(after event chill out lil mingle) let's understand it

[nullificates]

(cw depression)

(he hasn't exactly been doing great - much to the opposite. he spent the week in bed, he hasn't taken care of himself whatsoever, and he's exhausted. either way, it hardly matters how he feels, does it ever?

so. let's go. a text message arrives to everyone's charms and tablets, and it reads:)

this is, you guessed it, osamu dazai. it's been a week since that stupid maze, so here is what we have:

1. i need copious amounts of alcohol and food. i'll bring some to the beach in 30, i suggest we all do the same.
2. i'd like to hear what your experiences were. it's important for data building - we have a few detectives in this place, some smartpants, and some go-getters. we need to take advantage of our only resource, which is ourselves. meet me at the beach, or send me anonymously. i don't care about your shit per se.

see you, or don't see you.

many words that mean absolutely nothing here,
dazai.

(to those that come to the beach, they'll see several cocktail possibilities laid in front of dazai, as well as a good number of the food they serve in lupin - mixed nuts, pistachio, cheese tables, chocolate, dried figs, potato chips, chicken snacks, boiled sausage, asparagus with sauces, and dried fruit. a bonfire warms his hands in the chilly breeze of the night - this feels awfully needed.)

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2

[chemex]

[He's been showing up to Lupin wearing a flu mask, but he's adamant about still leaving the house. Fresh air, distractions, not steeping in his sickness and his poor mental state like the actual worst cup of tea ever, etcetera. So he's still wearing one out at the beach, despite it being outside and despite definitely wanting to breathe in the sea air-- he's probably not even contagious, but something something, too Japanese to live, something.]

[But he's got a little carry-case of things, mostly coffee and syrups, but a few small bottles of liquor, and he's been making people espresso martinis, because of course he has. They're his favorite to make at Lupin, too. So when approached by Kotone he smiles, and she can actually see it despite the mask, because he's not wearing his glasses.]

[Still.]

I think the only reason Goro hasn't moved out is because I'm not contagious and not oozing snot everywhere, but it's funny to watch him deny being domestic. How're you?

[orphne]

[No glasses! She's so proud of him, and it shows in the way she tilts her head, glancing over his person to see if they're anywhere nearby, and giving him a warm, genuine, if a little small, smile.]

A little tired, [she admits, because saying, "I'm okay," after the maze rings more hollowly than usual. Her hands are full, but she taps her cheek with the hand holding a glass to indicate the mask with a raised eyebrow.] When'd you get sick?

[chemex]

[He closes his eyes over with his smile and pats the sand next to him.]

What do you know, not sleeping for almost a week wreaks havoc on the immune system.

[orphne]

[She plops down next to him without ceremony, offering him her plate of snacks. Her drink spills a little over her fingers, but that's okay; she just rests her head against his shoulder to immediately make herself comfortable.]

I've never had that problem. I'm surprised Goro didn't offer to knock you out himself!

[She has the opposite problem: sleepy bitch disease, and it is quite literally terminal. Fortunately, she doesn't have the modern meme-knowledge to make that joke.]

[chemex]

[He laughs, and the sound crackles a bit and produces a brief bout of coughing, and he shakes his head.] Not for lack of trying.

[orphne]

[She huffs a laugh of her own through her nose and nudges his shoulder briefly. Hey bud, careful now, you don't get the ignoble death of coughing out a lung on a beach.]

But how're you doing? Other than being sick?

[She didn't miss how he'd dodged that question with expert precision -- now that she has Yu as a reference as well, it's easier to spot the similarities between the wildcards.]

[chemex]

[He'll just swallow the lung again, it'll be fine!]

[Gross.]

[He nudges her back, waiting until his breathing settles before taking a careful deep breath and allowing his expression to betray how tired he is, too.] ...I'm managing. [It's a variance of "I'm okay", but at least it's not an outright lie.]

[orphne]

[Ew!

Still, she can read between the lines and just nestles herself in against him, resting her head on his shoulder.]

That's a good first step, I think. Wanna talk?

[It's an offer this time, not a command, and her tone makes it clear. Should he choose to dodge it again, she'll allow it.]

[chemex]

[He leans his head sideways against her, closing his eyes. He's warmer than he should be, but it's fine.]

...mmn, I'm working through it, I think... I just. You know how it is.

[orphne]

[Oh, Akira... if the proximity of a potentially-feverish wildcard bothers her, she doesn't show it at all. In fact, she shifts a little to wrap her arm around his waist, the easiest way she can hold him from this position. It's okay for him to relax here with her.]

