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

Entry tags:

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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[Ydris hadn't paid much mind to the parade planning of the Kappa. Waterways aren't really their scene. Odd back alleys at night are, though. Ydris has approximately no fear of getting jumped traveling in the middle of the night through shady shortcuts. It's quicker, so they'll take the quick route, even if others would find such areas much too risky to get caught out in alone.

Ydris also doesn't feel a need to perform humanity, so they're merely floating along. Their illusion is up, largely so they aren't making a bright beckon of their flames in the dark. All that really glows about them in their eyes in the dark.

They travel quite silently, this way. It's really no wonder they can sneak up on a fellow Sutoku member tagging a wall. They saw this animal person at the party, though they didn't interact just then-]

You. What are you up to?

[On Terra, if people floated above the ground they usually had some sort of machine to do it for them. There would be tell-tale whirls, or whooms, or something. There were some people that could make their steps nearly silent. Ethan just tried not to ever be on those people's bad sides.]

[So, yeah, congrats candle, you got him.]

Gh! [a strangled noise and his hand slips into creating a much stupider mouth]

[His first instinct is to run. The eyes, though, at least trigger some memory of another person at the welcome party. Was it better or worse to get caught by someone in your own group here?]

Business. [he lets go of the pipe he was holding onto, boots landing with a thud against the ground. He doesn't shift his colors to become more visible.]

Just a bit of business, keeping track of stuff, you know, information dealies. Nothing big.

[ Bridges are a dime a dozen in Jigoku, and Aerith crosses them without a thought each time. This time, she's making her way down the bridge, arms by her sides and her gaze trained to the cobblestone. It's old, and little patches of dying grass peeks out the cracks that are forming, veins of earth trying to escape from modern convention.

With her head trained to the ground, she catches a glimpse of a familiar form; the coat is a dead giveaway. He's hunched over, tending to the bridge's face. As she rushes forward, eager to see anyone familiar, she realizes what he's doing and grins.

Squatting down beside him, she rests her knees to the stone. It's dirty, and trickles of spray paint, long dried, rub off on her palms when she rests them against the bridge. ]

Hm. You missed a spot.

[ ... Aerith offers, helpfully, smiling earnestly. ]

[Ethan's doing the work without verbally complaining. His face is pretty obvious, though. He wrinkles his nose at both the work and the smell of the cleaning solvent. It was doing a good job of wearing away the paint but also his patience. Not to mention, he wasn't really a solitary person, and working by himself just gave him time to loop in his own thoughts.]

[The comment pulled him out of it and has him do a double take to the bridge, then over,]

Hah! [but, seeing that it's Aerith, his expression clears up a little. If anyone was going to mock him, might as well be a kind-seeming pretty lady. His face lights up in a toothy grin.]

That's on purpose, I'm leaving that bit for last. Might as well have fun if I'm doing clean-up duty.

[He's talking about his clean intent to leave "ASS" as the last thing he cleans off the bridge. For the hours until he finished? This was officially Ass Bridge. (or FASH ASS, currently, if someone wanted to be picky)]

[ A beat of silence passes as Aerith stares down as "FASH ASS", tilting her head with a cheeky grin. She glances at Ethan, through the corner of her eye, sharing a moment of complete understanding. He's not getting rid of "ASS". ]

I think you should leave the part that says 'ass'.

[ It is a rare day, indeed, where such a word slips past her lips. Still, Ethan gets it out of her. ]

Or maybe not, but... [ Leaning forward, she wipes at the remaining paint, suds sticking to her fingerpads. It doesn't look like it would be too hard for two people to clean, and there's only so much time in a day. ] Want some help?

[ the only way to get to some places is to take a bridge or two or three, so of course robin will undoubtedly run into this particular guy working on cleaning it.

but he doesn't think about who done it... ]

Hi!

[ might as well say hello, right? take a second and see what's going on? never hurts to be friendly. ]

Did you do this?

[Aerith is rewarded for her cursing with a delighted, rough laugh from Ethan.]

You think so?! Hm, well, I'd hate to turn down a professional's opinion. I'll think about it, I'll think about it.

[He doesn't exactly want to admit how much trouble he'd be in. If he'd been thinking clearly, maybe he would have picked up a few different colors of spray paint with the advance he'd gotten. Then again, if he'd been thinking clearly he wouldn't have let himself get carried away and written it in the first place.]

[She offers and Ethan reaches down for one of the spare rags,]

You sure? This cleaner doesn't exactly smell like roses.

[He's not turning her down, just checking to see. There was a look around Aerith that seemed above the sort of messy things that suited him. Then again, she totally agreed with him on the ass front so maybe she was a little more grungy than he gave her credit for. He offers a rag, doused in the sterile-smelling cleaning solution.]

[Man, sure is a day for cute pink people giving him attention on bridges. Maybe bridges are lucky for him?]

