open || greek fire from the sea of her soul

[complementing]

WHO: Minako and YOU!
WHERE: Peach Beach late at night, Birch Hills apartment complex in Apprassage
WHEN: All month, excluding certain event days
WHAT: Feeling like she's going down a path of no return, Minako tries to summon the two beings that have recently settled into the depths of her soul...and on a more lighthearted note, she also gets involved in cosplay.
WARNINGS: Hints of Persona 3 related suicide and death. For anyone tapping into the Persona threads, I will be writing Seth in prompt 2 by default, but Card is also available to write Thanatos!Ryoji if you want your character to interact with him instead, most likely as an accidental summon on Minako's part. Let us know if you'd be okay with threadjacking or even a complete three-person thread if you want to go that route. Oh, and if you'd like an Evoker thread and a Persona thread all in one, please mention that in the header too!

I. I CHOOSETH THIS FATE OF MY OWN FREE WILL
Evoker use; Peach Beach late at night

[Okay, Peach Beach at night should have less people around than Hollingberry Fields at night, right? Right. Or so Minako tells herself, staring out into the ocean with her Evoker in her hand. The scenery is all wrong, but there's definitely no way she's pulling the stunt she's about to pull anywhere in public. Nobody needs to freak out over her looking like she's about to shoot herself in the head.

Because that's exactly what it looks like, the Evoker cradled in her palms and then lifted to her temple with an audible click of its mechanisms in her right hand. Her left is clutching at her wildly beating heart, and her finger is on the trigger. Her visions tell her that this won't end in death, logic tells her it can't because the gun doesn't fire bullets. But she's almost hyperventilating anyways, so so so afraid that she's making a mistake.

But she has to know.

Do you catch her before she pulls the trigger? Or are you drawn to the area by her cry?]

PERSONA!

II. YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ME...
Persona regains; Peach Beach late at night
See note about Thanatos!Ryoji under Warnings

[Or maybe it's none of the above, and you encounter her mid-summon. Her head violently jerks to the side, the sound of glass shattering, and where one would presume a bullet would escape, there's instead what looks to be glowing blue fragments, suspended in the air. The wind picks up around her in a self-contained tornado, and a figure bursts into existence behind her with a deafening roar.

Seth, the fire-breathing dragon, spreads its wings wide as it responds to Minako's voice, head thrown back to gaze on the moon that represents its Arcana before throwing all its fury and weight forward. An explosion of fire escapes from its mouth, parting the ocean water before them. And though it's right above her head, hot enough for her to feel like her skin is blistering, Minako doesn't flinch. She kneels wearily on the sand, yes, Seth snapping his jaws shut to return the fire to the furnace after a few moments, but she doesn't flinch.]

Maragidyne...sure takes a lot out of me. Was that four or five in a row?

III. CARD CAPTOR SAKUYA
Cosplay progress; Minako's apartment

[It might be that you don't even realize all of this Persona stuff is happening late at night, and instead you encounter Minako right outside her apartment on a sunny day. She'll be either practicing cosplay poses or perhaps walking around in a pretty white dress, and while how finished it looks depends on what time of the month you stop by, she'll be more than happy to show off what the end product is supposed to look like by practically sticking her phone in your face.]

It's Card Captor Sakuya! You know, the magical girl anime. Kiyomitsu-kun is helping me make it, but I'm breaking in the heels right now.

IV. WILDCARD
Throw me a starter, or find me at Plurk on raynestorm to work out a different scenario with me

Comments

III

[scarlet_devil]

[ Émilie missed all the Persona related shenanigans simply because she had to be up early for university during the week. Quite often, though, she has her afternoons free. And since she happened to be in the area... ]

Oh...? Didn't that come out in the nineties?

II

[true_noir]

[Well, she was right. The beach was a lot more damned deserted. However, Chloe did have good reason for being in this part of town. Some sailor girl, who would remain nameless, was having a really damned tough time with the whole 'the ocean and sky are both gray,' and this meant occasionally coming out to check on her. Chloe was heading back, for once not blackout drunk on the boat with her friend, when she caught sight of Minako.

