4. Text, Action

[greatseal]

Hello, everyone! You may have already noticed from the stores, but tomorrow is a holiday called Valentine's Day. I know not everyone is from Earth so I thought that it might be good to explain it.

Valentine's Day started in the West as a religious holiday, but it's turned into a holiday for showing people you love them! In some countries, you mostly give gifts to your girlfriend or boyfriend. In Japan (and Hinoto-ri) though, it's different. On Valentine's Day, women give chocolates to the men they know, and next month, on White Day, the men give gifts in return. Giving a guy fancy chocolates means you really like them! (o⌒.⌒o)♡

[If this were voice, this is where it would turn more serious.] A lot of us are waiting for people to come home, and we don't know how we can help that to happen yet. The people you love the most might not even be in the city at all. But we can still have fun for a day. And who knows... they might even show up tomorrow in time to celebrate.

...Anyway, if there are any girls (or boys, even) who want to learn how to make Valentine chocolates, come stop by the Iwatodai Dorm today. I have some ingredients ready. [attached: directions.txt] And if you have a recipe of your own you want to try, bring what you need and we'll make it, too!

[Action, Iwatodai Dorm]

[As promised, Minako has a good amount of chocolate and related materials getting ready for use. She's got the door to the kitchen open and the stoves working melting the chocolate, but a lot of the ingredients are spread out on the large dining-room table in the lobby. She's not sure how many people will take her offer, after all.

It may seem odd to do all of this when she doesn't even know if her intended chocolate recipients will be home tomorrow. But keeping busy has always been her trademark. When she's focused on other things, or other people, she doesn't have to worry about herself. So really, this level of activity isn't strange at all.]

[Note: Feel free to threadjack in the action part! Everyone probably won't be working individually the whole time, after all.]

Comments

[Action]

[eyewillprotect]

So you have lollipop molds? What about other shapes?

[greatseal]

I met her on her first day here, too! Her sister Aigis is my friend back home.

[all_wound_up]

Sister...?

[Nano seems confused about that. She didn't know robots could have those.]

Oh! Do you mean they were built and programmed by the same person?

[greatseal]

Well, the same company in this case, but yes. Aigis and Labrys were both made to use Personas. Aigis was a huge help to our team when she joined us.

[all_wound_up]

Made to use Personas...? That's amazing!

[Nano is genuinely impressed here, and it shows on her face. Compared to herself...]

I'm pretty sure I was only made as a babysitter.

[verytasty]

Woah!

[ This COMP is super high tech and really cool, okay! Pardon him while he's a bit dazzled by it and by other news. ]

There are teleporters here?

[greatseal]

Yes, but just in the apartments. They were a little unreliable for a while but I think that's been fixed. My brother got dumped into the pool once...

[This is really going to help Takashi be confident in using teleportation as a travel method]

[greatseal]

[Minako smiles.] That's not such a bad job to have! But you have a Persona now, right? So you can do that, too.

[Action]

[greatseal]

[as long as someone eats them, Minako guesses it's a success.]

Well, why not? Valentine's is a good holiday for parties, anyway.

[greatseal]

[She laughs.] It'd probably be hard to keep secret if that were true! But there are other people who used Personas besides us. I've talked to two people who met Philemon before they came here.

[And while she's talking, Minako tastes the chocolate. ...

It's salty.

Very salty. And soy flavored.

But not to the point that it's inedible. Maybe it will go fine with the jerky.] Do you have more of that beef jerky? [Otherwise, she'll have to raid the cupboard and see if Akihiko has any around.]

[feminine_carnivore]

But there's no way to tell if they were from the same world as us right? I mean...you met Yukiko as a kid, so we know that our worlds are the same.

[ She thinks about it some more while Minako tastes it. Chie might be a little scared to taste it herself.. ]

But since we had Persona's before we got here, does that mean we have some kind of connection to the city that other's don't? [ It was a question she had been thinking about when she learned that EVERYONE had persona's but hadn't thought of a good way to explain it before. ]

No, I put the last of mine in there already.. [ She's a little saddened by that too. ]

[all_wound_up]

That's right. I've been trying to do my best for everyone here.

