open || spears for long reach

[complementing]

WHO: Minako Arisato and YOU!
WHERE: Deadeye Shooting Range, Hollingberry Field late at night, and the Towers
WHEN: Early to mid April for regain prompts, mid April for dress prompt
WHAT: Minako gets more presents from Retrospec in the form of weapons. Later in the month, she's out dress hunting for the upcoming charity event.
WARNINGS: Content warning for gun talk. May add more later if Minako gets some Evoker memory regains.

I. SHOT TO THE HEART
Evoker regain; Deadeye Shooting Range

[At the first Dreadful Women's Adventure Club event, she'd mentioned to Penelope she wasn't planning on returning to the shooting range anytime soon, where 'anytime soon' was supposed be at least a few years when her police officer training would ideally start. And yet here she is, a month later. She doesn't know why, but it feels kind of omninous.

You might find Minako lingering near the entrance, clutching a small case in her hands, or eventually inside the range at the rental counter. She and the attendant seem to be really, really confused as to why there isn't a proper ammunition chamber for her gun.]

But you fired it earlier, so it should have ammunition in it, right? Which means it should have a place to put ammunition in...?

[Would you like to offer your own two cents?]

II. SLASHED LINES IN THE DIRT
Ultimate weapon regain; Hollingberry Field late at night

[Minako's second 'gift' in the mail from Retrospec this month is arguably more disturbing than the first, and unwieldy to boot. She should have tossed it into a storage closet somewhere, but the pull to try and use it is too strong. So yes, that's her, sneaking into Hollingberry Field around midnight, dragging a spear a head taller than her behind her.

Once she finds a place she deems private enough for her purposes, she dusts off the abnormally large peacock feather tied around the moulding and then sweeps the weapon, blade out, across her body.]

This is so weird...is this even how I'm supposed to be holding it?

[Hopefully she didn't just accidentally slice open an artery of yours. Or maybe you heard her voice behind the trees. Either way, you might want to stay back at least ten feet.]

III. NEVER-ENDING STAIRS
Tartarus and other related memory regains; the Towers

[She keeps coming back to these bridges. Or maybe it's just this bridge in particular, the highest one connecting the two Towers together. Minako doesn't understand it at all. Doesn't understand the alternate Minako at all, the alternate Minako who's just a bit younger than she is now, staring up at a mountain of a building and ready to fight through whatever was inside to climb it. The alternate Minako gripping the gun in her hand, familiar but cold.

There's no proof yet that the visions people have been getting are of their past lives, but if they are, then what the hell kind of life was her former self living? What was she going through that she physically feels twin senses of dread and despair whenever she stands here? There's desperation but razor sharp focus, as well, the feeling of pushing her body leaps and bounds past its absolute limit. Some Retrospecers have been regaining memories of fighting, of being soldiers and warriors or whatnot. It's possible the alternate Minako was one too despite her age.

She's not sure she wants to keep seeing more, even so, whether it's a past life or some sort of weird inner desire or delusion manifesting as hallucinations. Whatever the explanation of the week is.

Minako sighs and runs a hand through her hair, the wind picking up around her.]

At least she has a Badass Leader thing going for her. Not sure I could pull that off.

IV. CLASSY OR CUTE?
Dress shopping; the Towers

[Minako pretty much signed up to help set up the Black Ties and Tails charity event as soon as it was announced. The only problem is finding something to wear to it for the party afterward. She has some business casual outfits for more professional ReVA volunteer work, of course, but this is going to be a formal dance event. That means evening dresses.

Japan doesn't do proms, and the only dancing she's done in America is club dancing, which...honestly encourages less clothes on than more. All in all, her experience with shopping for these kinds of dresses totals up to zero. Still, she's determined, and the days leading up to the event she can be found at the Towers, browsing boutiques and chain stores alike. She's going at it alone since her free time is all over the place this month, so she might be soliciting strangers for advice amidst the racks.]

Excuse me, which one do you think is better? This one, or this one? I have a third option over there too, but I'm on the fence about if I should wear something that revealing to a charity event.

[If you're a lady and happen to be in the fitting room, you might see hear a grunt of effort coming from the next stall over.]

Oh, crap.

[And then fifteen seconds later, a knock on your stall's door.]

