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un; parkour

[heyunderoos]

[Okay, time to approach Minako. Peter is half nervous in a way. What if she preferred him as a mermaid or something?]

Would you be free to just hang out anytime soon? I figure it'd be cool to get to know each other without, you know, one of us being a fish.

[reloves]

Of course!!!!!!!!

[ Well, at least it seems that's one thing he doesn't have to be nervous about, huh? Can't exactly beat the excitement of that many exclamation marks.

(Granted, this is just the way Minako naturally types, but still..) ]

I'm free to hang out whenever!!! Is there anything in particular you'd like to do together? (✯◡✯)

gently pretends there is an arcade in this game

[heyunderoos]

[That is a lot of exclamation marks. Wow. Okay, so, Minako definitely is down to hang out.]

I was thinking we could probably hit up a bunch of food carts or play some games at an arcade? I think that'd be fun?

text: un; not.the.champion

[toomuchinfo]

Fenris says you're good to know.

Hey. I'm Hawke. Not the Hawke, but a Hawke. Discount Hawke? Now with more guilt?

[reloves]

I didn't even know there was a the Hawke, so I think you're good.

[ Not that Minako hasn't heard mentions of a Hawke around, sure, but-- even if there are apparently multiple Hawkes around here, she's pretty sure that one of them laying claim to being the Hawke would be pretty dumb. No one deserves to be reduced to a second-place version of themselves like that. ]

Fenris really said that though? I didn't know he was going around saying nice things about me to people!!

[toomuchinfo]

Oh. Well, there is. Tall beefy guy, answers to Garrett or usually just Hawke. So that makes me Sarajane.

[and she has a hard time seeing herself as not inferior to Garrett. he seems to have his shite together for the most part, while due to the fact that Sarajane is further along in the timeline, her survivor's guilt has been taken to the nth level]

And he absolutely did. So I figure that someone he likes it someone I would probably like, too. And the fact that he does like you is a big deal, it's hard for Fenris to like people.

christmas eve

[peninhand]

There~!

[ Monika puts on the table before Minako's seat the box with her name on it, before going back to her own seat. Christmas is a time when they're supposed to relax and be happy, and even then this place tries to make it worse than it should be on them. ]

Gosh, I can't believe something as simple as receiving Christmas gifts is something this place twists... [She sighs then closes an eye as she looks at her girlfriend.] At least those I got for you won't be that tricky to get~

[reloves]

[ There's definitely something true in what Monika is saying. Even the most simple things are often twisted by this place - in a way that definitely puts Minako more on edge than she'd like to admit to, most of the time.

It's just hard when you've been taught to always be suspicious of things, and then this place loves making things look suspicious. Sometimes that suspicion is warranted when things get dangerous, but Minako is well aware that sometimes it makes her just look kind of paranoid..

Maybe it's why she's attempting to not fret too much right now as she's staring at the two boxes they've managed to get. Maybe the upside of looking together meant that they were able to get each other's box, rather than having to hunt down a total stranger, but the boxes themselves.. ]

It should be fine since they're the boxes with our names on it, right?

[ Yes, she still sounds a touch worried.. Even if Minako - being Minako - tries to smile at her girlfriend all the same. ]

I guess I wouldn't put it past this place to still play some mean prank with them, you know..

[peninhand]

[ She's getting worried, isn't she? That's not surprising. Even in her homeworld, she figures Minako would be worried about something like that. Maybe even more so, what with all the sort of villains there who could try sending trapped packages to her and her friends.

Surely the Fox isn't that vile though. Her opinion of their "host" is rather low, but not that low. ]

It'll be fine. Even the heart of a mean fox grows three times in size today.

[ She leans forward and boops Minako's nose. ]

No worrying on Christmas~!

[ With that said, she starts unwrapping her package- Quickly so Minako can't have the time to worry about whether it's a bomb threatening to explode or something vile!

And by the looks of it, it's... A framed picture? Monika doesn't see what the picture it just yet, so focused as she is perfectly unwrapping the frame (a perfectionist till the end), but Minako may be able to see it from where she is. ]

[a gift basket left on the porch]

[ruevealing]

[Sometime in the night, a basket ends up on the doorstep. It is a box of beautiful Christmas cookies, iced and brushed in gold leaf, to look like perfect little ornaments. Attached is a card:]

My darling friend,
Wishing you the warmest of holidays. May all of the joys of this happy season be yours this holiday and into the New Year. Thank you dearly for the gift of your friendship.
Affectionately yours,
Delloso de la Rue ♡

Christmas gift

[heyunderoos]

[Around Christmas, Minako should find a package tucked in her mailbox. The gift is wrapped nicely in colorful rainbow paper. Within, Minako can find a folded A-Line sundress in a soft mint color. The dress is likely to fit a bit loosely, but is comfortable to wear. Not to mention the hidden pockets alongside the normal ones.

