Talnora: Finding someone with a similar experience is a powerful thing.

2026-02-12T05:19:22Z

Finding someone with a similar experience is a powerful thing.

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*'''Log: Kindred Spirits'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Jun Kashihara]], [[Ririka Kawase]]
*'''Where:''' Giga Macho, Yumezaki Ward, Sumaru
*'''OOC Date:''' February 11, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Monday, September 24, 2012 (After school)
*'''Summary''': ''Jun and Ririka are shopping at the Giga Macho, and happen to run into each other and get to talking. The topic of SMILE and Junko Kurosu quickly come up, though, and when Ririka mentions Junko's recent advocacy... the two teens get to connect about being queer.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
Yumezaki Ward lives up to its name: it's the place where dreams come true, both in the sense of getting your heart's desire and in the sense of technicolor dreams once we had. Giga Macho, the store that is NOT the local gym but the local music megaplex, is a particularly good example of that. There five, check it, ''five'' floors of all sorts of music and multimedia. Only some of those floors are infested with demons, too!

Jun Kashihara is here today after school to listen to some of the recently released music offerings. He prefers classic music, and in particular piano and other keyboard music, but he listens to other kinds of music too. Right now, he's listening to MUSES, the hot girls trio whose music featured heavily in the recently released movie, SMILE. Jun finds he's particularly taken with this band, even without that. In particular, the lead singer, Lisa Silverman, really calls to him for some reason...

So this is where someone might find him: in the aisle next to a listening station, headphones on his ears as he taps his foot to the beat and nods along, eyes shut.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka also has a strong preference for piano and classical, having been playing both since she was 7. But she, too,, also enjoys quite a lot of other music--and she makes it a point to broaden her horizons, so she can keep learning more...

Giga Macho is a bit far to go for Ririka normally, but since she has other reasons to be in Sumaru, it's well worth the trip. (Also, given her recent ordeal in Mementos 2 days ago, she wants to splurge a little on herself.) She's dressed casually, black band tee and denim vest, dark purple skirt, sneakers. Her hair pulled back in a ponytail, in an attempt to hide that a lock of it is missing, and... she has a knee brace on her right knee (and a small limp.)

She's humming to herself as she passes by Jun... but she doesn't go too far before she stops to pick up the SMILE soundtrack, flipping it over to read the back of the case for a moment.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
A fine thing to do, expanding your musical horizons, when you've got your own band. Jun isn't in a band, but he does enjoy playing the piano, and practices fairly regularly--not regularly enough to become a professional, but certainly regularly enough to be a skilled amateur.

Jun is still in his school uniform, for his part; Kasugayama is in another part of the city, and he's not ashamed of his school. Of course, he also didn't just have a harrowing experience in a supernatural space that left him injured. (Give it time.)

When Ririka stops next to him to pick up a jewel case for the SMILE soundtrack, Jun opens his eyes and glances over at her, having felt the pressure in the floor chance as someone passed by. At first, he blinks, thinking she looks familiar; then he smiles and removes his headphones.

"Ririka Kawase-san, isn't it?" he says. "Forgive me for being so forward--we met over in Port Island a few months ago, just outside Rafflesia. I don't suppose you remember me?" He doesn't really expect it, but you never know.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka, for her part, will not decry the skill of a skilled amateur--she just enjoys people getting into music at all.

She has had too many harrowing experiences in too many supernatural spaces for her tastes. It's... still something she's adapting to.

Ririka is humming something to herself--something vauglye MUSES inspired, in fact. (She'll be looking for more MUSES CDs in a moment, too.) But the humming stops and she looks up as she's addressed, also blinking. "Yes, that's me." She's used to being recognized, so that doesn't surprise her. But the mention of Rafflesia, however... She seems to be searching her memory (and her free hand drops to tap a rhythm on her thigh as she does so.)

