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[petsthedog]

❝ Aragaki. Say what you need. ❞

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2/14; mid-afternoon

[gotyourbach]

Aragaki-kun!!

[Next time Shinjiro is in town that day, he'll be ambushed. But it's friendly ambushing!! In the form of Kaede stepping out into his path, both hands clasped behind her back to hide something.]

I have something for you, but before I give it to you, you're not allowed to say anything like... I don't deserve it or something, okay? You have to promise.

[She does her very best impression of him, which, well, the intonation is spot-on, but she still sounds like Kaede no matter what.]

[petsthedog]

[His path is blocked by Cute Girl (TM), oh no, what a tragedy. Which is to say, he actually seems fairly pleased to see her when she finds him in town, inasmuch as his dumb stoic ass seems pleased about anything.

But then she both tells him she has a gift for him and calls him out on any potential protest in a one-two punch and he's, flustered again,,,

How do you do this to him every time, Kaede, it's not fair. Shinjiro rubs at the back of his neck, looking off to the side.]

...What about, you didn't have to go outta your way.

[Is she really gonna make him promise tho. He's dying squirtle already.]

Voice - Inbetween them talking to Lucas and part 2

[cluelesscavewoman]

Your user handle is Aragaki.... And your other name is Shinjiro, yes?

[Squinting intensifies.]

Are you the Aragaki Shinjiro who welds axes that Orpheus-dono's friend mentioned.

[wat]

voice

[petsthedog]

[Orpheus-dono's friend? Is she talking about Arisato and his Persona? What the hell.]

That's me, yeah. What's up?

@deathsharbor - text

[napstar]

Aigis-san found an old lady's cat.

[ Remember when Shinji asked to hear stories about SEES? Minato does. This is the end result of an endless number of half-written and deleted texts over the past few days. It's just the right amount of cute and happy! As long as he doesn't tell the other half of the story, at least. ]

[petsthedog]

[He's confused, at first, as to what this text means -- and then he remembers their conversation in the cave. His request for stories. He smiles faintly to himself at the text. This kid is sure something else, huh.]

yeah?
well that's one way to use all those sensors and shit, i guess

@million; sometime after The Incident with Will

[dialetheism]

Ah, Aragaki-san, I was hoping to speak with you if you had a moment to talk. Presuming, of course, that you survived your trials.

[ Well, that's ominou- ]

If this is not Aragaki-san, please disregard this message.

[ ....... lion why. ]

[petsthedog]

[...Squints. What the heck is this.]

yeah, that's me
what's up

after the sleepover

[maskreant]

Awagaki-san.

[petsthedog]

[Save Shinjiro, he's from too long before this meme, RIP.]

the hell?
why are you writing it like that

@million, sometime during camp shenanigans

[dialetheism]

[ So it's been some time since the Cliff Incident, long enough for Lion to have several other harrowing experiences relating to things from home, and it's given them some perspective on the whole thing. Namely they... really did spook the poor boy, and that's not fair on him, is it? Oh dear.

But how to fix it? Gifts. Gifts is how. It took them some time to think of something, but they're pretty confident that it'll go down well. Assuming they can find him, of course, but that's what the bracer is for. ]

If you have a moment, Shinji-san, I would like to speak with you.
In person, if possible.
However, if you're busy, it can wait.

[ They could just track him down the long way, but that's exhausting. ]

@aragaki

[petsthedog]

[Shinjiro still isn't used to the jolt of--something he gets in his chest whenever he sees the name "Shinji". Lion is now in a unique category of exactly two people to use that nickname, and while Shinjiro hasn't bothered to stop either of them, it's hard not to think about it. He and Aki had never been truly apart this long, after all; that dumbass kept chasing him and chasing him, no matter where he went. And then he went and died when Shinjiro was the one who was supposed to go first. If the Director ever manages to save him, he should kick that idiot's ass for it.

