Kotone "sleepy bitch disease" Shiomi (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orphne) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
expiationlogs2024-03-01 07:53 am
orphne) wrote in expiationlogs2024-03-01 07:53 am
[open/mingle] a light in the darkness
Who: any and everyone!
Where: astralin's farmhouse
What: mingle log for post-blackout!
Warnings: y'all tell me, please be good and don't break the house :(
If she hadn't been at the party, Kotone wouldn't have even known about the extent of the blackout. Sure, it's inconvenient, considering a lot of the lights are electric, and the fridge is, of course, powered by electricity as well, but the farmhouse she'd taken over from Astralin is an older and more traditional building. The main heat sources are the fireplaces strategically placed throughout the building -- a large one in the living space, a smaller one in the kitchen along with a wood-burning stove, and another large central one upstairs to help heat the bedrooms -- and the geothermal hot springs on the land. With the cold weather and snow on the ground, it's easy to take the food from the fridge and leave it outside in a locked box away from wild animals, but aside from the inconvenience of resorting to the candles and lanterns that were stockpiled in the basement, the farmhouse itself survives relatively unscathed!
Therefore, not long after the blast, Kotone sends a video message over the (charm) network inviting anyone who wants to take shelter from the cold, or even just cook some food, to come to Astralin's farmhouse on the edge of town for as long as they want or need.
She won't even make anyone help out on the farm. Probably!
1. Rural Snapshot
Power might go out, but life on the farm doesn't stop for something like that! The old wood stoves in the barn need to be cleaned up and made ready for use to keep the animals warm, and the animals still need to be taken care of. Goats, sheep, cows, chickens (a particularly big and brave one has the tiniest leather collar and a tag that says her name is "Scramble," and her friends Benedict and Sunny aren't far behind. They are Not For Eating (though their eggs are!))
Kotone won't make anyone help her with the farm chores of cleaning the barn, feeding the animals, or generally keeping things up and running, but she definitely won't turn down the help, either, giving pointers so the new folk don't completely muck it up (sometimes literally).
With the snow and general chill, there's not much to do with the crops themselves. Everyone is safe from the fields for now!
2. Potluck and BYOB (chef's recommendation: hot cocoa)
The farmhouse is not the inn -- Kotone has some food prepped and stored, with preserves from the fall harvest one of the key features, but it's not meant to feed the whole town. Thus, Kotone's going to request that anyone coming to stay at the farmhouse bring either raw ingredients or something they've made to share with any other hapless souls. Feel free to use the kitchen to cook, or get some help from someone else with cooking!
The wood-burning stove in the kitchen is perfect for heating up cocoa or wine, and there's room to get close with someone in front of any of the fireplaces. Like, it's encouraged to get close. It's a big farmhouse, but not that big. Make a friend! Share some warmth! The couches are cozy and comfortable, and if someone dozes off, well, Kotone won't be the one waking anyone up.
If someone would prefer to sleep in a bed, there are some bedrooms upstairs! One is, of course, sharing the room with plants. They're benign, normal plants, from potted flowers to hanging vines, but they are everywhere. Kotone herself doesn't have much of a green thumb other than keeping the plants watered and in view of sunlight, but the plants themselves seem to be flourishing throughout the farmhouse either way. It's almost as if someone (Astralin) had used magic to keep them growing strong and healthy, even indoors.
Oh, and speaking of sharing, again, the farmhouse isn't the inn. Expect to be sharing a space with someone else. Maybe a few people! Cozy up and make a new friend. It's better than freezing to death, right?
3. Hot Springs Episode
There are natural hot springs on the farmland that have been developed to mimic a Japanese onsen in places. The air might be cold and dark, but there are candles and lanterns around the springs to light it, and the water is nice and warm, perfect for those chill nights.
There are rules posted -- namely, clean yourself before going to soak -- and while there are separate bathing spaces for genders, Kotone doesn't really care too much about mixed bathing as long as everyone is respectful about it. Others may not be so casual about it, though, so one has to venture across at their own risk!
[ooc: This is a mingle! Feel free to use these prompts as inspiration or make your own. The only request I have is not to completely destroy the farmhouse or harm the animals -- anything else, go wild!]
Where: astralin's farmhouse
What: mingle log for post-blackout!
Warnings: y'all tell me, please be good and don't break the house :(
If she hadn't been at the party, Kotone wouldn't have even known about the extent of the blackout. Sure, it's inconvenient, considering a lot of the lights are electric, and the fridge is, of course, powered by electricity as well, but the farmhouse she'd taken over from Astralin is an older and more traditional building. The main heat sources are the fireplaces strategically placed throughout the building -- a large one in the living space, a smaller one in the kitchen along with a wood-burning stove, and another large central one upstairs to help heat the bedrooms -- and the geothermal hot springs on the land. With the cold weather and snow on the ground, it's easy to take the food from the fridge and leave it outside in a locked box away from wild animals, but aside from the inconvenience of resorting to the candles and lanterns that were stockpiled in the basement, the farmhouse itself survives relatively unscathed!
