asgardeventide | ♔ THE EMPEROR (003) [Video]

[Remembering what one of the gods suggested to him, Akihiko turns to the network to ask for a specific favor…] Hey! I hope everyone’s having fun at the festival! We should hold these more often! There’s gotta be other occasions to celebrate, right?

By the way, does anyone know how to sew? Not just patch things up, but to actually sew clothing pieces together? I’ll pay for your time and all the materials, of course. Whatever ya need. Hit me up if you’re interested!

[Locked to SEES & Investigation Team]

[His demeanor fades at this next part, as he takes on a more serious tone, assuming the role of a cool and calm upperclassman.]

Hey, everyone. There’ve been more of us showing up lately, so… Rise suggested that we all get together. We should hold a meeting somewhere, maybe after the festival’s over. I know we don’t have to deal with Shadows here, but it still might be useful for us to share stories and compare notes.

Minako, Minato, Mitsuru – if any of you want to take charge of this meeting, go ahead. [Akihiko has leadership experience too, and wields that position whenever it’s needed, but isn’t looking to step on anyone’s toes.]

Oh, and you guys can use this post to introduce yourselves, if you want. I’m Akihiko. I know most of you already. [His expression eases into a casual and friendly look as he cocks his head to the side a bit.] Enjoy the rest of the festival, okay? We have a little more time for fun before we get back to work.

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[OH HELLO sorry for thinking you were a guy. No worries, Naoto, you will so get along with Mitsuru. Plus, Akihiko doesn't mind answering questions either. He's done mission reports for Mitsuru plenty of times before.]

Yes - Mitsuru Kirijo. She started SEES a few years ago. Shinji and I joined when we were in middle school.

I'm still surprised you guys can summon your Personas without using Evokers.

[HAHA it's ok at least he spared any comments about her bust size this time... And yes she and Mitsuru share a house so they will be best of friends. All that smart in one place.]

I've certainly heard of the Kirijo Group. There are few who haven't. [And she spoke to Mitsuru already to confirm she has a part of that... She didn't know Mitsuru started their Persona group though.]

Ah. Yes. Our summon method manifests as a tarot card instead though I wonder if the same amount of will power is needed in both cases. [She doesn't know what Evokers are or what they need to work so... she's only theorizing.] It is curious that our methods of summoning them are different. I wonder if we could use each others' methods and still succeed.

[He will make comments later... when he gets a better look at her next time. He had no reason to stare at her chest before, after all...]

The Nanjo Group is pretty well-known too. They used to work together.

I believe so. You have to be mentally strong to tame your Persona, or they can go out of control.

[At that mention, Akihiko changes the feature to video. He brandishes a realistic-looking gun, and calmly points the barrel to his temple.]

This is an Evoker. Our Personas are summoned whenever we pull the trigger. It won't work here, of course... Do you guys have your tarot cards on you?

[She doesn't particularly like using the video function... but she supposes it doesn't matter here because they'd met in person already.]

Yes, I've heard of the Nanjo Group as well. [Though she didn't know they had worked with the Kirijo Group... then again she didn't know all that much about the Kirijo Group either. Except for the case file about that one incident...

Her eyes widen a bit and the instinct in someone who is familiar with firearms to yell at someone dumb enough to point it at one's head is strong. But she halts herself because clearly it can't be a real gun. Still...

She shakes her head.] They appear whenever we call to our Personas. Like yours won't work obviously ours won't either. So I doubt we could get the cards to appear.

[Aside from the click of the trigger, nothing happens. Akihiko holds onto it for a minute longer, before returning his Evoker back to the holster down at his waist.]

I see. [There's a quiet hum of contemplation as he tries to picture it.] Too bad we can't test it out here... We'd explode if we tried to use our powers from back home.

...So how did you guys figure out that you had the Potential? Were there any tests run?

[Because if there isn't a Kirijo research lab in Inaba... he doesn't know how else they can make that determination.]

[Haha explode...... Naoto still doesn't really buy that as the truth but given that she can't use her powers either way to test the theory, it'll remain a doubtful truth in her mind.

Though his next question is... odd.] Figure out..? It wasn't so much figured out as it was forced... [She trails off. Now wait. Clearly the way they got their Personas was different. Because if they had obtained them the same way as she and her friends, they would've known. Since they'd been rescuing the TV world victims and all...]

Tell me, are you familiar with the world inside the television and it's connection to Personas and Shadows?

[She might get a chance to find that out, sooner than she thinks... But he's heard testimonies from multiple sources, and he believes them. Still, if he ever got his Persona back... that might not stop him from using it.]

Forced? [That word alone brings Akihiko sharply to attention, his eyes narrowing with some distaste. It makes him think of Strega, Shinji, and those damn suppressant pills.] Can you guys control your Personas?

[He shakes his head, answering in earnest.] All I know is, you guys fought Shadows inside the TV world. But I figured there was more to it than just that...

[Hm... how to explain this well...

Prepare for some tl;dr.]

To be frank, our Personas awakening only happened due to a murder case that occurred in Inaba. The culprit was using the TV world as a means to murder people. By pushing them inside the person would be confronted with their Shadow self; a version of themselves that represented their ugliness or their repressed side. By taunting them it goaded the person to reject it, giving it power to grow and then kill them. The next day the body would appear hanging from wires in the town without any apparent cause of death.

After two people were killed this way, our leader decided to solve the case. He had obtained the ability to enter the TV world and gained his Persona though different means. The culprit manipulated events to have myself and three others in our group to be kidnapped and pushed into the television in hopes we would meet the same fate. However our leader rescued us one by one and one by one we joined the effort to find culprit.

We were saved by having our berserk Shadows defeated and then coming to terms with what it represented about ourselves. By doing so it transformed into our Persona that we could then wield and control completely. That's how we gained Personas and that's the only method we were aware of until now.

[Thank you for the tl;dr! It's extremely informative!

Akihiko stays quiet and listens, trying to match up the info with what he heard from Rise. Naoto is certainly telling him a lot more, right now.]

Your leader... he's kinda like ours. They can use multiple Personas, and even change 'em in the middle of battle.

Wow, you had to fight yours. That... sounds rough. [Reminding him more and more of the Personas that went berserk and tried to kill their users.] But they don't go crazy anymore? After you beat them. And you don't need pills, or anything like that?

Who did he turn out to be? The culprit, I mean. Was he a Persona user too?

♔ THE EMPEROR (003) [Video]

voice; private to SEES and IT

voice; private to SEES and IT

voice ---> video; private to SEES and IT

voice ---> video; private to SEES and IT

video; private to SEES and IT

video; private to SEES and IT

video; private to SEES and IT

video; private to SEES and IT

video; private to SEES and IT