what were you doing New Year's Eve?

[neargenius]

Who: neargenius & payback & goesberserk, too, I believe! Quite the crowd!
When: Hella backdated to New Year's Eve (Friday, December 31) with apologies for failing
Where: A shrine!
Summary: 108 RINGS OF A BELL. Nothing serious; this group of weridos is just going to experience New Year's in this traditional way. ALL EXPRESSED THROUGH ACTION TAGS.

Comments

[goesberserk]

[It took contacting Asano Rin through text message, but Shizuo had eventually gotten the location of the shrine, which is why he's now made it there. The sun has already set, but the night train got him there easily. He slowly starts up the steps of the shrine, glancing around the mainly abandoned area as he notes how out of place it all feels.

A city is a city, but this port is still very different from Ikebukuro or any other part of Japan that he's been to, and so the shrine feels like it's just been placed there, picked up and transferred from its real spot.

Maybe it's just his homesickness speaking, but he was hoping for something that felt more right. He's glad to be spending New Years Eve the way he's always done it, even if shrine-visiting wasn't necessarily a big tradition for him. He did it as a kid, so... that's something

[payback]

[She has a similar sensation to Shizuo, upon coming to the shrine - a strong sense of displacement, of disorientation. What is going on here and where are they really? It's a part of her culture, of home, but it's here in Canada. There's something soothing about it, but it also leaves her even more strongly nostalgic. Homesickness - it makes it a little worse, in ways, because it's similar but not quite right, not where she should be.

She feels like she should be taking care of Near anyway. Holding his hand and leading him along, or something, but he's much too independent for that, he doesn't need it. Looking at those level gray eyes and the mess of white downy hair just brings it home.

The entire thing is honestly surreal. Near might not need her, but Rin sticks close to him, looking around and swallowing hard, occasionally. It's close enough to home to be a little mind-boggling.

It's also coming to her that she has no idea what Shizuo looks like. If she's intending to meet up with him, this might be a bit of a problem.]

[neargenius]

[Near flops along beside Rin, staring at the ground now. It's a little weird to be in the company of someone new and largely unfamiliar--and soon, he be in double company, with someone completely unfamiliar.

Not an unfamiliar face. After getting Heiwajima's name, Near had searched the network for him. His initial broadcast had been a rather scattered video, but enough to recognize features. So Near lifts his gaze, scanning the area around them.]

Do you know him? [He doesn't look at Rin when he asks the question, but stares straight ahead--and then sees him, this Heiwajima person, a distance away. He lifts a hand to points, dispassionate.] There. There aren't a lot of people so he might see us. But you should call to him anyway.

[goesberserk]

[It's occurred to Shizuo as well that he doesn't know what Rin looks like, but... it wasn't the sort of thing he felt comfortable asking. He didn't want her to take it the wrong way, and he knows he's no good with words.

So he'll either run into her, or he won't. He doesn't have to meet with her, since he didn't make any commitments; he knows better than that. With no idea of how big her group could get, it seems easier to just keep to himself.

In the end, the important thing is that he got the location of the shrine itself. He goes over to the area where he can cleanse his hands, wondering if he should light some incense while he's at it. And he could write down a wish for the New Year, but...

Seeing how he's in this place, all he can really hope for is to go home, right?]