thenearshore | 016 | The Good Old Days

Entry tags:

016 | The Good Old Days

Who: Everyone!
What: Ageswapping
When: July 15-17
Where: Everywhere
Summary: A breach in the space-time continuum is messing things up.

Edit: OVERFLOW is here!

The Far Shore has been dealing with a lot of space-time pulsating through the past week or so and everything is culminating on the night of the 15th, even though the Heavens are preparing for an all-out Obon bash. They had planned to have the celebration on the 15th itself, but Amaterasu asked to postpone a day due to the horrible feeling that is permeating the Far Shore.

And it turns out she was right to postpone everything. In fact, it will have to be postponed another whole month at this rate...

Before

Late in the day on July 15th, the new batch of shinki will arrive to a Far Shore with a thick, tense atmosphere. All night on the 15th it feels like something is about to happen - and it's difficult to tell whether that something will be good or bad. Any attempts to contact the management of the Far Shore have fallen on deaf, slightly harried ears and so everyone is left to their own devices to try and figure out why things are so tense.

July 16

Just after midnight, an explosive shock wave rips through the Far Shore, bringing on the age changes with it. Even the spirits of the Far Shore seem to be affected - for example, the library goblins are either toddling around on wobbly legs or are dragging themselves from place to place and looking decrepit. There are a few gods and shinki that seem to have been exceptions from the change, though it is not clear why.

July 17

Another wave of energy comes in the early morning of the 17th. Fewer people are affected this time and it seems to alter those people's ages a second time. There is no rhyme or reason to who is being affected further. Several of the library goblins have just dropped dead from severe old age. Oops.

Aftermath

Late on the 17th brings about one final burst from the energy that has been plaguing the Far Shore. For a short moment, every new temple glows with a soft light, seeming to beckon to their owners. But the light is gone quickly and everyone will find themselves back to normal with complete memories of everything that happened during their age adventures. The goblins that died, though, are still very dead. Looks like the library will need to get some new help soon.

In Summary:

Meet the newbies
Get aged or de-aged
Deal with other too young/too old people
Try to handle the consequences
Have fun~

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Okay!

[See? She's excited, she doesn't know that he's flying by the seat of his pants.]

...

[She smiles... and then reaches forward to whap him on his shoulder!!]

YOU'RE IT!

[AND SHE'S OFF! OUT OF THE KITCHEN SHE GOES, HEADING FOR THE OUTSIDE!]

[Whoa wait he wasn't expecting this to start right away!! He looks appropriately shocked at this turn of events for a short moment, but recovers quickly enough to start chasing after her before she manages to slip out of sight.]

Kahaha, wait up!

[You won't get away that easy!!]

[Let's see... he'll have to grab a few eggs, some veggies, meat... oh, yeah, and they can't forget about the rice. He has most of the ingredients scooped up and placed in a large mixing bowl when he turns around to fetch the rice from the cupboard, but when he sees Sousuke struggling to reach it himself he pauses... then sets everything down on the counter with an amused snicker.]

Don't hurt yourself.

[He bumps the fridge door with his hip to close it then goes to fetch a frying pan from a lower cupboard. E-eugh... was this thing always heavy? Not that it's super heavy, but it's heavier than he remembers it being.

Down it goes with a 'thunk' beside the bowl!]

Need help?

[Oy! He is not struggling! He’s just shorter than normal (and still taller than you), so he has to use the counter top. Don’t get used to it. Sousuke’s careful when he pulls open the cupboard, not wanting to go falling to the floor in a flailing mess, and retrieves the rice from its storage. Then it’s a quick swing of the door again and a seat on the counter so he can get his legs over the edge. And pouts at Rin’s comment.]

I’m fine.

[Sheesh, look at you! Where’d you find the time to get all that stuff gathered up before he’s even gotten himself off the counter? Lightning or something. Sousuke slips of the counter and pulls the rice over to the other ingredients before heading for another cupboard to get the measuring cups. But it’s his turn to smirk when he sees the frying pan dip in Rin’s hands. And the sound it makes when he sets it down is telling too.]

