Hijikata Toshirou (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mayoninofukucho) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
isleofavalon2022-01-07 11:50 pm
mayoninofukucho) wrote in isleofavalon2022-01-07 11:50 pm
Entry tags:
January Adventures (Open/Closed)
WHO: Hijikata and some friends and maybe YOU?
WHAT: Gathering baking ingredients, escorting baby aurora bears, and questing all over the place!
WHEN: Throughout the first half of January
WHERE: Forest of the Felled, Edge of the Dusklight Woods, Township near the Lands of Rot, Camelot City
WARNINGS: Violence (partly with potential enemy NPC death, but we can avoid that if you prefer) for most of the quests!
1) Frosty Forest Camp - Ingredient Hunt for the The Great Avalon Bake-Off 2022
[After celebrating the winter solstice in Nicnevin Hijikata welcomed the new year in Camelot, watching the castle's fireworks at midnight with his ghostly subordinates. It seems like Elphame will remain open for travellers, and he's tentatively glad for it, after all they went through much trouble to politically court the fae queen. His muted enthusiasm picks up when he realises that a camp has been set up at the edge of the Forest of the Felled as a halfway station of sorts. Finally he and the ghosts won't be the only ones out here!
When a store of well-preserved ingredients is found and a baking contest announced he decides to join in. Sure, the judges of Celliwig's cooking competition were unimpressed with his cooking, but this is baking! So he can be found wandering around to gather ingredients. He meant to use his two hen-sized compsognathuses like truffle pigs, but the dinosaurs aren't enjoying the cold and screamed at him until he picked them up and started carrying them in his arms.]
You two are really useless, you know that? What do I even feed your greedy mouths for?
2) They Grow up so Fast
[Colourful eggs showed up all over the place in Camelot and Elphame, just as seemingly out of season as the fruits growing in the snow in the Forest of the Felled. But not enough with that: the eggs had little legs they ran around on, and anyone who got in contact with them was "imprinted" with a protective parental instinct.
Was Hijikata lucky enough to dodge that bullet, or did he end up as an egg parent (possibly even for the same egg as you)? Or is he accompanying the current expedition in his function as a knight? Well, either way, he's here, because after the eggs hatched into little glowing teddy bears it quickly became clear that they're not fit to live among people.]
I hope they'll be fine out here and not come back once they've grown huge... where are their real parents, anyway? What kind of lousy procreation method is this to just lay eggs and have random people do all the hard work of rearing them?
[To be fair, it worked out well enough for the bears! (OOC: Please press A for Camelot and B for Elphame!)]
3) Quests
A ⦿ Gravestone-Faced (foritsmypower)
[When Hijikata asked Shoto if he wanted to be his squire the boy stood so proudly, it filled his own chest with pride too. The ceremony later on was small and simple (and yes, there was some paperwork to be done), but all of that was just a formality to him. This is different from his relationship with his subordinates in the Shinsengumi or Yuureisengumi, and he still needs to find his footing as a mentor figure, but he trusts that they'll work together just as well now as they already did before Shoto's squiring.
The new year has only just begun, but already a serious threat appears to be haunting the edge of the Dusklight Woods: a strange creature seemingly made of leaves and mud and covered in a ragged cloak and wooden mask. The bodies that were sighted speak for themselves, and Elphame, where the monster escaped from the underground prison, provided further information: as soon as it reads a person's emotions on their face it's able to turn their greatest weaknesses against them and, once they're mentally broken, pull their soul out of their body.]
Well, Shoto, let's put on our best pokerfaces.
B ⦿ Knight Quest
[Hijikata takes his position as a knight pretty seriously. At the time of his knighting there were only a couple of other outworlders with the title (though more had come and gone before him), and while he's glad to see that the ranks have filled considerably since then it doesn't mean that he can slack off! Despite not being anybody's Vice-Commander here he can't help but feel like he needs to set an example. So he doesn't hesitate to accept the special task and set out towards the occupied township near the Lands of Rot.
Given the distance he used an archivist's totem for himself, his pedigree horse Black Star, and whoever is accompanying him (knight or non-knight), so it didn't take the group long to make it to their destination. Having left the horse(s?) behind some cover a good distance away he and his partner are currently observing the orc bandits from a secure location (or, perhaps, from under a dark magic cloak or a light magic glamour).]
