[03] a farmer's life?

[usarinpa]

Who: Mizuki and anyone [open]
Where: Astralin's farm in the meadowlands, and the new botanical gardens.
What: Just a day in her life, apparently.
Warnings: ~*~ vandalism ~*~ possibly, will add as anything comes up.

---

👁️ i. Astralin's Farm

[ If you asked her six months ago where she thought she'd be now, a farm would've never been it. Mizuki is a modern girl, accustomed to certain luxuries, wont to complain like a brat when she doesn't have them, but who cares about the small shit when your world's turned upside down? Day by day, she finds herself learning a little more about how they lived Back Then. Maybe she doesn't hate it all the time.

The heavy lifting continues. By now, Astralin's farm is complete, and the girl spends a lot of her time here as of late. ]

a.) [ She can be seen feeding the animals. If she's not hauling water over to their pens, then she's making rounds, making sure everyone everyone's gotten their fill to eat. In particular, she seems to favor two little piglets in the playpen. Once they've had their fill with the rest of them, she can be seen bathing them, washing off the mud they've accumulated on their coats from playtime. ]

Sure, a dog or a cat, maybe, but I never thought it'd be pigs.

[ Just talking to them. ]

Guess I should give you better names than Thing 1 and Thing 2.

- - -

b.) Baaa, baaa. [ Mizuki mimics the sheep she has in front of her, her tone mocking yet somehow affectionate. She's never done this before, but she has some shears in one hand, and the other grips onto its wool. ] Come on, hold still. I'm not trying to hurt you here.

[ Maybe she's hoping to use it at some tailor shops to finally get some new clothes made, as she seems to be collecting the wool in a large basket. The sheep seems calm after a while. ]

See? It's not so bad.

- - -

c.) [ When she's not helping Astralin tend to the animals, maybe she's stepped away to tend to her bike. Near the shed they built for it, she can be seen with a large bucket of water at her feet and a rag, wiping the face where she has her Adorabbit sticker, and the center console where Aiba belongs.

Well, the rag is kinda torn up, definitely not perfect, but it gets the job done. ]

👁️ ii. A Respite

[ During the hottest part of the day, Mizuki finds herself stepping away from the farm and back into town to find something to eat. As she thinks back on their collective trip to Rumpitur, she feels a sudden chill that travels down the back of her spine, despite the agreeable weather. An echo of the nightmares that occasionally plague her, mostly about those who went missing.

Just as she wonders whether she should spend another night at Astralin's farm, she passes through the new botanical garden, surrounded by the Chosen's statues. They've been in construction for a while, but this is the first time she's seen them all complete. ]

Heh, they work fast.

[ ...She passes by her own [statue], talking to no one in particular. ]

Even got my pipe right.

[ Then she'll walk over to the statue and mimic its pose. Silly. ]

👁️ iii. Wildcard & Notes

[ If you want to do something else, feel free to hit me with your own prompt or plot with me on plurk @ yammdere, PM, or @ me on the game discord!

One other thing I wanted to note that I couldn't seem to fit anywhere is that Mizuki's left eye is missing. She wore a "fake" eye towards the beginning of the game, but no longer does (it's a long story). If you'd like your character to take notice, feel free; if not, just be OOCly aware, since I probably won't go out of my way to mention it unless it's particularly relevant.

....Thanks! ]

Comments

[usarinpa]

[ By the time Vi approaches, Mizuki's still staring up at her statue. She's either admiring it or trying to nitpick all the things they got wrong, but thankfully, the familiar voice interrupts before she can get lost in it.

There are plenty of other statues to snoop on, after all. ]

I'd say they're studying us quite a bit. [ Between the parchments, and now this. ] It's cute [ because it's her! ], but now that I think about it for two seconds, I... dunno.

[ This kind of attention?? She likes it, but she... doesn't. ]

[grappler]

It's kinda creepy, if you ask me.

[she looks at her own statue, who has her hands in a defensive position near her face, like a boxer.

she shakes her head.]

Though I can see how it'd appear to some of our... egos.

[usarinpa]

......Yeah.

[ Mizuki shakes her head. When she thought about being a hero, this isn't really what she had in mind, but it's what she's got at the moment. She eyes the other statues, fanning out around them almost like a maze. ]

I mean, I doubt they're gonna come to life, at least. You really think they got everyone?

[grappler]

Don't jinx us.

[there's an internal flinch at the word jinx, but she tries not to show it on her face.]

Who knows? I sure as hell don't know everyone here, so it'd be hard to compare.

[usarinpa]

[ It's not like Mizuki even wants to know everyone. She shrugs though, and just starts walking. ]

Can't hurt to have a look around anyway. Where'd they put yours?

[grappler]

[Vi nods in the direction where hers is, a little bit further away.]

Over there. Somehow they got me just right, too.

[she'll start off for it, now.]

[usarinpa]

[ Mizuki allows her to take the lead, glancing at statues linking the walking path on either side of them. There's Aerith—of course she helped—and Cloud, her roommate. She can already see Vi's out of the corner of her eye as she approaches, then gives it her full attention once she's standing in front of it.

Rather pointedly, she is trying to ignore the statue she sees next to her, keeping a pleasant, if neutral, smile on her face. ]

Not bad. [ It doesn't appear to be better or worse than all the others, that she can tell. ] Too bad they had to ruin it by putting you next to him.

