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~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wh--

[Hijikata jerks, startled, nearly spilling ashes all over his lap from the bowl of his pipe. How did someone sneak up on him like that?]

[He wrests himself free, though it's not as if he needs to turn around to know that it's...]

Souji!

[...]

...What the Hell are you wearing?

[Why. Why.]

Edited 2017-05-17 03:10 (UTC)

[GREAT SUCCESS. Souji bounces back slightly as Hijikata frees himself, looking unbearably pleased with himself. And while as an adult he might at least cover his mouth with his hand in a falsely demure - and probably not very successful - attempt at hiding his laughter, he is still young enough now to let it spill out loud and unabashed at the look on Hijikata's face.

...Wearing? That throws him a bit, and he looks down at himself for a moment as if to check that yes, he's still wearing the same thing. Is there a problem?]

Do you like it? [Unbidden, he does a little twirl on the spot.] It's so warm, I thought this would be a nice thing to wear. All the clothes are kind of weird, don't you think?

[Toshizou feels the threat of a flush in his cheeks, as Souji spins around in place -- as the hem of the skirt flutters briefly upward, as it's made completely apparent how exposed the back of his neck is. His shoulders tense, a little defensively, as if he could somehow ward off the imminent threat of his own embarrassment.]

It's... a bit much.

[Or more to the point, it's not nearly enough.]

You couldn't find anything more traditional in your size?

[Wait. Waaaaaaaaaait.

Is... Hijikata flustered? Just a bit? He looks just a tiny bit flustered, doesn't he? And his words certainly seem to indicate as much.

Fuck. That's cute.

Souji's eyes light up with silent delight at the same time as a faint flush rises on his cheeks. Smoothing his hands down the front of the dress in a sudden - and not entirely convincing - display of demureness.]

Most of the stores I went to only had clothes like this... and I thought it was kind of pretty. Isn't it? [As if he in any way bought it because of what looks like. At the time, it had only seemed practical and comfortable, but... this is fun.]

There are clothes in the temple, aren't there?

[Slightly too long, but nothing a little creative folding can't fix!]

It's... fine, it's just...

[He waves a hand, searching for the word, frustrated.]

It could be more modest.

Mm, I saw. But I wanted to get something new that fitted a bit better.

[As if to demonstrate that point, he fusses a bit with the dress as if looking it over, taking a moment to gather his hair over his shoulder to glance down the back of it. Look, no one ever taught him the subtle art of flirting... so, he's not being subtle.

He does however raise his eyebrows a bit at the word 'modest'. Well, it is a bit revealing, but honestly? And so he leeeeeeeans forward and just... pokes Hijikata square in the chest.]

Are you sure you're the right person to tell me all about modesty?

There were shops on the Near Shore selling yukata and so on...

[A fair number of them, with O-Bon and the tail end of the summer festival season coming up.]

[He glances down at himself as Souji prods him in the chest, frowning slightly.]

I'm not trying to be modest. I'm not the one who's going to get mistaken for a girl.

[And it's more dangerous for a girl to be immodest! Or... someone who looks like one.]

[Tact: it's one of those things Hijikata learned a little later on in life.]

Oooh, I see. Only some people ought to be modest, and you're not one of them, is that it?

[Just going to... tug at that showy red hair tie with a small giggle. He had seen a couple of shops selling things like that, but the ones he'd seen had been kind of on the expensive side. There were probably cheaper ones, but he hadn't really seen any reason to go looking.

And now he definitely isn't. Unless he can find something pretty enough to fluster Hijikata with it anyway.]

Anyway, I'm not actually a girl. [Pointedly leaning in just a bit closer.] If anyone assumes, I can just correct them, right?

You're going to get yourself into trouble like that.

[People don't usually care that much if you're actually a girl or not, if you're pretty. That's what Hijikata's always seen the situation as, anyway.]

[Souji pouts his lips thoughtfully, and then promptly laughs Hijikata right in the face.]

