i'm too impatient for the event so play something small with me maybe

[compendiem]

WHO: Minato/ota
WHERE: Wiffle-Waffle
WHEN: Friday, 8/3, all day
WHAT: a """stake-out""" aka eating waffles and talking because nothing will happen on the 3rd like it usually does. some info-sharing to get people up to date (or alternatively, non-productive wheel spinning with Minato because he knows NOTHING haha)
WARNINGS: none

i.
[ Shit goes down on the 3rd every month --> we don't know what's going to happen aside from something being wrong with Retrospec --> the waffle house used to be where the Retrospec building is and its mailbox is outside --> stake out the waffle house just in case something happens

That's basically the thought process that went into this, but word might not have gotten around that it's happening. If anything, what draws people's attention, if not by word of mouth, is that whoever's on the way to the waffle house early Friday morning may see Minato on his way there too, struggling to push a wheelbarrow up the street.

It's a covered wheelbarrow. There is definitely a blade or three poking through the cover where he'd tried to tie the fabric down so it wouldn't blow off. But don't mind that; help him push. ]

ii.
[ The Wiffle-Waffle is a respectable business which wouldn't appreciate loitering, so head on inside and let's have a waffle party. You're also paying for your own waffles, because Minato isn't made of money. He tries to keep his head down, mostly, finding a far away corner booth to sit at and waving people down with a credit card in one hand, the other hand held by the side of his face as if it does anything to obscure his identity from the workers there who shoot uneasy looks his direction from time to time. ]

Four waffles. Plain. If you can order that for me...

iii. (chronologically after prompt i.... I so clearly edited this in after the fact without reading)
[ He's just stuffing a mini-armory of axes and swords into the mailbox, don't mind him. ]

iv.
[ Time trudges on with nothing happening— a good thing, really. But Minato fiddles with his phone a lot during the time, pulling up a message he'd sent to Zee, checking and rechecking Wednesday's post from Joanne in hopes that it'd corrected himself.

With people here, it's a good a time as any for some info sharing. If anything, it'd be good for people to catch up on what happened last August that'd gotten so many "veterans" riled up, and Minato's one of those who wasn't there and is interested in learning more about it all. ]

So... Summer in Recollé sucks, huh. [ yeah ] ...I was talking to Zee a little, and he mentioned something about old maps, if you know anything about those. I guess it's of the city? Or Retrospec itself. I'm still a bit lost on it all, actually.

Comments

[compendiem]

[ He thinks she'll have to eat something before nine in the evening if she's to stay with him, so he's glad she agrees to take half a waffle. He holds one of them up with his free hand, and with his gloved one, flicks a clawed finger up through it to cut it in half. Is it sharp enough to cut it in half? Is it gross and blood like that image suggested? He'll let her have the larger half. ]

[servileness]

[ The claw is sharp enough to cut a waffle in half, and it is clean (fortunately). The screencap that was linked was from after Four died the second time, but it was the only cap I could find with the glove by itself.

She stares wordlessly for a second and takes that waffle half and nibbles on it so she doesn't say anything stupid. Or mean.

Sometimes, she has to remind herself she's dating that and wonders what this says about herself. ]

[compendiem]

[ This claw is really really cool and he might not give it back, setting his half of the waffle on the plate and cutting it up into even smaller pieces, along the grid lines of the waffle. ]

You got something really useful, Clover. This'd be great in the kitchen.

[ So don't feel bad about using what Retrospec gives you; it doesn't have to be used as a weapon. ]

[servileness]

[ She is taking it back at the end of the day by force if she has to.

His implied message also goes right over her head because she takes him too literally here. The look she gives him is one of dismay. ]

It lacks finesse, and it'd be hard to clean.

[compendiem]

You need to watch more anime, Clover. Think of it as an extension of your body- it should be easier to imagine than a sword.

[ If not a sword, than a baseball bat, hedge clippers, any sort of thing you wield in your hands will eventually come to feel like they're a part of you once you use them long enough. He's serious about this, Clover. Look how serious he is. ]

And you just have to run it under water to clean it, or stick it in the dishwasher.

[servileness]

I need to do no such thing.

[ Don't insult her like that? She doesn't have time for anime unless Minato wants to make her have time for anime.

His face isn't what she'd call the most expressive face even if she's learned to read it. Or at least she's hoped she's learned to read it. ]

I think we have established that our standards of cleanliness are not the same. That would not be enough for me.

[compendiem]

[ One day he's going to call her over for a romantic movie night but instead it's marathonning sports anime and he'll prove to her it's not a waste of time. ]

You should learn to trust things more. If you trust the employees here to handle your food, you can trust your dishwasher to clean your cutlery.

[servileness]

[ Ninety-five percent of sports anime is too optimistic for her. It has sweet messages, but no team can win every competition through the power of friendship and teamwork. ]

A weapon should not be left to a dishwasher's care. That's asking to ruin it. Restaurants have to pass food inspection to operate, so there's that extra security.

[compendiem]

Dishwashers have to pass inspections too, or they wouldn't sell.

[ That's enough security for him to trust them to wash all things, whether they belong in there or not. It's getting hot inside the glove, though, so he takes it off, placing it on his lap instead of giving it back to Clover, and resumes devouring his way through that stack of waffles.

...

...

... ]

It's supposed to be today, isn't it? Why isn't anything happening...

[servileness]

Yes. For plates, forks, bowls, cups. Not this gauntlet or whatever you want to call it.

[ Clover finishes her half a waffle in due time, likely in the time it takes Minato to eat half a stack. ]

Perhaps that's part of the error and the trouble they're having. It's throwing them off their routine schedule, not that I think they control everything that happens anymore.