Looks like there aren't all that many of them, at least not right now.
[He's confident in his battle skills and apparently plans to apply brute force... if his partner is on board with that, great! But if not they may want to curb his latent bloodlust a little.]
C ⦿ Beta Testing (fortroubadamsel)
[It sounded like such a nice and thoughtful Camelotian tradition: pass on the stone, and you and whoever you pass it on to will have good luck in this new year. The kindly woman clearly just wanted to cheer Hijikata up, having seen him struggle with a bunch of thorny cuttings for an elderly man with an overgrown garden. He doesn't even notice that the stone absorbs the traces of blood it gets in contact with as he's distracted by the sight of Maribelle.]
Maribelle! - Thanks again, Madam! - Maribelle, wait!
[He leaves the stranger and tries to flag the little noblewoman down. He wants to thank her for the warm gloves she gifted him for Christmas! That was completely unexpected, and while he already sent her his 'Mirror Mirror' in return he still feels like he owes her an expression of his gratitude in person. And what better way to do that than include her in the lucky stone custom? (Later on he'll file that under "thoughts moments before disaster".)]
D ⦿ Roast Pork (fortroubadamsel)
[Hijikata has been on the dark web's radar for a while now, and ever since last month's hunt for his ghostly subordinates tensions have been higher than before. The Yuureisengumi constantly finds itself missing at least one or two members, and the resources needed to find and rescue them are always sorely missed elsewhere. Hijikata thinks of running another recruitment campaign, but the new year starts off with such a bang on the dark web that that'll have to wait.
When he sees the ridiculously sadistic quest involving a giant hogweed potion that, sneaked into the private Jack Rabbit's club's champagne fountain, will cause everyone who ingested it to burn to a crisp in the sunlight, he simply can't abide it... despite his lasting predicament of still being trapped in Maribelle's body.
He contacts the quest-giver through his burner phone, and once arrangements are made he soon receives the fatal potion in a post box in Camelot City which he rented specifically for this undertaking. Before long the would-be murder weapon is safely in the hands of Camelot's native law enforcement (he conducted a covert collection with them, just in case), but he isn't satisfied with just that. He wants to get a hold of the madman who cooked up this entire horrible plot!
This is why he, after sneaking into the club and pretending to be a new server lost on the way to the dressing room, uses his phone to invite the mysterious quest-giver to come watch the "pork roast" show. He allows himself a narrow-eyed smirk as he sees the inappropriately cheerful text message response. So far, so good! Now if only he didn't feel so exposed in this goddamn bunny suit, and if only he could walk in these high heels... and if only he knew that the dalmation stone enchantment that made him and Maribelle swap bodies is about to run out in 3, 2, 1--]
[OOC: If you'd like any additional prompts (egg-raising adventures, body-swapped run-ins, etc.) please feel free to hit me up on my plotting post! Also here are Hijikata's permissions.]
WHAT: Gathering baking ingredients, escorting baby aurora bears, and questing all over the place!
WHEN: Throughout the first half of January
WHERE: Forest of the Felled, Edge of the Dusklight Woods, Township near the Lands of Rot, Camelot City
WARNINGS: Violence (partly with potential enemy NPC death, but we can avoid that if you prefer) for most of the quests!
1) Frosty Forest Camp - Ingredient Hunt for the The Great Avalon Bake-Off 2022
[After celebrating the winter solstice in Nicnevin Hijikata welcomed the new year in Camelot, watching the castle's fireworks at midnight with his ghostly subordinates. It seems like Elphame will remain open for travellers, and he's tentatively glad for it, after all they went through much trouble to politically court the fae queen. His muted enthusiasm picks up when he realises that a camp has been set up at the edge of the Forest of the Felled as a halfway station of sorts. Finally he and the ghosts won't be the only ones out here!
When a store of well-preserved ingredients is found and a baking contest announced he decides to join in. Sure, the judges of Celliwig's cooking competition were unimpressed with his cooking, but this is baking! So he can be found wandering around to gather ingredients. He meant to use his two hen-sized compsognathuses like truffle pigs, but the dinosaurs aren't enjoying the cold and screamed at him until he picked them up and started carrying them in his arms.]