"Oh! Right, I was ppicking up the flowers for..." A painted, evasive look. "... my friend." It's no less a bad lie now than it was back then, buyiung flowers to mourn someone. "You were asking about... Shinjiro Aragaki-senpai, right?" A moment later she says, "Jun... Kashihara-san, right?"

She ''also'' remembers Jun from the unfortunate attack on Kasu, being accosted by the Joker Killer's strange PErsona... though she's not expecting Jun to remember that, or her.

"How have you been?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
Jun sees that pained look--remembers the meaning of the flowers that Ririka had picked up that day. "Yes, and I was picking up an order of my own," he says politely, pretending not to notice. Grief is such an intensely personal thing; it would be terribly rude of him to demand to know about something that's none of his business. "Ijuuin-san was there too."

And not Yua Ijuuin, because back then she was Yua Ooshiro. Jun's own expression is briefly wistful. If Hyousuke's right about her...

"That's right," he says of his name. He can't recall if he'd been asking about Shinjiro or not; he only met him the one time. But it ''had'' been pretty recently at that point, so... that does seem likely. "It's nice to run into you again, Kawase-san."

''How have you been?'' is a surprisingly loaded question. Jun ''could'' tell her some of the sordid details, but good lord, that's nothing to dump on a celebrity acquaintance. "I've had my ups and downs," he replies noncommittally, because that's certainly true. "I went to see your concert with Polyrhythm a couple months ago, actually." He smiles. "It was a lot of fun." He went alone, so he didn't do much besides drink refreshments and listen, but Jun's the type who can have fun even by himself.

He glances down at the jewel case in Ririka's hand, and his eyebrows rise--but in a pleasant way. "Oh, are you a fan of SMILE?" She ''was'' humming something that sounded like a MUSES song... They debuted only earlier this year, so they wouldn't have many CDs, but they've got some good music released so far.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Oh, right, she was picking up..." Well, that's not something to pry into, but for different reasons. "... anyway." Either way, she hasn't had as much contact with Yua as some others have.

Ririka might not have remembered it, but for running into Shinjiro again soon after--and becoming teammtes with him a while after that.

"It's nice to see you, too," Ririka says, politely. A bit less formally she adds, "... at least it's not raining out this time, right?"

To be fair, it's a loaded question for ''her'', too... though Ririka would demure at being called a ''celebrity''.

But despite that she brightens. "Oh! You did? Cool! Thank you for coming to the show! I tried to get around to see everyone, but... there was a lot, eh heh, so sorry if I missed you there. But I'm glad you had fun!"

She holds up the jewel case. "I think so? Horror's not normally my thing, but... I heard MUSES did music for it, and I like transcribing movie soundtracks, so I wanted to go see it so I could see everything in context and..." Ririka trails off a little, blushing as she catches herself rambling a bit. "Okay, I enjoyed it, just maybe for different reasons."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
There's also ''that'' reason. Jun had had a vibe about it, but, well... sometimes vibes and hunches are mistaken.

He chuckles. "Yes. Though if it were, at least we're warm and dry inside," Jun replies. He shakes a hand as if to dismiss her apology. "You were very busy, and there were a lot of people! Please don't worry about it at all."

He nods as Ririka goes into why she went to see SMILE, his handsome features warm with amusement. "To each their own," he says. "The soundtrack ''is'' evocative, and the songs get your blood pumping, don't they?"

Though, as she blushes, Jun rests a hand on his chin a bit. The members of MUSES are pretty girls her own age... "...Though, is it possible you have some reasons beyond just the music?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Heehee, that's true... and there's a bit more cover, at least." Ririka smiles as Jun waves off her apology. "Still, we appreciate everyone who shows up... And I hope we'll see you at our shows again, whenever we're able to have another one."

"Oh yeah, they do," Ririka enthuses. "Buuut I'm biased towards enjoying the music, eh heh... being a musician, and all."

But are there ''other'' reasons...? Jun might be more perceptive than Ririka was expecting. "W-well... you know, everybody was talking about it, and it's good to try new things, and..." She's grasping for a way to say what comes next without tipping her hand too much. "... hearing some of the interviews from the actors involved made it sound interesting."

