Toshizou Hijikata ♦ 土方 歳三 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
koukai_kirai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thenearshore2017-06-22 01:48 pm
koukai_kirai) wrote in thenearshore2017-06-22 01:48 pm
I Ask for Nothing, I Can Get By [OPEN]
Who: Hijikata and you!
When: July 26th-28th
Where: The Near Shore - Kamakura, Kyoto. (Open to Wild Card options, too!)
What: Hijikata runs himself ragged using his power to bless his faithful; Hijikata tries and possibly fails to take a little care of himself, too (by which I mean he gets drunk and nostalgic at the Gion Festival and that could be either good or bad); catchall for wildcards.
[I. - The Near Shore - Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura - July 26th-27th, any time during the day]
[The hydrangeas in the valleys are past their peak, but Kamakura is flush with tourists, all the same.]
[It's not a city Hijikata got to know in his life, but as a god, he's been making an effort to visit as many of his shrines as he can manage (a bit of a tall order for Hachiman of all gods, honestly -- he does have twenty-five thousand of them, and this is one of the biggest ones.)]
[It's a little bit bizarre to watch the worshipers at a distance. Plenty of them are just swinging by one of the big local landmarks since they happen to be in town, looking for an interesting picture or feeling like they probably ought to see such a famous place or something.]
[Others make their way more purposefully to the offering box where he's taken up hanging around invisibly right off the bat. Some of them are just the sort to do things properly, but most of them have something to say to him.]
[Help me find the strength to leave him.]
[I can't fail this test. They'll be so disappointed.]
[Please, let my child grow up strong and healthy.]
[Unseen and invisible, eyes full of a tired sort of compassion, Hachiman stands at his own altar and listens. And when he hears someone asking for the right things -- help me protect him, help me do the right thing, help me stand fast -- he reaches out to them with his power, giving them what he can.]
[He grants his followers resolve, strengthens the best of what's already inside them. To the new parents presenting infants at the shrine for the first time, he focuses on their desire to teach and protect and help their children to grow. To faltering students, he grants focus and motivation. To those facing greater struggles, he calls on the courage that carried them far enough to reach his doorstep, on their love for the things they have to survive for, on the righteousness that can move them past their fears.]
[He pours the strength of his own heart into them, and leaves the rest in their hands.]
[Periodically, he has to take a break, all but collapsing onto a bench in the shade for a few minutes at a time, gulping down bottles of water from a nearby vending machine. It's never for long, though.]
[His people need him. And he's not in the habit of giving any less than his all for the ones who believe in him.]
[II. - The Near Shore - The Kamo River, Kyoto - July 28th, afternoon or early evening]
[After a couple of days of using his power as much as he can manage, even Hijikata knows he ought to take a break.]
[There's reason to believe that this isn't really the way he should be going about it, honestly. Kyoto is a city full of memories for him, and the Gion Festival, stretching all through July, is tied up with a lot of those, too.]
[But he can't just ignore every place he's got memories of, can he? And he can't quite resist the siren call of the familiar traces of his old Japan, from time to time.]
[He veers away from the hustle and bustle of the festival's main drag, but stays near enough to hear it -- the cheering, the bells and the flutes and the drums, the distant rush of too many voices all blurred together. He wanders past one of his smaller shrines, picks up some sake that someone left him, and takes it to the riverbank with him.]
[By the time the sky gets dark and the fireworks start, he's had enough to get a distant look in his eyes, a small smile on his lips that looks outright painful up close.]
[III. - Wild Card!]
[OOC: If you've got something else you'd like to play out with Hijikata, I'd love to hear it! Hit me up at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
cognitiveleague, PM me, or run it by me OOC on this post, and I'd be happy to work something out and use this post as a catch-all.]
When: July 26th-28th
Where: The Near Shore - Kamakura, Kyoto. (Open to Wild Card options, too!)
What: Hijikata runs himself ragged using his power to bless his faithful; Hijikata tries and possibly fails to take a little care of himself, too (by which I mean he gets drunk and nostalgic at the Gion Festival and that could be either good or bad); catchall for wildcards.
[I. - The Near Shore - Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, Kamakura - July 26th-27th, any time during the day]
[The hydrangeas in the valleys are past their peak, but Kamakura is flush with tourists, all the same.]
