housing, you may have him for a neighbour and run into him as he takes out the trash, or perhaps figure out his schedule by the fact that he stands out on the communal porch of Sutoku's building for his daily cigarette, breathing chestnut-scented smoke into the light-saturated nighttime of the city of the dead that never sleeps. He's largely a polite, conscientious neighbour, though he sticks to himself and never appears to welcome any visitors.
Otherwise, he can be found doing his weekly grocery shopping, hitting up thrift stores for clothing and household goods, peering into the windows of Sutoku's many arcades (he seems particularly interested in those racing games), eating at one of Jigokucho's many cheap dining establishments, or even studying the advertisement in the window of a gym. Wherever you can reasonably expect someone to visit while going about their day, you can find Kim! ]
f. wildcard!
[ hit me with a wildcard – or if you’d like to plot/would like me to write you a custom starter, I’m more than happy to do so! Comment to me on the cr meme or on plurk and we can work something out! ]
a1
[And there it begins. A ritual of loading up on the unhealthiest, most processed snack foods one can get hold of- 3 melonpan, a box of caplico sticks, a wheat bun, a cup of sakuranbo jelly. He pauses to hum and haw in front of a display of packaged cake slices, eventually grabbing a packaged tiramisu, and then passing the refrigerators and freezers, he grabs an ice cream bar. He almost grabs a bottle of peach soda, too, but apparently decides against it.]
[On the way to the check-out aisle, he grabs two ume onigiri. For his mid-afternoon tea.]
[It takes him all the way until he gets to the checkout counter and unceremoniously dumps all of this in front of Kim for him to actually look up and notice the man staring back at him through his dark-rimmed glasses, a silence that lasts three deadening beats before he gives a little 'ah'.]
Kim-san. What are you doing behind the counter?
no subject
He glances down, tugging at the cheap polyester of his brightly coloured work uniform. ] Oh, you know. I saw what the staff wore here and was so overcome with envy that I simply had to apply.
[ He sighs. ] And it turns out that two decades of dedicated policework means very little here. [ He glances down at Matoba's goodies. Sugar, sugar, sugar...
Well, that explains it. ]
no subject
[That seems like the sort of job that would suit Kim, and the Sutoku mission for that matter, but maybe not the easiest job to put food on the table with. Matoba himself didn't entirely mind the dreary charm-making work the Tengu had set him to recently, but we couldn't all have glamorously specific magical skillsets.]
For what it's worth, I don't think it looks bad on you, [Matoba adds cheerfully. This is because he doesn't think about how it looks on him at all. (If Kim gets the distinct feeling Matoba is teasing him, well.)]
no subject
[ Not that he would, necessarily, considering what Matoba usually wears, but it's not as though Matoba is poorly dressed. He's just a young man dressing comfortably for daily life. Kim, however, has better standards than that for others and for himself and loathes being squashed into a uniform that's clearly meant for sixteen year old kids.
Becoming a private detective is a thought, certainly, but one that requires more research, money, and skill than Kim thinks he currently has at his disposal. And he wants extra funds now. He glances down at Matoba's haul of sweets and begins to scan the barcodes. He'd gotten a good look at the atrocious state of Matoba's cupboards when he'd been over there the day of the parade and had dismissed it at the time, but now he's beginning to get the inkling that this is how Matoba regularly eats. ]
...this is just a snack run, right? This isn't how you're eating for your actual meals.
[ Maybe he lives off of take-out. That's respectable enough. ]
no subject
[He says, smiling cheerfully through his little chuckle. Nobody would really disagree with Kim there, honestly, but then Matoba had never really cared about how he dressed beyond how it functioned as a means to put forward the appearance that was required of him. Every little thing, a function.]
[As Kim begins to scan through his items, Matoba rummages his coin pouch out of his sleeve and unzips it, counting out the change to pay.] Hm? Ah, well, for now it is.
[..."For now" seems rather ominous, doesn't it.] It depends, from time to time, where I am, how busy.
