的場静司 | Matoba Seiji (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
worldbent) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
jigokulogs2022-05-18 10:18 pm
worldbent) wrote in jigokulogs2022-05-18 10:18 pm
OPEN ➸ May Catchall
Who ⬤ Matoba and you!
What ⬤ Curses. So very many curses- eye attack, haniwa, and... the arcade?
When ⬤ Throughout May
Where ⬤ Around the city, but mostly Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Possible light violence from the attack prompt?
1 ➸ Fight Fire With Fire (Substory 4/May Eyeakashi Attack)
[ooc; please read this info/permissions post before replying to this prompt (and feel free to ping me with questions!)]
[A]
[Whatever you happen to be doing when the low, rumbling groan begins to sound from the sky overhead of you, the crowds around you uneasily stop and glance around. Its source is unclear, and others on the street seem equally puzzled-- all but one, a man, who withdraws the paper parasol tucked into his obi and opens it with a smile. Matoba bends over, and deposits something on the ground from a bundle he is carrying- if your eye is sharp, you'll see that they're those haniwa that have been popping up around the city, the ones the Enma specifically said not to mess with. His parasol is left to shade them, like a little house.]
[Are you going to ask what he's up to?]
--
[B]
[If not, he begins to walk away from his little dioarama- directly towards you, it so happens.]
[A mass of black sludge suddenly rockets out of the sky and smashes into the sidewalk moments later, leaving a small crater where the man had been; instead of him, the haniwa are devoured in an instant, absorbing a seismic flash of cursed energy that anyone with spiritual senses is sure to feel. The parasol is left crunching into its formless, toothy mouth before it realizes it has been tricked, and stares into the crowd- directly at Matoba.]
[And you.] OooouuGGGHHhhhhh.... EYE..
2 ➸ Cursoid (Substory 4)
[The trouble with cursed objects was that they seemed innocuous to those that needed to avoid them the most. As more and more of the little haniwa figurines began to appear throughout the city, Matoba had reluctantly taken it upon himself to do what he could to seal and remove them from public spaces, either delivering them to Department of Enma stations or whisking them away to less populated spaces. Those in Enma may find themselves tasked with a sudden delivery, wrapped in strange paper spells as Matoba gives you a skeptical once-over.] ...Are you sure you can handle this?
--
[Those outside the Enma- those who can't leave well enough alone on the streets- get even less benefit of the doubt.]
I'd appreciate if you could avoid touching that. [His tone is more exhausted than sharp, at this point; you might get the sense that he's tired of repeating himself, but with people kidnapping them to dress them in cutesy little costumes and all manner of other absurdities, he's really over it. Maybe he should just let you all get cursed.]
3 ➸ SHMUP is just fun to say (arcade)
[Some time ago, Matoba made the Daitengu a promise. For a while there, it seemed as if that promise would be a fruitless endeavor... After all, why compete against a dead body? Fortunately, news of the Daitengu's demise was highly exaggerated, and so Matoba can be found in the arcades from time to time, his single uncovered eye narrowed in focus.]
[...He is, as Daitengu said, 'in the zone'.]
[Bright lights and colors flash across the screen as explosions and bullets fly across the screen, Matoba's movements precise and automatic. It was pretty different from the old 90's games he'd played growing up in the rural arcades back home- flashier, extra mechanics- but the basic idea was the same, right?]
[Alas, after a tough late-stage boss battle, his ship explodes. Matoba lets out a soft 'tch', finally detaching from the machine to reach into his coinpurse for more yen... When he finally notices you hovering nearby with a slow blink. Forgive his strained eye, it needs to refocus.]
...My apologies, were you waiting for this machine?
----
[Hit me at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
kitsoru or via PM for plotting or questions!]
What ⬤ Curses. So very many curses- eye attack, haniwa, and... the arcade?
When ⬤ Throughout May
Where ⬤ Around the city, but mostly Sutoku territory
Content Warnings ⬤ Possible light violence from the attack prompt?
