[OPEN] you can play but I always win

[defragment]

I. 9/15-16: in a nocturnal state of mind

[ A new arrival has come and she looks unbothered for the most part as she wanders through the forest at daytime. Maybe she already adapted to the situation at hand as she throws a pebble at a hanging kaki persimmon fruit from a tree and catches it as it falls. With a quick scrub from the sleeve of her jacket, she wipes the fruit before taking a bite. Delicious. There goes the ration for the day.

She retreats to the castle for the night, and anybody who comes by will be seeing some girl sitting at the throne and crossing her legs, posing like some dark overlord. ]

Must be how a SF scum feels when they feel like they have the power.

[ When she touches the omamori given to her, a rather tall half crow, half humanoid demon stands beside her. She points to the entrance of the castle, in which Malphas, her Persona, chucks his sickle and that gets stuck on the castle wall. That might have been a little too close for comfort, but she doesn't look sorry. ]

Ah, sorry, sorry~

[ Yeah, she really doesn't. ]


II. Odd days after 9/18: I'll be your anchor that holds you down

[ She finally found Hirajiro and she's already gotten over seeing so many humans in one place. She doesn't seem to particularly care about that and crouches next to the lake during Lockdown. She's also wearing a familiar outfit, if you've ever been to the Velvet Room--it's the blue uniform that the Attendants usually wear, complete with the hat too. Just because. ]

Despite the locals saying that people should stay away from the lake, I've seen several people dive in. Sure, that's where the mass of darkness leaks at midnight, but that's really quite something.

[ She turns to look over at you, who's nearby. ]

Don't you think so?

[ Meanwhile, Malphas casts Frei, a nuclear spell, at a stray Shadow wandering the town. The blue dome-shaped explosion makes quite the light in utter darkness with the exception of the moon. ]


III. Even days after 9/20: throwback to when everything was a mess

[ 45 seems to be holding herself well, though she's been only staying at the first floor of the school Dungeon every time she gets here. It looks like SP draining problems are real when all you have is a single offensive magic spell, a speed debuff, and a healing spell that also requires the usage of SP. At least she knows when to call it quits, but she'll occasionally sit back and watch other people kill Shadows too, which makes great entertainment.

She'll even do a golf clap after your Persona performs even the smallest thing. Wow. Very strong. Amazing. Maybe she's aiming to embarrass someone? Yeah. ]


wildcard

[ As usual, give me your own prompt if you want to! I'll take anything. For any questions/concerns, let me know by PM or celenza ! ]

Comments

[defragment]

[ The only good thing about ending up seeing RO's zombie corpse in an "earlier" time with Leon was that she hacked into her digimind and got some info, so she only has a vague idea of what Kido is talking about.

Maybe 45 is September's Attendant arrival that was summoned by three sacrifices in the middle of the month. (no) ]

He's Malphas, a Persona. He makes a great companion. I suppose yours does too?

[reveilation]

[ The mental image of 45 hacking into a zombie corpse is legit terrifying. ]

Yeah. We got along well.

[ ...past tense, got along. Nekogami is probably tired of Kido being a sad sack, but after everything that'd happened over the past week, she probably doesn't have enough control over her emotions to be very in sync with her Persona. Maybe it's better to give him a rest, for the time being. ]

I know you guys were looking into things last month. Did you figure anything out about the omamoris? Like, who made them?

[ Where she can get another one? ]

[defragment]

[ 45 would obviously not know about any of this, but she keeps a smile on her face as usual. Playing the role of an Attendant is kinda fun? Even if she doesn't know anything. Well, at least for now anyway. ]

Were we? I didn't get the note, so I'll ask later. Did you want me to pass a message?

[ Beep. This is the Attendant Voicemail. ]

[reveilation]

[ Yeah, it figures she's a new Attendant and wouldn't know. Minato and Souji seem to have general knowledge about things, but even they aren't telepathic or mind linked or anything. ]

Yeah. Tell them that Kido wants to know if they've learned anything more about the omamoris, and to contact her if they have. Also to change up their playlist once in a while.

[defragment]

Noted~

[ Will she even let them know? Maybe. Depends on a future thread I guess. ]

Though the playlist one sounds like a hard bargain. This is where I should put up a disclaimer, right?

[reveilation]

No disclaimer. Make them change it.

[ If they're all coworkers or something, she should have that sort of power. She's got to have better taste than Junes. ]

[defragment]

I can for a price.

[ ... No, she can't. But she's not going to wholeheartedly attempt at something without a reward. ]

[reveilation]

Isn't this your job...? But alright, what do you want? More teeth?

[ What sort of Shadow hunting trophy does this Attendant prefer? ]

[defragment]

[ Hmm... They seem to do stuff about Personas, and 45 has been curious as to how the other Guests fight, so this would be the perfect time. ]

Let me see you work with your Persona against Shadows.

[reveilation]

No can do, not until you ask those two about the omamori. Choose something else.

[ It's a pity, though, because that would have been such an easy request to fulfill. She'd keep it in her back pocket, but she doesn't know how long it would take to figure out how to summon another way, and by then she'll be driven mad by that department store jingle. ]

[defragment]

Then that's an automatic failure, isn't it? I won't change it just because you won't do it.

[ sorry Kido... she likes giving people a hard time. Maybe her teasing is a little too much... ]

[reveilation]

It's not like I'm being stubborn about it. I'm saying it's impossible, at the moment, since I can't bring my Persona out unless I have my omamori. I've only ever seen a Persona come out without using one when the user is freaking out about something.