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a shinki. To a god that's supposed to be pretty powerful, even. So, you know, I think I'm going to be just fine.

[There's an amused little twist to his mouth.] Or are you saying you can't keep me safe just because I've got pretty clothes on?

[Rude, Souji! He's just... he's just concerned about you, okay??]

Tch. I can't be keeping an eye on you every minute of every day...

Ah, really? And here I thought you were a god. Aren't I your sacred weapon?

[Yep, now there's pouting. Hugely exaggerated pouting and a strange mixture of amusement and wheedling in his voice.]

Are you afraid that with all this bare skin, some other god is going to put their mark on me? [Souji, no.] Maybe you're just feeling threatened.

[WOW, RUDE. Don't just mess with him like that!]

I hope your loyalty's worth more than that. I wouldn't have much use for someone who'd make it easy for them.

[Welp.

Look, it's a gut reaction. He can't help that the flash of genuine anger and hurt immediately translates into action, and that this close to Hijikata's face-

Yeah, he just slaps him. Quite hard.]

I wouldn't. [There's a lot more hurt than anger in his voice, though.] You were the one talking about- about people taking advantage. That's what I meant. I would never... [Good job, Hiji. Good job.]

[...He slapped him?]

[He actually slapped him.]

[Hijikata staggers back a step from sheer surprise. Maybe it wouldn't be a shock from Souji when he was a child, cold and strange and withdrawn, but the Souji he's seen today has been nothing but warm and effervescent. Soft, and yielding, and...]

[He slapped him?]

[For a few moments, he's completely still, his hand pressed to his stinging cheek, trying to figure out how he got here. That... that really wasn't the right thing to say, was it? He'd been frustrated, lashed out a little at the sense that he was being toyed with...]

[(Briefly, he sort of hopes that this will make Souji less worryingly attractive to him. It's with horror that he realizes, a moment later, that he's sort of fascinated.)]

I.

[What is he supposed to say?]

[He's good at playing games with people's hearts. He's not used to...]

[He's not used to caring how they feel. He's not used to apologizing. He's not entirely sure how it's done.]

Souji. I didn't mean it like that...

[That doesn't sound quite right, but he's... he's trying?]

Edited 2017-05-18 22:37 (UTC)

Really?

[He wants it to come out as a challenge, as a demand - hell, he would even accept a taunt, although he knows he'd regret it later. Instead he realizes to his horror that there's an awful wobble in his voice, a not quite stifled hickup at the end of it, and his eyes suddenly burn unpleasantly. Oh no. He can't actually cry, he can't let Hijikata see that, he'd- he'd be useless to him then, right? A weak shinki like that... He's not sure why this is his first thought, especially when Hijikata just said that awful thing to him, but there it is.

He bites down on his lip, swallows hard, forces himself to feel more angry, more indignant at the sheer injustice of it.]

I was just teasing you. But you- What right have you got to question my loyalty? Over a stupid piece of clothing?

[Damn. When he puts it like that, he sounds like a real asshole, doesn't he? It stings, too, that frustration and resentment, the wounded pride, the sense of indignation at undeserved guilt and humiliation...]

[Shit.]

[Hijikata stares at him, trying to regroup. He's supposed to be good at coming up with plans, isn't he? How does he do this? How do you fix this?]

...I wasn't thinking. I...

[What is this feeling?]

[He's still angry, and hearing that Hijikata said something so deeply unfair without even thinking about it doesn't exactly make it any better. He doesn't reflect on it right now, that Hijikata must feel some of it; this molten lump of hot, churning emotion that feels like it might chew him up from inside his stomach is not a private thing. To his god, it is a form of punishment.

But Souji also isn't a vengeful person, and anger doesn't come naturally to him. After the initial humiliation and lashing out in self defense comes something more vulnerable, a clawing insecurity and a sense of having been found lacking somehow, even though he knows he'd done nothing wrong. So his next words, intended to be as sharp and humbling as Hijikata's words had felt to him, sound far too much like a plea instead.]

If you didn't mean it, you- you could at least say you're sorry. If you really didn't mean it.