Nah. I can do this all by myself.

[With a big ‘ol “watch this!” grin, Sousuke starts measuring the rice out into the cup.]

[If you say so, dude. But Rin's definitely doing ok on his own over here, being as quick as a whip with all his ingredients already set out and ready for mixing. You know, after they've cracked and chopped and diced everything first.

Speaking of which, while Sousuke starts on the rice, Rin grabs a knife so he can get to work chopping up the carrots. Thankfully being reverted to a child hasn't stripped him of his perfect cooking skills and he's going to make sure he shows that off. So off he goes, peeling and cutting everything into nice uniform cubes. Heh. This omurice is going to be the best all thanks to him~]

We should have another race after this! [said as he starts pushing all the carrot cubes into a smaller bowl. Oops, might've spilled a couple onto the floor...] Like who can run from the front door to the gates faster!

[Grin]

I mean, of course it'll be me, but you can try.

[He says so. The clitter of rice into the measuring cups and a few taps against the counter top leaves them nice and level. Sousuke fetches a pot from under the counter and, after glancing back to the measured cups of rice, adds the fitting amount of water to the pot. Look at that, no need for measuring the water; he’s just that good—Oof! That’s heavier than it normally is… Gonna stalk this right over to the stove and set it on the burner before reaching out to the dial and giving it a twist to the “High” setting.

While Rin works his impressive skills on the vegetables and such, Sousuke sets about flavoring the rice. Nothing heavy, just a slice of butter, a few shakes of salt and pepper, a scoop of chili pepper paste for that spicy kick Rin likes so much. Stir it up in the water and leave it to come to a boil. He smirks at the sight of Rin’s skillful cuts and the piles of uniformed ingredients appearing beside him. What a show off.

All thanks to him? Please. No matter how good the ingredients are cut and sectioned, if the rice isn’t utterly perfect and all of that tossed like a pro, that omurice isn’t going anywhere but “bleh” land. And he’s the one in charge of the rice and the skillet business.]

Another race—Oy, you’re dropping stuff. [Sousuke picks the carrot cubes off the floor and washes them off in the sink. He snorts in amusement at that puffed up prediction.] I don’t have to try to beat you. [Even as a bitty, he’s got longer legs, better stamina (he says), and faster so long as a certain someone doesn’t get a head start or mess up or any other excuse he comes up with for his loss. Ha. Ha. Ha. He drops the now-clean carrots into Rin’s bowl. Smirky smirk.] But if you wanna lose again, works for me!

No way!!

[That's not how the game is played! Gosh!]

Catch me if you can!

[Because she's gonna try to find a corner of the temples she can run around and hide in a spot before he can tag her back. Unlikely to happen, so she may end up just try to get on the other side of a big tree and play round-robin there.]

[Well, he's a pretty speedy little kid, but at the same time, not particularly agile enough to keep up with her making those sharp turns. Hiding's not much of an option, but evading sure is! Out of the temple it is, out to a tree where the two of them can evade each other easily.]

Kahaha!

[Hey, at least he's enjoying this!]

Heeheehee!

[She mainly laughs that way in order to echo his laugh back at him. A less insulting nah~~nah~~na~na~nah~~ sort of thing. But she's likewise enjoying it. Now that they're stuck with only a tree between them, he's more likely to catch her though.]

[Rin isn’t paying attention while Sousuke takes care of the rice, but he doesn’t have to to know he’s going to go the extra mile with it, not just to show off but also just because. The familiar scent of chili pepper in the air does have him grinning though. Good. He paid attention! So he guesses he can give him some credit for his good this is going to taste. Only some. Just make sure you don’t over cook all that!]

