2025-09-27: Atelier Nakata and the Cardboard Dragon: Side B
- Log: Atelier Nakata and the Cardboard Dragon: Side B
- Cast: Roger, Umie Akabane, So-young Park, Shinobu Shimizu, Katsuya Suou
- Where: Taro Nakata's Atelier
- OOC Date: September 27, 2025
- IC Date: July 17, 2012
- Summary: The other Cardboard Dragon crew heads into Atelier Nakata.
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|)
-==== Round 1: Don't Get Lost - Challenge Level 1 =============================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Skillful - Proficiency Up L1 and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
As you enter the Atelier, fading into the carnival with a red sky and a pale
white concrete footing, you'll see many dilapidated tents, attractions, midways,
and more in your line of sight. But with your goal of getting to the Homunculus,
you'll likely beeline straight to the massive tent in the distance, towering
menacingly over all.
When you get there, however, you'll find the tent barred by a big door. A sign
says 'FIVE TICKETS NEEDED'. You're not getting in without those tickets, but
they seem to be given out by the attractions and employees at the carnival.
First, however, you'll have to find a way to navigate the carnival! A handy map
dispenser sits nearby... if you can get it to work, as it's paid. It's unclear
what currency it takes, though, so you might have to try some things... maybe
you could find a way to unlock it instead?
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
One by one, word goes out about a novel sort of supernatural space and a terrible threat to humanity called the Homonculus, some manner of thing that seems to try to overtake living people to replace them - and a bid to try and save a young man in the process of being overtaken by one. It is an act of immense trust to hand a treasured item of the person in question - a 'Thread' in the vernacular - and then a need to come to a place where people can be 'alone together.' Handily, a net cafe is just the trick. They all have to rent their own booths and pass the Thread between one another as they all log on to a strange place called 'AtelierNEtwork.jp'
It's a strange ritual, and apparently there was a step taken beforehand by Hazuki - visiting the 'Eye,' an important place to the person in question - that enables this. Nonetheless...
One by one, the party appears in a strange supernatural space by the feel in the air. Some manner of carnival, with a red sky and pale white concrete footing. The whole of it feels rickety, neglected, unsafe... and twisted into a surreal, monstrous scene. There's a massive tent in the distance that is the goal, but once approached... looks like one needs 'FIVE TICKETS,' and there's the occasional clash with some dangerous Shadows in the shape of carnival stereotypes and figures.
A strange Shadow - or something Shadow-analogous, this entity is kind of a novel experience - in the shape of a crimson-hued pig-like mascot hops in front of them with gleeful abandon and tears in their eyes.
"Hazuki-chan's friends? At laaaast...! I've been real hog-tied holding the line..." He goes dejected, ears flopping. "...This is Nakata's Atelier. It's in a bad way... they're playing a lot of dangerous games here."
"My name's Roger! I'm a Sanguin Humor! Usually Humors like me are the real go-getters of Ateliers and rally a lot of the others, but... they're not listening to me at all!" He snorts, stomping his funny-looking stilt legs. "I blame the Homonculus! But even then it's... weird. Anyway, you might have run into Coleric Humors along the way. They attack anything and everything not of this Atelier, that's just what they do."
"I'll go over the rest as it comes up!" Roger declares. "Let's go play!"
...
He then taps his fingers together. "Um. It feels like the way changes every time I turn around... we might need a new map." There's a map dispenser right there. It is not free, it wants to be paid. But with what, and how much? (Roger isn't much help here.)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
The text appears on Katsuya's phone about a day or so ago, sent from Umie:
> katsuya-san, Cardboard Dragon ppl are investigating something new
> might be a good idea to come along
> something about people being replaced
Surely it won't lead to anything weirder than what she's dragged Katsuya through already, right?
===NOW===
Did Umie explain anything to Katsuya? It's hard to say, she was just grabbing people to come in for Myunghon's project. Grabbing a booth was the easy part, as the other parts were handled by Myunghon themselves. It is sort of weird to be putting on your jacket and one of your many, many hand-painted half masks while staring at the screen of your phone, but, thankfully, all that's needed is to log onto a website and--
"Well, this is different." Umie looks up at the carnival, taking it in with a critical eye as she takes out the shoge from the pockets of her jacket. Notably, this is the one Akari gave her recently, which notably has a black, durable looking length of black cord tied between a sharp looking bifucated blade, and a large Wadokaichin coin on the other.
Umie tests the weight of them in each hand. "Cognitive weapons confirmed to work." She'd be out of luck weapon-wise if they hadn't.
"Ground feels shaky. Might need to keep an eye on where you step." She's talking as others come in, warm brown eyes scanning around for more things to test, and--
".... talking... piggie..." Umie stares, in open wonder, at the adorable porcine being in front of the party. "A... humor? Sanguin Humor?" Umie scratches her cheek, below her mask, as Roger fills them in. "And Coleric, huh. That sounds really... familiar, for some reason." Pause. "Oh, yeah, I'm... Umie." She neglects to say her last name, in a master stroke of self preservation. "... Oh, wait, the four humors!"
This is going well already.
"Hm." Umie regards the map dispenser, and digs around in her jacket's many pockets, producing some lockpicks. "Give me a few to figure this out." She looks at Katsuya, for one moment, as if to say 'I am still a law-abiding person', as she goes to do her dirty work. "I swear I've never done this before."
She'd be partially correct.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward Don't Get Lost! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
When the call comes up to offer So-young a chance to explore an Atelier, she jumps at it.
For one, she wants to explore this strange new side of Sumaru that she still hasn't gotten fully used to. She might be spending every Dark Hour flying through the sky on Icarus enjoying her new-found and very unorthodox freedom, but she still doesn't know much about the myriad of possibilities that lie in wait around rumours and their power. She's well aware that she should learn more, and the fact that she doesn't have that much of a personal stake this time around is ... ... ... well, alright, maybe that's kind of rude of her, given why they've come here, but it's true.
For two, it's an Atelier. So-young probably should, by definition, own an Atelier of some kind, even if it's not the supernatural sort. As a flamboyant artistic type, she should probably check one out, right???
Of course, the ritual to get in kind of takes a damper off of things a little bit. "... I feel like a student again, and not necessarily in a good way," she murmurs to herself as she sets up. "Hiding in the computer labs all night was for science majors. Using our phones was so much more chic than this."
As the Atelier forms into existence around her, So-young's hopes are further dashed. Whatever she was expecting from the name, a rickety amusement part wasn't it. Her face clearly shows that she was expecting something a whole lot more pleasant, well-lit and airy than this. Also: Umie and Shinobu are both with her. That's not a knock against them, and she's glad that the ritual worked and she's not stuck here on her own, but it is still kind of dampening her spirits - because it's reminding her of what she still needs to tell them both.
Roger captures her attention, however, and she blinks slowly at it. "... no no no. Whichever way you look at it, it's obvious we're the ones who are going to have to play the dangerous games," So-young grouses slightly. She has still yet to learn the rules of Memento-diving, because she's come straight from work, looking all the more out of place in her evening dress here in this abandoned theme park.
Her brow flickers slightly, because the terminology isn't lost on her. She's no medical student either, but you'd be shocked at how many classical musicians decided to believe in humorism. There's literally symphonies about it. She automatically starts humming a snatch of Nielsen's 2nd under her breath, and makes a mental note to watch out for melancholic and especially phlegmatic. Someone else can deal with that last one.
(that's not what that word means, so-young)
It's a relief when Umie confirms it, but she still takes a moment to carefully test herself and finds that she can feel that pull of power within her, Icarus ready to heed her call. Then she spots what Umie is actually moving to do - and immediately steps forwards to catch Katsuya by the arm with an incredibly bright smile as a distraction. "--hello! I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is So-young Park, Myunghon's elder sister-in-law. I'm slowly getting to know people around Sumaru, I remember you being there for the whole unpleasant Kaneshiro business."
Maybe less in the way of scrutiny will help Umie... ... ...?