Sorry for knocking, but um, the zipper is stuck on this dress. Could you help me get out of it, please?

Comments

iii am here for tartarus!!

[appraiser]

[ It's approaching closing time when Ryoji makes his way up to the uppermost level of the Towers, riding the elevator all the way to the top with almost no interruption with how late into the night it is and everybody else taking the other elevator down.

It's cold tonight, quiet and a bit eerie with how empty everything is as he steps lightly down the bridge towards Minako. He doesn't quite catch the words she utters to himself, but he can guess why she's here and what's on his mind, so he lets his footsteps fall heavier than usual as he comes close, hand up to wave in greeting without saying a word. ]

braces self for feelings

[complementing]

[Minako turns at the waist to face him, giving him a faint smile and reaching out a hand towards him. She doesn't know his ways, but she suspects that Ryoji would be able to find her wherever she went, even if he had no hints to go on. For other people, the knowledge might be suffocating, but for her, it's a quiet happiness. She will never be lost if she has his line of invisible string to guide her straight out of the dark.] Come to enjoy the view with me, Ryoji?

how many pronouns i can screw up in one sentence i'm sorry

[appraiser]

Mm. That's why I'm here.

[ Ryoji takes Minako's hand, tracing small circles along the palm of her hand that he holds loosely in his own. His eyes never, never leave Minako's as he steps in close to her, shoulders touching and head turned to give her a smile. The view he's here to see is Minako, and she's beautiful, a dancing flame in the darkness that he can't ever help but be drawn to. ]

The moon isn't quite full yet. I hope the skies will clear up when it does, but even now... [ He finally turns his gaze away, glancing up at the night sky. ] We're up so high, but it doesn't feel any closer.

[ Not like how he described it once to Minako, how he'd seen an impossibly large moon, harsh glow with an unnatural green cast. He supposes he should have been frightened, but the memory was a comforting one, strange. ]

hugs your face it's okay!!!

[complementing]

[Her smile widens as they hold the other's gaze, and when he turns away to look up, she follows his line of sight to the moon, only looking because he is.] No, it doesn't. [But like this, it feels like you could reach out and grab it, or snuff it out with your palm. With her free hand, she does just that, holding out her arm in front of her face so that only a bit of the distant glow filters through her spread fingers. Her thoughts are still occupied with thoughts of towers, dark labyrinths that might lead up to a place so close to the sky, you would surely bear witness to the sight of that enormous green moon blotting out out all the stars one by one if you reached it, see how covetously it steals away all sense of life in the world. Drowns everything in sickly black sludge. You can't do anything about the moon or the tower. But there is always something to be done anyways, on every floor that leads up towards the top, endlessly climbing staircase after staircase, tiring but not letting yourself be tired. Leaders do not get to be tired. Minako blinks and she's back on the bridge with Ryoji. She clenches her fist to snuff out the moon, and then lets her hand fall to let it shine down on her again.] I wonder if I stay up here long enough, I'll eventually trigger enough visions to piece together that other Minako's story.

1

[true_noir]

[The firing range was, without argument, one of the last places in the entire city of Recolle that anyone should ever have expected Chloe to be in. It was a place that held almost no interest to her normally, and somewhere that she felt extremely out of place in the moment that she entered. However, there were things that had been nagging at her in the back of her mind for a while. And, ever since that incident where she'd dodged a car, it felt worse and worse.

So she was coming here, wrapped in her cloak as usual, so that she could look perhaps at rental firearms, maybe test out how one felt in her hand. She had to know just how familiar it was, because it was driving her insane. When she saw Minako there, she blinked and started to walk in her direction, the look of confusion in her face already. What was innocent, quiet, sometimes mousy little Minako doing in a place like this? Or was this perhaps the same situation as her? As she neared the two of them, she cleared her throat once and looked at the gun they were discussing.]

Hello Minako... what are you two talking about, if I may ask?

[complementing]

[Minako glances over, surprise splashed over her features. She's equally as surprised that her flower and tea-loving friend would be here, especially considering the vision that Chloe had told her about before. Having a vision of a gun pointed in your direction would put her off of going to the shooting range, if it were her...maybe Chloe had gotten another vision? Surprise gives way to concern. She wants to ask about it, but first. She gestures to the pistol laid out on the table.] This gun. I got it recently-- [Here she arches her eyebrows at Chloe.] --and wanted to test it out, but apparently I can't put ammo into it.