Okay so maybe there was one specific actress she took notice of.

And yes, an idol group of all girls her age ''definitely'' caught her attention. That might be part of that blush, too.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
It's possible it's just Jun's imagination--a hunch is a hunch, not solid evidence, as evidenced by Yua and her friend Miho--but, well, they call it gaydar for a reason.

"I hope I can make it too," he replies, smiling back. "I can imagine your interest in most things is the music, though. It's an interesting soundtrack, so I don't blame you at all."

Though her mention of the interviews does tip that hunch a little further. There's been a bunch of interview, but the one who's been making the news lately is...

"I'm glad to hear you say so," he says, deciding to play it cool. "My mother performed a role in that movie, actually, so it's heartening to hear of people going to watch it because of what the cast has to say about it. It would be easy to dismiss SMILE as just another slasher film, but the cast and director and everyone really poured their hearts and souls into it. I hope it continues to get a lot of attention--it would make Mother very happy."

Plus, if it does well, then SMILE might just become a franchise, and with Junko playing the iconic Kuchisake-Onna, she's likely to get called back for any sequel that might get made, even with how the movie ended... That's more Junko's concern than Jun's, though. Jun's just happy to see his mother's skills and hard work get recognized--and happier still that she's using her fame as a platform for LGBTQ+ rights, for his sake.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Eh heh... guilty as charged," She says, of her interest in music. She doesn't often talk about ''how'' much she likes music, though, or how much it's the way that helps her process the world, sometimes.

It's a good hunch, though--and Ririka mihg tstill need to work on developing hers. (She would dearly love to develop hers--it'd make the prospect of finding another girl to date a lot less daunting.) But she perks up as Jun mentions his mother was in the movie. "Oh! Do you mind if I ask who she played?"

That's actually an innocent question--there's a lot of parts in the film, after all. "... if you don't mind saying, that is. I don't want to seem like I'm prying." True, Jun volunteered that inforamtion, but even so.

Ririka would be happy for that--even if only for the fact it would mean Junko's voice wasn't stiffled and she could keep speaking out.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
Jun chuckles. "A fine thing to be guilty of," he replies. "It's good to be passionate about your art. I have a friend who's working on a band of his own--I should ask him how that's coming along sometime... Last I heard, he wanted to get more serious with it."

Another chuckle, this time with a more coy smile, when Ririka asks who his mother played. "Hmmm... Just a small role, really," he jokes, voice just as coy. "She went by a few names, but she started out as Miyako Nagasawa."

Miyako Nagasawa, i.e., the name of the Smile Killer before she was murdered by her husband and came back as a Kuchisake-Onna. Quite a few names indeed!

"Oh, no need to apologize. Really, I should apologize for bragging," he adds, a twinkle in his eye. He can't help but be proud of his mother.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Oh, that's cool," Ririka says of the band. "It's always awesome to see more bands, and to see what they bring to their music."

But she looks on with interest. "A small role...?" She blinks as she starts running through the plot of the movie in her head. "Miyako Nagasaw, Miyako Nagasawa..." She freezes, and she stares at Jun. "Wait-- that's the ''Smile Killer''!" She grows very visibly excited briefly before she pulls it way back, keeping her voice in a quiet but excited whisper. "Your mom is Junko Kurosu!?"

"I-I mean... I might wanna brag about her, too, if I were in your shoes..." Ririka says, glancing off to the side a little. She loves her mom, of course, but her mom also isn't a movie star.

"That's... wow. Cool. Um." Ririka is suddenly contemplating a lot of thoughts, and her free hand is now tapping out the melody line of one of the movie's songs on her thigh, almost absent-mindedly.

She's silent for a few moments before she says, "It's, uh... really cool of her, you know? To speak up like that for other people." She is trying to be casual and not let on how much that means to her, because there's really only one thing she could be referring to.