MONAD: So-young Park has acted with Glissando toward Don't Get Lost! Focus and Diligence!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Ateliers and Homunculi... It's a lot to take in, but the threat they pose is easy enough to let stand. She remembers Taro and Hazuki from that tournament at the arcade. If his behavior that night was due to the Homunculus, then something definitely needs to be done about - not in the least because of the threat is poses to Taro's life.
...Even if the fact that she has to pay to rent a booth makes her hesitate, if only for a second.
The party appears in a strange place, and Shinobu looks around, a slow frown crossing her face.
"...Damn. This place looks like a nightmare." She mutters, shaking her head. She looks toward Umie with a nod. "Right?"
She takes note of her weapons.
"New gear?" Shinobu asks. She hasn't seen her use those ones before - and then, she nods. "Right. Good thinking."
Before she can get too situated, someone races up to them. A Shadow? Shinobu gets ready for a fight - but then he speaks, and she finds herself thrown off.
"Uh-" Shinobu starts - and she has to sort of mentally reset herself. She relaxes a bit.
"...You know Hazuki?" She asks. If he knows her, then maybe he's alright... Maybe it's all a trick, too, but she doesn't know if a Shadow would be capable of that kind of planning. She hears him out as he explains who and what he is, a little of what's happening.
"Uh... In that case, nice to meet you, Roger." She's still a little cautious... but if he isn't acting aggressive, then she isn't going to start a fight she doesn't need to. ...Not when they have bigger problems, anyway.
"Seriously." Shinobu mutters, as So-young comments on the dangerous games they'll have to play.
The four humors...
"...Mind filling the rest of us in?" Shinobu asks, with a glance toward Umie. ...It might very well be just her who needs it. But to get anywhere, they need a map. Shinobu considers this with interest, approaching the machine.
"Hmm... Looks like it takes some kind of currency, but I dunno what... Still..." She 'hm's to herself - then looks toward Umie as she produces some lockpicks. "Good thinking."
Still, she can't leave her to do all the work - especially as So-young moves to act as a distraction. She scans the ground - and eventually finds herself some good-sized wood chips.
"...I bet as long as I can get approximately the same size and shape, it'll take it. It don't look too advanced." Shinobu comments. She reaches into her coat, drawing out a multi-tool. She flips through the attachments until she comes to a blade, then carefully starts to carve away at the chips until she has several discs.
If Umie's lockpicking doesn't work all the way, then she'll see if the machine is willing to accept these as currency.
MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Esoteric Skillset toward Don't Get Lost! Patra and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
There really hadn't been a lot of time to send a message to anyone else or do much of anything except race over to the place Umie had indicated. Funny, how that works sometimes: it's one thing after another.
Still, he had to fight off the vague sense that someone was pulling a prank with so many of them here--
But it had worked, and Katsuya's... not entirely sure if he should be still be surprised at this stage, or if he should be getting over this sort of thing happening.
"Why is it a carnival?" he wonders aloud, thinking back to the other cognitive spaces he's been in, which have been largely 'Mementos' and 'a giant bank'. Is this really 'weirder' than any of that, he wonders.
A pig-like creature comes trotting up to meet them.
[LOGIC]: ...No, actually, this is at least a little stranger than usual.
"I... see," says a man who has had a golden butterfly talk to him in a dream, "So, then... Roger, is it?" He pauses, as if attempting to realign his concept of reality a little bit. Again, that is. "What can you tell us about this space? What is an 'Atelier', really?" He's come into this absolutely blind! No one's told him much of anything! "A 'Sanguine' humor? Hmmm... that reminds me of something," he says, as Roger's explanation continues.
A... Homunculus?
"--That's right, the four humors. Or, Humorism, as it's now called." Uh oh, he's going into lecturer mode. "It was quite common in ancient Greek and Roman belief, as I recall. An imbalance of health was caused by an imbalance of humors. Each was thought to be represented by a different fluid in the body. Blood, black bile, yellow bile, and... phlegm, wasn't it?" And Roger here is 'Sanguin', which means...
But he's getting distracted. "Akabane-kun, that's theft." He shakes his head. "Surely we can find a coin that the machine will accept--"
So-young catches him by the arm and he turns to face her. "Er, actually, now that you mention it," he starts to say, as Umie works on picking the lock and Shinobu looking to try some 'wooden yen coins' if the former doesn't pan out, "I don't believe we have. You're... Yeo-san's older sister? Ah, sister-in-law, that is. I see." He nods. "Yes, of course. I am Sergeant Katsuya Suou, of the Konan Police Department."
Quick, while he's distracted! (Maybe get him to talk about the Humors some more or something if you have to, So-young!)
MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Academics toward Don't Get Lost! Base!
(|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Don't Get Lost - Round 1 ================================================- Katsuya Suou Academics Success Academics Base Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Proficiency Success Can you do this? Specialty Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shinobu Shimizu Proficiency Success Esoteric Skillset Patra and Focus Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So-young Park Proficiency Success Glissando Focus and Diligence Fatigue: 0 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Skillful-2 and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Stupor-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | =====================================================- (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|)
-==== Round 2: Long Line Ahead - Challenge Level 1 ============================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Heartening - Guts Up L1, and Stupor |
| - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
Chaotic and dangerous as this carnival-like Atelier has become, there still
exists at least some manner of orderly line here and there. A number of
mellow-looking shadowy caricatures of carnival visitors - Flegmat Humors - have
formed one, leading to a ride that looks so safe and dull as to be unworthy of
further description. It's notable that they haven't yet been forced into
disarray by the Homunculus' danger, but it's only a matter of time.
The more imminent problem is that this line is not moving at all, and that
boring ride has the courtesy of taking you further into the Atelier, which you
need to do. You're going to have to be forceful and cut the line to the front to
get on in order to progress. You want to take care not to make them too
disturbed or irate - either through charisma or intimidation - lest they subtly
attract Coleric Humors to bear down upon you in the process.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
"Umie! hi! Familiar?" Roger tilts his head and snorts. "...That's... correct! Wow! You're really good at guessing games! We should play more of those later!"
Roger flinches at So-young's grousing, as he nervously presses fingers. "Sorry... I'm sure Nakata will play all sorts of fun games again once we get the Homonculus out of here... we have to! ...Oh! You know them?" Roger brightens up some as he innocently interrupts So-young's greeting to Katsuya. "They're something called a 'Navigator.' It was very fun! ...I don't know if they had much fun but I'd love to play with them more."
"Hazuki-chan is my favorite playmate!" Roger confirms for Shinobu. He pauses for a moment in consideration as he snorts. "She's brought so many friends to help me with this pig-headed Homonculus... I could just squeeeeeal..." Tears streak down his face anew.
Katsuya asks reasonable questions. "I'm glad you asked! An 'Atelier' is a place everyone has, it's something like... a place of measure between the balance of one's self and the rest of the world around them... something like this!" He cheerfully highlights. "Yes! I'm a Sanguin Humor! I--"
Kagsuya starts murmuring about Humorism. He blinks a few times, as if lost or confused, but then...
"Oh! You're thinking of Flegmat humors! They're sort of the ones that just hang around, but... they're kind of the 'feel' of the place," it sounds like Cognitions, but that can't be in this case, if they're a 'Humor' like Roger is, who must be some manner of Shadow. "And usually it's hard for a Homonculus to show up with those around... but one sure did happen!!" Roger snorts angrily. "A lot of them got twisted to match the Homonculus! But... they're not the really dangerous ones, um. I'll talk about those soon..."
"Anyway! The map! We shouldn't start playing together until we have that map." Roger asserts, and with Katsuya distacted by So-young while Umie and Shinobu get to work, well, two things happen.
1 - Shinobu finds out it accepts her change and can get a map.
2 - Umie can find a way to keep it open and get extras, if she desires. Nice!
So, they have a map, which is full of useful lines and dots to places where one can get tickets for that big tent in the center! Which is their intent, because that's important.
"Oh! These are the Flegmat Humors I was just mentioning," Roger chimes in. "These ones aren't affected by the Homonculus at all, which is terrific!" Maybe not humble or radiant, but one out of three is... okay. "...The thing is, as a Sanguin Humor, I should be able to will them around, but they haven't been listening to me either." Meaning...