‘m not dropping too much! [Rin chops up the last of the carrot just as Sousuke hands over the rinsed pieces and with a scoff he props a hand on his hip.] Don’t get cocky! And don’t be reckless either. [Back to the veggies, which by now contain two packs of already prepped peas and corn. Makes his job easier and less messy too, doesn’t it? He’ll set the veggie mix aside with his cutting board next so he can move on to cracking the eggs. Hmm. They’ll need a whole carton of these between them both. No way are they going to survive through the day running on only one or two omurice each. Certainly not Sousuke, at least.

... You see? Look how he’s thinking of you even when you’re being a cocky brat!]

I didn’t lose anything, for starters. If I did, I’d be the only one cooking right now anyway. That’s what we agreed on, remember?

[It’s getting to be a little frustrating having to keep readjusting his sleeves while he works now. Just a few more eggs...]

[Yeah well, he’s not paying much attention to you chopping up those vegetables either. So there. (It’s a lie cause he wouldn’t have seen him drop those pieces if he hadn’t. Ahem…) Sousuke gives one glance to the rice again, shadowing it long enough to see the water come to boil. Then turns it down to low and leaves it there to do its normal job. Absorb the water and get all nice and fluffy for their omurice! It’ll be the best rice ever; just admit it!]

Drop two or three and soon you’ll knock the bowl over. [Just to tease him. With the rice done, Sousuke’s left with watching Rin finish up his vegetables. Well, and pause long enough to do a sassy hip pop and lecture him on racing.] … Haaah? [That’s his response to all that. And back to the veggies indeed. Sousuke slides the bowl over when Rin goes for the eggs, and busies himself with removing the shells from the area each time Rin sets one or two down. Yeah, they’re going to need a lot of eggs for this thing. Good. Sousuke likes “a lot” as much as Rin likes “spicy” so it all works out. (And don’t envy him eating more than you; he’s always been the bigger of the two, even when he’s a lanky noodle.

He’s about to protest that “didn’t lose anything” comment when—Urk… That had been the agreement hadn’t it. Loser cooks breakfast. … uh… Sousuke pouts at the reminder and then crosses his arms with an avert-the-gaze head toss.] Hmph! Y’still lost. I just really like cooking with you. [So there. That’s why he’s helping. Never mind the fact he started helping Rin without even thinking about it. It’s so normal between them, working together, that it just… happened. How can he sit here and watch Rin do all the work? (And have all the fun and do all the showing off… No way!)

Anyways.] I’ll get the skillet started. D'you want oil or butter?

[There's a lot of fun to be had in just the chase, but his competitive side takes over quickly enough and with a burst of speed, he manages to catch her arm with his fingertips.]

Ah! [He got her!!] You're it!

[He won't doubt it'll taste good, but will it be the best rice ever? Hmm, he's not so sure about that one, buddy. If there's one thing Rin is, it's a picky eater, so Sousuke's going to have to step up his cooking game if he wants to impress him!

With that tease, Rin takes the opportunity to lightly punch Sousuke in the arm.]

I won't knock the bowl over.

[Mr. Bossy. He'll even take extra care mixing the eggs here! Making sure there's no extra white lumps or too many bubbles that might ruin a nice, even, smooth omurice blanket. All that work isn't enough to distract him from the head toss to his right though and Rin can't help but grin.]

Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. [Clearly he doesn't believe him a single bit (especially when he says he lost, because, uh, excuse you, there's no way he did). But, back to more important things:] Hmm...

[Tapping his finger to his chin, Rin takes a moment to consider the two options carefully. Which of those would be healthier? Or maybe he should be considering which one would be tastier. Ngh, it's always one or the other... In the end he shrugs before picking up his bowl and walking over towards the stove. Better set this over there before he starts chopping up everything else.]

Butter's fine. ... But don't put the whole stick in there!

[Yes. Because he made it and you like the way he makes it. Duh. Look, he pays attention to what Rin likes, so there. And sure, he’s a picky eater… When it comes to sugar, yeah, Sousuke’ll agree. But anything else? Hah! He’s a growing boy and Sousuke’s seen him inhale meat kebabs like there’s no tomorrow. (Of course, he knows Rin’ll always counter the comment by saying he’s nowhere as bad as Sousuke.)

