SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER CATCH-ALL

[aceslow]

Who ⬤ Kim Kitsuragi & co.
What ⬤ Driving lessons, stumbling into people while running errands, tailoring work, new power exploration... the works!
When ⬤ Throughout September (and probably October)
Where ⬤ Around Jigokucho.
Content Warnings ⬤ None anticipated; will update as necessary! If you want something, I would love to set up a top-level for you -- feel free to hit me up on the cr meme to plot, PM me, or say hi on plurk @ wisdombitch.

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KAZUMA - DRIVING LESSONS

[aceslow]

TAMA - TAILORING

[aceslow]

[ Kim had stewed in his discontent with his current position at the convenience store long enough. Even if he's unable to quit entirely, he can at least shift to part-time work. He's forty-three years old and it's starting to get ridiculous that he's simply pouting about an unfortunate job. It's about time to take matters into his own hands and to take advantage of his (very, very few) skills that have nothing to do with policing in order to find a position more suited for him.

In absence of any better ideas, he winds up interviewing at a local tailor store in the interests of working there part-time. It's not a perfect fit, but it would be quiet, solitary work, with a minimal amount of interacting with the public. After pulling graveyard shifts at a convenience store just outside a street filled with bars and drunken revelry, sitting in a quiet room and hemming pants seems like a dream. The interview had been promising, but not a sure thing; the owner of the tailor shop had requested to see some of Kim's work, of which he has very, very little.

Which has led him here in a fabric store, trying to wrap his head around what it is he'll be able to show her. He breaks away from where he had been thumbing some cotton with a particularly fetching pattern and glances across the shop with a quiet huff, realizing he has no idea what to make, when he spots a familiar face. ]

...ah, Tama. [ He hadn't actually expected to run into anyone he knows here. The people around here seem far more invested in rougher hobbies than this. ] Hello. What are you doing here?

AERITH - GOSSIP

[aceslow]

[ At first, Kim had only asked to see Aerith in hopes of catching up with her and congratulating her on the successful opening of her flower shop. But in the time between he had asked Aerith to meet him and now, several things had happened, not least of all the accumulation of some odd power he had been given and the fact that some newcomers from Aerith's home had suddenly popped up here. He's fairly certain that none of them are the sort of bad news that Aerith had warned him against - he certainly doesn't recognize any of their names - but it's good to vet them anyway. He's not sure how he stumbled into the position of wanting to vet those that Cloud and Aerith had come into contact with from home, but has made the functional decision to not think very hard about it so that he doesn't have to examine it further.

Still, he doesn't want any of those to overshadow the real reason that he asked Aerith to meet him. And so, on a particularly nice afternoon, he stakes his claim on a table in one of Jigoku-cho's few public parks, and waits for her with lunch already spread out for the both of them. It's nothing fancy, just a pre-packaged lunch from a local store (and not the convenience store; Kim's already tired of smelling it day in and day out), but he has a feeling Aerith won't mind. Once she arrives, he stands to greet her with a little wave, as restrained as ever but undoubtedly pleased to see her. ]

Aerith, hello. [ He sits down again once she does. ] Congratulations on your store's opening. It seemed like it was quite the success.

[ He had come, of course, though he hadn't stayed for long. Just long enough to voice his support and go. He glances away from her long enough to fish around in his bag, unearthing a floral-printed mug, just a little too gaudy, just a little too bright to be mistaken for fashionable. It had seemed a little too much to go for a flower print, but in the end, it was this or one of those horrible things that said GIRLBOSS, and he simply couldn't bring himself to buy one of those. ]

Here.

[ Well, he's never been one to give presents with much fanfare. It's not even wrapped! Shame on you, Mr. Kitsuragi. ]

[karumic]

[Kazuma has been looking forward to this.

He and Kim have already done one or two lessons, and so far it's been very basic mechanics--a run down of how the car operates, a slow circle around the block or two. Nothing particularly exciting. They haven't been using the Kineema, of course; instead they're in some beater that Kazuma isn't sure where Kim scrounged from, and instead of the city they're on a straight strip of road out near the wasteland.