1 ➸ Fight Fire With Fire (Substory 4/May Eyeakashi Attack)
[ooc; please read this info/permissions post before replying to this prompt (and feel free to ping me with questions!)]
[A]
[Whatever you happen to be doing when the low, rumbling groan begins to sound from the sky overhead of you, the crowds around you uneasily stop and glance around. Its source is unclear, and others on the street seem equally puzzled-- all but one, a man, who withdraws the paper parasol tucked into his obi and opens it with a smile. Matoba bends over, and deposits something on the ground from a bundle he is carrying- if your eye is sharp, you'll see that they're those haniwa that have been popping up around the city, the ones the Enma specifically said not to mess with. His parasol is left to shade them, like a little house.]
[Are you going to ask what he's up to?]
--
[B]
[If not, he begins to walk away from his little dioarama- directly towards you, it so happens.]
[A mass of black sludge suddenly rockets out of the sky and smashes into the sidewalk moments later, leaving a small crater where the man had been; instead of him, the haniwa are devoured in an instant, absorbing a seismic flash of cursed energy that anyone with spiritual senses is sure to feel. The parasol is left crunching into its formless, toothy mouth before it realizes it has been tricked, and stares into the crowd- directly at Matoba.]
[And you.] OooouuGGGHHhhhhh.... EYE..
2 ➸ Cursoid (Substory 4)
[The trouble with cursed objects was that they seemed innocuous to those that needed to avoid them the most. As more and more of the little haniwa figurines began to appear throughout the city, Matoba had reluctantly taken it upon himself to do what he could to seal and remove them from public spaces, either delivering them to Department of Enma stations or whisking them away to less populated spaces. Those in Enma may find themselves tasked with a sudden delivery, wrapped in strange paper spells as Matoba gives you a skeptical once-over.] ...Are you sure you can handle this?
--
[Those outside the Enma- those who can't leave well enough alone on the streets- get even less benefit of the doubt.]
I'd appreciate if you could avoid touching that. [His tone is more exhausted than sharp, at this point; you might get the sense that he's tired of repeating himself, but with people kidnapping them to dress them in cutesy little costumes and all manner of other absurdities, he's really over it. Maybe he should just let you all get cursed.]
3 ➸ SHMUP is just fun to say (arcade)
[Some time ago, Matoba made the Daitengu a promise. For a while there, it seemed as if that promise would be a fruitless endeavor... After all, why compete against a dead body? Fortunately, news of the Daitengu's demise was highly exaggerated, and so Matoba can be found in the arcades from time to time, his single uncovered eye narrowed in focus.]
[...He is, as Daitengu said, 'in the zone'.]
[Bright lights and colors flash across the screen as explosions and bullets fly across the screen, Matoba's movements precise and automatic. It was pretty different from the old 90's games he'd played growing up in the rural arcades back home- flashier, extra mechanics- but the basic idea was the same, right?]
[Alas, after a tough late-stage boss battle, his ship explodes. Matoba lets out a soft 'tch', finally detaching from the machine to reach into his coinpurse for more yen... When he finally notices you hovering nearby with a slow blink. Forgive his strained eye, it needs to refocus.]
...My apologies, were you waiting for this machine?
----
[Hit me at
no subject
[With his gaze averted, he doesn't see the change in Matoba's face as his expression returns to its normal neutrality, but a soft snort escapes him that calls attention to it, and the next time he looks, that placid smile is back in place.]
Oh, I don't think it's such a problem. Most ayakashi around here know to leave it alone. [Unlike some humans. Don't forget that he's looking after you, kouhai.] ...I will ensure it is taken care of.