She'd been about to say something when she saw the evoker. Now, if it had been a real gun, she would have been terrified, running towards her to get her to stop. She couldn't be sure at this distance if it was, but in the back of her mind she had a strong feeling... and if Minako was trying to test something, then this was the place to do it. So, rather than call out, she snuck down behind a dune, completely out of sight, and watched. Her heart was kind of in her stomach as she observed, eyes locked onto Minako... please be the evoker.

(OOC: If Ryoji's up for it, interested in Thanatos making an appearance in a three-way thread, though Chloe won't get up until that insane monster thingee isn't rampaging, so I don't know if he'd still be around afterwards.)

I

[cattack]

[Unfortunately for Minako, great minds, or at least antisocial ones trying to avoid people, think alike. Cleo had driven to the beach, no longer able to handle being cooped up in her apartment, hoping to get some fresh air and maybe do some running without any people present. But when she sees Minako, well. Her first reaction is to go and greet her friend. (Was that right? Were they friends? Minako had said they were, so they were, right?)

Then she sees what Minako is holding. And everything clicks into place, horrifying and impossible. As Minako places the gun to her head, Cleo abandons everything she was thinking to simply dash forward, dive, and tackle Minako with a loud shout.]

Don't do it-!

I. something something significant beaches

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy's shifts had gotten hard to control lately; many of them ran late into the night or started way too early in the morning, often several days in a row. The warehouse was close enough to the beach that catching a bus down here to unwind wasn't too much of a hassle, ankle or not.

It was usually empty at this time of night; the moon rising over the water and the gentle waves washing against the sand was hypnotically calm.

A bright spot of auburn hair caught her eye immediately as something out of place, and Lucy paused a moment before increasing her pace. Minako? Strange, to see her here, but Lucy wasn't going to complain. She was going to say hi.

Something in her roommate's hands gleamed silver in the moonlight, and the quiet happiness in her mind froze into panic. The teenager burst into a sprint, throwing up sand behind her, uncaring if grit got in her shoes, that was a fucking gun and Minako was raising it to her head and nothing else mattered except stopping her.

Three meters, two—and Lucy lunged, something translucent silver and humming reaching out from her back to grab Minako's shoulders and wrist before Lucy tackled her.]

What are you doing?!

iii

[wordcarvings]

[ Hello neighbor, he did certainly not expect to have a phone shoved in his face on his way home for the first time this week (he's been sleeping in his atelier for the last couple of days).

He blinks sleepily a couple of times, then smiles. ]

It looks lovely, and I'm sure the end result will be amazing.

II

[openhanded]

[Sorey is finding it harder and harder to sleep lately, especially with the shifts he's been pulling at the bar. Something about the beach calms him, though. He's lived in Recolle all his life so he's never been to a busy beach like you'd find in Florida, but the ocean here has always calmed him. This is where he found the old fossil that kicked off his entire archaeology obsession.

He's not looking for fossils tonight, though. He's just walking with his shoes in his hand, enjoying the feeling of the sand between his toes. The moon is beautiful, and there's nothing but the waves, a clear gunshot and a tornado...

Sorey jerks out of his trance sharply as a dragon appears on the beach. It appears to be protecting something, but more than that, Sorey's stunned by its magnificence and the firepower. It startles him enough that he finds himself on his rear.]

H-holy...

[When it appears to be over, he focuses on the small figure crouched on the sand. Despite everything in him telling Sorey to flee, Sorey runs toward the source of the noise and fire. He needs to make sure that person is okay, suddenly. He needs to--]

III

[mincingminuet]

[Penelope may not realize exactly what is going on at night, given that she's been having adventures of her own, but she does absolutely recognize the costume. she'd come by to say hi, check on Freya and Lucy too, and talk cosplay. And seeing something she remembers makes her eyes light up.]

I totally remember that! I watched it all the time as a kid. I think you can pull it off, you totally have the figure for it.

I

[covenantal]

[ Too bad he found out from Yukiko that the beach is also a good place to practice powers.

He's been using the woods, which, when you have fire powers, presents some risks. He's been fine so far, but practicing in a place where he can't set the city on fire by accident has some appeal.

