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

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.

[mayoninofukucho]

[It's fair enough to not trust a random samurai with prejudices against ghosts right off the bat! Hijikata is all the more happy that Thanatos agreed to his request. He leads him over to a free spot on the grass, puts down a standard-issue coaster he took from the pub - the top needs a halfway even surface after all -, and gives it a spin.]

Here I come!

[Usually the top probably wouldn't have any effect on a deity, but with Avalon having downgraded all higher beings into mere mortals chances are Thanatos will get frozen in time for roughly 10 seconds as expected. Hijikata immediately charges at him, swinging his arms as if he were holding his sword. An experienced warrior like him can dish out a whole lot of damage in such a short time if the target doesn't move away or deflect the attack, so if this were a real battle Thanatos might pretty much fall apart into chunks one unfrozen. As it is he may simply feel the delayed effects of Hijikata's swings, small gusts of air hitting him from different directions at once, when the top stops spinning. Depending on who of them first realises that Thanatos can move again he may even get an opportunity to block or counter one of the feigned strikes, but otherwise Hijikata will step back one he notices that his time is up.]

[inevitablerest]

[It's... disconcerting, to say the least, to be unable to react while someone is miming attacking you. It's a good thing there isn't a real sword involved, really.

He realises quickly when he's able to move again because of how tense he is when he's unable to, and he moves instinctively to block one of the feigned strikes against the bracer on his arm. Then he blinks, as if startled by himself, and lowers his hand.]

I ought to have asked how it would feel. [He admits, clearing his throat.] That was unpleasant.

[mayoninofukucho]

It was? Sorry.

[Hijikata hasn't been on the receiving end of a time top yet, so he has no idea if, from the target's perspective, everything seems to happen in a blink, or they're simply unable to move while fully aware of the seconds passing.]

Thanks, though, this really helped! It'll serve me well in battle.

[He collects the top and coaster.]

If you could use a second person for your practice too I'll be happy to return the favour. But that scythe of yours looks like it clears out a battlefield pretty well, I've got to say.

[inevitablerest]

This scythe is not for battle.

[Though Hijikata isn't wrong. It can be used for that, if Thanatos happens to be pressed, but he isn't a god of war or violence of any kind.

That doesn't mean he doesn't know how to fight.]

I haven't found them to be a very common weapon.

[At least... not scythes of that size.]

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah, they aren't. I've never encountered any scythe users here or back home.

[Definitely not of that size.]

What is it for if not for battle? Reaping souls?

[Sorry, Thanatos. He really only knows pop culture stuff like Halloween imagery of the Grim Reaper.]

[inevitablerest]

In a manner of speaking.

[He could go into the symbolism behind the scythe, and how it links to the ideas of the harvest on the surface, but he doesn't think that's really what Hijikata is asking him.]

It serves as a symbol, and a defence against the more rowdy residents of the Underworld if need be.

[Then, he rests his hand on the pommel of his sword.]

I am not a god of violence, but if you desire a demonstration...

[mayoninofukucho]

I'd be interested. Do you want to use the training dummies?

[If Thanatos wants to spar instead... well, Hijikata won't turn him down, but he can't deny that he'd be a little more nervous going up against him than against most other sparring partners.]

Do dead people in the underworld cause you trouble? Or is it other beings?

[inevitablerest]

Neither, ordinarily. As you might guess, most choose - wisely - to give me a wide berth.

[Very few want to deliberately have anything to do with death, whether due to ideological distate, personality conflicts or simply not liking the idea of what he represents.]

Save for the other Chthonic gods, my mother, and Ares, the god of war. My journeys through the Underworld can occasionally pit me against beings who don't know any better.

[Thanatos draws his sword. He doesn't let go of the scythe.]

Ready yourself.

[No, he isn't interested in the dummies. There's nothing to be learned from hitting something that can't fight back.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[That almost sounds a little lonely... but honestly, Hijikata knows what it's like to be busy and not want to be disturbed, and at least Thanatos has his mother and - in the broadest sense - colleagues. He gets no time to dwell on it further, because it seems like they are going to spar. As the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi he won't forfeit, even if he's damn intimidated by Thanatos' weapons. He draws his sword.]

Alright. Let's go!

[He'll let Thanatos attack first, block or evade, and try to quickly gain an understanding of his technique so he can retaliate... if he gets a chance, that is. The scythe alone already has a dangerously wide range, and in combination with the sword it'll be a tough game.]

[inevitablerest]

[Thanatos has never had the time to think about just how lonely it is. He is always busy, or thinking about how busy he is about to be after taking a few moments of down-time, and the consistency of death in the mortal realm means there's always something to occupy his attention. It's while he's been here that he's begun to realise just how empty his existence has really been.

But this is something he can do without thought. While he isn't a god of battle or violence, he can wield a sword.

He doesn't try to evade Hijikata's attempt to block his first swing. The scythe is held out wide, the blade turned away, though it could be easily used to trip someone if he wished.]