Therefore, not long after the blast, Kotone sends a video message over the (charm) network inviting anyone who wants to take shelter from the cold, or even just cook some food, to come to Astralin's farmhouse on the edge of town for as long as they want or need.
She won't even make anyone help out on the farm. Probably!
Power might go out, but life on the farm doesn't stop for something like that! The old wood stoves in the barn need to be cleaned up and made ready for use to keep the animals warm, and the animals still need to be taken care of. Goats, sheep, cows, chickens (a particularly big and brave one has the tiniest leather collar and a tag that says her name is "Scramble," and her friends Benedict and Sunny aren't far behind. They are Not For Eating (though their eggs are!))
Kotone won't make anyone help her with the farm chores of cleaning the barn, feeding the animals, or generally keeping things up and running, but she definitely won't turn down the help, either, giving pointers so the new folk don't completely muck it up (sometimes literally).
With the snow and general chill, there's not much to do with the crops themselves. Everyone is safe from the fields for now!
The farmhouse is not the inn -- Kotone has some food prepped and stored, with preserves from the fall harvest one of the key features, but it's not meant to feed the whole town. Thus, Kotone's going to request that anyone coming to stay at the farmhouse bring either raw ingredients or something they've made to share with any other hapless souls. Feel free to use the kitchen to cook, or get some help from someone else with cooking!
The wood-burning stove in the kitchen is perfect for heating up cocoa or wine, and there's room to get close with someone in front of any of the fireplaces. Like, it's encouraged to get close. It's a big farmhouse, but not that big. Make a friend! Share some warmth! The couches are cozy and comfortable, and if someone dozes off, well, Kotone won't be the one waking anyone up.
If someone would prefer to sleep in a bed, there are some bedrooms upstairs! One is, of course, sharing the room with plants. They're benign, normal plants, from potted flowers to hanging vines, but they are everywhere. Kotone herself doesn't have much of a green thumb other than keeping the plants watered and in view of sunlight, but the plants themselves seem to be flourishing throughout the farmhouse either way. It's almost as if someone (Astralin) had used magic to keep them growing strong and healthy, even indoors.
Oh, and speaking of sharing, again, the farmhouse isn't the inn. Expect to be sharing a space with someone else. Maybe a few people! Cozy up and make a new friend. It's better than freezing to death, right?
There are natural hot springs on the farmland that have been developed to mimic a Japanese onsen in places. The air might be cold and dark, but there are candles and lanterns around the springs to light it, and the water is nice and warm, perfect for those chill nights.
There are rules posted -- namely, clean yourself before going to soak -- and while there are separate bathing spaces for genders, Kotone doesn't really care too much about mixed bathing as long as everyone is respectful about it. Others may not be so casual about it, though, so one has to venture across at their own risk!
[ooc: This is a mingle! Feel free to use these prompts as inspiration or make your own. The only request I have is not to completely destroy the farmhouse or harm the animals -- anything else, go wild!]
no subject
"No. But you smell familiar," rumbles Barong. It continues to sniff, puzzled, as though trying to discern why it might recognize Kotone.
In the background, Minato scoops up another handful of bird seed. A chicken with the nametag of "Scramble" waddles over to pluck some food from his hand. Though Minato's expression is impassive, he's actually quite pleased that the chickens have taken a liking to him. The food he's offering them probably helps. ]
Maybe it's because you're a wild card too.
[ He doesn't turn to face Kotone when he speaks. Instead, Minato is still observing the chicken eating from his hand. ]
Or... maybe it's simpler than that. All people are connected to one another, aren't they?
[ And if there's that invisible thread tying everyone together, then perhaps one person's manifestation of their soul would recognize another's. ]
no subject
Maybe that's it! [Which part... she doesn't elaborate, because both are equally as possible. She had Barong as part of her soul -- technically she probably still does? If she had access to the Velvet Room, she could summon him again easily -- so even if he's not physically with her, some aspect of him has to still reside within her... or something. If everybody's connected, then the same might also be true!
Too complicated. She isn't going to spend all that much more time trying to figure it out. What matters is the Persona and the boy she's with right now.]
I don't usually have my Personas out unless we're fighting. All the ones I have with me are kinda big...