[And he's also given a chance to deflect, which he does,]

Oh, nah, nah, some troublemaker made a real mess and I'm just kindly volunteering to clean up after i-

[from under the bridge, a long stick like the end of a broomstick comes out to smack his tail]

Ow! Come on, auntie, it was just a joke- uh- not auntie, sis! Bridge-sis, your hair looks so good today, did I tell you that?

[... so, like, it was him.]

Vandalism is an interesting form of business. [Ydris has such an off grasp of tone that it is very difficult to pin point if they're saying this with naive sincerity or if they're just being snarky.

More to the point, if this isn't just some fun art project]

Why mark this spot? What is the significance?

What, not even for a fellow Alliance member? But surely that's the part that makes an alliance an alliance, no? Showing goodwill, lending a hand with your tribe's hard work? Bringing refreshments?

[hm, seems like this fellow, who has absolutely just sauntered over to butt in mid-conversation, is in much the same boat Ethan is. it's possible he was bothering the Kappa in a similar way earlier, or had similar plans to now, because he's got a small bag of convenience-store drinks and snacks cradled like a baby in one arm, and the guard Ethan's been talking to rolls their eyes at the sight of him. he winks at Ethan at an angle the guard can't see, too.]

This young master just wants to help on the outskirts, so what's the harm?

[ ah, now it makes sense. robin giggles at the bridge youkai giving ethan a more-than-polite reminder with what looks like a pole or broom handle, raising a hand to cover his lips despite the fact he is definitely making a sound. ]

Hm! So you're the troublemaker?

[ quietly sizes ethan up... ]

You're a youkai?

[ just based on his looks alone. he looks like he's on the younger side of the ones he's met so far, too. ]

[Hazel is neither pink nor cute, but she's definitely taking a seat on the railing of the bridge to enjoy the scenery - the scenery of someone else performing manual labor, that is. she'd spotted him on her first trip across but had managed to resist until the return journey proved that he was still there. like, come on. how were you supposed to ignore that when you'd bought snacks anyway?

you could almost mistake her for sightseeing for the first minute or so, snacking away at some convenience store sweet or other, but then her gaze drops and she opens her big mouth.]

Didn't have time to add anything else?

[He puts a hand over his chest in mock-hurt. Vandalism! Like he was some vandal, sneaking around in all-black, making trouble for people! ... Oh.]

You haven't noticed, huh? [Plenty of people probably hadn't. The other clans all had more decorations and stalls to set up. Most of Sutoku's stuff was allied with corporations and businesses. They could help out but if they didn't expect the bunch of informants to want to chase the one place they couldn't go...]

It's probably nothing but that's why I'm keeping track of it. The second it changes over from something to nothing we don't gotta go back and double-check everything.

[Wordy sentences that say hardly anything.]

I have not noticed it, no. Now please explain what it is that you are speaking around. [People speaking around information is something Ydris can recognize immediately, thanks to the Springtide upbringing. They're all like this, especially the one they like most. Ydris has patience for it to some degree, but they'll cut to the point when being led around.]

We are the same faction, that should not be improper to share with me. [loyalty isn't really something Ydris cares about, but propriety should be observed, yes?]

[They were rolling their eyes, but Ethan bets the guards secretly liked the attention. You know, Kappa weren't known for their handsome faces (or, well, he assumed that, lots of assuming happening about this whole youkai thing).]

Apparently, [said with emphasis]

the best thing we can do as a part of the esteemed Alliance is keep our noses out of it.

[There was an edge of sarcasm there but, again, Ethan wasn't wearing his opposition openly. He was acting like a sullen teen that, nonetheless, was following the rules. For now.]

But, hey, our noses can be in other things. Like a bag of shrimp chips! [he turns to the Kappa,]

Even if you guys are the from the river, you appreciate some good seafood flavor, right?

[Wei Wuxian is welcomed to rejoin the bribe party!]

[The broom taps stop, although Ethan keeps his poor, defenseless tail curled to his other side now. He knows he only got smacked for acting like he did. But, you know, he'd probably do it exactly the same if given another chance.]

I might have perhaps made a little trouble. [he admits in a low tone]

[He makes another circle against the bridge with his rag, the neon blue paint dripping down as it's chemically peeled off the stone.]

Glad to know I fit in already, if you're saying that! I'm just another one of those Lost Souls.

You too, right? Your cheeks look way too soft to be from Hell.

[like a hamster or a small animal]

[Well, the streak couldn't last forever. This is the more usual thing anyways. Everyone loved to catch someone getting their comeuppance.]

[Ethan's not really paying attention to the individual people that go by. He scans the line of the bridge now and then, to check for the titular Fashion Jackass himself, but he's not really tracking anyone else. The distinct scarring and stitching probably caught his eye but only in a "huh, yeah, round trip" sort of way and a "man, I should get some sweets after thing."]

[when she opens her mouth, though, of course she's going to get attention.]

