"Per aspera ad astra, Papa,' I whispered. Through hardship to the stars.
Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea"
Death:- closing one door to open another. Or, Reiji grows up.
The trouble with awakening your persona is how it is reflective of a particular moment, a feeling in your life, and it stays with you.
It's arcana can change to better reflect you, but for better or worse it is a map to that moment in your soul. Your initial persona is always the easiest thing to summon.
The thing about humans, is they do grow up. Move on. You are no longer an angry teenager, you are now far angrier at your father then your brother, even if your sense of rivalry has not disapated.
Elly tells you that Bres now represents your Death Arcana, and it is a good thing. You do believe her. She still talks with Igor, and he knows more about these things then any of you.
You grow up and out of high school, and get into a job. And it's kind of a relief. You can send money home to support your mother, and even manage to save up for a house.
And one day, a lady comes to your door, crying that her house has collapsed, and asking if you can help her find anything in the remains of her house. She's not model pretty in the way Elly is, but all of her smiles are real and unhesitent, unlike the Elly pictures that smile from Magizines.
Her name is Shinju, and you think it's fitting, for her teeth are white like pearls. You see it when she smiles, in the mornings over breakfast, in the evenings when she teases you, and when she shouts at the characters for being stupid in her soap opera.
You ask why she watches her soap opera if everyone is stupid in it, and she says she does it for the same reason men watch sports. You really don't get it, but maybe you can ask Nanjo the next time you see him.
Your half in love with her already when she asks you to bed, and slowly, it becomes a thing. You save up to take her to nice dinners, and you are pretty convinced you are dating when she jokes "what am I? Your girlfriend?"
"Aren't you?" You blurt out, startled.
She falls quiet at that, an almost awakard air settling over the dinner table.
"I am aren't I?"
"Do you want to be?" You ask her..
"Would you want me to?"
"If it's something that will make you happy? Then-"
She doesn't answer in words, but the way she leans across the table and kisses you tells you all that you need to know.
Not even losing your job, and finding a new one as a traveling knife salesman can take away how elated that makes you feel.
The thing about humanity, is that they do grow up and move on, and you are no longer an angry teenager. Unlike highschool, you have friends, you have a girlfriend, a job (and while it's not what makes you happiest, it won't be a forever job), and a future you look forward too.
Maybe you are still awkward, and kind of a loner, but you have people in your life who love you for that, not in spite of it. You're happy, and its something that once upon a time, you didn't think you could be.