There's nobody around and a very large area to go crazy in. Part of him is hoping he might be able to have a little fun. Still, he always waits for Kim's blessing to begin, so he stays where he is in the driver's seat, making sure his feet are in the right places.]

As always, thank you for doing this with me, Mr Kitsuragi.

[everblooms]

[ When she opened the shop, she hadn’t quite known what kind of ordeal she would have, and how it would change her. Though Aerith knew that she could never be anyone but herself, she’s not beyond being touched by an experience, and expected something. In truth, nothing of grand importance happens. It’s not really the shop that unsettles her, or knocks her unbalanced— it’s the arrival of Zack Fair, alive and well, that gets her feeling like her center’s been melted and clumsily cobbled back together. Kim’s invitation to lunch comes perfectly timed, as such, though she’s spent a great deal of time dumping her issues onto Harry, too. It’s hard to explain but simple all the same: The two of them just manage to get it out of her.

Arriving on time, with maybe a few minutes to spare, she’s the perfect image of, well, Aerith. Pink dress, red jacket, sensible boots, and her hair pulled back into a long braid, the only indication of something different about her is the way she greets him with a smile that’s a touch relieved. She’s glad, in the end, for a break with Kim. He’s got that energy about him, a sort of unspeakable warmth and kindness that lets her know she’s good to relax.

The mug is, for all its gaudiness, perfect. It is wonderfully mundane. She holds it like a precious heirloom, unwrapped and wholly too colorful, but wildly difficult to describe. Her expression warms, a glowing smile on her face, as she twists it to look at it. It catches sunlight in such a normal, basic way, and it is utterly wonderful. While it would be possible to say that she would have adored anything from Kim, a mug is so wonderfully mundane and normal that she can’t help but think of something else she said many years ago… ]

Thank you, [ she says, taking in a deep, relieved breath with a smile that practically sings about how pleased she is. She’ll place it in her purse, gently so, in the interest of seeing it stay together all the way back home. ]

Success is only possible when we all work together. [ He probably knows what she means, really— a flower shop staffed predominately by teenagers? Sounds sickeningly safe. A reprieve from the dirtier work in Hell, and if there’s anyone who could guess her intentions with it, it’d be him. ] I’m lucky enough that they keep me busy. It’s not easy launching a business, but it helps when you’ve got help.

[ With this, she takes her seat… but not before pulling her chair over so she could sit right next to him. ]

Someone brought me one of those horrible plaques that says “Girlboss” on it. I don’t have an office to put it in… so it’s just sitting on my apartment countertop.

[ In other words: perfect choice, Kim. ]

[fuckdogramagra]

[ In truth, it had been sheer nostalgia that lured him in to the store. He's always a creature of aesthetics, often at the expense of all else, but it's never been a thing he had a hand for doing. He'd huddled at his grandmother's side instead, watching with confused interest as she painted soft peony petals, or the delicate feathers of a bird wing on to silk...and often complaining it wasn't something more interesting, like stars and planets, or massive dragons...

So, the store's boasting about it's advertisement of yuzen silk services caught his attention. He couldn't sew any better than he could paint, but Minakami was a 'jack of all trades' sort, and Kawase had always mended his own things, if he bothered to keep them at all. It wasn't a bad idea to pick up fabric for some of the mending he would need anyway- his poor yukata from Tanabata had pulled due to, er, his drunken slumber probably.

He'd gotten a little absorbed in thumbing through the fabric, however. Enough that hearing Kim's voice almost startles him, and he has to adjust his glasses to make it less obvious how much of a jumpy person he is. ] Ah, Kim-san... [ Tama looks down at the plain yard of silk he'd been looking at while spacing out- it wasn't the right shade of lilac... ] I guess I got homesick. [ He holds up the fabric bolt. ] Silk-painting is one of my grandmother's one-hundred and one hobbies.

[aceslow]

It's been no problem. You've been a quick study, all things considered.

[ Particularly in that Kazuma had betrayed such ignorance to the basic workings of a vehicle that it had become rapidly clear that they weren't exactly commonplace where he was from. That had only put even more of a shine on the lessons; not only could Kim give Kazuma a taste of independence, but he could show him the true joys of things like this. He's settled in the seat beside Kazuma, decidedly fearless considering he's about to ask a novice driver to do something decidedly dangerous.