Peter embroidered small orange hearts along the edge of the skirt in a wavy pattern. Its easy enough to tell where he started on the hearts due to the shakier stitching compared to where he finished.]

Hi, Minako!

I wasn't quite sure what color you didn't have yet, but I thought you might like this. If it doesn't fit properly just tell me and I'll fix it.

Happy holidays,

-Peter Parker

sometime in may I DON'T DO DATES!!! / log

[hugenergy]

[ It's an arcade.

If there's irony to be found, a character from a videogame in a building full of such things, Sayori doesn't feel it; rather, she's fixated on this magical place having an arcade of all things, a giddiness being carried with her during her sightseeing. How can she not be giddy? A little anxious too, sure, but she's being whisked up in the fantasy of it.

She's not sure if she wants to play a game right now, but it can't hurt to look around, can it? ... especially when she spots some crane games and the really cute prizes inside!

(She can not spend all her spoons on them. Can she? ...she'll be back!)

It's good to sightsee, anyway, if she is sightseeing, so, that's the plan: have a nose around, see what kind of games there are. There's a pick of people, and she greets any that glance at her with a wide smile, but some of them are invovled in their games. She pays attention to a few of them: shooters, dancers, slot machines.

And there's even a cool-looking girl having at it on a racer! Sayori knows not to interrupt, but she can't help it when the screen shows an obstacle burst out from a side street to potentially crash into the player if she doesn't move fast enough--

She squeaks! ]

Dodge, dodge!!

[ YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! ]

[reloves]

.. huh?

[ Sure, Minako is usually a very observant girl. Especially in serious situations. But, for one, this isn't a very serious situation.. and she also definitely didn't expect a sudden spectator. The arcade doesn't seem nearly as popular as the one back home did, though she mostly figures it's since a lot of people in this place come from worlds without arcades.

(A terrible, terrible thought, honestly. Who lives their life without knowing the joys of arcade games? Even a 90s girl like Minako knows what's hip and happening when it comes to arcades!)

Which means that she lets out that surprised sound the moment a girl speaks up, and since she looks away from the screen to see who spoke up, the obstacle actually crashes straight into Minako's car - making it fly into a wall, the words game over flashing on the screen.

Minako hasn't even gotten a proper look at Sayori's face when she hears the familiar game over sound also booming out of the machine, her hands dropping from the wheel she was holding with a sigh. At least the blonde doesn't seem annoyed, just.. kind of disappointed..

It's only then with that sigh that she finally tries to get a second, proper look at the person who gave her gaming advice at just the wrong moment, and--

Wait.

God.

She knows this girl. Sure, it could be coincidence. It could be someone who just happens to look very similar. But this girl-- she doubtlessly looks exactly like one of the girls on that photo Monika showed her.

Given the circumstances, Minako knows to not look surprised. She forces the emotion down - thankfully she's pretty good at that, given the sheer amount of secrets she has to cover up at all times - and instead just keeps that same disappointed-at-the-game-over-screen look on her face instead. ]

.. I lost. [ She just says, waiting to see what the other girl says first. ]

[hugenergy]

N-no!!

[ While Minako's going through her Emotions, Sayori, meanwhile, is going through a particular set when she sees that GAME OVER appear on the screen: despair. Her hands go up to her face and onto her cheeks as embarrassment rushes through her. How could she!!! She did this!

It only flames more inside her to see the girl's face and how she looks at her, the disappointment in her voice. ]

I-I'm sorry! I got caught up in the moment... c-can I buy you another game? It was my fault!

[ Please, let her repent. She must repent! ]

un; Parkour

[heyunderoos]

Minako, hey

I meant to send you this message sooner, but I kept getting distracted.

I went home briefly in May. Thirteen just kind of dropped me back there for a year, but it was only maybe three days here.

So, sorry if I've been quieter because of it. I'm still trying to adjust.

How are you?

[reloves]

[ Oh boy, does Minako ever not want to talk about how she's doing. The Monika situation still hasn't resolved despite various attempts made by all sorts of people, and it's definitely got her spiraling.

Maybe that's why she just plainly ignores the question at the end, instead writing: ]

Adjusting? Did you have a bad time back home? Or did it feel bad to get stuck here again instead?

[heyunderoos]

[Yeah, girl, he noticed that. He doesn't comment on it yet.]

Bad stuff happened at home. I'll be okay. Having a whole year put into your head when you're only gone for three days was... a lot.