He can't just ask them to get out of the line leading up to the boring, plain-looking ride that awards a ticket. Let's not talk about what the ride is any more, just that it's not the problem here. It's this line.
It's not really moving, as if the Flegmat Humors here seem to represent some idea of a line, some kind of order, as opposed to literally being one. (the ride works fine, ride understands it is a ride. it is not a great understanding bu tit understands enough.)
"Oh! Be careful not to make Flegmat Humors upset. They might seem like they just kinda get swept into everything around them, but... getting them upset can draw Coleric Humors just as easy," Roger warns. "Even though I really wanna play on the ride too!"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Someone thought I needed better weapons," Umie confirms to Shinobu with a nod, lifting up the 'coin' end so it catches the light. "So they made them for me themselves. Neat, isn't it?" She grins, the red and white ground reflecting a slight devilish cast to her expression. "Can't wait to test it." (Or maybe it's just the wording?)
Maybe, if Umie hadn't had Morgana come to her rescue once, she wouldn't be so accepting. It also helps that Roger is particularly adorable, despite Umie's terrible introduction of 'talking piggie'. She was enamoured! "One way or another, we agreed to it when we came in here," Umie says, nonchalantly, with that same grin as she playfully sways that ring on her shoge like a metronome. "Didn't the ritual clue you in? Sure, it's like a Palace in that way, but it's still a riddle. Danger is the name of the game, and we're playing it, one way or another~" She's a different person in these places, but is there really any question that this isn't the person who asked So-young to punch her that one miserable night?
Her 'speech' is somewhat hampered by the almost innocent tone of Roger, who pipes up about his relationship to Hazuki, how he loves to play games, and... "You're under our protection now, Roger-kun," Umie decides, randomly, without the group's consensus. "We'll need your help here."
Shinobu asks to be filled in, and Umie frowns, thoughtfully. "Hm... It's been a while," she starts, when Katsuya helpfully fills in. If Katsuya is the lecturer, Umie seems quite ready to join in in a similarly harmonious tutor mode. "Yeah, phlegm," Umie confirms, as she checks a nail. Damn, her nail polish chipped when she was lockpicking!
====LATER====
"So we need to help you," Umie says, after listening to Roger. "Force will attract more trouble, but if we coerce them instead, we'd be in a better position, right?"
Maybe, if they're as willing to play games as Roger is... Umie gets out a loop of string from her coat and wraps it around her splayed fingers, making a shape of a cat's cradle.
Time for test number... 8? She wasn't counting. "Oh, excuse me," she says, coming up to a Flegmet Humor with a soft tone, a sweet smile on her lips, and a twinkle in the halfmask over her eyes. "I was wondering..." She displays the cat's cradle in front of her. "Could you take this off me? I'm afraid it'll break if I do it myself... Here, I'll show you how to take it on your fingers." Do they have enough fingers? That is the next test.
Can a humor recognize the logical error here, or will they, like a Jack Frost once did, think they are stuck when the cat's cradle is on their hands? She'll take it off them, and try to humor (no pun intended) the next Flegmet Humor, trying to get as many of them to pay attention to her 'ordeal' as possible, as she goes through several looped string combinations.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with String Theory toward Long Line Ahead! Focus and Find!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"What if I just fly over the whole thing?" is So-young's mildly sulky reply to Umie, but she lets it go at that, because if she has an achilles heel it's definitely how receptive she is to dramatic conventions and expectations. Besides, she's starting to get the hang of how cognitive spaces work, at least a little. Bulling your way to the end might do a lot more harm than good.
"Ah, no, wait," So-young frowns for a moment as she realizes she's given Katsuya the wrong terminology. Hers is a Korean name, certainly, so maybe she can be forgiven for the momentary lapse in her otherwise extremely good Japanese. "Half-sibling? Different fathers, I believe." (She believes?)
Katsuya's introduction makes So-young's eyebrows slowly travel up into her hair, and she is careful to voice the next part as diplomatically as she can manage: "I am at the same time very shocked and yet also completely unsurprised to find that Myunghon is on such good terms with a member of the police force. Hopefully they're not causing you too much trouble," she adds with a rather wry grin.
She's still carrying around some baggage from the encounter with Ishiba. Staring down a gun for your first time will do that. But she can appreciate the steps Katsuya took in that situation, and her smile is easy enough as she spots Umie finishing up. "Since we're in a cognitive space, it might be more appropriate to bear in mind the four temperaments caused by the humours instead," she notes. "Each humour was tied to a specific mental state in the case of an imbalance."
"'Sanguine' was 'happy'," she adds for Shinobu's sake, counting off on her fingers, little finger first. Roger certainly seems to fit that description as far as she's concerned. "Choleric and melancholic should be obvious enough. Phlegmatic..." she trails off uncertainly, and you can see the moment where she's going 'OH NO MY CRED' before Roger thankfully comes to the rescue with an oblique reference that lets her connect the dots. "... oh, it was 'calm'! Quite. Hard to go wrong with that last one, I suppose."
She silently thanks Roger for the assist with a tilt of her head with a gracious smile. "They're a lot of trouble sometimes, but I've never been all that close to my family up until now," she offers, which is a hell of an understatement and a half right now. "So I'm glad to be getting to know them." This part, at least, she seems genuine about.
"... you know, if this were a truly fantastic place, we wouldn't have to deal with lines at all," So-young points out as she surveys the route ahead, and the long and winding path filled with-- p e o p l e? Do they count as people? Maybe it's just better to internalize them that way. Stepping forward, the conductor lightly cracks her knuckles. "Well, it's nice to know that my skillset can be of some use here at least." The ground seems to shake with the solid way in which she steps forwards, and--
--and So-young weaves through the line with ease, looking like she's completely in her element. Maybe it's the aura of unstoppable confidence that she always seems to carry herself with, as if the crowds should simply part in her wake. Or maybe it's the way she seems to be remarkably good at, well, schmoozing - summoning a radiant but very surface level charisma as she offers quick, pleasant 'excuse me's and even seems to exchange snatches of understanding or upbeat conversation with the largely unresponsive Flegmat Humours. They don't respond, but perhaps it truly is the thought that counts here.
MONAD: So-young Park has acted with Vivace toward Long Line Ahead! Focus and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Roger confirms that he does, in fact, know Hazuki.
"...Alright. In that case, I'll trust you. She seems like a good kid, so if she's helping you out, then that's good enough for me." Shinobu replies with a nod. "We could use all the help we can get, anyway."
Katsuya goes into Lecturer Mode - and Shinobu does listen, if only because it seems relevant due to the situation at hand.
"Different fluids, huh? Gross." Shinobu comments, though there's a smirk on her face that suggests the comment isn't entirely serious. "...Makes sense that something would pop up around those, though, I guess. If they were that popular."
So-young, then, explains the temperaments connected to each of the humors. Happy, choleric - she doesn't actually know what that means off the top of her head, but she can make connections based off the ones that come after - melancholic, and calm...
"Good to know. And Roger here's one of these 'humor' things... So he's 'sanguine', which means 'happy'. ...I guess the, uh, 'choleric' ones are the ones that're gonna be the most trouble." Shinobu considers, looking between So-young and Roger.
"That is pretty neat. Looks sharp. Sturdy, too. You've got a pretty good friend there." Shinobu comments, as Umie shows off her new weapon.
The fake coins work - and so too does the lockpicking, and now they have a map. Shinobu takes a quick look. They need tickets... so they go to their first stop. But here, there's a line... but if they just wait here, they'll just be waiting forever.
"Right? ...But who says we gotta?" Shinobu replies to So-young with a smirk. Roger says that he should be able to will them around, but they haven't been listening to him. She frowns, considering the situation.
"Are you sure you're just not being forceful enough?" Shinobu asks. "If you want someone to do something for you, you gotta give them a good reason to. Make them like you enough - or make them afraid of you enough that they decide they don't want the trouble."
Shinobu rolls her neck - and then she puts her hands into her pockets, putting on a bit of a slouch as she makes her stance look a bit more intimidating.
