Velvet Room MUSH Wiki - User contributions [en]

Kikuno Kisaragi

2026-09-03T00:54:38Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#b06ee6; border: 2px #52de8e solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Kikuno Kisaragi''' |- ! colspan="2" align="center" | lol |- ! style="background:#b06ee6; border: 2px #52de8e solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | <span style..."

User:Strangeshrimp

2026-09-03T00:34:09Z

Strangeshrimp:

[[File:The curse.jpg|an image that just says 'it's because of the curse'. the viewer is prompted to press F to indicate OK.]]

Staff! I'm Parabellum here.

*'''Velvet Room MUSH''': [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Noriaki Okaga]], [[J. Itsuki Hayashi]], [[Kikuno Kisaragi]]
*'''Dream Chasers MUSH''': Necronomicon (Staff), Josephine Lovelace, Loren Voss, Avril Vent Fleur, Citan Uzuki, Amaterasu, Seraph Harmaus (RIP)

Availability: EST; PM hours (I work M-F 8-5).
*Mon: Usually not but can make exceptions with advance requests
*Tues: Almost always not available (see above)
*Wed-Thurs: Usually free, ask me
*Fri-Sat: Almost always free
*Sun: Variable but usually free; ask me

2026-08-22: A Fleeting Snow

2026-08-22T04:08:42Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: A Fleeting Snow''' *'''Cast:'''Katsuya Suou, Captain Shimazu, Chief Togashi *'''Where:''' Konan Police Department *'''OOC Date:''' 08/22/2026 *'''IC Date:''' 12/28/2026 *'''Summary:''' Karma cuts both ways, and no good deed goes unpunished. *'''BGM:''' Persona 2 Eternal Punishment - Reminiscence (Sorrowful): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKA4vyE7PiY ---- Fat-flaked snow falls from the sky across Sumaru City. If Katsuya is any judge, this snow..."

*'''Cutscene: A Fleeting Snow'''
*'''Cast:'''[[Katsuya Suou]], [[Captain Shimazu]], [[Chief Togashi]]
*'''Where:''' Konan Police Department
*'''OOC Date:''' 08/22/2026
*'''IC Date:''' 12/28/2026
*'''Summary:''' Karma cuts both ways, and no good deed goes unpunished.
*'''BGM:''' Persona 2 Eternal Punishment - Reminiscence (Sorrowful): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKA4vyE7PiY
----

Fat-flaked snow falls from the sky across Sumaru City. If Katsuya is any judge, this snow won't survive the following day, once the storm has reached its end and once the sun rises again.

It's rare to even see snow in December, rarer for it to do more than dust the city, rarest yet for it to last more than a day, if even that.

He stands for a moment outside the police department, his gaze somewhere above and to the horizon.

So that was it. Indefinite leave, with pay. Any further involvement with the case, and the chief would...

----

"So. Do you have anything to say for yourself, Sergeant?"

Captain Shimazu does not wait for a reply. Instead, his gaze is severe as he continues, "You were ordered not to involve yourself with the Joker case. Instead, I have reports from concerned citizens about your recent 'activities'."

Katsuya tenses, interjecting at last here: "Sir, that was because--"

A single look from the other man in the room is sufficient to silence him.

Captain Shimazu, the man in charge of the area-wide investigation into the Joker killings isn't the only one in here, after all. So great is Katsuya's error that Chief Togashi himself, the head of the Konan Department, is present.

In other words, his father's former partner when he was a detective, and Katsuya's own mentor.

Katsuya stands ramrod straight and looks away from the chief, ashamed.

He remains completely silent as Shimazu continues. Shimazu sighs, shaking his head. "Then there's the matter of that girl. With the collected evidence linking her to at least one of the murders, she should have been placed under arrest and interrogated immediately. Instead, she was put into protective custody. A determination that you, as an officer uninvolved in the murder investigation, lacked the authority to make."

It's here that Katsuya, thus provoked, speaks up again: "Sir, she's a child!" he blurts out. "Furthermore, the evidence is circumstantial--"

"If I wanted your opinion, detective, I would have asked for it," Shimazu says, cutting him off. "I've heard enough. This entire affair is a waste of my time." He turns his gaze towards Togashi, as if to hand the matter over to him.

"Let's bring this to a conclusion," Chief Togashi cuts in. "It's unfortunate, but I don't see any way around it. Sergeant Suou." Katsuya snaps to attention, his focus entirely on his chief and mentor. "In light of your actions, I have no choice but to relieve you of active duty and place you on paid suspension, effective immediately."

Katsuya looks no less than shell-shocked.

"That can't be..." He shakes his head, fiercely. "Wait, listen to me! What's going on with these people isn't normal--"

Togashi cuts him off. "The decision is final. And if you should interfere again..." The Chief speaks with finality of what will happen, without having to say it aloud.

It's understood.

----

Yes, it is understood. If he probes any further, the chief will have his badge.

Indefinite suspension... so that's really what this has come to. Turning his head as he lingers outside the place that had been his workspace for so many years, he just catches the voices of two officers. They must be taking shelter from the fleeting storm in the lee of the building, but their voices carry to where he's standing.

"They keep telling us to 'check the crime scenes again'. There isn't anything else to find. It's almost like they're stalling. Do they really not have any leads...?" one officer wonders.

"Hey, be quiet," his partner urges him. "Be careful saying something like that in front of the big shots."

Akechi had warned him, he supposes. It's the corruption within the department here that's staying the hands of the rank and file officers. So long as Tatsuzou and the rest of the New World Order can pull their strings...

...then, just as he'd confessed to Maya, they can't rely on the police at all.

Now that he's on suspension, the chances of him finding out who might be among the involved parties has dwindled to zero.

He walks away from the building, his shoes crunching in the half-melted slush.

Officer of the law or not, though, he still has a duty to the people of his city. Even if he'll lose everything, he can't stop here, even if they try to make him.
The winter wind that sweeps through the city might be cold, but the flame in his heart burns just as hot as ever.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Assorted Persona Topics

2026-07-18T04:08:45Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Typical Theurgy Methods by Theme */

__TOC__

==Artificial Persona Users==

Artificial Persona Users are individuals who have had their [[Persona]] forcibly awakened through science without the assistance of a [[Guides|Guide]] or through the [[Ordeal]] of facing their Shadow and bringing its suppressed power under the ego's control.

In most cases, this is by forcing [[#The Potential|The Potential]] upon the psyche before it has occurred naturally. This causes an incongruence between the ego and the Shadow, bringing the two into inevitable conflict. The Shadow is not fully controlled by the Persona and on occasion may come forth to violently attack its person, representing this state of disharmony. That it would result in death for the Shadow as well matters little; human beings are full of contradictory impulses, and the self-destructive urge is part of what The Potential brings under control through the resolution to face death.

Most Artificial Persona Users are thus forced to take [[#Suppressants|Suppressants]], which are pharmaceutical medications made by the Kirijo Group with psychogenic effects, to temporarily quell the Shadow. Unfortunately, these medications cause gradual organ damage to the body, giving these unfortunate individuals a death sentence by choice of whether it's quick or slow. For obvious reasons, most people take the medication, but some may decide to cut out the middleman and eschew the medicine to let what happens happen.

The Kirijo Group is largely responsible for most Artificial Persona Users before the events of [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]] as a result of their research into utilizing Shadows for control over time and space. The survivors of these programs tend to naturally gravitate towards [[Strega]], given that it was founded by three of them, but not all. Some certainly have their own agenda.

Currently, the [[New World Order]] is in the process of picking up where the Kirijo Group left off in creating new Artificial Persona Users. However, they are limited by a short supply of [[#Evoker|Evokers]], a hurdle that [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] can't overcome. Their head of R&D, Hisataka Shinjo, promises a revolutionary new process of creating Artificial Persona Users where such limitations are no longer a problem, but it's still in the works.

The [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien Tao Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] is currently making lists for him of promising candidates and keeping them monitored.

==Evoker==
[[File:Evoker.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Just put it to your head, and pull the trigger.]]
A piece of technology developed by the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] to facilitate the summoning of a [[Persona]] for those individuals with [[#The Potential|The Potential]].

Shaped like a handgun, an Evoker is used to simulate both the anxiety of facing death and the forcible shattering of cognitive barriers to bring forth one's Persona.

Evokers contain a [[#Plume of Dusk|Plume of Dusk]], but the role this mysterious object takes in its operation is unknown to the majority of Persona Users.

===OOC Minutia===

*Evokers can only be obtained by [[SEES]], [[Strega]], and the [[New World Order]] without difficulty. Characters not associated with those organizations may have problems finding replacements. Anyone not initially applying into one of those factions will need to detail how their character got one during application. The bar isn't high! We just want to know how you imagine it happening and will let you know if it needs adjustment.

*Trying to use an Evoker on someone else other than yourself fully does not work, even if they're willing to allow you to do that to them. The reasons why are unclear.

==Plume of Dusk==

A Plume of Dusk is a mysterious glowing crystalline object that looks similar to a feather. These objects appear 'alive' in a sense that's difficult to quantify, even by the most advanced technology.

Originally 'discovered' by the prior head of the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]], Kouetsu Kirijo, in a Jomon era dig site, he believed them to be the key to manipulation of space and time and quickly made them the monofocus of the Group's most secret projects.

Some few understand that it is the basis of their supernatural technology. For more information on this, see [[Psience and Technology]].

During the incident of [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]], the majority of the technological secrets on how to utilize them have been lost. The Kirijo Group has been understandably reluctant to reopen the door on developing this technology again.

===OOC Minutia===

*Plumes of Dusk are not readily available to anyone! Not even [[SEES]], outside of the rare technology the Kirijo Group outfits them with, or [[Strega]], besides [[#Evoker|Evokers]]. That doesn't mean there's not a source for them. The [[New World Order]] has been provided with a few and are currently researching them. For anyone else, deals with the devil are quite possible.

*We ask at this time that no-one surround a concept around trying to place a Plume of Dusk inside of a person, that's Sho's thing, and the technology to replicate that phenomenon is currently lost.

==The Potential==

A term mostly utilized by the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]], the Potential refers to the ability to awaken to a [[Persona]] without the need for guidance by a supernatural power.

Originally studied by the Kirijo Group as part of their aims to put the powers of time and space in the hands of man, it is now primarily sought out by them for the purposes of facilitating their atonement.

The Potential usually occurs in young people who are facing grief and trauma from the death of loved ones, but not always. Sometimes it just happens. Those with the Potential will awaken in [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|the Dark Hour]] and find themselves more protected from the supernatural 'allure' of this place than the average person.

Many with the Potential will awaken once they encounter a Shadow that forces them to face a situation of life or death. The resolution to fight in the face of imminent death will typically bring forth their Persona. It doesn't need to be an encounter with a Shadow, though; theoretically, any near-death situation in a supernatural space that sparks the resolve to fight will allow one to awaken.

An [[#Evoker|Evoker]] typically makes the process of awakening easier, but many people notably have an extreme aversion to putting a firearm to their head and pulling the trigger.

The Kirijo Group has developed a means of creating a sort of pseudo-Potential that allows normal people to experience the Dark Hour unprotected, but does not hand this technology out casually.

Furthermore, the Potential can be forced to develop in [[#Artificial_Persona Users|Artificial Persona Users]] through human experimentation, but rarely without extreme consequence to the psyche.

After years of study, the Kirijo Group have the means to test for the Potential during routine medical diagnostics. This testing is conducted as a matter of course on all residents of Iwatodai City and Tatsumi Port Island who check into their hospital. Certainly they do not inform the populace of this, but while the ethics are questionable, they believe it is for the greater good to know whether an individual has the Potential naturally in order to assist them as they come close to awakening.

===OOC Minutia===

*Teenagers who faced the death of a loved one [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]] before the formation of their Shadow nearly always have the Potential. The reason for this is unclear. It will not always manifest until a certain life event creates a 'resolve' within them.
*One need not find out the Potential exists in your character by awakening during the Dark Hour. SEES discovers Fuuka Yamagishi has it for example through routine medical testing at their hospital. All this testing would reveal is they have the potential to wield a Persona. Note: This does not happen during routine health checkups at Gekkoukan, only at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. Furthermore, the [[Will of Rebellion]] fully protects someone from this testing unless they waive consent OOCly.
*Some people just have the Potential, even without facing death trauma. Why this happens is also unclear. A strong resolution to fight and face death very young can often develop by the time their Shadow forms, but even that isn't strictly necessary.
*If your character has the Potential but awakens another way through the help of a [[Guides|Guide]], don't sweat it, it's probably fine!
*While technically the Will of Rebellion is 'a' potential, in that it's similar, nobody calls it that ICly, including the Kirijo Group. It is merely noted to be within a similar category on the [[Persona]] page for people to understand the category of awakening OOCly.

==Skill Cards==

Skill Cards are supernatural objects that hold cognitive power within them. They're typically marked with Minor Arcana and other symbols to denote the kind of Skill Card that they are. Most Persona Users come to understand over time what a skill card does right away. Typically they're found during [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Shuffle_Time|Shuffle Time]]. However, some characters - typically artists of the highest caliber, learn how to create skill cards themselves and imbue them with cognitive power. These powers are typically quite taxing, and dependent upon not just the current skill level of the artist, but their spiritual journey.

[[The_Velvet_Room_and_Wild_Cards|The Velvet Room]] employs the services of the so-called Demon Painter, who can take certain blank Tarot Cards and convert them into Skill Cards. Typically he requires payment commensurate to the services offered, and never performs this to create skill cards greater than the level of the Persona User's power on their spiritual journey. So too can these services sometimes be offered by local friendly spirits at Shrines all over Japan, should one be able to pay their price.

It ought to be noted that Skill Cards, despite holding supernatural power, look like ordinary cards to everybody in the real world. You might find someone you helped has been holding onto one as a lucky charm for years, or that a friend was using another as a book mark. Skill Cards can show up in surprising places!

The attendants at the Velvet Room, or the Time Count at the Time Castle are capable of affixing Skill Cards to your Persona. Typically they require a fee of the local currency to represent the value of the services provided.

===OOC Minutia===

*For more on utilizing Skill Cards mechanically, see: [[Equipment]]

*If you want the ability to create Skill Cards through artistic skill, we require it to be part of the application process, or a later request. Art should be a pretty big part of your character concept, if you choose to go this route!

*Skill Cards currently are tied to advancement, more on this later!

==Suppressants==

Suppressants, a.k.a. Persona Suppressants, are medications developed by the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] in order to assist [[#Artificial_Persona Users|Artificial Persona Users]] with the problem of their Persona frequently coming out and trying to kill them.

These medications have extreme side effects such as nerve and organ damage, causing problems with autonomic nervous system neurotransmitter secretion as well as the endocrine system hormone regulation in individuals who utilize them, usually causing related side effects in temperature regulation.

Naturally, it hasn't been evaluated by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency for efficacy and safety, and is not on the market.

The Kirijo Group supplies these medications to Artificial Persona Users staying in their hospitals, but for good reason these people typically don't have a great deal of trust in the Kirijo Group.

Most individuals who require the medication receive it through clandestine black market deals with the few people able to create them. This is the path that [[Strega]] takes, and Takaya is tight-lipped about who his supplier might be.

The [[New World Order]] has a pharmaceutical manufacturing operation to provide the medication to its people as well, promising those who take it that they will be a part of the World Without Sin to come and that death will no longer be an issue.

==Theurgy==

''"Theurgy means 'spiritual magic that could reach the gods' in Greek. To put it simply, it synchronizes with the user's emotions, and when the right conditions are met, allows them to unleash an attack of immense power."''
::--Shuji Ikutsuki, Faculty Advisor for SEES

A recent development of the Kirijo Group's most clandestine R&D laboratory, Theurgy comes from the use of special cartridges within the Evoker which synchronize with one's emotions. Utilizing these cartridges under moments of great stress, the person can unleash powerful attacks. This is always a voluntary action as it requires loading the cartridge in as one would ammunition. The User gains an 'instinct' that they can utilize the cartridges and unleash the power of their Persona.

However, while the Kirijo Group has 'quantified' Theurgy conceptually other Persona Users have been utilizing similar for the length and breadth of human history. It simply wasn't named before in this manner, instead typically being a personal choice made by allied groups of Persona Users as to what they called this. Each group of Persona Users has a different method, which may be the result of a Guide offering them a 'special card' that allows them to perform this. Or Jose offering the 'Wishing Star' to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Or perhaps simply grasping a certain object of deep emotional weight to them, that personifies their narrative journey.

Whatever the case may be, the method is often consistent across 'teams' as to how this is utilized.

===Typical Theurgy Methods by Theme===
'''Note:''' These are merely suggestions by theme. You are welcome to utilize whatever method makes the most sense for your character. However, if you're utilizing something that doesn't have precedent upon this list, then please list it when you're applying for a Theurgy attack.

'''Persona 1:''' As Veterans, the Persona 1 cast was already utilizing Theurgy during their adventures in Mikage-Cho. There hasn't been need for them to call upon this power in years. As of late however, the itch, the instinct that it might be needed soon is returning to them. During their travels, Philemon typically imbued a highly personalized object that was representative of their journey with this power. For those who didn't have such, Igor summoned a specialized Arcana Card through the Hellphone.

'''Persona 2:''' The Persona 2 Eternal Punishment cast had Golden Butterflies land upon an object deeply personal to them during their first encounter with Philemon. This imbued them with this latent power, which is awakening within them. For those who didn't have such, Igor commissioned the Demon Painter to make a specialized Arcana Card for them. Those guided by Nyarlathotep may draw upon the negative emotions that suffuse the Mark directly for this, though it comes with a reminder of who you belong to and the implication of an eventual price.

'''Persona 3:''' Theurgy Cartridges! The Kirijo Group has these. Mysteriously, Strega and the New World Order has the technology as well. Takaya Sakaki's player may choose to abide by Reload requiring him to train with an Evoker and a Theurgy cartridge to do this or can make the choice that he can already do this. Being able to do this to some degree with a later upgrade that requires him to use an Evoker would also be acceptable.

'''Persona 5:''' The Phantom Thieves of Hearts have a shared collective object in the 'Wishing Star' that Jose gave them. This object still works, even at a distance, though the weaker their bonds are with their team the less likely Theurgy is able to work at a distance from the Star. Note: this is distinct from 'Showtime' which will be covered in a future update. Minor alterations to cognitive reality for the duration of the attack are acceptable. Will of Rebellion characters outside of them can receive their own object from Jose or an Arcana Card from Igor.

'''Syzygy:''' Those who have awakened to the power of Transmutation are capable of reaching a powerful union with their Persona. When at a perfect emotional peak of any kind within a supernatural space, they can tug onto their Persona and overlay it onto themselves, creating a powerful attack. This is not a true fusion - it is an overlay of movements, a harmony between user and Persona. As a result, it is often a tandem attack, but not always. This is connected to an intangible conceptual object, representative of their post-Awakening self.

'''Antagonists:''' Antagonists can to some degree break these rules. If none of these things fit your character concept, then simply drawing deep from a wellspring of your own power can simulate this. Evoker using Antagonists however must use Theurgy cartridges, period.

===OOC Note===
*For more on Theurgy in a mechanical sense, see [[Arcana System]]. (Currently under construction!)

*Original Themes are welcome to submit their method to staff, and they will be posted accordingly in this section.

==Transmutation==

The great ordeal that is meaningful change. It can take many forms, and in many ways it is an inevitable part of this wonderful and unique tapestry known as human nature... but in many others, it might be the most difficult challenge an individual can face. Whether your life isn't what you want it to be, or you want to change your circumstances -- or maybe you've simply had a great and terrible change forced on you by things outside your control and want to claw your way back out from the hole it has put you in.

To those whose hearts burn earnestly and relentlessly for change in all its myriad forms, the power of Transmutation hears your call.

===Eve of the Evolution Revolution - What is Transmutation?===

'''Transmutation''' is a form of awakening that is catalyzed when an overwhelming desire for change is expressed within an [[Ateliers|Atelier]], a cognitive space where individual willpower is at its strongest. Consider it like a calcification of a person's determination to shift the fortunes of their life -- the individual will to strive above their circumstances made manifest through a Persona.

For those entering an Atelier without a Persona - especially an Atelier currently being parasitized by a [[Homunculus]] - encountering an insurmountable obstacle within that space is oftentimes the spark that gives rise to Transmutation in those who have the potential: faced with a real and inescapable threat, the spark of change can ignite in the heart of a person brave enough to face it and accept its challenge, triggering their awakening.

The initial Awakening typically involves being engulfed in a chrysalis of fabric (or other, analogous material) like a caterpillar undergoing metamorphosis. Space within the cocoon is far larger than the outside, starkly red, and full of the sounds of industrial machinery hard at work. Fabric latches onto the person within the Cocoon, kicking off an evocative, almost magical girl transformation sequence for the individual.

An individual who has been parasitized by a Homunculus can also undergo Transmutation when - if - they are freed. A form of [[Ordeal]], in these circumstances the Homunculus' Cocoon the individual is trapped in serves as the chrysalis of their awakening, and part of their awakening involves finding the will to break the chains the Homunculus has bound them with; it, otherwise, follows the steps of a regular Awakening closely. See [[Homunculus#What Happens to the Possessed?|What Happens to the Possessed?]] in the Homunculus file for more information!

The specifics may vary, but the end result is always the same: the cocoon bursts open to reveal the freshly-reborn Persona-User and their new Persona.

===The Transmutation - A Makeover for Your Soul===

People who undergo Transmutation are changed profoundly -- it's the nature of the beast, after all. But sometimes even profound change can be a subtle and nuanced thing, which is why - of course - the cognitive world makes up for this by making a person wear that change on their sleeve.

An individual who has awakened to a Persona via Transmutation undergoes a number of dramatic changes when they enter a cognitive space. Outfits change into a cognitive costume that often puts the 'extra' in extravagant, but a Transmutation doesn't change ''just'' that: physical characteristics of a person, like their hair, eye and skin color can all change drastically, even to shades and hues that shouldn't be humanly possible. Whether their hair color shifts across a spectrum, or maybe the sclera of their eyes change colors or even their pupil shapes change or they get a new, ruddy red skintone, it represents a marked shift from normalcy. These aesthetic shifts can even bring new additions: horns, fangs, or even something more abstract like the adoption of meaningful body art or surgical stitches.

The possibilities are enormous, but they are all bound down to a simple idea: they are, ultimately, a reflection of the person themselves, and the change they have embraced within them. A Transmutation is a distillation of the soul, representing in the most abstract and in-your-face ways the most important aspects of a person, their life, their personality, and their will in one fabulous package. A Persona is one's mask to face the world; the Transmutation is the burning fire beneath the facade.

===Allegory, Allegorier, Allegoriest - The Persona===

A Persona awakened through Transmutation is directly influenced ''by'' that Transmutation. A Transmutation Persona is the will of an individual perceived through the lens of change and transformation.

This, naturally, tends to be more esoteric than you'd think, but in the broadest strokes means Transmutation Personas in some way embody the thematic concept of change. Literary
characters from gothic horror stories are especially prevalent, as the genre is rife with stories that either revolve around themes of transformation or feature it heavily: see also, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, frankensteins, et cetera. Other possibilities include figures in alchemy, real or legendary; gods and demons from Zoroastrianism; historical and mythical figures who enacted great change or were subjected to it; and so on. The idea is that it is ultimately symbolic of the ''person's'' experience with change, and thus the gamut can be fairly wide.

When a person summons their Persona through Transmutation, they manifest a phantasmal blue butterfly that they then proceed to crush or otherwise disperse, the shattering of it calling forth the Persona.

===OOC Minutia===

*As is implied in the above, the cognitive outfit achieved by Transmutation does not protect one's identity like the [[Will of Rebellion]]. It is the self presented loudly to the world. However, that does not necessarily mean you recognize them at a glance, their outfit protects them from recognition only in the same sense that mundane disguises might.

[[Category: Theme]]

Katsuya Suou

2026-07-04T23:34:19Z

Strangeshrimp:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Katsuya Suou'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Katsuya Suou (周防克哉)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Justice|Justice]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| He/Him
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 25 (December 30, 1986)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Reddish brown
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Reddish brown
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'10.5" / 179cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Konan Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| Konan Police Department
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Police Sergeant/Homicide Detective
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Focus
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Persona 2 (FC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| Team Whoop-Ass
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Can you apply the penal code to demons?"'''

A young detective in the Konan PD, Sergeant Katsuya Suou was on the "Old Maid" case until he had a supernatural run-in with the Joker Killer himself and made the mistake of reporting it honestly to his superiors. Now, after being told to take a vacation and get some rest, Katsuya is pursuing the case on his own with Joker target Maya Amano, aiming to bring this monstrous serial killer to justice. Katsuya is so stern, serious, and by-the-book that he seems like he'd never overlook any crime, no matter how minor, but his compassion and sense of fairness do prompt him to look the other way sometimes.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''I am Helios...''
''Bearing the ancient sun, I am the one who violates the night!''
''I shall become your loyal chariot!!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Helios is the Greek personification of the sun and drives the chariot that bears the sun across the sky. He features in the Odyssey when Odysseus's men happen upon Helios's sacred cattle which they kill and eat despite Odysseus's warnings. Furious over this transgression, Helios asks Zeus to punish the men and only Odysseus is left alive.

'''Description''': Helios looks like an anthropomorphic black cat with metal cone-like ears; he's the size of a human adult and is dressed in a very fancy if old-fashioned suit.

= Special Skills =

1. ''You're Under Arrest!'' (Guts): Exactly what it sounds like. Katsuya applies the force of the law to the situation (or threatens arrest, as needed) (...can you arrest a demon, well, dammit, he'll try anyway).

2. ''What is Justice?'' (Understanding): Katsuya mulls over the meaning and application of justice, bringing his empathy to the fore in dealing with the situation.

3. ''Reform'' (Charm): Katsuya listens in and gives his suggestions for how the circumstances might be amended.

=Relationships=

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| [[Tatsuya Suou]]
| Tatsuya
| The Sun
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| Katsuya's younger brother, a senior at Sevens. Hasn't been at school or at home in weeks; Katsuya's getting an ulcer over it.
|-
| [[Maya Amano]]
| Amano-kun
| The Fool
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A reporter, and one of Katsuya's allies in arms in the investigation of #501. Katsuya admires her optimism and resolve. The one who named their group, unfortunately.
|-
| [[Ulala Serizawa]]
| Serizawa-kun
| The Star
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| Maya's roommate, and best friend. In spite of her ways and the fact that Katsuya finds her mildly terrifying, a reliable member of their team.
|-
| [[Baofu]]
| Baofu
| The Hanged Man
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| The owner of the website Darkside of Sumaru, who has his fingers on the pulse of rumors and intrigue in the city. A shady man who uses shady means, but his experience can't be denied, no matter how suspicious Katsuya finds him.
|-
| [[Umie Akabane]]
| Akabane-kun
| The Chariot
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A Convenience store clerk and Tatsuya's former tutor, years ago. Experienced with a Persona; Katsuya has been learning the ways of the Persona-user world from her as well. But, is he mistaken or is she hiding something...?
|-
| [[Yukari Takeba]]
| Takeba-san
| The Lovers
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A student and member of SEES. Has a good head on her shoulders, but something about her also makes Katsuya a little nervous, like she could cut him with her words alone.
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
NPCs of note!

*Katsuzou Suou: His and Tatsuya's father (not named in canon). Once upon a time, he was a police detective, until he was accused of taking bribes and went to prison for it. These days, he works as a security guard for hire.
*Maiya Suou: His and Tatsuya's mother (not named in canon). Works part-time as a grocery clerk to help make ends meet at home.
*Chief Togashi: Technically an FC; no canon first name given. The chief of the Konan Police Department, and Katsuya's mentor. Once upon a time, he was Katsuya's father's partner as an officer.
*Captain Shimazu: Technically an FC; no canon first name given. An elite homicide investigator. Currently in charge of the Joker Killer investigation. Appears to take a delight in jerking Katsuya's chain, as it were.
*Detective Tani: Technically an FC but only appears in one scene (no canon given name, obviously). A homicide detective at Konan.

= Soundtrack =

*W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me58ToO6owo When a felon's not engaged in his employment] - '''Gag Track'''

= The Stats You've All Been Waiting For =
(yeah this is just extended Disco Elysium tomfoolery for funsies, please pay it no mind)
*'''INT''': 3 - Logic, Encyclopedia, Rhetoric, Drama, Conceptualization, Visual Calculus
*'''PSY''': 2 - Volition, Décor, Empathy, Authority, Esprit de Corps, Suggestion
*'''FYS''': 3 - Endurance, Pain Threshold, Tener Duende, Electrochemistry, Iustitia, Half Light
*'''MOT''': 4 - Hand-Eye Coordination, Perception, Reaction Speed, Savoire Faire, Mise en Place, Composure
'''Focus Stat: Logic'''

==Thought Cabinet==
(''i'll do up something funny text-wise for these someday if the whim strikes me'')
*'''Currently Internalizing''': Nothing
*'''Internalized''': ''THE OTHER ME IS A CAT'', ''CRIME AND PUNISHMENT''
*'''Not Yet Internalized''': ''VAMPIRE BAKERS''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==
===Season 1 Logs===
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|category = logs&season 1
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| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

===Season 1 Cutscenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
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}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Adults]]
[[Category:Focus]]

Ateliers

2026-06-27T19:51:21Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Instar Stages: The Life Cycle of a Homunculus */

A recent topic entering public (supernatural) conscious via the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side]], Ateliers are not a new concept, but instead one that has been rapidly becoming more relevant as rumors of people falling victim to [[Homunculus||vicious and unsettling bodysnatching incidents]] have begun to circulate.

The cognitive spaces known as Ateliers seem to be central to these rumors. Which begs the question...

==What Are Ateliers?==

An aspect of the Collective Unconscious, Ateliers exist in all people and represent the balance of a person's sense of individuality versus their connections to others and society – they are, essentially, a person's mind palace (but not Palace!). They are usually benign insomuch as they do not intrude on other supernatural spaces nor are they typically harmful to their owner. Ateliers' sole role is to represent - and maintain - a person's sense of individuality within an endless sea of interconnection.

Everyone has an Atelier, but every Atelier is different. As an Atelier is a reflection of its owner, each is as unique as a fingerprint. There are some simple rules that define how they appear however, their ultimately being a reflection of the individual and their connection to others being the most fundamental. A person with a strongly developed sense of individuality, for example, will have an Atelier that is largely reflective of their personality, their history, and the important things of their life. A person who lacks a strong, individual identity, on the other hand, will usually have a more indistinct Atelier that is ultimately more reflective of the culture and area in which they live, and - on occasion - the people who have had the strongest influence over their lives.

Finally: a person who has no sense of self, i.e. a person whose Shadow has been destroyed, consumed, or otherwise removed from the individual, has a barren and monochrome Atelier, having been deprived of the thing sustaining it.

This is the cornerstone for what an Atelier -looks- like. But there's other simple rules fundamental to an Atelier. Like, for example:

How do you ''get into'' one?

==Accessing Ateliers==

Ateliers exist as part of the nature of intelligent life, although they vary widely in their scope and thematics. In nearly all cases, they are simply there, the same as your spleen and the back of your ears. In some cases, they can be more easily found. Individuals who have recently had a sudden, radical change in their behavior leave a way in.

Getting into the Atelier is not a simple matter. First, you must find a Thread: something important to the individual. This is usually an item of specific personal adoration -- and it may not be the most obvious choice. A precious wedding ring might not be a Thread, while a memento of a regretted love or childhood pet might be. In some rare cases, an individual may be a Thread, although in such cases the individual holds the Potential as well. Whether this is a precondition or a side effect is unknown.

After finding the Thread, one must find the Eye: the Eye will be a location, a lonely one, that is or was important to the individual whose Atelier you seek. This location must be physically visited with the Thread in tow. A subtle change in the Thread's Resonance, usually perceived as an intensification of the Thread's "is-ness," proves that the two have met. (In the exceptional cases of a Thread being an individual, they may visit the location themselves. Typically, they will not notice anything.)

This completes the ritual: at this point, one can enter the Atelier. However, this in turn has its own complexities. You have to find a space where people are "Alone Together." There are nuances here -- it must be an enclosed area, which simultaneously holds the concepts of isolation and interconnection. Such places can be difficult to find, but there is a simple and elegant solution in the modern jungle: a net cafe.

These oases of connected solitude are usually open 24-hours, but it may take some courage to brave one. Here, the traveler enters the net cafe cubicle with the Thread and closes the door. With the Thread in hand, or near to hand, the aspiring traveler logs into a certain website simply called [AtelierNetwork.jp]. After a short wait -- helpfully tracked by the site itself -- the user may step outside of the place where they are, and enter the Fabric of Reality.

The Thread does not travel with you, and so the group can share one by one... though you may still need everyone to rent a cubicle. Otherwise, they might get wise.

The intentionality of this ritual effectively limits it to Persona Users or their immediate confederates. Individuals as Threads should be considered a "PC-exclusive" feature -- either as a shocking mischance leading to Transmutations, or as a point of tension and complexity.

==Lesser Shadows - The Humors==

Ateliers are benign. They are not, however, without a way to defend themselves. Known as '''Humors''', these lesser Shadows populate - and are influenced by - the Ateliers they reside in, and serve as something like the white blood cells of an individual's psyche.

Humors can be divided into four separate categories defined by the roles they fulfill within the Atelier:

'''Flegmat (Phlegmatic) -'''
Among Humor Shadows, the Flegmat types are the most passive. They tend to comprise the 'window dressing' of an Atelier's environment and represent the relative baseline of an Atelier owner's psyche. They are sensitive to small worries and disturbances that are usually too remote for one to voice in the real world. Capable of conversation, but not very assertive, they tend to get swept up by events around them. Despite this, their presence helps prevent most Homunculi from forming at all.

It's when a Homunculus does form with enough strength to eat the primary Shadow that they become seemingly helpless to the chaos around them. As a Homunculus' control of the Atelier strengthens, they begin to take on more twisted forms befitting the Homunculus in question. When it happens, they become the bellwethers to how close a Homunculus is to fully consuming the host's Shadow.

'''Sanguin (Sanguine) -'''
Humor Shadows that represent a need for drive, action, or call for help that the Atelier owner struggles to manage, these are the real movers and doers of Humor Shadows. They all unilaterally desire to destroy a Homunculus by their nature, and can be convinced by Atelier visitors that they are there to help.

However, most will usually rouse up other Humors - especially Coleric - against intruders while acting as a 'leader' figure for small groups. Battles where a Sanguin Humor is present can be averted with successful negotiation, in these cases. While they do not fall into the sway of a Homunculus outside of the most dire of circumstances, it is nearly impossible for Sanguin Humors to deal with them naturally unless the emerged Homunculus is incredibly weak.

'''Coleric (Choleric) -'''
Of the four types, these map most closely to basic mindless Shadows like those from the Dark Hour. Outwardly they act as mindless hordes, but a healthy psyche employs Coleric Humors in order to deal with any manner of foreign body intruding within one's Atelier. This means that conflict with numerous Coleric Humors is an inevitable part of exploring Ateliers in any circumstance.

Even if a Homunculus is active - a presence that stirs them to a panicked violent frenzy regardless - those from outside the Atelier register as enemies all the same. They cannot be reasoned with directly, but all Humor Shadows are capable of communication with each other, so a local Sanguin Humor can temporarily call them off. Their numbers replenish endlessly, so fighting them does no lasting harm to an Atelier's host.

'''Melanc (Melancholic) -'''
These Humor Shadows are based on parts of oneself an Atelier owner dislikes. Self-doubt is healthy, in the correct dosage, and having them present is important for growth and self-improvement. They are also important moderating influences for Sanguin Humors in ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, the presence of a fully-formed Homunculus outright hijacks and empowers these Humor Shadows to turn them into their direct lieutenants, using their self-criticizing rationales as a weapon against the rest of the Atelier.

Coleric Humors have a bad habit of not targeting them because they read as (and are) native to the Atelier, and thus it requires outside help to subdue them when a Homunculus is consuming the primary Shadow. Bringing them 'into balance' is an important step that needs to be taken en route to reaching and subduing an emergent Homunculus. Once subdued, any healthy Flegmat Humors can help prevent a Homunculus from regaining control of a Melanc Humor so long as the Homunculus is dealt with as soon as possible.

==Instar Stages: The Life Cycle of a Homunculus==

One might suspect that Ateliers function similarly to Palaces when infected by Homunculi, and it's understandable why a Persona User might believe it functions like Security Level. However, it is in fact far simpler than that.

The danger of an Atelier is proportional to the stage of development of the Homunculus.

It's been named 'Instar Stages' because functionally, a Homunculus is a parasite, attempting to subsume control over its host.

===Cocoon===

While it is a Cocoon, there is only the potential of danger.

===First Instar Stage===

After hatching, it enters its first Instar phase. The host will begin to show subtle signs of the takeover, while the Atelier's denizens may attempt to fight off the Homunculus. Nearly always, the humors will lose this battle without outside intervention.

===Second Instar Stage===

Within the second instar stage, the host will begin to show obvious changes as it assumes that aggressively idealized version of itself. During this phase, the humours will typically stop attacking the Homunculus, as they begin to become confused as to which is host and which is Homunculus.

The Coleric Humors are quite likely to attack any Persona User who comes near them as a perceived threat to the Atelier, as they sense some kind of threat. The Melanc Humors will begin to follow the commands of the Homunculus during this phase.

===Third Instar Stage===

During the third instar stage, the Atelier becomes incredibly dangerous. The Homunculus has nearly taken over during this time, and nearly all Humors except the Sanguin will register them as the host. In reality, the signs will be absolutely clear. Something is wrong with the person. Confronting the person in question will always end poorly, as the Homunculus becomes paranoid and erratic in asserting they are the person in question. Outright aggression is quite common.

===Sub-Adult Stage===

The Sub-Adult stage is the final stage before complete takeover of the host. During this stage, the Atelier and most of its denizens are under its complete control, and will rise to defend the Homunculus if threatened. The appearance of the possessed Shadow may show overt signs of degradation, such as distorted features or speaking with a voice that isn't its own.

This is the final chance to save the person in question's Shadow. Ridding the Atelier of the Homunculus will allow it to still recover, but at this stage it's become quite a feat given its ability to wield the humors against the Persona Users. If the Homunculus feels truly threatened, it will shed all pretense and empower itself by consuming Flegmat Humors to empower itself and become the monstrous 'other self'.

===Adult Stage===

At the adult stage, the person's Shadow has been completely consumed, and there is no coming back from it. They are dead, and the body is under the Homunculus' possession, as the husk that was once a person is now a monster in human skin.

As for what it will do with it at that point, well, wouldn't you like to know?

==Fabric of Reality==

Ateliers are all about individuality versus connection. It stands to reason then that there must be something ''connecting'' them. Enter: the Fabric of Reality.

The Fabric of Reality is the name for the metaphysical space on which Ateliers reside; if Ateliers are great-but-isolated pieces, the Fabric of Reality is the thread that binds them all into a far greater tapestry of interconnection. Through the Fabric, Ateliers (individuals) are woven together to the whole, making it both a sort of liminal space of reality and an essential part of the Atelier system.

The Fabric of Reality is a core part of what makes Ateliers function, but it is ''also'' a space unto itself. The Fabric of Reality can be traversed and explored, with all its own wonders and hidden dangers within its sprawling, esoteric spaces. The explorable spaces of the Fabric are the 'threads' that connect Ateliers to one another; due to this, the Fabric isn't representative of any individual person or place, but is the general zeitgeist of humanity in all its myriad forms. As such, traversable spaces in the Fabric of Reality tend to be more aesthetically abstract, surreal, and sometimes downright eerie.

Persona Users can enter the Fabric of Reality through logging in to AtelierNetwork.jp at any given net cafe, just as they would Ateliers. Since the Fabric belongs to everyone in a very technical sense, Threads are not required to access it; those entering are drawn into a generic hub within the Fabric that abstractly represents the cafe they came from, almost always furnished with a door to the Velvet Room for the average Persona Users' convenience. From there, they can freely explore the Fabric. This is, like many other metaphysical spaces, a trying experience. Like Ateliers, the Fabric of Reality is populated by Humors; these Humors tend to be indistinct and much more representative of cultural perspectives than individual ones, and make traversal through the Fabric a dangerous prospect.

While technically a person could eventually reach an Atelier through the Fabric of Space, the network is so unfathomably vast and full of potential dangers that it would be an impractical choice at best, or the last choice you ever make at worst.

===AtelierNetwork.jp===

The mysterious website that enables access to both Ateliers and the Fabric of Reality. Its layout is simple but elegant: the main page is a white log-in button on a black background, and once logged in, there is another single button, this time red-on-gold, marked ACCESS ATELIER. Logging in and hitting this button after one has successfully completed a ritual is the final key to allow one to enter an Atelier.

Once one has successfully entered an Atelier for the first time, a webring-style image link appears at the bottom of AtelierNetwork.jp, and one can re-enter it by clicking on it. The central button is always the Fabric of Reality, which is already automatically linked once one logs into the site for the first time.

One may get the website address simply by asking Igor, though Igor claims he has nothing to do with its administration. Igor will explain that you choose your name and your password for yourself--though it's up to the website whether or not it accepts it. (In other words, you need to have a Persona. If you don't, the site will reject your account.) It's not necessary to go through Igor to get website access, though; anyone who has an account already can give out the site address.

For groups of people accessing an Atelier, it's not necessary for every single person to log in one by one. It's enough for the first person to log in, and then every subsequent person can enter the net cafe cubicle and click the ACCESS ATELIER button (or the webring link) for themselves. In this way, the unawakened may potentially enter an Atelier and/or the Fabric of Reality--though for their safety, this is strongly not recommended.

===The Enantiodromia===

There is something off in the Fabric of Reality. Regions of the interconnected Atelier network have begun to warp and darken, twisting the Fabric and its Shadows into something strange and disturbing.

The phenomenon is known as ''the Enantiodromia,'' and it is spreading.

Its origins are unclear but its effects are obvious: areas that have succumbed to the Enantiodromia are a sick echo of what they once were, the abstract architecture of the Fabric becoming something more explicitly abnormal and often dangerous on its own for the people who dare to try to travel through. Humors within these spaces are horrific and often confused and far more violent than its brethren outside of it.

In many ways, regions of the Fabric of Reality are not so dissimilar to Ateliers subjected to the will of a [[Homunculus]]. But most worrisome of all is the fact that the connections between Ateliers in spaces like these seem to be weakening -- as if the Fabric was somehow, in some abstract way, fraying.

It's unclear what is causing this affliction within the Fabric of Space; the most reasonable theory is that it has something to do with the emergence of Homunculi. But it is a real and present danger and, for those brave enough, a mystery that needs to be solved. Exploration of the Enantiodromia is extremely dangerous but potentially rewarding: in the way of all supernatural spaces, it comes with an abundance of treasure and meta-materials the subconscious craves, if someone can navigate its constant and surreal obstacles.

The deeper one delves into the Enantiodromia, the stranger and more unearthly it becomes. Regions of the Enantiodromia are walled off, preventing further passage, barriers that seem to open up the more Homunculi are dealt with.

What is the connection between Homunculi and the Enantiodromia? And just what is waiting at the epicenter of it all?

Well -- there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

==See also…==

*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Homunculus]]
*[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Homunculus

2026-06-27T19:49:46Z

Strangeshrimp: /* What is a Homunculus? */

That person you know is not the person you know anymore.

Maybe it was a subtle change. Maybe it was immediately noticeable. But whether over a period of days or months, you realize: '''the person you knew has been replaced.'''

It's not your imagination. You aren't going mad. Across Sumaru, Tokyo, Tatsumi and beyond Rumormongers have reported strange incidents of people being replaced by sinister beings that wear their face like their own personal mask to fool the world.

People call these monsters '''Homunculus'''.

==What is a Homunculus?==

'''A Homunculus is a Shadow'''. It is ''not'' a human Shadow. It is not a Mindless Shadow either, or even one of the countless Shadows native to the Metaverse. The Homunculus is a Shadow entirely unique to itself -- an anomaly, a wrinkle in the metaphysical fabric that manifests inside a human's psyche in a special cognitive space known as an [[Ateliers|Atelier]].

And it is from there they take over.

Essentially, Homunculi are a form of '''cognitive parasite'''. They are a seed of Something Else that wraps itself in the idea of Another, Potential You (like a version of you that did not pan out because of the trajectory of your life) and builds off it, like how a grain of sand in an oyster eventually becomes a pearl. People have lots of different masks and different ways their pasts could have turned out and personalities have formed, but generally a solid sense of self lets them stay internally coherent. People who have a very scattered, disturbed, or torn sense of self due to things like trauma or cognitive dissonance may end up attracting the seed of a Homunculus that uses the layers of someone’s alternate masks and other potential selves to make a new "them."

The life cycle of a Homunculus is insidious and subtle. A Homunculus will take root unobtrusively in a person's Atelier; once they have infiltrated, the Homunculus requires a period of gestation in something called a ''Cocoon'' before it is truly 'born' (visually, the Cocoon looks more or less like a Schiffli cocoon bobbin, with threads spooling out of the Cocoon and lacing into the structure of the Atelier, indicating how the gestating Homunculus is gradually usurping the Atelier from within). However, once a Homunculus is formed, they will '''always and immediately''' attempt to subsume and replace their host, seizing the host Shadow and sealing it into the Cocoon, essentially replacing - and usurping - the Shadow's place within the Atelier and, subsequently, assuming control over the person's body in the real world. (For more on the Life Cycle of a Homunculus and their effect on an Atelier, see: [[Ateliers#Instar_Stages:_The_Life_Cycle_of_a_Homunculus|Instar Stages]])

There are a variety of circumstances that can give birth to a Homunculus, but for the most part it is fundamentally about a cognitive dissonance between what a person is, was, or wants to be. If a person has a weak or disturbed sense of self-identity, a Homunculus is very likely to take root to assert an aggressively "idealized" version of its host (it's important to note 'idealized' doesn't necessarily mean 'better' and most Homunculi are dangerous and aggressive; most people divorced of self-restraint tend not to be healthy). Discrepancies between a person in this timeline and their selves from the Other Side can also cause a Homunculus to form; individuals that did not exist in the Other Side can also be at risk.

There is one last situation where a Homunculus can form: in people who have been inflicted with Mental Shutdowns or Apathy Syndrome. Provided the victim of a Mental Shutdown didn't simply die, both of these circumstances lead to an Atelier devoid of a Shadow, letting a Homunculus essentially slip into the husk of the person unopposed. A person "miraculously" recovering from Apathy Syndrome may well not be someone saved by the destruction of a Major Arcana Shadow, but a Homunculus who has essentially claimed squatters' rights on their body.

==What Happens When a Homunculus Takes Over?==

Once the switch has completed itself, the Homunculus effectively rules the roost. Due to their abnormal nature and ability to simply 'form' within the core of an Atelier without notice, Homunculi do not immediately register as a threat to the lesser Shadows (known as [[Ateliers#Lesser Shadows - The Humors|Humors]]). By the time a Homunculus might be perceived as a threat, it is far too late: the Homunculus becomes the undisputed ruler of the Atelier after it is born and the switch is complete, and the entire rules and structures of the cognitive space bend to its will. Homunculus-warped Ateliers are - of course - very dangerous to traverse, being particularly responsive to its master's aggressive, distorted will, and the Humors within will typically warp to suit its new vision.

In the real world? The Homunculus has essentially taken over the life of the host.

A Homunculus seizing control of an Atelier after being born is unavoidable outside of extreme, extenuating circumstances, but does not result in the immediate death of the host; instead the Shadow is sealed away and gradually discorporated within the Atelier as the Homunculus asserts further and further control. After a period of time, the Shadow of the host will be fully absorbed back into the Collective Unconscious and the Homunculus will have completely replaced the host, resulting in what is, effectively, the host's death... unless they are saved from that grisly fate, that is.

==Detecting a Homunculus==

Homunculi have the knowledge and memories of its host, but are aware of their nature and origins. It makes them sometimes uncannily good at avoiding detection until it's too late. All that matters to a Homunculus is existing; a Homunculus is almost entirely focused on itself and its own survival. Outside of that, an individual Homunculus behaves like a version of its host unmoored by self-restraint or societal mores. How this expresses can vary wildly, and some might even seem like better, more positive people than the individuals they're replacing...

... But there is always something about a Homunculus that is - fundamentally - off. And this is the key to finding one that has become active.

No matter how alike to their host a Homunuclus might seem, they are not: and a person with a genuine Shadow who is close to the person can usually subconsciously sense something is amiss even if the Homunculus is not acting outrageously disruptive. They are - oftentimes - just dismissed by others, but that feeling is unmistakable, like a shiver of the senses -- ''a feeling like someone is wearing the other person's skin.''

This is especially true of Persona Users thanks to how naturally attuned they are to the supernatural, to the point that a Persona-User can sense a Homunculus ''regardless'' of how close or not they are to the person being parasitized. A Homunculus does not just feel wrong – it gives off a simple, visceral feeling that this person standing across from you ''is not a real human''.

It is deeply unsettling, like a predator-prey response. Among Persona-Users it is by far most pronounced with Navigators, who are naturally inclined towards sensing these things. A Navigator ''aware'' that Homunculi exist could, theoretically, try to focus and purposefully search for them within a limited radius -- but if they are even ''reasonably'' near one, the Navigator will know instantly.

==Dealing With a Homunculus==

The first and most essential step to saving a person from a Homunculus is finding a route to their Atelier. (See [[Ateliers#Accessing Ateliers|Accessing Ateliers]] for more!). Once a way in has been established, there are two major parts to handling a Homunculus:

1. Subduing the Ateliers' Melanc Humors 
2. Freeing the Host Shadow from the Cocoon

The Homunculus is the absolute (hijacked) ruler of its respective Atelier; confronting it directly in the seat of its cognitive power, directly empowered by the strength of the host, would almost certainly be a doomed enterprise -- and even if it was possible, would put the host Shadow at extreme risk in the process for as long as it is bound within the Cocoon. Thus, freeing the host and destroying the Cocoon are essential to eliminating the Homunculus.

An integral part of this process is confronting and resolving a special sort of Shadow within the Atelier called Melanc Humors. Natural parts of the Atelier's self-defense systems, the Melanc represent the parts of the host that they most dislike. By utilizing and amplifying these Humors, the Homunculus both creates a cadre of guardians for its own use, and further subordinates the will of the Atelier's owner, weaponizing their own self-critique to further weaken their will within the Cocoon. By confronting and defeating these Humors, a person can help weaken the Homunculus' hold on the Atelier, and in turn weaken the Cocoon, making it much more possible to free the person within.

Once the Melanc Humors have been dealt with and the Cocoon is found within the Atelier, the next step before confronting the Homunculus is to destroy the Cocoon, and free the Shadow within. Note that this process is different and has different results depending on if a person has the potential to awaken or not (see the next segment for more information!), but the broad strokes remain fundamentally the same: when the Cocoon is destroyed, the true Atelier owner is freed, and the Homunculus' grip on the Atelier weakens to a point that it becomes vulnerable to attack. When a Homunculus' has lost its grip on the Atelier, '''its eyes change from the typical Shadow yellow to a bright ruby red''', a visual indicator that it is no longer the master of this cognitive space.

Even without its hold over an Atelier, a Homunculus is still a dangerous and powerful Shadow, and destroying one is still a fundamentally risky action. Once destroyed, though, the host is truly free and safe; when the Homunculus is eliminated, the entire Shadow parasite will discorporate save for its eyes, which tend to transform into an abstract form symbolic of both the Homunculus and the Atelier it had possessed.

NOTE: in the case of Homunculus possessing victims of Mental Shutdowns and Apathy Syndrome, the process is different in some key ways, but fundamentally the same. Since there is no host Shadow in these situations, the Homunculus is the undisputed ruler of the Atelier; the Humor Shadows within are even more directly lashed to its will, and dealing with Melanc Humors is less a matter of helping the Shadow, and more a matter of simple survival for the infiltrators. While it's ultimately simpler to 'free' an Atelier from a Homunculus in these situations - one only needs to destroy the Cocoon to relinquish the Homunculus' hold - it is in many ways significantly more dangerous, as the Atelier is wholly perverted to the Homunculus' will.

When a Homunculus is removed in these situations, the body will typically resume its catatonic state, being once more deprived of a Shadow to move it.

===What Happens to the Possessed?===

Upon seizing the Shadow, a Homunculus effectively replaces the person they are parasitizing. This process, called '''Pupation''', sees the host essentially imprisoned within their own Atelier with their Shadow, their self-doubts exacerbated and weaponized to keep them from trying to resist as the Homunculus slowly absorbs them and their life from within.

The possessed are, on some level, aware of what the Homunculus is doing in the real world. How much they remember when or if they are freed depends greatly on the person in question, but even in those who can't remember at all, some subconscious impression of the incident still lingers.

While within the Cocoon, a person is made a prisoner of their own negativity, bombarded with their doubts and the reality that they have been replaced by the "better" version of themselves - a version they perhaps on some level always wished they could be. To free them is a process of confronting and resolving those self-doubts and weakening the fetters binding them down until it is weak enough they can be freed from the Cocoon.

The last step of the process is as much up to the person as it is to those freeing them; the destruction of the Cocoon is a symbolic action that requires a resolve from the person within to liberate themselves from their regrets and doubts and seek freedom. Only by doing so, can they truly become free from the Homunculus' sway, and can the Homunculus itself be made vulnerable, making the host's personal liberation a crucial cornerstone.

This can play out one of two ways: in most cases, when the person is freed from the Homunculus thanks to their perspective shift, those who helped liberate them will protect them and destroy the Homunculus, returning the Atelier to their (subconscious) control.

However, things are different if someone parasitized by a Homunculus has undergone - or harbors a strong desire for - personal change within them -- in other words, if someone has the Potential to undergo Transmutation. Upon being freed from the Cocoon, a person has the capacity to undergo Awakening. Many do not. But for those that do, the process of destroying the Cocoon becomes much more active: as the person within unites in common purpose with their Shadow in realizing and embraces their desire for change, they undergo their own personal metamorphosis within the Cocoon, breaking its hold on them and achieving their first [[Persona#The_Potential:_Transmutation|Transmutation]].

Upon gaining their Persona, the Homunculus completely loses any hold it held over the Atelier, and the confrontation with the parasite can truly begin.

===What Happens After?===

Those who have achieved Transmutation during their possession by a Homunculus will remember everything that took place -- both the actions of the Homunculus while controlling them, and the events within the Atelier itself. They, like all Persona Users, have awakened to the hidden realms of the human condition, and no longer have the luxury of looking away.

What they do after this, of course, is entirely up to them. After all -- they're free now.

Those who do ''not'' awaken will have no real memories of how they were freed or what even occurred, but that doesn't mean they are unaffected. Events in the cognitive world echo into the real world: there's no escaping that, even if you are unaware of what has transpired. Someone freed from a Homunculus' grip may only have vague impressions of what happened while they were imprisoned, but being confronted by a (warped) possibility of what they could have been, and finding the strength within them to reject that so-called better them and overcome their regrets, influence them on a profound and subconscious level.

Whether they awaken to a Persona or not, a person freed from a Homunculus will experience a positive perspective shift in their lives, and usually attempt to change the circumstances of their life for the better afterward.

An Atelier freed from a Homunculus typically has nothing to fear from a repeat possession; the process, after all, goes a long way in resolving the very issues that made them vulnerable to begin with.

==OOC Notes==

* The conditions in which a Homunculus spawns covers a very wide gamut mostly to accommodate player creativity and provide a lot of potential avenues for someone to explore this concept if they want to. The emphasis is on ''if they want to'' however: all of these conditions just increase the likelihood of a Homunculus forming and ''no one should feel obligated to have to deal with a Homunculus just because they meet the criteria''. But if you want to -- awesome!

* Outside extreme extenuating circumstances, Persona Users are immune to Homunculus possession, as they have an extremely developed sense of self by dint of their nature.

* Being able to access and explore Ateliers is a relatively recent and unexpected occurrence and Rumormongers and various other, seedier individuals would be very happy to have information on them. Look at that -- it's hooks for you to snag on!

* The material of a Homunculus' Cocoon - known as ''filum regium'' - is a potent meta material that can be harvested after its destruction; filum regium can be used to greatly enhance or even forge new gear and weapons at your various friendly meta purveyors such as Peacock Silk or Mayoido Antiques.

* The Eyes don't seem to have the same potential as filum regium but Peacock Silk is still extremely interested in them anyway. What a bunch of weirdos.

==See Also...==
*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Ateliers]]

Homunculus

2026-06-27T19:28:56Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Dealing With a Homunculus */

That person you know is not the person you know anymore.

Maybe it was a subtle change. Maybe it was immediately noticeable. But whether over a period of days or months, you realize: '''the person you knew has been replaced.'''

It's not your imagination. You aren't going mad. Across Sumaru, Tokyo, Tatsumi and beyond Rumormongers have reported strange incidents of people being replaced by sinister beings that wear their face like their own personal mask to fool the world.

People call these monsters '''Homunculus'''.

==What is a Homunculus?==

'''A Homunculus is a Shadow'''. It is ''not'' a human Shadow. It is not a Mindless Shadow either, or even one of the countless Shadows native to the Metaverse. The Homunculus is a Shadow entirely unique to itself -- an anomaly, a wrinkle in the metaphysical fabric that manifests inside a human's psyche in a special cognitive space known as an [[Ateliers|Atelier]].

And it is from there they take over.

Essentially, Homunculi are a form of '''cognitive parasite'''. They are a seed of Something Else that wraps itself in the idea of Another, Potential You (like a version of you that did not pan out because of the trajectory of your life) and builds off it, like how a grain of sand in an oyster eventually becomes a pearl. People have lots of different masks and different ways their pasts could have turned out and personalities have formed, but generally a solid sense of self lets them stay internally coherent. People who have a very scattered, disturbed, or torn sense of self due to things like trauma or cognitive dissonance may end up attracting the seed of a Homunculus that uses the layers of someone’s alternate masks and other potential selves to make a new "them."

The life cycle of a Homunculus is insidious and subtle. A Homunculus will take root unobtrusively in a person's Atelier; once they have infiltrated, the Homunculus requires a period of gestation in something called a ''Cocoon'' before it is truly 'born' (visually, the Cocoon looks more or less like a Schiffli cocoon bobbin, with threads spooling out of the Cocoon and lacing into the structure of the Atelier, indicating how the gestating Homunculus is gradually usurping the Atelier from within). However, once a Homunculus is formed, they will '''always and immediately''' attempt to subsume and replace their host, seizing the host Shadow and sealing it into the Cocoon, essentially replacing - and usurping - the Shadow's place within the Atelier and, subsequently, assuming control over the person's body in the real world. (For more on the Life Cycle of a Homunculus and their effect on an Atelier, see: [[#Instar_Stages:_The_Life_Cycle_of_a_Homunculus|Instar Stages]])

There are a variety of circumstances that can give birth to a Homunculus, but for the most part it is fundamentally about a cognitive dissonance between what a person is, was, or wants to be. If a person has a weak or disturbed sense of self-identity, a Homunculus is very likely to take root to assert an aggressively "idealized" version of its host (it's important to note 'idealized' doesn't necessarily mean 'better' and most Homunculi are dangerous and aggressive; most people divorced of self-restraint tend not to be healthy). Discrepancies between a person in this timeline and their selves from the Other Side can also cause a Homunculus to form; individuals that did not exist in the Other Side can also be at risk.

There is one last situation where a Homunculus can form: in people who have been inflicted with Mental Shutdowns or Apathy Syndrome. Provided the victim of a Mental Shutdown didn't simply die, both of these circumstances lead to an Atelier devoid of a Shadow, letting a Homunculus essentially slip into the husk of the person unopposed. A person "miraculously" recovering from Apathy Syndrome may well not be someone saved by the destruction of a Major Arcana Shadow, but a Homunculus who has essentially claimed squatters' rights on their body.

==What Happens When a Homunculus Takes Over?==

Once the switch has completed itself, the Homunculus effectively rules the roost. Due to their abnormal nature and ability to simply 'form' within the core of an Atelier without notice, Homunculi do not immediately register as a threat to the lesser Shadows (known as [[Ateliers#Lesser Shadows - The Humors|Humors]]). By the time a Homunculus might be perceived as a threat, it is far too late: the Homunculus becomes the undisputed ruler of the Atelier after it is born and the switch is complete, and the entire rules and structures of the cognitive space bend to its will. Homunculus-warped Ateliers are - of course - very dangerous to traverse, being particularly responsive to its master's aggressive, distorted will, and the Humors within will typically warp to suit its new vision.

In the real world? The Homunculus has essentially taken over the life of the host.

A Homunculus seizing control of an Atelier after being born is unavoidable outside of extreme, extenuating circumstances, but does not result in the immediate death of the host; instead the Shadow is sealed away and gradually discorporated within the Atelier as the Homunculus asserts further and further control. After a period of time, the Shadow of the host will be fully absorbed back into the Collective Unconscious and the Homunculus will have completely replaced the host, resulting in what is, effectively, the host's death... unless they are saved from that grisly fate, that is.

==Detecting a Homunculus==

Homunculi have the knowledge and memories of its host, but are aware of their nature and origins. It makes them sometimes uncannily good at avoiding detection until it's too late. All that matters to a Homunculus is existing; a Homunculus is almost entirely focused on itself and its own survival. Outside of that, an individual Homunculus behaves like a version of its host unmoored by self-restraint or societal mores. How this expresses can vary wildly, and some might even seem like better, more positive people than the individuals they're replacing...

... But there is always something about a Homunculus that is - fundamentally - off. And this is the key to finding one that has become active.

No matter how alike to their host a Homunuclus might seem, they are not: and a person with a genuine Shadow who is close to the person can usually subconsciously sense something is amiss even if the Homunculus is not acting outrageously disruptive. They are - oftentimes - just dismissed by others, but that feeling is unmistakable, like a shiver of the senses -- ''a feeling like someone is wearing the other person's skin.''

This is especially true of Persona Users thanks to how naturally attuned they are to the supernatural, to the point that a Persona-User can sense a Homunculus ''regardless'' of how close or not they are to the person being parasitized. A Homunculus does not just feel wrong – it gives off a simple, visceral feeling that this person standing across from you ''is not a real human''.

It is deeply unsettling, like a predator-prey response. Among Persona-Users it is by far most pronounced with Navigators, who are naturally inclined towards sensing these things. A Navigator ''aware'' that Homunculi exist could, theoretically, try to focus and purposefully search for them within a limited radius -- but if they are even ''reasonably'' near one, the Navigator will know instantly.

==Dealing With a Homunculus==

The first and most essential step to saving a person from a Homunculus is finding a route to their Atelier. (See [[Ateliers#Accessing Ateliers|Accessing Ateliers]] for more!). Once a way in has been established, there are two major parts to handling a Homunculus:

1. Subduing the Ateliers' Melanc Humors 
2. Freeing the Host Shadow from the Cocoon

The Homunculus is the absolute (hijacked) ruler of its respective Atelier; confronting it directly in the seat of its cognitive power, directly empowered by the strength of the host, would almost certainly be a doomed enterprise -- and even if it was possible, would put the host Shadow at extreme risk in the process for as long as it is bound within the Cocoon. Thus, freeing the host and destroying the Cocoon are essential to eliminating the Homunculus.

An integral part of this process is confronting and resolving a special sort of Shadow within the Atelier called Melanc Humors. Natural parts of the Atelier's self-defense systems, the Melanc represent the parts of the host that they most dislike. By utilizing and amplifying these Humors, the Homunculus both creates a cadre of guardians for its own use, and further subordinates the will of the Atelier's owner, weaponizing their own self-critique to further weaken their will within the Cocoon. By confronting and defeating these Humors, a person can help weaken the Homunculus' hold on the Atelier, and in turn weaken the Cocoon, making it much more possible to free the person within.

Once the Melanc Humors have been dealt with and the Cocoon is found within the Atelier, the next step before confronting the Homunculus is to destroy the Cocoon, and free the Shadow within. Note that this process is different and has different results depending on if a person has the potential to awaken or not (see the next segment for more information!), but the broad strokes remain fundamentally the same: when the Cocoon is destroyed, the true Atelier owner is freed, and the Homunculus' grip on the Atelier weakens to a point that it becomes vulnerable to attack. When a Homunculus' has lost its grip on the Atelier, '''its eyes change from the typical Shadow yellow to a bright ruby red''', a visual indicator that it is no longer the master of this cognitive space.

Even without its hold over an Atelier, a Homunculus is still a dangerous and powerful Shadow, and destroying one is still a fundamentally risky action. Once destroyed, though, the host is truly free and safe; when the Homunculus is eliminated, the entire Shadow parasite will discorporate save for its eyes, which tend to transform into an abstract form symbolic of both the Homunculus and the Atelier it had possessed.

NOTE: in the case of Homunculus possessing victims of Mental Shutdowns and Apathy Syndrome, the process is different in some key ways, but fundamentally the same. Since there is no host Shadow in these situations, the Homunculus is the undisputed ruler of the Atelier; the Humor Shadows within are even more directly lashed to its will, and dealing with Melanc Humors is less a matter of helping the Shadow, and more a matter of simple survival for the infiltrators. While it's ultimately simpler to 'free' an Atelier from a Homunculus in these situations - one only needs to destroy the Cocoon to relinquish the Homunculus' hold - it is in many ways significantly more dangerous, as the Atelier is wholly perverted to the Homunculus' will.

When a Homunculus is removed in these situations, the body will typically resume its catatonic state, being once more deprived of a Shadow to move it.

===What Happens to the Possessed?===

Upon seizing the Shadow, a Homunculus effectively replaces the person they are parasitizing. This process, called '''Pupation''', sees the host essentially imprisoned within their own Atelier with their Shadow, their self-doubts exacerbated and weaponized to keep them from trying to resist as the Homunculus slowly absorbs them and their life from within.

The possessed are, on some level, aware of what the Homunculus is doing in the real world. How much they remember when or if they are freed depends greatly on the person in question, but even in those who can't remember at all, some subconscious impression of the incident still lingers.

While within the Cocoon, a person is made a prisoner of their own negativity, bombarded with their doubts and the reality that they have been replaced by the "better" version of themselves - a version they perhaps on some level always wished they could be. To free them is a process of confronting and resolving those self-doubts and weakening the fetters binding them down until it is weak enough they can be freed from the Cocoon.

The last step of the process is as much up to the person as it is to those freeing them; the destruction of the Cocoon is a symbolic action that requires a resolve from the person within to liberate themselves from their regrets and doubts and seek freedom. Only by doing so, can they truly become free from the Homunculus' sway, and can the Homunculus itself be made vulnerable, making the host's personal liberation a crucial cornerstone.

This can play out one of two ways: in most cases, when the person is freed from the Homunculus thanks to their perspective shift, those who helped liberate them will protect them and destroy the Homunculus, returning the Atelier to their (subconscious) control.

However, things are different if someone parasitized by a Homunculus has undergone - or harbors a strong desire for - personal change within them -- in other words, if someone has the Potential to undergo Transmutation. Upon being freed from the Cocoon, a person has the capacity to undergo Awakening. Many do not. But for those that do, the process of destroying the Cocoon becomes much more active: as the person within unites in common purpose with their Shadow in realizing and embraces their desire for change, they undergo their own personal metamorphosis within the Cocoon, breaking its hold on them and achieving their first [[Persona#The_Potential:_Transmutation|Transmutation]].

Upon gaining their Persona, the Homunculus completely loses any hold it held over the Atelier, and the confrontation with the parasite can truly begin.

===What Happens After?===

Those who have achieved Transmutation during their possession by a Homunculus will remember everything that took place -- both the actions of the Homunculus while controlling them, and the events within the Atelier itself. They, like all Persona Users, have awakened to the hidden realms of the human condition, and no longer have the luxury of looking away.

What they do after this, of course, is entirely up to them. After all -- they're free now.

Those who do ''not'' awaken will have no real memories of how they were freed or what even occurred, but that doesn't mean they are unaffected. Events in the cognitive world echo into the real world: there's no escaping that, even if you are unaware of what has transpired. Someone freed from a Homunculus' grip may only have vague impressions of what happened while they were imprisoned, but being confronted by a (warped) possibility of what they could have been, and finding the strength within them to reject that so-called better them and overcome their regrets, influence them on a profound and subconscious level.

Whether they awaken to a Persona or not, a person freed from a Homunculus will experience a positive perspective shift in their lives, and usually attempt to change the circumstances of their life for the better afterward.

An Atelier freed from a Homunculus typically has nothing to fear from a repeat possession; the process, after all, goes a long way in resolving the very issues that made them vulnerable to begin with.

==OOC Notes==

* The conditions in which a Homunculus spawns covers a very wide gamut mostly to accommodate player creativity and provide a lot of potential avenues for someone to explore this concept if they want to. The emphasis is on ''if they want to'' however: all of these conditions just increase the likelihood of a Homunculus forming and ''no one should feel obligated to have to deal with a Homunculus just because they meet the criteria''. But if you want to -- awesome!

* Outside extreme extenuating circumstances, Persona Users are immune to Homunculus possession, as they have an extremely developed sense of self by dint of their nature.

* Being able to access and explore Ateliers is a relatively recent and unexpected occurrence and Rumormongers and various other, seedier individuals would be very happy to have information on them. Look at that -- it's hooks for you to snag on!

* The material of a Homunculus' Cocoon - known as ''filum regium'' - is a potent meta material that can be harvested after its destruction; filum regium can be used to greatly enhance or even forge new gear and weapons at your various friendly meta purveyors such as Peacock Silk or Mayoido Antiques.

* The Eyes don't seem to have the same potential as filum regium but Peacock Silk is still extremely interested in them anyway. What a bunch of weirdos.

==See Also...==
*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Ateliers]]

Active Rumors

2026-06-27T01:59:58Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Active Rumors */

'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*<s>- If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!</s>

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*<s>Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)</s>

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

*Hazardous Situation - 'The Morimoto Sanitarium is currently uninhabitable due to a terrible accident.' While confined solely to the premises of the Sanitarium proper, the whole mountain has been cordoned off by the authorities coordinating the Hazmat cleanup.

*The Joker Curse - Those that perform the Joker Killer Rumor will become Jokers themselves. [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]]

*The Time Count - Can suppress the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] just as Igor can. He'll just be grumpier about it and more likely to cast shade in your direction.

*Haunted Books at Sevens? - There are evil, haunted books in Seven Sisters High's library. If you check them out, they stir the mind. You can learn really fast, but you might end up doing what the evil spirit in the book wants. And if you destroy them, you'll release the evil inside. Apparently, they're going to lend the haunted books to other libraries to minimize the danger at Sevens...

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

2026-05-17: Do You Want To Join My Club (To Be)?

2026-06-19T02:35:09Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Do You Want To Join My Club (To Be)?''' *'''Cast:''' Lisa Silverman, Maria Sakurai *'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building *'''OOC Date:''' May 17, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' November 10, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Maria checks in on her classmate after the end of the day, partly to say hi after Lisa's concert, but also to se'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed. <poem> Lisa is seated in her usual spot in homeroom, chatting with h..."

*'''Log: Do You Want To Join My Club (To Be)?'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Lisa Silverman]], [[Maria Sakurai]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building
*'''OOC Date:''' May 17, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 10, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria checks in on her classmate after the end of the day, partly to say hi after Lisa's concert, but also to se''

----

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
Lisa is seated in her usual spot in homeroom, chatting with her friends and groupmates Sheba and Mee-ho.

"Oh, not coming with us this time?" Sheba asks, and Mee-ho goes, "Aww. Well, that's okay! We'll catch up again later, Lisa-chan."

"Right," Lisa says, and smiles. "You two have fun, OK?"

"Yeah!"

Then Lisa goes back to fiddling with her bag; presumably there's some stuff she has to rearrange, so as her friends leave, what better time is it to walk up to her?

There isn't one!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Not every girl gets to have an up and coming idol as her classmate in homeroom. It's probably not a new occurance for Lisa to field questions from her classmates (boys and girls alike) at this juncture, but even in the span of time since the concert, Maria hasn't had the chance.

(Pictured, with an arrow pointing right at her, Maria, spacing out during history class, or English, or at the end of the day...)

But not today. Today, Maria has a ''plan'' and she's had to ''lock in'' accordingly.

"Lisa-chan!"

It's also her lucky day, it would seem. "Hi there!" she says, waving with both hands as she zooms in on her classmate. She notices something, as she does: Sheeba and Mee-ho aren't here. "Are your friends not here? Hey, if you're not busy, do you mind a few minutes?"

She looks ''quite'' invested in... something.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
Lisa's used to it, and she doesn't mind--well, she minds ''some'' of them, when the question is 'will the idol go out with me', because she can tell when a guy's interested in her just with starstruck eyes... and she's kind of sore about the whole thing where she couldn't date anyway.

Anyway, Maria comes up to her, and because she's in her homeroom, Lisa knows her. ...ANd because she was at the concert, she remembers she was there recently! "Wai!" Lisa greets in return, and smiles. "Oh, they just left--they wanted to go shopping, but I was going home early today."

Beat, "But not so early I can't make time for you, Maria-chan. What's on your mind?"

Invested in... what, though???
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria, of course, knows nothing of this: she's about as far as someone can get from the cutthroat world of the young idol. She'd be a little shocked, and maybe even a little horrified, if she knew: aren't these the days that are supposed to be the prime of one's life? Just sitting back and, not seeing anyone because you're not supposed to is like contrary to every young teen girl's experience!

In their first year, they hadn't been in the same class. And at the start of this year, or just about, Maria had been in an accident and missed almost a month of school to recover. Because of that, she'd been on the back foot for making new friends among her current classmates (not that she's terribly lacking in the friendship department any) but it didn't mean she didn't know Lisa until her rise to stardom or that they hadn't talked, now and then. It's entirely possible they went to elementary school together, for one thing! ...Even if that never meant that they were super, special friends or anything.

Maria, after all, has always been into sports. And Lisa...

"Oh, uh-huh," she chirps, as Lisa explains. "Gotcha! I know how it is. I have to go and help out at home, too, sometimes." Even if she'd rather be out and about.

Lisa says that she ''can'' make time for Maria, though.

"Great!" Maria grins, beaming at Lisa. "So, you see... I want to make a club. Do you bike, Lisa-chan?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
Maybe there's a reason Lisa has a good impression of Maria!!

Lisa did go to elementary school in the area; maybe she remembers Maria from back then, from different classes. She's lived in Rengedai all her life, after all.

Helping out! Well, that's not what Lisa is doing but, she doesn't want to ''say'' that. Instead, "Dad wants me to do some stuff," she says, "And I figure I should be nice now and then. He's doing his best." It drives her crazy, but it used to be much worse--and now that she has her sister to look out for... Well, it's more improtant to keep things good with her family.

But she sees that grin and is pleased. "A club, huh?" Lisa asks. "Hmm. Not much," she admits. "I mostly just walk around or take the train."

"I used to when I was little, though."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
They've never been close buddies, but they have been in each other's general orbit as far back as Maria can remember. And now she gets to say, one of her classmates is an idol! How cool is that?

"Uh huh," Maria says, nodding along as Lisa explains. "It's neat that your dad and you are so close, though?"

Maria's own father is, uh...

Well, she did see him again after she got 'found' after 'going missing'. She overheard one of the officers telling her grandmother that they suspect she was seeing a boy! How rude, she got kidnapped by a pink cockatoo!

Which might be a magic cockatoo.

Maria's still not sure just ''what'' Jerri is.

But, alas, Lisa does not bike.

"Aww," says Maria, her shoulders slouching. But she rallies! "Well, do you know anyone who likes to bike? I'm trying to get enough people together for bike club. That way, I can go and say, 'we should have a biking club', right? I think I have to convince the principal, or, well, the interim principal?" It's more than that. She'll also have to talk someone from the faculty into being the supervisor, not to mention all the paperwork involved. Add to that the issue of what they'd do with anyone who wanted to join but didn't have a bike...

Running, by contrast, is easy for a school to manage. Sewing club is ''easy''. Cooking club? Easy. Providing an entire damn bike to someone? ...Trickier.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
Close... "I guess so, huh?" Lisa asks. "Even when he drives me nuts, I'm lucky to have him," she admits. She has to be positive for her reputation--but realizing it compared to girls without dads at all... It makes her think.

Magic. Luckily Lisa's not involved with that.

"Hmmm. I don't..." She taps her cheek though, thinking about it from her seat. "I know that Suou-san has a motorcycle. But bicycles? ...Oh, wait. You could check at the bike racks? The people who are there obviously like bikes, since... they have them!"

"I think that's right though. You'd have to convince Ms. Ideal. I dunno how easy that'll be..."

Unless, of course, Maria can indicate that the bikes are somehow supernatural. That might help?

Lisa is too busy for clubs these days, herself. So are Sheba and Mee-ho. But she does have other stuff...

"That's cool though. It shows a lot of initiative, wanting to make your own club."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Yeah," says Maria, just a touch less enthusiastically than is her baseline. But of course, Lisa would know that chestnut, how Maria's father works and stays in Tokyo, coming to Sumaru to visit her and her mother and grandmother when he can. That's been the case ever since before the two of them even first met: working arrangments can be hard on families when one party needs special care, or can't do child-care on her own.

Lisa, most likely, has probably even seen Maria's mother once or twice. She does what she can, but being in a wheelchair is certainly limiting.

"Yeah, but that's a motorcycle," Maria sighs, and she might not be the sharpest pencil in the set, but even she knows that a motorbike club wouldn't fly at all. She doesn't even have a motorbike! She doesn't even have a license!

But she could check at the racks. You know, where the people who ride their bikes to school would be?

"Oh, right!" says Maria, who...

Well, Lisa probably also knows this fact about Maria.

(Why didn't her friend Haruka tell her? Because Haruka, her best frienemy, wanted to see if Maria figured that one out on her own. Call it curiosity!)

Of course, then she'd also have to convince Maya Okamura.

"...Yeah," says Maria, frowning. "If, I told that um... aliens... liked bikes," Maria says, thinking this one out in real time, "do you think that would sway her...?"

No. No, it wouldn't. She's mixing her interests up with Kashihara's, anyway!

But that's initiative for Maria, who beams, sparkling flowers and all, in response. "Hehe, you think so? My first idea was for an urban exploration club, but... I didn't think that would go over really well." Oh good, she has some sense! "I was trying to think of a sport I'd want to do, right?" She peers at Lisa. "Or some kind of activity! Hey, you're not in any clubs right now, are you Lisa-chan? I guess being an idol's got to be pretty busy. So, are they going to have a new concert soon, or...?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
Lisa knows a little about Maria's family just because of how long they've known each other, even if not ''closely''. It's part of why even Lisa, who can be insensitive, isn't going to complain about her dad in front of ''her''.

Maria does know that. "yeah," she says. And then--the bikes! Well...

Lisa ''did'' mention it at least. "Right," Lisa says. "It might help! Though they've mostly have left by now I guess..."

Anyway, ".....Prrrrrobably not," Lisa says, a sweatdrop almost visible at her face. Almost. "But I dunno enough about that kind of thing to help."

Initiative! "I do!" ...Urban exploration would ''not'' fly. "Hmm," she says. "Yeah! Well, if you like kung fu I could get you in touch with my sifu!" she says, brightly. "...But no, I'm not. We're not gonna have another concert for another month or two at least, but we are hoping to get another album out before too much longer..."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Most of the people Maria's known most of her life know the gist of things, that her mother was paralyzed after being hit by a car, that her father is stuck working in Tokyo but sends money home, that she was mostly raised by her grandparents.
That she was badly injured in a subway accident earlier in the year.

It's just that, such things are beyond commenting on at this point. Superfluous, in fact.

Lisa's clue (Could Maria have figured it out on her own? it is a mystery) hips Maria to the fact that she probably has a whole range of people to ask! ...Whether or not they're interested in riding as a group, school-hosted-style, is a separate question. Maybe she'd be better off looking into riding clubs outside of school, but at the same time, it probably can't hurt. And if this falls through, she can try something else.

"You don't think so? Hmm, I had this weird feeling that she was kind of into..." Maria screws up her face, thinking again about Ms. Ideal and her interests. "Well, that's okay. I'll just tell it to her straight, then?" She pauses. "Oh, I mean, after I have some club members! And a faculty volunteer? Do you think Watanabe-sensei would want to mentor us?"

Their homeroom teacher doesn't, as far as either of them know as his students anyway, ride a bike for fun.

Urban exploration would have gotten shot down so fast Maria's head would have spun. Maybe she should try just joining another sports team that allows girls?

...Or kung fu.

"Eh? Kung fu?" Maria blink-blinks at Lisa. "Eh?? You do kung fu?" Wait, hadn't there been a story to that effect? "That's so cool! You can be all," she mimes punching, one, two! "Like that! Like in a movie!" she gushes, apparently a little into this stretch of reality.

Lisa's not having a concert sometime soon? "Ahh, I see. I guess that makes sense? You probably have to do a lot of practice, and preparation, and all, right?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
Lisa's sure not going to comment on those things right now!!

"Hm..." Into aliens, huh? ...Lisa frowns, but isn't sure why. Oh well! Instead, "Yeah! Sometimes honesty's the best policy!" It is not.

But Watanabe? "I dunno," Lisa says. "He's got a lot on his plate already. Did you see his wife come in the other day?"

But kung fu! "I do!!" Lisa answers brightly. One-two! "The movies are how I first started learning!" Lisa answers. "They're so great, aren't they? I love how graceful and cool they are. All those combinations..."

"Mm-hm," Lisa says. "And our manager has to book a venue and stuff, so there has to be an opening in the schedule and all..."

"So it's like that."

"...But I should probably be going in a few--I'd be glad to talk some more later, though! Lemme know how your club stuff goes, OK?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It's weird. She's pretty sure that was the case. Like it was, somehow, definitely so. Like it wasn't just something she mixed up (after all, Kashihara is known to be into UFOs even now, but the truth is that he's not nearly as fascinated about them as he was, say, ten years ago).

How strange.

Did she see Watanabe's wife come in the other day? "Oh yeah! They're having another baby, right?" Trust Maria to be ''that'' blunt about it... "I hope we get to see the baby! ...Wait, won't we be in third year by then??" Maria's expression turns to one of utter devastation. Noooo she wanted to see the ''baby''...

"Really? That's so cool! I like to watch American movies, but I've seen some kung fu movies, too! Oh, do you know if there's any that have more girls in them? Like, doing the fighting? I was thinking, I wanted to watch something like that, too..."

Most of the movies that Maria's seen star guys, and that's okay. But just now, she was thinking, 'what if something like that exists'?

What if it's possible to do those things that she's thought were impossible from the very start? Maybe it's a lot to expect just like that, but...

"Yeah, it seems pretty complicated," Maria remarks, frowning as she runs through some of the calculations in her head. If so many people are expected, and the venue costs so much to rent, what would the expected ticket price be? ...The scalper market is going to be intense, huh...

"Oh, sure, sure! Don't let me keep you, okay? Maybe, let's chat sometime again!" Maria tells her, waving her one hand dismissively. It's probably too soon to ask if they could hang out ''outside'' school, when Lisa has so much else going on, but...

"Oh yeah! Giga Macho's having a sale next weekend!" she adds, just as a parting favor. "I work there sometimes, you know? I figured, it might be a good time to stock up!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Lisa Silverman has posed.
<poem>
"R-right!" Maria is really blunt! Lisa isn't going to call her out though. "Maybe we still can...? I mean, he'll be VP by then, right?"

But kung fu movies! "i know a few!" Lisa says excitedly. "...they're less common," she admits. "But the women who do this stuff are so awesome, too. I can lend you one sometime, if you want?"

But it is pretty complicated. The scalper market will be super intense. However..

Lisa smiles back. "Oh cool," Lisa says. "Maybe I'll run into you when I check it out!" she suggests, and gathers up her bag. "For now, see you around!"
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-05-06: No Stress Whatsoever

2026-06-19T02:25:52Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Log: No Stress Whatsoever'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Goro Akechi]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building
*'''OOC Date:''' May 06, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 05, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Akechi drops in on Maria and learns a horrifying pastime of hers. He tasks Maria in turn with a terrible quest that threatens to destroy her free time for the rest of the semester...''

----
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
click, click, click, click

The sun hangs low in the sky, a casualty of the Earth's tilt. If someone asked Maria why it was getting darker earlier, though, they'd get most likely a blank stare. Is it ''not'' supposed to get dark earlier? It ''is'' autumn, right? ...It must be nice to have a mind like a sieve, sometimes.

click, click, click click

She's alone in the courtyard, her gaze turned up at the clocktower that looms overhead. Her knitting needles flash erratically. She's got... something, made of fiber in her lap that she's working on without looking at it, but it's hard to tell what it is. It looks like a lump, presently.

click, click click click

The Wang Long lady had said...

...that 'Joker' was no one person. That anyone could turn into Joker with enough sin and hatred in their hearts. So, was that person Tsubasa had told her about a real person who had changed, too?

click click

"Oh--"

Maria looks down suddenly at her knitting.

"--wait, I messed up!" she gasps, unknitting her last few stitches.

...it must be nice to have a mind like a sieve.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
And just out of her field of vision stands Goro Akechi, from an off angle at her right shoulder. He's leaned up against the wall, every so often - peering out as Maria works at her knitting.

One might say this is stalker-ish behavior in a boy, save he's not just ''any'' boy. He's a ''Detective''.

"No signs thus far..." He muses in a muted manner, as he places a hand to his chin, "... curious. Could it be that she has come to terms with her behavior, and no longer feels as much guilt for the act?"

'Oh--'
'--wait, I messed up!'

There's an exaggerated reaction on Akechi's face, of an awkward smile, along with a sweatdrop beading down the side of his forehead.

"I think perhaps it's just she's not the type of person to overthink things."

Tapping out a text on a burner phone, he sends it to a middle man.
>alert them that theres been no change
>they should move to another

He types, even changing his grammar to text in a way that's atypical for him. Before snapping the phone shut again, and putting it away. Then he slowly begins to approach, briefcase in hand as he walks up behind her.

"Why hello, Sakurai-san. I saw you on my way out and thought I'd swing by-" Pause. "-Oh. You're knitting? I wasn't aware that was something you were into." He says with a positive shift in his undertone to make it sounds like he approves.

It would be just as well if she isn't the type to overthink it, if the change were long in coming... he'd prefer it that way, at least.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Oh no, oh no... did I mess up that one, too?"

The thing about knitting is that once one has made a mistake, it's no mean feat to undo it: in essence, one now has to knit ''backwards'' to fix the error.

"aaaaaaa"

Wide-eyed in horror, Maria works feverishly to fix the mistake, stepping backwards stitch by stitch until, finally--

"Got you!" she cries out, stabbing one (now freed) knitting needle towards the heavens in her triumph. She's still in that pose as she, second by second, realizes she's not alone.

"a," Maria articulates, exactly. Her expression is a blank one for a longer moment still.

"Akechi-sempai!" All at once she sweeps to her feet, knitting project, needles, tangle of yarn and all. The ball flies from her arms to bounce, once, against the paving stones and quickly rolls away. Turning her head, Maria watches it go until it comes to a stop at last by a bush, its long tail still connected to the project in her arms.

Then, quite abruptly, she turns her head back towards Akechi. "Uh huh! My grandma taught me! See?" She proceeds then to display her current project. "It's a bunny!"

BGM - Soothing Hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaUq8QiIb-U

...is that a bunny? The ears are long. Far too long, and manage to bend at an unearthy angle. The torso twists about in a way that some would consider highly unnatural in a plush rabbit, let alone a living one. Something about the angles of the limbs also just doesn't seem right. Still half-finished, the unknitted yarn extends from its midsection like an umbilical cord.

"I've been working on it for a few weeks now!" Maria continues blithely.

"Oh, but what about you? How are you doing? Were your exams okay?"

Says Maria, who scored in the bottom third. As usual.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Mistakes aside, Akechi actually ''does'' find knitting to be a rather impressive skill for someone to have in the modern day. Thus he seems unperturbed as he hears her frantic correction, walking up...

... to catch her in that pose.

As she realizes he's there though, he chuckles mirthfully, "Haha... full of energy as always I see." He chuckles, actually considering whether that pose is from Featherman for a time. He is a fan certainly, but he hides that he is.

And then, she shows him.

''The Bun''.

Akechi's expression has a moment where surprise flickers over his features, before returning to a pensive expression.

It's like something out of a horror movie.
Could she be closer to changing than I thought?
Or...

"I can see you've been working hard." He says solemnly, to the visage of horror, his brown eyes hypnotically caught, like he might look away-

-might blink-

-and be devoured.

"It's a rather... unique design as well. Are you basing it on... some media you've seen recently?"

He forces himself to break eye contact, fortunately it does ''not'' try to devour him, as he suddenly walks on over to bend down and pick up the ball of yarn by the bush, as he spools it back up on his way on over to Maria.

He should probably stop before he reaches her. He doesn't want to get in biting range.

"Oh, are they posted? I haven't even had time to check, to be honest."

He lies. Of course he was at the top of his class. He checked immediately. But it more fits his image if he says he didn't have time.

"... But I suspect that I did quite well. What of yourself?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Is there ever, really, a point in time when Maria Sakurai is anything but filled-to-the-brim with sparklingly-pure energy?

Well, probably yes, practically speaking, but that time is certainly not now.

As it so happens, it's actually a pose from a magical girl show... but in practicality, it's not all that different from a pose from Featherman. But all that might well be forgotten when she shows him her project of the moment.

This is probably a blasphemy. A sin of creation. Something that shouldn't exist. Maria looks pretty pleased with it.

"This is my best one yet," she affirms, beaming.

It might be better not to look at it so hard. Who knew that from yarn, such horrors could be?

But, is she basing it on some media? Something she's seen or heard lately? Maria blink-a-blinks, confused. "No?" she says to him. "I just followed the pattern."
This seems, even at a glance, a dubious claim.

Akechi isn't devoured, fortunately. He's able to gather her yarn. "Oh, do you want me to-- oh, okay!" Maria says, starting then pulling up again as soon as she'd started as he makes his way over to her. "Thank you!" she chirps, accepting the spooled up ball of yarn. "It gets all over the place sometimes." Mercifully, she stuffs the offending plush 'rabbit' back into her school bag as she continues to wind some of the loose yarn back into the ball from the mess she'd made before with her un-knitting. Surely, it can't leap from the bag and bite him like that...

Maria stares at Akechi. She blinks. "Oh, uh, you're top of the class!" she informs him, since he clearly doesn't know. "Congratulations!" And if her hands weren't full, she might well clap. But, as for her--

"Um..."

She pauses.

"A few points below last time," Maria admits, shoulders sagging. "But, that's pretty good, right? I mean, I missed class, and I had to play catchup, and... I did my best!"

She'd only ''sort'' of gotten a scolding from her grandmother, at that.

"So, now that you know you did really well, sempai, are you going to celebrate?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Akechi in his commercials pretends to endorse sugary snacks, for as a Detective he needs them to fuel his brainpower! It's simple biology isn't it? Glucose becomes ATP...

... except he doesn't actually care about sweets. It's about branding. Nevertheless, it might be said that more of his energy is spent on his brain than the rest of his physical form.

Some part of him muses if that's why Maria has so much energy to spare. Now, it's not as if he thinks she's some ''simple'' creature. A ''pure'' maiden. Of course not. He saw her bare her soul in private, he understands that there's a lot more in there than most people see.

But while she isn't simple- that doesn't mean there isn't a simplicity to the way she lives her life that even he can appreciate.

All the same, he's now imagining a shelf of completely finished horror monstrosities in Maria's room at her home.

"Your grandmother must be very proud of how far you've come." He says solemnly, pitying the woman for what is assuredly a Sisyphean task of teaching her.

It would be easier to stomach if Maria's next line was that 'Oh yes it's from the horror movie- 'Lagomorph IV: Curse of the Bloody Yarn.''.

No such luck.

"Ah! My mistake."

Don't ask to see the pattern
Don't ask to see the pattern

"I don't suppose..."

YOU FOOL!

He deposits the Yarn back in Maria's hand. "... ah you're quite welcome- I don't suppose that you take commissions from time to time? I might know some individuals who would be interested in such."

Akechi no

"Oh am I?" He actually has the grace to look startled for a moment, then chuckles with a wide smile, "Haha- and yet you asked how they went, knowing full well the results." He teases, "Well, I can't be upset at that. You did it merely to prompt a congratulatory message."

Before he then looks, subtly sorrowful, "Ah yes. I suppose it couldn't be helped then. After all that was quite a length of time for you to miss class... I'm honestly surprised they made you take them at all, given the suspicions that foul play might have been involved."

Or you know- a supernatural Dollhouse Corporation that just ate two weeks of her life.

"Still, I can't wait to see how well you perform come finals. I'll be cheering you on next time- Sakurai-san, to show everyone how far you've come."

No pressure Maria. Just you know, a celebrity who is going to be actively invested in your scores.

NO PRESSURE!

"Ah- well now that you mention it." He says, surprised that he can actually answer that question, "I've actually already celebrated exams being finished - at least, by taking an overnight hiking trip with a friend to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower."

Though he does chuckle after that, "Haha, though I suppose I haven't yet celebrated my actual performance...!"

And yet, he smoothly transitions that into, "Well- exam scores not withstanding, I do hope that all of your friends celebrated your return... it must have been quite frightening for them."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It would be easy to assume that Maria is Maria: a stream trickling merrily along, without a thought or concern in the world. Or, indeed, any threat beneath those rushing waters. What she conceals is a frightening depth to her.

Someone might say that it's not just depth. It's what lurks in those depths, something that slumbers, yes, but when roused...

Maria has come to understand that part of herself just a little bit better. It's just a small saving grace, as it were, that while everyone else saw it, too, most of them don't also realize that she was there fighting her drowned aspects alongside them. It's one thing to assume that it's over and done with, and Maria no worse the wear for it. It's another perhaps to realize the opposite is true.

She's made her peace, yes, but now she bears the Shadow's charge: acknowledge and move forward in understanding. She's no longer quite who she was, however things might seem to be as they were once were.

This is a world that will hurt her for not following the rules. She can't cover her eyes from that anymore.

Perhaps, then, that's why...

...that rabbit, and its friends exist. Somewhere, in this world, perhaps even on that shelf in Maria's room...

Maria, enthusiastic, nods. "She is! She'd like it if I made scarves, though. But, I have a hard time keeping the rows straight?" One shudders to think what a scarf she made must be like.

But does she do commissions?

"No." Maria pauses, thinking about this carefully. "But, do you think someone would like them?" She thinks about it some more. "I might! I make them for me, you know, but I wouldn't mind sharing." She scuffs a shoe absently on the stones. "I tried to join the sewing and knitting club here last year, actually, but once they saw my animals they told me not to come back..." She pauses, then all her cheer returns. "So, it's great that you like them, sempai!" And that he thinks other people might like them, too.

She ''had'' already noticed. Isn't he always at the top? But she still had asked.

"Well," she says, as if slightly chagrined, "It's polite to ask, right?"

Meanwhile, her own scores had been... well. They'd been.

Maria nods. "You know, they asked me that. If I wanted to take them later? But, I thought it would be better to take them with everyone else," Maria affirms, nodding some more. "It was just the midterms, anyway. Next time, I'll do better!" Next time, probably, she'll end up in the bottom third again.

Akechi says he'll be rooting for her next time. "Ah... hahaha..." Maria giggles, nervously. Happy-go-lucky, yes. Immune to the pressure from a celebrity classmate? No. No!! She may have started to sweat a little bit.

"Oh-- really? So you knew how you'd do, and already celebrated?" Maria appears to be thinking this over with care. "Huuuuh, that really saves a lot of time..." she muses.

"Huh? --Oh! Yeah! Yuri-chan cried so much, I thought she was going to shrivel up! And, even Harucchi was in tears! They thought I'd really died this time..." Maria shakes her head. "It's okay, though. I'm just fine, now!" She gestures towards herself. "And, I'm going to start my own club soon!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Yes indeed- perhaps it might even be said that he had a role in rousing it, purposefully, in the act of suspecting it was there.

It's just, what has happened since has gone far beyond his wildest of expectations... she learned the lesson well. Perhaps- too well.

It's just she learned a facet of it that he has never quite taken to heart.

'No.'

At first he's thinking she's wiser than he thought on this matter, but then she asks a follow up. "I think there are certain individuals who might enjoy having a piece like that. Niche collectors especially..."

He's being diplomatic, but perhaps he's considering a future... idea, based on it. "That was rather cruel of them to exile you." He says of the sewing and knitting club's reaction to her animals. "But their opinion amounts to little. What matters is whether you like them - and enjoy the act of knitting." Wow! Surprisingly positive advice.

There's some light laughter at her response, "Indeed it is. I suppose I'm just teasing..." He says with a broad grin, "...sometimes I just can't help myself." He's actually ''surprised'' that they made the offer to Maria to delay her exams, but then again- she is an athlete.

Such accommodations are often made for people who play sports.

And he still has that broad grin plastered on his face as Maria feels the pressure of ''doing her best'' next go round. "Well then. If that's the case, I'll have high expectations of your performance next time."

There's a nod at her statement that it saves time, "Ah yes, well to explain- in part my intentions were to motivate that friend to give it his all during the exams, with the incentive of the trip after. It certainly paid off for him."

And then- he feels something of relief at the fact that there are people who missed her, friends- he also feels... somewhat jealous, in a contradictory way.

His fans would miss him, if he vanished- but then they'd follow the next media trend out there. There's no one who truly knows him, that would miss him...

"I see- I admit I'm relieved to see you alive as well. Though... forgive me if I'm not as expressive as your close friends." He's not about to cry in public, definitely not, even if he weren't a young man- well- "Oh? What sort of club are you forming? Do you have enough members for the initial formation?" He asks, latching onto that instead, to get away from such thoughts.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria is wiser than some give her credit for with some things.

Other things... not so much.

"Yeah," she agrees with a sigh, her shoulders slouching. "It's so weird. They wouldn't even say why. Even when I asked them, they just got all quiet about it." Almost as if they had been traumatized about it, somehow. "But, right! I like to knit, even if other people don't like it. So it's fine," she continues. "If you do know if someone's interested, though, I can make something special, just for them! ...It'll just take a little while. You can't knit that much even in a week." She grows serious. "I have to study, and go to school, and do my part-time job. And my bike needs some new parts, too..."

Even if it's going to get to be harder to bike, once it's winter, even in a place like this.

Maybe it was that, even if she's no longer on any team as such. Maybe it was because she survived that subway accident earlier this year, was out of school a bit then, and then had vanished into thin air and even ended up as a missing persons case more recently than that. Maybe it was sympathy. Or maybe they hoped the extra time would help her bring up her scores out of a potential 'bottom ten' situation after all that had happened.

Her grades had been more or less the same as before, though, if a few points lower. Hooray, consistancy?

"Ah, ahahaha... I don't suppose you have any tips, sempai?" Maria giggles, even more nervous about the prospects of her finals for this term under the weight of the genius detective's scruitiny.

She'd suggest they'd study together but, no. No, that's how you end up experiencing social death. Even an idiot like Maria knows that the punishment for her peers for getting too close to the Prince would be extreme... don't some romance novels start out with a situation like that??

Maybe she can find out who tutors him. It would be nice to get a leg up.

"Oh, really? I'm sorry for worrying you, sempai! But don't worry. It won't happen again!" she affirms, patting her hand against her uniformed chest. "Next time, I'll take better care of myself."

But, what's this about her club idea?

"Well, actually, I have a new idea lately, too, but... I was thinking, why don't we have a biking club?" Maria suggests, clasping her hands behind her back. "We have places where people ride bikes, and I've been doing it for ages on my own, but what if we got together and rode bikes? We could even bike on some the friendlier mountain trails!" Maria ethuses.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Perhaps they are just somewhat cliquish." He lies, because he knows why. It's still no less mean. "Hmmm." He puts a hand on his chin as he looks at the bunny again and- "I might just. I'll need some time to check with them, but- you wouldn't mind if I passed along your contact information, would you?"

The ghost of a scheme is forming in his head, but he's not going to jump the gun yet, he needs to let it marinate first, to make certain it's the right path.

It's true that Maria ''would'' get a lot of sympathy points given both situations in a single year...

... but then she asks for tips- "Well. I'm not certain my advice would be right for everyone, but I feel the one consistent tip that is true no matter who you are- is taking well-organized notes in class."

He says with a smile, before- "I'd show you my own, save that I don't have any examples on hand. I'm so rarely ever here ''for'' class." Then how does he get top of the class!?

Geniuses. They're infuriating.

"If you'd like, I can try to tutor you all the same." He suggests, if only to assess exactly how Maria would respond to that. Either way would tell him something of her.

"Haha- it's fine. It's not as if you can help the circumstances you found yourself in." That's... peculiar phrasing. Does that mean he knows something about them?

"Ah." Akechi looks mildly surprised at the fact she wants to start a biking club, something that he's actually interested in, as he strokes his chin, "Well- if that's the case, I might join myself? I actually rather enjoy cycling... though mostly as a solo activity for exercise. Do keep me informed about your progress... and I'll see if I can make time in my schedule."

Hey way to go Maria.

"Actually I did have another question for you, now that I think about it. You see- I'm on a rather peculiar case right now..."

As he takes a pocketbook out of his uniform jacket, and opens it up, looking at Maria, "... I don't suppose you've glimpsed a Pink Cockatoo around town?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Hmm, maybe," Maria allows, on the 'cliquish' nature of the sewing and knitting club. "But, if you're sure, I'm willing to give it a try!" she tells him, glancing down at the yarn and half-finished doll (or terror) stuffed into her bag. "Hehe, I haven't made a doll for anyone else yet. It's kind of exciting..." she adds.

She really doesn't know, does she. Somehow, she doesn't know.

Ever-hopeful, she asks Akechi for tips.

"...Oh, really..." Judging by the way she wilts, though, it would seem that his suggestions are not what she was hoping to hear. "I guess that could work, but, how do I take better notes, then? What about--"

He's already headed her off at the pass, as it were: he doesn't have any, because he's usually not even here for class! ...Which is another thing that Maria technically knows, but which rather slipped her mind in the meantime. "Right, right, you're-- um, but then, how do you take notes to do well on your exams?"

