2026-03-11: Some Assembly Required
- Log: Some Assembly Required
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Tamaki Uchida
- Where: Shujin Academy - Practice Building
- OOC Date: March 11, 2026
- IC Date: October 08, 2012
- Summary: Umie and Tamaki explore Kazusa's Atelier, the Neo-Lunar Palace. They speak about a number of different topics on the climb upwards, all the while as they put together their bardic vessel to offer the Princess.
MONAD: A party led by Umie Akabane has begun the event Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace.
(|============= Monad - Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace =============|)
-==== Round 1: First Strokes - Challenge Level 1 ============================-
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Skillful - Proficiency Up L1 and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
You emerge in the courtyard of a grand palace. The palace towers, as if it
were reaching out to touch the night sky itself. It is made of gleaming
white stone and metal with silver ornamentation, and pulses of multi-colored
light race all over its surface.
In the sky behind the tallest tower, a pitch black void sits, ringed with
crimson fire, casting everything in a red light. From that ring an inky
blackness spreads, slowly consuming the night stars in the sky. And in the
center of the crimson ring, in the highest tower, something glints like a
red gem.
As you take all that in, a bitter, frigid wind urges you towards the open
gates of the palace for shelter.
The inside of the palace is lit by floating orbs of light encased in silver
and glass fixtures, and multi-colored pulses of light that trace intricate
patterns on the ceilings and walls. The halls appear deserted, but in the
distance comes a low, predatory growl. It steadily gets louder until a door
opens and someone urgently beckons your group inside, the door slamming shut
just before the growling was about to catch up.
You find yourself in a brightly lit workshop. The walls are lined with
shelves of different kinds of miniature but life-like statues, from humanoid
to beast to robot to mythical creature and beyond, all in various states of
completion. Your savior is a Sanguin Humor, an owlgirl with startlingly
bright yellow eyes and brown and gray feathers woven through her hair,
garbed in a red and black robe.
She explains that the palace isn't safe, and that strange things have been
happening ever since the imposter Princess took over: their Sister Star is
trapped in a never-ending eclipse, the sky turns dark, and monsters roam the
halls. The real Princess must be trapped at the top of the palace, but the
way up is blocked by a barrier. If you were to bring an offering of a
vessel, however... that might help you get to the highest parts of the
tower. After all, it is what the Princess loves doing most, so the owlgirl
Sanguin Humor urges you to follow her example.
The Sanguin Humor demonstrates by sitting down at a round workstation inlaid
with purple runes and a flat, obsidian-black disc on it. A wireframe springs
into life above it, and at her touch it is molded and shaped. A touch of a
rune on the workbench places a holographic paint brush in her hand, and she
starts to paint in skin, hair, and other details. When she finishes, she
picks up the disc and a new miniature statue is posed on top.
The Sanguin Humor hands your group a fresh disc, and there are a number of
other workstations. Your Academics could help with working out the controls,
while Proficiency will surely help with the creative process itself.
OOC: As a group, you'll be collaboratively creating a character! For this
round, don't worry about clothing or other embellishments; those will come
in later rounds. If you need some inspiration to get started, you can roll
on a table at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tir5tjha7KiTvF26HQYarS7s1imdmbdbXVTuf8_u
VbY/edit?tab=t.0.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
".... I was the oldest person there at Motojima-san's studio," mutters a grimacing Umie, as they emerge into the palace courtyard. "And some teenager, named Isabeau Fontaine, had the nerve to say 'adults don't understand high school affairs', and just brutally go on and on, being a jerk to everyone. Like, I get that Motojima-san was a jerk to people too, but you don't just do that in a place she was trying to keep secret, *especially* when she's in no way going to be able to react back if we fail."
Another starry field design is being used as 'Mitsuhide's' mask of choice, the first having bit the dust in an earlier scuffle-- was it Sakurai's battle that was its resting place? (Augh, she needs to make sure Maria's okay, too.) Black leggings, half gloves, and a matching top white jacket are paired with her usual red sneakers, all thankfully clean from their last deployment. "Annywaayy, I got a little too intense with her when she brought up all the adults in her group and how great they were, saying that if she's here on behalf of them, her actions reflected on people's views of them. Sooooo..." She frowns. "She ran out crying. I swear, I need to remember myself." The ring of the kyoketsu shoge swings like a pendulum from her hand. "Hopefully that girl doesn't go out and do something stupid... that whole 'Hunters' group really doesn't seem like it's doing her any favors, if she's acting like this."
A frigid wind brings Umie back to reality; they're not here just to gossip and sightsee. "Not sure what her brother told you, but Motojima-san... apparently she likes developing games. Probably all this is derived from it." She purses her lips. "... Never really had time to get into that stuff, growing up... Are you into them at all?" She's briefly distracted, looking about the fantastic surroundings one last time before they go into the tower. "... Kind of a neat, fantasy vibe..."
Maybe there's some code or lingo she's missing, but even if there is, the growl nearby is primal enough to make Umie stop chatting and get down to business. "Got company..." Umie beckoned onwards, running ahead but shooting a look over her shoulder to make sure Tamaki is following. Urged by someone into a room, Umie ensures the door remains shut as it's properly barred. She breathes a sigh of relief. "... Okay..."
There's an owlgirl, just there, looking at them both. "Ah, thank you," Umie says, bowing her head.
