jigokulogs | IC-OP-1 ("finding footing"

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IC-OP-1 ("finding footing" | open)

Who ⬤ Ethan
What ⬤ March Sub-stories (Kappa Investigation & Hashihime)
When ⬤ Pre- Night Parade
Where ⬤ Waterways around Jigoku-Cho
Content Warnings ⬤ naughty boy doing graffiti (will warn for additional if they come up)

A. Fraternizing

[If you're one of the people trying to direct approach with the Kappa, you'll likely encounter Ethan. He's been trying to get along with the fellow members of his clan and that translated into being a nuisance to most of them. At this point, though, he's at least gotten the idea that he needs to bring something to the table in order to get any information.]

Ah, yeah, so not Savra, not Aegir... It's taking me a while to get used to all this new terminology! You're such a good guy, describing it to me, that's why I like you!

[... like the one he's managed to at least hold a conversation with while they both snack on taiyaki, brought by Ethan. Anytime he asks a question about the actual state of the tunnels the conversation dries up (pun intended) so he keeps it to general topics. Anything helped.]

But you Kappa got different tribes? Okay, so you all are "River Kappa"... what's the difference? Or are you all just better?

[he snickers conspiratorially]

[While he's chatting them up, he'll try and also serve as a blockade, to show how absolutely loyal and trustworthy he is. So, your investigation may be met with,]

Ah, sorry, no can do. Strictly off-limits unless you happen to be a Kappa.

[the guard he's been plying sighs dramatically, reminds him that's not his job, reminds him that he doesn't get to go in either]

What? What? I'm just helping!

B. Warning

[Jigoku-Cho's nights are longer than normal. That suits Ethan fine. He's lost his normal invisibility so the shadows are going to have to play cover-up for him.]

[He's bought himself a new set of clothes, a lot closer to what he used to wear, and as he stalks around he also concentrates to shift the color of his hair and tail to black. The result is a very hard-to-see figure hanging off of high spaces and bouncing around the waterways. He's keeping an eye on things. It wasn't his business, it wasn't even what his higher-ups wanted, but it was weird. People who cut others out of their plans usually had something kinda mean about their plans.]

[He's not the kind of person to make a decision and go in all by himself. He knows he doesn't have the strength for that. So, he does what he's always done when he lacks the strength, and found himself some cheap spray paint.]

[He leaves a mark around the areas he spots the Kappa moving boxes. A clear signal for anyone looking for it but still vague enough he could get away with it.]

[Of course, the pop of blue appearing is a dead give away and everyone else has been tasked with preventing trouble-makers. He's just as likely to end up on the run.]

C. Community Service

[Sometimes, when you indulge old habits, they start to take off on their own. Tagging to mark locations starts to get to him, he picks up in the swell of it, and he wants to vent some of the pressure from being put into this new, ridiculous situation. He wants to leave a mark, his voice without a voice, so on, so forth.]

[He had entirely meant to be on the side of the bridge youkai! His tag, a bold "FASHION JACKASS" was totally meant to be talking about the guy who was bothering them. Just, you know, he defaced the bridge to write it and one of the sharp-eyed youkai had caught him.]

Sorry, ma'am, I wasn't thinking, ma'am, please, please don't go telling anyone, ma'am.

[Getting in trouble for graffiti was one thing, but if the hashihime told his higher-ups, he'd probably also get in trouble for sneaking around the waterways and observing in the first place.]

[So, he's taking this lecture straight on the nose, promising to clean it up, and now he's also stuck at the bridge for a while, wiping off his own marks with a chemical cleaner. At least he's on-site in case the jacket asshole shows up. Or, you know, on display if someone wants to laugh.]

D. Wildcard

[Hit me up via PM or at

slothplaying if you're interested in threading but none of these work for you!]

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[Ethan definitely doesn't want to piss the hashihime off more. He didn't want to become Fashion Jackass 2.0 and have a bunch of people trying to solve him. Then again, he'd be pretty easy to dissuade, people would just have to keep feeding him.]

[Robin leans down a bit and Ethan has a moment where he's not sure how to react. Being able to turn invisible usually meant not getting touched a lot so it's a lot less distance than he's used to. The poke isn't too much. The little squeeze is a bit more embarrassing.]

[(His skin isn't super soft. As a Savra, there was a natural roughness to it, even if it came short of forming scales. If Robin poked lower, by his chin, there would be the additional rough feeling from areas he'd shaved time and time again for the aesthetic.)]