She pauses. She pauses, staring up at him.

"Oh-- someone's helping you out, right? That's so nice of them!" Maria decides. "Maybe they can help me!"

He offers, all the same, to tutor her and Maria, glancing past him, shakes her head. "No, you're pretty busy for that kind of thing, right? But, if you can share the name of whoever tutored you, then, that would help!" she says, punctuating that with a nod.

She blinks, at that phrasing. Even for her, that sounds a little weird.

Of course, then she speaks of her dream of a ''biking club'' for athletics (probably the better idea because 'urban exploration club' will get shot down in a second by the teachers) and he says that he...

...might want to take part in it??

Maria, expression blank, is torn between several axes at once.

Would having him in her club get people to join?

Would having him in her club get unwanted attention?

He... bikes?

"S-sure!" Maria chirps, perhaps a little more fatigable than usual as she considers, briefly, whether this turn of events will get her murdered by her classmates. "You know what, I, just had an idea for who else I could-- use!"

Maybe what she needs to do is get other people on board, first, and then try to get it so that it's not, him joining her club so much as it's him joining the ''biking club''. Perfect. Undefeatable logic. It should be fine.

But he has one more question for her, and she, puzzled, asks, "What is it?"

He tells her.

Maria takes a step back in shock, her hands raised before herself defensively. "W-what? No way... a Pink Cockatoo? You've heard about her, too?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"I can imagine it is. There is a certain satisfaction to working hard for other people."

For acknowledgement, for validation, for approval, for worship- none of which he says out loud. It's plausibly deniable that his statement is simply affirming the value of hard work.

"My recommendation? The notebook you use for studying isn't the one you should bring to class. Instead, take down the bullet points from lectures, then that night, organize them into a more readable format. It's a bit time consuming but- it's also an efficient way to review."

He smiles at her and chuckles, "Haha... amusingly enough it's actually how I often conduct interviews now with witnesses and suspects to sort through my caseload. It helps me with identifying inconsistencies in their testimony."

She then asks how he does that- and he's about to answer, but she preempts him-! "Oh. In a sense you're correct, but it's more that a classmate delivers my homework assignments to an individual who brings them to me by courier- assuming I'm not in Sumaru City that day."

A beat.

"I'd mastered the material for this year several years back- but it was decided that it was better if I not skip any grades, in order to have more time to do my job as a Detective."

Japan isn't big on even geniuses skipping grades anyhow. They value the ''experience'' of school too much.

"I still turn in all of my assignments and sit for my exams of course... it's just that it doesn't take a great deal of effort. At best, the time I spend studying could be considered a refresher."

Oh no. There goes Maria's hope that he has a TUTOR to refer to her-!!! Geniuses!!!! So frustrating!

"Well- I understand, and it's true that I have little enough time as is. Though if you ever need assistance with understanding anything conceptually, feel free to text me, and I'll answer when I can."

He's so nice isn't he! Even having no time, he's giving her the option every girl dreams of- of ''texting'' a celebrity.

Don't worry, he won't tell your classmates.

Maria's sudden blue screen of death causes Akechi's head to tilt, as he looks her in the eyes, about one step away from checking if she's conscious- before she answers.

"Haha- then it's settled. You'll have it set up in no time." As he offers to do none of the work towards forming a club, leaving it all to Maria.

Such as budgeting proposals, faculty advisors, approval by the Student Council and Administration...

Don't worry Maria, that's not ''that'' much! Or at least it wouldn't be- if you weren't already behind.

And then he mentions the Pink Cockatoo, and her reaction... interesting. "Indeed I have. I'm- trying to locate it for a client of mine. I believe her name is..." He checks his notebook, though of course he doesn't have to, "...'Jerri'." Before his gaze rises again to meet hers, "What exactly have you heard about her?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
She nods, a little bit excited by this potential opportunity. "It is, right?" she tells him, already thinking about what she might be asked to make. She's made kitties, and bunnies, and doggies, but... oh, a toy horsie could be cute.

It will cause nightmares, is what it will definitely do.

He gives her his own tips on how best to take notes. "Huh... I always tried to write everything down," she says, rocking back on her heels as she thinks it over. "So I should... do the basic topics? And, reorganize it later?" She frowns, the expression itself perhaps more of a pout, for her. "Hmmmm. Seems hard, but..." She's an athlete, she can't back down just because it's hard.

He adds that it's often how he does it for work and that, too, reminds her that this isn't just a matter of ''school''. Her upperclassman works as a detective. He's on a whole--

--different level, really, as Akechi explains. Specifically, about how he's already mastered the course material years ago. About how he has his assignments send to him by courier, when necessary. About how even the studying is more refresher than anything else.

Maria, who vaccilates between struggling futilely and spacing out in class (unless it's math), visibly deflates.

"...Really...?" she wonders aloud, dumbfounded by the day's revelations of just ''how'' smart her senior is. Well, she'd known he was ''smart'' but this sort of smart is just... just...

There's no way she can compete... and still, he's expecting her to do better next time.

Very quietly, as she stands there, Maria's soul begins to drift away from her body. aaaaaaa

But Maria wouldn't be Maria if she were the sort to be so soundly defeated. Okay, then, she'll get in a huddle with her friends, and figure this out. They'll study together, every day, if that's what it takes! Okay, then, she'll-- see if she can get a very good tutor! She'll try her best!!

...but it's going to be really hard...

"O, okay. But, only if it's really hard!" she says, making fists before her. "I-- you have to do some things by yourself!" Or with friends, with whom you can safely study, one assumes.

Ignorant of the trials and tribulations that lie ahead with her new dream of a club at school, Maria nods. "Yeah! Just you wait, I'll, get other students interested, and we'll get it approved, and we'll have a club," she tells Akechi, recovering already from the realization that she'll have to tread certain lines very carefully lest she get murdered by her classmates.

As regards that Pink Cockatoo, though...

"Um," Maria starts, having had that fraction of a moment too late to realize what it is that she's said to him. He's a nice guy, but is he really going to understand if she just ''tells'' him her new secret? Or about what ''really'' happened to her. "Well, just that... she's kind of mean? I guess, her owner wasn't very nice..." she says, closing her eyes as she smiles and starts to sweat. "And, that she can make people disappear. Um. That's what a friend of mine says. But, um... there's no such thing as a magic cockatoo..."

Excellent. Perfect save.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Precisely. If you take the time to do it that way, then you'll already be prepared for exams long before they take place. It will likewise help to facilitate homework assignments. By the time you get to them, the material is still fresh within your head."

So his solution is basically ''double homework''. This is definitely what poor Maria wants to hear. He's all smiles as her soul flees her body.

"Ah yes. I do try not to tell too many people- I don't want to sound like I'm bragging. In the end- I'm a student, the same as all of you."

'Same' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Like- an entire pyramid's worth.

"Certainly. I'd expect nothing less." And now Maria likely has anxiety about what qualifies as hard enough to ask for help. If she's only asking when it's ''hard''- then what if it qualifies as ''easy'' for him.

As they move on to the Pink Cockatoo, Maria begins to describe certain ''details'' abut Jerri. And Akechi nods along, looking like he's paying close attention.

"... Make people disappear you say." He pauses on that, before he then looks up at Maria, giving her a serious look in his brown eyes.

"That's interesting, in light of your recent... disappearance. Tell me Sakurai-san... did Jerri make ''you'' disappear?"

The pressure is on!
How much does he know!?
How ''could'' he know?

"Just kidding." He grins at her, "Of course a Cockatoo couldn't be responsible for that. I hope it was good for a laugh though."

It doesn't answer all of his questions, unless she chooses to volunteer right now - but it does tell him one thing.

She remembers. How much is up for debate- but she remembers some of what happened to her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Oh," says Maria, because she's a little preoccupied with her transient teenage life flashing before her eyes. That's a lot of work. That's a lot of work! It's like having double homework, and that's on top of school, her part-time job, her friends and hobbies, chores at home, and trying to fit in time to be a superhero by night. How ''do'' they do it on the shows? She's feeling a little light-headed just thinking about it.

But what, exactly, is her recourse here? Having to tell her sempai that no, she's scored about as well as she always did, and look him in the eyes and ''see his disappointment in her''??

Absolutely not. Absolutely, absolutely not. She'll... she'll have to figure it out. Somehow. If Akechi could read minds, right now he would hear Maria screaming inside her heart.

"Y, yeah," she tells him, feeling dazed. "O-of course not! You're a really nice guy, Akechi-sempai..." She low-key would like to lie down on the grass and stare at the sky for a little bit.

But resilient is her middle name. Hard times might be ahead as the school year proceeds, but she'll do her best...!

And then he brings up the matter of the Pink Cockatoo. Jerri, he says, is her name, and she makes people disappear. Allegedly.

Like Maria?

"E-ehhh??" Maria utters, hands palms-out, raised near her face. She's wide-eyed in nothing less than shock. "O, of, of course not! I, I wasn't-- I didn't--"

It was a joke, he says, and Maria's face breaks into the most brittle smile. She giggles, nervously, lowering her hands. "Oh, um... yes! A bird can't... use magic!"

Silence, at least on her part, settles across the courtyard. Maria sweats.

Then, pointedly, she looks up at the clock. "Oh, um-- look at the time! I'm going to be late, I have to walk the cat!" Her grandmother's cat has never once been the sort of cat one can 'walk'.

Without bothering to correct herself, she waves 'bye-bye' before bolting for the door.

This isn't like her at all, she considers, racing through the halls. Is it because he's trying to get her to do better in her courses? Or because of those questions about that bird? She's not usually this rattled, but...

Even she is given to wonder: does he know something? Did someone tell him about 'Jerri'? And...

What ''is'' Jerri, anyway?
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-05-06: No Stress Whatsoever

2026-06-19T02:24:37Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: No Stress Whatsoever''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai, Goro Akechi *'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building *'''OOC Date:''' May 06, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' November 05, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Akechi drops in on Maria and learns a horrifying pastime of hers. He tasks Maria in turn with a terrible quest that threatens to destroy her free time for the rest of the semester...'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed. <poem> click, c..."

*'''Log: No Stress Whatsoever'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Goro Akechi]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building
*'''OOC Date:''' May 06, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 05, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Akechi drops in on Maria and learns a horrifying pastime of hers. He tasks Maria in turn with a terrible quest that threatens to destroy her free time for the rest of the semester...''

----
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
click, click, click, click

The sun hangs low in the sky, a casualty of the Earth's tilt. If someone asked Maria why it was getting darker earlier, though, they'd get most likely a blank stare. Is it ''not'' supposed to get dark earlier? It ''is'' autumn, right? ...It must be nice to have a mind like a sieve, sometimes.

click, click, click click

She's alone in the courtyard, her gaze turned up at the clocktower that looms overhead. Her knitting needles flash erratically. She's got... something, made of fiber in her lap that she's working on without looking at it, but it's hard to tell what it is. It looks like a lump, presently.

click, click click click

The Wang Long lady had said...

...that 'Joker' was no one person. That anyone could turn into Joker with enough sin and hatred in their hearts. So, was that person Tsubasa had told her about a real person who had changed, too?

click click

"Oh--"

Maria looks down suddenly at her knitting.

"--wait, I messed up!" she gasps, unknitting her last few stitches.

...it must be nice to have a mind like a sieve.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
And just out of her field of vision stands Goro Akechi, from an off angle at her right shoulder. He's leaned up against the wall, every so often - peering out as Maria works at her knitting.

One might say this is stalker-ish behavior in a boy, save he's not just ''any'' boy. He's a ''Detective''.

"No signs thus far..." He muses in a muted manner, as he places a hand to his chin, "... curious. Could it be that she has come to terms with her behavior, and no longer feels as much guilt for the act?"

'Oh--'
'--wait, I messed up!'

There's an exaggerated reaction on Akechi's face, of an awkward smile, along with a sweatdrop beading down the side of his forehead.

"I think perhaps it's just she's not the type of person to overthink things."

Tapping out a text on a burner phone, he sends it to a middle man.
>alert them that theres been no change
>they should move to another

He types, even changing his grammar to text in a way that's atypical for him. Before snapping the phone shut again, and putting it away. Then he slowly begins to approach, briefcase in hand as he walks up behind her.

"Why hello, Sakurai-san. I saw you on my way out and thought I'd swing by-" Pause. "-Oh. You're knitting? I wasn't aware that was something you were into." He says with a positive shift in his undertone to make it sounds like he approves.

It would be just as well if she isn't the type to overthink it, if the change were long in coming... he'd prefer it that way, at least.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Oh no, oh no... did I mess up that one, too?"

The thing about knitting is that once one has made a mistake, it's no mean feat to undo it: in essence, one now has to knit ''backwards'' to fix the error.

"aaaaaaa"

Wide-eyed in horror, Maria works feverishly to fix the mistake, stepping backwards stitch by stitch until, finally--

"Got you!" she cries out, stabbing one (now freed) knitting needle towards the heavens in her triumph. She's still in that pose as she, second by second, realizes she's not alone.

"a," Maria articulates, exactly. Her expression is a blank one for a longer moment still

"Akechi-sempai!" All at once she sweeps to her feet, knitting project, needles, tangle of yarn and all. The ball flies from her arms to bounce, once, against the paving stones and quickly rolls away. Turning her head, Maria watches it go until it comes to a stop at last by a bush, its long tail still connected to the project in her arms.

Then, quite abruptly, she turns her head back towards Akechi. "Uh huh! My grandma taught me! See?" She proceeds then to display her current project. "It's a bunny!"

BGM - Soothing Hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaUq8QiIb-U

...is that a bunny? The ears are long. Far too long, and manage to bend at an unearthy angle. The torso twists about in a way that some would consider highly unnatural in a plush rabbit, let alone a living one. Something about the angles of the limbs also just doesn't seem right. Still half-finished, the unknitted yarn extends from its midsection like an umbilical cord.

"I've been working on it for a few weeks now!" Maria continues blithely.

"Oh, but what about you? How are you doing? Were your exams okay?"

Says Maria, who scored in the bottom third. As usual.
</poem>
[OOC] Maria Sakurai says, "bluray, should be a period after 'longer moment still'"

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Mistakes aside, Akechi actually ''does'' find knitting to be a rather impressive skill for someone to have in the modern day. Thus he seems unperturbed as he hears her frantic correction, walking up...

... to catch her in that pose.

As she realizes he's there though, he chuckles mirthfully, "Haha... full of energy as always I see." He chuckles, actually considering whether that pose is from Featherman for a time. He is a fan certainly, but he hides that he is.

And then, she shows him.

''The Bun''.

Akechi's expression has a moment where surprise flickers over his features, before returning to a pensive expression.

It's like something out of a horror movie.
Could she be closer to changing than I thought?
Or...

"I can see you've been working hard." He says solemnly, to the visage of horror, his brown eyes hypnotically caught, like he might look away-

-might blink-

-and be devoured.

"It's a rather... unique design as well. Are you basing it on... some media you've seen recently?"

He forces himself to break eye contact, fortunately it does ''not'' try to devour him, as he suddenly walks on over to bend down and pick up the ball of yarn by the bush, as he spools it back up on his way on over to Maria.

He should probably stop before he reaches her. He doesn't want to get in biting range.

"Oh, are they posted? I haven't even had time to check, to be honest."

He lies. Of course he was at the top of his class. He checked immediately. But it more fits his image if he says he didn't have time.

"... But I suspect that I did quite well. What of yourself?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Is there ever, really, a point in time when Maria Sakurai is anything but filled-to-the-brim with sparklingly-pure energy?

Well, probably yes, practically speaking, but that time is certainly not now.

As it so happens, it's actually a pose from a magical girl show... but in practicality, it's not all that different from a pose from Featherman. But all that might well be forgotten when she shows him her project of the moment.

This is probably a blasphemy. A sin of creation. Something that shouldn't exist. Maria looks pretty pleased with it.

"This is my best one yet," she affirms, beaming.

It might be better not to look at it so hard. Who knew that from yarn, such horrors could be?

But, is she basing it on some media? Something she's seen or heard lately? Maria blink-a-blinks, confused. "No?" she says to him. "I just followed the pattern."
This seems, even at a glance, a dubious claim.

Akechi isn't devoured, fortunately. He's able to gather her yarn. "Oh, do you want me to-- oh, okay!" Maria says, starting then pulling up again as soon as she'd started as he makes his way over to her. "Thank you!" she chirps, accepting the spooled up ball of yarn. "It gets all over the place sometimes." Mercifully, she stuffs the offending plush 'rabbit' back into her school bag as she continues to wind some of the loose yarn back into the ball from the mess she'd made before with her un-knitting. Surely, it can't leap from the bag and bite him like that...

Maria stares at Akechi. She blinks. "Oh, uh, you're top of the class!" she informs him, since he clearly doesn't know. "Congratulations!" And if her hands weren't full, she might well clap. But, as for her--

"Um..."

She pauses.

"A few points below last time," Maria admits, shoulders sagging. "But, that's pretty good, right? I mean, I missed class, and I had to play catchup, and... I did my best!"

She'd only ''sort'' of gotten a scolding from her grandmother, at that.

"So, now that you know you did really well, sempai, are you going to celebrate?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Akechi in his commercials pretends to endorse sugary snacks, for as a Detective he needs them to fuel his brainpower! It's simple biology isn't it? Glucose becomes ATP...

... except he doesn't actually care about sweets. It's about branding. Nevertheless, it might be said that more of his energy is spent on his brain than the rest of his physical form.

Some part of him muses if that's why Maria has so much energy to spare. Now, it's not as if he thinks she's some ''simple'' creature. A ''pure'' maiden. Of course not. He saw her bare her soul in private, he understands that there's a lot more in there than most people see.

But while she isn't simple- that doesn't mean there isn't a simplicity to the way she lives her life that even he can appreciate.

All the same, he's now imagining a shelf of completely finished horror monstrosities in Maria's room at her home.

"Your grandmother must be very proud of how far you've come." He says solemnly, pitying the woman for what is assuredly a Sisyphean task of teaching her.

It would be easier to stomach if Maria's next line was that 'Oh yes it's from the horror movie- 'Lagomorph IV: Curse of the Bloody Yarn.''.

No such luck.

"Ah! My mistake."

Don't ask to see the pattern
Don't ask to see the pattern

"I don't suppose..."

YOU FOOL!

He deposits the Yarn back in Maria's hand. "... ah you're quite welcome- I don't suppose that you take commissions from time to time? I might know some individuals who would be interested in such."

Akechi no

"Oh am I?" He actually has the grace to look startled for a moment, then chuckles with a wide smile, "Haha- and yet you asked how they went, knowing full well the results." He teases, "Well, I can't be upset at that. You did it merely to prompt a congratulatory message."

Before he then looks, subtly sorrowful, "Ah yes. I suppose it couldn't be helped then. After all that was quite a length of time for you to miss class... I'm honestly surprised they made you take them at all, given the suspicions that foul play might have been involved."

Or you know- a supernatural Dollhouse Corporation that just ate two weeks of her life.

"Still, I can't wait to see how well you perform come finals. I'll be cheering you on next time- Sakurai-san, to show everyone how far you've come."

No pressure Maria. Just you know, a celebrity who is going to be actively invested in your scores.

NO PRESSURE!

"Ah- well now that you mention it." He says, surprised that he can actually answer that question, "I've actually already celebrated exams being finished - at least, by taking an overnight hiking trip with a friend to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower."

Though he does chuckle after that, "Haha, though I suppose I haven't yet celebrated my actual performance...!"

And yet, he smoothly transitions that into, "Well- exam scores not withstanding, I do hope that all of your friends celebrated your return... it must have been quite frightening for them."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It would be easy to assume that Maria is Maria: a stream trickling merrily along, without a thought or concern in the world. Or, indeed, any threat beneath those rushing waters. What she conceals is a frightening depth to her.

Someone might say that it's not just depth. It's what lurks in those depths, something that slumbers, yes, but when roused...

Maria has come to understand that part of herself just a little bit better. It's just a small saving grace, as it were, that while everyone else saw it, too, most of them don't also realize that she was there fighting her drowned aspects alongside them. It's one thing to assume that it's over and done with, and Maria no worse the wear for it. It's another perhaps to realize the opposite is true.

She's made her peace, yes, but now she bears the Shadow's charge: acknowledge and move forward in understanding. She's no longer quite who she was, however things might seem to be as they were once were.

This is a world that will hurt her for not following the rules. She can't cover her eyes from that anymore.

Perhaps, then, that's why...

...that rabbit, and its friends exist. Somewhere, in this world, perhaps even on that shelf in Maria's room...

Maria, enthusiastic, nods. "She is! She'd like it if I made scarves, though. But, I have a hard time keeping the rows straight?" One shudders to think what a scarf she made must be like.

But does she do commissions?

"No." Maria pauses, thinking about this carefully. "But, do you think someone would like them?" She thinks about it some more. "I might! I make them for me, you know, but I wouldn't mind sharing." She scuffs a shoe absently on the stones. "I tried to join the sewing and knitting club here last year, actually, but once they saw my animals they told me not to come back..." She pauses, then all her cheer returns. "So, it's great that you like them, sempai!" And that he thinks other people might like them, too.

She ''had'' already noticed. Isn't he always at the top? But she still had asked.

"Well," she says, as if slightly chagrined, "It's polite to ask, right?"

Meanwhile, her own scores had been... well. They'd been.

Maria nods. "You know, they asked me that. If I wanted to take them later? But, I thought it would be better to take them with everyone else," Maria affirms, nodding some more. "It was just the midterms, anyway. Next time, I'll do better!" Next time, probably, she'll end up in the bottom third again.

Akechi says he'll be rooting for her next time. "Ah... hahaha..." Maria giggles, nervously. Happy-go-lucky, yes. Immune to the pressure from a celebrity classmate? No. No!! She may have started to sweat a little bit.

"Oh-- really? So you knew how you'd do, and already celebrated?" Maria appears to be thinking this over with care. "Huuuuh, that really saves a lot of time..." she muses.

"Huh? --Oh! Yeah! Yuri-chan cried so much, I thought she was going to shrivel up! And, even Harucchi was in tears! They thought I'd really died this time..." Maria shakes her head. "It's okay, though. I'm just fine, now!" She gestures towards herself. "And, I'm going to start my own club soon!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Yes indeed- perhaps it might even be said that he had a role in rousing it, purposefully, in the act of suspecting it was there.

It's just, what has happened since has gone far beyond his wildest of expectations... she learned the lesson well. Perhaps- too well.

It's just she learned a facet of it that he has never quite taken to heart.

'No.'

At first he's thinking she's wiser than he thought on this matter, but then she asks a follow up. "I think there are certain individuals who might enjoy having a piece like that. Niche collectors especially..."

He's being diplomatic, but perhaps he's considering a future... idea, based on it. "That was rather cruel of them to exile you." He says of the sewing and knitting club's reaction to her animals. "But their opinion amounts to little. What matters is whether you like them - and enjoy the act of knitting." Wow! Surprisingly positive advice.

There's some light laughter at her response, "Indeed it is. I suppose I'm just teasing..." He says with a broad grin, "...sometimes I just can't help myself." He's actually ''surprised'' that they made the offer to Maria to delay her exams, but then again- she is an athlete.

Such accommodations are often made for people who play sports.

And he still has that broad grin plastered on his face as Maria feels the pressure of ''doing her best'' next go round. "Well then. If that's the case, I'll have high expectations of your performance next time."

There's a nod at her statement that it saves time, "Ah yes, well to explain- in part my intentions were to motivate that friend to give it his all during the exams, with the incentive of the trip after. It certainly paid off for him."

And then- he feels something of relief at the fact that there are people who missed her, friends- he also feels... somewhat jealous, in a contradictory way.

His fans would miss him, if he vanished- but then they'd follow the next media trend out there. There's no one who truly knows him, that would miss him...

"I see- I admit I'm relieved to see you alive as well. Though... forgive me if I'm not as expressive as your close friends." He's not about to cry in public, definitely not, even if he weren't a young man- well- "Oh? What sort of club are you forming? Do you have enough members for the initial formation?" He asks, latching onto that instead, to get away from such thoughts.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria is wiser than some give her credit for with some things.

Other things... not so much.

"Yeah," she agrees with a sigh, her shoulders slouching. "It's so weird. They wouldn't even say why. Even when I asked them, they just got all quiet about it." Almost as if they had been traumatized about it, somehow. "But, right! I like to knit, even if other people don't like it. So it's fine," she continues. "If you do know if someone's interested, though, I can make something special, just for them! ...It'll just take a little while. You can't knit that much even in a week." She grows serious. "I have to study, and go to school, and do my part-time job. And my bike needs some new parts, too..."

Even if it's going to get to be harder to bike, once it's winter, even in a place like this.

Maybe it was that, even if she's no longer on any team as such. Maybe it was because she survived that subway accident earlier this year, was out of school a bit then, and then had vanished into thin air and even ended up as a missing persons case more recently than that. Maybe it was sympathy. Or maybe they hoped the extra time would help her bring up her scores out of a potential 'bottom ten' situation after all that had happened.

Her grades had been more or less the same as before, though, if a few points lower. Hooray, consistancy?

"Ah, ahahaha... I don't suppose you have any tips, sempai?" Maria giggles, even more nervous about the prospects of her finals for this term under the weight of the genius detective's scruitiny.

She'd suggest they'd study together but, no. No, that's how you end up experiencing social death. Even an idiot like Maria knows that the punishment for her peers for getting too close to the Prince would be extreme... don't some romance novels start out with a situation like that??

Maybe she can find out who tutors him. It would be nice to get a leg up.

"Oh, really? I'm sorry for worrying you, sempai! But don't worry. It won't happen again!" she affirms, patting her hand against her uniformed chest. "Next time, I'll take better care of myself."

But, what's this about her club idea?

"Well, actually, I have a new idea lately, too, but... I was thinking, why don't we have a biking club?" Maria suggests, clasping her hands behind her back. "We have places where people ride bikes, and I've been doing it for ages on my own, but what if we got together and rode bikes? We could even bike on some the friendlier mountain trails!" Maria ethuses.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Perhaps they are just somewhat cliquish." He lies, because he knows why. It's still no less mean. "Hmmm." He puts a hand on his chin as he looks at the bunny again and- "I might just. I'll need some time to check with them, but- you wouldn't mind if I passed along your contact information, would you?"

The ghost of a scheme is forming in his head, but he's not going to jump the gun yet, he needs to let it marinate first, to make certain it's the right path.

It's true that Maria ''would'' get a lot of sympathy points given both situations in a single year...

... but then she asks for tips- "Well. I'm not certain my advice would be right for everyone, but I feel the one consistent tip that is true no matter who you are- is taking well-organized notes in class."

He says with a smile, before- "I'd show you my own, save that I don't have any examples on hand. I'm so rarely ever here ''for'' class." Then how does he get top of the class!?

Geniuses. They're infuriating.

"If you'd like, I can try to tutor you all the same." He suggests, if only to assess exactly how Maria would respond to that. Either way would tell him something of her.

"Haha- it's fine. It's not as if you can help the circumstances you found yourself in." That's... peculiar phrasing. Does that mean he knows something about them?

"Ah." Akechi looks mildly surprised at the fact she wants to start a biking club, something that he's actually interested in, as he strokes his chin, "Well- if that's the case, I might join myself? I actually rather enjoy cycling... though mostly as a solo activity for exercise. Do keep me informed about your progress... and I'll see if I can make time in my schedule."

Hey way to go Maria.

"Actually I did have another question for you, now that I think about it. You see- I'm on a rather peculiar case right now..."

As he takes a pocketbook out of his uniform jacket, and opens it up, looking at Maria, "... I don't suppose you've glimpsed a Pink Cockatoo around town?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Hmm, maybe," Maria allows, on the 'cliquish' nature of the sewing and knitting club. "But, if you're sure, I'm willing to give it a try!" she tells him, glancing down at the yarn and half-finished doll (or terror) stuffed into her bag. "Hehe, I haven't made a doll for anyone else yet. It's kind of exciting..." she adds.

She really doesn't know, does she. Somehow, she doesn't know.

Ever-hopeful, she asks Akechi for tips.

"...Oh, really..." Judging by the way she wilts, though, it would seem that his suggestions are not what she was hoping to hear. "I guess that could work, but, how do I take better notes, then? What about--"

He's already headed her off at the pass, as it were: he doesn't have any, because he's usually not even here for class! ...Which is another thing that Maria technically knows, but which rather slipped her mind in the meantime. "Right, right, you're-- um, but then, how do you take notes to do well on your exams?"

She pauses. She pauses, staring up at him.

"Oh-- someone's helping you out, right? That's so nice of them!" Maria decides. "Maybe they can help me!"

He offers, all the same, to tutor her and Maria, glancing past him, shakes her head. "No, you're pretty busy for that kind of thing, right? But, if you can share the name of whoever tutored you, then, that would help!" she says, punctuating that with a nod.

She blinks, at that phrasing. Even for her, that sounds a little weird.

Of course, then she speaks of her dream of a ''biking club'' for athletics (probably the better idea because 'urban exploration club' will get shot down in a second by the teachers) and he says that he...

...might want to take part in it??

Maria, expression blank, is torn between several axes at once.

Would having him in her club get people to join?

Would having him in her club get unwanted attention?

He... bikes?

"S-sure!" Maria chirps, perhaps a little more fatigable than usual as she considers, briefly, whether this turn of events will get her murdered by her classmates. "You know what, I, just had an idea for who else I could-- use!"

Maybe what she needs to do is get other people on board, first, and then try to get it so that it's not, him joining her club so much as it's him joining the ''biking club''. Perfect. Undefeatable logic. It should be fine.

But he has one more question for her, and she, puzzled, asks, "What is it?"

He tells her.

Maria takes a step back in shock, her hands raised before herself defensively. "W-what? No way... a Pink Cockatoo? You've heard about her, too?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"I can imagine it is. There is a certain satisfaction to working hard for other people."

For acknowledgement, for validation, for approval, for worship- none of which he says out loud. It's plausibly deniable that his statement is simply affirming the value of hard work.

"My recommendation? The notebook you use for studying isn't the one you should bring to class. Instead, take down the bullet points from lectures, then that night, organize them into a more readable format. It's a bit time consuming but- it's also an efficient way to review."

He smiles at her and chuckles, "Haha... amusingly enough it's actually how I often conduct interviews now with witnesses and suspects to sort through my caseload. It helps me with identifying inconsistencies in their testimony."

She then asks how he does that- and he's about to answer, but she preempts him-! "Oh. In a sense you're correct, but it's more that a classmate delivers my homework assignments to an individual who brings them to me by courier- assuming I'm not in Sumaru City that day."

A beat.

"I'd mastered the material for this year several years back- but it was decided that it was better if I not skip any grades, in order to have more time to do my job as a Detective."

Japan isn't big on even geniuses skipping grades anyhow. They value the ''experience'' of school too much.

"I still turn in all of my assignments and sit for my exams of course... it's just that it doesn't take a great deal of effort. At best, the time I spend studying could be considered a refresher."

Oh no. There goes Maria's hope that he has a TUTOR to refer to her-!!! Geniuses!!!! So frustrating!

"Well- I understand, and it's true that I have little enough time as is. Though if you ever need assistance with understanding anything conceptually, feel free to text me, and I'll answer when I can."

He's so nice isn't he! Even having no time, he's giving her the option every girl dreams of- of ''texting'' a celebrity.

Don't worry, he won't tell your classmates.

Maria's sudden blue screen of death causes Akechi's head to tilt, as he looks her in the eyes, about one step away from checking if she's conscious- before she answers.

"Haha- then it's settled. You'll have it set up in no time." As he offers to do none of the work towards forming a club, leaving it all to Maria.

Such as budgeting proposals, faculty advisors, approval by the Student Council and Administration...

Don't worry Maria, that's not ''that'' much! Or at least it wouldn't be- if you weren't already behind.

And then he mentions the Pink Cockatoo, and her reaction... interesting. "Indeed I have. I'm- trying to locate it for a client of mine. I believe her name is..." He checks his notebook, though of course he doesn't have to, "...'Jerri'." Before his gaze rises again to meet hers, "What exactly have you heard about her?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
She nods, a little bit excited by this potential opportunity. "It is, right?" she tells him, already thinking about what she might be asked to make. She's made kitties, and bunnies, and doggies, but... oh, a toy horsie could be cute.

It will cause nightmares, is what it will definitely do.

He gives her his own tips on how best to take notes. "Huh... I always tried to write everything down," she says, rocking back on her heels as she thinks it over. "So I should... do the basic topics? And, reorganize it later?" She frowns, the expression itself perhaps more of a pout, for her. "Hmmmm. Seems hard, but..." She's an athlete, she can't back down just because it's hard.

He adds that it's often how he does it for work and that, too, reminds her that this isn't just a matter of ''school''. Her upperclassman works as a detective. He's on a whole--

--different level, really, as Akechi explains. Specifically, about how he's already mastered the course material years ago. About how he has his assignments send to him by courier, when necessary. About how even the studying is more refresher than anything else.

Maria, who vaccilates between struggling futilely and spacing out in class (unless it's math), visibly deflates.

"...Really...?" she wonders aloud, dumbfounded by the day's revelations of just ''how'' smart her senior is. Well, she'd known he was ''smart'' but this sort of smart is just... just...

There's no way she can compete... and still, he's expecting her to do better next time.

Very quietly, as she stands there, Maria's soul begins to drift away from her body. aaaaaaa

But Maria wouldn't be Maria if she were the sort to be so soundly defeated. Okay, then, she'll get in a huddle with her friends, and figure this out. They'll study together, every day, if that's what it takes! Okay, then, she'll-- see if she can get a very good tutor! She'll try her best!!

...but it's going to be really hard...

"O, okay. But, only if it's really hard!" she says, making fists before her. "I-- you have to do some things by yourself!" Or with friends, with whom you can safely study, one assumes.

Ignorant of the trials and tribulations that lie ahead with her new dream of a club at school, Maria nods. "Yeah! Just you wait, I'll, get other students interested, and we'll get it approved, and we'll have a club," she tells Akechi, recovering already from the realization that she'll have to tread certain lines very carefully lest she get murdered by her classmates.

As regards that Pink Cockatoo, though...

"Um," Maria starts, having had that fraction of a moment too late to realize what it is that she's said to him. He's a nice guy, but is he really going to understand if she just ''tells'' him her new secret? Or about what ''really'' happened to her. "Well, just that... she's kind of mean? I guess, her owner wasn't very nice..." she says, closing her eyes as she smiles and starts to sweat. "And, that she can make people disappear. Um. That's what a friend of mine says. But, um... there's no such thing as a magic cockatoo..."

Excellent. Perfect save.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Precisely. If you take the time to do it that way, then you'll already be prepared for exams long before they take place. It will likewise help to facilitate homework assignments. By the time you get to them, the material is still fresh within your head."

So his solution is basically ''double homework''. This is definitely what poor Maria wants to hear. He's all smiles as her soul flees her body.

"Ah yes. I do try not to tell too many people- I don't want to sound like I'm bragging. In the end- I'm a student, the same as all of you."

'Same' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Like- an entire pyramid's worth.

"Certainly. I'd expect nothing less." And now Maria likely has anxiety about what qualifies as hard enough to ask for help. If she's only asking when it's ''hard''- then what if it qualifies as ''easy'' for him.

As they move on to the Pink Cockatoo, Maria begins to describe certain ''details'' abut Jerri. And Akechi nods along, looking like he's paying close attention.

"... Make people disappear you say." He pauses on that, before he then looks up at Maria, giving her a serious look in his brown eyes.

"That's interesting, in light of your recent... disappearance. Tell me Sakurai-san... did Jerri make ''you'' disappear?"

The pressure is on!
How much does he know!?
How ''could'' he know?

"Just kidding." He grins at her, "Of course a Cockatoo couldn't be responsible for that. I hope it was good for a laugh though."

It doesn't answer all of his questions, unless she chooses to volunteer right now - but it does tell him one thing.

She remembers. How much is up for debate- but she remembers some of what happened to her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Oh," says Maria, because she's a little preoccupied with her transient teenage life flashing before her eyes. That's a lot of work. That's a lot of work! It's like having double homework, and that's on top of school, her part-time job, her friends and hobbies, chores at home, and trying to fit in time to be a superhero by night. How ''do'' they do it on the shows? She's feeling a little light-headed just thinking about it.

But what, exactly, is her recourse here? Having to tell her sempai that no, she's scored about as well as she always did, and look him in the eyes and ''see his disappointment in her''??

Absolutely not. Absolutely, absolutely not. She'll... she'll have to figure it out. Somehow. If Akechi could read minds, right now he would hear Maria screaming inside her heart.

"Y, yeah," she tells him, feeling dazed. "O-of course not! You're a really nice guy, Akechi-sempai..." She low-key would like to lie down on the grass and stare at the sky for a little bit.

But resilient is her middle name. Hard times might be ahead as the school year proceeds, but she'll do her best...!

And then he brings up the matter of the Pink Cockatoo. Jerri, he says, is her name, and she makes people disappear. Allegedly.

Like Maria?

"E-ehhh??" Maria utters, hands palms-out, raised near her face. She's wide-eyed in nothing less than shock. "O, of, of course not! I, I wasn't-- I didn't--"

It was a joke, he says, and Maria's face breaks into the most brittle smile. She giggles, nervously, lowering her hands. "Oh, um... yes! A bird can't... use magic!"

Silence, at least on her part, settles across the courtyard. Maria sweats.

Then, pointedly, she looks up at the clock. "Oh, um-- look at the time! I'm going to be late, I have to walk the cat!" Her grandmother's cat has never once been the sort of cat one can 'walk'.

Without bothering to correct herself, she waves 'bye-bye' before bolting for the door.

This isn't like her at all, she considers, racing through the halls. Is it because he's trying to get her to do better in her courses? Or because of those questions about that bird? She's not usually this rattled, but...

Even she is given to wonder: does he know something? Did someone tell him about 'Jerri'? And...

What ''is'' Jerri, anyway?
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Maria Sakurai

2026-06-19T02:21:36Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Trivia */

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Maria Sakurai'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Maria Sakurai (桜井まりあ)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Star|The Star]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| She/Her
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 16 (March 25, 1996)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Dusty pink
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Brown-black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'4" / 163cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Rengedai Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| Seven Sisters High School
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Year:
| Junior
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Focus
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| None
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Call me Cherry! I'm your super-cute superhero!"'''

At last, it would seem that Maria has once again found her way. That's the point of view most watching her would have: after a rough year that featured the death of her grandfather, her serious injury during a subway accident, a nasty breakup, a near-escape with the Joker Killer, and her own disappearance, she seems to again have that sparkle in her eye and a pep in her step. In fact, one would say that she's become even more lively than before, like she's come into her own power in some secret, special way. The truth is, of course, that after she had been disappeared into and rescued from her own Kingdom, Maria has awoken to her Persona and her new identity as Cherry, a mysterious rogue of her own making. By day she's a student at Seven Sisters, and by night (or at least after school) a budding explorer of supernatural mysteries! But what comes now? That, among other things, is something Maria is still in the process of discovering.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''Thou hast been given a ring most cruel, my other self.''
''Now let me give thee mine own vow:''
''I, Artemisia, will with thee paint a richly colored world!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter who is well known for her naturalism and control of light and shadow in her artwork, and was the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence. She is also remembered for her rape in 1611, which went to trial as her assailant had damaged the family honor. Later in life, she even traveled to and lived in England for many years as an artist in the court of Charles I. Among her most notable pieces is her depiction of Judith slaying Holofernes.

'''Description''': Artemisia takes the form of a young woman dressed in a fusion of Baroque Venetian formal fashion (mask included) and brightly-colored cyberpunk streetwear. Cables with plugs drape over her shoulders in the manner of a shawl. In one hand she carries a short sword.

= Special Skills =

1. ''Girls' Talk'' (Charm): Maria talks about, you know, whatever. Openly, girl to girl (or girl to boy, or girl to enby, it's all good).

2. ''Warm-up Stretches'' (Proficiency): Maria prepares for some athletic exertion or another.

3. ''Go Loud'' (Guts): Aren't you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go apeshit? Maria stops messing around and goes for it, whatever 'it' might be.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| Keiko Kasahara
(笠原敬子)
| The Empress
| Maria's maternal grandmother. Recently widowed, and dating younger (well, they're in their 50s) men, much to Maria's embarrassment. Unfortunately, granny no longer cares what other people think. Raised Maria after her mother's accident and helps take care of her mother.
|-
| Yasumasa Kasahara
(笠原康正)
| The Hierophant
| Maria's maternal grandfather. Passed away in early 2012. Helped raise Maria after her mother's accident.
|-
| Hiroyuki Sakurai
(桜井博之)
| The Hanged Man
| A beleaguered salaryman who is stuck working in Tokyo proper (his company won't let him relocate to the Sumaru office) and isn't home much.
|-
| Izumi Sakurai
(桜井泉)
| The Lovers
| Paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident and uses a wheelchair. Works part-time at a florist's shop in Rengedai Ward.
|-
| Mint
(ミント)
| The Emperor
| Maria's grandmother's cat. A large, fat white cat with black spots. Ruler of all he surveys. Has never once been fed.
|-
| Ringo
(りんご)
| The Hermit
| Maria's pet turtle. The repository for all of Maria's hopes and dreams and fears. Quite shy.
|-
| Yurie Shirakawa
(白川ゆりえ)
| Strength
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student; Maria's known her since elementary school. A sweet young lady who reads the most cursed romance novels.
|-
| Haruka Hatano
(波田野悠)
| The Magician
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student. Considered herself Maria's foremost rival on the track team once and bemoans the loss of Maria as such. Still on the track team at Sevens.
|-
| Takeshi Nakata
(中田剛史)
| The Chariot
| Maria's ex-boyfriend. Handsome, charming... and absolutely no good. The kind of person who has no regard for the damage they leave in their wake.
|}

= Soundtrack =

*Eurythmics - [https://youtu.be/bG9z-atG7gc Sweet Dreams] - '''Main Theme'''
*Poe - [https://youtu.be/Y9e9ewSV9Ew Hey Pretty] - '''Getting Into Trouble'''
*Blue Oyster Cult - [https://youtu.be/pe3jFvJ0qjs (Don't Fear) The Reaper] - '''Everyone Does It'''
*Florence + The Machine - [https://youtu.be/R2NR-UHH1KE Mermaids] - '''Love'''
*The Warning - [https://youtu.be/J_zHZwslwD0 Dust to Dust] - '''Shadow'''
*Dania - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-JMbxZWlk Leiley] - '''Restless Motion'''
*Dengue Fever - [https://youtu.be/ru5c1pJkV5A Sleep Walking Through the Mekong (Morgan Page Remix)] - '''Unseen World'''
*Kavinsky - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY Nightcall] - '''Out at Night'''
*Disparition - [https://youtu.be/IMrJyY3uNzc Eliezer's Waltz] - '''Other Side'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4 New Math] - '''Gag Track'''

= Trivia =
* Maria is a [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Affinity_Chart|White Dragon]].
* Maria is an Aries.
* 桜井 means loosely 'cherry blossom well'. まりあ is just phonetic and doesn't mean anything in particular. There are many possible ways to write her name with kanji, but hers is phonetic only.

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==
===Scenes===
{{#dpl:
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|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
===Cutscenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
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[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Focus]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]

2026-01-29: Festina Lente

2026-06-19T02:08:01Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Festina Lente''' *'''Cast:''' Katsuya Suou, Ulala Serizawa *'''Where:''' Kuzunoha Detective Agency *'''OOC Date:''' January 29, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' September 17, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Katsuya meets with Ulala to try to talk her out of her plan to call the Joker so that Team Whoop-ass can try to deal with him more directly.'' ---- </poem> <Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed. <poem> There are many mysteries about at a place even as well-trod by..."

*'''Log: Festina Lente'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Ulala Serizawa]]
*'''Where:''' Kuzunoha Detective Agency
*'''OOC Date:''' January 29, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' September 17, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Katsuya meets with Ulala to try to talk her out of her plan to call the Joker so that Team Whoop-ass can try to deal with him more directly.''

----

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
There are many mysteries about at a place even as well-trod by now as the Kuzunoha Detective Agency. For instance, how did Todoroki come to understand the power of rumors? For what purpose does the giant golden cat collect money? And, why is the bathroom always occupied?

Of these, the first two concern Katsuya Suou most immediately, insofar as he wonders about them now and again when he comes by the office to check in on the pulse of the latest rumors, or to get advice from either of the two people who work here.

But he's not here today for the usual reason. No, while his gaze might rest on the golden cat statue (he has been unsuccessful again today in leaving it a pittance), he'd asked Ulala to meet him here to discuss a certain future plan of hers.

Away from the rest of their little group, that is.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Ulala arrives not long after, clad in her usual spiderweb dress. The cat is given a dismissive wave of a hand as it nyaas at her, their love-hate relationship forever leaning towards the latter, as she takes a look for Katsuya.

"Katsuya-san! Do you think that cat will ever shut up?" she asks casually, moving to join him. She'll ignore the cat if it chooses to respond. Freedom of speech!!!

"How are you doing?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He looks up, away from the tempter (temptress?) that is a large golden cat asking for money for... suspicious causes. "Ah, Serizawa-kun. ...I suspect it is pre-recorded. It may be based on our proximity to it?" he supposes.

But, how is he doing? "Well enough, but... work has been particularly busy, lately." There's been another non-Joker Killer death, but unlike the last one, there's plenty of witnesses... which means a lot of interviews.

Fortunately, in Sumaru, a murder or a suspicious death doesn't occur every week. It just occurs often enough -- supernatural circumstances nonwithstanding -- that there is work for a homicide detective.

"And, yourself?" he asks her, considering how he should lead into this business.

"You are not... still thinking of calling him, are you?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>"That, or it's an actual talking magic cat," Ulala jokes, but it's clear she doesn't actually believe it. That'sr idiculous.

Though, there's a sympathetic wince about work. "Good luck with that. Tough job, huh?"

She waves a hand, taking a comfortable seat at that. "I sell lingerie, so nothing really changes. Doing my best, I guess."

Yet, his final question gets her to quirk an eyebrow. oh. That's why he called her here.

"...what else are we supposed to do? I fought him recently and he literally disappeared through an evil hole in the ground. We're running out of options here."

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"I do not think that is likely," Katsuya says, though there is that moment where he ''does'' pause and ''does'' glance sidelong at the cat. In Sumaru, can he be completely sure? ...Well, yes, it would be extremely silly, wouldn't it...?

"Yes, though a sales position does require a lot of anticipation of a customer's needs," he remarks, on the topic of job. "Or at least, so I have been led to understand." In his line of work, he talks to a lot of people himself, though the most he needs to get from anyone is their statement or, sometimes, their confession.

But he gets to the point.

"Yes, but..." Katsuya shakes his head. "Is it... necessary to do it like this? Of course I do not want to wait around for him to target another victim, but... this is extremely risky for you, Serizawa-kun."

And he just doesn't feel good about putting a woman into danger like this. "Perhaps, if we changed the rumor we could think of another way to corner him."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>"I work in the back with the stock, I don't actually handle customers," Ulala says with a tired sigh. She's probably not very happy with her job.

"But, the point. Is it necessary to do it like this?

"It's risky for all of us. Especially Maya... I can't let her be in danger anymore. If we have to endanger me to make sure he goes down, that's better than it risking any of you who... ugh.."

She really wishes she had a drink in her hand.

Though, Katsuya's comment... "What are you thinking of?" If they have a way to finish this, she'll take it.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
She works in back with the stock and not with... "Oh," Katsuya says, feeling foolish. "I see..."

Some silence may pass a moment before he continues.

It's risky for all of them, Ulala says, and in that, she's ''really'' not wrong. Whoever does it, however they do it, they'll all be in danger. But isn't it better them than anyone else? Right now, someone in Sumaru or beyond is surely considering giving a certain number a call. Is it just human nature? He's a homicide detective, he's seen the outcomes of someone else's 'heat of the moment', or the results of a 'long simmering hatred'. If someone thought they could settle their score with just a phonecall... he would have thought it couldn't be true months ago, that surely that rumor was just a story, but...

Because that's how the rumor works, now people can kill each other so easily. Where did that rumor start from, and what was the purpose of it?

So he shakes his head when Ulala says she's better off being the one in danger than anyone else. "...Serizawa-kun, you... shouldn't speak about yourself like that," he scolds, once the immediate shock wears off. "Your life is just as important as anyone else's. If we can find another way, there's no need for any of us to risk ourselves."

But what is he thinking of?

"I'm... not sure," he says, pausing as he tries to collect his thoughts. "I was thinking... that rumor about the Sevens emblem was changed. If there's some sort of alteration to the rumor about the Joker Killer... of course, I say that, but it's not so easily done, is it? I suppose the Sevens emblem rumor changed because it was more 'attractive' that way," he muses, furrowing his brow. "It's easier to think that a protective charm isn't 'always' protective, or that someone could still be in danger despite taking precautions. I suppose it's human nature to look for a flaw in things. ...So, we would need to think about a similar approach. But what would turn the rumor in our favor to encounter him?"

He doesn't have the experience with this that Todoroki or Tamaki have, or that Baofu has, though. Is he thinking about this right?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Ulala is scolded. She frowns sharply, exhaling a little bit. "So would you rather spend yourself if we had to, a homicide detective saving lives? Or Watanabe-san, a loving mother? Or *Maya*?" She picks at her hair for a moment, staring at the wall.

What other good could she be? She doesn't see her value, clearly. Why would she? She's not smart. She's not resourceful. She doesn't get leads like the others do. She's just...there.

She's still considering the theme of the rumor, though. "We'd have to make people believe it, right? And to do that, we'd probably be competing with whoever set the rumor."

A sigh. "Wish we could go to *him* instead of bringing him to us. But we don't even know if he's still at that asylum."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He outright flinches as Ulala counters him with the alternatives. "No, that's..." he starts, only to trail out. In the end, Katsuya shakes his head. "I simply... do not want any of us to put ourselves into that kind of danger, if it can be avoided," he explains.

If anyone does it, shouldn't it be him, as a public servant? Isn't it his duty to the people, runs that thought, and he has to actively quash it. It's true, he has a duty to see this stopped for the good of the people in this city, but there's a difference between duty and recklessness. Dying in the line of duty can be admirable in the right cases, but there has to be a red line. To do it when there could be other options is ludicrous.

But then, does it mean that if he can't think of something else that his other choices are to let this continue, or to let Ulala take the brunt of it? Is it really that black and white of a problem?

That's true," he acknowledges, nodding once as she explains the problem as she sees it.

If they could go to him, instead, though...

"If... we spread a rumor about how he is able to move about, perhaps, or..." Katsuya pauses, thinking this over again. "If there were some means to suggest that the killer were in there, at least some of the time... maybe I am overthinking it, though..."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>"...sorry. I know you mean well," Ulala apologizes, knowing she's getting heated. He's just looking out for her. But she doesn't deserve that, does she? Not with what she's done.

On the subject of spreading a rumor, though, about what he can do or how to suggest he was in there... "... we could set a trap. I mean, that's what the call is, but maybe we could use the asylum. Or... you saw that video he released with all the names, right? Maybe we can talk to some of those people..."

She does, sheepishly, admit in the end. "...I don't want to get myself killed. I just feel like we're running out of options. And... if anyone, it's best to be the fuckup, you know."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"A trap..." he muses, mulling it over. "Maybe something like that could work. ...This might be the sort of thing that Baofu would be better at, though..." he adds, as much as he hates to admit it. Setting traps isn't in a typical officer's wheelhouse, but someone who sets 'bugs' for a living might have some inkling about how it could be done.

That, and doesn't he have a better understanding of rumors than any of them do?

"What I can do is start there, however. If we can speak to some of the people involved, some of them may know something we can use against him, or to lure him somewhere we can apprehend him safely." He pauses, thinking about what he's just said. "...So long as we don't put anyone else in harm's way, that is."

But how much can he get if he's not willing to sacrifice anything? Don't you have to give in to get anywhere in this world?

"..." Katsuya pushes his sunglasses a fraction of the way up his nose, not sure in what direction he had ought to head at all.

"Or... if there is something we can get from the asylum..." He can't get anywhere good, currently, but maybe if Amano called, except, no, she's not that sort of journalist.

But Ulala says then that she doesn't want to get herself killed. It's just better her than anyone else. Because she's the...

"Serizawa-kun, please, that is enough. There is no need to speak about yourself that way," he says, a little less sharply than before. "We will find someway through this without putting anyone in any more danger," he continues. "I swear on my honor as a police officer."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>"It's a shame we can't just affect the asylum itself with a rumor or something, right?" Ulala sighs, thinking about traps and bait. "Maybe make it somewhere we could actually mess with, you know?"

She's considering, when Katsuya lightly scolds her again.

"...mnn. Sorry."

It seems like she might leave it there, for a long moment, before she exhales. Katsuya's a nice guy, huh?

"...I'm just not sure I'm not holding you all back. You've got police skills, the Watanabes are smart and resourceful, Maya's amazing, hell, Baofu's great at what he does too."

The unspoken question is: where does that leave her?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"If there were some way to affect the aslyum..." he muses aloud. "Except, can we really endanger the staff or the patients there? Even someone like him does not deserve..." he trails off, trying to puzzle this one out. If he were more like Baofu, perhaps, he wouldn't hesitate to do just that to further his goals. "..."

What's the alternative, then? To continue on like this, and hope they get lucky? To put Ulala in danger? What's the thing that's most important, right now?

Can everyone and everything be saved?

Or is he letting his own conceit stop him from doing anything?

"..."

To that alone, he doesn't have an answer.

Ulala's self-critique, however, focuses him.

As does her response.

"Don't be ridiculous," he says, shaking his head. "Everyone has their own talents. Yours is not simply 'to sacrifice yourself'!" What is it about Ulala that makes her special, though?

"I like to think that we all bring our own perspectives to things. I can only speak to what I can see, as an officer. But I do not see the sorts of things that you do. What people talk about... gossip, idle chatter... to be honest, I don't like these things. But they are essential, even so. These are the things that 'everyone' talks about, but which I don't understand. I think that is true for everyone else. Everyone knows something that everyone else doesn't understand."

...Wait, is he saying that what makes Ulala important to the team is...?

"Do not forget. Rumors come from what people talk about," he tells her, spreading his arms. "If I am being honest, it makes me ill-suited to spreading and controlling rumors."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Ulala is glum as Katsuya reveals that they can't endanger the staff or the patients. "That's true..."

But he confronts her about her self-critique and response. She sighs, unable to really see it... gossip? Idle chatter?

"Is that all I'm good for? Gossip and eavesdropping?"

There's another sigh. Rumors come from what people talk about... he's ill-suited to it, too.

Wait.

Ulala's eyes widen, as she turns over to Katsuya. She's got something, thinking something, as she laughs. "It's so fucking simple, Katsuya-san! You're a genius!"

She stands up, pacing off some burning energy. "If there are civilians to endanger, a serial killer who's supposed to be there, and no way in without drawing attention... we just empty the place!"

She stops, staring him in the eyes with a fervor.

"There's other sanitariums. All we do is spread a rumor that there was some sort of accident, maybe an unsafe building or something, that led to people being moved to another asylum temporarily. We know the Old Maid can leave, so all we have to do is call him out. A guy with an ego like that won't let us just fuck up his house. It's a challenge that doesn't put his power into effect. He knows it was started, sure, but not who - and therefore, he'll wait for us instead of us having to wait for him."

She flops back into the couch at that. "Goddamn."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Is that all she's good for?

"W-well," Katsuya stammers, raising both hands as if to placate her. "I... admit that I do not care for it, but that does not mean that... I am certain that--"

But he does hit upon, at last, the place where her talent well and truly ''shines'' for their purposes. Understanding the movement of rumors requires understanding the pulse of society. These little falsehoods that he doesn't care for in the slightest are the blood running in its veins, to continue the metaphor: in that sense, one ignores trend and gossip at their peril, for these are the things that now... shape reality.

And so she calls him a genius, and in this moment Katsuya looks well and truly startled. "M-me? I only meant that..."

What in the world ''has'' he done, now?

It's simple. They just empty the place, and then. Ensure that once they go in, they can call him out there.

"So you are saying that... we'll move everyone out through a rumor, and then turn the sanitarium into a place that Personas can function? Once he is called out there..."

He pauses, thinking it over.

"It is not that I doubt it is 'him'. But this will also allow us to confirm that he is #501, without room for doubt. Perhaps, it can even be evidence that we can take back." Even if he's uncertain how that might go for ''him''. But he has to do it, doesn't he? Otherwise...

He watches her as she drops onto the couch. "Are you feeling alright, Serizawa-kun?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Ulala cutting Katsuya off is rude, but she's firing up. Even if she can't see her *own* worth in this moment, being the one to come up with the idea, she can still share it.

"Exactly! If it turns out he's just a guy, we can redouble our efforts elsewhere. Embarrassing, sure, but..."

She shakes her head. "We need a new lead, and this will give it to us."

Though, then Katsuya checks in on her. "...not really, honestly. I hate this case so much. But the sooner we get to solving it, the sooner everyone can be safe. And..."

A sheepish laugh and a look away.

"...I really wanted an excuse not to endanger myself like that, but I couldn't think of one myself. There might be demons in the street, but they're also in your head, you know?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
It might be a little bit rude, sure, but it doesn't seem like he's terribly offended, especially as Summer Storm Ulala gets herself well and truly going, hitting upon the obvious answer with aplomb. He might had been heading in a similar direction, but she's the one who sees how to ''do'' it in a way that doesn't allow their target to escape them but spares the people who are innocents in the scheme of things. If they go to his 'space', then, whatever else happens...

...he'd have to come to them.

And at the very least, they'd be able to confirm what they already are very much convinced of.

"Yes," Katsuya agrees, nodding. "It isn't outside the realm of possibility, but..."

But the sooner this is solved, the sooner this can go back to normal. Just this slice: he's not naive, there are other things afoot and there's no turning back from what they've seen.

Or at least, he can't pretend that there aren't crimes, even in a supernatural realm.

But, Ulala was looking for an excuse...?

"I see... well, I suppose, that is true for all of us," he muses, fidgeting with his sunglasses briefly. "We become convinced there is no other option for us but to proceed a certain way..."

He's silent, thinking about his brother. It's just like the way Tatsuya is convinced there's only one thing he can do now, isn't it.

Forgive Katsuya. Sometimes he is blind to himself.
BBS: New BB message (4/40) posted to 'Scene Announcements' by Scene System: Sfumato
BBS: New BB message (4/41) posted to 'Scene Announcements' by Scene System: Cangiante
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Ulala stretches out, as Katsuya agrees that it's probably who they think it is.

"...yeah." As Katsuya goes silent, she turns it on him, tilting his head. "You okay?"

She'll get back up, preparing to leave soon, but she wants to give Katsuya a chance to talk.

"...thanks, by the way. For trying to stop me."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"No, I'm fine," he tells Ulala, shaking his head. "I was only thinking to myself." About family matters, as it were.

"But... I am glad. I had been worried." He couldn't countenance it, in fact. "Allowing someone else to put themself in danger like that is..." Katsuya shakes his head again. "In any case, we know now what we can do. Perhaps if Todoroki returns... well, no, we should talk to the others about it first."

They have time. There's no need to be hasty.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-01-16: Sin and Remorse

2026-06-19T02:01:51Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Sin and Remorse''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai, Ayame Watanabe *'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building *'''OOC Date:''' January 16, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' September 11, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Ayame catches up with Maria after classes one day in September, not too long after the attack by the Joker. She confirms that Maria is doing ok, and they both talk about what happened and what Maria should do now.'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Maria Sak..."

*'''Log: Sin and Remorse'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Ayame Watanabe]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building
*'''OOC Date:''' January 16, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' September 11, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Ayame catches up with Maria after classes one day in September, not too long after the attack by the Joker. She confirms that Maria is doing ok, and they both talk about what happened and what Maria should do now.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
They said it was supposed to rain today, but...

Umbrella in hand, Maria regards the clouds overhead thoughtfully. They're a little bit dark, suggesting it ''could'' rain, but...

With a shrug, she tucks her umbrella under one arm and starts across the Sevens courtyard. Well, today she's got her part-time job (it did not in fact end with summer vacation, even if she achieved her goals; Maria has discovered that money can in fact buy many goods and services), but it doesn't start for a little while yet, even accounting for transit time.

So, if she wants to, she could go and mess around somewhere local first, maybe. But is Yurie even free? Isn't she still attending music club?

With a long sigh, Maria just shakes her head and carries on. Well, that's just high school life, sometimes.

It's funny. Everything was so chaotic and terrible, and then, it's like she woke up, a little. The world's returned to its usual paces, as if to ignore the fact that she'd almost died, and ''he'd'' almost died, and that someone else had almost died, too...

It's not guilt, precisely. But it's also something she can't just let go.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
It might, it might not. Either way, Ayame had the car today, and Ayame has come to visit Ikkaku and see if he needed anything after class! She happens to be crossing the courtyard at the moment. She left her own umbrella in the car. Ayame is recognizeable to many students as a teacher's wife; she comes often enough. However...
Shehe isn't in so much of a hurry that she isn't paying attention to where she's going and what's around her. Whihc means...

"Oh!" Ayame says, coming to a stop near, "Sakurai-san."

"How are you feeling?" she wonders. She hasn't seen her and spoken to her since...

Well, since a ''very'' stressful day.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria recognizes her ''immediately'', swiveling her attention her way the moment she's called upon.

"Watanabe-san!" she calls out, aborting her near-escape from the schoolgrounds. Emphatically, Maria waves. "Watanabe-sensei's still inside!"

...Ayame probably knows this already...

But, how is she feeling? "I'm doing alright," Maria states, gesturing vaguely at herself. "I didn't get hurt. Well, other than my hair. But look," she says, fluffing out her newly (relatively-speaking) locks, "I think I like it better this way, anyway! But, um... how are you doing? You were okay, right?"

Tsubasa ''did'' give her Ayame's phone number, and Maria ''has'' been meaning to call.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
Almost escaped...! But not quite. Ayame--dressed in blue today--smiles warmly at Maria when she says she's all right. "Thank you," she says of the location of her husband, because while she did know that it's still nice to say!

"Yes, I was worried about that, but I like your new look!" As to her hair being BURNED. It was a thing to worry about. Ayame closes the distance to chat, "I'm all right. I'm mostly here to check in with Ikkaku to see if he's going to work late again... I was out and about anyway, so I thought I'd drop by instead of call."

"...But i was all right," she says. "It was a very frightening situation, wasn't it? I'm glad you cam through it."

And the boys... But, well. They might be awkward to bring up.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Perhaps at least it's confirmation that her husband didn't leave the building for some mysterious reason -- or that all is well inside. It can be an open question where Seven Sisters High School is concerned! ...Not that Maria would understand anything about that (yet?).

"Thank you!" Maria replies, beaming. It's only because that 'mystery prince' was so quick in catching her and snuffing the flames that she was spared injury over than the loss of most of her hair: most of it was just too damaged to salvage, so cutting it short had been the only real option.

"Hmmm... he did look busy," Maria muses, considering the pile that had decked her teacher's desk. "Hopefully not! It's fine to stay late sometimes, but look, it's not even raining," she says, holding out a hand as if to catch falling droplets that... don't exist. "I like it when it rains," she continues, glancing at Ayame, "but, right now it's also nice out, too."

Of the circumstance she had narrowly escaped, Maria nods. "Mmm-hmm," she agrees. "My... ex-boyfriend is okay, too, and... the other guy should be alright again soon. He was still in the hospital the last I checked," she explains, and not without a sideways glance. "I'm glad everyone else was okay." She shakes her head, though. "...I'm sorry, you all ended up in that situation because of me. But, thank you for saving me! And... I'm glad sensei was there, too. I think he was a real hero."

A long pause follows.

"So... Seki-kun gave me your number, you know. They said... if anything dangerous happens, like last time, to call you." Maria pauses again. "I figured, you probably already knew, but!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
It is those things! Sevens, afterall, is indeed Like That.

The mystery prince is such a nice young man, isn't he? Ayame smiles. And then, "Hmm. He usually is. He's doing two jobs' worth until the year's over, or close enough to. ...But I can persuade him to come home early now and then." She nods. "It is nice out, isn't it?" she asks. "But I kind of like the rain, too. It puts me in a contemplative mood..."

But Maria knows the condition of the boys! "Oh, good," Ayame answers. "I'm glad for both. It was terrible, what he did to that boy."

But she apologizes. "You did wrong," Ayame agrees, "But I thik the ''bulk'' of the blame lies with the awful man stabbing people, in the end." She smiles. "He's always been my hero, though."

And that long pause sees--"Did they?" Ayame wonders. "That's very good. You can count on me for things like that. I want to help."

"...Once," she says, "I was in a situation like that, like you, and I couldn't do anything about it. So now that I can, it's important to me to try."

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Two jobs worth..." Maria says, her eyes glazing over. And here she thought it was trouble enough balancing school, and her single club, and her part-time job...! "That's terrifying!" she blurts out. "I mean-- he should go home. I hope he can!" It's begun to dawn on Maria that the life of a teacher can be a cruel one, indeed.

"But, you like it, too, huh? I like the sound it makes, and the smell, too. And, the rain makes flowers grow..."

She might not have a green thumb herself, as such, but of course she likes flowers.

It ''was'' terribly. She's not sure she will ever be able to forget it. "Yeah..." Maria says, somewhat more quietly and self-consciously than before. Because--

She did wrong. "Yeah," says Maria, nodding. She pulls her mouth tight, that thought very much on her mind. "...I didn't know what to do, but..."
But that wasn't it. That really wasn't it!

If Ikkaku hadn't been there, that boy... maybe might have died. Maria's not into medicine, she doesn't know. But it had looked really bad.

"Yeah. That... man," she says, of the Joker Killer, "might come back again, they said." She's not meaning Tsubasa here: she's meaning Tsubasa ''and'' Umie. "So, if he does, she said to run-- er, Umie-san, that is!" she self-corrects, realizing where she'd erred with the clarity of her speech. "Run, and get someone with a guardian spirit like you, or her. And Seki-san knows 'Phoenix'!" She nods as Ayame goes on. "I kind of wish I had power like that, too, but... I'm glad there are people who can fight back. It's kind of like being in a television show, you know?" she says to Ayame. "People fighting secret battles with their guardian spirits, and protecting the defenseless... don't worry, I won't tell. It's no good for the heroes if someone tells!"

And she giggles a little as if to say, yes, she knows this isn't a ''TV show''. But even mortal danger aside, it ''is'' still a little exciting.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
"Ahah... it is a bit, isn't it?" Ayame answers. "Well, I like it when he comes home. I think I can convince him today."

But since he's the next Vice Principal according to everything they know, it means more work! He is at least being paid more for the extra work...

"Mm-hm!" Ayame answers. "I love flowers. Plants in general, really, but especially flowering plants."

But... Quiet, and self-conscious; Ayame doesn't want to ''lie'' to her--calling the Joker was wrong!--But well, she has her own feeling as to where the primary blame lies. "Right. ...We all sometimes end up in places where we don't know what to do. What you do from here is important, too."

But that man. "...Mm," Ayame says. "That's true," she says. That he might come back. But Umie! Hmm. "That's smart," Ayame says. A 'guardian spirit'... "It's hard, not being able to fight back agaisnt things like that," Ayame agrees. "...Well, it's not easy to fight, either," she admits. "But..." A television show, is it?

Ayame considers that, and smiles wryly. "That's true, too," she says. "It would cause us a lot of trouble!" Not that she thinks of herself as a hero, but, "But yes. Make sure to get one of us if you see something like that, if you can. If not... Just run as fast and far as you can."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"I think it's better for him to be home," says Maria, who has only seen her father lately when she's ended up in the hospital.

"Me too. I think, roses and lilies are the best." One might expect Maria to favor the 'Sakura' that lives in her surname, but no, while they're nice too, there's something... wonderful about roses and lilies. "Someone told me most roses don't have a scent anymore. I was surprised!" she shares, to someone else who likes flowering plants.

It ''was'' wrong. Maria had realized it the moment after she'd made the call. But in her own way, she might have only made it worse by trying to undermine that fate instead of trying to find someone and explain what happened in the first place (not doing it at all would have been better). But, who would she have told about it? And... what should she have done instead? Bear it, perhaps?

"Yeah. That's what the others said, too. It's important, what I do now."

If it's true that he 'might come back' after Maria, what does it mean for the likes of Ayame and her husband, or Umie, or Tsubasa? "I was surprised, you know," she says of the guardian spirits she'd seen. "I've never seen something like that before. So, it's definitely a secret, right?" She nods, emphatically. "Right! I don't think I've seen something exactly like this, but... it's sort of like some shows? Fighting monsters in secret-- well, bad people, I guess," she allows, because she hasn't seen demons yet and is still immune to experiencing the Dark Hour ''so far''.

But it is a secret, Ayame confirms, and at this, Maria nods. "Yeah. I thought it might. Don't worry. I said I wouldn't tell. It won't help if people know something like this. It would probably scare them. ...I wonder what they remember..." she muses, thinking of her ex and his friend. It's probably not important.

Instead, she should run as far and as fast as she can-- if she can't get in contact with one of the others. "I can do that," she confirms, pumping one fist. "Don't worry. I don't want to make everyone save me again."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
"Me, too."

If she could have him home all the time... Well, maybe she would! But he does enjoy his work, and of course, they have to make money somehow.

"Really?" Ayame wonders. "I never guessed. I suppose that says I don't grow eough roses," she muses. "I like all sorts of flowers. Lately I've been particularly attached to cosmos..."

"Yes," Ayame says. That's definnitely what she thinks.

And, well... He has crossed Ayame's path again before. "Hmm. Yes, it is." Like a show. "It reminds me especially of some of the shows my kids have watched. Magical girls and masked heroes... Though we don't have masks," she admits. Pause. "Most of us don't have masks."

Ayame does not bring up demons.

"I appreciate it. ...That's just it; it would scare people who can't do much about it... and there are people who would do bad things with the knowledge, unfortunately."

"...I wonder that too."

"Good," Ayame says. "I'm happy to help, but... It would be better if it weren't necessary."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria, to be fair, could understand that feeling -- it's much the same way with her father. But his work circumstances remain terrible, and there's nothing she can do about that. And someone, like Ikkaku Watanabe, has to put food on the table. Her grandmother is past working age, and her mother's salary only goes so far as to help. It's not enough to live on.

It's a 'charity wage', Maria has sometimes thought, the differences in what her mother should make and what her father does make standing out as clear as day to a girl of her talents. It's just, the question is whether everyone else sees it.

Or if they see it and pretend it's not there. Or that it's fine, because her mother is...

The door slams on those thoughts as soon as they rise.

"My grandmother grows flowers," Maria explains. "We have a little garden at home, you see. And my mother works as a florist! ...Cosmos, huh? Those are pretty. They sometimes put them in arrangements, but not as often as roses and lilies. Oh, but my mother said, lilies are dangerous to cats, so we don't have those in the house or outside..."

Roses, by contrast, have thorns.

"Exactly! Kind of like, 'Featherman', a little bit? Though, I haven't watched that since I was little," she adds, her expression fleetingly wistful. "But, it's not entirely the same thing, either. --Oh yeah! Some of those people did have masks," she notes. "So it's sort of like it a little bit more, there? And with U-- er, that lady with the..." Maria wavers a moment, then shakes her head. "You know, one of the people who was there. She had a nice mask."

Nailed it.

"Uh huh," Maria agrees, nodding. "And, besides, the 'bad guys'," Maria is sixteen, not eight, she knows what she means when she says that, "aren't very nice. They'd do something dirty for sure. It's better to be safe, don't you think?" The Joker Killer had hurt that boy even though he wasn't involved at all... She might be an airhead, but she's not ''stupid'' stupid.

"Yeah. I don't want to make everyone worry, either. Besides," she says, smiling at Ayame, "I'd rather be the one doing the saving, you know? So I'll stay out of trouble."

She takes a glance then at her wristwatch. "--Oops! I should get going. I have to get to my part-time job. Um, tell sensei, he should definitely go home with you, okay? Tell him I said that."

And with that, Maria starts again towards the gate. Well, there's no time left to mess around now, she thinks. But that's okay: at least she got to do one good thing today.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-05-29: Ulala's Day of Joker: Team Whoop-ass

2026-06-19T01:40:47Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Ulala's Day of Joker: Team Whoop-ass''' *'''Cast:''' Maki Sonomura, Maya Amano, Tamaki Uchida, Katsuya Suou, Eriko Kirishima *'''Where:''' Hirasaka - Main *'''OOC Date:''' May 29, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' November 16, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Ulala's friends and allies discover that all is not well at GOLD Gym and seek to find the person that she's going to kill before she does it. Alas, in practice, it's not that easy, is it...?'' ---- MONAD: A..."

*'''Log: Ulala's Day of Joker: Team Whoop-ass'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maki Sonomura]], [[Maya Amano]], [[Tamaki Uchida]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Eriko Kirishima]]
*'''Where:''' Hirasaka - Main
*'''OOC Date:''' May 29, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 16, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Ulala's friends and allies discover that all is not well at GOLD Gym and seek to find the person that she's going to kill before she does it. Alas, in practice, it's not that easy, is it...?''

----

MONAD: A party led by Maki Sonomura has begun the event Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist!.

(|=========== Monad - Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist! ===========|)
-==== Round 1: Time of Joka - Challenge Level 3 =============================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Understanding |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Hard - Understanding Down L1, and |
| Mindnumbing - Academics Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

There's a crisis going on at the GOLD Gym. One Ulala Serizawa, who
frequently makes use of the punching bags at the establishment has locked
herself into a room, and barricaded the door.

"Hurry..." Her voice rasps behind the door. "It's my time of Joka... before
I change... before... heehee- I need... I NEED-! HATE YOU- HATE YOU SO
MUCH!"

She doesn't answer to anyone who tries to reason with her to let her inside,
only demanding again and again, the one she hates the most. The employees
are standing around, discussing to themselves in hushed tones.

"She must have used the Joker Curse on Makimura-san."

"That scammer? Poor girl- she's definitely the type he targets."

Makimura. Even if you haven't met him, not only does it sound familiar. It
sounds correct. Yes, Ulala Serizawa must hate him for what he's done.

It doesn't take much to get a little more information. 'Youichi Makimura' -
a young man who's popular with the ladies, but only dates them to scam them
out of their money after a fake marriage proposal.

What's more difficult is trying to get more information out of them.

"Uh. We can't really give that out to our customers... even for a guy like
him. It's a violation of their privacy, you know?

That's a bit of a problem. Either you can be understanding of their position
and try to get /some/ details out of them, or you can figure out another way
to locate the guy.

OOC Note: The Party with Maya Amano in it instead gets a similar phone call
from Ulala, rather than starting at the gym. They already understand
Makimura is a hated figure in her life, and either need to deduce where he
is based on their understanding of him, or based on whatever facts they can
gather.

Deja Vu Note: Any instance of colored text is an opportunity for a Deja Vu
insight, if you feel your character was a part of the Innocent Sin events.
This is entirely opt in, and doesn't preclude you from deciding differently
later.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Maki, a friend of Eriko's and Tamaki's, happened to be around when Maya got the call. And that call was highly disturbing indeed. "The Joker Curse," Maki repeats then. "...We have to help her." She's not Ulala's close friend, but she's met her more than once--she's as intent as any.

...Not least because saving Ulala is the clue to learning what's going on.

"So it was this man, Youichi Makimura, who she must have called about," Maki reasons, having gotten some information. "If he's still at work..."

"Then he must be somewhere he can hit on vulnerable women. Not a school or a workplace--maybe... a club? Or some other place people can meet?"

If she'd met him before she might have an easier time, but...

"Either way, we need to be calm and direct about this. We can't help her if we lose our heads. Just breathe--and stay positive, right Amano-san?"
</poem>

MONAD: Maki Sonomura has acted with Counseling toward Time of Joka! Escape and Empathy!

<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
<poem>
Maya nods with her typical Maya enthusiasm. "Right!" she agrees, pushing back the worry and concern she feels for her roommate in that moment.

Maya thinks.

Hard.

She strokes the back of her ear, straining to remember anything she can about Youichi Makimura. She had never even heard Ulala mention the name. If she were having a problem with him, surely she'd have told her, right?

Maya thinks back to an article she read a few days from another Kismet Publishing magazine -- this one aimed at women.

Y"'Hotspots for Women Wanting to Meet Men'," she says, remembering the article name. "The park." She counts off one finger. "Shopping." Another finger. "Karaoke." Another finger. "The gym." Another finger. "Work." Sure, Maki thought it wouldn't be a workplace, but the place Ulala worked at seemed to attract skeevy older guys, so it definitely needed to be on the list!

"The club." Maya has to start a new hand there. Were there any others? Maya can't remember. "Does anyone have any other ideas?"
</poem>

MONAD: Maya Amano has acted with Advice toward Time of Joka! Patra and Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
'The Joker never dies.'

When Maya gets the call, Tamaki's face wordlessly turns in Katsuya's direction. She knows that Ulala had a poor opinion of herself. She knows that Ulala thought that she would work best as 'bait' for a plan to take the Joker Killer by surprise. She knows the rumor that people who had used the Joker Curse before now turn into Jokers themselves.

She knows all these things separately. She would have never guessed that Ulala had called the Joker Killer at all.

As Maki and Maya contribute their thoughts, Tamaki murmurs to Katsuya, "Thanks for talking her out of the plan earlier."

More brightly, she nods in Maya's direction, recognizing the article name from her time filling out sweepstakes submissions. "Good thinking, Amano-san! Do you know of any spots that are especially popular with women lately?"

Tamaki presses her lips together in a frown and contemplates where they might find the swindler. "I think you're on the right track, Sonomura-san. Serizawa-san was a bit of a barfly herself, I remember talking to her about our favorite drinks."

There are several words just on the tip of her tongue but which elude her memory and conscious thoughts. She furrows her brow in deeper concentration ... and comes up with nothing.

So she pivots and snaps her fingers. "Let's turn it around, though, and think from the perspective of our would-be target. He's not searching for dates, he's searching for ''marks.'' What location attracts people who would be more likely to fall for his scams?"

</poem>
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Piece Together toward Time of Joka! Automap!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"It's no use... she's barricaded the door," Katsuya surmises, shaking his head after returning from his most recent attempt to call out to Ulala. "That rumor... so it's really happening? But, if that's the case, then she must have..."

"Called Joker, right?" says Baofu, leaning against the wall. Minutely, his head turns towards Katsuya. "Guess even that idiot had someone she wanted dead." He shrugs as if unbothered, his attention turning towards Maya, Maki, and Tamaki as they ponder their next steps. "Question is, who's the victim? There's been no shortage of dead bodies lately... right?" His gaze lances towards Katsuya, whose expression grows dark. Katsuya turns away from the enigmatic man then without another look.

He shakes his head as he approaches Tamaki. "Yes, but I wonder... was it before? Or..." he murmurs, furrowing his forehead.

Maya, though, has an idea.

"Her... ex-boyfriend? Who did... what?" In some mild shock, he blinks. "And... he is a con artist?! Swindling a poor woman out of her money like that... that's against the law." Troubled, he looks among the others here.

But where, oh, where, would such a man be found?

"If I were a criminal, or a ne'er-do-well..." He considers their options thoughtfully.

"Such a person... wouldn't they be found at a 'sketchy' location? Such as a bar?"

Against the wall, Baofu makes a sound that might be a barely-stifled laugh.
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with What is Justice? toward Time of Joka! Patra and Empathy!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
It's often best not to overthink the circumstances that lead to one finding these things out- Eriko has already been investigating the connection between Joker, JOKER and Joka, and she just happened to be in the right place at the right time and now we're all gathered together, trying to hunt down something.

Still, Eriko looks more than a little concerned about this Makimura's presence. "...what a disgusting sounding man," Eriko adds, an unusual venom to her voice. "Preying on Miss Serizawa's desires like that..."

...Unfortunately, when it comes to 'places to meet men', Eriko's... drawing a total blank. This really isn't her realm of expertise in the slightest- meeting men hasn't been part of her agenda ever, really. So she'll leave the detecting to the detectives on this one.
"...We'll find him before Miss Serizawa does, Miss Maya. We can stop her doing something she'd regret."
</poem>

MONAD: Eriko Kirishima has acted with Soothe toward Time of Joka! Patra and Efficient!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Time of Joka - Round 1 ================================================-
Tamaki Uchida Academics Success
Piece Together Automap Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maki Sonomura Understanding Success
Counseling Escape and Empathy Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eriko Kirishima Understanding Failure
Soothe Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Amano Understanding Success
Advice Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katsuya Suou Understanding Success
What is Justice? Patra and Empathy Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Hard-2, and Mindnumbing-2
Final Conditions:
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 0/6 | | ===================================================-
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

MONAD: Maki Sonomura has drawn a new Challenge!

(|=========== Monad - Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist! ===========|)
-==== Round 2: Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because I'm 'Lion' to You Right Now. - Challenge Level
3 -
| Approach Options: Guts or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., |
| Mindnumbing - Academics Down L2, and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

It might take a long time, or not very long at all, but you're led to the
Parabellum, the Bar/Weapon's shop where there's a man and woman at the bar.

That's him. Somehow you know immediately.

Portrait of a Terrible Man:
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/a/a6/Persona_2_IS_Maki
mura.png/revision/latest?cb=20140514131225

The man has frosted hair and a winning smile that lets him skate through
life on easy street, as he chats with the lady that looks only a few years
shy of forty.

"About the thing I asked about earlier... Were you able to collect enough?"

The Office Lady he's with downs a drink, as if to give her courage, before
turning to give him a hopeful look, "Yeah, I managed the three million you
asked for... I can count on you right?"

He rotates his drink in a slow circle, "Of course... with that I can keep my
research going. I'm guaranteed to become the Vice-President of the Academy
when it succeeds. And just think, you'll be the wife of the Vice-President."

She looks like she's still hesitating, at least until he adds, "I love you
so much..." And her expression melts, "I love you too... Maki-chan. I can't
wait to be your bride."

He's trying to scam his next victim! You can't let this stand right? You
have to interrupt this, but you also have to figure out a way to keep him
from getting so upset he doesn't cooperate- or worse yet, runs off.

Maybe the best way is to convince him that Ulala is going to kill him, and
you're here to help? But- it may be a tough sell.

How do you get him back to the GOLD Gym?

Luckily, fate is on your side, because Youichi Makimura is a consummate
coward, and knows just how scary Ulala can be when she's pissed.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
"Oh!" Maki answers Maya. "So, they do meet at workplaces...?" A beat, "My workplace is the kind where you really ''can't'' meet guys... ethically," she says with a smile. "But all those sound promising..."

And Tamaki considers... a drinking place? "Hmmm, yeah. A bar might be right."

Maki lifts an eyebrow at Baofu calling her an idiot, but doesn't say anything for now. Instead, she considers; a lot of bodies... that's true.

"Unfortunately," Maki says, "It's pretty common, illegal or not."

"I think that's right though, Suou-san. Not only is a bar a good place to meet women, but it's a good place to meet women who are drinking--and thus, less likely to have all their defenses up."

"Mm-hm," she agrees with Eriko about him being disgusting. But, for some reason, Maki doesn't even ''look'' at Eriko at the question of meeting men. It's like she already knows...

"That's the priority," Maki says. "We have to protect Serizawa-san--from herself, too."

They go the bar! Maki walks in, looking around, and suddenly--

"That's him," she realizes immediately, despite having never seen him before. Is that weird? It might be weird.

"...And he's got a woman with him."

Maki listens at a distance at first--until she looks to the others. "...Well, we're not getting any younger!"

As Makimura talks to the Office Lady he's with, talking about how he'll be Vice President... Maki walks right on up. "Don't mind me," she says. "I'm the other Maki-chan!"

She beams. ...She's going somewhere with this, probably, by the way she hooks her ankle just right such that if he tries to run he'll get tripped if he isn't careful.
</poem>

MONAD: Maki Sonomura has acted with Jokes toward Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because I'm 'Lion' to
You Right Now.! Find and Patra!

<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
<poem>
The ends of Maya's lips curve into a slight frown at the sight of the man. It's a face she _knows_ she's seen before, but she can't quite connect it to a memory. But like Maki, Maya knows instantly: it's him.

And just like it took her a half-second longer for Maya to make that realization, it takes her a half-second for her to step in line with Maki.

"And I'm Maki-chan's friend," Maya says, hanging an arm over Maki's shoulder. "Maya Amano. Maybe you've heard of me? I'm Ulala Serizawa's roommate."

Maya flashes him an unsettling smile. :)
</poem>

MONAD: Maya Amano has acted with Interview Talk toward Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because I'm
'Lion' to You Right Now.! Friendliness and Smarts!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
While Tamaki was firing blanks earlier when it came to remembering the specifics of the drinks they had talked about, now her eyes open wide and she points at ... Eriko, of all people. No, not for the drinks, but because of ''another'' trait of the bar in question.

Then she realizes that Katsuya is within earshot before she asks if Eriko received her order from Parabellum yet. She turns back to Katsuya and explains while she's holding up a finger, "Serizawa-san mentioned that her favorite drink was from Parabellum's menu, the 'Angel Trigger.' She said it makes her feel light on her feet." With a whisper, she adds, "(Mine's the Tilt Trigger, personally.)"

----

Meanwhile, at Parabellum:

While she doesn't recognize the man's face as easily as the other two have seemed to (isn't there some more legwork they should be doing?), she follows their lead. plants a hand on the counter. Firmly, she states, "Makimura-san, is it? I'm with a private detective agency. We're doing you a favor. Either you come with us and things get resolved as peacefully as they can, or you can deal with Serizawa-san on your own."

Tamaki inspects her nails and sighs. "I know what I'd do in your shoes."

</poem>
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Never Burn Out toward Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because I'm
'Lion' to You Right Now.! Escape and Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
In that one moment, he looks baffled as Tamaki points at Eriko. It's only when she explains, soon after he suggests a bar might be a good place to look for a man like that, where Tamaki remembers a favorite drink of Ulala's.

"I... see," he says.

He's silent, for his part. "If you ask me, it seems... somewhat inappropriate to name drinks after firearms," he remarks.

tIn the background Baofu shrugs as if to say, 'get a load of this guy'.

AT PARABELLUM

"Amano-kun... is that him?" he whispers, once they arrive on the scene. Has he seen this man before? In the moment... he's just not sure.

What he does know is that he can tell at a glance that this man is his utter opposite. There's something about this man that sets him on edge. There's something about this man that seems absolutely...

He glances at Baofu. Baofu turns his head towards him.

The two of them don't get along, and are prone to arguing. But in this moment, they're apparently of one mind.

"Excuse me, would you happen to be Youichi Makimura?" He flashes his badge. "We are looking for him, you see," and he glances at Baofu as if to suggest that he is his partner. "Uchida-kun and the others are cooperating with this case."

"Some broad called the Joker on him... poor bastard," Baofu says, shrugging and shaking his head. "If he ain't here, we're shit outta luck..."
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with You're Under Arrest! toward Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because
I'm 'Lion' to You Right Now.! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
When Tamaki puts two and two together, and explains to Katsuya the concept, it sparks an idea in Eriko. "...Aha. Well. We can kill two birds with one stone then, can't we?"

Tamaki does not know what she has wrought.

"Is it?" Eriko asks, a little oddly toward Katsuya. "I don't really care for alcohol, but even one of the most basic drinks were called shots back in America." ...look, of course Eriko was around underage drinking- how do you think she found out she dislikes it so much?

----

"...Maki-chan?" Eriko asks her friend (not the other, evil Maki-chan currently scamming a woman), who seems to be able to detect Makimura upon entering the room. Fortunately(?) it seems Maki is right on the money with who Makimura is given his whole 'being subtle as a brick' routine.

One woman approaching ominously is one thing, two is coincidence, three is enemy action. What's four plus a cop? (Eriko is assuming Baofu will just be sniping from the sidelines as he likes to do.)

Eriko, meanwhile, strides up to the bar casually, a cheery smile on her face. "Good evening, ''Master''! Has my order arrived yet?" She is... dangerously unsubtle- nay, she is weaponizing her lack of subtlety, leaning into her foreign looks and dropping perfect English into her speech.

"Ah, of course. It's a pleasure to receive an order from a connoisseur." He moves to the back, and Eriko turns and smiles sweetly towards Makimura. Gives him a little wave, while her friends (and Baofu) approach.

A few moments later, the master comes back, a black weapons case being slung across the bar. Eriko, without the slightest compunction she is doing this in front of Katsuya, an officer of the law, opens it, and looks it over with a smile. "I hope you don't mind if I make sure everything fits together- it's been so long and I wouldn't want ''Grandpa'' to know I'm out of practice."

It's at that point Eriko, with a little too eager smile, starts removing the field stripped 'modern hunting rifle'. She's a little out of practice- it's been three years since she's had to maintain a rifle and at some point they were less real guns and more magical facsimiles resembling weapons shooting impossible bullets.

Occasionally, in the ninety seconds or so it takes her to assemble the weapon, Eriko looks at Makimura and smiles again.

She doesn't load it, of course, and her finger never touches the trigger, but she is making sure the stock fits perfectly as per her request. "...Yes, I think this will do quite nicely," Eriko says, before field stripping the rifle again and putting the parts back into it's case. "I'll take the ammunition too. Who knows what sort of scum a girl could run into on the way home..."

"As you wish."

There's a long, worrying pause at that point, as Eriko does take the magazines and clips, placing them in the top half of her gun case.

She looks to Makimura again. She smiles again, showing teeth.

She gives him a little wave.

"...I do so hope you won't make any poor decisions right now, Mr Makimura. I'd hate to 'run into' because you decided to ignore my friends very helpful advice."
</poem>

MONAD: Eriko Kirishima has acted with Horrify toward Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because I'm 'Lion'
to You Right Now.! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Hey Baby, my Spirit Animals are African Big Cats Because I'm 'Lion' to You Right Now. - Round 2 -
Tamaki Uchida Guts Failure
Never Burn Out Escape and Efficient Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maki Sonomura Guts Failure
Jokes Find and Patra Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eriko Kirishima Guts Success
Horrify Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Amano Charm Success
Interview Talk Friendliness and Smarts Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katsuya Suou Guts Success
You're Under Arrest! Specialty Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Box-0, Mindnumbing-2, and Scary-2
Final Conditions: Mindnumbing-1 and Scary-1
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 0/6 | | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 0
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
"I think it's creative!" Maki opines cheerfully of the drinks' names. "If you can't be a little inappropriate serving drinks, the vibe won't work." But shots, well, "Drinking culture's big in university in the States, isn't it?" Maki wonders. But soon...

Maki-chan's friend! And a ''private detective''. And the duo of Katsuya and Baofu.

And a womnan ordering a gun!?

"T-the police!?" the older woman exclaims. "The Joker?? A /private detective agency? And who's this Serizawa!?"

"No no, I, ah--"

"I'm obviously in the way here," she says, eyeing Eriko and her ''gun'', and ''books'' it right away. Scam successfully foiled!! ...Possibly for ''good'', considering how spooked and embarrassed she is about all this.

Maki stifles a laugh, because that poor woman. ...But all the same, she gives Eriko a grin.

"Elly-chan..."

Then a beat, "So, Makimura-san. You really should come with us--you don't want her to find you when you're on you're own."

"What's with you guys!?" Makimura counters at that. "W-wait, Serizawa? And you're... her roommate?" she asks. "I uh, I don't want any trouble with the police..."

He starts to back away. Surely, they can catch him!
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has drawn a new Challenge!

(|=========== Monad - Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist! ===========|)
-==== Round 3: You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom! - Challenge Level 4 -
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, Mindnumbing - Academics Down |
| L2, Reaper - Add 1 Fatigue., Scary - Guts Down L1, and Stupor - Academics |
| Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

One way or another, Makimura is in your protective custody. And he's
quickly getting on everyone's nerves by trying to chat up the guys to
convince them he's the real victim here, whereas he's trying to outright
flirt with the girls despite the situation he's in.

When you try to take him outside though.

"Ah man- nature calls! I'm not going to run away, promise. Just hold on for
a minute then I'll come with you."

Escorting him to the only tiny restroom at the bar, you wait. And wait. And
wait. Until finally someone checks and-

Yep, that window to the alley sure is open. So much for his promises.

Quick! You've gotta figure out where he went! A puddle in the back alley
gives you the advantage of a few tracks to figure out what direction he
went, or you can ask some intelligent questions of passersby about this very
distinct looking man.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
At Eriko, Katsuya just looks somewhat flustered. "W-well, that's true, but... that still..." He pauses, eyeing Eriko as something occurs to him. "Wait, when were you...? Isn't the drinking age in America twenty-one?"

Where ''have'' they been keeping a guy like him?

But in Parabellum proper, he's able to link arms with Baofu (metaphorically. metaphorically!) and help to try to drive that woman away from Makimura while also cornering the man (while also giving Eriko what passes for a somewhat alarmed glance; he can't say anything because he's also bought weapons and ammunitions here, but even so, perhaps his thoughts on the matter can be heard!). The thing is, though.

The thing is... Makimura is going to slip away unless someone does something.

"Hold it right there--!"

Katsuya's not fast enough.

"Where do you think you're going?" says Baofu who ''is'' fast enough to get the man in a hold he can't so easily slip. Makimura struggles in vain. "This is-- assault! Hey, aren't you a cop??!

Katsuya approaches the manhandled Makimura and folds his arms over his chest. He looks the man up and down. "...Makimura-san. I must remind you that your life is in danger right now. If you run, then we cannot protect you. Moreover, there was the matter of that story you were telling that woman just now..."

"L, look, about that... let me explain!"

Makimura pauses. "I just gotta... let me use the can first! I'm not going anywhere, I promise! I'll be right back!"

Baofu doesn't budge. Makimura struggles in seeming desperation.

"Let him go," Katsuya urges. "We'll be right here waiting for him."

And so they wait.

And wait...

...and wait.

"...Excuse me," Katsuya finally says, heading into the men's room. When he returns, minutes later, it's ''without'' Makimura.

"There was an open window..." he explains, shoulders sagging.

"Tch," says Baofu, shaking his head. "I could have told you..."

But there's no time for bickering. Surely, somewhere, there's a clue!

Outside the bar, Katsuya takes stock of a puddle with footprints leading from it. "Fortunately, it rained recently. Those must be his footprints." He rises to his feet, marking the runaway conartist's flight. "He can't have gotten far. He must have run somewhere he knows well if he's trying to escape."

It's Makimura's criminal mind. That must be it.
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Academics toward You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom!! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
<poem>
"Follow those footprints!" Maya declares, flinging a single finger out at the ground and the prominent water-printed footprints. Despite how serious the situation is, Maya has managed to maintain her energy -- and her cheery attitude.

Let's Think Positive!

"We don't have long before these footprints disappear!" The soles of his shoes won't stay wet for long. "So let's move fast!"

And Maya does exactly that, jogging the same path as their target.
</poem>

MONAD: Maya Amano has acted with Academics toward You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom!! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
She really doesn't, Eriko. When she brings out the rifle to inspect it, Tamaki goes wide-eyed and takes a step away, very much glad that they're friends and that she's not in Makimura's position here.

In hindsight, Tamaki's other plan might have worked better to lure him in, but the thought of acting as if she was one of his potential marks makes her skin crawl. At least they got him in the end.

Tamaki, all too sympathetic towards someone who has to attend to their physical needs, takes the bait, hook, line, and sinker. Then waits. And waits. And waits. A sinking feeling starts to form in the pit of her stomach.

After Katsuya relays the bad news, she slaps her forehead. "Dammit. I know where the women's bathroom window goes to, but he's got the jump on us again, I think."

While Katsuya and Maya follow the footprints, Tamaki decides to take a different approach in parallel. "This is Aoba; I know a few people around here. I'm going to do the rounds and see if they've recently seen a blonde man with a bad hair dye job."

And so she goes, chatting up the locals like the familiar sight that she is in these parts. "Excuse me, sir, did someone run by here ..?"

</poem>
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Piece Together toward You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom!! Automap!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
Eriko does seem a little surprised by Katsuya and Tamaki's alarmed looks that she's so casual about this, but you know, she can't stop her whole intimidation bit early! It would undermine the whole thing! Still, when they're escorting, Eriko asides- "It's not that bad, really, it's just a hunting rifle. My 'Grandpa' taught me to use these things when I was growing up, and I've applied for my hunting license so I have an excuse. Besides, it's not like a little extra firepower for dealing with demons hurts, does it?"

Did Eriko acquire the taste for blood at such at young age...?

"No one should go off on their own, but maybe we should pair up? Mr Katsuya and Maya can go that way, Maki-chan, you can go with Tamaki and help her out?"

There's a long pause. ...Crap.

"And I suppose that Mr Baofu and I can hunt for Makimura together," Eriko adds, her voice clearly losing enthusiasm already. It's not her fault he's an asshole.

...On the other hand, he's also the one least likely to oppose Eriko's style of threat.

"...Shall we, Mr Baofu?" Eriko says, a little cautiously. Katsuya and Maya trust him enough... "If you would lead the way? This sort of people finding isn't my forte, and I think going to the Izakaya to put in a request is far, far too slow."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Baofu is pretty fast. Maki considers him for a moment. Assault?

"I don't think you should be worrying too hard about what ''other'' people are doing," she points out.

She maintains her good cheer, too. For now. Perhaps most mysteriously of all, she's not at all troubled by Eriko's gun-handling skills. "You need all you can get with demons," Maki agrees.

An open window... "Well," Maki says, "Nothing for it but to get after him!" Pause. "...have you been through that window before?" Maki wonders of Tamaki.

"Sure!" Maki chirps to Eriko when she asks her to help Tamaki. Tamaki has a different idea than just chasing--and Maki says, "One sec." Scribbling off an absurdly good sketch for the brief time it takes her to do it, Maki hands an image of Makimura to Tamaki. "This should jog their memory if they've seen his face," she suggests. ...She likewise doesn't go running after the footprints.

She believes in Eriko!! ...Besides, ERiko did just do the whole gun thing...

Don't search Maki's purse.
</poem>

MONAD: Maki Sonomura has acted with Art Talk toward You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom!! Automap!
MONAD: Eriko Kirishima has acted with Proficiency toward You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom!! Base!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== You Can't Order Me not to Use the Bathroom! - Round 3 =================-
Tamaki Uchida Academics Success
Piece Together Automap Fatigue: 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maki Sonomura Academics Failure
Art Talk Automap Fatigue: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eriko Kirishima Proficiency Failure
Proficiency Base Fatigue: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Amano Academics Failure
Academics Base Fatigue: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katsuya Suou Academics Failure
Academics Base Fatigue: 2
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Ineptitude-2, Mindnumbing-1, Reaper-0, Scary-1, and
Stupor-2
Final Conditions: Ineptitude-1 and Stupor-1
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 0/6 | | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 0
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"I, I see..." says Katsuya, giving the impression of gentle bewilderment. It certainly is different in America, isn't it.

Collectively, six adults attempt to figure out which direction in which a ''fugitive from justice'' (or, well, just Ulala's wrath) has fled.

It, uh.

It doesn't go particularly well.

The trail that Maya follows soon goes cold: it leads into the street where the transitory tread vanishes into thin air (literally, due to evaporation). Katsuya, similarly, tries to think about where Makimura might have fled, only to realize after some cogitation that,

[EMPATHY] Formidable - Failure: Who knows what darkness lurks in the hearts of men? Not you, for starters. Sorry, Suou-kun. Try as you might, you just can't get into the mind of a criminal like that.

Baofu looks Eriko over. "Suits me..." he says with a shrug, digging out a cigarette and lighting it. "A guy like that... If it were me, I'd hide in plain sight before getting the hell out of here. Tch... and we're right in the middle of Aoba's crowds," he says. He takes a long drag of his cigarette. "Shouldn't have let him go off on his own..."

It's a good guess, but does that get them anywhere?

It's Tamaki who finds success, ultimately, aided by Maki's sketch and her own description.

"That guy? Yeah, I saw 'im. Went running that way," an older man says, pointing helpfully in a particular direction. It's a start!
</poem>

MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has drawn a new Challenge!

(|=========== Monad - Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist! ===========|)
-==== Round 4: Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here! - Challenge Level 4 =======-
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Charm |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, |
| Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

Whether it takes a short amount of time, or much longer, you figure out
that he went to the BIKINI LINE? He went to a tanning salon at a time like
this?

A man in a Hawaiian Shirt with a Ganguro vibe greets you. "Hey, welcome to
Bikini Line. Can I interest you in our healing rays package? It's like, the
power of the sun packed into one of our state of the art machines- whoaaaa."

Now, he's unlikely to let you back to harass one of his customers, but the
door doesn't look locked. A proper distraction might be enough to get you
back there to look for Makimura.

Or you COULD express interest in a tour that'll get you back there to search
for him.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
" -- perfect, Sonomura-san. That'll help jog memories, for sure." It isn't too long before enough inquiries lead them all to the Bikini Line tanning salon. It stands to reason; his hairstyle makes him stand out, but if he can hide in a tanning bed just long enough to lose the heat, well ... she thinks it's a halfway decent move.

Inside the store, the proprietor asks them, "Hey, welcome to Bikini Line. Can I interest you in our healing rays package? It's like, the power of the sun packed into one of our state of the art machines, whoaaaa."

Tamaki's interest in the 'healing rays' package is, honestly, genuine. Part of it is out of professional curiosity, since she may have heard a rumor or two to that effect. Part of it is that she might like to try a different look sometime. It's enough to make her briefly forget that she's trying to track someone down.

So she gives the store owner her brightest smile and chirps back, "Certainly! How does it all work, if you can say? What makes it 'state of the art'? Can I see?"

It's here that she glances to her side and remembers that the others are here with her ... and that they're trying to track down Makimura. "Mmmaybe you could show us the beds and give us a bit of a tour? I'm convinced, but I know some of my friends may need a bit of persuasion." She glances back to Baofu with that last remark, then flashes a smile back to the shopkeeper.