"This palace isn't safe... strange things have been happening since an imposter Princess has taken over. Our Sister Star is trapped in a never-ending eclipse that has made the skies dark and allowed monsters to roam the halls... The real princess is trapped at the top of the palace, but the way up is blocked." The owlgirl solemnly nods. "If you were to being an offering of a vessel, that may help you reach the highest parts... After all, it is what the Princess loves doing most."
The Sanguin Humor goes to a workstation, albiet changed to fit the fantasy surroundings, with runes and a obsidian black disk. Before the two's eyes, the owl girl begins to construct a small miniature statue to put on the disk, looking at them expectantly.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward First Strokes! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Kazusa's brother had asked Tamaki to look into her sudden change in behavior. Her workload has finally -- finally -- abated enough so that she can pay proper attention to this matter.
Rin Sasaki's also still waiting on her to address the matter with her husband. She hasn't forgotten that, either. (And figuring out whatever plans the Joker Killer might be getting up to, what'll happen with Strega if he's gone, whatever's going on with the Kirijo Group and how they tie into the Nanjo Group, that 'Nyarlathotep' figure that Eriko had mentioned from the Mikage-cho incident and however that plays into current-day affairs, the Purple Mirror case -- argh, she thought of it again!)
It doesn't ever, ever abate. It's a good thing she's full of energy today -- the mounting challenge makes her want to pull through even more. (Oh wait, don't forget midterms, Tamaki! And fencing practice! Are you ready for that sparring session against Miho, who so graciously agreed to it?)
Still, the fine details of this case still elude Tamaki. Video games, cosplay, and overbearing parents? That's why she's grateful that Umie can fill in the gaps in her knowledge. "I mean ... high school wasn't that long ago for me, but my life's changed a lot even in two years. I've already forgotten some of its cadence. She may have had something of a point if she hadn't fumbled it by being excessive, from the sound of it."
Girl with a group of hunters. While she might not have known Isabeau by name, well ... Tamaki tentatively points at Umie as she asks something. "Is Fontaine-chan here the same young girl who accompanied the Hunters that we ran into at Mementos?"
About whether she's into video games, Tamaki shakes her head. "No, uh, some of them hit too close to home for me." She then reconsiders. "Well, a few. One of them was a game where you play as someone who fixes the collateral damage left behind by an adventuring party's clashes. I had meant to show it to -- "
Tatsuya. Her face falls. "... Suou-kun."
When it comes to Personas and related phenomena, every time Tamaki thinks 'this has nothing to do with me aside from the supernatural,' reality has a way of swiftly remedying that misconception. The silver tower before her -- one associated with the moon and also reaches to the heavens -- no doubt reminds her of what she's looked into about Arianrhod in the years since she had first Awakened.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1iA0BGEKRY A Classical Guitar Rendition of ILTATÄHTI - Void Stranger)
She's lost in her thoughts to the extent that the growl alone doesn't snap her out of it, and it's only at the behest of Umie and the owl girl that she makes her way to safety.
"Stuck in an eclipse, huh?" Some part of her feels like she can relate. Maybe not so directly, but ... whatever it's made her think of, she seems to be swept up in the moment and ready to help. "Tell me what you're thinking, Mitsuhide-san, and I can try and figure out how this thing works."
As for suggestions? Well, if Arianrhod's armor is any indication, Tamaki thinks it could always use more wings.
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Piece Together toward First Strokes! Automap!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== First Strokes - Round 1 ===============================================- Tamaki Uchida Academics Success Piece Together Automap Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Proficiency Success Can you do this? Specialty Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Skillful-2 and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Skillful-1 and Stupor-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Yeah, same here." Umie itches behind a hood. "Yeahh... I suppose so. But, to just come out and say it like that..."
After all she's been through, Umie thinks, why *shouldn't* people respect her more?
Umie trails off for a moment, lost in thought, when Tamaki points out something important. "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that..." Umie says, blinking. "Had a strong accent, spoke in what I think was French? That's her."
Hitting too close to home... Umie winces. "Yeah, I guess that's why I never got into them myself, aside from having strict parents myself." But, there were a few, one of which-- Umie gives Tamaki a lopsided grin, though even in this light, it's gentler than her usual ones. "The game's not going to run away, is it? Takkun'll come around, once he realizes we're not going anywhere."
Now, inside the workshop, the owlgirl continues her construction.
"Maybe, like... a bird?" Umie says, distracted by the owlgirl's appearance, and Tamaki's prompt. "An angel, maybe? If we're... thinking something like that."
Maybe extra wings, Tamaki suggests. "Oh, good idea," Umie says, nodding.
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace =============|)
-==== Round 2: Readying the Raiments - Challenge Level 1 ====================-
| Approach Options: Charm or Understanding |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Skillful - Proficiency Up L1, Soft |
| - Understanding Up L1, and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
As you leave the workshop with your brand new vessel, the Sanguin Humor
tells you to seek inspiration as you make your way up the Palace to the
Manifest Gallery--you can use more of those workstations to add more to your
vessel as you go.
Thankfully the palace has teleporter pads that will help you ascend rapidly,
instead of having to climb endless stairs.
You eventually enter another workshop bustling with activity. There are
several Flegmat Humors here--catboys and catgirls--wearing elaborate
medieval armor and clothing. One owlgirl Sanguin Humor is moving quickly
between them, looking harried. She has a tablet in hand, and as she attends
to each costume a holographic display with various sliders and other
controls allows her to adjust the costumes in real time.