[ She can recall that happening to Terry, once, on the streets outside the cafe. And with Sasuke and his Shadow— that was a high stress time all around.

Right now, the conflict in her heart is being ignored, and as long as she keeps that locked up, Nekogami probably wouldn't come even if she did have her omamori. That's what she thinks, anyways, and while she's quick to anger, she's quick to calm down, too. She can keep her cool. Her Persona won't go on a rampage, not if she can help it. ]

[defragment]

[ Kido is a responsible Persona user. Good purse owner Kido. Anyway, the tidbit is interesting. Looks like you really do need the omamori to summon Personas after all, at least in a controlled manner. It reminds her of a pet on a leash. ]

Then how about bringing a Shadow to me? Or just one of those scales from one that was once alive.

[ From what she gathered from RO's database, large scales that shine in the light are possible to obtain from one of the Shadows in the lake. ]

You can use your bare hands or be creative. It just has to be from a currently living one if you're only bringing a scale.

[ But would Kido actually do it, even though she can't summon her Persona? ]

[reveilation]

[ Is it worth risking her life just to get the music changed? ... It's still worth considering, and Kido considers, crossing her arms over her chest and peering down at the surface of the lake, stalling. ]

What would you even do with one of those? Either the Shadow or the scale?

[ It's so stupid. She shouldn't be thinking about it at all, but she's already formulating a plan to do either of the two, and she thinks it'll work. ]

[defragment]

That's for you to find out when I get them.

[ She just keeps that smile up on her face. Honestly, would the Attendants even give stupidly life-threatening requests like these? From the looks of the ones this month, probably not, but 45 wants to confirm various theories and she doesn't want to be the one that confirms it, so.

Besides, the whole thing was for only a chance at changing the music, which is already... probably very slim.

Maybe this can be something like a social experiment.

How unethical. ]

[reveilation]

[ Honestly, the Attendants probably think that the people here are more willing to risk their lives than to do something as simple as saying three things they like about themselves, so that request board might not be the best reflection of expectations. ]

That's fair.

[ It really is not and 45 is a bully, but Kido just sort of nods to herself. ]

I won't be able to do it tonight, since I'd like the full hour, so another time, okay? Will you be by the lake every night, or should I head to the train to find you?

[defragment]

Hm? I'll be here every other night for a while. Feel free to come back when you're ready.

[ Not like she has anything else to do. And maybe Kido will have a better time because she'd be getting her omamori back by then. ]

[reveilation]

[ She wants to ask why, but in her experience, the Attendants never give a straight answer to such an open ended question, so all she can do is accept it. ]

Alright, I'll be back. See you— [ ... ] What's your name?

[ Please don't give her some bs like Minato going "you can call me clown denizen, I don't care" that's not what she asked ]

[defragment]

Itsuki.

[ 45 is supposed to be some based off some German gun and she also speaks German, but the question is, does she look German ? Who knows? Everyone is anime here. And just because they're based off a gun, doesn't mean their appearance has to reflect on that either so for now, no one knows what she is. Let's just leave it at that.

Malphas has been at 45's side all this time, and that doesn't look like it'll change anytime soon. ]

Hope you'll come prepared with a plan~

[reveilation]

[ If she had introduced herself as 45, Kido would have shoved her in the lake and Malphas would have had to kill her.

She gets a free pass, though, with Kido nodding to herself while she repeats the name in her head so she won't forget. ]

Itsuki, then. I've already got a plan, so I'll be back when I'm able to execute it. See you.

[defragment]

[ Kido 8(

45 waves at her. See you kido-chaaaaan. May she see you at the next meeting where she'll just keep wearing the uniform. ]

wc. 9/25

[reveilation]

[ Kido had gotten her omamori back, and though Nekogami wouldn't come out when she'd first touched the charm, she didn't get any sense of anger like when Vassago shows up uninvited to thrash around. So she didn't think too much of that; maybe Nekogami would rather be summoned for something important like fighting a Shadow, not just for the sake of showing up and saying hi.

She might not even need Nekogami for this, but he's always good to have as insurance when she's sneaking around the dungeons trying not to be seen. ]

Itsuki, hey.

[ Back so soon? Yeah. Like she said, she has a plan. Which isn't really a plan, more than it is simply going up to a Shadow, plucking off a scale, and getting the hell out of there before she runs out of breath. She might have maybe a minute to accomplish all that, unless— ]

Last time I was here, there was some sort of charm that let people breathe underwater. Was that from you guys? It had the same annoying music effect.

[tantantaaan]

[ Leon's tears don't stop flowing as he looks up to the approaching person. His brows are furrowed, his nose is running, his voice is trembling. He just pulls RO closer to him instinctively, although he seems to be willing to listen to what 45 has to say. ]

C-Core...? What's... what's that?

[defragment]

You can think of it as her soul.

[ Though Dolls don't have souls. This is the closest thing it'll ever get. The mere idea makes her want to laugh, but she doesn't. Gotta hold that in. ]

Though, at this state, it only looks like it will rot from being in the water from too long. Maybe you can salvage it? They're all mechanical parts, after all.

[defragment]

[ 45 gives Kido a short wave. ]

You can borrow one for a price.

[ Nothing is ever gonna be free from 45... Honestly, she probably won't need it because what's breathing when you're an android robot weapon thing? ]

Though you'll have to give it back, or I'll jack the price even higher. I want another scale.