L: Created page with "'''Log: ''' An Impressive Dossier '''Cast:''' Isabeau Fontaine, Laurent Fontaine '''Where:''' Kagurazaka - Penthouse '''OOC Date:''' 2026-02-25 '''IC Date:''' Mon, Oct 01 2012 '''Summary''': ''It's dinnertime at the Fontaines, again, and tonight's dish is roast duck -- a thing Isabeau can't cook yet, even though she's practicing to be as good at cooking as Laurent. She tells him about her recent (mis)adventures, as she always does, but tonight she has a mor..."

2026-02-26T02:56:20Z

Created page with "*'''Log: ''' An Impressive Dossier *'''Cast:''' Isabeau Fontaine, Laurent Fontaine *'''Where:''' Kagurazaka - Penthouse *'''OOC Date:''' 2026-02-25 *'''IC Date:''' Mon, Oct 01 2012 *'''Summary''': ''It's dinnertime at the Fontaines, again, and tonight's dish is roast duck -- a thing Isabeau can't cook yet, even though she's practicing to be as good at cooking as Laurent. She tells him about her recent (mis)adventures, as she always does, but tonight she has a mor..."

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*'''Log: ''' An Impressive Dossier
*'''Cast:''' [[Isabeau Fontaine]], [[Laurent Fontaine]]
*'''Where:''' Kagurazaka - Penthouse
*'''OOC Date:''' 2026-02-25
*'''IC Date:''' Mon, Oct 01 2012
*'''Summary''': ''It's dinnertime at the Fontaines, again, and tonight's dish is roast duck -- a thing Isabeau can't cook yet, even though she's practicing to be as good at cooking as Laurent. She tells him about her recent (mis)adventures, as she always does, but tonight she has a more troubling question: what are they to do about the Homunculuses taking over Ateliers? Laurent counsels her to learn more about their enemy, and confirms that they must, indeed, slay the monster from without. Isabeau can always rely on her father to help her figure things out!''

----

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

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKuO-KGwQ3M Expedition 33 OST: The Manor - Our Painted Family

Dinner at the Fontaines is a regular affair; every night, Isabeau sits with her father and discusses with him his work, her schooling, their extracurricular efforts. (Every night, she absorbs more of his perspective.) It's her favourite part of the day; she's never home late for dinner, even if she sometimes goes ''out'' again afterwards. But, fathering win: she tells him where she's going!!

(Usually, where she's going is off to stab some manner of supernatural monster. Isabeau doesn't really have... ''friends.'')

"... and you're not going to believe this," she's talking, animatedly, in French, "but you know those kittens Mademoiselle Ijuuin helped me rescue the other day? She sent me a message after school today -- she already found someone willing to take them! She said that as soon as they're healthy, they'll be going off to Tuna Tora's Cafe... that's a cat cafe in Shimokitazawa! They'll be sooo fashionable!!"

Her news on ''Friday,'' you see, had to do with ''rescuing kittens'' with an ''Olympian.'' Isabeau was ''quite'' chuffed about that.

She'd bragged about going and climbing the whole Moonlight Bridge back on Thursday, too... though, of course, she did ''say'' she was going out to Iwatodai late on ''Wednesday.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

Never let it be said that Laurent doesn't love his fancy dinners. He cooks, of course; tonight, it's roast duck, with a side of well-cooked vegetables with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and -- of course -- some fresh baguettes from the down the street. He tilts his head, and then he smiles. "Ah, is that so?" he asks. "A cat cafe? How curious! I've never had the chance to go."

A beat, as he hands over some of the carved duck -- a bit of breast meat, a bit of thigh meat -- and deposits it on her plate. "And a chance to meet an Olympian! Truly, an honor. What did you think of it? Did you get to speak with her?"

He smiles, before he gets to carving his own. Isabeau has a drink, too, of course -- sparkling water. The red wine is for him (as it's a school night, and wine for teenagers is only on weekends).