The Princess loves to arrange performances, she explains, but there's so
much work to be done before the next one can be ready. You could just leave
her be, but...
There's another one of those workstations by the other exit. Maybe if you
used your Charm to flatter her efforts, or used your Understanding to
empathize with her overwork, she'd give you the pattern for one of those
costumes to add to your vessel.
OOC: Deck your character out in a medieval or fantasy-inspired costume! If
you need inspiration, you can roll against the table at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tir5tjha7KiTvF26HQYarS7s1imdmbdbXVTuf8_u
VbY/edit?tab=t.e54ybdwy0xm.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
An angel with more wings than normal. "Probably has the voice of one, too, you think?"
Their final destination is the Manifest Gallery ... but first, they need to proceed through a workshop. It's a busy mess with multiple cat-people Flegmat Humors standing about and displaying their armor designs ... and one very overworked owlgirl Sanguin Humor trying to run around and adjust them all with holographic interface displays. "Be with you in just a moment!" she says, in-between punching in changes at one workstation -- then the next -- then the next.
"Could we ... get some assistance, please?" Tamaki presses her hands together and leans forward as she implores the owlgirl.
The owlgirl turns her head a full 180 degrees to stare intensely at Tamaki and Umie. "The Princess likes holding performances, you see, but it's a lot of -- hold that thought." She turns her attention back to her front as she moves to another station. After arriving, she swivels her head back around to the pair. " -- it's a lot of work before each one with stringent deadlines."
Tamaki nods understandingly, then glances over at one of the empty workstations. "We'll stay out of your hair, then, but ... could you at least allow us to borrow one of those exquisite patterns? Even with the pressure, it doesn't seem like you've skimped on quality at all. They're quite polished!" She knows more than most that the best way to keep someone going through a hard time is to tell them they're doing a good job.
If she's going to continue with that inspiration, well ... She looks at Umie and suggests, "How about a bard's costume? Like a songbird angel."
After a few moments of silence as she considers whether she should or not, she also asks, "Hey. How much attention did you pay to the Bride and Groom the other day?"
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Demon Friends toward Readying the Raiments! Friendliness and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Yeah." Umie smirks. "Wasn't that sort of how Amaterasu was lured out of hiding? Or maybe that was just entertainment in general."
Looking amused at all the workers at their workstations, Umie reaches up to adjust her mask, and nearly rips it off as an owlgirl turns her head a full 180 degrees. "Wh..." She clears her throat. Right.
"I guess even in an Atelier you can't escape deadlines," she notes, with a bit of humor.
Drawing out a few kumihimo bracelets from her jacket, "I get it; I'm a bit of an artist myself. Maybe something like these to spice up the outfits? Kumihimo's got a long tradition of being used as decoration in armor."
Umie grins. "Oooh, I like that idea! Very different. Maybe, like a robin? That'd be cute."
Whether a trade happens or not, Umie angles her head towards Tamaki as she asks.
And she softly frowns.
"... Enough," Umie says, quietly, her gaze angling downward through her mask. As in 'how much attention'. "Why."
Shiryuu would honor his commitment to them, over her, even after she told him it was okay. She said it was okay that he did, and that she'd stand for her own.
".... To lament your own helplessness while dreading the future of your child..." Umie murmurs. "She'll never escape, like that. Help can only come if you're willing to accept it."
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with String Theory toward Readying the Raiments! Focus and Find! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Readying the Raiments - Round 2 =======================================- Tamaki Uchida Charm Success Demon Friends Friendliness and Patra Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Charm Success String Theory Focus and Find Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Skillful-1, Soft-2, and Stupor-1 Final Conditions: Soft-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 1, Money: 0, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
The owlgirl smiles a bit at Tamaki's compliments, and she takes the bracelets which Umie had offered and peers at them. "I think I can work with this. Let me handle a few more things first -- " And off she goes again. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
While they're waiting for another free moment with the owlgirl regarding the pattern, Tamaki continues some earlier conversation threads forgotten in the moment.
"My dad was into them. I actually shared that interest with him for a bit. I played the very first Night Parade! Apparently they're up to a fourth one now?" She laughs a bit, remembering her recent match with Roger. "I was interested up until ... well, it felt like I was in one." She glances away. "Stuck in an RPG. Reduced to nothing but the most pragmatic terms. Rations instead of full meals. Alive, but certainly not living."
Ha ha ha ha ha let's not talk about the feelings that the convenience of teleporter pads dredged up.
Tamaki's expression remains blank as she admits to this next part. "I had gathered Suou-kun was into architecture at some point. Figured he'd like a break from the norm, game about building something." A smirk creeps onto her features. "Someday, I guess."
The owlgirl returns, seemingly reinvigorated by the exchange. "Okay! That -- actually provides a nice bit of variety, thank you! Take your pick, but there's something like what you discussed over ... there." Rather than point, she twists her head to another unnatural-seeming angle to indicate the direction.
Why ask about those two? "... The Groom and I both want the same thing, in the end. I can empathize with why they'd be driven to ally with their employers."
The Bride laments her helplessness. "Well ... their hands are tied, to an extent. They have their limitations." Looking upon their bardic robin, she continues with the musical metaphor. "Like a symphony, they have their parts to play -- we have ours. We're not constrained the same way they are."
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace =============|)
-==== Round 3: Mechanical Maintenance - Challenge Level 2 ===================-
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Understanding |
| Conditions: Hard - Understanding Down L1, Skillful - Proficiency Up L1, |
| and Soft - Understanding Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The climb through the palace seems endless--if you were to glance out a
window now, you would see the palace grounds as a distant circle, surrounded
by a sea of encroaching darkness on all sides.