[It's not a city Hijikata got to know in his life, but as a god, he's been making an effort to visit as many of his shrines as he can manage (a bit of a tall order for Hachiman of all gods, honestly -- he does have twenty-five thousand of them, and this is one of the biggest ones.)]
[It's a little bit bizarre to watch the worshipers at a distance. Plenty of them are just swinging by one of the big local landmarks since they happen to be in town, looking for an interesting picture or feeling like they probably ought to see such a famous place or something.]
[Others make their way more purposefully to the offering box where he's taken up hanging around invisibly right off the bat. Some of them are just the sort to do things properly, but most of them have something to say to him.]
[Help me find the strength to leave him.]
[I can't fail this test. They'll be so disappointed.]
[Please, let my child grow up strong and healthy.]
[Unseen and invisible, eyes full of a tired sort of compassion, Hachiman stands at his own altar and listens. And when he hears someone asking for the right things -- help me protect him, help me do the right thing, help me stand fast -- he reaches out to them with his power, giving them what he can.]
[He grants his followers resolve, strengthens the best of what's already inside them. To the new parents presenting infants at the shrine for the first time, he focuses on their desire to teach and protect and help their children to grow. To faltering students, he grants focus and motivation. To those facing greater struggles, he calls on the courage that carried them far enough to reach his doorstep, on their love for the things they have to survive for, on the righteousness that can move them past their fears.]
[He pours the strength of his own heart into them, and leaves the rest in their hands.]
[Periodically, he has to take a break, all but collapsing onto a bench in the shade for a few minutes at a time, gulping down bottles of water from a nearby vending machine. It's never for long, though.]
[His people need him. And he's not in the habit of giving any less than his all for the ones who believe in him.]
[II. - The Near Shore - The Kamo River, Kyoto - July 28th, afternoon or early evening]
[After a couple of days of using his power as much as he can manage, even Hijikata knows he ought to take a break.]
[There's reason to believe that this isn't really the way he should be going about it, honestly. Kyoto is a city full of memories for him, and the Gion Festival, stretching all through July, is tied up with a lot of those, too.]
[But he can't just ignore every place he's got memories of, can he? And he can't quite resist the siren call of the familiar traces of his old Japan, from time to time.]
[He veers away from the hustle and bustle of the festival's main drag, but stays near enough to hear it -- the cheering, the bells and the flutes and the drums, the distant rush of too many voices all blurred together. He wanders past one of his smaller shrines, picks up some sake that someone left him, and takes it to the riverbank with him.]
[By the time the sky gets dark and the fireworks start, he's had enough to get a distant look in his eyes, a small smile on his lips that looks outright painful up close.]
[III. - Wild Card!]
[OOC: If you've got something else you'd like to play out with Hijikata, I'd love to hear it! Hit me up at
no subject
[He feels a small weight lift off of him, just knowing that he's told her, that she knows.]
So if there's ever something we can do to help you, I don't want you hesitating to tell us.
[His choice of words might be brusque, but his voice is nothing but gentle. He can't even pretend otherwise, right now.]
no subject
She still hesitates though, an then sort of laughs since it's on the heels of him telling her to do the exact opposite of that]
My... My shinki... She's someone from my world. She's still a child, only a little girl, but she's still someone I used to know. She's... troubled. [To put it lightly, and Jennifer frowns, shaking her head with a sigh.] I think--If it's possible, if you could, I... might need help with her. She needs more positive role models in her life, and I can't think of many other people who'd probably be good for her...
[Jennifer trails off, looking at him hopefully]
no subject
[He has to bite back a laugh at the unbidden memory of Ichimura's first day at work -- I don't remember turning this place into a daycare, Souji! -- but if it's what he can do for Jennifer right now...]
Bring her around sometime. Kids usually like the ducks, and Souji always gets along with them...
[So even if he's not sure How to Kids, it probably won't be too much of a disaster or anything.]
no subject
[Even though Souji was an Adult--more or less--he still acted young enough most of the time... But ducks. Sure. Maybe ducks would help.
Then she remembers what happened to both her dog and Eleanor's bird and winces again] Perhaps... Perhaps it would be best to not let her alone with the ducks, however.