I'm...

[The word sticks in his throat for a moment. It doesn't seem natural, in his own voice. He feels like he can just about count on one hand the number of things he's ever been properly sorry for...]

[The absence of the warmth and laughter in Souji's expression is heavy. Knowing it's his fault, that he did that for nothing, that he doesn't know if he can do anything to make it better, is a little nauseating.]

[Right and wrong are beneath gods, he's heard, but shinki are there to help them understand anyway. And right now, he doesn't feel like a mighty god, he feels very much like a goddamn kid.]

[It's funny. Souji's always been able to shut down his bullshit, hasn't he?]

...I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that.

[There is a moment of tension, a moment when Souji thinks that he could just say something short like Good or I hope you are! and storm off. That he could hold on to the anger for a while longer because... well, doesn't Hijikata kind of deserve it?

But the moment he hears the word "sorry", he can feel whatever thorn of insecurity still causing him to falter pull back, and with it goes the edge of his indignation. He doesn't want to draw this out any further.]

I- I accept your apology. Thank you. [He's still shaking slightly with adrenaline, desperate not to embarrass himself the moment he lets go of his emotions, and so he stands there looking lost and out of place. Then, concern getting the better of him, he reaches out and gently touches the red mark he'd left on Hijikata's cheek.] I think it might bruise a bit. You should put something cold on. [He can't actually make himself say sorry, however. Honestly, he still feels that Hijikata deserved it.]

[Somehow, that gentleness just rubs his face in the guilt a little more. Souji's been through a lot, even if he can't remember it -- he can't even remember giving his loyalty to Hijikata in the first place, and here he is, still looking out for him, when he just insulted him for no good reason...]

[He shrugs his shoulders, looking away, trying not to actually push him away in embarrassment.]

...It's fine. I've had worse.

[He can't talk about Souji's past, but his own is fine if he doesn't say anything to give things away, right?]

A woman got me in the back of the head with her geta once. Probably deserved it that time, too.

[After all those uncomfortable, self-consuming emotions, the laughter that suddenly bubbles across Souji's lips surprises him, but it's honestly a relief. It's so much more familiar, and even if he still feels raw and more than a bit exhausted, the simpleness of it at least serves to soothe the more immediate ache somewhat. He does have to rub quickly at his eyes for a moment, but at least he can pretend that's just from the laughter, right?]

I'm sure you did. You really do have a way with people, huh?

[He rubs his thumb gently along Hijikata's cheekbone, a more comforting gesture now.]

But the only way I'd be able to aim at the back of your hear would be if you were already running away from me. And I'm not going to let you do that, okay?

[Oh, damn it, there's that flustered feeling again.]

[Hijikata's still not sure what to do with that, and worse, it's definitely somehow even worse with the sting in his cheek and the certainty that Souji isn't any more likely to tolerate being walked all over than he was as a weird, angry little kid.]

[Hijikata grumbles, sticking his pipe back in his mouth, trying to ignore the strangely compelling affection in that gesture. Usually he'd find it cloying, and he doesn't, and it's... it's weird.]

Well. It's a good thing you're so stubborn, I guess, if you're going to be stuck trying to keep me in line.

[Souji makes an amused little sound, moving his hand to Hijikata's other cheek just so that he can flick at it with his finger. It's starting to dawn on him that he has some kind of power here, and while he definitely doesn't mind being Hijikata's servant as such, that thought is still intriguing.]

I imaging that's why I'm your shinki, right? It had to be someone who could be trusted to put up with you.

[There's just a hint of an inflection on the word "trusted", because maybe he's still trying to make a bit of a point, but there's no menace in the statement. Just gentle chiding.]

[Souji is treading on some thin ice. Any moment now, Hijikata could turn that flirtatious attitude right back at him...]

[But for the moment, he's still sort of trying to find his footing again. He huffs, batting lightly at Souji's hand.]

Someone who I can trust to keep up with me. You wouldn't be here if you couldn't.

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