All of which to say, there's a few moments he devotes to this sentimentality when he sees the message, none of which will ever see the light of day. Lion is replied to casually.]

sure
where are you

text;

[rabbeats]

[ Hey, Shinji...it's misfire o'clock. ]

Do dogs understand that human babies are babies?

i'm sorry for the hella delay orz

[petsthedog]

[????? what is this. who is this.]

i dunno
maybe they think those are like puppies
or they could just see em as small humans

[If Aigis was here maybe she'd know. She could understand Koromaru after all.]

who are you

sometime pre-prison during Pirate Times

[gotyourbach]

A~ra~ga~ki-kun!!

[Her voice is a lilting sing-song as she spots her friend, ducking away from the merchant's booth she'd been perusing and worming her way through the rest of the shoppers in the crowded marketplace to pop up by his elbow with a bright smile.]

I keep hearing people talking about you... you're pretty famous!

[petsthedog]

[Shinjiro isn't a particularly easily startled person, so he doesn't quite jump at the sudden sing-songing, but there is a distinct moment where he double-takes before his mind confirms that it's just Akamatsu and not some girl whose going to flirt at him again He raises an arm in greeting, but then lets out a tired sigh at her remark about his newfound fame.]

Ugh....don't remind me. S'been a pain in the ass.

un: mrbellucci

[protegge]

[Sometime on The Holy Day:]

iiiiiiiiii
|:H:a:p:p:y:|
__|___________|__
|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|
|:B:i:r:t:h:d:a:y:|
| |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


FUCK why didn't it turn out good

🍰🍰🍰

[petsthedog]

what

[is this. an ascii cake. how. why. mista??? are u secretly a psychic.]

how did you [oh. no. there it is. can he beat up lucas for this. is he allowed. please say he's allowed. (okay he won't, but still, it's the principle of the thing)]

i mean
thanks

birth :clap: day :clap: :clap: :clap:

[gotyourbach]

Aragaki~kun!

[It's what's almost certainly a familiar sing-song voice, Kaede's knocking on his door. Repeatedly. It's fairly early in the morning, but it's Important.]

Aragaki-kun, can you make something for me?

[She knocks again. If he's not home, she's going to feel very silly.]

THROWS CONFETTI

[petsthedog]

[Shinji is home, but Kaede happens to be knocking on the door of a chronic insomnia boy with very erratic sleeping patterns. Which means sometimes there's loud knocking while you're still somewhere halfway between asleep and awake because Actual Sleeping only just happened a little while ago, and you're sorta Aware Of Things but also the dream train is kinda rolling too?

So at first, the knocks and Kaede's voice do that thing where it gets incorporated into said dream and are thus dismissed as not real--right up until he rolls over in his sleep and lands right on the floor. Turns out that thudding is definitely real, w h o o p s.

Shinjiro opens the door managing to look even less presentable than usual, hair all mussed from sleep rather than shoved unceremoniously under a beanie, and the trademark coat is tossed over a nearby chair. He's also still in his boxers; Shinjiro did not think about this at all before going to answer the door. He yawns as he opens it, one hand still rubbing the sleep from his face, and he almost looks a little puzzled to see Kaede there, despite definitely having heard her voice in that not-a-dream before he woke up.]

Hey, Akamatsu. What's up?

WONDERLAND PART 1, after death, before casino

[rockymountaindie]

[ It's not every day you help carry someone's body. It's not every day you help carry someone's body, and then you can talk to them.

Alex and Shinjiro haven't spoken much since Lyrabar. Hell, not at all. Alex has been a bit caught up in his own self-loathing- and then, here in Wonderland, caught up in the magic of it all. Quite literally, though he's no way to know that. Now...

Now, Alex does what he should've over a month ago. He looks for Shinjiro. And, he finds him. In Wonderland, of course. He doesn't feel great about this? But he feels better about it than he probably should. He'll examine that later. ]

Uh, um, hey...