But what's the point in driving if you're not going to use the car for its actual purpose? You may as well walk. Or - heaven forbid - use public transit. ]

Which means it's time for you to move onto actually learning to drive the car instead of just practicing the basics. [ They'd been practicing at parking lots first, then on the cramped side streets of Jigoku-cho. Kim knows that people here fear the Wasteland, but all Kim sees is freedom: wide open roads, ready for the taking. ]

You see all that? No people, no buildings, no cars. If you actually managed to crash into something, I'd be impressed. Don't just slam on the gas all at once. Do it gradually. But... the whole point of a vehicle like this is its speed.

[ There's his blessing, Kazuma. Go for it. ]

[aceslow]

Is that so? [ Kim touches the tips of his fingers to his lips, quietly relieved that he had left that horrible girlboss mug behind. He had considered it. Not because he liked it - it seemed like the sort of thing Harry would buy for someone unprompted, frankly - but because Aerith might like it. The salesperson had been quite confident that anyone, particularly a female businessowner, would jump at the opportunity to let everyone know that she is indeed a girlboss. It just seems diminuitive to Kim, so he had left it behind. ] Well, heaven forbid I get you anything like that.

[ He opens up their impromptu picnic, swiveling Aerith's order towards her, and glancing down at his own, just as he had ordered it, pleased that Aerith seems to like her present so much. He's aware that it's small and mundane and possibly a little tacky, which means he's fully aware of the fact that Aerith is only pleased because he had given it to her. Which is fortunate, and just as well; even Kim is not immune to the weakness of sentimentality. ]

It seems like you've got a good bunch working there. I've met at least a few of them before. Sweet kids, even if they are a bit of a handful. [ Shin. He's talking about Shin. But he glances up at her, taking in her relieved smile, trying to sort out where it's coming from. ] Even with help, it's not an undertaking to be taken lightly. You look -- a little tired, maybe?

[ It's a stab in the dark. Many women would scoff at being told that as the most grievous insult they could receive, but he hopes Aerith will take it the way it's meant. ]

[aceslow]

Silk painting? That's quite the hobby. Your grandmother must have been a very accomplished woman. [ And a very rich one. Who can afford that sort of hobby? The fabrics that Kim had been thumbing were the very cheapest, and for good reason; he wouldn't dream of ever being able to work with such a delicate fabric often enough to gain any sense of mastery over it, and therefore had never tried.

He very rarely removes his gloves, but has for this endeavor. He's thankful for it when he reaches out to touch the silk as well, the fabric smooth and soft underneath the hard callous along the side of his thumb. ]

It's a beautiful fabric. But very, very difficult to work with. Were you thinking about trying it out yourself?

[fuckdogramagra]

Silk-painting, embroidery, chicken-raising, gardening, ikebana, carpentry... [ It's, uh. Certainly a list, and the dry way his face contorts proves he knows how ridiculous it is. Where his grandmother had picked up nearly every tool of all trades available to her, Tama had become singularly focused on one- which of then was more satisfied by their path was probably down to interpretation. ] ...spring water bottling. [ Okay no the deadened stare at that last one is perfect evidence of Tama's own belief. Seriously, his grandmother was...so weird. And he missed her terribly. ] There were always half-finished projects all over our house. Kawase- er, Eiichi and I would hide under her fabrics when she was trying to make kimono, and see how long it took her to find us.

[ He could be more avoidant about Kawase coming up in this context, but it's different with Kim. He doesn't know...exactly how much he can trust the man, but he wants to, more than he usually does. In Tama's own weird way, leaving indications in a conversation is 'making amends' for stumbling in to the man's own covert sexuality. ] I ripped my kimono during Tanabata. Ydris paid for it out of their own pocket, and...I don't want it to go to waste just because I tripped and fell. [ This is why Tama usually wears hakama, and...why he should probably buy more western dress. It's obviously more expensive to repair the things that are 'normal' to his experiences...time really had moved on. ] But I'm not sure if I would be better off going to a professional than risking making it worse. I have a growing pile of cotton kimono I still haven't mended, after all.