That onigiri will suffice for today.
no subject
But what has absolutely nothing to do with the greater good or Matoba's apparent maturity in other matters is the fact that he seems to be courting scurvy at an alarmingly quick rate. He quirks a brow at him. ]
From what I've seen, you're always busy. I know it's not really my place, but... [ He should leave well enough alone. He really should. ] Are you sure you don't want to eat a vegetable from time to time? This can't possibly be how you ate back home too.
[ Mainly because he gets the impression he at least had elders keeping an eye on him and making sure he didn't die of malnutrition. ]
no subject
Hummm. Now you're really starting to lecture, Kim-san.... You are right that I keep myself occupied, because there is much to be done here. Do ume not count? [Pickled plums are still plants! Close enough. Matoba draws his eye to the side with a put-on sulk, looking at the caseline of grab-and-go meals as if to appease him. Elders, a household, and a family treasury, for the record, all of which took care of his basic needs and allowed him to focus on what mattered: the business.]
I suppose it wouldn't hurt. ... A chicken cutlet sandwich has a bit of shredded cabbage in it, right? [That counts.]
no subject
[ Which is to say, he saw the absolute dreadful state of affairs in there. He picks up one of Matoba's items and begins scanning it in, rightly assuming that he'll at least be buying the snacks, even if he replaces the onigiri for a cutlet sandwich. ]
We can't have our resident ayakishi expert dying of scurvy. Where would we be then?
no subject
I promise, I am not going to get scurvy. [Incredulous,] But I appreciate the concern, Kim-san. You know, you ought to look into some books of folklore, to get a basic education of youkai types and abilities. [Is he nagging back out of spite? Maybe.] There is more to learn about them than one could ever learn in a lifetime, but a start would still do you some good.
no subject
[ That's a good suggestion, actually. Kim looks genuinely thoughtful. Matoba may be nagging back to prove a point, but that doesn't mean that he didn't do so thoughtfully; there are a great many things that people could nag Kim about that he would get sour about or simply brush off, but the allocation of more knowledge isn't one of them. He's been taken aback so many times in a scant few months; surely he can equip himself to be more prepared. ]
I didn't consider that they would have resource books on the matter here. But it would be... anthropological, I suppose, and they are the experts on themselves. Is there any literature you'd recommend?
no subject
[Tsk! Imagine, not even knowing that. Matoba leans over and browses the newsstand magazines, one catching his eye. He picks it up and flips through it, an entertainment magazine, with a certain romance actor on the cover.] If I am honest, most of my knowledge comes from direct teaching from my elders, clan literature, and such. So there is not something in particular intended for the general populace that I can point you to, however...
[He pauses, putting a thoughtful hand to his chin.] The ukiyo-e collections of Toriyama Sekien are a decent start. Surely, human classics must be available, given all the other human media that seems to make its way here. [Like, you know, the gossip rag he's flipping through.]
no subject
[ Though Matoba has seen one of them already, and that consisted mainly in being an absolute stone wall of etiquette and bland deflections. Still, Kim grabs his ever-present blue notebook from underneath the counter, squinting a little as he scribbled down what Matoba had to say. Kim's handwriting is nigh illegible, tall, spidery script wedged in tight and written in a frantic tempo. In this case, he has written: ookeeoee torryama seckien -- book on ayakishi? One day he'll get used to Japanese spelling conventions, but for his own personal notes, he's decided to write things down phonetically first and look them up later. ]
All right. I'll look it up. As well as any books they've written on themselves. They may not write about how to deal with them, per se, but I'm sure it will be enlightening. [ He snaps his notebook shut. ] Even if we did have stories about the ayakishi where I'm from, I don't think I would trust those. Nothing else about this place is the same.
[ It's odd, the way it works. The computers are different from the radiocomputers he knowsm the fashions are all strange, all wrong, the automobiles he's seen use wheels instead of levers, nobody has ever heard of Innocents or the Pale. It supercedes what can be chalked up to cultural differences.
He wonders if Matoba will ever run into the same: some old, fundamental truths that he was raised on about the ayakishi proven wrong. Where would he be then? ]
no subject
[What a lecture! One could never know too much... Not if you were strong enough. Perhaps there were men with weak minds who would break under the pressure of learning certain truths of the world, or under the weight of the responsibilities they found in themselves upon learning them.]
