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! ]
no subject
Anyway if Fukuda is fazed by Kim's obvious tired skepticism, he doesn't show it. That said, he does sense it enough to choose not to correct it being an accident.]
Well, the wind flowing through the hole makes things clearer! It's as simple as that.
[Kim the man has brain damage.]
LMAOO I'M SORRY FOR YOUR INBOX!!!
[ Kim has accepted a lot of things since he's been here. There is the fundamental difference in biology between him and many of the people here, whether it's a source of their spectacular powers, or the fact that they're very much not human. He is, in fact, rather proud of himself for managing to shift his inflexible worldview in order to accommodate these facts so that he can do the barest minimum of survival through this wretched world he's found himself in.
But he has his limits. As it turns out, his limit is the hole in my head helps me think! He stops, drawing in a breath and pursing his lips. ]
I really don't think that's how it works. There's no scientific basis for that sort of thing, or else we would all be walking around with holes in our head. [ Is this just this man's way of dealing with a traumatic injury? Is this how he's come to terms with it? Perhaps he's being callous. He should be sensitive. ] But if you don't feel it has... impeded your thought process, that's a good thing, of course.
[ Oh, it's definitely impeded his thought process. ]
OK BUT I ALWAYS WANT KIM IN MY INBOX
Mm, well, I'm sure plenty of people don't need something like this. But you know, sometimes, people have a hard time thinking clearly. I used to have that problem but I don't anymore.
[Sometimes you are mentally ill and then you have a traumatic brain injury and you just become a different, but apparently more manageable flavor of mentally ill. Fukuda is still smiling, but a seasoned detective like Kim should be able to perceive a shift in his posture, a touch more cagey and defensive like he's ready to escape the conversation. In a way that tells you he's very much used to people telling him he's wrong, and responds to it by withdrawing. Kim's amendment at the end is clearly all that stopped him from detaching completely.]
BLESS YOU FOR THAT!!!!!
[ That seems to be the only way of dealing with this. It's a little alarming that a police officer has separated so distinctly from reality, but -- well, it's not as though it's uncommon. He doesn't want to press it too much. It would not be a productive discussion, and Kim has no way of changing his mind. Nor should he; this is the sort of thing that ought to be treated delicately, with the help of a mental health professional.
Yes, Jigoku-cho's many, many mental health professionals, free and available for all of its Lost Souls, very few of which Kim would argue as being mentally well.
Oh, dear. ]
What do you mean by thinking clearly? Like the ability to hold down an office job, as you said? I know that requires a great deal of memorization and organization.
[ There. Nice, easy softball questions. ]
no subject
In any case, Fukuda hesitates, because he doesn't typically explain what he means, partly because he doesn't like talking about his mental illness and partly because people haven't really been asking him follow up questions when he talks about how the hole helped him. Mostly they react like they don't believe him or think he's crazy. But Kim's being very kind. Maybe he won't think less of Fukuda for being mentally ill? Maybe it's ok to tell him.]
... Mm, well... I was actually really good at memorizing, but only with numbers. But I had to count things, all the time, even if I didn't want to. Like...
[He looks around and notices a standing display of soda cans in a pyramid, and points at it.]
That, I'd have to count those, and I couldn't think about anything else until I did.
[He's still skittish, and doesn't look back at Kim after he's looked away.]
no subject
[ It's only after the words suddenly slip from his lips that he realizes that most people don't take kindly to having disorders suddenly lobbed at them like a fastball they can't evade, particularly after they have taken pains to be vulnerable about it. He holds one hand up, hastening to correct himself. ]
Ah -- my apologies. I don't know if that's accurate, and I certainly don't mean it in a bad way. It's a known phenomenon where I am from, that's all. I've encountered others with it before. They need to do things like... count the grains of wood on the floorboards, tap at the walls, that sort of thing.
[ He looks at Fukuda with renewed understanding, raising a hand to stroke at his chin. ]
It does have something to do with the brain. Perhaps... your injury altered the part of your brain responsible for generating that impulse? [ What does he know? He's a cop, not a scientist. But it's possible, isn't it? ]
no subject
Tension visibly leaves his body, as he looks back at Kim finally, and honestly looks shocked at this attitude he's receiving.]
Right! Right! The wind going through the hole fixed that part of my brain!
[He's really set on the wind aspect for some reason. Maybe it's not completely fixed.]