</poem>
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Demon Friends toward Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here!! Friendliness and Patra!

<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
<poem>
Thank god for Tamaki.

Maya nods vigorously in agreement. "I'm Maya Amano with Coolest Magazine, Japan's hottest magazine for teens!" That's not just Maya tooting her own horn -- it's the truth. "I'm sure there are plenty of readers that could use your healing rays, but I'd have to learn more about it before I can commit to an article!"

She goes through her pockets and retrieves a business card, just so he knows She's the Real Thing.

"I think a tour would be really helpful. I have a few questions you could answer for me, too!"
</poem>

MONAD: Maya Amano has acted with Interview Talk toward Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here!! Friendliness and Smarts!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
"Do you have a lot of experience ditching women, Mr Baofu?" Eriko asks, in a tone that sounds perfectly innocent and a manner that is not that at all, but you have to be really careful to prove it and not look like an ass. She also frowns at Baofu smoking, but that's harder to complain against in Japan without seeming like a scold. Even if most people dislike outdoor smoking. "Still, we can complain about him as much as we want when we have him in our clutches again.

Unfortunately, Baofu and Eriko find... bupkis! Zilch! Nada!

But Tamaki finds a tanning salon- surprisingly near Eriko's apartment in Yumezaki- that seems to indicate where Makimura ran off to. Eriko... doesn't seem pleased by the idea.

"''Birds of a feather''," she murmurs, in English, upon taking approximately one look at Bro. "He's certainly overdoing it..."

...She is even more uncomfortable with the way Tamaki and Maya approach everyone's most hated enemy, Bro of BIKINI LINE.

...especially since, even with the rumours, she's not getting into an indoor tanning machine. With the amount of work SHE puts into skin care? Are you kidding? But she sighs.

So, Eriko, flutters her eye lashes and walks up with that fashion model strut to join Tamaki and Maya at the counter. "''Please, mister?''" She asks in English simple enough to hopefully be understood, amping up the 'American tourist' vibe. "We'd love a ''tour''!" She gives him a wide smile.

It looks... agonizingly fake, to those who know Eriko.

If Bro is the sort to care enough about women's interiority to recognize that, though, she'll eat her own hat.
</poem>

MONAD: Eriko Kirishima has acted with Fashion Show toward Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here!! Friendliness and Focus!

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
America...

"Sure!" Maki answers warmly. "A visual aid goes a long way."

Well, they find a lead! Maki still doesn't run, but she does hustle with the others. She arrives at Bikini Line with the others and...

Looks a little nervous. "Wait, he's... here?" she asks, and glances around. She looks at a nice picture of an open tanning bed with a person next to it and frowns.

Maki has some amount of experience with machines you get put into and can't see out of for a while. ...It's definitely not ''remotely'' the same thing, but...

"Aah, you guys should take the tour," she says quickly. "I'll... stay out here! So I can tell anybody else who comes you'll be right back."

She seems satisfied with that one, even if she still looks a little 'off'.

She manages not to ruin Eriko's fake smile by pointing anything about it out, though. No hat eating probably necessary...
</poem>

MONAD: Maki Sonomura has acted with Charm toward Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here!! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki's trail leads them to--

A tanning salon?

"Why in the world would he come here? Surely he can't be thinking..." Katsuya wonders aloud, only to frown. "Wait. Is he trying to hide in here while we look elsewhere?"

"Seems that way..." says Baofu, barely giving Katsuya more than a glance as he moves to shove the door open.

"I'd rather try to see if we can talk our way in," Katsuya whispers to the others, an eye on Baofu, "With Makimura it was one thing, but here... " He shakes his head and frowns. "No, we need to be sure he's here in the first place."

He approaches Tamaki and Eriko, as if to follow up on their requests. "Excuse me, if you are willing to grant tours of the facility, I would also be interested. It's said that the key to a sound mind is a sound body, and if what you say about the machinery here is true... perhaps this could be a good first step for those of us in need of support."

He glances at Maki, though, as she opts to not... try to convince the clerk here for a tour?

How odd.

But at least it's probably for the best, just in case their lead was incorrect...
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Rehabilitate toward Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here!! Friendliness and Diligence!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Your TAN is Not Our PRIORITY here! - Round 4 ==========================-
Tamaki Uchida Charm Failure
Demon Friends Friendliness and Patra Fatigue: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maki Sonomura Charm Failure
Charm Base Fatigue: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eriko Kirishima Charm Success
Fashion Show Friendliness and Focus Fatigue: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Amano Charm Failure
Interview Talk Friendliness and Smarts Fatigue: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katsuya Suou Charm Failure
Rehabilitate Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 3
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Clumsy-2, Ineptitude-1, and Stupor-1
Final Conditions: Annoying-1
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 0/6 | | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 0
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

MONAD: Eriko Kirishima has drawn a new Challenge!

(|=========== Monad - Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist! ===========|)
-==== Round 5: Panty Raids!? In MY Gym? - Challenge Level 4 =================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., |
| Chest - Add 2 Item/Money/Gear., Scary - Guts Down L1, and Stony - |
| Understanding Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

You finally got this fraudster back to the GOLD Gym. But there's one
problem. No matter what you say to Ulala behind the door, all you hear is
laughing! This is getting really bad.

The employees mention that there's a key to the room, but they don't have
it. They think one of the female employees had it last, but she's not on
today.

To the woman's locker room you go! There's only one problem.
There's currently a panty thief digging through her locker, holding up a
pair of her unmentionables in absentia.

As he sees himself caught, he has a deer in the headlights look in his eyes,
before sputtering out. "H-Hey it's not what it looks like."

It's exactly what it looks like. The key might still be in the locker, but
do you really want to take the chance that a guy who breaks into private
places wouldn't take the opportunity to grab a key?

He's trying to make a break for it. You can already see that in his eyes.
And if he gets out of the Locker Room or manages to call for help, he can
spin it any way he wants!!

You can either deal with this by force, or you can let it slide, in exchange
for the peaceful handover of the key.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Despite Tamaki's claim that Baofu might need some more convincing, he strolls right on in, leaving her dumbfounded. "Uh -- "

The clerk raises an eyebrow at all these people asking about a tour (and at Maki not wanting one) and their interest in the machinery. "Whoaaa, no, dudes. Laying it on a little thick there. Trade secrets, sorry. You don't go back there unless you sign up in the first place."

Eriko -- and her smile -- garners a second glance from him. He fidgets briefly, then breaks out into a sleazy smile. "Buuut, maybe I can make an exception." He clicks his tongue and winks.

Eriko's hat is, indeed, safe from consumption.

Once inside, the tour begins. The details aren't of too much importance, but a good number of beds are open and unused at the moment. The closed ones, however ...

Tamaki peers over one of the closed tanning beds to look through the window and see the face of whoever's inside. ''Makimura.'' She taps on the glass and grins as she gives a wave.

Their 'tour guide' glances over at Tamaki and calls out, " -- hey, what are you doing?! Someone's in there -- " and Tamaki leaps back in (feigned) surprise. "Sorry! Oh my gosh, I didn't realize! Honest mistake!"

Several minutes later, the tour's ended and Tamaki has signed up for a package to use at a later date. "Figure I may as well give him some business in exchange for him tolerating that ..."

But at least Makimura's in tow again.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maya Amano has posed.
<poem>
Before long, they're at their next destination: GOLD Gym.

Unfortunately... things are already Very Not Good. Ulala is barricaded behind a locked door, laughing manically. There's only one key to the room and the people working right now? They don't have it.

Their search for the key leads them to the lady's locker room. Baofu and Katsuya -- the gentleman they are -- wait outside guarding Makimura while the female contingent investigate further. And in that room, they find something that does not belong there.

A man.

Before he can make his escape, Maya slams a hand against the wall next to him. If Maya weren't clearly squared up and ready for violence (if it came to it!) and the employee weren't gripping a pair of panties for dear life, it might have looked like a kabedon scene straight from a shoujo manga.

"We're looking for the boxing room key," she says, ignoring the panties for now. "And this is the locker of the employee who last had it. You wouldn't have happened to have found it, have you?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
It is a little odd, isn't it? But Maki doesn't comment too much on the fact that she doesn't wnat to get near the tanning booths. Besides, tamaki finds him. It's fine!

"That's nice of you," Maki says of giving him business, more cheerful since they're leaving. And indeed, they do leave. GOLD Gym is next, and is a lot more comfortable for Maki...

Or it was.

"What the--" A man's in here! That might just be an employee matter except for--

"Oh, my God!" Maki says, eyes widening as she jumps back with a hand up to her chest. "An actual panty thief!?"

Definitely loud enough for Katsuya to hear. Definitely.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Did he come on too strong, somehow? "Oh, I... see..." Katsuya utters, taken somewhat aback by the man's response.

And then even more so by the way that Eriko's smile ''does'' work. They're able to check in the back and, in so doing--

Well, eventually, Makimura does have to come out. And when he does, he meets with a very disappointed Katsuya. "Makimura-san. Please accompany us to GOLD Gym."

Makimura is probably less pleased to find out that Ulala is at the Gym. But it's too bad for him, there's no longer anywhere he can run.

But the problem remains that Ulala no longer answers when they call out. There's only laughter from within the boxing room, which seems bad. The good news is that there's another door!

The bad news? The key's in the lady's locker room.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" Katsuya pauses. "...Amano-kun, I think I hear something in the back. Would you mind going to check? Perhaps they have the key."

He, of course, isn't going to look himself. This is a ladies' locker room! Someone could be changing! Besides, he has enough to worry about with Makimura eyeing the door in a way that suggests that he might want to make a run for it. Baofu, too, if someone looks at him closely, is also keeping Makimura in his sights. Maybe he doesn't want a repeat performance.

Maya goes and investigates, with Maki following after. There's a dull thud. Katsuya turns towards the lockers.

Then Maki calls out in shock, uttering two very important words.

[REACTION SPEED]: What?!

Katsuya sprints away from men's huddle near the locker room entrance and rounds the lockers. Here, his gaze falls upon the culprit: a man, with a pair of panties still clutched in his hands, backed against the wall by Maya.

"Amano-kun, please stand aside!"

He rounds, then, on the panty thief.

[HALF LIGHT]: Punch him! Do it!

"You sick pervert!" he shouts, just about in the man's face. "You're under arrest!"

And then he tries to deck him.
</poem>

MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with You're Under Arrest! toward Panty Raids!? In MY Gym?! Specialty!
MONAD: Maki Sonomura has acted with Guts toward Panty Raids!? In MY Gym?! Base!
MONAD: Maya Amano has acted with Get That Story toward Panty Raids!? In MY Gym?! Amrita!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
The apprentice private detective knocks on the door and tries to speak as soothingly as she can. "Serizawa-san? It's Uchida. We have Makimura with, so let's all just ... calm down and talk this out, okay?"

Ulala's response is invariably the same as the others: the sound of her laughter fills the air. Tamaki looks over at Maki and dejectedly slumps over. "I tried what I could, but I think this is more your forte." Tamaki takes a step back from the door with a confused look before she glances to Makimura. "You ... see what we mean, right? She called the Joker Curse on someone, so you're safer with us than her finding you on her own."

What Tamaki can't figure out is why she's staying inside even after they've arrived. "Serizawa-san? Amano-san's here, too, and Suou-san, and a couple of my own friends. You remember Elly-chan, I hope, and I don't remember if you've met Sonomura-san, but she's like the rest of us, too. I understand you might have holed up to prevent yourself from hurting anyone, but if anyone can handle you in this state, it's us. Please open up ..!"

Still nothing but laughter. Tamaki can feel a cold sweat start to form. A long time ago, she had heard laughter similar to Ulala's current mirth.

Truth be told, Tamaki can relate to Ulala in that respect, not wanting the ugly truths about one's self to resurface and come out for all to see. Maybe that's another deeper reason that she had tried to keep the supernatural world at arm's length for several years afterwards. The heart is frail, and its weaknesses are never fully vanquished, Persona or no.

If that is indeed what's going on with Ulala, then she's not alone. For a few brief moments, Tamaki believes that all she would need to do is to risk admitting her own imperfections and reach out by sharing her own potential to also become the Joker, to dissolve this distinction between Ulala and the others as they are now.

But she can't bring herself around to say that -- not here, not now, even if it might be when it matters most. Whether it would have done the trick or not is irrelevant: Tamaki will remember her own silence.

Instead, she turns around and exhales a heavy sigh before she starts walking towards one of the gym's staff to inquire about a key. "C'mon, let's figure out a way in." She addresses Makimura specifically and adds, "You're with us. Don't let her catch you alone, remember?"

----

In the locker room, the look of disdain on Tamaki's face is immediately apparent. "Oh, that's just ..."

A panty thief stands there, wide in the open, caught red-handed with his pilfered pantaloons. While he stammers out his brief protestation, anticipating another scuffle after an already very tiring day, Tamaki pulls out a water bottle and takes a swig, then levels her irritated gaze at the thief as her posture and running stance exude a menacing aura.

Look, if they don't get the key here, they still have to go back to the locked door and convince Ulala to come out again, and then Tamaki might have to be honest about herself! In front of others, no less! She is taking NO chances on this one. " -- hey, no no no, get back here, you're not getting away!"

Maya and Katsuya try and approach him head-on, so Tamaki takes a different tactic and attempts to hinder his escape with every dirty trick she can think of. As she bolts forward to cover more ground, she hurls her half-full water bottle to the ground in the thief's path to try and make the terrain more slippery, then grabs a towel from the still-open locker. After Katsuya decks the guy, she spreads the towel open and with a yell, she rushes directly towards the thief to pin him to floor with a look of crazed desperation in her eyes. "Give it up already!"

----

Afterwards, regardless of the outcome, she uses the towel to clean up the water spill. She pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head. ... then looks over at Eriko to check on how she's doing after all this.

</poem>
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Never Burn Out toward Panty Raids!? In MY Gym?! Escape and Efficient!
MONAD: Eriko Kirishima has acted with Horrify toward Panty Raids!? In MY Gym?! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Panty Raids!? In MY Gym? - Round 5 ====================================-
Tamaki Uchida Guts Success
Never Burn Out Escape and Efficient Fatigue: 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maki Sonomura Guts Failure
Guts Base Fatigue: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eriko Kirishima Guts Failure
Horrify Specialty Fatigue: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Amano Guts Failure
Get That Story Amrita Fatigue: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katsuya Suou Guts Failure
You're Under Arrest! Specialty Fatigue: 4
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-1, Boss-0, Chest-0, Scary-2, and Stony-2
Final Conditions: Scary-1 and Stony-1
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 0/6 | | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 2, Gear: 1
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

(|=========== Monad - Ulala's Day of Joker: Find the Con Artist! ===========|)
-==== Round 6: Is That the Mafia or is Ulala Just Happy To See Me? - Challenge Level 1 -
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Withdraw - Complication ensues. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

You get the key!

This day has been incredibly exhausting. Not only have things gone wrong at
every turn trying to keep this guy in check, but you're worried a police
report or two may have been filed against /you/. You're completely wiped
out, but you at least have the means to reach Ulala.

"H-Hey I'm not going in there." Makimura asks nervously as you get closer to
the door. "It's obvious you can't protect me from her! She's a real demon
when she's mad!"

Makimura tries to make a run for it. You're going to have to physically
restrain him and take him downstairs. "Help! Murder! MURDER! SOMEBODY CALL
THE COPS! Please- please I can't go in there! My face is my livelihood man!
Have mercy!"

There's a strange moment wherein you see four foreign men wearing changshans
walk in, spy this scene, before then standing by, milling about in the
lobby. Are they onlookers? Or something else? Odd... there's no time to look
into it.

The door opens to the gym Ulala has barricaded herself into unlocks, and
after some brute force- the barricaded objects part.

Which is when that horrible feeling arises. That tinnitus in your ears, the
pounding of a hideous heartbeat. The world flashes into a photonegative,
everything just feels wrong.

And there Ulala is, in her green dress, covered in spiderwebs, hunched in
the corner, facing away, trembling. Do her hands look... paler?

Whatever is going on- a sense of dread hits you. Something bad is about to
happen, and you're not sure you're prepared to face it.

TO BE CONTINUED
OOC Note: Receiving this card means you start the fight with the Critical
Down effect. If you'd like to investigate the men in the changshans that are
spying on you, please submit a request to staff.

Final Loot: 1 Item, 2 boxes of Money, and 1 Pieces of Gear!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-03-14: Song of the Part-Timer

2026-05-09T23:43:24Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Log: Song of the Part-Timer'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Yukari Takeba]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]]
*'''Where:''' Yumezaki Center
*'''OOC Date:''' March 14, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' October 9, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Giga Macho needs part-timers. Are you a bad enough dude (or dudette, or none of the above) to work part-time at a demon-infested music store?''

----

MONAD: A party led by Maria Sakurai has begun the event Part Time at the Giga Macho.

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 1: Fowl Misfortune - Challenge Level 1 ==========================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Guts |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1 and Heartening - Guts Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

Everyone's heard the rumor that the best job for Part Time Pay in Sumaru
City is the Giga Macho, which means it must be true. Ten thousand yen for a
single eight hour shift seems too good to be true, but the teller says it's
legit, and a frazzled assistant manager hires you right away.

You're uncertain what's going on, but orientation is whirlwind as you're
told where the sections are and put on the floor with basic retail tasks.
Which is when a horrendous crowing is heard in the ceiling tiles.

"Again!?! Go take care of that damn rooster before it bothers the
customers!" The assistant manager quickly hands you a broom, before heading
back into his office. Far be it from livestock though, as you poke the
ceiling tiles you find that an enormous Red Rooster has set itself up inside
of it, as it chomps the broom in half with its beak as it loudly crows.

"RAGNAROK IS COMING!" That's definitely a Demon, not a Rooster, that drops
out of the tiles in front of you, spreading its wings to look bigger, "Don't
bother me, you lowly part-timer! You have no power here! Even if you were a
Persona User, we spread a rumor that they can't be used here."

Instantly you realize, it's not bluffing, this is a space with Demons, and
you can't even begin to grasp how to summon a Persona. "Now give me some
life stones, or I'll snap you in half!"

You could draw on the knowledge from orientation to remember where staff
stated they kept the emergency life stones (You did wonder about that part?)
and figure out how many it'll take to get you out of this situation.

However, even as a Demon, it's taking the form of a Rooster, and as a retail
worker of five minutes on the job, you have an infinite wellspring of anger
to draw from. Show off your guts by not taking this beak from a Norse
rooster!

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Ten thousand yen is a lot of money, especially if you're a poor, struggling student (well, struggling to catch up after a week and then some out of school, then struggling to keep up with your peers, then struggling to prepare for midterms...) who lost her old job because, well, you were disappeared for a week and then some and your employer just shrugged and replaced you (to be fair, given how things went after she got back and all the stuff she's been doing just to catch up (see earlier) it wasn't a bad call).

So, ten thousand yen for just eight hours? Good deal. Even if some of the employee documentation was... weird.

"A rooster?"

Maria had tilted her head like a confused puppy. "Okay! Should I get the broom?"

She did.

"Hey you, shhh!" Maria tells the rooster, prodding into its personal space with the other end cautiously. "You're making too much noise! If you need a rag on a rock, you can just go get one, right?"

"Back off, girly!" crows the rooster, advancing on Maria and her broom. "You can't order ''me'' around! Your Persona can't help! We spread a rumor that Personas don't work here!"

"Huh...?" utters Maria, who has clocked that this is the honest truth. "Why you-- she's my partner!" She swings that broom's end towards the rooster-demon who retaliates by snapping a kick at it; in one fell swoop, those terrible claws have cut the end right off. The sawed-off part of the handle clatters to the floor.

Maria stares down at her broom. "Uh..."

"You see??" crows the rooster, defiant. "Now give me life stones, or I'll do the same to you!"

Maria continues to stare down at her broken broom. "Hey... you!"

She's glaring at the demon now. "If they make me pay for the broom, I'll-- get really mad! I don't have a lot of money, you know! And, with mid-terms coming, it's not like I can get another job! If I don't get my full wage from this, I'll-- I'll come back, and I'll pluck out all your feathers!" she threatens the demon, punctuating it with another thrust of the broken broom. "I'm not giving you life stones! I'm not giving you anything! You're/ going to pay /me/ for this broom... or else!"
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Go Loud toward Fowl Misfortune! Bravery and Focus!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
It's like this. You go to Sumaru City for a sale on skincare and beauty products. You walk into a bar on the way to check out their stock though, like you would with Officer Korosawa.

Your local friendly bartender shows you a bow he just got in. "How... are you selling something better than the Kirijo Group makes?"

The bartender with grenades strapped to his vest says simply, "I've got connections. Do you want it or not?" "Well the price is a ''little'' steep. And are you sure I don't have to show ID or anything?"

"If you were buying liquor, sure."

"But not... a weapon?"
He snorts, "Why would I need your ID for that?"

-=-=-

"... This city is ''scary''." Yukari Takeba says, as she walks out of the bar. "Ugh- How am I ever going to afford that price tag though?"

Calling her Mother to send more money is ''out of the question''. No way. But she has in the past done some seasonal jobs...

... and that's when she sees a posting for ten thousand yen.

Meet part timer Yukari, in the red and white Giga Macho uniform post orientation, "I guess? I don't get it though, why would there be a rooster here?"

There's this nagging feeling that something isn't right in this place but...

"WHOA! That's- definitely a demon! Be careful! I doubt a broom is going to be enough."

The Rooster however says they spread a rumor to- "You did ''WHAT''? Geez... ... ... ... no wonder this job pays so well."

She looks sideways, "If you can keep it busy, I think I remember where they said the Life... Stones... ... are."

Yukari Takeba realizes in this moment, she should have figured this out already, "I'll just... go do that."

It's not long after that she's back, with a life stone in hand. "Okay look. Here you go. One premium life stone. Now is that enough for you to keep it down some? At least for the rest of the shift?"

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Charm toward Fowl Misfortune! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>It's too good to be true. Shinobu has a good head for these things. As a gig worker, she has to be able to identify when a potential job has a hidden catch that she needs to be careful of.

...But sometimes, one just ''really'' needs the money and has to be willing to take some risks. Of course Shinobu has heard about the rumor regarding Giga Macho and it's ten thousand yen pay. But it's only today that she gives in and bites at the offer.

She's hired right away, sure enough - and before long, she's in uniform and out on the store floor. It's not her first retail job. She still has the voice down. And just when she thinks this might not actually be that bad...

...A particularly cantankerous rooster. 'Ragnarok is coming', indeed. Shinobu rolls her neck, and strolls up behind where the rooster is quarreling with an employee. Who, when she gets a better look... Maria? ...She's glad to know she's back on her feet after everything that happened in the Kingdom. Shame she got caught up in a situation like this. Yukari is here, too, trying to get the situation under control. Shinobu rolls her neck and strolls up from behind Maria.

"Is there a problem here?" Shinobu asks, affixing the rooster with a stare. She overhears the comment about Personas... and sure enough, whenever she tries to reach for Lachesis at the back of her mind, she slips away like fog. Outwardly, she doesn't let the concern show on her face. Bluffing is her best weapon here."If you settle down, ''maybe'' you'll get your Life Stone. But if you keep harrassing my colleagues, you're gonna wind up in the frozen foods aisle. We don't want that, do we?"

If she can just keep things under control until Yukari gets back with that Life Stone...
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Former Delinquent toward Fowl Misfortune! Efficient and Bravery!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Fowl Misfortune - Round 1 =============================================-
Yukari Takeba Charm Success
Charm Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Guts Success
Former Delinquent Efficient and Bravery Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Guts Success
Go Loud Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2 and Heartening-2
Final Conditions: Bothersome-1 and Heartening-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================-
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It's funny. A person like her ''should'' have gone back to a normal life after all that had happened, but she sure is holding her own against that demon. It's probably fine, though, this is a job where the employees seem to be used to this sort of thing happening...

The rooster, threatened, backs up a step from Maria. Its comb deflates slightly. "What-- my feathers?" It pauses, if for just a moment. "Can it, girly! Give me that Life Stone, or I'll destroy the back-up broom, too! I know where they keep it!" Maria, horrified, draws back. "You wouldn't! You monster! I'll-- I'll turn you into a," she starts, then stops to glance up and behind herself at Shinobu.

"--Yeah! A frozen dinner!" she chimes in. "So play nice, or else!"

Fortunately, before this can go too far, Yukari arrives with the promised Life Stone.

"Ah, wonderful," says the rooster. "As promised, I won't cut any of you in two!"

"But they were rude," Maria sighs, glancing down at her broom sadly. "Well, I guess it's okay. But, you still owe me for this," she tells the rooster, glancing over at Shinobu. "Or, my big sis here will take you out!"

For its part, the rooster squints at Shinobu and, prize in hand, makes itself scarce.

...

...At least it's no longer making a racket...?
</poem>

MONAD: Yukari Takeba has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 2: Bull in the Cd Shop - Challenge Level 1 ======================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., |
| Heartening - Guts Up L1, and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

The assistant manager has sent you to the dock to check if there's any
additional stock of the latest hit album waiting to be unboxed.
Unfortunately the moment you hit the 'Employee Only' Door, in the dark, you
hear some footsteps that sound like heavier horse hooves, and occasional
ominous snorting.

A glimpse of a horned visage past a flickering light bulb tells you... there
sure is a Minotaur back here, tromping around in the dark between the
shelves.

It is definitely not a fellow employee!

Now, you could just mind your own business and go do what your Manager told
you without addressing the proverbial 'Bull in the CD Shop', but it's also
possible to figure out why the Minotaur is back here and do some customer
service.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
It's honestly such a relief that Shimizu is here, because A. She's a reliable adult in the room. B. Because she knows about the Supernatural too. And she knows Yukari knows. Thus they don't have to keep up the 'Masquerade' in a sense.

"Thank goodness someone I know is working here today... it's nice to see you again Shimizu-san."

Fortunately, the Rooster really does back off.

"Dang... you really told him off." She says to Maria, impressed by her handling of the Rooster to make it back down.

She also put a thought in her head.

"... Huh I wonder if Rooster tastes exactly like Chicken- wait a minute it's a ''demon''. There's no way it tastes good!"

Then she realizes something, which she hadn't before in the middle of the crisis.

"Anyhow. We didn't really get a chance to introduce ourselves during orientation so- I'm Yukari Takeba, a second year at Gekkoukan High, on Tatsumi Port Island. It's nice working with a girl who knows how to really handle herself."

She ''was'' briefly worried that she was going to get herself killed but, results are results!

The assistant manager suddenly calls out to them, "Hey, we just had a delivery pull in! Can all of you head out back and help unload?"

-=-=-

Tromp. Tromp. Tromp.

A light bulb flickers in the dark. There's a snort in the dark, horned visage barely visible.

"That... sure is a problem. Uh, ah geez, how to handle this..."

She's had a decent amount of experience dealing with demons but, "Well here goes nothing."

She steps up, keeping the shelves in-between them, "Sir- I assume it's Sir?" Maybe she's wrong but, "This is an Employee only area. So we're going to have to ask you to leave."

The Minotaur turns to look her way, staring at her. She may be sweating ''just'' a tiny bit, but right now she's standing her ground.

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Guts toward Bull in the Cd Shop! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Yukari greets her, and Shinobu offers her a nod of greeting back.

"You too, Takeba. How've you been?" Shinobu replies. She knows Yukari is reliable, too - though she'd be surprise to hear she thought of ''her'' that way.

The rooster backs down from Maria, briefly - but seems to find its courage again. Maria, following her example, is able to push back... and Yukari comes in with the save with the Life Stone. As Maria says she'll take it out, Shinobu rolls her neck, giving the rooster a Look. She doesn't mind playing along.

It retreats, and Shinobu relaxes.

"Yeah, good work. That's the right way to handle guys like that." Shinobu agrees with Yukari, offering Maria an approving nod. Yukari introduces herself, and Shinobu figures that's a good idea, too. "Shinobu Shimizu. I pretty much go wherever there's work."

There's not much time to sit around and chat, though - soon, they're called in to help unload a delivery.

...And as they head to the back, they hear ''something'' moving around.

Yukari addresses the source of it - a Minotaur... So far, though, he doesn't seem to have caused much trouble besides being somewhere he shouldn't - so unlike before, she doesn't take the aggressive stance right away.

"Yeah." Shinobu says, backing her up. "If there's something you're looking for, let us know and we can find it for you, yeah?"
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Understanding toward Bull in the Cd Shop! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Well, he broke the broom," Maria tells Yukari, sighing as she looks down at it again. "Do you think they'll make me pay for it? I really could use that ten thousand yen..."

Then, Yukari wonders if demon rooster tastes like chicken. "Why wouldn't it? I guess we could find out," Maria muses in turn, a little too thoughtfully. She blinks, taken aback. "Huh? Why do you say that?" maria no

"Ah! I guess we didn't," Maria tells Yukari. "It's nice to meet you, Takeba-san! I'm Maria, Maria Saurai. And, thank you, Shimizu-san! I've kind of been figuring that out for myself, hehe." She rubs at the back of her neck as if she's a little embarrassed about it. "I used to have a part time job but-- errr, some stuff happened, right? And, it's almost mid-terms. So, I need a little money, but I can't do it somewhere else? But it'll be fine, even with those guys," she says, waving her left hand dismissively. "And I still have half of the broom!"

But there's not much time left to socialize, not when they've asked to head down to the dock to pick up some things. Once there, it becomes clear they're not alone here.

"What's that sound?" Maria says, before they investigate and Yukari finds--

"She's right. You can't be back here," Maria says, gripping the broken broom as if it were something more. "So leave. Or... else."

She narrows her eyes, applying her game face once more.

"I'll do it, you know," she promises the Minotaur.
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Go Loud toward Bull in the Cd Shop! Bravery and Focus!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Bull in the Cd Shop - Round 2 =========================================-
Yukari Takeba Guts Success
Guts Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Understanding Success
Understanding Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Guts Success
Go Loud Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-1, Box-0, Heartening-1, and Scary-2
Final Conditions: Scary-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Pretty alright. We've had a few... problems." She relates to Shinobu, "Tell you later." She means how SEES' dorm got attacked, but she's not gonna say that openly.

Maria brings up how the Broom got broken, and Yukari just says back, "I mean he handed it to you, didn't he? If he didn't want it broken, he shouldn't have made you use it against a monster rooster. Besides... we can probably duct tape it back or something maybe...?"

There's a smile as Maria introduces herself because wow, that energy is infectious, "Nice to meet you Sakurai-san. And I hear that, I'm here for a similar reason. I need the money for something for one of my clubs."

-=-=-

The Minotaur regards Shinobu, then Maria as each of them backs her up then. Then snorts, filling the back of the room with a blast of air. Then-

"I... apologize. Very very sorry. Please... don't kick me out. I got lost... trying to find Risette-chan's latest album." The creature rumbles, haltingly.

"Can you help me?"

"Oh sure, we can help with that."

"Are you... fans?"

"Of Risette-chan? Uhhhh... I guess she's pretty cute. Her music is... alright, I suppose."

"PRETTY CUTE? JUST ALRIGHT?" The Minotaur roars, indignantly, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT-"

-=-=-

One more defused situation later!

Yukari Takeba sighs deeply while they're unloading the dock, "Me and my big mouth... remind me never to weigh in with my opinions on idols to a fan."

</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 3: Well-Deserved Break - Challenge Level 2 ======================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Checkpoint - Cleanse all negative |
| conditions., Fairy - Subtract 1 Fatigue on success., Lunchbox - Subtract 1 |
| Fatigue., and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

'Go on break' your senpai said, but don't leave the store today, we're just
too busy. That's fine, that's super fine. You did after all bring lunch.

Except it's missing from the break room!

Searching frantically, you wonder what happened to it, when abruptly, the
storage room closet door opens, and a fairy smiles beyond it with a hint of
a mirrors shining around the reflection of a fey spring.

"Looking for something? Tough break! I hear it happens all the time around
there. Takshaka is a notorious food thief! Luckily, Trish has got you
covered!"

And as she holds up a selection of various flavors of instant ramen, she
grins at you, "Got a special going on for 2500 yen!"

That's definitely overpriced but you're desperate. Do you have the guts to
try to haggle with Trish, or sweet talk her into lowering the price?

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>'Problems', huh. If it's enough that she can't say it here...

"Sorry to hear. Hope everyone's alright." Shinobu offers.

Maria recounts her situation, and Shinobu grimaces sympathetically. She's aware of the 'stuff' that happened - but being suddenly out of a job you needed isn't an unfamiliar experience for her.

"Sucks, doesn't it? I get it." Shinobu replies with a nod. Ah, that pre-mid-term time crunch... She doesn't miss it one bit. Shinobu smirks, as she points out that she still has half of the broom. "That's the spirit. If we stick together, the rest of this oughta go easier."

Maria joins in, and the Minotaur looks between the three of them. And, ultimately, this is about Risette's latest album. One opinion later...

"The idol fandom is hell." Shinobu comments with a grim nod, as Yukari sighs.

Working together, the three of them finish unloading the dock... and, mercifully, they're granted a break for lunch. In-store, though - which sees them heading toward the break room.

Shinobu pulls open the refrigerator door, and a slow frown crosses her face as she peers into it.

It's empty. Shinobu closes the door slowly.

"Someone's gonna pay." Shinobu says flatly. As she peers around the room for answers... the closet door opens. Where one might expect to see cleaning supplies, possibly a replacement broom, there is instead a beautiful spring staffed by a certain fairy.

"...Ah, hell. It's Trish." Shinobu mutters, and not for the first time. It's uncanny how she always seems to appear at the most 'convenient' of times. Shinobu looks toward Maria. Yukari she figures is probably already aware of her, but Maria... "Careful with this one, Sakurai. She'd sell you your own shirt if she thought she'd get away with it."

Shinobu approaches, and listens to Trish's pitch.

Her expression goes flat.

"C'mon, Trish. You think we'd be working at a place like this if we weren't short on cash? Bring it down a bit, and maybe I'd be up for it." Shinobu ventures.
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Guts toward Well-Deserved Break! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"It does!" Maria affirms to Shinobu, nodding. "But, it'll work out. If I can have a little money, then..."

Yukari explains why it's not her fault and why no one -- particularly not the manager -- should dock her pay for it. Maria listens.
Intently.

Then: "Oh, I see! So, it's his fault," Maria determines, nodding vigorously as if to confirm this as the truth. "Then I won't worry about it. Still, if I see that rooster again-- oh! Right, duct tape!"

Yukari: accidently preventing a murder, maybe?

But all that's before the Minotaur. Maria glares fiercely at it, perhaps making the broken broom look like a dangerous weapon. For a long, long moment it seems that there may be an altercation.

But the Minotaur is the one who backs down. "Oh! That's okay!" It's a sea-change for Maria, flip-flopping into all smiles and sugar in an instant. "I get lost a lot, and this place is like a maze. But, um... Risette? You're really a fan?" Maria's not going to make fun of him, is she, they've just gotten this under control--

"Are you in the fanclub, too?? What's your nickname? Let's exchange numbers! I heard a rumor that her next album is going to get a secret drop soon--"

well, at least she's come out of this with a new friend, maybe

But after all that, it's time for lunch. "I made my own lunch today," she tells them both. "I made sure that--"

Pause. Pause. "What's with that face, Shimizu-san?" Maria peers into the fridge. Maria stares at the empty fridge. Maria tries not to scream. "Wh-- oh, what about the conbini down the street, uh--"

They say when one door closes, another opens. Usually, it's not as literal as this, though.

"Oh! A real fairy..." Maria gushes, wandering on in to see...

"..."

"..."

"Huh... that's a lot... and it's just instant," Maria says, shaking her head. "You know," she tells Trish, "eating this kind of stuff's really bad for a girl's skin. I bet that's even true of a demon's skin, right? Any demon girl who comes in here's going to think, she'd get a better deal going somewhere else. Ah, what about some instant miso? That's super-healthy for you! And it's really cheap, too..."

Maria... doesn't quite seem to have a proper endpoint for this chatter in sight.
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Girls' Talk toward Well-Deserved Break! Patra and Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
CRISIS AVERTED! (Maybe?)

Yukari Takeba does not yet realize that she has to be quite careful about what she says around Maria Sakurai.

"... Kinda." There's a sigh at that. "How are you holding up yourself?" She asks after a time.

Maria's exchange FORTUNATELY defuses the Minotaur as they chatter excitedly, and Yukari just slowly backs up out of his line of sight.

Later on!

"... Tell me about it. Guys like that really need to calm down, rather than start fights about that kinda thing." A beat, "Wait why am I talking about him like he's a person!? He's a demon..." She groans, at the realization of normalization of chatting up demons like that.

-=-=-

"Whew... those boxes were way heavier than I expected. I'm definitely ready for a-" Shinobu opens the refrigerator door, "-meal?"

Inside the refrigerator, is a tundra like wasteland, bereft of nourishment. Yukari Takeba stares off into the middle distance, as Shinobu closes it back.

"... Yep. When I find out whoever did this I'm gonna-!"

'... Ah, hell. It's Trish.'

"Trish?" Yukari Takeba turns around to face the 'broom closet' as Trish explains, and her brows contract with fury, as this is ''definitely'' a setup. But... Maria approaches, and starts chattering, and Yukari watches.

"... Huh." As she walks up towards the door, she looks Trish up and down and laces her hand behind her back, "That's a pretty cute outfit... but it really works for you. Could you tell me where you bought it at? I'm kinda looking for something similar I think."

No she isn't. Not at all. It is pretty cute in a fetishistic sense but she definitely wouldn't wear it. It's just Yukari Takeba has mastered the art of ''lying'' about someone's looks when the need arises.

Right now she's being a COMPLIMENT SNIPER in order to back Maria up and Shinobu up by offering that in the middle of each of their approaches.

Eventually though, she takes on a speculative kind of tone, "... You knowwwww, we really do spend a lot of money at your spring. And how much did that instant ramen cost you like... two hundred yen, max? Do you really need to make twelve hundred and fifty percent profit off of something like this to regular customers, when you know we're going to spend wayyyyy more at your spring in the future?"

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Mall Trawl toward Well-Deserved Break! Empathy and Friendliness!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Well-Deserved Break - Round 3 =========================================-
Yukari Takeba Charm Success
Mall Trawl Empathy and Friendliness Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Guts Success
Guts Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Charm Success
Girls' Talk Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Checkpoint-0, Fairy-0, Lunchbox-0, and
Scary-1
Final Conditions:
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>'Kinda'. Shinobu considers that for a moment, but she doesn't press any further.

"Well enough." She answers, in regards to how she's holding up. She has a lot on her mind... but she doesn't want to burden her with that. "I'll be doing a lot better after this shift's over, lemme tell you."

Shinobu watches with surprise as Maria... makes a friend?? Well, it definitely helps things go much more smoothly with the Minotaur... she hopes Maria doesn't take her comment about the idol fandom personally.

"Seriously." Shinobu agrees with a nod toward Yukari - and a smirk, as she catches herself.

Later...

"See for yourself." Shinobu replies, as Maria asks. They're all appropriately horrified by the revelation...

...And Trish is here to capitalize on it.

Shinobu retaliates with a straightforward haggle. Maria, meanwhile, points out the health concerns of instant ramen, and suggests a healthier alternative.

The instant miso ''is'' cheaper... but not by much. Fortunately, Yukari is here for support - as skilled a sniper as she is with the compliments as she is her bow.

The only thing Trish loves almost as much as money is herself. She ''knows'' she's being played - but the effort is worth a discount!

...Of about a couple hundred yen or so which, considering who this is, is probably the best possible outcome. Maybe it won't be so bad if they just get one and split it...
</poem>

MONAD: Yukari Takeba has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 4: Faustian Customer Service - Challenge Level 2 ================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., and |
| Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

You're covering the teller during your senpai's break, when a hooded
demonic magician floats up to you, levitating multiple CDs.

"Merchant. I'll be returning these. They were already broken when I
purchased them. I have no proof of purchase let us keep this brief, and
civil, for the sake of your health."

A quick look reveals that each of the CDs isn't just broken in half, but
they're the wrong CDs to begin with, none corresponds with the proper case!

The policy is no receipt no return, you could either try to charm him into
understanding that, or you could make a quick demonstration of why it's
impossible for them to be in this condition at the time of purchase given
how these things are packaged.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
And so our intrepid part-timers reenact this famous moment of JRPG history:

https://tinyurl.com/ThirdofaRamen

Once back on break, their work senpai comes up to them, frazzled, "Oh thank god you're back! Can the three of you handle the Customer Service counter? The line's really building up, I need to get back to the register."

"Oh, sure? How hard can that be?"

-=-=-

The actual demon Faust levitates up to the counter.

A shadowed man in a hooded robe, floating on a runic sigil.

"Merchant. I'll be returning these. They were already broken when I purchased them. I have no proof of purchase with me. Let us keep this brief, and civil, for the sake of your health."

"Uhhhh alright?" Yukari Takeba takes up the CD cases, and opens them. "Whattttt?"

All three of them can see at once, the CDs are shattered into pieces. And from the jigsaw like fragments you can tell they're not even in the ''right'' cases to begin with.

"Uh, nope. Absolutely not. Returns have to be ''intact''."

She narrows her eyes at Faust.

"Can you not read the sign?" She taps the sign above the counter.

DAMAGED RETURNS NOT ACCEPTED

"I will not be DENIED! Your SOULS are FORFEIT" The demon shouts, as Yukari Takeba comes around the corner, strolls up to him and then abruptly- punches him in the solar plexus, as the demon wheezes from a Persona User's fist, even if she hasn't summoned it.

"You think you're gonna bully us into taking this back? Fat chance! You are holding up the line with your stupid tough guy act, so take your broken CDs and get out."

The Demon looks at her, then begins to tremble with anger. She mayyyy need some backup here.

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Mean Girl toward Faustian Customer Service! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Me? I'm doing great, thanks!" she tells Yukari. Hey, it's way better than the time she nearly got her can kicked in by the Joker Killer, or the time when she was trapped in her own Kingdom for about a week. "What about you, Takeba-chan?" ...When did she change honorifics!!

But maybe it's all well and good enough that she makes a friend. ... .....

Instant miso is ''probably'' more healthy than instant ramen. There's probably not as much salt, or oil, for one. But, is it really worth just about the same price tag? Fortunately, ''fortunately'' Yukari convinces Trish to leverage a discount. ...Of a few hundred yen.

"Should I have asked for onigiri instead?" Maria sighs, once all is said and done. Miso is good, and good for you, but she's still hungry.

(don't worry too much about it, maria, trish would have charged double for onigiri. at least.)

And soon, far too soon, they're thrown back into the front lines.

"CDs? Sure, no problem," chirps Maria, before the demon hands over the CDs in question and Yukari opens them to reveal...

"Those are broken, though," Maria observes, helpfully. "And isn't this a Risette case? What's a..." She squints at the name on the disc fragment she picks up. "Beet... hoven?"

But this appears to have been the breaking point for Yukari who, as the demon declares their souls are all forfeit, circles around the counter to punch the demon in the gut. "Ah! Takeba-chan!"

Maria glances at Faust, then back at Yukari, then down at the CD case, then back at Faust.

"It's fine, it's fine," she says, waving her hand. "I can tell you're a good guy!" she tells Faust. "You're a Risette fan, right? Even if you didn't bring back the right CD, I can tell you like her music? Isn't she the greatest? Oh, but, you've got to do this the right way, you know? If we don't, we'll get in trouble with our manager. You've got a manager too, right? Or, someone like that? It's a drag, but we have to do what they say, or we'll get in trouble, or, maybe they'll even get mad at you too, right? And, you shouldn't have to put up with that?"

This... continues. It really is possible to talk about nothing, huh...
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Girls' Talk toward Faustian Customer Service! Patra and Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"Don't worry. It's not you." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head at what Maria wonders. It's not a particularly filling meal. One could question if it even counts as a ''meal''. But at least their HP's back up... just in time to take over the Customer Service counter.

Shinobu looks at the shadowed, floating man. It's somehow ''not'' the strangest get-up she's seen on a customer in all her years of work on a job like this. She watches as Yukari engages him... up until the point she up and punches him. Surprise crosses her face - followed up by an appreciative whistle.

"Didn't know you had such a mean jab." She compliments, before considering the situation. Yukari's taking a hard stand, and Maria's trying to engage him on the basis of his interests, and appeal to him...

But he really did just say that their souls are forfeit, huh?

"Sir, if that's a threat, I'm gonna have to escalate this. Am I going to have to call someone over?" Shinobu warns, leaning on the counter. "You want a lifetime ban on your record? That's gonna be wayyy worse for you than it would be for us. Is a few yen really worth all that? C'mon."

She pauses for a moment.

"...What did you even ''do'' to these, anyway? You don't get this kind of damage unless you're trying."
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with I Know A Guy toward Faustian Customer Service! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Faustian Customer Service - Round 4 ===================================-
Yukari Takeba Proficiency Success
Mean Girl Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Charm Success
I Know A Guy Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Charm Success
Girls' Talk Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Box-0, and Clumsy-2
Final Conditions: Clumsy-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
Well hey, part time work is challenging but, Maria seems to be doing great, but- 'Takeba-chan?' "That was fast-!" She says as if mildly startled, but it's definitely not uncommon for girls to move that fast on honorifics with other girls their age.

"... Well it's not exactly what I expected for a part-time job... Sakurai-chan, but I'm okay I guess."

This is hell in a sense for Yukari, she doesn't LIKE the supernatural as a rule. And now it's a part of the humdrum of normal life here in Sumaru City.

H E L L

Not that she'll say it.

Shinobu compliments her jab. "Had a lot of opportunity. There are just some guys who don't take no for an answer." She means for ''love confessions'' at school- pretty much every guy in her year has tried, so much that it's become a challenge on who conquers her.

So sometimes she has to punctuate the point.

Shinobu notes that if it's a threat, she'll have to escalate it. "Foul wench, do you have the slightest idea who I am!?" He says in an outburst. "Some of these most Compact of Discs displeased me. It is only right and proper that they are now destroyed for their insolence!"

Faust looks quite riled, but as Maria starts to talk about Risette-chan, his body language changes, "It is true that she is quite exemplary." He agrees, "I understand. It is a matter of rank and protocol. And none of you are of great enough standing to handle this matter."

He seems to deescalate on the spot, "I shall let this disrespect by the boorish harpy you call a coworker go-" "Who are you calling a boorish harpy!?" He ignores Yukari, "-because I wish to continue to patronize this establishment." As he eyes Shinobu and floats off...

A Lilim floats on up as he leaves, "Wow, glad that guy is gone." She cups a hand to her mouth, "I'll have you know we all hate his guts. Anyway. You think I can get a refund on this Hehoe-?"

What she puts on the counter... is one whole Jack Frost, who waves at them.
"Hee-ho!"

</poem>
MONAD: Maria Sakurai has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 5: Going Turbo - Challenge Level 2 ==============================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., Clumsy - Proficiency Down |
| L1, Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, and Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor Arcana. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

It's nearly clocking out time, when suddenly a shelf topples over, and the
Assistant Manager shrieks, "NOT AGAIN!" A blurring shape of a demonic old
hag is shrieking, "ehEHEHEHEHEHEHE-!" as she wildly whips between the
shelves, knocking whole shelves off, and scattering merchandise all over the
floor.

It's TURBO GRANNY! The 100 km/hr legend is here to ruin everyone's day. "I'm
the fastest runner around! JUST TRY AND STOP ME!" She yells, and zips off on
roller skates to the next aisle, ensuring there is absolutely no way you're
clocking out on time today.

There's no way to fight her without a Persona, but she's so fast that maybe
you can use that against her to set a trap that sends her out of the store.
It's also possible to consider the Turbo Granny urban legend, and recall
facts which might allow you to resolve this more peaceably.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Yukari calls her 'Sakurai-chan'. Maria's expression approximates that of an over-enthusiastic Golden Retriever.

"It's kind of neat! I didn't know there were jobs like this," she continues, apparently way more into this than Yukari is. Then again, isn't Maria from Sumaru? Are people from Sumaru ''just like this''?? "And the pay is great. Maybe I should come back after mid-terms?"

Maybe, Maria. Maybe.

Of course, dealing with a customer like Faust would give any part-timer pause. ...Unless they're Maria, apparently.

"Eh? You shouldn't do that. Just bring them back here, first, and we'll give you a refund!" Sparkle, sparkle. "It's easy! And you don't have to break anything. Oh, but make sure they're in the right cases, too! It's hard when they're all mixed up to give you back your money properly!" Don't let the manager hear that.

But Maria makes the case that they have to listen to their manager (among other, nattering topics) and the becalmed demon relents on his promises of destruction and makes his departure.

"Oh, he left his CDs," Maria observes, as another customer comes to return something of hers.

'Hee-ho!'

"Ah! He's cute!" gushes Maria.

Someone else will have to handle this. At least, this is the last incident of note until... ''until''...

Just about closing. Quickly! The sooner they close up shop, the less likely it is that they'll have to deal with any more customers--

And then a shelf topples over. There's a blurred shape, cackling laughter, and the tell-tale sound of...

"Rollerskates? I haven't used those since I was little," mulls Maria. "Wow, she's... really fast, though. Even faster than me..." On that note, Maria starts warming up, stretching her legs and even arms between glances over to see where Turbo Granny is moving.

"Hey..."

"...don't you think she's covering the same ground..."

"...over and over?"

Maria hops the front counter. "Don't we still have that inflatable Slime from the Drake Adventure XI OST launch? What if we put that in her way? ...Wouldn't she bounce right off it?"

Maybe Maria has something here. In any case, she's running off to get the (still inflated) Slime from the staff break room.
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Warm-Up Stretches toward Going Turbo! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"Making your boundaries crystal clear. I respect it." Shinobu replies with a nod, as Yukari explains. It's important, especially for a popular girl.

...That was something ''she'' never had to worry about, though.

Maria enthuses about the work. Shinobu is kind of surprised this didn't put her off more, but at least she's having fun with it...

"There are all kinds if you go digging. ...But, uh, you gotta keep your eyes open for some of 'em. Sometimes there's a catch." Shinobu comments.

But, there's a customer. Shinobu looks Faust up and down, raising an eyebrow.

"Should I?" She asks. She briefly wonders if he realises he just gave himself away - but she doesn't point that out, since he seems to be relaxing thanks to Maria. Shinobu sends her an approving nod - this might've gone a ''lot'' worse without her defusing the situation...

"Have a nice day." Shinobu offers flatly as Faust departs, then looks toward the Lilim that approaches the counter next.

Shinobu blinks, as an Actual Jack Frost is set onto the counter.

...

"...Uhh, do you have the receipt?" She asks.

It goes on like this.

Slowly, impossibly slowly, time crawls on... It's almost time to close - but then, there's a blur!!

"Damn." Shinobu curses under her breath, bracing herself. She looks over toward Maria. "...Yeah, I'm pretty quick, but, uh - no way I can match those speeds, either."

Maria has an idea! An inflatable Slime...?

"Good thinking." Shinobu replies with a nod. She takes a moment to loose up her own legs, too. "I'll be the distraction. Tell me when you've got it all set up."

This isn't ''quite'' how she expected their shift to end...
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Esoteric Skillset toward Going Turbo! Patra and Focus!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
They ''must be''. Yukari Takeba lived here once for a short while but being the victim of a particularly bad rumor is a little more lukewarm on this place.

"I really didn't think retail jobs here had to deal with ''demons'' on a day to day basis. But... it's true that it does pay really well."

And the things she wants to buy definitely aren't cheap. Her beauty regimen is ''expensive''.

Yukari steps in for the Jack Frost, "He is really cute but..." She nods to Shinobu, "Yep... No receipt no return."

-=-=-

It's time to clock out when...

CHAOS! MAYHEM! HIGH SPEED VANDALISM!

"Oh you've got to be kidding me... that old urban legend came true!?"

She watches the mayhem with Maria, "Yeah same. I used to really love that old pair but... we moved to Kyoto and they really frowned on kids using them outside there..."

Maria though points something out and- "Huh. I think you're right!" However she has a thought, "She still might spot it though... but... what if?"

-=-=-

Yukari Takeba is strolling down the aisle, and holding up her compact. "Well, here I am tonight. Just a single girl out for a stroll in the... uh... music store."

The 100 km/hr Granny urban legend has drivers see her first in the rear view mirror before she overtakes them.

"Just minding my own business..." As she steps by the inflatable slime, requiring Granny to pass her by running right into it.

</poem>

MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Mean Girl toward Going Turbo! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Going Turbo - Round 5 =================================================-
Yukari Takeba Proficiency Success
Mean Girl Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Proficiency Success
Esoteric Skillset Patra and Focus Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Proficiency Success
Warm-Up Stretches Specialty Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Boss-0, Clumsy-1, Clumsy-2, and Shuffle: Coin-0
Final Conditions:
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 2, Money: 1, Gear: 3
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 6: You Kids Like Cards Right? - Challenge Level 1 ===============-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Chest - Add 2 Item/Money/Gear. and Revelation - The best |
| result. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

You impressed the assistant manager!

"Wow amazing work today, come back any time! In fact, here's a bonus." A
5000 yen bonus on your pay is good enough on its own, but

"And here, take these I don't even know what they're from, but they keep
leaving them around the store. Everyone likes cards right? That's a thing
that's in?"

Among them are 22 Hanged Man Tarot Cards, 1 Balzac Skill Card, and 1 Patra
Skill Card.

Final Loot: 2 Items, 3 boxes of Money, and 3 Pieces of Gear!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It's cute!

"Oh, but..." she looks to Yukari and her sempai in Shinobu. Alas, there's no receipt. "We can't, can we..." she echoes, her shoulders slouching. It's probably just as well: Maria would soon find that those things are way more trouble than they're worth.

Though, not nearly as much trouble as what awaits them at close.

They just have to solve this, and ''then''. ''And then'' they can leave. But Maria has an idea! If they can just put the Slime at the right junction, and open the doors, and bait Turbo Granny into colliding with it--

"She'll be going way too fast," says Maria, who might be as smart as a rock but understands intuitively things like this (she put all her points into dexterity and wisdom, as the kids might say). "And then...! I'll be counting on you both, Takeba-chan, Shimizu-sempai!" She pumps a fist as if to cheer them all on, and then scurries off to the staff room to get things set up.

SOON

"Kyahahaha! You can't keep up with me, kiddies!" cackles Granny as she races Shinobu. Then, she spots Yukari. "Ah?? What's this? Kehehehe! Look alive, girl!" And at the last moment, Yukari steps right past the slime.

BOIIIIING

They really built that Slime tough, huh. With a scream, Turbo Granny is sent hurtling backwards and through the open door, which Maria dutifully closes and then clicks locked. "Store's closed!" she calls out. Yeah! They did it!

AND SOON

"Wow! A bonus??" This is the best day ever! Well, comparatively. Sort of. All spinning flowers and sunshine, Maria soon gathers her things and scoots off into the night, fifteen thousand yen richer. And then there's the matter of those cards...

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-03-14: Song of the Part-Timer

2026-05-09T23:31:34Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Song of the Part-Timer''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai, Yukari Takeba, Shinobu Shimizu *'''Where:''' Yumezaki Center *'''OOC Date:''' March 14, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' October 9, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Giga Macho needs part-timers. Are you a bad enough dude (or dudette, or none of the above) to work part-time at a demon-infested music store?'' ---- MONAD: A party led by Maria Sakurai has begun the event Part Time at the Giga Macho. (|==============..."

*'''Log: Song of the Part-Timer'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Yukari Takeba]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]]
*'''Where:''' Yumezaki Center
*'''OOC Date:''' March 14, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' October 9, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Giga Macho needs part-timers. Are you a bad enough dude (or dudette, or none of the above) to work part-time at a demon-infested music store?''

----

MONAD: A party led by Maria Sakurai has begun the event Part Time at the Giga Macho.

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 1: Fowl Misfortune - Challenge Level 1 ==========================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Guts |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1 and Heartening - Guts Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

Everyone's heard the rumor that the best job for Part Time Pay in Sumaru
City is the Giga Macho, which means it must be true. Ten thousand yen for a
single eight hour shift seems too good to be true, but the teller says it's
legit, and a frazzled assistant manager hires you right away.

You're uncertain what's going on, but orientation is whirlwind as you're
told where the sections are and put on the floor with basic retail tasks.
Which is when a horrendous crowing is heard in the ceiling tiles.

"Again!?! Go take care of that damn rooster before it bothers the
customers!" The assistant manager quickly hands you a broom, before heading
back into his office. Far be it from livestock though, as you poke the
ceiling tiles you find that an enormous Red Rooster has set itself up inside
of it, as it chomps the broom in half with its beak as it loudly crows.

"RAGNAROK IS COMING!" That's definitely a Demon, not a Rooster, that drops
out of the tiles in front of you, spreading its wings to look bigger, "Don't
bother me, you lowly part-timer! You have no power here! Even if you were a
Persona User, we spread a rumor that they can't be used here."

Instantly you realize, it's not bluffing, this is a space with Demons, and
you can't even begin to grasp how to summon a Persona. "Now give me some
life stones, or I'll snap you in half!"

You could draw on the knowledge from orientation to remember where staff
stated they kept the emergency life stones (You did wonder about that part?)
and figure out how many it'll take to get you out of this situation.

However, even as a Demon, it's taking the form of a Rooster, and as a retail
worker of five minutes on the job, you have an infinite wellspring of anger
to draw from. Show off your guts by not taking this beak from a Norse
rooster!

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Ten thousand yen is a lot of money, especially if you're a poor, struggling student (well, struggling to catch up after a week and then some out of school, then struggling to keep up with your peers, then struggling to prepare for midterms...) who lost her old job because, well, you were disappeared for a week and then some and your employer just shrugged and replaced you (to be fair, given how things went after she got back and all the stuff she's been doing just to catch up (see earlier) it wasn't a bad call).

So, ten thousand yen for just eight hours? Good deal. Even if some of the employee documentation was... weird.

"A rooster?"

Maria had tilted her head like a confused puppy. "Okay! Should I get the broom?"

She did.

"Hey you, shhh!" Maria tells the rooster, prodding into its personal space with the other end cautiously. "You're making too much noise! If you need a rag on a rock, you can just go get one, right?"

"Back off, girly!" crows the rooster, advancing on Maria and her broom. "You can't order ''me'' around! Your Persona can't help! We spread a rumor that Personas don't work here!"

"Huh...?" utters Maria, who has clocked that this is the honest truth. "Why you-- she's my partner!" She swings that broom's end towards the rooster-demon who retaliates by snapping a kick at it; in one fell swoop, those terrible claws have cut the end right off. The sawed-off part of the handle clatters to the floor.

Maria stares down at her broom. "Uh..."

"You see??" crows the rooster, defiant. "Now give me life stones, or I'll do the same to you!"

Maria continues to stare down at her broken broom. "Hey... you!"

She's glaring at the demon now. "If they make me pay for the broom, I'll-- get really mad! I don't have a lot of money, you know! And, with mid-terms coming, it's not like I can get another job! If I don't get my full wage from this, I'll-- I'll come back, and I'll pluck out all your feathers!" she threatens the demon, punctuating it with another thrust of the broken broom. "I'm not giving you life stones! I'm not giving you anything! You're/ going to pay /me/ for this broom... or else!"
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Go Loud toward Fowl Misfortune! Bravery and Focus!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
It's like this. You go to Sumaru City for a sale on skincare and beauty products. You walk into a bar on the way to check out their stock though, like you would with Officer Korosawa.

Your local friendly bartender shows you a bow he just got in. "How... are you selling something better than the Kirijo Group makes?"

The bartender with grenades strapped to his vest says simply, "I've got connections. Do you want it or not?" "Well the price is a ''little'' steep. And are you sure I don't have to show ID or anything?"

"If you were buying liquor, sure."

"But not... a weapon?"
He snorts, "Why would I need your ID for that?"

-=-=-

"... This city is ''scary''." Yukari Takeba says, as she walks out of the bar. "Ugh- How am I ever going to afford that price tag though?"

Calling her Mother to send more money is ''out of the question''. No way. But she has in the past done some seasonal jobs...

... and that's when she sees a posting for ten thousand yen.

Meet part timer Yukari, in the red and white Giga Macho uniform post orientation, "I guess? I don't get it though, why would there be a rooster here?"

There's this nagging feeling that something isn't right in this place but...

"WHOA! That's- definitely a demon! Be careful! I doubt a broom is going to be enough."

The Rooster however says they spread a rumor to- "You did ''WHAT''? Geez... ... ... ... no wonder this job pays so well."

She looks sideways, "If you can keep it busy, I think I remember where they said the Life... Stones... ... are."

Yukari Takeba realizes in this moment, she should have figured this out already, "I'll just... go do that."

It's not long after that she's back, with a life stone in hand. "Okay look. Here you go. One premium life stone. Now is that enough for you to keep it down some? At least for the rest of the shift?"

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Charm toward Fowl Misfortune! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>It's too good to be true. Shinobu has a good head for these things. As a gig worker, she has to be able to identify when a potential job has a hidden catch that she needs to be careful of.

...But sometimes, one just ''really'' needs the money and has to be willing to take some risks. Of course Shinobu has heard about the rumor regarding Giga Macho and it's ten thousand yen pay. But it's only today that she gives in and bites at the offer.

She's hired right away, sure enough - and before long, she's in uniform and out on the store floor. It's not her first retail job. She still has the voice down. And just when she thinks this might not actually be that bad...

...A particularly cantankerous rooster. 'Ragnarok is coming', indeed. Shinobu rolls her neck, and strolls up behind where the rooster is quarreling with an employee. Who, when she gets a better look... Maria? ...She's glad to know she's back on her feet after everything that happened in the Kingdom. Shame she got caught up in a situation like this. Yukari is here, too, trying to get the situation under control. Shinobu rolls her neck and strolls up from behind Maria.

"Is there a problem here?" Shinobu asks, affixing the rooster with a stare. She overhears the comment about Personas... and sure enough, whenever she tries to reach for Lachesis at the back of her mind, she slips away like fog. Outwardly, she doesn't let the concern show on her face. Bluffing is her best weapon here."If you settle down, ''maybe'' you'll get your Life Stone. But if you keep harrassing my colleagues, you're gonna wind up in the frozen foods aisle. We don't want that, do we?"

If she can just keep things under control until Yukari gets back with that Life Stone...
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Former Delinquent toward Fowl Misfortune! Efficient and Bravery!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Fowl Misfortune - Round 1 =============================================-
Yukari Takeba Charm Success
Charm Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Guts Success
Former Delinquent Efficient and Bravery Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Guts Success
Go Loud Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2 and Heartening-2
Final Conditions: Bothersome-1 and Heartening-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================-
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It's funny. A person like her ''should'' have gone back to a normal life after all that had happened, but she sure is holding her own against that demon. It's probably fine, though, this is a job where the employees seem to be used to this sort of thing happening...

The rooster, threatened, backs up a step from Maria. Its comb deflates slightly. "What-- my feathers?" It pauses, if for just a moment. "Can it, girly! Give me that Life Stone, or I'll destroy the back-up broom, too! I know where they keep it!" Maria, horrified, draws back. "You wouldn't! You monster! I'll-- I'll turn you into a," she starts, then stops to glance up and behind herself at Shinobu.

"--Yeah! A frozen dinner!" she chimes in. "So play nice, or else!"

Fortunately, before this can go too far, Yukari arrives with the promised Life Stone.

"Ah, wonderful," says the rooster. "As promised, I won't cut any of you in two!"

"But they were rude," Maria sighs, glancing down at her broom sadly. "Well, I guess it's okay. But, you still owe me for this," she tells the rooster, glancing over at Shinobu. "Or, my big sis here will take you out!"

For its part, the rooster squints at Shinobu and, prize in hand, makes itself scarce.

...

...At least it's no longer making a racket...?
</poem>

MONAD: Yukari Takeba has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 2: Bull in the Cd Shop - Challenge Level 1 ======================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., |
| Heartening - Guts Up L1, and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

The assistant manager has sent you to the dock to check if there's any
additional stock of the latest hit album waiting to be unboxed.
Unfortunately the moment you hit the 'Employee Only' Door, in the dark, you
hear some footsteps that sound like heavier horse hooves, and occasional
ominous snorting.

A glimpse of a horned visage past a flickering light bulb tells you... there
sure is a Minotaur back here, tromping around in the dark between the
shelves.

It is definitely not a fellow employee!

Now, you could just mind your own business and go do what your Manager told
you without addressing the proverbial 'Bull in the CD Shop', but it's also
possible to figure out why the Minotaur is back here and do some customer
service.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
It's honestly such a relief that Shimizu is here, because A. She's a reliable adult in the room. B. Because she knows about the Supernatural too. And she knows Yukari knows. Thus they don't have to keep up the 'Masquerade' in a sense.

"Thank goodness someone I know is working here today... it's nice to see you again Shimizu-san."

Fortunately, the Rooster really does back off.

"Dang... you really told him off." She says to Maria, impressed by her handling of the Rooster to make it back down.

She also put a thought in her head.

"... Huh I wonder if Rooster tastes exactly like Chicken- wait a minute it's a ''demon''. There's no way it tastes good!"

Then she realizes something, which she hadn't before in the middle of the crisis.

"Anyhow. We didn't really get a chance to introduce ourselves during orientation so- I'm Yukari Takeba, a second year at Gekkoukan High, on Tatsumi Port Island. It's nice working with a girl who knows how to really handle herself."

She ''was'' briefly worried that she was going to get herself killed but, results are results!

The assistant manager suddenly calls out to them, "Hey, we just had a delivery pull in! Can all of you head out back and help unload?"

-=-=-

Tromp. Tromp. Tromp.

A light bulb flickers in the dark. There's a snort in the dark, horned visage barely visible.

"That... sure is a problem. Uh, ah geez, how to handle this..."

She's had a decent amount of experience dealing with demons but, "Well here goes nothing."

She steps up, keeping the shelves in-between them, "Sir- I assume it's Sir?" Maybe she's wrong but, "This is an Employee only area. So we're going to have to ask you to leave."

The Minotaur turns to look her way, staring at her. She may be sweating ''just'' a tiny bit, but right now she's standing her ground.

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Guts toward Bull in the Cd Shop! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Yukari greets her, and Shinobu offers her a nod of greeting back.

"You too, Takeba. How've you been?" Shinobu replies. She knows Yukari is reliable, too - though she'd be surprise to hear she thought of ''her'' that way.

The rooster backs down from Maria, briefly - but seems to find its courage again. Maria, following her example, is able to push back... and Yukari comes in with the save with the Life Stone. As Maria says she'll take it out, Shinobu rolls her neck, giving the rooster a Look. She doesn't mind playing along.

It retreats, and Shinobu relaxes.

"Yeah, good work. That's the right way to handle guys like that." Shinobu agrees with Yukari, offering Maria an approving nod. Yukari introduces herself, and Shinobu figures that's a good idea, too. "Shinobu Shimizu. I pretty much go wherever there's work."

There's not much time to sit around and chat, though - soon, they're called in to help unload a delivery.

...And as they head to the back, they hear ''something'' moving around.

Yukari addresses the source of it - a Minotaur... So far, though, he doesn't seem to have caused much trouble besides being somewhere he shouldn't - so unlike before, she doesn't take the aggressive stance right away.

"Yeah." Shinobu says, backing her up. "If there's something you're looking for, let us know and we can find it for you, yeah?"
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Understanding toward Bull in the Cd Shop! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Well, he broke the broom," Maria tells Yukari, sighing as she looks down at it again. "Do you think they'll make me pay for it? I really could use that ten thousand yen..."

Then, Yukari wonders if demon rooster tastes like chicken. "Why wouldn't it? I guess we could find out," Maria muses in turn, a little too thoughtfully. She blinks, taken aback. "Huh? Why do you say that?" maria no

"Ah! I guess we didn't," Maria tells Yukari. "It's nice to meet you, Takeba-san! I'm Maria, Maria Saurai. And, thank you, Shimizu-san! I've kind of been figuring that out for myself, hehe." She rubs at the back of her neck as if she's a little embarrassed about it. "I used to have a part time job but-- errr, some stuff happened, right? And, it's almost mid-terms. So, I need a little money, but I can't do it somewhere else? But it'll be fine, even with those guys," she says, waving her left hand dismissively. "And I still have half of the broom!"

But there's not much time left to socialize, not when they've asked to head down to the dock to pick up some things. Once there, it becomes clear they're not alone here.

"What's that sound?" Maria says, before they investigate and Yukari finds--

"She's right. You can't be back here," Maria says, gripping the broken broom as if it were something more. "So leave. Or... else."

She narrows her eyes, applying her game face once more.

"I'll do it, you know," she promises the Minotaur.
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Go Loud toward Bull in the Cd Shop! Bravery and Focus!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Bull in the Cd Shop - Round 2 =========================================-
Yukari Takeba Guts Success
Guts Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Understanding Success
Understanding Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Guts Success
Go Loud Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-1, Box-0, Heartening-1, and Scary-2
Final Conditions: Scary-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Pretty alright. We've had a few... problems." She relates to Shinobu, "Tell you later." She means how SEES' dorm got attacked, but she's not gonna say that openly.

Maria brings up how the Broom got broken, and Yukari just says back, "I mean he handed it to you, didn't he? If he didn't want it broken, he shouldn't have made you use it against a monster rooster. Besides... we can probably duct tape it back or something maybe...?"

There's a smile as Maria introduces herself because wow, that energy is infectious, "Nice to meet you Sakurai-san. And I hear that, I'm here for a similar reason. I need the money for something for one of my clubs."

-=-=-

The Minotaur regards Shinobu, then Maria as each of them backs her up then. Then snorts, filling the back of the room with a blast of air. Then-

"I... apologize. Very very sorry. Please... don't kick me out. I got lost... trying to find Risette-chan's latest album." The creature rumbles, haltingly.

"Can you help me?"

"Oh sure, we can help with that."

"Are you... fans?"

"Of Risette-chan? Uhhhh... I guess she's pretty cute. Her music is... alright, I suppose."

"PRETTY CUTE? JUST ALRIGHT?" The Minotaur roars, indignantly, "I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT-"

-=-=-

One more defused situation later!

Yukari Takeba sighs deeply while they're unloading the dock, "Me and my big mouth... remind me never to weigh in with my opinions on idols to a fan."

</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 3: Well-Deserved Break - Challenge Level 2 ======================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Checkpoint - Cleanse all negative |
| conditions., Fairy - Subtract 1 Fatigue on success., Lunchbox - Subtract 1 |
| Fatigue., and Scary - Guts Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

'Go on break' your senpai said, but don't leave the store today, we're just
too busy. That's fine, that's super fine. You did after all bring lunch.

Except it's missing from the break room!

Searching frantically, you wonder what happened to it, when abruptly, the
storage room closet door opens, and a fairy smiles beyond it with a hint of
a mirrors shining around the reflection of a fey spring.

"Looking for something? Tough break! I hear it happens all the time around
there. Takshaka is a notorious food thief! Luckily, Trish has got you
covered!"

And as she holds up a selection of various flavors of instant ramen, she
grins at you, "Got a special going on for 2500 yen!"

That's definitely overpriced but you're desperate. Do you have the guts to
try to haggle with Trish, or sweet talk her into lowering the price?

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>'Problems', huh. If it's enough that she can't say it here...

"Sorry to hear. Hope everyone's alright." Shinobu offers.

Maria recounts her situation, and Shinobu grimaces sympathetically. She's aware of the 'stuff' that happened - but being suddenly out of a job you needed isn't an unfamiliar experience for her.

"Sucks, doesn't it? I get it." Shinobu replies with a nod. Ah, that pre-mid-term time crunch... She doesn't miss it one bit. Shinobu smirks, as she points out that she still has half of the broom. "That's the spirit. If we stick together, the rest of this oughta go easier."

Maria joins in, and the Minotaur looks between the three of them. And, ultimately, this is about Risette's latest album. One opinion later...

"The idol fandom is hell." Shinobu comments with a grim nod, as Yukari sighs.

Working together, the three of them finish unloading the dock... and, mercifully, they're granted a break for lunch. In-store, though - which sees them heading toward the break room.

Shinobu pulls open the refrigerator door, and a slow frown crosses her face as she peers into it.

It's empty. Shinobu closes the door slowly.

"Someone's gonna pay." Shinobu says flatly. As she peers around the room for answers... the closet door opens. Where one might expect to see cleaning supplies, possibly a replacement broom, there is instead a beautiful spring staffed by a certain fairy.

"...Ah, hell. It's Trish." Shinobu mutters, and not for the first time. It's uncanny how she always seems to appear at the most 'convenient' of times. Shinobu looks toward Maria. Yukari she figures is probably already aware of her, but Maria... "Careful with this one, Sakurai. She'd sell you your own shirt if she thought she'd get away with it."

Shinobu approaches, and listens to Trish's pitch.

Her expression goes flat.

"C'mon, Trish. You think we'd be working at a place like this if we weren't short on cash? Bring it down a bit, and maybe I'd be up for it." Shinobu ventures.
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Guts toward Well-Deserved Break! Base!

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"It does!" Maria affirms to Shinobu, nodding. "But, it'll work out. If I can have a little money, then..."

Yukari explains why it's not her fault and why no one -- particularly not the manager -- should dock her pay for it. Maria listens.
Intently.

Then: "Oh, I see! So, it's his fault," Maria determines, nodding vigorously as if to confirm this as the truth. "Then I won't worry about it. Still, if I see that rooster again-- oh! Right, duct tape!"

Yukari: accidently preventing a murder, maybe?

But all that's before the Minotaur. Maria glares fiercely at it, perhaps making the broken broom look like a dangerous weapon. For a long, long moment it seems that there may be an altercation.

But the Minotaur is the one who backs down. "Oh! That's okay!" It's a sea-change for Maria, flip-flopping into all smiles and sugar in an instant. "I get lost a lot, and this place is like a maze. But, um... Risette? You're really a fan?" Maria's not going to make fun of him, is she, they've just gotten this under control--

"Are you in the fanclub, too?? What's your nickname? Let's exchange numbers! I heard a rumor that her next album is going to get a secret drop soon--"

well, at least she's come out of this with a new friend, maybe

But after all that, it's time for lunch. "I made my own lunch today," she tells them both. "I made sure that--"

Pause. Pause. "What's with that face, Shimizu-san?" Maria peers into the fridge. Maria stares at the empty fridge. Maria tries not to scream. "Wh-- oh, what about the conbini down the street, uh--"

They say when one door closes, another opens. Usually, it's not as literal as this, though.

"Oh! A real fairy..." Maria gushes, wandering on in to see...

"..."

"..."

"Huh... that's a lot... and it's just instant," Maria says, shaking her head. "You know," she tells Trish, "eating this kind of stuff's really bad for a girl's skin. I bet that's even true of a demon's skin, right? Any demon girl who comes in here's going to think, she'd get a better deal going somewhere else. Ah, what about some instant miso? That's super-healthy for you! And it's really cheap, too..."

Maria... doesn't quite seem to have a proper endpoint for this chatter in sight.
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Girls' Talk toward Well-Deserved Break! Patra and Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
CRISIS AVERTED! (Maybe?)

Yukari Takeba does not yet realize that she has to be quite careful about what she says around Maria Sakurai.

"... Kinda." There's a sigh at that. "How are you holding up yourself?" She asks after a time.

Maria's exchange FORTUNATELY defuses the Minotaur as they chatter excitedly, and Yukari just slowly backs up out of his line of sight.

Later on!

"... Tell me about it. Guys like that really need to calm down, rather than start fights about that kinda thing." A beat, "Wait why am I talking about him like he's a person!? He's a demon..." She groans, at the realization of normalization of chatting up demons like that.

-=-=-

"Whew... those boxes were way heavier than I expected. I'm definitely ready for a-" Shinobu opens the refrigerator door, "-meal?"

Inside the refrigerator, is a tundra like wasteland, bereft of nourishment. Yukari Takeba stares off into the middle distance, as Shinobu closes it back.

"... Yep. When I find out whoever did this I'm gonna-!"

'... Ah, hell. It's Trish.'

"Trish?" Yukari Takeba turns around to face the 'broom closet' as Trish explains, and her brows contract with fury, as this is ''definitely'' a setup. But... Maria approaches, and starts chattering, and Yukari watches.

"... Huh." As she walks up towards the door, she looks Trish up and down and laces her hand behind her back, "That's a pretty cute outfit... but it really works for you. Could you tell me where you bought it at? I'm kinda looking for something similar I think."

No she isn't. Not at all. It is pretty cute in a fetishistic sense but she definitely wouldn't wear it. It's just Yukari Takeba has mastered the art of ''lying'' about someone's looks when the need arises.

Right now she's being a COMPLIMENT SNIPER in order to back Maria up and Shinobu up by offering that in the middle of each of their approaches.

Eventually though, she takes on a speculative kind of tone, "... You knowwwww, we really do spend a lot of money at your spring. And how much did that instant ramen cost you like... two hundred yen, max? Do you really need to make twelve hundred and fifty percent profit off of something like this to regular customers, when you know we're going to spend wayyyyy more at your spring in the future?"

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Mall Trawl toward Well-Deserved Break! Empathy and Friendliness!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Well-Deserved Break - Round 3 =========================================-
Yukari Takeba Charm Success
Mall Trawl Empathy and Friendliness Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Guts Success
Guts Base Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Charm Success
Girls' Talk Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Checkpoint-0, Fairy-0, Lunchbox-0, and
Scary-1
Final Conditions:
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 0, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>'Kinda'. Shinobu considers that for a moment, but she doesn't press any further.

"Well enough." She answers, in regards to how she's holding up. She has a lot on her mind... but she doesn't want to burden her with that. "I'll be doing a lot better after this shift's over, lemme tell you."

Shinobu watches with surprise as Maria... makes a friend?? Well, it definitely helps things go much more smoothly with the Minotaur... she hopes Maria doesn't take her comment about the idol fandom personally.

"Seriously." Shinobu agrees with a nod toward Yukari - and a smirk, as she catches herself.

Later...

"See for yourself." Shinobu replies, as Maria asks. They're all appropriately horrified by the revelation...

...And Trish is here to capitalize on it.

Shinobu retaliates with a straightforward haggle. Maria, meanwhile, points out the health concerns of instant ramen, and suggests a healthier alternative.

The instant miso ''is'' cheaper... but not by much. Fortunately, Yukari is here for support - as skilled a sniper as she is with the compliments as she is her bow.

The only thing Trish loves almost as much as money is herself. She ''knows'' she's being played - but the effort is worth a discount!

...Of about a couple hundred yen or so which, considering who this is, is probably the best possible outcome. Maybe it won't be so bad if they just get one and split it...
</poem>

MONAD: Yukari Takeba has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 4: Faustian Customer Service - Challenge Level 2 ================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., and |
| Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

You're covering the teller during your senpai's break, when a hooded
demonic magician floats up to you, levitating multiple CDs.

"Merchant. I'll be returning these. They were already broken when I
purchased them. I have no proof of purchase let us keep this brief, and
civil, for the sake of your health."

A quick look reveals that each of the CDs isn't just broken in half, but
they're the wrong CDs to begin with, none corresponds with the proper case!

The policy is no receipt no return, you could either try to charm him into
understanding that, or you could make a quick demonstration of why it's
impossible for them to be in this condition at the time of purchase given
how these things are packaged.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
And so our intrepid part-timers reenact this famous moment of JRPG history:

https://tinyurl.com/ThirdofaRamen

Once back on break, their work senpai comes up to them, frazzled, "Oh thank god you're back! Can the three of you handle the Customer Service counter? The line's really building up, I need to get back to the register."

"Oh, sure? How hard can that be?"

-=-=-

The actual demon Faust levitates up to the counter.

A shadowed man in a hooded robe, floating on a runic sigil.

"Merchant. I'll be returning these. They were already broken when I purchased them. I have no proof of purchase with me. Let us keep this brief, and civil, for the sake of your health."

"Uhhhh alright?" Yukari Takeba takes up the CD cases, and opens them. "Whattttt?"

All three of them can see at once, the CDs are shattered into pieces. And from the jigsaw like fragments you can tell they're not even in the ''right'' cases to begin with.

"Uh, nope. Absolutely not. Returns have to be ''intact''."

She narrows her eyes at Faust.

"Can you not read the sign?" She taps the sign above the counter.

DAMAGED RETURNS NOT ACCEPTED

"I will not be DENIED! Your SOULS are FORFEIT" The demon shouts, as Yukari Takeba comes around the corner, strolls up to him and then abruptly- punches him in the solar plexus, as the demon wheezes from a Persona User's fist, even if she hasn't summoned it.

"You think you're gonna bully us into taking this back? Fat chance! You are holding up the line with your stupid tough guy act, so take your broken CDs and get out."

The Demon looks at her, then begins to tremble with anger. She mayyyy need some backup here.

</poem>
MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Mean Girl toward Faustian Customer Service! Specialty!

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Me? I'm doing great, thanks!" she tells Yukari. Hey, it's way better than the time she nearly got her can kicked in by the Joker Killer, or the time when she was trapped in her own Kingdom for about a week. "What about you, Takeba-chan?" ...When did she change honorifics!!

But maybe it's all well and good enough that she makes a friend. ... .....

Instant miso is ''probably'' more healthy than instant ramen. There's probably not as much salt, or oil, for one. But, is it really worth just about the same price tag? Fortunately, ''fortunately'' Yukari convinces Trish to leverage a discount. ...Of a few hundred yen.

"Should I have asked for onigiri instead?" Maria sighs, once all is said and done. Miso is good, and good for you, but she's still hungry.

(don't worry too much about it, maria, trish would have charged double for onigiri. at least.)

And soon, far too soon, they're thrown back into the front lines.

"CDs? Sure, no problem," chirps Maria, before the demon hands over the CDs in question and Yukari opens them to reveal...

"Those are broken, though," Maria observes, helpfully. "And isn't this a Risette case? What's a..." She squints at the name on the disc fragment she picks up. "Beet... hoven?"

But this appears to have been the breaking point for Yukari who, as the demon declares their souls are all forfeit, circles around the counter to punch the demon in the gut. "Ah! Takeba-chan!"

Maria glances at Faust, then back at Yukari, then down at the CD case, then back at Faust.

"It's fine, it's fine," she says, waving her hand. "I can tell you're a good guy!" she tells Faust. "You're a Risette fan, right? Even if you didn't bring back the right CD, I can tell you like her music? Isn't she the greatest? Oh, but, you've got to do this the right way, you know? If we don't, we'll get in trouble with our manager. You've got a manager too, right? Or, someone like that? It's a drag, but we have to do what they say, or we'll get in trouble, or, maybe they'll even get mad at you too, right? And, you shouldn't have to put up with that?"

This... continues. It really is possible to talk about nothing, huh...
</poem>

MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Girls' Talk toward Faustian Customer Service! Patra and Efficient!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"Don't worry. It's not you." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head at what Maria wonders. It's not a particularly filling meal. One could question if it even counts as a ''meal''. But at least their HP's back up... just in time to take over the Customer Service counter.

Shinobu looks at the shadowed, floating man. It's somehow ''not'' the strangest get-up she's seen on a customer in all her years of work on a job like this. She watches as Yukari engages him... up until the point she up and punches him. Surprise crosses her face - followed up by an appreciative whistle.

"Didn't know you had such a mean jab." She compliments, before considering the situation. Yukari's taking a hard stand, and Maria's trying to engage him on the basis of his interests, and appeal to him...

But he really did just say that their souls are forfeit, huh?

"Sir, if that's a threat, I'm gonna have to escalate this. Am I going to have to call someone over?" Shinobu warns, leaning on the counter. "You want a lifetime ban on your record? That's gonna be wayyy worse for you than it would be for us. Is a few yen really worth all that? C'mon."

She pauses for a moment.

"...What did you even ''do'' to these, anyway? You don't get this kind of damage unless you're trying."
</poem>

MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with I Know A Guy toward Faustian Customer Service! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Faustian Customer Service - Round 4 ===================================-
Yukari Takeba Proficiency Success
Mean Girl Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Charm Success
I Know A Guy Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Charm Success
Girls' Talk Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Box-0, and Clumsy-2
Final Conditions: Clumsy-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 1, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
Well hey, part time work is challenging but, Maria seems to be doing great, but- 'Takeba-chan?' "That was fast-!" She says as if mildly startled, but it's definitely not uncommon for girls to move that fast on honorifics with other girls their age.

"... Well it's not exactly what I expected for a part-time job... Sakurai-chan, but I'm okay I guess."

This is hell in a sense for Yukari, she doesn't LIKE the supernatural as a rule. And now it's a part of the humdrum of normal life here in Sumaru City.

H E L L

Not that she'll say it.

Shinobu compliments her jab. "Had a lot of opportunity. There are just some guys who don't take no for an answer." She means for ''love confessions'' at school- pretty much every guy in her year has tried, so much that it's become a challenge on who conquers her.

So sometimes she has to punctuate the point.

Shinobu notes that if it's a threat, she'll have to escalate it. "Foul wench, do you have the slightest idea who I am!?" He says in an outburst. "Some of these most Compact of Discs displeased me. It is only right and proper that they are now destroyed for their insolence!"

Faust looks quite riled, but as Maria starts to talk about Risette-chan, his body language changes, "It is true that she is quite exemplary." He agrees, "I understand. It is a matter of rank and protocol. And none of you are of great enough standing to handle this matter."

He seems to deescalate on the spot, "I shall let this disrespect by the boorish harpy you call a coworker go-" "Who are you calling a boorish harpy!?" He ignores Yukari, "-because I wish to continue to patronize this establishment." As he eyes Shinobu and floats off...

A Lilim floats on up as he leaves, "Wow, glad that guy is gone." She cups a hand to her mouth, "I'll have you know we all hate his guts. Anyway. You think I can get a refund on this Hehoe-?"

What she puts on the counter... is one whole Jack Frost, who waves at them.
"Hee-ho!"

</poem>
MONAD: Maria Sakurai has drawn a new Challenge!

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 5: Going Turbo - Challenge Level 2 ==============================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., Clumsy - Proficiency Down |
| L1, Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, and Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor Arcana. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

It's nearly clocking out time, when suddenly a shelf topples over, and the
Assistant Manager shrieks, "NOT AGAIN!" A blurring shape of a demonic old
hag is shrieking, "ehEHEHEHEHEHEHE-!" as she wildly whips between the
shelves, knocking whole shelves off, and scattering merchandise all over the
floor.

It's TURBO GRANNY! The 100 km/hr legend is here to ruin everyone's day. "I'm
the fastest runner around! JUST TRY AND STOP ME!" She yells, and zips off on
roller skates to the next aisle, ensuring there is absolutely no way you're
clocking out on time today.

There's no way to fight her without a Persona, but she's so fast that maybe
you can use that against her to set a trap that sends her out of the store.
It's also possible to consider the Turbo Granny urban legend, and recall
facts which might allow you to resolve this more peaceably.

(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

MONAD: Yukari Takeba has acted with Mean Girl toward Going Turbo! Specialty!
MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Esoteric Skillset toward Going Turbo! Patra and Focus!
MONAD: Maria Sakurai has acted with Warm-Up Stretches toward Going Turbo! Specialty!

(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Going Turbo - Round 5 =================================================-
Yukari Takeba Proficiency Success
Mean Girl Specialty Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Proficiency Success
Esoteric Skillset Patra and Focus Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria Sakurai Proficiency Success
Warm-Up Stretches Specialty Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Boss-0, Clumsy-1, Clumsy-2, and Shuffle: Coin-0
Final Conditions:
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 2, Money: 1, Gear: 3
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

(|================== Monad - Part Time at the Giga Macho ===================|)
-==== Round 6: You Kids Like Cards Right? - Challenge Level 1 ===============-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Chest - Add 2 Item/Money/Gear. and Revelation - The best |
| result. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-

You impressed the assistant manager!

"Wow amazing work today, come back any time! In fact, here's a bonus." A
5000 yen bonus on your pay is good enough on its own, but

"And here, take these I don't even know what they're from, but they keep
leaving them around the store. Everyone likes cards right? That's a thing
that's in?"

Among them are 22 Hanged Man Tarot Cards, 1 Balzac Skill Card, and 1 Patra
Skill Card.

Final Loot: 2 Items, 3 boxes of Money, and 3 Pieces of Gear!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Yukari calls her 'Sakurai-chan'. Maria's expression approximates that of an over-enthusiastic Golden Retriever.

"It's kind of neat! I didn't know there were jobs like this," she continues, apparently way more into this than Yukari is. Then again, isn't Maria from Sumaru? Are people from Sumaru ''just like this''?? "And the pay is great. Maybe I should come back after mid-terms?"

Maybe, Maria. Maybe.

Of course, dealing with a customer like Faust would give any part-timer pause. ...Unless they're Maria, apparently.

"Eh? You shouldn't do that. Just bring them back here, first, and we'll give you a refund!" Sparkle, sparkle. "It's easy! And you don't have to break anything. Oh, but make sure they're in the right cases, too! It's hard when they're all mixed up to give you back your money properly!" Don't let the manager hear that.

But Maria makes the case that they have to listen to their manager (among other, nattering topics) and the becalmed demon relents on his promises of destruction and makes his departure.

"Oh, he left his CDs," Maria observes, as another customer comes to return something of hers.

'Hee-ho!'

"Ah! He's cute!" gushes Maria.

Someone else will have to handle this. At least, this is the last incident of note until... ''until''...

Just about closing. Quickly! The sooner they close up shop, the less likely it is that they'll have to deal with any more customers--

And then a shelf topples over. There's a blurred shape, cackling laughter, and the tell-tale sound of...

"Rollerskates? I haven't used those since I was little," mulls Maria. "Wow, she's... really fast, though. Even faster than me..." On that note, Maria starts warming up, stretching her legs and even arms between glances over to see where Turbo Granny is moving.

"Hey..."

"...don't you think she's covering the same ground..."

"...over and over?"

Maria hops the front counter. "Don't we still have that inflatable Slime from the Drake Adventure XI OST launch? What if we put that in her way? ...Wouldn't she bounce right off it?"

Maybe Maria has something here. In any case, she's running off to get the (still inflated) Slime from the staff break room.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"Making your boundaries crystal clear. I respect it." Shinobu replies with a nod, as Yukari explains. It's important, especially for a popular girl.

...That was something ''she'' never had to worry about, though.

Maria enthuses about the work. Shinobu is kind of surprised this didn't put her off more, but at least she's having fun with it...

"There are all kinds if you go digging. ...But, uh, you gotta keep your eyes open for some of 'em. Sometimes there's a catch." Shinobu comments.

But, there's a customer. Shinobu looks Faust up and down, raising an eyebrow.

"Should I?" She asks. She briefly wonders if he realises he just gave himself away - but she doesn't point that out, since he seems to be relaxing thanks to Maria. Shinobu sends her an approving nod - this might've gone a ''lot'' worse without her defusing the situation...

"Have a nice day." Shinobu offers flatly as Faust departs, then looks toward the Lilim that approaches the counter next.

Shinobu blinks, as an Actual Jack Frost is set onto the counter.

...

"...Uhh, do you have the receipt?" She asks.

It goes on like this.

Slowly, impossibly slowly, time crawls on... It's almost time to close - but then, there's a blur!!

"Damn." Shinobu curses under her breath, bracing herself. She looks over toward Maria. "...Yeah, I'm pretty quick, but, uh - no way I can match those speeds, either."

Maria has an idea! An inflatable Slime...?

"Good thinking." Shinobu replies with a nod. She takes a moment to loose up her own legs, too. "I'll be the distraction. Tell me when you've got it all set up."

This isn't ''quite'' how she expected their shift to end...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
They ''must be''. Yukari Takeba lived here once for a short while but being the victim of a particularly bad rumor is a little more lukewarm on this place.

"I really didn't think retail jobs here had to deal with ''demons'' on a day to day basis. But... it's true that it does pay really well."

And the things she wants to buy definitely aren't cheap. Her beauty regimen is ''expensive''.

Yukari steps in for the Jack Frost, "He is really cute but..." She nods to Shinobu, "Yep... No receipt no return."

-=-=-

It's time to clock out when...

CHAOS! MAYHEM! HIGH SPEED VANDALISM!

"Oh you've got to be kidding me... that old urban legend came true!?"

She watches the mayhem with Maria, "Yeah same. I used to really love that old pair but... we moved to Kyoto and they really frowned on kids using them outside there..."

Maria though points something out and- "Huh. I think you're right!" However she has a thought, "She still might spot it though... but... what if?"

-=-=-

Yukari Takeba is strolling down the aisle, and holding up her compact. "Well, here I am tonight. Just a single girl out for a stroll in the... uh... music store."

The 100 km/hr Granny urban legend has drivers see her first in the rear view mirror before she overtakes them.

"Just minding my own business..." As she steps by the inflatable slime, requiring Granny to pass her by running right into it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
It's cute!

"Oh, but..." she looks to Yukari and her sempai in Shinobu. Alas, there's no receipt. "We can't, can we..." she echoes, her shoulders slouching. It's probably just as well: Maria would soon find that those things are way more trouble than they're worth.

Though, not nearly as much trouble as what awaits them at close.

They just have to solve this, and ''then''. ''And then'' they can leave. But Maria has an idea! If they can just put the Slime at the right junction, and open the doors, and bait Turbo Granny into colliding with it--

"She'll be going way too fast," says Maria, who might be as smart as a rock but understands intuitively things like this (she put all her points into dexterity and wisdom, as the kids might say). "And then...! I'll be counting on you both, Takeba-chan, Shimizu-sempai!" She pumps a fist as if to cheer them all on, and then scurries off to the staff room to get things set up.

SOON

"Kyahahaha! You can't keep up with me, kiddies!" cackles Granny as she races Shinobu. Then, she spots Yukari. "Ah?? What's this? Kehehehe! Look alive, girl!" And at the last moment, Yukari steps right past the slime.

BOIIIIING

They really built that Slime tough, huh. With a scream, Turbo Granny is sent hurtling backwards and through the open door, which Maria dutifully closes and then clicks locked. "Store's closed!" she calls out. Yeah! They did it!

AND SOON

"Wow! A bonus??" This is the best day ever! Well, comparatively. Sort of. All spinning flowers and sunshine, Maria soon gathers her things and scoots off into the night, fifteen thousand yen richer. And then there's the matter of those cards...

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

Maria Sakurai

2026-05-07T01:10:20Z

Strangeshrimp:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Maria Sakurai'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Maria Sakurai (桜井まりあ)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Star|The Star]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| She/Her
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 16 (March 25, 1996)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Dusty pink
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Brown-black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'4" / 163cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Rengedai Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| Seven Sisters High School
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Year:
| Junior
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Focus
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| None
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Call me Cherry! I'm your super-cute superhero!"'''

At last, it would seem that Maria has once again found her way. That's the point of view most watching her would have: after a rough year that featured the death of her grandfather, her serious injury during a subway accident, a nasty breakup, a near-escape with the Joker Killer, and her own disappearance, she seems to again have that sparkle in her eye and a pep in her step. In fact, one would say that she's become even more lively than before, like she's come into her own power in some secret, special way. The truth is, of course, that after she had been disappeared into and rescued from her own Kingdom, Maria has awoken to her Persona and her new identity as Cherry, a mysterious rogue of her own making. By day she's a student at Seven Sisters, and by night (or at least after school) a budding explorer of supernatural mysteries! But what comes now? That, among other things, is something Maria is still in the process of discovering.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''Thou hast been given a ring most cruel, my other self.''
''Now let me give thee mine own vow:''
''I, Artemisia, will with thee paint a richly colored world!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter who is well known for her naturalism and control of light and shadow in her artwork, and was the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence. She is also remembered for her rape in 1611, which went to trial as her assailant had damaged the family honor. Later in life, she even traveled to and lived in England for many years as an artist in the court of Charles I. Among her most notable pieces is her depiction of Judith slaying Holofernes.

'''Description''': Artemisia takes the form of a young woman dressed in a fusion of Baroque Venetian formal fashion (mask included) and brightly-colored cyberpunk streetwear. Cables with plugs drape over her shoulders in the manner of a shawl. In one hand she carries a short sword.

= Special Skills =

1. ''Girls' Talk'' (Charm): Maria talks about, you know, whatever. Openly, girl to girl (or girl to boy, or girl to enby, it's all good).

2. ''Warm-up Stretches'' (Proficiency): Maria prepares for some athletic exertion or another.

3. ''Go Loud'' (Guts): Aren't you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go apeshit? Maria stops messing around and goes for it, whatever 'it' might be.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| Keiko Kasahara
(笠原敬子)
| The Empress
| Maria's maternal grandmother. Recently widowed, and dating younger (well, they're in their 50s) men, much to Maria's embarrassment. Unfortunately, granny no longer cares what other people think. Raised Maria after her mother's accident and helps take care of her mother.
|-
| Yasumasa Kasahara
(笠原康正)
| The Hierophant
| Maria's maternal grandfather. Passed away in early 2012. Helped raise Maria after her mother's accident.
|-
| Hiroyuki Sakurai
(桜井博之)
| The Hanged Man
| A beleaguered salaryman who is stuck working in Tokyo proper (his company won't let him relocate to the Sumaru office) and isn't home much.
|-
| Izumi Sakurai
(桜井泉)
| The Lovers
| Paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident and uses a wheelchair. Works part-time at a florist's shop in Rengedai Ward.
|-
| Mint
(ミント)
| The Emperor
| Maria's grandmother's cat. A large, fat white cat with black spots. Ruler of all he surveys. Has never once been fed.
|-
| Ringo
(りんご)
| The Hermit
| Maria's pet turtle. The repository for all of Maria's hopes and dreams and fears. Quite shy.
|-
| Yurie Shirakawa
(白川ゆりえ)
| Strength
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student; Maria's known her since elementary school. A sweet young lady who reads the most cursed romance novels.
|-
| Haruka Hatano
(波田野悠)
| The Magician
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student. Considered herself Maria's foremost rival on the track team once and bemoans the loss of Maria as such. Still on the track team at Sevens.
|-
| Takeshi Nakata
(中田剛史)
| The Chariot
| Maria's ex-boyfriend. Handsome, charming... and absolutely no good. The kind of person who has no regard for the damage they leave in their wake.
|}

= Soundtrack =

*Eurythmics - [https://youtu.be/bG9z-atG7gc Sweet Dreams] - '''Main Theme'''
*Poe - [https://youtu.be/Y9e9ewSV9Ew Hey Pretty] - '''Getting Into Trouble'''
*Blue Oyster Cult - [https://youtu.be/pe3jFvJ0qjs (Don't Fear) The Reaper] - '''Everyone Does It'''
*Florence + The Machine - [https://youtu.be/R2NR-UHH1KE Mermaids] - '''Love'''
*The Warning - [https://youtu.be/J_zHZwslwD0 Dust to Dust] - '''Shadow'''
*Dania - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-JMbxZWlk Leiley] - '''Restless Motion'''
*Dengue Fever - [https://youtu.be/ru5c1pJkV5A Sleep Walking Through the Mekong (Morgan Page Remix)] - '''Unseen World'''
*Kavinsky - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY Nightcall] - '''Out at Night'''
*Disparition - [https://youtu.be/IMrJyY3uNzc Eliezer's Waltz] - '''Other Side'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4 New Math] - '''Gag Track'''

= Trivia =
* Maria is a [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Affinity_Chart|White Dragon]].
* Maria is an Aries.

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==
===Scenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
===Cutscenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Focus]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]

Maria Sakurai

2026-04-29T23:35:35Z

Strangeshrimp: no longer a chorus hahaha

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Maria Sakurai'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Maria Sakurai (桜井まりあ)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Star|The Star]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| She/Her
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 16 (March 25, 1996)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Dusty pink
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Brown-black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'4" / 163cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Rengedai Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| Seven Sisters High School
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Year:
| Junior
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Focus
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| None
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Call me Cherry! I'm your super-cute superhero!"'''

At last, it would seem that Maria has once again found her way. That's the point of view most watching her would have: after a rough year that featured the death of her grandfather, her serious injury during a subway accident, a nasty breakup, a near-escape with the Joker Killer, and her own disappearance, she seems to again have that sparkle in her eye and a pep in her step. In fact, one would say that she's become even more lively than before, like she's come into her own power in some secret, special way. The truth is, of course, that after she had been disappeared into and rescued from her own Kingdom, Maria has awoken to her Persona and her new identity as Cherry, a mysterious rogue of her own making. By day she's a student at Seven Sisters, and by night (or at least after school) a budding explorer of supernatural mysteries! But what comes now? That, among other things, is something Maria is still in the process of discovering.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''Thou hast been given a ring most cruel, my other self.''
''Now let me give thee mine own vow:''
''I, Artemisia, will with thee paint a richly colored world!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian Baroque painter who is well known for her naturalism and control of light and shadow in her artwork, and was the first woman to become a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence. She is also remembered for her rape in 1611, which went to trial as her assailant had damaged the family honor. Later in life, she even traveled to and lived in England for many years as an artist in the court of Charles I. Among her most notable pieces is her depiction of Judith slaying Holofernes.

'''Description''': Artemisia takes the form of a young woman dressed in a fusion of Baroque Venetian formal fashion (mask included) and brightly-colored cyberpunk streetwear. Cables with plugs drape over her shoulders in the manner of a shawl. In one hand she carries a short sword.

= Special Skills =

1. ''Girls' Talk'' (Charm): Maria talks about, you know, whatever. Openly, girl to girl (or girl to boy, or girl to enby, it's all good).

2. ''Warm-up Stretches'' (Proficiency): Maria prepares for some athletic exertion or another.