You two are really useless, you know that? What do I even feed your greedy mouths for?
2) They Grow up so Fast
[Colourful eggs showed up all over the place in Camelot and Elphame, just as seemingly out of season as the fruits growing in the snow in the Forest of the Felled. But not enough with that: the eggs had little legs they ran around on, and anyone who got in contact with them was "imprinted" with a protective parental instinct.
Was Hijikata lucky enough to dodge that bullet, or did he end up as an egg parent (possibly even for the same egg as you)? Or is he accompanying the current expedition in his function as a knight? Well, either way, he's here, because after the eggs hatched into little glowing teddy bears it quickly became clear that they're not fit to live among people.]
I hope they'll be fine out here and not come back once they've grown huge... where are their real parents, anyway? What kind of lousy procreation method is this to just lay eggs and have random people do all the hard work of rearing them?
[To be fair, it worked out well enough for the bears! (OOC: Please press A for Camelot and B for Elphame!)]
3) Quests
A ⦿ Gravestone-Faced (for
itsmypower) [When Hijikata asked Shoto if he wanted to be his squire the boy stood so proudly, it filled his own chest with pride too. The ceremony later on was small and simple (and yes, there was some paperwork to be done), but all of that was just a formality to him. This is different from his relationship with his subordinates in the Shinsengumi or Yuureisengumi, and he still needs to find his footing as a mentor figure, but he trusts that they'll work together just as well now as they already did before Shoto's squiring.
The new year has only just begun, but already a serious threat appears to be haunting the edge of the Dusklight Woods: a strange creature seemingly made of leaves and mud and covered in a ragged cloak and wooden mask. The bodies that were sighted speak for themselves, and Elphame, where the monster escaped from the underground prison, provided further information: as soon as it reads a person's emotions on their face it's able to turn their greatest weaknesses against them and, once they're mentally broken, pull their soul out of their body.]
Well, Shoto, let's put on our best pokerfaces.
B ⦿ Knight Quest
[Hijikata takes his position as a knight pretty seriously. At the time of his knighting there were only a couple of other outworlders with the title (though more had come and gone before him), and while he's glad to see that the ranks have filled considerably since then it doesn't mean that he can slack off! Despite not being anybody's Vice-Commander here he can't help but feel like he needs to set an example. So he doesn't hesitate to accept the special task and set out towards the occupied township near the Lands of Rot.
Given the distance he used an archivist's totem for himself, his pedigree horse Black Star, and whoever is accompanying him (knight or non-knight), so it didn't take the group long to make it to their destination. Having left the horse(s?) behind some cover a good distance away he and his partner are currently observing the orc bandits from a secure location (or, perhaps, from under a dark magic cloak or a light magic glamour).]
Looks like there aren't all that many of them, at least not right now.
[He's confident in his battle skills and apparently plans to apply brute force... if his partner is on board with that, great! But if not they may want to curb his latent bloodlust a little.]
C ⦿ Beta Testing (for
troubadamsel) [It sounded like such a nice and thoughtful Camelotian tradition: pass on the stone, and you and whoever you pass it on to will have good luck in this new year. The kindly woman clearly just wanted to cheer Hijikata up, having seen him struggle with a bunch of thorny cuttings for an elderly man with an overgrown garden. He doesn't even notice that the stone absorbs the traces of blood it gets in contact with as he's distracted by the sight of Maribelle.]
Maribelle! - Thanks again, Madam! - Maribelle, wait!
[He leaves the stranger and tries to flag the little noblewoman down. He wants to thank her for the warm gloves she gifted him for Christmas! That was completely unexpected, and while he already sent her his 'Mirror Mirror' in return he still feels like he owes her an expression of his gratitude in person. And what better way to do that than include her in the lucky stone custom? (Later on he'll file that under "thoughts moments before disaster".)]
D ⦿ Roast Pork (for
troubadamsel) [Hijikata has been on the dark web's radar for a while now, and ever since last month's hunt for his ghostly subordinates tensions have been higher than before. The Yuureisengumi constantly finds itself missing at least one or two members, and the resources needed to find and rescue them are always sorely missed elsewhere. Hijikata thinks of running another recruitment campaign, but the new year starts off with such a bang on the dark web that that'll have to wait.