[true_noir]

[She'd gotten... well, something. It wasn't precisely a vision, but it made her concerned about whether or not she could do some of the things that seemed to be implied in those visions. She smiled over at Minako, though there wasn't a lot of life to that smile. Her gaze went to the pistol and she looked at it curiously.]

I don't think it's a normal gun. Like you said, there isn't any way to put ammo in, so it can't be shooting regular bullets. Have you tried to fire it yet?

iv;

[aegist]

[ she's a lady and in a fitting room, although thalia was more trying on a work dress than a party dress. all the same, she opens the door immediately, since the request is, you know. fair? not creepy? ]

Sure thing. [ her hair is tied back and she's in a simple blue sundress that looks semi-professional but not black tie worthy. ] Let me guess: that formal party?

[ she gestures at minako to twirl around so she can get at the zipper. ]

[complementing]

[She's clutching the front of the dress to her person so. No worries about accidental nakedness, she's more self-aware than that. Her smile immediately turns sheepish, disappearing as she turns around.] Yeah, my old dress doesn't fit anymore. Volleyball thighs. That looks really nice on you, by the way!

[aegist]

Thanks, I'm trying to find some new work dresses? Since, well. I need at least one or two more.

[ she leans in to see what's wrong with the zipper - ]

It looks like it snagged on the fabric a little. I can get it, just give me a minute. I'm Thalia, by the way.

III

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko's drawn to the bridges as well, for an inexplicable reason that she can't even begin to truly understand. Something about it, standing there that night with her friend makes it impossible to get out of her head. That fog shrouded castle, those malignant shapes in the mist, the pulsing power inside her soul she's become more aware of...it's hard not to scream in frustration sometimes.

And when she feels like that, she heads up here, hoping for a second vision. Some more answers, or at least some context. She's heard other people's dreams, Eleanor in particular, and she's seen the power that the girl has. Is it really such a stretch to think that the thing in her soul, her guardian angel, is anything less?

Today's one of those days, the shadows growing longer in the paleness of the waning moon. Stepping out of the stairwell, she pauses when she spots another figure. It doesn't register who it is immediately, her eyes focused a million miles away. Though when Minako speaks, Yukiko's attention snaps back into reality enough to pay attention.

She breathes out, and steps into view before speaking, not wanting to startle Minako.
With that done she crosses the space between them and takes her friend's arm, squeezing tightly.]

I think you'd make a fine leader. Don't sell yourself short.

[complementing]

Yukiko. [It was probably only a matter of time before the two of them ended up on this bridge together again. It seems to hold an unknowable amount of symbolic significance to the both of them. She just can't be sure if Yukiko is coming to reflect on her visions, or hope for a trigger. Minako doesn't really know which one she's doing, either.] You're so sweet. Thank you. [She gives her friend a squeeze back.] You've got it a little wrong, though. I don't doubt that I can be a leader. I know I'm going to be one, whether it's with ReVA or at the police station or somewhere else. I work too hard, push myself too hard, not to get there eventually. No, I meant the leader that the other Minako is, in my visions. She's...kind of amazing.

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko leans into Minako a little bit, looking down at her feet and thinking on what she's hearing. Two versions? That. Actually lines up really well with some of the weird stuff that's been going on. Eleanor, herself, stray thoughts of strange places and darker shapes. The moon so high in the sky.]

You too, huh?

[Rocking her head side to side, swaying it a little, she considers how best to approach this.]

Have you had visions of fighting, too?

I is for guns.

[mincingminuet]

[Since the Dreadful Women's Club meeting, Penelope Raban had been making sure to visit the range more often. Thinking about her parents, about Phoenix and the trips into the desert with her pop had really renewed her interest in shooting and it was cathartic in a way. Weird, because it also called to mind this lizard man, but that could be chalked up to a lot of things. Swamp gas, maybe?

Either way, she was all for an afternoon of shooting.

And more than a little surprised to walk inside and see the younger member of the club who'd specifically said she wasn't coming back fiddling with a gun. Marching up with a cheerful expression, she eyed the weapon.]