3. ''Go Loud'' (Guts): Aren't you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go apeshit? Maria stops messing around and goes for it, whatever 'it' might be.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| Keiko Kasahara
(笠原敬子)
| The Empress
| Maria's maternal grandmother. Recently widowed, and dating younger (well, they're in their 50s) men, much to Maria's embarrassment. Unfortunately, granny no longer cares what other people think. Raised Maria after her mother's accident and helps take care of her mother.
|-
| Yasumasa Kasahara
(笠原康正)
| The Hierophant
| Maria's maternal grandfather. Passed away in early 2012. Helped raise Maria after her mother's accident.
|-
| Hiroyuki Sakurai
(桜井博之)
| The Hanged Man
| A beleaguered salaryman who is stuck working in Tokyo proper (his company won't let him relocate to the Sumaru office) and isn't home much.
|-
| Izumi Sakurai
(桜井泉)
| The Lovers
| Paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident and uses a wheelchair. Works part-time at a florist's shop in Rengedai Ward.
|-
| Mint
(ミント)
| The Emperor
| Maria's grandmother's cat. A large, fat white cat with black spots. Ruler of all he surveys. Has never once been fed.
|-
| Ringo
(りんご)
| The Hermit
| Maria's pet turtle. The repository for all of Maria's hopes and dreams and fears. Quite shy.
|-
| Yurie Shirakawa
(白川ゆりえ)
| Strength
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student; Maria's known her since elementary school. A sweet young lady who reads the most cursed romance novels.
|-
| Haruka Hatano
(波田野悠)
| The Magician
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student. Considered herself Maria's foremost rival on the track team once and bemoans the loss of Maria as such. Still on the track team at Sevens.
|-
| Takeshi Nakata
(中田剛史)
| The Chariot
| Maria's ex-boyfriend. Handsome, charming... and absolutely no good. The kind of person who has no regard for the damage they leave in their wake.
|}

= Soundtrack =

*Eurythmics - [https://youtu.be/bG9z-atG7gc Sweet Dreams] - '''Main Theme'''
*Poe - [https://youtu.be/Y9e9ewSV9Ew Hey Pretty] - '''Getting Into Trouble'''
*Blue Oyster Cult - [https://youtu.be/pe3jFvJ0qjs (Don't Fear) The Reaper] - '''Everyone Does It'''
*Florence + The Machine - [https://youtu.be/R2NR-UHH1KE Mermaids] - '''Love'''
*The Warning - [https://youtu.be/J_zHZwslwD0 Dust to Dust] - '''Shadow'''
*Dania - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-JMbxZWlk Leiley] - '''Restless Motion'''
*Dengue Fever - [https://youtu.be/ru5c1pJkV5A Sleep Walking Through the Mekong (Morgan Page Remix)] - '''Unseen World'''
*Kavinsky - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY Nightcall] - '''Out at Night'''
*Disparition - [https://youtu.be/IMrJyY3uNzc Eliezer's Waltz] - '''Other Side'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4 New Math] - '''Gag Track'''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==
===Scenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
===Cutscenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Focus]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]

Monad Application

2026-03-23T02:22:13Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "==The Basics== Please tell us who you are on the MUSH! We need to know this in case we need to get in contact with you about your submission. If you don't currently play on Velvet Room MUSH, we won't accept a Monad application. ==Monad Purpose== Please describe the Monad deck that you are submitting. Is it intended for a specific plot? Is it tied to a specific character or group? Is it intended for repeated use, or is it a one-shot? Does the deck describe a specific p..."

==The Basics==

Please tell us who you are on the MUSH! We need to know this in case we need to get in contact with you about your submission. If you don't currently play on Velvet Room MUSH, we won't accept a Monad application.

==Monad Purpose==

Please describe the Monad deck that you are submitting. Is it intended for a specific plot? Is it tied to a specific character or group? Is it intended for repeated use, or is it a one-shot? Does the deck describe a specific physical location, or is it a broader type of situation? Where does it fit into the MUSH's setting? This will help us get a better feel for your submission. These will be covered more briefly in the next section but this is where you should explain your intent to us -- but it doesn't need to be long or detailed! Sometimes the purpose of a Monad is very simple.

==Monad Details==
Give us some basic information about the deck you're submitting. This describes the deck to players who are interested, and is visible in +monad/info. These can be put into the Monad Setting Spreadsheet.

* '''Name''': What is the deck's name?
* '''Difficulty''': Is the difficulty of the deck Normal, Hard, or Very Hard? The average Difficulty for a Normal Monad should be between 1 and 2, the average Difficulty for a Hard Monad should be between 2 and 3, and the average Difficulty for an Very Hard Monad should exceed 3.
* '''Type Tags''': Indicate any special tags (Supernatural, Non-supernatural, Plot, Repeatable, Non-Repeatable, General). Note that these are mutually exclusive (Plot vs General, Supernatural vs Non-Supernatural, Repeatable vs Non-Repeatable)
* '''Location''': Indicate where on the game this is! Sometimes, a Monad is not in a real world location and this is normal; you will still want to indicate where this is (e.g. 'Character Name's Palace', or 'Mementos').
* '''Description''': A brief description of the deck for people who want to run it. What is it like inside the Monad? Is there anything special about it that people should keep in mind, or any OOC notes?

==Monad Content and Building Guidance==
Give us the text of each card in the deck you're submitting. You may want to use the '''Monad Setting Spreadsheet''' found here (make your own copy of this): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rgrZL4Otx4Oxm6tBuzQZQIrY-hFLwFSEZGHbZNOt8kY/edit?usp=sharing

Keep in mind that a deck must have at least one card for each round (numbered 1 through 5) for the Monad proper, and at least two Revelation cards, one Passage card, and one Withdraw card (all Monad resolution cards will be number 6 under round). A card may be flagged to appear in multiple rounds (e.g: 1 2 3 4 5 if it can be triggered on any exploration round); once triggered, it will not play again -- keep this in mind when building decks!

The above is the bare minimum for deck size. For Monads meant to be run more than once, there should be more cards for rounds 1 through 5 for properly randomized play; our recommendation is about 2-4 possible cards per round for a deck without a time-limited requirement. Note that Monads support prerequisites: if you want to have a card only be triggered by an encounter of an earlier card, you can use this field in the spreadsheet to indicate this. Prerequisites are optional and not a requirement. Resolution cards may take prerequisites.

Unless specifically tailored to one trait--or if is a one-use Monad tailor-made for one party to run--the deck should have approximately equivalent amounts of challenges including each trait. This does not need to be exact, as stated: if you have totals of 6 Academics, 6 Guts, 5 Charm, 6 Proficiency, and 5 Understanding, for example, this is acceptable. What we want to avoid is a situation where players enter a Monad with a strong skew towards particular stats without being aware of it: Monads like this are permitted but should be noted in the Monad description field. The same is true for challenge difficulty.

==Required Checklist==

* Are there approximately equivalent numbers of challenges for each trait?
* Does your average difficulty fall into the range for your deck's described difficulty rating? A Normal Monad should be between 1 and 2, a Hard Monad should be between 2 and 3, a Very Hard Monad should exceed 3.
* Do you have at least one challenge per round (1-5)?
* Do you have two Revelation cards, one Passage card, and one Withdraw card?
* Have you filled out the Type tags for the dig (Supernatural, Non-Supernatural, Plot, etc)?
* Have you given us the basic information about the Monad (its Name, Difficulty, Location and Description)?

If the answer to these six questions is yes, please send your application to '''velvetroommush@gmail.com'''. It should have the following subject line: "'''Monad - Deck Name'''." We will process Monads within '''three weeks of receiving them'''; they will go out on the Wednesday following three weeks after they are received.

Arcana System

2026-03-08T02:06:16Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Fusion Spells */

The Arcana System is Velvet Room MUSH's primary coded combat system. It encompasses combat among player characters as well as versus monsters and bosses run by other players or staff.

== Basics ==

The basic object of play in the Arcana System is to reduce one's opponents to 0 HP before being reduced to 0 HP yourself. While sometimes this will be influenced or replaced by the needs of drama and ultimately 'winning' is less important than telling an interesting story, that is how one 'wins'.

The following concepts are vital to understanding the system.

=== Pools ===

'''HP''': ''Hit Points''. These reflect one's health fatigue, and ability to continue fighting. While the loss of HP can reflect literal bleeding wounds, it usually doesn't. Generally taking damage in combat results in increased fatigue. This is illustrated more in [[Respect#Violence|Respect]]. They are reduced by taking damage from attacks and restored via healing. Some attacks cost HP to use.

'''TP:''' ''Treatment Points''. These points reflect how much more healing a character can receive before healing ceases to have effect. Think of it as reserve health which is accessed via healing moves. It is primarily reduced by receiving healing. When TP reaches 0, healing has no further effect. Note that these points are never wasted--if you're only healed 50 damage from a 100-damage heal, you only lose 50 TP. Countering an attack also costs 30 TP. The purpose of this system is to allow healing as useful and effective without allowing fights to stretch indefinitely.

'''SP''': ''Spirit Points''. These reflect one's mental focus and energy. Most attacks cost SP to use, and rare effects can lower one's SP directly. Lower SP ICly reflects a greater difficulty focusing on using Persona abilities. SP cannot go below 0 and cannot go above one's maximum. At 0 SP, one can no longer use attacks which cost SP. SP can be restored like HP without limit otherwise. Your SP pool is based on your attacks, with more Magical attacks leading to more SP and more Physical attacks leading to less.

'''Limit''': ''Limit''. These points reflect an overall advantage during battle, be it luck or superior positioning. Limit is spent to use higher-level attacks and perform ''Limit Actions'', which are covered later in this page. Limit is gained primarily through using lower-tier attacks. In a typical battle, Limit starts at 0 and can be gathered up to a given cap. Limit is bounded between 0 and the cap. It is best to use limit rather than store it; there are no benefits to holding max Limit besides the opportunity to use it.

Pools such as HP, TP, SP, and Limit are all reset to their starting amounts upon using +heal/full. This is typically done before each new battle. Stats do not affect one's pools.

=== Stats ===

Characters have five 'stats' for the Arcana System, which are detailed in [[Arcana System#Stats_2|Character Statistics]]. These basic statistics affect most aspects of combat, and are set per form.

=== Actions and Reactions ===

One can take both active moves and responsive moves in the combat system. Typically, one receives one action per turn, and any number of reactions per turn. Actions are used for attacks, which are explained below. Reactions are responses to incoming attacks. Finally, there is a third type of action that can be used on one's turn, the '''bonus action'''. Granted by some effects, a bonus action allows you to take limited additional actions on your turn. (Typically, one additional Weak action per bonus action.) Note that limit can be '''spent''' but is not '''received''' for bonus actions. Bonus actions are preferentially used when possible; if you have a regular action and a bonus action available and use a Weak attack, it will take the bonus action rather than the regular action.

=== Attacks ===

The primary action one can take in the Arcana System is to assign and enact ''attacks'', which include both offensive moves and healing spells. Buffs and debuffs are also attacks; examples include Agi, Cleave, Tarukaja, Tarunda, and Dia. Attacks come in multiple tiers: Weak, Strong, Fierce, Severe, and Divine. An attack's components and construction are detailed in [[Arcana_System#Attacks_2|this section]].

=== Effects ===

Buffs, debuffs, and ailments are all effects that can modify one's attacks, reactions, or combat status in some way. Buffs increase statistical values; debuffs decrease statistical values; ailments impose conditions on your character not directly related to your stats. The difference between buffs, debuffs, and ailments is elaborated upon in [[Arcana System#Flag_Listing|this section]].

=== Limit Actions ===

Limit Actions are a way of turning the tide of a battle in one's favor. They spend the Limit resource to achieve effects that could not typically be done through attacks or reactions. Notably, some Limit Actions can be used '''regardless of turn order'''. The limit actions to which one has access vary depending on character attributes. Antagonists and bosses have a different set of Limit Actions from standard characters. Limit Actions include the following:

*'''Help Up''' - Removes Omen or one Ailment from target character (never yourself). On or off your turn. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''All.''
**''Priority'': In order, it will remove: Omen, Pain, Bomb, Charm, Exhaust, Poison, Panic, Rage, Sick, Blast, Bind, Paralyze, and Haze.
*'''Shift''' - Grants one ''bonus action'' to target character (never yourself). On or off your turn. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''All.''
*'''Recover''' - Converts Bonus Actions to Limit, at a rate of 1:1. Will clear all bonus actions. Costs '''0''' Limit. ''All''.
*'''Exploit''' - Grants yourself one Bonus Action. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''All''.
*'''Psych''' - Enhances this round's attacks. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''All''.
*'''Brace''' - Enhances your defenses against all attacks this round. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''All''
*'''Blood''' - Grants the Blood status to self, which increases incoming and outgoing damage. Mutually exclusive with Aegis and Favor. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Aegis''' - Grants the Aegis status to self, which decreases incoming and outgoing damage. Mutually exclusive with Aegis and Favor. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Favor''' - Grants the Favor status to self, which increases outgoing and decreases incoming damage. Mutually exclusive with Blood and Aegis. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Salve''' - Removes one ailment from self. Costs ''2'' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Broad''' - Allows one to attack up to 4 targets with one attack, regardless of Area flags. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Reach''' - Allows an Area attack to reach up to 30 targets. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss'' ''(Note: Please do not fight 30 people. Also, Reach only applies to attacks that have the Area flag, not those that are temporarily Area thanks to Broad.)''
*'''Break''' - Grants the Break status to self and grants 3 Limit to self. The Break status grants a Bonus Action to each target attacked while it lasts. This is meant to encourage 'all-out attacks', and is a fine way to end a last round. Costs '''0''' Limit. ''Boss''

==== Exclusive Limit Actions ====

These limit actions require a passive to unlock. They are generally for Navigators and Anti-Navigators.

*'''X Soul''' - Grants a random buff to the target. Can be used on self. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''Requires the Spotlight passive to use.''
*'''Shock Noise''' - Inflicts a random debuff onto the target. Can be used on self. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''Requires the Jamming passive to use.''
*'''Life Mend''' - Grants +75 HP to the target. Can be used on self. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''Requires the Sneak Guide passive to use.''

=== Combat Rounds ===

At the end of one's turn, the combat round ticks over. At this point, various operations are performed: regenerative healing-per-turn effects happen, as do damage-per-turn effects. Rounds tick down for effects, and ailments may resolve by random chance. Your 'action count' also resets, allowing your next turn to take the appropriate amount of actions. More on this in combat flow.

=== Elements and Affinity ===

Each attack has an ''element'', which describes the sort of damage (or healing) it does. Each character has Affinities for each element: you may be Neutral to, Resistant to, or Weak to an element. Resistance means less damage from attacks of that element, while Weakness means more damage from attacks of that element. Neutrality applies no modifier.

Elements for which characters may have Affinity include ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', and ''Dark''. ''Almighty'' and ''Recovery'' are additional elements, but a character cannot have affinity for either.

*'''Pierce''': Pinpoint physical attacks; most ranged physical attacks.
*'''Slash''': Cutting physical attacks.
*'''Strike''': Bashing physical attacks.
*'''Fire''': Attacks based on heat and combustion. Agi/Frei lines.
*'''Water''': Attacks based on cold and liquid. Bufu/Aqua lines.
*'''Elec''': Attacks based on volatile energy. Zio/Psi lines.
*'''Earth''': Attacks based on rock, compression, or weight. Magna/Gry lines.
*'''Wind''': Attacks based on kinetic energy. Garu/Zan lines.
*'''Light''': Attacks based on holiness, sacred power, or exorcism. Kouha/Hama lines.
*'''Dark''': Attacks based on curses and dark forces. Eiha/Mudo lines.
*'''Recovery''': Healing and restorative attacks. Dia line.
*'''Almighty''': Attacks which bypass elemental affinity. Poisma or Megido.

=== Forms ===

Typically, a character has one combat mode in Arcana System: that of their character and Persona. However, some characters can hold multiple Personas, and occasionally one might use a character bit to run a boss separately from one's own character. To shift modes, one will use '''+mode #''' where # is the number of the desired mode.

The most common way to have multiple forms is either to be a Wild Card or to have a form to reflect one's minions separately from oneself, as if for a Marked character summoning generic Demons.

== Combat, Reactions, and Battle Flow ==

A typical battle run through the Arcana System is started with the +heal/full command for all given participants. If one is a boss, they will use +heal/boss #, where # is the amount of targets they intend to fight.

===Action===

From there, it proceeds in turns. On a turn, one takes an action, assigning one attack per action to the targets of one's choice. These can be healing moves, damaging attacks, or anything else on your list. One also takes one's bonus action attacks, typically Weak-tier attacks that may be assigned before or after one's main attacks. Note that bonus action attacks do not gain Limit except for that gained from Passives such as Supporter.

If the attacker has finished their actions and bonus actions, +round will be automatically engaged to progress to the end of their turn. If you want to continue the battle without engaging all of your actions, use the command ''+round''.

This is accomplished via the '''+attack''' command. The syntax is ''+attack <target>=<attackname>'', for example ''+attack bel=dia''. Multiple targets are comma-separated. For example, ''+attack bel,leb=media''.

=== Reaction ===

When attacked, a player character has the option of various '''reactions''', each of which impact the incoming attack in some way. It is expected to react to an attack (including heals and buff attacks) as soon as is possible and reasonable. For example: in a group fight, you're targeted by an attack. By reacting at the time of the attack rather than later while you're writing, someone who might want to heal your character will know what you need!

=== Reactions ===
*'''+Avoid''' - Attempts to defend via speed and evasion. Affected by Agility. Can also be performed with '''+evade'''.
*'''+Block''' - Attempts to defend via toughness or parrying. Affected by Vitality. Can also be performed with '''+guard'''.
*'''+Counter''' - Refuses defense in order to return damage to the attacker. Affected by Agility, Vitality, and Luck. Can also be performed with '''+repel'''.
*'''+Take''' - A final reaction which reflects 'no contest' to the attack. This is typically used for heals and buffs. If you wish to fail a roll deliberately, use the /fail switch on one of the other reactions, rather than +take. '''+accept''' is another alias for +take.

Each reaction has three possible states:

*''Success'' - The most favorable result. Reduces the most damage, or returns the most damage in the case of Counter.
*''Neutral'' - A moderate result. Reduces some damage, or returns some damage in the case of Counter.
*''Failure'' - The worst result. Takes the most damage, or returns the least damage in the case of Counter.

Stats impact both one's rate of success and base damage reduction from attacks for a given reaction. Reaction modifiers are also affected by certain abilities and statuses. More on that in [[#Passives|Passives]] and [[#Effects|Effects]].

**'''Attack Type''' has effects on Reactions. Avoid is slightly more advantageous against Magical attacks, while Block is somewhat more advantageous against Physical attacks. In addition, Physical attacks will deal more damage on Failure and less on Success, whereas Magical attacks will deal less on Failure and more on Success.

You can see attacks in your queue as well as data on that attack to help you decide how to react. You do this with the commands '''+queue''' or '''+health'''. When choosing a reaction, use the number in your queue or the name or alias of your attacker to react to the topmost attack from them in your queue.

'''Note that some attacks are multi-hit attacks''', which means that you will have multiple +queue entries against which to defend from a given attack. This is noted in the attack readout but also in +queue. ''You cannot act again until you have reacted to all attacks in your +queue.'' You can react to every attack at once if you want to use the same type of reaction against them. Do this by presenting multiple arguments in your +react string, such as ''+block junes junes'' or ''+block 1 2''.

Further note that there is no such thing as perfect mitigation in this system; all attacks that deal damage will deal some damage.

=== Summary ===

So, one acts, their opponent reacts to each attack. Then, the opponent acts, and the original attacker reacts. Battle progresses this way in turns. In large fights against a single boss, the boss acts up to once per target, and each target reacts, followed by a poseround in which everyone takes their own actions. One never acts again before one's opponent has acted.

When someone's HP reaches 0, ''or when a dramatic end is agreed upon by all parties'', the battle is over. Note that a character does not die when reduced to 0 HP; they must merely stop the battle. This can be due to unconsciousness, needing to flee, or any number of other reactions, but ''consent still applies'' to defeated characters.

===Attack/Pose Conventions===

Finally, there's the matter of which attacks to use. We encourage variety in pose, especially in combat. However, Persona is a series where sometimes you just spam the same thing to win! We prefer a balance of these approaches; in general, you shouldn't re-use the same attack consecutively, but you're welcome to re-use said attack another time in the fight. While many games discourage such re-use, we're cool with it. Just remember that it's not only about winning, but about providing an interesting fight to both sides. For bosses, all repetition bets are off, becuase there's only so many attacks and a lot of opponents to go around. However, a boss should only attack each target once per round in most circumstances; if you want to attack twice, use a bonus action for the second! If it's narratively interesting to break these rules, go for it! But they should generally be followed in most circumstances.

== Character Statistics ==

=== Stats ===

Each 'stat' is a numerical representation of one's relative power in a given field of combat. Their scale is between 1 and 100. The stats and their effects are as follows:

*'''Strength''' - ''St'', this stat reflects one's physical offense. It empowers Physical attacks.
*'''Magic''' - ''Ma'', this stat reflects one's mystical offense. It empowers Magical attacks.
*'''Agility'''- ''Ag'', this stat reflects one's ability to move and dodge. It benefits Avoid and Counter reactions.
*'''Vitality''' - ''Vi'', this stat reflects one's toughness and guarding abilities. It benefits Block and Counter reactions.
*'''Luck''' - ''Lu'', this stat reflects happenstance, chance, and general favor of the divine. It primarily impacts critical rate and damage, both incoming and outgoing. It also affects debuff odds, incoming and outgoing, as well as Counter reactions.

While it can be fun to play these for IC reality, they are ultimately combat abstractions; a character who can deadlift a great amount is probably but not necessarily possessed of high mechanical Strength. For non-combat statistical generalities, see [[Monad System]].

===Stat Guidelines===

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Form Type
! scope="col" | Stat Pool
! scope="col" | Stat Minimum
! scope="col" | Stat Maximum
! scope="col" | Passive Points
! scope="col" | Passive Rank
! scope="col" | Strong/Weak Affinities
! scope="col" | Weak/Strong/Fierce Attacks
! scope="col" | Weapon Attacks
! scope="col" | Signature Attacks
|-
| Standard
| 75
| 10
| 25
| 4
| 2
| 1/1
| 5/3/0
| 2
| 1
|-
| Veteran
| 75
| 10
| 25
| 5
| 3
| 1/1
| 5/3/0
| 2
| 1
|-
| Adversary
| 90
| 15
| 30
| 6
| 2
| 1/1
| 6/4/0
| 3
| 1
|-
| Veteran Adversary
| 90
| 15
| 30
| 7
| 3
| 1/1
| 6/4/0
| 3
| 1
|-
| Mythic
| 135
| 20
| 40
| 12
| 4
| 2/1
| 6/6/3
| 4
| 1
|}

* Note that all of the attacks listed are additive; a standard statblock has two weak Weapon attacks and an additional Signature attack on top of their starting 5/3.
* A Standard Persona is that of a normal character in the midst of their plot. Mitsuru Kirijo and Ryuji Sakamato are both Standard characters, even though Kirijo has been at it a while.
* A Veteran Persona is that of someone who has completed at least one major, world-shaking plot in the past. They don't retain their full power outside the narrative focus they had, but they have some extra tricks still. The Persona 1 cast are Veterans.
* An Adversary Persona is an antagonist's Persona. They have a certain narrative role and have a little more power to back that up.
* A Mythic Persona meanwhile is someone at the top of their game--a powerful Persona-user well beyond the standard, either through destiny or some other means. Being Mythic is not normal, and it tends to draw the attention of powerful enemies. Tatsuya Suou is a Mythic character, as is Goro Akechi.

Meanwhile, Wild Cards and certain other characters may have more than one Persona. If a form is meant for use during an entire battle, it can be built as per the usual rules. If, however, that form is designed for switching between, such as a Wild Card's Personas, it will use the following rules:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Form Type
! scope="col" | Stat Pool
! scope="col" | Stat Minimum
! scope="col" | Stat Maximum
! scope="col" | Passive Points
! scope="col" | Passive Rank
! scope="col" | Strong/Weak Affinities
! scope="col" | Weak/Strong/Fierce Attacks
! scope="col" | Weapon Attacks
! scope="col" | Signature Attacks
|-
| Additional (Standard)
| 70
| 10
| 25
| 3
| 2
| 1/1, 2/2, or 3/3
| 4/3/0
| 2
| 0
|-
| Additional (Adversary)
| 80
| 10
| 25
| 4
| 2
| 1/1, 2/2, or 3/3
| 4/3/0
| 3
| 0
|-
| Additional (Mythic)
| 125
| 15
| 40
| 11
| 3
| 3/2 or 2/1
| 4/4/1
| 4
| 0
|}

Passives and Attacks are explained in more detail at [[Arcana System#Passives|here]] and [[Arcana System#Attacks_2|here]]. Note that a character who foregoes a weapon can instead take two additional Weak Persona attacks, and some passives grant extra Navigator attacks. Otherwise, only 6 attacks per tier are allowable.

Our current scale is between 10 and 40, with 10 being a serious weakness, 15-16 being solid, and 20 being a highly notable strength. Values above 20 are mostly for Mythic characters and Adversaries, or exist as room to grow as characters gather XP. Having a stat of even 20 at chargen is very powerful, and we encourage a more even statistical spread. Some characters are lopsided in stats, and that's fine--but it's not necessary to keep up.

=== Personality ===

Form ''Personalities'', meanwhile, reflect ways to gain extra Limit based on a general approach to combat. These are set per-form, and include the following:

*'''Aggression''' - Issue an attack with SP/TP under 50%; use Weapon moves; use Critical or All_Out flags.
*'''Defense''' - Issue an attack with HP/TP under 50%; issue an attack while suffering a debuff or ailment; use the Masochism, Hunted, or Area flags.
*'''Support''' - Use heal/support attacks.
*'''Pressure''' - Issue an attack with HP over 80%; issue attack while buffed; use the Wild, Still, Sadism, or Seeker flags.
*'''Ruin''' - Use Ailments or Debuffs, or the Seeker/Sadism flags.
*'''Insight''' - Use Navigator-flagged attacks.

They add Limit once per round for any character, on the character's attack.

== Bosses and Boss Fights ==

=== Boss Stats ===

Ordinarily, one will simply use their own stats to boss! However, for a dedicated bossform, either for single use or multiple use...

Bosses are, essentially, 'whatever you feel like' in terms of statting; they exist to be a challenge, not to follow XP rules and standards. However, there are strong guidelines to be followed, and we recommend that you go as follows:

Compared to starting characters (75 XP)...

+8 stat points: an ordinary fight.

+23 stat points: a standard, challenging bossfight. +2 passive points; +1 rank of passives.

+38 stat points: a rare, occasional bossfight; best for plot arc ends. +4 passive points; +1 rank of passives.

+40 or more stat points: the PCs are expected to lose. +5 or more passive points; any rank.

Attacks are however many you need, though i do not recommend taking more than 6 per tier as a rule. Use Adversary as a baseline, but add 1-2 Fierce for a particularly challening fight (30 points or more). Bosses do not usually gain Signature attacks. Their elemental affinities can be whatever you want, but note that a boss with more than a 1:1 Resist:Weak ratio becomes kind of a puzzle boss, and season accordingly.

=== Bossing ===

Sometimes, a player takes on the role of a Boss for other players to fight. This can reflect a single big monster, a group of enemies, or even a single character who is empowered by their cornered state. In other words, don't worry too much about whether a boss should rightly be able to handle a group of people ICly; we're based on a JRPG, and that's just part of the milieu. More importantly, here's how it's done:

*'''+heal/boss <number>''' - Number refers to the number of opponents you intend to fight.
*'''+heal/adjust <number>''' - Something went funny and someone had to leave, or someone new joined the fight? Adjust your boss value with this command.

With this command, a player can empower their character or other boss to take on a group! A boss has increased HP, SP, Limit maximum, and Action count in order to pose a challenge to more than one player. The expectation is that a boss will take their actions on their turn, attacking everyone not more than once with the same action, and in turn everyone else will react, pose, and attack the boss in turn. The boss may react to attacks in any order they choose, but the default is first-in, first-out. Bosses gain various special tools to help them provide interesting challenges.

Note that in most cases, the object of a bossfight for the boss is not to win, but to ''provide an interesting experience''. A boss might well be able to overcome the entire group by using only their strongest and most ruthless tactics! This is usually not desirable. Accordingly, a boss need not be fought to 0 HP; when the group and/or the bossrunner agree that the fight has reached an interesting conclusion, that's good enough.

One tool to which bosses have access is the +trigger system. Sometimes, a fight may involve environmental or other narrative elements that are useful to simulate. For this purpose, the boss may designate a trigger with the +boss/trigger command. By fulfilling the requirements the boss sets forth, the players unlock a special command; this allows them to deal extra damage to the boss without having to use their own attack. The commands for this sytem are as follows:

*'''+boss/trigger <character>[ <character2>, etc.]=<damage value>''' - Designate one or more characters with the ability to deal <damage> to the target. It may be a flat value or a percentage of HP. So, 1000 points, or 10% of your max HP.
*'''+trigger <bossname>''' - Sets off the trigger, dealing damage.
*'''+trigger/reset''' - Something gone wrong, or the action didn't get taken after all? Reset your triggers with this command.

All triggers are reset upon +heal/full or +heal/boss.

In addition, note that the HP costs for boss attacks are based on the Boss HP Modifier value, rather than on their current max HP.

=== Buckets ===

Buckets refers to not literal buckets but instead is a mechanism for organizing boss fights when there are multiple bosses in the scene. Using buckets allows players to 'sign up' to fight a particular boss and for the boss to keep track of who they're targeting.

Keep in mind, using buckets doesn't mean that a player is restricted to a given target -- the key is to ask first if you would like to temporarily target someone else. Neither are you restricted to aiding people also in your bucket! Buckets are simply an organizational tool.

For bosses, characters in your bucket are starred with an asterisk in +pot and +scan.

Boss bucket commands are:
* '''+bucket/place #''' - Places a new bucket with # slots.
* '''+bucket/adjust #''' - Only works if you have a bucket. Adjusts slots to #.
* '''+bucket/clear''' - Clears your current bucket.

To check buckets for the room, use '''+buckets'''.

For non-boss players, their bucket commands are:
* '''+bjoin <Bossname>''' - Joins an extant bucket. (+bucket/join <bossname> also works.)
* '''+bleave <Bossname>''' - Leaves the relevant bucket. (+bucket/leave <bossname> also works.)
Certain effects work differently when there are Buckets. For instance, the Charm ailment deals damage to yourself normally, but might instead deal damage to a party member, as designated by non-bosses in your +bucket!

=== Triggers ===

The '''+trigger''' system is a mode by which a boss can establish narrative conditions for inflicting some damage or effect.

By establishing a trigger with the +trigger/set command, the boss hangs damage or a debuff or ailment on themselves, which they can then set off with +trigger when a player takes the narrative action required.

Commands:

*'''+trigger/set <Damage, Percentage, or Effect>''' - Set a trigger. Can be damage, a percentage of max HP, or a debuff or ailment. If multiple debuffs and/or ailments, separate with commas. Note that explosion exclusions apply.
*'''+trigger <Playername>''' - Activate the trigger on behalf of player.
*'''+trigger/reset''' - To reset all triggers on your person.

== Passives ==

Each form has a number of '''Passive''' abilities, each of which has an impact on battles. Passives are applied per-form--each Persona has its own. Some impact the parameters of the form, while others affect statistics, actions, and reactions more directly. The same Passive cannot be stacked, but different and similar passives may.

Passives are gated by Rank. Each form may take passives up to and including a given Rank, which is noted at the end of the passive's description. For example, a form has access to four points of passives, up to rank 2: they may take 4 rank one passives, 2 rank 2 passives, or any other combination which adds up to 4 made up of 1 and 2 Rank passives.

Passives are as follows:

=== Defensive Passives ===
*'''Avoid <Element>''': Reduces damage taken when Avoiding <Element> regardless of roll. +2 Defense. '''(1)'''
*'''Block <Element>''': Reduces damage taken when Blocking <Element> regardless of roll. +2 Defense. '''(1)'''
*'''Counter <Element>''': Reduces damage taken when Countering <Element> regardless of roll. +2 Attack. '''(1)'''
*'''<Element> Riposte''': Your counters deal <Element> damage instead of the incoming attack's element. Note that only one of these passives can take effect per form.'''(1)'''
*'''Apt Pupil''': - Increases outgoing Counter backlash damage. '''(1)''' (That is, the damage that you deal when you counter /them/.)
*'''Sharp Student''': Decreases incoming Counter backlash damage. '''(1)''' (That is, the damage you take when someone counters /you/.) Also, reduces incoming critical hit damage.
*'''Fortify Spirit''': You take less backlash damage from effects such as Panic and Exhaust. '''(1)'''
*'''Mind Shield''': Decreases odds that Rage, Charm, Poison, Haze, and Bind will land by 25%. '''(2)'''
*'''Nerve Shield''': Decreases odds that Exhaust, Panic, Sick, Blast, and Paralyze will land by 25%. '''(2)'''
*'''Null <Ailment>''': Prevents <Ailment> from applying to the user. '''(2)'''
**''Note that Mind Shield and Nerve Shield are usually a better deal than Null Ailment, which is included for cases when a character should really be immune to just the one.''
*'''Back Row''': You take less damage from all attacks except Area attacks, but deal less damage with all attacks but Area attacks. This does apply to healing. '''(2)'''
*'''<Element> Resist''': Adds a Resistance to <Element> above and beyond one's usual selections. Cannot be applied over a Weakness. '''(3)'''
*'''Endure''': Once per battle, withstands an attack that would KO the user with 1 HP. '''(3)'''
*'''Ali Dance''': Reduces damage taken when Avoiding any element, regardless of roll. '''(4)'''
*'''Firm Stance''': Reduces damage taken when Blocking any element, regardless of roll. '''(4)'''
*'''High Counter''': Reduces damage taken when Countering any element, regardless of roll. '''(4)'''
**''Ali Dance'', ''Firm Stance'', and ''High Counter'' are mutually exclusive.

For this purpose, the elements selectable are ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', and ''Dark''. Ailments include ''Bind'', ''Blast'', ''Charm'', ''Exhaust'', ''Haze'', ''Panic'', ''Paralyze'', ''Poison'', ''Rage'', and ''Sick''.

=== Offensive Passives ===

*'''Heavy Weapon''': Increases damage inflicted by the user's Weapon and Tandem attacks. '''(1)'''
*'''Quick Weapon''': Gives an extra hit (maximum 3) to the user's Weapon and Tandem attacks. '''(1)'''
**''Note: You can take one of Heavy Weapon or Quick Weapon, but not both; they're mutually exclusive.''
*'''Weapon Specialist''': Grants the user 2 additional Weapon attacks at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Explode Boost''': Increases ailment explosion damage slightly. '''(1)'''
*'''<Element> Boost''': Increases base damage for the user's <Element> attacks. '''(1)'''
*'''Ailment Boost''': Increases all ailment infliction odds for the user by 20%. '''(2)'''
*'''<Element> Amp''': Increases critical rate and critical damage for the user's <Element> attacks. Also boosts outgoing Counter damage of that element. '''(2)'''

For this purpose, the elements selectable are ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', and ''Dark''. ''Recovery'' can be Boosted but not Amped. Ailments include ''Bind'', ''Blast'', ''Charm'', ''Exhaust'', ''Haze'', ''Panic'', ''Paralyze'', ''Poison'', ''Rage'', and ''Sick''.

=== Resource Passives ===

*'''Break Limit''': Gain 1 Limit at +heal/full and +1 maximum Limit. '''(1)''' ''Unavailable to extra Personas, but available to bossforms.''
*'''Comeback''': Gain 1 Limit when the user is critically hit. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Mind Up''':Gain 8 SP when reacting to Rage, Poison, Charm, Haze, and Bind, but the effects landing are more likely. '''(1)'''
*'''Momentum''': Gain 1 Limit when critically hitting an opponent. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Nerve Up''':Gain 8 SP when reacting to Exhaust, Sick, Panic, Blast, and Paralyze, but the effects landing are more likely. '''(1)'''
*'''Schadenfreude''': Chance to gain 1 Limit when inflicting a debuff or ailment on an opponent. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Supporter''': Chance to gain 1 Limit when using a buff or healing attack. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Team Player''':Grant and receive 8 SP and 25 HP of healing when using the Shift Limit Action. '''(1)'''
*'''Tough Love''': Grant and receive 8 SP and 25 HP of healing when using the Help Up Limit Action. '''(1)'''
*'''Invigorate 1''': Gain 3 SP when completing a +round. '''(1)'''
*'''Regenerate 1''': Gain 5 HP when completing a +round. '''(1)'''
*'''Invigorate 2''': Gain 6 SP when completing a +round. '''(2)'''
*'''Regenerate 2''': Gain 10 HP when completing a +round. '''(2)'''
*'''Invigorate 3''': Gain 10 SP when completing a +round. '''(3)'''
*'''Regenerate 3''': Gain 20 HP when completing a +round. '''(3)'''

=== Other Passives ===

*'''Defender''': Incoming and outgoing damage slightly decreased. +2 Weak Defender Attacks. '''(1)'''
*'''Peerless Skill''': Grants the user an additional Strong Signature attack. Can be taken once per form. '''(1)'''
*'''Skill Card Affinity''': Allows the user to equip 3 Skill Cards instead of 1. Grants +12 SP to the user's pool. '''(1)'''
*'''Third Eye''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants +12 SP to the user's pool. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Jamming''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants the Shock Noise Limit Action. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Sneak Guide''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants the Life Mend Limit Action. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Spotlight''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants the X Soul Limit Action. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Fast Heal''': Increases the chance of recovering from ailments on +round. '''(2)'''
*'''Auto-Rakukaja''': Starts battle with Def_Up at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''
*'''Auto-Rebellion''': Starts battle with Crt_Up at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''
*'''Auto-Sukukaja''': Starts battle with Spd_Up at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''
*'''Auto-Tarukaja''': Starts battle with Atk_UP at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''

Navigator flags include Curse, Eclipse, Fortune, Regen, Strength_Scan, Support_Scan, Vigor, Weakness_Scan. Navigator Flags always go on Magical attacks. Third Eye, Jamming, Sneak Guide, and Spotlight are mutually exclusive. A full Navigator-type Persona both has one of these four passives /and/ devotes at least a third of their list (excluding Weapon attacks) at chargen to Navigator-flag attacks. Less than that indicates some special talent for Resonance but not the full abilities of a Navigator.

Defender flags include Cover, Full_Cover, Phys_Safety, Magi_Safety, and All_Safety.

For Skill Cards, see [[Arcana_System#Equipment|Equipment]]. For Navigator type Personas, see [[Navigator Personas]]. For buffs, see [[Arcana_System#Buffs|Buffs]].

Note that for best results with the Auto-skills, it is important to switch to the correct form '''before''' using +heal/full.

== Attacks ==

Attacks are the primary actions taken in the Arcana System.

There are two ways to generate attacks. One is to use the point buy system to name, develop, and design one's own attacks. The second is to take an attack from the [[Attack Database]], which may be renamed as desired. The Attack Database is a listing of nearly 300 attacks patterned after the attacks in the games, including those such as Agi, Bufula, and Tarukaja.

Either is valid, but the Attack Database is likely to save a lot of time in attack building. The rules for building your own attacks and the explanations of an attack's components and flags follow.

In any case, ''every attack must have a different name from the others on a given list''.

=== Free Attacks ===

Free attacks are special +attacks that may be set without regard to ordinary limits. They are a preset list, and they may be renamed to whatever one might wish within reason. They include basic attacks of each elements, an ailment remover, a heal, and an SP heal. They have no cost, but otherwise follow the same rules as other attacks.

*'''+view/frees'''
*'''+free/set''' ''<freename>=<chosenname>''

=== Signature Attacks ===

Signature attacks are attacks which have the Signature flag--you may have a number based on your statistical tier designation, and they are designed accordingly on 10 more points than a standard attack. Only Signature attacks may have the Signature flag. In addition, this attack must be of a tier to which you have access: for most characters, this means that your Signature attack must be '''Weak''' or '''Strong'''. Unlike regular attacks, a Signature attack may be a Strong weapon attack.

=== Theurgy ===

''Theurgies'' are a special type of attack found only on 'main' Personas and forms. They have the 'Theurgy' tag, and are built as attacks of one tier '''higher''' than is typical for the form. In other words, a standard form will have a single Fierce Theurgy attack, and a Mythic form will have a single Severe Theurgy attack.

They are meant to be used once per battle, and pay a reduced limit cost in exchange for requiring one action and one bonus action both in order to be used.

The ''Item'' and ''Weapon'' flags are unavailable for Theurgy attacks; use ''Tandem'' instead.

Theurgies may be either offensive or non-offensive, but may not be Weapon attacks; if you don't want a Theurgy, you can take a regular Strong (for most forms) or Fierce (for Mythic forms).

=== Power Level ===

An attack has a power level ranging from 0-9, which dictates its base damage value. Attack levels cost 10 points each, with a surcharge of 10 points for Almighty and Recovery attacks with PLs above 0.

=== Hits ===

An attack can issue multiple '''hits''', up to three. This means that more than one entry is entered into the queue for a given attack. Each hit is weaker than a standard attack, but in aggregate the multiple hits are an advantage, even before considering separate critical chance and so on. Only the first hit has a chance of delivering status effects. A two-hit attack is 4 additional BP, 4 additional SP, and 0.01% extra HP; a three-hit attack is 10 additional BP, 10 additional SP, and 0.025% extra HP.

When dealing additional hits, an attack '''always''' deals additional hits if they are designated in its statistics.

=== Tiers ===

Attacks are divided into tiers. Each tier denotes the relative power of the attack when compared to others, and dictates its BP ('''Build Points''') and Limit value. Weak attacks may be used for Bonus Actions.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Power Levels
! scope="col" | Limit Value
! scope="col" | BP
|-
| Weak
| 0 or 1-2
| +2
| 30
|-
| Strong
| 0 or 3-4
| +1
| 50
|-
| Fierce
| 0 or 5-6
| -3
| 70
|-
| Severe
| 0 or 7-8
| -4
| 90
|-
| Divine
| 0 or 9-10
| -6
| 110
|}

=== Type and Element ===

Each attack has a '''type''' and an '''element'''al affinity. Types are Magical and Physical; they refer to attacks primarily using mystical forces and more direct, corporeal attacks. Elements, explained above, refer to the nature of the attack's damage.

Repeated here, elements are ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', ''Dark'', ''Recovery'', and ''Almighty''.

Recovery and Almighty attacks cannot score critical hits, but Almighty attacks have increased base damage.

Unless another rule allows it, Pierce/Slash/Strike are always Physical, while Fire/Water/Elec/Earth/Wind/Light/Dark/Recovery are always Magical.

=== Flags ===

An attack has up to five '''Flags''', which are attributes that either modify the attack or apply an effect to the target. ''All attacks with effect flags affect the target, not the user, with those flags''. Each flag has a cost in BP and modifies the attack's SP or HP cost. Flags of the same type (Ailment1/Ailment2) do not stack. '''Effects''' are often applied by flags, including '''Buffs''', '''Debuffs''', and '''Ailments'''. In most cases, these effects can be extended in duration with reapplication; however, certain effects cannot. Omen and Prophecy cannot be extended by repeated application.

=== Cost ===

An attack has a cost, as all things must. Magical attacks cost SP, while Physical attacks cost HP. SP costs are static, while HP costs are fractional compared to one's max HP. These costs are modified by power level and flags. They also have Limit values, which are the Limit required to use them; Weak and Strong attacks typically generate Limit, while attacks of higher Tier expend it.

==== Flag Listing ====

===== Attack Modifiers =====

*'''Ailment1''': Boosts ailment chances for this attack slightly. 4 BP, 0 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Ailment2''': Boosts ailment chances for this attack more. 10 BP, 0 SP, 0 HP.
*'''Ailment3''': Boosts ailment chances for this attack significantly. 20 BP, -2 SP, -0.5% HP.
*'''All_Out1''': Boosts critical damage for this attack slightly. 4 BP, 1 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''All_Out2''': Boosts critical damage for this attack more. 6 BP, 2 SP, 0.6% HP.
*'''All_Out3''': Boosts critical damage for this attack significantly. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Anti_Avoid''': This attack deals much more damage against Avoid reactions, and reduces Counter backlash. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Anti_Block''': This attack deals much more damage against Block reactions and reduces Counter backlash. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
**''Anti_Avoid and Anti_Block are mutually exclusive.''
*'''Area''': This attack can target up to 4 characters. 10 BP, 8 SP, .15% HP. Area attacks deal additional damage inversely commensurate with number of targets. There is no surcharge for targets on area attacks.
*'''Breach''': Deals extra damage if the user has an active Safety or Cover Tactic. (Doesn't apply to Full_Cover.) 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP
*'''Boost''': This attack is made with a +2 bonus to the attacker's Strength, Magic, and Luck. 2 BP, 1 SP, 0.2% HP.
*'''Critical1''': This attack's critical hit chance is increased. 4 BP, 1 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Critical2''': This attack's critical hit chance is increased further. 6 BP, 2 SP, 0.6% HP.
*'''Critical3''': This attack's critical hit chance is increased significantly. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Extend''': Extends the duration of an attached tactic (that is, one on the attack) by 1 round (to 2 rounds). 10 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Hinder''': This attack is made with a -2 penalty to the defender's Vitality, Agility, and Luck. 2 BP, 1 SP, 0.2% HP.
*'''Hunted''': This attack deals more damage if the user has a Debuff. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Item''': This attack reflects an external source of damage from the user, typically an item that casts a spell or inflicts environmental damage. Offensive stats do not apply to the damage of this attack. 10 BP, - HP, - SP. +1 Limit cost.
**''Item attacks are always Weak attacks, unless specifically allowed such as by Signature attacks.
*'''Masochism''': This attack deals more damage if the user has an Ailment. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Mystic''': - This attack grants 1 extra Limit. 10 BP, 8 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Sadism''': This attack deals more damage if the target has an Ailment. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Seeker''': This attack deals more damage if the target has one or more debuffs. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Signature''': This attack gains more BP, but costs 1 more Limit. -10 BP, -4 SP, -1% HP. ''Only valid for designated Signature attacks. Cannot be used on ordinary attacks.''
*'''Still''': This attack deals more damage scaling with spent SP. Kicks in at 75% SP. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP. Specifically, it does a percentage of '2 PLs' based on your spent SP, to a maximum extra damage of 'your spent SP in points'.
*'''Tandem''': This attack reflects the user and their Persona attacking at the same time. It allows the benefits of Weapon attack and passives. Tandem attacks may be Physical or Magical, regardless of element. Tandem attacks use the better of Magic or Strength regardless of type, though they defend as normal for an attack of their type. 6 BP, 3 SP, 0.6% HP.
*'''Weapon''': This attack reflects a user's weapon without active Persona use. Gains the benefit of Weapon attack and passives and costs 0 HP or SP. Weapon attacks are always physical. 6 BP, - HP, - SP. +1 Limit cost.
**''Incompatibility'': Weapon attacks may not have debuffs, such as Atk_Dn or Slash_Break, but may have Ailments such as Sick or Paralyze.
**''Tier'': Except for Signature attacks, Weapon attacks must always be Weak attacks unless specifically allowed as Strong.
*'''Wild''': This attack deals more damage scaling with how much damage the user has taken. Kicks in at 75% hp. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP. Specifically, it does a percentage of '2 PLs' based on your lost HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Stress''': Adds an HP cost to an attack in return for more BP. Stacks with Signature. -10 BP, -4 SP, -0.5% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Severe tier attacks or higher:

*'''Panacea''': allows 10 extra BP on a heal move. (That is to say, a move with Recovery PLs, Purify, Nervundi, or Patra.) -10 BP, 10 SP.

===== Buffs =====

Each of these flags grants a buff to the target for 3 rounds. Only Magical attacks may have these flags.

*'''Atk_Up''': Attacks deal more damage. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Crt_Up''': Attacks' critical rate and critical damage are increased. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Def_Up''': Block and Counter reactions reduce damage more. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Spd_Up''': Avoid and Counter reactions reduce damage more. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''<Element>_Wall''': Affinity changes as follows: Weakness becomes Neutral, Neutral becomes Resist. Resist is unchanged. Can apply to Recovery attacks as a debuff. Almighty Wall is not allowed. 30 BP, 12 SP, 0.015% hp (For Recovery Wall).
*'''Reflect_Magi''': Boosts the Counter reaction against Magical attacks significantly in damage reduction and backlash. 40 BP, 16 SP.
*'''Reflect_Phys''': Boosts the Counter reaction against Physical attacks significantly in damage reduction and backlash. 40 BP, 16 SP.
**''These two flags are mutually exclusive and cannot be set on the same attack. Adding one will remove the other.''

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Cloak''': Defense up against attacks without the Area flag. 30 BP, 15 SP.

===== Debuffs =====

Each of these flags inflicts a debuff on the target for 3 rounds. Weapon attacks may not have these flags.

*'''Atk_Dn''': Attacks deal less damage. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Crt_Dn''': Attacks' critical rate and critical damage are decreased. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Def_Dn''': Block and Counter reactions reduce damage less. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Spd_Dn''': Avoid and Counter reactions reduce damage less. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''<Element>_Break''' : Affinity changes as follows: Resist becomes Neutral, Neutral becomes Weak. Weak is unchanged. Can apply to Recovery attacks as a buff. Almighty Break is not allowed. 30 BP, 12 SP, 15% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Mag_DN''': Reduces outgoing magic damage and increases incoming magic damage. 40 BP, 20 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Phy_DN''': Reduces outgoing phys damage and increases incoming phys damage. 40 BP, 20 SP, 1% HP.

===== Ailments =====

Each of these flags inflicts an ailment on the target for a variable number of rounds. Bind, Blast, Haze, and Paralyze last 2 rounds; the others last 5 rounds by default. However, Ailments have a chance of expiring each +round they are on the target.

*'''Bind''': Decreases outgoing Magic damage and increases incoming Avoid damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Blast''': Decreases outgoing Magic damage and increases incoming Block damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Charm''': Damage on +attack to self or +bucket party, 1/round. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Exhaust''': Damage on +attack to self for Tandem or Weapon attacks, 1/round. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Haze''': Decreases outgoing Physical damage and increases incoming Block damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Panic''': Damage on +attack to self for Tandem or Persona attacks, 1/round. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Paralyze''': Decreases outgoing Physical damage and increases incoming Avoid damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Poison''': Damage on +round to HP. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Rage''': Weapon attack up; all defenses down. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Sick''': Damage on +round to SP. Reduces ailment resistance slightly. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Pain''': Explodes the next time the target uses healing or PL 0 attacks. 20 BP, 10 SP, 0.75% HP.
*'''Bomb''': Explodes the next time the target uses damaging attacks. 20 BP, 10 SP, 0.75% HP.

Additionally, certain Ailment pairs cancel one another out for an '''explosion''' of damage commensurate with the number of ailment pairs cancelled. The pairs are as follows: Charm/Panic, Exhaust/Rage, Poison/Sick, Blast/Paralyze, Bind/Haze, Pain/Bomb. When this happens, the new ailment remains, but the previous ailment that was on the target is removed.
*''Incompatibility'' - These pairs are accordingly unavailable to have on the same attack.

===== Status Removers =====

These flags remove status on the target according to type. They are always on Magical attacks, except for Ruin which may be on Physical attacks.

*'''Nervundi''': Removes some ailments (Exhaust, Panic, Sick, Blast, and Paralyze) without explosions. 30 BP, 6 SP.
*'''Patra''': Removes some ailments (Rage, Charm, Poison, Haze, and Bind) without explosions. 30 BP, 6 SP.
*'''Renew''': Removes debuffs. 30 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Ruin''': Removes buffs. 30 BP, 10 SP, 1% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Severe tier attacks or higher:

*'''Purify''': removes all ailments. 10 BP, 20 SP.

===== Tactica =====

*'''Cover''': Applies the Cover tactic to the target, which takes half the target's damage from attacks. No Area, must target someone else. 10 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Full_Cover''': Applies the Full_Cover tactic to the target, which takes all incoming damaging attacks onto the giver instead of the original target as long as it lasts. No Area, must target someone else. 30 BP, 8 SP. This should not be generally used cross-bucket.
*'''Phys_Safety''': Applies the Physical Safety tactic to the target. Reduces damage from Physical attacks for one round. 40 BP, 12 SP.
**''Incompatible with Magi_Safety and All_Safety.'''
*'''Magi_Safety''': Applies the Magical Safety tactic to the target. Reduces damage from Magical attacks for one round. 40 BP, 12 SP.
**''Incompatible with Phys_Safety and All_Safety.'''
*'''All_Safety''': Applies the All Safety tactic to the target. Reduces damage from all attacks for one round. 60 BP, 16 SP. (Strong+ only).
**''Incompatible with Magi_Safety and Phys_Safety.'''

===== Miscellaneous Flags =====

*'''Efficient''': This attack costs fewer SP or HP. 10 BP, -6 SP, -0.75% HP.
*'''Revive''': Bonus to heal PL under 15% hp; starts heal at 0 instead of negative health value. 10 BP, 4 SP.
*'''SP_Heal1''': Restores a small amount of SP to the target. 20 BP, 8 SP.
*'''HP_Drain''': Deals -50% base damage, but drains that damage as HP. 10 BP, 4 SP.
*'''SP_Drain''': Deals 15% base damage, but targets and drains SP. 10 BP, 0 SP (Zeroes out cost).
**''SP_Drain can only be placed on Almighty attacks.''
**''Drains are currently unavailable to custom attacks. HP_Drain will open to them later.''

The following tag is not for general use, and its effect is listed here for reference:

*'''Pierce''': Ignores elemental Strength.

===== Navigator-Only Flags =====

*'''Regen''': Restore some HP each round. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Vigor''': Restore some SP each round. Boosts ailment resistance slightly. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Eclipse''': Turns one weakness hit into a Resisted hit. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 5 SP.

*'''Curse''': Inflicts a random debuff on the target. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Worry''': Random ailments (two) on target. Both ailments will be either Mind or Nerve. There is also a slight bonus to application chance. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Fortune''': Grants a random buff to the target. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Melody''': Extends buff durations by 3 rounds. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 5 SP.
*'''Strength_Scan''': Announces the target's Resist affinities to the room. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Support_Scan''': Announces the target's Passives to the room. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Weakness_Scan''': Announces the target's Weak affinities to the room. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 8 SP, 1% HP.
**''All Scan abilities are incompatible with the Area flag.''

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Omen''': Small debuff to all defenses; after 2 rounds, target takes damage. 50 BP, 24 SP.
*'''Prophecy''': Small buff to all defences; after 2 rounds, target receives healing. 50 BP, 24 SP.
*'''Inner_Strength''': Gives a bonus to damage for the target's Strong affinity attacks. Stacks with X Boost. 30 BP, 15 SP.

==Fusion Spells==

Fusion spells are types of combination attacks between two or three Persona Users that require a combination of lesser attacks for one of far greater effect. Fusion Spells are always Fierce Spells of Power Level 5 or 6, and possess the Pierce Flag, which allows them to ignore elemental resistances.

*'''+view/fusions''' In order to view a list of available Fusion Spells. (+view/fusions 2 for the second page.)

'''Note:''' This system has attacks on the list to represent Showtimes. These are on page 2!

Each fusion has a list of requirements as shown. Participants must be able to contribute one of the required types of elements for the attacks on the list. '''Str''' denotes that attacks that are at least Strong must be used to meet requirements, while '''Wk''' denotes that weak attacks can be used for meeting the requirements.

In order to initiate a Fusion Attack, the person in question would start with:

*'''+fusion/start <attackname>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>'''

The limit cost is the total cost, which any participant may contribute. This does not have to be the individual that began the attack!

In order to join a Fusion Attack, the Second or Third Persona Users would then use the command:

*'''+fusion/join <attacker>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>

To rephrase, if the cost is 1, only one person would need to bid a limit! Everyone else can enter the value as 0 for bidded limit.

When enough people have joined to meet the requirements, the system will tell you the attack is ready. At that point, the initial attacker must enter the command:

*'''+fusion/attack <target>'''

And the attack will fire!

If an error is made and the Fusion needs to be cancelled for any reason, then the command to use is:

*'''+fusion/clear'''

The attack will then be cancelled.

==Equipment==

Equipment is a system unto itself within Arcana, for more on this: see [[Equipment]].

== Command Glossary ==

*'''+attack''' <target>=<attackname> - Directs an attack at opponent(s). Targets are separated by commas. The same target cannot be targeted multiple times per +attack.
*'''+react''' ('''+avoid|+block|+counter|+take''') <name or number> - Reacts to an attack. Note that if you have more attacks in your +queue when finished, the system will give you a message stating as much. Can take multiple arguments if you want to use the same reaction against multiple incoming attacks.
*'''*+health''' - Shows a basic screen of combat information relevant to a fight.
*'''*+queue''' - Shows the attacks in your queue.
*'''*+heal/full''' - Resets your status and pools, initializing you for combat.
*'''*+cancel''' <target> and +cancel/area <targets> - Cancels an attack on <target>. Use +cancel/area with a list of targets for an area attack to ensure your resources are recalculated appropriately.
*'''*+view/fusions''' or '''+view/fusions 2''' - Shows a list of available Fusion Spells
*'''*+fusion/start <attackname>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>''' - Initiates a Fusion Spell from the available list.
*'''*+fusion/join <attacker>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>''' - Joins a Fusion Spell initiated by another player.
*'''*+fusion/attack <target>''' - Complete a Fusion Spell after all requirements are met.
*'''*+fusion/clear''' - Cancel a Fusion Spell in progress.
*'''*+trigger/set''' <damage> OR <percentage> OR <debuff> - Sets up a 'boss trigger' that allows a character to deal <damage> to you as a boss during the fight for a narrative or environmental reason.
*'''*+trigger/reset''' - Resets all triggers on you and your targets.
*'''*+trigger''' <playername> - Triggers damage from a player's narrative actions as a boss.
*'''*+limit''' <action>[=<target>] - Performs a limit actions.
*'''*+round''' - Concludes one's combat round. Automatic when out of actions and bonus actions.
*'''*+stats [#]''' - Shows full data on one's combat statistics, excepting attacks. An optional argument indicates a specific form.
*'''*+attacks [#]''' - Shows full data on one's attacks. An optional argument indicates a specific form.
*'''+inventory''' will show you your currently-equipped items.
*'''+weapons''' - Shows a list of available weaponry.
*'''+weapon/equip''' or '''+equip/weapon''' <name>=<desired name> - Selects a weapon from the database and gives it a desired name. Does not take ansi.
*'''+weapon/clear''' - Clears your current weapon in favor of the Default value.
*'''+armors''' - Shows a list of available armors.
*'''+armor/equip''' or '''+equip/armor''' <name>=<desired name> - Selects an armor from the database and gives it a desired name. Does not take ansi.
*'''+armors/clear''' - Clears your current armor in favor of the Default value.
*'''+cards''' - Shows a list of available Skill Cards for your character. This list can be expanded piecemeal or with category unlocks.
*'''+card/equip <Card>''' - Equips a Card to your current form. This adds the attack to that form's attack list.
*'''+card/unequip <Card>''' - Unequips a Card from your current form. This removes the attack from that form's attack list.
*'''+cards/clear''' - Clears all cards from your current form's list. This will remove all card attacks from your current form.
*'''+view/frees'''
*'''+free/set''' ''<freename>=<chosenname>''
*'''+frees/clear''' - Clears all freeattacks on a form.
*'''+heal/full''' - Fully heals and readies for combat.
*'''+heal/boss <X>''' - Fully heals and readies for combat as a boss for X opponents.
*'''+heal/adjust <X>''' - Adjusts boss health for a different number of combatants.
*'''+help cheatsheet''' - Displays some useful combat system data for easy reference.
*'''+explain''' - Displays a longform list of passives and current effects on your character, with descriptions.
===See Also...===
*[[Equipment]]
*[[Attack Database]]
[[Category: Systems]]

J. Itsuki Hayashi

2026-02-16T00:08:47Z

Strangeshrimp:

J. Itsuki Hayashi

2026-02-16T00:08:35Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#C2F2FF; border: 2px #CAD9D8 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''J. Itsuki Hayashi''' |- ! colspan="2" align="center" | lol |- ! style="background:#C2F2FF; border: 2px #CAD9D8 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | <span sty..."

User:Strangeshrimp

2026-02-15T21:45:44Z

Strangeshrimp:

[[File:The curse.jpg|an image that just says 'it's because of the curse'. the viewer is prompted to press F to indicate OK.]]

Staff! I'm Parabellum here.

*'''Velvet Room MUSH''': [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Noriaki Okaga]], [[J. Itsuki Hayashi]]
*'''Dream Chasers MUSH''': Necronomicon (Staff), Josephine Lovelace, Loren Voss, Avril Vent Fleur, Citan Uzuki, Amaterasu, Seraph Harmaus (RIP)

Availability: EST; PM hours (I work M-F 8-5).
*Mon: Usually not but can make exceptions with advance requests
*Tues: Almost always not available (see above)
*Wed-Thurs: Usually free, ask me
*Fri-Sat: Almost always free
*Sun: Variable but usually free; ask me

2026-01-30: vanish, fade away (melt away)

2026-01-31T03:21:04Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Cutscene: vanish, fade away (melt away)'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Jerri]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School Running Track
*'''OOC Date:''' January 30th, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' September 18th, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria considers what she's lost, then has a visitor. '''TW:''' reflection on misogyny''

----
'''BGM:''' (''Shinkichi Mitsumune - Belladonna's Snare'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6dGV-43A4Q
----<poem>

They don't look at her.

Maria sits under the tree a distance from the track where the other girls are engaged in practice, and not one of them seems to glance her way.

In classes, they'll talk to her as much as is necessary. It's not ''that'' kind of shunning. But they're not her friends, not like Haruka Hatano is. And they won't look at her when she comes to watch practice. Only Haruka does, and only when she thinks she won't get caught out by the others.

She's not that stupid. She knows what this is about. Haruka didn't even have to spell it out for her-- they've never even talked about 'this'.

It's because... she let them down, right when they needed her most.

And they haven't forgotten yet.

Maybe, what she needs to do is a full dogeza, or something? Or maybe, she needs to say 'I'm sorry' one hundred times, or fold some apology frogs out of paper for the captain.

She heard Noriko is still really mad about it. But of course, after Anna's injury... they were already down a star... and then Maria had quit.

She didn't say why. She was embarrassed to say why.

It's not 'feminine' to be into a sport. No, not even running. That's what 'he'd' said. She'd been head over heels for him, so she'd done it finally, after he kept telling her things like that, again and again.

'Everyone knows what female athletes are really into'.

'You smell really gross when you've been sweating.'

'What if you get all muscular?'

But it wasn't just him.

'...Girls shouldn't play baseball', her grandfather had said.

She doesn't think she's ever heard of a pro baseball player who was a girl, too.

------------

She stays like that, under the tree, even when practices comes to an end and the club members slowly trickle off the field.
She stays there and only after a moment more does she rise, stretching out her back and rolling her shoulders.

Maybe it's just as well--

No. She'll think of something. Maybe, she can even start her own club...

"Oh, dear. What trouble are you thinking of causing for yourself now?"

There's a voice, close at hand. Maria turns sharply and finds... nothing.

The source of the voice sighs. "Up here, child."

Maria, slowly, tilts her head upwards until she sees her. The cockatoo. The pink cockatoo. With the pearl necklace.

"Oh! A parrot! And you talk!" Maria declares, eyes wide.

For a long moment the bird manages to wear the most withering expression possible on an avian face.

"...It seems I'm just in time," remarks the bird. "No, child. But it doesn't actually matter. It seems as if you've been rather... lost of late, yes? Caught adrift? Considering poorly-thought-out actions?"

Maria flinches, taking one step away from the tree.

"Yes, like that incident with those two boys. Just think, if you hadn't made that phone call, they'd be living their normal lives! But it's only a symptom, isn't it?"

"A... symptom?" Maria echoes, her unease slowly slackening its grip on her.

"Oh yes. You have something very ugly down inside you, don't you? It cried out, and you answered it. Didn't you? But not to worry. I can do something about that. A little well-timed course-correction never hurt!"

"I don't... know," says Maria, hesitant. She tries to inch away.

"Ah... I see, so it's already like that..." says the bird. "Very well! I suppose I have no choice. If I can't convince you, you will just have to come along. Don't worry, it won't hurt..."

Maria, as she has threatened to do in the past, screams.

"...much," finishes the bird, in that instant before the world, to Maria's eyes, distorts and goes black.

Shaking her head, the pink bird soon follows suit, vanishing from this world as well.

Thus, in an eye-blink, did Maria appear to vanish into thin air.

</poem>

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-01-30: vanish, fade away (melt away)

2026-01-31T01:04:47Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Cutscene: vanish, fade away (melt away)'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School Running Track
*'''OOC Date:''' January 30th, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' September 18th, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria considers what she's lost, then has a visitor. '''TW:''' reflection on misogyny''

----
'''BGM:''' (''Shinkichi Mitsumune - Belladonna's Snare'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6dGV-43A4Q
----<poem>

They don't look at her.

Maria sits under the tree a distance from the track where the other girls are engaged in practice, and not one of them seems to glance her way.

In classes, they'll talk to her as much as is necessary. It's not ''that'' kind of shunning. But they're not her friends, not like Haruka Hatano is. And they won't look at her when she comes to watch practice. Only Haruka does, and only when she thinks she won't get caught out by the others.

She's not that stupid. She knows what this is about. Haruka didn't even have to spell it out for her-- they've never even talked about 'this'.

It's because... she let them down, right when they needed her most.

And they haven't forgotten yet.

Maybe, what she needs to do is a full dogeza, or something? Or maybe, she needs to say 'I'm sorry' one hundred times, or fold some apology frogs out of paper for the captain.

She heard Noriko is still really mad about it. But of course, after Anna's injury... they were already down a star... and then Maria had quit.

She didn't say why. She was embarrassed to say why.

It's not 'feminine' to be into a sport. No, not even running. That's what 'he'd' said. She'd been head over heels for him, so she'd done it finally, after he kept telling her things like that, again and again.

'Everyone knows what female athletes are really into'.

'You smell really gross when you've been sweating.'

'What if you get all muscular?'

But it wasn't just him.

'...Girls shouldn't play baseball', her grandfather had said.

She doesn't think she's ever heard of a pro baseball player who was a girl, too.

------------

She stays like that, under the tree, even when practices comes to an end and the club members slowly trickle off the field.
She stays there and only after a moment more does she rise, stretching out her back and rolling her shoulders.

Maybe it's just as well--

No. She'll think of something. Maybe, she can even start her own club...

"Oh, dear. What trouble are you thinking of causing for yourself now?"

There's a voice, close at hand. Maria turns sharply and finds... nothing.

The source of the voice sighs. "Up here, child."

Maria, slowly, tilts her head upwards until she sees her. The cockatoo. The pink cockatoo. With the pearl necklace.

"Oh! A parrot! And you talk!" Maria declares, eyes wide.

For a long moment the bird manages to wear the most withering expression possible on an avian face.

"...It seems I'm just in time," remarks the bird. "No, child. But it doesn't actually matter. It seems as if you've been rather... lost of late, yes? Caught adrift? Considering poorly-thought-out actions?"

Maria flinches, taking one step away from the tree.

"Yes, like that incident with those two boys. Just think, if you hadn't made that phone call, they'd be living their normal lives! But it's only a symptom, isn't it?"

"A... symptom?" Maria echoes, her unease slowly slackening its grip on her.

"Oh yes. You have something very ugly down inside you, don't you? It cried out, and you answered it. Didn't you? But not to worry. I can do something about that. A little well-timed course-correction never hurt!"

"I don't... know," says Maria, hesitant. She tries to inch away.

"Ah... I see, so it's already like that..." says the bird. "Very well! I suppose I have no choice. If I can't convince you, you will just have to come along. Don't worry, it won't hurt..."

Maria, as she has threatened to do in the past, screams.

"...much," finishes the bird, in that instant before the world, to Maria's eyes, distorts and goes black.

Shaking her head, the pink bird soon follows suit, vanishing from this world as well.

Thus, in an eye-blink, did Maria appear to vanish into thin air.

</poem>

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-01-30: vanish, fade away (melt away)

2026-01-31T01:01:51Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: vanish, fade away (melt away)''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai *'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School Running Track *'''OOC Date:''' January 30th, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' September 18th, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Maria considers what she's lost, then has a vistor. TW: reflection on misogyny'' ---- '''BGM:''' (''Shinkichi Mitsumune - Belladonna's Snare'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6dGV-43A4Q ----<poem> They don't look at her. Maria sits under the tree..."

*'''Cutscene: vanish, fade away (melt away)'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School Running Track
*'''OOC Date:''' January 30th, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' September 18th, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria considers what she's lost, then has a vistor. TW: reflection on misogyny''

----
'''BGM:''' (''Shinkichi Mitsumune - Belladonna's Snare'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6dGV-43A4Q
----<poem>

They don't look at her.

Maria sits under the tree a distance from the track where the other girls are engaged in practice, and not one of them seems to glance her way.

In classes, they'll talk to her as much as is necessary. It's not ''that'' kind of shunning. But they're not her friends, not like Haruka Hatano is. And they won't look at her when she comes to watch practice. Only Haruka does, and only when she thinks she won't get caught out by the others.

She's not that stupid. She knows what this is about. Haruka didn't even have to spell it out for her-- they've never even talked about 'this'.

It's because... she let them down, right when they needed her most.

And they haven't forgotten yet.

Maybe, what she needs to do is a full dogeza, or something? Or maybe, she needs to say 'I'm sorry' one hundred times, or fold some apology frogs out of paper for the captain.

She heard Noriko is still really mad about it. But of course, after Anna's injury... they were already down a star... and then Maria had quit.

She didn't say why. She was embarrassed to say why.

It's not 'feminine' to be into a sport. No, not even running. That's what 'he'd' said. She'd been head over heels for him, so she'd done it finally, after he kept telling her things like that, again and again.

'Everyone knows what female athletes are really into'.

'You smell really gross when you've been sweating.'

'What if you get all muscular?'

But it wasn't just him.

'...Girls shouldn't play baseball', her grandfather had said.

She doesn't think she's ever heard of a pro baseball player who was a girl, too.

------------

She stays like that, under the tree, even when practices comes to an end and the club members slowly trickle off the field.
She stays there and only after a moment more does she rise, stretching out her back and rolling her shoulders.

Maybe it's just as well--

No. She'll think of something. Maybe, she can even start her own club...

"Oh, dear. What trouble are you thinking of causing for yourself now?"

There's a voice, close at hand. Maria turns sharply and finds... nothing.

The source of the voice sighs. "Up here, child."

Maria, slowly, tilts her head upwards until she sees her. The cockatoo. The pink cockatoo. With the pearl necklace.

"Oh! A parrot! And you talk!" Maria declares, eyes wide.

For a long moment the bird manages to wear the most withering expression possible on an avian face.

"...It seems I'm just in time," remarks the bird. "No, child. But it doesn't actually matter. It seems as if you've been rather... lost of late, yes? Caught adrift? Considering poorly-thought-out actions?"

Maria flinches, taking one step away from the tree.

"Yes, like that incident with those two boys. Just think, if you hadn't made that phone call, they'd be living their normal lives! But it's only a symptom, isn't it?"

"A... symptom?" Maria echoes, her unease slowly slackening its grip on her.

"Oh yes. You have something very ugly down inside you, don't you? It cried out, and you answered it. Didn't you? But not to worry. I can do something about that. A little well-timed course-correction never hurt!"

"I don't... know," says Maria, hesitant. She tries to inch away.

"Ah... I see, so it's already like that..." says the bird. "Very well! I suppose I have no choice. If I can't convince you, you will just have to come along. Don't worry, it won't hurt..."

Maria, as she has threatened to do in the past, screams.

"...much," finishes the bird, in that instant before the world, to Maria's eyes, distorts and goes black.

Shaking her head, the pink bird soon follows suit, vanishing from this world as well.

Thus, in an eye-blink, did Maria appear to vanish into thin air.

</poem>

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

Attack Database

2026-01-25T22:45:05Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Defender */

The attack database is a listing of attacks precreated by the staff for use in character builds. While it is not required to only use these attacks, they are presented for those who would use them! On-game, they also have ansi colors for each attack name, which are not reproduced here. To view this database on game, consult +help +view.

The following attacks exist within the database as of January 18, 2026.

==Weapon Attacks==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon A'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon B'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon and Critical1
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon C'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon and All_Out1
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon D'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon, Anti_Block, and All_Out1
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon E'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon, Anti_Avoid, and Critical1
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon F'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon, Critical3
|-
| '''Pierce Weapon G'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon, All_Out3
|-
| '''Slash Weapon A'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon
|-
| '''Slash Weapon B'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon and Critical1
|-
| '''Slash Weapon C'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon and All_Out1
|-
| '''Slash Weapon D'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon, Anti_Block, and Critical1
|-
| '''Slash Weapon E'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon, Anti_Avoid, and Critical1
|-
| '''Slash Weapon F'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon, Critical3
|-
| '''Slash Weapon G'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon, All_Out3
|-
| '''Strike Weapon A'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon
|-
| '''Strike Weapon B'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon and Critical1
|-
| '''Strike Weapon C'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon and All_Out1
|-
| '''Strike Weapon D'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon, Anti_Block, and All_Out1
|-
| '''Strike Weapon E'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon, Anti_Avoid, and All_Out1
|-
| '''Strike Weapon F'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon, Critical3
|-
| '''Strike Weapon G'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Physical
| 2 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon, All_Out3
|}

==Free Attacks==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Curse Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Dark
| Item
|-
| '''Earth Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Earth
| Item
|-
| '''Elec Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Elec
| Item
|-
| '''Fire Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Fire
| Item
|-
| '''Holy Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Light
| Item
|-
| '''Medicine'''
| ''Weak''
| 1
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Recovery
| Item
|-
| '''Nervundi Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 0
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Recovery
| Item and Nervundi
|-
| '''Patra Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 0
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Recovery
| Item and Patra
|-
| '''Slice'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Slash
| Weapon and All_Out1
|-
| '''Smash'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Strike
| Weapon and All_Out1
|-
| '''Snipe'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Physical
| 1 hit(s)
| Pierce
| Weapon and All_Out1
|-
| '''Soda'''
| ''Weak''
| 0
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Recovery
| Item and SP_Heal1
|-
| '''Water Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Water
| Item
|-
| '''Wind Gem'''
| ''Weak''
| 2
| Magical
| 1 hit(s)
| Wind
| Item
|}

==Physical Attacks==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Absolutely Fatal End'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Masochism, and Critical3
|-
| '''Aeon Rain'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 5
| 3 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Arm Chopper'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Arrow Rain'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Assault Dive'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Blast
|-
| '''Atom Smasher'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Sick
|-
| '''Bash'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Anti_Block
|-
| '''Black Spot'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Anti_Block
|-
| '''Blade of Fury'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Blastbrand'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Wind
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Blazing Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Fire
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Blight'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Poison
|-
| '''Brave Blade'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Slash
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Critical3
|-
| '''Carnage Fang'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Seeker
|-
| '''Chaotic Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Wind
| 3
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem and Critical3
|-
| '''Chillbrand'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Water
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Chthonic Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Earth
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Cleave'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Still
|-
| '''Crashbrand'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Elec
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Crazy Chain'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Rage
|-
| '''Cruel Attack'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Sadism
|-
| '''Cursed Sword'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Dark
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Dancing Strike'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Strike
| 5
| 3 hit(s)
| Anti_Avoid
|-
| '''Darkness Nail'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Deathbound'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Slash
| 5
| 2 hit(s)
| Area and Critical2
|-
| '''Destruction Smash'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Strike
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Critical2 and All_Out1
|-
| '''Double Shot'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Bind
|-
| '''Double Slash'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| All_Out2
|-
| '''Dragon Whirl'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 6
| 2 hit(s)
| Haze
|-
| '''Dream Needle'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust and Ailment2
|-
| '''Dual Rush'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 1
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem and Area
|-
| '''Dual Slice'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Dual Smash'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Dual Sweep'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 1
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem and Area
|-
| '''Dual Throw'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 1
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem and Area
|-
| '''Dual Thrust'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Fatal End'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Masochism
|-
| '''Feral Bite'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Feral Claw'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Sick
|-
| '''Feral Thorn'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Wild
|-
| '''Firebrand'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Fire
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Frigid Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Water
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Gale Slash'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Anti_Avoid
|-
| '''Getsu-ei'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Still
|-
| '''Gigantic Fist'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Strike
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Anti_Block
|-
| '''Heat Wave'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Anti_Block
|-
| '''Holy Arrow'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Charm and Ailment2
|-
| '''Holy Sword'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Light
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Hysterical Slap'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Rage and Ailment2
|-
| '''Kill Rush'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Wild
|-
| '''Love Whip'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Madness Nail'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 5
| 3 hit(s)
| Anti_Block
|-
| '''Mighty Swing'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Seeker
|-
| '''Mind Slice'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Panic
|-
| '''Myriad Arrows'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Anti_Avoid
|-
| '''Navas Nebula'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Charm
|-
| '''Needle Rush'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Seeker
|-
| '''Nihil Claw'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Slash
| 5
| 2 hit(s)
| Masochism and All_Out2
|-
| '''Poison Claw'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Poison and Ailment2
|-
| '''Power Punch'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Strike
| 5
| 2 hit(s)
| Still and Blast
|-
| '''Rampage'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Raving Cut'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Wild
|-
| '''Sacred Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Light
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Sadistic Cruel Attack'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Sadism, and Anti_Avoid
|-
| '''Seal Bomb'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Exhaust
|-
| '''Serial Kill Rush'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 4
| 3 hit(s)
| Signature and Wild
|-
| '''Single Shot'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Anti_Avoid
|-
| '''Skull Cracker'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Strike
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic and Ailment2
|-
| '''Smashbrand'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Earth
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Snap'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Still
|-
| '''Sonic Punch'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Steady Smash'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Still
|-
| '''Straight Slash'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Slash
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Swift Strike'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Tempest Slash'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Slash
| 5
| 3 hit(s)
| Seeker
|-
| '''Torrent Shot'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| All_Out3
|-
| '''Triple Down'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Twinkle Punch'''
| ''Weak''
| Physical
| Strike
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Unholy Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Dark
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Untold Wrath'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Elec
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Tandem
|-
| '''Vicious Strike'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Strike
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Sadism
|-
| '''Vile Assault'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Pierce
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Sadism
|-
| '''Wolf Fang'''
| ''Fierce''
| Physical
| Slash
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Masochism
|-
| '''Zan-ei'''
| ''Strong''
| Physical
| Slash
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Wild
|}

==Magical Attacks==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Agi'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Agidyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Fire
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Agilao'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Aqua'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Aquadyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Water
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Aques'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Atomic Bufula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Bind, Poison, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Bright Flare'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Light
| 4
| 3 hit(s)
| Signature and Exhaust
|-
| '''Bufu'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Bufudyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Water
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Bufula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Cold Breath'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 2
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Consecutive Garu'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Haze
|-
| '''Consecutive Garula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Haze
|-
| '''Crimson Sublation'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Poison
|-
| '''Cursed Name'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Dark
| 4
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Dangerous Garula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Haze, Panic, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Divine Judgement'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Light
| 6
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Double Agi'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Haze
|-
| '''Double Agilao'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Haze
|-
| '''Double Aqua'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Paralyze
|-
| '''Double Aques'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Paralyze
|-
| '''Duo Zan'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Blast
|-
| '''Duo Zanma'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Blast
|-
| '''Dynamic Agilao'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Haze, Exhaust, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Eiga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Dark
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Eigaon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Dark
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Eiha'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Dark
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Fabulous Gryva'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Paralyze, Charm, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Fire Breath'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 2
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Flurry Bufu'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Flurry Bufula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Frei'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Freidyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Fire
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Freila'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Furious Psi'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Furious Psio'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Garu'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Garudyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Wind
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Garula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Great Magnara'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Bind, Panic, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Gry'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Grydyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Earth
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Gryva'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Hama'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Light
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust
|-
| '''Hamaon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Light
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust
|-
| '''Heavenly Cyclone'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Rage
|-
| '''Hell Drop'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic
|-
| '''Holy Light'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Light
| 2
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Hyper Zionga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Paralyze, Sick, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Killer Wind'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 2
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Kouga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Light
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Kougaon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Light
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Kouha'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Light
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Landslide'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic
|-
| '''Mabufu'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mabufudyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Water
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mabufula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maeiga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Dark
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maeigaon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Dark
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maeiha'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Dark
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mafrei'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mafreidyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Fire
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mafreila'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magaru'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magarudyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Wind
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magarula'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magna'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magnadyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Earth
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magnara'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magry'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magrydyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Earth
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Magryva'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mahama'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Light
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Exhaust
|-
| '''Mahamaon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Light
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Exhaust
|-
| '''Makouga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Light
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Makougaon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Light
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Makouha'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Light
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mamagna'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mamagnadyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Earth
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mamagnara'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mamudo'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Dark
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Panic
|-
| '''Mamudoon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Dark
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area and Panic
|-
| '''Mapsi'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mapsio'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mapsiodyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Elec
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Bind, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maragi'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maragidyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Fire
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maragilao'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Haze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maraqua'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Water
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maraquadyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Water
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maraques'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mazan'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mazandyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Wind
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mazanma'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Blast, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mazio'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Maziodyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Elec
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mazionga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Paralyze, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Mega Zanma'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Blast, Sick, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Megido'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Megidola'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Megidolaon'''
| ''Severe''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 7
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Mighty Wave'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust
|-
| '''Mudo'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Dark
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic
|-
| '''Mudoon'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Dark
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic
|-
| '''Multi-Dimension'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Poison
|-
| '''Multi-Eiha'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Dark
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Multi-Kouha'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Light
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Haze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Nirvana'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Light
| 4
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Psi'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Psio'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Psiodyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Elec
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Bind and Ailment1
|-
| '''Rapid Zio'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| All_Out3
|-
| '''Rapid Zionga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| All_Out3
|-
| '''Riotous Gry'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Riotous Gryva'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Sequence Magna'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Earth
| 2
| 2 hit(s)
| Bind
|-
| '''Sequence Magnara'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Earth
| 4
| 2 hit(s)
| Bind
|-
| '''Shock'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 1
| 2 hit(s)
| Sadism and Critical2
|-
| '''Sonic Wave'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Critical3
|-
| '''Stagnant Air'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Dark
| 2
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Super Psio'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Bind, Exhaust, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Trial of Darkness'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Dark
| 6
| 3 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Trio Frei'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Fire
| 1
| 3 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Trio Freila'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 3
| 3 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Ultra Freila'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Fire
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Blast, Poison, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Virus Breath'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Dark
| 4
| 3 hit(s)
| Signature and Sick
|-
| '''Wonderful Aques'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Water
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature, Paralyze, Charm, and Ailment1
|-
| '''Zan'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Wind
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Zandyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Wind
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Zanma'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Wind
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Blast and Ailment1
|-
| '''Zio'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Elec
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Ziodyne'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Elec
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|-
| '''Zionga'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Elec
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Paralyze and Ailment1
|}

==Recovery, Status Cleansers, Attribute Enhancements==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Amrita'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Patra, Nervundi, and Area
|-
| '''Bright Revel'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Up, Crt_Up, and Area
|-
| '''Dance of Bravery'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Up, Crt_Up, and Mystic
|-
| '''Dekunda'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Renew, Area, and Efficient
|-
| '''Dia'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 2
| 1 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Diarahan'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 6
| 1 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Diarama'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| None
|-
| '''Doronpa'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Cloak
|-
| '''Energy Drop'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Nervundi and Mystic
|-
| '''Energy Shower'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Nervundi and Area
|-
| '''Heat Riser'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Up, Def_Up, Spd_Up, and Mystic
|-
| '''Intense Diarama'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature and Sadism
|-
| '''Kind Diarama'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 4
| 1 hit(s)
| Signature and Masochism
|-
| '''Madoronpa'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Cloak, Area, and Mystic
|-
| '''Marakukaja'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Def_Up and Area
|-
| '''Masukukaja'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Up and Area
|-
| '''Matarukaja'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Up and Area
|-
| '''Media'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Mediarahan'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Mediarama'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Area
|-
| '''Me Patra'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Patra and Area
|-
| '''Patra'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Patra and Mystic
|-
| '''Rakukaja'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Def_Up and Mystic
|-
| '''Rebellion'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Crt_Up and Mystic
|-
| '''Recarm'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Revive
|-
| '''Recarmdra'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Stress, Revive, and Area
|-
| '''Refresh Ring'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Nervundi, Patra, and Mystic
|-
| '''Revolution'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Crt_Up and Area
|-
| '''Salvation'''
| ''Severe''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 7
| 1 hit(s)
| Area, Purify, and Panacea
|-
| '''Samarecarm'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Revive
|-
| '''Shade Revel'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Up, Def_Up, and Area
|-
| '''Sukukaja'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Up and Mystic
|-
|-
| '''Tarukaja'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Up and Mystic
|}

==Attribute Reduction and Status Ailments==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Anima Freeze'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust, Area, Mystic, and Ailment3
|-
| '''Balzac'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Rage, Ailment2, and Mystic
|-
| '''Dark Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Dark_Break
|-
| '''Debilitate'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Dn, Def_Dn, Spd_Dn, and Mystic
|-
| '''Dekunda'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Renew, Area, and Efficient
|-
| '''Dormina'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust, Sick, and Ailment2
|-
| '''Earth Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Earth_Break
|-
| '''Edict of Fear'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Dn, Crt_Dn, and Mystic
|-
| '''Edict of Ruin'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Dn, Def_Dn, and Mystic
|-
| '''Elec Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Elec_Break
|-
| '''Evil Smile'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Sick, Area, Mystic, and Ailment3
|-
| '''Evil Touch'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Sick, Ailment2, and Mystic
|-
| '''Fire Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Fire_Break
|-
| '''Hapirma'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust, Panic, and Ailment2
|-
| '''Heal Block'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Recovery_Wall
|-
| '''Illuzone'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Rage, Charm, and Ailment2
|-
| '''Light Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Light_Break
|-
| '''Mafui'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic, Sick, and Ailment2
|-
| '''Marakunda'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Def_Dn and Area
|-
| '''Marin Karin'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Charm, Ailment2, and Mystic
|-
| '''Masukunda'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Dn and Area
|-
| '''Matarunda'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Dn and Area
|-
| '''Obeisance'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Crt_Dn and Area
|-
| '''Pierce Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Pierce_Break
|-
| '''Poisma'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Poison, Ailment2, and Mystic
|-
| '''Poison Mist'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Poison, Area, Mystic, and Ailment3
|-
| '''Pulinpa'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic, Ailment2, and Mystic
|-
| '''Rakunda'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Def_Dn and Mystic
|-
| '''Sexy Dance'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Charm, Area, Mystic, and Ailment3
|-
| '''Shibaboo'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Charm, Poison, and Ailment2
|-
| '''Slash Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Slash_Break
|-
| '''Slumpa'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Rage, Poison, and Ailment2
|-
| '''Soul Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Exhaust, Ailment2, and Mystic
|-
| '''Strike Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Strike_Break
|-
| '''Submission'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Crt_Dn and Efficient
|-
| '''Sukunda'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Dn and Mystic
|-
| '''Tarunda'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Dn and Mystic
|-
| '''Tentarafoo'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Panic, Area, Mystic, and Ailment3
|-
| '''Valiant Dance'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Rage, Area, Mystic, and Ailment3
|-
| '''Veil of Weakness'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Atk_Dn, Crt_Dn, and Area
|-
| '''Veil of Fragility'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Spd_Dn, Def_Dn, and Area
|-
| '''Water Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Water_Break
|-
| '''Wind Break'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Wind_Break
|}

==Navigator==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Ability Scan'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Support_Scan
|-
| '''Basic Analysis'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Weakness_Scan and Strength_Scan
|-
| '''Disrupting Wave'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Curse and Area
|-
| '''Healing Wave'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Regen and Area
|-
| '''Relaxing Wave'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Vigor and Area
|-
| '''Resistance Scan'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Strength_Scan
|-
| '''Rousing Wave'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Fortune and Area
|-
| '''Shroud'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Eclipse
|-
| '''Wide Shroud'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Eclipse, Area, and Mystic
|-
| '''Annihilation Song'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Ruin, Curse, Area, and Signature
|-
| '''Brutal Scan'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Weakness_Scan and Strength_Scan
|-
| '''Deep Shroud'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| Eclipse
|-
| '''Focus Note'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Regen, Vigor, and Mystic
|-
| '''Full Analysis'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Strength_Scan, Weakness_Scan, Support_Scan, and Mystic
|-
| '''Lunar Eclipse'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Eclipse, Area, and Renew
|-
| '''Orb of Power'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Inner_Strength, Area, and Efficient
|-
| '''Orb of Resolve'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Cloak, Area, and Eclipse
|-
| '''Victory Song'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Renew, Fortune, Area, and Signature
|-
| '''Enemy Radar'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Omen, Area, and Mystic
|-
| '''Escape Route'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Prophecy, Area, and Melody
|-
| '''Impenetrable Shroud'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 5
| 1 hit(s)
| Eclipse
|-
| '''Total Analysis'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Strength_Scan, Weakness_Scan, Support_Scan, and Ruin
|}

==Defender==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Heal Guard'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 1
| 1 hit(s)
| Cover
|-
| '''Vital Cover'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Cover and Def_Up
|-
| '''Agile Cover'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Cover and Spd_Up
|-
| '''Ally Guard'''
| ''Weak''
| Magical
| Recovery
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Full_Cover
|-
| '''Line Guard'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Phys_Safety and Area
|-
| '''Spell Guard'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| Magi_Safety and Area
|-
| '''Full Guard'''
| ''Fierce''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 0
| 1 hit(s)
| All_Safety and Area
|}

==Miscellaneous==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Type
! scope="col" | Element
! scope="col" | PL
! scope="col" | Hits
! scope="col" | Flags
|-
| '''Life Drain'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| HP_Drain
|-
| '''Spirit Drain'''
| ''Strong''
| Magical
| Almighty
| 3
| 1 hit(s)
| SP_Drain
|}

[[Category: Systems]]

2025-11-14: The Style is Classic For a Reason

2026-01-13T17:38:47Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: The Style is Classic For a Reason''' *'''Cast:''' Laurent Fontaine, Maria Sakurai *'''Where:''' Kagurazaka - Hillside Street *'''OOC Date:''' November 14, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' August 10, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Slipping away from her friends after spotting her ex-boyfriend, Maria wanders over to Kagurazaka and encounters a foreign man...! But he's a professor, so that's okay. He tolerates her Maria-ness, and they have a nice chat.'' ---- <Pose Tracker>..."

*'''Log: The Style is Classic For a Reason'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Laurent Fontaine]], [[Maria Sakurai]]
*'''Where:''' Kagurazaka - Hillside Street
*'''OOC Date:''' November 14, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 10, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Slipping away from her friends after spotting her ex-boyfriend, Maria wanders over to Kagurazaka and encounters a foreign man...! But he's a professor, so that's okay. He tolerates her Maria-ness, and they have a nice chat.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
Kagurazaka has a market some weekends.

Tokyo has street markets -- really, any city of its size is bound to have a lot -- but Kagurazaka's market is special. The French expatriates that call Kagurazaka home mean that French, and especially Parisian, goods are at hand. If someone wants a baguette or a croissant, or imported clothes from France, or to just people watch folks from outside of Japan...

Well, the Friday evening market is a great time to do it. The market runs along the street that runs next to the former moat of a Tokugawa castle, now turned into a canal.

Most of the people here are still Japanese. And thus, as always, Laurent Fontaine stands out.

Literally.

He is some six feet, four inches in height -- towering over most of the crowds, tall even by European standards. Laurent is wearing a collared navy blue shirt, untucked but buttoned -- and slacks. This is what passes as casual for him. He runs a hand through his beard, as he turns over an apple at a fruit stand, considering it.

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria shouldn't have come to Tokyo. It had just been to check out a new shop the other girls had been raving about, and all had been well on their shopping trip until she'd seen ''him''.
With his new girlfriend.
He hadn't seen her.

Maria had run away, leaving her friends behind. And then she'd ended up here, in a place she doesn't think she's seen before. There are more foreigners here than other places, she had noticed after wandering a way. And foreign things! And foreign foods. Look, croissants!

(Maria, most cafes have those...)

Unsubtle, she's been staring. It's almost like being in a foreign country! You know, if it were still majority Japanese. And that man over there is at least a foot on her...

Dressed in the Seven Sisters uniform, she's certainly a high schooler of some extraction, just not one from Tokyo. Her uniform places her as someone from Sumaru if one is familiar. Her long pink hair is pulled up into a high ponytail with a large white ribbon. Her schoolbag clutched behind her thighs, she's staring at Laurent.

"Hi!" she says at last. "You're really tall! I've met an American before, you know, and he wasn't as tall as you are!"

This may be the warning sign about how this conversation will go.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
Laurent is getting used to attracting stares. It comes with the territory of being foreign born and with his height -- though the fact he has money, and dresses like he does, has a way of making the stares not be too awkward. He turns his head, as he catches Maria looking at him. No, staring.

His eyebrow quirks -- and then there's a smile. He doesn't place her school uniform; the only one he really recognizes in Shujin's, and only because his daughter goes there.

"Bonjour. But, I'm no American," he says with a wink. His Japanese is heavily accented. "But... I have heard there are tall Americans, too, hm?"

He is in his mid-thirties, easily. He smiles at her and rolls with it -- maybe he's charmed, or maybe he is just being nice. "But, I wonder. Can you guess where I'm from, by the accent?"

It might be a joke. There are literally French flags decorating some of the nearby stalls.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
His accent is different than Tyler's. Less... nasal, among other things. Isn't it weird, how Americans have a nasal accent?

"Uh huh! Some of them are very tall," she tells him. "I've seen movies, you know," she informs him, as if to explain how a Japanese high-schooler is an authoritative source on the heights of Americans.

But, can she guess where he's from by his accent?

"Um..."

Kagurazaka is known as a neighborhood for many FRENCH expats.

Decorating many of the stalls are FRENCH flags.

There are many distinctly FRENCH goods and foods for sale all around her.

Maria stares up at Laurent, doing a fine impression of a website trying to load and failing.

"Um... England? Scotland?" she hazards, full of hope.

The only reason Maria isn't in the bottom third of her class is because of her math scores.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
"Ah, movies! Of course," Laurent says, with a patient smile.

He looks down at Maria and he waits as she tries to work through the answer. A French flag flutters behind him; in the distance, a man with a red beret and a striped white and black shirt plays the piano. When she responds, he keeps smiling.

"I'm afraid not. South of there," he says. "I'm from France. Paris, originally." He extends a hand to her for a handshake. "Laurent Fontaine, professor of history at the University of Tokyo, at your service."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria takes in all these things.

She still gets a failing grade.

"South?" Maria says, and she's already starting to think about what's south of England. A dotted line travels south of the British Isles and lands on... on... there's a section of the map that just has the words 'Spain? Italy??' scribbled on it in her mental map of the world.

Mercifully, he explains. "Oh! France! The Eiffel Tower! ...But you don't look French?"

...Laurent may well be starting to get the impression that there is not a lot going on in this girl's head. Some people are very simple! That's fine.

"But, you don't look French," she says, glancing down at his hand and pausing for an uncomfortable period before remembering, oh, yes, foreigners shake hands. She extends her own.

"Wow... at Tokyo University? Oh-- um, I'm Maria! Maria Sakurai." She pauses. "I'm just a student, though. At high school. I'm not a professor. I've never thought about being a professor, you know."

A long silence follows behind.

"So, where is this, anyway? I mean-- we're still in Tokyo." The uncertainity in her expression does suggest that there is a '...right?' still present, though.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
"I don't, do I? What does a Frenchman look like, then...?"

He says it with cheer. It ''is'' a type of fun to get an unfiltered view of what expectations a Japanese high schooler might have for his homeland. Laurent looks thoughtful, for a moment, then -- though he shakes her hand, before pulling his back.

"It's good work, if it is your sort of thing," he says. "And yes. I teach European history and some courses on ancient history. Perhaps, one day, if you should attend there..."

He smiles. The smile flickers, though, with confusion. She doesn't know where she is?

"This is Kagurazaka. A... neighborhood?" He sounds unsure. Tokyo's neighborhoods and regions are a little confusing to him, still. "Of Tokyo. A lot of French expatriates live here, you see. A little slice of home, I suppose."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
What does a Frenchman look like...?

Maria gazes up at him, her expression distant as she thinks carefully about what makes someone 'look French'.

"Epaulettes," she says, and there might be some surprise, perhaps, that she knows a word like that. "And a feathered hat. And a cravat." ...Maria, that fashion is over one hundred and fifty years behind at ''least''.

One other fun Maria fact: she reads way too many romance novels. She also is a girl of culture and has read Rose of Versailles. Please don't quiz her about any historical facts in the manga, she won't remember them.

It would probably just make Laurent sad, anyway.

"Maybe?" Maria offers, because she's a second year, and even if it feels like it's coming at her too fast, a third year and the entrance exams are a long way away. And... does she want to go to college? Does she even know what her future should look like, so near and so far off?

"Kagurazaka... Kagurazaka," she says, repeating the name for good measure, like she doesn't want to forget it. "Got it! I was with my friends in, um," she pauses, thinking as she takes a quick look about, "Kaguragashi. At the mall?"

It's really just across the Kanda River. She's wandered a bit, but hasn't gone too far off-course.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
"Hm," Laurent muses. "A little out of date... though, the style is classic for a reason." After all, some of his Hunter's garb is much like that. Though, Laurent dare not mention that to her. She wouldn't know anything about that, he is sure.

He doesn't press the point about college. Oh, he encourages everyone to go -- but she seems reticent. Moreover, he is beginning to think she might be lost. This makes him need to be a responsible adult.

"Ah! Across the river," he says. He looks thoughtful for a moment. "You wandered a little away from them, then? Or did you split up for the day?"

He tries -- and fails -- to do the train route in his head. He still needs his smartphone to handle navigating Tokyo's subways and trains, though.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Uh huh!" Maria says, pleased. "I think it looks good!" Especially on the front cover of a slightly spicy light novel, which may comprise 100% of the things Maria actually reads these days. "No one dresses like that here, though." She may have an odd idea of what people should be wearing in other countries. But perhaps he should be happy she's not saying they wear striped shirts and berets and carry around baguettes. ...Like a mime.

She seems like she might be a little lost. Some less kind people might say she's been a little lost most of her life.

Her expression turns a little more... reticent than before. She looks away, as if something were on her mind. "Something like that. Anyway-- um, I have my phone, so I can call them...? And, if it's just across the river..."

She doesn't seem like she's in any great hurry to get back, though.
'He' might still be there.

"So-- uh, you live here, Fontaine-san?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
"Well... I suppose it would be a little like everyone wearing kimono and samurai armor," Laurent says, with a briefly thoughtful look. He keeps his voice patient; she might be a little lost, but having had over a decade of teaching introductory history courses in different cities, he has gotten used to such patience.

He catches the way she looks reticent. He doesn't pry -- no, best not to.

"Good," he says. "As long as you're pleasantly lost, and not unpleasantly." Then, he smiles at her question. "Just so! I live here, with my daughter. She... is also in high school, though--ah, not yours, going by the uniform."

His nose wrinkles, for a moment. "I moved here last year, to teach at the university. And do research, too, of course."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Hmm..."

Maria thinks about this.

"That would be... really cool, though? It would be like living in a samurai epic..." she muses aloud, starry-eyed.

It may be possible to consume too much fiction for entertainment.

"It's not pleasant," she says, all of a sudden, only to start like someone flipped a switch on the back of her neck. "But-- not unpleasant! It's... it just 'is'." She shrugs, helplessly.

Teenager matters are like that sometimes.

Not hers, going by the uniform. Maria tilts her head to one side, like a puzzled dog. It's almost like she has to think about that for a moment, a little mental math playing its way out as she considers if they had any transfer students in the last year.

And to be fair to Maria, there is actually a reason why there could be a missed transfer student in her school and she would have missed it that has nothing to do with her powers of perception.

"Yes. There's no one like that at Sevens," she says. "Besides, it's over in Sumaru, right? Your daughter would live with you."

At least, that's what a 'normal' girl like Maria assumes, forgetting in the moment that she's met a young foreign girl, all in the midst of an exploration of a 'haunted hotel' featuring 'actors' (real ghosts).

Yeah. She's already met his daughter and has failed to, once again, thread the needle.

Continuing blithely on, Maria says, "Oh, I see. So you're new. But your Japanese is very good!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
"It would be exciting... though, perhaps too exciting," Laurent says. He tilts his head, then -- his eyes blinking when she says that it's not pleasant. Or unpleasant.

"It sounds complicated," Laurent says. "And--ah, yes. She lives with me. She goes to Shujin Academy. It's a good school, I understand, though... that business with that bastard of a teacher."

He frowns for a moment, and then he smiles at the compliment of his Japanese. "I studied when I was younger," he says. "I've learned a few languages, in fact. Some ancient ones, for my job."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
What else is she going to say about it? It's going to be super awkward when she calls them. They'll proably tell her off for ditching them. They wouldn't get it, even if she told them, though.

No one does.

But right now, it's neither here nor there.

Or actually, unfortunately, it is. Maria wrinkles her forehead, her mouth twisting in a frown. "Shujin, huh... That's... um, nevermind." She blinks, though, at what else he has to say. "Um. What was that about a teacher?"

It's not like she'd really heard about it, since by the time she was out of the hospital and returned to school, the conversation at Sevens had moved on well ahead of 'old' news like that.

So he's studied a lot of languages? Even old ones. "Oh! Like, um, pig Latin?"

...Almost, Maria. Almost.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>
Laurent certainly wouldn't be the person to go to -- but, for that matter, he knows that.

"Ah, just a rotten teacher who was there," the professor says. "He is gone now, though, and that's that." He doesn't see the need to give Kamoshida the dignity of speaking his name aloud; some don't deserve such things, Laurent thinks.

At the question of pig Latin, though, he laughs.

"Latin, not of the porcine variety," Laurent says, after a good chuckle. Then, he glances at his watch -- he still wears one, and it's very fashionable -- and then looks up. "Ah, but pardon me. I should be getting home. I'll need to help make dinner. It was a pleasure to meet you, madamoiselle. Enjoy Kagurazaka, hm?"

