#neonbitch

AGAIN,  HE’S  THERE.  waiting  beyond  the  shop  doors,  arms  crossed  -  but  beyond  his  mannerisms,  which  remain  as  standard  as  ever,  something  has  changed.  with  daylight  comes  a  newer  style:  a  leather  jacket,  black  boots,  jeans  torn  with  a  hunting  knife.  his  hair  is  still  loose  and  falls  as  it  should,  untamed,  yet  still  styled  -  effort  has  been  taken  to  make  himself  look  not  necessarily  approachable,  but  less  feral.  as  he  lives  and  breathes  (both  undead  and  alive,  the  paradox  of  demonics  on  full  display),  arsenal  appears  approachable…  and  yet,  he  does  not  dare  cross  the  salt. here  is  his  truth  laid  bare:  he  has  no  idea  if  he  can  cross  it  or  not.  salt  did  hurt  when  it  was  thrown  at  him,  and  perhaps  that’s  enough  of  an  indicator  for  him,  but  he’s  still  curious.  he  doesn’t  dare  approach  the  line  that’s  still  laid,  nor  does  he  move  to  cross  through  the  door.  the  only  motion  he  makes  as  dawn  breaks  and  the  workday  begins  is  to  check  his  phone,  to  eye  the  time. ideally,  she’ll  be  out  at  any  point. this  is  the  fun  part  of  his  life,  really.  make  no  mistake:  he’s  every  intention  and  want  to  tear  the  woman  inside  to  pieces,  but  she’s  enticed  him  now.  her  attitude  draws  him  in  with  a  crass  allure,  the  way  she  addresses  him  -  has  seen  through  his  attempts  to  sway  her,  minimal  though  they  were  -  oh,  she  has  his  attention.   she  also  has  to  eat.  has  to  leave  eventually.   so  here  he  is,  waiting.  loitering  just  out  of  sight.  so  eager  to  see  if  she  leaves  today  that,  had  he  possessed  a  tail,  it  would  have  been  wagging.  this  is  not  a  day  for  hunting  or  scouting;  this  is  a  day  to  sate  his  curiosity.  to  see  exactly  how  she  knows  what  she  knows,  what  she  does  when  beyond  her  little  abode… …  and,  all  else  fails,  he’ll  simply  play  the  role  of  the  asshole  beyond  the  salt  again.  this  would  not  be  the  worst  case  scenario.  both,  in  fact,  will  resolve  his  curiosity.  one  is  simply  more  enjoyable  than  the  other.  

[ SENTENCE MEME: THINGS OUR MUSES HAVE SAID / PART ONE ]

"Oh yes, how evident you have made that. There's many who would call you a fool for carrying on this way."

Jin's sharpened teeth seem to retract, and he slowly backs away from Blanca, dropping the posture of a creature that was ready to strike, now only one who watched with eager curiosity, and patient menace.

"I might be inclined to say the same, call you a fool, if I didn't move through life with a similar idiosyncrasy myself."

It was an easy thing to admit, of course. Jin never had a real need to fear anything, and so he seldom ever did. For so long, Jin had been powerful, more powerful than most threats that ever crossed his path, and in the sparse cases his power was outstripped, those threats broke upon the insurmountable mountain that was his resilience and will to survive; whether his body went unblemished or his blood soaked the earth, the passing of years and its troubles had rarely seen fear take hold in his heart.

"Being able to recognize danger regardless of whether or not it inspires fear is what matters in the end. To be found wanting there is what makes a true fool, and a dead one."

Jin's head is tilted slightly to one side as a darkly charming smile creased across his face.

"Are you that foolish, I wonder? Do the leaves of the forest rain down and cover your eyes, blinding you to the beasts hiding within?"

Jin swept his arms around him, gesturing to their surroundings, and to the distant but now clear sound of inhuman footsteps approaching, while saying, "Not me, not this beast standing before you here, but those rushing through the thicket right now with only one thing on their minds; you, their hard sought prey."

Jin grins, his teeth for a moment all hideously long and sharp, sharper than they had appeared moments ago when he had come so close to Blanca's neck in his attempt to frighten her.

"I could help you deal with them, or whisk you away from here if a fight isn't to your tastes. I could watch them tear you apart, too, watch them grind you down until you're nothing more than a mess of blood soaked fur and broken dreams."

A laugh then leaves Jin's lips, a sinister, yet smooth laugh that drifted off in the breeze.

Tesla traveled on a whim, often driven by curiosity and whatever money he'd saved from his day job to or commissions sitting around to burn on visiting places he hadn't been before. While he never took interest in perhaps the most typical spots to venture, he did keep an ear out for word on what did happen to interest him, and it wasn't long before he overheard a coworker mention a "creepy shop" full of oddities. He promptly drilled her for a name and made plans to visit on his next day off, which brought him to this present moment.

Stepping into White Rabbit Occult, he looks around, in quiet awe of all he saw. This was a store unlike anything he'd ever seen before! He was a little miffed he hadn't heard of it sooner. It was...busy, display-wise, and he was sure if he wasn't careful, he quite possibly could get lost amongst the numerous items inside these walls.

It was SO WARM outside. Nnoitra thought he might actually melt. He had put his hair up, like he always did during summer. Freeing his neck from the thick hair helped a little, but not enough. And, in any case, he didn't like wearing his hair like this, exposing his skinny neck. He didn't own shorts, again, because he didn't like wearing them. His ankles were so thin. No reason to show them off. So, he was stuck with wearing black pants. At least he had put on a t-shirt. The lightest he could find - light grey (it had been white at one point). Even with what was a summer-like outfit for him, he was DYING.

He hated shopping. Of course he did - HE WAS A MAN! But, sometimes you had to bite the bullet. Which was what he was doing now. He'd been walking down the street ( like mentioned - melting ), looking for a shop that would sell cheap clothes. In the end, he'd gotten so warm that he simply HAD to take refuge. He'd entered the shop he'd been next to when the heat became too much. It was... Not exactly the sort of shop that was known for selling clothes, he thought. It was an odd shop. He'd never been here before. At least it wasn't as warm as the street outside! While he was here, he might as well look around to see if they had anything that would fit him

He hadn't been there long before one of the employees (or was it the store owner?), decided to help him out. She was blunt. Usually those who worked in shops were polite to him. Of course, he didn't mind being called ' really big ', but yeah. At least she didn't add: and skinny.

❝ Yer kiddin' me? AS IF I'd ever wear some gay shit like that. ❞ Did he LOOK like someone who would wear a fucking crop-top? Mah, she probably really didn't have anything his size. It was not uncommon. Nnoitra often had to shop at plus-size stores. Hence why his t-shirts especially were always incredibly baggy on him.

" HAVE A SEAT , DARLING . your tea is getting awfully cold , and we certainly wouldn't want that . it's the least you could do . "

❝ 's that any way t' speak to a customer? ❞ Yes, he cut his hair in the middle of a mental breakdown, but that was forever ago!

Now, what brings Captain Shinji Hirako all the way out to a little occult shop in Seattle, Washington? To find something that cannot easily be purchased in Japan or the Soul Society, of course. Something unique. Something that might help make up for his absence from the World of the Living...

Most of the Visored (and Kisuke) have their birthdays towards the end of the year────a time Shinji anticipates being, unfortunately, very busy. So he might as well do a bit of shopping while he has the free time. Hachi in particular seems to have taken up an interest in ❛ human magic ❜ recently────which makes sense, if you think of Kidō as the Shinigami equivalent to magic.