minako arisato (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
complementing) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
recolle2017-04-10 10:32 am
complementing) wrote in recolle2017-04-10 10:32 am
Entry tags:
open || spears for long reach
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?
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?
no subject
No, but I figured trying to use it might kickstart a vision. Nothing so far, though. Maybe because I'm not good enough yet...?
no subject
[ Though in his experience, it can take the simplest of stimuli to trigger a vision... ]
What if you see someone else using it? Mind if I take a whack at it?
no subject
[She hands him the spear and then turns around to take a good ten or fifteen steps away from him.]
Just be careful, I don't want you to get hurt.
no subject
[ Kind of... He stretches some more of that sleep out of him, takes the spear, and holds it in a way that makes sense to him: an altered kendo stance with feet planted apart and spearhead pointed at the face of an imaginary opponent.
He's never used a spear, but he's recently come into the ability to cut things with almost eerie efficiency. If he pretends this spear is a freakishly long sword, then maybe he can reverse-engineer a way to wield it. He begins to swing the spear. Awkwardly at first, the sheer length of it playing with his balance. He just has to find a rhythm. He learns to let the momentum of the blade speak for itself.
The result is something unorthodox, unsurprisingly. Maybe his stance isn't quite right, his hand placement inefficient. Spears were probably meant to do a lot less slashing and a lot more stabbing. But after a few minutes of playing around, he thinks he's ready; he spots a tall bit of grass nearby and turns with spear in motion. He lunges, swings wide, and the head of the spear shaves off the top half of grass with the barest of shivers through the bottom half.
Good... Yato smiles in satisfaction. Cutting things can be so satisfying. He'll go on for a few more moments, lopping the heads off some more poor, innocent patches of foliage before calling it quits. He sets the spear down on its butt and turns to Minako. ]
Anything?
1/2
I'm sorry, Yato, I'm not getting any visions. But you've given me a few ideas of how to use it. Let me try again.
[She doubts there's a master spear user around anyways. The best she can do is imitate one as closely as she can.]
i lied 2/3
So she returns to the original stance that had felt the best, the spear held on her right side and the tip down behind her, with her right hand following it and her left held at chest height, balancing the shaft closer to the butt of the weapon.
It feels odd because she's technically still exposed. But then a girl fighting in a veritable war would feel that way regardless no matter what weapon she used.
Minako takes a breath imagines a little bubble around her. A little bubble with a radius the length of the spear that nobody else is allowed to get into. Anyone who does should be immediately flung out. A nearby, sturdy looking tree becomes her enemy breaching that bubble as she mimics Yato's wide swings, slashing more than stabbing. That, at least, feels right. She doesn't feel like she has the physical strength or the mental fortitude to stab into something.]
3/3
Until finally she thinks she should give it her all in one last swing, and lets out an uncharacteristic shout, a loud HAHH! that culminates in the blade actually humming through the air, its spearhead burying itself right into the side of the wood.]
no subject
Gradually, her movements take on new life. Yato finds himself smiling as he watches her, the sharp flow of the spear's blade flashing in the moonlight. Amazing... It's nothing short of transformation in quickstep. And there's something about her emerging dexterity that speaks of real martial artistry; there's much to admire in every new sweep of her spear.
He beams when she actually shouts and impales the side of the tree with a ferocity he's never seen from her. Atta girl... ]
Well, well. You warrior, you! Who'd've thought?
no subject
--oh, Yato. [A pause.] I think I figured it out. I remember all of the moves that the other Minako used during her fights.
[It's one thing to see the other Minako's memories, experience them. They're visions, and she's a passive observer for those. With visions she can say that there are two separate Minakos. But remembering the other Minako's abilities? Flawlessly executing them when not twenty minutes ago, she couldn't tell where to put her hands? It makes her uneasy.
She is grateful to him for helping her, though. The restlessness is gone, replaced with the confidence of a fighter, even if it seems like her body remembers better than her mind does.]
I guess that's one problem solved, thanks to you. I could say the same, though, I didn't realize you were into swordfighting.
no subject
I dabble a bit in kendo. But I guess you'd say I owe more to "the other Yato". Everywhere I look, someone seems to be finding a sword on their doorstep or showing off fancy new moves. I wouldn't have pegged you for the lethal type, though.
[ Because by the end, it really did look lethal... ]
So what's the other Minako's story? What was she fighting for?
no subject
I haven't had enough visions to figure that out, but from the ones I've seen, I get the sense that she's fighting to get to the top of this dungeon-like tower she's climbing. She's on a time limit, and she's pretty desperate.
[She runs her fingers down the spear, quietly remembering the gun stashed in her room at her apartment, too.]
But she's amazingly capable as well.
no subject
She's amazingly capable. But you're not?
[ An honest question. She's never seemed incompetent to him... ]
no subject
Capable in a different way, I guess? She's basically putting her life on the line every night she goes into that tower. Whereas all I have to deal with is essay deadlines, demanding customers, and irate event goers.
no subject
[ But he smiles too, if a bit wryly. ]
Well! If your spearmanship's any indication, you'll be capable both ways. You're gonna keep practicing, right?
no subject
[She sighs and runs a hand through her hair.]
Yeah. Part of me doesn't want to, because I shouldn't have to need to. But then, it's a skill, just like any other, right? How I use it is up to me to decide, but I'll lose it if I don't practice.
no subject
[ But mostly he thinks it would be a shame for all that skill to disappear back into the ether... ]
Got any boys you wanna impress? Let 'em take a peek at you practicing and you'll have 'em swooning in a heartbeat.
no subject
Nope, none at all. But I'll keep it in mind if I need someone to swoon for me. Is that what you've been doing with your kendo, though? Because I can't promise swooning, but I would like to watch you practice.
no subject
[ Because he doesn't practice in a dojo, he just fights Yamato Yasusada and piggybacks off his knowledge... the most informal of kendos. But there's no bigger kendo nerd than Yamato, so he isn't a bad person to sponge off of. ]
You really wanna see? I'd be happy to show you! Solo practice isn't too interesting, though. Just tons of repetition and discipline stuff. If you want something flashier, I'll ring you up the next time Yamato and I can get together for a session.
[ they basically go all out and beat each other with sticks tbh ]
no subject
[It'd be a good way to get ideas for that workout regimen, too. Relying on just memories of using this spear would be a bad idea...]
But yeah, if Yamato is okay with it, let me know! I'll make time for it. [She grins.] Can't miss a chance of seeing you be cool, right?