May Adventures

[mayoninofukucho]

WHO: Hijikata and ✨YOU✨
WHAT: Training, Questing, Attempting to Prevent Dark Web Quests, Hanging out with the Ghosts at Loch Manor, Getting Lost in the Brocéliande at Night
WHEN: Throughout May
WHERE: Red Springs' Training Grounds, City of Camelot (Castle and Loch Manor), Brocéliande, Lakeside close to the Silent Shore
WARNINGS: Probably Violence for the Quest Threads



Time Top Training

[When the Elphame traders came to Camelot City last month Hijikata purchased a nifty little item: a time top. This morning he hitched a totem teleport trip with someone else headed to the Red Springs, and now he's getting the hang of spinning the top, aiming to make it rotate for as long as possible. The only problem is that it's hard to gauge how much time he has to deal damage when there are no actual moving targets... and that's why he's glad to see a fellow off-worlder nearby. Time to rope this unsuspecting person into his efforts.]

Hey, would you mind helping me out with something? It shouldn't take too long.


No Buccaing Out (Quest)

[When Hijikata reads the QuestBoard post about the man-eating nudibranchs he's aghast. Having one's skin eaten off one's body while paralysed is something straight out of a horror movie, and he doesn't want that to happen to anyone. So he loses no time in renting a wetsuit (complete with swim fins) and buying a big net, a helmet, and a strong underwater lamp. One trip to a local metalworker later the lamp is affixed to the front of the helmet, leaving both his hands free to fight the colourful skin-eaters. Come dusk he's by the lakeside, tugging the wetsuit into place here and there before inspecting the potion he was given by the eel naga community.]

One hour, hm. Well, it'll do.

[Of course the mission will be more easily accomplished with help - even someone who can't swim and wants to stay on land would be more than welcome since Hijikata has several ideas of how to deal with the deadly molluscs.]


A Polite Pyro (Quest Prevention)

[Honestly, what is wrong with the people posting quests on the dark web?! Hijikata really hopes to get his hand on the pyromaniac who posted this instigation so he can throttle the living daylights out of them. Alas, he has absolutely no idea where any takers may strike, so it's only when he sees the smoke rise into the sky that he grits his teeth and rushes to the site of the fire. He better not catch any suspicious figures nearby, or else there'll be hell to pay! But even if the only other off-worlder in the vicinity is visibly distressed at the sight of the flames, or else likewise rushing in to help, he'll bark at them.]

Hey, you!! Go find me a water hose-- or a water mage!

[Never mind that he could be a water mage if he had ever tried to gain control of more than one element... details!]


Incubabes (Quest Prevention)

[Seriously, why are there so many scummy characters on this island?! Blatantly admitting that the sole reason for putting a bounty on several people's heads is an impending inheritance..! Whoever that shrewd woman is, Hijikata intends to cross her plans. He not only warned the castle's head chef of the assassination plot but also took it upon himself to guard her (she insisted that she'd be safest in the castle, and seemed overall reluctant to be pulled away from work despite the situation).

Usually off-worlders don't just get to waltz into every corner of the castle at their leisure, so Hijikata had to field some questions and was initially accompanied by a guard to deliver his warning, but ultimately he was allowed to stay and protect the head chef. He's currently stationed outside the kitchen (she gently threw him out after he got in the way one time too many), and once he sees someone who doesn't appear to be part of the castle staff he narrows his eyes, hand on the hilt of the sword at his belt.]

And what would you be doing here?


Revisiting Loch Manor

[Now that Hijikata is back in full possession of his fire- and death magic, thanks to those who went through the trouble of aiding his familiar's intervention last month, he needs to make good on some promises. He only returns to the spooky Loch Manor with hesitation, but he can't let his death magic mentors down... or the ghosts. One more deep breath, and he enters the old house. Anyone who wanders in later on will find him in one of the rooms on the upper floor, quietly sitting with the ghost of a young man and writing down information in a small notebook.]

Okay, I'll see what I can find out. Thanks for the description. I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that any of them is still around.

[His voice is surprisingly friendly. If the newcomer joins him and the ghost he won't mind, but otherwise he'll bid the spectre farewell before noticing that they're not alone - again being way more polite than usual.]