[greatseal]

I'll look in the cupboard. Maybe Senpai has some stored away...

[She starts to look through the cabinets as she goes back to the previous discussion.]

I did meet her, but it's not a guarantee that we're from exactly the same world. There's worlds out there that are the same except for some event happening slightly differently.

[It's actually more likely than not, but she's not going to get into the reasons why right now.] Still, between me going to your school and you all going to our school and then what Labrys has said, if our worlds aren't the same the changes are pretty small. Most people who come here don't know about Personas at all. I'm betting all of us who had the power before are from pretty similar parallel timelines, if not the exact same one.

[The problem is that this calls into question whether Hinoto-ri itself is included in that group. That's another idea she doesn't particularly want to bring up.]

[feminine_carnivore]

I've seen something like that in movies a bunch. Like, everything is the same, except no one ever learned how to lie. Or like, a universe where everyone's gender is swapped. [ These multiverse related shenanigans are too much to try to understand all at once, that's for sure. ]

Labrys? My friend Rise-chan mentioned her before but I've never met her.. [ But she would be pretty excited to met a robot. ]

Hey that brand! [ Chie is looking over Minako's shoulder as she looks for jerky (she can't help it) and she face lights up when she see's a bag in the cabinet. ] That's my favorite brand! It's super hard to find, I think I bought all of the supplies in my town.

Your senpai has good taste!

[greatseal]

And that's all anyone can ask.

[but where are her manners, anyway] So, my name's Minako. It's nice to meet you.

[testsubject031]

[Protein bar mix is pretty thick, but Labrys makes it look easy to stir. In the process, she's probably broken down the oats and other components on a level close to that of a factory food mill.

Almost out of the blue, she pops an unusual question. But it's releated to Akihiko, and they are making him food.]

Minako-san, what's a 'pervert'?

[greatseal]

[This is the second time that Labrys has made her wear a bizarre expression. What is the robot girl going to think of her?]

Uh - what? I mean, what brought this up?

[testsubject031]

[Is that an unusual thing to ask about?]

Teddie said Akihiko-san is a pervert, but that he's a nice pervert.

[greatseal]

Teddie?

[What. Who's 'Teddie,' and what did Akihiko get himself into this time?]

Um, well... Akihiko-senpai is nice, but I wouldn't call him a pervert. Why did Teddie say that?

[testsubject031]

Teddie's one of my friends! He's a blue bear, and my knight I guess!

[She sets the bowl down and brings a finger to her chin, recalling the encounter.]

Akihiko-san asked him to take off his clothes in the TV World, and Teddie called him that.

1/2

[greatseal]

[greatseal]

[Just... setting aside the blue bear knight part entirely for now...

She shouldn't be so shocked. They are talking about Akihiko.]

Akihiko-senpai's a great person, but he can be pretty oblivious. People drag him into situations [like Junpei and Ryoji] or he says things that sound fine to him but strange to everyone else. Um... I'm sure Akihiko-senpai had a good reason to ask Teddie-san that, but I can see why he took it the wrong way.

[she hasn't exactly explained what a pervert is, though.]

[testsubject031]

Ohh, I getcha.

[Pervert must be short for 'person who has trouble expressing his/herself with words'.]

I already know he's a good guy. He wants to be a police officer like Chie-chan someday. But Mitsuru-san said he's gotta go back to school and finish his classes first.

[greatseal]

...He isn't in school?

[Akihiko wanting to be a police officer isn't a huge shock. He'd never mentioned it around her, but she can see why it would appeal to him. He always wanted to become stronger and protect the people around him - so what better job than a policeman?

But he'd also always been near the top of his class, or as close as he could be with a classmate like Mitsuru. She can't see him having trouble with university courses, either.]

[testsubject031]

I guess not. Mitsuru-san's the one who told him he should finish.

If school's anything like I think it is, he'll have no trouble at all!