She is not doing nearly as good a job at that as she hopes she is.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
Jun raises the back of his hand to his lips and giggles into it when Ririka puts the pieces together and grows visibly excited. "The one and only," he says fondly. "Kurosu is her maiden name; she keeps it for the stage, since she's been acting since before she married my father. Do forgive me for being a bit dramatic about it."

Knowing it now, it's likely easy for Ririka to see it. Jun and Junko have a strong resemblance: that same silky black hair, the same rich brown eyes, the same beautifully porcelain features. They even have the same eye-covering side bang situation going on, though Junko's hair is much longer than Jun's.

His eye(s) soften when Ririka brings up Junko's recent advocacy in a way that strongly suggests his hunch is on the money this time. "Yes. I'm very happy about it myself. It wasn't really anything we thought much about until recently. I always simply accepted I'd never be able to get married. There's more to live than a ceremony and a certificate. When that reality truly sank in on Mother recently, she was quite upset for not seeing it sooner."

(And also that it means she wouldn't get to see Jun walk down the aisle in a beautiful white tuxedo as the mother of the groom-bride, but that's neither here nor there right now.)

"Change won't come immediately, of course, but someone with as much clout in popular media as she has can do a lot to move the conversation forward," Jun continues. "I intend to do what I can too, of course. I can't simply stand by and let Mother fight all my fights for me. Still, by the time you and I graduate college, maybe we'll be able to marry the loves of our lives."

It's okay, Ririka. Jun, being gay himself, is 100% okay with you being a lesbian.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
It's her maiden name. "Oh, that makes sense..." When you ahve brand recognition, so to speak, why change things up? Being dramatic... "Eh heh, it's okay, Kashihara-san. I don't mind." He wasn't bragging ''that'' much, anyway, not really.

That hunch is ''definitely'' on the money. And Ririka can see the resemblance now, as she thinks about it... Is it weird to think Jun is kind of pretty for a guy?

But she's listening, as Jun talks about his mother's advocacy... and then he mentions never being able to marry. She doesn't say anything, but there is a blink--and then her eyes widen in a mixture of surprise and excitement.

She doesn't want to ''assume'', of course, buuuuut... when he finishes with that last line, Ririka blushes again and looka away, trying to sort out her response. "It's... cool she's fighting for you, too, then..." she says softly, before looking to Jun, with a small, hopeful smile. "... and people like me," she adds, after a moment.

She rubs the back of her neck. "I hope someday I'm in a position to do that, too-- to speak up, I mean." But also the getting married thing, though she hasn't given that a lot of thought. "But right now I'm kinda keeping it quiet, so..."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
Definitely not weird. You can recognize that someone is beautiful even if they're not a gender you're attracted to.

It's not an assumption if someone just comes out and says it. How many non-queer meanings could Jun have, really? Especially when Ririka admits out loud that she is too. Jun gives her a gentle smile and nod. "Yes. Very much so," he says quietly.

But it turns out Ririka's in the closet, still. Jun gives her a sympathetic nod. Not everyone's so lucky as to have parents as supportive as his. "For what it's worth, I think you can talk to your sister about it," he says. (Ichika is his classmate--and so is Tsubasa. Jun is ''quite'' aware of what's going on there.) "I know she'd support you."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka definitely recognized something when she saw one of Ichika's previous boyfriends dressed up as a girl, too... She's still thinking about that one.

Not a whole lot! And given all the context, Ririka feels it's a pretty safe deduction.

Ririka does smile, at that suggestion, though. "She knows," Ririka admits. "She was the first person I told." (Maybe not the first person she'd ''planned'' to tell, but... she can't dwell on those thoughts for too long.) "I told our parents, too, but outside of that..."

Ririka shrugs a little. "I'm still... kind of figuring all this out? I-I mean, I ''know'', like, I'm really sure, just..." She gestures a little. "... I dunno how to... act on any of that."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
"Ah, I see. I should have guessed," Jun replies, eyes crinkling as he smiles. "I'm glad you feel safe enough to be out with your family." He shrugs, gesturing with one hand. "I've been out for quite some time, and I was bullied mercilessly at school over it for quite some time--along with my feminine looks and hobbies."