It doesn't entirely surprise him that he doesn't get the beach to himself. It surprises him even less to see his senpai, leader that she doesn't think she is, everyone's beacon and hope.

... is ...

... she holding ...

... a--

His heart leaps into his throat as he cries out: ]

Mina--!

[ But it's too late. She's already lifting the gun and pulling the trigger, and saying... Persona?

Still, Yu will trot over, terrified adrenaline making his pulse beat too hard and fast in his wrists. ]

Minako-senpai...?

II aggressively. But let's leave Thanatos out.

[burningblossoms]

[Yukiko had just been in her spot in the woods near the beach practicing herself when she'd heard the sounds of someone else moving around out there. Curious, she moved ahead, her Persona flitting along behind her and casting golden light through the darkened forest. She arrives just in time to see Minako standing out on the sand, and in time to see her raise a gun to her head and fire.

Her eyes widen, a silent scream of surprise and protest, but no sound comes out that's audible over the tornado. She scrambles out of the brush, Sumeo-Okami blazing ahead and swirling over to Minako.]

Minako!

[Healing light pours off of her own Persona, uselessly healing damage she's only perceived. It's clear enough by the time the dust settles that it was unnecessary, but still. The girl herself skitters to a halt, dropping to the sand with a ghastly expression.]

You...you...can absorb fire too?

closed to sora

[complementing]

[Minako tries not to work herself too hard when she does these late night training sessions, for a multitude of good reasons. School, work, mental and physical health. Tonight's reason is to pick Sora up from an opening night showing for a movie-- but she's so tired from her earlier session. She just needs an extra ten minutes to rest up first, before driving him back.

So she texts him to ask him to meet her on the beach, just a few minutes' walk away.

When he gets there, he'll find her curled up on a tiny half-sand, half-grass hill looking very sleepy.]

Hi Sora...did you just get here?

[She seems completely oblivious to the giant black dragon curled around her, dozing along with her.]

[complementing]

Around then, yeah! I remember watching it as a little girl, at least, though I've forgotten how much I got through before I stopped...

[Clearly she needs to binge watch it before the convention.]

[complementing]

[The sound of glass shattering-- and then a black dragon whirls into life behind Minako, and fires off a single fireball into the ocean. Minako watches it sputter in the water thoughtfully.]

So...single target versus multiple targets? I love it. So versatile.

[Seth lets out an audible snort, flapping his wings once to float in a lazy figure eight above Minako's head. A moment later and he disappears.]

Oh come on, am I really going to have to summon you every two minutes? Don't be grumpy about staying out longer than normal, I'm trying to test my limits here.

[scarlet_devil]

Well, I must say you look very cute, Minako. I don't think I've seen it before, I must say.

[ Perhaps she can convince Émilie to join her. ]

[complementing]

[So much for privacy, she thinks as she hears Cleo's voice, and also OW, as she goes down. The Evoker has a much softer landing a few feet away, gleaming despite the weak moonlight. She hopes sand won't affect its performance.

Now that she's not holding the Evoker, though, it's even more obvious to her how frightened she really was. Her breath is coming out in gasps, her hands are trembling, and she can barely lift her arms to try and move Cleo off of her, slight as she is.

It's not helping her case, she knows, and she tries to at least let her voice project calm confidence, reigning in the heaving with some particularly deep breaths.]

Cleo. I promise you this isn't what it looks like.

iii!

[sharplydressed]

[At some point while she's showing off the dress and trying to get used to her shoes, over Kiyomitsu moseys! His unofficial tailoring business has been pretty hopping lately thanks to the upcoming convention, so he's been out and about even more than usual, checking on this outfit or sewing an extra hem or delivering packets of buttons and zippers and lace.

When he spots Minako, he raises a hand in cheerful greeting.]

How're your feet holding up? Do I need to go get the bandaids yet?

[He's only half-joking... Heels are truly the devil's work even if they look so nice and are so necessary for some costumes.]

[complementing]

[Minako shouts as she hits the ground hard, head throbbing and the breath knocked out of her. Lucy isn't as light as she looks, apparently, and the sand just. Really isn't her friend this month.

