July open log and catch-all [OPEN]

[heretic_blade]

Who ⬤ Okada Izō and you!
What ⬤ Open prompts and other things
When ⬤ July
Where ⬤ Various
Content Warnings ⬤ None right now!



Gen
Dog shenanigans

Substory
Stardust

(( PM me if you want a custom starter for anything! ))

Comments

Who let the dogs out

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō has taken it upon himself to take care of the stray dogs around the city. It's a little odd to see the half-tengu feeding, water, and paying attention to the dogs, but he seems happy, happier than he's been in a month. That's a low bar, though.

You may find him in various places in the city, carrying a bag of food to one of the small parks, setting out water bowls, tracking down injured dogs, and even playing with them or laying down for a nap. Choose your own adventure with Izō and dogs! ]

[silentscout]

[At some point Izo will probably be setting out food under a tree, and he will be able to hear a creak above him.

Up in the branches of the tree there are two sets of catlike eyes up in the tree. Lalli's icon is an accurate representation of what's going on too, because he's trying to help out a stray cat that got spooked by the presence of the dog Izo is feeding.]

[heretic_blade]

[ He looks up as he's dumping food into a small dish, then squints. And stares. And finally, laughs. ]

Ya...got a li'l somethin' on yer face.

[ The dog is more interested in food than the cat, at least. ]

[silentscout]

[The cat is still poofed up and partially perched on Lalli's face, but now Lalli's expression has changed.]

It was startled. I was trying to get it down.

[pitfight]

Never knew a slut like you could be soft. [ Nishitani is there. It's dusk, the lights are starting to flicker on. A small city park, where Izo is taking care of puppies. Nishitani leans at the park entrance, brick and stone under his shoulder, cigarette hanging from his lips and suit, as always, immaculate. ] Thought you'd stay rock hard through anything!

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō looks back over his shoulder with a somewhat annoyed look, then shrugs. He looks back down at a small, fuzzy black puppy that jumps up at him for attention, obliging it with surprisingly gentle pets. His expression softens, undeniably fond. ]

Strays gotta take care'a each other. 'S all.

[kaientai]

[ ryouma is not surprised to see izō doing this in an overall sense — because he's good!! — but he is surprised to run into him doing it right now. he's just passing by on his way to whatever when he spots izō carrying food and setting out water.

which ryouma is content to watch quietly for a bit because it's nice, but he's not exactly sneaky about it either. ]

Can I give ya a hand?

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō looks a little embarrassed to be caught by Ryouma of all people, but help is help. He shoves a bag of kibble into Ryouma's hands.

There's his answer. ]

There's five of 'em here...Three got their food already, th' other two like t' eat in the corner over there. They're gonna growl if ya get too close, but they ain't gonna bite.

[medicative]

[it's not entirely what she expected, but there's a smile on her face as she sees him playing with the dogs. she's about to say something, and then one of them notices there's another person and runs over to sniff and examine and investigate, full of wiggles and small barks. Emily can only laugh and crouch down to let them get a better look.]

Bold little one, aren't you?

[and full of energy, given how it can't decide what it wants to do, sniff or run around or get petted.]

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō almost says something himself, but just smiles when he see how...relaxed Emily is. How long has it been since she's been this at ease? ]

Yuki's real friendly, ain't she? Really likes ladies...Took her awhile t' warm up t' me.

[blackabyss]

[Fumikage doesn't normally go out looking for stray animals, but he does notice the pained whimpering coming from down one of the nearby alleys. When he follows it, he stumbles upon a stray mutt of a dog, whimpering with an injured leg. He moves to its side carefully, trying to help it calm down.]

Do not worry, I won't leave you alone.

[He's not an expert with animals the same way his classmate Koji is, but he can at least help keep an injured dog calm. This is probably where Izō will find him, using one hand to gently pet the dog's head while he uses the other to browse his phone, looking for the nearest vet clinic.]

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō had been looking for this particular dog, tracking it to the same alley. He stops when he sees Fumikage, immediately posturing. Not that he thinks someone is going to be intentionally hurting the dog, more that he doesn't know if they're a threat to him or not.

It's not a great instinct to have. ]

Oi, ya gotta dog there, right?

[swordofhisou]

[You know, the moment that she saw the manslayer, she was really tempted to try and get some payback. She was painfully tempted. She wanted a proper fight. But... but... but...

Puppy.]

Well, who would have thought the manslayer had a softer side.

[She was walking towards him casually enough, nodding and looking over at the dog to smile a bit. There was something kind of nostalgic about seeing a stray dog getting fed like this.]

He's kinda cute.

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō sneers at her immediately, but doesn't stop what he's doing. The dogs are the important part, their petty grudge can wait. ]

Shut up. Someone's gotta take care of 'em an' I ain't got shit goin' on. [ Yeah, that's kind of a dunk on himself, but he's self-aware. ] ...Ya ain't wrong this one's real cute, though. First one I started takin' care of.

Hizen

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō has been...busy after the curse explosion. He'd disappeared for weeks and spent some quiet time with Emily and Majima to recover afterward. Now he was trying to get back in Toraguma's good graces, which meant keeping himself busy with clan business. He's busy hunting down some potential fighters for the Arena when he passes by Hizen.