[There is a pause as he watches him. Could this one be trusted, left alone?] ...Mizumori-san, please think about what I have said to you.
no subject
i am begging them to realize they're the same damn age] Though, having said that...maybe I should say 'sorry' instead. [ The stability's returning to his tone- it's always so hard for him to realize how far he'd be drifting listlessly until forced to get a hold of his senses again. But maybe it's the gravity- the 'confidence or death-seeking' -that's helping. Tama is ever-wary of relying on others for that kind of grounding, but...this is closer to fine. He's not overtaking someone, and...well, Matoba probably won't try to take his eyes out. ]Really, you should be more careful than anyone. You're the one who was courting danger on the sidewalk...! [ Tama puffs his cheeks up, arms crossing. ] I'm starting to think that all countryside boys from spiritual families are alike in that regard. As a kid, I bet you were off bailing other boys out of their problems, too...your self-assured manner won't work on me.
no subject
If what you are demanding is training in sealing arts, well. Ask me when you've paid back all your debts, and we'll talk. [His mouth curls in its knowing little smile.] Perhaps after you've eclipsed me in rank, you'll be in a position to make demands, hm?
[Come on, walk with him, and stop wallowing... Matoba starts pacing away again, half-listening as Tama's scolding continues. Under normal circumstances, he would be paying only half a mind to it, but-- well.]
[This is a problem. Tama was really either a little too perceptive, or an excellent guess. Matoba stops in his tracks, and turns back to look at him again, a strange smile on his face. Once again, Tama is being stared down.]
....Won't it now? [His eye half-lids wickedly, and for a moment, he just looks at him. Is it a possibility that they've met already....? He wouldn't put it past, but even if that was the case, he doubts that fool did anything but deflect with that poor acting of his, anyway.]
[Maybe it would be funny to tease him, just a little.]
Alas. You're not my type, Mizumori-kun.
no subject
Eh?! I- [ His instinct, as ever, is to act like an angry bird, shoulders high and cheeks puffed. He's digging in to his sweets bag in a flash, to grab one of his poor cookies as if he'd about to fling it right in Matoba's face, but his words are always rushed out of him faster. ] -I-I'm spoken for, if you hadn't-! [ Wait. Hold up. For one, why would Matoba have intuited that. Just because Kim had didn't mean everyone in the universe would know. Second, it's a sudden clarity that makes him realize with a stunned kind of awe that...such a joke is not something he would expect from a senior. (No, it hasn't struck him that a man saying that to him would imply that they have something in common there.) It would be weirder, wouldn't it? Has he been-? But? His nearly-weaponized cookie lowers in stages. ] Wait. Wait, how old are you? [ Not sure if Matoba being Hanazawa's age is better or worse, ]
no subject
[Matoba eyes that cookie that is being reeled back as a projectile weapon, and raises his eyebrows, as if about to dare him to go through with it--]
[But an even stranger thing happens.]
[So they both stand there, staring at each other, as an awkward silence settles in. And Matoba, considering the nature of the question for that long moment, decides to answer simply out of his own curiosity in where this whole hot mess was going.]
Twenty-two.
no subject
He can't think of anything but how much he wants to pitch himself in to the Sanzu, only this time for a less serious reason. ] I'm turning twenty-two next month.
no subject
[Matoba continues to stare across the space at him, as if waiting for some other half of that statement to come, but it never does. He looks Tama up and down with his eye- doubtfully, perhaps- eyes the lowered cookie carefully, makes a calculation in his head with the barest tilt to account for it, and meets Tama’s stare cheerfully again.]
I’m still not interested, but thank you for telling me.
no subject
And as if you're not just as spoken for. [ That's more of a petulant attempt at being rude than an earnest perception, but still, HUFF. The cookie gets munched a little harder than it needs to be- frankly, it's a miracle it survived long enough for him to eat it. But he once again gets moving, trying to fall in step with Matoba even while sulking. ] Seriously, am I the only one in my twenties who isn't above a certain height. Is it the future that just grows people taller? It hardly seems fair, and none of you are even apologetic about it...!
no subject
...Am I? [Is he trying to play coy, or truly deflect? After a moment, smirking to himself, he relents,] Haha... Well, I'm sure he didn't tell you that, either way.
[But he's certainly going to just put that out there, so that Tama inquires in the future. Good luck with that, Natori. He's at the mercy of relenting to a lucky guess, that's all~.]
