bravenewworld | [action] i'd say my main influence is myself [open]

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[action] i'd say my main influence is myself [open]

Who: Junko (and Arashi) and anyone who wants to deal with a teenager with authority issues. (open!)
Where: Around Union
When: 1/16, midday
What: Vandalism, except a version that's less likely to get her arrested. Hopefully.

[One might notice chalk drawings across several buildings in Union today if they look closely enough. They're drawn in such a way that only a few small doodles are visible from the streets, leading into much more elaborate illustrations tucked away in the alleyways out of sight.

An irritated-looking, spiky-haired eevee and a laughing shiny stunky seem to feature prominently, but there's lots of variety in both subject and style. It seems the culprit herself is still around, too, fingerless gloves smudged with chalk-- a lanky teenage girl with pink and blonde streaked pigtails that match her impressively fluffy skunk tail, bundled into a jacket much too light for the weather judging by her intermittent shivers. She's currently working on a doodle of a luxray electrocuting what seems to be a Sword of the Savior, if the uniform is any hint... much to the appreciation of the little shinx cub at her feet.]

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[A comment comes from above Junko.

Not from above as in, 'in the air'. No, halfway out of a shadow cast on the wall above her, Maya peers over what Junko's drawing.

...Generally, she doesn't like to be out at midday. See, it's almost time to sleep. But she's running a little late, and travelling through shadows using Shadow Sneak helps, and it's fine-- she can peek in on something interesting, after all. Above her in the wall, three pairs of ghostly eyes (Shinrei and the banette twins, of course) peer out.]

Hey, I remember you.

You never said you were an artist.

[She looks up at the voice, taking one startled step back when she realizes exactly where it's coming from, eyes widening a little as she takes in the entire scene. This is not the sort of thing one expects to see during daylight hours.

Not that she's scared in the slightest. Obviously not. She can take on ghosts easy, she's totally willing to Crunch anything that gets too close.

The girl, though, she remembers her too, and cracks a lazy grin after a second, leaning in to put the finishing touches on the sparks.]

Oh, you know. I like to save it for gallery showings. I'm not one to brag.

[Since Kuzuryuu spends more than a passing share of his time in those little-looked-at alleys, it's natural that the drawings eventually catch his eye. It's impressive, actually; since he's looking at the whole picture instead of just a glimpse at the edge, he can see just how much detail and, uh, creativity went into the works.

The Eevee, of course, catches his eye, and he starts to get an inkling of who might be behind it as he follows the trail back to...

Yup.

He slows carefully when he sees her, O-Ren the Crobat at his back and his own Eevee trotting at his side on her own four feet for once. That is, until she sees Junko and Arashi. Her ears perk up straight, and then she bounds happily over. Kuzuryuu huffs a quiet laugh.]

You know, you really got the bastard's face down, kid.

[She stiffens a little at the sound of someone approaching, but it melts away almost entirely as she recognizes him. Of all people, she's pretty sure this dude isn't going to be reporting her to the authorities. The compliment gets a narrow little smirk in reply, and she adds another jagged bolt to the section she's at currently.]

It's a delicate balance of "fuck it" and "I'm trying my best."

[Arashi's excited as soon as he sees them, greeting the eevee with a pleased 'mrrow' and standing up to stretch his paws towards the luxray.]

Look! It's me when I grow up!

Wow! Wow, wow!

[Karintou looks suitably impressed by the picture and immediately hops over to put her front paws on Junko's leg, staring up at her with shining, eager eyes.]

Me too! Draw me, too, okay?

[Kuzuryuu can't quite keep the amused smile off his face as he watches his spoiled, chubby baby make puppy eyes at Junko. What a brat. Savior, he loves her. Instead of telling her off, he crouches as well to admire the fried Sword Junko's working on.]

There's always "I'm trying my best to tell myself 'fuck it,'" too, but that one doesn't usually last too long. Kid cares.

[Chie's out on patrol today with her Hitmonlee when she happens upon Junko's little art exhibit. Stopping at the end of the alleyway with one hand incredulously resting on her hip, she just shakes her head.]

Wow... really?

[Both glance up at the voice, curious and wary-- the shinx seems eager to meet someone new, whereas Junko's more... concerned she's about to get caught, honestly. She grins, anyway, narrow and fanged, cocking her head to one side.]

What, not a fan of fine art?

[Chie's Hitmonlee is just chilling behind her, looking stoic with its arms crossed. Not very talkative, that one. If Junko looks, she'll see a pin bearing the emblem of the Swords of the Savior on Chie's jacket.]

Just wondering what your problem is with the Swords.

[Junko's definitely an observant sort, and the pin doesn't escape her attention. She's also the sort to keep pushing even against her own better judgement, so she shrugs, very purposefully adding a few more bolts to the scene.]

