[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

9/19, wildcard

[tantantaaan]

[ Whenever 45 decides to approach the lake, she will hear a loud, piercing wail. ]

Aru-tan... Aru-tan, I beg you, please wake up!! Aru-tan!!

[ Just by the lake, a young man is holding onto a figure that will be extremely familiar to 45. RO365, completely still, drenched from top to bottom. His grip on her is tight, his voice is distressed. He shakes her a couple of times, hoping there will be some signs of life, even if it's obvious that there isn't.

Even so, Leon isn't throwing away hope. He examines her, trying to see if there's a switch that he can press, carefully sitting her up. He knows that she's an android, so... there should be a way to fix her, right? If he brings her to a mechanic, they'll figure things out, won't they?

An arm supports her back, another grasps her fingers, hoping that he can transfer some of his warmth there. ]

Please, Aru-tan... It's Leon. You can hear me, can't you? Please, please hold on... Please.

[ His tears won't stop spilling, drenching the already wet face of his, down to RO's unmoving arm. ]

[defragment]

[ 45 has been continuously coming back to the lake with no intentions of ever going inside it, but tonight has been, well, a surprise. She sees someone she didn't expect to see long since Operation Arctic Warfare and moreover, there was a human crying over a Doll. She's in her blue Attendant clothes because it's entertaining to screw with people's heads.

Seeing an elite T-Doll fall here is a bit of a concerning matter for 45, but for an entirely different reason. Well, it looks like she's dead anyway, so it won't matter much.

Some parts of RO's body has corroded, revealing small mechanical bits under where her skin is supposed to be. 45 walks over to their side and looks down. A member of the AR team has been slain here with no hopes of a digimind backup. ]

You should take out her core. Then you'll be with her forever.

[ She's more or less waiting to see what Leon would do. Would he ask for details? Would he do it right away?

The wonders of the human mind. Sorry, she's not here to comfort Leon. She's an asshole. ]

[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.

[tantantaaan]

[ Now that stops Leon from crying. His face is still wet with slobber and tears, but no more extra of those flowing out. He has his eyes locked on 45 now, desperate when he calls out. ]

Really? I can save Aru-tan still? If I do that... will she move again? You're sure?

[defragment]

That all depends on your mechanical engineering efficiency and skills.

[ As usual, she doesn't outright say yes or no, but it's really interesting to see a human so desperate over a Doll's "life". She knows that he could technically stuff the core into a mechanical dog if he wanted to and RO will be inhabiting that body, but.

She somehow doubts that will happen here. ]

In any case, her body is no longer functional.

[tantantaaan]

[ Two of those that he doesn't have. If only Daiya-san's here... not that he knows if Daiya can deal with mechanics, they're both idiots after all - but it feels like he at least has the instincts for it. ]

...Even if I got someone to repair the body? Do I... do I have to get her a new body?

[ At this point, he'll do anything, everything, to bring RO back to him. ]

[defragment]

A new one might work better. You wouldn't want to put her back in a sick body, would you? You'll have to do it soon too. Who knows when the core stops being functional?

[ It's probably... already barely functional. But.

She's leading him on. ]

[tantantaaan]

[ Ahhhh he has to make a decision soon!! She's really making him panic. What to do, what to do... ]

How do I... how do I take out the core? You seem to know a lot... are you able to do something?

[defragment]

I only know things. I don't know how to perform them myself.

[ She guides Leon's hand to her back where it's easy to take a latch to take out her core. ]

[tantantaaan]

[ His heart pounds, not because of her hand on him, but because something feels really wrong with this. Should they take it out just like that? His instinct screams that he should ask more questions before anything. ]

Wa-- Wait!

[ He whimpers, palm covering the latch. ]

Can you explain to me first what happens if I take out her 'core'? It's... it's not as simple as taking it out and putting it on a new body, right?

[defragment]

Like I said, you need the skills to do it.

[ She's not lying about it at least... ]

[tantantaaan]

You told me that!

[ He feels his voice is rising, and he knows he's ticked off because he's on the edge-- so he swallows, and tries to calm himself down. There's no point lashing out at her. She's being helpful. Kinda. ]

Then... I can't take it out. What if I break the system further? Do you know what's the safest way to make sure that she will be okay? How long can the core last if I take it out?

[defragment]

What if you go to the Attendants? We live in the portal that appears at midnight.

[ She's pretty sure that the Attendants won't know how to fix her anyway. That's what she got from her memories that she hacked into. ]

[tantantaaan]

Attendants...?

[ "We"? So she's a part of them?

He's missed out on a lot of things that gone down in the town, including the appearance of the Attendants - he doesn't actually know them. ]

Where can I find the portals?

[defragment]

[ She does live there, but she's not an Attendant herself, so... technically it's not a lie... ]

During the midnight hour, you can find them at the bottom of the lake and next to the entry of the school dungeon. In the daytime, you'll find one in the castle.

[tantantaaan]

Does it have anything to do with the blue door in the lake?

[ Swimming back down to the bottom of the lake is not an option he wants to take, but he needs at least a sign of what it looks like. Portals in his head don't look like doors. ]

I'll go to the castle, then.

[ He can't wait for midnight. He has to go, asap. ]

[defragment]

Yeah, they look like that.

[ 45 stands up straight to bid him farewell. ]

Good luck~

[tantantaaan]

[ Wait-- before he goes. ]

Your name. I haven't asked for your name. Thank you... for the help. Sorry I yelled earlier.

[defragment]

[ But did she really help... she's satisfied with this outcome though. ]

Itsuki. It's no problem~

[tantantaaan]

[ It doesn't matter. She let him know of the Attendants. That's help enough for him. ]

Itsuki-san. [ He's not in the right mood to make up some nickname for her, so that's what she gets. ] I'm Leon. [ Neither does he have the urge to introduce himself the way he usually does. He just manages a really, really slight smile. ] I'll see you around, then.

[ With that, he carries RO on his shoulder, with obvious difficulty, but trudges on and pretends that he's fine. Gotta be strong! For Aru-tan!! ]