"I'm coming through." She announces, offering no room for complaint as she barges ahead in line.
MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Former Delinquent toward Long Line Ahead! Efficient and Bravery!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
"Ah... well, it was a belief by ancient man," he remarks, as if taken very slightly aback at Shinobu's comment. "I suppose they were attempting to find some form of cause and effect for illness."
He takes another look around him as Roger answers their questions. "So everyone has a space like this," he muses aloud, as Roger explains what's going on here. "I assume the, well, aspect is a reflection of the person in question?" It sounds that way from the description, but he does have to check for himself. "Yet it sounds like all is not as it should be in here. You mentioned a 'Homunculus'? I believe I've heard of that as well... a sort of 'artificial human' that was described in certain European folklore traditions, if I recall correctly. From what you're saying, it sounds like it's something that isn't supposed to be here."
And it also sounds like the Humors are not normally so... difficult to manage as these appear to be, if he can go by Roger's explanations here. "So this Homunculus is an intruder, and it has taken over control of the Humors in this Atelier. Do I have that right?" He pauses, then asks the next million-yen question: "If it retains control, then what happens?"
He's doing his best, he was pushed in here (metaphorically speaking) with no context for anything.
But first, they have to get a map. And to do that, Umie and Shinobu need to commit a crime. This is where So-young comes in.
"Ah! I see," he says at her correction, privately considering to himself that this makes rather more sense. "Half-sibling." Half-sister. He pauses. "You... believe?"
Given what he knows of Myunghon, is it any mystery that their mother would also be, well. Unusual? (he doesn't know the half of it.)
He can mark well her surprise at his day job. "It is... not a typical situation. It is a very long story, I am afraid, but like you, I possess the power of Persona. In matters such as these, it is important for public safety to understand what is going on." On the matter of his co-worker, Ishiba, he'll say no more, at least not in this time and space.
Phlegmatic? "It was 'calm', Park-san. Each of the humors was seen as a mixture of wet, dry, cold, or hot aspects. If I recall correctly, Phlegmatic refers to a cold and wet aspect." How does he know that, as a police officer? Is he some kind of secret nerd?
"Oh, was the case not locked? That's good. It wouldn't be right to steal even in a place like this," he says, noticing that Umie now has a map. "You are right, though, Shimizu-san. A Choleric Humor seems as if it could cause us the most trouble."
But onwards! ...At least, until they encounter a very long line that doesn't seem to be moving. Katsuya hesitates, considering his options here. It's not polite to barge ahead, and yet, it doesn't seem like it's moving. Or like it's ever going to move. If this is a supernatural place, then...
Thinking of a particular venture into Mementos, Katsuya takes a breath and produces, from his jacket pocket, his badge. "This is police! Make way at once!"
And then, just like a cop, he'll try to push on through the crowd.
MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with You're Under Arrest! toward Long Line Ahead! Specialty! (|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Long Line Ahead - Round 2 ===============================================- Katsuya Suou Guts Success You're Under Arrest! Specialty Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Charm Success String Theory Focus and Find Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shinobu Shimizu Guts Success Former Delinquent Efficient and Bravery Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So-young Park Charm Success Vivace Focus and Patra Fatigue: 0 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Heartening-2, and Stupor-1 Final Conditions: Heartening-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | =====================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ============================================================- Items: 1, Money: 0, Gear: 1 (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|)
-==== Round 3: Shootin Gallery - Challenge Level 2 ============================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Charm |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Enlightening - Academics Up L2, and |
| Heartening - Guts Up L1 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
On the midway, there is a wide shooting gallery with cute little cork guns to
shoot at cut-out targets. The operator offers a ticket for anyone who can beat
him in a shootout, but there's a problem.
The guns have a poor balance and weighting to them, making it hard to gauge
accurately how to shoot them under the time pressure even if you're trained with
firearms. You can use math and angles to try and figure out the best way to
shoot the target without missing, whether via trick shot or sharpshooting, or
you can try and figure out a way to convince the operator to swap guns with one
of you, whether via charm or goading, as their gun works without issues.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
Next up is the matter of the Flegmat Humors. Umie draws the attention of some with her loops of string tied around her. There is a sense of mild irritation and murmuring, as if these Shadows were also, in part, embodiments of mild discomforts typically unvoiced. It's eerie to look at them, even in their passive demeanor as bizarre caricatures of carnival-goers.
They seem to take her up on it.
It helps with letting So-young just cut in line because they're not paying attention to her as she passes on by, other than some bizarre half-coherent murmurs of rudeness that do not bud into anything more urgent - it really is that smooth a schmooze! She schmoozes, she doesn't lose. (...that doesn't quite roll off the tongue)
"The last time I tried," Roger snorts to Shinobu, "I was yelling and everything and they still didn't budge! It's just," ears flatten downcast, "I don't understand why they won't want to play with me, but they seem to play just fine with other Sanguin Humors that trot on up..."
Still, Shinobu's not far behind So-young in the line cutting, and they're all too enamored by the cat's cradle stuff.
MEANWHILE, POTENTIALLY CHRONOLOGICALLY DISPLACED, KATSUYA'S QUERIES
"That's right!" Roger grunts affirmatively. "About everyone having a space like this, and... well, if the Homonculus retains control..." He sinks some. "Then... whoever this Atelier belonged to is gone, and what happens to the Atelier after that... I don't know." THen, angry snort. "Just that it's bad and I can't allow it!"
Anyway, this potential chronological issue aside, basically, everyone cuts through in line and gets to have. Have fun? They get to have. They also get to have tickets. (Roger sounds like he enjoyed it. If they're not careful, Roger might try to do it again. But we won't dedicate too much precious narrative real estate to that.)
The Flegmat Humors are still in line. They're not going on the ride. They're not missing out on much, but they'll be okay.
Next along the line of the questionably legally obtained map, there's a beanpole of a Sanguin Humor challenging carnivalgoers to a shooting gallery match between themselves and... well, everyone!
"Another Sanguin Humor!" Roger calls. "Oh! Don't worry. Sanguin Humors won't fall under the sway of any Homonculus that easily!" ...Wait, is there a kind that does? Maybe he should talk about that before long. Anyway, they're offering adorable cork guns!
They look the part. That's the nicest thing you can say. Poorly balanced, inaccurate, just flimsy pieces of carnival garbage!
"This one's still as fun as I remember from the last few times!" Roger adds. "Even though every time he plays he has the only one that works!" ...So how is it fun? It does not seem possible to actually win this with the guns provided. Somehow, something's gotta give in terms of convincing them to give you a fair shake. Or, uh, any kind of shake at all. (It's that bad.)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"I mean, we might need it, but you're only going to be able to pull that trick off once," Umie says, turning to look over her shoulder at So-young. "Let's just assume it's like Kaneshiro's Palace. There was a big difference between the first and second times we went in, right?" She holds up a finger. "We don't know all the rules here. So we need to learn them, and then--" 'Break them', a part of her wants to say. Instead, Umie gives Katsuya and Roger a side glance.
... And in the space of that thought, as she reflects on the difference between her blood-thirsty attitude and Roger's own, as well as Katsuya's own thoughtful tone, Umie remembers *why* they're here, and *what* they may be doing. "Katsuya-san's right," she then adds, with a more level-headed, sober tone, "if this is cognitively connected to this person, we might be doing some damage to his mind if we're not careful. It's like Ishiba-san's coffin that night." ... She can't even let herself go for a second, can she? But when she thinks about it for a second: why is this place so fragile? What is it reflecting: Taro, or the homunculus that is trying to replace him? "
"So you're half-siblings from different fathers, huh," Umie comments to So-young. So So-young wouldn't be connected to the NWO through her father, but the mystery of the mother So-young and Myunghon share still persists. Does this mother also want to kill So-young as well?
"I can vouch for Katsuya-san, if you need it." This is to So-young, as Umie discreetly lies to a police officer she just said she was going to vouch for. "Yep." She gives Katsuya a smile as she hands an extra map over to him, as well as for Roger, So-young, and Shinobu if any of them need one.