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"We'll have to go!" Isabeau insists, brightly. "Apparently, it's ''full'' of cats! And you can buy snacks for the cats there, too... I never knew something like that was out here, either!!" Of course, she never cared to look, and she's never really made friends with anyone who would think to ''mention'' it.

She smiles, just as enthusiastic, holding out her plate for the duck he's carved. "Thanks, papa!" She chirps, as she lowers her plate -- with plenty of those nice potatoes and carrots, of course -- back to her place at the table. (It's fine, she likes sparkling water, it's fancy.) "Yeah! I've met Mademoiselle Ijuuin a couple of times, now... she's really nice. She found me taking care of Professor Peaches, out by Monsieur Morita's shop, and she didn't make fun of me at all... she offered to help me help those ones right away. But you won't believe this!" She adds, with alarm. "A fan attacked her! Can you believe that?! Her whole arm was bandaged up... I never knew that people will just attack you if you get popular like that. She said it was something she had to expect, but not something she had to accept... boy," she sighs, "I really hope she'll be okay."

Of course, she doesn't start ''eating'' her duck until Laurent's ready. When she does, though, the first thing out of her mouth is: "Mm! This is amazing! The duck's so succulent, and the vegetables have this great crispy edge from the salt and pepper...!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"How wonderful," Laurent says with a smile -- and the emotion is not even feigned. After all, it ''is'' wonderful that cats can get such a home and people can see them. And far be it from Laurent to say no. "That sounds wonderful. We will have to do just that, then!"

Then, he listens. His brow furrows -- a fan attacked her? -- and he considers that for a moment, fork stabbed into some of his vegetables as he is given pause. "Terrible," he says. "I'm glad she is okay... but sometimes, people have a way of getting carried away."

He smiles, then, as she seems impressed. "Thank you, mon chou," he says. "I wasn't always such a good cook. Why, ask your Aunt Vivienne what I would... we'll call it cooking, to be generous. What I cooked around your age."

He winks.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Great! I'll look forward to it!" Isabeau genuinely loves cats; it's, like, one of the first things Laurent learned about her. Apparently, she finds a lot of commonality with them... especially ''stray'' cats, unwanted by Japanese society, for some reason.

(She doesn't clearly remember what happened to strays in France. It's fine.)

With a stab at her own carrots, Isabeau sighs. "I guess that's the problem with passionate people," she supposes. "They just end up unreasonable..." And surely it's an issue of a ''lack'' of reason, and not of someone ''planning'' to do such a horrible thing. People don't just ''plan'' to do horrible things, after all, she tells herself quite confidently. If there's a plan, there's a purpose to it!

Isabeau tilts her head, when Laurent mentions how he cooked when he was ''her'' age. "Huh? Come on!" She laughs, shaking her head as she sees his ''wink.'' "It couldn't have been that bad! You're just being hard on yourself! Even I can make a Croque Madame just fine!" 'Fine', but not, you know, 'good'. For one, she never manages to transport the egg from its skillet to the sandwich without the yolk breaking, because she ''insists'' on doing it ''properly...''

She ''has'' been practicing, though. She has to be at least as good at cooking as her dad!!

''His'' cooking, as it happens, manages to disappear right quick under her knife and fork. "This really is delicious...!! It's funny, most of Tennis Club have their moms to thank for good food, but I've got you! Though that Brazilian boy, Itsuki Hayashi, he showed me his mother's sandwiches the other day... they really weren't bad, you know. He's a year below me, but he could be a decent addition of talent if he applies himself a little more..." Which, by Isabeau's standards, is glowing praise.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"It is true. Passion... it can make people do surprising things. Sometimes, it's something wonderful -- kindness and friendship. But... it can also lead someone astray from their ideals," Laurent says, with a sigh. But then -- he catches her laugh.

"Ah, but I had to start somewhere!" he says. "And where I started... well. You're much further along than I am." She has had the chance to learn, though; and, indeed, Laurent wanted to teach her. His father never did teach him.