Most of 'em are holier-than-thou losers who stick their nose where it doesn't belong, that's all.

[She flashes another grin, this one a little wider, voice dripping with artificial sweetness.]

Some people are just totally incapable of having any fun! Isn't that sad?

Well, yeah, but I mean... not all of them are like that.

[Yeah, Chie's pretty susceptible to this kind of thing.

hashtag-not-all-swords]

[She laughs a little, twirling her chalk between her fingers. Her stance is still pretty firmly in "fuck the police" territory.]

Even if they're not, they're still in the gang, right? Stuck following all those boring rules and bothering people and stuff. Super uncool!

[Arashi, meanwhile, pads right over to Chie and bonks his head against her leg, letting out a little 'mrrrrow!' in greeting. The kitten is way less guarded than his trainer, apparently. Junko throws him an exasperated glance that he pays absolutely no attention to.]

But they help people and protect them, too. I mean, that's why I joined.

[Chie looks down at Arashi with a small smile as he walks over. She leans down a little to hold her hand out for him to smell, but keeps her eyes on Junko.]

[Arashi only takes a second to snuffle at her hand before shoving himself under it, the rumble of his purr so loud she could probably feel it.

Junko can't bring herself to scold him, but the look on her face is that of petulant disdain. Betrayal! By her own pokemon! She turns back to the wall with a snort, starting another doodle that quickly begins to take shape-- a menacing pangoro, with a wide fanged maw and red eyes.]

Yeah, well, none of 'em have ever been anything but trouble for me.

[Not that she wasn't to blame, too, but shut up. She glances sideways at Chie.]

Are you gonna give me your name or just a lecture?

And that's got nothing to do with the fact that you do stuff like this, right?

[Chie sighs, shaking her head at the latest piece of art to be started, not knowing at all that her mun came this close to apping her in as a Pancham Shifter instead.]

...Chie Satonaka.

It's chalk. It'll wash off before you know it.

[Totally gonna evade what other "stuff like this" might be or the fact that she's done at least one drawing of a Sword getting cartoonishly murdered. She's got reasons, alright, it's completely justified.]

Jeez. The no-fun police are getting to you already.

I know. It'd be stupid to start a fight with you or try to arrest you over chalk. That's why I didn't.

[Chie looks at the drawings again, scrunching her nose at one of the ones of a member of the Swords getting killed and sighing again.]

Can you just wash them off when you're done? I know you don't like the Swords, but the people who own these buildings haven't done anything to you, have they?

[She snorts, glancing sideways at Chie as she draws a figure in green facing down the pangoro-- looks like someone's getting added to the mural. It's in a slightly more flattering light, though, the little doodle Chie looks like she's gonna put up a good fight at least.]

They should thank me for adding some fuckin' culture to their boring walls. Besides it's all back here anyway, hardly anyone's even gonna see.

[Much to her annoyance, but what else can you do when you're trying to vandalize things in broad daylight. In other words: no grudge, but no intent to clean up after herself. That's what rain is for.]

Nevermind, I'll just-

[Chie pauses to spare a glance at the drawing Junko's working on. Hey, at least she's looking pretty tough.

Wait, no, why does she care about that?]

-I'll wash it off myself later.

Aw, c'mon.

[Junko only glances at her out of the corner of her eye, busily sketching-- this one really is nicer. The Pangoro looks fierce as heck but doodle-Chie does too, honestly, with a toony determined glare.]

I thought you said you weren't like all those other losers!

[Arashi pipes up with an encouraging "mow!"]

Well, maybe I can leave this one up...

[Chie. Chie pls.]

That's the spirit! See, look, just for you, I'll scrub off that one.

[She gestures towards the lightning-bolted Sword doodle. Compromise. That's what mature people do, right? Of course, in return, she holds out a stick of chalk to Chie, grinning.]

I'll even let you play along.

[corrupt the police ~~into doing chalk drawings~~]

Wow, I...

[That is a very long 'I' as Chie sort of trails off looking at the chalk.]

...really can't. I'd be in a lot of trouble if my superiors saw me.

C'mooooooon.

[She leans forward, waggling the chalk.]

You can pretend you're trying to rehabilitate me. Connecting with troubled youth, or whatever the hell. It'll all wash off, right?

Well, yeah, but we still didn't ask or anything...

Ugh, you are so boring!

[She snatches her hand away, setting it against her hip instead as she rolls her eyes. The most dramatic teenager.]

Savior, what do I have to do to get you to live a little? It's not like I'm asking you to kill someone, miss goody-two-shoes.

[~~not like in canon or anything~~
She leans down, scooping her shinx into her arms, rubbing chalk dust into his fur (much to his amusement).]