Roger doesn't know what'll happen if the homunculus takes over. Umie frowns. "... Doesn't sound like anything good. We need to figure out *what* needs to happen to correct whatever's happened."
If there was ever a reason to bring a police officer, it's this part here: where Katsuya puts his thinking cap on and pulls out his badge. "See? There's a reason I asked him along." She grins at So-young and Shinobu, and follows along.
The next game? Umie does a small, sharp, open-mouthed grin that spreads on her face as Roger explains.
She holds up her Shoge. "What to see something really neat?" she wagers with the Sanguin Humor, as the ghostly figure of Badb appears overhead. "I bet, with my abilities, that I can hit all of these with my coin ring. You want to see it, right? I'll let the others go first, so you can have a chance to think about it." The Badb beckons with red, delicate claws, as Umie's eyes lid halfway. "I promise, it'll be more exciting than anything you've seen so far."
MONAD: That Approach doesn't match the challenge! MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with String Theory toward Shootin Gallery! Focus and Find!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"No, it was _extremely_ gross," So-young corrects Shinobu with some distinct relish. If you had too much of one fluid, correcting it was an inevitably messy process in one way or another." Perhaps it's for the best that she doesn't elaborate, though she does tilt her head shortly before they power through the crowd. "You surely have met someone who is so angry at everything all the time they've quite literally turned red in the face? That is choleric."
"I believe," she intones to Katsuya, her voice dropping an octave to emphasize the word. There is a long-suffering look on her face for a moment before she brightens. "But! Whatever will be, will be, I suppose." She spares a moment to look around her at the battered, beaten down amusement park that may or may not be part of someone's head, and thinks back to what she saw of the coverage of Kaneshiro's surprise confession. "... your paperwork must be truly, _truly_ breathtaking," she notes with a wry sympathy.
She doesn't seem all that concerned about having a map, nor about the issue of her parentage as she casually replies to Umie. "Yes, I assume so. I do not actually know who my father is, but it would predate my mother going to Japan by several years. Myunghon has done enough warning me about their side of the family that I would assume they're different?" she can only shrug expansively. Her thoughts on this are written on her face - there's not really much else to say about of it. It's juicy gossip, of a sort, but it's also a very closed and cold case and she is a twenty-seven year old woman. She's long since come to terms with it.
"Oh, no," she sighs at the sight of the shooting game. "I'm terrible at these. Give me a good musical game any day, but I'll leave this one up to the professionals," she says at first, but something about Umie's sheer confidence makes her eyes narrow. That feels like a challenge, and it's easy to bait So-young into a challenge. "Fine, I shall give it an attempt."
... this would be better if she were smart enough to be able to tell anything about the balance and weighting of a gun. It's a carnival; she's kind of expecting the guns at the stand to be garbage, just like she'd expect a light gun in an arcade to shoot a couple of inches off target. As such, this might not go all that well for her.
MONAD: So-young Park has acted with Academics toward Shootin Gallery! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
Katsuya seems taken aback by her statement, and Shinobu feels accomplished - and then she laughs, as So-young agrees/corrects her.
"I'll take your word for it." She replies with a grin. "...Yeah, I might've known a few people like that. More than once it was 'cause of me, though."
As Katsuya explains further, though, her expression gets more serious.
"Makes sense. You gotta look for sense where you can find it, and it's not like they had all the tech we do these days. Think of it like that, and it's pretty clever." Shinobu comments. She listens as he and Roger talk about what the Atelier and Homunculus is. He's asking the smart question, so she'll let him handle that and listen to the answers Roger gives. She had a little bit more preparation... but it still makes a big difference, hearing it from someone involved than reading about it. And Umie points out something important, too.
"...Got it. So no running off breaking things if we don't know what they do." Shinobu says. ...Which counts several pages out of her personal playbook, but that's how it goes.
Roger explains, then, that he tried, but they didn't listen.
"They didn't, huh?" Shinobu comments thoughtfully with a frown. "...Maybe there's something else going on with them. It might be a good thing we showed up when we did."
They all make it forward in line, whether by force or by charm, and Shinobu looks toward Umie.
"Don't worry. I already know he's reliable." She replies with a shake of her head... even if it's fun to be a pain toward him sometimes. She listens, then, as So-young talks about her and Myunghon's parents.
"...Didn't realise everything was so complicated for you two." She says. And soon they encounter... another Sanguin Humor?
"So this guy should be easy to get on our side?" Shinobu asks with a glance at Roger. Umie, then, seems to be willing to make a gamble with the Humor...She looks back toward the game, then, and sizes it up.
...Now, she knows how these work. If it's anything like the real deal, it's probably rigged. The question is... how? If she was doing it, she'd probably...
rying to keep the various possible tricks in mind once her turn rolls around, Shinobu approaches, takes aim - and fires, trying to make her shots quick but careful while keeping the fact that it's weighed against her in mind.
MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Academics toward Shootin Gallery! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
He's just not used to coarser women. Make of that what you will.
He can certainly think of someone choleric, who was red in the face. All of them here met him, in fact.
"My paperwork... must be quite careful, these days." Getting pushed off the Joker Killer investigation for telling the truth about what he saw is still a sore point, and the same is also true about the attack on Ayame's husband (which had led to a suggestion that he ought to take another vacation soon, maybe). They keep shunting him to to other work, where he can't influence half as much as he'd prefer, let alone getting to the heart of the matter -- the Truth about the serial killings and the other dark deeds in Sumaru City. All he can do is apply what 'force' he has in those few situations that arrive where he can affect anything at all.
...Myunghon and So-young's family situation seems quite complicated indeed...
So he's right, there is something that's not supposed to be here, and if it takes over completely-- well, something bad will happen. "Then... we should be certain not to find out," he says, thinking of the outcome of Kaneshiro's Palace. He hadn't been there on the trip that took them up against the Ruler: he doesn't know what was done. He knows only that there was a promise to steal the Ruler's heart and that afterwards, Kaneshiro had turned himself in and confessed all his crimes.
A change like that was good for society, but he's been wondering about it, all the more for not seeing what had transpired within. ...Is it right? If someone is made to change, or at least he assumes, rather than change of their own free will? It makes him feel uneasy.
And, for that matter, what will the outcome be for this place? It doesn't appear to obey what few rules he knows about Palaces. Ateliers must have their own logic and thus results on the person to whom they belong.
He glances at Umie. "It seems as if we must do something," he says aloud at last. "This is not a situation we can let slide." He can only hope that this, whatever it is, is the right thing. "Akabane-kun is correct, however. We must be careful..." He nods, at what Shinobu says. "Indeed... we must proceed prudently."
Who talks like that, really?
They make their way on ahead and there spot a stall. "A... shooting gallery? I haven't played a game like this since I was a teenager," he remarks. It's certainly a far cry from the police shooting range.
He picks up one of the cork guns. "The balance of this is off," Katsuya remarks quietly to the others. "Ah, excuse me there," he says, raising his voice to try to get the attention of the stall-owner. "It appears that the condition of these toy guns is somewhat off." He shakes his head. "No, no, I quite understand. It seems difficult to work this sort of game, and evaluate the skills of the participants. You have my sympathies. Now, if you please, I have a suggestion for how you might store and care for them better," he continues, as if attempting to get on their good side in the hopes of getting all of them a little slack.
MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Advise toward Shootin Gallery! Friendliness and Diligence! (|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Shootin Gallery - Round 3 ===============================================- Katsuya Suou Charm Success Advise Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Charm Success String Theory Focus and Find Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shinobu Shimizu Academics Success Academics Base Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So-young Park Academics Failure Academics Base Fatigue: 1 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Enlightening-2, and Heartening-1 Final Conditions: Annoying-1 and Enlightening-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | =====================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ============================================================- Items: 2, Money: 1, Gear: 1 (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|)
-==== Round 4: Dilapidated Rollercoaster - Challenge Level 2 ==================-
| Approach Options: Understanding or Guts |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Bolstering - Guts Up L2, Checkpoint - |
| Cleanse all negative conditions., Enlightening - Academics Up L2, and Stony |
| - Understanding Down L2 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
Through your journeys across the carnival, you may have seen a large wooden
rollercoaster hovering over the skyline. As you approach it, you'll see just
what condition it is in: it looks like a deathtrap, with rotted wood and rusty
rails. Nonetheless, you need that ticket, so you'll have to brave your fears and
ride the rocking coaster.