He puts the apple he was considering back and smiles -- then tips his fingers to his brow, before he starts off.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
"Oh. Well, that's good. I hope he didn't die, even if he was rotten." This is a sentiment that might well shift, though, if she knew at all what he'd done. Maria pauses, though, on the subject of Shujin and that bad teacher there before offering up, "Our principal died, you know. They say it was the Joker Killer who did it. The police can't catch him..."

She's pensive, thinking again of what Akechi had told her.

People who don't deserve to hurt like that, rotten people, and... people who can't be caught by the law. It's all a jumble. It's almost like-- the answer is there, and then.

And then she hesitates and pulls away.

"Oh. So, 'Regular Latin'?" she says, turning the new subject over eagerly. If there's Pig Latin and Regular Latin, then... "Do other languages have things like that? Um, like... Horse French and Regular French? There's nothing like that for Japanese, though. But I think it would be good if there was."
She has no filter, it seems.

But-- ah, they're out of time. He has to go home and help make dinner, and she...

"Ah! I see. Then, please take care, Fontaine-san!" It's probably not likely that they'll meet again. But...

Her gaze turns to the apple, resting there by itself. What was that about apples? About rotten apples. ...How would it be, for someone who died at the hands of the Joker Killer?

Enjoy Kagurazaka, he'd said. Perhaps she doesn't have to call her friends. Not today.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-12-24: Where Different Pieces Fit Together

2026-01-13T17:31:22Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Where Different Pieces Fit Together''' *'''Cast:''' Katsuya Suou, Tamaki Uchida *'''Where:''' Kuzunoha Detective Agency *'''OOC Date:''' December 24, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' August 30, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Katsuya and Tamaki catch up at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency and get a chance to chat while they're not in the middle of a crisis. They talk about recent events and Katsuya's brother, and Katsuya makes another attempt to ask about what happened in Mikag..."

*'''Log: Where Different Pieces Fit Together'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Tamaki Uchida]]
*'''Where:''' Kuzunoha Detective Agency
*'''OOC Date:''' December 24, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 30, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Katsuya and Tamaki catch up at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency and get a chance to chat while they're not in the middle of a crisis. They talk about recent events and Katsuya's brother, and Katsuya makes another attempt to ask about what happened in Mikage-cho. However, it's not Tamaki's tale to tell.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
It's been weeks since he's been by the detective agency with anyone at all, let alone by himself.

Considering recent events, though, it's likely wise to check in. With work being the way it is and their often-clashing schedules, he hasn't had much chance to stop and talk to the others in their little group. That and-- well, he'll be the first to confess that he'd cut the rest of them out of his own involvement with the Palace. Considering the rumors about the young man in question and what else they'd found out, though, Katsuya is still unfortunately convinced it was necessary.

"Hello?"

Pushing open the door, he steps into the detective agency office, his gaze as always first taken by the enormous golden lucky cat statue. It always reminds him of the dog statue at the police department and, well, it ''is'' a cat.

Of course, the other thing about coming out here is, just days ago he had gone to a festival event in Iwatodai, and there he'd crossed paths with Tamaki Uchida and not under 'dire circumstances' for a change. She had told him something very, very important and he's been doing his best to not dwell on what he'd done.
Also, he'd caught a goldfish.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Like clockwork, the lucky cat statue located just inside the Agency meows, pleading with Katsuya for "1000 yen, please, nya~!" As it does with anyone and everyone who passes through its doors. It's definitely not antagonizing Katsuya in particular, no.

Todoroki seems to be in the middle of a phone conversation, and stands from his desk to move to the rear kitchenette, the low rumble of his voice diminishing as he disappears to go make some tea for himself. He does give Katsuya a nod before he steps away, however, gesturing to Tamaki's desk as he does so.

Tamaki has been spending the better part of the day trying to organize her case files before her university classes resume within a few days. From the looks of it, she has made steady progress, with a tall stack of binders placed on her desk and only a few scattered pages and half-filled binders strewn about in a yet-to-be-organized state.

Even this late in summer, the heat and the tedium of her task seem to have gotten the better of her, and she remains slumped over on her desk, dozing quietly next to several now-empty canned coffees. Katsuya's 'Hello?' and the cat statue's mewling cause her to wake up with a start.

There's a bright, saturated yellow divider tab stuck to her forehead. She blinks several times as she tries to gain her bearings, but seeing that there's someone present jolts her to something at least ''resembling'' full wakefulness within moments. " -- Suou-san! Hello! What brings you here today?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
The last time Katsuya had been in here, he'd given 1000 yen to the statue. He had assumed that, like Coppy, it had been to collect money for a good cause but... now that he thinks about it...

His musings -- punctuated as they are by the statue's request for a donation, are interrupted when he glances over at Todoroki and finds he's in the middle of a serious phone conversation. Briefly, Katsuya gestures towards the door, only for Todoroki to gesture at Tamaki's desk, and the older investigator makes his way to the kitchenette before this game of Charades can get any more involved.

Speaking of Tamaki, she appears to be busy, if he's to judge by all the paperwork, binders, and empty cans of coffee. She also appears to be asleep--

Well, for a half-second more, that is. She rises suddenly from slumberland, and Katsuya can't help but notice that something has made the jump to wakefullness along with you.

"Actually, I, er..." he starts, pausing as he thinks about how to say this. "Uchida-kun, there... is something," he says, gesturing vaguely in the direction of his own forehead. It would be better to try to ignore it, almost, except...

Well, he knows that as embarrassing as it would be for him to be in the same situation, it would be moreso for him to be in the same situation and ''not be alerted of it''.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki stares at Katsuya in quizzical confusion for a moment before she catches his meaning and peels the plastic tab off of her forehead. Her quiet snicker gives way to open laughter as she shakes her head at herself. "Snrrrrkkkkhahahahaaa. ''Wow'', not my proudest moment." Whatever embarrassment she feels, if any, is brief and fleeting, falling away from her like water off a duck's back.

She inhales sharply and clasps her hands together as she stands from her desk to properly greet Katsuya. "Well! I take it you didn't come here solely about ..." She silently taps her forehead where the tab was moments ago, then breaks out into a grin. "But seriously, what's up?"

She's at least got a few ideas of her own regarding topics to catch up on. "Got anything to share about the Joker Killer? How did we both end up at the Atelier and the Palace in parallel? Or, uh ..."

Her expression falters, and she grows serious as she asks her last question. "How's your brother? I haven't heard from him in a bit ..."

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Surely, she'll be embarrassed, or upset at herself for having the issue pointed out. It's how he would feel, Katsuya assumes.

Tamaki catches him off-guard by not only 'going with the flow' of it, but by even laughing at herself. "I thought it was best to mention it," he says, discharging the excuse for himself that he'd had prepared before he'd spoke up. It hardly seems needed now, though.

It's not what he had expected, but then, the same could be said about a number of his acquaintances of late. Someone who can use a Persona is not a 'normal' person.

Unfortunately for Katsuya, the same applies to him as well.

"No, of course not. I wanted to ask about recent rumors, particularly after that recent Palace. I know what my colleagues are talking about," he explains, "but when it comes to what everyone else is... Of course, I also check Darkside, but that does not tell me about everything that is happening."

Especially when it comes to what people are passing about as rumor, and thus, what could become true.

"To tell you the truth, in both cases it was both Darkside and Akabane-kun that led me into those circumstances," he says, of the Atelier and the Palace. "However, when it comes to the Joker Killer... no, not beyond an apparent recent attempt. Amano-kun and Serizawa-kun were able to help handle the situation. It appears that he is preparing for something..."

And Ulala, last he checked, was also thinking about trying to call him herself.

"I am hoping that we may be able to work with Sakura-san to learn more, particularly about the sanitarium," he concludes, because that's the best he has. "If we are correct in the connections between the killer and Tatsuzou Sudou, then the killer likely is in truth Tatsuya Sudou. In fact, at this point, I would be surprised if he were not. We will need some way to gain entrance to the sanitarium, however. I do not think we will be able to walk in the front door."

But Tamaki has something else she wants to ask about, something a lot closer to his heart. How is his brother?

"..." Katsuya glances away from her. "I have not... heard from him in a little while." Or heard about him, if he's being more accurate. Tatsuya's keeping his number blocked, it seems, and he still hasn't called home. "I still don't know what he's thinking. He missed his final exams, and the second semester starts next week. At this rate..."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki nods while grinning at Katsuya's offered explanation. It was best to mention it! "I appreciate the heads-up! Thank you!"

She curls a finger over her chin as she recalls her own routes. "The way I found out about the Atelier, I had found out about from some old classmates I had reconnected with. I figured it'd be prudent to get some firsthand experience on something that was a new topic to me at the time in order to help out another client." Tamaki grimaces, gritting her teeth. "There's another Homunculus forming, no doubt about it, and that'll mean another Atelier."

Flatly, she adds, "Do not, under any circumstances, try to take on a Homunculus during the Dark Hour." Given the sharp swerve from her usually jovial attitude, this may stand out in stark contrast. "Barely got out alive."

"Seki-kun is who clued me in on the Palace. They're helping out around here, you know." Tamaki rubs the back of her neck. "They've got talent when it comes to spotting things that don't quite add up in public investor reports. A lot of kids that people write off as delinquents actually have something going for them, they just need someone to see it in them, you know?"

That's a bit a tangent, though, which she realizes after having said it. Katsuya points out the rumors on the Dark Side boards, and Tamaki catches his drift. "Wonder if there's a way to find out what was true before a rumor sets in. If someone had gone in early enough and obtained the same information, then we know it was legitimate from the get-go and not just internet scuttlebutt."

She furrows her brow and holds up a finger. "And -- look, I've been through two incidents already prior to all this, and something about that Palace reminds me of those days. They were all cognitive reflections of someone's ideal world. I feel like I'm starting to see the beginning of a throughline, and if that's right, we might need to start looking more closely at the Nanjo Group, the Kirijo Group, and possibly even the government itself. ... That last bit is why I'm interested in Sakura-san, personally."

Tamaki nods at the mention of a 'recent attempt'. "The attack at Shujin, right? I heard about that, I was actually there trying to glean what I could from inspecting the scene and talking with those present. I ran into a Gekkoukan High student there, oddly enough -- a previous acquaintance already -- and he's got some thoughts on the Joker Killer's method of moving from place to place like he does."

She quizzically raises an eyebrow at Katsuya. "... Is Serizawa-san still planning on calling the Joker Killer on herself? She let me in on that plan of hers and came to me for tactical advice. ... and I'm worried about the way she doesn't seem to value her own life as much as others."

Hell, she's worried about that for a lot of people. Lot of that going around lately.

Tamaki gives Katsuya a wry grin after he muses about the Joker Killer's real identity. "Yeah, I've heard some of the aliases he's used from various people. About as subtle as a pile of bricks, but that's induction, not deduction. It's best to be thorough."

Speaking of people she's worried about ... "He comes by every once in a while. He's alive, at least. Usually looking worse for wear, but we keep changes of clothes for him and I've got a healthy stockpile of first aid kits here. Just ... please don't press me too hard on how exactly I have access to those."

She lowers her head and gazes up at Katsuya through half-lidded eyes. "If you want some insight into his mindset ... a long time ago, I was in a similar position to him. I recognize the sense of urgency and purpose he moves with. School took a backseat for me, then, too, and what I had to do was legitimately more important." She lifts her chin back up and shakes her head sadly, gesturing with a hand as she continues. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a good state to be in. It's better than being dead or struck with Apathy Syndrome, though. And ... look how I turned out."

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"I see... from St. Hermelin?" he says, because he has a good idea of at least some of whom she means at this point. But there's more.

There's another Homunculus forming. "--Are you certain? I haven't heard anything about it just yet." He regards her steadily, but... it's not as if he has real reason to think she wouldn't tell him the truth about this. "...I see, so there will be another Atelier soon... this, on top of everything else..." He shakes his head.

She has a warning for him, delivered in such a tone that it takes him by surprise. "You... have personal experience with that? I had seen a warning on Darkside," he adds, glancing askance, but he nods after that moment's thought. "Of course. I have no intention of doing something like that."

But when she speaks about the Palace, he pauses. "Seki-san?" And he might have written it off if she hadn't gone on to note well the rest of the person in question's identity. "Tsubasa Seki... I see. So they are aware of such things? I had not realized." Not everyone who is aware of the supernatural currents has a Persona, and not everyone who has a Persona is necessarily in the know. One thing does not mean the other. But it also doesn't mean he doesn't wonder about it for a moment. Except--

No, that can't be. They had almost been killed at the incident in the park. If they had a Persona, they would have been able to fight back instead of barely escaping with their life. Case closed.

"No, you're quite right. They appear to be a thoughtful young... er, person," he hazards, doing his best with this. "Though, they are a little bit brash. And... I cannot say I understand their choice in fashion, but..." It's not like they started a trend, though. He's encountered plenty of people who attain a similar sort of look in and around Sumaru.

"It's possible," he says of what was before rumors got started, "but I cannot know for certain. I suppose if you were keeping your fingers on the pulse, so to speak." It's the sort of think Baofu might be better equipped to scrape, given his position with the website. The recent incidents, though, have gotten her thinking, especially in line of what's been before. "Do you mean, the incident in Mikage-cho? I have only heard rumors. It's hard to know what actually happened." Mark isn't talking, for one, and the Watanabe's viewpoint into it seems to be limited. "So, Nanjo and Kirijo... they have some connection with a group in Port Island," he says, speaking of SEES, "but that's as much as I know. I don't have the time to look into it, I'm afraid."

And if what Akechi has told him is true, the government is involved deeply in these matters. But then, if they assume the involvement of Tatsuzou Sudou, then they already knew that to be the case.

"I see... I wasn't able to follow up on it, but I overheard some of the particulars," he says, of the attack near Shujin. "Is there anything new you learned from that?" He shakes his head, looking distantly pained. "Unfortunately... there isn't anything my colleagues can learn from regular policework."

Is Ulala still planning on making that call? Hesitating, Katsuya nods. "To be honest... I'm not comfortable with it. If she's determined to do it, though, then the least I can do is protect her if she does." He frowns, thinking on what Tamaki's just said to him. "Do... you think so? I hadn't... considered that." Bit by bit, he's begun to seem that much more troubled than before. "If it's still possible to talk her out of this, perhaps... could I count on you to help me?"

It may come off better if it's not just him making the case.

There's no hiding it: his face falls when Tamaki says he comes by here sometimes, often worse for wear. "How often?" Katsuya asks of her immediately, and it's probably not impossible to see the wheels in his head are turning. Through Umie, he did get to talk to his brother, once, after the events at the art exhibition in Aoba Park, but...
Even if that had gone off amicably enough (all considering), it's still not as if they're on regular speaking terms.

"I... do understand that there is something he feels he should do, but..." Again, he shakes his head. "Putting off his schoolwork and worrying his parents, are these things really necessary? Even if he were to just call them, to say that he's safe..." He sighs. "I know that he's in some sort of trouble, and he's... worried about it following him home, or something like that. Still, is it really necessary that he do it alone?" Even if she says she turned out alright, he can't entirely put a stop on his own worries.

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki nods in confirmation. "Yeah, from St. Hermelin. You remember Kirishima-san from the other day, right? She's one of them. We were both members of the fencing club, specializing in different disciplines. I don't know if you've met Inaba-san or Sonomura-san yet, though ..."

About a newly-forming Atelier, Tamaki confirms: "Dead certain." Tamaki raises a hand. "That warning on Dark Side was, in fact, mine. The good news is that we've obtained the Thread, so entry should be possible soon enough."

On the topic of Tsubasa and how much they know, Tamaki looks up at the ceiling and squints before returning her head to eye level again. "I think they're only kind of aware? They don't seem to have a strong grasp of supernatural concepts, like they're mostly relaying what just sounds like metaphor to them. Their information was second-hand, too, mostly coming from another Persona-user who goes by Phoenix -- though Phoenix's own understanding definitely surpasses Seki-kun's." When he mentions their sense of fashion, the edge of Tamaki's mouth twitches. " -- I think I do understand it. It's a delicate topic, and that's all I'm going to say."

About Mikage-cho, Tamaki nods. "I was at Mikage-cho when that incident happened, yes, as a 3rd-year at St. Hermelin. My own involvement there was limited: I was on the sidelines, holed up trying to protect some classmates and the nurse." She pauses, hesitating over whether she should mention this next part. "... Aaand prior to that, I was much more heavily involved with an incident at Karukozaka High as a 1st-year. The full details of both of those incidents are also delicate topics. You saw what that Palace was like, you can maybe hazard a guess about how those supernatural spaces can reveal some pretty intimate details about someone's life. Mikage-cho's really not my story to tell, and the less said about Karukozaka High, the better."

When Katsuya says he can't look into things on Port Island, Tamaki jerks a thumb over at the pile of binders on her desk and sighs. "Don't worry, I'm on it. The best that I can be, at least. My focus has been on breadth, while most other people such as yourself are more in the weeds on some more specific task. I've got a bit more of a zoomed-out view, seeing where concepts overlap, where different pieces fit together, you know?"

Tamaki shakes her head when Katsuya asks if she learned anything of note about the Shujin attack. "Not much I didn't already know going in, I'm afraid. I actually ''wasn't'' aware that Amano-san or Serizawa-san were present, so we could ask them."

Katsuya's insistence that he protects Ulala garners a nod and a plaintive smile from Tamaki. "That's about the best I can do for her, too." When he asks for her ''help'', though, she nervously smiles and raises her hands. "Aheh hehhh ... I may have bungled my chance to talk her out of it. It -- set something off in me, and I was too hard on her. That may seem uncharacteristic of me, I know, but there are a few things that really get under my skin. Namely, when someone considers a person to be disposable, or someone who 'won't be missed'. I'm used to responding to that sentiment with anger, but that's usually for the likes of Kamiya in charge of his Palace, someone applying that label to a ''different'' person, and my ire was misdirected towards Serizawa-san over her doing that to ''herself''."

How often? "Every ... week or two. The stretches that he's gone for have gotten longer and longer, though."

Is putting off his schoolwork and worrying his parents really necessary? Is it necessary for him to go off alone? Tamaki lowers her head as she prepares to give Katsuya an uneasy answer.

"They ... might be. The last time we spoke, it went about as well when I had that flash of anger towards Serizawa-san, for much the same reason. I'm sorry."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"Yes, I recall. I had thought you were former classmates. So, then you must also be familiar with Inaba-san--" She goes on to say as much and Katsuya nods as if to assert his own agreement here. "I have not yet met your friend Sonomura-san, however." Perhaps, when the time is right, he can try to see what they have to say about what happened in Mikage-cho that others either can't or don't want to say more regarding.

"I see, so that was you," he says, trying to think back about the username. "So do you post there often? I only read, myself." It's probably just as well, because he'd probably pick something extremely stupid as a username on a place like that. But she says she's found the Thread already for the Atelier. "So, then it's only a matter of time. If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to call me." Knowing her, Umie will also likely involve herself.

"I see... so rather like Watanabe-san's husband." Who really doesn't have any choice but to be aware after the attempt on his life. "Phoenix? That was the one who fought to try to save them, I think. I wonder why they are interested in protecting Seki-kun. ...Perhaps they feel another attack by the Joker Killer is likely, or..." He shakes his head. "All I can do is speculate, however. It isn't as if I have any evidence to the contrary."

Leaving behind the topic of Tsubasa's choice of fashion (like the night to Katsuya's daylight, if a nice suit is the sun), his mention of Mikage-cho brings about the topic he'd been trying to ask Masao about some weeks prior. While she has some idea of what happened, she says it's not her story to tell--
In contrast to what happened at Karukozaka, which she was more involved with.
Which was also a deeper, personal look into someone else's life.

Slowly, Katsuya exhales a long breath. "I... see. I will respect your, er, their privacy, in that case. If it should become relevant to ongoing cases, however, please.... consider telling us what you do know." That's 'us', not 'him': it's not just about what he wants to know. It's about what they all should understand in order to proceed and survive, should it become relevant and necessary.

His gaze follows the movement of her thumb. "Ah. So it is that complicated? I have some basic understanding about Tartarus and the situation with that, but I suppose, ah... only what most people might come to know." In other words, what Umie told him and what he's gleaned from the boards and other Persona-Users. "Thank you for keeping an eye on it, Uchida-kun. Between things in Sumaru and my work at the police department, I'm afraid I'm limited in what I have the time for." He nods, as if to agree with his own statement to follow: "It's good that we have people looking at as many things as possible. As you say, it can become important to find the connections between disparate things."

Like Ateliers, and Palaces, and whatever it was that happened in Mikage-cho and now Karukozaka High as well. He'll look into the latter, but he expects to find little if anything.

"I see... I don't know if there's much more than that, but we could talk about that once we're able to learn what we can with Sakura-san, perhaps," he says, of the Shujin attack.

She understands how he feels about Ulala putting herself in danger but... might have bungled the attempt to talk her out of it, Tamaki herself admits. "So you..." he asks, seeming just that much taken aback by this bit of fact about how they had been with one another. "...I see... so, she did not take that well." He shakes his head. "I am... admittedly not that certain that I can... do better," he hazards, feeling put on the spot, "but, nevertheless, I feel I should talk to her about this. Having her put herself in harm's way..." He frowns, deeply. "Perhaps we can come to a separate conclusion about what we ought to do. Even an attempt to make our way into the sanitarium to confirm the matter may be less dangerous, considering what they said about what happened in the attack outside Shujin High."

Tamaki meanwhile gives him a little more information about his brother. Every week or two... and the stretches are getting longer. Like he's pulling away even from the people here.

Katsuya fidgets with his sunglasses, the expression on his face decidedly unhappy. "I see..." So in other words, even if he stayed here for a week and watched like a hawk for his brother, there's no guarantee they'd cross paths. In fact, it's entirely possible that his brother wouldn't come by here ever again, even without knowing Katsuya could be waiting for him. "..."

He's silent, thinking this over.

Finally, he shakes his head. "No, it's... alright. This isn't something you need to worry about. I am sorry to trouble you about it, Uchida-kun." He inclines his head, just once. "Thank you for looking out for him."

He's silent for a few moments more, as if he were thinking about the matter still.

Then, at long last, he turns his head to look towards her desk. "Now... I had come by to ask about if there were any new rumors circulating. Do you mind if we talk about those?" It's a blunt attempt to change the subject, yes. But his family's burden shouldn't be the burden of the people at Kuzunoha, too.

He might even come to learn something new here.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

Katsuya Suou

2026-01-13T17:26:20Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Season 1 */

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Katsuya Suou'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Katsuya Suou (周防克哉)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Justice|Justice]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| He/Him
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 25 (December 30, 1986)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Reddish brown
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Reddish brown
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'10.5" / 179cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Konan Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| Konan Police Department
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Police Sergeant/Homicide Detective
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Focus
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Persona 2 (FC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| Team Whoop-Ass
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Can you apply the penal code to demons?"'''

A young detective in the Konan PD, Sergeant Katsuya Suou was on the "Old Maid" case until he had a supernatural run-in with the Joker Killer himself and made the mistake of reporting it honestly to his superiors. Now, after being told to take a vacation and get some rest, Katsuya is pursuing the case on his own with Joker target Maya Amano, aiming to bring this monstrous serial killer to justice. Katsuya is so stern, serious, and by-the-book that he seems like he'd never overlook any crime, no matter how minor, but his compassion and sense of fairness do prompt him to look the other way sometimes.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''I am Helios...''
''Bearing the ancient sun, I am the one who violates the night!''
''I shall become your loyal chariot!!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Helios is the Greek personification of the sun and drives the chariot that bears the sun across the sky. He features in the Odyssey when Odysseus's men happen upon Helios's sacred cattle which they kill and eat despite Odysseus's warnings. Furious over this transgression, Helios asks Zeus to punish the men and only Odysseus is left alive.

'''Description''': Helios looks like an anthropomorphic black cat with metal cone-like ears; he's the size of a human adult and is dressed in a very fancy if old-fashioned suit.

= Special Skills =

1. ''You're Under Arrest!'' (Guts): Exactly what it sounds like. Katsuya applies the force of the law to the situation (or threatens arrest, as needed) (...can you arrest a demon, well, dammit, he'll try anyway).

2. ''What is Justice?'' (Understanding): Katsuya mulls over the meaning and application of justice, bringing his empathy to the fore in dealing with the situation.

3. ''Advise'' (Charm): Katsuya listens in and gives his suggestions for how to tackle the problem/situation.

=Relationships=

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| [[Tatsuya Suou]]
| Tatsuya
| The Sun
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| Katsuya's younger brother, a senior at Sevens. Hasn't been at school or at home in weeks; Katsuya's getting an ulcer over it.
|-
| [[Maya Amano]]
| Amano-kun
| The Fool
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A reporter, and one of Katsuya's allies in arms in the investigation of #501. Katsuya admires her optimism and resolve. The one who named their group, unfortunately.
|-
| [[Ulala Serizawa]]
| Serizawa-kun
| The Star
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| Maya's roommate, and best friend. In spite of her ways and the fact that Katsuya finds her mildly terrifying, a reliable member of their team.
|-
| [[Baofu]]
| Baofu
| The Hanged Man
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| The owner of the website Darkside of Sumaru, who has his fingers on the pulse of rumors and intrigue in the city. A shady man who uses shady means, but his experience can't be denied, no matter how suspicious Katsuya finds him.
|-
| [[Umie Akabane]]
| Akabane-kun
| The Chariot
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A Convenience store clerk and Tatsuya's former tutor, years ago. Experienced with a Persona; Katsuya has been learning the ways of the Persona-user world from her as well. But, is he mistaken or is she hiding something...?
|-
| [[Myunghon Yeo]]
| Yeo-san
| The Devil
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A shopkeep and shady person. Possibly a criminal. The Harry to Katsuya's Kim (whatever that means...).
|-
| [[Yukari Takeba]]
| Takeba-san
| The Lovers
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A student and member of SEES. Has a good head on her shoulders, but something about her also makes Katsuya a little nervous, like she could cut him with her words alone.
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
NPCs of note!

*Katsuzou Suou: His and Tatsuya's father (not named in canon). Once upon a time, he was a police detective, until he was accused of taking bribes and went to prison for it. These days, he works as a security guard for hire.
*Maiya Suou: His and Tatsuya's mother (not named in canon). Works part-time as a grocery clerk to help make ends meet at home.
*Chief Togashi: Technically an FC; no canon first name given. The chief of the Konan Police Department, and Katsuya's mentor. Once upon a time, he was Katsuya's father's partner as an officer.
*Captain Shimazu: Technically an FC; no canon first name given. An elite homicide investigator. Currently in charge of the Joker Killer investigation. Appears to take a delight in jerking Katsuya's chain, as it were.
*Detective Tani: Technically an FC but only appears in one scene (no canon given name, obviously). A homicide detective at Konan.

= Soundtrack =

*W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me58ToO6owo When a felon's not engaged in his employment] - '''Gag Track'''

= The Stats You've All Been Waiting For =
(yeah this is just extended Disco Elysium tomfoolery for funsies, please pay it no mind)
*'''INT''': 3 - Logic, Encyclopedia, Rhetoric, Drama, Conceptualization, Visual Calculus
*'''PSY''': 2 - Volition, Décor, Empathy, Authority, Esprit de Corps, Suggestion
*'''FYS''': 3 - Endurance, Pain Threshold, Tener Duende, Electrochemistry, Iustitia, Half Light
*'''MOT''': 4 - Hand-Eye Coordination, Perception, Reaction Speed, Savoire Faire, Mise en Place, Composure
'''Focus Stat: Logic'''

==Thought Cabinet==
(''i'll do up something funny text-wise for these someday if the whim strikes me'')
*'''Currently Internalizing''': ''CRIME AND PUNISHMENT''
*'''Internalized''': ''THE OTHER ME IS A CAT''
*'''Not Yet Internalized''': ''VAMPIRE BAKERS''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==
===Season 1 Logs===
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
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| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

===Season 1 Cutscenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
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[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Adults]]
[[Category:Focus]]

2025-10-23: So You Are A Persona-user Now

2026-01-13T17:25:22Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: So You Are A Persona-user Now''' *'''Cast:''' Masao Inaba, Katsuya Suou, Ulala Serizawa *'''Where:''' Kameya Alley *'''OOC Date:''' October 23, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' July 30, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''On a tip from Myunghon about an experienced Persona-user in the area, Katsuya and Ulala pay Inaba Dry Cleaning a visit to introduce themselves and ask for some advice, and to also ask after an event Ayame and her husband mentioned. However, some things shou..."

*'''Log: So You Are A Persona-user Now'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Masao Inaba]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Ulala Serizawa]]
*'''Where:''' Kameya Alley
*'''OOC Date:''' October 23, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' July 30, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''On a tip from Myunghon about an experienced Persona-user in the area, Katsuya and Ulala pay Inaba Dry Cleaning a visit to introduce themselves and ask for some advice, and to also ask after an event Ayame and her husband mentioned. However, some things should stay buried...''

----

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Welcome to Monday, July 30th. Another busy day in bustling Sumaru City, and somewhere there is an orange-hued Nekomata lamenting the existence of this day as they bury their face into a very specific kind of italian food. This is not that story, but this footnote nonetheless will be kept for the final copy.

Inaba Dry Cleaning is a newer business in the Hirasaka Ward, owing to the low rent (the true cost, some would say, is being in Hirasaka Ward). It's reputable, for its time here. The owners treat their family business with seriousness and care, and their son... has other passions and plans for his life.

But he's had to move back in with the family, and the early weekdays are some of the busiest. It's a humble-looking locale, and the son in question - one Masao "Mark" Inaba - is currently at the front handling orders. He is presently feeling the creative juices being sapped out of him, but he's had his entire childhood to be around and learn the family trade he was meant to inherit.

He exhales loudly at a break in the wave of customers, a pencil in his hand and a blank pad of paper as he idly tries to sketch and draw some patterns that come to mind while waiting for the next customer to show up. Something to keep the creative juices flowing, in the moment.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
At long last, a long string of night shifts have come to their (apparent) end. This is a good thing, because it means that Katsuya is no longer a creature of the night, forever only seeing the sun in the evening and early morning. It really doesn't suit him at all.

(What he doesn't realize is that it stems entirely from a neutral passing comment from him to the Chief about said extended stretch of night shifts. Togashi can't move against against certain powers that be, but he does have authority over his own department, still.)

It also means that he's at last able to pay a visit to a certain dry-cleaning business in Hirasaka. Myunghon had mentioned that there was an experienced Persona-user here. Can he be so lucky for the mysterious 'Inaba-san' to be in? Well, it's worth a try, he figures.

He hasn't come alone. If they're going to work to make contact with other allies, it isn't something he should keep to himself. He'd mentioned it to Ulala, and then...

"This appears to be the business," he says, holding the door. Is it just him, or is that person at the counter familiar somehow?

Resonance, perhaps, may fill in the gaps here.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>As the buddy* cop* duo (*barely buddies *Ulala is not a cop) arrive at the laundromat, Ulala Serizawa is in her usual green spiderweb outfit, as she steps in after him. "Thanks," she says about holding the door open...

And then her eyes widen a bit in recognition after a moment looking at Mark. "Hey! He's that street artist!"

Wait, *that's* where she remembers him first? (The art was very good.)

"Come on, Katsuya-san, I think this is the guy," Ulala says cheerfully as she approaches Mark, a gentle wave of the hand. "Hi, I'm Ulala Serizawa. I think we've met. Are you busy right now?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> The door opens, and the man who'd name himself Mark* (*this actually came from his mother, kind of, but shh) looks up suddenly from his sketching (which is not inherently sketchy by the other definition).

"Hey, welcome to Inaba Dry Cleaning--" Dutiful greeting, until the Resonance comes into play. One's familiar, the other... maybe, kind of? When Ulala more clearly steps into view with that voice, he stops. Being called 'that street artist' puts a bigger smile on his face, like there's color in the room again. "Heh. A real art appreciator! That's what's up!"

He settles a bit. "Yeah, we did, a while back! How've you been? As for, uh, busy, well... I'm on the clock, but, long as you two are the only people in here," one hand goes to his side as he stands up a bit straighter. "What's up?"

Beat.

"...Cool sunglasses."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"The... street artist?" He, himself, can't quite remember that (he has other more pressing memories from that day), but he knows he's seen the younger man's face somewhere recently, though hardly so recently for Katsuya to recall the time or place or context--

"...Serizawa-kun?" He's left to stare after her, then, shaking his head, he brings up the rear.

"I'm Sergeant Katsuya Suou," he says, hesitating a moment as he readjusts his sunglasses. "Though... this has nothing to do with police business," he adds, realizing too late how that formal-formal introduction might have sounded.

Is that... resonance? Has he felt this before, somewhere? "You are... 'Inaba-san'? Yeo-san mentioned you to us," well, to him, to be more specific, but this is a group operation!

"I had thought that we should," he starts to say, when Masao compliments his sunglasses. This derails him for a moment.

"Thank you," Katsuya says, at last. It's hard to tell for sure, but he seems somewhat... pleased, maybe? Usually, people seem to want to make fun of his eyewear!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>"Oh, right, you weren't there! He did really good street art for that festival..." Ulala explains to Katsuya, before turning to Mark. "And I am most definitely not a cop!" In case he was worried about that.

Instead... the Resonance feeling also trips her up a bit, but, it's a good thing! They all feel safe, at least. "I've been alright. We actually wanted to talk to you about... that side of reality, I guess?" She scratches her cheek, unsure how to put it, before turning to Katsuya as he gets derailed.

"He's got this look to him, right?" she affirms Mark. She might bully him but his sunglasses *are* kinda cool. Except when he wears them indoors. But now's not the time for bullying!

"Anyways! We're more... new at this, and have been looking for people who might be able to share support. It's a small, scary world, right?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> "Yep, I'm him," he confirms to Katsuya. "Are they all right?" If they're sending people his way on their behalf about something...

Ulala helps pick up the slack about discussing why the two of them are in here, and the street artist nods along. "Heh, well... you're not kiddin', it's a weird-ass world sometimes, yeah. So... I'm guessin' you both played the Persona Game too, right? That's how it happened for me, some time back."

There is a sudden interruption. The woman who is best described as the elemental embodiment of a clingy mother figure happens on in.

"Maa-kun, we're heading out for a short while to speak with someone from-- oh, you have customers! Excuse me." She goes up to Ulala and Katsuya with an apologetic bow. "We're sorry! Something's come up. For the inconvenience, we'll handle your next order without cost. Maa-kun, please take care of the rest."

She helps herself out with Mark just sitting there being all...

"Well, there you have it." He laughs. "Okay, we got some time just like that! Right!" He claps his hands together. "If I gotta be honest, it's not really somethin' I've thought 'bout having to do, but... what do you need to know? 'cause from what I remember, you put up a good fight on the beach there against..."

He trails off. "Well. Another Persona-user," to put it diplomatically.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
So it wasn't that festival to mark the closure of the park? "Ah, I see. I had thought..." But he shakes his head. "Well, it doesn't matter." Ulala asserts that while he's a cop, she is most certainly not, and he glances over at her, his own expression carefully neutral as he tries to conjure that image in his mind. It's...

Well, it's something, alright. Perhaps he can rest assured that it probably wouldn't come about. She might be a natural at interrogations, though.

He nods, as Ulala explains. "Yes, it is relating to 'that sort of thing'," he says, using a rather broad euphemism. "If you are available to talk to us now, we would appreciate it. Otherwise, we can arrange another time?" They did sort of drop in out of the blue, but he wasn't even sure of the man's identity outside the place of work. Calling ahead wouldn't have helped very much.

Are 'they' alright, though? If he hadn't had that discussion with Tsubasa, he wouldn't have thought twice about it, but when he speaks of Myunghon like that, it does make him wonder. ...He'll file this away for later, however.

He does wear sunglasses indoors and at night. But admittedly, that's because he sort of has to. Light sensitivity is a heck of a thing.

"Yes, it was like that for the both of us, too," he says, gesturing as he refers to the same sort of story. "So, you also played that game. I had begun to wonder if we might be the only ones who had," he finishes, thinking back on the other Persona-users he's met and how varied their means are. "You--"

And into the room steps Masao's mother.

"Please, it is no matter," he says, shaking his head as she bows and excuses herself.

"I see. So there is no risk now of anyone else overhearing." He pauses. "You... were also there? Then, I owe you my gratitude. Because of you and everyone else, we were able to save the life of my colleague." And also his own! He keeps forgetting that part. "Well, perhaps that may be so," he says on the matter of 'putting up a good fight', "but we have only been Persona-users for not even two months. What we have learned we have largely had to teach ourselves. If there is anything you can think of that may be useful information, we would appreciate it."

He pauses again, then adds, "Actually, Yeo-san had said you had been a Persona-user for a while. An acquaintance of ours had mentioned an event in Mikage-cho a few years ago that they felt might have been unusual in some manner. The information I have been able to find has been piecemeal. Was that event before your time as well?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Ulala actually did mean that festival, but miscommunicated about 'meeting him there' and not 'being there'. She should not be trusted with telephones.

"Yeah, when I was in high school," Ulala confirms about the Persona Game. But then, Mark's mom! "Oh, it's no trouble, ma'am."

Once she's gone, Ulala sighs away any tension a mundane may have caused her to build, as she nods along with Katsuya. "Yeah, she seemed... out of it," Ulala says much more diplomatically to Mark than she had when she first met Yua. "We'll take all the info we can get, if you've got any."

A glance to Katsuya as he mentions Mikage-cho, and another nod. "There's been a lot of stuff going on over the years, huh? How far does all this supernatural stuff go back...?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> "I'm glad your colleague got out of that mess okay," Mark says of that, with all sincerity, but he's listening at the mention that Katsuya and Ulala have been Persona-users for 'not even' two months, but in time it starts to feel like he's about to get grilled by one of Lieutenant Baldy's underlings over something he did. (Rest in peace, Baldy.)

Then, more detail about what he was told by Myunghon, and an acquaintance talking about an event in Mikage-cho a few years ago that was 'unusual.'

"Huh? No, it was, uh... around that time, yeah," Mark rubs the back of his head. The pause in his voice would likely not be missed by a thorough detective! "But if I had to be honest with ya, I don't think they make textbooks for, 'So You Are A Persona-user Now,' or whatever."

"Uhhh... first rule, if I had to speak from personal experience, don't go overusin' your Persona if you gotta be out in danger. You don't wanna find yourself surrounded by Demons who you can't fight off," he looks off to the side, "yeah, that... that's the kinda thing that really sucks."

He will conveniently leave out the part that it was because he was raiding the police station for firearms, which he and his friends then proceed to take together and somehow not shoot one another (unless it was a Demon that reflected bullets).

"The second... well. I dunno if this'll make sense to you, and maybe it's not supposed to, but... you just gotta be your true mind, be who you are. Pro'lly not much of a revelation, not like I'm... some kinda wise ol' sage guy, right? I'm an artist, that's just who I am."

"Third!" He interjects. Does he have a third? Is he trying to speak over probing further into Mikage-cho? "Uh. The lyrics in that pharmacy song at Satomi Tadashi, they're tellin' the truth. Took me a while to catch onto that," because every time he was in one with Kei, Kei would be very firm about his low opinion regarding that song and everything about it. He laughs. "Yeah, the medicines and stuff there'll do a lot more heavy lifting than you'd think..."

Come on, fourth? Fourth? Can he list a fourth? Unfortunately, that's a gap in the conversation that's interruptible!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
To be fair, there have been a lot of festivals that Katsuya has not been able to attend due to work or other obligations. The fact that some of those other obligations have involved trying to placate demons remains off the official record for now.

"Thank you, Inaba-san," he tells Masao. Fortunately, everything had been alright, but...

"The young man I fought off seemed strange, himself," he says, of Shiryuu, though he does not think he was taking anything... illegal, in the way that 'Yumi' may have been.

Masao makes an odd pause on the subject of Mikage-cho. Katsuya will remember that.

As prompted, Masao launches into a few tips about being a Persona-user. "No, I do not think they could publish anything like that. There is 'Darkside' of course, but... I find myself skeptical of some of the accounts mentioned there." Sure, he's dealt with things like magic subway mirrors and talking peacocks and, well, a 13th hour that shouldn't exist, but he has to take some things with a grain of salt if he can't verify.

First off, it's best to conserve use of their Personas. "Noted. It would not be good to become overwhelmed. I've encountered a few demons that appear to resist bullets," he remarks, shaking his head.

Be who they are, though? "Hm..." Katsuya frowns, as if thinking this one over. But what if...

Masao has a little more wisdom to dispense. Like the... lyrics of the drug store song? "Is that true?" he asks, skeptism writ large across his face. "The medicines in there ''are'' useful, but... couldn't it be from a rumor?" Perhaps someone else who took the song a little literally??

How far back does it go? He shakes his head. "I cannot say. There are others who are more experienced than us, surely, but it is not easy to tell how long or how far back it goes," he remarks to Ulala. "But, speaking of 'how far back it goes', I am curious, Inaba-san..."

"You had hesitated when I first asked you about the incident back then. Why is that?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Mark deflects on the Mikage-Cho stuff. Ulala doesn't notice it as well as Katsuya, unfortunately, but does notice something else that leads to the same conclusion.

"So... don't overuse your Persona. That makes sense. True mind... Satomi Tadashi..." Her brow furrows on that last one. "That's helpful, but...

Katsuya starts about the hesitation. Ulala flashes Mark a sympathetic look. "Look, if there's something you can't share, that's fine. We just... we're trying to stop the Joker Killer. We need anything that can help us do that... if he's not stopped, more people will die. The police can't do shit about it..."

She doesn't even look at Katsuya with that last one. He knows!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> 'You had hesitated when I first asked you about the incident back then. Why is that?'

Mark goes quiet. There may be a prolonged period of a verbal stand-off--

Ulala chimes in. The Joker Killer. Anything that can help them with them. That the police can't do shit about it.

"Fuck that guy!" Mark says. "I'm with you on that! I don't want him runnin' free killin' people either!" It sure is good they have the place to themselves! That shouting would have drawn Mother Dearest down on him, and then everyone would have probably been embarrassed to some state of subconscious thread-hanging for their lives. He exhales, looks off to the side, and...

"So look. The 'Joker Killer' shit's been news for me since I came back to Japan a few months back," he turns to face the both of them, "I don't have any clue or whatever you don't."

He shakes his head, looks down at the counter, and...

"All I'm gonna say is that some things just ain't worth dwellin' on any more. Sorry, guys, it's... I'm guessin' you were hoping I'm some kinda amazing hero guy 'cause I'd been a Persona-user for some time, but, nah." He looks up with that smile. "I'm an artist! That's just how I live, y'know? Just..."

"...I'll keep an eye out, 'n keep in touch if that'll give you all peace of mind."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Masao goes silent. Did he press too hard, Katsuya wonders, regarding Mark in silence of his own.

Fortunately, Ulala fills the gap, and explains what it is that they're trying to do, even as Katsuya glances her way.

It's slight, but he winces when Ulala says that last part. "Serizawa-kun, there is no need to be so..." Direct, he'd have to admit, if pressed to finish that sentiment. Unfortunately, it's true. Even if there were no hint of 'outside' involvement in the force, it would remain true. What use would an ordinary officer be against the Joker Killer?

It's only because of his Persona that Katsuya himself didn't die.

But it's that last part that gets a reaction from Masao, the first burst of anything extreme from the younger man in the time they've seen since they walked in here. "Inaba-san--" It's not Mark's language he objects to or anything like that (please regard Ulala there and get back to him). It's surprise.

But Mark collects himself and says he doesn't know anything about that.

And that some things ought to stay buried.

"I... see," Katsuya says at last. "Then, if that is the way you feel, I cannot compel you otherwise. Still, if there is anything that comes to mind about what you can share..." He shakes his head. "But it's quite alright. It seems as if we may be of like mind. If I am able, I want to bring the killer to justice."

But he's had the distant, nagging sense that it might not be possible. Not really, not in the way he'd prefer. Someone with that kind of power...

But to Masao's admission that he's no hero and that he probably hasn't really taught them anything new, Katsuya says, "Actually, to the contrary, Inaba-san. I had hoped perhaps you might be able to tell us a thing or two, and you have done that. Indeed, perhaps more readily than some others."

He may be, again, thinking about Baofu and his own 'figure it out yourself' sort of philosophy.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ulala Serizawa has posed.
<poem>Mark finally responds to Ulala. She nods once, but he says he doesn't know anything, and isn't some hero... "Hey, don't worry about it. We won't pry. But... there's no such thing as an amazing hero guy, is there? We're all just people..." She gives a sympathetic smile, if awkward, and then nods to Katsuya.

"Yeah, thank you. We'll let you go. Just, don't be a stranger, alright? You have anything, the Kuzunoha Detective Agency can put us in touch. Actually..." She realizes she can make it quicker, pulls out a piece of notepad paper, and jots down a number. "Call here, okay?"
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

Maria Sakurai

2026-01-06T01:14:43Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Season 1 */

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Maria Sakurai'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Maria Sakurai (桜井まりあ)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Star|The Star]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| She/Her
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 16 (March 25, 1996)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Dusty pink
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Brown-black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'4" / 163cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Rengedai Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| Seven Sisters High School
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Year:
| Junior
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Chorus
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| None
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Alright! That's a new best time!"'''

Anyone would agree that Maria Sakurai, a junior at Seven Sisters High School and former rising star in the track team, has been going through a bit of a rough patch. For reasons unknown to anyone, she'd suddenly quit the track team in April, only to then within days get caught up in the subway accident in Tokyo and spend a few months in the hospital. The rumor mill even says that her boyfriend's broken up with her. Perhaps it's just her time of Joka, as the Wang Long enthusiasts would say (and boy, has the Sevens track team really been getting its share of it lately). Normally a cheerful and friendly if air-headed girl, Maria has come off as more than a little bit detached and even frustrated since her return to regular classes, in spite of making a full recovery. Are the scars of what happened really running that deep?

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
None

= Special Skills =

1. ''Girls' Talk'' (Charm): Maria talks about, you know, whatever. Openly, girl to girl (or girl to boy, or girl to enby, it's all good).

2. ''Warm-up Stretches'' (Proficiency): Maria prepares for some athletic exertion or another.

3. ''Go Loud'' (Guts): Aren't you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go apeshit? Maria stops messing around and goes for it, whatever 'it' might be.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| Keiko Kasahara
(笠原敬子)
| The Empress
| Maria's maternal grandmother. Recently widowed, and dating younger (well, they're in their 50s) men, much to Maria's embarrassment. Unfortunately, granny no longer cares what other people think. Raised Maria after her mother's accident and helps take care of her mother.
|-
| Yasumasa Kasahara
(笠原康正)
| The Hierophant
| Maria's maternal grandfather. Passed away in early 2012. Helped raise Maria after her mother's accident.
|-
| Hiroyuki Sakurai
(桜井博之)
| The Hanged Man
| A beleaguered salaryman who is stuck working in Tokyo proper (his company won't let him relocate to the Sumaru office) and isn't home much.
|-
| Izumi Sakurai
(桜井泉)
| The Lovers
| Paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident and uses a wheelchair. Works part-time at a florist's shop in Rengedai Ward.
|-
| Mint
(ミント)
| The Emperor
| Maria's grandmother's cat. A large, fat white cat with black spots. Ruler of all he surveys. Has never once been fed.
|-
| Ringo
(りんご)
| The Hermit
| Maria's pet turtle. The repository for all of Maria's hopes and dreams and fears. Quite shy.
|-
| Yurie Shirakawa
(白川ゆりえ)
| Strength
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student; Maria's known her since elementary school. A sweet young lady who reads the most cursed romance novels.
|-
| Haruka Hatano
(波田野悠)
| The Magician
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student. Considered herself Maria's foremost rival on the track team once and bemoans the loss of Maria as such. Still on the track team at Sevens.
|-
| Takeshi Nakata
(中田剛史)
| The Chariot
| Maria's ex-boyfriend. Handsome, charming... and absolutely no good. The kind of person who has no regard for the damage they leave in their wake.
|}

= Soundtrack =

*Eurythmics - [https://youtu.be/bG9z-atG7gc Sweet Dreams] - '''Main Theme'''
*Poe - [https://youtu.be/Y9e9ewSV9Ew Hey Pretty] - '''Getting Into Trouble'''
*Blue Oyster Cult - [https://youtu.be/pe3jFvJ0qjs (Don't Fear) The Reaper] - '''Everyone Does It'''
*Florence + The Machine - [https://youtu.be/R2NR-UHH1KE Mermaids] - '''Love'''
*The Warning - [https://youtu.be/J_zHZwslwD0 Dust to Dust] - '''Shadow'''
*Dania - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-JMbxZWlk Leiley] - '''Restless Motion'''
*Dengue Fever - [https://youtu.be/ru5c1pJkV5A Sleep Walking Through the Mekong (Morgan Page Remix)] - '''Unseen World'''
*Kavinsky - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY Nightcall] - '''Out at Night'''
*Disparition - [https://youtu.be/IMrJyY3uNzc Eliezer's Waltz] - '''Other Side'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4 New Math] - '''Gag Track'''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==
===Scenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no logs on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}
===Cutscenes===
{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Chorus]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]

2024-01-04: A Suffocating Shadow

2026-01-05T03:41:47Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Cutscene: A Suffocating Shadow'''
*'''Cast:''' Masayoshi Shido, [[Goro Akechi]], [[Takahisa Kandori|Hisataka Shinjo]]
*'''Where:''' Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo
*'''OOC Date:''' January 4th, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' June 1st, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Masayoshi Shido is a mite upset over certain recent events...''

----
<poem>
It was a rare occasion that Goro Akechi was called into Masayoshi Shido's office, practically unheard of given their arrangement. But today was hardly 'business as usual' given recent reports within the New World Order, "This was supposed to be /your/ responsibility to monitor this!" He said, raised voice and a hand pounding against the desk hard enough to cause even the massive piece of furniture to shake.

"And I have." Goro Akechi replied evenly, on the defensive, "Then how in the devil did this happen!?" Shido snarled. "And the next words out of your mouth better not be telling me it's unrelated to Wakaba Isshiki's research being posted online!"

Akechi was already at resignation, he knew which way this was going and that there was nothing he could do to stop it. "No... I'm now of the opinion that Sakura-san was intimately involved in this. He closed down his business not long ago for a short trip to Sumaru City- and recently returned. Him awakening to a Persona wasn't precisely unexpected, given his ties to Isshiki and her daughter."

"Wasn't UNEXPECTED?" Shido all but howled in rage at one of his assassin's 'deductions', "I knew I shouldn't have listened to you back when you suggested it was harmless to leave them alive. You know how much I dislike loose ends."

"I do." Goro Akechi stated numbly, "Though you can't say it hasn't borne fruit. Futaba Sakura has left Mementos and formed a Palace... just as you intended."

"Hmph." Shido grunted dismissively, "An early experiment, now irrelevant to the grand scheme of things. We should have disposed of her the moment that she did." As he poured himself whiskey, he said to Akechi in a tone that brooked no disagreement, "Take care of them... /now/."

"I'll see it done." Akechi turned as if to leave, right as they both heard it at the door.

Rap.
Rap.
Rap.

It held the quality of a horror film, like the killer was at the door, unsettling enough that even Akechi took a step back and drew his gun, silencer and all in a fraction of a second. "No one was supposed to know I was here!" Akechi hissed at Shido.

"And I explicitly informed security that we weren't to be /disturbed/." Shido said with an undeniable fury and suddenly there was a monster in the room. Energy bled over from the Metaverse, palpable in a way that caused even Akechi, fully used to it by now, to shudder.

When Shido opened his eyes again, they were a sickening yellow hue. "Open it." But as Akechi approached to carry out that command, the door opened itself, with a creak of hinges, causing the firearm to be leveled, ready to fire.

At the smiling man on the other side, lines of darkness were jagged streaks up his face, vanishing beneath the sunglasses. His hands playing with a pair of baoding balls that he was rotating around in his hands.

The hallway beyond him was full of suited men slumped over, unconscious upon the floor. "I'm afraid that while I lack an appointment..." The man in the sunglasses regards them both. "I must insist." Akechi grimaced, and lowered his gun, "What are /you/ doing here?" Akechi growled as Shido frowned at this turn of events, "/Shinjo/! You have some nerve breaking into here. Tell me why I shouldn't have you killed on the spot for this insolence."

He looked not at Shido the man, but past him at the thing beyond. "Heh." He smirked, showing a number of shadowed teeth, unperturbed by the Shadow of Pride or his Assassin being within the room. "That would be a sight to see." As he tapped his sunglasses, causing Akechi to grimace, remembering what lay beneath them. "The Dark Sun casts such a suffocating shadow that you might even manage it... but I'm not afforded indulgence on this stage. I'm in a supporting role for this production, here to make the lion's pride an offer."

"If you're wasting my time-" Shido warned.

"To betray the Silver for the Gold." Shinjo interrupted Shido without a concern, a feat that few men could pull off, "I'll give you the knowledge you covet so much, for a place upon your great ship of state... in exchange for a trifle."

This caused both Shido and Akechi to both look startled, then suspicious. He was supposed to be Tatsuzou's man. And this man's research was everything that Tatsuzou had withheld from him. It could be a trap- of course- but the benefits if they could get their hands on even a fraction of his research.

"Name your price."

"That you allow Sojiro Sakura and his ward a stay of execution. I wish to conduct my own experiment... one that requires both hermit and hierophant. Once I'm ready, I'll make certain they do not threaten your interests any longer."

Akechi had a sudden feeling of emotional whiplash at this change of fortunes, "This again." He muttered. As Shido frowned at his answer wondering if his office was bugged, "How could you possibly know that?" The man chuckled, "He hears all."

"You're asking me to spare the two people closest to Wakaba Isshiki. How do I know you're not after the secrets of Cognitive Psience?" Shido demanded.

Shinjo grinned as a predator might even looking into the jaws of a lion. "You don't- but it hardly matters if I am or not, given the collateral I'll offer you..."
</poem>
[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

Noriaki Okaga

2026-01-04T07:33:16Z

Strangeshrimp:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Noriaki Okaga'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Noriaki Okaga (岡賀紀明)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Magician|The Magician]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| He/Him
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 23 (August 11, 1989)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Grey
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 6' / 183cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Tatsumi Port Island
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| Variable
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Part-timer
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Nemesis
|-
! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| Strega
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Heh... Y'know, I'm almost jealous of ya... dyin' so quick like that!"'''

Death is not a hunter unknown to its prey, and Noriaki Okaga, as a dying man, knows it all too well. A person who lives life on the margins, he has as his 'day' job any number of temporary menial gigs when his failing health permits. By 'night', as a member of Strega, he takes to the Dark Hour to fulfill jobs for Revenge Request and for his own purposes as an Artificial Persona User reaching his end. A nasty and vicious person, he lives for the thrill of confrontation and the struggle of life on its thinnest of edges and displays a particular lack of concern for his own well-being in and out of combat.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''Call me Efnysien.''
''With the strength of ten men, I will shatter all before me.''
''All that displeases you shall be destroyed, my other self!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Efnysien is a figure in Welsh mythology that features in the tale of Branwen ferch Llyr, the second branch of the Mabinogi; his resentment and cruelty spark the tragedy of the story. Towards the end of the tale, as the Welsh and Irish forces clash, he opts to thwart the Irish use of the magic cauldron Pair Dadeni to revive their dead and hides among the dead Irish warriors. Cast into the cauldron alive, he destroys it and himself.

'''Description''': A hazy outline of a person is half-submerged in a large boiling cauldron packed with mechanical skeletons. In one hand they hold a string that's tied to a small battered and broken rocking horse, which they use as a flail.

==Special Talent & Resonance==

Noriaki can, by using his Evoker, call nearby mindless Shadows in spaces where there are any to call (e.g. Dark Hour). This is done not by actually controlling them, though. Rather, his resonance becomes so noxious that it feels like a huge 'kill this awful thing' sign to any nearby Shadows. After he's completed calling them, he dips and lets the angry Shadows instead aggro whoever else happens to be in the area. Mechanically, the summoned Shadows are represented by a separate form.

So, what does this mean for any Shadow PCs? Well, nothing mechanical: the enraging effect only works on mindless Shadows. What it feels like, if it feels like anything, is a choice a Shadow PC may make. No reaction is expected at baseline, and there will be no hurt feelings if it is not reacted to.

= Special Skills =

1. ''School of Hard Knocks'' (Understanding): Noriaki's seen some shit. He doesn't have a lot of practical education, but he does understand that when the world knocks you down, you get back up (and maybe even get a shot in on the way if you're quick enough). When it comes to the rough stuff, he gets it (and if nothing else, a little physicality can help 'someone else' understand /his/ point of view if words aren't doing the trick).

2. ''Frame the Shot'' (Proficiency): Noriaki's an amateur photographer, and applies these skills to the situation at hand. Light? Direction? Framing? It's all coming together for a great shot.

3. ''Call of the Void'' (Guts): Do you hear it? That voice in your head that tells you to jump right when you're on the edge? You know better and so you hold back, but did you ever think about what would happen if you... listened? Self-preservation is in the best interest of the self, but sometimes, to get results, you just need to jump. right. in.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==

None. ...or are there?

= Soundtrack =

*Coconuts - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcMz3aAZDv4 Silver Lights] - '''Main Theme'''
*Shoji Meguro - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCP2e4ZWvtk A Wall that Must Be Crossed ] - '''Pre-Fight Theme'''
*Daisuke Ishiwatari - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfRCnQH4c-I Alone Infection] - '''Only One Outcome'''
*M.O.O.N. - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSzoKL-iO5M Release] - '''Calling Shadows'''
*Yuzo Koshiro - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjJ_Cthj8ko Atheist on the Highway] - '''The Night's the Time'''
*Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3y5xBDNVuo Embers] - '''Fighting Theme'''
*The Primals - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrrNrus5Z2g White Stone Black] - '''Don't Look Any Closer'''
*Rob Dougan - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjvyeGymW80 Speed Me Towards Death] - '''Thanatos Drive'''
*Young Punx - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IARbSVgxw3c Your Music is Killing Me] - '''Your Song'''
*Motoi Sakuraba - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EXvYus2HzU Junk Modulation] - '''Constant Companion'''
*Carter Vail - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fwHJ0tz21M Dirt Man] - '''Gag Track'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY Poisoning Pigeons in the Park] - '''Gag Track'''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==

{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
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{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
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}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Nemesis]]
[[Category:Strega]]

Fictional Pop Culture and Brands

2026-01-01T07:10:09Z

Strangeshrimp: /* Other Games */

This is a non-exhaustive list of various in-universe pieces of pop culture, brands, celebrities, places, items, and so on. Entries may be added as we think of them or as they get ICly released. Players may add entries of their own, but please don't edit already existing entries. If you see something that you think is wrong or should be changed, please send a request to staff.

== Fashion ==

; Rosa Candida (Persona 2)
: A fashionable boutique in Sumaru City's Aoba Ward that sells a variety of stylish clothes and accessories. Rumor has it they also sell quality armor.

; Croco Fur (Persona 4)
: A clothing store in Okina City that offers a wide range of outfits and accessories, from bags to boots, swimsuits to Halloween costumes. Run by Reiko Osa, charismatic fashionista.

; Tsurukame Diamond (Persona 5)
: A jewelry store in the Shibuya Underground Mall.

; Furugi no Neuchi (Persona 5)
: A vintage clothing store in Kichijoji. The perfect place to do some thrifting or sell old, unwanted clothes.

; Adios Shoes (Persona 3)
: A cheap knock-off of a more popular brand; sold by Tanaka's Amazing Commodities. Say "goodbye" to your foes.

; Baipas (Persona 4)
: A brand of sports bags that's similar to Adidas, right up to the logo.

== Entertainment ==

=== Music ===

; Giga Macho CD (Persona 2)
: Hosts a big CD store, production studio, and flamboyant radio DJ wearing a red hoodie and shades known as 'Meteor Masa,' who hosts 'Meteor Masa to the Max.'

; Kenneth Arnold (Persona 3)
: A CD and DVD chain store that has a location within Paulownia Mall.

; Babel Records Music Store (Persona 5)
: A CD and DVD store in the Shibuya Underground Mall.

; Gas Chamber (Persona 2)
: The band of Kasugayama High's Leader, Eikichi Mishina, who is the lead singer. Not yet fully formed, as Eikichi is still scouting members... and getting the members he does have to learn how to play instruments. It's not a failure, it's pre-successful.

; Muses (Persona 2)
: A hot new three-member idol group that's been successfully hyped by their manager, Ginji Sasaki. Many people are very excited for their upcoming debut.

; Hug-My-Heart (Persona 5)
: Debut single by a boy band.

; 3SHINE
: An idol trio from the 90's known briefly for the bittersweet hit 「ＡＮＯＴＨＥＲ♩ＬＩＦＥ」, but disbanded in 2007 after the lead singer died in a car crash.

=== Video/Computer Games ===

; Groove On Fight (Persona 1)
: Atlus fighting game.

; Innocent Sin Online (Persona 3)
: A mysterious MMO that's been running for years, it tells a fictionalized larger than life version of the Innocent Story version with Tatsuya and Maya. How it came about in this world is a mystery. (Don't use this to establish knowing things about the Other Side. Just don't.)

; Condemnation of Witchcraft (Persona 3 - Original)
: The new biggest MMO that everyone is leaving Innocent Sin Online for due to all the gold farmers and dupers. Affectionately known as CoW by its fans, it's a game wherein the Holy Empire of Sturmward fights the Witch Queen and her coven of 'The Abhorred'. A PvE game with PvP elements.

; Game Parade Games
: House of the Deceased - A horror game with terrifying zombies. Raises Guts.
: Real Wheel Racing - An intense racing game. Raises the equipped Persona's agility.
: Print Club - A purikura-style booth. Raises charm.
: High School of Youth - Dating sim game. Raises Charm.
: You're the Answer - Quiz show-style arcade game. Raises Academics.
: Punch Boxer - Fighting Arcade game. Raises the equipped Persona's strength.
: Edgar's House of Fortunes - Fortune-telling tarot game. Raise the equipped Persona's Magic.
: Super Game Spaceshot - Space shooter.

; Computer Software
:Lessons in Etiquette - PC software for learning manners that will charm others.
:Virtual Diet - PC software for helping you attain a beautiful body via watching videos.
:Language Made Easy - PC Software for learning English through pictures and images.
:Animal Othello - PC software for children. Adults need courage to play this.
:TypinGhoul - PC software that requires courage to defeat zombies through typing.
:Muscle Boot Camp - PC Software for learning how to effectively strengthen your muscles.
:Mindful Boot Camp - PC Software for growing your mind through meditation.
:Umiushi Fan Book - For those who love beef bowls. Has a membership code for the official site.

; Photochop (Persona Q)
: Graphics editor that has become the most used digital art software in the world. Due to image manipulation that is then posted online becoming so ubiquitous, the program has popularized the slang term 'Photochopped' worldwide.

; Star Forneus (Persona 5)
: Retro console shooting game with a space theme.

; Super Bash Bros. (Persona 5)
: Long-running crossover Versus Battle game. 'Challenger Approaching!'

; Gambla Goemon (Persona 5)
: A game about a notorious thief who fell into the depths of hell… Demons make you gamble with games of chance to pass through gates in hell and move on to further challenges.

; Stray Sheep Dolls (Persona 5)
: A puzzle game about sheep. Now with more off-kilter gender commentary! Procreate or else!

; Featherman Seeker (Persona 5)
: A retro game based on the popular long-running tokusatsu show, Phoenix Rangers Featherman. It follows the story of Gray Pigeon and their mentor-guided training to acquire power that will rival the Phoenix Rangers.

; Matador <nowiki>re:fancio</nowiki> (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A video game about a skeletal bullfighter who must find a way to fancy up his life. May or may not be looking for a nice candelabra.

; Drake Adventure (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A massively popular and influential JRPG series, with cute monsters and a cartoonish medieval fantasy vibe. It is currently on its ninth entry.

; Night Parade (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A classic fighting game series by the Motojima Corporation, known for its theme of supernatural yokai and their hunters as the fighters. Latest release is Ultimate Night Parade 4 Remix Lightning Edition.

; Stiletta (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A much-beloved urban fantasy action-adventure game about a stylish succubus who fights to find her lost memories using her transforming hair and weaponized heels. Utterly fabulous. The hotly-anticipated sequel has recently been announced.

; The Epic of Zerta (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: An action roleplaying/puzzle game series centred around the Triangular Force, made up of the Angle of Strength, the Angle of Knowledge, and the Angle of Bravery. These games follow the hero, Tie, as he eternally saves Princess Zerta from the evil King Gammon. (In some entries, he's King Gammonturf. Using the wrong name can and has caused epic flame wars.)

; Tetraitis (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A puzzle game where you need to match four blocks to clear them. Apparently, it was named because the creator was so feverishly invested in playing an alpha build he almost didn't finish the game at all.

=== Other Games ===
; Hammerstrike - War in the 42nd Millenium (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A grimdark franchise originating from the west, centring around numerous spacefaring factions warring for control over the galaxy. While it started as a tabletop wargame using handpainted miniatures, a multitude of books, animations, and games have come out for it since its inception the late 1980s.

; Faerie<nowiki>:</nowiki> The Beckoning (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A card game centred around lands, creatures, and magical spells, with a great amount of depth. The lore centres around the Seelie and Unseelie courts of the Fae and their various adventures. New card sets are released each year!

=== Books and Manga ===

; Bookworms (Persona 3)
: A small but robust bookstore in the Iwatodai Strip Mall, owned and run by an elderly married couple, Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura.

; Taiheido Bookstore (Persona 5)
: A bookstore on Shibuya Central Street with shelves also available outside the entrance.

; Rubber-Armed Pitcher Hero (Persona 4)
: Sports shounen manga about baseball.

; Witch Detective (Persona 4)
: A ploddingly written romantic comedy manga about a girl on her first day of school in a new town. Vampires are involved.

; The Great Thief (Persona 5)
: The story of Arsène Lupin, greatest thief of all time.

; Zorro the Outlaw (Persona 5)
: The story of Zorro, the dashing masked vigilante.

; Pirate Legend (Persona 5)
: The story of Captain Kidd, a Scottish-American privateer.

; The Alluring Dancer (Persona 5)
: The story of Carmen, an opera about a seductive Romani woman.

; The Gallant Rogue (Persona 5)
: The story of Goemon Ishikawa, a legendary outlaw hero.

; Speed Reader (Persona 5)
: A book that gives the reader tips on how to read more quickly and efficiently.

;The Whimsy of Orange Streets (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:An older romantic comedy manga about a old fashioned high school student in a love triangle with two delinquents. Reading it might help you understand relationships better.

;Dragon Sphere X (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:A martial arts manga that takes inspiration from Journey to the West. Probably helps your Guts.

; Titanomachy (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: An enormously popular mecha franchise that draws heavily from Greek mythology for inspiration. Having been around for close to 30 years, it has spawned numerous films, anime, and manga series, as well as a plethora of different model kits.

=== TV Shows ===

; Scarlet (Persona 5)
: DVD/Blu-Ray rental store. Has a very generous membership plan for students.

; Phoenix Ranger Featherman (Persona 2)
: Long-running tokusatsu franchise with tons of seasons, movies, and extensive merchandising. Much beloved by the Japanese youth.

; Tanaka's Amazing Commodities (Persona 3)
: A home shopping program hosted by Tanaka, who is also the CEO of the company. Its jingle: "Here comes Tanakaaaaa~ Over the airwaves to youuuuu~ Granter of your desires!" Sells a wide range of products, from high quality to possibly less-than-stellar knock-offs. Things go quick, so buy buy buy!

; Wraith (Persona 5)
: TV show about a woman who can speak to ghosts.

; The X-Folders (Persona 5)
: Sci-fi investigation TV show. The opening theme involves a spooky whistle.

; Bubbly Hills 90210 (Persona 5)
: A Western teen romantic drama TV show set in the ritzy upscale neighborhood of Bubbly Hills.

; ICU (Persona 5)
: Medical drama show about high stakes saves in the emergency ward.

; The Running Dead (Persona 5)
: Zombie drama about fast zombies. Humans in this drama are the real monsters.

; Mouse M.D. (Persona 5)
: A maverick rodent's medical heroics. Learn about true kindness.

; D. Housewives (Persona 5)
: Women's stories of love and passion.

; 31 (Persona 5)
: A writer and editor battle looming deadlines. Praised for its gutsy tension.

; Tee (Persona 5)
: A teacher helps revive a near defunct high school golf team.

; Not-so-hot Betsy (Persona 5)
: A TV show that tells the story of a homely girl who captivates people with her inner charm.

; Jail Break (Persona 5)
: A jailbreak TV drama.

; Fist of the Phantom Star (Persona 5)
: A post apocalyptic martial arts retro anime that codified a lot of Shounen tropes. Contains numerous beefy men rescuing beautiful women from their rivals.

;Yureka Six (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:An anime about growing up in a war torn world of robots, aliens, and flying skateboards. The main character starts off as rather childish but grows mature through facing the shortcomings of adults.

=== Movies ===

; Climax Theater (Persona 2)
: Sumaru City movie theater where rumors have made the films occasionally quite strange.

; Screen Shot (Persona 3)
: Movie theater chain throughout Japan.

; Friday in a certain day (Persona 3)
: A film starring Catherine Billey. Its tagline is, "Fans of a Dutch soccer team, Americans heading off to war are facing." Yes, just that.

; The more than dreamin (Persona 3)
: A film about an alien visitor.

; Detonator (Persona 3)
: Starring Sharon Waxman and Craig.S.Smith. Its tagline is, "A troubling trend for a Dutch." It's a film about boxing! (It references Lennox Lewis and Andrew Golata's boxing match.)

; Worst Detective (Persona 3)
: A film noir about a detective who is terrible at his job.

; Loan of the Rings (Persona 4)
: Fantasy epic film.

; Dumminator II (Persona 4)
: Film on… Why?

; Trial of the Dragon (Persona 4)
: Kung fu epic film.

; My Neighbor Dodoro (Persona 5 - Original)
: A classic heartwarming children's movie about two young sisters meeting a big yellow bird and having adventures together. Includes a cat that is also a large vehicle.

; Tanktop Millionaire (Persona 5)
: Movie about a scrappy kid who came from the slums to win big on a quiz show.

; The Cake Knight Rises (Persona 5)
: A cake-themed vigilante avenges a friend who was wronged by a psychopathic baker. It's a ridiculous film, but the protagonist's passion to fight for his friend is touching.

; Like a Dragon (Persona 5)
: Yakuza action film.

; Mes Miserables (Persona 5)
: Apparently just like the real work except with even more theological commentary. (A bishop is the antagonist rather than Javert.)

; Pach-Saw (Persona 5)
: Horror film involving an elephant and torture elements.

; Wild Max (Persona Q2)
: Post-Apocalyptic film series praised for it's fight choreography in vehicles.

; [[SMILE (2012)]] (Velvet Room MUSH - Persona 2/Original)
: A slasher movie released at the end of August 2012, starring Junko Kurosu as the killer. Part crime movie, part suspense horror, part slasher, noted for it's well executed twists in an otherwise kind of schlocky but fun slasher.

== Food and Drink ==

=== Vending Machine Beverages ===
; First Appeared in Persona 3
: Aguafeena - Extensively purified tap water.
: BauerBar - Keeps you going for 24 hours straight.
: Cielo Mist - Beverage imported from Jamaica.
: Cylon Tea - Comes in 12 different varieties.
: Definitely Lemonade - A fresh, lemon-based drink. A bit watery.
: Dr. Salt - Salty soda. Popular, but an acquired taste.
: Fountain Dew - A disturbingly yellow soft drink.
: Happiness Water - Water that tastes like happiness.
: Mad Bull - A mildly bitter beverage with a flavorful kick.
: Moonkist - Soda with the slogan, "Kist my full moon!"
: Nastea - Tea that tastes great, despite its name.
: SoBay - Popular tea often auctioned online.
: Starvicks - Famous coffee, mixed with cough syrup.
: 1UP - Soft drink coveted by old-school gamers.
: 4biotic Pack - A set of 4 probiotic drinks.

; First Appeared in Persona 4
: Dokudami Tea - An herbal tea good for detoxes.
: Dr. Salt NEO - An intensely carbonated beverage.
: Orange Smash - A refreshing citrus beverage.
: Second Maid - A cold beverage that got heated.
: TaP Soda - Old-fashioned fizzy beverage.

; First Appeared in Persona 5
: Arginade - Contains arginine.
: Chunky Potage - You can never drink all the kernels.
: Creature - A drink that blows away sleepiness.
: Durian-au-Lait - Made from the king of fruits.
: Earl Green - A blend of Eastern and Western tea.
: Joylent - Unsettlingly nutritious.
: Manta - Makes you want to dance all night.
: Muscle Tea - Popular tea often sold online.
: Oh! Shiruko - So good it makes you say, "Oh!"
: Udagawa Soda - Triple-filtered carbonated Shibuya water.
: Udagawa Water - Triple-filtered Shibuya river water.
: Ultimate Amazake - Makes you think you're drunk.
: Water of Rebirth - Blended with placenta.

=== Dining Out ===

; Peace Diner (Persona 1/Persona 2)
: Franchise that serves mostly fast food; there's a branch in Yumezaki's Yumezaki Center. Rumormonger Chikarin can be found here almost daily working on the Sevens school newspaper. The part timer at the register loves Japanese period dramas, and so talks like a ninja. Menu: Peace Burger, Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Burger, Peace Double Meat, Big Peace Burger, Fries, Peace Shake, Value Meal.

; Gatten Sushi (Persona 2)
: Popular sushi shop in Rengedai's Lotus Mall, run by the Mishina family. Head chef is Kankichi Mishina. It's the popular hangout of Rumormonger Kenta "Toro" Yokouchi, whose favorite sushi is the olive flounder fish fin, despite his nickname meaning Fatty Tuna. Menu: Tuna, Squid, Sweet Shrimp, Eel, Sea Urchin, Salmon Roe, Fish Fin, Fatty Tuna.

; Double Slash (Persona 2)
: Internet cafe in Aoba's Aoba Way that offers a surprisingly robust menu of drinks, snacks and even meals. The teenager who mans the counter is pretty lazy. Menu: Coffee, Cafe au Lait, Milk Tea, Herbal Tea, Double Sandwich, Pizza Toast, Spaghetti, Curry Rice.

; Jolly Roger (Persona 2)
: Pirate-themed restaurant in Konan's Seaside Mall. The rumormongering proprietor is sad and trades in rumors as a balm for the sea, to which he can no longer return. Menu: Coffee Blend, Tea Blend, Veggie Juice, Special Cocoa, Baked Apple Pie, Chocolate Cookie, Brown Rice Curry, Pirate’s Set.

; Clair De Lune (Persona 2)
: Classy French restaurant in Narumi's Hotel Pleiades, served by Garçon Soejima. May or may not also sell top-notch armor on the sly. Menu: Vichyssoise, Escabèche, Cassoulet, Brochette, Brandade, Bouillabaisse, Ballotine, Navarin.

; Wilduck Burger (Persona 3)
: A fast food burger chain with a location in the Iwatodai Strip Mall. The mainline item is the Mystery Burger for those with the Guts to try it.

; Hagakure Ramen (Persona 3)
: A ramen restaurant in the Iwatodai Strip Mall. Their mainline item, the Pork Ramen, is full of collagen to make the eater's skin silky smooth and Charming.

; Wakatsu Kitchen (Persona 3)
: A sushi restaurant in the Iwatodai Strip Mall. The seafood in their Prodigy Platter is healthy and full of omega-3s--the perfect brain food to help the Academically challenged.

; Yon-Germain Bakery (Persona 5)
: A small bakery located at the Ginza Line Gate at Shibuya Station. Perfect for when you need to grab a snack in between train transfers. Menu: Sandwich, Fruit Danish, Moist Katsu Bun (rainy day special), Melon Pan (summer-only; limited product).

; Bikkuri Boy (Persona 5)
: A spacious family diner located up a stairwell off Central Street in Shibuya. Practically deserted when it rains, so you can concentrate extra-well for study sessions in between meals. Menu: Hot Coffee (coffee with free refills), Surprise Sando (crayfish paste sandwich), Nostalgic Steak (salisbury steak like grandma made), Frui-Tea (tea made with lots of fruit), Totem Pole (tower of ice cream).

; Big Bang Burger (Persona 5)
: A fast food chain with a location on Shibuya Central Street that holds the Big Bang Challenge, wherein people can become a 2nd Mate, 1st Mate, or Captain by completing various stages. Menu: Big Bang Burger, Saturn Fries, Venus Salad (fruit salad), Earth Burger (seasonal spring offering with veggies), Moon Burger (seasonal autumn offering where the egg looks like the moon).

; Ore no Beko (Persona 5)
: Beef bowl restaurant on Shibuya Central Street. The beef part is pre-made so a worker only has to assemble and serve a bowl.

; Wilton Hotel (Persona 5)
: Upscale hotel chain with a location in Shibuya. Known for its high-priced gourmet buffet.

; Melty Donut (Persona 5)
: A donut franchise popular with cops, lawyers, and security guards.

; Katsuo Shokudo (Original)
: A mom-and-pop restaurant in Inaba, well-known to locals for its excellent food. Or it was, as with the declining Inaban economy, it finally had to close its doors in early 2010. The owner and primary cook, Hideji Aoki, moved away to the big city with his daughter Hibari.

=== Bars and Pubs ===

; Izakaya Shiraishi (Persona 2)
: An Izakaya bar in Hirasaka's Kameya Alley that absolutely doesn't serve ramen--except for banana ramen. Rumor has it the proprietress, Ma'am, is a former spy that can give tips on finding anyone. Hangout of Rumormonger Toku-san. Menu: Edamame, Yakitori, Sesame Chicken, Oden, Red Bean Gyoza, Banana Ramen, Beer, Sake.

; Parabellum (Persona 2)
: A noir-ish bar in Aoba's Aoba Way with an elderly gentleman barkeeper who makes firearms-themed cocktails. Rumor has it they also secretly sell weapons. Menu: Revolver, Double Action, Magnum, Bullet Core, Browning Power, Angel Trigger, Tilt Barrel, Derringer.

; Ebony (Persona 2)
: Classy bar in Narumi's Hotel Pleiades, run by a rumor-lovin' bartender who's as quick with a rumor or a story as she is with a cocktail. Menu: On the Rocks, Between the Sheets, Gimlet, Blue Lagoon, Green Eyes, Mockingbird, Angel's Kiss, Spritzer.

; Crossroads Bar (Persona 5)
: An adult entertainment bar in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The bartender and owner is Lala Escargot; the shop logo includes a snail. On top of wines, beers, and cocktails, there are a few snacks and non-alcoholic drinks available.

; Izakaya Nichinan (Original)
: An izakaya in Konan Ward. Known more for its beer selection than its food, it gets most of its business from younger office workers who live in the ward.

== Pharmacies and Convenience Stores ==

; Yin and Yang (Persona 1)
: Convenience store chain. They'll sell you medicine, and if you get friendly with the owner, they might let you see their collection of airsoft guns too. Yin and Yang stores operate in supernatural spaces, too -- and under those conditions, they'll sell you ''real'' weapons.

; Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy (Persona 1)
: Vibes less like they're gonna conquer the world, unlike the Sumaru City branch. Has an infectious theme song explaining what each item they sell does.

; Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy (Persona 2)
: Drugstore chain throughout Sumaru City. All the shopkeepers look the same, and are open about being sisters. Don't worry about the music overhead or why it has a different style in each store, just don't.

; Mayo Mart (Persona 4)
: A 24-hour konbini (Japanese convenience store) in Inaba.

; 777 (Persona 5)
: Convenience store chain with special sales on all days ending in 7. Pronounced 'Triple Seven.'

== Other Notable Shops ==

; GOLD Gym (Persona 2)
: Major gym workout chain with locations throughout the world.

; Kaori (Persona 2)
: Perfume and aromatherapy shop in Rengedai; scents that cleanse the soul, perhaps more literally than you'd think...

; Padparadscha (Persona 2)
: Jewelry store in Hotel Pleiades in Narumi.

; Rafflesia (Persona 3)
: Floral shop franchise throughout Japan; has various smaller branches everywhere. Sometimes includes services where they'll grow and nurture your plants for you.

; Junes Department Store (Persona 4)
: Department megastore chain. The jingle goes: 'Every day's great at your Junes!' A new store is presently being built in Inaba -- look forward to the grand opening!

; Moel Gas Station (Persona 4)
: A gas station chain where one can go to fuel up one’s vehicle. May or may not have a grey-haired gas station attendant, or job openings.

; Untouchable Airsoft Shop (Persona 5)
: A military-esque airsoft shop in a back alley off Shibuya Central Street. Although all their goods are models, the proprietor, Iwai, has a scary look.

; Electronics Superstore Akindo (Persona 5)
: A huge electronics store in Akihabara.

; De La Mancha (Inspired by Soul Hackers 2)
: Or just Mancha. A chain discount store that sells just about everything, from groceries to electronics to clothing. Notorious for overloaded shelves so they can offer more products. Very lucky shoppers may occasionally find a cognitively useful item buried in there, whether a consumable, equipment, or even a card!

== Services and Appointments ==

; Hiiragi Psychotherapy (Persona 2)
: Run by Dr. Reiko, located in Seaside Mall.

; Sumaru Genie (Persona 2)
: Fortune-teller based in Seaside Mall who goes by the same name as the store. Her fortunes stopped coming true after Wang Long fortune-telling rose into prominence.

; Time Castle (Persona 2)
: Clock shop run by the eclectic Time Count, a man who acts the part of a Victorian gentleman who gets a little intense sometimes. Offers Skill Card services.

; Tominaga Chiropractic (Persona 2)
: Run by Mr. Tomi, a bombastic chiropractor trained in the US who has a US-themed 'flair' to his personality. He utilizes his ultimate technique, the Gold Finger, to adjust any spine, satisfaction guaranteed.

== Housing ==

; Lunar Palace (Persona 2)
: Apartment complex chain; there's one such apartment building in Konan. Maya Amano, Ulala Serizawa, and Shiori Miyashiro live there.

== Famous People ==

; Eriko "Elly" Kirishima (Persona 1)
: Popular rising model. Her hobby is the occult and she gives no comment on any potential boyfriend situation.

; Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi (Persona 1)
: Talk show host. He's known for his boisterous laughter and nonstop jokes.

; Junko Kurosu (Persona 2)
: Veteran actress who's been in the profession for decades. She doesn't get quite as many roles now that she's in her 40s with a son who's nearly an adult, but she's still going strong.

; President Tanaka (Persona 3)
: CEO of and host to a TV home shopping show every Sunday morning, both of which are called Tanaka's Amazing Commodities.

; Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4)
: The first Detective Prince, who comes from a famous detective family and has been solving crimes across the country for years from a very young age.

; Rise Kujikawa (Persona 4)
: A popular middle school-aged rookie idol who's appeared in a few commercials so far.

; Goro Akechi (Persona 5)
: The second Detective Prince, sometimes called the Second Coming of the Detective Prince. A rookie compared to Naoto Shirogane, but nonetheless a high schooler who solves crimes for the police and gets consulted all the time.

; Ann Takamaki (Persona 5)
: An exotically beautiful model of mixed Japanese, American, and Finnish descent.

; Mika (Persona 5)
: A budding model, just starting out in the industry.

; Suguru Kamoshida (Persona 5)
: A professional athlete who won the gold medal for volleyball in the 2008 Summer Olympics and was teaching gym at Shujin Academy until recently. He turned himself in for abusing his students after he received a strange calling card from someone(s) calling themselves the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

; Ichiryusai Madarame (Persona 5)
: A famous artist celebrated for his incredibly broad range of styles. He recently confessed that his "range" was actually plagiarized from his various students, again after receiving a strange calling card from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

; Subaru Amamiya (Persona 5 - Original)
: The soft-spoken and stern Mayor of Inaba, elected for four terms and presently trying for a fifth. He doesn't speak of [[Ren Amamiya|his son]] often. It's rumoured that he has greater politicial ambitions than being the Mayor of a small town. His wife Akira often acts as his unofficial assistant.

;Gozaburou "Zabu" Gessou (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:Talk show host and media personality. "Good Evening, Sumaru" is his show focusing on the weird rumors and happenings of Sumaru. He is also the son of a once influential political family whose patriarch died under mysterious circumstances.

[[Category: Setting]]

Maria Sakurai

2025-12-31T20:31:39Z

Strangeshrimp:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Maria Sakurai'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Maria Sakurai (桜井まりあ)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Star|The Star]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| She/Her
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 16 (March 25, 1996)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Dusty pink
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Brown-black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'4" / 163cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Rengedai Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | School:
| Seven Sisters High School
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Year:
| Junior
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Chorus
|-
! style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| None
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Alright! That's a new best time!"'''

Anyone would agree that Maria Sakurai, a junior at Seven Sisters High School and former rising star in the track team, has been going through a bit of a rough patch. For reasons unknown to anyone, she'd suddenly quit the track team in April, only to then within days get caught up in the subway accident in Tokyo and spend a few months in the hospital. The rumor mill even says that her boyfriend's broken up with her. Perhaps it's just her time of Joka, as the Wang Long enthusiasts would say (and boy, has the Sevens track team really been getting its share of it lately). Normally a cheerful and friendly if air-headed girl, Maria has come off as more than a little bit detached and even frustrated since her return to regular classes, in spite of making a full recovery. Are the scars of what happened really running that deep?

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
None

= Special Skills =

1. ''Girls' Talk'' (Charm): Maria talks about, you know, whatever. Openly, girl to girl (or girl to boy, or girl to enby, it's all good).

2. ''Warm-up Stretches'' (Proficiency): Maria prepares for some athletic exertion or another.

3. ''Go Loud'' (Guts): Aren't you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go apeshit? Maria stops messing around and goes for it, whatever 'it' might be.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#F19BA9; border: 2px #7578AD solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| Keiko Kasahara
(笠原敬子)
| The Empress
| Maria's maternal grandmother. Recently widowed, and dating younger (well, they're in their 50s) men, much to Maria's embarrassment. Unfortunately, granny no longer cares what other people think. Raised Maria after her mother's accident and helps take care of her mother.
|-
| Yasumasa Kasahara
(笠原康正)
| The Hierophant
| Maria's maternal grandfather. Passed away in early 2012. Helped raise Maria after her mother's accident.
|-
| Hiroyuki Sakurai
(桜井博之)
| The Hanged Man
| A beleaguered salaryman who is stuck working in Tokyo proper (his company won't let him relocate to the Sumaru office) and isn't home much.
|-
| Izumi Sakurai
(桜井泉)
| The Lovers
| Paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident and uses a wheelchair. Works part-time at a florist's shop in Rengedai Ward.
|-
| Mint
(ミント)
| The Emperor
| Maria's grandmother's cat. A large, fat white cat with black spots. Ruler of all he surveys. Has never once been fed.
|-
| Ringo
(りんご)
| The Hermit
| Maria's pet turtle. The repository for all of Maria's hopes and dreams and fears. Quite shy.
|-
| Yurie Shirakawa
(白川ゆりえ)
| Strength
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student; Maria's known her since elementary school. A sweet young lady who reads the most cursed romance novels.
|-
| Haruka Hatano
(波田野悠)
| The Magician
| One of Maria's close friends and a fellow Sevens student. Considered herself Maria's foremost rival on the track team once and bemoans the loss of Maria as such. Still on the track team at Sevens.
|-
| Takeshi Nakata
(中田剛史)
| The Chariot
| Maria's ex-boyfriend. Handsome, charming... and absolutely no good. The kind of person who has no regard for the damage they leave in their wake.
|}

= Soundtrack =

*Eurythmics - [https://youtu.be/bG9z-atG7gc Sweet Dreams] - '''Main Theme'''
*Poe - [https://youtu.be/Y9e9ewSV9Ew Hey Pretty] - '''Getting Into Trouble'''
*Blue Oyster Cult - [https://youtu.be/pe3jFvJ0qjs (Don't Fear) The Reaper] - '''Everyone Does It'''
*Florence + The Machine - [https://youtu.be/R2NR-UHH1KE Mermaids] - '''Love'''
*The Warning - [https://youtu.be/J_zHZwslwD0 Dust to Dust] - '''Shadow'''
*Dania - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-JMbxZWlk Leiley] - '''Restless Motion'''
*Dengue Fever - [https://youtu.be/ru5c1pJkV5A Sleep Walking Through the Mekong (Morgan Page Remix)] - '''Unseen World'''
*Kavinsky - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY Nightcall] - '''Out at Night'''
*Disparition - [https://youtu.be/IMrJyY3uNzc Eliezer's Waltz] - '''Other Side'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://youtu.be/W6OaYPVueW4 New Math] - '''Gag Track'''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==

{{#dpl:
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{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
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[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Chorus]]
[[Category:Seven Sisters High School]]

Katsuya Suou

2025-12-31T20:31:10Z

Strangeshrimp:

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Katsuya Suou'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Katsuya Suou (周防克哉)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Justice|Justice]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| He/Him
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 25 (December 30, 1986)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Reddish brown
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Reddish brown
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 5'10.5" / 179cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Konan Ward, Sumaru City
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| Konan Police Department
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Police Sergeant/Homicide Detective
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Focus
|-
! style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Persona 2 (FC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| Team Whoop-Ass
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Can you apply the penal code to demons?"'''

A young detective in the Konan PD, Sergeant Katsuya Suou was on the "Old Maid" case until he had a supernatural run-in with the Joker Killer himself and made the mistake of reporting it honestly to his superiors. Now, after being told to take a vacation and get some rest, Katsuya is pursuing the case on his own with Joker target Maya Amano, aiming to bring this monstrous serial killer to justice. Katsuya is so stern, serious, and by-the-book that he seems like he'd never overlook any crime, no matter how minor, but his compassion and sense of fairness do prompt him to look the other way sometimes.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''I am Helios...''
''Bearing the ancient sun, I am the one who violates the night!''
''I shall become your loyal chariot!!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Helios is the Greek personification of the sun and drives the chariot that bears the sun across the sky. He features in the Odyssey when Odysseus's men happen upon Helios's sacred cattle which they kill and eat despite Odysseus's warnings. Furious over this transgression, Helios asks Zeus to punish the men and only Odysseus is left alive.

'''Description''': Helios looks like an anthropomorphic black cat with metal cone-like ears; he's the size of a human adult and is dressed in a very fancy if old-fashioned suit.

= Special Skills =

1. ''You're Under Arrest!'' (Guts): Exactly what it sounds like. Katsuya applies the force of the law to the situation (or threatens arrest, as needed) (...can you arrest a demon, well, dammit, he'll try anyway).

2. ''What is Justice?'' (Understanding): Katsuya mulls over the meaning and application of justice, bringing his empathy to the fore in dealing with the situation.

3. ''Advise'' (Charm): Katsuya listens in and gives his suggestions for how to tackle the problem/situation.

=Relationships=

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#71706e; border: 2px #990303 solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
| [[Tatsuya Suou]]
| Tatsuya
| The Sun
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| Katsuya's younger brother, a senior at Sevens. Hasn't been at school or at home in weeks; Katsuya's getting an ulcer over it.
|-
| [[Maya Amano]]
| Amano-kun
| The Fool
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A reporter, and one of Katsuya's allies in arms in the investigation of #501. Katsuya admires her optimism and resolve. The one who named their group, unfortunately.
|-
| [[Ulala Serizawa]]
| Serizawa-kun
| The Star
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| Maya's roommate, and best friend. In spite of her ways and the fact that Katsuya finds her mildly terrifying, a reliable member of their team.
|-
| [[Baofu]]
| Baofu
| The Hanged Man
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| The owner of the website Darkside of Sumaru, who has his fingers on the pulse of rumors and intrigue in the city. A shady man who uses shady means, but his experience can't be denied, no matter how suspicious Katsuya finds him.
|-
| [[Umie Akabane]]
| Akabane-kun
| The Chariot
| ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A Convenience store clerk and Tatsuya's former tutor, years ago. Experienced with a Persona; Katsuya has been learning the ways of the Persona-user world from her as well. But, is he mistaken or is she hiding something...?
|-
| [[Myunghon Yeo]]
| Yeo-san
| The Devil
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A shopkeep and shady person. Possibly a criminal. The Harry to Katsuya's Kim (whatever that means...).
|-
| [[Yukari Takeba]]
| Takeba-san
| The Lovers
| ★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
| A student and member of SEES. Has a good head on her shoulders, but something about her also makes Katsuya a little nervous, like she could cut him with her words alone.
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==
NPCs of note!

*Katsuzou Suou: His and Tatsuya's father (not named in canon). Once upon a time, he was a police detective, until he was accused of taking bribes and went to prison for it. These days, he works as a security guard for hire.
*Maiya Suou: His and Tatsuya's mother (not named in canon). Works part-time as a grocery clerk to help make ends meet at home.
*Chief Togashi: Technically an FC; no canon first name given. The chief of the Konan Police Department, and Katsuya's mentor. Once upon a time, he was Katsuya's father's partner as an officer.
*Captain Shimazu: Technically an FC; no canon first name given. An elite homicide investigator. Currently in charge of the Joker Killer investigation. Appears to take a delight in jerking Katsuya's chain, as it were.
*Detective Tani: Technically an FC but only appears in one scene (no canon given name, obviously). A homicide detective at Konan.

= Soundtrack =

*W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me58ToO6owo When a felon's not engaged in his employment] - '''Gag Track'''

= The Stats You've All Been Waiting For =
(yeah this is just extended Disco Elysium tomfoolery for funsies, please pay it no mind)
*'''INT''': 3 - Logic, Encyclopedia, Rhetoric, Drama, Conceptualization, Visual Calculus
*'''PSY''': 2 - Volition, Décor, Empathy, Authority, Esprit de Corps, Suggestion
*'''FYS''': 3 - Endurance, Pain Threshold, Tener Duende, Electrochemistry, Iustitia, Half Light
*'''MOT''': 4 - Hand-Eye Coordination, Perception, Reaction Speed, Savoire Faire, Mise en Place, Composure
'''Focus Stat: Logic'''

==Thought Cabinet==
(''i'll do up something funny text-wise for these someday if the whim strikes me'')
*'''Currently Internalizing''': ''CRIME AND PUNISHMENT''
*'''Internalized''': ''THE OTHER ME IS A CAT''
*'''Not Yet Internalized''': ''VAMPIRE BAKERS''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==

{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
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{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
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|columns = 3
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| addcategories = true
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| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
}}

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Adults]]
[[Category:Focus]]

Noriaki Okaga

2025-12-31T20:18:42Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2" |- ! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Noriaki Okaga''' |- ! colspan="2" align="center" | lol |- ! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | <span style="..."

{| class="toccolours" style="width: 30%; float: right; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em; margin-bottom:2em; text-align: left; font-size: %110" cellspacing="2"
|-
! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''Noriaki Okaga'''
|-
! colspan="2" align="center" | [[lol]]
|-
! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''IC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Full Name:
| Noriaki Okaga (岡賀紀明)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Arcana:
| [[Tarot#Magician|The Magician]]
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Pronouns:
| He/Him
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Age (Birthdate):
| 23 (August 11, 1989)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Hair Colour:
| Black
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Eye Colour:
| Grey
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Height:
| 6' / 183cm
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Residence:
| Tatsumi Port Island
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Workplace:
| Variable
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Job:
| Part-timer
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Role:
| Nemesis
|-
! style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font-size: 110%;" align="center" colspan="2" | '''OOC Information'''
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Source:
| Velvet Room MUSH (OC)
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Groups:
| Strega
|-
! style="text-align:left" | Player:
| [[User:strangeshrimp|Parabellum]]
|-
|}

'''"Heh... Y'know, I'm almost jealous of ya... dyin' so quick like that!"'''

Death is not a hunter unknown to its prey, and Noriaki Okaga, as a dying man, knows it all too well. A person who lives life on the margins, he has as his 'day' job any number of temporary menial gigs when his failing health permits. By 'night', as a member of Strega, he takes to the Dark Hour to fulfill jobs for Revenge Request and for his own purposes as an Artificial Persona User reaching his end. A nasty and vicious person, he lives for the thrill of confrontation and the struggle of life on its thinnest of edges and displays a particular lack of concern for his own well-being in and out of combat.

= Background =
TBA
==Season 1, Episode 1==
In progress!

= Persona =
<poem>''Call me Efnysien.''
''With the strength of ten men, I will shatter all before me.''
''All that displeases you shall be destroyed, my other self!''
</poem>

'''Overview''': Efnysien is a figure in Welsh mythology that features in the tale of Branwen ferch Llyr, the second branch of the Mabinogi; his resentment and cruelty spark the tragedy of the story. Towards the end of the tale, as the Welsh and Irish forces clash, he opts to thwart the Irish use of the magic cauldron Pair Dadeni to revive their dead and hides among the dead Irish warriors. Cast into the cauldron alive, he destroys it and himself.

'''Description''': A hazy outline of a person is half-submerged in a large boiling cauldron packed with mechanical skeletons. In one hand they hold a string that's tied to a small battered and broken rocking horse, which they use as a flail.

= Special Skills =

1. ''School of Hard Knocks'' (Understanding): Noriaki's seen some shit. He doesn't have a lot of practical education, but he does understand that when the world knocks you down, you get back up (and maybe even get a shot in on the way if you're quick enough). When it comes to the rough stuff, he gets it (and if nothing else, a little physicality can help 'someone else' understand /his/ point of view if words aren't doing the trick).

2. ''Frame the Shot'' (Proficiency): Noriaki's an amateur photographer, and applies these skills to the situation at hand. Light? Direction? Framing? It's all coming together for a great shot.

3. ''Call of the Void'' (Guts): Do you hear it? That voice in your head that tells you to jump right when you're on the edge? You know better and so you hold back, but did you ever think about what would happen if you... listened? Self-preservation is in the best interest of the self, but sometimes, to get results, you just need to jump. right. in.

=Relationships=

None yet, but watch this space!

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 75%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Name
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Address
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Arcana
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;" | Social Link
! scope="col" style="background:#e68a00; border: 2px #003300 solid; font size: 110%;"class="unsortable" | Info
|-
|}

==NPC Relationships==

None. ...or are there?

= Soundtrack =

*Coconuts - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcMz3aAZDv4 Silver Lights] - '''Main Theme'''
*Shoji Meguro - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCP2e4ZWvtk A Wall that Must Be Crossed ] - '''Pre-Fight Theme'''
*Daisuke Ishiwatari - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfRCnQH4c-I Alone Infection] - '''Only One Outcome'''
*M.O.O.N. - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSzoKL-iO5M Release] - '''Calling Shadows'''
*Yuzo Koshiro - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjJ_Cthj8ko Atheist on the Highway] - '''The Night's the Time'''
*Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3y5xBDNVuo Embers] - '''Fighting Theme'''
*The Primals - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrrNrus5Z2g White Stone Black] - '''Don't Look Any Closer'''
*Rob Dougan - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjvyeGymW80 Speed Me Towards Death] - '''Thanatos Drive'''
*Young Punx - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IARbSVgxw3c Your Music is Killing Me] - '''Your Song'''
*Motoi Sakuraba - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EXvYus2HzU Junk Modulation] - '''Constant Companion'''
*Carter Vail - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fwHJ0tz21M Dirt Man] - '''Gag Track'''
*Tom Lehrer - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY Poisoning Pigeons in the Park] - '''Gag Track'''

= Logs and Cutscenes =

==Season 1==

{{#dpl:
|category = logs&season 1
|linksto = {{PAGENAME}}
|ordermethod = title
|columns = 3
|rowcolformat=width=50%
|suppresserrors = yes
| addcategories = true
| mode = userformat
| format = ,,\n* [[%PAGE%]],
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{{#dpl:
|category = cutscenes&season 1
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|noresultsheader=There are no cutscenes on this wiki that {{PAGENAME}} participated in.
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[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Nemesis]]
[[Category:Strega]]

2025-12-01: Unring the Bell

2025-12-01T21:50:17Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Cutscene: Unring the Bell'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]]
*'''Where:''' Sakurai Household
*'''OOC Date:''' December 1st, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 16, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria makes an important phonecall.''

----
'''BGM:''' (''The Warning - Dust to Dust'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_zHZwslwD0
----<poem>

Carefully closing the door to her room, Maria retreats to the furthest corner, shrinking down into that space. Her attention is on her phone in her hand.

She'd made up her mind before she even got home, but now she finds herself faltering once again. She'd told herself, when she got home. When she got home, she told herself, when everyone else had gone to their rooms. She'd told herself, when the house was quiet.

It's quiet now. She's still staring at her phone.

What he did isn't illegal.

What he did, he'll do again. No-- because she'd hesitated, he'd ''done'' it again.

The new girl he was with, earlier, she won't be the last. How many more will come after her?

She should try to talk to Akechi-san. --No. What he did isn't illegal, she thinks again, her phone trembling in her hand. What he did was 'just' wrong. There's nothing that can be done about it legally. So then...

Her thumb slides across the screen, releasing the lock. It's easy from there: tap call. Tap the numbers she knows by heart. Put her phone to her ear. Then there it is, that tiny click.

Maria takes a breath, sucking in air open-mouthed as if she were devouring it whole. ...When did her cheeks get wet?

No voice greets her. It's silent, on the other end. "...Hello?" she whispers, as if expecting someone to answer.

No one does.

"...Takeshi Nakata," she says, the name spilling out of her almost as if she were compelled to say it. "A-at, at Shujin High School, in Tokyo. I--"

The line clicks, and goes dead.

The first breath Maria takes is shallow. The second is deeper. Her hand shakes. Her phone slips from her grasp to clatter against the floor.

No. Wait. No. No, no, no, no--

She snatches up her phone again, as quick as she can. Swipe to unlock, tap to make a call, key in the number, digit after digit. Ah, no, she's made an error-- no, back up, try it again. Hit call.

Fumbling for her phone, she lifts it again to her ear, listening once more for that tiny 'click'.
"I-- I'm sorry!" she whispers into the phone, as loud as she dares in a house that's sleeping. "I want to take it back!"