[grappler]

[Vi's gaze shifts from her own statue and to the other one. she frowns, looking back to Mizuki and then back at the statue.]

You got your pipe with you now?

[asking for a friend.]

[usarinpa]

[ There is a beat as the question registers, aaaand of course there is Mizuki's ever-cocky grin, though it may be more subdued (and less shit-eating) than it would have been back home, or even a few months ago. ]

Duh.

[ ...... ]

Wait, you mean—?

[grappler]

[she raises her eyebrows and gives Mizuki a shit eating grin in return.]

Oh, I mean it. There's no way it won't break if we smash it with that.

[usarinpa]

Yeah. But y'know they're probably just going to rebuild him.

[ It would be hella therapeutic for sure, but it seems kinda unfair to punish the artist just because their subject's a shitty person. Idly, Mizuki starts patting at her pockets... ]

I... might have another idea.

[grappler]

[she shrugs.]

Then we make a daily habit to beat his ass.

[easy!

but then her expression turns curious when Mizuki brings up something else.]

What's that?

[usarinpa]

[ No marker, no pen. No paint. Gah!

But what is she even thinking? Markers and pens can be wiped off, painted over. Cleaned. She has the tools to do something much more permanent, so after a moment, she gives up with a sigh, glancing to her pipe in thought.

Guess she's gotta do this the slightly harder way.

With little effort, she climbs up onto the statue until she can reach his ugly forehead, and she starts to carve out what looks like a cartoonish, low-effort penis. Just look up the definition of maturity, folks, you'll find her picture right there. ]

[grappler]

[Vi watches Mizuki as she climbs on the statue. the big sister tendency in her is to tell her to be careful, but she shuts up before she can say it.

okay. she laughs.]

Good one!

[she is also the definition of maturity.]

I think it suits him.

[usarinpa]

Right? I mean, now everyone will know how much of a dick he is.

[ She says it casually, with a bit of cheer in her voice, though the sunny smile subsides quickly. There's still a hollow, empty feeling that she doesn't quite understand, but she can half-guess. ]

Hm, kind of anticlimactic though. [ She's not used to not choosing violence. She climbs down from the statue and watches Saito bobble a little bit... ]

[grappler]

[Vi can't help but laugh a little.]

We'd have to draw something much bigger than that if we wanna make sure everyone knows for sure.

[she pushes at the statue when she notices that it bobbles.]

I still say we beat the shit out of it, though. That'll really help with the anger management.

[usarinpa]

[ ...Hmmm. Anger management sure sounds like a good enough justification for her. Somewhere inside, she's probably like, Sorry, local sculptor people.

Mizuki pulls out her pipe, extending it to full length as the blue lights spiral around it. ]

Works for me.

[ Aaaand then, with no regard to whether she'll actually leave anything for Vi to beat the shit out of, she strikes "Saito" directly on the head, as if trying to slice him completely in two.

What Mizuki might expect it is for it to be totally obliterated. She is surprised that the latter half of him consisting of his legs is still left standing. His top, however, is a far cry from what Horadori's machine can do, though the head still appears to be cut down the middle before veering off to one side. Bits of rubble also crumble from the damage, pooling at the bottom, indicating a less than perfect split. ]

[grappler]

[hmmm. not quite as dramatic as she would've expected, but still enough destruction of a statue that it's kind of satisfying.

she glances at the legs and considers for a moment, flexing her fingers as if that's going to do anything for what she's about to do.]

What I wouldn't give to have my gauntlets right now...

[but she'll punch through the statue anyway -- even though it's painful, she's still able to knock off some of the stone that's left of him anyway.]

[usarinpa]

[ Well, damn, sorry her superstrength is such a disappointment. But since Vi has definitely Seen Some Shit, Mizuki shouldn't be surprised. Not that she really expected any fanfare or cheering, but she still glances at Vi as of she's hoping for something.

She remembers when they met, apparently having not much more than the clothes on her back. ]

Gauntlets? [ Tell her more, before someone comes rushing over at all the commotion and property damage. ]

[grappler]

They go over my fists... I used two. One pair was a big metal pair from... someone in my family. The other, this high tech bullshit. I didn't really care, so long as I could beat up shit.

[she shakes her head.]

Maybe I should see if someone can get me some here.

[usarinpa]

[ It doesn't take long. Some voices are chattering in the distance, and getting closer. It makes Mizuki's focus drift, though she still listens to Vi, nothing the pause before she mentions family.

Mizuki doesn't want this to be the end of the conversation.

"What was that?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Let's check it out."

...... ]

Or make a pair for you. Maybe we can visit one of the forges. Either way, we probably shouldn't stick around...

[grappler]

[she shrugs... but also hears it.]

Yeah, we should split. Don't wanna find out what happens when people find the statues turned to dust.

[and she'll start jogging off now.]

🎀

[usarinpa]

[ Mizuki trots after her for a few seconds before she catches up, and almost kicks into superspeed out of habit. She's not trying to leave Vi behind though, so after passing her a few paces, she's looking back. [

C'mon. I'll show you Astralin's farm. [ She's not really breaking a sweat, but she is panting from the sheer effort of movement. ] It's more like a little sanctuary, I guess...

[ She rattles off a bit about how she had a hand in helping him build it, but leaves most of it to be seen firsthand. She will end up showing Vi where she has been spending a lot of her time as of late... ]