[open] I am me

[feale]

Who: Kasumi Yoshizawa + you?
What: catch-all for January!
Where: various places around the Void
When: during January
Content Warnings: Persona 5 Royal spoilers in the thread with Parsee, and any other marked threads!

1. resolution
(after the New Year's Party)

[ Despite having helped out with the party, it's still a little strange to Yoshizawa that they're celebrating a "new year" at all. Time has been largely stable since her arrival in the Void, so she knows that for her part, she's only been here a few months... and when she was taken from home, it was March. So it's weird, a little.

Still, it's probably good for them to have some kind of system to track dates, right? And starting with January 1st makes more sense than starting anywhere else, especially given the fact that everyone seems to remember different days as being their last back at home.

It's her first new year since her life changed so drastically, and so something about the tradition of making resolutions speaks to her more than ever, this time around. Fresh starts, or something like that.

So as the party winds down, Yoshizawa can be found sitting at one of the tables in Heavenly Blanc, neatly-written kanji and kana lining the napkin in front of her, the girl adding more to it with each careful stroke of her pen, her brows furrowed in focus.

If she's approached, she'll look up in surprise, offering a shy smile to whomever is joining her. ]

U-Um, are you planning on making any resolutions too?

2. kichijoji

[ It's not just that Senpai and Akechi-san have already made the move to living somewhere in the newly-appeared place that's kind of Kichijoji. Like a few other places around the Void, the place feels something like home, much more than the apartments do. Plus, something about having two entire floors to herself speaks to her. She loves helping Ren out in the Heavenly Blanc, but for someone who loves cooking as much as she does, she can't help but daydream of a small stall where she can "sell" food for the other people who are living here.

It's not like they don't already have a lot of restaurants and the like, but...

Habit has her standing, arms at her sides, considering one of the shopfronts in front of her with a tilted head, as if goods line the outside just like they would back home. She's lost so deeply in her own thoughts that passersby won't even be greeted as they normally would, and any efforts to get her attention will result in her jumping, startled, before she bows. ]

I— I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there.

3. gym

[ In the Aoba Shibumenosaki Underground Academy gym, Yoshizawa is a completely different person - not unfamiliar to anyone who met her within the depths of the Mementos nightmare, but certainly unlike the girl who usually walks around the Void. Dressed in the academy's sports uniform (of course in a striking red), she can usually be found completing routines on the floor, practicing kickboxing or fencing (always versus nothing but the air in front of her), or occasionally using one of the machines to work up a proper sweat. A look of serious focus can always be seen on her face, and people who join her will be met with little more than a brief nod - at least until she's finished what she's currently doing.

Maybe this is how you find her, focused on the workout, or maybe you come across her when she's finished, sitting down against one of the walls and perhaps watching anyone still working out, hair wet from the showers and falling over her shoulders, a container full of food in her lap and chopsticks in one hand.

And it's not just you: that container of food really does seem to be far too big for someone as small as her... ]

4. wildcard

[ want to do something but don't like any of the prompts here? you can hit me up at denouements if you want, or just post something here! ]

Comments

[kimihiros]

I'm sorry for your loss.

(even if sumire has experienced loss, most people can't relate exactly to what is kimihiro's own encounter with death. being as old as he is, he watched as his friends aged and passed, and it will remain as so. he's chained by the unmoving passage of time and who knows when death will knock on his door, if it even will as he slowly transitions into another state of being. kimihiro will be all alone one day, perhaps even die like so, and it's a great deal of anxiety that punctures him in the spine as the thought arises.

his breathing shallow as he attempts to recenter himself, to accept the information she's willing to give away in return for the confusion.)

Sumire is a beautiful name. How is it written?

[feale]

[ Of course, she has no way of knowing what he's thinking. But suffice it to say, her own experience with death is also remarkably unique, albeit in an entirely different way. It's not something she plans to bring up now, not with how upsetting the conversation has already become... but later, perhaps, another day; another chance to figure things out for both of them.

So she's quiet after she speaks, after he speaks, sipping at the tea until he asks how her name is spelled. ]

A-Actually, my parents chose just to write it in kana... I suppose if I were to write... to write it in kanji, I'd use this spelling...

[ She places the cup down for a moment, and traces the letters 紫 and 花 on the back of her hand. ]

[kimihiros]

(there are so many ways to write it, so kimihiro just comes closer to her a little as she writes her letters on the back of her hand. he gives back the favor, mimicking her way of showing her kanjis -- 四月一日君尋 on the back of his hand. april fool's, prophet.)

Here's mine.

[feale]

[ The thing about names is that they can be spelled in any way a person wishes. Especially nowadays, there's a trend of given names being entirely unrelated in pronunciation from the kanji that make them up. So it's not for that reason that Kimihiro's name surprises her.

The actual kanji he draws, though? If it wasn't for the New Year's party at the Heavenly Blanc being only a few days ago, and the fact that as far as she knows him so far, he isn't really the joking type, she would be disinclined to believe him. ]

Y-You know, Watanuki-san, your given name makes a lot of sense. The meaning, I mean...

[ She glances up at him with a brief smile, still not entirely sure how she's going to bring up the other part. ]

[kimihiros]

Prophet, mhm? I suppose that makes sense, knowing divination.

(although he did hear a bunch about 'watanuki' and 'april's fool' and all that... the tradition of padding and kimonos, protecting children... names are surely precious in kimihiro's world, so he simply takes a sip of his tea in thought.)

Names are important, you know. It's a promise from day one.

[feale]

[ She nods. She's heard of it before, of seimei handan and how names can be used to predict fortunes. She doesn't really know a lot about how it works, only that it's something that older generations find important - and some younger ones, too. The idea that a fortune could be told from something so simple amazes her... and she can't help but wonder if perhaps Kimihiro knows how to divine from names.

Although... ]

I— How do you mean?

[ Suddenly, the only thing she can think about is her sister. ]

[kimihiros]

I'm sure you heard of seimei handan. It was proposed after Meiji era, at a time when people started to use last names and were becoming more and more interested in the good or bad quality of the name. It's like you're making a promise to your child of what they're to become, or what it's expected of them.

(although he says all this, there's a part of him that feels like she already knows of it. he takes a large inhale, letting the smoke leave through his nose.)

Although I'll admit, it's likely that 'Watanuki' isn't my real name.

[feale]

[ She nods in response to the statement. Yes, she knows seimei handan, but admittedly she has never really thought about it before as a promise. In modern times it's certainly not considered as important as it was in the past. But still...

Her brows lift in confusion in response to his comment. Is this about what he said before? She has no way of knowing, but... ]

You don't know your real name?

[kimihiros]

No.

(but it's not said with any hint of sadness, perhaps indifference at this point. he's sold his memories for a reason, and a good one, and while it means he has several holes where his memory should be, that part of his past affects him very little. he made a decision, and that is final.)

It isn't for me to know at this rate.

[feale]

[ It's strange to think that, had Dr. Maruki's plan gone as he wanted, she would no longer know her real name, either. Sumire would be her sister, dead and gone. That's why, even though Kimihiro doesn't seem sad about it, she can't help but feel some small sadness on his behalf.

But even with that... ]

Did you choose this name then, Watanuki-san? Or did someone give it to you?