Once you finally make it to the end, however, there'll be a problem. Flegmat
Humors in the shape of twisted passengers that look more akin to deformed beasts
are hovering around the ticket machine, in complete shock and fear from the
coaster. You'll have to either scare them off or convince them to leave on their
own if you want the ticket!
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
There is trickery afoot, against a Sanguin Humor that seems rather insistent about running this 'competition' this way. But Umie has their attention as Badb is summoned.
"Aww, are you not?" Roger asks of So-young. "But games are fun! You should play them anyway!" (If one chooses, Roger being annoyingly insistent can count as the source of a Fatigue point.)
"It should be, but they don't listen!" Roger says. Nonetheless... somehow, by some way, Shinbou manages some good shots with the gun despite everything (or because of everything? Maybe she missed, but Badb over there was too mesmerizing.)
In fact, when Katsuya starts to talk at length about the toy guns, he seems to hit it off with the Sanguin Humor that seems really insistent about running the game as he is, and the funny thing is that through this entire conversation, the tickets are right there and nothing stops anyone from grabbing them anyway.
...Regardless if they do that or not...
Roger sees a ride without a line! "Oh! A free ride with tickets! I didn't have to root around too much to find this one!" Aaaaaaand there's a great reason for that because does one see the shape it's in? ...There's no telling if it's going to be a good idea to stick around and wait for a better opportunity, but...
It's hard to see just how badly off this ride is in full until one rides it, and it is an outright deathtrap. One that does not spring, but yikes, there are so many codes violated here. Some manner of building and safety codes have to apply in some form, can't they?!
...It's more noteworthy towards the end after the ride, when Roger sees it.
"Those...! Those are Flegmat Humors under the sway of the Homonculus! When you see them becoming like that, that's how you know the Atelier's owner is really on the losing end," melancholy, despite the excitement of the ride.
They look deformed and dangerous but aren't that much more aggressive (if at all, though they are moving in a worrisome manner as they start to reflect the Homonculus' 'normal.')
In fact, they're standing there staring like deers in headlights around the ticket machine, and they need to be coaxed away in case their altered state represents a greater heightened personal danger. (Roger's not clear on this front, in the moment.)
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
"... it is a little sad to think about everything being explained and written down and categorized, mind you," So-young notes to Shinobu and Katsuya both with a mild frown. "Things tend to lose their mystique when they're written out plainly in front of you on white paper. I should know, I was working on my next score on the train."
The joke is light, but genuinely meant. She's fond of mystery and emotion, of the arts in general - and less so the stifling bureaucracy part of the whole chronicling affair. "Everywhere seems to have a 'don't break thing' rule these days. What if we want to get at least a little crazy?"
So-young has already answered that, every single Dark Hour. She's yet to crashland as she tries pushing Icarus a little faster each time, but the very nature of her personality means that it may only be a matter of time before she manages to pancake herself. On the other hand, it's almost possible she might just simply pick herself back up and immediately move onwards.
"No, well, let me be clear. If anyone is making it particularly complicated it's Myunghon," So-young grumbles. "Not through any fault of their own, admittedly. But up until now I was content with seeing mother dearest every six months and leaving it at that. Now I have a whole other world - plural, in fact - to deal with."
She shoulders a gun as if she's done at least this much before - thanks, Parabellum - and fires. There is a comedic pop as the cork bounces off the back wall, and she frowns deeply to fire again. And again. And... oh, look, her accuracy is clearly getting _worse_ with each shot and not better as her focus dwindles.
With a final huff, she sets the gun back down and just waits for everyone else to be done. It's fine. It's whatever. She can crash a jet plane into things. What if she crashed Icarus into the entire booth, _huh_?
She is diverted somewhat from this line of thought by the promise of a ride, and while she eyes the state of the track for a moment, something about the curling loops and bizarre corkscrews make her grin rakishly. "Last one in..." she taunts openly, laughter in her voice as she slips into the seat.
And to her credit, this is one time where she doesn't fall from grace, whooping with a complete lack of fear even as the track creaks beneath them. There's an incredibly devil-may-care grin on her face as they approach the final stretch, and even Roger's panicked concern for the Flegmat Humors can't bull through the adrenaline rush she's currently feeling. Instead, with a wave of her hand, Icarus soars just above them, spinning straight through the middle of the final corkscrew loop in a very show-off sort of fly-by. The sonic boom it leaves in its wake sends the poor Humours scattering every which way.
They're-- they're probably fine. Right?
MONAD: So-young Park has acted with Fortissimo toward Dilapidated Rollercoaster! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"We might be forced to, if the timeline's shorter than we're expecting," Umie says to Katsuya. "I'm not sure how Roger's different from the other humors, but his insight's probably going to be the only way we'll figure out how to proceed next." She's settled into her role here pretty well, remaining calm and in control. "It's got to be somewhat similar to Palaces, but if we assume instead of confirm..."
The seriousness in her voice has been there several times, and always, over similar subjects and themes: that is, death.
But at least Umie's not alone in feeling some need to temper their need to rush ahead, even if it's constantly at the back of her mind.
There'll be plenty of time for those sorts of stunts later!
Now, on the rickety roller coaster, whatever thrill Umie was feeling from the rush of a possible safety hazard, Umie nervously adjusts the ribbon holding her mask on. ".... I guess that means the timeline's a lot shorter, then," she says, grimacing at Roger's words.
Umie stands up in the rickety cart, hooking the hooked side of her shoge into the side to keep from vaulty over as she concentrates, summoning a blue light underneath her as So-young does a much similar tactic.
It's here that finally, Umie imbues the full cognitive power of the Badb, no longer using trickery or charm to get ahead, but fear. "Cover your ears!" Umie warns, as the dark grey shawl of the Badb hovers overhead, over the young form of the pale-skinned woman, red markings vivid over her blue-veined skin.
Umie murmurs a simple command, fully in tune with the goddess of war and death that hovers over her shoulder.
"Move."
If those remaining on the track don't move, the pale faced Badb's ruby red lips open from a coy feminine smile to a coarse, ghoulish cry, switching from the role of a bewitching red oracle to the grey-shrouded hag without changing a single aspect of her visual appearance.
Yes, Katsuya, this same young woman has been inside your family's home with this very same Persona.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Bird's Eye View toward Dilapidated Rollercoaster! Automap!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
"I could do with a little less mystique sometimes, honestly." Shinobu admits with a shrug. "I like knowing what's going on."
Katsuya agrees that they should move forward carefully - okay, that's not the way he puts it - and Shinobu nods back.
Roger says that it should be easy - but even other Sanguin Humors aren't listening to him... What's going on? Is it due to the current state of the Atelier...? She frowns.
Whatever the case, they're able to score tickets! If she isn't handed any for her showing, she will certainly take a ticket for herself. It's only fair.
"That so, huh...? Guess that would throw a wrench into things." Shinobu comments, as So-young mentions the family situation.
Next up - a ride without a line! And it isn't hard to see why.
"Oh, someone's definitely going to die on this. What're the odds it's gonna launch us out like a rocket? Or are we just gonna drop like a rock?" Shinobu cracks a grin as she sees it.
"Don't mind if I do." She replies to So-young's taunting with a laugh. She climbs aboard... and nobody dies, this time. There is, however, trouble at the end of the line. The Flegmat Humors...
"...That bad, huh?" Shinobu comments with a frown. ...Well, they don't have much time to be delicate about it, in that case.
"...Move it, people. You're holding up the line." Shinobu says, stomping forward and raising her voice as she stares down the Humors.
MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Former Delinquent toward Dilapidated Rollercoaster! Efficient and Bravery!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
"Hmm. Do you think so? I find it comforting," he tells So-young. "It seems easier to handle a universe that can be explained." Maybe that's why he's still grappling, to a degree, with the world into which he's been thrust-- or at least, trying to compartimentalize it in a way that seems to make sense. Even he smiles, slightly, when Shinobu agrees with him, a slight break away from the more serious man he's presented until this point.
