#i also have my noragami reverse bang piece to do

[swatato]

*chugs a can of pop and crunches it against my forehead*

Time to draw these yatoriweek prompts babeyyyy

[justxaxstrayxkid]

Seaside Confessions

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33797569

This is my piece for Noragami Reverse Bang 2021! My partner is @invertedgoogle (thanks for being understanding and patient with me Invie, you are the best). Make sure to check out her art work here https://invertedgoogle.tumblr.com/post/661943913244966912/do-you-ever-get-tired-of-being-ebisu! Also since this fic is about two Ebisus speaking to each other, I want to clarify that whenever it says "past Ebisu" it is talking about the incarnation from the Heian period! Whenever it says just "Ebisu", it is talking about our current Ebi. Sorry if that is confusing and I hope you enjoy reading!

“Do you ever get tired of being Ebisu?”

It was late evening. The seaside shrine was silent except for the sound of waves and Ebisu’s voice. The setting sun’s reflection twinkled on the ocean. Watching this beautiful scenery was Ebisu and a past incarnation.

“Sometimes, yes. Sometimes a little part of me wishes I was just a normal human and not a god,”

“A normal human, hmm? I guess that does seem simpler than being a god. You wouldn’t have to worry about the wellbeing of a large mass of people if you were a human,” past Ebisu stated.

“Do you ever wish you weren’t a god?”

Past Ebisu was silent for a second, gazing at the sea as he contemplated his answer. “I don’t think I’ve ever wished to not be god, actually.”

“Really? Not even once?”

“Nope. Humans don’t necessarily have it easier than gods. Some people have really hard lives. And besides, I enjoy being a god because we get to help people.”

“Helping people out is quite fun,” Ebisu said with a small smile on his baby face.

“Ebisu has always been a helpful type of god!” past Ebisu exclaimed with a sense of pride.

“However, occasionally I feel like being helpful is a waste of time,”

“Why?”

“Helping others is nice, but if it doesn’t make a difference then it feels redundant,”

“I disagree,” past Ebisu remarked, “I don’t think it matters if it makes a difference or not as long as your helpfulness has good intentions. I would rather have a well-intentioned person than someone with ill intentions that makes a difference. You make an effort to do good which is never a waste of time!”

Their conversation came to a short stop after Ebisu’s statement. Both incarnations became quiet. They instead listened to the sound of the waves in the ocean.

“It might sound crazy, but I don’t regret trying to control ayakashi,” past Ebisu says suddenly, shocking his fellow incarnation.

“I do regret reincarnating all the time though. I recognize the pain our other lives had to go through, and I feel for them,” past Ebisu added.

“Maybe there is a reality out there where taming ayakashi makes your skin sparkle instead of blighting you,”

Past Ebisu laughed, “I wish we could go to a reality like that,”

“I would like to go to a reality where heaven isn’t as stupid and totalitarian,” Ebisu uttered.

“Ah yes, a reality where heaven isn’t tyrannical sounds like....”

“Heaven?”

“I was going to say paradise, but that too,”

“Was heaven also sucky during your time?” Ebisu asked.

“Of course! We’ve been in need of a heaven reform for more than a millennium!”

“Heaven truly is messed up. They don’t even serve the Olive Ken at council meetings,” Ebisu fumed.

“That’s your biggest issue with heaven?” past Ebisu asked with a chuckle.

“Well no, I have other issues with heaven. It’s just that they make us all come out to discuss serious things, yet they don’t give us any food. They could at least serve refreshments. But besides that heaven needs to be more accepting of unorthodox ways,”

“I wish they wouldn’t have a problem with strays,”

“Me too. Heaven should support strays and the Olive Ken,” Ebisu said half-jokingly.

Past Ebisu smiled softly, “Hopefully, one day heaven will,”

The two Ebisus sat in silence again, just watching as the sunset fully and became nighttime. It got a little chilly after the sun had set, and a light breeze kissed their skin. Ebisu started to get sleepy.

“You know…. you don’t have to follow in all the past Ebisu's' footsteps,” Past Ebisu said with a yawn.

Ebisu only responded with a nod, too tired to say anything.

“Heaven has already gotten in the way of you taming ayakashi again, so maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe we shouldn’t risk our lives anymore,”

“But am I good enough to be Ebisu if I don’t?” Ebisu asked quietly. The question was barely audible as he was just about to doze off.

“Of course you are! Ebisu is Ebisu no matter what he does,”

“Even if I fall asleep right now?”

Past Ebisu nodded a yes and Ebisu immediately rested his head on his past incarnation’s shoulder.

“Goodnight, Ebisu,” he said before slumber completely overtook him.

“Goodnight, Ebisu!” past Ebisu responded. He has a bright future ahead of him, past Ebisu thought to himself as he listened to his future incarnation snore. He was confident that he didn’t need to worry about this new Ebisu at all.