But if you want to be a lame stick in the mud your whole life, I guess that's your choice!

Hey, there's lots of other ways to have fun, y'know!

[He'd seen this before and he could feel the sigh in his chest even before it escaped through his lips. It wasn't that he couldn't appreciate the finer points of the art...a lot of it was fairly good if he was being honest and it was after all chalk, easily washed away and tended to by nature. Some of the content however was a little...risque for wandering eyes, especially the one he was watching being made right now.

He probably should have seen that one coming, if he was being honest.

He lowered his head and gave the ground a few taps of his staff to get her attention; nothing loud or intimidating, just a few knocks so he wouldn't surprise her when he spoke.]

A moment of your time, if I may Miss Enoshima?

[The noise gets both their attention, though Junko's instantly glaring while Arashi just looks mildly curious. Of course she'd run into an actual Sword, of course it would be this guy--

She answers quickly, almost conversational if it weren't for the obvious edge.]

Sure, why not-- so long as you'll model for this.

[The bite in her voice is enough to put even the friendly cub on guard, and he hops up to stand on oversized paws, static electricity making his fur stand on end. Even though it's clear she's not actually going to send him into a fight, he's ready in case one comes to them. He hasn't met this human before.]

I think I might have already.

[He sighed again, a bit heavily and felt himself leaning a bit more on his staff than usual.]

If it means anything, I'm glad to see you safe with your artistic talent still fully intact.

[Because let's face it...she could be doing a lot worse right now.]

[She flashes a venomous grin, shoving chalk into her pockets.]

You don't like your portrait? I thought I got the aura of self-righteousness down pretty well! And I bet you are. Must've been harder to hit your quota without a reliable troublemaker like me around!

[Arashi takes a few steps backwards, standing between her feet and letting out an uncertain growl. It's not often he's heard this sort of genuine, concentrated dislike from her and he's super ready to protect her-- but it's at odds with how nice this stranger seems to be.]

[He winced a little, remembering the circumstances of that night and just how much he absolutely regretted every second of it afterwards. He couldn't have known, but it made him feel awful all the same.]

...I think I deserve that much at least, I never did get a chance to apologize to you. I can understand if you think less of me.

[He'd grown as a Sword and a Person since then, but some grudges never really went away...it was something he'd have to accept, but that didn't mean he couldn't be happy she was okay. No one deserved wrong done by them after all.]

Aw, how could I ever think less of you?

[It's faux-affectionate, just enough poison in her voice to imply that her opinion was already pretty firmly in the gutter. She moves away from the wall with a smirk, looking almost lazy, though she's already gauging distance and making sure she can run if he tries to come towards her because she absolutely can't get dragged home again. Still, she sets one hand on her hip, tail swaying slowly, keeping up the casual, unconcerned act.]

So, apology first, booking later? The new, improved, polite Swords policy, huh?

No...no booking, not today, not from me.

[His voice was tired, but firm. He knew the circumstances and even if the venom hit him hard...it was all justified and he knew that. All he could do was give a few nods, taking the shots as they came.]

A lot of the drawings are really impressive, so says the talk around town. I think some of the shop keepers are considering keeping them up as art until the next rain.

[That finally gets her off-balance, expression shifting to surprise and then guarded uncertainty. It could just be a lie. It could easily be a trick to get her off guard, make her easier to catch.

But he really doesn't seem the kind of person to do something like that, as much as she distrusts his sort regardless. She leans down to scoop Arashi into her arms, who seems relieved to turn the situation over to her rather than keep himself puffed up and ready. She holds the kitten close against her chest, eyeing Matthias over his head.]

Yeah, well, it's about time people recognize my genius or whatever.

[She scuffs one heel against the ground.]

I only drew mostly on the back walls anyway, it's not like they're in the way.

[A petty justification for vandalism, but still, it's just chalk. So he really could let her go, hopefully.]

I saw, you have a real knack for it. I know people who can't do half as much with paint and a canvas...myself included.

[No really he couldn't produce art if he had a sword to his throat. At any rate, he wasn't making any moves towards her...or at all really. His Buneary was moving enough for the both of them but he seemed to understand there was an invisible line on the street that wasn't to be crossed, so he resigned his hipping and hopping to behind his partner.]

You could probably get paid to do a few signs for the shops if you asked around.

[She snorts, giving him a look, that scathing one teenagers are so very good at.]

Are you kidding? Artists don't get paid shit. I'm not gonna spend my time painting shitty logos for scraps, I have better things to do.

[Like deface property in the cold, apparently. Arashi lets out another uncertain tiny growl, and she reaches to scratch idly behind his ears as she throws another glare towards the Sword.]

Speaking of, don't you have something more important to deal with? There's gotta be someone out there as much of a fuckup as me you can bother, right?

