thenearshore | [Open] Life doesn't discriminate

Entry tags:

[Open] Life doesn't discriminate

Who: Lavi and You!
What: Aftermath of the Event and Lavi being Lavi
When: July 18 - 25
Where: Far Shore
Warnings?: N/A

A. I’m falling between the cracks

[After the event that affected the Heavens, Lavi has decided to take it upon himself to distance himself from a few people.

So, people would be able to find Lavi at a park, huddled under a tree. He doesn’t seem to be paying attention to anything in particular, but his usual headband is missing and there’s a silver bird clip currently attached to the collar of his shirt. His eye seems to be focused on a book laid out on his lap, lips moving as he reads what’s on the page.

However, the moment he senses someone coming up to him, the book is slammed shut and he eyes the person almost warily.]

B. The Library Goblins

[Thanks to the pulse or whatever it was, one of the first things Lavi’s done after returning to normal is to inspect the library.

Or rather, inspect the area around it.

He frowns a bit, cupping his chin in thought before he turns to the nearest person.]

Have you seen the goblins? [This is. A very important question since Lavi’s become aware of the goblins the moment they had decided to steal the books back.]

C. Wildcard

[Nothing works for you, make one up or hit me up at

seabutterfly!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lavi's not the only one who's avoiding conversations after his time as a younger man. Hakkai, for one, would rather not explain any of the questions he'd been asking, or why, as a younger man, he didn't need the silver limiters that are currently slotted into place on his earlobe in order to continue looking human.

He's just out for a walk, at least, until the young man on the nearby park bench slams his book shut with unnecessary force. Hakkai glances up from the ground, where he'd been looking as he thought, at him.]

... I'm sorry, am I disturbing you?

[The park should be big enough for both of them.]

No, sorry. I was just—[Paranoid?

He's not sure how he feels, but he thought it'd be better not to let anyone actually see what he was reading.

Lifting his gaze, Lavi just kind of stares.]

Gonou?

[Ah. And here was exactly the reason he hadn't been eager to talk to anyone -- but it helps identify the other man, too. That red hair, and the book....]

It's Hakkai now.

... Shaye?

Lavi, actually.

[He wishes why he's gone around calling himself 'Shaye'.

Hakkai, on the other hand, doesn't seem too troubled since he is a god after all.]

...Guess we both went by different names when we were younger.

[...and that, abruptly, makes it easier. Hakkai relaxes, a very slight change in posture, and nods understanding.]

So it seems. My mistake; how are you?

[With an amused huff, he adds:] Now that everything's back to normal...

[That manages to get a wry grin.]

Could be better. Still trying to get over the embarrassment that was me as a kid.

What about you?

Oh, don't be too embarrassed. Some children were trying to bite people.

[By comparison, 'Shaye' was extremely well-behaved!]

Ah -- still catching up, I'm afraid. I'd only just gotten back when that happened.

I punched a god.

[Does that sill make him well-behaved?]

'Gotten back'? You were here before?

I'm sure he deserved it.

[Hakkai shakes his head, after a moment, and gestures at the other end of the bench.] Do you mind if I sit?

[It's starting to feel a little odd having a conversation when he's the only one standing: although, suddenly, he blinks against deja vu. Hadn't it been almost the same thing that he, younger and stupider, had said to 'Shaye' just a few days ago?]

-- I've been here for quite a while, but from what I've heard, I disappeared for a few days. It's hard to say exactly how long it was for me, because then, I was a shinki, and now I'm a god.

Go ahead.

[And that's....a sudden case of deja vu.

He tries to shrug it off, his curiosity growing as he listens to him.]

So you're a former shinki turned god. [Lavi's just getting to meet all sorts of people today, isn't he? Immediately, he thinks back to the post he's made not too long ago, just before the weird thing happened really, and it makes him furrow his eyebrows.]

But you remember nothing about being a shinki.

[He takes a seat, crossing his legs and folding his hands on his knee as he returns Lavi's glance with an eyebrow raised.]

On the contrary. As far as I can tell, I remember everything.

It's a strange experience.

Really?

[The curiosity grows enough that it has Lavi's full attention.]

That's odd. If you remember being a shinki, you'd be the first one I've heard of that happening to.

It's the only example I can think of myself. On the other hand, I also wasn't killed, and dying here seems to affect the memory regardless of the way in which we return.

[Hisoka, for example, had come back as a god after the death Hakkai had witnessed in Yomi-no-kuni. It had taken a few days, judging by the timing of his post to the network afterwards.

Perhaps it's the closest analogy to his own situation... although there had been a number of unusual features with Hisoka. Dying in the underworld, for one.

It's not immediately relevant, and he'd disappeared permanently not long afterward, so Hakkai doesn't bother bringing it up.]

Who do you know who hasn't remembered?

Edited (failure to re-read my previous tag before hitting post, like a dumbass) 2017-05-23 21:02 (UTC)

[More questions rises in Lavi's mind since he's literally meeting a contradiction to one of his theories about shinkis turning into gods. The ones he's talked to on the network just a few days ago confirmed it, but here's a god who refutes it.

