[open] it's full moon again, crazy how time flies

[memori3s]

Who: Minato & You!! (and some closed prompts probably)
Where: All over Aldrip
What: April open log/March event fallout. RIP to Aldrip.
Warnings: None yet.



i. dojo

[ There's a large dojo at the edge of Aldrip. It's vacant on most days with the doors locked shut. But if you stop by on certain days of the week, you'll find the gates wide open for any curious visitors.

It's kept clean despite no one living there. Sometimes, you can find food in its kitchen. There's even a TV with a couple of game consoles hooked up to it. It doesn't look like anyone will mind if you give them a try.

There are a few rooms on the second floor. It looks like some people might have once lived here, probably some high school kids. Others are left empty, but there are beds available if people wished to stay there.

For those who can still recall those who once were, this is the Sano Family's dojo, once under the care of Manjiro "Mikey" Sano. They may recall that it was a place where a couple other Chosen once called their home. Either way, it seems there's not a single trace of them outside of their old belongings.

This dojo has a new caretaker now: Minato Arisato. He doesn't seem to mind people stopping by and poking around. Plus, given the ruined residential district, he's opened the place up for people to stay. ]

ii. restoration

[ Aldrip's a mess. It's debris, debris, and more debris as far as the eye can see. But in truth, it's... a little nostalgic. There'd been a mess to clean up in Aldrip upon Minato's arrival too. Things have simply come full circle.

You might find him in the residential district, helping to clear away ruins of destroyed buildings. He might not be particularly strong, but Minato's determined to help with his own hands. He's volunteered to help clean some soot off the few homes that did survive A2's black box explosion.

Or, he might be at city center, putting his work-in-progress gardening skills to use. He imagines that even the little things, like replanting flowers in the gardens and green spaces, might do wonders to boost morale.

Otherwise, he may be at the farmhouse checking on the animals there. The prior month's chaos caused some of the farm animals to flee to the forest. Fortunately, Minato and Koromaru managed to track down all of them, but he still seems a little worried about them breaking out again. He seems a bit concerned about ensuring they all have enough food too, given how all the businesses are closing down... ]

iii. wildcard/current cr option

[ if none of these speak to you, feel free to hmu! We can figure out a custom starter. Otherwise, if you already have CR with Minato you can hit me with a starter and I will mosey right in o7 ]

Comments

[entreats]

Do you think a little bit of dirt is going to kill me? [ Ange easily retorts - though she's already shaking off the little bit of dirt that got onto her hands from touching that plant before taking the gardening gloves from him and putting them on.

Apparently Ange will do just about anything, as long as she can still complain about it along the way.. ]

I'm not that much of a delicate girl, you know.

[memori3s]

[ Of course not. Ange's proven she's made of tougher stuff over the course of their time in Aldrip. In fact, the retort gets a small smile out of him.

What a characteristically Ange response. ]

It's okay. I'm wearing them too.

[ Because he is! Gotta keep those hands clean and protect them from potentially getting irritated by plant life.

Once the gloves are on, Minato passes her the shovel. ]

Each flower needs its own hole. Just enough to fit the block of soil.

[ Every flower within the tray came with its own little cube of dirt, ready to drop into the earth. ]

[entreats]

[ ...

Ange pauses.

She looks over at the shovel. Then at Minato. Then at the flower tray.

Then back at the soil. Something about the girl's look is almost.. disapproving. She's making the sort of face that makes her look like she just smelled a fart. ]

They all need their own hole? [ Okay, yeah, she even sounds outright offended by the idea. Like she thinks these flowers are too demanding.

At least she's not assuming that this is just Minato pranking her.. No, she totally seems to believe him. Ange is just exasperated by the reality of gardening, apparently. ]

[memori3s]

[ Yes?? Did she think they would squash three flowers at a time into a single hole? None of those thoughts are present in Minato's expression though, and instead, he simply nods in response. ]

Yeah. So they have space for their roots.

[ Trying to fit too many together means those would get all tangled, and in that cramped space, inevitably result in them suffocating instead of thriving.

Perhaps Ange is beginning to see why Minato was tackling this task alone. Because it's true, it can be rather tedious work. On the other hand, keping his hands busy takes his mind off everything from the past month. ]

Otherwise it's like... three people trying to sit on one chair.