Hey, hey! [he's turning pink himself, here]

... [grumbling] Fingers are soft, too, damn...

[Usually, when people admit they didn't know something, it's with a kind of sullen tone. This was a lot more clear. That was something, at least.]

Look, it's not like I'm trying to stop it or anything like that.

[He was being very careful to try and do this in a very indirect way. If it were discovered, he was absolutely getting yelled at no matter what. He was at least trying to minimize the potential punishment. He was just keeping track was his defense if the marks were identified by his clan.]

If it's a plan that turns out to be in our best interests then we just let it happen. I'm just not ruling out that it might be something under the table that's not in our best interests, you know?

[Just about anything was better with another person there, even cleaning up graffiti. It's nostalgic to have a person at his side. He never had to clean these messes before. Getting caught back in those days would result in something much worse than this. Still, having a group meant surviving through things that you couldn't, one way or another.]

The sewers?! Augh, that would kill my appetite. [Where was the style in that? He could appreciate a sewer being a getaway, at least. He wouldn't refuse if his life was on the line. Anything short of that was gonna make him complain loudly.]

The Kappa are probably keeping an eye on any sewers here anyways. [And they clearly didn't want anyone passing through.]

[He stops, leaning back and looking at the alleyway she indicates. It was a pretty tucked-away place. He nods, agreeing with her assessment. A place like that might not get painted over for a good amount of time so you could really appreciate your work.]

Might keep that in mind if I decide to do something a little fancier. It can be a little something for you to look at when you're taking a short cut.

[He says it confidently, even though it's not really like he's ever done one with an audience besides himself in mind.]

[Ah. Getting yelled at. The worst of all punishments, by Ydris' measure.]

I understand. We do not have a single point of leadership as the other clans seem to. [Being raised by and for the purpose of protecting the Springtide Clan, Ydris can think of all manner of ways this could be a scheme. They're a scheming batch of people. Vying for power is in their nature, Ydris has always needed to understand that.]

This is something the creatures calling themselves Kappa are being suspicious with-? Perhaps a powerplay to take over the other Sutoku Alliance for their own?

Edited (icon fix) 2022-03-12 00:55 (UTC)

[ textured. it's surprising on initial graze, and then the longer he gives ethan's obvious blush the most gentle workover in between his fingers and palms, robin has made the decision that it's a very... pleasant feeling! soft is nice, he won't disagree, but it's not like he's running his hands against sandpaper. ]

You think? [ and then robin snickers, reaching over to brush a hand over one of ethan's ears. ] Yours are pointed.

[ blinking a few times, the soft pink haired young man hums in thought. ]

Were you not expecting soft things here?

[ Chuckling, she scrubs away at the tag with vigor. It bleeds spray paint into her palms, staining them. She's used to getting her hands dirty, though. Garden soil has never been easily to clean out of her clothes, or from her fingers. ]

Sewers aren't so bad. [ Suds are accumulating, building in clouds. Her voice is fluid and clear. She's thought about this a lot. ] Sometimes, you spot people down there for their own reasons. [ The statement is punctuated with a shrug. ] I haven't been down there yet, buuuut, I guess that's why the Kappa have such an interest in it.

[ Harbors many secrets. ]

I'm sure your delicate little rose bud nostrils couldn't handle it though. [ Just for emphasis, she flexes her muscles!

There aren't any muscles.

She's just flexing her arm. ]

[certainly explains the nominal clash of ideas going on here - Hazel is all about those massive splashes of color, huge marks of her existence that would linger on in memory even after being taken down. she hums, thoughtful, and kicks her feet out into the air in front of her.]

Yeah, they can be a real pain in the ass when they wanna be. Fucking imagine if those bastards with all the arms were on graffiti duty?

[forget the ten minutes Ethan got with fishsticks down there. he wouldn't have been able to pull the can out before he was in a headlock.]

[Ethan's getting a little sidelong smile, just like, hell yes buddy, good teamwork, we are NAILING this]

You bet I'm confident in my cooking! I'm not as skilles as my--as some people, but I can still show you a thing or two about Yunmeng cuisine in the kitchen as well. And aimless youth cuisine sounds wonderful as well! A very invigorating type of meal indeed!

[he's all but fluttering his lashes at the kappa guard, now]

So--is it a deal? If we come back in a little bit with dishes to try, will you eat together with us?