Following the Will-o-Wisps

[Interacting with the ghosts at Loch Manor has been going better than expected. So far Hijikata tried to talk to two in particular: the poltergeist who scared the hell out of him and made him hide behind Emet-Selch, and the young murder victim he first encountered by Thanatos' side. He also looked for the ghost lady he encountered with Klaudia, but didn't find her again today. At least he can really understand what they say now. But...

It's a bummer to talk to people who found a violent end and be unable to bring their killer to justice. It really pisses him off. He's a policeman! He wants to put the murderer behind bars, if not see him executed, but it all happened so long ago, there's nothing he can do anymore. Yet the spirits find no peace, and they're so detached from the world of the living that he's at a loss of how to proceed here. So he ends up mulling over it over a few mugs of mead, to change things up from the beer, and it ends up hitting him harder than expected. When he leaves the pub he's properly smashed and ends up taking the wrong "shortcut" home. Before he knows it he's wandered into the outskirts of the Brocéliande. He sort of realises that he's lost... however isn't that a soft glowing lantern light between the trees, just a little ahead? He follows it and waves clumsily.]

Heyyy~! Are you going home too? Let's go together!

[Alas, it's only a will-o-wisp... luckily for him they are amiable faeries, but he's not really cutting a cool figure, stumbling through the woods with all the grace of a newborn cow.]


[OOC: If you'd like any additional prompts please feel free to hit me up on my plotting post! Also here are Hijikata's permissions.]

Comments

A Polite Pyro

[heartlessswordsman]

[Oh heeeeey, look who just happens to be here with his hand aflame while he shoots a mystery text to a mystery person.

Look.

Burning down a shitty, empty building was an easy way to make some fast cash.

Shut up.]

A-ah. Oh nooo, this building is on fire. I wonder how this could have happened.

[He just. Abruptly stops channeling fire. Ummmm.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Okay... this is so sketchy, even with all the slack Hijikata is willing to cut Zelgadis the scene gives him pause.]

...

You know, this looks really bad right now.

[heartlessswordsman]

I... I know how this looks.

[He pauses, clears his throat.]

And you're right. I definitely set this building on fire.

[No sense in lying, after all. It's pretty obvious what happened.]

[lendedahand]

[Lavellan was prone to his fair share of drinking in the evenings, well, more than his fair share in more recent years, so of course he stumbles upon a somewhat familiar face while making his way to another tavern. He was not drunk yet, but he certainly had a few drinks to be light headed.

Still, he was sensible enough to know better than to follow strange fae, even if they were not of the malevolent variety, better safe than sorry.]

Woah there friend, something tells me their home and yours are a tad different.

[He made his way over to try and turn his dream acquaintance around towards the town. A contrast to the dream, in the world of the waking, Lavellan was missing his left arm at the elbow, the same arm he once had the odd magical mark on.]

[mayoninofukucho]

Huh?

[Hijikata vaguely recognises Lavellan's voice as familiar, but doesn't immediately manage to place him, what with the darkness between the trees. He lets himself be turned back towards civilisation without protest, but looks back over his shoulder at the will-o-wisp as it slowly hovers further into the forest, leaving him in his fellow off-worlder's care.]

Oh... okay. So we're going that way?

[How does he know him again..? It'll come to him before long, most likely.]

[lendedahand]

Yes, that way- this way.

[He laughs, he was a bit tipsy himself, and it had him in a silly mood. Though it looked like his goal of getting drunk would be put on hold for now. Normally he’d invite his drunk friend for more drinks with him, but he didn’t think this one would last, and he was in no shape to carry him anywhere. So his first order of business would be either getting him home, or somewhere he could sleep it off.]

Now do you know where you live about? Or will you be passing out on my floor?

a polite pyro

[fooligans]

[ Akira wishes he'd known what is going on around the city; it's literally the fifth building that's been set on fire only today. If he checked the questboard, he'd find his answer. ]

Someone bring that man a water mage!

[ Wait a second. It takes a few moments until it clicks that he can fill in for the role. Even if being called a mage is sort of weird. ]

I'm here! Is some monster wandering around the city?!