The term I've been told was arithmomania, but it's like that... you don't think it's bad to have something like that?
no subject
[ But that's not really the argument he should be making, is it? He's not about to change his mind. Any other diagnoses were clearly missing other, incredibly present issues. Kim's certain that he probably shouldn't be a police officer, but hasn't worked out whether or not this fixation has presented any other issues or dangers as of yet; it's ultimately most likely that the only person Fukuda is hurting is himself. ]
But... mmh. It's bad in some respects. It certainly makes the lives of those who have it a great deal more difficult than it should have to be. Life is difficult enough without something like that adding to the pile. [ He remembers being around other kids with such compulsions in his youth. Some had argued that it was caused by the significant trauma the children in Revachol were living with, others argued they were simply born with it, and others still blamed it on the children themselves. In any case, it wasn't an especially easy way to live. ]
But it's certainly not a moral failing, if that is what you're asking.
no subject
I'm glad you understand. That's why I'm grateful for my hole, even if it's caused other problems. It was hard and most people didn't understand it the way you do. That's why I don't usually talk about it.
[Implicitly, further gratitude for Kim for making it clear that he was going to be the sort of person Fukuda could tell it to.]
The more I talk to you, the more I feel like it's a shame you weren't assigned to the Enma, Lieutenant!
[The world needs more police like this, probably.]
no subject
At any rate, I appreciate the sentiment. It is true that most officers are in dire need of more mental health training, but the funding... [ So much could be avoided if they knew proper conflict resolution. And so much couldn't. But it would help. ] Maybe that's a perspective you can bring to your own policing. It can go a long way.
[ Is Hell preoccupied with mental health consultants? Kim doesn't think so, but it's probably a better place for Fukuda than the field. Someone might try to use that hole in his head as target practice. ]
no subject
Anyway, Fukuda looks like this never occurred to him, but he seems to brighten up at the premise.]
Ah, you're saying that because I know what it's like, I could do a better job handling other people whose brains don't work correctly that get into trouble with the law?
[Yes!!! He wants to help other people like him!!!]
no subject
[ It makes him think of The Pigs. He... is not proud of how he handled that one. He had been ready to shoot that poor woman and very well may have if Harry hadn't been around to handle it. That's evidence enough for his philosophy though, isn't it? It's not a secret to anyone that Harry isn't well, and who better to understand someone who's suffering from the side effects of god knows what? Not like Kim, who tends to get a little jumpy when a gun's pointed at him. ]
What many of us consider reasonable responses just make some cases angry, or frightened, or apt to try to run or try something else. With someone who can understand what it's like to think... differently, you could have the capacity to steer them in the right direction.
[ To get the help they need. Which is not a hole in the head. ]
no subject
Aah. I got arrested for loitering a few times when I was younger.
[Because he was lingering somewhere, counting.]
When I tried to explain to them what I was doing, they never really wanted to listen. I think probably a lot of people aren't doing crimes for bad reasons. Sometimes they're even trying to help.
[Not speaking from experience or anything.]
no subject
[ They can't go too far in that direction, after all. It's something of a slippery slope. And Kim has heard far more justifications than he cares to think about. ]
But something like loitering requires a little more compassion, yes. There's no point in resolving something violently if it can be resolved in any other way.
no subject
... Who decides? Whether someone's reason is good or not.
no subject
[ He drums his fingers on the counter. ]
I couldn't say how the legal system works here. I imagine it's decided upon by your employer alone.
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[He pauses, shifting.]
Though, maybe it's better this way. If I don't know, I don't have to know whether I disagree. So I can just do my job how I'd like.
no subject
[ Kim trails off, clicking his tongue. ]
Do your homework, Officer. Once you know the rules, at least you'll know the ones you're unwilling to follow.
[ And how best to get around them. Kim doesn't take such detailed notes for himself. He knows how to work the MoralIntern. ]
no subject
no subject
[ It's all fanciful. What policing should be. Not what it is. Talking about it like this makes Kim feel old, and tired. He wishes that the RCM was all it was cracked up to be in his youth. ]
Knowing the law inside and out will be to your benefit. Knowledge is power. Once you have it, you'll know how best to wield it.
no subject
... I see! Then I'll study up on what all the laws are here in Jigoku-cho! And when I break the law I'll make sure I have a good reason.
[When, he says.]
no subject
Better than the alternative, [ he says, though not without warmth. He's not terribly engaged with the laws here anyhow, aware that this place is more or less run by gang warfare. As long as people are trying to do the right thing, it's an improvement. ]
Don't let me keep you, Officer Fukuda. From the sounds of it, you've got plenty of work ahead of you.
no subject
Ah, right! But it was nice to meet you, Lieutenant! Thanks for your help.
[He gives Kim a little salute before scampering on out of the store.]