He keeps eating -- and he looks up, before he blinks. "Talent, hm?" he asks. "I've had some Brazilian cuisine, which is delicious. I'm glad you've made a friend!" He cracks a smile. "And that he's won such high honors, too!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah, I guess passion and ideals can get in each other's way..." ... well, it's not that Isabeau already knew that; but hearing him ''say'' it, it makes sense, doesn't it?

A lot of things have to start somewhere.

"Well... you've been teaching me, too!" Isabeau insists, though her chest still puffs up. "And I'd never put my mind to something only to do it poorly, anyway!" Boom! There it is. She's got an ego the size of the Eiffel Tower, that one.

"Ahhh, I don't know about that..." She pokes at her plate, with a fork. "I kind of... walked out on him last time we really got to talking... but he's not as bad as the others? He's a bit of a pushover, but it's kind of cute..." Isabeau, you ''stole his lunch,'' the only reason you think he's a pushover is because you bowled him over! She doesn't mention ''that'' part, though. "Well, the only thing that matters if whether I can push him over into practice, anyway!!" She decides, stabbing the last of her potatoes declaratively. "I think I can make him into a half-decent attacking force--!!" ''Chomp.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"They can. Not always, of course, but..." Laurent shakes his head.

He smiles -- and then nods his head, taking a sip of his wine. "I have, and you've done well. I've no doubt that you'll master it, in time," he says. He puts the wineglass down -- and then he blinks. Cute, is it? Well--he shouldn't be surprised. She is a young woman, and he...

He certainly has no room to criticize. "Well," he says. "Then, if you get him to practice more and truly excel, all the better. After all, a good training partner will do ''wonders'' for someone's skill and motivation alike."

Not that he knows about stealing lunches.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

But, you know, ''sometimes.'' And Isabeau doesn't think too much about how convenient that philosophical wriggle room is.

"Thanks!" She chirps, instead, when her father says she certainly ''will'' master the French Toasted Sandwich. (It's ''way'' fancier than a toasted sandwich. (It's not actually that much fancier than a toasted sandwich...))

It's fine, all lunch is Isabeau's lunch under the laws of God and man. And Isabeau hasn't had much to do with dating ''so far,'' but reportedly, it's because all the boys are too ''scared'' of her. She would go out with someone if they were actually brave enough to really want to do it instead of just goading each other to ask her out to tease her!!

(... Isabeau has not quite gotten to telling her father that she likes girls yet. She's quite sure of herself, but, you know, what if ''he'' doesn't like it? It is, of course, the world's least best-kept secret, given how she's mentioned it to other people in the Hunt like Alain already, but ''Isabeau'' thinks he doesn't know a thing.)

"That's right!" Isabeau nods, firmly. "Right now, the only person who can give me a challenge is that, that Kanae," no swearing at the dinner table Isabeau!!, "so it's about ''time'' someone else stepped up to challenge me!"

She puts her fork down, smiling, again. "Dinner was great, papa! Oh -- there's something I wanted to show you tonight! May I be excused a moment?"

When she bustles back in, it's with... a ''dossier!!'' "Ta-daa!" She declares, as she places it down. "I've been studying a new Supernatural phenomena!" Inside is... a really quite comprehensive overview of Ateliers, for an outside observer.

SUBJECT, the first section reads: KAZUSA MOTOJIMA (HOMUNCULUS)

Marked personality shift noted when she returned to school after summer holidays. Before the holidays, she was a deeply unpleasant girl in a codependent friendship with her friend Wakana Oosaka, bullying others while Wakana would excuse her behaviour. Following the holidays, she became much better at masking her unpleasantness, though she still made horrible comments about my weight under the guise of being 'helpful'. This shift in personality had noted Supernatural elements. Her fake niceness was noted by several other students, including one Hazuki Nakao, who made comments suggesting that she would save her.

On interrogation of Hazuki, it became clear that Kazusa has been replaced by a body-snatcher known as a Homunculus, a supernautral parasite. Apparently, there are spaces called 'Ateliers' (see insert #1) which Homunculi take over and subvert. These parasites are not related to the host, but seek to take their lives over and destroy them through a gestation period.