[ In the meantime, he starts casting a spell which makes a small sphere of water appear—it'll take a while for it to grow in size, though. Water...isn't his best element, actually. ]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata, in a further display of hypocrisy, scoffs at Akira's modest water summons while doing nothing at all to try his own hand at one, instead calling the fire brigade on his phone. At least it looks like the burning building is an abandoned house, so he doesn't have to charge in to rescue anybody.]

I wish it were a monster! Some asshole put out a quest and is paying people to set shit on fire.

[Someone picks up his call, and he quickly reports the fire and provides the location before hanging up with an exasperated groan.]

They say the fire brigade is still busy elsewhere because of that. If I get my hands on the bastard...

[fooligans]

[ Let's be real, that's a...good call. The fire brigade will probably get here sooner than Akira manages to summon enough water to put the fire out. Too bad they aren't coming, oops. ]

That explains a lot. [ Maybe people are the real monsters. ] Too bad that fighting fire with fire won't work in this case.

[ It's not a good moment for jokes, but oh well. ]

Did you see anyone suspicious?

Time Top Training

[inevitablerest]

[Thanatos possibly cuts a somewhat more imposing figure than he did the first time Hijikata saw him. When standing he's over six and a half feet tall, and the scythe in his hand looks far too large for anyone to be carrying normally.

And indeed it is, with Thanatos making use of his kinetic magic to wield it more easily.

He shifts his attention the man's way when he asks the question, and after a quick up-down glance of him recognises him almost immediately.]

I have time. [Thanatos sets the base of the scythe on the ground and rests his free hand on the pommel of his sword.] What do you need.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Thanatos looks super imposing, but since he was nothing but courteous to Hijikata when he first met him he's not intimidated. He even offers a small smile as he shows him the item with its metallic green-purple gradient colour.]

I bought this top that freezes everybody in the vicinity for as long as it's spinning, except for the person who spun it. I'm pretty sure it only works on living beings, so I can't use any moving practice dummies or such. Would you just stand over there and let me see how many hits I can land on you during that time? I'm not going to really hit you; we'll use a workaround.

[He kind of wants to see Thanatos' fighting style now, whether with the scythe or the sword or both. Perhaps he can ask for a demonstration later on... outright sparring with Death Incarnate would be a little much, even for him.]

[inevitablerest]

[He considers it. While Hijikata isn't someone he would say he trusts - nothing personal, the trust of a god and especially one so reclusive as Thanatos is hard to earn completely - he doesn't believe that the man will intentionally cause him harm.]

... Very well.

[Though he doesn't mention that Hijikata will certainly see the wrong side of his blade should he double-cross him, he assumes that it is entirely implied.]

Do what you must.

Continued from above (to avoid page-stretching)!

[mayoninofukucho]

Well, back home you take care of them. Maybe nobody does that for them here.

[Then again ghosts seem to pop up in pretty much any word, regardless of what mechanisms may be in place to lead them to the afterlife. Things may simply have been run more smoothly in antiquity.]

I honestly don't even know whether it'd help if I got him to understand what year it is and that all his friends and family are long dead. Maybe I'll just keep hanging out with him without expectations that anything will change.

[inevitablerest]

[He doesn't like the way that death works here. It feels... wrong, despite the fact it has nothing to do with him (or maybe that's why it feels wrong?). Thanatos doesn't bother to correct Hijikata's slight misconception that he takes care of everyone who dies, since it doesn't really matter.]

Do you remember what I told you about the shades? Why some of them were so angry?

[Trying to push a shade to remember its life, perhaps things it forgot for a reason, could be a dangerous undertaking.]

Whatever you decide to do... be careful. There's a reason why only gods deal with the dead where I'm from.

time top training

[troubadamsel]

[ Maribelle... squints. This fellow seems familiar. The mask hid his face, kinda, and his voice no longer contains a drunken slur... hmmm.

Still, if one asks for help, it'd be rude not to hear them out. ]

... That all depends upon the task. What is it you need of me?

[mayoninofukucho]

[Oh... on second thought perhaps she's not the right person for this. Something tells Hijikata that the prim little lady wouldn't take well to him asking her to be his punching bag, no matter how much he softens both the message and the actual proceedings.]