Oy, did he just punch him? Sousuke makes a little grunting noise and “accidentally” bumps Rin with shoulder.] Not this time, cause I’m watching you.

[Mr. Messy. A little smirk appears as he watches Rin take extra care mixing the eggs. Though really, if he takes too freaking long, Sousuke’s gonna yank the bowl out and finish it himself. They’re just making breakfast; not cooking a five-star meal, dammit! The best casual breakfast you ever had. He ignores Rin’s retort, pointedly, and goes back to the stove to work on getting the skillet prepared. Rin doesn’t want to admit his loss, so the obvious response is to show him up. Again. Yep.

Back to the question. Butter or oil. Pros and cons. And they have both. Sousuke heads for the fridge and pops the door open as Rin taps on his chin and makes a show of deciding. By the time Rin answers, Sousuke’s heading back to the skillet, the stick of butter half-unwrapped in his hand.] Knew it. [He’s got you covered, man. Have a little brat scoff at the warning.] Right, like I’d do something like that.

[Honestly, what kind of chef / athlete do you think he is? He watches his health too. A small chop and soon enough, there’s butter sizzling in the pan while Sousuke rotates it around on the burner to make sure every part of the surface is covered. Bleh, this is more difficult with this small body… How’s he gonna manage one of his cool one-handed flips like this?] We should go to the beach today. Swim in the ocean.

Ahhh~~~!!!

[She flails a bit at the last minute as if stretching a little more will get her out of the way, but he reaches her in the end! Bummer!]

Hm- Okay! Okay then!! Here I go!!!

[And she manages to turn around, catch her breath, and starts to run towards Raichi instead of away from him. Gotta go fast!]

[Hey, he likes other omurice recipes out there! It’s not like the way Sousuke specifically makes it is the only way he can stomach it. ... Though he will admit it’s never quite the same any other way. Can never put a finger on it. That’s just the way it happened. Ok, so maybe he should give him more credit for being a decent cook. If he doesn’t, Sousuke might just stop making all the good stuff for him without warning. Can’t have that, now can we?

Anyway, back to their weird little cooking show. With the eggs all set and Sousuke reading his mind about the butter, Rin sets the veggies aside so he can start slicing up a few thin pieces of meat. Hotdog to be exact. Can’t have a proper omurice without that. So what if each slice isn’t perfectly shaped like the last one? It’s not like they’ll see them much once they’re being tossed around in ketchup and carrots. Chop chop, dice dice... hehe. Is someone having a little trouble over there with the skillet? Rin hums nonchalantly as he passes with his last few ingredients and sets them on the counter with everything else. Perfect! Their omurice station is complete.

Which means he can hop up and with some extra leg pumping seat himself on the counter too.]

Oh, the ocean! [He beams at the idea, feet kicking below.] That’s not a bad idea. I wonder if the waves will be nice enough for some light surfing. [Probably not, but he can dream. ... Don’t mind him taking a hotdog slice and popping it in his mouth, by the way. It’s already cooked anyway! And he’s hungry!] Mm... on second thought, I think burying you in the sand would be even more fun.

[Luckily enough for her, Raichi seems to hesitate a little bit while she's catching her breath. Is she already tired? He's not in quite as bad shape yet, after all, so maybe she'll want to take a quick break first...?

Oh, nope! There she goes, sprinting after him! Time to book it, and off he goes, with just as much speed and enthusiasm as before!]

Come back here!

[Obligatory shout that he will no doubt ignore, but she's gonna shout it anyway!]

Gonna get you!

[She's definitely huffing as she tries to shout and run at the same time, but she's got both hands straight out in front of her as she runs to try and get him!!]

[Gee, way to make him feel special, Rin! Good thing you don’t say these things out loud… Kidding aside, Sousuke does enjoy cooking with Rin. All the fun they have while making the food, the obvious competition, and then the meal afterwards is usually the best part. The first time they cooked together, it went surprisingly smoothly, with neither of them getting in the other’s way and seeming to coordinate pretty easily. At least until someone brought that up and everything went downhill. Luckily they’d conquered that by now.