There's silence on the other end.

The silence lingers, as weighty as a brick as she takes one breath then another, and another. After one deeper breath, she manages to get out, "This is Maria, Maria Sakurai. I-- I just called you! So please. Take it back. I don't want him to actually d--"

The line clicks before she can finish her sentence and goes dead.

"No..."

This time, when the phone slips from her grasp to clatter to the floor, Maria doesn't bother to pick it up again.

</poem>

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-12-01: Unring the Bell

2025-12-01T21:49:54Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: Unring the Bell''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai *'''Where:''' Sakurai Household *'''OOC Date:''' December 1st, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' August 16, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Maria makes an important phonecall.'' ---- '''BGM:''' (''The Warning - Dust to Dust'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_zHZwslwD0 <poem> Carefully closing the door to her room, Maria retreats to the furthest corner, shrinking down into that space. Her attention is on her phone in her hand...."

*'''Cutscene: Unring the Bell'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]]
*'''Where:''' Sakurai Household
*'''OOC Date:''' December 1st, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 16, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria makes an important phonecall.''

----
'''BGM:''' (''The Warning - Dust to Dust'') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_zHZwslwD0
<poem>

Carefully closing the door to her room, Maria retreats to the furthest corner, shrinking down into that space. Her attention is on her phone in her hand.

She'd made up her mind before she even got home, but now she finds herself faltering once again. She'd told herself, when she got home. When she got home, she told herself, when everyone else had gone to their rooms. She'd told herself, when the house was quiet.

It's quiet now. She's still staring at her phone.

What he did isn't illegal.

What he did, he'll do again. No-- because she'd hesitated, he'd ''done'' it again.

The new girl he was with, earlier, she won't be the last. How many more will come after her?

She should try to talk to Akechi-san. --No. What he did isn't illegal, she thinks again, her phone trembling in her hand. What he did was 'just' wrong. There's nothing that can be done about it legally. So then...

Her thumb slides across the screen, releasing the lock. It's easy from there: tap call. Tap the numbers she knows by heart. Put her phone to her ear. Then there it is, that tiny click.

Maria takes a breath, sucking in air open-mouthed as if she were devouring it whole. ...When did her cheeks get wet?

No voice greets her. It's silent, on the other end. "...Hello?" she whispers, as if expecting someone to answer.

No one does.

"...Takeshi Nakata," she says, the name spilling out of her almost as if she were compelled to say it. "A-at, at Shujin High School, in Tokyo. I--"

The line clicks, and goes dead.

The first breath Maria takes is shallow. The second is deeper. Her hand shakes. Her phone slips from her grasp to clatter against the floor.

No. Wait. No. No, no, no, no--

She snatches up her phone again, as quick as she can. Swipe to unlock, tap to make a call, key in the number, digit after digit. Ah, no, she's made an error-- no, back up, try it again. Hit call.

Fumbling for her phone, she lifts it again to her ear, listening once more for that tiny 'click'.
"I-- I'm sorry!" she whispers into the phone, as loud as she dares in a house that's sleeping. "I want to take it back!"

There's silence on the other end.

The silence lingers, as weighty as a brick as she takes one breath then another, and another. After one deeper breath, she manages to get out, "This is Maria, Maria Sakurai. I-- I just called you! So please. Take it back. I don't want him to actually d--"

The line clicks before she can finish her sentence and goes dead.

"No..."

This time, when the phone slips from her grasp to clatter to the floor, Maria doesn't bother to pick it up again.

</poem>

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

User:Strangeshrimp

2025-11-25T03:39:03Z

Strangeshrimp:

[[File:The curse.jpg|an image that just says 'it's because of the curse'. the viewer is prompted to press F to indicate OK.]]

Staff! I'm Parabellum here.

*'''Velvet Room MUSH''': [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Noriaki Okaga]]
*'''Dream Chasers MUSH''': Necronomicon (Staff), Josephine Lovelace, Loren Voss, Avril Vent Fleur, Citan Uzuki, Amaterasu, Seraph Harmaus (RIP)

Availability: EST; PM hours (I work M-F 8-5).
*Mon: Usually not but can make exceptions with advance requests
*Tues: Almost always not available (see above)
*Wed-Thurs: Usually free, ask me
*Fri-Sat: Almost always free
*Sun: Variable but usually free; ask me

2025-11-15: Skulking in the Shadows

2025-11-21T00:20:48Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Log: Skulking in the Shadows'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Noriaki Okaga]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Tamaki Uchida]], [[Eveline Deschamps]]
*'''Where:'''
*'''OOC Date:''' November 15, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 11, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''An innocent civilian is forcefully introduced to the Dark Hour by a man with a surprising ability: being able to attract (and enrage) Shadows. Three Persona Users, each veterans in their own ways, converge to undo a potential tragedy. Someone will be able to go home tonight, but will that strange man simply try again another night?''

----

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
<poem>
Darkness and shadow crawl the expanse of the Dark Hour. This close to the rise of Tartarus, the danger for those who wander the Dark Hour alone is greater -- and even those in a group may on rare occasion meet with serious trouble. Along the stretch just outside Port Island Station, though, all is peaceful and still, if you want to call the chill and otherworldly presence of this impossible hour 'peaceful'.

Tock-tock.

There's a sound, in the darkness. Like someone knocking on something, something heavy and metallic.

Tock-tock.

"Heh... anyone home?" A grin twists the mouth of the figure before the large coffin in the street just outside the station as they -- he -- rolls his shoulders and takes a step back. In the light of the 'real' world, this had been just another person. Now, without a Persona or other means of remaining active in the Dark Hour, they're Transmogrified into coffin. It's a double-edged sword of a situation: on one hand, the person in the coffin can't do anything in the Dark Hour. On the other, they're also safe from the Dark Hour's many threats--

The man reaches over and hauls the coffin's lid open with a loud creak that reverberates through the area. Reaching into the coffin, he drags the occupant, a young adult man, out into the terrible reality of the Dark Hour.

"Rise and shine, kiddo!" crows his assailant. "It's your lucky day!"

The young man, awoken into an actual nightmare, manages a few inarticulate sounds. "Buh-- wh, what's! Who--!?" he finally manages to stammer, goggling at Noriaki and the greenwash horror that he's found himself within.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> With Tamaki investigating Tartarus (as well as the Kirijo Group, secretly), Umie thought it'd be a great idea to show her what exactly it is.

Walking down the still street with stray coffins on either side, Umie is dresses plainly, with a light-colored jacket, denim shorts, a red tee, and sneakers, she keeps her duffel bag close.

"Yeah, that's Tartarus, in a nutshell. I'd be your guide inside, but... I've only been in there once." Umie explains it plainly enough in quiet tones. "With it being summer break, I'm sure it's quiet right now with SEES, so." Umie's lips split in a sharply curved smile. ".... Care to do some shadow extermination?"

It's not like they can take a train back, after all.

-----

Staying on the safe side, the two are now in the area just outside Port Island Station. Whether Tamaki agreed to Umie's terms or not, Umie has taken things into her own hands, and went hunting, hugging the shadows as she 'clears a path forward'. Even if it may just be a shadow or two that just happens to be there, in Umie's way.

Tock-tock.

Few sounds escape the hold of the Dark Hour over the landscape; Umie seems particularly ready to be paranoid over the smallest of reasons. "...." Her head jerks up, one hand up for silence (if Tamaki is in sight); her Persona, Badb, emerges.

She points in a direction, towards something that shouldn't be here, be it a resonance, or something visual, supplied through that bird's eye view of the field. She's also pressed a homemade mask to her face; this one a red and white checkerboard, with a yellow peony over one eye (her yukata pattern for the festival was kind of cute, she reasoned).

She's also, in a few seconds, already gone.

----A YEAR AGO-(ish???)---

'Bento-san'. That was the konbini thief's name. Her hair was still dark, in those days, gathered back in in a long ponytail. "Just get the ones on sale," she mumbled, mostly to herself. She didn't get it, back then; it's not about being *forced* to do the wrong thing. Sometimes it just happened.

Like with Tsubasa Seki, Umie failed to ever remember an actual name, and why would she? Even a Persona User is just a customer, just one she had to be extra careful around. After all, at that time--

----NOW----

--Umie didn't want someone to know she *also* possessed a Persona.

Which is why, when Umie emerges from the shadows, ready to somehow correct this horror, she pauses, seeing Noriaki's face.

Bento-san.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
When Umie had asked Tamaki to come along tonight to see Tartarus, at least just to 'come look at this crazy thing', Tamaki agreed. Several weeks ago, she had promised Myunghon that she would investigate the Kirijo Group and Tartarus -- and while she did take steps to do so, those steps had ultimately led her in different directions than her intended path. From what she understands, going inside would require a larger group for safety's sake, but at least with Umie's company, viewing the building from the outside seems safe enough as a duo.

Before Myunghon had made their request, the one time prior that Tamaki had been in the Iwatodai area during the Dark Hour, she had been inside Paulownia Mall. The Dark Hour had already been a part of her life for years, so the thought to look outside in ''this'' particular location simply hadn't occurred to her.

That's the tone this trip had originally started with: sightseeing, factfinding, just finally verifying the massive tower's existence with her own eyes -- with a side of Shadow extermination, as necessary.

Tamaki doesn't hesitate in her response: "I'm in. This is long past due."

-----

Tamaki's outfit for this venture is her usual business suit. If she's wearing that, it's a good sign that she considers herself on the clock, it's a statement of intent.

Now that Tamaki's finally in a position with a view to actually see the damn thing (being ''outside'' helps), it does not fail to impress. Clearly visible from the station, the sheer scale of Tartarus dwarfs that of anything which she had seen before. There was once nothing on the horizon, and now there is that. The shock of it nearly causes her to drop her own duffel bag containing her well-worn practice sabre.

She doesn't have much time to marvel over its size. Umie silently raises a hand and points in a direction. Knowing that a Navigator's instincts are to be trusted, Tamaki snaps out of her awe-induced reverie and follows in the direction Umie had left in.

At seeing Noriaki in front of an open coffin, possibly about to assail its inhabitant, she instinctively steps in front of Umie and draws her sword, facing Noriaki. "What's going on here?"

Unlike Umie, she doesn't recognize the man in front of her, though several possibilities flit through her mind. None of them are good.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Eveline Deschamps has posed.
<poem>A Hunter has to hunt. Eveline Deschamps is no exception - simply idling away running a bar and being a mom is no life for her.

Therefore, she's patrolling Port Island and the area surrounding Tartarus for information on this fine Dark Hour, her Resonance senses honed to a fine point.

Therefore, when she senses a signal, she turns down an alleyway, heading for the station. There, she sees the two men, one pulled out of a coffin and one who pulled him out.

Her outfit, once she appears in sight range, is unique. She wears a finely cognitive brown leather jacket that screams Old Europe, with trousers, a mantle, and a scarf. Fine leather boots step forward, Eve adjusting her black top hat slightly with a casual flick of a hand.

As she tracks the anguish on the man's face, a cane suddenly appears in her hand, a well-made wooden thing with a gilded knob for a handle. The tip is strangely pointed, like something is jutting out of it, but what exactly is concealed in the darkness.

As Umie and Tamaki arrive, Eveline Deschamps, clearly recognizable by lack of mask and distinct appearance as a foreigner, steps forward towards Noriaki.

"Explain yourself. I will be your judge tonight."

Her words are imperious, that cane head glinting in the green moonlight. There is no Persona currently out, however, and it seems she's willing to avoid a fight if it's explained to her satisfaction.

Tamaki and Umie are already preparing to fight... interesting. Foolish, but interesting.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
<poem>
He's a tall one, this man: at six foot even he stands taller than most of the natives. Lean and lanky to the point of suggesting he doesn't get regular meals, his eyes can't be seen in the shadows of the hood of his sweatshirt. The only thing of his face that's visible is that awful grin.

He grabs his victim of the moment by the scruff of his shirt and pulls, forcing the young man to look up at the horrible reality of the Dark Hour's sky. "Take a good, long look, kiddo! Beautiful shit, ain't it? Look at that sky!" barks Noriaki, gesturing with the machete in his other hand as if it were a teacher's pointer. "But, hey, don't get your shorts in a twist about what it ''means'', now. It's the end of the road for you--"

Like a dog that has just caught something on the wind, the gangling man straightens out of his slouch and turns his head. "Eh?"

That gleeful smirk has vanished in the moment as he regards first Umie (who he doesn't recognize) and then Tamaki (who he hasn't before met).

"Looks like we've got company," he tells his would-be victim, before a third, in the form of a woman in an archaic, foreign hunter's outfit steps forth. She'll be his judge tonight, Eve tells him.

"Three of ya, eh? ...Anyone else skulking in the shadows, or is that all?" Lazily, he swings his machete, keeping his grip on the young man's shirt.

"...What am I doing? Someone wants this kiddo dead. So I'm here to kill him," Noriaki explains, shrugging his shoulders as if it were no matter whatsoever. The young man grunts, jerking his head as if to get a better look at Noriaki and his weapon, then tries (to no avail) to escape the man's apparently iron grip. "Who-- I-I-- please! Just let me go!!"

Slowly, that sadistic grin of his returning, Noriaki shakes his head slowly. "Ehhh, no can do. And if you're asking -- or are about to ask," he says, swinging his gaze towards his audience, "who wants you dead and why, well, I don't know and I don't care. Don't blame me, I'm just the messenger!" he declares, swinging his machete wide as if to underscore his statement.

"...But tell you what. Since we've got an audience here tonight, let's make it more interesting. It doesn't matter to me if I'm the one who does it, so-- here!"

And he shoves his victim forward, hard enough that the man stumbles and falls onto his hands and knees there in the plaza outside the station.

In his now free hand, he produces an Evoker, aims it at his own head, and fires.

There is a figure in the great steaming cauldron that appears before him, limned in red flame. Stuffed full of metallic skeletons, there is one shadowy featureless presence within it without. It lifts its head and howls a warcry.

Turning his head as his Persona fades, Noriaki's grin widens. "Here they come. Can't you hear them?" Something is indeed scuttling in the darkness. "They're furious, too! Heh heh... see if you can protect ''him'' against ''them''!"

With that, he turns, the Evoker returned and his one had again freed. "This is where I'm off. See how you go, kiddos!"

Taking off at a run, he vanishes into the darkness as the scraping and scuttling sound grows louder and louder. They erupt into the street as a sudden surge: a host of beetle-shaped Shadows, here on a rampage. They'll try to kill anyone they meet in an infuriated state like this, yes but--

Above all else, they'll try to kill the young man without a Persona, there trembling on the street at the sight of them. The horn-like mask of one of the Shadows glows with a pinkish aura; mental power flows in a wave between it and the three Persona-users.
Meanwhile, the others are circling in to attack that civilian...
</poem>

AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Elec skill Mapsi on Umie Akabane, Tamaki Uchida, and Eveline Deschamps!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 63 Elec damage from Noriaki Okaga's Mapsi. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Eveline Deschamps takes 30 Elec damage from Noriaki Okaga's Mapsi.
AS: Bind added!
AS: Block Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 46 Elec damage from Noriaki Okaga's Mapsi.
AS: Bind added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie takes a look at the other person who's come, and is immediately surprised. Another Mask-san? .... no, she knows who this person is; the slight recognition even registers in Umie's expression, visible through the eyeholes of her mask as Tamaki gets in front.

She fights the surprise down, choosing to be silent for the sake of her next move.

... This isn't the first person Umie's seen in the Dark Hour without the protection of a Persona, but this would be the second she's seen that is still in one piece. With both these incidents happening in Port Island, Umie will just have to assume that, maybe, it's a function of location. Maybe that's what made this man's night just a little luckier than it could have been, otherwise, though it could quickly turn right back the opposite direction.

Especially with Noriaki, whose height and resonance made it very clear just who he is to Umie, along with something more extra. Assuming there isn't another group out there doing the same, Noriaki must not only be a bento thief, but a member of Strega as well. There's a temptation to deliver some sharp one-liner or even to yell at Noriaki, tbut he's already delivered the best line one could give to Umie without realizing it: dragging someone into the Dark Hour.

Stay right there, Tamaki. Umie's the best kind of person for this sort of situation; as long as these two keep Noriaki's attention, Umie could possibly land a surprise attack on the tall scarecrow of a man, separating him from his quarry.

That is, if he hadn't done so already himself, casting the man aside with a particularly troubling comment, producing a gun, and-- wait, no, that's an Evoker. NWO?! Though Strega also uses them too, but still!! Was this man a NWO agent this entire time?! Had to be, if he...

Except. Did he just. No. Wait. _Did this asshole summon shadows with that Persona of his_?

(Or... No, these were nearby, she can feel them, they're coming, and they're very, very mad.)
(This is also where Umie's hesitation gets her the prize of 'Noriaki gets away'. Damn it!!)

"Ignore that asshole and protect that guy!" Umie yells, suddenly visible not behind Tamaki, but in the general vicinity between where Tamaki and Eveline are at, the poor soul on the ground, and the direction Noriaki had split towards. A mental wave of energy nearly throws Umie off her next course, foolish as it may be, as she rushes to the man's side.

Trauma sometimes overrides common sense: a more logical reaction would be for someone else to come and play the 'tank' or likewise get the man off the ground, but the list of Umie's priorities is a mess, right now.

Badb is summoned without a single word or cry from Umie's mouth, appearing over the short blonde in a halo of blue resolving into red, grey, black, and white. WIth a sickle-shaped smile, Badb gestures towards the shadows surrounding the man (and her, if she manages to get there), attempting to rewrite the flow of battle towards her (and likewise their) favor.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Eveline's appearance and statement startles Tamaki, and she holds up both of her hands to indicate peaceful intent -- this, despite that she is still very clearly holding a sword in one of those raised hands. Wide-eyed, she asks, "Whoa, whoa whoa whoa! Whose judge are you?" She blinks several times while waiting for a response. The fact that it's the woman who had served her just a short while ago doesn't escape her notice, but the current situation doesn't quite strike her as an appropriate moment to compliment Eveline on her cocktail-mixing prowess.

Maybe she ''had'' been too hasty in drawing her own weapon; she had seen an open coffin in the Dark Hour a very short while ago and had a particularly harrowing experience. Between the man who emerged from inside and Noriaki himself, she isn't exactly clear on which one of them is the greater threat, at least at first glance.

All this while she makes sure to stand in front of Umie, blocking her from what may potentially come from the direction of the other three people in front of them. She knows Umie keeps her own presence hidden, but even among other Persona-users, Tamaki's instinct is to make herself the most obvious target in the area.

The nature of the threat becomes more clear as Noriaki announces his intent, machete and Evoker drawn. Probably from that revenge request site ... sounds like Strega. Jun had mentioned to Tamaki that both Strega and Sudou had spoken with him -- so maybe there's something Tamaki and Umie could talk about after this crisis is over. As the Shadows start to converge from the call of Noriaki's Persona, she begins to settle back in from her 'surrender' posture to proper fencing form.

"Understood!" Tamaki calls out in reply to Umie and starts to run, but the earlier confusion still had her flat-footed, and the energy blows Tamaki back, preventing her from standing in front of the revenge target. If she can't intercede directly, she'll fight from range, and manifests "Arianrhod!" to blast the beetle Shadow with a light-green swirling orb of force.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Wind skill Zan on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Defense: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 51 Wind damage from Tamaki Uchida's Zan.
AS: Blast added!

<Pose Tracker> Eveline Deschamps has posed.
<poem>The Dirt Man tells them that he's here to kill this man. At first, Eve isn't prepared to react strongly to that. Perhaps he deserves to die. She needs more information.

Tamaki tosses her hands up. "Does it matter? My judgment will decide the path that I take. That's all there is to it."

But it's when the man tosses him down and summons a Shadow that she sighs lightly, as if dealing with her child doing something bad at school.

And then, the beetle swarm arrives. She considers the situation, and the man will die. It's no longer something she can sit back and allow, not out of nowhere.

"Hunt authorized," she says to no one in particular, as a vial suddenly manifests out of her sleeve, falling into hand.

"Let's make it quick."

She takes the vial up to her teeth and rips off the cap. A noxious, poisonous smell fills the air, something deadly and fatal.

And then, with a practiced motion, she downs the vial, stepping forward towards the swarm calmly as he does so.

Her pupils dilate. Her veins bulge briefly. A rictus grin forms on her face for a moment, as she clutches the side of her head.

"Persona."

It all happens in a telltale flash, as a Shadowy woman manifests, wearing what appears to be a red-and-black tank for armor, with a cannon down the length of her right arm at the same width. She has black boots revealing horse hooves, and a black horse tail - her red hair is made of silk, and instead of eyes, she possesses thermal goggles.

With a flick of a hand, the Persona manifests two flaming screens in front of Eve, as if she was a holographic hacker. She puts a hand to each screen, moving her fingers harmlessly along the flames.

"I don't have your capabilities to properly guide. Therefore, we'll start with violence, and scan if that isn't effective."

The psychic blast washes out, and with a flicker of her cane back into her hand, she *deflects* most of the psychic wave off of her, even as it binds her output and forces her back, skidding on her boots.

"Interesting reaction. Data received."

And then, with a flick of the screen, darkness washes over her cane, as she steps forth, and-

With two rapid strikes, the cane lashes out. One is a regular cane strike, soaked with a dark aura that bleeds into the swarm. The other...

The cane suddenly transforms, a bladed whip whirlwinding with dark danger. It moves to crash into the nearest Shadow it can reach, trying to rend it apart, using whatever effect Umie just put on it to amp her damage.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Eveline Deschamps has used the Dark skill Black Blight on Noriaki Okaga! 2 Hits!
AS: Eveline Deschamps regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Avoid Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 67 Dark damage from Eveline Deschamps's Black Blight. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 66 Dark damage from Eveline Deschamps's Black Blight. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Eveline Deschamps takes 33 Dark damage in return for her attack!

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
<poem>
Who is this man, and what are his alleigances? Given the Evoker, one can make a few educated guesses, but that's about all they ''can'' do. He hasn't given a name, for one thing. One thing is certain: the man that Umie had previously only known for his apparent penchant for sometimes stealing the expensive bento boxes from the Lucky Seven not only has a Persona, but he's likely killed before, may still (by proxy) kill tonight, and will likely kill again -- especially if the suspicion that some of them have that he has some connection to Revenge Request is accurate.

He, of course, will be giving no answers: vanished into the darkness of the Hour, perhaps he's watching from a safe distance to 'see how they do'. Or perhaps he's moved on to other matters.

Right now they have a civilian to protect. "W-w-what are those things?!" he shouts, gaping at the Shadows as they advance. It's just as well that he's cowering (as most people would when faced with a giant creepy beetle intent on your demise) because it makes him easier to cover than if he'd tried to book it or even fought back (both would have ended... poorly).

Umie is just in time. One of those Shadows is bearing down upon the civilian who flinches as it starts to charge right for him when the Shadow is instead targetted neatly by Badb's spell. With a fluttering of its (non-flight-worthy) wings, it suddently makes a headlong charge for Umie! ...But she's saved the man from, at least, a serious injury.

Wind, handily cast forth at Arianrhod's call, sweeps one Shadowy beetle that bears too near to the defensive circle up into the air and deposits it onto its shelled back where it kicks its legs feebly. If it weren't such dire circumstances, it might be almost comical: the mind is a plaything of the body, indeed. Alas, it's not the only one: another close at hand has its horn-like mask glow with a sickly pale-pink light, its spell unwinding towards Tamaki in a spiraling burst. It doesn't hurt, but--

It does so at its own peril. Its spell-casting is an advantage that Eve is well-equipped to take: the bladed whip lashes out at it once, knocking it back, then twice! Enraged and with her dark power boiling off it for just that moment, it charges right for her, that masked horn braced for a charge as it comes.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Noriaki Okaga has used the Strike skill Bludgeoning Blow on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Noriaki Okaga takes 60 damage!
AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Almighty skill Pulinpa on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Pierce skill Snap on Eveline Deschamps!
AS: Noriaki Okaga: Blast and Charm removed!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 23 Strike damage from Noriaki Okaga's Bludgeoning Blow.
AS: You have 1 more attack in queue!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 39 Strike damage from Noriaki Okaga's Bludgeoning Blow.
AS: Nerve Up! Tamaki Uchida's SP +8!
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Noriaki Okaga's Pulinpa.
AS: Panic added!
AS: Counter Neutral! Eveline Deschamps takes 46 Pierce damage from Noriaki Okaga's Snap.
AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 32 Pierce damage in return for his attack!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie's assumptions here were thoroughly selfish: there is someone without a resonance (something she knows can be easily accomplished, as she's living proof), being shown the Dark Hour, by someone who doesn't seem to have that person's best interests in mind. If she had managed to catch an angled glimpse of the coffin from her Badb-assisted sight earlier, it wouldn't matter.

"You're new." This is, indeed, new to Umie. She gives Tamaki a look, mouth drawn in a long, straight line as she tries to communicate, with her eyes (_with a mask on_): '... just run with it.'

'I don't have your capabilities to properly guide.' "Oh, you're already impressed?" Umie draws two splayed out fingers to her chin as she gives an open-mouthed grin. "I'm just getting started~"

(Hopefully no one has to find out the hard way Umie's guidance is limited to simple observation, as well as trial and error.)

'W-w-what are those things?!' Umie manages to dodge out of the way of the first attack, the shadow brushing by her jacket as its chitinous elytron sheath scratches across the lower part of her face. The second strike finds Umie not as lucky, as she's pummeled back, sneakers squeaking as she's pressed back by the blow.

The porcelain white body of Badb projects overhead as Umie attempts to draw closer to the assumed victim, one hand drawing up to direct Badb's flow, the sway of her oversized jacket mimicking the motion of Badb's own sleeves. "Badb!"

Elongated fingers reach out towards the beetle shadows, casting another spell to cloud the mind, as well as a miasma of dark.

If she's able to get to the man, she tries to extend a hand to him.

In her mind's eye, she sees not this man's face, but the face of someone else that she's long etched in her mind, as she extends a hand towards him, her red coral nails slightly chipped.

"I-- _we'll_ protect you," she promises, with a softness that surprises even her.

It won't make things right, but someone make it home tonight.

However, given her actions and manner in battling these shadows, would the man even see her as any safer?
</poem>

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!

AS: That attack doesn't seem to match one on your list.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Dark Tear on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Mudo on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
'Does it matter?' Tamaki doesn't verbally respond to Eveline, but she shrugs. As she's doing much the same, she can't argue with that, and she supposes it does cut both ways.

"Properly guide? I'm actually pretty flexible -- " Tamaki starts to respond to Eveline, but her sentence is cut short by the fear-inducing spell of one of the Shadows taking effect.

Regardless of how close or distant it may be in reality, death's clarion call rings loudly in Tamaki's ears, and its first wave of panic sets in. It's a familiar sensation -- unpleasant, but all too familiar. Unfortunately, such a call also drowns out revenge target's inquiry about what the Shadows are, only registering to Tamaki as muffled, nonthreatening background noise.

Like her earlier thought about judgement, this, too, cuts both ways. Unsteady and trembling hands may still yet shine in their desperation. Her demeanor shifts -- rather than be cowed into submission with this fear, Tamaki is one to turn back around and fight with wild, reckless abandon.

Her footing still isn't stable enough to avoid incoming harm, but that isn't her aim here. She just needs to get her own body in front of the man they're collectively defending. Tamaki clumsily hurtles forward at full tilt to thrust her own sabre in one of the Shadows, then clutches at her necklace to summon Arianrhod.

With the sound of shattering glass and the flickering of blue flames, the long-blonde-haired wing-armored broadsword-wielding goddess appears again. Towering over another encroaching Shadow, Arianrhod channels the forces hindering Tamaki's feet and senses into something that can be turned against their assailants. With both hands, she holds her broadsword high as it glows with an unholy dark-purple aura.

Tamaki quietly intones, "Absolutely Fatal End."

Arianrhod then brings her blade down through the Shadow in front of her with about as much purpose and as little grace as an executioner would.
</poem>

AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Exploit! Tamaki Uchida can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! Tamaki Uchida has used the Pierce skill Sabre Thrust on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Defense: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Slash skill Absolutely Fatal End on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Tamaki Uchida takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Tamaki Uchida: Bind removed!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 33 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Dark Tear. Critical Hit!
AS: Dark_Break added!
AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 127 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Mudo. Weak!
AS: Panic added!
AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 34 Pierce damage from Tamaki Uchida's Sabre Thrust.
AS: Avoid Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 72 Slash damage from Tamaki Uchida's Absolutely Fatal End.

<Pose Tracker> Eveline Deschamps has posed.
<poem>As the masked horn deflects darkness back on her, rushing forward, Eve is rammed backwards by the horn, skidding again as she grunts. In exchange, her cane turns back into a cane, and that tip stabs into the Shadow, trying to pierce it in exchange for hurting her, until she can roll out of the way.

"No," Eve dismisses being 'impressed' to Umie. "You're a capable shroud, but that doesn't say much about the whole."

As Umie moves in to attack with darkness, Eve is pretty much ignoring the person she's trying to rescue. Sure, she wants to save him, but that requires her to first deal with the threat. Protection is less necessary than a coordinated offense.

Bringing a fiery screen in front of herself, she taps at it for a few moments. "Enhancement Protocol, engage." A wave of energy washes over the three of them, providing new buffs.

And then, with a flicker forward, she swings that cane again, flicking it into a whip. Pure energy coats it, before it whips out into an intricate pattern, swinging back and forth like an artist who knows the weapon like the back of her hand.

None of it hits the swarm...

Until phantom silver lashes strike in the same pattern, attempting to cut through them with purely mystical power.

If Tamaki gets a chance to pay attention in her panic, she may notice this is definitely a veteran Persona User. Umie could likely figure it out too.

"Keep your wits about you," she chides Tamaki. "Always maintain control on the field if you don't trust your beast."
</poem>

AS: Eveline Deschamps spends Limit on Exploit! Eveline Deschamps can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Eveline Deschamps has used the Recovery skill Enhancement Protocol on Umie Akabane, Tamaki Uchida, and
Eveline Deschamps!
AS: Insight: Eveline Deschamps gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Eveline Deschamps takes 0 Recovery healing from Eveline Deschamps's Enhancement Protocol.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Recovery healing from Eveline Deschamps's Enhancement Protocol.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Tandem! Eveline Deschamps has used the Slash skill Infernal Lash on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Eveline Deschamps: Bind removed!
AS: Eveline Deschamps regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 198 Slash damage from Eveline Deschamps's Infernal Lash. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
<poem>
Darkness roils and curls across the battlefield, but it touches the would-be victim not at all. Dropping flat (good instincts, there) he escapes a probing stab of a chitinous walking leg only barely. Turning its attention upon Tamaki as she proves the nearer target in its riled-up state. With its horn, it stabs for her once.

And Tamaki responds in kind, her blade sinking deeply into its dark carapace. She is a veteran, even afflicted by an ailment: she follows it with blade and Persona in tandem, Arianrhod's power lent to give her that critical edge. Indeed, it is a deep cut against its carapace--

It's just unfortunately not enough to finish the Shadow off altogether. It, still 'alive', lashes surprisingly sharp limbs at her in retaliation.

Umie reaches out to to the would-be victim. He lifts his head as she promises their protection, in the moment he says nothing but nods and takes her hand.

She'll have only moments to make good on her promise: the beetle that had been 'flipped' by Tamaki has at last righted itself; it would be a mistake to call it something like 'revenge' (not that Umie is even the one responsible) even if something like raw untethered emotion can be ascribed vaguely to Shadows like this. But... does it maybe seem like it's a little madder than the others?
Or maybe it's just projection.

Regardless, it comes in for Umie and her charge of the moment at top speed, seeking to tackle them -- or at least her -- bodily.

Nor will it be the only one. As Eveline watches, she'll see that the remaining members of the swarm are preparing for something, their terrible wings fluttering in the crawling dark. Are they going to attack Umie and the civilian all at once? But she is, as she's demonstrated, a veteran herself. Light settles across the approaching swarm, and one might be forgiven for assuming nothing had happened save her assessment of the moment.

Until the light follows in a series of silver flashes. The swarm is Cut.

And unfortunately for Eve in the moment, some of them have survived. Wings flutter: a great wind is being summoned by the wounded survivors, coalescing around her in a whirling vortex.
</poem>

AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Exploit! Noriaki Okaga can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Blood!
AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Weapon! Noriaki Okaga has used the Pierce skill Rupturing Raid on Tamaki Uchida! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Noriaki Okaga has used the Slash skill Slicing Salvo on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Slash skill Mighty Swing on Umie Akabane!
AS: Noriaki Okaga takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Wind skill Heavenly Cyclone on Eveline Deschamps!
AS: Noriaki Okaga: Psych removed!
AS: Avoid Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 31 Pierce damage from Noriaki Okaga's Rupturing Raid.
AS: Avoid Best! Tamaki Uchida takes 14 Pierce damage from Noriaki Okaga's Rupturing Raid.
AS: Block Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 50 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Slicing Salvo.
AS: Counter Worst! Eveline Deschamps takes 115 Wind damage from Noriaki Okaga's Heavenly Cyclone. Critical Hit!
AS: Rage added!
AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 58 Wind damage in return for his attack!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Eveline Deschamps's Enhancement Protocol.
AS: Def_Up added!
AS: You have 1 more attack in queue!
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 66 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Mighty Swing.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Hm. Noting Tamaki's reaction, Umie's eyelids lower. This could be useful later, maybe, if Tamaki wouldn't mind an enraging push. Then again, did she want to be responsible for Berserker Class Tamaki?!

Umie's cheeks nearly bulge out with the comment she wants to make to Tamaki, which is 'but that's implied by the word fatal'. (Please forgive Umie, she does not know it's a perfectly legitimate attack.)

Eveline's comment, thought Umie can see it comes from experience, draws a flat expression from the somewhat prideful Umie. Still, to know what Umie was doing, this entire time... Eveline may even know her from the bar now, Umie realizes, to her dismay.

(This is probably what it's like to be on the other side of her own 'senpai' comments, too. grumblegrumble)

"Don't let my looks deceive you," Umie starts, with a half grin and an impish squint of her eyes behind the mask. "Anyone who doesn't take me seriously is going to be in for a rough night. Same goes for Uchida-san!"

But her pride can't compete with the feel of that scared civilian taking her hand.

Umie wouldn't have been able to give her hand to that man she 'freed' from that coffin, years ago, even if she had the guts to do so.

WIth luck, she'll never see this person, and they'll never remember any of them, masked, dressed up, suited, or none of the above. "Stick by us," she tries to say, trying to keep the shake out of her voice.

It's actually rather hard to project strength like that without the anger or pride to bullshit through it, especially for the sake of someone else.

What's easier is ducking.
Which Umie does, the beetle's trajectory skidding off of her like a pebble across a lake's surface. (It still hurts, damn it.)

"Gogogo!!" Umie says, her unfortunate mask nearly falling off before she has a chance to adjust it back on. "Just a little more, we got this!!"

Badb is summoned in a halo of blue again, giving the beetle shadows another chilling smile, followed by a long, carried out shriek to chill the bones.

(... as if shadows had any)
</poem>

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile.
AS: Charm added! Panic removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 186 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Weak!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki's priority is to protect the revenge target. She's got the resilience to take the heat, but the man's a goner if they go for him. She's very clearly made the Shadow mad at her and personally suffers for it, taking the full brunt of the blows and staggering backwards with a pained wince before she steadies herself against a wall and kicks the beetle away, panting heavily. Wordlessly, she gives the man a thumbs-up.

Despite herself and her otherwise wide-eyed, haunted expression, Tamaki grins at Eveline. Through nervous laughter, she replies, "Ha -- ha ha -- s-see, that's the thing. I do trust her. This isn't my f-first rodeo." Manic as she might seem, she's not entirely gone.

Rusty, maybe -- she hadn't continuously fought since she had Awakened, instead wanting to return to a normal life. It's only within the last few weeks that she's been pulled back into these scuffles. She at least remembers what her own limits are.

... Eveline's criticism may still be entirely justified, however.

Her laughter fades, but she still grins. She stares at Eveline for a few more moments. Her eyes don't stare at the same exact spot, but they twitchily shift their focus on different parts of Eveline's form. "D-doesn't s-seem like it's your first, either."

If Tamaki were to ever hear Umie state that complaint out loud, she has a sound argument prepared for the distinction between merely fatal and 'absolutely' fatal. Tamaki's still alive today, for one.

She modestly waves off Umie's boast. "Ahh, that's probably higher praise than I deserve. Not you, though."

Tamaki holds her necklace and utters "Persona," to manifest Arianrhod once more. An armory of ghostly swords fade into view, enough for each Shadow in the crowd to have their own assigned trio of blades hovering over them. Arianrhod plunges her own blade into the earth, and in turn, each of the ethereal weapons swing at their respective target.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Slash skill Blade of Fury on Noriaki Okaga! 3 Hits!
AS: Tamaki Uchida takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Defense: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 88 Slash damage from Tamaki Uchida's Blade of Fury. Critical Hit!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Shift! Eveline Deschamps can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Eveline Deschamps has posed.
<poem>"You are a threat either way. The question is how much and if you're one that ever has to be dealt with," Eve notes to Umie.

A wind storm blows forward from the Shadows, and Eve is already moving, She takes a gamble and whips her cane out again, moving to shift the wind back at the Shadows, which does mean it blasts her up and back, forcing her into a tight, heavy roll. She climbs back up to her feet, even as she shifts her grip onto her cane.

Tamaki says it isn't her first rodeo, and neither is it Eve's. "I've been doing this for a long time," she notes calmly, before she strikes twice with her cane, magical energy enveloping it, a ground-shattering force slamming forth onto the shadows.

Then, there's a flicker of a hand, as Guro Rysserova sets her cane alight. Fire washes over it, with Eve rushing forward, flickering the cane at the shadows without shifting it into whip form.

The first strike burns into them, setting them alight. Moments later, Eve turns her back on them, snaps her fingers, and the fire *detonates*, trying to incinerate them in an explosion of flame.

"Prey subdued."
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Eveline Deschamps has used the Fire skill Twice Burned on Noriaki Okaga! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Eveline Deschamps has used the Fire skill Afterburn on Noriaki Okaga! 2 Hits!
AS: Eveline Deschamps regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Eveline Deschamps cancels 2 attacks on Noriaki Okaga.
AS: Tandem! Eveline Deschamps has used the Strike skill Crack the Sky on Noriaki Okaga!
AS: Tandem! Eveline Deschamps has used the Fire skill Afterburn on Noriaki Okaga! 2 Hits!
AS: Eveline Deschamps: Atk_Up removed!
AS: Eveline Deschamps regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 75 Slash damage from Tamaki Uchida's Blade of Fury.
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 88 Slash damage from Tamaki Uchida's Blade of Fury. Critical Hit!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 91 Fire damage from Eveline Deschamps's Twice Burned.
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 122 Fire damage from Eveline Deschamps's Twice Burned. Critical Hit!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 151 Strike damage from Eveline Deschamps's Crack the Sky.
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 156 Fire damage from Eveline Deschamps's Afterburn. Critical Hit!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 156 Fire damage from Eveline Deschamps's Afterburn. Critical Hit!
AS: Noriaki Okaga is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
<poem>
The man stares at Tamaki for just the moment, and then -- out of stress, out of the camraderie that can arise in these sorts of situations perhaps -- flashes her a strained smile back.

He doesn't know what's going on, if this is some sort of nightmare or if the world's ended, he doesn't know who these people are or why someone wants him dead. But they're protecting him from monsters in of the danger to their own lives and well-being and he appreciates that. He appreciates that a lot! Even if his psyche is buckling a little under the strain, here.

"Y-yeah," stammers the man. There may be questions in the aftermath, once the proverbial dust has settled. In general experience, though, civilians don't remember much once the Dark Hour ends. It'll just be a matter of keeping him safe until then, because while these were attracted (like a roach to roach bait?), others will come to their collective presence.

Right now, though, a Shadow-beetle is diving right for Umie, which, as she ducks under it means it more or less skids over her to then topple and fall, and then--

There is a smile. It's followed by a scream. The Shadow-beetle twitches where it lies but is not ''yet'' destroyed.

It's in the aftermath of that attack where Tamaki makes her move. As one, a set of phantom blades slice into the remaining Shadow-beetles. Once, twice, thrice-- of the triplet set, one of them twitches and fights no more, erupting into a cloud of Shadow-stuff and dissipating away as if carried by the wind (there is no wind).

But two remain. Is there not a saying 'kill it with fire'?

Flame erupts from Eve's Persona, flame that's answered by a crack-thwoom from her whip follow-up. There isn't even ash when the brilliance of the explosion fades. There, at last, this part of the Dark Hour is again as still as the grave.

It's over. They've won, though the night is not over just yet.

Still, if there's any blessing to be had, it's this: once the Dark Hour ends, the man will think of all that's happened as little more than a bad and poorly-remembered dream. Yet, there's also room for concern: with his death prevented, is whatever led to this attempt on his life rendered null and void?

Or will that strange man try again?

Perhaps only time will tell.
</poem>
[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-08-20: Good People

2025-10-25T01:09:50Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Log: Good People'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Myunghon Yeo]], [[Katsuya Suou]]
*'''Where:''' Konan Police Department
*'''OOC Date:''' August 20, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' June 28, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Myunghon has been pulled in by Ishiba again; hearing about this from Junior Officer Hamade, Katsuya goes to investigate. Which will it be, Law or Justice? And, what changes as a result? Warnings for racism, misgendering, police brutality, police harrassment.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
A regular day at the Sumaru Police Department, Konan Ward. At least... as regular a day as Katsuya Suou can manage, given how topsy-turvy his life has been -- there's a perfectly ordinary number of colleagues and fellow detectives at their desk today. One of them's making a phone call to inquire about bereavement rights for the victim's family; another's talking with a junior officer and asking for hard copies of the SC-23 case since the lead prosecutor's requesting additional information claims. Standard stuff.

It feels good to square things away, doesn't it? The CCTV footage from the bakery led to a positive IDing, which led to Katsuya finding out the murderer in the Takagi building case. An arrest, a confession after an interrogation... t's dotted, i's marked, case shut.

But inevitably, things have to move on, and today--

"Oh-- my apologies, Suou-senpai," calls the familiar voice from behind him. It's Junior Officer Hiori Hamade. She looks a bit rattled. "Sorry, I'm just trying to get back to my desk. Officer Ishiba's at it again with that Korean woman... I feel bad about it..."

A nearby detective overhears. "Ishiba again? He's like a rabid dog. What's his damage with that Zainichi, anyway?"

Hamade looks uncomfortable at this, firming her face up. "It's not right."

The detective clearly looks less interested. "If you stick your craw in all the time, you're not gonna get any time in for any actual policework."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Solving cases is one of the parts of his job that Katsuya enjoys. It's finding out the truth. It's bringing the guilty to justice. It creates closure for the loved ones of the victim. It's one small notch of 'correction' in a world that seems hell-bent on going mad.

But, alas, satisfaction, if well-earned, is rarely lasting. There are always more cases to review and solve, more piece of paperwork to file or send along. The victim becomes an afterthought, and the world continues on its path unperturbed by this one small act of justice rendered.

"Hamade-kun?"

He turns, having just stood up from his desk in the homicide division. "That's quite alright, I was getting up myself to..." He trails off, looking at her. She does look rattled. "Is everything..."

That Korean woman. He doesn't, at first, say anything.

Then:

"Which... Korean woman?" As if they bring them in here all the time. As if he doesn't already know -- or at least, can guess.

He fidgets for a moment with his glasses. So it's Ishiba again. "..."

"Excuse me," he says the moment after, moving past Hiori for the hallway. He's in a hurry, wherever he's going.

It occurs to him halfway down the hallway that he should have asked where Ishiba ''was''. Well, it's too late for it now, he supposes. He'll have to work this one out the hard way. Surely not in interrogation?

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
CW: Violence, racism

Where is the justice when the guilty go free? Why don't we lock them up and throw away the keys? In a world that's hell-bent on going mad, there is a primal satisfaction in *correcting for maximum velocity, fucko*. But Katsuya is no stranger, either, to how corruptible justice can be and has been, especially so close to home. It's almost frightening, isn't it, the way the victim has to become an afterthought? Being a detective means seeing people in the worst days of their lives, but for you, it's often a Tuesday.

"The... one in the suit. Or are they a man? Sorry, I can't tell. Were they there on the beach that day...?" Hamade looks puzzled and uncertain, memories corrupted from Yumi's anti-Navigator powers as well as some of the powers of the Will of Rebellion.

Katsuya rises from his seat and leaves in due fashion, and while he realises he didn't *ask*, there's only really one place Ishiba loves hanging around when harrassing his 'suspects' -- the questioning rooms, or the holding cells. By the time Katsuya arrives down there, he can already hear the shouting. A pair of police officers on their smoke break are leaning against the wall, shaking their head but finding this, ultimately, more amusing, not horrifying.

"This is the second time in just this week," one of them comments. "Something's gonna blow over... probably her."

Is it... callousness that prompts his colleagues to not act? Perhaps a belief that this is justice? Or some self-preservation instinct? Either way, the door flings open and out comes Myunghon, in cuffs, flinching as they're shoved out into the open.

"If you're going to be a silent bitch, then I'll just lock you up in the cells, see how you like a night in detention!" Ishiba yells. Myunghon is tall, but Ishiba has a solid five centimetres over them -- an older man in the wrong side of 50, with salt and pepper hair, stubble, a history of alcoholism and smoking, and definitely many raps on his police sheet.

He's still here for some reason. It never ends in dishonorable discharge.

Myunghon themself looks like they're pouring all their effort to try to look unperturbed, but Katsuya's interrogated enough people that he knows it's a mask. Especially when Ishiba seizes their arm again with unrestrained force, eliciting a suppressed snarl and a gasp of pain as he starts ragdolling them around. "You're-- hurting me, ow...!"

"Good! You deserve it. Shimizu's not here to cover your ass," Ishiba openly taunts them.

A long drag of the cigarette and a chuckle, from his colleagues nearby. It's like they're trying to cope by finding this all a little bit morbid and funny.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
It sounds good from the outside. Being a police officer means correcting injustices and capturing the guilty so they don't get a chance to commit further crimes. But, that's also not the whole story of it. In this kind of work, it's rare -- even from the view of someone as high-minded as Katsuya -- to find a story without any rough edges to it, where good and evil and black and white are so clearly delineated from one another. A murder might be a crime premediated in cold blood. But more often, it's a crime of passion: 'she left him, so he killed her'. Or 'they were both drunk and a late-night fight went too far'. Wasn't there something wrong in a world where one moment someone could be perfectly law-abiding, but in the next, there is literally blood on your hands? It's in fact rare for him to have to hunt very far for a culprit, certain serial killings aside. Often, even if he wants to look elsewhere, the murderer is right there...

The one in the suit. There's only one person who looks like that: a Korean woman who looks almost as if they could just as easily be a man, to Katsuya's view of things (and in fact, he's not even certain he has ''that'' right). He nods at Hiori's additional information before he makes his departure from the room, as if he were pursuing a suspect on foot and not seeking out the current whereabouts of a colleague.

It's not hard to find Ishiba, no, even with Katsuya missing some of the key pieces of intelligence about current events here. He descends: a pair of officers are already here and he can hear shouting. He's in the right place. It's just--

Now what does he do? He stops there in the doorway, as if he could be a ghost rather than a flesh-and-blood person. His gaze turns towards one officer, then the other. Is this... justice?

Everyone he works with is a good person.
That's the reflexive answer Katsuya would give just about anyone else, if he was asked about the brave men and women he works alongside here. It's one thing to talk a big game about what is right and just. It's another thing yet to tell one of his fellow officers -- bound together by something no civilian can understand -- that what they're doing is wrong. That this is unjust. Katsuya stands there, a statue. It's probably why the two of them watch, and laugh as the door opens, as Myunghon is shoved out into the hallway. As Ishiba follows. This is... this isn't right. This isn't how an officer ought to behave, even with an unremorseful suspect who has commited grave crimes. And these protestations turn to ash in his mouth: he knows where his position on the force is of late. The nail that stands up gets pounded down. And if he causes trouble for another officer, he's not so naive to think that he won't catch trouble of his own.

But is this justice? Myunghon appears to be enduring this all in stride, but he ''knows'' it's a mask, he's interrogated enough suspects and witnesses alike to get a feeling for the ways people act when they're actually, truly stressed.

And Ishiba grabs their arm and Myunghon gasps in pain and

[IUSTITIA]: Is this Justice, Sergeant Suou?

and against all logic and reason, Katsuya has started forward into the room proper. "Stop," he says, and it's no shout or cry, but a simple statement that instead carries with it all the finality and force he can muster. What is he doing? There could be hell to pay for this.

But he also knows that he could not stand by and watch an officer do this to a woman-- a person, he decides, there and then.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
It's too easy, to desire justice to be black and white. Wouldn't it be so simple if it was black or white? What do crimes of passion mean? What does it mean when someone goes free because there was reasonable doubt? What about when influences are involved? Katsuya's walked the murkiness of this profession for quite some time now, fuelled by the origin that what happened to Katsuzou Suou was, in fact... murky.

Because when the story gets repeated a thousand times, passed through from person to person... that becomes 'a truth', doesn't it? Filtered five people down, people start just assume disinformation is real.

Everyone you work with is a good person, right...? It's so easy to assume that the coworkers you have at least an amicable relationship with must be a good person. In a high-stress, murky environment like policing, however, the darker shades of other people often start to come to light -- and not in just the obvious, abusive cases like Ishiba. It might be even more difficult to the ones that are just standing to the side -- to have the courage to tell them 'this isn't right'.

Myunghon's eye catches Katsuya for a moment and their masking spills over for a second. Something burns inside of them, something like an enormous amount of shame and embarrassment. So far in their quirky relationship, Myunghon has been the fun-loving, idiosyncratic person, floating upside down in rivers and teasing them about Magic River Teleportation. They can quirkily wear anime masks during Dark Hour sales and effortlessly tip them off to who might have incriminating evidence, something they wouldn't do for any cop, but because they sensed that sense of justice within Katsuya.

That Iustitia lives within Katsuya.

To be forced into this situation against their will, knowing their relationship is about to change, is humiliating. The gasp of pain is a bit sharper, and Katsuya can see that the excess force is probably wounding their arm or shoulder. Ishiba stops, however, when Katsuya speaks up.

It's not loud. It's not a cry or shout. But it carries gravitas with it, and he turns.

"Suou-san," Ishiba says, the disdain just positively simmering underneath. "Do you have a problem with how I'm handling this suspect? This Zainichi bitch's been found with blood on her unexplained multiple times, not to mention multiple counts of public loitering, being uncooperative with my investigations..."

These are pretty flimsy charges. There aren't any actual real charges, is there? Katsuya himself *knows* why there's blood on Myunghon. The Palace. The supernatural battles they've fought together.

But... it was never about the charges, was it? 'Ishiba's at it again,' said the other officers. Katsuya well knows that you can drive someone to a breaking point by just simply not letting up and being a harrassing force in their life. Some of the darkest confessions has probably been made under duress, when the suspect is at breaking point -- even though they might very well be innocent.

As if to accent that point, he yanks on their arm again. He's doing it on purpose. Myunghon's breathing laboriously at this point, and a single tear is rolling down their visible eye -- and they're purposefully turning to Katsuya, the best they can do to hide it from Ishiba.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
Isn't that right? Someone can be forced to commit a crime by their circumstances alone. If someone is starving, is the same penalty appropriate if they stole a loaf of bread while another went on to steal someone's wallet? These are both crimes, but are they equivalent crimes? Then, there is the matter of influence. If someone is made to do something by another's will, who is responsible? The one who committed the crime, or the one who compelled the other? He's not so stupid as to think that the one who committed it doesn't shoulder at least ''some'' of the blame, yet--
Is this 'right'?

And, does it matter what is actually 'right' in the court of public opinion? Even if something 'is so', by the time the truth gets out, the lie is already twice around the world in this day and age. The media, urban rumors, social networks... it feels like every day reality crumbles further.

And he can't even rely on his colleagues anymore.

That's right. He doesn't want to believe it, but bit by bit, it's becoming harder to ignore. The New World Order, it's said, has its hand in many of what goes on in the darker corners of the city. It's even said that it has its hooks in the city government. Perhaps, even beyond the city government. He doesn't want to believe a 'conspiracy theory', but despite what some people think, he's naive, not stupid. If someone is orchestrating something behind the scenes, then--

But even outside any of that, there's this. Ishiba, an alcoholic, it's said. There have long been rumors about what he does with suspects. He's even been placed on leave once or twice, but has always returned. Even he is a 'good person'? Just because Katsuya can get along with him 'well enough' from time to time, when he can put out of mind what happens behind closed doors?

He shouldn't get involved. Yeo won't get too badly hurt. He can't get involved. He has to think about his career, his family, his half-buried desire to find out the Truth with a capital T, to wash away the murkiness that adheres to the name and deeds of one Katsuzou Suou from one summer night ten years ago. He can't afford to get involved. He doesn't look them in the eye again, his gaze for a long moment away from both of the figures in the room, then directed on Ishiba alone. Yeo is almost certainly a criminal, at that--

A crime against a criminal is still a crime, come the thought again, out of the darkness.

And that's why he speaks up, now of all times.

He doesn't so much as blinking or flinching at the words the other officer uses. It's true that some Zainichi don't fit in. Some -- more than some? what are the statistics? -- commit even felonies. The same could be said for any of the minority groups that have come to Japan and to Sumaru in particular over the last century.

But Masaya Oku was killed by a fellow Japanese citizen, and someone he'd known at that. It's natural to forget the victims of crimes, even violent ones, with the flood of humanity's darkness seemingly neverending at times in their line of work. What is it that makes a criminal like that man's killer any different from someone like Myunghon? Is it... just their nationality? That... can't be right.

"Ishiba-san," says Katsuya says, staring right at Ishiba, "was it her blood or someone else's? If it's her own, she should be at a hospital, not in a holding cell." Loitering's a petty charge, hardly worth it unless someone thinks the suspect is up to something more than that. As for being uncooperative...

Well. That's the whole key to what Ishiba's attempting, isn't it? Batter down the suspect, refuse them any respite until they confess. A confession is worth its weight in gold -- even if under duress.

Does it ever eat Katsuya up at night? Does he ever wonder if a suspect he's interrogated has been innocent? That the real guilty party walks free?

A tear slips from Myunghon's sole eye and Katsuya tries not to focus on it. Right now, what he wants to do would surely get him into more trouble than he can tolerate. Instead, he squares his shoulders and keeps his gaze fixed on Ishiba. Stay calm. Don't escalate. He's treading into dark waters, but there's no reason to make the fallout from this worse-- whether it happens now, or later. "Ishiba-san," he says again, "Tell me what it is that you're investigating that you need her testimony for."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
The way Ishiba exists on a revolving door of seemingly only slaps on the wrist for his misdeeds is definitely something that's become the topic of a rumour amongst the Sumaru PD. He's not someone with special connections -- not associated with a politician or a regional chief of police or anything that would give him obvious pull, so naturally the rumours of something like the New World Order come to light.

And Myunghon was *there*, on Ebisu Beach, having crashed the party with that getaway car. Hiori Hamade was supposed to be killed for asking too many questions. That operation failed. And recently afterwards, Ishiba started going after Myunghon with more and more rapid fervour.

He shouldn't get involved. What's more important: Myunghon's safety right now, or the long and dark journey of the Truth as to what happened behind Katsuzou Suou's sudden dishonourable discharge? He's a security guard in Aoba Park now. He could as well easily join him, if he presses too hard. Are these distractions worth giving up the big prize, Officer Suou?

Is that Justice?

It is also true that many Zainichi end up committing crimes -- because of those same circumstances that disfavour and disenfranchise them. To be identified as Zainichi often excludes you from employment, from residence, from the health system. A lot of them, the ones that don't have any advantages in life, fall into a spiral they can't get out of. It's not a unique story. The Burakumin are another. The Okinawans. The Ainu. The Ryukyu people. Japan's homogeneity myth is just that.

Katsuya makes his inquiry, and Ishiba is even-faced and silent. Myunghon quietly bites their lip as they hear Katsuya speak. They shouldn't feel frustration right now, but they feel it, even as they're stepping up to their defence. They feel small, humiliated, someone who needs to be pitied. They don't want to admit that a non-zero amount of their gender identity is tied around sexual harrassment and abuse, because it doesn't feel like a 'pure' reason to have dysphoria, by whatever measure they've conjured to wound themself that there is such a thing.

"... don't know," Ishiba admits, the grip on their arm loosening a bit. "She seems fine now, doesn't she?" Myunghon doesn't have any visible blood *now*, they've cleaned up, but Katsuya knows they didn't escape from the Palace unscathed. None of them did, when the Joker Killer and Strega were involved.

But what is it that Ishiba is trying to investigate that needs their testimony?

"I'm damn sure she's got ties to Chon crime groups, Suou," Ishiba drops the formality and adds another slur, for Koreans. "She's one slippery bitch, but a respectin' citizen don't turn up at odd hours bleeding out unless you're involved in some real fucked up business, and I'm here to make sure the streets're clean of that, got it?"

Myunghon's eye is losing focus at the odd angle they're still held. Right now, they're devolving to their emotional worst, like feeling like they're trapped between two patriarchial figures and the way they frequently feel belittled and humiliated just because of society's parsing of them 'being a woman'. Sorry, Officer Suou, they do know you've got your heart in the right place, but especially under duress at present, they can't remove Katsuya Suou, the person they can trust with confidential information and secrets of the supernatural, from Officer Suou, a statue-like, frightening arbiter of the law.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
There has to be some reason, now that he thinks about it. It was the sort of thing he didn't have any reason to focus on before: there's a certain degree of mistreatment of suspects that is allowed, even expected, especially from the longtime officers, but his seems to go beyond even that. Yet, it's also not that that he has those close personal connections that some people who 'slip up' can use to avoid serious punishment. ...It couldn't be a connection with the New World Order, could it?

He doesn't want to think that. And yet--

But doesn't that potentially make this even more dangerous? Press too hard, and he could find himself reassigned off homicides altogether. He could end up working vice. Or ''traffic''. Or, it could even be worse than that. It doesn't take much to smear someone's reputation, enough that he loses all chance of progressing in this line of work, let alone the dark and winding road towards the Truth, whatever it might be. Is all that worth giving up? Is it worth it, to see the judgement in everyone else's eyes or the sad quiet look in the eyes of his parents?

However.

Could he sleep at night if he turned away now and walked back upstairs to his desk? As an adult, it's true that one must make compromises. That, bit by bit, you feel your ideals getting tarnished, defiled. Yet, if he can't stand up for his ideals now, who would he even be?

Is it Justice, to pretend not to see so he can perhaps one day right a personal wrong?

"She does not seem to be bleeding now," Katsuya agrees, choosing his words carefully. Myunghon seems anything but ''fine'' right now, if he's being honest. "Still, those bandages..." It's a lie of omission: he knows they usually wear bandages on their body.

There it is. He's heard the man and some others on the force throw around that word before. As before, he remains carefully poker-faced. "Do you have direct evidence to support that belief, Ishiba-san...? We have many citizens who work odd hours for legitimate reasons. A nurse may work the night shift, for instance." He continues, gesturing vaguely as if he were conducting a lecture and not convincing someone to stop roughing up a suspect. "I think it is possible someone found in the night bleeding may have been wounded in an accident. Perhaps she was struck by a vehicle, or slipped and fell. Perhaps someone else even attacked her. Do you have a statement from when she was brought in?"

What if he doesn't let Myunghon go, he wonders privately, still trying to keep calm. He'll eventually run out of mitigations he can attempt. If he wants to get them out of trouble, he'll have to get leverage, and he's loathe to go tattle to Chief Togashi about what is ultimately 'a difference of opinion'.

(It's an injustice. He knows that, even if he also conceals it under a metaphorical veil from his sense of logic about the circumstances.)

Being an adult means... that sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you can't win. Where you'll lose something. Where, sometimes, you lose no matter what you do. Is that the shape of things now? He doesn't know.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
Once you start to see shadows in everything, you're done. Once you start to see the NWO's claws in even your colleagues, the smallest evils start to look more threatening when you suspect something greater behind it, doesn't it? It's an incredibly fine line to walk, and why conspiracy theories often get out of hand, but... given all Katsuya Suou has seen, it does seem suspicious... doesn't it?

But what if he gets reassigned off homicides? His own personal quest for truth, forever denied, at an even earlier stage than when Katsuzou was betrayed. Perhaps the most frightening part of all this is that the quest for Truth is not necessarily a quest for Justice. It's dressed like it at the surface level -- to discover what truly happened to their father -- but one can easily abandon Justice in the pursuit of Truth.

Might that shady rumourmonger, Baofu, not feel that way?

Katsuya starts to claw his way back -- pointing out that they aren't bleeding now. And they are covered in bandages. "Oh, come on! This freak's always covered--" Ishiba pauses, because he just slipped up. He knows that Myunghon always has bandages on their person, but it weakens his stance of pulling them in on suspicion that they're involved in criminal activity even further. By using a lie of omission, Katsuya just outsmarted him, and that clearly gets him riled up. How dare he? This upstart that's only half his age.

But Katsuya doesn't let up on the pressure, and Ishiba's composure is clearly compromised. Does he have any direct evidence to support that belief? People work at odd hours. Nurses, security guards, other graveyard shift workers. It's *possible* someone was in an accident at night because Myunghon was struck by a vehicle, or slipped and fell, or even was attacked. It's possible.

That's all he needs. To get the shadow of a doubt in the form of 'possibility'. As much as Ishiba seems to be a slippery weasel who gets away with too much, he clearly knows he's unable to press his luck here. He lets go, and Myunghon starts breathing harder as they stumble off-balance to one side.

"Don't think I don't know your game, Suou. You're green and haven't seen things the way they're run here," Ishiba's voice is at a simmering level just below a taunt. "Sooner or later you'll see. If someone like you were in charge, this city'd be overrun with immigrant scum like this."

It's not even factually correct, since Katsuya knows Zainichi also are composed of people who've lived in Japan all their life. It doesn't matter to him. It's just them versus the other.

He steps away, unlocking the handcuffs and somewhat forcefully taking them back to his pocket. But out of a sense of defiance, he leans towards Myunghon to say, "Enjoy the rest of your day. Maybe next time I'll see if you're in violation of building safety at the little Hirasaka dump you live out of."

Myunghon visibly shakes at that last part, their eye widening with their pupil dilating. Offier Ishiba doesn't even bother to wait to see that reaction -- he already knows the effect it has. And Katsuya knows too. It's grotesque, stalker behaviour. All they have to say is:

I know where you live.

Officer Ishiba turns the corner, and Myunghon doesn't look like they have the strength to look up and thank Katsuya. They've shrivelled into themself, so much smaller than before, holding that wounded shoulder with their arm -- convenient, because Ishiba's last words have crossed one line they desperately wish had never been crossed, and they're bracing into themself in such a familiar way from some of his cases involving abuse.

If only they had the power to jovially say: 'My Magic Jail Teleportation was a great success!' and play it off.

They can't.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
That's the sort of person he worries about turning into, as a matter of fact. It's an easy thing to start to see a crime in every shadow, especially in this line of work. Where does the line fall? When does something suspicious turn into something that's actually dangerous? It's a question that Katsuya, himself, would love to have an answer for. Once you throw in rumors, the boundary becomes even murkier. Which rumors were exactly that? Which could now be reality? And, if someone was changed by rumor alone...

Is a crime still a crime if you became a criminal due to a rumor? He knows what rumor was spread about that bar in Aoba Ward: now it really does sell firearms, which is extremly illegal in Japan. And yet, when the subject has come up with his fellow officers, their feeling was that it wasn't 'illegal' for them to ''sell'' the weapons. It was just illegal for someone to be caught ''with'' the weapons. The more Katsuya thinks about it, how that train of thought doesn't even make any sense, the more his head hurts. Is this one of the differences between Law and Justice?

After all, what is Lawful isn't always Just, and what is Just isn't always Lawful. Even he knows that. But at the same time, Justice and Truth aren't the same thing, either. They, too, can be at odds with one another: it's possible that to pursue one thing, he might have to give up another.

Sometimes, that's the way of the world. There's no answer where everyone can go home happy. Someone has to give something up. Someone has to lose, so another can gain. Isn't that the case right now?
No, actually, it isn't.
If he sacrifices Yeo-san for merely the chance of pursuing the Truth, whatever it might be, however he might reach it, if it's even possible to reach it, what does he gain? Isn't he instead choosing to lose twice over? Wouldn't he also be sacrificing 'Justice'?

It's a slow process to argue his way back up from the depths. He has to be careful. He has to be methodical. If it looks at any point like he's doing anything 'shady', then he'll be suspected. Never mind the pains he's taken to cultivate good relationships with his colleagues: Katsuya's position here of late is bad but it can still get worse.

"Is she?" Katsuya says, as if guile were completely out of his reach. As if regarding Ishiba afresh, he frowns and furrows his brow. "Hmm."

He doesn't let up. He keeps the pressure on, using the same logic anyone would know, if they lived in this city. People work later than the trains and buses run, and it can be a rough life to be out and about on the streets in such a situation. It's possible, after all. It's possible that they've been accused for no reason but Ishiba's own animus.

But someone like Ishiba can't let this go easily. Katsuya's green. It's true: he has only had about three years, nearly, on the force. He's been promoted steadily, but the fact remains that he's half again Ishiba's age. It's slight: Katsuya narrows his eyes and his shoulders tense just that much more. It's true, what Ishiba's said about him, but it doesn't mean that it hasn't hit a nerve.

As for the rest of it--

He shouldn't say anything. He can't risk riling the man up. Keep your head down, look the other way. Hasn't the worst been avoided? That's what his survival instincts tell him. Don't become a tall poppy, as they say. If Ishiba is on the take...

But as with so much of late, he can't let it go. He works to keep his expression neutral, his body language plain. He says to Ishiba, as if it were a self-evident fact, "...Wherever they're from, the people who live in this city are citizens." That's what it comes down to in the end, isn't it? Isn't that the oath he'd taken been about? He's not so stupid as to not be aware that there are many people (some whom he works with!) who feel differently. But, isn't that a slap in the face of Justice?

...That's a threat. In the same way that Kaneshiro had implied a similar sentiment, this isn't...

The fingers of his right hand twitch.

Yet-- what can he say? He knows what's meant. Yet the wording is careful, nearly as careful as some of his own had been before. Even if he reports it, it can't...

It's disgusting. He's seen something today he wishes he hadn't.
He'd always known it was there. He just hadn't wanted to see it.

Ishiba's gone, leaving just him and them, and they barely look like they can walk on their own. "Do you need assistance?" he asks them. What was the young woman's number, the one who claimed to be a nun -- actually, he doesn't think that he has it at all. "I can help walk you to the front desk," he offers, because he can't leave them like this.

It's such a sea-change from the strange person he'd seen before. It's left him, too, feeling unmoored.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
In a way, Rumours are a reflection of just how twisted and human Laws are, are they not? It's perhaps a more digestable version of what tends to happen behind closed doors. Society often has the impression that laws are made fair and just, without bias and agendas -- but even in the most benign and progressive clauses, there is an agenda, because laws ultimately have to have them because they carry a certain representation of what some people would like to *see* upheld in their society.

Some people. Perhaps a shrinkingly small percentage of people. And that's in the best case scenario. In the worse ones, the laws only benefit a small in-group, or have consequences that affect the have-nots, not the haves. If the consequence of a law is a fine, it isn't much to a billionaire, now is it? Such is the case of a Rumour, which is in effect a 'Law' -- a skewing of a certain social line in one manner or another. Kill someone with your cellphone. Suddenly, that's been introduced to Sumaru's social fabric.

But Katsuya says his piece before Ishiba leaves. He affirms that no matter where they're from, the people who live in this city are citizens. Myunghon could easily argue this, given how the status of Zainichi Koreans as only having special residence and not the privilege of citizenry is a historical topic, and they were subject to profiling activities from the government not even all that far back, but ... they understand what Katsuya's saying, at least. The spirit of what he says. Not the letter.

But trying to apply the spirit of justice is where it's truly difficult, now is it?

It's that last line that has them very rattled. 'Maybe next time I'll see if you're in violation of building safety at the little Hirasaka dump you live out of.' The implications are very, very clear to them. Their pupil is shrunk and dilated, and they can't stop their body from trembling. They cup their hand to their mouth slowly, those long, bony fingers of theirs.

"Please," is all they can manage at the moment. The front desk is a terrible place to be, a public place where people can see them fall apart, but it's better than a cold, unwelcoming, concrete interrogation room. They really, really didn't want him to see them like this. This isn't Rumourmonger Merry. This isn't a person that can grant hope. This is vulnerable, and vulnerable is entirely bad... but they can't even remotely grasp the proverbial rope to pull themself up right now.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Rumor versus Law. In a way, one could even call it more egalitarian: it's the reality that people would ''like'' to see happen, in opposition to the reality that they experience. The rules are made by the few to govern the many: and that's the best-case scenario.

It's also a reality, a line of thinking, that Katsuya has yet to wrap his head around fully. Yes, there are times when the law can't capture what's right. He struggles with this himself. And hasn't he just seen what he's in theory known: just because someone is an officer doesn't mean that what they do is just, or even lawful. Meanwhile, there's the distinct possibility that corruption has snaked its way into his very workplace, compromising the very people he works alongside. Trust is essential to be a human being. But how do you maintain trust... like this?

He doesn't know. Is there anyone who does? If so, he would wish for nothing more than to talk to them. But even if he knows it's important to trust, who is out there now that he can trust enough with... all of this? Even his allies in this fight, does he know them well enough for... this?

It galls him, but he might well end up doing what his brother is doing: shouldering his burdens as best he can, alone. How ridiculous...

Ishiba's gone. Were it not for the officers on break, they'd be here alone. Maybe there would be more to say to Myunghon under such circumstances, but...

But things being what they are, even in that situation, he's not sure it would be of much use. Staying here isn't good. Going upstairs perhaps isn't much better. But at least then there will be the door and an escape.

'Please'. It's as good as he'll get. He doesn't touch them. It's more like he waves his hand a distance at their back, as if to usher them upstairs. He can't help but glance once at the officers as he nears the door, holding it for Myunghon. Damn... are they going to spread stories about this? Well, there's nothing he can do about that.

Once the door to questioning closes behind the both of them, he asks them, as low as he can, "...Do you have Kazama-san's number? Are you able to call her?" Short of calling them a taxi, he's not sure what else can be done: he doesn't know anyone else who knows Myunghon who has a car.

The way they're looking now really does have him concerned. Myunghon probably notices. They probably hate it.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
Those officers have a Look on their face, as Katsuya leads Myunghon out. It's something between bemusement and curiousity; they're completely silent, but their faces have a whole story to them. At this moment, they feel more like the uncaring stares of society, rather than the colleagues that he might have -- must have the most faith in, because what is the alternative to not even being certain that the institution you work with has a solid bedrock?

Perhaps the most cutting part, as it is for Myunghon, is how *pedestrian* this is to them. They're having one of the worst days of their life in recent memory, and to them it is Tuesday. They're going to forget about it two hours later. Some officers do this because they are jaded, traumatised, from all they've seen. Others come to it from a much more malicious place. It's hard to tell where it all comes from, but the look that's presented on the other end is always the same... and it's how the system ends up wounding people, even when it doesn't intend to.

It's going to be gossip. Officers are human beings too. They love a deskside chat. It was already gossip before, wasn't it? Hamade was uncomfortable with it, but the way that other officer was like, 'Ishiba again?' tells a whole story.

"Kazama-san..." Myunghon sounds a little quiet and distant. "I-- he took my phone," they just realised. "I think it's wherever officers confiscate suspect belongings. I hope." They're clearly thinking of all the worst-case scenarios at another flagrant breach of protocol. But it's clear that Katsuya's not able to do much more for them, and their mind is unrelentingly thinking back to how Katsuya clearly views them now.

They try to give him eye contact. "... Thank you, Officer Suou," they manage, with a mostly steady voice. It's Officer Suou now. They can't manage a more comfortable Suou-san. "Um-- I likely can..." They're trying to think of what emergency contacts they still remember. "May I use a public phone...?"

From here, they do end up calling Yua, and that will end up with a car sent for them, because Miho is powerful and has the means, and they'll stay at the Ooshiro penthouse that night. After the short call is finished, to a 'Yuarin', if Katsuya is listening in, they hang up and turn back towards him, trying to put the bravest smile they can manage.

"How... is your other work going?" Perhaps the best they can do is distract themself from their reality right now.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
The worst part is that he's not sure where this will go. It's highly unlikely he'll lose his job over this, but men like Ichiba can run either one of two ways, and he can't say he knows the man well enough to know which way it will cleave. ...Though he does have his suspicions. Either Ichiba will avoid him in the future, so long as they don't end up clashing again, or he'll find some means of getting his revenge. Either he'll make trouble for Katsuya, somehow, or... he'll find another way to get at Myunghon.

The latter case, in both forking branches, is the more likely one.

He still has to come back here for work the following morning. He can't forget that...

He took their phone. "He should release your belongings if you're not being detained," Katsuya says quietly, the strain around his eyes and mouth suggesting that he doesn't think it will be easily managed, even if that ''should'' be the way things are done. Damn. What's that man playing at? He might be able to get it released without too much trouble with some time, but there's no way to do that now, let alone quickly. They look him in the eye.

Officer Suou. ...Well, perhaps that's only proper...

He's not sure how he feels about that.

"There's a payphone upstairs. Or I can lend you mine for a call." It's just a fliphone, and outside his own contacts list (which he apparently doesn't think would be of interest to anyone using his phone), there's nothing there of value.

But it's likely a public phone that they opt to use. There are a great deal many reasons for someone like Myunghon to ''not'' use a police officer's phone, no matter how friendly they might be. They make their call. All Katsuya manages to overhear (quite by accident) is 'Yuarin'. Another friend? That's good, he considers privately, folding his arms over his chest.

Myunghon asks him a question.

"My... other work? The Hirasaka case? There's nothing to say there anymore-- well, that is to say..." he says, apparently caught off-guard. He fidgets with his sunglasses, briefly. Does that mean that the murder case is now closed? He seems discomfited; perhaps, after what he'd been like downstairs, it might be some small comfort to them. Or, perhaps not.

"There is... a great deal of paperwork now," he says, exhaling a long breath. "I may be a homicide detective, but normally, a murder doesn't occur every week. Even in a city this size." Or it should't.

That's how it was before the Joker Killer murders started up. Now, no longer governed by Law but by Rumor, has this city become the place people have longed it to be? He can't say.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
Katsuya's likely the type to not pay that much attention to gossip around the station. It's unslightly, after all, to be whispering about one's coworkers. It's the kind of thing that can fester resentments, cliques; police officers aren't immune from this, just because they're adults, after all. They're still human beings, in the end, prone to including one and excluding another. But... 'Ishiba again?' rings back to his mind. This *is* something some of his colleagues have been gossiping about. Something is strange about how persistent he is at times, and...

If retribution comes, it might not come directly from him, too.

"I know. ... if you could have it released, could you please do that for me?" Myunghon requests gently. They've managed to stabilise to something like a very reserved, quiet state now, that genteel language that they usually use on storefront days in play.

In the end, they do use a public phone, because a *cop's number* calling Yua likely will cause alarm bells to ring - out - loud somewhere. Even if Myunghon would, at another time, love to peek at who Katsuya has for his contacts. Distressing Yua would be a greater blunder than getting that little bit of information.

The upstairs is a bit more quiet than the front desk, which Myunghon is grateful for at present. "... it is true. It is a greatly underappreciated part of the job, is it not -- how much the t's have to be crossed and the i's dotted. A very long road between the epiphany of what solves a murder, and having the file be committed to records."

A gentle little sigh. There's a lot more they'd like to discuss with Katsuya, like 'what were they doing in the Palace', but they can't do that in the police station. So they opt to obscure their words gently: "I'd like to thank you for the other day too... when we were browsing Mansions for rent." A Mansion is a type of nicer high-rise apartment, but someone like Katsuya can clearly connect 'Mansion' to 'Palace', both english words that are somewhat synonymous. "Just a little more, and I think we may yet find the right one."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Everyone gossips, it's true. Or, well, nearly everyone. Katsuya is, in fact, not the sort of person to swap stories around the station. They're adults and colleagues, there's no reason to tell stories about one another while they're meant to be working. But it does happen. He overhears some of it himself, inadvertantly. He's even overheard some gossip, on at least one occasion, about his father.

It's only been ten years. There are colleagues who worked here during his father's time. So, of course...

But if they're gossiping about Ishiba, then they're certainly going to tell stories about what he did to intervene. Damn... he doesn't know who Ishiba's 'allies' might be. Surely he's not a cop without 'friends'. This could be trouble.

Still, if he has to admit it at least to himself, he doesn't regret what he did. If he had ignored Hamade's concerns, or if he'd seen Myunghon like that and turned to walk away upstairs, how could he ever take himself seriously again...? Justice has to be meant at all times. It can't be selective.

He can only hope to weather the fallout, whatever it might be.

"I'll see what I can do," he tells Myunghon, because he's not entirely sure what that might be or look like. He might try using logic, and see where that gets him. Perhaps he can even leverage a favor, if it comes to that. Still, even for him, it's too early to worry about that now.

"Indeed... police work is not as 'flashy' as they make it sound on TV," he expresses, sighing as if leveraging some long-held complaint of his. "It's rare for a case to be solved in days, let alone weeks. By the way..." He pauses, as if to take a look around them both. "I must thank you. That bakery..." He pauses, as if actually having to think about how to phrase what he's trying to say. "I would have walked right past it otherwise," he settles for, with might well be neutral enough for anyone listening in.

They have something they want to thank him for.

Mansion? Palace. That's what they mean.

Was that not the right one? His briefly vaguely confused expression may give the thought away. "You are quite welcome," he tells them. "I was only doing what was right." The right one... And then what?

There's no way to know except to wait and see what happens next.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-08-22: Challenging Fate

2025-10-25T01:09:30Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Log: Challenging Fate'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Tatsuya Sudou]], [[Yua Ooshiro]], [[Ayame Watanabe]], [[Minako Arisato]], [[Shinjiro Aragaki]], [[Myunghon Yeo]], [[Goro Akechi]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]], [[Ririka Kawase]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School
*'''OOC Date:''' August 22, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' June 29, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''A new name has been given, and this time it is a teacher at Sevens. Why was he chosen, who is it exactly, a Joker never tells.
''
----

<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
The Old Maid was heading back to school, this time though it was for a teaching position. Well for a teacher who was in quite a position to be particular. It would appear that some old guy wanted this other guy dead, and Sudou just remembers this old guy rambling on and on and on and really the moment he said a name he hung up on the guy. Still a job was a job, and the setting sun provided plenty of shadows throughout the school for The Old Maid to take advantage of.

The hellhounds were sent first, running through the school and driving any bystanders to a single classroom, where Sudou waits at the front of the class pointing a sword at the throat of Ikkaku Watanabe. "Welcome students, come in come in. We are just about to start today's lesson. " Are they students, most of them look like unlikely adults who were stuck staying late. The paper bag man turns to look at the hound from hell and says, "Send the boys to stop anyone from running in the halls and interrupting my class." Suddenly Sudou moves right up in the hellhounds face and grabs it's snout, " No mistake this time or I am going to make Cruella's dream a reality."

The hellhound growls but finally speaks, "Yeah yeah." A howl is given and the shadows through the room suddenly scatter out throughout the school, with hounds appearing out of the shadows and stopping anyone from entering.

Sudou himself steps back towards the teacher, "Now class, welcome to career day. Today you will all be witness to how the Joker Killer works. That is right before I set the room on fire and let you all die. A great work around that annoying badge protecting you guys thing." The Old Maid chuckles before turning back to Ikkaku, "Now how will we do this. Oh I know." Spinning around he looks at the hellhound leader, " I'll feed him to the dogs. Super time boys."

Another glare from the hellhound but the dog speaks up, "Fine." Turning on Ikkaku he growls and snarls as he gets ready to pounce.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
Yua Ooshiro, part-time dance instructor, is here at Sevens today for their weekly lesson. A short, slight woman who always wears a black dancer's leotard, with sheer skirt and black pointe shoes custom-made to cope with the wear of everyday use, Yua's mystery is deepened by her darker Okinawan skin and the eyepatch slung across her left eye. Her long teal hair, of course, is held up in a neat bun; her gold earrings and choker are lovely decorations, alongside the fabric which stretches from a ring around her middle finger to a bracelet on her right wrist.

(She is beautiful, to many eyes; valuable, too.)

Dance class is over now, though, and she pops her head into Ikkaku's classroom as the afternoon grows late, her handbag slung over one shoulder. "Watanabe-san!" She chirps, lyrically. "I've come to check on you! You'd better not be planning to stay in 'til the sun sets again --"

Yua feels a sick drop in her stomach, as she realises the wave that's washed over them. Of course, her revolver-like Evoker's tucked in under a false bottom of her purse; Yua feels far too ''alone,'' when Gretchen isn't beside her, and without a trigger to pull they may as well be on separate ''continents.'' Her Evoker goes everywhere with her. What she could do -- really, what she ''should'' do -- is to draw it, and fire. Gretchen is strong, and within her prison, nothing could touch them.

But...

But everyone knows Gretchen. If Yua summons her, now, without any disguise to conceal herself... they'll ''know.'' They'll know that the doomed bride tasked to bring death and ruin is their friendly, quirky dance instructor; they'll know she's not anyone's friend, if she reveals herself. No one would trust her, then. And even though no one ''should'' trust her... it wouldn't just hurt her, if she revealed her secret. Miho would be the one to bear the criticisms of the Powers that Be, angry that she'd sabotaged her saboteur's position. And when they punish Yua -- for surely they'd punish her -- Miho and Remi would feel the blow just as sorely.

That's why her hand goes to her handbag -- and then drops, back down to her side, before she whirls to reach up and grasp Ikkaku's shoulders.

"You must listen to me, Watanabe-san," she says, her voice tense. "Something dreadful will happen, and it is imperative you stay behind me. Do you understand? Behind me. I'm neither strong nor brave enough to push you out of the way..."

Bang. Bang. Bang! Hellhounds tackle their way through the door, and with a sharp, chilling howl, Sudou's Hellhound springs forward. Yua's face grows ashen; for a moment she clings to ''Ikakku,'' for support, frozen there as she grasps him. It keeps her in the way, and the demon slashes at her back with his sharp, poisonous claws; she shrieks, stumbling forward into him. "No--!"

As she falls the rest of the way, it's easy for Sudou to step in -- to grab Ikkaku from her shadow, as if she'd never even tried to protect him at all. Her back is bloodied; those long gashes tore strips from her black leotard, exposing the darker skin beneath it. For a moment, perhaps it seems she won't rise at all --

Somehow, though, she manages. And as she faces down the hellhound Sudou so brutally mistreated, as he readies himself to pounce on the man she wished to save, she crosses her arms across each other in a ballet mime. "Wait! P-please, just wait a moment! I have something you'll like, it's much nicer than those threats...!"

Claiming that moment to bargain, Yua tries to take a steadying breath, even as sweat shines on her skin, the poison working its way through her bloodstream. She moves to fifth position; her hands circle each other with motions at the wrists, arms held in graceful arch above her head, before she bends her knees, a gesture called ''plie.''

"Won't you... dance with me?"

Tour en l'air, she springs into the air, arms curving at her chest, twirling once and once ''again'' before she ''lands'' back in that fifth position -- one foot crossed over the other. Performed by a woman, it is a step more difficult still, speaking volumes to her strength and her coordination. It is the best thing she can think of, in the moment, to prove in seconds that it's worth considering her dance; it's also just the ''beginning,'' as she rises up en pointe and practically ''floats'' between the desks with little petit allegro jumps, movements which seem so light at her feet despite the flowing movements of her extended arms. Despite the pain in her poisoned wounds, her arms extend gracefully as her leg stretches out behind her, and she comes down to her heels again. In passe, she brings her leg up, retire, knee arching out to the side as her foot lifts to her knee, until it flows through that movement and arches ''up'' -- developpe! -- until it's a full ninety degrees at her hip, foot high in the air. She comes down and rises onto her toes at the front of the class, into a pirouette, leg kicking out in rond de jambe as she whirls around and around and around in two dozen fouette turns.

Really, it's no wonder she was hired to her position despite seeming ''barely qualified'' to do the job sometimes; Yua might be terrible at paperwork, but she dances at a staggeringly high level, even leaving aside how little room she has to execute her gambit right now. One might wonder if she spent years doing nothing ''but'' improving her technique... and a thought like that is even ''close'' to true.

"Please, leave us be!" She beseeches the hounds, trembling hands clutching at her heart as she rises from a bow.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
"What?" Ikkaku wondered a moment ago. "Ooshiro-san, if there's something dangerous happening, I can't let you--" She clings to him, and Ikkaku is pale to look at the Hellhound. "No--!"

Now that it's here--Ikkaku Watanabe is as surprised as anyone. "Ooshiro-san!" he calls when she goes down from the Hellhound, and finds himself face to face with the Old Maid., a sword at his throat. His attempt to go to her is aborted immediately. His eyes widen in surprise--and then narrow in some other feeling.

"It's me you're after!" he says, screwing up his courage to do it. "Leave the students alone!"

He stares for a moment as Yua moves to ''dance'' witht he demon, and he might marvel at her incredible skills if the situation were different. "I--"

He's a nice man in a nice brown suit, obviously more academic than executive with his glasses, fluffy hair, and gentle look. Ikkaku Watanabe is in great danger at the moment--greater danger than perhaps ever in his life.

"Ooshiro-san, that demon is--"

And he knows what a demon is.

However...

-=-=-

Someone isn't here yet. The Hellhounds bring her late, herding her towards the classroom. "AAAH!" comes a shriek from a woman outside, and the door opens again. Ayame Watanabe--a slight woman of 151cm height--looks alarmed, dressed in an ordinary set of clothes in blue. She has light heels on. And--

"Ikkaku!?"

And that woman. A young, beautiful woman... who's already hurt. And dancing!?

And a strange man with a paper bag on his head.

Ayame shrieks again, but this time, she doesn't shrink away. "You--"

It's happening again. Ayame's green eyes widen. What can she do, this time?

"I--"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
EARLIER -- VELVET ROOM

The elevator is going down. It is ''always'' going down. Minako has grown accustomed to this since April, as she leans back against one wall with her arms crossed. The desk at the center of the elevator is empty, and she tries to not think about where Igor could go. The only door she has ever seen into this place is the one she takes.

But she isn't alone. A tall man, with blonde hair, and the tell-tale blue uniform is there.

"So... Seven Sisters," Minako says.

"Yes," Theodore says.

"And you want... a Lemon Pop Soda, from the vending machine."

"Yes," Theodore repeats.

Minako sighs. "Sure, okay."

NOW -- SEVEN SISTERS

Minako walks down the hallway, sliding a bottle of soda into her bookbag. She looks /entirely out of place in her Gekkoukan uniform. She sighs. She can be grateful she doesn't have to explain this to her brother, her senpai, or anyone else.

Then she hears the gunshots. Her eyes go wide -- and ''then'' she hears the baying of the hellhounds.

That sends her into a full-on run, breaking around the corner, and towards the sound of shouting and panic. She knows, on some level, she should run away from it. Instead, she reaches into her uniform coat. She skids to a stop, in front of a hellhound.

Her eyes widen -- then narrow at the demon. Her Evoker comes up, to her temple, and fires. Blue glass and light explodes out the other side of her head.

"PERSONA!" she shouts.

Linos appears behind her -- all gold and silver, red scarf fluttering, and then strums her harp. Then, a blast of blue-white nuclear fire erupts, throwing the hellhound back across the hall.

"Get out of my way!" the red-haired girl snaps.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>Shinjiro Aragaki had meant to check on Sevens after school again for more information, even as he pieced together the clues on the Joker Killer's identity... when he was arriving and felt the horrific commotion, though, he immediately ripped yet another sign out of the ground and rushed in.

Swiping at hellhounds as he goes, smashing them over the head with brute force and pure skill, Shinjiro is rushing for that classroom. He's already texted both Myunghon and Umie, swinging forth as he reaches the classroom... and spots the women in danger with...

The target, Ikkaku Watanabe.

"Shit! You should have told me you were at risk!" Shinjiro calls out, fumbling into his coat for something. He tries to rush for Yua and Ikkaku at the risk of any free shots or danger, and plant a Sevens Symbol into the hand of whoever can grab it, if he can even get there. "You should have never given me this!"

Now... now he has to make up for taking it from Ikkaku in the first place.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
Can you hear it?

If you listen closely, you can hear the thrum of the engine, at the end of the world. A rubber fire screams into the afternoon, followed by the incessant honking and yelling of 'Just what's wrong with you! Sumaru drivers!' Mio Kazama's Bonda MSX lurches onto the dirt field, ruining track and field markings in the wake of its rear tires skidding to a halt. Myunghon leaps out of the car at virtually the first moment it's safe to do so.

"Hurry, with me!" Myunghon calls, the sensation of the Mark already casting a sickening feeling down in their gut. They're the best choice to lead in this situation -- Sevens ''was'' their high school, and they still know how to navigate all its halls like the back of their hand. They glance around and don't find Shinjiro -- did he already go further in?

The Rumourmonger is in a full sprint and rushing up as the sensation of distortion and wrongness redoubles, and one of the Hellhounds gets in their way. "Out of my way!"

Kudlak rises in a column of Blue, even as they sprint, and the Hellhound lunges with its sharp, fierce claws and they're forced to body it onto the wall with their dark tendrils and keep moving. Up the stairs -- yes, the sensation is getting closer, closer -- and they arrive at the classroom in question. Their eye widens as they try to grasp all that's happening -- a classroom of adults held here, some of them they still recognise as ''their'' teacher when they were here as a student. The Old Maid, more Hellhounds. Ikkaku, being held at sword point, which causes them to freeze. Was Ayame's husband the target? And Ayame herself, shrieking.

"Watanabe-san!" Myunghon calls desperately, but their attention is drawn to Yua-- Yua's beautiful dance, but at the same time... "Y-Yuarin! You're hurt...!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Takami-sensei, I'm here to turn in my assignments for the past week." Goro Akechi places down a folder of immaculate assignments. Saeko Takami knows they'll all be perfect, too perfect. Part of her wishes he'd mess up every once in a while.

Becoming an adult meant learning how to fail with grace.

"And your survey?" She asked, "It hasn't been in your last three turn-ins."

Goro Akechi actually chuckled at her not with an 'oops silly me' this time, but instead something more dismissive, "Oh come now, must I? I'd say I've well demonstrated my after-graduation plans. Some might even say my attendance at this point is merely a formality."

"Even so, I'd like to see them." Saeko told him, "Everyone knows how talented you are, Akechi-kun." A sad note enters her voice, "You might even be the most gifted student I've ever had in my class." 'had in my class' as distinct from 'taught'. "But that doesn't necessarily exempt you from needing guidance."

She felt as if she hadn't taught him anything, and that caused her to feel like she was failing as a teacher... an adult in the room.

There's a momentary look her way, as if wondering if the faculty was ''talking'' in particular - Yua. Had she put her up to this? "Oh very well, if I must." In a tone not unlike a sigh. Which is when that feeling spread throughout the school-

And Akechi turned slowly to look towards the door, but Saeko actually had stiffened, then stood up from her desk to talk to the few students remaining, "Everyone, we're in the middle of an emergency. Please begin to push your desks up against the doors in an orderly manner... then we'll be pulling the curtains."

She then turned to the student who she was talking to- "Akechi-kun... if you could help me lead..."

But he was no longer there, and in alarm she turned to see the now open window, had it's curtains idly fluttering against the summer breeze.

And soon enough, the hellhounds were battering at the door, as the students huddled down... but then...

A streak shot through one window. Then another, a ray of light that struck each Hellhound in the brain. Another reflected off a door handle, the beam ricocheting to catch another.

Soon enough, Saeko Takami's classroom at least, is safe and spared being brought to watch what follows. And then, as Ayame witnesses Ikkaku being menaced, there's suddenly four more rays of light that fire, each taking off part of a classroom window.

Immediately followed by a crashing against the window, the pane of glass being driven into another of the room's Hellhounds, as he lands behind it, standing up straight.

He's a young man in a Princely outfits, with red cape and gold epaulets on his shoulder; sporting a long nosed Tengu mask strikes it, crashing through as a pane of glass smashes into another Hellhound in the room, as he comes to land, standing up quite straight.

"Oh my. Did I miss the start of this dance>" He says cheerily, a touch smug a hand to his mask, like he's addressing Yua, "Perhaps it's a tad gauche to ask if I might cut in at this point-"

Before he then makes a sharp gesture, his hand cutting away from his mask to point a shining Golden Ray Gun at the Old Maid threateningly. "-but I rather insist."

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie Akabane is *not* living her best life. Fresh off her work shift with tonight's dinner (a discounted yakisoba), she was about to settle into another round of mundane apartment life (aka trying to paint her mask for what feels like the fiftieth time while the TV blares in the background) when she hears her phone ring. and answers it after seeing who it's from.

"Aragaki-kun. What's up? Yeah, just got out?"

...... .... .

".... Seven Sisters? Right. On my way." Thankfully, this was earlier, before hell broke loose.

----ONE AWKWARD SUBWAY RIDE LATER----

Umie glances at her phone. ".... wh...." Oh thank god Umie listened to her gut instinct and packed the dufflebag.

Said dufflebag later lands with a 'whump' in the grounds outside Seven Sisters. "Well, crap."

====NOW====

Something darts past Shinjiro; the rush of her passing displacing the hem of his jacket.

And now there's Umie, planting two feet against the side of a hellhound's face. The flip part is too difficult to pull off; Umie instead opts to platform off the beast, falling besides Shinjiro. The pale windbreaker settles around her body as she gets back, adjusting the plain half mask on her face with the blade of her kyoketsu-shoge.

"Sorry!! Train was packed!" Now is not the time, Umie. .... oh wow, a lot of new faces here.
</poem>

AS: Tatsuya Sudou has readied for combat as Old Maid! He is now fully healed! Ready for 9 opponents!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
The world has gone wrong. But only here. But only just now.
He's felt it like this before.

The feeling is palpable enough to be felt even on the avenue leading up to the front door of Seven Sisters High School. Katsuya, staring up at the building before him, fishes out his flip phone and, after selecting one number in particular, starts dashing towards the entrance. But, what's that sound? Did something just plow into the dirt field he knows all too well is out around the back? Unfortunately, as he leaves a message and throws the front door of the school open, he's got a good idea of who it is.

How ironic. It's because of them that he'd come out here to begin with.

''"You're green and haven't seen things the way they're run here."''

The phone returns to his pants pocket. In its place, he draws his sidearm, keeping the barrel down and to his side as he charges up the stairs. It's above-- he can feel it, pulsing like a black heart. The 'Old Maid'--

He's not the only one here, he can see, as he arrives on the scene. Perhaps they were caught here. Perhaps they had advance warning, somehow. Perhaps it's just luck. He's not even sure if he should be grateful he's not the only one here right now or not.
He's especially not sure what to think about Myunghon's presence here. He knew it had to be them.

He can't think about it now. He instead has a moment to survey the scene before him. The Joker Killer has a hostage: he'd known that much from the stairs, from the screaming. Several, as it happens, trapped in the same room. Is that woman bleeding--?

Nuclear fire rolls past him. If he hesitates, it's only for a moment. "501! Freeze! Release your hostage at once!" His firearm is trained on the Old Maid, but the fact is... as long as he has a hostage, there's not a lot he can do.
At least, not directly.

...but he's not the only one here armed with a firearm now, is he?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>An attack on Seven Sisters... That's where Ikkaku works. The moment Shinobu heard that, she went ''deathly quiet'' - and immediately volunteers herself to join in on the ride there. It's easy to tell she's holding herself back, a rage simmering deep within and ready to boil over.

She practically ''flings'' herself out of Mio's vehicle, drawing her staff, and only Myunghon's call gets her to redirect herself to follow them. She races through the hall, lashing out with staff and kicks at any hellhound that gets in her way. It seems like everyone here has been herded into a single room... Shinobu grits her teeth and bursts through the door after Myunghon. Everyone's here, and it seems like one of them has been wounded already. She doesn't recognize Yua by sight, but Myunghon seems to know her.

"Ikkaku!" Shinobu calls out, spotting him - and the rage leaves her face for a brief moment, as she spots who ''else'' is here. "...Nee-san!?"

She expected him to be here, Ayame had told her he was working late. But she didn't expect ''Ayame''.

She ''whirls'' on the Joker Killer, rage stoked back into a blaze.

"Don't ''touch them'', you bastard!" She yells, moving to position herself in front of Ayame. As much as she wants to lash out, as much as she wants to make him ''hurt'' for threatening them... She can't do that, while there's a chance that Ikkaku will get caught in the crossfire.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka happened to be here at Ssevens today because someone had reached out to her for help and Ririka really hasn't learned the lesson of 'work-life balance' or that 'saying no is okay and even healthy sometimes, actually.'

She'll be fine. Probably. Maybe?

Either way, the upshot is someone had reached out to talk to her about putting some music on for an event. Ririka was on her way out when she felt the supernatural aura sweep across the school. She winced a little, as the jangle of discordant tones flooded her senses. "Oh... oh no."

She frantically digs into her backpack, pulling out her Evoker. She takes a deep breath, her hand trembling as she brings it up to her head. She shuts her eyes just as a Hellhound comes tearing around the corner. "Persona!"

Amphion, a man made of stone holding a golden lyre forms of blue flame and broken glass in front of her. Ririka points-- "Magna!" Amphion plays his lyre, rocks lifting front he ground to crash into the Hellhound. Then the Persona turns to Ririka and places a pair of large headphones on her head.

Ririka reaches out and starts to play, a holographic keyboard appearing underneath her fingers as she sends waves of sound out and listens to the result. More people in danger, other persona users... and... ''there''. That has to be the center of it.

It takes her very little time to get to the classroom where things are going down, despite Amphion's plodding steps--she's got the minimap going, now. The tall (5'10") girl busts in with everyone else. "I don't know what this is about, but we won't let you get away with this!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>

Sudou's paper bag tilts to the side as he looks at Yua, "Seriously you are just trying to jump in line aren't you. This is an important lesson. No cutting, well unless you're me." Without even looking at the hellhound Sudou says, "Tim, eat the pretty idiot when you are done with the target." There is more growling and snarling... yet there is no devouring. There was supposed to be bloody messy devouring. Sudou slowly turns around and the Hellhound no longer seems to be growling at Ikkaku and Yua, but at Sudou himself.

"What's all this?" Sudou asks as he points his sword at the Hellhound before the hound scoffs at Sudou. "You know what , I don't need this shit. " The hellhound says before it lets loose a howl that echoes through the school and then runs into the shadow. Anyone still struggling against the hellhounds would seem them suddenly turning tail and disappearing into the nearest shadow.

Back in the classroom Sudou shakes his head, "Just can't get good help these days." Turning back towards the two he raises his sword, and then Ayame shrieks mid swing as it seems to interrupt Sudou again. "Can't a guy get some quiet when he is trying to kill people!" With a quick turn he looks towards Ayame. "You!" Sudou says not knowing who she is until a voice plagues him for a moment. "Oh it's YOU!" A laughter echoes from the paper bag before Sudou approaches Ayame. " So you came to watch history repeat itself did you? Hmm, I got a better idea. " With a flourish of his sword he stabs it into the classroom floor. "Do something about it, that way we can prove to the entire class how futile trying to change the future is."

As others begin to show up though Sudou is getting annoyed. " I am sorry boys and girls if you can't come to class on time you must wait quietly standing in the back. Anyone who speaks up will be holding the water buckets out in the all till their arms are cut off! Those with heroic inklings, stay extra quiet" Though Sudou does stop a moment and stare at the red head, "I don't like you." At the appearance of the princely heroic character Sudou frowns underneath the bag, "I don't like you even more. Just stand quietly."

Then he spots a familiar face, "Oh ho ho, if you are going to come to me that saves me time. Be a good victim and stick around after I am done with the teacher I will get to you. " Then he hears the cop, "Detective, how's your brother? "

Finally Sudou moves to the front of the room as he summons a ball of fire, " So then shall we continue. Given the lack of hounds now, I guess I will have to light things on fire myself." Looking over at Shinobu for a moment he reaches out with a hand not on fire, and taps Ikkaku, "Now what?"

Then he dashes across the room and punches at Ayame before he throws the fireball at Ikkaku, "Or maybe you meant that!" Innocent bystanders are screaming in fear at the magical fireball. It's music to Sudou's ears as he steps forward and shouts, "Lets light it up." Magical heat radiates from Sudou, affecting all those present.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Strike skill Sonic Punch on Ayame Watanabe!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Heat Wave on Yua Ooshiro, Minako Arisato, Shinjiro Aragaki, and
Myunghon Yeo!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Myunghon Yeo takes 46 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Heat Wave on Umie Akabane, Katsuya Suou, Shinobu Shimizu, and Ririka
Kawase!
ARCANA: Aggression: Tatsuya Sudou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Heat Wave on Goro Akechi!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou has readied for combat as Old Maid! He is now fully healed! Ready for 10 opponents!
AS: Block Worst! Goro Akechi takes 64 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.
AS: Haze added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ayame Watanabe takes 86 Strike damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Sonic Punch.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 85 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Neutral! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 58 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.
AS: COUNTER! Tatsuya Sudou takes 26 Strike damage in return for his attack!
AS: Block Best! Minako Arisato takes 50 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 40 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
"I'm -- I'm so sorry," Yua says, tears in her one good eye as she blinks, and it's strange in the moment how much ''blame'' she takes as she looks to Ikkaku. Tragically, though, she's ''not'' apologising for cutting in line. "I don't -- I don't know if you'll really, get home on time today..."