This was was kind of an impulse, on-the-go project. If the sis under the bridge wasn't already on high alert I would have been gone before she could catch me.

[He's bragging about it??? Even though he clearly did get caught and is now being forced to tidy it up...]

[Ethan laughs, silent and breathy, at the idea that they needed to share because they were in the same faction. Man, if some people did that he wouldn't be having to tag places!]

It's people from our faction that I'm watching, you know.

[he wasn't stubborn enough to keep hiding it when asked so directly]

The Kappa have been moving a bunch of big boxes underground. Now, all the pipes and crap are their business, but it's suspicious to be doing all that while the rest of us are bustling around working on that parade they're gonna do, right? And not letting anyone else come anywhere near it.

[oh hell yes, he is sliding right in there to badger the kappa right along with Ethan. things like this are almost always better -- or at least funnier -- with a wingman along, after all. wiggles his convenience store bag invitingly at the guard]

Shrimp chips, yes! Or other kinds of chips, or these delightful candy sticks we discovered this morning? In fact, if you're going to be setting up here long, we wouldn't mind bringing you some home cooking later either. We're both from very different places from here, you know? That includes the cuisine.

[the kappa seems...interested? it's hard to tell if that's because their shameless persuasion attempts are working or because going and doing 'home cooking' would temporarily get these newbies out of their hair for a while, though.]

[That amount of interest is more than he's gotten in a while so you bet he's going to chase it,]

Yeah, yeah, I can give you a taste of aimless youth cuisine! Not exactly home cooking [because it was the sort of things you pieced together when you didn't have a home] but pretty darn tasty. At very least it won't make you sick!

[... okay, maybe he's not the best salesman on this deal.]

It's nice when someone makes something for you, you know? It means you've got company and that's a luxury sometimes.

[... okay, okay, cut the lonely talk, passing the conversation ball back to Wei Wuxian,]

You're confident in your food, right, right?

[hey, listen. when you're the one usually getting smacked in the face with comeuppance it's pretty damn refreshing to watch someone else struggle for once.]

You think? [she makes a thoughtful noise, swallowing before speaking again.] Kinda feel like you could've spiced it up a little, but I guess getting a broom up the ass kind of fucks with that.

[the hashihime's aim is pretty impressive, honestly.]

[ he has to lean in to catch that first bit, and this only encourages another burst of tittering from the pink haired young man. ]

Better be careful, or one of your "sisters" might come back with something a little more mean than just a pole!

[ there's a short huff and grunt of affirmation that comes from around them, with the weight of someone who certainly isn't afraid to give a certain operator another nudge albeit with some oomph if he continues to act up around her. ]

Huh? My cheeks are way too soft? [ robin takes a moment to give his own a gentle poke, then a squeeze. ] You think so?

Does that mean yours are too?

[ he reaches out to give ethan's the same treatment... ]

No, I had not taken note of this. [an honest admission, because they appreciate the info being shared with them, they genuinely do. Ydris takes a moment to consider]

It might concerning, but... [and this is where Ydris ends up, the empass of should we do anything about it]

They are on our side. If this is some plan, don't you believe it is in our best interests to go along with it? Or at least feign ignorance to the matter?

[ A huff of a laugh leaves her at his own bark, and Aerith quietly marks it off as a win. ]

A professional, huh? I have seen a lot of graffiti in my time...

[ The spare rag he now clutches holds her attention, as she listens to his voice, something bubbly and unique to her ears, carry along the early spring breeze. The smell of cleaners mixes with the smell of alcohol and food. Truthfully, the stuff might be harder than what she remembers using at home, but she gives him a sarcastically write grin. ]

Okay, okay. But my nostrils aren't delicate little rosebuds, you know? I spent a lot of time traveling in the sewers back home. Best way to get around, if you care about arriving in style.

[ She takes it, and sure enough, it's much more heavy duty than she'd expected. Hmm. Still, she leans forward, back to the sky, and scrubs with him. Suds are bleeding colors, mixing together in all sorts of tones and hues. ]

Best place to tag, if you ask me... [ With her chin, she points down and across the pond, towards an old alleyway. It's a fair distance, but not so much so that she can't remember what buildings it opens up into if you take it. ] Buuuut, no one really takes the short cuts these days.

[Everyone's a critic... Ethan waves his hand,]

Look, the longer you take, the more likely you get caught. If you want to put something up that's big and impressive you usually gotta get an idea of when you're gonna get a good few hours to work on it!

[Those usually weren't his style, anyways. The kind of graffiti that doubled as murals with big, huge color gradients were never what he gravitated for. The marks he left were comments, emotions, a quick symbol to prove he was still kicking. He'd started to consider what more would look like once he was in safe employment but he also had a lot less to vent with a roof over his head and meals regularly.]

I barely even had ten minutes here. Youkai are quicker than I'm used to.

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

B- Warning

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community service

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fraternizing

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