[Like Helel is so big and for what??]
no subject
As for Minato, he's well aware of just how big some of the Personas can get. He nods to acknowledge Kotone's remarks. ]
...I think the biggest one with me is Yamata no Orochi. The smallest is probably Pixie.
[ And then there's Jack Frost too, who's also pretty fun sized.
In hindsight, there'd never been a need to summon their Personas outside of combat. Here in Aldrip though, Minato's discovered they had more versatile uses. It definitely helps that there isn't really a need to keep the existence of Personas a secret. It's allowed him to learn about additional situations where they'd be handy. For example, Barong's taken a liking to herding farm animals.
Now that they're on that topic, Minato realizes he doesn't know anything about the Personas Kotone's brought with her. ]
Which ones do you have...?
no subject
[She'd had to place such a high priority on having the strongest Personas with her that she hadn't summoned Pixie since... well, since she was running short on money and wanted to hang out with Yukari, actually. Aside from that, not really.
Ah, but who does she have with her... one hand goes to her heart as she mentally cycles through who's actually with her.]
Helel, that was Sanada-senpai, Sandalphon from Aragaki-senpai, Cybele from Yukari, Melchizedek from Ken-kun, Surt from Junpei, Metatron from Aigis, Alilat from Kirijo-senpai, Odin from Odagiri-kun -- in the student council? I dunno if you know him, but he has my most powerful electric attacks. Then there's Norn from Ryoji and Messiah from everybody.
[She drops her hand and mentally settles on her final Persona.]
...I reawakened Thanatos while I was here, so he's with me, too.
no subject
But wait. Sandalphon from Aragaki-senpai and Norn from Ryoji? Did he hear that correctly? Minato blinks, taking a couple of seconds to process that information. The more powerful a Persona, the deeper Social Link bond it required. There's a wistful expression on Minato's face because he understands the implications of having Personas like Sandalphon and Norn. ]
...you were close with them then, Aragaki-senpai and Ryoji.
[ Though Minato had considered both of them as allies, at the end of the day he supposes he didn't really know anything about either of them at all. So that's the sort of person Kotone is then, the kind who's able to squeeze her way into another person's life no matter how hard they tried to shut her out. ]
no subject
[There's no hesitation behind her answer at all as she lowers her hand from her heart to go back to petting Barong, playfully tilting his head this way and that as she scritches at his fluff.
She's quiet a moment longer before adding,] We didn't have a lot of time together. But the time we had was really important. [Squish, squish, proding Barong's fluffy cheeks.] They were the Moon and the Fortune for me. ...Were they like that for you, too?
no subject
Minato shakes his head. ]
No. ...neither of them were social links for me. I guess I didn't really know who either of them were.
[ When it came to Ryoji, it simply couldn't be helped. But if he'd been able to get to know Shinjiro better, would things have been different? Would he have been able to foresee the danger on that full October moon?
...there's one way to find out, sort of. ]
Then... did you lose Aragaki-senpai too?
no subject
[For a moment, she looks taken-aback, glancing back over her shoulder with both eyebrows furrowed. That seems odd, but... well, if they weren't his Social Links, they weren't his Social Links. No point questioning it now. They really are different in more ways than one, huh...?
Her fingers tighten lightly in Barong's ruff at the question, and she has to take a breath before answering.]
Yeah. October 4th.
[If he's asking, that, at least, had to be the same. Plus she already knows Shinji thinks he's dead, and from her own experience with her Shinji, she knows it's not worth it trying to correct him. But that doesn't mean she's lost hope.]
The doctors told us he might not wake up again, but I'm sure he will. He's really stubborn. [She strokes Barong's fur a little more gently as if to apologize for squeezing earlier.]
no subject
Minato also remains silent, taking in all of Kotone's information. It was the same night of October 4th, but there's one difference that gives him a shred of hope. At least somewhere, someplace, Shinjiro was still breathing. ]
Yeah. He is.
[ Regret sits heavy like an iron ball and chain. There aren't many things out there that bother Minato, but that loss in particular will always haunt him. ]
He'll definitely wake up.
[ ...only to learn that Kotone had passed while he laid comatose in a hospital bed. Shinjiro would never forgive himself. He hadn't intended to bring up painful memories for Kotone, but he had to know. ]
...sorry.
no subject
You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'd want to know, too.
[And even if it still twists her up inside when she thinks about it too hard, how unfair it is that he'll wake up and she'll be gone, it's still better than if he weren't going to wake up at all. He won't see it that way, probably, but they all have to live or die with the choices they've made.]
And he's here now, so... even if you didn't get to have him as a Social Link, you can still spend time with him as a friend.