A lump forms in his throat. Of all the people he saw that night, Hizen was the only one he hadn't reconciled with. His mouth goes dry. How could he forget?

Izō wants to run.

He can't.

He chokes down the lump in his throat and calls out.]

Oi, Hizen!

[ Keep it light, he tells himself. ]

[harimaya]

(After he'd left Izo, things had only gotten worse. It was like the entire city was just out to get him; picking old wounds and deep insecurities and cutting at him until... he'd retreated to Norimune's place where the company was familiar and didn't ask questions or bother him. After enough time, he'd begun to venture out for the sake of keeping himself busy and distracted and oh boy hadn't that backfired? With what felt like so many people suddenly perceiving him in a way that made him just want to crawl back into a quiet place.

It's been a rollercoaster of emotions for weeks and just when he's begun to recover again, he hears a familiar voice out in Shuten territory and freezes completely. A wave of emotion washes hits him instantly and he looks like he's in complete disbelief. This... isn't Izo. Izo's missing. He's still missing. But there shouldn't be anymore of those illusions, right? But...)

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō approaches him slowly, head cocked. ]

What, been so long ya don't recognize me no more?

[ They can't avoid the elephant in the room forever, but he can at least throw a sheet over it for a minute. ]

Nishitani

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō is stressed out beyond belief for entirely new reasons. It isn't even related to things at the dog shelter, but rather for his personal life. Majima and Ryouma are both separately coming unglued in very different ways for different reasons. Izō can only stand to sit by helplessly for so long before it gets to him.

A text to Majima to let him know he's going to be gone for the night and he's out. Maybe he shouldn't just show up unannounced, but he does anyway. There he is on the doorstep, like a stray dog. ]

[pitfight]

[ Next to him, a black cat with a little catnip mouse in its mouth, meowing at the door like it wants to be let in. From inside, the sounds and smells of a dinner being served and drunk would be the reason why. At the knock, a brief moment of silence before low murmuring, sharp laughter, and the door opens shortly after. ]

[ Nishitani was expecting anyone else. He expected a neighbour knocking on the door about their Bastard cat that can't and won't shut up. Instead it's Izo, looking tired, eyes glassy and rimmed in red. ] Iichan?

[heretic_blade]

[ The cat beside him at least get a little smile. Cute to see it carrying a mouse around like that...It distracts him from how wound up he's feeling. He looks back up at Nishitani, silent for too long.

Fuck it, he's here. He pulls Nishitani into a hug, pressing his face into his shoulder. ]

Didn't know ya had a cat. [ No, he doesn't pull back to make himself heard. He needs a minute. ]

Substory: It's in the stars...

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō is impulsive on the best of days, so it's not a surprise he found some of the Stardust on the ground and ... immediately pops some of it into his mouth. It looks like konpeito, so what's the problem?

The problem is someone saw. He doesn't look happy about it! ]

Don't look at me like that. Ain't like I'm sellin' it or nothin'!

[ No, he's just eating it straight off the street...He doesn't notice how good it's making him feel yet. ]

cw emeto I'm so sorry

[lemoncandy]

( At first, Shealtiel is watching him eat stardust. He's been collecting it diligently, trying his best to prove his worth for the Enma, but he hasn't really come across anyone eating it straight before. Not even sprinkled on food? Just like that?

But before that can even settle in and give him time to think about the reasons why, the view of Izo himself makes Shealtiel freeze in place. There are the fangs, yes, the feet, the everything— but what immediately draws his eyes in are the dark wings at his back. He sees them, he hears them shifting even the smallest amount, and his mind flashes with images of spilled cups, of the nuns surrounding him, of horrible, disgusting taste in his mouth and his stomach burning and pushing upwards—

It's been so long in this place that he's not able to cover his mouth in time before he throws up. Hopefully not on Izo, like he usually does? Maybe just on some stardust? On the street?

Shealtiel is too busy hunched over and trying to recover from sudden illness to quite notice just what he's done. )

I'm also sorry

[heretic_blade]

[ Izō has absolutely none of the reaction time necessary to avoid the splash zone and he's pissed about it. ]

Oi, what th' fuck gives?!

[ Yeah, he's just going to grab Shealtiel by the shoulders and try to pull him into a more upright position to yell at him. ]

Ya that fuckin' disgusted by me?! Huh?!

[narbrawl]

[you know every time he thinks he's got a good handle on this man and what he's about he goes and eats sky rocks straight off the floor]

Selling it would be be significantly less strange than what you just did.

[Childe ditches the extra large bag of dog kibble he was holding- support your local charities, and all- and crouches down beside him, one eyebrow raised. There are a number of questions he would like answers to and half of them would probably annoy Izō even more so he settles on something not quite so incendiary.

... and more important.]

What does it taste like?

[heretic_blade]

Shut up!

[ He huffs, but settles down quickly. To Childe's question comes a swift response in the form of Izō pulling another piece of Stardust off the ground and stuffing it in his mouth. ]

Ya tell me.