Well, I wanted to ask if you'd mind letting me test my "time freeze" toy here on you, but we'd probably have to modify things a little.

[Of course the degree of his concern depends on how dolled up she is. In fairness, some magic types can be trained without physical exertion, so it's not unreasonable for someone to come to the training grounds looking more posh than practical. In any case he also feels like he's seen those drill curls before... might this be the yellow rose girl from the masquerade ball?]

[troubadamsel]

[ Look at her icon, she is always dressed to the nines!

But... she doesn't immediately say no to the request. She frowns, almost doing so, but instead cups her chin in thought. ]

... What does it do, exactly? Is it some sort of weapon?

Continued from above!

[mayoninofukucho]

That's fair, but if I use the time top against a shield this small I'll obliterate you-- I mean, I would if it were a real battle! Now monsters and such won't have those on hand, presumable, so let's do this the old-fashioned way with me simply attacking you normally.

[He stands up, puts the time top and coaster into his inner jacket pocket, and observes the puny shield again, tapping his chin.]

Does it move with you or stay in place?

[It looks like it stays afloat without her holding on to it in any case, so he wonders if it's stationary of if she can make it shield her heart or forehead or such throughout the battle.]

[troubadamsel]

[ annoyed annoyed annoyed annoyed - but moreso because he's making good points. dammit. ]

... It stays with me. At least, as far as I know. I've... never tried moving it. I didn't know it could move!

Will-o-wisps

[konpeito_aji]

Don't do that.

[Nobunaga just grabs Hijikata's arm all the same, and drags him back towards the road. Don't ask why he's out so late at night hunting monsters when he has a perfectly warm lover to go home to, it's just a Nobunaga thing.]

Even if they don't mean you harm themselves, these forests have more monsters than friends in them.

[mayoninofukucho]

Oh, Oda-san!

[He's easily turned around, much as he looks back at the hovering glowing orb over his shoulder. It doesn't even occur to him to ask what Nobunaga is doing here so late at night.]

I wasn't going into the forest, I was going home.

[Sure he was.]

I know it's not safe in there. There's bear firs.

[konpeito_aji]

That's where you should go, anyway.

What's a bear fir?

Following the Will-o-Wisps

[lunarchain]

[ Gentle star lights flutter along the area as he comes closer. They reflect shadows that dance along the tree tops. There eventually he stumbles, and Mona catches her eyes falling upon the new face thusly. She had heard him coming, and her intuition had told her it would be safe so she did not find herself alarmed. Especially when all around her, were soft gentle lights. Looking much like stars floating in the air. ]

Oh, are you lost?

[ Mona asks, standing up from her knelt position with a basket full of fruits and a mushroom delicately within her hands. ]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata only notices Mona when she addresses him, having had his eyes on the mesmerising lights. Her outfit, along with the overall impression she's giving off, immediately makes him think that she must be a witch or sorceress... to be fair, all of the off-worlders could be said to be some variation of that at this rate, but most of them don't style themselves as such.]

Yeah, a little.

[His gaze falls on the basket she's holding.]

Why're you picking mushrooms so late? It's dangerous, you know.

[Apparently it's not dangerous for him to stumble around drunkenly, but then he also isn't a little lady... though, to be fair, he's met some very battle-hardy girls in his time and knows to never underestimate them.]

Continued from above (to avoid pagestretching)!

[mayoninofukucho]

[He nods along, listening with interest and making an effort to stay focused.]

It's true that there's unrest on Teyvat too, but... it's less in your face, let's say. On my world I deal with criminals pretty much every day, and even the common people are rowdy.

[He fits right into that environment with his men, though. Edo is simply a rough-and-tumble place.]

I learned about Teyvat in the dream I had! It felt like I'd spent my entire life there. My best guess is that those flowers we slept in harvested everyone's memories and dumped the general knowledge in the minds of the people "visiting" each world. Everything I got to know was taken from the memories of a man named Diluc, I'm pretty sure. He's the one I met in the dream. I haven't seen him at all in the real world, though... I hope he wasn't sent back home.