Sousuke rotates the pan a few more times to make sure the butter’s all around the surface, then quickly finds a ladle so the butter doesn’t spit everywhere. A nice dip in the eggs and then—sizzle sizzle—in they go! He spreads the eggs around the surface of the skillet, gyrating it again to make sure it’s even and flat. Annoyingly, it’s harder than he remembers; blames that on the whole body being tiny right now (comparatively). Look, he’s gonna make his “struggles” as smooth and perfect-looking as possible so it won’t give Rin too much reason to mock him. Not like the other boy could do any better either, so hmph!

Hot dogs, huh? Well obviously that needs to happen. He holds his tongue about Rin’s uneven chopping, mostly because he figures his god did it on purpose. Meaning he didn’t bother wasting time making sure they’re all equal. Which, considering breakfast and hungry, Sousuke’s grateful for. Switching to a pair of chopsticks, Sousuke starts to pick at the eggs in the skillet, loosening them from the sides so he can shake it around and get it all hot and cooked without tearing it. And yes, he sees those hot dog sneaks, you cheater…]

You surf? [Since when’s that been a subject? And then gapes for a second before snorting in annoyance.] Phht, as if I’d let you bury me.

[While Sousuke cooks, Rin tries his hardest not to eat all the hotdogs in the bowl before they can be tossed in with the rice, but with all the amazingly smells wafting around in here, resisting is easier said than done. Do sharks drool when they’re hungry? If so, that would be him right about now. Theoretically. He’ll just keep on swinging his feet back and forth to stay distracted in the meantime, and maybe start mentally planning out the rest of the day ahead of them. He knows he wants them to stay on their training schedule like they do every day, but hopping right into that straight after breakfast–lunch?–would probably be stupid. And tiring. They’ve only got these little bodies to work with! No muscles, no nothing!

With a sigh, Rin looks back over just as his shinki starts picking at the eggs in the skillet with his chopsticks. Ooh, nice and even. Make sure you don’t burn those edges though, Sousuke!]

Sure I did! Not... professionally or anything like that. [Can’t live in Australia for four years and not learn how to surf. That’d basically be a sacrilege.] Haah? You totally would, you know. I bet you’d make yourself comfortable like a clam~ [A wide grin here followed by, yes, more girly giggles.]

Or maybe a sunbathing walrus suits you better!

[He’s got a rhythm going now, moving the skillet to match with the motions of the chopsticks. The egg keeps rotating within the pan, occasionally drooling more of its wet interior over the edges to cook. Once or twice he has to remind himself he’s not folding the egg over to make the traditional omelet, but it’s obviously coming along swimmingly. With the rice cooking and the vegetables waiting their turn, it’s not going to be long before the first omurice builds itself on Rin’s plate. Stop some of that shark drool…

And excuse you; he has muscle! Lanky, scrawny, wiry muscle, but tonnage all the same! Still, he wonders about training. They have different bodies and even if he’s sure it won’t last long, it’s going to be different. Just look at their results from running down the hall to the kitchen. Not out of breath or anything, but it’d felt a heck of a lot longer than normal.

Hmph, he’s not gonna burn the edges. Maybe lightly crisp and brown them like a gourmet…]

Huh, cool. [So Rin knows how to surf. You know, he’d like to learn how to too. Buuut after submitting himself to Rin to learn how to swim, Sousuke’s not sure his pride is ready to deal with another round of Teacher/Student. Especially when his teacher’s this little brat on the counter. He scoffs at Rin’s assurance.] I would not. [That’s just talking stupi--]

WHAT?! [A walrus!!! Jeeze, he wants to rail the back of that head with this skillet right now!] You ass! How am I in any way a walrus?!