[Crossing the distance between them, she doesn't give him any warning before leaning up on tip-toe to wrap him up in a hug. It's what she would have wanted, talking about something like this. If he wants, he can think it's for her benefit, too.]
no subject
He freezes for a moment, uncertain about what's expected out of him. It's his instinct to immediately try discerning how to respond to the other party. He leans his forehead on Kotone's shoulder and lifts his arms to wrap them around her too, finally deciding to accept the hug at face value. ]
...yeah. You're right.
[ It's not like the past can be changed, so there's no point in dwelling too hard on it. And there's no time for thinking about it either, not when Minato's occupied with reflecting on how strange it feels to be comforted by someone else.
At both of their feet hovers Barong, tail wagging from side to side. The Persona's ever-present grin remains on its face, but it somehow manages to grow even bigger. His body language is relaxed as he wanders over a little closer to Kotone and leans affectionately against her leg.
Minato mumbles into Kotone's shoulder: ]
...I'm usually the one doing this for others.
[ Not hugging others, but letting them lean on him and share their burdens. ]
Feels weird.
no subject
But she can't help but laugh a little, both because he's usually the one doing it for others, and because yeah. It's weird. Yu, Yosuke, Akira, Scott, Dazai -- they'd all scolded her at different times in the past few months for trying to pretend that she's fine and not deeply hurting, and for her thinking it's weird when they tried to comfort her.]
Yeah, [she agrees, tilting her head just enough to let it rest against his, giving Barong a bit of a smile when she feels his weight come to rest against her leg.] I always felt like I had to be strong in front of everybody else. So they'd rely on me.
[Like she had to keep proving that they hadn't made a mistake in choosing her to be the leader.]
no subject
The more you empty a basket, the more space you have to carry things in it.
Minato feels her cheek against his hair. The warmth is strange, but it's not bad by any means. It's just different. New. While Minato hadn't put on a brave face to reassure others, his aloof independence was sufficient to persuade them that all was well. ]
Sounds like you were a good leader then.
[ His charisma stemmed from effortless confidence, though its true source was his complete lack of fear towards things people were supposed to be afraid of. Kotone's feels a little different to him, like the gravitational pull of the sun, offering warmth to those that were coaxed into her orbit. ]
...but it was hard sometimes, wasn't it?
no subject
[She'd tried, anyway. Getting to know everyone personally, finding out what was happening in their lives, how she could help -- if she could help -- that had seemed like the best way to go about it back then. It's not like anyone had given her a guidebook on how to be a leader; she could only watch Mitsuru and Akihiko and try not to disappoint them. Try to be someone Yukari could rely on, try to be someone Junpei would follow. Each new team member added another layer of complexity to who she was as their leader, and all she could do was keep trying to be whoever they needed, even if they didn't know they needed someone at all.
Minato's quiet stoicism may have been better, in some situations. Maybe. She doesn't know that any more than he'd know if she'd have been better. They could both only do their best.
Her fingers tighten lightly against his back as she hums. In the past, she'd have said it was fine. Kept up the idea that she was able to move through all the hardship without being touched by it. But is that what Minato really needs...? She doesn't think so.]
It was. [she agrees with a huffs of a little humorless laugh, because yeah. That's an understatement!] But... it was worth it. Spending that time with everyone. That year was the first time I really had a reason to do anything.
[Almost immediately, she laughs again, though there's still not a lot of humor in it.] Sorry. That's weird to say, huh?
no subject
No. ...it was the same for me.
[ That year spent with everyone else -- it was the only time he'd truly felt alive. Living is not merely breathing, but doing. If that was the case, then he'd been dead ever since that accident on Moonlight Bridge, only to be resuscitated for that one year.
Actually, that reminds him of something -- ]
...I met someone. Sunglasses? I told him that I hadn't really lived up until that year.
[ Maybe that boy got upset, in part, due to comments like Kotone's being weird to say aloud. ]
I think it upset him. But it's true.
no subject
[Months ago, she'd really upset him by telling him that she was dead. It's no surprise that Minato saying the same thing had sparked the same kind of reaction. Scott is nothing if not normal -- in spite of the eye beams, he's genuinely the most normal guy she's ever met.]
He's a good guy, though! [she hastens to reassure Minato, because like, far be it for her to deprive him of another friend.] But he doesn't really get it. What we went through. Most people don't, really.
no subject
Yeah. ...I've noticed.
[ He's noticed the way others react to his easy acceptance of their current circumstances. He's noticed others' bewilderment towards his ability to brush things off and keep moving forward.
If that's the case, ]
Then I'm glad I met you, Kotone.
[ Minato's not the sort who needs or craves others on the same plane of thought as him, but it's nice nevertheless. It's good to have someone whom he doesn't have to explain anything about himself.
After all, people can't survive alone. ]