You find your way into another lab, though in this one the Flegmat catboys
and catgirls seem to all be dressed in various types of power armor, or
otherwise lighter suits with heavier armor attachments.
Back in the workshop area is another Flegmat humor, one with a cyan bodysuit
and darker blue armor pieces. And... his left arm seems to be missing, with
blinking circuitry in the stump. The forearm is on a worktable, where a
Sanguin owlgirl in yellow robes with a red tabard seems to be working on its
innards.
You get the impression that she is inundated with repair tasks and
overworked. Maybe you could lend your Proficiency to assist with repairs, or
use your Understanding to sympathize with her plight.
When you're done, the Sanguin gives you a small chip with glowing purple
circuitry on it. You can insert it into the workstation by the exit to add
an energy weapon to your vessel.
OOC: Add an energy weapon to your character! If you need inspiration, you
can roll against the table at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Tir5tjha7KiTvF26HQYarS7s1imdmbdbXVTuf8_u
VbY/edit?tab=t.e4d3rqdj07lu.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"There's... more than one Night Parade?" Umie asks, obliviously, with widened eyes, then winces, hearing about Tamaki's experiences. "Yeah. With the Dark Hour, at least... I was able to reinsert myself into normal life. Maybe that's why I look on things so fondly, compared to normal life."
But it wasn't like it was all that far away, either.
"Huh, really?" Umie blinks. "That's good to hear, that he might be expanding his horizons a bit." Looking towards the future, instead of being mired in a past that didn't exist.
"...." It's possible that the Groom is Miho, given their similarities, but...
.... mentioning even the possibility, whether wrong or right, could place people in danger. ".... The Groom is being led by the Mark," Umie is quick to say. "And the Bride's fully invested in it. It's the same damn thing as the NWO, as the Old Maid, and now them: all of them wanting a new and better world, and throwing this one into the trash because of all its imperfections, whether that goal is simply conceptual, or literal."
No, it's not that that makes Umie bristle, but what the Bride said to her.... but it's not like she can say anything about that.
All there is left, as always, is to go forward.
Further and further up still...
And yet, they are still only halfway, at best to their destination.
Umie casts a nonchalant look out a window, attempting to assess the distance to the ground, as well as to the top. ".... mmn," is her thoughtful commentary. "I'd say we're..."
"... extremely high up." Excellent navigator, Umie is, A+++ performance
Thankfully... "Oh, another workshop. Let's pop on in, shall we?"
Walking into the lab, equally as busy as the one before, Umie is immediately drawn to a catboy missing an arm, circuitry glowing in the stump left behind. Umie, peering at the circuitry, begins to intervene. "... Alright, so this... I see. So you do it like this?"
Her eyes shine with a curiosity, becoming lost in the process. "Okay, so..." She watches the Sanguin work, an begins to enmesh herself in the assisting process. catching on quickly.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Can you do this? toward Mechanical Maintenance! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki shrugs. "And now you have some idea why I'm not keen on this stuff existing in the first place, why I want to keep my distance." A beat. "Well. Wanted to. I'm back in it now, I suppose."
"He asked me if it was 'hard, being an adult.'" Tamaki chuckles plaintively. "Like I really know. I just barely became one. That was before, we, uh -- you and I -- you know." She trails off.
With a bright grin, Tamaki chirps back, "And I'm not!" Tension grows in her smile, and some agitation is present in her voice. "And yet -- and yet! If I'm being perfectly honest, I must admit to some dissatisfaction about this world's current state." She scowls. "I don't want to throw this world away, but it's like an unfinished project."
Gesturing at their vessel's disc, Tamaki adds, "So let's show them. The Bride and Groom at least don't have to throw this world away to get what they want. They're looking at the skeleton and thinking that's the finished product, the end of history, the fully-assembled character. We're not even halfway done."
Tamaki spares a glance out the window as they ascend. She feels that strange sense of kinship with this place again. "Looks like there's a full moon down on the ground tonight."
Speaking of 'unfinished projects': "Hmmmm." Tamaki peers over at the Sanguin owlgirl's task. While she's not so dextrous to suggest that she move over and let her take over, she offers, "Hey, that looks like it takes a lot of different tools. I can be your feet for a while and grab whatever you point me at." After the first few instances of this, she might even be able to follow the process along and anticipate ahead of time what tool comes next.
She offers the same service to Umie, who does take a more direct hand at helping things along. Tamaki offers just the next tool Umie needed. "Here you go!"
As for what form their bard's weapon takes, "How about a stringed instrument ... that doubles as a bow and arrow?" She squints at some schematics. "That's a lot of options for munitions, though. What're you feeling?"
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Proficiency toward Mechanical Maintenance! Base!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Mechanical Maintenance - Round 3 ======================================- Tamaki Uchida Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Proficiency Success Can you do this? Specialty Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Hard-2, Skillful-2, and Soft-1 Final Conditions: Hard-1 and Skillful-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 1, Money: 0, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"I mean, it's better than retail," Umie says with a shrug and a smirk. "Some days it feels like the demons are more polite than the customers. At least there, if a demon asked to see my manager, I could tell them I *am* the manager." Not that this has happened, but you can only scrape your nose against the ground so much before nothing becomes enough.