....Interesting.

He tilts his head to the side.]

Dying and memory loss do seem to have a connection here, even though it's also been official people can regain slivers of their memories in time.

[He thinks of Add/Henir, the one Izuku's mentioned and the one he's talked to.

A blink before he laughs a bit.]

No one personally. Just names I've heard. You'll have to understand if I choose not to mention them.

I can understand with shinki, of course. When it comes to gods, it's not as if the information can harm us no matter what we remember....

[He trails off meaningfully. They may be strangers, but concealing even harmless information is beyond reasonable caution and into unnecessary obstruction. Information, for that matter, that some people have shared on the network; he keeps wondering about that post by the shinki who had been told he was a god, and lived.

(It's a thought, if Gojyo's guesses get too close to the truth. If it's safe to tell him that he was a god here once, that might be sufficient misdirection... but it's still nothing Hakkai's willing to risk unless he has to.)]

The only one I know of, unfortunately, left shortly afterwards. I can't ask him about his experience.

You're right about that, of course. But information, regardless of how harmless it is, can't be divulged so openly.

[Information is information. If Hakkai's found it on the network, then kudos to him. At the very least, Lavi doesn't seem bothered and just looking more and more intrigued. At the same time--

He tilts his head.]

There is a guy I know personally who was a shinki before that turned into a god. His names is Hades.

[There, have one god who might be able to understand your situation, Hakkai.] But otherwise, what else have you been told so far?

Ah, that's the sort of approach that leads to information being lost, isn't it? Particularly with our disappearance rate.

[But he's not pushing. Just criticizing; it's helpful, really.

He'll also provide a positive example, considering that the majority of his information is freely available on the network in any case.]

Hades. Thank you, I'll have to speak with him. As for what I've been told... there have been a few posts on the subject recently, haven't there? I wasn't too interested in the condition of a shinki coming back as a god until it happened.

To be honest, it seemed almost impossible to comprehend. I thought I'd be a different person.

[Lavi just gives an amused smile.

You're quite sharp, aren't you?

He hums a bit.]

There has been. Admittedly, it wasn't anything that interested me too much, but with some news going around lately, I'd figured it'd be a good idea to get my own sense in trying to figure out what's going on. Who knows if there's anything required for a shinki to become a god.

[A tilt of his head.]

It does, doesn't it? But it's happened. I've never met you while you were here before to confirm whether or not you were a different person then compared to now, anyway.

Hardly different at all. Only a little less well-informed.

[Who does know if there's anything required of the shinki? Only the people who make the decision, as of now, and if Hakkai's the only one who really remembers what happened to him before the event, he can't even compare.

At least, he supposes, he can rule out the ablution. He believes he's the only one of the new shinki who's required it so far. It's a sort of distinction.

Deliberately, he adopts a lighter tone.]

It's a shame. Apparently my personality is always like this....

It's hard to find proper information in this place.

[Lavi knows about ablution, only thanks to Kairi and Yukine.

But the lighter tone isn't lost on the redhead, so he chuckles, fingers drumming against the cover of his book.]

Really now? Are you still teaching at that school, by the way?

And proper information about ourselves most of all.

[There'd been the limiters, to start with. Then everything with Gojyo... of course, it couldn't be avoided, not when the wrong tidbit of information could be fatal. It's one definite advantage of not being a shinki anymore: he knows himself and he can talk freely at last.

At least, to other gods.]

-- Oh, yes, I'm still teaching. I only knew about it as a young man because I found my lesson plans.

Although there are many fewer school-age shinki around today, by comparsion.

Exactly.

[With shinki it's hard to talk to when it concerns the consequences of anything related to their past lives. People remembering past memories or seemingly getting items connected to them could easily set something off if not approached right.

It's lucky for Hakkai that he doesn't have to deal with that burden anymore.]

As long as people are interested in going to school, you'd still have reason to teach.

It's something to do.

[And his first reasons for doing it are still good: to build connections, to build trust, to put himself in the position of a reliable authority who's easy to tell secrets to.

He might've damaged his reputation with some of his students, at least those who'd witnessed his confession, but that's no reason to discard the idea. He has more freedom now. He no longer has to worry about guilt or the wrong tidbit of data.]

Although I suppose I'll have prayers to answer now, too.

Is it for good intentions I wonder.

[He sounds mostly amused, but it's okay.

At the very least, Hakkai trying to put himself into a good position sounds like a good start. And Lavi is already thinking of the many possibilities of how good it would be to have connections with a god that's within that sort of position.

He tilts his head.]

Prayers are fun to do sometimes. It might help you in the long run, too.

I have to say I'm glad for the god I've been given; it sounds like I'll mainly have people praying to me for health.

It could be worse.

[He could be Yuri. In retrospect, he's amazed he didn't react more badly than he had to her prayers; it had only been the one that was too difficult to bear.

Even without his memories. How strange, indeed. He glances at Lavi with a faint smile.]

What sort of ulterior motives would I be teaching for?

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