[Tama's complaints are a low mutter beside him. Truly, he didn't mind this company. It was non-threatening, and amusing, and easy to ignore.] ...Your guess is more or less correct. At least, I have heard that as a bit of trivia. A result of increasingly Westernized diets, or some such.
[Don't examine the reason too closely, 20's boy.]
no subject
...he really misses Kawase. ]
Westernized diets- ah! That's why they're all so tall!! [ Regardless, he's more than happy to move on, bouncing his fist off his palm and nodding along like that excuse made any damn sense. His mind knows better- Thomas Hunt Morgan's 'The Theory of the Gene' being only one such example -but again, it's best to not call upon toxic knowledge outside of his station. That, and genetics are confusing, even if he theoretically knows about it. ] They already have superior sweets in most regards- so maybe their other foods would be worth indulging in, if it might give me a chance at catching up to others. And improving my questionable health, while I'm at it... [ He looks up, dryly again. ] If you had told me to run when that thing showed up, I could have, but I also would have struck you dead for it.
no subject
[Oh well. No sense in airing that, given the current conversation. If Tama was to start going into a tangent about genetics, Matoba would probably have some worrying things to say, so it's probably for the best. Clan bloodline politics, and all.] Oh, are you not a fan of wagashi, Mizumori-san? I do enjoy Western cakes and sweets quite a bit, but I don't think I will ever lose my taste for red bean paste, either. It's hard to choose between one or the other.
Even delicate Western sweets can match well with matcha, after all. [Now this is a topic he can sink his teeth into! Matoba frowns down at him for a moment, lightly scolding:] ...Forgive me for prying, but it is my opinion that a more traditional diet is far healthier in the long run.
...Oh well. Not that it matters to me. [He's going to die young, anyway.] And speaking of running, I stopped you for a reason. If you had been tempted to look over your shoulder [And he knows you would], it surely would have met your eyes.
no subject
[ Okay, now that Tama's done being an idiot about sweets, and entirely ignoring the nagging about a traditional diet because ugh he eats his vegetables just fine but that doesn't mean he's good about remembering to eat every day- it's not important! Anyway! ] What...were you serious earlier? [ He still asserts it would only make such an error due to depth perception, but I am not looking up when the fuck 'depth perception' became a phrase or I will die. Either way, he had caught a glimpse- mostly of the empty socket where an eye ought to have been, but he's sure not telling Matoba that. ] That really would be troublesome...even if I can't use the hashihime's power here, it doesn't mean something else couldn't. You'd be in serious trouble if it rained... [ Another small huff, as he finally pops back his jam cookie. ] And I've had my fill of things trying to take my eyes out, thank you!
no subject
I'm quite fond of French pastry, myself. I've heard that cakes in America are full of nothing but buttercream and sugar- I'm sure you'd love them.
[It's unfortunate indeed that Tama didn't have a taste for matcha... As if Matoba had much of a healthy diet himself (just look at their shared sweettooth), but all the heavy red meat of Western diets didn't suit his tastes, either.]
[Matoba is silent for a moment on Tama's worries. He isn't sure or not, honestly, whether that thing was capable of overpowering an ayakashi, but it was certainly too brainless to do so. No, the worry wasn't taking over the power in his eyes...]
...It isn't that. That thing is normally quite brutish and simple, and comes at me with all its strength. But lately, it seems to have learned some cunning. [His head turns, glancing at something which catches his eye and turning his face from Tama's view. He flicks it back forward again.] When it attacked me last, it was borrowing a body.
[He wonders if the hashihime would be forced out, if that were to happen. Suppressed? Tama insisted that she didn't have a consciousness, but what would happen if another ayakashi were to cohabit her space?]