On the other hand, Tamaki's recollection of Tatsuya's question draws a softened sigh from the blonde. "... Takkun... Dealing with all this, all alone, and he's got questions like that on top of it." She shakes her head. "What'll we do, Uchida-san..." The question is rhetotical, being there is no true answer.
... Which kind of feels like a cop-out.
"I feel like I would've had a more solid answer to that if he asked me at 18 than if he asked me now. For all everyone acts like we're suddenly adults the second we turn 20, sometimes it feels like we're caught between two worlds."
Tamaki's chirping reply, as she launches right back, seems to draw the right reaction from the blonde, who responds in kind, a little of the Badb showing through in her smile. "... That's the spirit, right there. And a great analogy."
To be dissatisfied with the world's corrupt state, and to do something about it on your own... To be the loose thread, or the nail that refuses to be nailed down.
Even if the rebellion is temporary, it's better than there being none to begin with, right?
Umie takes the tool Tamaki hands her, and nods. With the two of them working in tandem, the project goes much faster, saving the master tinkering a large amount of time.
Which leads to the next part of their bard's creation.
"Double duty, huh...?" Umie's mouth curls devilishly. "I like that~ so. An angelic robin bard, with a stringed instrument that doubles as a bow and arrow. Maybe, music attacks, as well as arrows? Our angel's going to be pretty dashing~"
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace =============|)
-==== Round 4: Not a Safe Room, but Close - Challenge Level 1 ===============-
| Approach Options: Academics or Understanding |
| Conditions: Checkpoint - Cleanse all negative conditions., Educational - |
| Academics Up L1, Hard - Understanding Down L1, Hard - Understanding Down |
| L1, and Skillful - Proficiency Up L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
As you keep climbing ever higher, through stairs, teleporters, and endless
hallways, it's clear you're reaching ever-dizzying heights: A quick glance
out a window now reveals that palace grounds are a speck of light in the far
distance below you, leaving you almost suspended in a void of darkness.
Unlike the tense atmosphere of the empty hallways, though, the next room you
enter oom feels more... peaceful. Safe. Even like it was waiting for your
presence.
The room is comfortably sized, with a tiled marble floor outlined with
silver. Several large pillars are spaced evenly around the room, and the
very center of the room has a differently-colored title emitting a soft blue
glow. There is also some comfy furniture scattered about, as well as plenty
of food and drink.
It's a good chance to take a break. Perhaps you can use your Academics to
formulate a plan for your ever-heightening climb up the palace, or maybe you
can use your Understanding to reflect on what you might have learned of
Kazusa so far through her Atelier.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
It's Tamaki's turn to wince, this time at Umie's description of retail. "You have my sympathies." She sheepishly wonders aloud, "... is that better or worse than a client tricking you to blackmail the police?"
What'll they do? Tamaki has an idea. "We'll be strong for him. We'll show him that same world, too." It's still vague, but ... it sounds right to her. "That's what's got him all anxious, too, right? Maybe he'll chill out if we manage that."
Sometimes a cop-out answer's the best you can give and there's no helping it -- just ask Nameless!
Newly-anointed adults are caught in two worlds, true, but ... "Well, do you think that ever stops? It might not be the same intersection we deal with, but surely older people straddle some boundaries themselves, right?"
Regarding their 'dashing' creation, Tamaki gives a satisfied nod. "Quite a noteworthy figure, I'd say." Oh, she's far too smug after making that pun.
In contrast to the hustle and bustle on the floors below, this room seems calm. Tiled marble flooring, outlined in silver. A comforting blue glow emanates from the center tile. Furniture, food, and drink await. Sit back and relax for a bit so you don't burn out, the room itself seems to say, which is advice that the detective would readily give in any other situation, but here ...
Tamaki's mouth is agape. She jerks a thumb towards the food and drink. "See, that's not something I got in my dungeon-crawling days. I had to plan in advance! I had to ration food and water! I subsisted on whatever was left in vending machines!"
ok grandma tamaki, yes, you're very 'old-school', not 'retro' like the young'ins called you, let's get you back to bed
Despite her complaints, she's still going to angrily munch on some of the offered provisions. They're actually delicious. She's never been so simultaneously glad and upset.
Something else strikes her. "There haven't been any opponents to speak of, at least that we've seen. We heard that growl near the start, though ..." She shifts her attention to Umie. "You can sense things I can't. Let me know if you discern a hostile presence, alright? ... and if I get knocked out the window, you can rescue me with Badb, I hope?"
Tamaki awkwardly scuffs a shoe against the ground. "I've been trying to get a better sense for Resonance, by the way. That's why I stopped by the Velvet Room at the sanitarium, but that wasn't much help." Maybe not immediately.
She gives the disc with their angelic bard a glance, then looks back up at Umie. "Do you ... think it's still possible to sense where someone went after a cognitive space collapsed around them?"
Years ago? Why? No reason. Asking for a friend.
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Academics toward Not a Safe Room, but Close! Base! <Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'is that better or worse than a client tricking you to blackmail the police?' Umie's eyes widen as she gawks at her. "People... *do* that?!" Pause. "Well, I mean, *of course* people'd do that, but... people'd do that...?!"
Oh, Umie.
Tamaki 'cop-out' answer grabs a laugh from Umie. "Right. I don't think he'll ever chill out, though." She raises her hands, palms up. "His Persona's all about fire, after all." ha ha ha UMIE NO
Does that feeling ever truly stop, of being inbetween worlds? "... Maybe, if we've truly screwed up." Umie supposes.
ha ha ha TAMAKI NO
neither of them are adults, _ever_.