[ Hey person also bumming around Wonder Square. ]

You got a sec?

trauma party /o/ also putting down some blanket cws for suicidal feelings and related triggers

[petsthedog]

[Unfortunate discoveries made recently: waking up from death a second time doesn't feel any better than the first time. This whole "existence" thing continues to be a bitch. Actually, the second time was kind of worse, because he hadn't planned for or expected it, hadn't been racing at full speed toward it for two years. One minute he'd been looking for Henrik with Maya, kicking at a locked door, the next he's skewered, dead before he hits the ground.

He'd rushed back to Wonderland as soon as he'd woke up, needing to know if Maya was safe, if his own demons had somehow taken her down with him like he's been afraid of since day one, but she's alive. Unharmed, at least physically speaking. It's one thing to be grateful for, at least, and Wonderland takes the edge off of feeling like garbage about dying on her. You can't be having fun if you're stuck in a depression pit, after all.

He's wandering around near some kind of game stalls when Alex approaches him, and when he's addressed, Shinji blinks, then turns. Ah, it's this guy. They fucked up with the relic last month.]

Yeah sure. What d'you need?

[ur not mista or one of the genkis that mysteriously likes spending time with him, it can't be a social call right.]

10/19, text

[snyaiper]

If I die down here I want you to know its your fault
[This... was meant to go to Alex, but in his delirium, he didn't check to make sure he was clicking the right name. Darn this newfangled technology.]

[petsthedog]

what

[This is a bizarre and alarming text to get from an unknown username.....did something happen in Wonderland that he doesn’t remember or what ]

who is this

[ action / a day or two after they met ]

[parfaitgirl]

[ Whenever Shinji gets back to his room that day, he will find a small pink box with a dark chocolate cupcake inside. It's got some perfectly piped icing on top and a small daifuku strawberry on top to decorate.

Along with the cupcake, there's a small note -- "Thanks for the other day. Let's bake together again sometime. - Natsuki" ]

a couple more days after that; action/text

[petsthedog]

[Oh.....oh no, that's adorable. Did she ask Erika to leave it in here for him? Oh gosh. That's a little embarrassing. Ah.

A day or two later, she'll find a cupcake at her doorstep as well, packed into a small neat box. (No, he did not ask her roommate for permission to go inside.) This one is red velvet, with cream cheese frosting. There's no note.

A few more hours after that, he leaves Natsuki a text.]

i never asked what you like to bake

Text

[scatteredpetals]

[ It's some time after her visit to the Voidfish - and that had been an experience in itself, because there's nothing grosser than being told you're going to have to drink octopus pee or something. But at least all the weird static is gone?

She hopes, anyway. But he seems the best test for this theory, so she's keeping her word and giving him a try. As well as figuring out how to use this handy new communication device they've been given, too. ]

Hello, Aragaki! This is Ruby! Are you busy?

[petsthedog]

hey
i got time

[Presumably she's gotten the static taken care of by now......]

a few days before the 25th

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael picked up this present along with Natsuki and Sayori's. It was actually surprisingly easy. The wrapped gift is left outside Shinji's door along with a note:]

Hope you enjoy this. Let me know if you want any company.

Happy holidays.

- Michael

[It's a book of Elvish dessert recipes! Michael figured that Shinji was less likely to be familiar with these, and isn't it more fun to experiment with baking new things? Maybe he'll find a new favorite!]

present!

[feytality]

[ shinjiro will receive a handmade ornament of castor, daifuku, and a small cookbook for the closest approximation to japanese cooking maya could get! there's also a card from maya wishing him a happy candlenights. it's filled with doodles of him posing, him with will and lion, him cooking, etc, and details how happy she is to be his friend and that he's alive. it talks about how tough and kind and talented she thinks he is, and wishes him happiness and safety. ]

25th

[hxppythxughts]

[A messily-wrapped box, with Shinji's name written directly on the colorful paper. There's a handmade card on top, decorated with stickers and doodles of wintry images like snow, gingerbread men, etc. It's not properly signed, but the signature isn't necessary. On one side of the interior:]

Tall green trees in lights twinkling bright,
Sparkling strands of tinsel and snow pure white,
The smell of hot cocoa and apple cider too,
A very merry Candlenights, from Sayori to you!
[And then on the other side:]

I don't know if you have one of these of your own, but I'm pretty sure every fancy cook has one so I wanted to make sure you did too! Thanks for the snacks!