[Oh come on. If you want to learn how to surf, then let him teach you! He's an excellent teacher, if a bit rough around the edges. But hey, if you want to learn how to do something right, then there's no room for slacking and going easy. Still, if the waves won't be nice to them today, then they'll have no choice but to find other ways to keep themselves busy. Like with Rin burying Sousuke in the sand!

He laughs out loud towards that reaction, feet swinging a little more, then waits for the right moment when Sousuke's not stirring that heavy skillet around to reach over and plop his hand right atop his head, giving it a few ruffles.]

Because you like lying around and eating a lot!

[Look at his big toothy grin though! He's so happy when he picks on you~]

[Hmph! He’ll… think about it. Maybe he can self-teach himself or something. Where he’s not making a fool of himself in front of his god. Again. Though it’s not like he was belly flopping and floundering when he learned how to swim. Anyways, something to mull over later when he’s not finishing up this rice and adding the vegetables and hot dogs and putting another thin-but-perfectly-done omelet on the nearby plate.

Still not letting Rin bury him in the sand. He wants to run around and play too, you know!] Hmph. Jerk. [Sousuke’s not forgiving him for that walrus comment any time soon. … Though he can’t stop a small pink crawling onto his face when a hand plops on his head and Rin gives him some head ruffles. Ugh, what is he, a dog now? (Ignoring the obvious answer to that.) Have a frowny pout.]

Stop petting me…

[While he passes his own hand over and delivers to Rin a steaming pile of rice, topped with the sautéed vegetables and hot dogs, and enrobed with one of the omelets. Stupid toothy, happy grin making him get all… ugh, willing.] You can dress it up. [Stop being so charming and eat up.]

[Ooooy, don’t be mean, Sousuke! He’s just messing around! No reason to get all huffy about it. See, he’ll even stop ruffling like he asks... or “petting” as Sousuke puts it. Hehe, you can’t blame him for trying it at least once though. He doesn’t have many opportunities to reach up and ruffle his best friend’s hair when they’re normal sized. Not only is Sousuke taller than he is, he’s also (dare he say it) stronger, which means he’d have to put in double the effort to give him a decent bedhead. Like this though? Piece of cake!

–Ooh, omurice! That’s as good a distraction as any.

Sure it’s pretty as it is, but it’s missing the signature ketchup stripes on top... stripes he has to apparently put on himself now. Pouting, Rin reaches for the ketchup bottle then gives it a few pats before squirting a nice even topping over the steaming omelette. Hmm... actually, there might even be some space here for something extra... Let’s see. R... I... N.

Well, it’s not professional calligraphy, but it’s his name more or less.]

Heehee~ How’s that for dressed up?

[Oy! Mean? He’s not the one calling people a walrus and floofing hair. (Not that ruffling his hair is “mean” per say…) Still embarrassing and he’s trying not to get a little red in the cheek. It’s still petting; don’t even try to argue that. But look, he gets it. That’s why he only whined and didn’t actually try to bat that hand away. See? He can be nice too. Having a spatula full of food probably has something to do with his restraint… but whatever. Not his fault he’s taller and stronger than his best friend. Or that his bedhead is cuter than Rin’s strangled/tangled maroon octopus.

Yeah yeah, you’ve got to do all that exhausting work of putting the ketchup on. Poor you, slaving away over there. Sousuke pours more eggs into the skillet and starts swirling it around to coat the pan. Then it’s back to the chopsticks and picking at the edges to keep it loose, fluffy, and cooking evenly. He ignores the pout easily. Though his curiosity gets the better of him when Rin takes longer than expected with the ketchup. Jeeze, how much are you using--? … Oh.

Sousuke quirks a brow. Rin wrote his name. Aaand he breaks into a little laugh, eyes closed in amusement.] Dork. [But it’s obviously fondness in his tone. Giving his omelet another swirl, he starts to load up his own plate with a mound of rice, then the veggie/hotdog combo, and finally—flop!—his own steaming yellow blanket.]

Hey. [Have another omurice being held out on Sousuke’s plate.] Sign mine.

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016 | The Good Old Days

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