".... I liked carrying apples for the Dark Hour," Umie muses aloud, as she looks about. "Palaces had similar rooms like this, which really, really helped. I don't remember vending machines, though..." She touches a knuckle to her lips, thoughtfully. "... Well. I mean, it *could* be a trap, and we just don't know it yet."
There was that growl, too. "Maybe that was in the code of a game." She raises a dark red finger. "Ultimately, you'd want to ferry a person playing a game to where they need to go, right? Like in a story, where the protagonist *must* go down this hallway or the story won't start. The protagonist can't know this, so the story has to force it in order to happen. It may also relate to the case of Kazusa Motojima-san, as well." She sits down on a couch, sitting cross-legged. "She's trying to grab for a solution. Except, due to her parents shutting off this secret venue that she used to release stress-- that is, game building-- she had no means to reach a solution. And that's when the homunculus took over."
'You can sense things I can't.' "Sure, sure, it's how I've kept alive until now," Umie answers, confidently. '... and if I get knocked out the window--'
"Eh...?" Umie looks at Tamaki, her mask's eyeholes failing to show the full span of her surprise. ".... Well..." she rubs her neck. ".... No. Gravity's still a bitch, I'm afraid."
Tamaki relates her troubles with resonance, and Umie's lips open with a sympathetic sound, especially at the last bit. ".... So I take it... there's someone you're looking for."
She wishes she could give an answer, even a false one, made of smoke and mirrors.
"Mine is simply... well, it was through the lens of Badb. To see a battle and go towards it, the same with danger. That I choose to walk away from it is... my decision. I'm not a goddess of war and death, after all, and if I was, I wouldn't be working retail." She draws out a loop of string, looping it around in her fingers to create a cat's cradle, as she thinks further. "Take your skills as a detective. The things you see aren't what I see; you see me looking at a map and go 'don't follow the map exclusively', or see Takkun and notice that he may have an interest in building. Your role as a detective is a lens to make sense of the world-- one that has cast you into situations where you had to use whatever you had to survive."
"Take that lens and focus in on it, and I bet your abilities will relate to it, eventually."
Pause. The cat's cradle has become a simple double loop.
"Or you'll just become a better detective. Win, win, eh?"
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Academics toward Not a Safe Room, but Close! Base! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Not a Safe Room, but Close - Round 4 ==================================- Tamaki Uchida Academics Success Academics Base Fatigue: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Academics Success Academics Base Fatigue: 0 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Checkpoint-0, Educational-2, Hard-1, Hard-2, and Skillful-1 Final Conditions: Educational-1 and Hard-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 1, Money: 0, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki slumps forward and grimaces up at Umie. "Uh, yeah. It's happened to me. Akechi-san had to clue me in. It's not feasible to vet everyone to the full extent, but somehow, he was able to spot it while we'd missed it."
She stands back upright and explains her own perspective of a Detective Peasant. "The private investigator field itself was rife with corruption and scams and there was a whole crackdown on it a few years ago. People still trusted them because of the stories that get told about them in fiction. People get into that line of work for similar reasons, too. It's relatively better now, but ... it's still imperfect."
ha ha ha UMIE YES!
Apples and Palace Safe Rooms. Back in Tamaki's day, though, "There were rooms with healing fountains where I could get healed, kind of like Trish's operation but with more reasonable prices. That staved off hunger pangs, too, just ... it didn't involve the joy of taste, you know?"
Kazusa was trying to reach for a solution ... but the game was made unwinnable. Tamaki scowls. "Yeah, I've -- I've seen something similar."
Gravity's still a bitch. Tamaki takes that in stride and adjusts her plan accordingly. "Okay, so in the event of a fight, we just position ourselves closer to the center of the tower. You know, like how in chess, pieces with long movement are stronger when they're closer to the center of the board."
Tamaki nods to confirm Umie's guess. "Yeah. Uh. You know how Miho Ijuuin vowed to search for Yua Ijuuin? And actually found her?" Pause. "I keep up with watching sabre fencing in the Olympics," she protests pre-emptively. "I have a friend who didn't make it out."
She bites the inside of her cheek hard as Umie explains her lens through Badb. "That's all well and good, but my career choice came years after my Persona had. Tell me, do you know what kind of figure Arianrhod is?" There's trepidation in her voice. "I will say that you're not entirely off-base, and you are correct about how I've had to use whatever's available."
Still, there is some appeal in viewing the supernatural through the lens of a detective of myth, just as Akechi seems to do so easily. "... can you change lenses, do you think? Or am I stuck with that first one?"
Past this room, outside of safety, the Manifest Gallery lies ahead.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace =============|)
-==== Round 5: The Manifest Gallery - Challenge Level 3 =====================-
| Approach Options: Guts or Understanding |
| Conditions: Bless - +1 to Group Roll (Per Character), Bolstering - Guts Up |
| L2, Educational - Academics Up L1, Hard - Understanding Down L1, and Hard |
| - Understanding Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
You've ascended high into the palace, and the halls are in rough shape. The
pulses of light that ran along the walls are all dark now, many of the
magical lights are flickering rapidly, and there are deep, goinging claw
marks embedded into the floors with alarming frequency.
