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[napstar]

username: deathsharbor

TEXT | VOICE | ACTION

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text; un: aragaki - backdated like ... a week lol.

[petsthedog]

[So Shinjiro's been putting this off long enough. He's definitely been avoiding Arisato since his test (having been tempted to doom your universe for the sake of fixing your past mistakes will do that), but the other teen is an underclassman, and still the leader of SEES, even if SEES doesn't exist anymore. So he feels an obligation to check in.]

hey.

[those little "..." dots, how they linger. he's so bad at this.]

hungry?

[He might still be faintly embarrassed about cooking around other people, but he'd already gotten busted that one time, so .... what was the harm, right. Easier than talking about feelings, anyway.]

[napstar]

[ Minato has noticed Shinji's general absence but decided he wouldn't go looking for the upperclassman unless he came across something important. He's surprised to see his bracer light up with a text from him. Did something happen?

Either way, Minato is always willing to get food. ]

Yes. Plans?

[petsthedog]

[Yes. It's called guilt for being an avoidant piece of shit. As it turns out, when he's not being hunted down and pestered repeatedly, he starts to feel awkward leaving his only remaining teammate in the lurch.]

that damn robot keeps makin stuff that's all janked up
figured i could take the basics that ain't ruined and do something with em

[napstar]

I'll help. Where?

jan 10

[blodsvorr]

[Knock knock, it's Qrow-sensei, knocking at your door!]

Hey, Minato. You in?

[Worst case scenario he gets Will and is just like "HEY WANNA GO DRINKING A DAY EARLY" so you know what he's taking it]

[napstar]

[ That's Qrow's voice. Oh god, is this the talk? He doesn't want to explain things. He hates explaining things. He's not good at it. He just had to deal with Will and Lion. His energy is so severely depleted. He's on his third package of instant ramen. He wants a nap.

He just has to accept whatever fate is throwing his way this time. He does a quick stretch first, trying to physically prepare for whatever mental shit is coming his way. Okay. Let's get this over with. He opens the door. ]

Qrow-sensei.

[blodsvorr]

Hey.

[Qrow looks him over. Does Minato seem more tired than usual? Qrow can't tell.]

Is this a bad time?

(Some point during Lunar Interlude 2)

[balancenpc]

I understand you have some questions you'd like to have answered.

[The Director looks stiff in her office chair. It's hard to tell immediately if it's because she knows what Minato and his friend have come to ask her, or just the immense level of tiredness that's accompanying 2 solid months straight of stress and keeping things airtight and together for the sake of her Reclaimers.]

Is there anything I can do for you: some tea, some snacks or light refreshments?

[Or shall we get to the business side of things?]

[napstar]

[ It feels like walking into a principal's office, which has rarely ruled in his favor. The offer of snacks intrigues him though. It's not like this is urgent information, right? ]

What snacks?

[petsthedog]

[Shinji's unsurprised that Arisato went for the snacks, but for his own part he just rolls a shoulder noncommittally.]

Nah, I'm good.

[He'd rather get down to business to defeat the Hunger, but he doesn't mind waiting for Arisato to get settled first.]

2/14; mid-afternoon

[gotyourbach]

Arisato-kun, Arisato-kun!!

[Next time Minato's in town, Kaede's going to ambush him, stepping right out in front of him with her hands hiding something behind her back. She gives him a bright smile, leaning in a little to make sure she catches his eye.]

I got something for my favorite underclassman.

[Her only underclassman who's decided he is one...]

[napstar]

[ AAAH! Oh it's just Kaede. Where did she come from?! He glances around to figure it out but the streets offer no answer. ]

What is it?

[ Is it music? It's probably music. ]

[gotyourbach]

[It's a special Enthusiastic Protagonist skill. Maybe someday he'll achieve her energy levels to spontaneously appear and demand free time events.

Kaede beams and holds out both hands, offering him a small cloth bag.

It is not music.]

It's Valentine's Day, so I wanted to get you friendship chocolates.

[Please accept them!!]

action idk what date

[grakraka]

[After a few days of classes, Akechi notices that Minato has been consistently absent. A class or two, even a couple of days, would be understandable. He knows many, including Minato, have been helping out with clean up. Even he has visited after class to lend a hand.

But considering how much Minato liked taking classes and the fact that it seemed important to him, this worries him. Just a little. So he hangs around the cafeteria, knowing that Minato has to show up for food eventually. When he does, Akechi is at his side in an instant.]

Ah, there you are. I was hoping to run into you.

[Clearly not waiting for him all day.]

[napstar]

[ He's probably spent too much time in Vista Virs trying to make up for the destruction that happened there. He feels it's his responsibility somehow and he can't truly make up for it, but at least he's been trying. When he has the energy, at least. When he doesn't he lies in bed for hours trying to remember what he cared about.

He doesn't know what to do about it -- no, that's not true. He knows. Ryoji insisted he talk about his feelings to people. But it was much easier to agree with him in the moment than it is to follow through. He doesn't know where to begin, or why he should try. It feels pointless. It feels like there's nothing left in him anymore.

But even a sad boy needs to eat! He doesn't know what time it is when he finally drags his ass out of bed and makes it to the cafeteria for some food. But hey! Looks like Goro got here about the same time he did. That's some good timing. ]

You need something?

[ Hopefully the task can wait until after he eats. ]

[grakraka]

[What answer would be best? Or can he wrangle Minato to stay and talk with him no matter what? Hmm. Best to take this slow.]

Oh, it's nothing that needs to be done at the moment. Why don't we get something to eat first? You must be hungry.

during sealquest!!