A sly smirk crosses his lovely features. "Now, though, I'm not bothered nearly so much. I don't ''like'' to fight, but rest assured, I can put an end to that sort of nonsense as needed."

There is the question of how to act on one's sexuality, though, and Jun nods in sympathy. "I can understand what you mean. It's not easy to just walk up to someone and ask them out on a date." He averts his eyes, a touch of color rising in his cheeks. "There's a boy I... have feelings for right now... but it's not to be."

No matter how right it feels to be in Tatsuya's presence.

He shakes his head a little, then focuses back on Ririka. "If you're interested in my advice, simply be who you are unapologetically and out loud. Those who are queer like you will hear and be drawn to you." After all--they're having this conversation right now because Jun as much as said he's gay. It's a tough step to take, but... that courage is necessary to living true to oneself.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Oh good, so it's not just her that thought Jun looked kind of pretty. Though she frowns at the mention of bullying. "Well, that sucks," she says, with a small huff. "I hope that's not still a thing..."

And apparently, it's not. "Oh!" She grins. "... Nice, then. Still, I hope you don't have to do that ''too'' often."

But just walking up to someone... "''Tell'' me about it," says Ririka with a sigh. "I think about it all the time, but... unless you ''know'', it's... kind of scary puttin yourself out there."

But someone for whom it's not meant to be... "Awww, I'm so sorry, Kashihara-san, that must be really rough..." She's quiet for a moment, thinking. She offers something of herself, quietly: "... I, uh... had this massive crush on this girl, only... I never figured out what I was feeling until after her family had to move." She looks away, feeling her cheeks warm up again.

"... hopefully... we'll both find someone, then."

As for the advice, Ririka listens, considering those words intently. She slowly draws in a deep breath and then lets it out. "... Yeah, it's... really scary," she admits. "I'm, uh... used to being known for my piano, so doing something that goes against that... I mean, I know even Polychord looks... odd, to some people."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Jun Kashihara has posed.
<poem>
"Not nearly as much as I used to. It hardly happens at all anymore, truth be told," Jun admits, thinking back to how many times he had to deal with that this year and recalling very little. Being a third year--and in particular, with Eikichi as the top Boss of Kasu High--means reputations have had time to spread.

He nods in sad sympathy as Ririka speaks of her own romantic woes. "Yes," he murmurs. "It'll all work out someday. I believe in that."

Even Polychord looks odd. "Perhaps you can try leaning into that 'oddness,' then," he suggests. "As people get used to it over time, they'll revise their image of you, and you'll have less to be afraid of."

A text notification beep emanates from his pocket, and Jun pulls out a phone to check a message. "Ah, I'm afraid I've got to get going soon. I need to pick up some groceries on my way home," he says apologetically--but he doesn't put his phone away. "I enjoyed our conversation, though, so if you don't mind, perhaps we could exchange phone numbers?"

Once they do, Jun will have to excuse himself--but maybe this way, they can chat another time.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Not as much as before. "That's good," she says with a nod. "It really bugs me when people mess with other people over stuff like that."

She happens to like celebrating things that are different from the norm.

Leaning into it... "Maybe..." she says thoughtfully. "... might not be a bad idea to work on my own voice, as it were..." She rubs at the back of her neck. "Who knows, maybe I'll find a girl who's into female rock stars," she says with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Oh, right." She pulls out her own phone to check it. "... and I should get going, too." But there's a warm smile as Jun asks to exchange numbers. "Sure! It's, uh... been really nice talking to you, too. It helps knowing someone else who... you know, gets it."

She'll gladly swap phone numbers, and then she'll go get her purchases rung up and head on to her own errands after that.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-02-11: Kindred Spirits - Revision history

Talnora: Finding someone with a similar experience is a powerful thing.