"Perhaps, but we should take reasonable care. What was that saying-- ah, 'make haste, slowly'," he quotes to Umie. "Hurry, but don't be reckless." They'll have to listen to Roger well.
Does someone take a ticket while he's trying to explain things to the stall-operator? Would Katsuya realize it if they had? Just don't tell him what you did or he'll be sad about it :(
"It is unfortunate I could not make him see reason," he laments, when all is said and done. At least, they do mysteriously have tickets. "I suppose they cannot deviate from their roles, or something like that." Didn't Roger say something to that effect? "Regardless, we should keep moving."
Up ahead isn't a game of chance. It's a series of rickety carts, set to run across tracks that seem seriously dilapidated. "A ticket... for riding that?" he says, fidgeting with his sunglasses as he frowns. "That's out of the question. That looks highly unsafe. We should find something else," he says, shaking his head, as...
As the others decide -- come to the conclusion, really -- that they don't have much else in the way of a choice if they want to get those tickets. Katsuya hesitates for a moment. Then, shaking his head, he hurries to climb aboard himself.
"...I cannot let you go alone." Or at least, his conscience can't hear letting all of them go off and face potential death while he stays behind.
The first drop is a doozy. Closing his eyes tight, Katsuya endures it until the end of the line. Good news! No one dies. But there's trouble up ahead.
"Melancholy... I see. So we're running out of time," he says to Roger. He glances over sharply at Umie. "Akabane-kun--?"
As instructed, he covers his ears. This turns out to be a wise decision. But it might not quite clear all of them out. The others are right: they don't really have the time to play around. And, isn't this a bad place for the Humors to be congregating anyway? Perhaps, he can do something that will shake them out of their stupor.
Katsuya, tapping into his understanding of the law and instinctive response to this sort of thing, calls out: "This is an illegal gathering of individuals! Clear out, now, or face the penalty!" In another situation, it might have been better to try to soothe them, but...
Maybe a different sort of 'fear' (the fear of the law!!) will provoke them into vacating the area.
MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with You're Under Arrest! toward Dilapidated Rollercoaster! Specialty! (|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|) -==== Dilapidated Rollercoaster - Round 4 =====================================- Katsuya Suou Guts Success You're Under Arrest! Specialty Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Umie Akabane Guts Success Bird's Eye View Automap Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shinobu Shimizu Guts Success Former Delinquent Efficient and Bravery Fatigue: 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So-young Park Guts Success Fortissimo Specialty Fatigue: 1 -============================= Party Conditions: ==============================- Starting Conditions: Annoying-1, Bolstering-2, Checkpoint-0, Enlightening-1, and Stony-2 Final Conditions: Bolstering-1 and Stony-1 -======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | =====================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ============================================================- Items: 2, Money: 1, Gear: 1 (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|)
-==== Round 5: Two For One Special - Challenge Level 2 ========================-
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Charm |
| Conditions: Bolstering - Guts Up L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., |
| Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor Arcana., and Stony - Understanding Down L2 |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
As you return to the big top with your tickets, you find a huge problem,
especially if you have Navigator senses and can detect it early. One of the
Melanc Humors in the form of a large clown, corrupted guardians of the Nakata
Carnival, has taken position outside the tent, unwilling to let you through.
As you fight, he splits into two straight down the middle, half an asymmetrical
clown on each side. You can either use your skill to take down two powerful
combatants at once, or try to charm each side into either reforming or turning
against the other so you can defeat them.
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
To So-young's nuanced, detailed account of her suffering about a whole other world, Roger says... "I like all the new friends I've gotten to play with!"
The human world is hard. But anyway!
There is a terrifying fly-by with Icarus, Badb being badbadass, Shinobu being insistent, and Katsuya declaring this an illegal gathering. They gibber at everyone, and Roger squeals in shock.
They do disperse, but...
"Flegmat Humors don't usually raise their voices like that. And, you're right, we're running out of time! When we're out of time, well... the game is over for Nakata, for good..." Roger looks downcast. Then they have tickets. Tickets are a sign of hope and immediate gratification and fun, so he's in a better mood now.
As they traverse towards the big top, Roger's snout flares as he squeals. "Oh! A Melanc Humor's about to get the jump on us--"
They do. A large, asymmetrical sewn-together... clown? Two clowns? They gibbber and yell noisily, mockingly, about aspects of Taro Nakata he holds in extremely low self-esteem. It's like he's verbally talking himself down, echoed through this Melanc Humor as a vessel for such impulses and feelings. (The worst part is, once they're struck several times they'll split in two and double the fun with alternating spell elements which is... really bad news for the Press Turn rules of engagement.)
"D-Don't worry! All you need to do is subdue them with your 'Persona' which is what you call those, right?" Roger says. "...I don't have one of those!" He's a Shadow, he can't possibly ever have one, right? Even if he is way more personable than any Shadow they've encountered thus far.
Roger makes with the usual navigator commentary!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Perhaps we'll meet again, Roger-kun," Umie says, deploying some of her earlier cockiness in her grin. "You helped us out a lot."
.... As well as defended the honor of the loyal, trustworthy pig, after the shame Kaneshiro had brought upon the humble, noble hooved creature.
Still, their journey isn't over yet, as Roger sniffs out danger before Umie even realizes something is coming their way. "Thank you, Roger-kun! We'll take it over from here, okay? Stay back and keep safe!"
As the battle begins in earnest, the two 'clowns' separate, complicating the fight.
Pressed back, Umie groans on her back. "Shit... now there's two of them..." The coat is left on the ground, revealing the clothing Umie had on underneath the coat this entire time:
.... well, it's literally a t-shirt and shorts, so no epic reveal, but it does mean she's gained back a little more speed at the cost of being just that much more squishy. "Keep them busy; I have an idea!"
(Which, in Umie terms, may as well be 'hold my beer', despite her preference for not drinking.)
The shoge's length is compared to the two 'clowns' and the distance between them. She makes a rough estimate in her head, and, no, it may not work, but--
Yeah, Umie's already moving, her sneakers kicking up grit as she rushes in, passing her momentum to the ring portion of the shoge as she aims it towards the one clown's misshaped, bulbous nose. If she's aimed it right, it'll arc over the nose and wrap around it, giving Umie a temporary line, which she holds onto as the clown bucks its head around, throwing the petite Umie into the air as she hands on for dear life. "Hup!" She grits her teeth, angling her body around to try to use herself as the other end of the weapon's weight.
She's going to try to tie the two clowns together by swinging around them, it seems.
Please help her, she has not thought this completely all the way through.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward Two For One Special! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> So-young Park has posed.
So-young seems to be bulletproof in this moment, whooping with adrenaline and laughter as the rollercoaster comes to an end. "You just have to fake it until you make it!" she beams towards Shinobu and Katsuya as she hops from the car, not even needing to take a moment to find her legs. This is truly Myunghon's antithesis.
She continues as she strides forwards towards the odd two-faced figure, regarding it for a moment before turning back.
"By which I mean, there have been plenty of times when roadblocks have been thrown into my path, and the last thing anyone ever expects you to do is blast straight forwards through them. ... alright, perhaps that is not strictly a lack of mystique," she amends with a carefree shrug. "But sitting still and being cautious isn't for everyone. Besides, I think I'm starting to understand how this works. When a place likes this wants to show you something, it's probably for a specific reason. As a part of the whole we're trying to understand."
"As a case in point, the symbolism here surely can't be that difficult to pick up, can it? We all have that inner voice that whispers unpleasant things about ourselves at 3am on sleepless nights. This one has been made manifest, but I'm sure it's quite representative of Nakata-kun's feelings. And it's not as if there's ever an answer that will satisfy it for good, so of course it ends up being two-faced."
She nods with all the solemnity and certainty of an Understanding 2 character thrown into a cognitive space doing her best to interpret something she's actually not very prone to. She might talk big about it, but she's not really someone for self-reflection, and her personal coping method is to immerse herself in her music - which is basically her day job anyway. Some people have it lucky.