When he sees the ridiculously sadistic quest involving a giant hogweed potion that, sneaked into the private Jack Rabbit's club's champagne fountain, will cause everyone who ingested it to burn to a crisp in the sunlight, he simply can't abide it... despite his lasting predicament of still being trapped in Maribelle's body.
He contacts the quest-giver through his burner phone, and once arrangements are made he soon receives the fatal potion in a post box in Camelot City which he rented specifically for this undertaking. Before long the would-be murder weapon is safely in the hands of Camelot's native law enforcement (he conducted a covert collection with them, just in case), but he isn't satisfied with just that. He wants to get a hold of the madman who cooked up this entire horrible plot!
This is why he, after sneaking into the club and pretending to be a new server lost on the way to the dressing room, uses his phone to invite the mysterious quest-giver to come watch the "pork roast" show. He allows himself a narrow-eyed smirk as he sees the inappropriately cheerful text message response. So far, so good! Now if only he didn't feel so exposed in this goddamn bunny suit, and if only he could walk in these high heels... and if only he knew that the dalmation stone enchantment that made him and Maribelle swap bodies is about to run out in 3, 2, 1--]
[OOC: If you'd like any additional prompts (egg-raising adventures, body-swapped run-ins, etc.) please feel free to hit me up on my plotting post! Also here are Hijikata's permissions.]
no subject
Don't tell me not to freak out! I AM PERFECTLY ALLOWED TO "FREAK OUT" IN THIS SITUATION!
[ Pretty much full-on sobbing here, as she thrusts the stone into the policeman's hands. ]
I hate this place! Can I even go one week without something insane happening to me?! I can't go back to my place! I can't look any of my friends! I HATE THIS!
[ Big, strong, manly man Hijikata is now boo-hooing into his hands. ]
no subject
Hey... come on, it could be worse.
[Yeah, that'll reassure her!!!]
I know a lot of shit happens around here, but at least the damn stone didn't make us spontaneously combust or anything.
[Small mercies???]
Now get a grip and stop crying; you're a knight in the service of King Arthur! I'll go with you to your house and corroborate your story, and then we can set to researching how to reverse this.
no subject
I am NOT a knight! I am Maribelle of Thames! And I don't want Caster to see me... us... like this! I'm going to stay in the inn and lock myself away until YOU FIND OUT HOW TO FIX THIS!
[ BECAUSE THIS IS CLEARLY HIS FAULT. And with every word she pokes his chest harder and harder. ]
no subject
Yeah, I meant, I'm a knight!! And you're in my body!
[He also doesn't want Caster to see them like this, not at all, but he can't just let Maribelle leave on the spot! He grabs her arm to hold her back. The policeman watches the exchange in total bafflement, clearly out of his depths and unsure of whether this needs an intervention or not.]
Don't run off before we explain the situation to my subordinates! I'm collecting them at Loch Manor at dusk for the night patrol. Until then let's do some research on how to reverse this!
no subject
YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT WITH MY BODY!
[ She grabs his arm back! ... So there! ... But then awkwardly lets go because she doesn't want to bruise her precious, soft skin. ]
Ugh... This is so embarrassing... How badly do they need to hear from you?
no subject
What do you mean, I'm not doing anything like that?! I can't just not do my job! My subordinates expect me to give them their orders at dusk!
[The policeman looks like he wants to step in when Maribelle grabs Hijikata's arm, but stops his movement when she lets go. Hijikata turns to him.]
Officer, you can go! We can handle this on our own - unless you have any ideas of how to fix this?
W-well, I think you oughta go see a siphoner..?
Right. Okay, Maribelle, let's try to find one.
[He wants to whip out his phone, but of course it's not there... he holds out his hand while the policeman reluctantly crabwalks away while looking back at them numerous times.]
Give me my bag!
no subject
You could at least say "please".
[ Yes, this is a perfect time to enforce manners, but she will hand it over. ]
... And straighten your back! As long as you are in my body, you must have good posture! I don't need people thinking I've gone slovenly...
no subject
Don't nag me about such bullshit!! You think I like your posture?!
[She's standing so... daintly... he never usually has his legs that close together! He straightens up regardless as he hammers some commands into the phone.]
