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
[Tsuzuki clears his throat, and reaches out automatically to take the bottle, wide-eyed. So, god, then. So really important god: but Bishamon had turned out to be easy to hang out with, and Amaterasu seems nice, and Hachiman...
... well, Hachiman seems nice too, so far. He still decides to go for the safe option.]
Hachiman-sama. Um, it's my pleasure to meet you. I'm Tsuzuki Asato -- Konohanasakuya-hime's shinki.
[His smile is hesitant; he glances down at the bottle in his hand, and then around for any extra cups, not wanting to take a swig right out of the bottle. He's got to pretend to at least have some manners, here. He's talking to a big shot.]
no subject
It's a pleasure, Tsuzuki. At ease, though -- it's a night off for you, too, isn't it?
no subject
Yeah, it is. It's nice getting to see the festival -- I figured I'd bring my goddess something back as a treat....
[He can think of a few nice sweets shops in Kyoto, and Sakura definitely appreciates sweets. He smiles, more easily, and settles back down on his elbows as an impressive starburst of scarlet and gold lights the sky over the river.]
Wow, look at that! I should've gotten her to come with me. Maybe next time.
no subject
There's a few weeks of summer left, so I'm sure there will be other fireworks. Have you brought her to the old capital before?
no subject
[He turns the bottle, takes another drink, wipes it and hands it back without having thought of a better ending to the sentence than the awkward truth.]
I kind of felt like Kyoto was familiar. I wanted to see if the places I thought I knew about were actually here.
[And they are, which he's also trying not to think about. He shoots Hachiman a half-embarrassed glance.]
You know, just to be sure. I don't really know what I know. Yet.
no subject
The things that are important will come to you, I'm sure.
...You should bring your goddess here sometime, though. There isn't a season when this city isn't beautiful.
[Even now.]
no subject
Is this your hometown? Kyoto?
no subject
My hometown is around Tokyo. But I lived here for four years or so.
[The best years and worst years of his life.]
no subject
And he's not wrong about Kyoto being a lovely city. Tsuzuki nods understanding.]
Tokyo's a big place. [And, with a bit of embarrassment:] I keep getting lost there.
[So maybe he doesn't know the Kanto area as well as more southern cities -- he blinks, and tries not to think about that. It's fine. He could've just traveled here. It's -- not as if anywhere on the Near Shore he's seen, so far, really feels to him like home. Sakura's temple is the only place that fits.]