It seems that a Homunculus can be interrupted in the gestation period; by killing it, the host can be saved. One presumes that Kazusa will return to her normal horrible existence if this occurs; another victim who was saved like this was reported to be 'still doing well to this day'.

INSERT #1, the dossier goes on: ATELIERS.

Ateliers are natural supernatural spaces connected to people. If they're really so normal, it's likely everyone has one. It seems they're normally not dangerous, but they become dangerous when a Homunculus subverts them. They're occupied with several types of Humors, Atelier-specific Shadows which seem more purposeful than the Shadows of the Dark Hour. A suspicious character confirmed those types:

Coleric Humors, which keep everything that isn't native to the Atelier out.
Sanguin Humors, which reflect the Atelier host's desires, dreams, and goals. Apparently, they can be reasoned with to help keep the Coleric Humors out of the way... nonsense.
Melanc Humors, which reflect unpleasant facts about an Atelier host which they don't like much. Apparently, these are the first Shadows subverted by the Homunculus, and so are likely to be threats we'll face. Their natural purpose is to keep the Sanguin Humors in check.
Flegmat Humors, which apparently just 'go along with things around them', which somehow makes it harder for the Homunculus to subvert Melanc Humors?

INSERT #2, the dossier concludes: ACCESSING ATELIERS.

This is complicated. First, you need a 'Thread', a personal memento of the original person who was taken over by the Homunculus. Then, you need to take that 'Thread' to the 'Eye': a lonely place significant to them. In this case, the 'Eye' was a sad little converted warehouse she used to get around her father's preferences and work on her outcast ''otaku'' hobbies, while the 'Thread' were various creative projects she undertook out of fascination with anime and video games or whatever. (The 'Eye' was presumably 'lonely' because she didn't invite anyone there with her.)

Once the 'Thread' has been charged by the 'Eye', you must take the 'Thread' to a place where you can be 'alone together'. Apparently, this is a ridiculous Japanese phrasing meant to indicate internet cafes. The URL we need to access to enter the space is attached in this document; the Thread you need to take there is in this file, too.

And if Laurent's been keeping track of Isabeau's reports to Eve... this ''is'' a vast technical improvement on some of her ''earlier'' scouting reports. It's in a proper dossier and everything! And there's no teenage slang to be found in this one!!

"What do you think about that?" She asks, ''clearly'' having to leash in her excitement. "I found an entire new problem at school!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

Laurent is many things -- and that includes a die-hard liberal and leftist, with strong opinions on LGBT rights. But, rushing his daughter in that regard seems wrong. He can talk about it with a knowing smile.

"Mm-hm," he agrees. Then, he nods. "Yes, of course, ma chou. I've a glass of wine to finish, after all."

And when she comes back, he has -- the wineglass put down, save for a couple red drops at the bottom. His eyes widen as he looks at the dossier -- and then they come into a sharp focus. The Hunter, as they say, is activated then. He reds through the notes, and there is a sharpening scowl at the mention of a Homunculus.

"This is well done, Isabeau," he says, more soberly. "And the implications are... disturbing. Accessing them could be difficult. You've done well."

He looks at her. "You've entered this Atelier, then?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

Isabeau positively ''beams,'' hearing Laurent call her work ''well done,'' though she focuses up soon afterwards. "Only briefly," she replies, her own tone growing sterner. "It's a tower surrounded by utter desolation... all there seems to be outside are howling winds and eternal night, so I think the Homunculus must be at the top of that tower. I thought I had better compile all my information before I attacked it, especially since..."

She scowls, taking a sip of her sparkling water. "... I'm not sure what we should do about that Homunculus," Isabeau admits. "If it was Kazusa's Quarry, of course we'd trap it, but... everyone says the Homunculus isn't a part of the original person at all. Since it's a monster attacking her, does that mean we just hunt it down and kill it...?"

Of course she'd ask her father about things like this; he's been around the block ''many'' more times than she has, so when it comes to Supernatural threats, he'd know best which ones need to be muzzled and which ones need to be ''murdered.''