...
Ugh, just our luck - there are some other very recent urgent inquiries about this sort of problem, so it looks like it's a wider prank going around. Anyway, someone replied saying siphoning magic won't help here and to just wait until it runs its course.
[It that true? Or did someone just decide to troll the desperate body swap victims on AOL? Perhaps it's even the original instigator, having a laugh at their expense. Hijikata, none the wiser, stares at the screen in abject frustration.]
Give me my sword, too.
[Ah, right--]
Please.
no subject
A little manners certainly wouldn't kill you... In fact, me being in your body might improve your reputation, if I actually allowed anyone to see me like this.
[ With a click of her heels - enjoy that mental image - she does hand over his sword. ]
no subject
[What's she looking so smug for?! And ugh, what's with that heel click?]
Don't act like a tin soldier! For all of Avalon you're the Commander of the Yuureisengumi ghost patrol right now! The only man you report to is the king himself!
[Does he even have a belt to stick the sword into on this outfit? If not... well, he'll deal with it. Damn, it feels so heavy now!! In any case he's not offering Maribelle's parasol to her, instead just turning on his heel as soon as he's stowed the phone away in the sling bag.]
Let's still go to the library! I'll only give up if we've tried everything.
[His gait as he briskly strides ahead is... very unladylike. Sorry Maribelle. Also hopefully the footwear she chose today doesn't come with narrow heels.]
no subject
Of for the love of - not like that, we won't!
[ She's not going to have her spine out of line if she has anything to say about it! She marches up to him and takes his arm - not forcefully grabbing it like before, but wrapping it around like they're on a date. Shudder. Now, on they walks.]
Toe, heel, toe, heel, that is the proper way a lady walks. If you insist I must behave a certain way in your flesh, then you will do the same.
no subject
[This is so embarrassing!! He wants to physically brush her off, but between this smaller body, all the items he's carrying, and his desire to not waste any more time arguing he manages to swallow down his complaints and just follow her instructions. Ugh, these tiny steps..!!]
This takes forever!! Surely you run sometimes?!
no subject
Typically in my realm, I have a war horse. Besides, excess running in shoes like that is liable to twist an ankle if you're not careful enough. A woman's body is a delicate thing!
[ 'cause when you think 'delicate', you think Maribelle, amiright ]
no subject
Why don't you just wear flat shoes then?!
["A delicate thing"... great!! Now he has to see how he'll handle the dangers of Camelot's night patrol like this! Maybe he really should step back and leave it to his subordinates for as long as he and Maribelle are like this... but he'll see. Perhaps there is still hope for a remedy.
However as they enter the library they quickly find a half-dozen other people already desperately pouring over the book-laden tables in the section for spells concerning physical changes - so far no resolution has been found, only the comfort that spells like this tend to be temporary.]
Ugh... you win some, you lose some, huh?
[He deflates, sword and parasol still in hand.]
I guess we can go straight to Loch Manor. By the time we're there the sun will be about to set, and they'll probably be active already in there.
no subject
... That's reasonable. And hopefully by then, no one will have noticed we're "acting strange". Luckily, I'm a wonderful actress, no one should suspect a thing until we need them to.
[ It sounds like by now, she's completely calmed down, and maybe even in a better listening mood. Perhaps they can end this happily after all. ]
no subject
[Hijikata likewise cools down as they head back out and down the streets. This is still really annoying, but the similar anecdotes dug up by the other body swap victims do give him cause for tentative optimism.]
I'll hold you to that.
[It's quite a long walk, and it feels even longer on shorter legs with a proportionally heavier sword... he almost wants to give it back to Maribelle, but no, she won't be able to wield it if they get attacked! Eventually, though, they arrive in the vicinity of Loch Manor, and the dusky street is anything but inviting: a cold breeze blows towards them, an empty drink can clatters along, somewhere a crow hoarsely caws. Hijikata undeterredly marches - or, rather, tries to maintain an acceptable equilibrium between a good posture and some walking speed - towards the ominously looming haunted manor house.]
no subject
[ As for Maribelle, she holds onto his arm a little tighter. She's not... s-scared, no! It's just... chilly... ]
... This is really your base of operations? It's... like something out of a gothic novel.