[gotyourbach]

[Kaede had almost gotten used to taking late-night walks with Minato during the corporate retreat and spending time in the cabin with all the other bards. It had been kind of lonely to go back to her room on the moon after all that! Even if the privacy was pretty nice. Lyrabar was nice, too! Even if they couldn't get into the fancier inns, it's still pretty exciting to spend so much time in a new place.

The ship...? She's less certain about. It was fun at first, but where she'd thought the gentle rocking back and forth would be relaxing, it just makes her dizzy. There's something about the creak of the rope rigging coupled with the swaying of the boat that makes it difficult to sleep.

So she heads above deck, wrapping her blanket around her like a cape. Surely she just needs some fresh air!]

Oh... Arisato-kun!

[She's surprised, but only for a moment. That's right, he has trouble sleeping, too. That's the whole reason she'd started going for walks with him at night. Wherever he is, she's going to head straight for him.]

You couldn't sleep either, huh...?

[napstar]

[ It's like a god damn romance novel. He stands by the edge of the boat, leaning on the railing as he looks out to the sea. The wind gently blows through his hair and clothes. The sea tosses up droplets of water as the boat glides through it. A blanket and pillow have been abandoned on one of the benches on the deck, underneath a makeshift awning that the other passengers threw together the day before. The sky provides the only illumination, a soft light across the deck and sea. The sea is calm, rocking the boat in a slow rhythm.

And, like many nights since he gave his life to save Cocoa, Minato couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning in the shared room with Gundam turned into tossing and turning on the deck of the ship until he finally gave up for the night.

He turns to face her when he hears his name, giving her a nod as both a greeting and as an answer. ]

Yeah.

[gotyourbach]

[He does cut a pretty striking image against the waves, huh? It's easy to imagine him as a lone hero like this, the star of a classic opera.

She smiles when he nods at her, though, taking it as invitation to join him at the railing.]

It's really beautiful out here, huh...?

[She leans against the railing and fluffs her hands through her hair to let the wind catch it. It's a little chilly for her out here, but she was right to think being outside would help. Even if the rigging sounds the same, creaking in the gentle breeze, when it's just part of the background to a literal sea, it doesn't grate at her nerves as badly.]

I can see why so many composers wrote music about the ocean... doesn't listening to the waves like this just fill you with inspiration?

evening before candlenights

[petsthedog]

[Shinjiro wasn't entirely sure he was doing the whole gifts thing in the first place, but after he'd committed to the idea, he wandered into Fantasy Costco and stumbled on literally the perfect gift, so.

Sometime in the evening before Candlenights proper, there's a box left at Minato's door, containing these. It combines sleep and music! Shinjiro couldn't top that if he tried. There's a card that comes with it, which simply reads "happy candlenights."

In lieu of a signature, the symbol of Gekkoukan High is drawn in the corner, with "S.E.E.S" written into one of the loops.]

early morning, candlenights

[gotyourbach]

[It might be a holiday in New New Aspen, but that doesn't mean Kaede is going to let Minato sleep in much longer than usual! Times have been tough on many Reclaimers, to say the least, and while she can't tell how Minato's feeling through their Oath anymore, he's a melancholy boy by nature. So there's no way she's not going to include him in her Candlenights gift-giving!]

Arisato-kun, good morning!

[She's hovering over his bed, face right over his. Kaede Akamatsu's energy, first thing in the morning.]

[napstar]

[ He wasn't able to sleep, so when she greets him he's just lying in bed with his eyes closed. His insomnia is still running at full force despite the lack of magic everywhere, which means he has more time to think about how he's lost the one thing that really defined him the past two years.

Losing Orpheus, his last Persona, is strange. Stranger than losing all the other ones when he first arrived here. It was just quieter then. Now there's a void. He hasn't been able to figure out what to do with that emptiness, or where he is within it. He feels like a ghost playing the part of Minato Arisato, puppeteering his body around, making it say things and eat things. It's all a bit removed from him, a bit further away from where he truly resides.

He opens an eye at Kaede's perky greeting and grunts in acknowledgement. He's still not a morning person. ]

[gotyourbach]

Don't be grumpy, it's finally Candlenights. We have to go celebrate!

[She taps his forehead with one finger before shifting to plop down on the bed beside him. She's already gotten fully dressed and gone through her morning routine. Now she just has to make sure Minato gets through his.

He obviously hadn't been asleep, though. So first things first.]

Did you sleep at all...?

present!

[feytality]

[ minato will find a handmade plushie of the seal they saved together in lyrabar, as well as a card from maya wishing him happy candlenights! it's filled with doodles of himself in various poses, as well as with a wolf (mysterious), and details how happy she is to have minato as a friend and teammate and how tough she thinks he is! it tells him that she's happy he's alive and wishes him happiness and safety ]

25th

[hxppythxughts]

[A messily-wrapped box, with Minato's name written directly on the colorful paper. There's a handmade card on top, decorated with stickers and doodles of wintry images like snow, gingerbread men, etc. It's not properly signed, but the signature isn't necessary. On one side of the interior:]

Tall green trees in lights twinkling bright,
Sparkling strands of tinsel and snow pure white,
The smell of hot cocoa and apple cider too,
A very merry Candlenights, from Sayori to you!
[And then on the other side:]

I know you like to be comfy so I figured you'd probably like these! It was really fun to perform together in Thay too. I'm not used to putting my poems to music! We should do it again sometime—for fun, not for a mission. And you know I'm always happy to read your poems.

[Inside the box is a small notebook bearing a simple white lyre design on a dark blue cover, a pair of pajama pants in dark blue with white pattern, and a stuffed dog that looks like Cocoa.]