But finally you reach your destination: the Manifest Gallery. Though high,
arching doors you step into a large gallery space: Flegmat Humors, catboys
and catgirls in all manner of fantastical costumes and garb mill about,
observing miniature animated statues placed on display in various poses or
looping animations. For the moment, this room still appears to be brightly
lit and in good shape.
An owlgirl in orange robes trimmed with yellow--a Sanguin Humor--ushers you
forth to a small altar with a receptacle for the disk you've been carrying.
She explains that all you need to do is to place the disc in the altar and
name your vessel. When you do, the image hovering over it vanishes and is
placed on display.
The Sanguin Humor thanks you for your offering, and hopes that with enough
offerings they'll be able to convince the Princess to let down the wards
guarding her chambers. She presents everyone in your party with two gifts:
* You have gained the Key Item PRINCESS' FAVOR!
A sign that you have completed the offering of a vessel and
gained recognition by the Princess. It features a crescent moon
encircling a lily, both carved out of moonstone and set against
a small, round black pin. It glows faintly in the dark.
* You have gained the Unique Item FIGURINE OF <Name>!
Hey, it's <name>! This figurine is finely detailed and posed in
the middle of a fierce attack. This is to commemorate the
journey you took to offer a vessel to the Princess. Please treat
them well!
The Sanguin Humor is about to invite you to explore the Gallery when a
hulking, snarling wolf batters its way past the doors. It might have been a
palace guard once, as evidenced by the bits and pieces of armor still
clinging to its body, but as it stands it is fully under the Homunculus'
sway: a Melanc Humor. It roars, causing the Flegmat attendees to scream and
scatter. As they do, it begins to criticize the wasted effort spent on the
fancy costumes and on creating the offerings.
And it will criticize everyone in the party, too, especially anybody acting
in ways that don't confirm to rigid gender norms.
You'll need to use your Guts to battle the beast and subdue it, or you can
try to be Understanding and rally the Flegmats to help with the process.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
"Wh..." Umie laughs. "I mean, I should've seen that coming. He has a nose for those sorts of things, doesn't he?" Perhaps... he's had a nose for it for a long, long time, if those words he said to Sudou, once, are true. "You know he's going to point out what Mitsuhide's first name, if he ever hears that codename."
Private detective work, though... "Huh. Never realized... I suppose the romance of it all really carries a lot of it, but the rest is all gruntwork trying to sort through all the bullshit."
The things you learn, every day!
"... damn." Umie frowns. "What the heck was that place, and how do we make sure it never happens again? I'm not sure if I could go without taste for that long."
"Okay, but if the tower's got walls, we should be fine, right?" Famous last words.
'You know how Miho Ijuuin vowed to search for Yua Ijuuin?' "...... Yeah...?" Umie answers, turning her head, looking at Tamaki, with a slight frown, wondering where this may lead.
Oh. She means... her friend. "... If you ever need my skills, Uchida-san..." she solemnly begins, "all you ever need to do is ask. Especially if it's to find someone."
What kind of figure is Arianrhod? "...... Welsh. She had two sons, I think?" Umie makes a face. "... I can't help beyond that. That pantheon's hard to crack."
Can you change lenses? ".... Some people can," Umie answers, vaguely. "None of them particularly like it when they're singled out for it, though. But there is another way." She points to herself. "The people you get to know." She's about to mention Akechi, then realizes... does Tamaki know? Just because Umie's pierced his guise doesn't mean Tamaki has, and Umie can't remember if they've ever called him by his name in front of him.
"Anyway. You have people who can, and will help you."
And now, it's time for them to go help Kazusa.
Ascending the tower's last flight of stairs, where they are ushered to a place to put their figurine.
"Bard-san," Umie says, deadpan. oh no Tamaki please take over here, you're better with names
*dididing!* They have the Princess' favor. ".... Huh."
*dididing!* They have the Figurine of... <NAME>
They're about to be escorted off when a wolf, like the very one the two had been talking about, batters through the doors, roaring and causing havoc among the Flegmat attendees.
Tamaki and Umie have not escaped its attention, however.
"..... How childish, to hide behind a mask," growls the wolf as it paces, like a restless tiger. "Wearing those clothes, dying your hair, painting your nails, _rolling your eyes_..." It bears its teeth, roaring loudly, "WHAT MAN WOULD EVER WANT A STRANGE LITTLE GIRL LIKE YOU AS A WIFE?!"
Umie draws a hand to her lower face. "... So hurtful..." (Ah, no, it'd be clear to someone like Tamaki, upon hearing that tone, that this is as fake as a crocodile's tears.)
The blonde's lips curl in a gremlin grin, the pointed end of one corner of her mouth poking just past her hand as the wolf comes closer, lured by this seeming display of weakness.
"I know, right?!" she laughs. "But that's the point!"
She holds her fingers up and snaps. "BADB."
The feminine humanoid shape of the Badb manifests, hovers over Umie's hand, delicate elongated fingers seemingly brushing by Umie's own in a languid, wave, before floating up and extending her arms wide with a soul-chilling *shriek* meant to overpower the wolf's own.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Bird's Eye View toward The Manifest Gallery! Automap!
<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
Tamaki smiles beatifically. "I know!" In her case, "Yep. I'm acutely aware of the gruntwork. Someone's gotta do it."
Arianrhod is about ... "Yeah. She put one of those sons through the wringer. Trials. Denial. Deprivation. Strength through subtraction. Rely on sight and she'll turn you blind, rely on sound and she'll render you deaf, rely on touch and she'll make you go numb. Her thinking goes that if you can cleverly sidestep the limitations she places on you, then you'll be stronger for it in the end."