At least the hellhounds decide to grant them mercy, today. Yua puffs out a sigh of relief which gets about halfway out of her throat before she ''chokes on it,'' because Sudou's lifting his sword again. "No, don't--!"

A woman runs in, though -- and Sudou plants his sword, and issues her a challenge. "Be careful!" Yua cries, with shallow breath.

It's not just Ayame, though. Yua does not move to take the symbol Shinjiro charges in to hand over; really, it's a wonder she's still standing at all, as the poison weaves through her skin. She looks to Myunghon, and raises her palms, as if to reassure them. "Please, help Watanabe-san..." ... it would be more reassuring if her hands didn't tremble.

At least there's a dashing young prince leaping in to take the next dance. "Please do," she says, to the boy she doesn't know is Akechi, as she has to plant her stance a little more firmly against her dizziness. "I'm afraid... I'm feeling a little faint..."

Yua knows Shinobu, as one of the contractors Miho hires now and again; indeed, ''she'' hired her, once, to help re-paint the Gekkoukan green. (She went home, of course, with Remi; surely she had no clue that Shinobu and Myunghon ''stayed'' in Gekkoukan after she left. Her trust, brutally used!) She recognises ''Katsuya,'' too, though he wouldn't recognise ''her;'' likewise Ririka and Shinjiro, all her sins come to haunt her again.

"Don't--!" Yua is one of those people shrieking, as Sudou lobs that fireball; but her hands clasp at her mouth, and just as she warned him, she's not brave enough to leap in the way.

No: she's frozen to the spot, quaking as she watches him suffer.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
Ayame sees so many people show up in an instant, one of whom is that nice delinquent, one of whom is, "Shinobu-chan!?"

Ayame is terrified--but not only terrified. Ikkaku, meanwhile, is doing his best to be bold, but he is not made for fights like this. He is an academic, not a soldier. And so many people are suddenly here--

Ikkaku looks to Yua. "You're hurt," he tells her.

"I--"

Sudou starts ''talking'' to her. And he stabs his sword into the floor, while Ayame can only stare at him. "W-what are you talking about!?" Ayame exclaims first. "history--future--" He sounds crazy. But...

He ''hits'' her, and Ayame goes down roughly. "Aah--!"

But she sees it. "IKKAKU!" Ayame shouts when that fireball goes towards him.

Ayame won't make it in time. But a voice begins to echo in her ears.

'I am thou. Thou art I.'

Ayame pushes herself up and ''sprints'' as fast as she can, her shoe's heel breaking and sending her sprawling forward.

'One who has seen so many ends, the time has come.'

"I--Won't--!"

Ayame grabs the sword even as Ikkaku ''tackles'' Yua, slamming himself to the ground in an effort to avoid it--and is thus right next to the wall when it catches fire.

'Let the old, weak 'you' pass, that your future may be born!'

Ayame screams as she charges Sudou, sword raised. But suddenly, there is a pulse of blue light from beneath her, stretching in four directions, as a spectral figure rises from her body. A tall, Shadowy woman in an ankle-length dress and hooked cloak, wearing a medallion of a wheel, with sharp golden eyes, pale lips--and heavy jewelry.

She also has a pair of shears the size of a sword. She swings it, and a slash in the air strikes down towards Sudou with razor force.

"GET AWAY FROM MY HUSBAND YOU JACKASS!"

Her heart is pounding a mile a minute. She's terrified. But she raises her sword--the sword that was Sudou's--

"...No matter what he's up to here at school, right now he's still mine! I won't let you hurt him, /or/ that woman with him!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ayame Watanabe has used the Slash skill Fatal End on Tatsuya Sudou!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
The hellhound facing Minako bolts away. She frowns, then rushes into the door of the classroom -- and with quite a few others. Her eyes dart to Umie and then Shinjiro. She recognizes him; she sucks a gasp in. "Ar--" No, she better not use his name. "It's you!"

She looks, insted, at the Old Maid. The infamous Joker Killer; her blood runs cold for a moment, before she glowers at him.

"Back at you," she says. "Get away from that teacher! What are you doing here!?"

She throws both hands up, crossed over her, as the fireball slams into her and drives her backward. She grits her teeth together, then she shakes her head. There is a glance at the detective, and then back at the others.

And Ririka Kawase.

"Kawase-san!" she says. "Back me up! The Old Maid... this won't be easy!"

She sucks a breath in -- and she is about to call out to Ayame. She turns her head, and then she realizes what's happening. It's something she has done before; it's a place she has been herself. Minako breaks into a grin.

"Linos! Help her out!" the teenager yells. And Linos manifests behind her, throws out one hand, and then a wave of icy shards hurtle forth at the Old Maid.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Water skill Bufu on Tatsuya Sudou!

AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 45 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
There's no small amount of reassurance that Rumourmonger Merry has from the amount of backup available. They expected to run into and converge with Shinjiro, of course. This is an even more fraught moment for Shinobu, of course -- and they're going to make sure she's properly backed up and not taking reckless risks, because they know how when their loved ones are in danger how easily caution can be abandoned to the winds.

... you'd know about that, right, Myunghon?

"Shinobu-ssi, I've got your back, so don't hesitate to go all out," Myunghon chooses an approach that's encouraging, not distracting, but they're gesturing with their head to Shinjiro as well, knowing that they might have to make their teamwork extra tight today if they're all going to make it out of here alive.

There are other students here too -- two with Evokers. They've seen one of them -- Ririka was the one who they and Junpei had to protect back in the battle with the Emperor and Empress. So they awakened to a Persona since then too? And Minako... they don't know her, but they'll take any assistance they can get. And that masked woman with the windbreaker and kyoketsu-shoge?!

... Black Cat-san!

Officer Suou is here, and Myunghon feels an intense flinching at hearing his voice -- and then instantly feels horrible for feeling that flinch, even though he *did* save them just the other day, and then has to compartmentialise and push far, far more dire concerns to the fore.

But the presence of a mysterious Princely young person in a Tengu mask certainly is unexpected. His is a Cognitive costume not unlike that of the Ogre or the Phantoms... or, well, theirs, but they've chosen to forego the mask. "Who..."

As such, Yua has no trouble identifying them -- dressed more impressively as they are with their Cognitive Coat seemingly alive behind them, fabric quivering in the air in a manner not unlike that of a stingray's, they kneel before Yua and grip her hand gently. "Yuarin, I'm here. I am here for you, okay? It'll be all right--"

It's not gonna be okay. Yua's bleeding and they foolishly didn't pack the right Skill Card for this occasion. Helplessness washes over them.

The Old Maid takes the first initiative and scorches the room with a wave of heat and flame -- Myunghon's grimacing as Ikkaku tackles Yua to try to get them both clear against the fire, but Myunghon reflexively intervenes by surfaceing Kudlak to bubble both Cape and their Cognitive Coat to protect both them, Yua and Ikkaku.

The magic flame is still ''fierce'', and they can feel their Persona's integrity rattling underneath it as they hide in the darkness for a moment. When they're satisfied they're in the clear, Myunghon retracts their Coat. "Watanabe-san, are you all hurt? I--"

But then ''it'' happens.

Ayame moves seemingly at light speeds, and grabs hold of the sword and charges the Old Maid with no fear. A spectral pulse of familiar cognitive Blue rises from within Ayame, and a Shadowy woman rises from within her. Myunghon's eye widens. It's happening again.

"The wheel... keeps turning..." Myunghon whispers, transfixed by the awe of Ayame's Persona for a moment.

Myunghon snaps out of it a moment later, and instinct takes over as they realise they must take advantage of this sudden turn in battle. Still standing largely in front of Yua and Ikkaku to defend them, Kudlak's power rises once more as their Shadow seemingly slithers along the scorched Sevens floor and briefly attempts to trap the Old Maid in complete, imperishable darkness.

"Into the Dark with you, Joker Killer...!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Dark skill Imperishable Black on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 100 Slash damage from Ayame Watanabe's Fatal End.

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Understandable." He says sympathetically to Yua saying she feels a little faint, "I'll take it from here." As if he were simply ready to be Dancing... All Night.

'501! Freeze! Release your hostage at once.'

"Officer, I'm here as your backup." The masked young man tells him in a self-assured tone, despite the gravity of the situation, "Since you seem to lack a partner...? Surely an oversight by your department."

Sudou's own Hellhound abandons him, and the young man chides the murderer lightly, "Even your own hounds are getting cold feet. Perhaps it's time to turn yourself in?" Shinjiro arrives soon after, and Akechi gives him a strange look, "Huh..."

With a little cant of his head, as if surprised that he'd actually been following the killer ''this'' closely, before he focuses his attention back on him. "Perhaps leave the woman alone and quit while you're behind, Old Maid? There's nowhere for you to run."

However, then Sudou summons a great ball of fire, and the Princely young man whips out a blade of light, trying to carve through it, but the wave of flame suddenly catches him, forcing him to pat himself down in a quick top to bottom motion - not unlike stretching.

"Interesting." He murmurs, even as Sudou goes for Ikkaku, and performs violence upon Ayame, his eyes narrow as he hisses, "You bastard!" But Ayame instead - awakens, and the young man stands up straighter.

Part of him thinks Ikkaku might receive a form of Justice if he were to die here, but...

"Well... It seems you awakened quite the Lioness, Old Maid." As the young man suddenly surges forth, a gleaming energy blade in hand, as he carves across once with a feint to try and test the Old Maid's guard before going in for a vicious thrust. And while it is little different from a blade, it certainly feels like it burns when it cuts cognitively.

"And far be it from me to question one who's in the middle of defending her mate... whether he deserves it or not."

Despite his assault, as he says that like he's allowing Ayame to keep pressing him he then makes time do a little pivot dance move to catch Yua and pull her out of the way, setting her down gracefully in a chair.

She did say she was feeling a little faint after all.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Goro Akechi has used the Slash skill Saber of Light on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
ARCANA: Aggression: Goro Akechi gains 1 Limit!

AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 60 Water damage from Minako Arisato's Bufu. Weak!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 54 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's Imperishable Black. Critical Hit!
AS: Bind, Charm, Exhaust, and Poison added!

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>"Get down!" Shinjiro calls to Umie as she and Myunghon arrive. He doesn't make it with the symbol - a fireball blasts at him, burning it to a crisp. Even as it washes over it, singeing his jacket and sending him skidding back, he responds by swinging once with the sign as a riposte, before fumbling for a blue handgun that he points to his temple. He doesn't notice the masked young man canting his head at him, instead pulling the trigger with shaky, slow hands. "CASTOR!"

The hobby-horse riding impaled skeleton appears, enchanting Shinjiro as he clutches his chest, a bloody and painful red aura forming around him.

"I have a bone to pick with you..." he says towards Sudou, but doesn't swing just yet, winded by the empowering buff's toll. He sees Myunghon going for Ikkaku and Yua... "Merry, keep them safe!"

He can't let him die because he took his symbol. He'd never live with himself. But Ikkaku's wife (Ayame, right, he remembers) seems to have a Persona... hopefully, she can work with Myunghon and the group to hold him off and save her husband.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Almighty skill Bloody Charge on Shinjiro Aragaki!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Take! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Bloody Charge.
AS: Atk_Up, Crt_Up, and Def_Up added!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 27 Slash damage from Goro Akechi's Saber of Light.
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 27 Slash damage from Goro Akechi's Saber of Light.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Sudou recognizes Umie. Umie frowns; of course, he'd know. Her abilities work only to obscure her passing and going; once the Persona's out, the illusion is over.

It's fine; the mask is more for the students anyway. "... Sorry," Umie manages, flatly, "but you should've got me when I was in the hospital."

Her eyes dart around the room as she ducks back at Shinjiro's command, noting the position of the students, Ikkaku, Yua, and--

"Get back!" Umie shouts at Ayame. Unfortunately, she doesn't know names, her gaze flashing to the others to help her out--

'GET AWAY FROM MY HUSBAND YOU JACKASS!'

"...?!" The rise of an awakening resonance is a particularly different sensation each time Umie's been close enough to feel it, given the many ways it can happen. She tilts her head towards Myunghon, wondering if she feels something similar. There's... something about it, like seeing a butterfly emerge from its cocoon, shivering those newly exposed wings to fly for the first time.

She almost forgets Katsuya is there, in that moment. ".... Suou-san," she says, dumbly, at a loss for words.

A bit of fire can change that real quick, won't it?

Umie leaps back, a hand quickly batting at the embers that try to secure themselves to her mask and coat.

"Old Maid's weak to water. He doesn't have anybody with him; we have numbers on our side." She glances towards the others (pausing momentarily on Minako with a subtle nod towards Shinjiro) whose resonances she can sense, as well as... another Mask-san, with this flavor being 'prince'. Where, exactly, are people getting these fancy costumes?

Well, anyway.

"Badb, to me!" Umie raises a hand, fingers clasped and ready to snap. Blue light pools underneath her, and the dark grey and wine red colors of the Badb hover over Umie's head, just in time for that delayed, satisfying--

''snap''.

"Pretty sure no one here deserves to go up in flames, Prince-san," Umie idly comments to not-Akechi, as Badb extending a beckoning roll of her clawed red fingers towards Sudou.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!

AS: Umie Akabane regains -3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Myunghon Yeo spends Limit on Shift! Shinobu Shimizu can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
''He's'' here as his backup.

"...Who?" Katsuya asks of the youth in the red mask, looking him over as if attempting to place him and his attire and coming up blank. His... department?

...That voice.

"--Wait, you... you're the young man who called me?" he asks of the Princely young man. "Then, you're--" He cuts himself off, nodding just the once. "I see. Your assistance is appreciated!"

Of course he doesn't recognize her. The difference between Yua and 'Yumi' is as wide as the sea. She's just another person caught in this mess. If Amano were here, perhaps she could help her. The most he can do is try to stop this.

The Hellhound, to Katsuya's surprise, decides it's had enough of this and skedaddles. Or perhaps, given his own experience with demons, he shouldn't be surprised?

Not that this makes the killer any less dangerous, especially with a hostage and other casualties in line-of-fire.

How's his brother, asks the killer, casually enough.

How Katsuya feels about that line of questioning may be best evinced in the furious look he gives the 'Old Maid'. "Enough," Katsuya says, his firearm trained on #501 still. "I said, release the hostage! Put your hands up!" he orders again.

His response comes in the wave of a wall of heat that throws even him backwards.

He impacts the far wall, Helios' graces sparing him more trouble than this. Yet, it's not himself that Katsuya is worried about. He lurches upright as quickly as he can and charges forward. "Stop--"
But he knows he's already too late to stop that burst of flame for the teacher. As quick as a wink, the young man with the blade of light has intervened, slicing through the flame itself, sparing Ikkaku.

But, that woman. She's still moving. She hasn't stopped. That man is her--
The heel of her shoe snaps. It doesn't stop her. She's running right for him, #501. "Ma'am! Stop!"

The room around them pulses. Hasn't he felt this before? Back when he, when both of them had awoken...!

Ayame keeps going. She won't stop. Even if that man is a killer, she won't stop in defense of her husband. The phantasmal force -- her Persona, properly -- that lunges from her is certain about that, as certain as the end. That blade cleaves into #501, and Katsuya, his own shock at her awakening quickly shuffled to the backburner, responds in kind by unloading at the 'Old Maid'.

"Ma'am! Do not panic! I am a police officer!" Is that what he's going with, now? "I can explain, but first, we must stop #501 here!"
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Handgun - Shot on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
ARCANA: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Take! Tatsuya Sudou takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile.
AS: Charm added!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"...Right, thanks." Shinobu replies with a nod. She's appreciative, at least, and the encouragment is focusing.

In the classroom, Shinobu recognizes Yua a moment later. Oh yeah... She's the one from Gekkoukan. She doesn't know why she's ''here'', not knowing that she travels between schools - but that's her business. Right now, ''Shinobu's'' business is protecting her family.

There's so many others here, too. Some of them with the power to fight, and many others without. The Joker Killer takes her words as a challenge. A fireball is thrown at Ikkaku and Yua, but thankfully Myunghon is there to defend them.

"Asshole! I'll kill you!" Shinobu hisses, and starts to lunge. But Ayame -

"Nee-san! Watch out!" Shinobu calls out, freezing right in her tracks. She moves to try to intercept, but - Ayame sprints past her. "Ayame!?"

Ayame ''grabs his sword'' - and a pulse of blue light emerges from beneath her. Shinobu's eyes open wide.

"You too...?" She gasps.

Ayame has a Persona too, now. A grimace crosses over her face. ...The last thing she wanted was for her to be drawn into this life, too. But now that she ''is''...

"...Lachesis!" Shinobu calls out. Behind her, a shadowy, cloaked woman appears, holding in her hands a rod for measuring thread. Her eyes turn upon Ayame, briefly, and Atropos beyond her. Hands travel down the rod, framing Ayame - and centering an aura of protection from harm around her. To protect her - and also allow her to more easily protect what she cares about.

Shinobu moves to try and make good on her threat, though, at the same time - she rushes toward Sudou, her staff lashing out in a flurry of thrusts toward him.
</poem>

AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 46 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"...Right, thanks." Shinobu replies with a nod. She's appreciative, at least, and the encouragment is focusing.

In the classroom, Shinobu recognizes Yua a moment later. Oh yeah... She's the one from Gekkoukan. She doesn't know why she's ''here'', not knowing that she travels between schools - but that's her business. Right now, ''Shinobu's'' business is protecting her family.

There's so many others here, too. Some of them with the power to fight, and many others without. The Joker Killer takes her words as a challenge. A fireball is thrown at Ikkaku and Yua, but thankfully Myunghon is there to defend them. Fire washes over ''her'', too - and Shinobu's staff spins to try and disperse the flames. Heat makes it through - but right now, she's too hot-headed. She'll worry about the possibility of burns later.

"Asshole! I'll kill you!" Shinobu hisses, and starts to lunge. But Ayame -

"Nee-san! Watch out!" Shinobu calls out, freezing right in her tracks. She moves to try to intercept, but - Ayame sprints past her. "Ayame!?"

Ayame ''grabs his sword'' - and a pulse of blue light emerges from beneath her. Shinobu's eyes open wide.

"You too...?" She gasps.

Ayame has a Persona too, now. A grimace crosses over her face. ...The last thing she wanted was for her to be drawn into this life, too. But now that she ''is''...

"...Lachesis!" Shinobu calls out. Behind her, a shadowy, cloaked woman appears, holding in her hands a rod for measuring thread. Her eyes turn upon Ayame, briefly, and Atropos beyond her. Hands travel down the rod, framing Ayame - and centering an aura of protection from harm around her. To protect her - and also allow her to more easily protect what she cares about.

Shinobu moves to try and make good on her threat, though, at the same time - she rushes toward Sudou, her staff lashing out in a flurry of thrusts toward him.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Dance of Protection on Ayame Watanabe!
AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Jab Flurry on Tatsuya Sudou! 3 Hits!
ARCANA: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!

AS: Take! Ayame Watanabe takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Dance of Protection.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 27 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Shot.
AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 44 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Shot. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
'Detective'? Ririka casts a worried glance Katsuya's way and tries to scoot her arm with its Evoker back juuuust a tiny bit so it's not so directly in the cop's line of sight.

But that's undone a moment later as she throws her arms up in front of her to guard herself, , gritting her teeth as she feels the heat rolling over her. She grits her teet and feels a little toasty, but the pain isn't ''too'' bad. "Ugh--geeze..."

She doesn't recognize Yua, though. Which is probably good for both of them: Yua to keep her cover and Ririka to not get distracted in a critical moment.

But she watches as Ayame charges forward. "Oh-- Watanabe-san?" No, not ''just'' the woman she met over in the Aoba Ward. Blue flame brings a Persona, and she gasps as she hears the resonance from the summoning flood outwards. "Amazing..."

But her attention is drawn to Minako. Back her up. "Ha, Arigato-san!" This is their first fight together. She can't let her fellow SEES member down.

Ririka ''was'' cowering the last time she met Myunghon in a supernatural space... but she won't need protection now. (Or not the same kind.)

"Amphion!" Ririka calls out. "Let's keep everyone energized!"

Amphion strums his lyre, and as his fingers touch the otherwise-invisible string they flicker into sight. He sends energizing waves of music washing over Ririka, Minako, Shinjiro, and Ayame. And then Ririka reaches out to talk to Ayame, to offer her encouragement. "Watanabe-san, we're with you. You're not alone in this."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Relaxing Wave on Ririka Kawase, Minako Arisato, Shinjiro Aragaki,
and Ayame Watanabe!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Ayame Watanabe can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Take! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 23 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry.
AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 23 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 38 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor added!
AS: Take! Ayame Watanabe takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor added!

<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
The Old Maid is watching his work and watching the fire spread as he expects any moment that teacher will burn. Then he senses it, the appearance of a new persona, he looks at the frozen dancer for a moment before he shakes his head. No it's not her, could it be... A cry of pain comes from Sudou as his back takes a wide slash along his back. Turning the smile face that is normally on the paper bag has shifted to an angry scowl with the eyes through the paper bag peering through them at Ayame. "You you b..." Magic is already flying at him as Sudou can't finish his sentence.

Sudou grabs a desk to block the attacks from Myunghon and Minako as the desk turns into shards of wood and plastic and still bleed through to hurt their target. This does leave him holding two of the legs of the desk. Magic of flames and shadows flow over the desk legs as Sudou dashes towards Myungon and swings downward with one of his improvised swords. Then he spins and throws the other leg at Minato to retaliate for that ice ball, which is illegal to throw, even in snowball fights.

Turning he sees the Space Prince coming in with his space sword, and swings the magically infused desk leg up to do his best to block the sword. " Kksssshhhh, Kksssshhhh" Sudou imitates certain sound effects as the swords clash but is driven back as the leg is cut in two. Breathing heavy from exerting himself, "I find your chivalrous nature disturbing." With a raise of his hand Sudou pushes his palm forward and... fire erupts from under Robin hood. It's not like he is psychic or anything.

Sudou turns to deal with Ayame now and finds a Shinjiro in his way, "I'm sorry? Do I know you?" Suddenly Umie's magic falls on him and he frowns, "Excuse me, the important people need to talk. " Sudou swings his fist at Shinjiro to move him out of the way before he goes for Umie. "Oh my sweet victim to be. Do I look like a toothless lion who can't hunt? There is no fun if you are stuck in the hospital. This is much more fun. " A swift upper cut is thrown to her chest.

Bullets hitting Sudou's back distracts him from Umie, " I am getting really tired of people bringing guns to a magic fight! " Another desk has its legs ripped off as Sudou charges towards Katsuya and swings the two legs rapidly attempting to slash him more with the magical enhancement of the weapons then the actual legs themselves.

Shinobu distracts Sudou again forcing him to try and leap back and avoid the attacks but can only go so quickly, and takes some hits. That is when he sees an angering sight, someone is back there playing white mage. With a single strike in mid air Sudou sends magical blades at Ririka and Shinobu. "No healing! Also stop calling me an asshole!"

FInally his attention is back on Ayame, "Now for you. The Lioness. " Flames crawl across Sudou's back working to heal the sword slash and bullets hole. "Do you know anything about lions? Do you know what happens when the head lion is killed? Do you know what the lionesses do? They go straight into heat for the new head of the family. It's like Hubby's Day out on the grass, all the cubs have been slaughtered, and suddenly everybody's singing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight? So Lioness, do you want to play Lions? " Sudou leans in and growls a little which is rather muffled from inside the bag.

"I'll even let you kill his other lioness."
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Burning Slash on Minako Arisato!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou takes 60 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Tatsuya Sudou takes 60 damage!
AS: Weapon! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Slash skill Overhead Slash on Myunghon Yeo!
ARCANA: Aggression: Tatsuya Sudou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Inferno on Goro Akechi!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Strike skill Sonic Punch on Shinjiro Aragaki!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Strike skill Sonic Punch on Umie Akabane!
AS: Tandem! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Slash skill Slice & Dice on Katsuya Suou! 2 Hits!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Slash skill Vortex Slash on Shinobu Shimizu and Ririka Kawase!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Recovery skill Burning Spirit on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Avoid Best! Myunghon Yeo takes 43 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Overhead Slash.
AS: Avoid Best! Goro Akechi takes 106 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Inferno. Critical Hit!
AS: Haze added!
AS: Take! Tatsuya Sudou takes 72 Recovery healing from Tatsuya Sudou's Burning Spirit.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou: Loses 46 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Minako Arisato takes 42 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Burning Slash. Resist!

AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 70 Strike damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Sonic Punch.
AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 48 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Vortex Slash.
AS: Block Best! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 30 Strike damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Sonic Punch.
AS: Haze added!
AS: Block Neutral! Katsuya Suou takes 59 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Slice & Dice. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Neutral! Katsuya Suou takes 70 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Slice & Dice. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Tatsuya Sudou takes 32 Slash damage in return for his attack!

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
She reaches out, weakly, to grasp Myunghon's hand. (Merry ''will,'' she's sure, keep them safe.) "I'm scared," she admits, quietly, to the one person here with the most insight into ''why.'' And why, in turn, she'd repeat -- "I'm sorry."

Perhaps, without that context, it seems she's apologising for having such inconvenient feelings.

She doesn't realise that the Prince might know even more than ''they'' do -- though she smiles, weakly, to him. "Thank you..."

Ikkaku is the one who can move, as a thousand memories lock Yua in place; she is easy to tackle, falling with him. Thanks to Myunghon, the fire doesn't scourge them, and so she's able to watch as Ayame realises something vital about herself; as Atropos rises, and her shears slice down.

"Ah... so, your wife is..." Yua puts the pieces together, sighing in relief. (Perhaps it sounds like a different type of sigh, in the wrong context.) "Thank goodness..."

Linos, at least, has the Joker's weakness. Yua wishes she wasn't so relieved children were here... to handle what she ought to take responsibility for.

She's not sure why the Prince would say that Ikkaku doesn't ''deserve'' saving, though. "Watanabe-san's a, a good man!" She insists, tremulous, as she struggles to push her hands beneath her and stand again. "He was only n--neglecting his family to secure their future..! He truly thought he needed to take the burden on himself alone..."

She sways, unsteady on her feet as she finds them; luckily, the Prince swoops in to catch her, rescuing her from an ungraceful return to the ground and setting her in a chair instead. "Oh!" She gasps, grasping onto his arm for support for a moment before she's able to set her weight into the seat. "T-thank you..."

Privately, she hopes that Shinobu ''does'' kill the Joker, only to feel a horrible sinking feeling in her gut as she reflects on how easily she jumped to murder as a solution. ... is she not as uncomfortable with Miho's business as she tells herself she is?

She startles, then, her eye widening as she realises what she needs to do. "Mimi--! Recchi!" She exclaims, as she reaches into her handbag, not for the thing connecting her to Gretchen -- but for the thing connecting her to her ''fiancee,'' let alone one of her best friends.

Except...

When Yua pulls her phone out of her bag, the front is shattered; as she flips it open, the screen is blank, broken, and quite useless.

"Oh," she says, as her hand trembles so fiercely she drops her ruined phone entirely. "Oh... I..."

She's so distracted by her disappointment, she doesn't notice Ririka's encompassing healing; doesn't realise that the situation could get far worse, for her.

She ''does,'' at least, notice the Navigation skills Umie uses, and takes a moment to tighten her own control over her Resonance, swallowing it deeper inside herself. She doesn't wish to be found out, though she could salve her wounds so easily if she ''did.''

Yua looks to Sudou with growing distress, though, as he starts talking about lions. "W-what are you talking about?!" She stammers, still quite pale. "You... you mean me? Why would I -- you think I want a lion? You think I -- and he -- it really isn't like that! I, I just know what it feels to be left alone until dinner's gone cold!"

Really, it's far too unfortunate that poison's worked its way through her heart, now. She's not thinking right. The Joker's accusing her of the opposite of how she felt, and, and -- "I don't even LIKE lions!" Yua exclaims, desperately.

............................................................

so is she literally saying she's not a cat person, or...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
Ayame does not have time to notice or complain about Shinjiro shooting himself--but Ikkaku has time to look up at Shinjiro. "Aragaki-kun...?" Myunghon just saved him, but he didn't quite catch what actually ''happened''. "Yeo-san!"

Akechi comments on her, and Ayame holds the sword in a way that she hopes is menacing. "He--he still deserves it!" Ayame insists. "I only..."

"Ayame!" Ikkaku calls, and coughs, having hurt himself some diving to the ground.

Ayame meanwhile ''is'' almost panicked, despite the calming influence of her Persona--until Katsuya speaks up. He'd told her to stop, but...

"I can't stop," she says. "I love him."

But Katsuya assures her that she doesn't need to panic, and, "A-all right! I'll trust you! But I won't give up, either!"

"Shinobu-chan!" Ayame calls. "You--" Are apparently some kind of combat badass. Ayame blinks in surprise--and then she hears Ririka reach out to her, too. "...Right!"

Sudou almost calls her a nasty word! Ayame is still someone who hasn't noticed she just cursed.

The Lioness, though. Ayame blinks as Sudou addresses her. About lions? She does know some, but--

But--

Her eyes go wide. Ayame's mouth opens. She stares.

"You..."

Yua's words about the good reaons Ikkaku is neglecting his family ring in her ears. She's defending him. Of course she would. That's best, isn't it?

But.. Sudou.

She shakes her head. "You..."

"Are DISGUSTING!" Ayame shouts at Sudou, and ''hacks'' down with her sword straight at his paper bag face! "Aaaaaah!"

She's pretty sure she just heard Yua say she doesn't like lions. That sounds important, even though it makes no sense for it to be important. Ayame is too overwhelmed to make sense of it in the moment.

"ATROPOS! Come forth!"

She raises her hand, and this time, Atropos appears with her shears held upward. She suddenly presents a golden string, a phantasm of which appears over Sudou's head.

She snips with the scissors, and darkness ''explodes'' down on the Old Maid.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Ayame Watanabe has used the Slash skill Swift Cut on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Aggression: Ayame Watanabe gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Ayame Watanabe has used the Dark skill Eiha on Tatsuya Sudou!

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Why yes - that would be me." He replies to Katsuya with a smile, at his voice being recognized. "You'll be happy to know that it is safely back in her hands."

Indeed, he'd set this up as an experiment, to see how that might work.

(Cue 'Prince-san' in this form saying his real name again, and again in the Metaverse to Shadows he's bullying.)

It's good to know some experiments bear fruit. As Umie - Shinjiro... might get the impression swiftly, that he's someone they know.

The Old Maid makes fun of the Light Saber, and the Prince, laughs at him, "Oh is that so? Does it not meet your standards? Aha... Well-"

Fire erupts beneath him, and suddenly, he's not there in a blur of movement that ricochets off the wall like an ink smear as his tone drops low, "-you're certainly no father of mine."

If his white outfit looks somewhat more singed, then he seems to pay it little enough mind, save that this was becoming a more interesting fight than he expected.

Umie says that he hardly deserves the flames, and he ruminates, "Hmm, I wonder."

Yua insists that he's ''not'' in fact cheating, and 'Prince-san' looks at her, and smiles, "Oh is that so? ... My mistake." He says as if he was never seriously thinking that in the first place, "Under the circumstances... it was just so easy to believe any 'happily' married man might."

One might wonder if he actually knew all along, and was just injecting some drama into things by implying he's a cheating cheater.

"Though, do you think telling his wife that he was merely 'securing their future' will be enough?"

It seems though that he gave Sudou some ''ideas'' and Akechi's eyes narrow, as with a sharp gesture, he poses and places a hand to his face, "Manifest! ROBIN HOOD!"

And as he does, a towering figure with absurd, almost comic book proportions manifests, with a Golden Bow. He looks vaguely robotic, like he might be a figure on a Sentai Show - or an anime - or a Western comic book all at once, with a flickering cape.

And as the figure poses in tandem with him, it points a finger, rather than his bow, as abruptly mirrors rise around him, and flash.

"I'm sorry, but did you turn your murder 'attempt' into a bad trip to Destiny land? ... I think you're losing your touch."

</poem>
AS: Persona! Goro Akechi has used the Light skill Hama on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Goro Akechi: Haze removed!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"Glad you're with me!" Minako calls to Ririka. She glances towards Myunghon. She doesn't know them -- but right now, she is glad for anyone they have here. She looks at Umie, then she nods her head. "Got it... okay!"

She looks at Shinjiro and hesitates, before she calls out: "I--I thought you stopped doing this!"

Sudou throws a table leg for Minako. It hurls forward, slamming into the girl's midsection and knocking her back -- and knocking the air out of her. She stumbles, before she catches her footing. She shakes her head to clear it, pushing herself up to her feet.

Ayame summons Atropos to fight back -- and Minako hopes that will buy her a moment.

Amphion's music washes over Minako. She steels herself, as she pulls her Evoker out again. She puts the barrel of it against her temple. She proves fearless in how she pulls the trigger -- and glass and blue light erupt again from her temple, red hair fluttering to the side with wind brought on by the Evoker's report.

"Pyro Jack!" she calls out. "To me!"

With a swirl of red flame, the Jack-o-Lantern spirit appears behind her. But rather than flame, the newly-summoned Persona does a swirl and a twirl behind her, before crying out: "Hee-ho!"

Then, a burst of aquamarine and violet light erupts around Shinjiro.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Almighty skill Dance of Protection on Shinjiro Aragaki!
AS: Minako Arisato spends Limit on Shift! Shinjiro Aragaki can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 79 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Vortex Slash. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 81 Slash damage from Ayame Watanabe's Swift Cut. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 64 Dark damage from Ayame Watanabe's Eiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 95 Light damage from Goro Akechi's Hama.
AS: Take! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 0 Almighty damage from Minako Arisato's Dance of Protection.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>A punch swings out for Shinjiro, who brings up his sign and arm to guard it, recoiling even so as he's battered. Everyone's fighting... does he know that masked hero? He can't think about it right now.

Minako and Ririka have both supported him here, but Minako's words cause him to hesitate. What is he doing here...? He keeps telling them it's the last time, but... can he say that again?

No.

"I had. But things have changed. And besides..."

The evoker goes up to his temple again, one hand holding the sign still, as he addresses the Old Maid.

"THIS IS PERSONAL, YOU BASTARD! If I have to come out of retirement to take you down... I'LL CRUSH YOU BENEATH MY HEEL!" Shinjiro roars out, as Castor explodes out in the roar of blue, moving to leap into the air. Shinjiro charges at the same time, swinging his sign straight at Sudou, trying to smash him twice, with sign and Persona alike as Castor moves to stomp downwards on top of him with excessive strength.

The man who took Miki is in front of him. He might be able to capture him here and now, end his reign of terror. But he's a bit too angry and impulsive to think about anything right this second other than *beating him down*.

This is followed by a powerful blow again from Castor, who leaps off, lands on the ground, and then charges with a powerful blow that will pierce defenses, trying to force him backwards as powerfully as possible. If anything, Shinjiro is excessively strong... but not very controlled, not able to think about collateral damage in this moment!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
"I won't let harm come to them," Myunghon agrees with Shinjiro, knowing the youth himself has quite the story behind his relation to the Joker Killer -- they're going to have to keep an eye on him too. Him and Shinobu both. But they've got a chance, right here... and even if they don't succeed, they're going to observe the mechanisms behind how slippery the Joker Killer really is.

Myunghon clearly does, Umie -- the awe in which they're struck at the emergence of a new Persona feels... at the same time, inspiring, and yet a bit cruel, because they know it means someone else is going to have their life turned upside down. ... but better that than to see one's husband in peril, right?

But...

Why does Ayame's Persona give them a sense of deja vu? For a moment, their chest hurts -- they write it off as Jin Shirato's shrapnel wound hurting again, but it almost feels as if they should fear it.

And in that instance, witnessing Shinobu's Persona -- Lachesis -- rise beside Ayame's, seeing clearly the similarities between the two, that wound starts to ache twice as much. Why...? They feel a strange sense of guilt and horror in them. Why does it feel so familiar?

It feels like... drowning.

Power through it, Rumourmonger Merry. This is no time for guilt and ache and oxygen to not be in your lungs. Sudou's suddenly gunning through them, and his sword comes down, sure as hell to bisect them if they don't do something about it-- and something Kudlak does, as it succeeds its Brave roll and Blade Grasps the blade with both of his inky-black hands. Even then, the sheer physical strength Sudou possesses barely makes it a vice grip -- and supernatural 'blood' starts to flow down Kudlak's matte body.

While their Persona protects them, Myunghon gestures desperately to Yua and Ikkaku to position them further out of the way. Sudou's taunting Ayame about a Lioness metaphor, and Myunghon can't help but realise that the Old Maid's a really chatty person... almost too chatty. It's almost like this is all a game to them... there's something frightening behind it. They are a bonafide sequence killer, after all.

"I know..." Myunghon whispers back to Yua. And when Yua says her apology, they too know the reasons ''why'' they might say sorry -- because there's an Evoker somewhere on their person, because Gretchen could have protected her and Ikkaku, but she can't. "There's no need for an apology, Yuarin. I'll keep you and Ikkaku-san safe."

Still, they're looking for a point of egress for them. Hoping the Joker Killer will be too distracted to notice. With all the heat and fire flying around, it's only going to be a matter of time before this classroom will catch on fire. "Ikkaku-san, keep low and don't breathe the smoke. Try to find a chance to get out, okay...?"

... they find it strangely distressing to be back here, in Sevens, with Yua next to them. They can almost see the younger Yua and Miho and Remi and... Myorei, as they'd call her (back then, her, the Perfect Student of the Binary). Wasn't life supposed to make even the slightest more modium of sense after high school? Where... where did it all go so wrong for all of them? Did they ever have a chance?

"You're a pretty slippery guy... but I see the patterns, Old Maid," Myunghon speaks, gaining a bit of wickedness in their smile. "The ways in which you cover your attacks on people... the links Strega and a certain other organisation has with you... it is only a matter of time before I'm certain I'm playing your game."

Their eye glints with a certain kind of madness as they thrust their hand forward. Kudlak rises from within the depths of their Cognitive Coat, and a swarm of black tendrils seizes out to strike -- and dark explosions may just burst along with their attack.

"And then it will be..." They click their finger. "Checkmate."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Dark skill All According to Plan on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Strike skill Black Spot on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Pressure: Shinjiro Aragaki gains 1 Limit!

AS: Tandem! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Strike skill Dual Smash on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 230 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Black Spot. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 68 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Dual Smash.
AS: Counter Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 64 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Dual Smash.
AS: COUNTER! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 31 Strike damage in return for his attack!
AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 46 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's All According to Plan.
AS: Sick added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 67 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's All According to Plan. Critical Hit!
AS: Sick added!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Shinobu hears Ayame calling her name in surprise. ...Well, given that she's never seen her fight before, she supposes it would be surprising. Is she going to look at her differently, now? ...She can't worry about that. Focus.

The Joker Killer sends magical blades her way and Shinobu lashes out with her staff. She manages to knock one of them away clearly, but the other cuts across her arm, eliciting a hiss.

"What the hell. It's fine for you to kill people, but calling you ''names'' is too far? I've got a dozen more for you, but that's the ''nice'' one." Shinobu replies. His words... Shinobu's eyes narrow. Ayame is right - he ''is'' disgusting. What he's saying, though... Is he trying to imply...? She glances between Ikkaku, Ayame, and Yua. Is she the one Ayame spoke to her about? Her attention lingers on Yua for a moment.

...She says she 'doesn't even like lions'. Is she being literal, thinking ''he's'' being literal? Is she making an excuse? Or...

...For a moment, Shinobu's gaze turns sympathetic toward Yua as she draws conclusions - but she forces herself back onto the fight quickly.

She's grateful that Myunghon is here. Her own Persona is pretty limited - the spell she cast for Ayame is one of the few support abilities she has. All she can do is fight - so fight she will.

"...Let's blunt those fangs of yours." Shinobu says. Lachesis shifts her measuring rod in her hands, holding it like a weapon, now - and she lunges toward Sudou, swinging it in a disarming strike. It leaves a weakening aura in its wake, threatening to make good on Shinobu's promise.

"Ayame... I'm not gonna tell you not to fight." Shinobu says, glancing toward her sister. She ''deserves'' this fight - and she knows that if she doesn't do it here, she'll be thinking about it for the rest of her life. "...But this guy, he's dangerous. The real deal - be careful."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Swordbreaker on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem>
'Nee-san.' Umie looks from Shinobu to Ayame. Lachesis. Atropos. Is there a third, somewhere? Another sister?

It's enough to allow whatever traces of resonance Yua might have lying outside her curtain of spiritual domain to be sweeped back inside.

That, and Sudou's calling her bluff, coming in nice and close for a punch to her chest. Oh shit, she needs to put padding there, that's going to

huuuuuurrttttt ooowwwwww

Umie is thrown back against some desks, and in the moment she holds onto her chest, she briefly considers:

..... wasn't this where she had her math class? Or was it history? That's a surreal thought.

"Clearly this is a matter for his wife to deal with, not a serial killer with a paper bag on his head," Umie states matter-of-factly to Akechi, a hand droping from her chest, her eyes narrowing slightly towards the couple.

But Sudou's comments are *especially* rancid.

"Every victim you leave alive learns something a little bit more about you," Umie says, building off of Myunghon's words. "Me running away from you for that long wasn't fun, but it's my specialty to make most of a terrible situation. So I got to learn a whole lot about how you operate. It was sweet, feeding that information around~" A delighted open-mouthed grin spreads on the hooded young woman's face, like a little blackbird on a perch.

'Checkmate.'

As Shinjiro runs in, Badb appears behind Umie, pointing a singular finger at Sudou; and suddenly, Umie's on the move as well, falling under the Badb's veil as she swoops in and below the level of the desks, popping up behind Sudou with the blade of her kyoketsu-shoge aimed at Sudou's back.

For all those nights she had been scared... this feels ever so sweet.
</poem>

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Shock Noise! Fire_Break applied to Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Tandem! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Seeker in the Dark on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!

AS: Umie Akabane regains -3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 75 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Swordbreaker. Critical Hit!
AS: Atk_Dn added!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 40 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Seeker in the Dark.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Excuse you, Sudou. Ririka is not a White Mage.

She's a ''Bard''. Get it straight!

But no healing, he says. "Yeah, and I'm gonna listen to you... why?" Magical blades are a pretty good answer, and Ririka lets out a startled yelp as they crash against her, hastily bringing her arms up to guard again. Blue fire cuts across her body as it impacts. "Guh-- Oh that... " She's staggered back a step, a bit unsteady for a moment but still standing.

There's apparently a conversation about lions happening. She is... missing pretty much all the context for that conversation, but she doesn't like the way Suduo is talking about it. She's made up her mind on ''that'', at least.

"I'm glad you're here too," Ririka says to Minako. But she glances over to Shinjiro as Minako calls him out. "He stopped? But he was there when I was fighting that Yumi woman at Sumaru TV!"

(Sorry, Shinjiro. Sorry, Yua.)

But there's a lot happening, and Ririka is distracted trying to keep track of everyone in the fight. There's so much noise and sensory information with all of the Resonance flooding the area... She holds the headphones to the side of her head tightly as she listens. There are people hurt and in need of healing. "Amphion!" she shouts, bringing the Evoker to her head. A slight tremble before she pulls.

Amphion the Persona surges with new life in a rush of blue flames and shattering glass. "Mediarama!" she shouts. Mentally she's thinking of herself, Akechi, Katsuya and Umie...

But she's so distracted she ''also'' thinks about Yua, the supposedly non-supernatural bystander.

Amphion strums his lyre, and a bright green light washes over all of her chosen recipients... including Yua.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Mediarama on Ririka Kawase, Goro Akechi, Katsuya Suou, and Umie
Akabane!
ARCANA: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!

AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 92 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Take! Goro Akechi takes 92 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 92 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 92 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
'Nee-san'. "You're her-- I see," Katsuya answers, glancing at Shinobu. There are a number of connections here, it's true.

It's safely back in her hands. "I see," he says, nodding the once as 'Red Mask' explains himself. "You have my thanks. Now--"

The time, after all, for a conversation like that is past.

"Surrender, and this can all be over!" Katsuya exhorts #501, as the latter apparently complains about his use of his service firearm.

Katsuya urges Ayame not to panic, that things are -- well, not under control, obviously, but not so far from what he's apparently expected that it's time to freak out. But she says she 'won't give up'. He nods, as if encouraged by her spirit. "Good! We cannot stop just yet!" The explanations part can wait, but first, they need to survive this moment without any deaths or serious injury.

Speaking of injury!

The Joker Killer closes on him, striking at him twice with a table leg. First, the makeshift weapon catches him across his left upper arm as he does his best to try to evade (it doesn't work out very well) and then, caught in close combat, he throws a first in retaliation as escape from another swing of #501's bludgeon becomes impossible.

It's all he can do to break away after that, bleeding from the wounds he's collected. Nothing he can't walk off, of course, but if it continues in this vein, he'll be in a bad position.

But in the current situation he's found himself in, what can he exactly do about that except continue to press the man?

Unasked for, there is a miracle: that girl over there has a Persona capable of healing magic, and its power washes over him as it does others. "Thank you!" he calls to Ririka, feeling some of his strength return to him.

The 'Old Maid' speaks of lions. Of what they do when the head lion's killed.

"What are you...! Even if that's true in nature, she's a person, not a lion!" Katsuya shoots back. Did that also strike a nerve, somehow? He looks mad about it, perhaps even disgusted.

As if in retaliation of his own, he gestures broadly at #501. "Persona...!" If there were any doubt for 'new faces' on the scene that he, too, has this power, this will put it to rest. Helios, clad in his finery, manifests to float just before Katsuya. With one snap of a clawed hand, and the scent of ozone rolling through the room, the Persona brings down the thunder.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Elec skill Zio on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 63 Elec damage from Katsuya Suou's Zio.

<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Tatsuya Sudou had messed up, and even the voice is telling him that he needs to stop screwing around. It will not shut up about telling him to get serious. The sword coming down, gives Sudou only a brief moment to dodge and he still loses a corner of his paper bag, as well as a gash on his leg. He attempts to keep rolling away trying to dodge the magic but rolls into a desk and still gets showered in that dark magic. " Fine, but if I am doing this give me a sword." Sudou stands back up. " I know I gave it to her. Look, let's not point fingers, cause I don't think you have any. Just give me a damn sword. "

A glance is given to Yua, as she truthfully seems to be a bystander compared to everyone else. Still it appears whoever The Joker Killer was talking to has a sense of humor. Sudou charges straight at Yua and thrusts his hand forward before it goes right by Yua and into a shadow. From it he draws forth a new sword. " Thanks for the sword, dog lover, you can die later." Dark magic flows over Sudou's entire body.

First dark magic and then light as Sudou raises the sword to cover his eyes but it burns the rest of his body. "Do you know the most annoying thing, pretty boy, is that they keep saying over and over that you are right. This is a job, not speed dating." The Joker Killer pushes off the ground and pulls his sword into his body before thrusting it out trying to impale the would-be hero.

Sudou doesn't get to move much more, as a persona appears and puts Sudou through the classroom wall and into the school hallway. The damn Persona keeps coming and all Sudou can do is tuck in and take it. However he sees an opportunity to climb to his feet and as he does he throws a rock at Shinjiro. This is followed with him trying to avoid the damn tentacles that are coming after him and he is so thankful they only explode. It hurts, but it could be worse. In response though Sudou channels magic to try to cause more flames to rise up where Shinjiro and Myunghon are currently standing.

Shinobu seems to be a bit annoyed about Sudou chastising for language. The attempt to dodge her fang blunting attack isn't great, Sudou will later blame it on the lopside bag. The wound is in his right arm and that weakening aura leaves his arm kinda tingly, or it's the blood loss. A barrage of quick slashes are returned as he tries to not drop his new sword.

The healer is still healing and that enrages him but then he smells ozone and realizes he is holding a lightning rod. Jumping out of the way doesn't work as well, his sword is a lightning rod. That leaves the taste of copper in his mouth.

Standing slowly he speaks again, "Fine, I'll trade you the blood of a Suou and in exchange you include the healer and the thief with my sword. Oh and the one that runs her mouth. Definitely her." Sudou talks to himself as his magic spikes. A few might recognize what is about to happen. Then above his head, the Joker sits smiling. Shuffling some cards.

The joker points at Ayame, Umie, Ririka and Katsuya, before he throws cards at each one. That explodes with that pure magic flavor.
</poem>

AS: Tatsuya Sudou spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou spends Limit on Salve! Sick removed from Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Almighty skill Heat up on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Aggression: Tatsuya Sudou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Take! Tatsuya Sudou takes 0 Almighty damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat up.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Weapon! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Pierce skill Stab at Thee on Goro Akechi!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Inferno on Shinjiro Aragaki!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Inferno on Myunghon Yeo!
AS: Weapon! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Slash skill Quick Strike on Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou spends Limit on Exploit! Tatsuya Sudou can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Slash skill Quick Strike on Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou spends Limit on Broad!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Almighty skill Joker Wild on Ayame Watanabe, Umie Akabane, Ririka Kawase, and
Katsuya Suou!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou: Broad and Psych removed!
AS: Block Best! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 47 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Inferno.
AS: Block Worst! Ayame Watanabe takes 125 Almighty damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Joker Wild.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Myunghon Yeo takes 90 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Inferno.
AS: Haze added!
AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 61 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Quick Strike. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 61 Slash damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Quick Strike. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Goro Akechi takes 67 Pierce damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Stab at Thee.

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 83 Almighty damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Joker Wild.

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
What -- what did Yua just say? Surely... surely no one will think she meant she doesn't like ''men...'' right? Of course, she's fooling herself with that reassurance. It's not ''that'' obscure a statement. If Akechi hadn't needled her on whether her reassurances were enough, would she have felt so pressured to say it...?

When she meets Shinobu's eyes, in the wake of her denial, she certainly ''looks'' like she's just revealed a far more terrible secret than her preferences in African fauna. (For the record? ''Her'' favourite is the noble cobra.)

Ayame screams, though, and Yua feels a deeper stab of guilt that apparently she's ''added'' to her grief. She's too upset to properly appreciate Minako's Pyro Jack, though some part of her ''does'' recognise that it's shocking she has ''two'' Personas.

At least Myucchi is here to protect her, Yua thinks -- though she shrieks, as the sheer power of Shinjiro's shockwave washes past her and knocks her from her chair. (It might even be the very same chair she sat in, class of '07, as she gamely put her hand up in Health and Physical Education to cover for one of Miho's ''episodes'' -- only to be mercilessly bullied by her teacher for not knowing anything about the passage of blood through the heart. ... did you think she was good at that class, just because she's teaching it now?)

She grasps at the side of the chair, pausing, for a moment, to contemplate Umie's words. Every victim he leaves alive... learns more about him. If that's a given, then...

... she really shouldn't have stopped to wonder about that, though. If she'd been seated in her chair -- it might have been less ''obvious,'' the way Mediarama knits the open gashes on her back together, accelerates the healing process to angry red welts instead of bleeding slashes through her flesh. "Oh," she sighs, in relief, before her eyes widen and she gasps: "Oh--!"

She oughtn't be as relieved for the healing as Katsuya; she's not supposed to even be able to ''receive'' it.

She looks to the bag atop Sudou's head with her own eye, as he draws close enough to draw a blade from the darkness beside her.

He might get a strange, terrible, ''familiar'' feeling, looking at her this closely...

... that beneath that eyepatch...

... there are three pupils, not one.

And she is harried, looking to him, though the colour's returned to her cheeks.

Yua manages to lift herself back to her chair, to seat herself there again, though her hands clench tightly in her lap as she looks down to them.

"I... I didn't mean to..."

</poem>
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 117 Almighty damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Joker Wild.
AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 124 Almighty damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Joker Wild.

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
"But what about--" Ikkaku coughs, pushing himself up from the ground but not to a standing position, as Myunghon talks to him. What he was going to say is lost to the smoke for the moment. Yua is pushed by that blast, and Ikkaku goes for ''her'', not for the exit. "Ooshiro-san!" he calls. "You helped me, but now it's my turn! Let's get out of here!" He reaches her chair, crouched, and tries to offer his hand.

Ayame meanwhile hears from Shinobu. "I... I understand," Ayame answers her sister. Sudou is no longer trying to flirt with her though. He's talking to... himself? Ayame is not sure this is actually better. But Akechi is helping? Definitely helping. Not that she recognizes him as who he is, of course. "Oh, look out!"

For their future... That's what Ooshiro said.

The wall is broken. That's... not great. Ayame looks to Shinjiro in alarm. "!?"

But then there's--ah. That magic.

The card explodes, and Ayame is knocked backward, falling with the breath knocked out of her. "Oh--!"

She pushes herself up, wincing. "I'm... not dead?" she wonders. "...Well, in that case--"

She pushes herself to her feet, and looks to Yua and Ikkaku. "...Don't like lions, huh...?"

She moves to put herself between Sudou and both of them. She says nothing else to them yet. Instead, she breathes in. "OK!"

"Atropos, I'm counting on you!" Atropos whirls into being once again in blue light. "Yeo-san!" she calls. "Help my husband and--his friend!"

Then, Atropos approaches, rushing forward with a Shadowy hand outstretched--and purple light seeps into Tatsuya Sudou's location, with the sensation of something ''breaking''.

Then a blast of darkness erupts into a column right beneath him.
</poem>

AS: Ayame Watanabe spends Limit on Exploit! Ayame Watanabe can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Ayame Watanabe has used the Almighty skill Dark Break on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Aggression: Ayame Watanabe gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Ayame Watanabe has used the Dark skill Eiga on Tatsuya Sudou!

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Well unfortunately for them, their dirty laundry is being aired out in front of everyone." He says back to Umie, "I wonder who is responsible for that?" His eyes do fall upon Ayame, as if wondering if she did something she later regretted...

... but could it really be so simple?

Akechi was waiting to see if Shinjiro recognized him before speaking on the matter, but apparently he's the berserk sort of fighter. It doesn't surprise him that much... he remembers how he fought when they were children.

"... I quite agree." He says, although he's been flippant, this entire battle... it's personal to him, but as Shinjiro's berserk fury causes a shockwave that catches Yua in it, Akechi instructs sharply, "Take care that you don't do anything else you'll regret, Aragaki-san."

He does sound concerned about Yua in this moment, but - is that really the correct reaction? He's only ''delayed'' in moving towards her, as if Shinjiro reacting to it were more important.

Healing energy washes over him, and his masked visage looks over to Ririka, as he tells her back, "Why thank you. I could certainly get used to this." However, Sudou is then on him, calling him Pretty Boy, telling him that the Voices are saying he's right.

Robin Hood appears, interposing as the Old Maid's suffused body suddenly tries to impale him, and instead catches the muscular figure. The blade drives in, and the Persona's hands catch it from going so far it'd strike the 'Prince', before he shatters, and the Prince moves out of the way.

"I have little interest in what your own delusions tell you." The Prince asks him up close, as Sudou is treated to the Detective Prince touching his mask again, and Robin Hood coming forth in a flourishing spin, as he pulls back his arrow to hold it nocked over Prince's shoulder, resting on one of his epaulets.

As his voice lowers, to say something to him up close "Being told you're an embarrassment, and a failure... all the time, just like your Father once did. Doesn't it get ''tiresome''?"

As he smiles just smugly enough to show his white teeth. And a Holy Arrow of Light suddenly tries to impale Sudou back at point blank range, carrying the effect of ''persuasion'' that perhaps his words are even more correct.

"Perhaps it's time for you to take a long nap."

</poem>
AS: Persona! Goro Akechi has used the Pierce skill Holy Arrow on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Aggression: Goro Akechi gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako looks at Ririka, and she gives her an uncertain look. She doesn't know all of Shinjiro's recent activities, after all.

"If you're gonna help, well--I'll back you up! Kinda like old times, right?" Minako says to him, looking at Shinjiro -- and she catches herself smiling, as he calls out Castor. Even if his anger gives her pause for a moment.

She shakes her head, though, and then looks back at Old Maid.

"You don't get to trade people's lives," she tells Sudou. "What's wrong with you? That's sick!"

She calls out, then: "Persona! Go for it!"

Pyro Jack manifests again behind her. "Hee-HO!" the small Persona cries, darting side-to-side behind her, before throwing both hands out. The flame around Pyro Jack roils, intensifying. But before it, the air begins to mist -- and chill.

Then, a large spike of ice forms -- water condensing and freezing, in an instant -- and then it shoots forward like a missile, straight towards the Joker Killer.

But for all that she calls on ice, something fiery enters Minako's countenance. Her eyes blaze, angrily, and her hands ball into a fist. "You don't get to destroy any families, YOU BASTARD!"

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Water skill Bufula on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Ruin: Minako Arisato gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro's anger is enough to shake them out of their own fervour of analysis. "Shinjiro-ssi, watch out--!" they doubt he can hear right now. Castor's blow is so powerful it knocks them off their feet and has them sliding for a moment -- and they're forced to focus on defence as Sudou's flames engulf them, and forces them to abandon position and duck and roll. Even with Kudlak protecting them, they can still feel their scar tissue screaming, whatever of their nerves aren't already dead.

It reminds them of being burnt, and clawed, and stabbed, on that day, when the snow turned to rain. When Miho told them that whether they survive or die was not part of the job.

They chose to survive. It still feels like a mistake.

They're coughing violently as they get bowled over, as well, but nerves do fire in, and they pull themself to their feet in short order, one tendril from the Cognitive Coat grappling against rebar and broken concrete. "Not yet..." Back by Yua's side. That's their position this battle. Ririka's healing power washes over Yua, and there's a pause as they realise the opsec of the situation-- but gently nods, not wanting to draw ''attention'' to it.

Ikkaku finds his resolve, and urges Yua to evqacuate with him. "Go, Ikkaku-san, Yuarin, I'll cover you two...!"

Myunghon hasn't seen this side of Shinobu before. They're certain she can bare her fangs when she gets real mad, but it's still... scary isn't the word -- like it's leaving quite the impression on them. How must it feel, to know her older sister's been drawn into all this too? Was Reiko awakened too without them knowing, or will she be spared this fate?

The three sisters of Fate...

...

That thought makes them tremble, so they have to push it out of their mind. Umie's joining in, sharing that she, too, has a kindred mind -- they're getting closer, even with these losses, all the danger that they're in. They can't help but partake in that grin, wanting to relish it.

Because they have been made to feel scared and helpless too. Right now, in the midst of the supernatural, they can feel capable. Untouchable. They don't have to feel small and humiliated and embarrassed and helpless...

Myunghon doesn't even have to register the lion and lioness conversations. I mean, they know Yua and Miho are an item, no matter what the world tries to do! It's just a matter of fact, like the sky being blue or cheese fucking one up beacuse of tyramine...

Regardless. The most important part is observation, as they promised Sudou and Umie. And the Joker is living up to his... name? Shuffling cards, which explode with ephemeral, mythic force -- the Joker Persona... that sense of wrongness just seems to ripple and redouble. There's still so many rules they don't understand about Personae. Just what is it at the heart of the darkness behind the Joker?

Collate the data. Measure the variables. Synthesise and hypothesise.

That's all they can do. They are a Rumourmonger. Rumourmonger Merry is Hope. And hope... means being able to find the path even through the murky darkness, not unlike how a Navigator should be able to. Right?

"Stand strong... leave it to me, Watanabe-san," Myunghon affirms to Ayame, still manouevreing to not make Yua nor Ikkaku an easy target. "I'll guard them with my life."

Oh, how easy it is to say that. Their lives really are cheap, aren't they, Shinjiro? Knowing they must press the advantage, they focus Kudlak's power into a single point, a small ball of darkness at their fingertip. Not unlike a magician, their long, bony finger weaves it to and fro, as if to mask and obfuscate the point of attack -- and then, with a wave of their cape, the sphere of destruction comes roiling and dangerous -- especially doubled up with Ayame's own attacks...!!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Myunghon Yeo has used the Dark skill Dark Metamorphosis on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Take! Tatsuya Sudou takes 0 Almighty damage from Ayame Watanabe's Dark Break.
AS: Dark_Break added!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 126 Dark damage from Ayame Watanabe's Eiga. Weak!
AS: Blast added!

AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 94 Pierce damage from Goro Akechi's Holy Arrow.
AS: Charm added!

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>As Shinjiro's berserk shockwave *blows a hole through the wall* and pushes Sudou back, Yua is also caught in it... as soon as Sudou evades, he takes a moment to breathe. Don't let it happen again, Shinjiro...

"Fuck!" he exhales, especially as the masked man calls to him. "...yeah, I know..."

Even as Myunghon calls out and is blasted back, though... "Shit! Myunghon!"

A wave of fire, however, blasts over him before he can move to help them. The fire washes over, burning his sign as he blocks, which takes the brunt of the flames that lick him and force him to grimace. At least it's warm...

As the Prince calls out Sudou, though, Shinjiro's eyes widen. "...you're fucking kidding me," is all he says. Makes a lot of sense, though... he and Akechi have the same grudge. And if he can't fight through the police...

He can fight as a vigilante.

But even so, his words and impaling action... "Careful! Don't try to kill him!"

Yes, that's Shinjiro's priority now that he's becoming lucid. That's... still not something he wants to happen. For any of them.

Minako says they'll work together... he's scared of that, but in this moment, he nods. "Let's do it."

rHe rushes forward, summoning Castor once more with a click of the Evoker. Castor dashes forward, before *pulling the spear out of his chest*, slicing it at Sudou, and then stabbing it right back in there, reimpaling himself with both hands.

Then, Castor proceeds to push his horse at Sudou, who bites down on the closest limb! Castor is an asshole, apparently...

"Surrender, Old Maid! I won't let you get away with it again *like you did a decade ago*!"
</poem>

AS: Avoid Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 127 Water damage from Minako Arisato's Bufula. Weak!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki spends Limit on Exploit! Shinjiro Aragaki can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Slash skill Mind Slice on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Pressure: Shinjiro Aragaki gains 1 Limit!

AS: Persona! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Strike skill Feral Bite on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Haze removed!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Shinobu glances briefly at Katsuya as he makes a connection. ...Well, there's no point in hiding it, at this point. She nods.

"...Yeah." She confirms.

That look in Yua's eyes... It's enough to draw conclusions, enough to realise she may have tipped her hand more than she meant to. She considers it for a moment - and then nods, subtly, to herself, as if to reassure her that there's at least one person here who isn't going to judge her for that.

Ikkaku is trying to pull her away now, at least... but that doesn't mean they're out of the woods yet.

She nods toward Ayame, then focuses back to the fight - as it ''explodes'' out into the school hallway. She's more than prepared to follow Sudou out there - but first, she has to deal with his attacks. That sword lashes out twice and her staff raises to redirect it. One hit is shifted toward her shoulder, and the other catches her in the side. She exhales sharply, even with the attack dulled and the protection of her concealed armor. It's dangerous, even considering that.

She's in quiet agreement with Ayame that Sudou talking to himself is not any better.

It's true that this anger is rare for her, though, a different side - she's been mad before, certainly... but she's out for blood, now. Ayame and Ikkaku are both still alive... but he tried to hurt them. He went after her family. That's not something she can easily let go of. How easily, she gives herself over to revenge.

Lachesis frames Sudou in her hands, now, like Ayame before - but where she offered her an aura of protection, ''he'' will suddenly feel a sense of fragility fall over him if he can't escape it. And then she rushes at him, staff whistling toward him in a series of spinning strikes.
</poem>

AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Exploit! Shinobu Shimizu can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Strike Break on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!

AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Spinning Staff on Tatsuya Sudou! 3 Hits!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu: Psych removed!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"I see. Then, I will protect the both of you!" he declares, just like that, to Shinobu when she admits they're sisters. Does he get embarrassed, ever?
Well, yes, but not about declarations like that.

"That sword?!" Katsuya calls out, shocked not by its presence but the way in which it's been drawn out. "Miss! Are you all right?!" Meaning Yua, of course, who had the Joker Killer ''within inches'' of her with a sword at that.

He doesn't notice, in the chaos of the moment, what Yua's ''other'' reaction had been, namely, the reaction to Ririka's spell.

He's seen this attack before. Last time, it had left him floored. This time, he's ready for it, bracing himself there in the classroom--

He's not ready for it. Even experience hasn't been able to teach his body how to handle this attack. In the end, the only satisfaction that Katsuya can have this time around is that he's 'merely' left blinking away the bright spots in the spell's aftermath, that he's 'merely' found his body feeling near-completely enervated. He staggers, catching himself against the wall, then rights himself and just about shoves himself out into the hallway after Sudou. Now's not the time for his body to be this--! If he falls here, he'll never live down the shame.

It's an extremely illogical line of thought, which he'll realize only later.

But as long as he can keep going, perhaps that won't matter quite so much.

"No... your Persona will protect you now, ma'am," he tells Ayame, his gaze on the Joker Killer rather than her. "Even after a spell like that...!" He gestures sharply, his hand cutting through the air before him as if he held a blade. "Enough...! #501, you're not getting away! Helios, come forth!"

As so bid, Helios steps into this space. A cat of many talents, in one hand the Persona now produces a short gunpowder weapon that looks to be at least a century old, if not older. With this 'conception' of an archaic weapon, the Persona fires at the 'Old Maid' repeatedly.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Triple Down on Tatsuya Sudou! 3 Hits!
ARCANA: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Shift! Ayame Watanabe can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 158 Dark damage from Myunghon Yeo's Dark Metamorphosis. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 121 Slash damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Mind Slice.
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 105 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Feral Bite.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
It's okay, Yua. You're not the only one who can be bad at hiding they're gay sometimes! You're in good company.

But Ririka's doing her best to keep tabs, diverting her attention around the room... and she feels her magic take hold in Yua. "Oh! Sorry Miss, I--" She pauses, and then slowly turns to look at her. "... it worked...?" She shakes her head. Worry about that later.

Ririka glances to Katsuya. There's a flash of something uneasy as she takes in the detective... but he's trying to stop this. She can accept that, for now. "... Yeah. Welcome."

Just like she hadn't thought about healing Yua, she hadn't considered Katsuya until after.

The healer (Bard!) ''is'' still healing, and she doesn't look like she has any intention of stopping. "Hey, who are you even talking to, anyway?" The Joker Killer, for some reason, seems to keep talking to himself. She picks up 'the healer', though... and then recoils as she sees the Joker ''Persona'' appears. The mask is on, but... Ririka recoils, taking a step backwards. "Hey--watch out for that thing!" she says to everyone around her. "I don't know what it is but it's--I think it's dangerous." Well okay, all of their Personas are ''dangerous'', but even among the Persona she's seen so far, it's weird.

And then the playing card comes for her. "Wait--" She rocked back as the card hits and the explosion consumes her. She looses a step of ground, but when ti clears... she's still standing. Panting hard, but still standing. "Oh that smarts..."

She glances to Akechi. "Welcome! But if you really wanna thank me, ''that'' guy--" She jerks her head in Sudou's direction. "''Really'' doesn't like it, so if you can do anything to keep him off me, that'd be great."

Ririka glances to Minako and shrugs a little. "Maybe we should discuss it later?" she suggests.

But there's a lot going on, and she can only offer so much support. Her eyes scan the battlefield, checking on the health of everyone. "Amphion! Let's see if can keep mending those wounds continuously!"

Amphion strums his lire, and a gentle wave of glowing green light reaches out and settles on Shinobu, Ayame, Katsuya, and Myunghon. But this is a lingering energy, one that should provide continual healing, for at least a little bit.

But she's also playing her holographic keyboard, scanning the surroundings. Sudou's been blasted through a wall... She reaches out mentally to Umie and Minako. "There--I think you can take him by surprise if you come at him from this direction!"

After all, the hole in the wall isn't the only way to get to that hallway, is it?
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Wave on Shinobu Shimizu, Ayame Watanabe, Katsuya Suou,
and Myunghon Yeo!
ARCANA: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!

AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Take! Tatsuya Sudou takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Strike Break.
AS: Rage and Strike_Break added!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Minako Arisato can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 27 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 9 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Weak!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 7 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Weak!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> "Yeah, you got this," Umie offers, as an aside, to Ayame. "... Make it through this next bit. It gets a lot better, I promise."

Someone will have to make sure to tell Ayame about the Dark Hour, most likely, but that's for later.

The words of another Tatsuya ring in her head, as she watches the Old Maid confer, once again, with some other 'voice'.

She frowns, quietly.

"You *did* try to kill me," Umie finally comments, flatly, as Sudou seems to comment on her mouthiness. "At least once."

Sudou's resonance spikes; an alarmed Umie moves automatically. "Brace yourself," Umie hisses, eyes widening behind the holes of her mask. "It's coming!"

Every time it comes, it's a little less scary, but it still reminds her as she takes on the force of that exploding card..

It's only a matter of time

Shinjiro may have clued in to 'Prince-san's' identity, but Umie doesn't have information (and past history) to make any connections, even if she did hear exactly what Akechi said to Sudou.

No, there's something else that makes Umie turn her head as that Holy Arrow pierces through Sudou, sensing that weakness, but not the words that might have contributed to it.

And she pounces on it with a manner that's almost automatic in how smoothly it comes to her, especially as Ririka's voice guides her where and when to strike.

"Badb! Now!" Umie's coat shifts with the rapid gesture of her hand; Badb's red lips spread from that cupid's bow shape of a mouth, and then widen, issuing an alarming, rasping shriek.

The spiderweb red lace of Badb's glove shifts with a gesture of her palm, following the screech, another insult to injury. (Maybe, she's a little angry too, knowing what is driving Shinjiro here, as well as Katsuya.)
</poem>

AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 35 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Triple Down.
AS: Avoid Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 35 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Triple Down.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 31 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Triple Down.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Mudo on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 71 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Weak!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 82 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Mudo. Weak!
AS: Panic added! Charm removed! Explosion! 60 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"Got it, Kawase-san!" Minako calls out. Her eyes narrow, and then she focuses.

"Hee-ho!"

With another twirl -- and slightly less distinct, this time -- Pyro Jack appears behind her. Both of his hands come up over his head and pointed hat. The air, still misted and cold, condenses -- and a half-dozen small needles of ice take form.

Then they fire off, quickly, after the larger one she hurled at Sudou.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Water skill Bufu on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Ruin: Minako Arisato gains 1 Limit!

AS: Minako Arisato: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Vigor removed!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 61 Water damage from Minako Arisato's Bufu. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Goro Akechi spends Limit on Shift! Shinjiro Aragaki can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Sudou doesn't exactly take in all the details that are coming in, including the three eyes of Yua. However she does not go unseen, in fact she probably feels more seen then she ever really wanted to be seen. This is all followed by a pressure on his chest before darkness erupts under him. That darkness stings and he is getting rather pissed off at all these constant attacks. It's rude.

Then the would-be heroic pretty boy rushes in and for a moment Sudou wonders if this pretty boy with a mask is related to the other pretty boys with mask. Is this guy one of those damn fakes that is trying to steal the gig that would be his! It is all about to click together when Akechi gets in close and communicates on the down low to Sudou. This causes Sudou to stumble back and get knocked off his feet by Robin Hood's arrow. His head is swimming. His mind is racing with years of emotional trauma as he stumbles to his feet only to get knocked back off them by a giant icicle.

Standing slowly Sudou's bag is barely on, strands of blonde white hair are visible, but no face reveal yet. "Lives are meaningless this time around. It's all wrong anyways. However I will fix it, and when I fix it everything will be ok. Those that survive the correction will thank me." Sudou lumbers toward Shinobu but doesn't do anything. Instead it seems he is moving himself with a purpose. The Joker Persona has not disappeared either.

Even personas are bringing guns to the damn fight as Sudou does his best to shield himself but well archaic guns have lots of shrapnel. The detective should be lucky there are no bystanders, Sudou's blood is dripping on the classroom floor and at the moment it would appear DNA evidence is not going to be hard to gather.

Just as he is about to get to the center of the classroom, Myunghon's dark orb of destruction is sliced with the sword, but it only causes the magic to go off and dark magic is really hurting. Probably something to do with that pressure on his lungs. Then the spear of Castor comes at him and Sudou does his best to block the spear and dance around but more blood everywhere. "Surrender? Surrender he says." The Old Maid chuckles to himself as if he knows something everyone else doesn't.

In fact with Shinobu's attack it is almost like he is intentionally not moving much. As if he needs to be in a certain position for whatever is coming. The fragility is there, but if they could see Sudou's face he may actually be welcoming it. The dark magic from Umie doesn't help anything as it continues to eat away at him. Reminds him of those damn fakes with the fire.

The last straw seems to be one last icicle from Minako, though that damn healer gets a glare from Sudou.

Then the Joker Persona begins to move and speak, "The blood is paid, the gift is given." From the Joker's deck, he pulls a king of spades out of the deck and shows it to everyone. At the same time it looks like the tarot card, King of Swords. Sudou himself begins to glow with magic as his sword ignites on fire and a large blast of flames erupts from him catching everyone. His blood ignites on fire burning away his DNA from the scene. Then in that moment Sudou is gone, until he isn't. Simultaneously infront of everyone the Joker Killer appears, and his sword, covered in black flame, strikes everyone at the same time. Before he reappears where he was standing, out of breath.
</poem>

AS: Tatsuya Sudou spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou spends Limit on Reach!
AS: Persona! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Heat Wave on Minako Arisato, Umie Akabane, Ririka Kawase, Katsuya
Suou, Shinobu Shimizu, Shinjiro Aragaki, Myunghon Yeo, Goro Akechi, Ayame Watanabe, and Yua Ooshiro!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou takes 60 damage from Panic!
ARCANA: Aggression: Tatsuya Sudou gains 1 Limit!

AS: Tandem! Tatsuya Sudou has used the Fire skill Dark Fiery Fury on Minako Arisato, Umie Akabane, Ririka Kawase,
Katsuya Suou, Shinobu Shimizu, Shinjiro Aragaki, Myunghon Yeo, Goro Akechi, Ayame Watanabe, and Yua Ooshiro! 2 Hits!
AS: Tatsuya Sudou: Blast, Psych, and Reach removed!
AS: Take! Ayame Watanabe takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen added!
AS: Goro Akechi spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Ayame Watanabe spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Goro Akechi takes 35 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.
AS: Avoid Best! Ayame Watanabe takes 54 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Block Worst! Ayame Watanabe takes 80 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Weak!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ayame Watanabe takes 88 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Weak!
AS: Ayame Watanabe is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 44 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit!
AS: You have 2 more attacks in queue!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Goro Akechi takes 61 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Avoid Worst! Goro Akechi takes 74 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 41 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: You have 1 more attack in queue!
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen added!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 41 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Block Neutral! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 53 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 40 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Block Worst! Shinjiro Aragaki takes 57 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Block Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 54 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.
AS: Block Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 83 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Block Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 83 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Critical Hit!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Myunghon Yeo takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen added!

AS: Avoid Worst! Myunghon Yeo takes 104 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Myunghon Yeo takes 88 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Avoid Best! Myunghon Yeo takes 66 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Myunghon Yeo is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Minako Arisato takes 72 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Minako Arisato takes 63 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Minako Arisato takes 63 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
Perhaps Yua can talk to Shinobu about it, later. ... if there's a 'later' for them at all.

Umie's turned away from her; still, she 'hears' her voice, lambasting her. *How does it feel to see the fruits of your labour?* To Yua's ears, they're words cradled in quotations, spoken to her without even caring to look at such a shamed woman; but Umie's lips don't move, because Umie, in fact, said nothing at all.

The words are 'spoken' in Umie's voice... but the voice is in Yua's head, alone, a mocking echo of her own horror and guilt. She doesn't hear voices like Sudou or Umie do -- nor does a mysterious figure visit her dreams with fantastic visions of glory, like Miho. Yua's never heard 'him' speak a word to her... though she's heard the people ''around'' her say more than one thing they never would.

"It feels bad," she answers no prompt at all, looking down. "Really... I'm sorry." Her shoulders hunch, as she tightens further, looking to Katsuya. "I'm... I'm really the last person you ought to worry about, Suou-san..." Well, of course she knows his name, he's an officer of the law!

The Prince is concerned for Yua, but Yua really just feels the weight of her own ''guilt.'' How can she criticise Shinjiro for catching her in his blow? He'd do it far more intentionally if he knew the truth, she thinks.

She shakes her head, when Ririka wonders why the spell ''worked.'' "Surely you've heard... I don't like personal questions..." And she must realise how suspicious it looks, denying any shred of an answer, but what is she to do? It's a very hard rock, and a very solid place.

"Ah," Yua's voice catches, in her throat, as Ikkaku manages to pick himself up. "Watanabe-san... I was no help at all..." She just wanted to help, and look where her meddling's gotten her!

But she shakes her head, and somehow finds the resolve to take his hand. The important thing... is getting him to safety, isn't it? A man like Ikkaku won't save himself, so... "Let's go," she says, and her voice trembles more from fear than malaise, by now. (Poison of this kind works itself through the system, and fades.) "T--thank you, Myucchi..." She might not be able to call Remi or Miho to help them, but she knows Myunghon won't back down.

They helped save her, back then.

She stands, with Ikkaku -- and who is helping the other, in this scenario? Perhaps each tries to help the other, and between them, they get upright. Yua feels another stab of regret, hearing one of the youth yelling so keenly about family -- that poor Minako has to bear this, while she runs away. Still, for Ikkaku's sake, she starts to hurry towards the exit.

And... Shinjiro doesn't want him to die... despite speaking to his crimes, long ago. Yua grows a touch ashen, again, as she holds the pieces together in her head. The Powers that Be are invested in protecting the Joker -- the Joker was active a decade prior --

How long, she wonders, inside herself, has the world been up for sale?

How long have they poisoned the earth, as surely as poison seethed through her own veins?

How LONG --

-- of course it doesn't matter; she is not the kind of person obliged to ask these questions of the Powers that Be. They dwell; they remain, in perpetuity, unassailable and strong.

Luckily, Yua and Ikkaku are running ''away'' from the fire.

</poem>
AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 47 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave.
AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 73 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 64 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury.
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen added!

AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 29 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Heat Wave. Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 63 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 63 Fire damage from Tatsuya Sudou's Dark Fiery Fury. Critical Hit! Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
It gets better? Ayame looks at Umie like she's grown a second head. "Huh?" she asks.

But Shinobu ''is'' showing a different side of herself, one that Ayame now sees. "Ah!" she worries. But Katsuya says he'll protect them, and Ayame feels some relief. Not enough, though--not until Ikkaku is safe, and... that girl, Ooshiro, too.

"It will?" she asks. "All right. That's a relief..." Her Persona will protect her. And Ririka is helping! Her Persona's power settles over Ayame and helps her concentrate.

But Ikkaku looks at Yua, and shakes his head. "You protected me," he said, "Even at risk to yourself. That's helping." But Yua... is right. he won't leave her. He appreciates Myunghon's defense, as he goes with Yua. They can help each other.

Ayame, meanwhile... Faces fire. The threads fray. And the bloody flames suddenly approach--

"Ah," Ayame says, and her teeth close together. "...Ikkaku, I..."

Katsuya said her Persona will protect her. She's only fainting, right? It's not the end.

The sword clatters to the ground as Ayame crumples.

"AYAME!" Ikkaku calls, and he is no longer running from the fire at all. Better help the Watanabes!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
"I'm-- I'm fine," Myunghon feels annoyed, but not at Shinjiro, but at themself, because they wanted to keep the controlled, calculating face to really pressure the Old Maid with. But plans are made to not survive enemy contact... right? That's what makes them plans.

You can't have your keikaku and eat it too.

Shinjiro roars how Sudou got away with 'it' a decade ago. ... A decade ago? Yukari's words are flashing to their mind. ''It's more like... ten years ago or so.''

... why? Is it coincidence? Is anything ever a coincidence these days? Is everything connected? They're going to drown if they start to link their variables that way. Control groups, Myunghon! Theories are useless if you start to muddy everything! Your hypothesis will just be empty, hot words.

What is it about Shinobu being out for blood that makes them so scared? It goes beyond just seeing them so angry for really understandable reasons. Why does their chest ache so much?? It's not Sudou's sword, or his fire... even if they're an incredible threat still. That nausea and injury starts to heal, however, thanks to Ririka's healing.

But whatever bravado and confidence they could muster up -- whatever distractions and threads were spiderwebbing out in their head, whatever hypot

hesis and varaibles they thought they could control -- the game is suddenly not theirs, as Sudou's *Persona* start to speak.

The blood is paid. The gift is given.

Myunghon's eye widens as they notice that platinum-blonde hair of Sudou's -- but they can't see their face. Lives are meaningless... it's all meaningless? It was the wrong choice to survive. Myunghon readies themself for something treacherous, something big and dangerous-- they've got to guard Ikkaku and Yua with all their might--

That drowning sensation is back.

They can't breathe, the moment Sudou is suddenly in front of them, in the blink of an eye -- their body is on fire again, bandages catching aflame and revealing horrible, mangled scar tissue underneath, unwittingly something that they and Sudou shared. Once shared. Kudlak attempts to dutifully body-block the sword wreathed in dark flame but--

CRACK

--the sword slices through Kudlak, and their Persona shatters into a million pieces.

"W-what--?"

They weren't playing his game this entire time. Myunghon wasn't even a millimetre off the rails that'd been laid off in front of them. Their Persona shattered, the rest of flame and steel digs into their torso, and the awful, acrid smell of scorched blood splatters onto the desk. They're staring at their own blood, pupil dilated.

"Run, Yuarin, Ikkaku-san..."

They couldn't control the variables after all.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Shinjiro recognizes him, and now 'Akechi' because indeed, he knows it's Akechi, merely smiles at him, "It did take you long enough." He says, with a sort of dry tease.

But in a sense, he was looking out for him though, wasn't he? By telling him to watch himself... before he did something he regretted.

"Oh don't worry it'll take far more than this to kill ''him''." Is his response to Shinjiro, as he then addresses Sudou, "You can take this much, can't you, monster? And more besides... you rely so much on everyone ''holding back'' out of fear they might kill you."

Perhaps Ririka may get the impression that the 'Prince' is doing just that, keeping them off her by ''distracting'' the Joker Killer.

And yet, Sudou still stands, he says lives are meaningless. The Prince - or perhaps 'The Crow' sweeps his saber out, stalking towards him.

But he can feel the rising power within him, the sudden surge, and suddenly he places his hand to his mask again. This time, as as the heat wave comes, he suddenly bends over double, as Sudou comes at him, he avoids one slash.

"You can't set anything right. You're just a pathetic arsonist..." Then a second, as he suddenly moves as fast as an ink blur, a red and white smear on reality, "... who has to work up the courage to even look his victims in the eye!"

There's real anger there now, fury in those eyeholes suffused by blue flame. He knows his case file, he knows it ''far too well''. And his last slash, burns a hole across the front of his up to now, mostly singed garb.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Ikkaku and Yua run... and then Ayame fainting... and the flames, still burn, and the man still stands.

Placing a hand on his mask, he says softly, dangerously, "Are you quite finished?" And as it bursts into a butterfly of flame, he extends his arms skyward, as if in a celebratory pose even as Robin Hood arises, "Take this then..."

Robin Hood raises his bow, and fires up. And it's like an ephemeral arrow passes through the rooftop, and then a multitude of spherical orbs appear through the rooftop, and around the Joker, before each one fires beam after beam into his exhausted body.

"My proof of JUSTICE!"

</poem>
AS: Persona! Goro Akechi has used the Almighty skill Proof of Justice on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
ARCANA: Aggression: Goro Akechi gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"Lives aren't meaningless! And whatever correction you're planning... I don't want any part of it!" Minako shouts back at Sudou. But then he pulls out a card -- and she blinks.

Then her eyes go wide, as flame erupts around him. "Look out, everyone!" she shouts.

The Joker Killer sweeps his blade out. Flame slams into her, smashing Minako backward -- she gets hurled into and through a desk, knocking it to pieces. The desktop clatters on the floor, before she slams bodily into the wall. She looks over, towards where Ayame fell -- and where Ikkaku is running.

Then, she looks back at the Joker Killer. Minako raises her Evoker, hand trembling -- then steadying.

She doesn't fear death.

"I won't let you," she says. "If this is fixing something... then I'll break everything, you bastard."

She pulls the trigger again. Her head sways to the side, blue glass and light spraying the ground before they vanish. Then her head jerks up, and she shouts: "VALKYRIE!"

Horse hooves clatter onto the ground. A woman on horseback, clad in gold armor, appears -- and looks down balefully at the Old Maid. She swings her spear back -- and then ''slams'' the blade down with a mighty chop across his body.

</poem>
AS: Minako Arisato spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Slash skill Mighty Swing on Tatsuya Sudou!
AS: Minako Arisato: Psych removed!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 39 Almighty damage from Goro Akechi's Proof of Justice.
AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 36 Almighty damage from Goro Akechi's Proof of Justice.
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 24 Slash damage from Minako Arisato's Mighty Swing.

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>As the roiling flames wash over not once, not twice, but multiple times, Shinjiro is bodily thrown back. He forces himself up in the end, but there's a ragged breath, as he listens to Akechi. More than that, huh...

But as Myunghon thrashes, and Ayame and Ikkaku are in danger, Shinjiro has to make a decision. He sweeps forward, his melted sign-head being *tossed* at Sudou as a striking pole, before Castor comes forth to cover both the pole and his proceeding stomp with pure darkness, blitzing into Sudou using Akechi's opening.

Shinjiro isn't even looking at him though. Because when you have to choose what to focus on, and only one thing matters to him...

"Myunghon! Watanabe!"

He's bodily shielding those who went down. If Sudou's gonna kill them... he'll have to get through him. And he won't flinch in the face of it right now.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Strike skill Headhunter on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
ARCANA: Pressure: Shinjiro Aragaki gains 1 Limit!

AS: Tandem! Shinjiro Aragaki has used the Dark skill Cursed Sword on Tatsuya Sudou! 2 Hits!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Atk_Up, Crt_Up, Def_Up, Spd_Up, and Vigor removed!
AS: Shinjiro Aragaki regains 20 HP from Regenerate!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"What the hell...? Meaningless...?" Shinobu asks, shaking her head. "What are you ''talking'' about? Do you even hear yourself?"

He walks right ''through'' her attack. Like it doesn't matter to him how beat up he gets. Something's more important than that - and then it happens.

A card is drawn, and Sudou glows - and ''disappears''.

"Where-" She starts.

There he is. Fire ''erupts'' outward and Shinobu braces herself. But -

"Ayame!" Shinobu calls out, as she sees her sister fall. "...You...!"

She wants to kill him. Rage takes her, and she readies to lash out - but in that moment, she isn't ready for the follow up. His blade overwhelms her and she's driven to her knees, with only her staff keeping her from collapsing.

She has to protect her sister. She has to...

...Her body won't move. For as much as she wants to fight back, and defiance gleams in her eyes... it's taking all her strength to stay upright. She can only shield Ayame with her body, now.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"But-- you're wounded," he gets out in response to Yua, in those few moments that exist for him to do so. With no time to attend to her wounds, or the ability to even try to do some magically (does he know that won't work on someone with a Persona), he'll have to trust that she's alright in here as long as the Joker Killer is driven out.

There is a gift of life, once again, cast forth from that girl's Persona. It's energy, the ability to go on, a rare commodity in this moment of moments. "My thanks!" he calls to Ririka again.

Long strands of blond hair are visible, but the man's face is still hidden behind the tattered fragments. The face behind it-- can it really be the person that Baofu had suggested it was...? Perhaps he'll see for himself -- perhaps he'll be able to confirm it one way or another.

Assuming, of course, he doesn't die here and take the man's identity to the grave.

Heat, palpable and terrible, erupts from the man's blade. Even with Helios' blessing, Katsuya staggers. In the instant that follows, the Joker Killer vanishes.

"Wait--"

Except, the man hasn't vanished at all. Here he is, impossibly duplicated, that burning blade already falling.

The blade, burning with the fuel that is #501's blood, needs to only catch Katsuya once, cutting him right across the torso. His sidearm falls from his grasp as the illusion vanishes.

Katsuya himself falls to his knees, clutching at his own injury as the man reappears, clearly winded.

He's--

"Not... here!" Katsuya grits out, snatching up his sidearm as he forces himself up. Standing now, he can see the destruction wrought. "...No!" Myunghon. And-- both of them. Ayame. Shinobu. He'd said he'd protect them both! To have failed...!

If his hand is shaking as he trains his firearm upon Sudou this time, it's not because of his wounds. It's not even because of fear.

Rather, he's absolutely livid.

"Enough! I won't let you get away with this, anymore! Take this...!"

And it's not so much that he shoots at Sudou (though he definitely also does that) as it's his Persona that comes roaring across the distance between that points them both stand, flame roaring behind it like a sun that never sets.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Katsuya Suou has used the Fire skill Midnight Sun on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Yua sees Umie as her accuser, though the real Umie is nonethewiser.

It wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened, but it is the first that this Marked soul was used as an avatar for Yua's 'enjoyment'.

Once, twice, thrice; Umie's reflexes are her only salvation. Each hit connects, but not fully.

And with it, come the aftereffects.

"shitshitshi--" there's flame on Umie's mask: real flames, forcing her to toss her mask aside. The coated paper maiche has met its match.

Anyone who didn't clue in, either from her Persona, or due to other tells, would be able to tell who Umie is now...

.... if indeed this face is familiar at all. It's fine.

She doesn't seem particularly bothered, since, well, it's near the end.

No time to be paranoid, or think about how something sounds oddly familiar about this particular Mask-san...

No, it...

... Doesn't matter, right now. Better to digest that information later.

Sensing Myunghon collapsing nearby, Umie doesn't pull back to help her--

No, more like, she's taking that baton. "Katsuya-san--" She'd say 'cover me', but he's doing it already, only leaving behind that slip of her using his first name.

Again, after a brief blip of resonance, Badb's form is there, and is with Umie, as she disappears the moment everyone's attention is elsewhere.

"Not getting away this time--" she gasps, the blade of her weapon attempting to cut against Sudou's back.

</poem>
AS: Tandem! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Seeker in the Dark on Tatsuya Sudou!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Correction? What are you even talking about..." Ririka's been trying to figure out this Joker Killer guy and nothing he says makes any sense to her... but she can't help but set a more determined expression on her face at that last stare for the 'healer'.

'The blood is paid.' Ririka blinks. "Guys? Did that Persona just talk? Personas don't do that, right...?" But she's a lot sturdier than she gives herself credit for. Flahses wash over everything, burning them but also cleaning up evidence, apparently, and Ririka tries to shift herself behind a desk to let it take the worst of it. But then...

Sudou appears right in front of her, and all she can do is backpedal, arms bracing as that sword lashes out at her. "Ghh--" Black flames cover the sword, and blue flames spill out from the magical wounds as she takes the brunt of the attack. But she staggers and slumps against a desk, suddenly feeling very weak, with barely energy to stand.

She almost slides down to the floor before her arms catch her. "This is still so freaky that I can survive that," she mutters under her breath to herself. It's only her third fight, after all.

She glances over to Yua as her reply is... that she doesn't like personal questions. Has she heard? "... no? Um, should I have?" Blink. "Oh, that's another question, sorry! You don't have to answer that!"

She might've heard about the new dance instructor but she's never met her!

Annnd, Ayame's fainting. Ririka winces a little. Crap. She remembers that. And her--husband, Ririka is guessing doubles back. "We'll protect her! But that guy's still after you, right? Get... get out of here!"

She struggles to push herself up, weighing her options. Akechi is distracting Sudou, seemingly, but... a guy who can teleport to everyone at once is kind of hard to keep from attacking.

She glances at Minato as she gets mad and summons yet another Persona. "Damn, Arisato-san," she mutters. That's pretty amazing.

She glances to Katsuya and nods just a little. "Yeah."

She pushes herself up, leaning heavily against the desk for support. "Alright. You don't want me healing? Then I'll play a little rough. Amphion..." she says with a haggard breath before lifting a hand to point at Sudou. "Magnara!"

Amphion struims his lyre, and at his behest a large cluster of floating rocks lift from the ground. With another strum the giant cluster is sent flying at Sudou, hoping to drive him off once and for all!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magnara on Tatsuya Sudou!
ARCANA: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!

AS: Ririka Kawase: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Vigor removed!
AS: Avoid Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 70 Fire damage from Katsuya Suou's Midnight Sun.
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 54 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Headhunter. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 54 Strike damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Headhunter. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Block Best! Tatsuya Sudou takes 52 Dark damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Cursed Sword. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Block Worst! Tatsuya Sudou takes 36 Dark damage from Shinjiro Aragaki's Cursed Sword. Weak!
AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 11 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Seeker in the Dark. Weak!
AS: Block Neutral! Tatsuya Sudou takes 48 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magnara.

<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Sudou is standing there, but in a funny way he is just standing there. That is till the Crow Prince comes to show him his proof of justice. The Joker persona suddenly acts as if he is controlling a puppet and Sudou raises his sword to try to deflect as many beams as possible, but well, many beams makes it hard to block everything.

The Joker moves Sudou's hand through the invisble puppet strings to block Valkyries strike and slides across the ground. The Joker grins and Sudou lumbers forward, towards Ayame and Shinobu. No word said, and his movements seem heavy.

The Joker tries to pull Sudou out of the way of the bullet that turns out to be the sun, fired by Suou. However it's not a clean dodge, instead Sudou's arm is definitely burnt. This puts the Joker Killer infront of Shinjiro and, well once again he tries to guard the attacks from Castor and Shinjiro. It's more evident now though that Sudou's arm is moving in odd angles. Can even his arms move like that?

This seems utterly proven as not being humanly possible when Umie's attack comes from behind and Sudou's arm bends unnaturally to deflect it. The Joker persona waves his hand at her. Then Sudou continues to lumbar towards Ayame.

Again that sword and probably dislocated arm tries to deflect the rocks, but it is actually aiming at the sharp rocks. The duller rocks, despite size seemed allowed to hit sudou.

Finally he is standing infront of Ayame's body, and The Joker and The Joker Killer raise their arm together. " You have been chosen to replace his name." The voice echos, as if Sudou's voice is coming from himself and The Joker. Then his shadow expands, to encompass the sword that Ayame stole, and The Joker, The Joker killer and all his swords disappear into the ground.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
Ikkaku looks behind him, and he's ''very'' lucky he isn't Minato, in that moment; that's the kind of behaviour which gets your wife trapped in the underworld ''forever,'' Ikkaku. "Ah -- Watanabe-san, wait!" Yua cries, whirling around to try and catch him --

Unfortunately, when ''she'' looks back, she sees Kudlak shattering. "MYU''CCHI!''" She screams, her voice tearing from the grief of it, as she rushes back to their side, throwing herself over their body as she embraces them tightly. "Oh, Gods," she trembles, as if she could hold them together, "what do I do? What do I..." Her voice hitches, in a sob, as she clutches them tighter.

She could invoke her Eye, plunge the noise of Sudou's Mark to her own silence, and perhaps if she drowns she will fall deep enough to grasp the edges of her own potential. She could fire her Evoker, bring Gretchen to the world, hide Myunghon from anyone who would harm them, trap the Joker in a maze of his own sick desires. She could... she could...

She could do a thousand things, but it's just as she said; she is neither strong nor brave. The horrific calculus, in her head, is knowing that Myunghon will survive their injuries... just like she will, despite all Katsuya's worries. (Ririka's healing will certainly help.) She can't help these people, standing in opposition to them all. Even calling it 'her power'... it's not her call at all.

"Myucchi," she cries, instead, burying her face at their shoulder. "I'm here, I'm here... I've got you..."

She's a touch too distracted to realise she's bamboozed Ririka with her allergy to ''questioning,'' let alone to witness the inhuman reactions of the Joker. She covers Myunghon with her own body, but luckily, the others are able to finish driving him off... though not before declaring his continuing grudge against ''Ayame.''

She tried to help kill Suou-san and Hamade-san to cover for the Joker, and now... he's promised to kill the woman she wanted to help.

... worse... will that even be the last time she aids him?

Yua's eye grows shadowed, as she glances down, to the wounds on Myunghon's body.

"..."

It feels so hollow when she says, "... thank you... everyone."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako slumps back against the wall, breathing hard, after that last attack. She looks at the Joker Killer -- and she tenses. But Sudou vanishes before Ayame, with his blades, and then she relaxes slightly. Her eyes turn towards Yua, then she nods.

"Y-Yeah, glad we could help," she says. "That... that was a lot."

She swallows. "We better make sure everyone's okay."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Is even Goro Akechi surprised by how much punishment he takes, ultimately?

Perhaps not, it's hard to say given what he said earlier.

He watches him lumber forward, with a luminous blade at the ready, and then... he declares that Ayame Watanabe has replaced Ikkaku Watanabe.

As he vanishes into Shadow, there is a hand upon his chin...

... like he's lost in thought, even as the fires burn around him. Then, wordlessly, he brings out a charm. Some kind of cognitive item perhaps, and a Maraqua spell sloshes around the room to put the fire without harming anyone other than perhaps lightly soaking some folks.

"Until next time... then."

He says, as if promising something to the killer, who's departed, before turning to Yua, crying over Rumormonger Merry's body.

"There's an infirmary on the first floor." He says to her, "I certainly don't mind carrying them there for treatment."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ayame Watanabe has posed.
<poem>
Ikkaku, still injured but quite alive, looks up as the Joker makes his proclamation over Ayame. "You--You monster!" he calls. "You won't get away with this!"

he covers Shinobu who covers Ayame, and Yua covers Myunghon in turn. But when it's over...

"..."

"Thank you everyone," Ikkaku breathes, "And, officer..."

He looks to Katsuya "...You, too. If you could..."

He looks to Yua, "...Call the emergency services," he suggests, and lowers himself down, taking his wife's hand.

"I would... appreciate it."

He will need help to get out, but he's sure alive.

Thanks to those here.

"...Infirmary's a good start, too," Ikkaku says to the masked boy.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.
<poem>As the Joker Killer escapes, Shinjiro kneels near Yua and Myunghon. He nods to Yua, who clearly knows them better if she called them by a nickname. "I'm not leaving until they're feeling better," he says, though he won't push into Yua's space.

Though, as Ikkaku says to call the emergency services, Shinjiro wagers a guess. "...I don't think they'd like that very much if we made them go. Kawase, you got the energy for a strong heal?" He's going to advocate *against* taking Myunghon to a hospital... he'd want the same thing if he was in their shoes.

He'll have to talk to Ikkaku (and perhaps Ayame) again. Normally, he doesn't pry into the motives of Joker Killer victims being targeted... but Ikkaku gave him his seal. He has to make up for that.

Did Ikkaku not know he was in danger...? It's a mystery.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Shinobu stares up at Sudou, desperately pleading for her body to move. Ikkaku is covering ''her'', now, even they they all went here to protect ''him''...

She curses inwardly to herself. This happened last time, too - she stood up to a foe that was more than she could handle...

She can't do anything as she declares Ayame replacing Ikkaku's name. The Joker Killer's shadow expands - and then, he's gone.

Shinobu punches the floor.

"Damn it...!" She hisses to herself, looking back toward Ayame. ...Rage gives way to concern, then. ...As long as she's alive, as long as they're all still alive... It's fine.

She'll just have to get stronger.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
Yua sniffs, looking up to the Prince -- turning her head, so that she can see him from the side of her which can see at all. Ikkaku's suggestion fills her chest with dread, but she's not quite sure how to ''protest,'' focusing on the helpful boy in costume instead. "T-thank you," she says, laying a hand on the ground to push herself up onto her heels so that she isn't blocking Akechi's route to Myunghon any more. "You're so kind..."

She tries -- though largely ''fails'' -- to smile to Shinjiro, too. "As are you," she says. "You're really... a gentle boy, aren't you...?" What a strange thing to say, when he knocked her down.

Luckily, Shinjiro has the words Yua doesn't, on the topic of the ambulance. "It's hard for them," she says, her voice sallow. "At least... until they can wake up and decide for themself... let's make sure they don't get wrapped up in it, okay?"

She bows her head, to Ikkaku. "But -- but I'll call one for Watanabe-san right away, just..."

Yua pauses, looking at the wrecked phone on the ground.

"... um... I'll need to, borrow your phone..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie grits her teeth as her own contribution is denied, with a cheeky wave from that Persona. "Ghhh!"

Her body is reaching its limit, however; the pain in her chest is beginning to fall to a consistent pattern, reminding her to stop.

She collapses onto a desk, panting, as Sudou moves towards Ayame.

Just another strike, and maybe...

... and then, Sudou disappears. Prince-san gets rid of the lingering fire, which makes her job much easier, in turn.

She honestly seems surprised that she's the one that's able to stand. She takes a long minute to pant, closing her eyes to steady her breathing and the dizziness in her head.

"Can't do much on my end, but Shrouding seems to heal a little," she rasps, though when Badb comes out, it's to slightly heal her.

Yes, this is how Umie heals herself: slowly.

"I got a phone. Need to catch my breath first, though."

She looks towards Minako. "He's not a serial killer for nothing... but I'm surprised. There were demons, this time."

'This time'? "... It was just him, in Shibuya."

Whatever else she has to say, though, will have to wait. They have people they need to get stablized, and Umie needs to save her breath, now that the danger is over. "There'll be a next time. Don't worry," she rasps, softly.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
"Get away from her!"

In the end, it's futile. The killer takes what is his from Ayame, then vanishes, leaving behind the chaos wrought in the 'Old Maid's' wake. She's taking her husband's place?

Katsuya stands there in the aftermath, waiting one minute, two, three--

#501 is gone. Even that oppressive aura has vanished. Slowly, he holsters his sidearm, then moves quickly to check on the seriously wounded among them. They're alive, but they need help. "Yes," he tells Ayame's husband. He's already pulled out his phone.

The masked boy suggests he could take someone down to the infirmary. "Actually, see if someone's there and have them come here," he tells him, already dialing emergency services. "If not, bring what you can find up here. There should be a first aid kit down there." Maybe they'll even have shock blankets, but he won't hold his breath.

He stands then, walking away a few paces as he makes the call.

"Yes, hello, this is Sergeant Suou of the Konan Department. I'm at Seven Sisters High School. There's been an attack..."

