awashlogs | [open] It's a (very belated) birthday log!

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[open] It's a (very belated) birthday log!

WHO: Kaoru, Shiho and friends
WHERE: Town hall
WHEN: Last week of February
WHAT: It's Shiho's birthday
WARNINGS: None probably.

I: Food!

[What is a party without food? Kaoru can't cook but she happens to know people who can! There's even a cake! She may have borrowed a table from another house for the purpose of keeping the food.

Though, oddly enough, there's also a small card (all of them different colour and sizes, some of them looked like they'd been gently folded then ripped along the fold) beside each dish with a number on it. There's also a list (all handwritten in pink), with the same numbers all listed on one side and lines beside it like something you should fill out.

On the top it says: Guess Who Made This Dish!

Are you here to play or are you just here to eat?]

II: Games!

[There is a hastily written sign on one side that says: NO DANCING.

But every party needs entertainment so beside there is a sign with game suggestions like: Truth or Dare, Never Have I Ever...or maybe you'd like to take your list from the food table and see if you got more correct than the person beside you!]

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[Well, that's a start. Every step counts.]

I'm sure she was really happy to hear that from you.

[As for what he was doing...]

I'm people watching. [...] Well, and eating. [Of course.] But I like people watching just as much.

“People watching”…

[ dextera feels like he’s fallen out of step with the people in this town because of a variety of factors, but the town itself feels as bustling as ever. with all these friendly new faces, it’s easy to forget that all of them are here against their will. ]

It is nice… seeing everyone have fun.

[That's the really dangerous part of this complacency, Minato knows--but he's in the sort of position where he really can't mind it, even if he knows he probably should.

Whoops!

For now, though? It really is just nice seeing everyone having fun.]

... How have you been, Dextera-san? I know that a lot's happened, but... it's good to see you here. [And smiling, if only a little.]

I’m…

[ better than he’s ever been, actually, with the weight of his sin finally off his shoulders. it’s been replaced with something else, but he has direction now. he knows what to do. ]

…I’m doing really well.

[ but he’s also reminded that minato necessarily isn’t, looking at him now. ]

I’m glad we’re all here.

[... Huh. Minato wonders, now, what it is Dextera's been through. What sort of revelation he's had. He wonders, and there's almost the temptation to reach to his Personas and see if Dextera's arcana has changed at all, but...

Well.

He wouldn't have any Personas who speak to the World anyway, right?

Instead, he leaves that thought where it lies, and smiles a little in response.]

... I'm glad we're all here too. However long it lasts... it really feels like an experience that could never exist anywhere else. So...thanks, Dextera-san. For being here.

I didn’t do anything. Not anything more than anyone else has.

[ it’s said as a casual part of conversation, something simply to smooth over putting himself in the spotlight instead of genuine self-deprecation. maybe he has become a new arcana after all.

still, not all of the dextera who first arrived in this town is gone. he rubs his thumb awkwardly against one of the buttons of his coat. ]

…truth or dare?

[Hehhh... he's really curious, but it's probably a conversation for another time. Minato's always been the sort of person to wait until people are ready to speak about themselves.

So for now... a party game, huh? That actually sounds like fun. A thoughtful hum, brief as it is, and:]

Truth.

[Boring, Minato.]

…

[ dextera has never actually played truth or dare, and so he’s not sure of the kinds of questions that someone might ask. minato went for the easier of the two options, since he didn’t want to dare minato anyway, but now he has a new task. ]

I don’t know what to ask.

[ a beat. ]

What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten…?

[... That's endearing. Dextera wanted to play but was totally unprepared to do so... (cute).

Minato waits patiently for Dextera to decide properly on a question, offering him an encouraging nod when he asks it.]

That's a good one. [Off to a good start!]

But let's see... rancid gravy, probably. [WHY.] There were also these weird pieces of food we'd find in Tartarus that I tried eating once... it made me kind of sick, though, so I didn't try it again.

[WHY.]

[ there are a lot of follow-up questions that, perhaps, a normal person would be absolutely dying to ask. what possessed minato to try it in the first place, for example, knowing that it was rancid?

dextera goes for none of these possible questions. ]

How did it taste?

[The answer to that is probably not surprising.]

It was probably one of the worst things I've ever tasted.

[Yep. Anyway!]

... Truth or dare, Dextera-san?

[ dextera doesn’t want to put the burden of coming up with something on minato’s shoulders, so he hesitates as he considers what he should ask for. he doesn’t have that many secrets anymore, except for the one quite obvious one, but he also isn’t sure that he has the heart in him for a dare.

if it were alice, maybe… ]

…truth. Is that okay?

Yeah, of course.

[Minato clearly doesn't mind; his expression may be muted, but he's still quietly enjoying himself anyway.]

Let's see... [Hmm...!!]

What's been one of your favorite experiences here in Chroma?

[... Minato doesn't play this game right.]

…ah? [ dextera did not expect that question, but it’s a sweet one to receive. he feels a little bad for asking minato about gross food when this is the return request. ] That’s…

[ …there are a lot of things, but there’s one that comes to mind. ]

I think… the first time I saw the sunset.

[Don't feel bad, Dextera, Minato's kind of Like That.]

Oh... [!!] That's right, because your sky was always red and...

[Awful.

Huh...]

It never really gets old, does it? Being able to see the stars and the sunset and sunrise.

[ dextera shakes his head. even now…

maybe if he’d remembered everything in chroma when he went back, he would have made his world a little different. but then, maybe the world will change on its own. ]

My brother might have mentioned it. We spent most of our time indoors… and even after we were split apart, I’d never really left the Order.

[ a fun birthday conversation! ]

[They always!! Have these fun conversations!

But Minato's aware enough to at least not dwell on it right now.]

In a way, that just means you get to experience so many new things now. ... If you want to look at it in a probably pretty naive but optimistic sort of way.

…I’m thinking of it that way, too.

[ maybe it is naive and optimistic, but dextera would rather fall into that trap than the one of endless, hopeless despair. he’s done the latter once before, and he’d rather not experience it again. ]

It’s your turn again, right? Truth or dare.

[Well--]

Then I guess this time, I should do dare.

All right.

[ dextera pauses. ]

…can I ask you a question, first?

[Not entirely expected, but it's not like he really minds.]

... Oh, sure. What's up?

What kind of things do people dare?

[ that’s all there is to the question. ]

[... He should've expected that.]

I guess... really, it depends on the person. People usually try to give dares for things the person wouldn't usually do... and things they'd like to see the other person do.

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[open] It's a (very belated) birthday log!

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