And thank you for looking after Mista and Natsuki, too.

[Inside the box is a pretty nice cast iron pan and a sturdy spatula (the kind that is most appropriate to use with cast iron, of course.)]

[petsthedog]

[Sayori catches him somewhere on his way back to his room, on Candlenights. He pauses when he hears his name, turning around when he spots her in a Santa outfit. He blinks, looking from her to the gift in her hands.]

What's up? Lookin' for Mista?

[That can't be for him right.]

25th.

[protegge]

[Happy Candlenights! Shinjiro receives: A ton of baking equipment. High-quality pots, pans, baking sheets, bowls, mixers — whatever Shinjiro regularly uses, Mista's replaced with something higher-quality and more durable. There's also a stuffed amigurumi-style Castor and a bunch of tiny stuffed Pistols.]

candlenights /o/

[dialetheism]

[ When Shinji finally finds the time to open that maroon-papered box from Lion, what he finds inside could very well have served as a box on it's own. It's a waxed canvas dufflebag, visibly meant to serve as an accompaniment to the standard BIAS that each Reclaimer owns, filled with... well. Half of it is dedicated to a cookware set meant to work with bonfires and survive wayward camping trips, and the other is a neat, well-stocked emergency first aid kit. Shinji's one especially seems suited for all-encompassing injuries, and includes a... rope?

Resting ontop of the bag is a small stuffed dog. It is a shiba inu like Cocoa, but not a white one - instead it's the same mottled brown as his hair, and they've somehow found a small red scarf and beanie for it. D'aww.

But what might surprise him most is the letter tucked inside, addressed to him in Lion's predictably neat, painfully formal handwriting.

"Dear Shinji,

Originally I wanted to keep this brief, to avoid burdening you with my thoughts on what is meant to be an important, uplifting holiday - but after considering the matter more, I thought it might be nice.

It's strange to think that it's been a year since we arrived, isn't it? So much has changed over that time, that it almost makes everything that came before feel... distant, like it happened to somebody else. And perhaps it's foolish of me to think of home at a time like this, but... I can't help it. It's historically a time shared with one's family and loved ones, and all of us are all we have, now. For better or worse.

For me, I think- no, I know it's for the better. And I think it is for you, too.

... Which is to say, you've come a long way since those early days. I still remember how furious you were with me that day on Maru, near the cliff's edge- how afraid you were, both for my safety and for needing to use your Persona. How it felt like you couldn't trust yourself to help others, for fear of putting them in the line of fire. You... seem happier these days, and for that I am sincerely grateful. It may not feel like it, but you have helped, Shinji. I wouldn't be where I am without you. A lot of us wouldn't be. And... I think whatever may come next, it's less frightening, knowing we have each other to rely on.

Thank you, Shinji, for everything you've done and everything yet to come. Happy Candlenights,
- Ushiromiya Lion." ]

and then a day or two later

[dialetheism]

[ As Candlenights fades away, reality creeps back in with a resounding crash. Magic's still gone. People are still hurting, recovering the hard way from (whatever-the-actual-hell-happened-in) Thay, and there's no shortage of work for any idle hands left without something to do.

Which leads us here, to Lion dashing through some part of the moon base or other, carrying supplies to be delivered to the medbay. Tank needs the extra help, and they were already working for him part-time so it makes sense that they'd start there. Right? Right.

... Sure is cold, though. They'll have to thank Shinji for the coat next time they see him. ]

27th.

[rockymountaindie]

[ Along with Erika's gift, Shinji's is left late. It's a small, simple wrapped box, and inside is a dog ornament, signed from Alex. ]