[For Matoba, who was sculpted for it, the tools to grapple with that realization had been instilled in him long ago, at the cost of the other things that might once have been in his heart.]
You know, I haven't looked into that myself. [And the idea amuses him, it seems, by the curl of a smile on his lips. He leans on the counter as Kim tucks his notes back.] After that Night Parade of theirs, I honestly didn't feel as though I needed to learn any more about how they view themselves. It was nothing that surprised me, really.
But perhaps if you find something of interest amongst ayakashi authors, Kim-san, you should recommend some books to me. Hm?
[Matoba speaks of it like a lark. There was no serious consideration being given to the value of an ayakashi's opinion of themselves. In this attitude, it was perhaps more obvious for Matoba, how he might react to at least some of his core values being challenged: by laughing, and dismissing it out of hand.]
no subject
[ Kim does think he has a point. There's a certain investment he has in learning about who the ayakishi are as people, and how this city operates. He's spent so long immersed in Revachol's culture to the point at which he could close his eyes and walk the city by memory, that being in a new place without understanding their history or iconography has been jarring.
That, and he could really use a nice, fun book at some point. ]
Your approach is certainly a more scientific one. And I ought to brush up my skills there too. But I have been attempting to understand more of their culture, so to speak. [ He props his chin up from where he's resting on the counter. ] Strangely enough, this job hasn't hurt in that respect. People don't watch their tongues in places like these.
[ He may as well be invisible.
Not so different from home, really. ]
no subject
[Which didn't mean that he viewed them any differently. They might try to reflect human culture in their way of life here, the way they reflected humanity in their very existence, but it was that state of existence that made them fundamentally different from humans.]
...You don't say. [Nor does he doubt it. Who was watching their tongue, going about the dreariness of daily life in a convenience mart?] Nothing too vital that I would be interested to know...?
[Speaking of daily life in the mart. Behind him in line, a mildly inconvenienced yuki-onna grasping a value pack of papertowels clears her throat, a little too aggressively.]
no subject
[ He hopes there is. Life is a terribly empty thing without an indulgence or two -- though Kim doesn't easily admit to his own. It's a quirk of Matoba's, though, holding himself as though he's detached from the very humanity he claims to protect, too responsible and too knowledgeable to bother with any of it.
There has to be some awful novel or horrible movie he enjoys. He just knows it. He's about to answer Matoba's next question when he glances over at the yuki-onna. ]
Ah. My apologies, ma'am. I'll be with you in just a moment. [ He rings Matoba's purchases through, then raises a brow at him: if there's anything to share, I won't be telling you in company. ]
no subject
No, none at all. [Matoba smiles dryly, overshooting back into sarcasm. Sweets may have been the simplest, but he thinks to himself that Kim will just have to work for the rest of them, won’t he?]
[But even the things he enjoyed were such that they could be called detached fancies. Things he could like, things he could enjoy, with no exploitable bias or weakness to them. The things that hooked into him deeper than that were few and far between, and it was those that Kim was going to have to learn.]
[Well, he’d gotten lucky enough to chance across a hint already. Matoba was sure the detective would start asking questions sooner or later, but he’d just as easily deflect them.]
...I might have something interesting to tell you, but it will require some research on my part. I hope you can wait until then. [Just a little tease. But if his investigations proved fruitful...] Perhaps by then you’ll be able to tell me something interesting from your reading material, as well.
no subject
[ He bags Matoba's groceries up and hands them over to him once he's gotten due payment. Some young workers would give their friends discounts, but Kim would rather like to keep this job, and he's fairly certain that if he started handing out discounts now, his circle would eat 7/11 out of house and home. ]
Until then... [ He shoots Matoba a wry look. ] I hope you're brushing your teeth. I wouldn't relish the thought of going to one of Hell's dentists.
Would you shut up and keep the line moving?!
Madam, please, control yourself. [ Kim sighs, then nods at Matoba. ] All right. Take care.