(Someone, somewhere along the line will have to remind him that he, also, counts as one of the wounded, because caught up in the moment, he appears to have forgotten this.)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
What is going ''on'' with that guy? Is the Persona seriously puppeting him? That's... that's not how that's supposed to work, right? You're in control of the Persona.

(Nobody tell her about Yumi or Shinjiro.)

But she sags against the desk as the Joker Killer declares... that Ayame is now tha target in her husband's place. "Dammit..." She doesn't know how these 'Rumors' work but can he really do that?

... Not that she wants Ikkaku to be in danger, but... she'd feel better if she knew what was going on.

And then he vanishes. Ririka takes a few deep breaths, looking around at all the destruction... and the wounded. "Damn..." she mutters. She looks to Shinjiro and nods. "Yeah. Just... gotta catch my breath a bit more." She looks to Ikkaku next. "I'll heal them too, but... Watanabe-san is probably going to need some time to rest, if that was her first time..."

Once she catches her breath she gets up and makes her way over to where Yua is kneeling over Myunghon, kneeling down herself. "Don't worry Miss," she says gently. "I'll help them."

She's kind of on her last legs, but she's still got enough energy in the tank to spare for one last heal. "Amphion... Mediarama." Amphion strums his lyre as healing energy washes over the most injured people in the room... including, of course, Myunghon and Ayame. Amphion fades away, and Ririka lets out a long sigh. She offers Yua a hopefully reassuring smile. "Are you feeling better?" Then, a bit apologetically. "Sorry, I know you don't like questions..."

But he glances over to Katsuya as he calls in the attack, frowning a bit. "... Iiiii dunno if I wanna stick around for reinforcements to show up," she mutters to herself. She's already quietly trying to stash her Evoker away in the bottom of her backpack, too.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Akechi ''was'' about to pick up Myunghon, when Officer Suou indicates he shouldn't, causing him to pause:

"Well, I was concerned for structural damage from the fire and removing them further from a potentially unsafe scene but - I can certainly see your point."

Certainly he's not ''back talking'' a police officer of Sumaru's finest or questioning their judgment. That would be unthinkable.

"I'll be right back." He says to Yua instead, quite kindly, as he makes the walk. It's only once he's out of sight of everyone that he sags somewhat against a wall, touching a hand to the slash mark across his jacket.

With an angry look and a growl beneath his breath, he forces himself to stand up straight, and continues the journey there to the infirmary and back.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
<poem>
Myunghon's drowning.

Not drowning in... what smells like beautiful, familiar chlorine... why is that the only smell that still exists to them in the world? Chlorinated water, like disinfectant. Everything sounds like it's being filtered through wool in their ears. Ikkaku's crying out for his wife. Yua's calling out for them. Did they fail? They can't feel the lower side of them at all... they're scooped in by her sobbing face, resting on their shoulder.

It feels... nice, somehow. Like they can forget about their worries for a moment. For a moment, their confusion even makes them wonder if they're back in high school, and they just had a strange dream all this time.

After all, someone -- they can't see that it's the masked Prince -- mentions an infirmary. But that point, a pulse of fear still manages to flow through their body. They don't want to go back... they don't want to go back to that white place. Shinjiro, despite the fact that Myunghon's never communicated that before, understands. ''Yua'' understands hospitals frighten Myunghon. And other services that mean they get Put In The System. But hospitals are extra complex.

Shinobu's anger still pulsates through in waves. Rage, flowing to concern. Ayame... how's she doing? She has to survive too. Katsuya is taking charge. He always takes charge. He believes in the good of the public service. Everyone he works with is a good person... aren't they?

Then -- their Resonance senses Amphion over their dulled ones -- and they can feel healing energy stream into them. The cut -- which horrifically already was cauterised thanks to the presence of magic flame -- is already looking much better. Their gray eye flutters open slowly.

"Yuarin...?" Myunghon rasps. They catch a glimpse of Akechi's red mask somewhere in their periphery. The words 'unsafe scene' rings in their head. "... they're right. This isn't a safe place. Where's-- where's Ayame, where's Ikkaku..." They heard him shouting earlier. "Shinobu...?"

They shut down a little after the burst of questions, because that's their brain trying to accelerate at a thousand kilometres out of fear and concern and finding itself starved because the body has no energy because it's devoting all its power to keeping itself alive, ''Half Light''.

... they want to smell like disinfectant right now. That's the only smell... they've ever had, one way or another.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yua Ooshiro has posed.
<poem>
Yua tries not to call attention to Mediarama affecting ''her.'' "Thank you for helping them," she says, demure, without meeting Ririka's eyes.

"Thank you," Yua says, again, to the Prince... and she won't see Akechi's grimace.

She nods to Umie, as well. "Thank you... ah," she pauses, as she looks to Katsuya. "O-officer..."

Yua grasps Myunghon's hand. "Don't worry," she tells them, though her voice still wavers. "We've got you."

And between those of them who'd rather not stick around, they'll get Myunghon to a place safer for ''them''... and she'll escort Shinobu's staff to the Cardboard Dragon, too.

... Ayame, Shinobu, and Ikkaku will be taken care of by the people Katsuya summons, Yua's sure.

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-10-17: Hell Hath No Fury

2025-10-20T02:45:54Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: Hell Hath No Fury''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai, Goro Akechi *'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building *'''OOC Date:''' October 17, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' July 27, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Akechi approaches Maria to ask to speak to her in private -- oh, but it's not that. It's not that at all. It's the start of something else, isn't it?'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed. <poem> Today's finals are... finally over. Ru..."

*'''Log: Hell Hath No Fury'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Goro Akechi]]
*'''Where:''' Seven Sisters High School - Classroom Building
*'''OOC Date:''' October 17, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' July 27, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Akechi approaches Maria to ask to speak to her in private -- oh, but it's not that. It's not that at all. It's the start of something else, isn't it?''

----

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Today's finals are... finally over.

Rubbing the back of her left calves with her right shoe, Maria stares intently at the bulletin board on the first floor. She takes a sip from the can of tea she'd purchased and keeps on staring at the ads and announcements, and all the ephemera of school life. They'd lost the track meet while she had been in the hospital -- but of course, that clipping's long gone from the board. She knows where it would have been, though. Right---

There. Right where she's pointed, even though she's alone, right at that half-empty space that's partially covered by the theatre club's weeks-old flyer about the school play.

Even if she hadn't quit, they would have still lost. Right? She would have been in the hospital anyway. So, it's not her fault.

Except for Haruka, no one else really wants to talk to her.

Track club's supposed to be cursed, anyway, though. ...So it's not her fault.

That frown on her face, however, may suggest another story. Slowly, Maria lowers her hand. This is part one of her Junior year, and next year, she'll be a Senior. And then--

And then what?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
It's very easy to sneak up on someone while they're abstracted. Goro Akechi perhaps did not mean to in that sense of ''stalking'' her. Absolutely not.

It's just, you know... if he's approaching, and she's lost in thought, he's going to take advantage of that!

Because why not?

He too, understands what it's like to get lost in thought over... well, he's not about to confide that.

"You're Sakurai-san, I take it?" Comes a voice from right behind her, and behind her, a smiling affable boy next door.

His hair messy - but messy in that roguish 'I'm not trying too hard' masculine way, when in reality, not a single lock of hair is out of place.

His uniform so neat and tidy that one might wonder if he was sweating at all in the heat of taking today's finals.

His tie loosened just enough that it did not seem ''effortless'' either.

"I was hoping that I might run into you." He says, so very casually. Words that so many might wish to hear from him. You see, Goro Akechi is rarely around school.

It's a disappointment to his many fans on campus, of both his status at Seven Sisters - and as a celebrity Detective. They say he has some sort of arrangement with the administration because of the importance of his work.

But here he is, now, saying that he was hoping he might run into ''her''.

"I don't suppose you'd have time for a private chat?" He asks, as if confirming whether she has other plans, knowing fully well she certainly has no plans in the state she's currently in... other than perhaps going home and putting in a last minute futile effort at cramming for tomorrow's test.

"I do promise to make it worth your while."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
She'd ''promised'' Yurie she'd meet her at the new crepe place at Lotus Mall. She's already late, and she's getting later. She should probably text her already, say that something came up. Again. At this rate, even her oldest friend won't want to talk to her anymore, and Maria finds that she just doesn't care--

But she's not alone here anymore, now is she?

"Ah?!" she gasps, whirling around so fast it's a miracle she doesn't hit him with her long ponytail. "Yes, that's me! I'm Maria Sakurai, class 2-C, ummmm," she says, as it finally clicks for her who she's talking to. "Oh! Akechi-sempai! You're never in school!"

If what he's heard is correct, she was like this ''before'' the accident, too. So it's probably not because of a head injury.

His next statement surprises even her, though. "Really? Me? But I'm," she starts, then stops, then looks him over again.

...This can't be a come-on. He's the perfect student, at the top of all his classes, right? Does he even have time for girls? Besides, all his fans would kill her. She wouldn't blame them for it, anyway.

So instead, she tilts her head to one side, almost playing the part of coquette, and asks, "Why? You don't need a study partner, right?" And if he wanted a study partner, she's probably one of the worst people he could pick-- well, outside one subject, where Maria's scores shine against the odds. "I tried cramming last night, you know, but I just fell asleep. It would have been better if I just went to bed. I had a crease on my face and everything! So you probably mean something else." But what, her expression betrays, ''would'' that be?

...Something he wants to tell her in private? Maria blinks, then blinks again.

...She's sure he's too busy for girls, right? Maria looks down at herself and surreptitiously brushes at her skirt. "Well, sure. Where did you have in mind?" she pauses, glancing this way and that down the hall. "There aren't any clubs today, so most of the rooms should be empty. Oh, but not the library. I think the librarian's still there. That reminds me, I need to pick up that new book--"

Is every conversation like this with her, just stream of consciousness?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
It is a miracle! Nevertheless, he does veer just slightly, just enough that it's easy enough to think he didn't do that at all, "Aha... a full introduction, I'm honored." He flashes a grin at her. "Well it is finals week. As busy as I can be, I have to make the time for that."

Her stumbling over her words, it's rather endearing. She must be wondering if he's interested in her. Not that it wasn't a vibe he didn't purposefully cultivate, in that vague plausibly deniable kind of way.

But then she regains composure enough to ask if he needs a study partner, "Not exactly." He answers her, with a chuckle at her description after, "My, that must have been a sight. It sounds like this week has been quite distressing for you." He says, sympathetically, "As my kouhai, I could perhaps spare some time after we were finished?"

Well that doesn't ''deny'' that he's interested, but he leaves it far too vague to confirm it either. What happens after, he has this grin on his face at her stream of consciousness at going over it.

"Why not your classroom? 2-C, wasn't it?" As he suggests a place that's both comfortable to her, and might make ''all kinds'' of thoughts run through her head, "As you say, it should be cleared out by now... and there's no assigned cleaning this week."

Assuming she agrees, he turns and leads the way up the stairs, his metal briefcase with his agency's logo in tow.

Once within the classroom, he slides the door shut, and then, takes out a small notebook, popping off the head of a pin and scrawling something quickly...

"... This is for you." He says, as he rips it out of the notebook and hands it out towards her. It's a... it's a PHONE NUMBER?

"A way to get in touch with me directly, any time you have need."

What could it mean!?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
That thing's long enough to almost be a whip. If only this were the sort of setting where hair could be a weapon-- but alas, no.

Instead, she nods energetically enough as he compliments her on her greeting of choice. "Of course!" she tells him, cheerily enough.

Most girls would be wondering about that if they were approached by a guy like this, wouldn't they? Even a dimwitted girl knows about things like ''this''. It's a matter of survival: you ''have'' to know, even if you have all the subtlety otherwise of a loose brick.

"Isn't it always? I mean, they're always asking hard questions for most of the exams," complains Maria with a sigh, who probably views almost all her questions as 'hard questions'. "Why can't they make it easier? Then they can just give everyone a perfect score and go home!"

Though, if someone's ever taken a look at her exam scores over the years they would have noticed one very odd consistent trend: Maria Sakurai scores poorly in most of her subjects -- not the worst in show, per se, but certainly down towards the bottom. Except, when it comes to mathematics. She never scores in the top ten, but her scores are a lot higher there than one would otherwise expect. Is this what they call 'savantism'?

She nods, enthusiastically. "But, if you want to study with me, I wouldn't mind it. Maybe I'll even get better scores tomorrow?"

Or maybe she just doesn't have the right technique, especially if she's attempting cramming during finals week (spoilers, it never works). But--

"My... classroom?"

She stares at him just so. Is her heart beating faster now? Surely, most girls that he approaches like this would have a stomach full of butterflies at a statement like that.

"O-okay! Lets... meet up there!" she tells him, flashing a grin that's just that shade of nervous to not be entirely heartfelt. "I, um--"

He's already turned to lead the way. Maria pulls out a pocket mirror for just a moment to take a peek at herself within it. Hair good? Makeup more or less good? Then, it's upstairs--

And sure enough, they're alone in here.

"You know, um..." she tells him, twisting her hands behind her back. "Actually, I'm not sure if this is-- eh?"

He's offered her his phone number? Just like that. "U, um..." she stammers, glancing back up at him from the proffered slip. "Akechi-sempai, I'm not sure-- I don't think I'm ready for this! It's a little sudden, isn't it! And, all your fans will get jealous!"

He might well note that she's taken the piece of paper with his phone number anyway, though.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
"Aha... that would make things easier for everyone, wouldn't it?" He replies as if he were not just humoring the idea, "I suppose... one hardly needs to consider grades when they're one of our track team's brightest stars."

More accurate, one of it's ''former'' brightest stars, but Akechi says it like he believes she'll rally for a full comeback.

Or that he just doesn't know what happened, that's also possible!

Akechi upon reviewing her grades supposed a mostly empty head has a lot of room for numbers.

"Well, I'd certainly hope so." He says, cheerfully to the idea she'd get brighter grades as her study partner.

In the classroom, it's that time when the sun has started to settle into the burnt orange of the late-afternoon, it shines through the windows, framing them both in soft lighting and silhouettes.

It is like something out of a Shoujo anime.

And then he smiles, looking at her with a tilt of head, as if in mild befuddlement by her behavior when in fact he's enjoying her twisting in the wind a bit.

"Jealous? Do you truly think so?"

Fortunately, he isn't the type to actually take advantage of a girl's heart like this. To tease, to troll - to enjoy every moment of taking advantage of their preconceptions...

... but never any further. That'd put him too close to being like his father, and that is a line he refuses to cross.

"Well, you might be right."

OH NO SHE'S CORRECT?

"It isn't every day that I approach someone to offer to take them on as a client."

Bwah-what?

All of a sudden it recontextualizes everything, it makes Maria the one who's in error for thinking it was more than it was. After all, what boy in Japan actually understands a girl's heart like that? They're famously oblivious to their feelings!

He sets his briefcase down upon a desk. "You were a victim of the Psychotic Breakdown incident on the Subway, only a few short months back."

He says, in a statement that is intended to cause a wild emotional whiplash in Maria. "And in the aftermath while you were recovering, your significant other at the time, Takeshi Nakata... shall we say, cut you loose? In order to... play the field, so to speak."

He asks, as if trying to be polite about... ripping the scabs off such fresh wounds, "I find such behavior reprehensible, and thought you might wish for me to 'look into' this detestable individual on your behalf."

Oh.

"After all, such injustice, while it's certainly not illegal... should not be tolerated, don't you think?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
One of the brightest stars of the track team. Just like that, he names her former club affiliation and she has the look in her eyes of that proverbial patient who has just been told they'll never play piano again after the surgery.

Physically, there's nothing wrong with her. Her arms twinge a little, sometimes. Her back sometimes feels a little stiff. The doctor said it would all fade in time. And she's been able to do all sorts of normal things: run, ride her bike, knit, cook. It's nothing physical keeping her off the team.

They just won't forgive her. She was a part of the team, and by quitting, she let them all down. The only one who would argue for her is Haruka, and that's one voice against all the rest.

But that look's there and gone again, replaced by resting Maria face, which is something like the orange cat missing its braincell. "Uh huh," she says, which is the sort of thing that could mean ''anything''.

It's like something out of a Shoujo anime, sure. It's also like something out of a romance novel.
Akechi probably knows the terrible secret of Sevens' literature club (it's not that secret).

"Well-- yeah!" she says, on the subject of jealousy. "Don't you know? Just about every other girl in my class is in love with-- ah, oh no!" Maria's voice is now muffled as she claps a hand over her mouth, too late. She's just gone and given it away! They'll never forgive her for this!

(He probably already knows this, too.)

But then, the slip of paper in her hand, she stares up at him with some mix of terror and shock and, yes, exhilaration when he says that 'she might be correct'. Is this--?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
One of the brightest stars of the track team. Just like that, he names her former club affiliation and she has the look in her eyes of that proverbial patient who has just been told they'll never play piano again after the surgery.

Physically, there's nothing wrong with her. Her arms twinge a little, sometimes. Her back sometimes feels a little stiff. The doctor said it would all fade in time. And she's been able to do all sorts of normal things: run, ride her bike, knit, cook. It's nothing physical keeping her off the team.

They just won't forgive her. She was a part of the team, and by quitting, she let them all down. The only one who would argue for her is Haruka, and that's one voice against all the rest.

But that look's there and gone again, replaced by resting Maria face, which is something like the orange cat missing its braincell. "Uh huh," she says, which is the sort of thing that could mean ''anything''.

It's like something out of a Shoujo anime, sure. It's also like something out of a romance novel.
Akechi probably knows the terrible secret of Sevens' literature club (it's not that secret).

"Well-- yeah!" she says, on the subject of jealousy. "Don't you know? Just about every other girl in my class is in love with-- ah, oh no!" Maria's voice is now muffled as she claps a hand over her mouth, too late. She's just gone and given it away! They'll never forgive her for this!

(He probably already knows this, too.)

But then, the slip of paper in her hand, she stares up at him with some mix of terror and shock and, yes, exhilaration when he says that 'she might be correct'. Is this--?

Could it be--?

Is her time of Joka come to an end--?

Is she really ready for this--?

"I--"

She stops and stares at him. She blinks once, twice. Akechi's seen what happens when a computer crashes, right? When there's the infamous 'blue screen of death' up on the monitor? Yeah, this is like that.

"...Client?" Maria finally voices, rebooting at last. So, all of that-- she'd just... assumed. Huh.

"But, about what? You're a junior detective, right? Did I witness a crime?" Peering at him curiously as he opens his briefcase, he finally gets to the heart of the matter: to the thing she doesn't want to talk about and doesn't want to think about.

Well, both of those things.

Before, she'd experienced a fatal error and had to restart. Here, it's like the screen just freezes up: Maria locks up where she stands, thrust back a scant few months in time to the crash (she doesn't remember very much about it) and then the breakup that followed (she remembers entirely too much about it). For a few moments her lips twitch, like she wants to say something, or maybe, would just like to cry. She does neither thing and instead stands there like a human-sized doll for a few moments more.

"...So you know about that," she says at last. "Does everyone know? About him? I wasn't-- I don't listen to those kinds of things, you know!" It's almost like she's trying to argue the point with herself. "He was just-- I was just..." She rips her attention away from him, her bangs half-concealing her eyes at this angle. "...He said he found someone else. When he visited me in the hospital. Do you know how much that hurts? But-- it's not against the law. To hurt someone. Not like that," she finishes heaving one weighty sigh.

Her hand holding the paper with his phone number on it crumples it. Her hand's shaking.

"But... but, but even if it's not-- illegal, I... I can't stand it!" she vents at last, fixing her gaze on him again.

She's crying.

"Saying that to me, when I was hurt like that and couldn't even move... I absolutely can't stand it! And... and, I've seen him since, you know! It's like I don't even exist anymore! Like it never meant anything...!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Oh did he not ''catch that''? Well one can't expect a boy who barely comes to school to stay in the loop about sports!

(He absolutely knew.)

At her statement, he has a look of mild surprise in his eyes to what she says before he smiles again in that faux affable kind of way, "Aha... well, their secret is safe with me."

Oh no did Maria flub up?!

"... You mean Wang Long Fortune-Telling, I presume? It is quite the popular trend right now."

What!? How'd he get THAT out of it? Then again, perhaps when she's talking about Love and Jealousy, he connected it as part of a popular trend within his fandom.

(No he absolutely understands what she meant, and is instead pretending to be oblivious on such matters of the heart. It's far less awkward.)

Maria takes it quite hard, as he expected, and he watches her with a more solemn expression. "... I did hear a rumor." He says mildly as he leans against a desk, "So I looked into it, to confirm the matter myself."

In reality well, he did no such thing. Maria's Shadow was more than willing to tell him everything herself.

'Do you know how much that hurts?'

His chin tilts down, and for a moment there's actually a sad look in his eyes, "As a man, I can't claim to understand how it feels firsthand. But I don't believe I need to, to sympathize with a girl's pain."

That's perhaps the first genuine thing he's said to her this entire time. It is likely to be fleeting, but he remembers his mother telling her, when he was young. What it was like to be discarded by a man who she loved.

For a time, as she cries, he does so without intervention, like he's merely watching. It hits closer to home than he expected, the idea that someone you are connected to might overlook you - as if you don't exist. Totally unaware of your pain.

But, after a time, it's like he realizes for the sake of his image, as the Second Detective Prince, he must act Princely.

And so he gets up from the desk he was leaning against to walk over to her, and to place a hand upon her shoulder, offering a handkerchief from the pocket of his uniform to her.

"Cry as much as you need to." He says softly, as if in support, even as he offers her the means to dry her tears when she's ready, "Even if it feels like you no longer exists to him - you do exist Sakurai-san."

It's soft, supportive, like he's attempting to be a proper senpai at least in the moment, because he can't ignore a girl crying in front of him - but in truth, it's because there's nobody else here who can play this role.

"There's no need to make yourself small or helpless on such a contemptible man's behalf." He murmurs gently, before his volume raises to something more resolute, "That is what he wants... after all. For you to pine for him, while he moves on without consequence."

And then after a short pause, he says quitely, "However... there is a line from one of Congreve's plays that comes to mind, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'"

He says and it might take her aback at first to have it put like that, before he explains, "I believe every woman deserves to follow their own sense of Justice, in matters such as these. 'Hell hath no fury'."

He says it again, as if ruminating upon it the delivery of a lesson, "Does that not mean that your own righteous fury- your own sense of Justice can be greater even than that of Divine Justice?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
She looks at him in mute horror. You can't just ''tell'' the guy in question that a lot of girls are interested in him, including a number of girls in her class (Lisa Silverman excluded, that is). She's broken the gal code, and once someone finds out, she'll be in hot water--

"Eh? Wang Long? I wasn't--"

Maria might be slow on the draw, but even she has her moments. "--Oh! Yes, Wang Long! It's very popular right now! Did you know I'm an emotional White Dragon? What about you, Akechi-san?" It's hard to know if she's that good with her thespian skills, or if she genuinely went off on a tangent. Either way, crisis averted! ...Well, except for the part where he already knew, but details, details.

So it goes, until he cuts to the chase about what he's really wanting to talk to her about.

"A rumor," she says, heaving a shaking breath, "I guess-- I guess, they'd know, seeing him around with-- with, someone else," she manages with a gasp for air. It's a fight to keep to just tears, to keep herself from sobbing and breaking down the way that a part of her wants to.

He doesn't think he knows how it's ''like'' firsthand. But he also doesn't believe that he has to.

It's this -- this expression of sentiment, this feeling of that there's someone who ''understands'' even if they haven't been in her shoes -- that bestows unto Maria a flood of fresh tears. Just when she thinks she's about to have to go this leg of her journey alone, though...

His hand's on her shoulder. He's pressed a cloth handkerchief into her hand.
His hand's warm, she thinks, a single coherent thought above the flood that takes her.

"You know... you're the first person I've ever said all this too," she says quietly at length, sniffing as she wipes at her face (oh no, her makeup is running...). "I mean-- I spoke to Yurie-chan about it a little bit, but, but I didn't tell her that it was like all that, I... I didn't want to make her sad, too." She didn't breathe a word to anyone else. Not to her grandmother, who had fussed over her. Not to her mother, who looked at her so sadly. Of course, not to her father.

But now he knows, and he's said to her things like...

"...But I can't believe it. He wants me to be like this. To be so..." She takes another weighty breath, heaves it out. She feels hollowed out, empty-- nearly.

Nearly, because there's something else in there other than sorrow. He moves on without consequence. It's not against the law, after all. She, meanwhile, is left behind as an afterthought in his wake. And--

"He'll... keep doing it, won't he. To other girls?" They might not have as bad luck as Maria, of course. "Over and over, until... until someone can stop him. Is that-- do you, can you do something?" There's a light in her eyes as she gazes up at him, pleading. But furious.

This isn't about her anymore, is it?

Hell hath no fury. Her own sense of justice.

"Or..."

"Or," she repeats, taking a breath as she gazes out the window. "Or, maybe I have to do something."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Fortunately, she doesn't seem to think it's unusual that he connected it that way, rather than any way that made overt sense! Genius detectives do often go on tangents, after all.

"Why I had no idea." He smiles, "I believe I'm a Navy Blue Dragon, if I'm not mistaken."

Which means he's not compatible with Maria. This is for the best, for everyone to give her another clue that he's not compatible with her.

He's not good handling a crying girl. He was never good at comforting his mother when she cried, nor is he a child anymore, who can do as children do.

"Quite so." He says softly, to her of rumors... before not quite thinking about how his actions might be taken by her. What thoughts she might have in the attempt of comforting her.

"I'm sorry that's the case. That you kept this pain in all that time." He says, quietly, to her statement, "Or perhaps that you felt like you couldn't share it in detail, because he made you feel humiliated."

He can at least speak to how men like this make women feel. ''That'' much he can convey quite well.

He's spoken to enough Shadows of the women his father has discarded.

Empty.

Now there's a feeling he knows quite well. An understanding that he has no value to anyone, no connections to anyone. When you're empty like that... there's something you can so very easily fill it with.

"Yes, any man who would do this to a woman... is wretched." He says quietly, looking through her, past her almost.

'He'll... keep doing it, won't he. To other girls?'

Akechi looks, reluctant for a moment, like he's hesitating as a man to convey an awful truth to a crying girl.

"It is almost certain. Men such as that do not change their behavior without being taught a lesson. They hardly consider women to be... people, really."

But can he do something...?

"Well, I am quite a good Detective, I believe there are certainly ways to punish him without crossing certain lines."

A cue perhaps there, he is the Detective Prince, certainly he wouldn't do anything illegal? But... that doesn't mean there's nothing he can do.

'Or...'
'Or,'
'Or, maybe I have to do something.'

Despite his best efforts for it not to a smile does creep on his expression, "You're a strong girl, Sakurai-san." He praises her, as his hand drifts back away.

"To face such cruelty... and decide that something should be done." As he blows right past the 'Maybe'.

"Take some time to think about what that is. And well. Once you do... all you need to do is pick up the phone."

As he makes his pitch. Justice. Revenge. Concepts that he need only put in someone's head... and offer them the tools to actualize it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
They're not compatible, and as an afficionado, Maria immediately clocks this fact. So it goes, in life. She'll survive.

There's something he can do, maybe. He's a good detective. There might be something he can find about Takeshi Nakata, some way to make sure he never hurts any other girl's heart again. "Please. Please, if there's something-- if it's just me, I, I-- I'll manage! But, I don't want someone else feeling like this."

She doesn't want someone else to feel this sorrow, this anger.

She shakes her head when he says it. She's a strong girl. In the moment, truly, she feels like anything but: she's turned to another person to ask them to help her, because she can't do it on her own. Even if she went and yelled at Takeshi, he'd just laugh her off, right? And she's not able to make him hurt in a way that matters.

She...

She needs to make sure he's punished. Shouldn't there be... punishment, when someone does something wrong?

Something must be done. So it'll have to come from Akechi, because there's nothing that she can do, even as she feels herself buoyed by that terrible desire to embody that sentiment--

To be the Fury, from Hell.

"Pick up the phone," she echoes, unfolding at last the crumpled piece of paper in her hand. It's Akechi's number, of course. Another number comes to mind, too.

"I'll... think about it. Thank you, Akechi-sempai. Um," she says, offering him back the handkerchief tentatively. "Sorry. I made a mess of it. Next time, um, I'll-- buy you a canned tea! As a thank you."

Bit by bit comes the return of the more bubbly girl most people know.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-09-26: No Thoughts Head Empty

2025-10-20T02:38:27Z

Strangeshrimp:

*'''Log: No Thoughts Head Empty'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Tsubasa Seki]]
*'''Where:''' Kameya Alley
*'''OOC Date:''' September 26, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' July 16, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria is breaking into the old location of Gatten Sushi... again. Fortunately, a more adept hand than she is around to supervise this time. The Eighth Wonder of the World is surely how Maria has survived this long on her own, as Tsubasa discovers.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Ughhhhh.

It's super annoying, isn't it? When you did something once, and you nailed it! And then you come back and try it again, and it's just not working. It's the worst! You should be able to nail the same thing every time you do it, right? At least, that's the way that Maria thinks it ought to go.

Of course, some context is warranted: deep in the confines of Kameya Alley stands a spot that was, until the start of the year, host to a sushi restaurant. After getting a Wang Long reading about how the dragon lines here were totally bad for his business, the owner moved to Rengedai. It's stood empty and locked since then.

Well, mostly empty, after that time Maria picked the lock about a week or so ago and went inside here with a boy and then scooted on out again when she realized her shoeprints could give her away. She'd avoided the place like the plague since then, and then--

Nothing bad had happened! Maybe her time of Joka is finally ending.

So of course, with crisis narrowly averted, she's come on back here to... try the lock again?

There's no question about the girl with the long pink ponytail in the Sevens uniform is trying to do. She's giving it her best go, but the lock just isn't giving. Maybe it's because they replaced it since the last time? "What did he say..." Maria murmurs aloud. Oh yeah. 'Relax'.

And she takes a breath and she rolls her shoulders and she siiiiighs out a long sigh. "Okay. Okay, okay..."

It's time for another shot at it.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Pad, pad, pad. The sound of claws click on the stones of Kameya Alley, as if in tune with Maria's chorus of 'okay, okay'. Is the jig up?! Did she get caught?! Oh no, it's --

a dog

it's a god damn dog.

Lance, a scarred and scrawny Tosa Inu -- a ''fighting'' dog, though dog fighting is illegal in Tokyo -- ambles up to Maria, with a wagging tail. She sniffs at Maria, her tail wagging harder. She knows this trick!! That's why she's not borking!!

Tragically, where dogs go people follow, and the person following Lance today is a -- boy? -- in a Kasugayama High uniform, hands shoved in their pockets, wild white-and-green-and-purple hair slouched close to their shoulders. Their top has been unbuttoned at the bottom to the middle of their shirt and tied across their belly, revealing a black-and-blue undershirt beneath it, amongst the rest of their uniform's disarray. Their skin hosts an outrageously fake tan -- they're just about ''orange'' -- and it can't quite hide the lighter discolouration and strange texture splattered across their right side, despite the concealer trying to cover it up.

Tsubasa was just taking Lance for a walk before they headed off to that art exhibit with the gang, but...

"Wait up," Tsubasa calls, their voice dragged through gravel and grit as it rumbles towards her. "I ain't the cops. What you up to?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Pad, pad, pad. It's such a soft sound, and yet it's enough to make Maria, her piece of wire not even yet inserted into the lock, just about jump out of her skin. She's up on her feet in a flash, bracing herself as if preparing to run, but--

"Eh?" It's just a dog, though. "You scared me!" she tells the dog, pointing right at Lance with her left hand (the one that's not holding that bit of wire). "Don't you have any manners? Where's your--"

Oh.

Oh, oh. ''Oh''.

Maria's dark eyes widen as she spots Tsubasa. And she stares at them, her gaze taking its time as she takes all of them in. A boy? And from Kasugayama, no less. She'd gone and seen that concert of theirs a while back, of course, and it's not like she's got any reason to run off just because this is a boy from Cuss High, but in this moment, she sure looks like she's thinking very hard about doing just that. "I'll scream," she says, and it's more threat than out of fear. In spite of herself, she's holding her ground, staring right at them. "If you come any closer, anyway."

She'd threatened Reiya in a similar way, come to think of it.

But 'wait', they say. They ain't the cops.

What ''is'' she doing?

Maria takes one, two breaths.

"Why do you want to know?" Maria says, hiding the bent piece of wire behind her back. "Are you trying to break in, too?"

...maria...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Lance wags her tail, ears perking up, when Maria addresses her. 'Whuff', she borks quietly, not entirely able to contain her glee. (Someone turned the bass all the way up on this dog, so of course she borks instead of barks.)

"Be cool," Tsubasa says, leaning one shoulder against a stone wall rather than approaching any further. "I ain't no mugger or nothin' like that. Jus' curious."

They look past her, to the abandoned restaurant. "But here? Nah," they shake their head. "It's bad luck. Y'ain't heard? Guy what ran the joint packed up after he realised the dragon lines were sinkin' him. Ran all the way to Rengedai, man."

They look over with some interest, though, as they say: "... don't run into many folk what pick locks. Well, 'sides from me..." With a shrug of their free shoulder, they introduce themself: "Seki, by the way. Tsubasa Seki. Who're you? Could swear I saw yer face somewhere, but..." ... well, it was at the concert, so it's hard for them to ''place'' it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria, of course, can't hide her own glee when the doggie ''wuffs'' at her, even if she'd been lecturing it a moment before. "Aww, aren't you--"

You know, before she spots Tsubasa and wraps it up there and then.

"Oh, good," she tells Tsubasa, the edge on her smoothing off as if it hadn't been. "If you tried to mug me, I'd kick you, you know. And scream." Because this is the sort of thing you have to tell someone all about when you've met for the first time under somewhat compromising circumstances...?

"Oh! So you know about it, too? I don't want to go in, you know. I'm just practicing," she says, producing the bit of bent wire again as if this weren't something she should try to make some effort to conceal. Some people are just too naive for their own good! How do people like Maria even survive to the age of sixteen, anyway? "It's okay if I don't go in." She pauses, as if she were a little uncertain about the fine points here. "...Right?"

"But, I wish it was that easy to run away from dragon lines. If you're under Joka, they say you can't do much about it. I got a new charm, though. I think it's working!" She must be feeling more relaxed around them. Or something. "I haven't had trouble in a little while. Or maybe I'm finally out of Joka? But yeah, I'm learning how to pick locks!" She nods, enough that her ponytail bounces. "Seki-kun! Got it! I'm-- Maria. Maria Sakurai. Ah--"

She's gone rigid, all the easy animation she'd had moments ago gone like dust on the wind.

"My... face?"

Not in the newspaper, not in the newspaper, please, not in the newspaper.

She turns silently, stiffly, towards the lock.

"I like your hair," she tells them, after a moment of that terrible silence. "Do you dye it those colors? I want to dye the tips of my hair, but granny said no."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Fair," Tsubasa shrugs. "But nah. My Boss'd kick my ass right into next week if I menaced some chick in a dark alleyway."

They rub at the back of their neck, as they straighten up from the wall. "Uh..." They start, honestly taken aback, because frankly they've never much thought about Joka beyond the surface level of being entirely sure they were stuck there. "Sure?"

They don't sound sure! Why don't they sound sure?!

"It's cool," they shrug. "I been stuck in Joka for years. Ain't killed me yet." Give it time, Tsubasa. Maybe that will have changed by the end of today! "Sakurai-san, huh..."

But Maria freezes up, and Tsubasa notices, glancing away. (''Lance'' notices, too, and pads up to Maria with a concerned little whine as she noses at her.) "Uh, lemme think," they say, awkwardly, now feeling that they really ''ought'' to remember where they saw her if it freaks her out that much. (Does she have a bad rep, or something?) "Uh... oh, yeah," they snap their fingers, "at the Death Boss's concert? Y'know, Gas Chamber." Not the newspaper!

They elect ''not'' to amble up, seeing her sudden horror. Instead, with a moment's hesitation, they say: "Tell ya a secret," because she seems like the sort of girl put at ease by getting into things she really oughtn't. "It's really a wig. So, like... my hair's whatever the fuck colour I decide on wearin' that day. ... natural pink's pretty cool, tho'," they add, complimentary.

They let that sit, for a second, before gesturing to her. "Mind if I come have a look?" They ask, putting their approach in ''her'' court. "I know a thing or two, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Her head bobs in an easy nod. "Good! Your boss sounds cool. I don't think anyone should get menaced in a dark alley. Tell them I said so!" Maria declares.

"Right! I thought so, too. You have to watch out for your shoeprints if you go inside. Or, I wonder if you could go in stockings? I mean, barefoot they can probably tell you went inside," Maria continues on, because there's absolutely no stopping this girl.

"You can survive in Joka for a long time, but it's not a lot of fun. I messed up my bike, so I'll have to get a job? Granny said money's tight right now. I guess I could ask dad, but..." She shrugs, carelessly. "It might not be bad, getting a part-time job. I could meet new people, you know?"

There's no stopping her, that is, until she ''does'' stop.

Oh! At the concert. All at once, it's like Maria comes back to life again.

Particularly when Tsubasa tells her a secret. "Really? A wig? That's so cool! You can change your hair whenever you get tired of it," she says, chattering on once again. "Mine's not bad. Having long hair's a pain, though. It takes forever to wash. But I was thinking about green tips? But, if I come home like that, I'd get a lecture for sure. Maybe when I graduate and go to college?" she says, looking up at Tsubasa as she crouches down by the lock again. "They changed it from last time. See?" she says, picking it up in her hands loosely. "Last time, it was pretty tough too. I'm still learning, I mean. But! I did get it last time. This one's not budging yet. Maybe I'm too tense?"

She pauses, as if in thought (whatever that is for someone who seems like she's never once had the braincell). "He said I was being too tense, last time."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"I'll let her know," Tsubasa says, revealing in the process that their Boss is a ''girl.''

"... reckon it's more about how you carry yer weight than what's on yer feet," they point out, as if they weren't just pulling that answer ''right'' out of the conjecture zone. "Uh, unless you were walkin' through mud or somethin' 'fore you walked in... but like, wouldn't the difference 'tween shoes'n stockins' jus' be how heavy ya feet get?"

They rub at the back of their neck. "Yeah," they agree. "It ain't. Haven't worked a baito for ages... ain't bad for gettin' cash, tho'. Uh... jus'... careful if you grab shit to sell on, yeah?" They add, feeling the terrible weight of suspicion that Maria isn't the type of person to think things through. "Can get... tough if you don't got a fence or nothin'. Y'know. Your grandma'd prolly freak if you got caught out."

One might think that Tsubasa would urge her ''away'' from crime, seeing the cliff she's dancing besides, but... nah.

"Pink and green's cool," Tsubasa agrees. "Uh, you can get shit that washes out if you wanna try it without it bein', like, permanent... your family might still hate it, tho'." When Maria invites them to ''see,'' Tsubasa ambles up, leaning down to examine the lock... and Maria's lockpick.

"You make this yourself?" They ask. "It's pretty good. Could be you're tense, sure... kinda seems like you wanna be more patient, tho'. Give it here?" If Maria assents to relinquishing her lockpick, Tsubasa will kneel by the door and get to work fiddling with the lock themself. She might note how ''quiet'' they are... and how unhurried their movements are, despite the tension of the crime they're committing.

There's a little ''click,'' and Tsubasa asks: "You hear that? That's one'a the tumblers workin'. You wanna remember where you were when you got that workin', and work from there to get the next thing down. Jus' like lyin'."

They fall back to silence, as they keep working. Click... click... click!

Tsubasa works the lockpick out of the lock, hands it back to Maria, and demonstratively turns the handle... as the door opens!

Ta-daaaaa. (There is no ta-daaa, but in a just world, there ''would'' be.)

"If you're dead set on crackin' locks, grab a lockpickin' set insteada usin' wire," Tsubasa says, straightening up. (They're only an inch taller than Maria, and frankly the way they're slouching eats that extra height right up, but it's the spirit of the thing.) "They keep 'em in hardware stores... or, like, online. There's these fancy swiss army knives what have sets in 'em, but I ain't managed to get my hands on nothin' like that yet... pretty cool, tho'."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
A girl. Boss. A... girlboss. "A girl! Really!" Maria utters, her eyes widening. "I didn't think boys would listen to a girl like that! Not at Cuss High!" Wow, a school where boys listen to girls...

She might have gotten the wrong impression here. Actually, several wrong impressions here.

"Oh yeah? Oh! If you put on really thick socks, they probably couldn't see what your feet looked like, right? So you wouldn't leave footprints. Or, maybe you could swish your foot around while you walked?" She demonstrates. Swish!!! "See? I bet there's a lot of ways to walk around in a building like this." She pauses. "Um. Not that I'm going in again!" She has absolutely no tact.

"Oh yeah? What's it like? Is it hard? I haven't worked a part-time job before, you know," yes, it's rather obvious, Maria, "but it seems pretty fun. --Ehhh? Do you mean, stealing?"
Yes, Tsubasa does mean stealing.
"Huuuh. I never thought about doing that. Can that make a lot of money-- oh, oh, good point. If I got caught stealing, granny would kill me." She exhales sharply. "Well... maybe I should play it safe?"

She glances sidelong at the door, because while she's oblivious, even she has her limits.

"Safer."

Oh! This is a revelation to Maria. "That's how it works?! I saw some girls at school who added some color, but it was gone the next day. So that's how they did it." What did she think they did, use magic? "Well, if I can earn my own money, a little, I can try it!" Oh no.

Did she make that pick herself? "Uh huh! I found some guides online. It took a bit to find the right sort of wire, but I managed. Oh, you want to take a look? Here," she says, handing over the wire. It's stiff, with a little give: not so much that it would be too flimsy to hit the tumblers or snap or bend, but also not so stuff that it can't readjust to match up against any given lock. Maria, uncharacteristically, is listening. "Uh huh. That's what the guides said. You can listen for it, and you'll know. Patient, huh... I guess I am a little impatient," she says, rocking back a touch on her haunches. "And I guess I get nervous, too. I keep thinking someone's going to pop in. But no one has."

Yet, Maria. The key word is 'yet'.

But the tumblers click one by one, and--- there, the door opens. "Just like last time!" Maria chirps, poking her head inside. Oh, there are footprints. Along with some larger footprints. Her heart pounding in her chest, she takes a step back and presses her hand against the door, but doesn't close it just yet.

"Yeah... that's what the guide said. I'll need some money of my own for that, too," she says, not looking back at Tsubasa just yet. "There's no way dad or granny would buy me something like that." She looks back at Tsubasa and smiles at them. "Right? That swiss army knife with lock picks thing sounds pretty cool. Do they have the knife, too?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Well... I ain't exactly a boy," Tsubasa explains, rubbing at the back of their neck. "You're close, tho'. People like me call ourselves 'X-Gender', 'cuz we ain't girls or boys... if I had to pick, I'd rather run with the guys, tho'. But I ain't neither one." They gesture, with a hand, as they explain: "But we got boys in our gang, too. An' girls. Jus' so happens the Boss's tougher'n sharper than any of us, so her word is law. Bein' fair, you ain't wrong thinkin' ''most'' gangs ain't like that... mostly, girls run under girls, boys run under boys." They shrug. "We jus' don't give a shit."

They're too cool for society's ''expectations,'' man.

"Man," Tsubasa says, actually looking quite ''impressed,'' "I ain't never thought 'bout all that. Maybe swishin' 'd work..." Could it be that Maria... is a natural talent at crime?!

Tsubasa should really warn her against that at some point here.

"Uh... can be," Tsubasa glances aside, a touch evasive, when Maria asks about the dreaded ''part time work.'' "Yeah, it's good cash, but, like -- turnin' shit into cash is another thing. Can end up feelin' like you're usin' the barter system when everyone else has yen... and that's assumin' ya don't get caught." They pause, giving Maria a long look. "I'm gonna be real, here? You'd prolly get caught. No shade, but it seems like you're doin' this on your own... and ya keep gettin' caught by dudes who know what yer doin'? One of those days it's gonna be a cop, statistically speakin'." They shrug, and add: "Look, if you wanna go for it, at least get someone to teach ya proper. I don't like seein' chicks get crushed just 'cuz they didn't get a chance."

Tsubasa, you're teaching her things right now!!!

They're at least nice enough to ''try'' and redirect her, though. "Yeah, like... go ask the konbinis if someone wants help with the afternoon shift or somethin'. That's what most kids do, an' it'd get ya hair dye money easy. Uh, maybe warn ya folks before ya show up all green, tho'..." Tsubasa doesn't know what kind of strict Maria's family is, but, well, it behooves them to warn her.

They demonstrate on the lock, though, and nod to her as they pass the makeshift lockpick back. "Yeah, that'll screw ya, tryin' to rush through. Uh, not that bein' quick is always a bad thing... but ya gotta be confident about it. If ya hands shake, or ya hesitate, you'll lose all ya progress."

But they can see the way she steps back, on seeing those footprints. They sigh, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Yeah, no way they'd buy somethin' like that... but yeah, they got a knife! An' like, a can opener an' a corkscrew an' all kindsa shit. They're totally sweet, but also, like, cops hate 'em? I forget if they're, like, illegal, but... y'know, carryin' is, an' it's still a knife. Not that I give a shit," they add, bravely.

"Here," they add, stepping forward. "My luck's shit, and it ain't changin' soon. Lemme go clear those prints for ya." And lo, Tsubasa ventures into the horrorshow of ''bad luck,'' intent on scattering the evidence Maria left of her intrusion.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Tsubasa isn't exactly a boy. One can just about see the question mark hovering over Maria's head.

They explain, though.

"Oh! Okay, I get it! You're... none of the above, right? Like someone who doesn't want chicken or beef! You know, I'm starting to eat vegetarian, too," Maria natters on, apparently intent on saying every last little thing that comes into her empty head. "And-- okay, it's not the same thing. You're not a vegetable, or even vegetables with rice, right? But it's ''like'' that," she continues to say, gesturing vaguely as if she were trying to align two different objects with one another. "Like... none of the above. Except, for gender? I wonder if we could get boys to join our club," and then as if to explain her train of thought, she adds, "Like your gang, you know? If it's mostly boys or girls, but yours is mixed, can't literature club be like that?"

It might be hard to imagine Maria sticking with a book long enough, though.

She beams, at being told her idea about 'swishing' her feet might have merit. Hooray!

She at least seems to be listening when Tsubasa explains to her how it can work -- stealing from a workplace, that is, and then tells her, as directly as possible, that she probably shouldn't try that. Because she'd get caught. ...After all, hasn't she gotten caught trying to pick the lock of this same place twice? She's probably lucky no one's been a cop (as far as she knows). "Hmmm. Yeah. You're got a point! I was just trying it to try it, you know? But," and she glances at the door, "I don't want my granny to kill me, either. I wonder if there's a good way to practice. I thought this would be good because no one cares about it, but, now you've got me thinking. What if someone did? Maybe I should get that part-time job, and get some practice locks of my own. I can't keep picking the lock on my granny's jewelry box!" One assumes, given past performance, this is also because she's been caught.

She nods, emphatically. "Got it! I'll stay on the straight and narrow, and get my bike fixed! And get some hair dye! And lockpicks!" Congratulations, Tsubasa, you've probably stopped a girl from getting arrested... for now.

"Aha! Got it, got it. I think," she says, taking her lockpick back, "that's what was messing me up. I'd start getting all jumpy, you know? And then I kept starting over. So I've gotta be cool. I need to be as chill as..." She thinks for a moment, then points at Tsubasa. "As you, Seki-kun!"

Especially, given the chat about the knife stuff. "Maybe?" says Maria, who only knows the laws in a very loose, general sense. "It would be really cool to have a knife. You could pull it out and say like, 'I can cut that rope! I have a knife!' ...Oh, but, I guess those situations mostly happen in movies... I wish life would be more like a movie. Then, something cool might happen."

That would be nice. It would be better than something sad happening, again.

But Tsubasa says they'll go in and clear those prints for her. "Really? Okay, then, I-- I'll keep watch! And, I'll... do something if I see someone." Probably talk at them. That's plenty disarming, to get the full force of tropical storm Maria.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"It's like that," Tsubasa encourages Maria, even if they're really getting the sense that she's operating on a different wavelength to... like... reality? It's weird, but not, like, ''bad'' weird. And then they encourage her ''twice:'' "Sure, clubs can be like that. Plenty of books dudes like. Like -- manga and shit. Or, like... 'pparently there's a tonna dudes love fantasy books. Uh, it's kinda lame, but I like non-fiction stuff that like, goes into how shit works and stuff..." dear god they like reading textbooks, "... why, what kinda books you into?"

They rub at the back of their neck, as they consider how Maria just wanted to ''try'' it. "When I was learnin', I picked up some like, padlocks an' stuff," they say, helpfully(?). "Y'know, like, stuff to lock gates or bikes up... an' ya can just do that in ya room."

Tsubasa has at least stopped a girl from getting arrested while using makeshift tools! Gotta look good when you get arrested. (TSUBASA HAVING TOOLS IS WORSE.) "Straight and narrow's safer, yeah." Even if Maria might be a secret crime prodigy...

Luckily, Tsubasa's fake tan and concealer handily covers the way their cheeks colour when Maria declares them to be ''chill,'' in a decidedly uncool and uncollected away. "Aheheh," they chuckle, gesturing with an open palm. "Y-yeah, jus' like me."

She thinks you're cool, Tsubasa. Don't fuck it up. She can't know that you, too, are a lame-ass teenager.

"Uh, mostly, knives help when a bigger group comes up to ya wantin' to start shit," Tsubasa explains, 'helpfully'. "Like, ya pull a knife out, and suddenly all that tough shit goes out the window, y'know? No one wants to start a fight if they might get stabbed. Like... don't reckon I've ever actually had to ''stab'' someone when I pulled one out, it just kinda... makes the other gang come back later." Which means ''they'' carry a knife?! How cool is that. "... y'wanna hide it pretty good if ya carry one, tho'. Cops'll pat ya down lookin' for shit." ''They get in trouble with cops too.''

Maria helpfully offers to keep watch, and Tsubasa says, "... jus' call out and bolt, I'm pretty good at gettin' outta shit." When Lance tries to follow them in, though, they tell her to, "Stay," because they're not risking their ''dog'' getting cursed with bad luck.

They pull out their phone to act as a flashlight, showing them where all those footprints are hiding, and just as Maria suggested... they swish them away with their sneaker. (Is that what she meant? Well, it's what she meant ''now.'') After a heart-pounding minute or three of silence, they emerge back outside, shoving their phone back in their pocket. "Aight," they report, nodding to her. "Reckon yer good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
To be fair, a lot of people get that feeling with Maria, like she's operating on some other plane of existence.

"Hm!" Maria hums, when the conversation comes around to books and the sorts of things guys are into. "Us? We're into romance. I mean, I'm into romance. But everyone else in the club reads romance, too." Tsubasa might get the not-incorrect feeling that Sevens 'literature club' is actually like 3-5 girls reading slightly dirty novels...

To be fair, there are definitely guys who are into that.

When Tsubasa got into lockpicking, they just picked up several kinds of locks and got on with it in the sanctity of their own room. "Oh, just like that?" Maria says, which suggests that she... didn't think of that in the first place. Where do girls like her come from? Space, maybe?

"You are!" Maria affirms, clasping her hands behind her back. "You're like, my secret mentor! Or something like that. Ooh, this is kind of exciting! I always wanted a secret mentor..." Hopefully she's not talking about 'in the sense a romance novel might use'. That would make this weird! And awkward!
(She really just means it in the 'movie' sense, though. Rest easy, Tsubasa.)

At the mention of 'stabbing', Maria's eyes go wide. "''Really''? You've been in situations like that? Wow!" She sounds less terrified and more... fascinated? Definitely an alien, this one. "That's pretty smart. No one wants to get stabbed," Maria observes. "Oh yeah! A lot of knives are illegal. Even if you put a steak knife in your purse, it's trouble, right? Even if it's for steak, and not people? I thought that was weird. But I guess, you could hurt someone with a steak knife," Maria natters on, as if she hadn't just suggested something mildly horrific. Hopefully, none of the things she's just said are something she's attempted!

"That's right, you want to be careful around cops, huh... that's what it's like in some movies."

But Tsubasa goes in to clean up after Maria's past mess, more or less, and tells her she should just yell and run, and Maria nods perhaps a little too readily (but then, she's only ''just'' met Tsubasa...). Waiting here near the alleyway entrance, Maria lingers one minute, two minutes, humming tunelessly under her breath.

And then, it's done. "Oh good! Thank you, Seki-kun! I was wondering if the prints would still be in there. I didn't touch anything in there, you know. I was just curious," she goes on, and on. Then, just like that, she pops on down to pat Lance on the head.

"Your dog's really cute," she says to Tsubasa. Pat, pat, pat.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Uh... romance, huh," Tsubasa scratches at the base of their ear. "That's cool." Maybe she likes touchy-feely emotional stuff! It's not ''necessarily'' dirty!

It's not ''not'' necessarily dirty, either, though.

"Yeah," they nod, and their leading guess as to where Maria came from is frankly some kind of spirit realm where faerie queens trick you into staying there for all time via muffin. (Tsubasa, that's just the premise of your children's card game.) "I didn't want my parents to find out, so... I jus', like, hid 'em in my room."

But Maria declares that Tsubasa is her ''secret mentor,'' and given her proclivity for romance novels (even if they're surely not ''those'' types of romance novels!!), Tsubasa's mind inevitably goes there. Rapidly, thoughts crowd into their mind:

- Has she already invented the type of person you are in her head???
- Is she, like, the kind of chick who should be hanging out with you at ''all,'' like, look at her,
- This chick is ''definitely'' younger than you what are you gonna do if she actually has a crush on you holy shit where's the Boss when you need her,
- If no one actually looks out for this girl is she going to get completely plastered by running her mouth off one day?!
- Wait, are you seriously the kind of guy that just decides girls need protecting, she's clearly survived ''this'' long just fine --

At this point, Tsubasa realises they're just kind of staring at her and they should really actually say something. "You wanna learn my kinda shit, huh? It ain't exactly 'model citizen' material..."

No, stupid, they yell at their own head, the right answer was to tell her to go find someone nicer to follow around!! Oh well, it's too late now.

"Yeah," they nod. "Like, I got this craft knife so I can keep it in my hem without stabbin' myself, but even that'd get me in hot shit if anyone found it." They pause, considering her perspective on the cops, and add... "You watch a lot of movies? I like the stuff by that foreign guy, uh, Quinton Tarasino." There was that one movie about a bride who did ''ten thousand murders.'' They're all kind of like that.

"If you didn't touch nothin', there won't be nothin'," they point out, rubbing at the back of their neck. "If you're worried 'bout that, tho', jus' wear gloves. I heard some hardcore guys burn their fingerprints off, but that's yakuza shit, man, don't fuck with that." They pause. "Don't fuck with organised crime none at all," they add, for emphasis. "That shit follows ya, even if you figure ya wanna do somethin' else. Sometimes, that jus' means declinin' deals what are too easy or too good to be true... reckon I dodged a bullet like that, once. This guy wanted to give me easy money for deliverin' a package, but the Boss pointed out the deal stunk, an' later all these rumours came out 'bout kids gettin' used as drug mules by the Syndicate."

And, Lance!! Who eats up that affection, and furthermore tries to ''lick Maria's hand.'' "Thanks," Tsubasa smiles -- actually smiles! -- when she compliments her. "Her name's Lance. She's real friendly." Tsubasa really didn't have to say that; Lance's lower half is presently being wagged by her tail.

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-09-26: No Thoughts Head Empty

2025-10-20T02:37:20Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: No Thoughts Head Empty''' *'''Cast:''' Maria Sakurai, Tsubasa Seki *'''Where:''' Kameya Alley *'''OOC Date:''' September 26, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' July 16, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Maria is breaking into the old location of Gatten Sushi... again. Fortunately, a more adept hand than she is around to supervise this time. The Eight Wonder of the World is surely how Maria has survived this long on her own, as Tsubasa discovers.'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Maria S..."

*'''Log: No Thoughts Head Empty'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maria Sakurai]], [[Tsubasa Seki]]
*'''Where:''' Kameya Alley
*'''OOC Date:''' September 26, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' July 16, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Maria is breaking into the old location of Gatten Sushi... again. Fortunately, a more adept hand than she is around to supervise this time. The Eight Wonder of the World is surely how Maria has survived this long on her own, as Tsubasa discovers.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Ughhhhh.

It's super annoying, isn't it? When you did something once, and you nailed it! And then you come back and try it again, and it's just not working. It's the worst! You should be able to nail the same thing every time you do it, right? At least, that's the way that Maria thinks it ought to go.

Of course, some context is warranted: deep in the confines of Kameya Alley stands a spot that was, until the start of the year, host to a sushi restaurant. After getting a Wang Long reading about how the dragon lines here were totally bad for his business, the owner moved to Rengedai. It's stood empty and locked since then.

Well, mostly empty, after that time Maria picked the lock about a week or so ago and went inside here with a boy and then scooted on out again when she realized her shoeprints could give her away. She'd avoided the place like the plague since then, and then--

Nothing bad had happened! Maybe her time of Joka is finally ending.

So of course, with crisis narrowly averted, she's come on back here to... try the lock again?

There's no question about the girl with the long pink ponytail in the Sevens uniform is trying to do. She's giving it her best go, but the lock just isn't giving. Maybe it's because they replaced it since the last time? "What did he say..." Maria murmurs aloud. Oh yeah. 'Relax'.

And she takes a breath and she rolls her shoulders and she siiiiighs out a long sigh. "Okay. Okay, okay..."

It's time for another shot at it.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Pad, pad, pad. The sound of claws click on the stones of Kameya Alley, as if in tune with Maria's chorus of 'okay, okay'. Is the jig up?! Did she get caught?! Oh no, it's --

a dog

it's a god damn dog.

Lance, a scarred and scrawny Tosa Inu -- a ''fighting'' dog, though dog fighting is illegal in Tokyo -- ambles up to Maria, with a wagging tail. She sniffs at Maria, her tail wagging harder. She knows this trick!! That's why she's not borking!!

Tragically, where dogs go people follow, and the person following Lance today is a -- boy? -- in a Kasugayama High uniform, hands shoved in their pockets, wild white-and-green-and-purple hair slouched close to their shoulders. Their top has been unbuttoned at the bottom to the middle of their shirt and tied across their belly, revealing a black-and-blue undershirt beneath it, amongst the rest of their uniform's disarray. Their skin hosts an outrageously fake tan -- they're just about ''orange'' -- and it can't quite hide the lighter discolouration and strange texture splattered across their right side, despite the concealer trying to cover it up.

Tsubasa was just taking Lance for a walk before they headed off to that art exhibit with the gang, but...

"Wait up," Tsubasa calls, their voice dragged through gravel and grit as it rumbles towards her. "I ain't the cops. What you up to?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Pad, pad, pad. It's such a soft sound, and yet it's enough to make Maria, her piece of wire not even yet inserted into the lock, just about jump out of her skin. She's up on her feet in a flash, bracing herself as if preparing to run, but--

"Eh?" It's just a dog, though. "You scared me!" she tells the dog, pointing right at Lance with her left hand (the one that's not holding that bit of wire). "Don't you have any manners? Where's your--"

Oh.

Oh, oh. ''Oh''.

Maria's dark eyes widen as she spots Tsubasa. And she stares at them, her gaze taking its time as she takes all of them in. A boy? And from Kasugayama, no less. She'd gone and seen that concert of theirs a while back, of course, and it's not like she's got any reason to run off just because this is a boy from Cuss High, but in this moment, she sure looks like she's thinking very hard about doing just that. "I'll scream," she says, and it's more threat than out of fear. In spite of herself, she's holding her ground, staring right at them. "If you come any closer, anyway."

She'd threatened Reiya in a similar way, come to think of it.

But 'wait', they say. They ain't the cops.

What ''is'' she doing?

Maria takes one, two breaths.

"Why do you want to know?" Maria says, hiding the bent piece of wire behind her back. "Are you trying to break in, too?"

...maria...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Lance wags her tail, ears perking up, when Maria addresses her. 'Whuff', she borks quietly, not entirely able to contain her glee. (Someone turned the bass all the way up on this dog, so of course she borks instead of barks.)

"Be cool," Tsubasa says, leaning one shoulder against a stone wall rather than approaching any further. "I ain't no mugger or nothin' like that. Jus' curious."

They look past her, to the abandoned restaurant. "But here? Nah," they shake their head. "It's bad luck. Y'ain't heard? Guy what ran the joint packed up after he realised the dragon lines were sinkin' him. Ran all the way to Rengedai, man."

They look over with some interest, though, as they say: "... don't run into many folk what pick locks. Well, 'sides from me..." With a shrug of their free shoulder, they introduce themself: "Seki, by the way. Tsubasa Seki. Who're you? Could swear I saw yer face somewhere, but..." ... well, it was at the concert, so it's hard for them to ''place'' it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Maria, of course, can't hide her own glee when the doggie ''wuffs'' at her, even if she'd been lecturing it a moment before. "Aww, aren't you--"

You know, before she spots Tsubasa and wraps it up there and then.

"Oh, good," she tells Tsubasa, the edge on her smoothing off as if it hadn't been. "If you tried to mug me, I'd kick you, you know. And scream." Because this is the sort of thing you have to tell someone all about when you've met for the first time under somewhat compromising circumstances...?

"Oh! So you know about it, too? I don't want to go in, you know. I'm just practicing," she says, producing the bit of bent wire again as if this weren't something she should try to make some effort to conceal. Some people are just too naive for their own good! How do people like Maria even survive to the age of sixteen, anyway? "It's okay if I don't go in." She pauses, as if she were a little uncertain about the fine points here. "...Right?"

"But, I wish it was that easy to run away from dragon lines. If you're under Joka, they say you can't do much about it. I got a new charm, though. I think it's working!" She must be feeling more relaxed around them. Or something. "I haven't had trouble in a little while. Or maybe I'm finally out of Joka? But yeah, I'm learning how to pick locks!" She nods, enough that her ponytail bounces. "Seki-kun! Got it! I'm-- Maria. Maria Sakurai. Ah--"

She's gone rigid, all the easy animation she'd had moments ago gone like dust on the wind.

"My... face?"

Not in the newspaper, not in the newspaper, please, not in the newspaper.

She turns silently, stiffly, towards the lock.

"I like your hair," she tells them, after a moment of that terrible silence. "Do you dye it those colors? I want to dye the tips of my hair, but granny said no."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Fair," Tsubasa shrugs. "But nah. My Boss'd kick my ass right into next week if I menaced some chick in a dark alleyway."

They rub at the back of their neck, as they straighten up from the wall. "Uh..." They start, honestly taken aback, because frankly they've never much thought about Joka beyond the surface level of being entirely sure they were stuck there. "Sure?"

They don't sound sure! Why don't they sound sure?!

"It's cool," they shrug. "I been stuck in Joka for years. Ain't killed me yet." Give it time, Tsubasa. Maybe that will have changed by the end of today! "Sakurai-san, huh..."

But Maria freezes up, and Tsubasa notices, glancing away. (''Lance'' notices, too, and pads up to Maria with a concerned little whine as she noses at her.) "Uh, lemme think," they say, awkwardly, now feeling that they really ''ought'' to remember where they saw her if it freaks her out that much. (Does she have a bad rep, or something?) "Uh... oh, yeah," they snap their fingers, "at the Death Boss's concert? Y'know, Gas Chamber." Not the newspaper!

They elect ''not'' to amble up, seeing her sudden horror. Instead, with a moment's hesitation, they say: "Tell ya a secret," because she seems like the sort of girl put at ease by getting into things she really oughtn't. "It's really a wig. So, like... my hair's whatever the fuck colour I decide on wearin' that day. ... natural pink's pretty cool, tho'," they add, complimentary.

They let that sit, for a second, before gesturing to her. "Mind if I come have a look?" They ask, putting their approach in ''her'' court. "I know a thing or two, so..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Her head bobs in an easy nod. "Good! Your boss sounds cool. I don't think anyone should get menaced in a dark alley. Tell them I said so!" Maria declares.

"Right! I thought so, too. You have to watch out for your shoeprints if you go inside. Or, I wonder if you could go in stockings? I mean, barefoot they can probably tell you went inside," Maria continues on, because there's absolutely no stopping this girl.

"You can survive in Joka for a long time, but it's not a lot of fun. I messed up my bike, so I'll have to get a job? Granny said money's tight right now. I guess I could ask dad, but..." She shrugs, carelessly. "It might not be bad, getting a part-time job. I could meet new people, you know?"

There's no stopping her, that is, until she ''does'' stop.

Oh! At the concert. All at once, it's like Maria comes back to life again.

Particularly when Tsubasa tells her a secret. "Really? A wig? That's so cool! You can change your hair whenever you get tired of it," she says, chattering on once again. "Mine's not bad. Having long hair's a pain, though. It takes forever to wash. But I was thinking about green tips? But, if I come home like that, I'd get a lecture for sure. Maybe when I graduate and go to college?" she says, looking up at Tsubasa as she crouches down by the lock again. "They changed it from last time. See?" she says, picking it up in her hands loosely. "Last time, it was pretty tough too. I'm still learning, I mean. But! I did get it last time. This one's not budging yet. Maybe I'm too tense?"

She pauses, as if in thought (whatever that is for someone who seems like she's never once had the braincell). "He said I was being too tense, last time."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"I'll let her know," Tsubasa says, revealing in the process that their Boss is a ''girl.''

"... reckon it's more about how you carry yer weight than what's on yer feet," they point out, as if they weren't just pulling that answer ''right'' out of the conjecture zone. "Uh, unless you were walkin' through mud or somethin' 'fore you walked in... but like, wouldn't the difference 'tween shoes'n stockins' jus' be how heavy ya feet get?"

They rub at the back of their neck. "Yeah," they agree. "It ain't. Haven't worked a baito for ages... ain't bad for gettin' cash, tho'. Uh... jus'... careful if you grab shit to sell on, yeah?" They add, feeling the terrible weight of suspicion that Maria isn't the type of person to think things through. "Can get... tough if you don't got a fence or nothin'. Y'know. Your grandma'd prolly freak if you got caught out."

One might think that Tsubasa would urge her ''away'' from crime, seeing the cliff she's dancing besides, but... nah.

"Pink and green's cool," Tsubasa agrees. "Uh, you can get shit that washes out if you wanna try it without it bein', like, permanent... your family might still hate it, tho'." When Maria invites them to ''see,'' Tsubasa ambles up, leaning down to examine the lock... and Maria's lockpick.

"You make this yourself?" They ask. "It's pretty good. Could be you're tense, sure... kinda seems like you wanna be more patient, tho'. Give it here?" If Maria assents to relinquishing her lockpick, Tsubasa will kneel by the door and get to work fiddling with the lock themself. She might note how ''quiet'' they are... and how unhurried their movements are, despite the tension of the crime they're committing.

There's a little ''click,'' and Tsubasa asks: "You hear that? That's one'a the tumblers workin'. You wanna remember where you were when you got that workin', and work from there to get the next thing down. Jus' like lyin'."

They fall back to silence, as they keep working. Click... click... click!

Tsubasa works the lockpick out of the lock, hands it back to Maria, and demonstratively turns the handle... as the door opens!

Ta-daaaaa. (There is no ta-daaa, but in a just world, there ''would'' be.)

"If you're dead set on crackin' locks, grab a lockpickin' set insteada usin' wire," Tsubasa says, straightening up. (They're only an inch taller than Maria, and frankly the way they're slouching eats that extra height right up, but it's the spirit of the thing.) "They keep 'em in hardware stores... or, like, online. There's these fancy swiss army knives what have sets in 'em, but I ain't managed to get my hands on nothin' like that yet... pretty cool, tho'."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
A girl. Boss. A... girlboss. "A girl! Really!" Maria utters, her eyes widening. "I didn't think boys would listen to a girl like that! Not at Cuss High!" Wow, a school where boys listen to girls...

She might have gotten the wrong impression here. Actually, several wrong impressions here.

"Oh yeah? Oh! If you put on really thick socks, they probably couldn't see what your feet looked like, right? So you wouldn't leave footprints. Or, maybe you could swish your foot around while you walked?" She demonstrates. Swish!!! "See? I bet there's a lot of ways to walk around in a building like this." She pauses. "Um. Not that I'm going in again!" She has absolutely no tact.

"Oh yeah? What's it like? Is it hard? I haven't worked a part-time job before, you know," yes, it's rather obvious, Maria, "but it seems pretty fun. --Ehhh? Do you mean, stealing?"
Yes, Tsubasa does mean stealing.
"Huuuh. I never thought about doing that. Can that make a lot of money-- oh, oh, good point. If I got caught stealing, granny would kill me." She exhales sharply. "Well... maybe I should play it safe?"

She glances sidelong at the door, because while she's oblivious, even she has her limits.

"Safer."

Oh! This is a revelation to Maria. "That's how it works?! I saw some girls at school who added some color, but it was gone the next day. So that's how they did it." What did she think they did, use magic? "Well, if I can earn my own money, a little, I can try it!" Oh no.

Did she make that pick herself? "Uh huh! I found some guides online. It took a bit to find the right sort of wire, but I managed. Oh, you want to take a look? Here," she says, handing over the wire. It's stiff, with a little give: not so much that it would be too flimsy to hit the tumblers or snap or bend, but also not so stuff that it can't readjust to match up against any given lock. Maria, uncharacteristically, is listening. "Uh huh. That's what the guides said. You can listen for it, and you'll know. Patient, huh... I guess I am a little impatient," she says, rocking back a touch on her haunches. "And I guess I get nervous, too. I keep thinking someone's going to pop in. But no one has."

Yet, Maria. The key word is 'yet'.

But the tumblers click one by one, and--- there, the door opens. "Just like last time!" Maria chirps, poking her head inside. Oh, there are footprints. Along with some larger footprints. Her heart pounding in her chest, she takes a step back and presses her hand against the door, but doesn't close it just yet.

"Yeah... that's what the guide said. I'll need some money of my own for that, too," she says, not looking back at Tsubasa just yet. "There's no way dad or granny would buy me something like that." She looks back at Tsubasa and smiles at them. "Right? That swiss army knife with lock picks thing sounds pretty cool. Do they have the knife, too?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Well... I ain't exactly a boy," Tsubasa explains, rubbing at the back of their neck. "You're close, tho'. People like me call ourselves 'X-Gender', 'cuz we ain't girls or boys... if I had to pick, I'd rather run with the guys, tho'. But I ain't neither one." They gesture, with a hand, as they explain: "But we got boys in our gang, too. An' girls. Jus' so happens the Boss's tougher'n sharper than any of us, so her word is law. Bein' fair, you ain't wrong thinkin' ''most'' gangs ain't like that... mostly, girls run under girls, boys run under boys." They shrug. "We jus' don't give a shit."

They're too cool for society's ''expectations,'' man.

"Man," Tsubasa says, actually looking quite ''impressed,'' "I ain't never thought 'bout all that. Maybe swishin' 'd work..." Could it be that Maria... is a natural talent at crime?!

Tsubasa should really warn her against that at some point here.

"Uh... can be," Tsubasa glances aside, a touch evasive, when Maria asks about the dreaded ''part time work.'' "Yeah, it's good cash, but, like -- turnin' shit into cash is another thing. Can end up feelin' like you're usin' the barter system when everyone else has yen... and that's assumin' ya don't get caught." They pause, giving Maria a long look. "I'm gonna be real, here? You'd prolly get caught. No shade, but it seems like you're doin' this on your own... and ya keep gettin' caught by dudes who know what yer doin'? One of those days it's gonna be a cop, statistically speakin'." They shrug, and add: "Look, if you wanna go for it, at least get someone to teach ya proper. I don't like seein' chicks get crushed just 'cuz they didn't get a chance."

Tsubasa, you're teaching her things right now!!!

They're at least nice enough to ''try'' and redirect her, though. "Yeah, like... go ask the konbinis if someone wants help with the afternoon shift or somethin'. That's what most kids do, an' it'd get ya hair dye money easy. Uh, maybe warn ya folks before ya show up all green, tho'..." Tsubasa doesn't know what kind of strict Maria's family is, but, well, it behooves them to warn her.

They demonstrate on the lock, though, and nod to her as they pass the makeshift lockpick back. "Yeah, that'll screw ya, tryin' to rush through. Uh, not that bein' quick is always a bad thing... but ya gotta be confident about it. If ya hands shake, or ya hesitate, you'll lose all ya progress."

But they can see the way she steps back, on seeing those footprints. They sigh, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Yeah, no way they'd buy somethin' like that... but yeah, they got a knife! An' like, a can opener an' a corkscrew an' all kindsa shit. They're totally sweet, but also, like, cops hate 'em? I forget if they're, like, illegal, but... y'know, carryin' is, an' it's still a knife. Not that I give a shit," they add, bravely.

"Here," they add, stepping forward. "My luck's shit, and it ain't changin' soon. Lemme go clear those prints for ya." And lo, Tsubasa ventures into the horrorshow of ''bad luck,'' intent on scattering the evidence Maria left of her intrusion.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
Tsubasa isn't exactly a boy. One can just about see the question mark hovering over Maria's head.

They explain, though.

"Oh! Okay, I get it! You're... none of the above, right? Like someone who doesn't want chicken or beef! You know, I'm starting to eat vegetarian, too," Maria natters on, apparently intent on saying every last little thing that comes into her empty head. "And-- okay, it's not the same thing. You're not a vegetable, or even vegetables with rice, right? But it's ''like'' that," she continues to say, gesturing vaguely as if she were trying to align two different objects with one another. "Like... none of the above. Except, for gender? I wonder if we could get boys to join our club," and then as if to explain her train of thought, she adds, "Like your gang, you know? If it's mostly boys or girls, but yours is mixed, can't literature club be like that?"

It might be hard to imagine Maria sticking with a book long enough, though.

She beams, at being told her idea about 'swishing' her feet might have merit. Hooray!

She at least seems to be listening when Tsubasa explains to her how it can work -- stealing from a workplace, that is, and then tells her, as directly as possible, that she probably shouldn't try that. Because she'd get caught. ...After all, hasn't she gotten caught trying to pick the lock of this same place twice? She's probably lucky no one's been a cop (as far as she knows). "Hmmm. Yeah. You're got a point! I was just trying it to try it, you know? But," and she glances at the door, "I don't want my granny to kill me, either. I wonder if there's a good way to practice. I thought this would be good because no one cares about it, but, now you've got me thinking. What if someone did? Maybe I should get that part-time job, and get some practice locks of my own. I can't keep picking the lock on my granny's jewelry box!" One assumes, given past performance, this is also because she's been caught.

She nods, emphatically. "Got it! I'll stay on the straight and narrow, and get my bike fixed! And get some hair dye! And lockpicks!" Congratulations, Tsubasa, you've probably stopped a girl from getting arrested... for now.

"Aha! Got it, got it. I think," she says, taking her lockpick back, "that's what was messing me up. I'd start getting all jumpy, you know? And then I kept starting over. So I've gotta be cool. I need to be as chill as..." She thinks for a moment, then points at Tsubasa. "As you, Seki-kun!"

Especially, given the chat about the knife stuff. "Maybe?" says Maria, who only knows the laws in a very loose, general sense. "It would be really cool to have a knife. You could pull it out and say like, 'I can cut that rope! I have a knife!' ...Oh, but, I guess those situations mostly happen in movies... I wish life would be more like a movie. Then, something cool might happen."

That would be nice. It would be better than something sad happening, again.

But Tsubasa says they'll go in and clear those prints for her. "Really? Okay, then, I-- I'll keep watch! And, I'll... do something if I see someone." Probably talk at them. That's plenty disarming, to get the full force of tropical storm Maria.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"It's like that," Tsubasa encourages Maria, even if they're really getting the sense that she's operating on a different wavelength to... like... reality? It's weird, but not, like, ''bad'' weird. And then they encourage her ''twice:'' "Sure, clubs can be like that. Plenty of books dudes like. Like -- manga and shit. Or, like... 'pparently there's a tonna dudes love fantasy books. Uh, it's kinda lame, but I like non-fiction stuff that like, goes into how shit works and stuff..." dear god they like reading textbooks, "... why, what kinda books you into?"

They rub at the back of their neck, as they consider how Maria just wanted to ''try'' it. "When I was learnin', I picked up some like, padlocks an' stuff," they say, helpfully(?). "Y'know, like, stuff to lock gates or bikes up... an' ya can just do that in ya room."

Tsubasa has at least stopped a girl from getting arrested while using makeshift tools! Gotta look good when you get arrested. (TSUBASA HAVING TOOLS IS WORSE.) "Straight and narrow's safer, yeah." Even if Maria might be a secret crime prodigy...

Luckily, Tsubasa's fake tan and concealer handily covers the way their cheeks colour when Maria declares them to be ''chill,'' in a decidedly uncool and uncollected away. "Aheheh," they chuckle, gesturing with an open palm. "Y-yeah, jus' like me."

She thinks you're cool, Tsubasa. Don't fuck it up. She can't know that you, too, are a lame-ass teenager.

"Uh, mostly, knives help when a bigger group comes up to ya wantin' to start shit," Tsubasa explains, 'helpfully'. "Like, ya pull a knife out, and suddenly all that tough shit goes out the window, y'know? No one wants to start a fight if they might get stabbed. Like... don't reckon I've ever actually had to ''stab'' someone when I pulled one out, it just kinda... makes the other gang come back later." Which means ''they'' carry a knife?! How cool is that. "... y'wanna hide it pretty good if ya carry one, tho'. Cops'll pat ya down lookin' for shit." ''They get in trouble with cops too.''

Maria helpfully offers to keep watch, and Tsubasa says, "... jus' call out and bolt, I'm pretty good at gettin' outta shit." When Lance tries to follow them in, though, they tell her to, "Stay," because they're not risking their ''dog'' getting cursed with bad luck.

They pull out their phone to act as a flashlight, showing them where all those footprints are hiding, and just as Maria suggested... they swish them away with their sneaker. (Is that what she meant? Well, it's what she meant ''now.'') After a heart-pounding minute or three of silence, they emerge back outside, shoving their phone back in their pocket. "Aight," they report, nodding to her. "Reckon yer good."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maria Sakurai has posed.
<poem>
To be fair, a lot of people get that feeling with Maria, like she's operating on some other plane of existence.

"Hm!" Maria hums, when the conversation comes around to books and the sorts of things guys are into. "Us? We're into romance. I mean, I'm into romance. But everyone else in the club reads romance, too." Tsubasa might get the not-incorrect feeling that Sevens 'literature club' is actually like 3-5 girls reading slightly dirty novels...

To be fair, there are definitely guys who are into that.

When Tsubasa got into lockpicking, they just picked up several kinds of locks and got on with it in the sanctity of their own room. "Oh, just like that?" Maria says, which suggests that she... didn't think of that in the first place. Where do girls like her come from? Space, maybe?

"You are!" Maria affirms, clasping her hands behind her back. "You're like, my secret mentor! Or something like that. Ooh, this is kind of exciting! I always wanted a secret mentor..." Hopefully she's not talking about 'in the sense a romance novel might use'. That would make this weird! And awkward!
(She really just means it in the 'movie' sense, though. Rest easy, Tsubasa.)

At the mention of 'stabbing', Maria's eyes go wide. "''Really''? You've been in situations like that? Wow!" She sounds less terrified and more... fascinated? Definitely an alien, this one. "That's pretty smart. No one wants to get stabbed," Maria observes. "Oh yeah! A lot of knives are illegal. Even if you put a steak knife in your purse, it's trouble, right? Even if it's for steak, and not people? I thought that was weird. But I guess, you could hurt someone with a steak knife," Maria natters on, as if she hadn't just suggested something mildly horrific. Hopefully, none of the things she's just said are something she's attempted!

"That's right, you want to be careful around cops, huh... that's what it's like in some movies."

But Tsubasa goes in to clean up after Maria's past mess, more or less, and tells her she should just yell and run, and Maria nods perhaps a little too readily (but then, she's only ''just'' met Tsubasa...). Waiting here near the alleyway entrance, Maria lingers one minute, two minutes, humming tunelessly under her breath.

And then, it's done. "Oh good! Thank you, Seki-kun! I was wondering if the prints would still be in there. I didn't touch anything in there, you know. I was just curious," she goes on, and on. Then, just like that, she pops on down to pat Lance on the head.

"Your dog's really cute," she says to Tsubasa. Pat, pat, pat.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Uh... romance, huh," Tsubasa scratches at the base of their ear. "That's cool." Maybe she likes touchy-feely emotional stuff! It's not ''necessarily'' dirty!

It's not ''not'' necessarily dirty, either, though.

"Yeah," they nod, and their leading guess as to where Maria came from is frankly some kind of spirit realm where faerie queens trick you into staying there for all time via muffin. (Tsubasa, that's just the premise of your children's card game.) "I didn't want my parents to find out, so... I jus', like, hid 'em in my room."

But Maria declares that Tsubasa is her ''secret mentor,'' and given her proclivity for romance novels (even if they're surely not ''those'' types of romance novels!!), Tsubasa's mind inevitably goes there. Rapidly, thoughts crowd into their mind:

- Has she already invented the type of person you are in her head???
- Is she, like, the kind of chick who should be hanging out with you at ''all,'' like, look at her,
- This chick is ''definitely'' younger than you what are you gonna do if she actually has a crush on you holy shit where's the Boss when you need her,
- If no one actually looks out for this girl is she going to get completely plastered by running her mouth off one day?!
- Wait, are you seriously the kind of guy that just decides girls need protecting, she's clearly survived ''this'' long just fine --

At this point, Tsubasa realises they're just kind of staring at her and they should really actually say something. "You wanna learn my kinda shit, huh? It ain't exactly 'model citizen' material..."

No, stupid, they yell at their own head, the right answer was to tell her to go find someone nicer to follow around!! Oh well, it's too late now.

"Yeah," they nod. "Like, I got this craft knife so I can keep it in my hem without stabbin' myself, but even that'd get me in hot shit if anyone found it." They pause, considering her perspective on the cops, and add... "You watch a lot of movies? I like the stuff by that foreign guy, uh, Quinton Tarasino." There was that one movie about a bride who did ''ten thousand murders.'' They're all kind of like that.

"If you didn't touch nothin', there won't be nothin'," they point out, rubbing at the back of their neck. "If you're worried 'bout that, tho', jus' wear gloves. I heard some hardcore guys burn their fingerprints off, but that's yakuza shit, man, don't fuck with that." They pause. "Don't fuck with organised crime none at all," they add, for emphasis. "That shit follows ya, even if you figure ya wanna do somethin' else. Sometimes, that jus' means declinin' deals what are too easy or too good to be true... reckon I dodged a bullet like that, once. This guy wanted to give me easy money for deliverin' a package, but the Boss pointed out the deal stunk, an' later all these rumours came out 'bout kids gettin' used as drug mules by the Syndicate."

And, Lance!! Who eats up that affection, and furthermore tries to ''lick Maria's hand.'' "Thanks," Tsubasa smiles -- actually smiles! -- when she compliments her. "Her name's Lance. She's real friendly." Tsubasa really didn't have to say that; Lance's lower half is presently being wagged by her tail.

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-10-17: A Teenager, Not a Monster

2025-10-20T02:31:29Z

Strangeshrimp: Created page with "*'''Log: A Teenager, Not a Monster''' *'''Cast:''' Tsubasa Seki, Katsuya Suou *'''Where:''' The Cardboard Dragon *'''OOC Date:''' October 17, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' July 27, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Katsuya, intending to see if any new cards are in at the Cardboard Dragon, finds that Myunghon is out but that Tsubasa is in (and technically skipping). They end up having a short chat about recent matters, such as Tsubasa's recent predicament and delayed exams, and Tsuba..."

*'''Log: A Teenager, Not a Monster'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Tsubasa Seki]], [[Katsuya Suou]]
*'''Where:''' The Cardboard Dragon
*'''OOC Date:''' October 17, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' July 27, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Katsuya, intending to see if any new cards are in at the Cardboard Dragon, finds that Myunghon is out but that Tsubasa is in (and technically skipping). They end up having a short chat about recent matters, such as Tsubasa's recent predicament and delayed exams, and Tsubasa sets him straight on their pronouns.''

----

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Tsubasa, with the Cardboard Dragon's help, has gotten some more of their stuff hauled over to the old safehouse -- including, as it happens, the massive stack of homework Julian gave them today. They've taken ''some'' of it with them back here, though...

... as they sit at the lounge, with that homework backed up against an old book they've stolen to be a makeshift writing surface. They go over the revision with a scowl across their face, still wearing the Kasugayama boys' uniform ''incorrectly,'' with the bottom half of their shirt unbuttoned and tied about their midriff; there are dressings on their arms and legs and across one shoulder, but they're still clearly wearing their neon blue and black binder, under their shirt. (Today, their hair is magenta, cyan, and yellow.) Technically, there's still an hour or so left of school, so no one's actually ''here'' right now -- but Tsubasa felt better hanging out here to work on this shit instead of being alone at home.

(Well. ''Safer,'' really. Even if there's not much going on in the Cardboard Dragon right now, they're pretty sure they could call someone in if they started hollering.)

Lance is here too, naturally, lying down beside her kibble and water bowls to catch a little dognap. She won Myunghon over, and now has ''snacks at the store.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
THE LAST TIME KATSUYA SUOU WAS HERE...

He learned about the terrible secret of space, or well, the third floor that Myunghon makes their home. There's black mold and it's barely furnished and the roof is coming down, and he's pretty sure that they could die up there come winter (nobody tell him they've already survived one winter up there already, his heart can't take it). They won't move out, though, and fixing up the place would cost money that none of them have (no, not even him as a homicide detective: even mitigation isn't going to be enough with that much damage to the walls and roof). So, you know, it's yet another problem to stew over that he can't at all solve.

But in the meantime, he's come by to check 1) that they haven't died yet and 2) if there are any new skill cards that have come into stock. It's not that he enjoys being so mercenary about all this, but... it might be the only thing standing between life and death someday, and he aims to be prepared.

"Hello? Yeo-san, are you in?" he calls out, opening the door to step inside. The lights are on and the store is open, so things here are probably well, but--

"Seki-kun. I did not expect to see you here," he tells them, apparently mildly surprised to see them. "Ah, I see. So you're catching up on your homework. That's good. Please, do not mind me. I was merely stopping in early to see if Yeo-san was here."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Tsubasa, tragically, doesn't know about Myunghon's living situation. If they did, they sure wouldn't have taken them up on moving out of ''their'' shitbox!!

But mysteriously, sometimes adults keep their own struggles from the youth.

Someone does come in, though--!! And Tsubasa looks over the back of their shoulder (because they are of course sitting on the couch ''lengthways,'' and just be happy they haven't draped their ''legs'' over the back, they're a teenager, they can't sit on chairs right as a ''rule'') to confirm the sound of Katsuya's voice.

"Sergeant Suou...?" Tsubasa asks. "I ain't ''skippin',''" is the first thing they say, "uh, I mean, guess I am, but ain't no point bein' there right now, sooo..."

They hold up the paper they're scrawling on to show him what's going on, and then finally turn themself around to lean on the backrest instead of the armrest. "Yeah," they confirm, with a nod. "The Boss's dad yelled at 'em, so they let me take exams next week, since I woulda missed half a them otherwise... Marlowe-sensei gave me last week's homework so I could try'n catch up."

Tsubasa leans forward, to put the book and paper and pen down on the coffee table. "They ain't in right now," they tell Katsuya, as Lance picks herself up to amble over and greet him with a sniff and a mighty wag of her tail. "No biggie, so I just stuck around..."

Pause. "Uh. That's Lance," they explain the scrawny tosa inu, as she issues a happy ''bork.'' "It's cool, she's friendly. Uh... hey," they add, a touch awkwardly, "you got a sec?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Shouldn't their feet be on the floor? At least their shoes are off...

Katsuya, it should be noted, did sit on chairs and couches properly as a teenager, but there's a saying 'the exception proves the rule' for a reason. This ''is'' Katsuya we're talking about, and he wasn't much different as a teenager.

"...At this time of day, I believe this would normally count as truancy," he informs them. But he goes on. "...That is, if we were not in the middle of your final exam period, and if you had not just spent an extended period in custody. I assume that you are completing your exams at a later date?" Tsubasa confirms his exact suspicions, and he nods, as if satisfied. "Good. It would not be fair if you were to take your exams at the same time as the students that had been allowed to attend classes. I'm glad to see you are working on catching up." Well! Look at that, he can be not so bad sometimes, for a hardass. Then again, he knows that they hadn't been the culprit, and it's entirely the fault of his department that they're in this catch-up sort of situation in the first place.

So Myunghon's not in. "Ah. I see. Then, please excuse me. I'll return another time--"

A dog is rapidly approaching his location.

"...Ah. I think I saw you before. Maybe?" he wonders aloud, before reaching down to pat Lance on the back of her head. No dog allergies, at least, and she ''is'' friendly. "Lance, is it? ...It's good to meet you," he tells the dog, as if he were introducing himself to another person and not an animal.

But, does he have a moment?

"...Yes, I do. My shift does not start for several more hours. Is there something you need, Seki-san?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Of course! Tsubasa is a ''teenager,'' not a ''monster.'' They're not going to put their ''shoes'' on the ''couch.''

If you ask ''them,'' they'd tell you that Katsuya leapt out of his mother's forehead fully-formed at thirty-something or however old he is (ancient, probably???). Like. You know how there are some adults where you can visualise how they might have been as teenagers? Yeah, there's ''those'' adults and then there's ''this'' guy, who isn't straight-laced because he'd get mad at how laces need to be crossed together to get tied up when they ought to be even ''straighter.''

That's not to say they don't like the guy, just, you know... he's ''such'' a cop. But it's fine, he's an exception as far as cops go, too.

Besides, he at least ''gets it.'' (Tsubasa was a ''little'' scared he was going to insist they ought to have... like... gotten in a time machine to take the exams at their proper time period or something, but on reflection, he'd probably object to violating the rules of time or whatever.) "Y'know... the Boss was sayin' it sucked I didn't get a chance or nothin', an'... if I'm gonna bomb 'em it oughta be legit?"

God forbid a teenager actually say they were ''scared'' they'd get locked out of even getting results for one of the exam periods which is going to determine the rest of their future.

Lance wags her tail mightily as she gets pets, with a happy BOOF. That's dog for being happy to meet him, too!!

"I jus', uh..." Tsubasa starts, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Look, when we first met, uh... I ain't been fair to ya back then? Like, I thought the cops or whatever didn't give a shit 'bout what my father was doin', but... I jus' kinda dumped it on ya then bolted, an'... ain't like it's the kinda crimes you work on or nothin', so I guess it was, I dunno, surprisin' or somethi'... innit? Jus'..." Their awkwardness is only escalating the more they try to admit they didn't even give him a chance!! "You been tryin' to do right by me, so... like, it's cool, uh... you're pre' alright, for a cop," Tsubasa settles on, hitting maximum awkwardness somewhere around there.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Alas, if Katsuya could hear their thoughts, he would be extremely depressed. He's only twenty-five, he's not ''old'' just yet!

But she's sort of nailed the reason he's been having some issues at his workplace: indeed, it's the reason he's been stuck with the night shift so often lately. He's the sort of person who was born to be a cop, but also is far too fair-minded to ''be'' a cop. The latter is something he might not have realized yet, or at least, is resisting the realizaton thereof. Bad enough that his department is corrupt, bad enough the stain on the family name...

Still, for all that he clings to the straight and narrow like it might hurt him to bend the rules, he doesn't ''just'' see things as black and white. Whether or not he likes it, he has to acknowledge the grey in Tsubasa's situation. If he'd only been able to spring them earlier, then there'd be no need for this now. He can't fault someone for trying to make an honest go, even if by rights they should be taking their exams right now. To fair and to be lawful, he's starting to realize, can sometimes be two different things.

"Hmm. Your boss seems to be quite thoughtful," he remarks, reaching down again to pat Lance on the head. He's not a dog person, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like them, either. After all, the mascot of the Konan Department is a dog!

But Tsubasa finally does spill their guts and Katsuya straightens to look right at them. They have a lot to say, as it happens, and at least some of it's an apology.

And at least some of it is--

"You... think that I am 'alright'?" For a cop, is the qualifier, but he scarcely seems to notice. "I... I see..." He seems taken aback. It's like he's surprised and... a little bit happy? Somehow? "Then, I must make my own apology. I made an assumption about the sort of person you were when we had first met. I was... certainly mistaken," he settles for. "Moreover, for what you endured due to my colleagues, I am very sorry. It is fortunate we were able to secure evidence to help support your innocence."

Some of his colleagues may never forgive him for it. Are they the ones on the take? Or is it simply because he turned against them, in a sense? That much, he can't tell.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Yeah, see, he's twenty-five, he's ''ancient.''

... Tsubasa would respect the work Katsuya's putting into his philosophy, though.

(And ''Lance'' respects ''getting all the attention she deserves.'' Which is all the attention in the world!! Look at her butt getting wagged by her tail, she is having a GREAT DAY.)

"She is," Tsubasa agrees. "That's why she's the Boss." Should Tsubasa be talking about the fact that they have a Boss -- vis-a-vis being ''in a gang'' -- to the coppiest cop who ever copped? Look, it's fine, he's cool.

(For a cop.)

At least Katsuya seems... like... not mad at them about it??? Tsubasa wouldn't have ''blamed'' him if he was mad about it, they were kind of a dick, but being kind of happy is definitely better than that. "It's cool, man," Tsubasa assures him. "I get assumptions a lot. It's no big deal. An', like... it ain't your fault some of those guys are pricks. Seems like ya actually tryin' to protect people or whatever, you ain't like them..."

Because of course Officer Ishiba isn't protecting ''anyone,'' in Tsubasa's eyes, except maybe ''himself.''

"You, uh... you wanna sit down or somethin'? Kinda seem like the kinda guy that runs around everywhere an' forgets to chill out..." Tsubasa pauses. "Wait, I mean, uh -- shit, I'm jus' bein' a dick again, uh -- jus'... pretend I said that nicer." The concern for Katsuya's feet is real! Tragically, so is saying every little thought that runs through their head because they're ''still nervous.''

"Uh, speakin' 'bout assumptions..." Tsubasa rubs at their shoulder. "It's cool you been callin' me a guy, like, rather get grouped with the dudes than the other way 'round if I gotta be, but, uh... I ain't neither. It's -- it's called 'X-Gender'," they barrel forward. "Like -- when someone puts an 'F' or an 'M' in their gender marker, fuckers like me wanna put an 'X' in there, like, 'not applicable' or whatever. It ain't, like, one thing, like -- there's some X-Genders what reckon they're boys sometimes and girls other times, an' there's other ones what reckon they got a third gender outside a both those two, an' folks what reckon they oughta be a mix of both the normal genders at once, an' like... then there's dudes like me, what opted out entirely and don't wanna be gendered at all." They pause, fingers drumming on their shoulder. "Uh, maybe it's weird to tell you somethin' like that, jus'... seemed like you were tryin' to do right by my gender too, y'know?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Don't tell him that, he'll immediately shrivel up!

He's had a lot more cause to think about his beliefs in the last couple of months. No, he's not about to turn his back on his profession or do anything else quite so reckless as that, but he's had food for thought and as such has been interrogating his own beliefs accordingly. It's just that he'd known that law and order are not as simple as that, but it's one thing to know something and another thing to understand it.

Case in point.

They had been difficult about it, but honestly, not much more difficult than his own brother. What's more, what he's learned about their home life (to an extent) and other bits and pieces has made him a little more... better-disposed towards granting them some level of grace, especially considering that he'd been a little rough with them in their first encounter, too. "I am only doing my job as a civil servant," he says; he's been getting that a lot, lately, though, and that's also been something he's found himself dwelling on. Surely the state of the police isn't as bad as that? He can't be the only officer who cares about protecting the people of this city. Isn't that why someone would become an officer in the first place?

That it could be about 'power' hasn't yet occured to him.

But, shouldn't he take a load off? He's going to be on his feet again plenty enough again soon. "I-- yes. I suppose I should...?" he hazards, thinking again about how his own father had complained about lower back problems when he was young and how in time he'll be in similar straits. "No, it is quite alright. It is true that you, er... could stand to be more polite, but it is also simply the way you are." He's got, as friends, the likes of Ulala: Tsubasa is only a few degrees (to the way he sees it) more coarse than she (and that's only if you discount the fact that Ulala can swear like a sailor in certain circumstances).

Speaking of assumptions.

"Er--" Katsuya says, seeing the shape of this statement as it comes trotting over the horizon. "Actually, I ran into a friend of yours, Kawase-san. She told me that you prefer 'they'. I--"

But Tsubasa's still talking, explaining what it ''means''. Not both, in the way he'd loosely assumed, but more like 'none of the above'? Or, actually, sometimes it can be more complicated than that. He sits there, stiffly, staring right into the middle distance as he tries to take it all in. "I... I see..." he says at last. "I had assumed-- I am familiar with 'transgender', you see, er-- there is even a transgender member of the Setagaya Ward assembly in Tokyo," he explains, of whose election was really his first exposure to the concept. "We are a modern society, and there are all sorts of people in it. We all must be able to get along. Treating them with respect is... well," he says, fidgeting with his sunglasses (perhaps they're not the only nervous person here), "it is what we must do also as a polite society." He doesn't get it, not really, but it someone says that's how they want to be addressed or treated, then. That's the end of it, as far as he's concerned.

"...Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way..."

Ichiba comes to mind, for instance.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"Civil servants... ain't all like that," Tsubasa points out, softly. "Plenty of rot in City Hall... when folks like my old boss Nakajima-san get strung up for shit he ain't even did." Kenta Nakajima ''was'' a politician in City Hall with a particular interest in representing Yongen-Jaya -- until he was found guilty of embezzlement and jailed in connection with a case of arson at City Hall.

(And that's the arsonist, right there on the couch.)

It may or may not be strange to hear Tsubasa talking about civil servants as if they're ''not'' completely divorced from their life and living, though.

"Ain't much for polite," Tsubasa shrugs. "Sorry. Don't mean to be disrespectful or nothin'," despite not being polite?!, "jus' kinda my thing."

But... the Boss told him that, huh? Tsubasa at least thinks better than to connect ''Ichika'' as that Boss to Katsuya. "Cool that she told you, tho'," they add, afterwards, having dodged a bullet that they're inevitably going to trip over later, but at least later isn't now!! "She'd know. She's like, my best friend... dunno what I'd do without her."

Tsubasa folds their arms, loosely. "Yeah," they nod. "GID's gettin' more eyes on it these days. It's cool you're cool with us. Uh, don't worry 'bout not gettin' the details, tho'... X-Gender shit ain't known quite so much. An' it's hard to like... say that's your thing sometimes, there's folks what ain't so respectful. Even if you're pretty sure they'll be cool, can't never be sure... like, I figured my mom at least would be cool with me, she at least ''wanted'' me growin' up, but she was just as bad as him." Tsubasa scowls down at the coffee table, their arms folding a little tighter. "She was real upset, 'cuz she wanted a ''daughter.'' So she jus'... let him kick me out, didn't say nothin'... it's whatever," they insist, shaking their head. "Was like a year back, it's old news now."

... the difficulties which X-Gender individuals have disclosing their gender might be insight which helps Katsuya in the ''future,'' too, even as they get caught on what happened when ''their'' disclosure went wrong. Though, here's the question: if disclosure is so scary, why is Tsubasa so ''loud?''

(Maybe they just have nothing to lose.)

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
What can he say to that? Perhaps, in some sectors, it's the case, but... he still can't accept that most people are like that. "Kenta Nakajima, wasn't it..." he muses aloud. Guilty of embezzlement. He'd thought nothing of it then, but that's a familiar charge to him now. "..." He fidgets, again, with his sunglasses, as if in thought over the matter.

"Evern so..." is what he says to them, in the end.

Perhaps he's immature, thinking about it like that. Tatsuya had blown up at him about 'arresting' the Joker Killer. It might not be possible. But he also doesn't think that he's mistaken to try.

He shakes his head, though, as Tsubasa apologizes again. "Do not worry about it. So long as you try, that's sufficient. Besides, I..." He trails off, considering at the last moment that it might be unkind to throw Ulala under a bus. "Actually, never mind."

Fortunately for the both of them, he's parsed Ichika as a friend and not some sort of gang leader (let alone Tsubasa's Boss). "Yes. I think she was looking out for you in her own way. She was very worried about your safety. I reassured her as best as I could." With the caveat that there were still unknowns in Tsubasa's case, and that he didn't want to promise her the moon and stars only to not deliver. Even with the evidence, it wasn't a sure thing. Once someone is arrested, after all...

This time, though, it had worked.

This is not the sort of thing someone just tells anyone. He's a detective: getting someone to even mention that they are involved in certain scenes in this city is an endeavor, even if he has enough hearsay to suspect as much. It isn't even as if being 'a part of those scenes' is the thing he's interested in: all he wants to know sometimes is if an individual knew the victim, but the fact is that some of the pressure people have faced over the years makes his job harder for no reason.

It's none of his business, is what it is. It shouldn't be his business: who someone loves or how they want to dress or how they want to be addressed shouldn't be any of his business, outside some basic level of civility. But here Tsubasa is telling them about how their own family reacted when they opened up to them, and... it hadn't gone well.

"I see," he says at last, his gaze somewhere down by his shoes. "I am... sorry, it was like that." He's never been rejected by his family like that. Even Tatsuya isn't-- it's not the same thing at all. To have someone you should be able to trust turn on you like that: he really only can guess what it's like.

He still doesn't get it, admittedly, but there are a lot of things, he reflects, that he doesn't entirely understand which remain still an integral part of this world (like weather patterns and prediction: he has some rudimentary knowledge but he doesn't understand how they're made).

He reaches down then to pat Lance if she'll have it.

"Thank you for telling me, Seki-kun. It is... good to know." Even if Ichika had gotten some of that information to him before, he's at least able to contextualize it all a little better.

He considers that, about them: if they don't have anything left to lose, perhaps it does... explain a lot.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]