[Unfortunately, she's attracted attention to herself today. And that attention just happens to be one of those people her little luxray drawing is electrocuting.

Ichigo was first drawn by the shivers, due to his instinctual want to help people. Did she just not have any warmer clothing? Sure, he might not feel the cold...but that didn't mean he could just ignore her. Ignoring people was definitely not why he joined the Swords, after all.

But as he came up to her to ask if she needed any help, his eyes fell on her doodle - and he frowned. That's...pretty awful to draw, and especially for (what he considered) no reason.]

Oi.

[He's quite tall - 6 feet - and a little intimidating with those yellow, slit pupiled eyes of his. Despite that, he isn't wearing the uniform of a Sword - no, he's wearing a black samurai outfit, with a large shield strapped to his back. His long orange hair is in a high ponytail - and a part of the ponytail suddenly turns into a hair 'arm', pointing at the doodle while the other side has it's 'hand' rest on his hip.]

You got something against the Swords?

[She glances up at the voice, dismissive at first until she actually looks at him and the first thing she thinks is 'oh, shit.'

Her wide-eyed surprise (and frankly, a little fear) only lasts for a second before she gets her expression under control and gives a lazy grin-- but her tail is still very obviously fluffed up.]

Why, you got something against art?

[Evade!! Because yes. Yes she does. But she's assuming he'd have a problem with that and she is really not sure she can take him. Arashi doesn't really look too keen on fighting, either.]

Not art especially, no. But I'd like to know why you seem to hate them.

[After all, drawing one getting electrocuted is a pretty clear indication of 'fuck these guys.' And he'd like to know the reasons, being a Sword himself. She might have legit reasons...or she might just be going through a rebellious phase. Hard to tell, honestly.]

Jeez. If I'd known I was gonna get interrogated I'd have picked a more fun crime.

[She brushes chalk dust off her hands, making a show of being entirely casual as she takes the time to consider how very fast she might have to run to get the hell away. This guy looks like he could destroy her. Considering that, she's still too proud to change her approach, but at least she can be ready to escape if she has to.]

Besides you don't actually wanna know, right? Just looking for an excuse to be all high and mighty, probably.

[She snorts. Little faith in authority, apparently.]

Look, I don't see why I should be a big fan of the no-fun brigade in general, but this one is a dumbass and poked his nose where it didn't belong, that's all. You gonna follow his shining example now?

[They didn't have much, but a year of survivalism made it easy to at least scrounge up a few things. At the very least he could scrounge up an extra coat, and he knew from personal experience it was necessary.

Hajime doesn't even bat an eye at the dinky little doodles all over the place-- only steps up behind Junko and drops an extra jacket over her shoulders, and the only other indication of his presence being the happy little chirps that come from the little Cleffa perched on his shoulder.

(Junko was notoriously awful at taking care of herself. He was good at staying prepared.)]

C'mon, why're you picking on the Swords this time...?

[She doesn't jump-- even as quiet as he could be, she was used to sensing him around, and the chirpy baby is more than enough warning. She glances his way, half-smiling, softer than her usual jagged smirk-- and pauses long enough to wriggle more completely into the coat as she answers.]

This one collared me a while back.

[She answers easily, almost casually-- she doesn't feel the need to lie, not to Hajime and not about this. He was her brother now, even if it wasn't by relation. Better that they weren't actually related, considering.]

He gave me this long-ass lecture... made a big deal about contacting 'my guardians' because he 'believed they could set me on the right path.'

[There's a caustic edge in her tone and she presses more firmly on the chalk, scrubbing determined streaks of color on the brick. Obviously, that had gone about as well as throwing water on a grease fire. She sends a thin, fanged smile his way.]

I think he felt kinda bad after Mother showed up.

[Not like that would stop her from hating him though.]

T-Talk about bad luck...

[It was already cold out, but he can practically feel a shiver down his spine at the thought of her mother. Even more so at the idea of one of the Swords actually telling her Junko got in trouble. He'd never interacted with the woman himself, only ever watched from afar; but truth be told, she still kinda freaked him out.

He frowns, shifting his shoulders and letting Chibimi climb into his arms now that they were free, holding the small pink puff ball close to his chest. And he sighs.]

If you get in trouble they might call her again. We should be more careful...

['We' as if he's done anything but stay inside, and 'should' as if he could ever actually stop Junko from doing something stupid.]

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[action] i'd say my main influence is myself [open]

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[Action] - assuming they met at least briefly if that's coo.

fo sho

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I hope you don't mind me being late on this!

not at all! sorry for late reply, too. BUSYYY

/comes in over two weeks late with starbucks

junko in a nutshell tbh

i'm so late i'm setting a new record

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