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Mm."

What do they do?

Laurent looks thoughtful for a moment, as he considers. "We would want to defeat it. Without question," he says. "But--a good hunter must also understand their enemy, and what we must do. Thus..."

He nods with consideration. "We must be flexible. When we face one, we need to understand it -- what it is capable of. What it may seek to do. What consequences destroying the Homunculus could yet have."

He frowns, as he considers it. "You did well. But I fear our investigation of this is just beginning."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Hmm..." Isabeau tilts her head. "So we want to take it apart thoroughly, and ''then'' kill it? That makes sense... they're not like Quarries, after all."

She taps a finger against the lip of her glass, thoughtfully. "If everyone has an Atelier, and the Homunculus is changing it, then defeating the Homunculus might lead to changes in the individual, right? Since it would at least have to all get back to normal afterwards. Hazuki said her friend was 'doing well', but I don't know if she really gets how serious this stuff can be... she's not a very serious person."

(Isabeau doesn't realise it's Hazuki's face on the front of the Syzygy box art, man.)

A gloomy expression descends, over Isabeau. "Those jerks even slapped me for insisting I didn't want the help of kids to take care of something like that. They thought I couldn't handle it! Tch, they were way overblowing it, they were saying you needed like thirty Persona-Users to take on an Atelier... they said I was ''grandstanding.'' They don't get it..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"We do," Laurent confirms, and with a smile. "We learn about it first -- to better neutralize it. And to understand, if it's changing the person, how. And to be sure that we do not change them in a way that they would never want."

He frowns a little -- and then he nods, once. "Many of them do not," he confirms. "They think that numbers and friendship will solve the matter. And... I understand. I did, once. But..."

He shakes his head. His eyes are distant, for a moment. He thinks of Ruza, then; he thinks of his youth.

"...I've learned," he says. "It's ''who'' is helping you. And it's knowing what you face, and learning to deal with it."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"Yeah," Isabeau nods, still deep in thought. "There's way too many ways to do that in that world... like, did you know that in Sumaru, you can start a Rumour about a person and they'll start acting that way even if they never would have before? There's this whole Rumourmonger ''system,'' papa!" She sounds ''quite'' offended by it all.

Isabeau scowls, though, when she thinks of ''friendship'' solving anything. "I don't know about that," she grumbles, dourly. "You can only really count on yourself..."

Well, she's never been terribly good at making friends ''or'' playing nice in a team.

"But we really need to learn a lot more about this, huh?" She wonders, with a puff of a sigh. "I'd better see what I can learn from the Homunculus... and ask Hazuki what happened to that friend of hers, too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Laurent Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

"I did hear that about Sumaru. Utterly horrible," Laurent says, with a frown. He sounds offended in his way -- though, it's less overtly stated than his daughter. He shakes his head, and then he looks at her. He considers what she says for a moment.

"Ah, ma chou," he says. "There are friends, and then there are ''friends''. Your aunts and uncles -- the Wild Hunt. I trust them more than anyone, hm?" He smiles. "To be certain, we're fewer number. But... together, we make each other all the stronger."

It's more complicated than that. They've let each other down; they've hurt each other. Laurent doesn't put that on his child, though.

"We do," he says. "Tell me, will you? Of what you learn."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.
<poem>

They can at least clearly agree that it's ''bad.'' And would Isabeau have thought it was as terrible if Laurent wasn't as quietly opinionated about it as he was? Don't worry about it.

"Oh, but that's different!" Isabeau insists, when Laurent invokes her ''aunts and uncles.'' "''We're'' a team! That's not like those kids insisting I be part of ''their'' team at all! But if the only factor I can control is myself, I need to get stronger so everyone can count on me... you know, it's like that!"

Is it really like that...?

She smiles, though, looking to Laurent. "Don't worry," she says, "I'll tell you everything I dig up! Don't I always do that, papa?"

She ''sure does.''
</poem>

2026-02-25: An Impressive Dossier - Revision history