Once the stars are out of her eyes, and after she wheezes out the last of the grit from her mouth, Minako reaches back to pat whichever part of Lucy she can reach in a move that she hopes is somewhat comforting despite the angle.]

Not what you think I'm doing. Let me sit up a bit, Lucy. Please?

I

[accordance]

[ As Minako's touchan, of course he'd be here to supervise her very first summoning. He may not have any healing abilities, but he can fly now - and if anything, hopefully his presence would be reassuring enough. The moonlight reflects off his white hair, gleaming silver and ethereal in the almost-darkness.

Because he also wants to know. The gun has no bullets, that he's made sure of. But - just in case. ]

Whenever you're ready.

[ Do begin. ]

[complementing]

[She peeks at him from behind her phone, beaming at him with something akin to the force of a thousand suns.]

Thank you! Hehe, sorry, I'm just really excited for this. I feel like a princess, and it's like reliving my childhood, all in one!

[complementing]

[Minako looks up when she hears approaching footsteps, blinking her red eyes at him. She's had no shortage of unexpected onlookers since she started practicing (even if Peach Beach is supposed to be deserted, she thinks wryly), so she's not surprised that someone has seen her. She's more surprised it's him. He's so connected to books and papers in her mind that she easily forgets archaeologists actually go out into nature for their work, too.

This late at night, though? Did he have another argument with Mikleo? She hopes not.

Seth turns its head towards Sorey, staring impassively down at him as he reaches them.]

Hey, be nice or go away.

[She points accusingly at the dragon, but it's gone by the time she finishes the gesture, leaving only a low growl in its wake.]

[complementing]

Pen, I knew I could count on you to appreciate this.

[Minako's grin widens-- and then she's suddenly more shy than anyone might have ever seen her, clasping her hands in front of her and rocking a little bit (dangerously) on her heels.]

You really think so? It's my first time ever doing cosplay, and I want to do it justice. Card Captor Sakuya is one of my favorite animes even now.

[complementing]

[Yu's voice pulls her out of her summoning reverie, her eyes widening at the sight of him. Above them, the giant black dragon manifests into the air, unfurling its wings in one majestic sweep before taking to hovering in response to her hesitation.]

Yu-kun...

[She pulls the Evoker from her temple, her expression tense with guilt. He shouldn't have seen that. Nobody needs to see this, honestly, nobody needs to see the awful, morbid way she has to access her newfound powers.]

I'm sorry, I must have scared you just now.

[cattack]

[The panic is evident in Cleo's voice, and on her face. At the very least, she twists as they go down to hold Minako closer to her, so Cleo takes the brunt of the fall. But even so, her eyes are wide and her voice shaky as she twists again, holding Minako so she can't escape. Physical strength is her only good point, after all.]

That is a gun. How is this not what it looks like?!

[There's a tinge of desperation in her voice, along with panic and worry and everything else. She's frightened to see someone as kind and friendly as Minako with the gun to her head.]

[complementing]

[The feeling of something soft and warm enveloping her, while not actually doing anything for her, still feels nice enough that she's more energized than before. In fact, she's smiling, moving to kneel in front of her friend and gently pat her back. The way Yukiko had burst in out of nowhere, Sumeo-Okami flying before her, is a sight she's not going to forget any time soon, all the more important because Yukiko had summoned her for Minako's sake.]

Um...I don't think so? But Seth is definitely a fire affinity Persona.

[complementing]

[Minako waves to him energetically, practically skipping over to him to meet him half way, holding her skirts up like a princess on the run. This cosplay has brought out a childish side of her she thought she'd never have a chance to go back to, and it's incredibly stress relieving.

(It probably helps that Kiyomitsu is handling most of the actual cosplay parts. Oops.)]

I'm doing great! I stuck on bandaids before I put on the heels, and I think that's helping.

[mincingminuet]

Oh, geez dude, seriously?

[Pen walks closer, grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire cat. Never cosplayed before huh?]

No way, I can't believe you've never worn a costume before. You'll totally kill either way, but if you're nervous I can help you with the little touches.