(july catch-all) oh, the misery

[mindthebass]

Who ⬤ shin(ichi okazaki) and you??
What ⬤ honestly, a lot. drug buying, learning how to fire a gun, playing music solo for the first time, the wax museum, and probably more to be added. two closed prompts as well!
When ⬤ july!
Where ⬤ tamamo, sutoku and shuten territories.
Content Warnings ⬤ drugs, first and foremost, there's a bender in here. sex is a topic that comes up in the songs he'll play, and it's shin, so honestly, his cws might apply.

Comments

[mindthebass]

(this teen in particular does, as much as he is capable of listening. some days, he might listen to kim as if the man could do no wrong, and others, he might ignore kim altogether. voice of reason, what he calls kim in his head, but this is a realm shin's unfamiliar with altogether.

he'll need some time to process.)

... Can we smoke and I'll think about it?

[aceslow]

[ Kim sighs, but relents. He knows that using something like a gun isn't something that he can just force someone into, and it's not something he should force someone into. If someone asked him six months ago if he thought that he would ever be pressuring a young teen into using a firearm, he would have laughed in their face. But that was before all of this, before he saw precisely what this city has to offer its most vulnerable members. ]

All right. We can go outside for a while and you can think about it. [ He considers this, emptying the gun's clip and returning it back to the clerk. ] But I'm getting you some pepper spray.

[mindthebass]

(well, it is what it is. he won't make a decision, not today, not like that. this was brought on by majima taking him by surprise, but how is that less normal than home, after all? he wouldn't get one home for that.

it just makes him feel weaker than normal, it's all, when people are so much stronger than him. words won't protect him against that.)

... Pepper spray?

(he's already moving out, cigarette between his lips, just waiting for fire.)

[aceslow]

You don't know what it is? [ There's no judgment in his tone. It's not a problem if Shin doesn't -- and besides, he's met enough people here from wildly different worlds than his own. ] It's a spray you can carry on you. Generally speaking, you spray and run, and it will smart the eyes enough that the other person won't be running after you in a hurry. It's not perfect, but it's easy to use, and better than nothing at all.

[ There are many alternatives to firearms. Shin's attitude may be a little defeatist when it comes to his chances in a fight - and not unfairly so; he's an ordinary kid in an unordinary world - but that's no reason not to equip him to the best of his abilities. He takes his lighter from out of his pocket and lights Shin's cigarette. He doesn't move to smoke one himself. ]

Self-defense doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. The main priority is not to win, but to escape.

[mindthebass]

(usually, he has his gigantic lighter with him, but as of today, he decided to leave it at home. the probability of getting mugged coming here was plenty, and he couldn't bear the thought of not having it anymore.

but there's a laugh from shin, thin smoke escaping with each chuckle before he fully does it.)

I know what it is, but I've never seen it. My home country and Japan are very, very safe, so there was never any need.

(little pause there, though.)

... Do you think it would work against yokai?

[aceslow]

Then that's a place where our homes differ. Where I'm from...

[ He sighs. Revachol's abundance of crime is a sore topic. But it's his home. It's where he grew up. Which means that he understands the dangers of living in a big city on your own - as Kim does, as he always had - and the means you take to protect yourself, whether that's going the long way around to avoid certain neighbourhoods, or making sure to equip yourself with some sort of self-defense. Kim still remembers the first time he fought back, and how intoxicating the feeling had been, even if they'd beaten him sideways over it. He does not necessarily wish the same for Shin (he does not think the way that he privately relishes power is an altogether healthy or productive thing), but it's obvious that he needs better than what he's got. ]

Well. It's the sort of place where you have to be on your guard much of the time. Not like this, but it's not unusual for people to carry something to protect themselves. [ He glances over at Shin, at the plume of smoke escaping his mouth, a little envious. But he's not ready for his soldier quite yet. ]

It won't work against all yokai. But it would work against quite a few of them, I think. It's designed to be used on bears as well, so it's certainly potent enough for you to give yourself time to run away.

[mindthebass]

... I'll stop whining eventually, I promise. This is just too foreign for me, you know? It doesn't feel right, I'm not someone for violence, but I also know I'm fragile, so even if I wanted to fight, I'd lose. I'm glad you have more strength than I do, though. Seems like a lot of the people here are like that, too.

(strong, unafraid and powerful. people who can go after what they know is right, and come out stronger. shin's just never been like that. for all horrors, he's sheltered from that part, the idea of anyone laying a finger on him foreign and absurd.

but then there are people who come from warzones, from sketchiness, such as kim himself. makes shin wonder why did he get picked to come here, of all people. he's pretty pale and useless in comparison.)