[Getting yelled at, only equaled by holding an employee-shaming sign.]

Could be. Moving around boxes could be a lot of things under the surface.

[He tilts his head to the side, a loop of headphone wire moving with it]

Could be trafficking, logistics, construction... I asked the bosses, you know, when they first turned me away from helping, and the Tengu bosses said to leave it alone. If it was an attempt to knock 'em off, they'd know about it, right? Probably.

[One would hope that having mottled gray skin would disguise a blush. Ethan didn't have the finest control over his color-changing right now, though, so the flush is seen clearly as it passes through his mind.]

[and then his ears, Ethan swats a bit at the hand, then covering the vulnerable spot with his gloved hand. That was a dangerous degree of closeness that he was really only used to doctors gunning past on the first meeting. Dangerous! Maybe the soft, pink thing was actually the most dangerous thing here.]

Living in places like this usually takes the softness out of somebody, you know? Unless you're from some sorta shiny place where they don't have slums.

[Which, well, he doubted. Every place had slums. There were those people, though, who managed to go their whole lives without really understanding what happened in those slums.]

[Look, her words wound him enough! He's a delicate flower in the face of her powerful muscles. Ethan laughs again, lips crinkled up in a grin.]

Look, I've been in plenty of places that have smelled pretty bad. I don't wanna brag about it. It'd be pretty weird to brag about it.

[Usually, if he was in a place like that, he had other things on his mind. The way Aerith describes it, it does sound kind of serendipitous. When you go the places no one else wants to go, you meet the people no one else wants to meet. And then you've got something in common. He looks at a place on the bridge that's probably cleaner now than it's been in ten years.]

Careful if you're going around this one, though, I don't want my friends getting in trouble with my bosses.

[He's pretty sure that if he tells Aerith to avoid the place, she's not gonna take that well. She was clearly an expert at her own turf and wasn't wasting time on mastering this place either. So, don't forbid it, just let her know that the Alliance has eyes on it.]

[There were people out there with massive ideas, impressive displays, and Ethan could respect it. His own game was just very quick. Of course, this whole thing would be easier if his Arts were working properly.]

The arm bastards can't catch me if they can't see me.

[but, for right now, that's just wishful thinking,]

I'll figure out their rules, their alleyways. This one was just a bit of fun.

[...I mean, she has to ask with a setup like that. tilting her head to the side because she fucking already knows the answer, she griiiiins.]

Having fun yet?

[Ethan, if you pushed her off the bridge I don't think anyone would blame you.]

[ Is it weird? She wonders. ] It's not weird. It's adventurous.

[ Yeah, she's completely convinced.

That confidence is sapped out of her near immediately when he calls her a friend. She almost points to herself and questions it, but there's no third person in this conversation. She looks down, unable to suddenly look where she might see his hand; for all the popularity she experienced in the slums, it still catches in her heart when someone calls her a friend. Perhaps it's something rooted in her childhood, locked away from everyone and the world. ]

Hmm... Sure you should be saying this when I'm helping you wash the graffiti you left up?

[ Just saying. ]

Yeah, yeah, we'll have a little on-the-job picnic!

[Is it professional? Nah. But it's slightly more in line with what the Kappa want (them to stay out) and what the guard himself wants (to stay at his post and guard it). He's got two cheery little bastards staring him down expectantly and so...]

[... he reluctantly agrees, internally hoping they'll get into some shenanigans that make it take hours.]

Yeah! [lil fist pump] You're not going to regret this, bro~

So much fun I can't contain myself. Don't you see this joyous expression?

[He absolutely wants to steal her snacks but that's probably just going to get him broomsmacked again.]

[Ethan would just rather not spend a lot of time in a poorly ventilated room with people who brag about the smelliest places they've been. All the same.]

[He's not thinking it's a big deal, so he only catches the tail-end of Aerith avoiding looking over at him. Of course, there were only two people in this conversation, and from his perspective the one who should have gratitude for "friend" status would be him... he's, like, a solid 7/10 on his own personal scale but people would probably drag out a different scale entirely to put Aerith on. So, it's a good thing he misses most of that, so he doesn't get it in his head to take it back.]

Hah! That's me getting it trouble with- well, hopefully not getting in trouble with my bosses. You make a mess, you clean it up, everything's forgiven, right, Bridge-sis?