"--did you really need to take off your coat for that, what about the dramatic flutter--" she's distracted from her life advice as Umie tosses her outer layer to the ground, anything else she says lost in the flurry of movement that is generated afterwards.
Her eyebrows raise, impressed - and then start to slowly lower as Umie keeps swinging, the momentum of her motion starting to die out. "... I think that is mostly for movie physics," she smirks, but there's a glow of blue around her as Icarus sweeps past again. This time, it pulls to a stop above them, spinning faster and faster in place as a wind kicks up around them all. No, a miniature cyclone - but one intended to pull Umie forwards in her plan.
MONAD: So-young Park has acted with Glissando toward Two For One Special! Focus and Diligence!
<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
'Fake it until you make it'.
"I've never been good at that." Shinobu admits with a shrug. She's too straightfoward.
"New friends, huh... Shinobu considers him for a moment.
"...Well, it's been nice meeting you, at least." She says. But as he says they're running out of time... "Then I guess we gotta hurry."
They make their way back to the big top, tickets in hand - but Roger warns them about the arrival of a Melanc Humor.
"You've got good senses." Shinobu notes to him. The sewn-together clown appears, and a slow frown crosses her face as it speaks. "...Are these his inner thoughts? Poor kid."
Nevertheless, it's time to fight, and Shinobu draws her weapon. It's a new staff than her usual, made out of remnants found in Kaneshiro's Palace...
...And it shows, given that the thing is made out of what looks like solid gold, tipped with miniature Piggytrons on each end to serve as counterweights. Cloth has been wrapped around the middle to serve as a hand-hold... and also to at least try to mitigate some of the blinding gaudiness of the gold.
"You've got a plan, huh? Alright - I can do that." Shinobu says. Roger says he doesn't have a Persona, and she glances back at him.
"In that case, we can handle it. Just stay back and stay safe, alright?" She replies - and then she sprints forward, digging her staff into the ground and then polevaulting over the clowns in an acrobatic display in an attempt to draw their attention away from everyone else. And when Umie starts her scheme...
"Let's give you a hand. Lachesis!" Shinobu calls out. Her other self appears behind her - and without even a word the two move in opposite directions to catch the clowns in a pincer. They ready their respective staves - and then lunge forward with a synchronized slam to knock the two clowns into each other and make them easier to bind.
MONAD: Shinobu Shimizu has acted with Esoteric Skillset toward Two For One Special! Patra and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
It really is hard to believe that Myunghon and So-young are related.
"Yes, I agree. I do not think we could have come quite so far without your support," he says to Roger.
But, when they run out of time, the game is over.
"I see..." Katsuya says as they hurry back to the tent, pausing just long enough to take a look at the structure. So within is where the Homunculus dwells.
But it's not here unguarded.
"I see... so we have no choice," Katsuya says, drawing his gun.
Flame and gunfire are his initial contribution to this sortie, but what's this-- before long, the solo giant clown splits into the two it once was, and magical destruction rains across the field, making the whole of their endeavor that much more fraught.
All the while, the two clowns double down on what they had done as a cohesive whole: speak loudly about the failings of the young man to whom this Atelier belongs. In this moment, as Umie tries a daring tactic to bind and bring down the clown duo, Katsuya glances over at So-young as she begins to speak directly to the Melanc Humors themselves. How this place works, is it... ...and what one thinks about on sleepless nights. No, he can certainly understand that. He holsters his gun.
"Nakata-kun. It sounds as if you've been shouldering a lot of things on your own," he starts to say, as if speaking to the person himself and not the Melanc Humors that highlight these darker elements and thoughts of the young man's mind. "What she says is correct. There is a lot that we go through within our own minds late at night. At times like this, it's not a bad idea to reach out to another person. We don't exist in this world alone. As they say, a problem shared is a problem halved. I think that all of us here are willing to listen, if you're ready to speak."
MONAD: Katsuya Suou has acted with Advise toward Two For One Special! Friendliness and Diligence!
(|============================= Monad - Results ==============================|)
-==== Two For One Special - Round 5 ===========================================-
Katsuya Suou Charm Success
Advise Friendliness and Diligence Fatigue: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Umie Akabane Proficiency Success
Can you do this? Specialty Fatigue: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shinobu Shimizu Proficiency Success
Esoteric Skillset Patra and Focus Fatigue: 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So-young Park Proficiency Success
Glissando Focus and Diligence Fatigue: 1
-============================= Party Conditions: ==============================-
Starting Conditions: Bolstering-1, Boss-0, Shuffle: Sword-0, and Stony-1
Final Conditions:
-======================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| =====================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ============================================================-
Items: 2, Money: 1, Gear: 1
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|)
-==== Round 6: Treasure Trove - Challenge Level 1 =============================-
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Revelation - The best result. |
-==== Challenge ===============================================================-
Once inside the big top waiting area after your success at the carnival,, a
Sanguin Humor employee shows up with a cache of treasures, having decided you're
a lucky winner. Containing supernatural pyrite, carnival glass, bismuth
crystals, and clownskin hides, you can likely make this into something very
special with the right craftsman... perhaps Peacock Silk can do something for
you?
Either way, you're ready to face the Homunculus... once the show starts. If it
hasn't, you might be able to save your tickets for later, though if you plan on
coming back for a full expedition, you'll need to replace them then.
Final Loot: 2 Items, 1 boxes of Money, and 1 Pieces of Gear!
(|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|====================== Monad - Taro Nakata's Atelier =======================|) -==== Round 6: Treasure Trove - Challenge Level 1 =============================- | Approach Options: None | | Conditions: Revelation - The best result. | -==== Challenge ===============================================================- Once inside the big top waiting area after your success at the carnival,, a Sanguin Humor employee shows up with a cache of treasures, having decided you're a lucky winner. Containing supernatural pyrite, carnival glass, bismuth crystals, and clownskin hides, you can likely make this into something very special with the right craftsman... perhaps Peacock Silk can do something for you? Either way, you're ready to face the Homunculus... once the show starts. If it hasn't, you might be able to save your tickets for later, though if you plan on coming back for a full expedition, you'll need to replace them then. Final Loot: 2 Items, 1 boxes of Money, and 1 Pieces of Gear! (|============================================================= Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
It's a knock-down, drag-out, and technically split-apart fight. Shinobu and So-young make up the brunt of the offensive part of the battle (and wow, it gets hectic on the split). It's when they're both incapacitated taht Umie can try to make the play to tie them back together as one due to some sort of special action that requires her to leave the fighting party for a few rounds to actually do the thing, and from there...
Katsuya tries to speak from the heart as a put-upon adult who has, indeed, had to shoulder a lot of things on his own as he starts to back up what the conductor is trying to say - all this, while the horrid clown-shaped Melanc Humor... s... are trying to be tied to gether by Umie. (Anything funny, Shinobu can beat the heck out of.)
Whatever the Melanc Humors gibber, they start to slow as Flegmat Humors start to arrive and surround the subdued Melanc Humor. They're eerie, being strange caricatures of carnival-goers and staff, their own eerie murmuring seeming to have something of a... calming effect? The worst exaggerated aspects of the Melanc Humor lessen.
"You all did it! You won!" Roger jumps up and down excitedly with a pumped fist. "Radiant...! The Flegmat Humors can keep them subdued so the Homonculus doesn't take them back over..."
'CONGRATULATIONS, LUCKY WINNERS! Here's your prize! The show will be starting... sometime! Then you can go watch the ringmaster!'
The prize has supernatural pyrite, carnival glass, bismuth crystals, and... um. clown... skin... hiii-- whoa what I'm not typing that out what is wrong with this treasure
"Thank you very much... let's play again, and soon!" Roger says. "Um. Very, very soon... I don't know how much more time is left."
Roger will help see everyone out, but... all the Flegmat Humors have clear carnival themeing. Looking at Roger's back, he's got an arcade coin slot and a pinball launcher for a tail. Nothing else in the carnival looks like him.
...Curious. Nonetheless, he genuinely helps see people out.