Yeah, [she says simply, squeezing her fingertips gently against his hip.] Goro's helping?

[chemex]

[He appreciates her so much. Her arms around his waist almost make him fold into her entirely, and he thinks about it-- he could just curl up in the sand and they could both nap, and that'd be okay, right? But he doesn't, instead just settling against her a little, his smile faint but evident in his tone.]

Yeah. He kicked my ass into sleeping when I first ate shit. Read boring philosophical texts to me and everything.

[orphne]

[Okay, she laughs outright at that.]

He really is a nerd, huh? [Nerd (affectionate). Goro's her friend, but she still doesn't get why Akira likes him so much. Then again, it's not like she has any space to judge anyone.]

Anything I can do to help?

[chemex]

Oh, absolutely. He'd definitely kill me if I told you how much, but just know it's a lot. [He wonders sometimes, too. And maybe that's a lot of it, right there-- Goro makes himself so unlovable, so hard to tolerate and so easy to be pushed away from, Akira takes it as a challenge and outdoes him with affection. But then he'd get bored when Goro relented, and that certainly wasn't true, so he'll just say it's a mystery.]

[He hums, leaning on her a bit more.] You're doing plenty, right here.

[orphne]

He could try.

[He's tried before, after all! It's a joke, but not a particularly funny one as she shifts a little when he moves to dig her chin into his hair.]

I'm glad you're here with me, Akira.

[chemex]

Didn't he once already? [Another chuckle that briefly crackles into a cough, which he tries to not shake too much from.]

[He butts his head up under her chin, closing his eyes and relaxing against her, digging his heels into the sand.] Mmn, same.

[orphne]

[She huffs through her nose again, shifting her hand from his waist to comb gently into the back of his hair, like she'd done in the maze. Content to let them sit in silence for a little while, she looks out over the ocean and strokes his hair. It's only after a few moments' silence that she adds,]

The maze... sorry we got separated.

[She knows there wasn't anything she could do about it, but, well- it still feels like something she should apologize for.]

[chemex]

[Head scritches will put him to sleep, Kotone, you've seen this firsthand. His posture starts to slip a little against her when she speaks, and he opts to sit up a little straighter, even if now he definitely looks doze-y.] Mmn, 's okay. Didn't wanna be, but... I think some time on my own helped me reflect on what we talked about.

[orphne]

[Listen, Mr. "I didn't sleep enough so I got sick," if her head scritches put him to sleep, that's a positive, not a negative.]

Yeah? [Her voice is gentle as she prods further, without letting up on her attention to his hair.] Wanna talk about your reflection?

[Hopefully he knows by now that she won't judge him, whether he chooses to tell her or not.]

[chemex]

[He huffs a vaguely annoyed sound-- at himself, more than her, and leans his head into her hand.] I'm an asshole to myself and I gotta stop that. [Frank.]

[orphne]

[She laughs a little, less from humor than surprise. Yeah, it's a frank assessment, but one Akira probably does need to make for himself, huh?]

Yeah. [Not the nicest thing to agree with, but hey, when he's right, he's right!] Lemme know if you ever need a reminder to be nicer to yourself.

[chemex]

[He exhales hard enough to pouch his mask forward from his mouth a second and slumps against her, sulking.] I never really thought about it before.

[orphne]

[She hums.]

Did you tell Goro? I bet he'd say something mean like, "Of course you have a hero complex, blah blah blah~"

[said as if he's said it to her, which, he kind of has. But also she does her best imitation of a Goro Voice, so take that as you will.]

akira stop beating yourself up all the time challenge

[chemex]

[He laughs, and the sound is strained, his smile a little wounded until he shifts gears to focus on her impression.] ...yeah, he wasn't very happy with me. But he's helped... a lot. More than I ever expected. [God he's down so bad.] Your impression is pretty good. Sumire did a pretty good one, too. [Ah, he hasn't really talked about her since she left, has he. Excuse him as he flinches again.]

😩

[orphne]

Good. I'm glad.

[She can only imagine how much Akira's helped Goro. It's good to hear that it goes both ways, kind of.

But her expression falls at the mention of Violet, nodding once. It seems she's gone, just like Shinji, huh...? Kotone nudges his shoulder gently.]

It's okay to miss her, you know.

[chemex]

[He laughs quietly, shaking his head.] No, I know-- [He puts the heel of one hand against his forehead, scrunching his eyes closed and rubbing at it.] I just feel stupid for being really fragile about literally everything right now.