I just wanted you to know I'm here still. If you need anything.

late July

[peninhand]

[ Monika had very nearly given up. From her perspective, she was stuck in a visual novel forever. The game had looped over many times by now and there had been no clear indications that getting the "happy ending" in this game would free her. No, it was more logical to imagine the fox had simply had its revenge by trapping her in hell forever.

Still, she hadn't given up. A simple, foolish thought had helped her hold onto hope this past month. That she would see Minako again. That she would be able to hold her, laugh with her, talk with her... Even if she didn't deserve it. How stupid did you have to be to go up against a literal god? Yet again, she hadn't really thought this through. But finally, she's managed to reach the "perfect" ending in that horrible game...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Her phone initializes the item transfer routine Minako has seen a hundred time by now, but rather than materialize some item Monika stored away, it materializes a person out of thin air.

Monika herself. ]

Aah...!

[ She falls unceremoniously on the ground, though she immediately tries pushing herself back up. The ordeal has left her feeling groggy, as if she hadn't left her bed in nigh an entire month. She blinks in quick successions, managing to get on her knees. Is this... Home? Does that mean-- ]

Mina-?!

[reloves]

[ It's been hard for Minako to go out at all over the past month. She hasn't, not really. Thankfully Usagi and Makoto have been infinitely kind to her by bringing her pretty much anything she'd need and even cooking meals for her - because Minako hasn't really been taking care of herself otherwise. She can't really do anything when Monika is stuck like this, after all. When doing anything else feels like a betrayal. She has to try and focus all her attention on Monika and the way she's stuck.

.. even though she ran out of possible solutions a long time ago. Minako has tried so much, and she's invited several people over who also tried so much, but in the end everything failed. Apparently there was nothing they could do to break the fox's curse.

It's so terribly depressing. Especially when Minako is such a girl of action. If she's ran all out of actions, then.. what is she supposed to do..?

All she can do is just.. sit here and stare at the screen. Hoping for a moment that she can help Monika, that there might be the faintest chance of escape. She can't miss it. She has to stay right here.

It might explain a few things about the scene Monika finds when she gets out of the Relic. Minako is sitting there next to where Monika's Relic is resting on a table. Her knees are drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them. Minako's hair is looking kind of untidy, and there are dark circles around her eyes that betray the fact she hasn't been sleeping much lately. ]

.. Monika..?

[ Minako's head is turned. She is staring at the other girl. But something about her reaction is so slow - maybe because she looks so tired, or maybe just because she can't fully believe what she's seeing here.

It's not like it's the first time she's imagined Monika suddenly being free. Minako has definitely involuntarily fallen asleep in this position from fatigue more than once, and she doesn't want to put her hope forward so easily anymore. Not when she woke up every single time to her girlfriend still being trapped, Minako powerless to help her. ]

late august- hands you some TEEN DRAMA

[heyunderoos]

When it comes to the goddess of love stuff, how... seriously do you take that?

This feels like such a weird way to even bring this up, but my life is kind of a weird mess rn.

IT'S BEAUTIFUL.. i love it!!!!!!

[reloves]

Wait, are you saying it's a love mess?

[ Considering the implications of that first question. Which - yes, despite her lack of a direct answer to that, she takes it very seriously, Peter! If anything, she takes it even more seriously when it comes to friends! ]

What's going on?

Video; UN: Cuddlebunny

[lightthedarkness]

Mamo-chan is gone.

[reloves]

[ .. god. If there's ever a message that could stop Minako in her tracks completely, it's this one. She's dropping absolutely everything she may have been doing out there to reply to this one instantly. ]

Usagi.. Where are you right now?

[ She's coming over! You can't stop her! Nothing could! ]

Video; un: flourandbloom

[thunderingcourage]

[Makoto hadn't been resting much the last few days, several things running through her head. But there was one thing which had been unmistakable, that she couldn't ignore, and well Minako was the only other one that she could think to talk to about it.]

Hey, is it alright if I come over?

[Just how many were left now? Mamoru had left, and now Usagi was gone as well. Now it was just the three of them here; Makoto, Minako, and Setsuna.]

[reloves]

Of course.

[ It's not like Minako doesn't have an idea as to why Makoto might want to come over, after all. If there's anything both of them would be worried about, there could only be one thing - and she can hear in the other's voice that there's something Makoto must be thinking about.

And it's got to be yet another empty spot in Minako's house. Usagi, now gone.

Minako's own voice is surprisingly calm, but there's a serious edge to it, like she's falling back on the coping mechanism of being too serious about it. ]

You can come over right now if you want. I'll leave the door open.