Check the bottom of the grip? There should be a clasp that unhooks a clip. I'd have to be there since that doesn't look like it's got a top loading slot.

[complementing]

[Minako offers a smile of greeting before wordlessly checking the gun as per Penelope's suggestion. She even hands it to the clerk to double check that she didn't miss anything, amateur that she is-- alas, nothing unhooks or opens up. She makes a small noise of bewilderment.] Is it a fake gun? A prop?

[mincingminuet]

Well. You said it was firing before. Right?

[Penelope holds out her hand, looking at it, befuddled just as much as Minako.]

Can I see it?

III

[covenantal]

Well, I don't know. I can picture you as a badass leader.

[ Yu has one hand on his hip as he walks over, a bag slung over his shoulder. He's wearing sunglasses, for some reason, but everything else about him seems normal. Even the faint smile on his face, something he wears for her in what seems to be a serious moment. ]

You're warm, and bright, and encouraging. I could see others relying on and looking up to you.

[ Once he reaches her side he'll pause beside her, ducking his chin a little as his eyes search her face. ]

... are you alright, Minako-senpai?

[complementing]

You're really sweet, you know that, Yu-kun? [Minako shoots him a smile in return, but her gaze is soon fixed far off into the distance again.] If you're asking, it must be pretty obvious that I'm not, huh. [She slaps her cheeks a bit.] Not very senpai-like, to have you worrying about me!

[covenantal]

[ He'll return her smile, but not say anything more until she starts talking again. ]

Everyone has worries sometimes. Even otherwise invulnerable senpais.

[ A slightly tilt of his head. ]

Who is "she"?

ii

[goen]

[ Sometimes, Yato likes to sleep in the park. The greenery is refreshing to the senses, and it beats sleeping on the tough construction of the city proper. This particular day, he's nestled up against a strong tree with its roots crawling across the floor, perfect for finding just the right curve to curl against.

He wakes to the sound of rustling and dragging nearby. At first he lies perfectly still, listening for distance and direction. And then Minako's voice cuts through the quiet park air, seemingly alone. Yato slowly rolls far enough to peek around the tree and spies her nearby, a long something in her hands. The tip of it gleams in the moonlight as she gives it a swing, and he's seen enough people receiving weapons by now to understand that it's probably some kind of spear.

He doesn't call out to her just yet. He's curious, and still drowsy besides. So for now he'll just sit against the tree and watch a little, to see how she handles that polearm. He isn't quite out of sight, so once she turns far enough she might be able to catch him in the process of nodding back to sleep... tbh... ]

[complementing]

[While Minako is more than a little nervous that someone might come along and see her, once she gets into it, she's dedicated. (And murmuring to herself the whole while, so hopefully that doesn't keep him awake.) A good ten minutes are spent trying to figure out the best hand placement, and she's just about to start experimenting with the position of her hips in relation to the swing of the spear when, turning around in a sweep, she spots him there on the ground.] Yato? Is that you? [She's concerned, but not overly so, and steps over to check on him.]

[goen]

[ Oh!! He jerks back awake. Takes a look at Minako, then her spear, then back to her. ]

... I wasn't peeping!

[ in that way ]

II

[belligerentwarrior]

You came out here to play with sharp objects and didn't invite me?

[Freya has to raise her voice a little to be heard over the distance, probably some good fifty feet away still. She's ambling closer, a pair of headphones pulled around her neck and a small duffle slung over her shoulder, in her RFD shirt. Spotting Minako out here on her way home wasn't really what she expected.]

[complementing]

[Minako is proud of herself for only jumping a little when Freya calls out to her. She turns and gives her roommate a sheepish smile.] I'll try to remember for next time. [She sticks the blade of the spear into the ground, then thinks better of it and swivels it around with a twist of her wrist, jamming the butt into the damp dirt. Spear, stay.] How was work?

[belligerentwarrior]

[A little bit of a shrug.] Eventful, I guess. Plenty of medical calls, bu not much for me to do since I don't have my license yet.

[Freya steps up to the spear, arching an eyebrow as she studies it.] This what was in that giant box? [There's an odd, suspicious note in her voice that almost seems to say, It's from Retrospec, isn't it?]