I have no intentions of damaging you, so don't worry.

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.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He nods. Coming from Thanatos he'll take the advice seriously; he respects him (and he clearly has the most relevant experience on the island, probably). It's still tough for Hijikata to accept that there's little he can do - little he should do, really -, but this is one thing he won't be stubborn about.]

I'll keep it in mind. Ultimately I'm not good at that sort of thing, anyway. I'm a warrior, not a psychiologist.

[inevitablerest]

I'm sure there are combative uses for death magic.

[Not ones he has looked into, and not ones he's interested in looking into. Thanatos has what is perhaps an entirely unique way of looking at death considering his origins, and he finds the idea that one might use them in any kind of forceful way to be utterly distasteful.

Though, he doesn't think that Hijikata is that kind of person.]

But I'm not familiar with that word. 'Psychologist'. What is that?

[mayoninofukucho]

[Alas, Hijikata, given his disposition, is bound to end up weaponising his death magic sooner or later. Given his new-found perspective on the dead, though, he will at least make prudent choices of when he needs to take such measures. As for Thanatos' question...]

Someone who helps mentally ill people, or just people who have minor trouble like dealing with stress or bad dreams or whatnot. They're pretty much the counterpart to physiologists... or physicians, rather, who treat physical ailments.

[Throwing around more terms is probably more confusing that clarifying, but Thanatos can probably gather the gist of it.]

I think there's a couple of them here. I saw at least one guy advertise therapy sessions a while ago.

[inevitablerest]

[Alas, it may be something they end up discussing when the inevitable happens.]

Interesting. [The words themselves had Latin roots, thus why Thanatos had been unable to parse them even though he understood everything else that Hijikata had said.]

Humans are not so kind to those suffering ailments of the mind where I come from. And should it be a god... [He pauses in thought, and of course his mind goes to the Furies. Certainly they do their jobs well, but there's a reason only one of them is welcome in the House.]

The treatment isn't much better, in all honesty.

[mayoninofukucho]

That doesn't surprise me much. It's easier to just call someone crazy and write them off. That happens a lot where I'm from, too.

[It's not like he himself is above such behaviour. If any deranged person were to interfere with his men's work he'd probably be the first to call them a nutcase and chase them away. He simply can't afford to take his time with such matters back in Edo.]

But to think that gods would have such struggles too... maybe your kind isn't all that different from us.

[inevitablerest]

Mm.

[Thanatos has his own issues, ones that he won't divulge here but that link heavily into the fact he has spent most of his existence being emotionally numb and avoiding conflict of any kind. It's only been recently that he's been able to let himself feel things and he hasn't enjoyed all of the experience.

But it could be worse. There's always Tisiphone, so fixated on her job that she knows absolutely nothing else.]

We aren't. [And he sighs softly.] We have families, and we fight, and struggle, and we can suffer in the same way humans do. Sometimes in worse ways.

[Ehem Prometheus Ehem.]

The Olympians, particularly, can be petty and cruel.

[mayoninofukucho]

[It's a difficult adjustment, that's for sure. Hijikata can only wonder what it's like when such struggles stretch across not years or decades but centuries and millennia.]

Hm... but none of those have arrived here, right? Maybe exchanging experiences with other people who've dealt with similar stuff can brace you for when you return home, even if most if us others are mortal.

[Despite liking Thanatos he still is a bit intimidated by him, so he hesitates before continuing, not wanting to come across as presumptuous.]

If you've got anything in particular you'd want input on I'll give you mine, but I can't guarantee for quality.

[After all he, too, kind of sucks at facing emotionally difficult matters.]

[inevitablerest]

They aren't problems I tend to encounter, myself.

[Thanatos has his job, his role, and he generally stays in his own lane. The only issue he had has since been resolved in his time here, given that the person it involved is also here... and the other questions that stemmed for it are not ones he would voice to anyone except, perhaps, his twin brother.

He considers the offer and while he doesn't outright reject it, he doesn't take it either.]

I have little to do with the Olympians and they don't tend to bother me save for Ares, who I'm sure finds me to be rather dour. [And Ares is... not to his taste as far as people go, but there are worse lazing about up there.]

As you might imagine, Death has little time to spare for petty squabbling.

[mayoninofukucho]

Yeah, I can imagine. That's good, though.

[Seems like Thanatos actually has things under control after all... maybe he was legitimately asking for a friend. How did they go down this track again? Oh, right--]

You know, maybe there are psychologists for ghosts on Avalon. I'll look into it for the ones that give me concern at Loch Manor. You never know!

[inevitablerest]

[As someone who has never really had any friends save for one, the concept is... strange and the whole process of gaining friendship is one that he's still stumbling over.

Hijikata has become someone he does enjoy spending time around, so perhaps that's all that's needed.]

Interesting idea. [There's never been much Thanatos can do for restless spirits except try to move them along.] You'll have to let me know what happens.