Making direct eye-contact with malicious ayakashi is a bad idea. I'm surprised you don't know that already. [The implication being: he didn't trust Tama in the slightest to avoid it.]
no subject
[ Okay x2, maybe the aya- yokai, great now he's doing it, the yokai discussion was more important than his longing for delicate bavarois or mille feuille. But it was so much easier to dwell on nice things than things like the monster possessing bodies. It almost makes him hesitate a step, and then have to rush a few more paces to catch back up to stupid mister long-legs, but at least he's trying to take the subject seriously even if, seriously, couldn't they just talk about castella cake? ] Well, this one's been in my eyes since I was a kid. It's not like I go around looking at them on purpose...!
[ Maybe it's...okay to relax a little about that. He almost feels bad for the edge to his voice earlier, already prepared for it to backfire down the line...Tama's always at his softest when unsure of his footing. ] ...Minakami had it before me. He should still have it, but because he used it to save my life, and the life of our other best friend...I ended up with it. [ It's hard not to be insecure, lacing his hands behind his back to try and at least obscure his fidgeting somewhat. ] I'm a troublemaker, because I think it going to me was the best thing to happen to the three of us. I'm able to be selfish, unlike those two idiots. So, I'm sure if I carry on the way I always have, then I'll be too unappetizing for other ayakashi, and the hashihime won't want to be bothered by anyone else intruding on her territory, either. [ The bag of sweets slides stubbornly back down his bunched-up sleeve. ] It's safest, if I'm the one dealing with these kinds of things. Even if Minakami knows more about it.
no subject
I am still looking for a proper full-service bakery in the European style. There is a shop I quite like back home with the most excellent cherry cordial tarts and basque cheesecake.... [Matoba could go on about sweets all day! Fortunately, such a distraction does not take away from the seriousness of his work. Without sweets to fall back on, where would he be?]
[He listens in quiet as Tama just.... tells him, just gives away all this knowledge of his circumstances away for free; he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he really ought to tell him (later) that he should stop doing this.] Eyes are the window to the soul, Mizumori-san. Even without making eye contact, an ayakashi can become aware of your presence simply by following it with your eyes. You should be much more careful from now on of where you are putting them- you never know when you have seen the wrong thing.
[That advice went multiple ways; they were in a gang town. He needed to be careful of what he witnessed, even outside of attracting the malice of wicked ayakashi.]
... Transference, hm... [He really should have a talk with that one. It seemed they were all somewhat reckless, in their ways.] Well, Mizumori, I certainly hope that is the case. Allowing a dangerous power like that to leave the clan is certainly something our superiors would want to prevent- you can be certain that they will be watching you closely to ensure that isn't the case.
[A word of warning out of a small amount of pity, if he hadn't considered it.]
here, so we can put a bow on this thread
"No one knows exactly how the crepe arrived in Japan, but it first appeared as a street food in Tokyo's Harajuku-Shibuya area in the late 1970s." The as of yet most tragic answer to my googling.Obviously this food lapse, whatever it is, was going to have to be corrected!! Anything that could have flavors and extras and macarons as toppings and also ice cream had to be the peak of modern decadence!! Even if really he's just as interested in cherry cordial tarts-But okay x3, he can't really keep carrying on the way 'he always has', in matters like this anyway. Especially with the implication about the hashihime leaving him- yeah, it would be...bad if that ended up becoming Shuten's boon. But at the same time... ] I'm more worried about what someone else would do with time travel, than what our superiors might think. [ His emotions, like his honesty, are always thoughtlessly given, without accounting for anything else. It doesn't even occur to him that he's giving away too much, by letting contempt settle in to his words. ] That kind of power corrupts a person...so completely.
[ If his theories about a human kodoku were true... ... ...ah, but it was that stinging thought that seemed to bring him back to what he was saying, looking up at Matoba again with an exasperated scowl, any of the severity gone just as quick as it'd arrived. ] Ah, I already sound as grave as you and Minakami about this stuff. You scared off your annoying eye-tan, and nobody can take the hashihime, I'm certain- so we should be relaxing! Celebrating, even! [ He shoves the sweets bag further up his arm. ] ...by trying these crepe things...? [ listen you cant fault the pathetically transparent hustle. he's brazen, give him that much. ]