She doesn't think she ever gets to wear the mythological mantle of a detective. Not with a mask like that. No shortcuts -- she has to do things right. Umie is right about what makes her a detective, though: her propensity for the gruntwork.
'What the heck was that place?' '... all you ever need to do is ask. Especially if it's to find someone.' Tamaki frowns in response; the answer to the first makes the second part so tricky.
'The people you get to know.' That's advice she had given Shinjiro earlier in that very same day.
Still, it may not be easy ... or even possible. "Before I explain about just what that place was ... if someone was left behind in a Palace after it collapsed, how would you go about finding them? That's the current state of it."
(Tamaki does know about one of Akechi's guises, which he had confirmed during their exchange -- expressly because he had wanted Tamaki to assist him with a Persona-related matter in return for helping her out with her dishonest client. Not that 'one of' implies anything else, there's just the one! Good old Crow, the mask worn by the Detective Prince!)
The claw marks along the way are cause for concern. "Still keeping a bird's-eye view out for danger?"
Inside the gallery proper, they're directed to the altar, disc in hand. Taking a cue from the source of Tamaki's own inspiration for their vessel's name, she instead suggests: "Aeolia-chan." One of the seven Greek modes in the Aristoxenian tradition.
Tamaki stares at the pin of the Princess' Favor bestowed on her. Oh, that's a lot of symbolism relevant to her that she doesn't want to unpack right now. The figurine of Aeolia does bring a smile to her face, though.
The beast has words for Tamaki, too, as it prowls around the room and peers at her. "Hhhh. And you! You don't carry yourself with enough feminine grace. Not with your mode of dress, nor with your body. Leave the athleticism to your boyfriend, tomboy."
Tamaki reflexively covers her arms with her hands, only to feel the fabric of her long-sleeved blazer obscuring them anyway. She looks back up at the wolf with a scowl and brandishes a fist. "Hey! How the hell did you know about -- "
She's interrupted by the beast leaning forward to loom over her and grin. "So willful, too. Why, you're acting like a husband should. You'll never land one that way."
Something snaps in Tamaki and she grins back. "Oh, hell no." Umie's seen this smile on Tamaki once before -- outside the entrance to Tartarus, when one of the beetles had managed to mentally rattle her, unbalance her ... but she fought back with wild abandon. "You're a bit one-note with the insults, aren't you?"
She's just glad that's all it can discern about her.
Arianrhod manifests and does what she can to rob the wolf of its most prized aspects. Dull its claws and fangs. Squelch its voice. Turn its armor brittle. All of them are annoyances and hindrances on their own. Does it have what it takes to persist through these trials and tribulations?
MONAD: Tamaki Uchida has acted with Never Burn Out toward The Manifest Gallery! Escape and Efficient!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== The Manifest Gallery - Round 5 ========================================-
Tamaki Uchida Guts Success
Never Burn Out Escape and Efficient Fatigue: 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Umie Akabane Guts Success
Bird's Eye View Automap Fatigue: 0
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Bless-0, Bolstering-2, Educational-1, Hard-1, and
Hard-2
Final Conditions: Bolstering-1 and Hard-1
-====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====-
-==== Reach: 6/6 |=====| ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 1, Money: 0, Gear: 1
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|============= Monad - Kazusa's Atelier: The Neo-Lunar Palace =============|)
-==== Round 6: Pressure Cooker - Challenge Level 1 ==========================-
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Chest - Add 2 Item/Money/Gear. and Revelation - The best |
| result. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
After a fierce battle with the Melanc wolf, you manage to subdue it enough
for the Flegmat denizens present to move in to take care of it. This means
you have enough time to have a proper look around--you can't ascend up the
tower yet, but there's still plenty of other things in the Atelier left to
explore.
You find a small movie theater, attended by a Sanguin owlgirl dressed in
purple robes and a white mantle. She lets you know that the next showing is
about to start, and that admission is free with the Princess' Favor.
Once you settle in, an old, grainy video springs to life on the screen. The
movie opens on a young, middle-school aged Kazusa performing a rhythmic
gymnastics routine. She is graceful, wielding a ribbon with flawless
fluidity and precision. But at the apex of the performance, a leap somehow
goes wrong, and she lands on a knee before quickly picking herself up.
She looks upset with herself as she finishes and steps off the mat, and at
the end of the competition, it's shown she's mere fractions of a point from
overtaking the first place winner--meaning her fault likely cost her that
match.
A man approaches her afterwards, tall, stern, with short black hair: her
father, Kazuki. He berates her for the lapse, telling her to take things
more seriously and to think of her future. Kazusa listens quietly, head
downcast, silently nodding.
A few days later, she's practicing a group routine with her friend Wakana
when Wakana drops a ball. Kazusa snaps at her for the mistake, and for a
moment both Wakana and Kazusa are stunned. Kazusa immediately apologizes,
saying it won't happen again, but a rapid-fire montage that plays as the
screen fades to black shows the cycle repeating again, and again, and again.
As the lights come back on, you find a golden treasure chest waiting at the
front of the theater. Opening it, you find a new armor item: it's covered in
feathers and grants a sense of calm when worn. (You decide the exact shape
of the armor.)
In non-supernatural spaces it's a nice cosplay costume piece.
Final Loot: 2 Items and 2 Pieces of Gear!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)