[he knocks his tail against the underside of the bridge, meriting a huff from the hashihime underneath]

See? That's a lot simpler than getting in trouble with a whole mess of Kappa.

A fine point. If it was some manner of coup, I doubt the other Sutoku members would be so defensive. [unless the Tengu are just not that deep of thinkers, but no... it seemed they were sharp and intelligent. The Oni are the brutes who wouldn't notice something like this going on right beneath their noses.]

You've been marking these spots with this same graffiti, so far? [wonky mouth aside]

What if it tips off the wrong people?

[she snickers without shame, openly enjoying the very petty nature of this kind of entertainment.]

Shit, maybe you should see if your faction's got a spot open for janitorial duties. Do what you love and all that shit, right?

[she takes another few moments of just soaking in her own dickish behavior before eventually holding her bag of snacks out towards Ethan. no one would blame him for being leery, but if he does reach out she won't pull it back from him. Hazel's a jackass, but even she has her limits.]

Hmm. I dunno... the kappa are pretty cute. [ She says, about the youkai who love eating entrails. She'd say 'bridge-sis' is a pretty cute nickname, too, even as the hashihime huffs her disapproval. Somehow, even that sounds petty coming from her. ]

Don't worry about her, I'll be your Bridge-sis instead. Sound good?

[ Leaning back, she adjusts her legs, making sure the soap and water won't run through the light fabric. ]

[ very dangerous, but he gets the hint--- drawing his fingers back with the same smile on his face. something that he could hold for an eternity and then some: bright and cheery, the epitome of innocence and curiosity, all unconscious and second-nature to the boy who only wants to continue investigating whatever else ethan has to offer in terms of touch and texture and... ]

You think? [ he cants his head to the side, raises a hand up to his own cheek and taps it a few times. ] I think you can find a shiny place or make your own no matter where you are.

[ he's talking more about jigo than somewhere like london or tokyo, of course. ]

And I can be more than soft enough for everyone.

[ robin's proud of it, too. ]

Don't you think so?

No, we won't disappoint you at all!

[further bonding successfully wheedled! he'll hand off some of the snacks and drinks in his bag to help seal the deal, and then he and Ethan are free to finally wander off to do whatever they're gonna do. he waits until they're out of earshot before he laughs]

That was some quick thinking back there, young friend! We're definitely going to have to buy some ingredients if you want to follow through, though. I don't mind using the kitchen at my rooms, or there's a place in Tamamo that might let us use theirs, but I don't have much to cook with right now.

[There was always the chance this really was just some covert action for the benefit of the clan but... why keep secrets within the information clan?! They knew someone was gonna go sticking their nose in it right?! Why not just make up a convincing enough lie?!]

I figure once you get into those waterways it won't be a straight shot to whatever they parked those boxes anyways.

[It was a small hint but hardly a dent in the armor of secrecy.]

And if someone manages to figure it out... ehhh, maybe we give them a pat on the back and try to poach 'em from whatever clan they're in?

[He is carefully assessing the offer of snacks for any possible trap. If she betrays him, it's entirely his own fault, but he is going to get even. Thankfully, he's able to tug out a few pieces, keep them in his fingers, and bring them back down to where he's at. Crisis averted.]

You know, I figured that would be what I ended up doing if, like, those Tamamo Clan folks offered me a contract. That or being an errand boy. Which, if the lady was pretty enough, I don't think I'd be entirely against.

[He can clearly tell Hazel's a girl but, like, she's gotta get it, right? Women who go around being little terrors usually don't also get mad when you start bro-talk with them.]

[Ethan's lip curls up. He maybe hasn't caught wind of the entrail-eating thing yet, he doesn't really wanna think about someone serving up guts stir fry or something like that. Still, when people lined him up next to the other Lost Souls they were more likely to put him on the "youkai" side.]

[So, he's absolutely taking it as a compliment himself.]

You as a Bridge-sis? Huh, [he considers it,]

Aerith-sis... Or, since we met looking at them, Kettle-sis? Or, [he gestures to the top of her head] Bow-sis?

Hehe, you can tell I'm not used to tacking that on for people I've actually met.

[He stops, with an idea, and smacks his fist against his other hand to emphasize it.]

Sewers-sis! [Is it a sincere suggestion? Nah. Is it funny to him in the moment? Very/]

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IC-OP-1 ("finding footing" | open)

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