[entreats]

[ A part of her wants to say that means it's still totally possible as long as they squeeze in, but-- she knows it's kind of a moot point. And since she doesn't feel as argumentative around Minato as she might around certain others, Ange doesn't go for a battle of semantics.

Instead she looks over at all the plants Minato has here to put into the ground..

It makes the girl arrive at an easy conclusion, even if she doesn't look extremely pleased about it as she voices it. ]

This all seems like a lot of work.

[ What have you gotten yourself into, Minato... Are these your life decisions, pal? ]

[memori3s]

[ It's true, it's still totally possible as long as they squeeze in, but... they need space to grow and to stretch their roots. Their current state and form was simply their genesis, their beginning. Perhaps they'd grow taller with fuller petals to drink in morning sunlight. Or perhaps they'd remain at the same height. That was fine, too.

Both would surely bring an equal amount of joy to town center's visitors. ]

Yeah. I guess so.

[ Honestly, it'll probably take all morning. ]

It'll look nice when it's done though.

[ And isn't that reward enough? ]

[entreats]

[ ...

Ange doesn't seem to voice an opinion of her own in return to what he's saying. But after silently considering it for a moment, she does start using the shovel to make a hole for one flower as a start..

Maybe that's Ange's own answer, in a sense. Even if she doesn't elaborate on the many nuances in her own mind.

The first thing she says again, after digging for a moment, is just: ]

Aren't you worried that it will be ruined again soon enough? There's always chaos in this city. And sometimes the city is just changing altogether. It doesn't feel like this sort of thing will last.

[memori3s]

[ Oh. She's digging... Honestly, Minato wouldn't put it past Ange to ultimately decide that digging individual holes was too annoying to try. But the fact that she's giving it an earnest try is... nice, actually.

Minato steps away to return to digging his own hole, only glancing over at Ange when she speaks again. ]

...yeah. It probably won't.

[ So doing something like this was probably futile, wasn't it? ]

But... it'll be nice while it does last.

[ Maybe it's a fruitless endeavor. Maybe it's even a foolish one.

Maybe Ange already knows if the flowers are ruined, Minato will simply return to turn the soil and plant something new. ]

...I know, by the way. That nothing stays forever.

[entreats]

[ Ange glances over at him.

She doesn't doubt his words - especially with what she learned the two of them have in common, even if their circumstances surrounding it were very different. If anything, Minato's odd circumstances make those words feel like they have even more weight to Ange. ]

And you don't mind that nothing does?

[ She tries asking it a little lightly, her usual casual deadpan - like she doesn't want to push them in yet another Extremely Deep Conversation when Minato was just innocently trying to plant some flowers. ]

[memori3s]

[ It's refreshing, honestly, to speak with someone who understands that he is intimately aware of how fleeting things in life can be. Even now, there's only a small handful of people who know the ending to Minato's story. Ange might not know exactly how it occurred, but the fact that she knows he has no true home to return to if he ever leaves Aldrip is enough. ]

I do.

[ He sets his shovel down now that the hole in the soil is deep enough. ]

...it would be nice if it could, but... I think the fact that nothing lasts is what makes it more important.

[ So it's all the more necessary to hold onto the things in the present, isn't it? ]

[entreats]

So you're the sort of guy who tries to enjoy the present.

[ For obvious reasons, sure.

But Ange feels like it goes beyond that. With the way Minato is talking about it right now.. Either it's something he's learned in this place, or it's something he's carried with him long before his passing.

It doesn't seem like something that's only there because of that passing in the first place.

Ange doesn't look up from the plants and the work they're doing, though she keeps talking. ]

How enviable. Tons of self help books would describe you as the ideal person, you know?

[memori3s]

[ The shovel set aside means Minato can reach for the tray of flowers. He carefully eases one out of its designated slot, holding it gently by the pressed soil with two hands. ]

The ideal person...?

[ What a strange title. ]

Something like that -- it differs from person to person, doesn't it?

[ Gingerly, he rests the flower within the hole in the ground before reaching for his shovel again.

What a strange title, Minato thinks, for someone who was only half a person. ]